Jesus Christ Our Creator ~~

Jesus Christ Our Creator ~~

"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him." (Colossians 1:16)~

Before one can really know Jesus Christ as Savior or Lord, he must acknowledge Him as offended and rejected Creator, because He was our Creator first of all. This is such an important doctrine of the New Testament that it is remarkable how rarely it is emphasized in modern evangelicalism.

Creation by Jesus Christ is the doctrine with which John begins his great gospel of salvation: "In the beginning was the Word,...All things were made by him;...and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not" (John 1:1,3,10). It is the foundational message of the book of Hebrews:"God...hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds" (Hebrews 1:1-2).

The apostle Paul said that he had been called specifically to preach "the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 3:8-9). When a person becomes a believer in Christ, receiving His very life by the new birth, he is said to be "renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Colossians 3:10).

In the final book of the Bible, Jesus Christ is called the "Alpha...the beginning...the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8), as well as "the beginning of the creation of God" (3:14).

But of all the Biblical passages identifying Jesus Christ as CREATOR, the most definitive of all is our text for today. Everything in heaven and earth was created by Him, and for Him

"For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen" (Romans 11:36).
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Institute for Creation Research -
Days of Praise/HMM

JESUS CHRIST, the same yesterday, and to day, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8

Christ Our Substitute ~

"So Christ was offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." (Hebrews 9:28)-

There are two specific references in the New Testament to Christ "bearing" our sins as he died on the cross. In addition to our text above, the other is 1 Peter 2:24: "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree."

However, the same word (Greek, 'anaphero') is also used with a similar thrust in Hebrews 7:27, where it is translated "offer up"; "Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up; hemself."

When Christ died, He died as a substitutionary sacrifice, "offering up" our sins for judgment and punishment by a holy God, as He simultaneously "offered up" Himself as the One who would submit to that judgment and bear that punishment. He was 'able' to do this because He was both the infinite CREATOR and the one sinless man, who needed not to offer a sacrifice for His own sins. He was 'willing' to do this because He loved us and wanted to save us.

This doctrice of substitutionary sacrifice is central to the Gospel of salvation, and therefore precious to the saint. But its central importance likewise means that it is profoundly offensive to the natural man. Many acclaim Him as a great martyr or a great teacher, but deny either His deity or His humanity, and certainly deny the universal efficacy of His shed blood in substitutionary sacrifice for the sin of a lost world.

Nevertheless, he did bear the sins of "the many," and he did completely settle our account with God. In both Herews 7:27 and 9:28 (as cited above), the word "once" means, literally, "once for all." He did have to die once--but only once--as our sin-bearing substitute. Thus, when He comes again, it will be "without sin unto salvation."

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ICR/HMM
JESUS IS LORD!

JESUS CHRIST OUR CREATOR

The Powers of God ~

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8) --

~~IN these days of rampant humanism, blatant materialism, and effete religionism, the very concept of an all- powerful God who created, controls, and judges all things seems anachronistic, but God is still 'there' and is still the Almighty.

Three Greek words are translated "power" in Scripture-- exousia ("authority"), dunamis ("ability"), and Kratos (strength"). Each is attributed in unlimited extent to God the CREATOR as incarnate in Christ the Redeemer. "All power ['authority'] is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18). "For thine is the kingdom, and the power ['ability], and the glory, for ever" (Matthew 6:13. "That ye may know ...the exceeding greatness of his power ['ability'] to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power ['strength'], Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power ['authority'], and might, and dominion" (Ephesians 1:18-21).

He is the "Almighty God" of Abraham (Genesis 17:1), "the everlasting God, the LORD, the CREATOR of the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 40:28). "Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased" (Psalm 115:3).

God can do whatever He pleases, except anything contrary to His nature. He "cannot lie" (Titue 1:2), for He is "the truth" (John 14:6). His inspired word is inerrant--"the scripture of truth" (Daniel 10:21).

We can be certain that He did not "create" the world by evolution, for that would be contradicted both by His infallible Word and by His omnipotence. Being all-powerful, God would surely not create by such a cruel, inefficient process as evolution. ~
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Institute for CREATION -
Reasearch ~~/HMM

Who is Jesus Christ?

A Challenge to Christians~
By: Andrew A Snelling, PhD

<http://www.icr.org/article/3338/>

Blessings~

Truth Never Changes... ((( Smiles )))

To God be the Glory.
Life is far more complex then just being here by chance.
There is so much to observe in this world that relates to God's incredible design...
Intelligent Design and that all eyes are on a small plot of land written about in the scripture's from Ancient Bibilical times.
And more prophecy's yet to be fulfilled, so for many people there is no doubt.
This system of things this planet as it is of now is passing away..
Sick planet, Sick World, we are all incredibly sick too and many of us just don't know it of yet.
We don't see the sickness our own imperfections though we may noticed the imperfections of others more then our own..
but God see's all of our imperfections and that we are in need of a "Savior" in a dying polluted corrupted world.
There is no other way out.
The path is fixed and just going green will not fix this mess.
Humankind can not fix this mess though many believe we can.
It will be God's way or no way because humans solutions are Imperfect at best, Corrupt at worse.

Signature In The Cell..
DNA and the Evidence For Intelligent Design
Stephen C. Meyer

http://www.signatureinthecell.com/

http://www.signatureinthecell.com/quotes.php

Job 26:13
By His Spirit the heavens were beautiful; His hand pierced the fleeing snake.

To assemble them in war against God Almighty
Rev 20:9

"I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you...
You... shall be no more forever"
Ezekiel 28:18,19

And the world will be a much better place to live in too.
Right now it's a total mess but thats not the end of the story....

Thank God For That.

Bible Dictionary -

CREATION= The mighty act of God in which, by His Word alone, He brought into existence the universe and everything in it; Sometimes called 'ex nihilo' [Lat., "out of nothing"].

Also refers to 'all that was created'.
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Malachi 2:10a "Do we not all have one Father? Has not one God CREATED us?..."

Revelation 4:11 "Worthy are you, our Lord, and our God, to receive glory; for you CREATED all things; and because of Your will they existed, and were created."

---- --

--CREATION:
NT STYLE ~~

Ephesians 1:3-6
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He chose us in Him
before the foundation
of the world.
---Ephesians 1:4 -
---
WHEN we think about the marvel of creation--how God spoke the universe into existence and formed the earth and everything in it--we think most often of Old Testament accounts. But it is encouraging to examine the New Testament to see how that part of the Bible refers to creation. Here is a look at some key passages:

"I will utter thinks kept secret from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 13:35). God reveals things to us that He had kept secret since before creation.

"Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34). Before the earth was created, God knew each of us--and our future.

"He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4). Before the work of creation even began, God was aware of each of His eventual children.

These New Testament verses comfort us with the truth that God's knowledge of us and His eternal mysteries about us point toward His special creation of mankind as described in Genesis. We can do nothing but bow in awe before One whose knowledge and creative ability are eternal and boundless.

CREATION: New Testament style---still another reason to give God praise
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Each person is a unique expression
of God's loving design.

ODB/DB

--The Light of the Word

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105)-

AS the sun provides physical light for the world, so Jesus Christ is spiritually "the light of the world" (John 8:12). However, we clearly can see His light only through the light holder, the lamp, as it were, of His written Word. The Word, therefore, is a lamp and, since it contains and reveals the light, is also a light in its own right. Without the Holy Scriptures, this world would lie in the deepest darkness, but "the entrance of thy words giveth light" (Psalm 119:130).

The Lord Jesus Chrirst is the living Word, and "without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" (John 1:3-5). Although He "was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9), when He Himself came into the world, those who were made by Him refused to receive Him. "Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).

Just so, although the written Word has come into the world, the world does not receive it, either. The lamp and the light of the written Word have been in the world (in complete and final form) for 1,900 years, but men still reject and ridicule it, and the world still lies in darkness. Nevertheless, for those who receive it, there is wonderful light. "Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light" (John 12:35-36).

God's Word always brings light. His first spoken Word was: "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3), and wherever He speaks, God sees the light, and it is good! --

ICR/HMM

--THE HOLY WAR ~

"The battle now being waged among the power centers of the world is essentially a strategic warfare guided by two entirely different belief systems. One seeks to control the affairs of men based on a naturalistc and humanistic worldview, and the other seeks to present a theistic and creationist worldview.

"What we believe will frame our reactions, our priorities, and our expectations." Henry M Morris III, D. Min. / ICR

Check it out:
<http://www.icr.org/article/5488/>

JESUS IS LORD!

The Holy War.. (((( Smiles )))

This is so true the longing so many have in this world.
I just had to share this.

God called the universe into existence for his glory.
Forming humankind from the dust of the earth was the pinnacle of creation.
God welcomed Adam and Eve into his beautiful world by breathing into them the breath of life.
Tragically, instead of running free within the fences, they rejected God by breaking down God's good boundaries.
Although thousands of years have passed since our first parents were driven out of Eden, there's still something within each of us that longs to get back to the garden.
It's as if we can taste that good fruit of the garden- but only a trace amount on the tips of our tongues.
We want more but it's always outside our reach.

Yes, the longing for something better then this to get back to the garden of fresh air, plentiful food, beautiful vegetation.
And be one with OUR GOD. The best Government & Ruler of all.
Fair and true and just.

"What we believe will frame our reactions, our priorities, and our expectations." Henry M Morris III, D. Min. / ICR

As you already know of course....
Humans are humans chimps are chimps and God created many spieces that have long ago died out on this planet but they are not human and they never will be human.
Just look at all the variety of the flowers and the trees on this planet and the muiltiude of stars in the sky.
God is a master designer a master creator can we limit God. No! But in the naturalistc and humanist worldview they do and can.

They don't see the splendor and gory in it all and try to simplify it but can they simplify the amazing cell.
There is so much amazing facts to behold in the design of this world and the heavens above. How could anybody try to simplify anything in this life?
We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God thats why we need a savior. The world this planet needs to be saved.
In their world there is a perfect man somewhere that does not believe in God but should get to heaven on his or her good works, merits.
That is their line of thinking about fairness but they really don't know the Scriptures well because what good moral means for them is totally different then what it means to God as it doesn't exist.
We judge on outward apperances but God reads hearts intentions and motives, we don't.
So this hypothesis really doesn't exist.
And as the Ten Commandents show us our sins..
Who hasen't fallen short of that it shows us why we need a savior instead of the earthly idea of the moral perfect man that doesn't really exist in God's eyes at all.
We are all born into sin since the fall the scriptures state.

Yes.. Two entirely different belief systems.
That is so true.

He Shall Judge the World --

"Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with truth." (Psalm 96:13) -

~~Those men and women who reject or ignore the wonderful offer of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ need somehow to realize the eternal consequences of their foolishness. Jesus Christ was not just a religious teacher in Israel two thousand years ago, but is the very God who created them, the Second Person of the triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). God the Father "created all things by Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 3:9), and therefore "hath committed all judgment unto the Son" (John 5:22).

And on what basis will He judge us? Our text tells us that "righteousness" and "truth" are the criteria. The problem is that "there is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4). However, the Lord Jesus was incarnate Truth and Righteousness, and God "hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Christ has made eternal salvation available freely to us. There is no other way. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36).

But how do we know that all this is not just a peculiar doctrine of one particular religion?

Here is how. God "hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:31).

By defeating death itself, Christ has vindicated His claim to be the Judge of all!---
ICR/HMM
JESUS IS LORD! JESUS IS CREATOR! JESUS IS JUDGE!
JESUS IS COMING BACK TO CLAIM HIS BRIDE, THE CHURCH! Are you ready?

Was Jesus Christ Really God?
By: Dr. Charles F Stanley/ In Touch Ministries

For centuries, seeking men and women have asked the same ageless question: "Who is Jesus?" We may say He is our Savior, and that is true. We may say He is Lord, and that is also accurate. We may say He is the pattern for our lives, and that is likewise compatible with Scripture.

But He is MORE than just our Savior, Lord, and Living Example.

Jesus Christ is God. That is the foundational truth we celebrate at Christmas: the incarnation-God becoming flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.

Because the Babe in the manger was God, human history was altered. Man's eternal destiny was affected. The CREATOR had taken on the form of His creation-man-in order to reconcile holy God and sinful man.

Born to a carpenter and his wife, Jesus of Nazareth was a divine lineage--the only begotten of the Father the Second Person of the Trinity.

John's intent in his magnificent introduction was to reveal that Jesus Christ is fully God, the exact and express image of the Father:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

"He was in the beginning with God.

"All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men...

"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:1-4,14). " -

John establishes the central truth that Jesus was God Who came to earth in human form--without sin--in order to die for the sins of mankind. -

Though human, He was without a sin nature; for He was conceived by God, not man.

As He taught and lived for thirty-three years, He revealed the Father, proclaimed His deity, and finished His redemptive work on Calvary's cross.

His resurrection attested to His absolute deity, giving man certain hope that his sins can be forgiven through faith in Him, thus receiving the gift of eternal life.

In coming to earth, Jesus chose to lay aside some of His divine privileges that were righfully His at the right hand of the Father. He chose to humble Himself to become man, subordinating Himself to the Father to accomplish the Father's amazing plan of salvation.

Jesus as man was fully human yet fully God. He retained all of His deity. Had He come in His full, radiant glory, He could not have been approached. [No man can look upon God and live.]

Jesus was God before He came to the earth. He was God on the cross. He was God in His resurrection. He remains forever God, and by the Father's decree, Christ will one day reign as Lord of lords and King of kings over all creation.

Jesus was deity cloaked in humanity--Spirit clothed in flesh.

When John calls Jesus "the Word," he is referring to the full, verbal, visible expression of God. Jesus is the tangible, visible manifestation of the invisible God.

Paul describes Jesus in this manner:
"And He ,Jesus, is the image of the invisible Good, the first-born of all creation.
"For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth.." (Colossians 1:15-16).

The divinely inspired writer of Hebrews says that Jesus "is the radiance of His (God's) glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.." (Heb. 1:3).

Jesus Christ was preexistent as God before time began.

It was Christ, the Son of God, Who walked in the blaze of fire with the three Hebrews. (Daniel 3:25)

It was Christ Who, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, participated in the CREATION of the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:26)

In order for Jesus Christ to become sinless human flesh and live among men, He had to exist in eternity past. Only God exists in eternity past; and that is John's inspired logical thesis in his Gospel prologue.

Someone has said that Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. Every word of Scripture and every event in Jesus' life affirms that He is Lord of all.

Jesus claimed to be God on many occasions:
"...I am the way, the truth and the life.."(John 14:6)

When Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus responded: "...He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, 'Show us the Father'?

"In order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the son does not honor the Father who sent Him" (John 5:22-23).

It is the 'deity' of Christ that men must ultimately accept or reject.

Our eternal destiny hinges upon our belief and acceptance of Jesus as the Son of God, the Savior of all who believe in Him.
His deity was clearly expressed not only in His pre-existence but also in His power.

It was through the divine power of His resurrection that He conquered death, removing its sting and giving us the hope of eternal life. It was through His divine power that He performed miracles of healing, even bringing dead men back from the grave.

In each instance Jesus was validating His perfect deity, provided us with evidence that His personhood was that of the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God.

He was the Light that came to expose the darkness of sin and evil. He was the life that came to overcome death.

Through Christ's divine power and authority, we can be born again by His Spirit.

That is why we cannot deny the deity of Christ and be saved.

Only God can save us, for only God can forgive us. Good works, self-effort, morality cannot transform a man from death to life. Only Jesus Christ can do that, and He does so because He is God, Who alone gives life to men:
"For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes" (John 5:21).

"And the witness is this, that God has give us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

"He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life" (1 John 5:11-12).

The wonder of Christmas is God becoming flesh in person of Jesus Christ. It is the heart of the Gospel. If Jesus is not God, then we are without hope of eternal life and without help in this life. Jesus came to die on a cruel cross so that we might be reconciled to friendship with Father God through faith in Christ Jesus.
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Please study out these Scriptures from God's Holy Bible and ask Him to open your spiritual eyes, so that you too, can be born again and have eternal life with our Lord Jesus, Creator of all things, the first born of all creation, our Redeemer.

Jesus Christ Our Creator -
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WEBSTER'S NEW WORLD DICTIONARY / 2nd College Edition

Trinity = A union of the three divine persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost) in one Godhead .
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Father, Son & Holy Spirit
By: Pastor Charles Stanley

The first chapter of John verse 1 says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." As we go through that chapter we are drawn to the conclusion in verse 14 that "the Word" is Jesus. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." That "only begotten" is the Greek word "monogenes," which means the sole person that could be begotten.

If He was the Son of God the Father, then He is God the Son. It says in the third verse: "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made." So, He is the God of creation; He is the beloved Son in whom the Father was well pleased. Scripture tells us in Philippians 2:7-8 that He "...took upon Him the form of a servant, and...became obedient unto death, even the death of a cross" so that you and I might have the way of salvation.

There are also other passages I want to give you. In John 14:9, Jesus tells us: "...he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." In John 10:30, Jesus says that "I and my Father are one." Read again through the remainder of John and look for passages of Scripture that identify Jesus and the Father as one and the same in eternal essence and yet different in their roles.

There is another verse of Scripture in First John 3:16 that makes further explanation, which I think will help a great deal. It says: "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." He (God) laid down His life for us. How did He do that? The Son did that, and in First John 2:23 it says: "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also." The Father is the eternal, self-existent, self-glorifying God and the Son is the same God. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He is God the Son. He is the God-man and that is the reason why He could die for our sins and rise again the third day from the grave.
Now...

Now the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost as He is referred to in the King James translation, is the third part of the Trinity. I want you to go back, if you will, to Genesis chapter one. In the first chapter of the Bible and the second verse, listen to what he says about the work of the Spirit.

Genesis 1:2: "And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters." That's the Holy Spirit, we see Him in creation. Then, notice the twenty-sixth verse of Genesis chapter 1: "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea...the birds of the sky...the cattle and over...the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Now, when He said, "Let Us make man in Our image" what did he mean? Well, He's certainly referring to God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. They are the Creator. (singular/tri-une)

Now, when He said, "Make man in our Own image" what did He mean? Eyes, ears, hands, feet? No. The image of God is the capacity to know, to feel and to have emotion. The image of God is a mind that is able to will and to make decisions. God is Spirit and is not limited to a physical body. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit not limited to a physical body. God who is Spirit came in flesh in the person of Jesus Christ to walk among men as the sinless Son of the living God to reveal to us the true nature of God.

You'll recall that Jesus said to the woman at the well, "God is a Spirit" (John 4:24). And the Holy Spirit is the person who now lives within us, not limited by a physical body. He, who is God, who is a person of the Trinity, is now living within us (believers). The Bible says that all of us who are saved by the grace of God are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We have the Spirit of God indwelling us and that is what identifies us and separates us from the rest of the world. And you see, the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is God's seal of ownership and possession. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is God's contract with us that we are forever His children. ~~

(to be continued)
Pastor Charles Stanley
JESUS IS LORD! JESUS IS CREATOR! JESUS IS KING! JESUS IS GOD!
[God the Son, God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit are one God in three different aspects in relationship to us. We have a picture here of something that is difficult to understand from the human standpoint, but we must accept it and believe it, because that is what the Word teaches.]-
HOLY BIBLE ~~

Jesus Christ our Creator/ One Person in the Triune God-

(being continued)

Now think about this! God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit; all equal. Different roles, but equal. And therefore if God the Father is omnipotent, God the Son is omnipotent, God the Holy Spirit is omnipotent. And who is it that indwells every single believer but the Holy Spirt of God who is omnipotent, all powerful and who has as His purpose to release His supernatural, divine energy through you and me; to live the Christian life and to serve Him in whatever capacity He calls us. So for believers, every single one of us is indwelt by the Holy Spirit of the living God. We accept this by faith, as the Holy Scriptures enlighten our undestanding.

