I recently had the privilege of meeting with my fellow trustees and cabinet members at our final board meeting of this school year. On Friday, May 17th, we started our day with this devotional:
Psalm 147:4-5 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond all measure.
Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one of them is missing.
With these verses ringing in our hearts and minds, ponder the following with me:
- If our sun was the size of a golf ball, the earth would be a grain of sand/pinhead and be approximately 15 ft from the golf ball.
- With the sun the size of a golf ball, the nearest star to us would be over 700 miles away (4.3LY) within our galaxy.
- Our galaxy, the Milky Way, contains between 200-400 billion stars.
- There are at least 176 billion galaxies that are observable with the technology we have today, and some astronomers estimate that there are two TRILLION galaxies, averaging 100 million stars in each galaxy.
- Some astronomers estimate that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on the earth. It takes approximately 1 million grains of sand to cover one square foot to the depth of one grain of sand!
And then consider Psalm 8:3-5: “When I look to your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings, and crowned him with glory and honor.”
Our God is a BIG God—and our hearts and minds are overcome with contemplating the greatness of our God—and yet he is mindful of us, and crowns us with glory and honor.
Please join me in thanking God for the following:
- Being mindful of us, and Bethlehem College and Seminary,
- The recent graduates from both the United States and the seminary in Cameroon,
- The awarding of an Honorary Doctorate to Tom Steller in Godward gratitude for his outstanding contributions to Bethlehem College and Seminary,
- The anticipated freshmen and first-year seminary class sizes for this fall—God is blessing the recruiting efforts, and we could possibly have the largest incoming class sizes in the history of the school!
- The hiring of Joe Krekelberg as the Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer,
- The continued generosity of people who give to the school – those who have been faithful in giving since the school’s inception, and those who are giving to the school for the first time.
Abounding in thanksgiving to our BIG God, please join me in the following petitions:
- That the faculty, staff, students, and graduates of our school would continue to have a disproportionate impact on the world for Christ, our King,
- That God would see fit to heal Tom Steller and bless us with a continuation of Tom’s teaching and leadership as it relates to the seminary in Cameroon,
- That God would continue to strengthen the relationship that we have with the two governing churches—Bethlehem Baptist Church and The North Church,
- That God would bless our returning students and our new students for the upcoming academic year,
- That President Brian Tabb and his cabinet would be granted wisdom in leading the school, and
- That the generosity of people who give to the school would continue.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and commitment to Bethlehem College and Seminary.
Warmly,
Tom Lutz
Chairman, Board of Trustees