Somebody says, "Now wait a minute now. For years you've talked about Christ being our life and Jesus Christ indwelling us. Now you tell us that the Holy Spirit is indwelling us." Right! Jesus Christ said, "I'm going away. If I do not go away the Comforter will not come. But if I go I will send Him. He'll be in you, with you and upon you."

He said, " I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you" (John 16:7 and John 14:16-17). And how did Jesus come back to them? He came to them just the same way He comes to us. We talk about receiving the Lord Jesus Christ: "But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God." It is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit with us who lives out through us the very life of Jesus Christ. Christ dwells with us in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. God the Father is in us in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

You cannot separate Father, Son, and Spirit when it comes to the unity. On the other hand, they each have a diffent role in God's great redemptive plan. And so, God the Father is seated at His throne in heaven. At His right hand is God the Son. On this earth to take the place of Jesus Christ who ascended, living in the life of every single believer is the person of the Holy Spirit in all of His deity, in all of of His unlimited Godhead, living through us. One of His primary purposes is to live through us the life of Jesus Christ, because He knows we can't live it on our own. And it's interesting that He said to the apostles, "You're not ready to preach, you're not ready to carry out the Great Commission until you be endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49,par.).

So the promise of the Holy Spirit is the promise of a Person. It is a 'gift' from God. It is the gift of a person of the Trinity. It is the promise of the Father to every single believer. Every single one of us who know Jesus Christ as our Savior is indwelt by a person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit who has come to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

I encourage you to make the Trinity a matter of prayer, asking that God would illuminate these truths for you. May He "give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him...that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe" (Ephesians 1:17-19a, NAS).-
-----
Pastor Charles Stanley
Father, Son, & Holy Spirit
In Touch +

TRULY AWESOME!!! GOD OF THE AGES ~~~

This song written by, Travis Doucette -- and sung by, Charles Billingsly from TRBC, in Lynchburg, VA is a favorite, written about a year ago.

I hope and pray it comes through for you and it will bless your sox off! Listen to the words. AWESOME!

Thank you, Russ and Laura for allowing the Word of the Lord to go forth on your website. God bless you!




Be blessed. He is Creator, the invisible God, the first born of creation. AMEN!

Blessings, Abishag

INDESCRIBABLE
by: Chris Tomlin

Listen to the words. WOW!



Jesus is LORD! JESUS IS CREATOR!

INDESCRIBABLE !

Chris Tomlin
-----
From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea

Creation's revealing Your majesty.

From the color of Fall to the fragrance of Spring

Every creature unique in the song that it sings

All exclaiming --

Indescribable , uncontainable

You placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name.

You are amazing God

All powerful, untameable, awestruck we fall to our knees

as we humbly proclaim

You are amazing God.

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go

Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow

Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light

Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night.

None can fathom...

Indescribable, Uncontainable

You placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name.

You are amazing God

All powerful, untameable, awestruck we fall to our knees as we
humbly proclaim

You are amazing God! (chorus/sing 3 times here)

Incomparable, unchangeable

You see the depths of my heart and you love me the same

You are amazing God

You are amazing God ~~

Is Jesus the Creator God?
By: Bodie Hodge, AiG

A Look at John 1:1-3 ~~~

Jesus is Creator ~~
From: Answers In Genesis

Keywords: Jesus Christ, Creator, God, created being, atone, sin, faith, deity,

Is this even an important question? Absolutely! If Jesus is not God, and therefore the Creator, then He is a created being. If Jesus is created, then how could He have been an adequate sacrifice to atone for sins committed against an infinite God? Jesus must have been God to adequately atone for our sins, which bring upon us unlimited guilt and cause us to deserve an eternal hell.

But does it really matter whether or not we believe that Jesus is God? Yes! If one places faith in a false Christ, one that is not described in Scripture, then can this false Christ save them? Truly, the identity of Christ is of utmost importance. And yet, in today’s culture there are people teaching that Jesus was a created being. They are leading people astray.

What sets biblical Christianity apart from cults and other world religions? It is the person of Jesus Christ—who He is. In Islam, Jesus was a messenger of God, but not the Son of God. In many cults, the deity of Jesus Christ is negated, and in many world religions and personal views, Jesus is just another wise teacher. But the Bible says that all things were created by Him and for Him:

For by Him [Jesus] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).
Hebrews indicates that God calls Jesus, the Son, God:

But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions” (Hebrews 1:8–9).

We should expect Satan, the adversary of God and the father of lies, to advance many variants of the person of Jesus Christ. Satan would want all the false views to succeed in some measure to lead people away from the true Jesus.

One may recall the temptations of Jesus by Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11). The great deceiver even attempted to use Scripture to trick Jesus into sinning (Matthew 4:6). The tactic of the serpent in the garden was to deceive the woman by distorting the plain meaning of the Word of God (Genesis 3:1–6). Satan, through the serpent, quoted the words of God and abused their meaning. We must be aware of the devil’s devices (1 Corinthians 2:11).

If God was the Word, as John 1:1 is literally translated, then it is no problem for the Word to have created all things. As God, He created. How could the Word be with God and God be the Word at the same time? The doctrine of the Trinity (One God, three Persons) is the solution here. The Word was with God (the Father) and God (the Son) was the Word. This understanding, consistent with the rest of Scripture, eliminates any contradiction of multiple gods. There is only one God, revealed in a plurality of Persons.


Conclusion
The reality is that John 1:1–3 clearly reveals the deity of Jesus Christ, the Word, being the Creator God. As such it confirms many other passages in Scripture that teach that Christ is God. Early church fathers such as Ignatius, who was a disciple of John the Apostle, also recognized Jesus as God. The significance of this is a matter of salvation.

WHY IS THERE
COLOR?
Psalm 19:1-6
---
The heavens declare
the glory of God; and
the firmament shows
His handiwork.
---Psalm 19:1
~~~~
WHY do some trees turn into a collage of radiant maroon, red, orange, and yellow colors in the Fall? Trees are green in the summer because chlorophyll, a green pigment in the leaves, absorbs red and blue light from the sun. The light reflected from the leaves appears green to our eyes.

Chlorophyll is an unstable substance, and bright sunlight causes it to decompose rapidly. Therefore, plants must continuously synthesize and regenerate it. The shortening days and cool nights of Autumn, however, interfere with this process. As chlorophyll breaks down, the green colors of the leaves begin to fade.

Some trees change from green to bright yellow as the chlorophyll degrades. In others, the action of sugar in the leaves creates a red pigment, causing the leaves to turn maroon, purple, and bright red as the chlorophyll fades.

But why do we have color? It seems to serve no practical purpose--at least none that scientists can discern. And why are there photoreceptors in our eyes that enable us to see it?

I believe that God's goodness is the point of His CREATION. He is "good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works" (Ps. 145:9). He colored the world for our childlike delight. He's like that, you know.

God, the engineer of all creation,
Spoke the word, and beauty was begun,
Then He gave to us His great salvation
Through the sacrifice of His own Son. -
-------
God's glory shines through His creation.
ODB/DR

--Creation and the Virgin Birth
Institute for Creation Research/HMM PhD

*The problem of Inherited Physical defects

--The miracle was not Christ's birth but His conception

*The Necessity of Special Creation

*The Marvel of Inheritance and Pre-Natal Growth

*The body of Christ

The incarnation of Jesus Christ is such an important doctrine of the New Testatment that without it there can be no true Christianity.

"Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God."
(1 John 4:23)

Check it out:
<http://www.icr.org/article/creation-virgin-birth/>

--GOD'S PRESENCE
Colossians 1:9-14
---
Walk worthy
of the Lord.
--Colossians 1:10 -
---
What would we have to do to display the presence of God? People would have to live like Him!

Dynamics like hospitality, the loving acceptance of all kinds of people, a quickness to serve, a tangible love for one another that makes people feel safe and included regardless of color or class, and a patient tolerance of one another's weaknesses would all be a great way to start.

Paul said we should walk in a manner "worthy of the Lord" (Col. 1:10). And he also said that being worthy means that we will be humble, gentle, bearing with one another in love, eagerly maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:2-3).

Let's live in such a way that others will experience the presence of the God who lives in us--wherever we are!

The world gets a glimpse of God
When those who claim to be
The followers of Jesus Christ
Are living righteously.
---
Those who walk with Christ
bring the presence of God to everyone around them.
ODB/JS

Who Are the Good Shepherd's Sheep?

Hanukkah, sometimes called the Feast of Dedication or the Feast of Lights, is an eight-day celebraton to commemorate the rededication of the temple in 164 B.C. after it had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes three years earlier.

In A.D.32 Hanukkah began on December 18, and Jesus was in Jerusalem for the celebration. He was in the temple walking through the section known as Solomon's Colonnade, where following his resurrection believers met to proclaim him as the Messiah (Acts 3:11-4:4, 5:12). There the Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked, "How long are you going keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly" (John 10:24). It wasn't that they wanted to know whether he was the Messiah so that they could follow him; rather, they were trying to get him to make statements that they could use against him.

The reason that Jesus did not publicly claim to be the Messiah was that in first-century Palestine there were many popular political and military misconceptions about the Messiah with which Jesus did not want to identify. The popular conception of the Messiah was that he would be a conquering ruler, not a suffering servant whose kingdom would be neither political nor military.

Jesus replied that his words and deeds pointed to him as the Messiah. He said, "The proof is what I do in the name of my Father. But you don't believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me" (vv.25-27). The implication is that the reverse is also true: those who are not part of his flock don't recognize his voice; Jesus doesn't know them, and they do not follow him.

Jesus went on to tell more of what he does for his sheep, saying, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish" (v.28). There is therefore a group of individuals, here called "his sheep," of whom it can be said, "They will never perish."

However, the focus is not on the power of eternal life but on the power of Jesus. He continues, "No one will snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me" (vv.28-29). The security of Jesus' sheep lies with the Good Shepherd. As his sheep, we are not hanging on to him--he is hanging on to us. God the Father is more powerful than anyone in the universe, and so no one can steal his sheep.

Jesus' next words were blockbusters: "The Father and I are one" (v.30). Jesus does what the Father does and vice versa.
Hearing this, once again the Jewish leaders picked up stones to kill him. But Jesus asked them a simple question:

"At my Father's direction I have done many things to help the people. For which one of these good deeds are you killing me?"

They replied, "Not for any good work, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, have made yourself God."

Jesus replied,"...Why do you call it blasphemy when the Holy One who was sent into the world by the Father says, "I am the Son of God'? Don't believe me unless I carry out my Father's work. But if I do his work, believe in what I have done, even if you don't believe me. Then you will realize that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father." -

Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them. (vv.32-39)

Why was he able to get away? Because His hour had not yet come.
---
Reflection ~~
Are you one of the Good Shepherd's sheep? You can tell by whether or not you recognize his voice and you follow him. If you are one of his sheep, he has given you eternal life, and you will never perish.

~~~~
The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. JOHN 10:11

--Christian History
By: E. Michael and Sharon Rusten

-Maker and Owner

"I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me." (Jeremiah 27:5)
--
"The earth, the man and the beast" are the three entities which God is said to have "created" (Hebrew, bara--note Genesis 1:1, 21, 27) in the Genesis account of creation. However, they are also said in Genesis to have been "made" (Hebrew, asah--note Genesis 1:25-26; 2:4), and that is the emphasis in our text above. Of course both aspects were accomplished in the six days of creation week, after which God "rested from all his work which God created and made" (Genesis 2:3). This statement makes it abundantly plain that the present processes of nature do not "create" (call into existence out of nothing) or "make" (build up into more complex forms) anything, as our modern theistic evolutionists and evangelical uniformitarians allege. God has rested from both of these works, except in occasional miraculous intervention in the present laws and processes of "nature."

Now, because God did create and make all things, He also "owns" all things. "The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof" (Psalm 24:1). "Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills" (Psalm 50:10). "The LORD hath made all things for himself" (Proverbs 16:4).

Therefore, all that we possess--as individuals or as nations--has simply been entrusted to us as God's stewards, and "every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12). Without a doubt this accounting will be of our handling of our goods, our minds, and our opportunities, among others. For "it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:2).

Let us be thankful--not covetous; and industrious--not slothful; in everything He has entrusted to us.

ICR/HMM

Did Jesus Teach Recent Creation? -

by Henry Morris, Ph.D./ICR

Most everyone has been taught all through their school years that the earth, life, animals, and man have all been developing from primordial beginnings over billions of years of natural evolution. Many have tried to "baptize" this process, so to speak, by calling it "theistic" evolution or "progressive" creation saying that God may have used evolution as His process of creation.

Because of this ubiquitous indoctrination, even many evangelical Christians have felt they must conform to this evolutionary worldview, especially in relation to the so-called "deep time" that is so essential to evolutionism. One respected leader of the "Intelligent Design" movement, for example, recently wrote to me that he would prefer to believe in a "young earth," but that science had proved that the earth was very old, so he had to go with science. Two other leaders of this I.D. movement told me personally on two separate occasions that they could not even afford to listen to my arguments for a young earth because they were afraid they would be convinced and that this would halt their opportunities to speak to college groups and others about Intelligent Design.

So I have written this brief article to show once again that the Lord Jesus Himself believes in recent creation and the young earth. Assuming that a Christian is a person who believes in the deity and inerrant authority of Christ, it would seem that this fact should be sufficient to convince him.

What I will do here, therefore, is to list three key reasons for concluding that our Lord Jesus Christ believed and taught literal recent creation of all things essentially instantaneously by the omnipotent command of God, who "spake, and it was done" (Psalm 33:9).

The Bible nowhere allows for long ages.
One can search the Scriptures (see my book Biblical Creationism for proof) from beginning to end without finding even a hint of evolution or long ages. To Jesus, every "jot or one tittle" of Scripture was divinely inspired (Matthew 5:18) and He warned us severely against adding any other words to it (Revelation 22:18). The Bible, therefore, would certainly not leave the vital doctrine of creation open to human speculation.

The Bible explicitly states how and when creation took place.
Although many evangelicals have long equivocated as to the meaning of the "days" of creation, this type of ad hoc handling of Scripture is never justified in the context, and Christ Himself would never have interpreted them as indefinite ages of some kind. Not only is "day" (Hebrew, yom) defined in this context the first time it is used (Genesis 1:5), but the writer conclusively restricted its interpretation to the literal meaning by numbering the days ("first day," "second day," etc.) and by indicating their boundaries ("evening and morning"), both of which restrictions elsewhere in the Old Testament limit the meaning to literal days. The question seems to be even more firmly settled when God wrote with His own finger that "in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the [seventh] day, and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:11), thereby basing our calendar's seven-day week on this primeval creation week. Jesus referred to this divine example when He said that "The sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27) to meet our weekly need of rest from work.

The Lord Jesus recognized that men and women existed right from the beginning.
The current opinion is that the cosmos evolved about 16 billion years ago, the earth about 4.6 billion, primitive life perhaps two billion, and human life about one million years ago. The Lord Jesus, on the other hand (who was there, having Himself created all things—note John 1:1-3), taught that men and women were made essentially at the same time as the cosmos itself, when He said that "from the beginning God . . . made them male and female" (Mark 10:6). "The beginning" obviously was a reference to Genesis 1:1, and Christ was specifically citing Genesis 1:26.

On another occasion, speaking especially of Adam's son Abel, He referred to "the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world" (Luke 11:50-51), thereby acknowledging that Abel was the first prophet, martyred in the very first generation—not 4.6 billion years after the formation of the earth. Jesus also said that Satan, using Cain to slay Abel, "was a murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44).

Note also that the father of John the Baptist, prophesying when filled with the Holy Spirit, said that God's holy prophets had been predicting a coming Savior "since the world began" (Luke 1:70). Then the apostle Peter later preached that the second coming of Christ and the ultimate removal of the great Curse on the earth had even been events that "God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:21). The apostle Paul wrote that evidence of God as Creator should have been "clearly seen" (by men, of course) ever since "the creation of the world."

There can be no reasonable doubt that Jesus was what evolutionists today (both theistic and atheistic) would call a "young-earth creationist." It would seem that this should settle the question for all true Christians, who should certainly—on the authority of Christ Himself—completely reject the notion of geologic ages.

But they don't! For one thing, not all who consider themselves Christians really believe the Bible, especially its unpopular teachings. Unfortunately, many who think they are Bible-believing Christians have become adept at "wresting" the Scriptures (note II Peter 3:17), even the recorded words of Jesus and the apostles, to make them conform to the scientism of evolutionary speculation. As noted above, there is not the slightest suggestion of millions and billions of years anywhere in the Bible when it is taken simply to mean what it says. That is why we "young-earth creationists" have to keep on reemphasizing the pervasive Bible teaching of just thousands of years of earth and cosmic history.

But what are we supposed to do when the Bible disagrees with the majority of scientists on such matters?

We are to believe the Bible—that's what! When the teachings of men conflict with the Word of God, it would be wise to go with God. -- -

Furthermore, there are now thousands of scientists (fully credentialed with post-graduate degrees from accredited universities) who have become convinced believers in recent creation. No doubt we are still a minority, but it is a growing minority. There are several hundred such scientists in the Creation Research Society, not to mention those on our ICR faculty as well as those associated with numerous other creationist organizations around the world.

There is also a rapidly growing body of scientific data that not only shows the impossibility of macroevolution but also much that repudiates the so-called evidences of "billions of years." Creationist geologists have been developing an abundance of evidence of global catastrophism instead of uniformitarianism in earth history—thus confirming the Biblical record of the great Flood as the major explanation for the fossil-bearing rocks in the earth's crust, instead of having to invent imaginary long ages of evolution to account for them.

It is possible now even to amass a list of dozens of worldwide natural processes (e.g., accumulation of salt in the sea) which, even on uniformist assumptions, will yield ages much too brief for evolution. Thus, even without referring to the Bible at all, it is possible to make an impressive case for recent creation. One cannot determine the exact age of the earth by science, of course, and these various processes may yield various values, but all prove too small for evolutionism to be possible.

With the supposed exception of radiometric dating, that is. The decay of uranium into lead, rubidium into strontium, and a few other such processes can be made to show extremely long ages, so radioactive decay processes have been considered by evolutionists to be firm proof of the billions of years.

But Christians need to remember that such calculations, like all the others, are based on the arbitrary assumption of uniformitarianism, which not only is unprovable but contrary to the Bible. The apostle Peter calls it "willing ignorance" (note II Peter 3:3-6) when this assumption ignores the world-changing impact of special creation of all things in the beginning and the worldwide geologic impact of the global Deluge in the days of Noah.

Furthermore, the forthcoming publications of the ICR/CRS RATE Initiative will show strong scientific evidence that even these radioactive decay processes really provide convincing arguments that the earth is thousands of years old—not billions!

Therefore, we plead once again with our Christian theistic evolutionists, progressive creationists, gap creationists, and intelligent design minimalists to come back to the Bible for their view of the world and its history. We should most certainly believe the words of our Lord Jesus Christ on this vital subject. "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord," He might well say, "and [believe] not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46).
---
*Dr. Henry Morris is Founder and President Emeritus of ICR.
_________________________
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." Acts 20:24 +

Recent Creation Is a Vital Doctrine
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

There is no aspect of creationism which is under greater attack by evolutionists than the Biblical doctrine of recent creation. The evolutionist, knowing the weakness of the scientific case for evolution, almost always directs his own argument not against creation per se, but against recent creation and its corollary, flood geology.

As a result, many people who consider themselves creationists have been intimidated against this Biblical concept. Instead, they try to cling to the 19th century evolutionary compromise now known as the "day/age theory" and "progressive creation. Some take refuge in the "gap theory," hoping they can ignore the problem by pigeon-holing the evolutionary ages of the geologists in an imaginary gap between the first two verses of Genesis. Both theories attempt to accommodate the geological ages, even though it is the geological ages which provide the main basis and framework for evolution. We "young-earth creationists" are an embarrassment to both the progressive creationists and the gap creationists and so they urge us to acknowledge that recent creation is merely an optional interpretation which is unimportant and expendable.

But this we cannot do. As a strictly scientific question, divorced from any Biblical or theological considerations (as presumably, in a public school textbook or in a scientific debate) the date of creation can and should be treated as a separate topic from the fact of creation. This does not make it expendable, however. It is an important and basic issue that deserves serious study in its own right, strictly in terms of the relevant scientific data. When the Biblical and theological data are also considered (as in a church or other Christian context), the doctrine of recent creation becomes critically significant, integrally interwoven with the doctrine of creation itself. Outlined below, very briefly, are a few of the reasons why the doctrine of recent creation is vitally Important to true Biblical Christianity.

Historical Reasons

"Progressive creationism" is not a modern interpretation developed to bring the Genesis record into harmony with modern science, but a very ancient concept devised to impose a theistic connotation upon the almost universal pagan evolutionary philosophies of antiquity. The primeval existence of the cosmos, with matter in some form present from eternity, was a dogma common to all ancient religions and philosophies, seeking as they were to function without an omnipotent, holy, eternal, personal, Creator God. Compromising monotheists, both in ancient Israel and in the early Christian church, repeatedly resorted to various allegorical interpretations of Scripture, involving some form of protracted creation, seeking to amalgamate creationist/redemptionist theology with pagan humanistic philosophy. Almost inevitably, however, such compromises ended in complete apostasy on the part of the compromisers.

In more modern times, Charles Darwin himself is a classic case in point. Starting out as a Biblical creationist, his decline began with the acceptance of Lyellian uniformitarianism, the geological ages and progressive creationism. He then soon became a full-fledged theistic evolutionist and eventually an atheist. The same steps were traveled by many other scientists of that period. In fact, science itself was originally (in the days of Newton and the other founders of modern science) committed to the strict Biblical chronology, then drifted into progressive creationism (after Cuvier, Lyell and others), then into a Darwinian theistic evolutionism, finally into total evolutionary naturalism.

The creationist revival of the first quarter of the 20th century was short-lived because it again tried to compromise with the day-age theory. This was Bryan's fatal mistake at the Scopes trial. The various early creationist organizations also failed to take a firm position on recent creationism and soon either died out (e.g., The Religion and Science Association, which lasted just two years, and the Creation-Deluge Society, which survived for six years), or became almost impotent (as in the case of the Evolution Protest Movement) or capitulated to theistic evolutionism (for example, the American Scientific Affiliation). Multitudes of churches, schools and other Christian organizations, have followed the same dead-end path of compromise during the past century. 1

Theological Reasons

Even if one does not accept the Bible as the inerrant Word of God, the concept of a personal, omnipotent, omniscient, loving God is fatally flawed by the old-earth dogma. The very reason for postulating an ancient cosmos is to escape from God—to push Him as far away in space and as far back in time as possible, hoping thereby eventually to escape His control altogether, letting Nature become "god."

Surely an omniscient God could devise a better process of creation than the random, wasteful, inefficient trial-and-error charade of the so-called geological ages, and certainly a loving merciful God would never be guilty of a creative process that would involve the suffering and death of multitudes of innocent animals, in the process of arriving at man millions of years later.

It should be obvious that the God of the Bible would create everything complete and good, right from the start. The wastefulness and randomness and cruelty which is now so evident in the world (both in the groaning creation of the present and in the fossilized world of the past) must represent an intrusion into His creation, not a mechanism for its accomplishment. God would never do a thing like that, except in judgment of sin!

Furthermore, if one must make a choice between a full-fledged theistic evolutionism and a compromising "progressive creationism," with its "day/age" theory of Genesis one would have to judge the latter worse than the former, theologically speaking. Both systems are equally objectionable in terms of their common commitment to the geological age system, with its supposed three-billion-year spectacle of random wastefulness and a suffering, dying world. However, progressive creationism compounds the offense by making God have to redirect and recharge everything at intervals. Theistic evolution at least postulates a God able to plan and energize the total "creation" process right at the start. Progressive creation postulates a world that has to be pumped up with new spurts of creative energy and guidance whenever the previous injection runs down or misdirects. Surely all those who really believe in the God of the Bible should see that any compromise with the geological-age system is theological chaos. Whether the compromise involves the day/age theory or the gap theory, the very concept of the geological ages implies divine confusion and cruelty, and the God of the Bible could not have been involved in such a thing as that at all.

Biblical Reasons -

As far as the Biblical record itself is concerned, there is not the slightest indication anywhere in Scripture that the earth endured long ages before the creation of Adam and Eve. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said: "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female" (Mark 1:6).

The crystal-clear statement of the Lord in the Ten Commandments completely precludes the day/age interpretation of the six days of creation:

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work,: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:8-11).
If God's six work days were not the same kind of days as the six days of man's work week, then God is not able to say what He means. The language could hardly be more clear and explicit. Note also its further confirmation later in the chapter:

"The sabbath is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed. And He gave unto Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God" (Exodus 31:17, 18).

All Scripture is divinely inspired, but this portion was divinely inscribed!

Still further, the record of the six days of creation concludes with the statement by God that everything in His creation was "very good" at the end of the six days (Genesis 1:31). There is no way this could be harmonized with a worldwide fossil graveyard a mile deep all around the earth. The Bible makes it plain, in fact, that death never even entered the world until Adam sinned (Romans 5:12; I Corinthians 15:21) and brought God's curse on the ground. (Genesis 3:17; Romans 8:20-22).

Scientific Reasons

Those who insist on accommodating the geological ages, despite all the Biblical, theological and historical arguments against them, do so on the grounds that "science" requires it. "God would not deceive us," they say, "by making the earth look so old, if it were really young."

But it is really the other way around. If the earth were really old, God would not deceive us by saying so clearly and emphatically that He created it all in six days.

For that matter, the earth does not really look old anyway. Evolutionists have tried to make it look old by imposing the unscriptural and unscientific dogma of uniformitarianism on the geologic record of earth history as preserved in the rocks of the earth's crust. The fact is that geologists are today finally abandoning their outmoded 19th-century uniformitarianism, realizing that catastrophism provides the only realistic explanation for the great geological structures of the earth. Even though they are still unwilling to acknowledge the validity of flood geology as based on the Bible, they do recognize now that the earth's various geological features were each formed rapidly, in intense catastrophes of one kind or another. Furthermore there are many times more geological processes and systems2 that yield a young age for the earth than the handful of radiometric methods that can be forced (through an extreme application of uniformitarianism) to yield an old age. The continued insistence on an ancient earth is purely because of the philosophic necessity to justify evolution and the pantheistic religion of eternal matter.

If it were not for the continued apathetic and compromising attitude of Christian theologians and other intellectuals on this vital doctrine of recent creation, evolutionary humanism would long since have been exposed and defeated. The world will never take the Biblical doctrine of the divine control and imminent consummation of all things very seriously until we ourselves take the Biblical doctrine of the recent creation of all things seriously.

Neither in space nor in time is our great God of creation and consummation "very far from every one of us" (Acts 17:27).
---JESUS IS CREATOR! JESUS IS LORD! ---

Creation Was 24/6 and Recent
--
The language of Genesis chapters 1 and 2 are technically precise and linguistically clear. Any reader would understand that the author of those pages intended to convey a normal six-day creation, involving God’s supernatural intervention both to create (something from nothing) and to make and shape (something basic into something more complex).

Three days (Day 1, Day 5, and Day 6) involve creation. Three days (Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4) involve the organization, integration, and structuring of the material created on Day 1.

Life was created on Day 5, a life in which all animals and man share. A special image of God was created on Day 6 that only man has. The movement from “simple to complex” may appear to follow evolution’s theory, but the specific order (water > land > plants > stellar and planetary bodies > birds and fish > land animals > man) most emphatically does not.

The Hebrew word for day (yom) is used some 3,000 times in the Hebrew Bible, and is almost always used to mean an ordinary 24-hour day-night cycle. On the few occasions where it is used to mean an indeterminate period of time, it is always clear from the context that it means something other than a 24-hour day (day of trouble, day of the Lord, day of battle, etc). Whenever it is used with an ordinal (1, 2, 1st, 2nd, etc.), it always means a specific day, an ordinary24-hour day.

The language of Genesis 1 appears to have been crafted so that no reader would mistake the word use for anything other than an ordinary 24-hour day. The light portion is named “day,” and the dark portion is named “night.” Then the “evening and the morning” is Day 1, Day 2, etc. The linguistic formula is repeated for each of the six days, a strange emphasis if the words were to be taken as allegorical or analogous to something other than a day-night cycle.

When God wrote the Ten Commandments with His own finger (certainly the most emphatic action ever taken by God on behalf of His revealed Word), God specifically designated a seventh day to be a “Sabbath” day (rest day) in memory and in honor of the work-six-days, rest-one-day activity of God during the creation week (Exodus 20:11). In that context, spoken and written by God Himself, the creation week can mean only a regular week of seven days, one of which is set aside as holy.

Institute for CREATION Research/ HMM

I don't like any compromise, but I see a great distinction between those who deny the flood and those who don't. The former classify themselves outright as members of the scoffer class predicted to come in the last days.

Those who ascribe to smaller compromises don't do well, but it's a mistake on a far different scale. Usually it's a result not of personal research, but of accepting erroneous teaching, such as that found in the Schofield Reference Bible (which I've used myself, not as authority but as help.)

Anyhow, it's really good to see the antiquity of compromise addressed. New lies are few and far between.

CTD'S COMMENTS--
"I don't like any compromise, but I see a great distinction between those who deny the flood and those who don't. The former classify themselves outright as members of the scoffer class predicted to come in the last days.

Those who ascribe to smaller compromises don't do well, but it's a mistake on a far different scale. Usually it's a result not of personal research, but of accepting erroneous teaching, such as that found in the Schofield Reference Bible (which I've used myself, not as authority but as help.)"...
-----------
Thank you, CTD. I have known of few people that read and are advocates of the Scofield Study Bible. I was unaware of it's teaching until you made this post. Thank you for enlightening me. I have read some information on ICR regarding this, 'Gap Theory'.

I have deleted MOST of it's contents, yet what's remaining here seems relevant to explanation. Thank you.
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What is the Purpose of the Gap Theory?

The gap theory was developed mainly for the purpose of accommodating the great ages demanded by evolutionary geologists. This idea was first popularized by a Scottish theologian, Thomas Chalmers, early in the 19th century. In this country, the famous Scofield Study Bible made it an almost universally accepted teaching among fundamentalists.

The Scofield Bible notes on Genesis I include the following:

The first act refers to the dateless past, and gives scope for all the geologic ages. . . . The face of the earth bears everywhere the marks of such a catastrophe. There are not wanting intimations which connect it with a previous testing and fall of angels. . . . Relegate fossils to the primitive creation, and no conflict of science with the Genesis cosmogony remains.

However, serious conflicts do remain. In fact, there are few, if any, professionally trained geologists and astronomers (to my knowledge there are none) who accept the gap theory. The promoters of this theory have mostly been Bible teachers who hoped they could place these great ages in a gap between the first two verses of Genesis, and thus not have to deal with them at all.

With the modem revival of scientific Biblical creationism, many of these teachers have abandoned the gap theory in favor of strict creationism. Most advocates of the gap idea were men of strong Biblical faith, and when they were shown its Biblical fallacies, plus its scientific inadequacies, they were quite willing to reject the evolutionary ages scheme altogether.

Many of us had naively assumed that the gap theory was moribund, and so had concentrated most of our critiques on the other compromise theories (day-age theory, framework theory, etc.). But it now appears that the gap theory is still being advocated by a number of evangelical theologians.

For example, the Nelson Study Bible, published this year (1997), in its footnotes on Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, says:
--
Here it means that God renewed what was in a chaotic state. God changed chaos into cosmos, disorder into order, emptiness into fullness. . . . The two words, without form and void, express one concept—chaos. The earth had been reduced to this state—it was not the way God had first created it.

The editors and contributors to this volume—43 in all—include many well-known evangelical leaders. Yet they feel they must allow for the geological ages, and so they opt for what amounts to the old gap theory again with its pre-Adamic cataclysm. The notes in this study Bible do allow a worldwide Flood, but there are no relevant comments on the effects of sin and the curse on the animal kingdom, and no mention of the billions of fossils now preserved in the earth's sedimentary rock beds.

Is the Gap Theory Scientific?
The reason why geologists will not accept the gap theory is that it contradicts their assumption that the past is continuous with the present. There is no room in their naturalistic approach to science for a global cataclysm that would destroy all life and then require a new creation of plants, animals, and people such as the gap theory proposes.

Any cataclysm that would leave the earth "without form and void" (or "a shapeless chaotic mass" as The Living Bible expresses it), with "darkness on the face of the deep" everywhere, would require a worldwide nuclear or volcanic explosion that would effectively disintegrate the whole crust of the earth. All pre-cataclysm mountains would be blown into the sea and billions of tons of rocks and dust blown into the atmosphere, leaving the earth covered with "the deep" everywhere and "darkness" covering the deep everywhere.

Such a cataclysm would disintegrate any previously deposited sedimentary deposits with their fossils and thus obliterate all evidence of any previous "geological ages." Thus the gap theory, which is supposed to accommodate the geological ages, requires a cataclysm which would destroy all evidence for the geological ages.


Is it Theologically Sound?

The gap theory is also unsound theologically. The God of Creation is an omnipotent and omniscient God, and is also a God of grace, mercy, and love. The very concept of the geological ages, on the other hand, implies a wasteful and cruel "god," and therefore probably no god at all.

The supposed geologic ages are identified in terms of the fossils found in the earth's sedimentary rocks, and there are multiplied billions of them there. But fossils speak of death—even violent death. The preservation of dead animals requires rapid burial if they are to last very long. There are many regions, for example, where there are millions of fossil fish preserved in the rocks. There are dinosaur fossil beds on every continent, as well as great beds of fossil marine invertebrates practically everywhere. These may indeed speak of cataclysmic death and burial, but not a cataclysm operating slowly over billions of years, as the geological ages imply.

If the gap theory were valid, it would mean that God had instituted an ages-long system of suffering and death over the world, before there were ever any men and women to place in dominion over that world, and then suddenly destroy it in a violent cataclysm. Why would an omnipotent, merciful God do such a wasteful and cruel thing as that?

They cannot blame Satan, either. According to the gap theory, Satan's fall took place at the end of the geological ages, followed by the great pre-Adamic cataclysm on the earth. Thus the geological ages, with their eons of cruelty and waste, took place even before Satan's sin. God Himself would be solely responsible for the whole debacle, if it really happened.

But is the Gap Theory Biblical?

If the Bible actually teaches the gap theory' however, then there might be some reason to try to accommodate it in our theology. But the Bible does not teach it! If there really had been billions of years of animals suffering and dying before Genesis 1:2, why would God say nothing about it? The best they can offer in support of such a notion are some out-of-context quotes from Isaiah and Jeremiah, along with an ad hoc translation of Genesis 1:1,2.

At present, however, "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together" (Romans 8:22) because of the great curse pronounced by God on man's dominion (Genesis 3:17-19), as a result of sin.

This groaning creation has indeed experienced one global cataclysm—one not inferred from vague hints in out-of-context quotes, but rather one described in great detail in Genesis 6-9 and referred to often and unambiguously in later passages—namely, the worldwide Flood in the days of Noah. Most of the vast fossil graveyards in the earth's crust can best be explained as one of the results of the Flood.

This awesome spectacle of destruction and death was not part of God's "very good" creation. There was no death in the world until sin was in the world (Romans 5:12; I Corinthians 15:21; etc.). In fact, death itself is "the wages of sin" (Romans 6:23). Our future deliverance from sin and death has been purchased by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, who is "the propitiation for our sins and ... also for the sins of the whole world" (John 2:2).

But if "death reigned" not "from Adam to Moses," as the Bible says (Romans 5:14), but had already reigned for billions of years before Adam, then death is not the wages of sin but instead was part of God's creative purpose. How then could the death of Christ put away sin? The gap theory thus undermines the very gospel of our salvation, as well as the holy character of God.

The fact is that no such gap exists between the first two verses of Genesis at all. The second verse merely describes the initial aspect of the creation as "without form and void"—that is, with neither structure nor inhabitants. The rest of the chapter tells how God produced a marvelous structure for His created universe, with multitudes of plant and animal inhabitants for the earth, all to be under the dominion of its human inhabitants created in the image of God. It was only then that God pronounced the creation "finished" (Genesis 2:1).

It is time for those who believe the Bible and in the goodness and wisdom of God to abandon the gap theory once and for all (as well as the day-age theory, which is even worse) and simply believe what God has said. The gap theory has no scientific merit, requires a very forced Biblical exegesis, and leads to a God-dishonoring theology. It does not work, either Biblically or scientifically.

* Dr. Henry Morris is Founder and President Emeritus of ICR.

Direct Access
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 2:5). -

This is one of the key verses of Scripture for several reasons. In the first place, in the midst of a pantheistic and polytheistic society governed by the kings and rulers for whom Paul had just exhorted believers to pray, it was important to reemphasize that there was only one Creator God--the One to whom even kings must give account and the only One to whom we can rightfully pray.

Secondly, Christ Jesus, who was Himself "God . . . manifest in the flesh" and then "received up into glory" (I Timothy 3:16), was nevertheless still "the man Christ Jesus." He is still a man, even though His human body has been resurrected and glorified. Therefore He can, indeed, "be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;" and we can "come boldly" to His "throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15-16).

Then, because He is both omnipotent God and perfect Man, "in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (v.15). He is uniquely able to serve as the one and only "mediator between God and man." Furthermore, as the only God-Man, fully and eternally both God and man, He is the only one through whom we can reach God's throne in prayer. "I am the way, the truth, and the life," He said, "no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).

No one else--man or woman, saint or priest, angel or demon--has direct access to God, for the Son is the one mediator between God and man. We can come to God however for "We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (I John 2:1). "Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).
--
ICR/HMM
JESUS IS LORD!

Creation's Message
Genesis 1; Colossians 1:15-20

"How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures...
May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works." (Psalm 104:24, 31)~
--
From the beginning of time God has communicated through creation. Just look at what it shouts to us about Him: the planets in perfect alignment; the earth, perfectly fitted and tilted on its axis; the sun, not too far and not too close; the natural cycle of water; predictable seasons and profuse variety of plant life; the animal world in its complexity of balance and form.

What message does such a magnificent creation give about its Creator? That He is perfection in every way--in knowledge, skill, care, and character. Not once has spring followed summer or the earth tipped off its axis. Creation came from God's perfect knowledge and skill and is sustained through His perfect care..

Scripture also tells us that God's Son was intimately involved in our creation, that "by Him all things were created," and that "He is before all things and in him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:16-17).

The same Jesus who came to earth as a tiny baby was with the Father in the creation of this world, and of you. Let's delight in the wonder of that throughout this Christmas season.~
---
We think of Jesus being born in Bethlehem, but He is the "Firstborn over all creation"--the very One who created and for whom creation was made.

Haven Today ~

--Approach to God
Leviticus 10:1-3, Hebrews 12:28-29

"...For our 'God is a consuming fire.'"
(Hebrews 12:29)-

Our Leviticus reading today tells an admittedly haunting story. Two men with apparently good intentions offer "unauthorized" or "strange" fire to the Lord that is "contrary to his command" and pay for it with their own lives. If nothing else, this story teaches us that God takes worship seriously because His own reputation is at stake (see v.3).

But we ought not to let this story leave us trembling with dread before the Lord. Instead, let it challenge our belief that we may approach God on our terms. Let it drive us to approach God where He has come to meet us: in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Approaching God on our own, dressed in our own merits and good works, will only be met with His consuming fire. Yet Jesus, being sinless in every way, endured the fire that our sins deserved and paved an eternal and sure way of entrance into God's presence for all who trust in Him.

He is the way and the truth and the life, the very means of coming to the Father. So let us approach the Father with boldness in the name of the Son, JESUS THE CHRIST!
---
How might this story also impact how we worship?
Haven Today ~

--As Isaiah
-Predicted ~
---
I, the Lord, have
called You...to bring
out...those who sit
in darkness from the
prison house.
---Isaiah 42:6-7
~~~
AS Isaiah predicted, God showed how low He was willing to go to bring us to Himself. By adopting the form of a lowly servant, our Creator lived and died to disarm our wrongs. Even now He is coaxing us from the cover of our spiritual darkness (Isa. 42:7) to call us friends (John 15:15).

How can we still be afraid to trust Him?

Lord, thank You that You stepped out of heaven
and came down to this earth, that You clothed Yourself
in human flesh. We're grateful that we can now draw
near to You, even though we're sinful. -Amen.
---
The high and holy One
became the meek and lowly One.

ODB/MDH

Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem - Sermon 1
By John MacArthur

I would invite you to turn with us to the Word of God, Luke, the gospel of Luke and chapter 2. We've finally arrived at this familiar and wonderful chapter that describes the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Surely this chapter is the most widely-known chapter in the Bible because it tells the story of Christmas. This chapter, this story, of course, has been the source of songs and carols and cards and celebrations and gifts and books and dramas and pageants since it occurred, very familiar story. And yet I think we're going to be seeing it in some profound and rich and perhaps unfamiliar ways as we come to grips with its great truth.

Two thousand years ago the creator of the universe, the eternal God, entered human society as a baby. The creator of the universe put on humanity. The Lord of heaven came to live on earth. On a night like every other night in Israel with no fanfare, no celebration by anybody, a child was born. It was a night like any other night but it wasn't a child like any other child. This child was the Lord Jesus Christ, God and man fused together in indivisible oneness. This birth was so monumental that it became the high point of history, the peak, the apex. All history before this birth is B.C., Before Christ. All history since is A.D., Anno Domini, Latin for "the year of our Lord."

The birth of God in human form then is the most important moment in all of history. Let me read to you the first seven verses of chapter 2, which in plain and simple and clear language describe this great event.

-- "Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all were proceeding to register for the census everyone to his own city, and Joseph also went up from Galilee from or out of the city of Nazareth to Judea, the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and family of David in order to register, along with Mary who was engaged to him and was with child. And it came about that while they were there the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and she wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn."

Very familiar words. Behind these simple, straightforward, unembellished words of narrative offered with delicacy and reserve, unmistakable meaning and significance there is the profoundest event in the history of the world. But as I said, the story of Jesus is generally familiar to anybody who knows anything about Christianity and many people who know very little about Christianity. Sadly the worldwide celebration of the birth of Christ, which is called Christmas, has become so cluttered and so confused with paganism and personal indulgences as to obscure the simple clear reality of the birth of God in human form. In fact, it's pretty refreshing to be able to preach a Christmas message in June because you, at this particular point, are not cluttered with the other kind of Christmas clutter. The world celebrates the birth of Jesus in December for all the wrong reasons for the expression of self-indulgence, materialism, partying, social events of all kinds. But largely misses the point, as we know. The real significance of the birth of God in human form is overlooked, treated trivially, overshadowed by everything else that's going on.

And I suppose it's a fair question to say...how can you take such a simple story as we've just read in seven verses and come up with such a complicated celebration? How do you get from the account of Luke and the account of Matthew, how do you get from those accounts to what we have today?

Well, I'll give you a little bit of history, you might find it interesting. About the middle of the fourth century right at the time of the establishing of the great world empire of Rome under Constantine, the Bishop of Jerusalem wrote to the Bishop of Rome and he asked him to determine the actual date of Christ's birth. Well, no one knows the actual date of Christ's birth, the fact of the matter is we don't even know for sure the actual year of His birth. But the Bishop of Rome sent word back to the Bishop of Jerusalem that it occurred on December 25. By the end of the fourth century that had been accepted by the church, was really put into church fiat, or church law, it became the regularly accepted day to celebrate the birth of Christ.

----
To Be Continued...

(excerpts from Pastor John MacArthur's Message on 'Jesus'Birth in Bethlehem')--

For the moment...back to the text...for the moment in Luke's history the curtain has fallen on the story of John. The curtain fell on the story of John momentarily in verse 80 at the end of chapter 1. Speaking of John who was just born, just circumcised, the child continued to grow to become strong in spirit, he grew physically, he grew spiritually, he lived in the deserts or the wilderness, the Judean wilderness in the south of the land of Israel. He lived there until the day of his public appearance to Israel. His public appearance to Israel will be taken up in the third chapter of Luke. We'll meet John the Baptist again as he was known in the third chapter of Luke. But we don't know anything about what happened from the eighth day when he was circumcised and his father Zacharias gave the great song of praise that ends the chapter, we don't know anything about his life from the eighth day of his circumcision until he began his ministry. All the rest is contained in one verse. All we know is he grew physically, he grew spiritually, he lived in the wilderness, that's all we know. But all that time we know God was preparing him to be the forerunner of Messiah, to proclaim Jesus as Lord and Messiah.

So the curtain falls at the end of chapter 1 on John and we don't meet him again until he's an adult. The curtain rises in chapter 2 with the birth of Jesus. We've already gone through the birth of John. We've already heard the annunciation of the angel Gabriel to Mary. She told him that...he told her, I should say, that she was going to have a child, that the child would be born to her as a virgin and that that child would be the Son of the Most High, the Son of David and He would reign on the throne of David forever and ever. His Kingdom would have no end. She asked, chapter 1 verses 31 to 35, "How is that going to be since I'm a virgin?" And the angel Gabriel told her that the Holy Spirit, the Most High God, the Holy Spirit would come upon her, overshadow her and that would be placed in her womb which was actually a miraculous creation of God so that she would become pregnant without a man. She then is a virgin and she is ready to bring forth the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of God as we come to chapter 2. And the curtain rises on the birth of Jesus Christ.

Now Luke does a wonderful thing here, simple, straightforward, unembellished language...that's important, it's uncluttered, it's marvelous and it's clear. And as clear as it is and as simple as the language is, what's going on here is profound and far-reaching. Now everybody in Israel knew some things about Messiah. Everybody in Israel knew the Messiah would come and be King, that He would come and He would be in the line of David and He would reign on the throne in Jerusalem and He would establish the glorious kingdom for Israel. They knew that He would come with a rod of iron, the psalmist has said as I read in Psalm 2 this morning, they knew some things about Messiah. And one thing that was absolutely explicit about Messiah was recorded by the prophet Micah, in the little book of Micah, chapter 5 verse 2, the prophet Micah said, "The Messiah would be born in a village called Bethlehem," originally in Genesis 35 called Ephratah(?) but came to be known as Bethlehem which means "house of bread." The Jews all knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem...at least that's what the Old Testament said.

Well Luke in writing this passage never quotes Micah. He doesn't refer to Micah. But he shows us how God orchestrated the birth of Messiah in Bethlehem in explicit fulfillment of that prophecy in what really was an amazing work of God. Because if things had just gone on normally, Jesus never would have been born in Bethlehem. He had to be by word of the prophet and the veracity of the Word of the Bible was at stake, but God did some mighty working to make it happen and exactly and precisely on time. Joseph and Mary were only in Bethlehem for a matter of days. It had to be exactly the days when that child was born. Luke makes us understand this without ever quoting Micah because he knows his readers know that passage. He gives us here some profound insight into the fulfillment of Micah 5:2 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. -

Now as we come to these seven verses, and I'm only going to give you the first of it, he gives us three settings here. He gives us a world setting. He gives us a national setting with Israel. And he gives us a personal setting. And all three of these are very important in identifying the nature of Messiah, in identifying the fulfillment of prophecy and identifying His role to the world. He is to be the Savior of the world and it's important to understand the setting in the world when He comes. He is coming as the Messiah to Israel, it's important to understand the prophetic scriptures that relate it to Israel. And He is coming as the Savior of every individual who puts their trust in Him and it's therefore important to understand something of the personal circumstances of Joseph and Mary. So we're going to see the setting for the birth of Christ.

The whole story of the birth of Christ is in verse 7, the first part, "She gave birth." That's all it says...that's all it says, "She gave birth." Unembellished. But what is coming together at that moment involves the world, the nation and Joseph and Mary personally. It's wonderful to see the Savior who came to save the world and how He in His own birth is literally involving the world. He came as the fulfillment of Jewish scriptures and it shows here how He fits in to the Jewish anticipation because of the Old Testament prophecies. He comes to redeem individuals who for the most part are common and humble, like Joseph and Mary. We see that in the personal setting. So the world setting, the national setting, the personal setting.

Sadly I have to say and it's common knowledge, the world has largely rejected Him. The nation Israel has largely rejected Him. And among the lowly and the humble and the needy, few have believed in Him and been saved. That continues to be true.
---
To be Continued~

(Pastor John MacArthur is a renowned Bible Teacher By: Radio and television/ and Pastor of a Church.)

CONTINUED~~

A little more on 'Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem'. It's already been clarified that Jesus is God, come down to earth to save the people (you and I) from our sins, so that we would not be condemned to Hell.

John MacArthur continues:
This would have been an overcrowded situation, I already told you the Romans would have probably taken up most of the spots, as well as some Jewish officials. And then the people coming back to their hometown to register, the place became very, very crowded. The rooms were all taken. Again it was probably, as I said, public shelter. They wound up, this little couple, just staying with the animals outside the appropriate quarters.

Now if you were in that condition you probably had to carry your own bedding. If there was no place for you in the guest room, they might have provided some, you know, rough place to lie on a straw mattress and maybe a straw pillow or a blanket. But if you were on the outside, you had to have your own blanket and your own pillow. And if you had no blanket, you'd wind up wrapping yourself in your own robe and trying to find a place out of the wind cause it could be very cold. You would be down there probably on the ground floor where the animals were kept in the middle, pack animals, camels, donkeys. Here you would find your rest for the night. For days, we don't know how many days, Joseph and Mary were huddled in that kind of a place. We don't know when they registered or if they had to wait a long time to get to the head of the line to register. We don't know whether they had already registered and Joseph didn't want to take her back because he knew she was going to give birth at any day. They were going to wait there until the birth came. It may well have been that they even knew the prophet Micah had said Bethlehem and they wanted to be sure they stayed there. None of those details are given for us. The downstairs guest rooms, the upstairs loft, whatever kind of facility it was to house these people was full and they were bedded down with the animals.

So there probably wasn't any kind of inn keeper who shut them out. It was just the nature of the situation. The tradition, as I said, goes back to about the second century that this all happened in a cave, or that there was a cave nearby. This caused Helena, the mother of Constantine to build a church on top of some cave that was presumed to be the site. If you go to Bethlehem today you will go to a church, you'll go into that church and it's a horrible place, frankly, it's an awful place full of smells and bells and hanging stuff and clutter and you wander down into this hole and they'll be a star in a hole and that's supposed to be the cave. That is not, of course, known by us. It's the traditional site that the church you see there today is not the one built by the mother of Constantine, it's the one built by Justinian. But the glitter and the trappings of that thing certainly wouldn't be anything like the stench and the smell and the odor and the crowd and all that was going on in the place where Joseph and Mary were.

When Jesus came into the world then He came in the most comfortless conditions...smelly, filthy...this is the wonder of grace though, isn't it? And this is part of the story that when God came down He came all the way down. He thought His equality with God not something to be held on to but He gave it up and humbled Himself and He humbled Himself all the way down...not just to a stinking stable but to become a substitute for stinking sinners and bear the stench of our guilt in His own body. He came down to the poor and the lowly and the humble and the base and the wicked. He came down to the common people to bring His glorious salvation. It was fitting, in a sense, then that He was born in a stinking, smelly stable because what was smelled far worse to the nostrils of God than the odor of animals is the odor of sinners. He sent the Savior all the way down into the lives of the lowly and the whole picture of that scene is a metaphor for the stench of sin which Jesus bore in His own body.

His little cloths wrapped and His little body must have collected the smell. It would have been the smell of animals, the stench of animals, the smell of fires burning there to keep people warm, the smell of the humanity that milled around in that place, the filthiest place imaginable. Unthinkable entrance for the...into the world for God's Son...sweat and pain and blood and coldness and manure and straw and odors...but He came all the way down to the stench of sin to bear in His own body our sins on the cross. And this was a picture and metaphor of the condescension of God. He came all the way down, all the way down...all the way down to the smell of a stable, all the way down to the smell of a sinner like you and like me. They had no room for Him then, they still don't have any room for Him.

- The writer John says He was in the world, the world was made by Him, the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, His own received Him not. But He came for sinners. He came all the way down to bear in His own body the wretched, wicked sin that belongs to us. The smelly stable was simply a metaphor for sin and its wretchedness. What a picture.

So we come from the world's setting to the national setting and the fulfillment of a Hebrew prophet's statement that He would be born in Bethlehem...all the way down to the circumstances of His birth which speak of His lowliness. He controls, does God, the great kings of the world. He fulfills the prophecies of Scripture and He comes all the way to the lowly sinner. Sovereign God, God of Scripture, God of the humble sinner coming all the way down.

Well, it was in some ways a sad moment because of the obscurity of it all. But that didn't last. At that same time some angels began to tell what was going on to some shepherds, and we'll look at that next time.

Father, thank You for this wonderful, wonderful portion of Your great Word. We grieve that as the centuries have passed, the Savior has been treated pretty much in the same way. But we're also glad, Lord, that He came all the way down, all the way down to the wretched, smell of a stable and even farther...far farther down to the wretched smell of a sinner. He came into the world, He came to the lowly and the humble and the base and the wicked, the vile to take our place on the cross and bear Your judgment on our sins. O what a wondrous scene it is. You control the great movements of history, You control the fulfillment of prophecy. You brought Your Son all the way down to touch the lives of wicked sinners. Thank You for this grace, this condescension, this salvation. Amen.
----
Yes, Lord Jesus, God in human flesh, Creator of this Universe, THANK YOU! for coming to show us the way to salvation, found only in You.
We bless You, Lord. Amen

[You can go online and log into "John MacArthur/ 'Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem", to read more on this topic]

You Are God Alone ~
By: Phillips, Craig, Dean

Please listen to the words. They will speak to your inner spirit, and bring Life, the Way, and the Truth!

Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
-
~~~~~~~~~
You are not a God created by human hands

You are not a God dependant on any mortal man.

You are not a God in need of anything we can give.

By your plans that's just the way it is! --

YOU ARE GOD ALONE FROM BEFORE TIME BEGAN!



Unchangeable, unshakeable, unstoppable that's what you are--You are God alone!

He is with you right NOW! Reach out to Him, Call on the name of the Lord and be saved! He's coming soon.

-The Variety
of Creation ~

Job 12:7-13
---
In [God's] hand is the
life of every living
thing. --Job 12:10 -
~~~~~
Have you ever stopped to consider the amazing features God placed in the animals He created? Job did, and one of the most interesting he wrote about is the ostrich. Despite its apparent lack of good sense and its eccentric parenting skills, its offspring survive (39:13-16). And despite its membership in the bird family, it can't fly--but can outrun a horse (v.18).

Another remarkable creature is the bombardier beetle. This African insect shoots two common materials, hydrogen peroxide and hydroquinone, from twin storage tanks in its back. Apart, these substances are harmless; together, they blind the beetle's predators. A special nozzle inside the beetle mixes the chemicals, enabling it to bombard its foe at amazing speeds! And the little guy can rotate his "cannon" to fire in any direction.

How is it that a rather dull-witted ostrich survives despite a seeming inability to care for its young while the bombardier beetle needs a sophisticated chemical reaction to ensure its continued presence on earth? It's because God's creative abilities know no boundaries. "He commanded and they were created," the psalmist tells us (148:5). From the ostrich to the beetle, God's creative work is clear for all to see.

"Praise the name of the LORD!" (148:13) ~

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful;
The Lord God made them all.
----
The design of creation points to the Master Designer-GOD!

ODB/DE

--Message of Light
Genesis 8:20-9:17

"He was with God in the beginning. ...In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1:2,4-5)-

After the flood the world was washed clean. Promising to never destroy living things like this again, God sealed His promise with a sign. God's first creation was light. With it He pushed away darkness and brought the promise of physical nourishment and life to an empty world. At the end of the flood, God took that same light and wondrously split it into its parts, giving us the gift of His rainbow and the second promise of life.

But sin affected more than the physical world. The spiritual was also infected, and a flood could not wash it clean, nor could the sun give it life. Another Light was needed--the same Light that shone in the beginning before the sun, moon, and stars were put in their places. And that light was Jesus.

"A star will come out of Jacob," God told us back in Numbers 24:17. God hung His brightest star right over the place where His Son, the Light of the world, would lay in meekness in a cattle stall. While you and I look up to see rainbows and stars, God looks down and sees His Son, remembering His promise of eternal life.
---
Only Jesus could push away the darkness and destruction of sin. Only the Light of the world could give the gift of life eternal.

Haven Ministries ~

The Firstborn Of Every Creature
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” (Colossians 1:15).
--
A widespread cultic heresy based on this verse claims that Jesus Christ was not eternal, but merely the first being created—perhaps an angel—before becoming a man. Note, however, that the verse does not say He was the “first created of every creature,” but the “first born of every creature,” and there is a big difference. In fact, the very next verse says that “by Him were all things created” (v.16). He was never created, for He Himself is the Creator. “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3).

He is “born” of God, not “made,” the “only begotten Son” of God (John 3:16). “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him” (John 1:18). The eternal Father is omnipresent, and therefore invisible, inaudible, inaccessible to the physical senses. The eternally existing Son is the “image” of the invisible Father, the One who declares, reveals, embodies His essence. Although He is always “in the bosom of the Father,” yet He is eternally also “the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person” (Hebrews 1:3). He is the eternal, living Word, which was “in the beginning with God” (John 1:2), and which “was God” (John 1:1).

Thus the phrase, “firstborn of every creature” in our text, can be translated literally as “begotten before all creation.” The eternal inter-relationship of the Persons of the Godhead is beyond human comprehension in its fullness, and the terms, “Son” and “begotten” are the best human language can do to describe it.

Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, is the only begotten, eternally generated, Son of the Father, forever shining forth as the image of the otherwise invisible God.
--
ICR/HMM

--THE ONLY WAY
-TO GOD

THE SUPREMACY OF CHRIST ~
---

-William Randolph Hearst, the famed newspaper owner who died in 1951, invested a fortune in collecting great works of art. One day he read about some valuable pieces and decided he wanted to purchase them, so he sent his agent off to track them down. It was several months before the agent returned and reported to Hearst. He had found the works Hearst wanted, but it would not be possible to purchase them--they were already sitting in Hearst's own warehouse! He had purchased them years before.

Many Christians are like William Randolph Hearst. They're desperately searching for and longing to possess what already belongs to them. Something has persuaded them that Jesus Christ isn't quite enough to meet all their spiritual needs, so they're looking for something more: more of the Holy Spirit, more power, some kind of special experience, the higher life, the deeper life, signs, wonders, a second blessing, a third blessing. In short, they're looking for more of God.

The Christians in the Book of Colossians are in that category. Someone has influenced them to look for something more of God than they already have in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul urges them not to fall for it. It's not that Paul does not want the Colossians to have more of God. Paul knows that Christ is the treasure house where God has hidden all His wisdom and knowledge. He knows that Christ is supreme.

In Colossians 1:15-20, Paul writes: "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorites; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."

If Christians don't realize this truth, then nobody who is not a Christian will know it either. It is only when we are persuaded that everything of God is to be found in Christ that we can be confident in telling others that Jesus is the only way to God. And it is the only way we'll continue to grow as Christians.

So the first thing we must recognize about the supremacy of Christ is that only He can reveal God to us.

There are two statements in Colossians 1:15-20 that put Christ above everyone and everything else: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation" (verse 15). And "God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him" (verse 19). It is hard to get across how great a view this is of Jesus. It means we cannot think too highly of Him. There is nothing of God to be known which is not in Jesus; He is fully God. If you met Jesus, you would meet God. If you know Jesus, you know God. All God's fullness dwells in Him. He is utterly supreme.

Today, some are trying to look behind Jesus to find God. They're looking for something more ancient, more fundamental, older than Christianity. The New Agers say something like this: "We have a faith that is older than the creed of Christ because it is rooted in the Earth and the universe." Christianity is portrayed as the new kid on the block. But they just have not squared with who Jesus really is. Mind you, few of us really have. Colossians 1:16 says: "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible...He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." If that's who Christ is, how can you get behind Him? He's not the new kid on the block: He is the Great I AM who designed the block.

The real Jesus doesn't just take His place in history; He is its beginning and its end. "All things were created by him and for him." How can you get beyond this Jesus? He's waiting there at the end of history to inherit it all.

The second thing we need to realize about the supremacy of Christ is that only He can reconcile us to God. That is, only Christ can make peace between God and us. The Bible teaches that there's a gulf separating God and us. There's an intellectual gulf so that we cannot know God unless He makes Himself known to us. And there's a moral gulf, in that we don't even want to know God because He threatens the evil behavior that we participate in. Jesus is the bridge of both these gulfs. He bridges the intellectual gulf by revealing God to us, and He bridges the moral gulf by reconciling us to God. Colossians 1:19 says, "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."

People who were at enmity with God are now reconciled through the cross, and one day all things will be put back in their divinely created and determined order. The universe will once again be under its rightful head. How will this happen? Through His blood, which has been shed on the cross.

It only took a moment for man to reject God, and then everything fell apart. We fell out with God, we fell out with each other, and we fell out with the world we live in. It's impossible for us to put things back together. God had to do it and it took the blood of Christ, shed on the cross. Only Christ can do it because only Christ bridges the gulf for us. In His death He has taken the punishment we deserve from God.

Without justice, there can be no real peace. And justice is served when our sin is punished in Christ and peace is made between God an us. I expect there will be some suprprises in Heaven. We may be surprised about who is there. But there will be no surprises about how they got there. Beause each one will say the same; through the blood Jesus shed on the cross, reconciled by Christ's physical body.

Many give the advice on religion, 'do not put all your eggs in one basket. It would be far too risky to stake everything on a single faith or creed or religion. What if you're wrong?'

There's one big problem with that way of thinking. God has put all His eggs in one basket. He has put all His fullness in Christ. Only Chist can reveal God to us. We have much more of God to learn, but He has no more to give than He has already given us in Christ. So, if you want more of God--and this is a good thing to want--then go to Christ.

Furthermore, if you do not yet know God personally, then go to the cross of Christ, for only Christ can reconcile us to God. He is utterly supreme in revealing God to us and He is uttlerly supreme in reconciling us to God.

SOWING THE SEEDS--
The ONLY Way TO GOD
By: Rico Tice and Bill Conard
This article was taken from the 'Decision' magazine/ Jan 2011-BGEA.

The Living And The Written Word
By: John D. Morris, Ph.D.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
--

The Holy Scriptures and the person of our Lord Jesus Christ are so inseparably bound together, that whatever calls into question the integrity and authority of one, correspondingly affects the other. Let us not be guilty of saying that the written Word and the incarnate Word are in all aspects the same, but the Bible clearly reveals Christ as “the Word . . . made flesh, (who) dwelt among us” (John 1:14). “And His name is called The Word of God” (Revelation 19:13).

In carefully worded arguments, Christ, time and again, called attention to the fact that the teachings of the Old Testament Scriptures were actually teaching about Him. “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. . . . For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” (John 5:39,46,47). “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

Therefore, those who diligently search the Scriptures find in them sufficient testimony to Christ, and where there is faith in the witness of Scripture, there will be faith in Christ and His words. But if men reject the testimony of Scripture, they will not even be convinced by His miraculous resurrection from the dead.

Christ claimed that all of Scripture pointed to Him. On the road to Emmaus, He taught that all three popular divisions of the Old Testament traced one progressive Messianic revelation. To understand the New Testament, we must know the Old, for both tell the same story, each amplifying the other. They are forever inseparable.
--
ICR/ JDM

Creation Evangelism
By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

--
Creation evangelism is the ministry of using scientific Biblical creationism as a help in winning people to Christ. To the best of my knowledge, the term was first used by Walter Lang almost 35 years ago. Lang, who had been a pastor in the Missouri Synod Lutherans, founded the Bible Science Association in 1963 and soon was convinced God could use creationism as a means of leading people to faith in the Bible as God's Word and the Lord Jesus Christ as Creator and Savior.

He was right about this. The Biblical record of creation is not only historically and scientifically accurate, but it is also the foundation of all the saving doctrines of the Bible. In recent decades, many have come to accept Christ because (at least partially) of the scientific and Biblical evidences for creation.

Note especially that the marvelous truths of the person and work of Jesus Christ are based upon His finished work of creation.

For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth. . . . And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. . . . And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself . . . (Colossians 1:16,17,20).-

This wonderful passage summarizes the past, present, and future work of Christ—creation, conservation, and consummation of all things. And the foundation of His saving and reconciling work is His work of creation.

Similarly, the foundation of the gospel of Christ is also His creation and our worship of Him as Creator. The final (of over 100) Biblical use of the word "gospel" is as follows:

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth. . . . Saying with a loud voice . . . worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters (Revelation 14:6,7).
This is a key component of the gospel of God's saving grace in Christ, for it was, and will be "everlasting." Paul warned against even any angel that would preach some other gospel than he was preaching (Galatians 1:8). In fact, he indicated that Christ's past, present, and future work, as discussed above (Colossians 1:16-20), is incorporated in the truth and hope of the gospel (Colossians 1:5,23).

The fact that creation is the foundation of true and effective evangelism is also indicated by the Apostle John, who affirmed that his wonderful book was "written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name" (John 20:31).

That being John's motive and purpose in writing, it is very significant that he began by stressing the fact of creation by Jesus Christ!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. . . . He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us . . . (John 1:1,3,10,14).

Thereafter, John's record of Christ's person and work is structured around His seven great "I am" assertions of deity ("I am the light of the world," etc.) and His seven great miracles of creation (creating new eyes for a man born blind, etc.).

There should be no doubt that Jesus is the Creator, the eternal Son of God, and that this very fact made it possible for Him also to become our Redeemer and Savior.

Therefore, creation is absolutely basic in true evangelism, not secondary or even irrelevant, as many seem to think. In fact, belief in creation by the Word of God is the very first item in a saving, justifying, living faith (one should read carefully Hebrews 10:38-11:3 in this connection).

This does not necessarily mean that a born-again Christian cannot believe that Christ used evolutionary processes in creating things. But he should be willing to deal honestly with the fact that any such "evolutionary creation" is completely contrary to the Bible. Jesus Christ Himself believed in the recent creation of all things (note Mark 10:6, for example). He even inscribed the fact of the literal, six-day creation on a table of stone in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8,11; 31:18).

Assuming, then, that scientific Biblical creationism is a valid component of true evangelism, we can note the example of the early Christians, Paul in particular, as they went out to preach the gospel in obedience to Christ's great commission. Paul and his companions normally would go first to the Jewish synagogue in any new city, and there would preach Christ from the Scriptures.

The best example is in Acts 17 when Paul came to Thessalonica, in Greece.

And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you is Christ (Acts 17:2,3).

Note that he did not have to convince the Jews that the Scriptures were inspired and true and authoritative, for they already believed that. Neither did he have to talk about the creation of the world by God, for they already believed that, too.

But he did use what we might call apologetics, or Christian evidences, stressing fulfilled prophecy in Christ, along with His death and resurrection as prophecies that had been wonderfully fulfilled, confirming that He was indeed the promised Messiah.

He next went to Berea, where he did the same, and the Bereans "received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11).

Then Paul went to Athens, the great cultural and intellectual center of the world at that time. There he encountered the Epicurean and Stoic "philosophers" (Acts 17:18). These men were all evolutionists—the Epicureans, atheists, and the stoics pantheists. They did not believe the Scriptures, and they certainly did not believe in the special creation of all things by an omnipotent God.

Paul, therefore, began with creation, using as a point of reference their awareness of an "unknown god" among their many nature gods and goddesses, whose shrines abounded in Athens.

God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; . . . He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord. . . . For in Him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:24-28).-
Paul recognized that laying the creation foundation was necessary first of all, but the foundation is never the whole structure. Thus he then went on to preach Christ and the resurrection.

(God) hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead (Acts 17:31).
Space precludes citing his whole message and, for that matter, the account given by Luke in Acts 17 no doubt is itself a summary of a more detailed exposition, but the essential point is that, when Paul dealt with those who believed the Bible, he began with the Scriptures, but when dealing with pagan unbelievers, he began with the fact of primeval special creation.

Another example is Paul's challenge to the pagan idolaters at Lystra.

We . . . preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He left not Himself without witness, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness (Acts 14:15-17).
That Paul often preached against idol worship (which is tantamount to pantheistic evolution) and, therefore, for creation is indicated also by the charges lodged against him at Ephesus, namely that "almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands" (Acts 19:26).

- Thus, if we would follow the evangelistic example of the early Christians, we would preach from the Scriptures to those who already believe in the Bible and creation, urging them to accept Christ as revealed therein. To those who do not so believe, however, we need first of all to show them the truth of creation (as opposed to the false nature of all forms of evolutionism), and then proceed to the fact of Christ's substitutionary death and resurrection, as revealed in the inerrant written Word of God.

* Dr. Morris is Founder and President Emeritus of ICR.

The Ultimate Proof of Christianity (The Resurrection of Jesus)
By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.
--JESUS IS ALIVE TODAY!
-
Today, there are multitudes of religions, cults, and philosophies competing for the hearts and minds of men and women, all over the world. One of these—atheistic communism—seemed, for a while, to be so powerful and persuasive that many feared it would conquer the world. A religion which also is seriously attempting to do that right now is Islam. Islam is structured around the baleful teachings of a false god called Allah, and there are many other such teachings. Evolutionary humanism is also growing rapidly. But how can we know which "religion" is the true religion? Or are they all just different paths to the same goal?

The apostle Paul had the answer to that question. Speaking to the philosophers in Athens, he said: "Ye men of Athens. . . . in all things ye are too superstitious" (Acts 17:22). Just having some form of religion is nothing; even atheists have a form of "religion." "God that made the world and all things therein . . . is Lord of heaven and earth. . . . He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Acts 17:24,31).

That is how we can know which is true! The only one who could ever defeat death and give eternal life is the One who pronounced the curse of death on His sinning human creation in the first place.

And that would be the Lord Jesus Christ! In the greatest event since the creation itself, God became incarnate in His only begotten Son. By a miraculous conception, sinless life, many miracles of creation, volitional death, and bodily resurrection, He uniquely provided redemption and salvation to all who trust and follow Him.

The proof of that, above all proofs, is His amazing resurrection. The Roman Caesars are all dead, Mohammed is dead, Karl Marx is dead, Buddha is dead—name these false religionists one by one. They eventually die—and stay dead!

But Jesus died and then conquered death. He spoke again to and through the beloved disciple John to all men when He says: "Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death" (Revelation 1:17-18). --

It was John who was the first to believe, when he entered the empty tomb and saw the collapsed grave clothes on the shelf where the body had lain, "and he saw, and believed" (John 20:8). Soon the other disciples also saw the risen Jesus Himself. Paul, writing years later, after seeing Christ on the way to Damascus, and perhaps also after some research on his own, tells about some of these appearances: ". . . He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; . . . After that, He was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all He was seen of me also . . ." (I Corinthians 15:5-8).

There were other occasions. Luke says that "He shewed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days" (Acts 1:3). Finally, after giving them His last command, to be His witnesses "unto the uttermost part of the earth. . . . while they beheld, He was taken up . . . into heaven" (Acts 1:8,9,11), where He "sat on the right hand of God" (Mark 16:19).
--
From this point on, ". . . with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:33). The authorities vainly tried to stop them, even executing some, but they all simply rejoiced "that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name" (Acts 5:41).

This amazing change in the disciples who not long before "all forsook Him, and fled" (Mark 14:50), became another impregnable evidence for His resurrection. The disciples and many other believers had actually seen and touched and eaten with Him so they knew He was alive, and their testimony had converted many. Most convincing of all, perhaps, was the fact of the empty tomb and the complete inability of the authorities to locate the supposedly dead body. They had tried everything else to stop the preaching of His resurrection, whereas simply displaying His body would have been enough. But this they could not do—Jesus was alive and at the right hand of God in heaven!

Many skeptics in both ancient and modern times have tried to disprove the resurrection, but all have failed. Without the resurrection of Jesus, there would never have been a Christian religion, but its absolute truth has been forever vindicated by His resurrection!

The power of this message is seen in the growth of the early church, in spite of brutal opposition. When ordered to desist, "Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. . . . And we are His witnesses of these things; . . ." (Acts 5:29-32). The result was that "the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly" (Acts 6:7).

Even in Athens, the intellectual center of the world, Paul "preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection" (Acts 17:18). Called before King Herod Agrippa, Paul again preached simply that the prophecies were being fulfilled "That Christ should suffer, and that He should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles" (Acts 26:23).

In fact, in the book of Acts alone, there are at least 25 passages mentioning specifically the glorious message of the resurrection. There are more than 30 such passages in the epistles, even though all the people in the churches to whom the epistles were written already believed it and needed no further convincing. For example, in the first chapter of Paul's key letter to the Romans, Paul stressed that Christ had been "declared to be the Son of God with power, . . . by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:4). Then he noted that the testimony of a new believer's baptism was his identity with the risen Christ. "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of infallible proof His resurrection" (Romans 6:5). The vital necessity of individual belief in His resurrection is also pointed out by Paul. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9).

To the Corinthians, Paul stressed that the substitutionary death and bodily resurrection of Christ were the very center of His saving gospel. "For I delivered unto you first of all . . . that Christ died for our sins . . . And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day. . . ." (I Corinthians 15:3-4).

The wonderful 15th chapter of I Corinthians deals in depth with the implications of the resurrection. ". . . if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. . . . But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept" (I Corinthians 15:17-20).

Then, most appropriately, he ties Christ's defeat of death back into His pronouncement of death when the first man brought sin into the world. "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (I Corinthians 15:21-22)—thus affirming not only the primeval curse on Adam's dominion, but also its ultimate deliverance in Christ. "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (I Corinthians 15:26).

Faith in Christ's resurrection is not only a premise in one's salvation, as noted in Romans 10:9 quoted earlier, but also in our own future resurrection when Christ returns. Jesus had promised His disciples that "because I live, ye shall live also" (John 14:19), and this promise was confirmed and made more explicit by Paul under divine inspiration. "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, . . . . For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, . . . and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (I Thessalonians 4:14-17).

The apostle Peter says that God "hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance . . . reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (I Peter 1:3-5).

What a glorious future thus awaits all who have true faith in His historical resurrection and His immutable promise of our own coming resurrection! Like Paul, our consuming desire should be to "know Him, and the power of His resurrection," even though that means first "being made conformable unto His death" (Philippians 3:10).

Why should anyone—how could anyone—spurn such divine love and reject the salvation purchased so dearly by Christ and offered so freely to us? The evidence for its truth and validity is overwhelming.

Christians sometimes sing: "I know He lives—He lives within my heart." That also may be a sort of evidence, especially when that testimony is multiplied in the hearts of multitudes of other believers. But the solid, historical evidence of His bodily resurrection after dying for our sins is itself absolute and impregnable.

Unique in all history, it really happened, so we can in full confidence entrust our very souls to Him. -

Created And Made
By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens" (Genesis 2:4).
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There are two accounts of creation in Genesis, with the above text marking the dividing point. In the first (Genesis 1:1-2:4), the name used for the Creator is "God" (Hebrew, Elohim), and its termination is the summarizing "signature," as it were: "These are the generations (Hebrew, toledoth) of the heavens and the earth when they were created."

The second account (Genesis 2:4-5:1) normally uses the name "Lord God." (Jehovah Elohim) in chapters 2 and 3 (except where the serpent and Eve used Elohim when she was being tempted) and then simply "Lord" (Hebrew, Jehovah) in chapter 4. This second creation account ends with Adam's signature: "This is the book of the generations [i.e., toledoth] of Adam."

Critics claim that the two accounts are contradictory. Actually they are complementary, the second merely giving more details of the events of the fifth and sixth days of creation week. The Lord Jesus (who was there as the Creator!) used them both quoting from each (Matthew 19:4-6), at the same time in the same context.

Note also that "create" (Hebrew, bara) is used seven times in Genesis 1, never in Genesis 2-4. In that second account, "made" and "formed" (Hebrew, asah, yatsar) are the words used. Genesis 2:3 stresses the fact that "create" and "make" are different, when it tells us that God rested "from all His work which God created and made."

Evidently the verb "create," which always has the Creator as its subject, refers to His work in calling entities into existence; "make" refers to systems constructed (by either God or men) out of previously created entities.
-
The heavens and the earth were both "created" and "made" (see our text).

ICR/HMM

Jesus the Bible Teacher

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"And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures." (Luke 24:44-45)

On the day of His resurrection, the Lord Jesus had given a wonderful session of Bible teaching to two of His followers on the road to Emmaus. "Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27). Later that same evening, Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles and the other disciples, probably in the upper room, and gave a similar study to all of them together, as summarized in our text above.

We can learn much from our Master Teacher concerning how we also should teach the Bible, for it was He, through "the Spirit of Christ" (1 Peter 1:11), who in effect wrote the Bible in the first place.

Note in both cases, for example, that the whole Bible speaks of Christ in prophecy, or type, or in other ways. Note also that He began with the writings of Moses, which means first of all the account of creation and primeval history which is the foundation of all the rest.

It is evident, too, that He regarded "all the scriptures" to be of divine authority, which "must be fulfilled," either at His first coming or His second coming. He believed implicitly in plenary inspiration of the Bible, as well as the miracle of fulfilled prophecy.

Finally, even in the case of these closest followers, it was essential that the Holy Spirit "open . . . their understanding" if they were really to "understand the scriptures."

All who would hope to be teachers of the Word today should teach as Jesus taught, for He is our teacher.
--
ICR/HMM

Creation And The Constellations
By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south” (Job 9:8,9).

The Book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible. It is not surprising, therefore, that it contains a number of references to creation and the flood, for these great events were still relatively fresh in the thinking of Job and his contemporaries. The first of these creation references in Job is our text above, and it is remarkable that it centers especially on the stars and their constellations. Still another constellation is mentioned in Job 26:13: “By His Spirit He hath garnished the heavens; His hand hath formed the crooked serpent.” Finally: “Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? Or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? Canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?” (Job 38:31–33). The term “Mazzaroth” actually means the twelve constellations of the Zodiac.

Thus God not only created the stars but arranged them in star groupings that could be used for “signs, and for seasons” (Genesis 1:14). Since God does nothing without a holy purpose, we can be sure that these sidereal signs were not to be used as astrological signs. God’s word, in fact, forbids the practice of astrology (e.g., Isaiah 47:12–14).

- The constellations must all in some way have testified of the coming Savior. “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (II Corinthians 4:6).

Before the Scriptures were given, the testimony of God’s primeval promises had somehow been written indelibly in the heavens, for those in Earth’s earliest ages who had eyes and hearts to see.

ICR/ HMM

Jesus Christ: Our Next Door Savior
By: Max Lucado


“There’s something wrong with this picture.”

Remember those handouts in elementary school? The teacher would pass out drawings with the question at the bottom, “What’s wrong with this picture?” We’d look closely for something that didn’t fit. A barnyard scene with a piano near the water trough. A classroom with a pirate seated on the back row. An astronaut on the moon with a pay phone in the back-ground. We’d ponder the picture and point to the piano or pirate or pay phone and say, “This doesn’t fit.” Something is out of place. Something is absurd. Pianos don’t go in barnyards. Pirates don’t sit in classrooms. Pay phones aren’t found on the moon and God doesn’t nurse from Mary’s breast or sleep in Peter’s boat.

But according to the Bible he did both! He did God things and man things. He is all God and all man. “For in Christ there is all of God in a human body.” (Col. 2:9 LB) Jesus was not a God-like man, nor a man-like God. He was God-man. And because he was, we are left with these scratch-your-head, double-blink, what’s-wrong-with-this-picture moments:

Mary changing God’s diaper.

A 12-year-old Jesus stumping religious scholars.

Ex-lepers hugging kids. The formerly blind taking art classes.

Wine where there was water. The crippled sponsoring the town dance. A sack lunch satisfying five thousand tummies. And, most of all, a grave: guarded by soldiers, sealed by a rock, yet vacated by a three-day dead man. John has a word for such moments: “Glory.” “The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son….” (Jn. 1:14)

Beginning with Jesus in pre-birth continuing on to Jesus at his promised return.... We’ll pause along the way at the “glory moments.” Those occasions where Jesus’ humanity and divinity converge, those conjunctions of diverse sources where the majestic intertwines with the mundane and we are left open-mouthed.

In fact, God being our helper, open mouths will be the first-fruit of such a quest. If his claims are true, He is the single most important person who has ever lived. No one comes close. He is not at the head of the parade; he is the parade. He’s not the main event; he’s the only event. He’s not the MVP; he is the entire league. And — this is important — he does not just answer prayers, he is reason for faith. The reward of Christianity is Christ.

Nothing compares to “...the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ph. 3:8)

The reward of seeing the Grand Canyon is not the T-shirt or the glass bubble with the snowflakes that fall when you shake it. The reward of the Grand Canyon is the Grand Canyon. The wide-eyed realization that you are a part of something ancient, splendid, and powerful. Something greater than you.

The reward of Christianity is Christ. Not money in the bank or a car in the garage or a healthy body or a better self image. Those are likely, yet secondary and tertiary fruits. But the first fruit, the cache, the treasure of faith is Him. Fellowship with Him. Walking with Him. Pondering Him. Exploring Him. The heart-stopping realization that in Him you are a part of something that is ancient, endless, unstoppable, and unfathomable. And that He, who can dig the Grand Canyon with his pinkie, knows you and thinks you’re worth dying for. Christ is the reward of Christianity. Why else would Paul make Him his supreme desire? “I want to know Christ…” (Ph. 3:10) Our goal is the same. We ponder Christ to stir our awe.

We also study the incarnation to balance our faith. The title of the series may trouble you. Jesus: Our Next Door Savior is, for some, unsettling. Some are bugged by the “next door” part. To think that Jesus could be as human as the fellow you see changing his oil on Saturday morning? Some don’t like that. Others don’t mind the humanity; it’s the divinity they resist. Call him prophet, a teacher, a revolutionary, but a Savior? Don’t go that far.But we must. We must let him be all God and all man. All God so he can save you. All man so he can understand you. Dismiss either expression and you have to take issue with many passages of Scripture. “He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.” (Heb. 1:3) Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say unto you before Abraham was born, I am.” (Jn 8:58) Paul urged Timothy to “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel” (I Tim. 2:8) See the confluence? “descendant of David” (next door) and “risen from the dead. (Savior).

Jesus: accessible enough to live next door. Mighty enough to be our Savior.

Such words can be said about no other person. He resists any effort to be lumped with Buddha, Mohammed or Moses. He cannot claim what he claimed and be regarded as a good man or great prophet. He is either divine or deluded, God or godless. Any attempt to categorize him in between is inaccurate.

My prayer is that we will KNOW and believe this statement, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
--
Excerpted from: Next Door Savior

Whom They Pierced
February 25, 2011

"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." (Zechariah 12:10)
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For centuries now, Jewish scholars have pondered the meaning and interpretation of this verse, and as one might imagine, there have been many varied interpretations. Since they cannot allow admission that they themselves pierced Jehovah, some have applied it to the nation of Israel with its persecutions in mind. But to resolve the issue, the question must be answered: Who is this "whom" who has been pierced?

Interestingly enough, the Hebrew word translated "whom" is simply the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, aleph and tau, elsewhere denoting completeness and transcendency. Next, consider the fact that the primary name for God in Scripture, Jehovah, conveys a similar thought, although difficult to translate. Evidently the name Jehovah communicates, among other things, the all-encompassing and ever self-existing nature of God.

These two thoughts come together when our text for the day is quoted in Revelation 1:7-8: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

It is as if Jehovah Himself is asking the question: "Do you doubt whom it is you pierced? I am the Aleph Tau, the Alpha Omega, Jehovah the Almighty, the beginning and the ending of all things.
--- -I AM --JESUS

Institute for Creation Research
JDM

--One God
By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4).

This great verse has been recited countless times by Israelites down through the centuries, setting forth their distinctive belief in one great Creator God. The Jews had retained their original belief in creation, handed down from Noah, while the other nations had all allowed their original monotheistic creationism to degenerate into a wide variety of religions, all basically equivalent to the polytheistic evolutionism of the early Sumerians at Babel.

But along with its strong assertion of monotheism, there is also a very real suggestion that this declaration, with its thrice-named subject, is also setting forth the Triune God. The name, “LORD,” of course, is Yahweh, or Jehovah, the self-existing One who reveals Himself, while “God” is Elohim, the powerful Creator/Ruler. “Jehovah our Elohim is one Jehovah” is the proclamation. A number of respected Jewish commentators have acknowledged that the verse spoke of a “unified oneness,” rather than an “absolute oneness.” The revered book called the Zohar, for example, even said that the first mention was of the Father; the second one the Messiah; and the third, the Holy Spirit.

The key word “one” (Hebrew, achad) is often used to denote unity in diversity. For example, when Eve was united to Adam in marriage, they were said to be “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Similarly, on the third day of creation, the waters were “gathered together unto one place,” yet this gathering together was called “Seas” (i.e., more than one sea; Genesis 1:9,10).

Thus, Israel’s great declaration should really be understood as saying in effect: “The eternally omnipresent Father, also Creator and Sustainer of all things, is our unified self-revealing Lord.”
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ICR/HMM

When God Became Man
By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"In the beginning was the Word, . . .
and the Word was God . . . . All things were made by Him; . . .
And the Word was made flesh (John 1:1,3,14). -

We can never understand the doctrine of the incarnation, whereby God the Creator became man the creature, for it is beyond the limits of finite comprehension. But we can believe it, and rejoice in it!

In fact, we must believe it, for "every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God" (I John 4:3). "If ye believe not that I am He," said the Lord Jesus, "ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24).

We not only must believe, but we can believe, for He has proved Himself to be God incarnate by "many infallible proofs" (Acts 1:3), especially by His bodily resurrection after dying for our sins. Thereby has God "given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Acts 17:31). Only the Creator of life could defeat death. Buddha is dead and Mohammed is dead, and so are Confucius and Plato and all the great men who ever lived, but the "Word made flesh" who was "put to death in the flesh" (I Peter 3:18) has been raised from the dead and is "alive for evermore" (Revelation 1:18). "Wherefore He is also able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him" (Hebrews 7:25).

How Could the Creator Become Man?

Since "by Him [that is by Christ, the Word of God] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth" (Colossians 1:16), He must have created the very body in which He would dwell when He "was made flesh." This body, however, could not be a body produced by the normal process of human reproduction, for it must be a body unmarred either by inherent sin spiritually or by inherited genetic defects physically or mentally.

It would necessarily have to be a perfect body, a body like that of the first man He had created long ago in the beautiful garden of Eden. He would, in fact, come to be called "the last Adam" (I Corinthians 15:45), since there would never be another man created as that "first Adam" had been.

There would be one important difference, however. The first Adam was created and made as a full-grown man, but the second must be "in all things . . . made like unto His brethren" (Hebrews 2:17). From conception to death, He must be "in all points . . . like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). In particular, His blood must be "precious blood . . . as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (I Peter 1:19), for that blood must be "offered . . . without spot to God" (Hebrews 9:14).

Thus the body of the second Adam must be formed directly by God and placed in a virgin's womb. This had been the very first promise made after the first Adam brought sin and death into the world. Speaking of "the woman, and . . . her seed," God said that He "shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:15). This prophecy was addressed to Satan, whose lie had elicited Eve's sin. This wonderful body would not grow from a man's seed, as in every other human birth, nor would it grow from a woman's egg, for in either case a sin-carrying and mutation-carrying embryo would necessarily result. It must instead be a seed specially formed by the Creator Himself, then planted in the virgin's womb, where it forthwith would become His "tabernacle" for thirty-three years as He lived on His planet Earth among those He had come to save.

"Lo, I come," He would later promise through David (Psalm 40:7). Through Isaiah He said: "(The) virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son," and that babe would also be "the mighty God, the everlasting Father" (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6). Still later, another great prophet could anticipate that "The LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, a woman shall compass a man" (Jeremiah 31:22).

Note that the "new thing" in the chosen woman must be "created." When the time came the angel assured young Mary that "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).

Then, "when He cometh into the world, He saith, . . . a body hast thou prepared me" (Hebrews 10:5). Most significantly, He used the same word "prepared" (Greek, katartizo), which the writer of Hebrews also then would use when he testified that "the worlds were framed by the Word of God" (Hebrews 11:3), recognizing that the same living Word who had framed the worlds had also framed His own human body! And in that tiny cell in Mary's womb resided all the information not only for His own growth into manhood, but also for the creation, preservation, and redemption of the whole creation. It was His by right of creation and soon would be doubly His by right of redemption.

When Did the Creator Become Man?

It has become customary in much of the world to observe the Creator's incarnation on December 25, which is assumed to be the date of the birth of Jesus. However, various other dates have been observed by different groups or promoted by various writers—dates in January or March or October, for example. The early church apparently never observed Christmas at all, and the date of December 25 only began to be identified as Jesus' birthday in about the fourth century. In fact, many believe that Christmas celebrations are essentially a continuation of the old Roman Saturnalia or other pagan practices centering around the winter solstice, during the year's longest nights.

The fact is that no one really knows the date of His birth, so no one should be dogmatic on this subject. Nevertheless, there is one particularly intriguing possibility: On the night Christ was born, shepherds were in the field watching their sheep (Luke 2:8). Although it is barely possible that this could be in late December, it seems far more likely that it would be sometime in the early fall.

If so, the birth of Jesus also would have been in the fall, and it is significant that there was an ancient Christian feast called Michaelmas, observed on September 29 by many early Christians, especially in England and western Europe. The name later also was appropriated to identify a period during the fall when certain courts were in session.

In any case, the name "Michaelmas" meant "Michael sent," just as "Christmas" means "Christ sent." It is very probable that Michael was the "angel of the Lord" (Luke 2:9) who was sent from heaven to announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. The feast of Michaelmas thus may well have originated to commemorate this coming of Michael and the angels to welcome Jesus at His human birth.
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This date would be just several days before the great Feast of Tabernacles, which the pre-exilic Israelites observed each fall in gratitude for the annual harvest, with each family dwelling for a time in a tent, or "tabernacle." When John wrote that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14), he did not use the usual Greek word for "dwell." Instead, he said, literally, that the Word (that is, the Creator) "tabernacled" among us for a time. It was as though He had come into the world at just the appropriate time for the joyful Feast of Tabernacles, as Michael and the angels sang of "good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" (Luke 2:10).

As glorious as the birth of Christ may have seemed, however, this was not His incarnation. He had already been "made in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:7) nine months earlier, when He created a body for Himself and took up His residence in Mary's womb. That was the time when "the Word was made flesh!"

And so it may be beautifully significant that the real "Christmas" (i.e., "Christ sent"), when the Christ was sent from His throne in heaven to enter a "tabernacle" of flesh, would have been nine months earlier than "Michaelmas," when Michael and the angels were sent to announce His birth. But that brings us back to December 25 again! The actual number of days between the two dates is 278, which is the ideal period of human gestation.

Whether or not these inferences are correct (and remember no one really knows when Christ was born), they at least yield a greater appreciation of His miraculous conception. How appropriate it would be for Him to enter the world right at the season of darkest and longest night, for He would come as "the light of the world" (John 8:12) to bring "life and immortality to light through the gospel" (II Timothy 1:10). Then, at "Christmas" time, we can remember with deep thanksgiving (not with Saturnalian revelry and pagan greed) the amazing Christmas gift of God Himself, when "God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him" (I John 4:9).

Why Did the Creator Become Man?
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No question that begins with "Why?" can be answered scientifically. Such questions can be answered only theologically, and that means they can only be truly answered from the written Word of God. And this greatest of all questions has the most wonderful of all answers!

"For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17).

"When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law" (Galatians 4:4,5).

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (I Timothy 1:15).

But that is not all, of course. His first coming, followed by His sacrificial death, bodily resurrection, and glorious ascension, is a prophetic promise of His second coming.

At His first coming, He "tabernacled" among us for a little while; at His second coming, there will be "a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: For the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:3,4). "And there shall be no night there; . . . for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 22:5).

How infinitely sad it is that so many today reject or ignore such a gracious, loving, holy, powerful Creator/Redeemer. Not only do they miss all the true meaning and blessing of Christmas now, but, unless they respond to Him in repentance and faith, they will be everlastingly separated from Him in the glorious eternal ages to come.

* Dr. Henry M. Morris (1918-2006) was Founder and President Emeritus of ICR.

Jesus Messiah / By: Chris Tomlin

----He became sin, who knew no sin.
Love so amazing!

--The Uttermost Parts of the Earth--

"Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." (Psalm 2:8)
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This colorful and comprehensive phrase, usually translated "ends of the earth," occurs no less than thirty times in the Old Testament and five in the New. The verse in our text is God's promise to His Son, Jesus the Christ- (v. 7), and it appears again and again. For example: "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth" (72:8). "Now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth" (Micah 5:4); "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord" (Psalm 22:27).

This divine Son, whose future dominion will extend to the uttermost parts of the earth, is also the Creator of the ends of the earth. "Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?" (Proverbs 30:4).

He who both created and will ultimately regain all the ends of the earth will also be their judge. "The LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed" (literally, Messiah; 1 Samuel 2:10).

For the present, however, He is still "despised and rejected of men" (Isaiah 53:3), both as Creator and as coming King by all the nations of the world. Nevertheless He has provided "salvation unto the ends of the earth" for all who will receive Him (Acts 13:47), and He has both commanded and prophesied that His followers must be "witnesses unto me . . . unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

The great message we carry from Him is: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 45:22).
ICR/ HMM

Identifying Neandertal Man
By: Brian Thomas, M.S.

Bones were discovered in a cave in Germany’s Neander Valley in the middle 1800s. Since then, many more “Neandertal” remains have been uncovered. The story has been told that they wore no clothes, had a very primitive culture, and hunted animals with clubs as they evolved from an ape-like to a man-like creature. But is this an accurate picture?

Theistic evolutionists and progressive creationists believe that Neandertal and similar “cavemen” lived in a time long before Adam and Eve. One progressive creationist said, “Based on both skeletal and genetic comparisons, it can be conclusively said that the Neanderthal are not related to humans nor are they an ancestor to humans.”
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Biblical creationists, however, have long taught that Neandertals were fully human descendants of Noah who lived alongside other men during the post-Flood Ice Age. Which perspective most easily accommodates the scientific evidence?

Neandertals are usually depicted primarily as hunters, but “a new study shows they cooked and ate veggies.” Fossilized Neandertal teeth from Belgium and Iraq had grain starch on them. Amanda Henry, lead author of the study, told CNN, “Neanderthals are often portrayed as very backwards or primitive….Now we are beginning to understand that they had some quite advanced technologies and behaviors.”

An earlier report described “Stone Age” grinding tools along with hundreds of starch grains in various stages of processing, from a variety of plants. Evidence from the field seems consistent with the idea that mankind, including those who sheltered in caves, has always enjoyed a varied diet.

So, “cavemen” did not simply hunt for meat. But did they have a simplistic culture?

Evidence of advanced communication and construction skills continues to challenge primitive portrayals of earlier peoples. One study found Stone Age carvings in a South African cave. The “270 fragments of intentionally marked ostrich eggshell” containers were made by people with “social, cultural, and cognitive underpinnings that overlap with those of modern people.” Nearby people make and decorate eggshell carriers in the same manner to this day.

Some of the very earliest human artifacts are knives from Africa, made by heating stone to make it easier to flake into blades. A group of scientists reverse-engineered the difficult heating process, concluding, “These people were extremely smart.” Though Neandertals were not found in association with the knives, both overlapped in time.

Bones cut by a stone knife have been dated to a time before mankind had supposedly evolved to make tools. Ancient humans even performed surgery, complete with antiseptics and anesthesia! They made colorful jewelry out of seashells, prompting Discovery News to state, “Even Neanderthals knew how to accessorize.”

And the first completed Neandertal genome “showed us things completely unexpected by evolutionary theory. First, Neandertal was fully human. Second, he is related to people living in Eurasia today. Third, Neandertals interbred with modern humans.” This matches skeletal remains that were part modern, part Neandertal, found in Iberia.

Each “caveman” discovery lines up with God’s record on the matter. Of course Neandertals ate grains and made jewelry and complicated tools—they were fully human beings recently created in the image of God.

ICR/BT

--Revelation Song / Phillips, Craig, and Dean

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Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.

Holy Holy is He !
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With all creation I sing, "Praise to the King of kings!

--What The Creator Requires
--By: John D. Morris, Ph.D.

“And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul?” (Deuteronomy 10:12).
--
In the final weeks before his death, Moses gathered the people of Israel together for a final look back at God’s miraculous provision for the nation and a restatement of the Law. He repeated the Ten Commandments, and reminded them of their supernatural origin (chapter 5). He charged them to remember the Law and to pass it on to their children, for God, Himself, had entrusted it to them (chapter 6). He insisted that they utterly destroy the enemies of God in the land, for their holy and special status as the people of God would be in jeopardy if they didn’t (chapter 7). The longest section of the speech consisted of a command to remember their unique history: how God had supernaturally intervened for them on so many occasions (vs. 8:1–10:11).

Finally, Moses brought them to a time of commitment, charging them, in our text, to fear, obey, love, and serve the “LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” Even the commandments were “for their good” (v.13); they were not merely petty or malicious. In fact, throughout the lengthy lecture, Moses had several times adjured the people to love their LORD with their entire being (see vs. 6:5; 7:9; 10:20; 11:1,13,22).

And why not? “Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is” (10:14). The God who placed His sovereign mark on Israel (v.15) deserved their total devotion, obedience, and service.

Does not the Creator God, who has done so much more for us than He did even for Israel, deserve our total devotion, obedience, and service[b]?[/b]--
--
ICR/JDM

When Messiah Came
By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times" (Daniel 9:25).
--
This remarkable prophecy, given through the angel Gabriel to Daniel the prophet, actually predicted the date of the coming of Christ nearly 500 years in advance. From the announcement to the coming of "Messiah the Prince," there would be 69 "weeks" (literally "sevens," meaning in this context "seven-year periods"). That is, Messiah would come as the Prince 483 years after the commandment was given to rebuild Jerusalem. There is some uncertainty about the exact date of the decree, as well as the exact length of these prophetic years, but in each calculation the termination date is at least near, or in some, exactly the time when Christ entered Jerusalem to be acknowledged as its promised King.

However, Gabriel's prophecy went on to say: "And after [the] threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off" (Daniel 9:26). That is, although He would come as promised, instead of being gladly crowned as King, He would be slain. Since the 483-year period terminated long ago, it is clear that Messiah must already have come, and then been put to death at that time.

The terms of this remarkable prophecy have been precisely fulfilled in Jesus Christ alone, and no one coming later could have done so. It is no wonder that He wept over Jerusalem, pronouncing her coming judgment, "because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Luke 19:44).

We, like He, should weep and pray for Israel. Yet, in God's omniscient planning, "through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles" (Romans 11:11), and in this we can rejoice.

ICR/HMM

--All Things

“By Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.”
Colossians 1:16 NASB

What a phenomenal list! Heavens and earth. Visible and invisible. Thrones, dominions, rulers and authorities. No thing, place, or person omitted. The scale on the sea urchin. The hair on the elephant hide.

The hurricane that wrecks the coast, the rain that nourishes the desert, the infant’s first heartbeat, the elderly person’s final breath -– all can be traced back to the hand of Christ, the firstborn of creation.
--- + ---

By: Max Lucado

-The Word Became Flesh
Hebrews 1:1-12

"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son..." (Hebrews 1:1-2a).-

The inspired Word of God has given us all that can be written about Jesus, yet we still find it difficult to convey in words some aspects of the essence of our divine Creator. That is why God's way of revealing Himself to us--beyond the prophets or visions or miracles--was through a Person. The very Word of God has come to us in a Person, Jesus Christ. Through Jesus' birth, life and death for us, we can know the "radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being" (v.3).

Though we may struggle to express ourselves at times, God's greatest expression of love to us is spoken boldly and plainly through His Son. ~
--
When words fall short, rejoice in the knowledge that "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us" (John 1:14).

--Haven Today

God Caused Time, Space, and Matter
-
The cause of the universe is God. Our Creator is outside of the physical creation he made. Time is not eternal, but created.

To ask what happened in time before time was created is to create a false paradox without meaning. There was no "before" before the triune universe of time, space and matter was created.

--ICR
----
-Evidence For God ~

While absolute proof of the existence of God cannot be realized by any human being, the great weight of evidence, when rationally evaluated, clearly balances the scales heavily in favor of God. We can demonstrate "beyond a reasonable doubt" that "He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).-

-Nature Reveals God's Presence
By: ICR

God's presence can be detected even in the most commonplace substances, like water. All of us have physical bodies that are mostly water! God provides the water for life. Our planet is close enough to the sun to provide the liquid water that is necessary for life. But if it were just a little farther away, all that water would become ice!

While water itself is a very small molecule (just a three-atom unit of hydrogen and oxygen) it is a primary ingredient of our planet. God's design of how water's specific molecules behave (and the impact water has on our entire planet) is an example of God's creative design and custodial presence, even on the smallest and largest scales.
-
Water expands when it freezes, unlike most other substances. Ice and snow take up more volume than the same amount of liquid water. This makes water denser as a liquid than when frozen, so ice floats.

If ice did not float on the surface of the water, the floors of oceans and lakes would be covered with glaciers of ice that would never melt. Surface ice also helps regulate the climate by reflecting energy.

As a liquid, water’s temperature range is perfect for cycling water from the oceans to the land. Water requires a lot of energy to evaporate into a vapor and it releases this energy when it condenses back into liquid. This balances temperatures in the earth’s climate, as well as inside living cells. If less energy were required for evaporation, then streams, rivers, and lakes would evaporate away quickly.

Beautiful clouds and sunsets inspire praise for the Creator who forms them. Because God's creative presence is shown in even commonplace yet needful things, we are blessed by the huge quantities of water that flow through our biosphere.~~

--
Earth Was Created in a Wonderful Location

Our Sun Is Perfectly Located Within Our Galaxy

The spiral-shaped galaxy in which the earth is located is called the Milky Way. The spiraling arms and center of this galaxy contain many stars set close together, giving off its characteristic brightness.

Other galaxies—older, smaller, elliptical, and irregular—are missing the proper amounts of elements necessary to maintain the right balance of stars and planets required to support life.

Some stars explode into supernovas, causing deadly radiation to flow through nearby stars and planets.

The center and arms of galaxies are flooded with high amounts of radiation. Most stars are located in places with too much harmful energy for life.

Our solar system is located about two-thirds of the way out toward the edge of the Milky Way, where we are least likely to suffer collisions with other stars. Most of the stars in our galaxy are in the larger spiral arms or in the center. Because there are few stars near us, there is a low amount of radiation surrounding our solar system and we can observe the rest of the universe and our own galaxy much better.

Our Planet is Perfectly Located Within Our Solar System

Our solar system also contains thousands of asteroids and meteoroids. These sometime collide with planets. Jupiter keeps large rocks from hitting earth by attracting them with its strong gravity.

The earth's huge moon also protects us from many of rocks that cross our planet's path. The craters across the moon's surface demonstrate the frequency something has collided with the moon instead of earth. The moon's South Pole—Aitken basin—is the largest known crater in our solar system. It is eight miles deep and 1500 miles across. The earth's moon is unusually large.

In addition, our huge moon is a stabilizing anchor for our planet. Our moon prevents our planet from tilting too far from the attraction of the sun or Jupiter.

We are protected because of the way our solar system was created.

---ICR-
--Depending on God isn't weakness; it is acknowledging His strength.

-Christ the King -
By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"Which in His times He shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (I Timothy 6:15).
--
Of the many descriptive titles of the Lord Jesus Christ, perhaps the most significant is that of King, because this speaks of His universal dominion. The day is coming when "every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth" (Philippians 2:10). First of all, since He created all things, He is the King of Creation. "For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed the dry land" (Psalm 95:3-5).

In a special sense, of course, He is the King of the Jews. "He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:33).

He is also our King of redemption, having set us free from the kingdom of the wicked one. He "hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:13-14).

There is a day coming in which all the kings of the earth shall unite against Him. - "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful" (Revelation 17:14). "And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron. . . .

And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" (Revelation 19:15-16). Until then, let us serve Him as King, and submit to Him as Lord.

ICR/HMM
---JESUS IS LORD! -JESUS IS KING!-- JESUS IS CREATOR!

-Who Cares About Creation Anyway?
-By: John D. Morris, Ph.D.

In the minds of many, creation thinking is marginalized to a "fundamentalist" few. But let's look again.

Listed below are quotes from several great men who cared much about creation. In their writings they not only supported creation, but extended our knowledge of creation. They used creation to teach truth, glorify the Creator, and confront wrong thinking. (This list contains, by the way, some of my favorite creation Scriptures. It could be extended considerably.)
------
Moses: "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God" (Psalm 90:2).

David: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork" (Psalm 19:1).

"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth" (Psalm 33:6).

Solomon: "The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath He established the heavens" (Proverbs 3:19).

Isaiah: "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding" (Isaiah 40:28).

"Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; Yea, I have made him" (Isaiah 43:7).

Jeremiah: "Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee" (Jeremiah 32:17).

Nehemiah: "Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee" (Nehemiah 9:6).

John: - "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3).

Paul: "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" (Colossians 1:16-17).

"For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).

Peter: "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished" (II Peter 3:5-6).

Four and Twenty Elders: "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created" (Revelation 4:11).
--- -
Angel: "Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters" (Revelation 14:7).

* Dr. Morris is President of ICR.
--

ENJOY GOD'S
PRESENCE ~

Taste and see that
the LORD is good...
Those who seek the
LORD shall not lack
any good thing.
--Psalm 34:8,10 --
--
When we read, "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good" (Ps. 34:8), we can be sure that God wants us to "savor" His presence. He allows us to gain intimate and satisfying knowledge of Him. And when we meditate on His Word, we will draw out a deeper underastanding of who He is (Ezel. 3:1-3). As we taste His goodness and love, He will reveal the distinctive flavor of His creativity, sovereignty, holiness, and faithfulness.

Our Father must look on with enjoyment as we learn how to enjoy and savor Him.

Oh, taste the goodness of the Lord
And savor all that He has done;
Draw close and give your praise to Him--
The holy, sovereign, faithful One.
---
Our greatest privilege is to enjoy God's presence.

ODB/CHK
-- http://youtu.be/lpLqAUJcUbo / ENJOY!
Indescribable, uncontainable, you placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name. You are amazing God!

-The Living Word

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)-

This is the great verse of the Incarnation, declaring to us that the Creator of all things, the eternal Word of God (John 1:1-3) actually became a man, being "made flesh" (text). Since this verse and the following verses unequivocally refer to "Jesus Christ" (v. 17), there is no legitimate escape (though many have tried) from the great truth that the man called Jesus of Nazareth was the great God and Creator, as well as perfect man and redeeming Savior. Furthermore, He has assumed human flesh forever, while still remaining fully God. He is Immanuel, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).


He is not part man and part God, or sometimes man and sometimes God, but is now the God-man, fully and eternally true God and perfect man--man as God created and intended man to be. See also Philippians 2:5-8 and 1 John 4:2-3.

When He first became man, He "dwelt among us" for a while. The word "dwelt," however, is actually the Greek word for "tabernacled." As in the tabernacle (or "tent") prepared by Moses (Exodus 40:33) in the wilderness, the glory of God in Christ dwelled on earth for a time in a "body" prepared by God (Hebrews 10:5). We also "beheld his glory," says His beloved disciple, John. The Greek word for "tabernacle" (skene) is a cognate word to shakan (the Hebrew word for "dwell"), both being related to what has come to be known as the shekinah glory cloud that filled the ancient tabernacle (Exodus 40:34).

Eventually, when the Holy City descends out of heaven to the new earth, then "the tabernacle of God" will forever be "with men," and He will "dwell with them" and "be their God" eternally (Revelation 21:3). Thus God's "Living Word" is now and always our living Lord! --
ICR/HMM

-Christ the Son of God
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:4). -

The opening verses of Paul's epistle to the Romans stressed that the gospel of Christ was actually the fulfillment of that "Which He had promised afore by His prophets in the holy scriptures" (v.2). This promise was centered in God's eternal Son who had promised to redeem the world from sin and death.

To do this, He must become a man, "made of the seed of David according to the flesh" (v.3), yet He also must be sinless in both nature and practice before He could become God's perfect sacrifice for sin. He must be perfect man--man as God intended man to be. He must be a "second Adam," created without sin, yet He must not fail as did the first Adam, being "in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

He must, therefore, be miraculously conceived. "A body hast thou prepared me" (Hebrews 10:5)--a perfect body unblemished either by inherited mutations or by a sin-nature genetically inherited from his parents. Then, for nine months, His body would grow, finally to be born of the virgin and to live a life "holy, harmless, undefiled" until that perfect, sinless man could be made "one sacrifice for sins for ever" (Hebrews 7:26; 10:12).

But how would the world ever know that all of this was really true? How could lost sinners be assured that their Creator had now become their Redeemer?

By His resurrection from the dead--that's how! He has been "declared to be the Son of God with power . . . by the resurrection from the dead" (text). Jesus Christ is "that man whom He hath ordained;" and of this we can be sure, because "He hath raised Him from the dead" (Acts 17:31).

ICR/HMM

-The Living Savior
By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9).
---
There is a popular Christian song whose chorus ends with these words: "You ask me how I know He lives; He lives within my heart." This may sound spiritual, but this is not how we know He lives! We are saved because of the objective fact that He died for our sins and then rose bodily from the tomb, triumphant over sin, death, the curse, and Satan, alive in His glorified body, for evermore. It is this which we must believe in our hearts and confess with our lips. For Him to rise bodily from the grave means that He is nothing less than God, the very Creator Himself. It is only because of who He is that He could do what He did, and this is what we must believe in our hearts.

There are people who believe that Buddha lives in their hearts, or the spirit of "the gods" indwells their hearts, or even that "the Christ" is in their hearts, but "the heart is deceitful above all things" (Jeremiah 17:9). We can believe many things, and feel many things that are not so. We know Jesus Christ is a living Savior, not because we feel His presence in our hearts, but because He rose from the grave on the third day and "shewed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days" (Acts 1:3). The gospel of our salvation does not rest on our feelings, nor on someone's teachings, but on the objective, proven, certain facts of history. Jesus Christ is alive, whether anyone feels Him living in their hearts or not, and He is at this moment bodily in heaven, at the right hand of the Father (e.g., Romans 8:34).

"Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).

ICR/ HMM

-Impact of the Empty Tomb
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.
--
There are “many infallible proofs” of the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, but the testimony of the empty tomb is the most conclusive of all. Jesus had been buried, with the tomb sealed and guarded by a watch of Roman soldiers. Yet on the third day of His burial, on the morning of the first day of the week, the body was no longer there, and the empty tomb still stands today as an unanswerable proof that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead.

There are other proofs, of course. The ten or more recorded appearances of the resurrected Christ to His disciples, the amazing change of demeanor of the disciples from that of fearful hideaways to fearless evangelists, the worldwide spread of the Christian faith as founded on the resurrection, and so on. But the impact of the empty tomb was the foundation and bulwark of all the rest. As we consider its impact on the world, and on us today, it is instructively fascinating to consider first its impact on those who first encountered it.

Impact on the Soldiers

A watch (possibly a “quaternion” of four Roman soldiers—compare Acts 12:4) had been designated by the Roman Governor Pilate to guard the tomb after Jesus’ body had been buried there by Nicodemus and Joseph. The account is in Matthew 27:62-66.

Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

The “great stone” had already been “rolled...to the door of the sepulchre” by Joseph when he and Nicodemus buried Jesus (Matthew 27:60), but now the soldiers (as directed by the chief priests) sealed it in place with the official Roman seal, which could only be broken on penalty of death. Then they took their guard positions for the rest of the three-day period. Probably they took turns at sleeping, one sleeping while three remained awake on guard. Certainly none of the hiding disciples (or anyone else) would have dared to try to invade the tomb for any reason.

The soldiers had probably been selected from that “whole band of soldiers” (Matthew 27:27) that had stripped Jesus in Pilate’s hall and scourged Him and mocked Him and then taken Him out to crucify Him. They had watched Him suffer and die, but then they had also experienced the great darkness and the great earthquake (Matthew 27:45, 51), and had heard their centurion cry out: “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39).

They had no reason to fear the disciples, but they must have had some concern about what God might do to them, if indeed Jesus was the Son of God, as their centurion had cried. In any case, they certainly would not be lethargic and careless about their assignment, or about to fall asleep while on duty.

They were hardly prepared for what did happen!

And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. (Matthew 28:2-4)

As soon as they recovered and were able to move, they scattered from the site, rightly deciding that the mighty angel was more to be feared than the priests or even Pilate.

But what to do next? They realized that the happening at the tomb would soon become known, including their flight, and they realized Pilate might well have them put to death for leaving their post.

Their best hope would be the priests, who seemed to have some kind of influence with the governor, and perhaps would be able to understand their plight. Therefore, some of them (what happened to the others is not recorded) headed for the temple, to tell Caiaphas and the others that the tomb was empty, though it was not because of the disciples, who were still somewhere in hiding.

Behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. (Matthew 28:11-15)

Under other circumstances, the soldiers would have been afraid to say they all four had been sleeping on duty. But they were also greedy, and the “hush-money” convinced them. They were in mortal danger anyway, and they realized that Pilate might be amenable to bribery too, and they really had no other choice. Roman officials were indeed known to take bribes to render desired decisions (note the reputation of the governor Felix as implied in Acts 24:26).

The idea that the disciples had stolen the body while the soldiers slept circulated for a while, but it was so unreasonable that it could not survive very long. In the first place, if the soldiers really were all asleep (which is practically inconceivable), they could not have known what happened. Secondly, the work of moving the stone, stripping the grave clothes off the body, and carrying the body away would surely have awakened at least some of the soldiers.

Finally, the disciples could never have persisted in preaching a lie about resurrection when it began to cost them all their possessions and finally their lives to do so. Thus, the story circulated by the soldiers was basically unbelievable and could not convince people very long.

But it served the immediate purpose, presumably, of sparing the soldiers’ lives for the time being. They did know that the tomb was empty, however, and we can at least wonder whether some of them also might have eventually come to believe that Jesus was really the Son of God, and to seek His forgiveness and salvation.-

(We will observe (Celebrate), Easter Sunday, April 24th!)
--Resurrection Day!

The Lamb of God~
READ/ Matthew 26:47-27:56

Jesus is called by a variety of names--Messiah, Lord, Christ, Rabbi, Teacher--but the one that is probably the most unfamiliar to the modern world is the Lamb of God. Since most of us do not have a Jewish background, we have a limited understanding of this title. But the Israelites of that day understood the significance of this name.
Lambs were for sacrifice.

God has always dealth with sin through the blood of sacrifices. When Adam and Even sinned, an animal was slain to cover the nakedness and shame of two individuals (Gen. 3:21). On the first Passover, each household covered their doorway with sacrificial blood (Ex. 12:1-7). Later, a goat was slaughtered for the atonement of the entire nation (Lev. 16:15). Now in John 1:29, we see the ultimate sacrifice --the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

Usually a person's most impressive achievements are completed while he or she is alive, but think about what Jesus accomplished through His death. Just as innocent animals had died in place of the guilty, so Christ gave His perfect life for sinful mankind. He assumed full responsibility for all sins and took the punishment that we deserved. As He hung on the cross, the judgment and wrath of God was poured out on Him instead of on us.
---
Since we are limited by our human minds and senses, we cannot fully understand all that the Lamb of God endured to bring us salvation. But we know enough to realize that we owe Him our lives. He took our place on the cross; let's give Him first place in our hearts.-

--In Touch
He's Alive!
<http://youtu.be/NyPBVwOCYmM>

-Christ Is Risen
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept" (I Corinthians 15:20).
---
When the women, very early on that morning after the Sabbath rest, came to the sepulcher in Joseph's new garden, where they had seen Joseph and Nicodemus bury their Lord Jesus, they were greeted by angels with an amazing announcement. "Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said" (Matthew 28:5-6).

"He is risen; He is not here." These wonderful words were also recorded by Mark (Mark 16:6) and by Luke, (Luke 24:6). John, who wrote his own account many years later after the story had been widely circulated, told instead how Mary Magdalene had seen Jesus Himself standing outside the tomb, calling her by name. (John 20:14-16).

The apostle Paul later wrote to the Corinthian church, stressing in detail the "many infallible proofs" (Acts 1:3) that Christ is risen indeed. There were apparently some who, even at that time, were doubting whether the dead would ever live again, so Paul reminded them: "But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is not Christ risen. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain" (I Corinthians 15:13-14).

But it is not in vain! It can be shown that the bodily resurrection of Christ is a proven fact, as certain as any other fact in ancient history. "Now is Christ risen from the dead." And then our text also says that He is merely "the first fruits" in the great resurrection promised for all who accept Christ as Savior. He Himself promised: "Because I live, ye shall live also" (John 14:19).

Christ is risen indeed! And God indeed "hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (I Peter 1:3).

ICR/HMM

-Son of the Living God ~ -

"And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16)

This ringing affirmation of faith came from Peter as spokesman, but undoubtedly was shared by all the disciples, since Jesus had asked the question "Whom say ye that I am?" of them all. Actually, they had probably all been disciples of John the Baptist, who had directed them to Jesus, and so had heard John's testimony concerning Christ's identity. John had said that Jesus was indeed "the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father" (John 1:18).

Yet, as they had been following Him, they had heard Him speak of Himself far more often as "the Son of man." Over thirty times, in the gospel of Matthew alone, He identified Himself as Son of man, not once as the Son of God. Nevertheless, He accepted Peter's statement as absolutely true, saying that the Father had so revealed it.

In fact it is essential that one must believe it to be saved. Jesus did say: "But he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18).

Yet He seems to want us to know Him especially as the Son of man, perhaps so that we will never forget that He, though God, is also man just like us. And as man, He was "in all points (tested) like as we are, yet without sin" so He can "be touched with the feeling of our infirmities," and we now can "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15-16).

John was enabled to see Christ once again, long after His return to heaven. Although He was now in His resurrection body, John still saw Him as "one like unto the Son of man" (Revelation 1:13).

Although He is indeed the Son of the living God, He is also our "man in the glory"[b]![/b]

ICR/HMM

-The Message of the Old Testament
-By: John D. Morris, Ph.D.

"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else" (Isaiah 45:22).-

Ever since sin entered into God's created world, His message to all people of all ages has been the same. At the time of the curse, God prophesied that there soon would be a coming Redeemer--the Seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent, although the Redeemer Himself would be made to suffer in order to do away with the effects of sin (Genesis 3:15). "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (Leviticus 17:11).

God repeatedly warned the people of His hatred of sin and wickedness (see for example Psalm 5:4-6; Proverbs 6:16-19), but He recognized that humankind was totally incapable of measuring up to His standard of perfection. That great statement of righteous requirements, the Ten Commandments, demonstrated the utter impossibility of complete compliance (Exodus 20; Psalm 14; etc.) Conversely, God repeatedly extended His invitation to be rescued from sin and its effects and its necessary judgment by confidence in His plan for mankind. In our text, we see that "all the ends of the earth" have the opportunity to be "saved." "Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to Him shall men come" (Isaiah 45:24).

This plan of God focuses on the promised Redeemer who would come to buy back humanity from its enslavement to sin. "A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: . . . and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:5-6).
ICR/JDM

-The Name Of The Lord -
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you” (Exodus 3:14).

This unique name of God was given to stress the truth that He is timeless. The name “LORD” (Hebrew YHWH = Yahweh, or Jehovah) is essentially the same, conveying the truth that He is the eternal, self-existing one.

The Lord Jesus Christ appropriated this divine name to Himself when He told the Jews: “Before Abraham was [i.e., ‘was born’], I am” (John 8:58). Correctly assuming that this statement was nothing less than a direct claim to identity with God, the Jews immediately (but unsuccessfully) attempted to stone Him to death as a blasphemer.

As the I Am, the Lord Jesus Christ is, indeed, everything, and He has revealed Himself to us under many beautiful symbols. It is well known that there are seven great “I am’s” in the gospel of John, each of which is rich with spiritual depth of meaning. They can be listed as follows:

“I am the bread of life . . . the living bread” (John 6:35,51)

“I am the light of the world . . . the light of life” (John 8:12).

“I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7).

“I am the good shepherd, . . . [who] giveth His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

“I am the resurrection, and the life” (John ] 1:25).

“I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

“I am the true vine” (John 15:1).

It is well known that this magnificent self-assertion of the Lord permeates the whole Bible, from its first use in Genesis 15:1, “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward,” to its final occurrence in Revelation 22:16, “I am . . . the bright and morning star.”

And all these beautiful figures help us to pray more fervently “that God may be all in all” (I Corinthians 15:28).
--
ICR/HMM

-KNOWING
GOD's WILL~

Ephesians 5:17-21
---
...that you may
prove what is that
good and acceptable
and perfect will of
God. --Romans 12:2 -
---
A young man facing the future and unsure of what the next year would bring, concluded, "Nobody knows what God's will is." Is he right? Does a lack of certainty about the future translate into not knowing God's will?

The concept of knowing God's will is often limited to discerning what specific situation we will be in at some future time. Although seeking God's specific leading is part of it, another aspect that is just as vital is to follow the clearly defined elements of God's will each and every day.

For instance, it is God's will for us to be good citizens as a challenge to those opposed to Christ (1 Peter 2:15), to give God thanks no matter what (1 Thess. 5:18), avoiding immorality (1 Thess. 4:3), to live under the Holy Spirit's control (Eph. 5:18), to sing to Him (v.19), and to submit to other believers (v.21).

As we submit to God in these and other areas, we are more likely to live in what Romans 12:2 calls God's "good and acceptable and perfect will." Living with God's smile of approval leads to His guidance for the future.

As we seek to know God's will for the future, we must also act on what we already know now.
---
Love and obey the Lord every day,
and He will unfold your future.

ODB/DB

(This is lengthy, read as able)-
-Genesis Is History, Not Poetry: Exposing Hidden Assumptions about What Hebrew Poetry Is and Is Not
By: James J. S. Johnson, J.D., Th.D.

“Why are you guys so literalistic about Genesis? Don’t you know that it’s just Hebrew poetry? There’s no need to treat it like real history!” This was the smug comment of a young English literature teacher at a recent Christian educators’ conference where the Institute for Creation Research was conducting seminars. What followed was an energetic discussion that exposed hidden assumptions and misinformation about what Hebrew poetry is and is not.

The bottom line is that Genesis is not “Hebrew poetry.” Genesis is Hebrew narrative prose. In other words, Genesis is a record of accurate, true history. Not mysticism. Not mystery. Not myth. Anyone who can read a Bible can prove that Genesis is not Hebrew poetry. And this is not a minor issue, because Paul hung his theology of our salvation in Christ upon the historicity of the Genesis record (Romans 5:12-21).

What Hebrew poetry is and is not.

In order to understand why the young English teacher was wrong, we must first recognize that English poetry and Hebrew poetry are different. The difference is not like comparing apples and oranges; the difference is more like contrasting apples and aardvarks.

English poetry is defined by its verbal “hardware,” with the delivery of its pronounced sounds identifying the text as poetry. Hebrew poetry, however, is defined by its “software,” its verbal information and meaning, which is presented with parallelism of thought, not sound.

In short, Hebrew poetry is defined by parallelism in meaning, whereas English poetry is defined by the format of verse and sound (such as rhyme and meter). This is easier to illustrate than to explain. Consider the below examples of both kinds of poetry.

Example of English poetry, using a limerick rhyme and meter format.

Some Get a “Bang” Out of Fables

The Bible, to read, some are able,
Yet prefer to read a false fable;
Though God’s Word says “six days,”
A “Big Bang” gets their praise,
Their doctrine, therefore, is unstable.

Verses of English poetry routinely rely on rhyme. In limerick poems, the rhyme pattern is AA, BB, A (because able, fable, and unstable all rhyme, as do days and praise). Other poems often use other patterns, but almost without exception some kind of rhyme is used to identify English verse-based literature as poetry.

English poetry, being dominated by sound, also relies on meter, the rhythmic “beat” of a poem. The number of stressed syllables in all A lines should match, as should those in the B lines. One English tradition uses iambic pentameter, employed by English poets John Donne, William Shakespeare, and John Milton. Note that rhyme and rhythm neither provide nor depend upon a poem’s meaning.

Unlike the rhyme and rhythm of English poetry, Hebrew poetry is defined by informational parallelism—parallelism of meaning. The paralleled thoughts may emphasize good and bad, wise and unwise, reverent and blasphemous. They may or may not recount historical events, although time and place, if mentioned at all, are less emphasized than in narrative prose. This informational parallelism?using comparative lines and phrases?portrays similarities and/or contrasts, or comparisons of whole and part, or some other kind of logical associations of meaning.

Knowing this linguistic trait helps us to correctly read biblical Hebrew poetry. Since such poetry requires complementation of meaning (not sound), both halves of a verbal parallelism must be reviewed together as a complementary unit in order to understand fully what either half means, as well as to understand how they complement each other in meaning. Almost always the paralleled lines come in pairs, but sometimes a triplet is used.

Major examples of Hebrew poetry in the Old Testament are Psalms, Proverbs, Lamentations, and Song of Solomon—but not Genesis.

Example of Hebrew poetry, illustrating parallelisms of both similarity and contrast.

Psalm 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled:
thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
Psalm 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created:
and thou renewest the face of the earth.
Note how both lines in verse 29 show parallel similarity of meaning, as do both lines in verse 30. Yet verse 29 informationally contrasts with verse 30—verse 29 tells how God controls the death of certain creatures (like leviathan, mentioned in verse 26), but verse 30 tells how God controls the life of His creatures. In order to get the full meaning of either verse 29 or verse 30, the total parallelism must be appreciated. This is the hallmark of Hebrew poetry.

For another example, read any chapter in Proverbs. They are dominated by parallelism of meaning, verse after verse. Sometimes the parallelism spreads over consecutive verses, as in Proverbs 28:15-16 (“wicked ruler” in verse 15; “the prince” who is a “great oppressor” in verse 16). Sometimes the parallelism is condensed within one verse, as in Proverbs 28:28 (“when the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase”). Parallelism dominates the informational structure of Hebrew poetry. Careful reading cannot miss it.

Example of Genesis history, exhibiting the format of narrative prose.
And Cain talked to Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. (Genesis 4:8-11)

There is no informational parallelism in this passage. What we read is history, a narrative account of the first instance of an unbeliever tragically persecuting a believer, a terrible precedent, a hate crime that preceded millions of later copycat martyrdoms. It’s a sad history (except that Abel went to heaven).

There is no poetic parallelism anywhere in Genesis 4, with the possible exception of the wicked “song” of Lamech the polygamist recorded in Genesis 4:23-24. Nor is there any poetic parallelism in Genesis 1, 2, 3, or any other chapter in Genesis. Why? Because Genesis is history. Virtually all of Genesis illustrates what we expect from historical narrative: careful attention to sequenced events (this occurred, then this occurred, then this occurred, etc.), as well as inclusion of time-and-space context information (when such is relevant to the narrative) and a noticeable absence of Hebrew parallelism.

Conclusion: No meaning-based parallelism structures the sentences in Genesis.

The sentences in Genesis read like narrative history (i.e., prose), not informational parallelism (poetry). But the “elephant in the room” question is: Why would anyone even pretend that Genesis 1-11, or any part of Genesis, is Hebrew poetry?

For those who know better, it is intellectual dishonesty to avoid the obvious truth that Genesis is real history. Their most likely motive is a desire to accommodate evolutionary mythology by discounting the real history of our origins, stealing credit from Christ so that a fable called “natural selection” can be credited with “selecting” (and creating) earth’s creatures.

Some think Genesis is Hebrew poetry because they have been misled by an “expert.” Hopefully, this quick summary can clear up any such confusion. But an even simpler test is this: How did Jesus treat Genesis? As real history, just like Paul.

Genesis 1-11 is easy-to-understand narrative prose. Don’t naïvely fall for the misinformation of a so-called scholar who, because he wants to rationalize his own evolutionary mythology, tries to dissuade you from believing Genesis 1-50 is an inerrantly inspired historical narrative—because that’s exactly what it is. And, as they say, “the rest is history.”
<www.icr.org>

-ABUSING
GRACE?

Romans 6:1-14
---
Do not let sin reign
in your mortal body
--Romans 6:12 -
---
Paul said in Romans 5:20, "Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more." But that radical concept opens a theological floodgate. The biblical writer Jude warned that it is possible to "change the grace of our God into a license for immorality" (Jude 4 NIV). Why be good if you know you will be forgiven? Not even an emphasis on repentance erases this danger completely.

In Romans 6, Paul spoke directly to the point. "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" He gave a short, explosive answer: "Certainly not!" (vv.1-2) and used an analogy that starkly contrasts death and life. "How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (v.2). No Christian resurrected to new life should be pining for sin.

Yet wickedness does not always seem to have the stench of death about it. Sin can be downright appealing.

Paul recognized this, so he advised: "Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord," and "Do not let sin reign in your mortal body" (vv.11-12).

If we truly grasped the wonder of God's love for us, we would spend our days trying to fathom and share, not exploit, His grace.
----
God does not save us by grace so
that we may live in disgrace. ~

ODB/PY
<http://youtu.be/sNClAJO2tnQ> / Your Grace Still Amazes Me!

From: Answers in Genesis / Ken Ham
Q: Were you there?

A: When teaching children, we tell them they should politely ask the question “Were you there?” when talking to someone who believes in millions of years and molecules-to-man evolution.

If someone replies by asking the same question back, we say, “No we weren’t there, but we know Someone who was there, Someone who cannot lie, who knows everything, and has always existed. And this One has revealed to us what happened in the past in His history book called the Bible. Are you interested in reading God’s history book to find out what the Word of One who was there tells us about the true history of the world?”

This simply illustrates the difference between historical and operational science. The word “science” primarily means “knowledge.” Operational science (based on our five senses, repeatable, observable, etc.) has enabled man to build wonderful technology.
--------
Whether one is an evolutionist or creationist, Christian or atheist, we basically agree on operational science. The disagreement comes when considering historical science—knowledge concerning the past when we were not there.
Thank you for sending us your question. The simple answer is “No, we were not there.” And we have never claimed to have been there. This question is based on one that God asked Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:4).

By asking a series of rhetorical questions, God demonstrated that Job’s knowledge was finite—compared to God, fallible humans know next to nothing!

Job responded correctly when he stated the following:

“I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, “I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:1–6)

When teaching children, we tell them they should politely ask the question “Were you there?” when talking to someone who believes in millions of years and molecules-to-man evolution. If someone replies by asking the same question, as you have done, we say, “No we weren’t there, but we know Someone who was there, Someone who cannot lie, who knows everything, and has always existed. And this One has revealed to us what happened in the past in His history book called the Bible. Are you interested in reading God’s history book to find out what the Word of One who was there tells us about the true history of the world?”

Really the above simply illustrates the difference between historical and operational science. The word “science” primarily means “knowledge.” Operational science (based on our five senses, repeatable, observable, etc.) has enabled man to build wonderful technology. Whether one is an evolutionist or creationist, Christian or atheist, we basically agree on operational science. The disagreement comes when considering historical science—knowledge concerning the past when we were not there.

Recently there was a high profile murder trial in the USA. This trial highlighted the problem with historical science. The evidence presented by the prosecution was circumstantial evidence gathered in the present. Regardless of how much evidence they had, they could not absolutely prove (or prove beyond a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors) what happened in the past. In fact, there have been cases where people have been found guilty of a crime based on circumstantial evidence only to be found innocent later when more evidence (such as DNA) came to light.

The origins issue involves historical science. Certainly operational science can be used in the investigation. For instance, scientists can observe bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics, and even understand why this happens (in many instances, it is because of a loss of genetic information). Scientists can observe new species forming. However, such evidence in the present does not provide a mechanism for molecules-to-man evolution over millions of years. Evolutionists use such evidence from the present and attempt to extrapolate back into history—claiming that the small changes they observe in the present ultimately lead to the big changes needed for molecules-to-man evolution. However, creationists claim that such changes do not provide the creation of brand new genetic information, which is necessary for molecules-to-man evolution.

The point is, the only way we can know for sure how the universe and life were formed is if an infallible eyewitness revealed to us what happened.

The Bible claims to be the Word of One who was there, who is infinite in knowledge and wisdom, and who has revealed in His written Word an account of the history concerning our origins. So we can correctly understand the present since we have an inerrant record of the past.

No, we were not there, but God was there and has always existed. His record of history—concerning Creation, the entrance of sin and death, the Flood of Noah’s day, the Tower of Babel, and so on—correctly explains the present. And evidence properly applied confirms the truth of this revelation.

Sincerely,
Ken Ham
President/CEO, AiG–U.S.

His Glory, My Good
Psalm 29, Romans 8:28

"You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ear has not been open...For my ownname's sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you."
(Isaiah 48:8-9) -

It s astounding that the great Maker of all things should stoop down to speak into the lives of the creatures He fashioned. The moment He created Adam and Even in His image, He began to explain His heart to them, granting them the breathtaking privilege of exploring the mind, desires, and thoughts of their Creator. God never intended His people to figure out life on their own, even before the fall. They were created to love and worship the Wonderful Counselor who would explain their world to them.

In the fall, God permitted the intrusion of another counselor, (Satan), who would capture the hearts and minds of His people and carry them into sin. Why would God allow such a thing?

Since He does all things for His wn glory and the good of His people, this dark moment in time and all its consequences must demonstrate His glory and benefit His chosen ones. God's love for His people is magnified and celebrated when we know Him as a merciful, forgiving God who invades our lives to rescue us through Jesus Christ.
--
"The glory of God and the good of His people are inseparably connected." (John Newton)

--Haven Today

-Our Advocate in Heaven-

"Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high." (Job 16:19) -

It is significant that here, in what is probably the oldest book in the Bible, two vitally important New Testament truths are anticipated. Job somehow knew that he (and, by implication, every other person as well) has a "record" in heaven. This is the only occurrence of this word (sahed) in the Bible, but it basically means that our works, good or bad, have been recorded by God in heaven concerning how we have used or abused our stewardship here on earth.

And the record, inevitably, testifies against us, "for there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not" (Ecclesiastes 7:20). At God's future throne of judgment, when "the dead (are) judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works," then "whosoever (is) not found written in the book of life (is) cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:12, 15).

But how can we know that our names will be in God's book of life in that day? Thankfully, even Job knew, in his long-ago time, that "my witness is in heaven." Here the word (Hebrew ed) speaks of a formal personal witness who can testify on our behalf, one who "might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor!" (Job 16:21).

Job somehow knew that such a witness was there, for he could also say, "I know that my redeemer liveth" (Job 19:25). In the light of the New Testament record, we know that this Redeemer and Witness is none other than the Lord Jesus. "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 2:1-2). That is, He is the "sacrifice" for our sins, and thus can redeem us from sin's penalty, and thereby serve as our defense witness in heaven. Our record of sin and guilt has been washed clean with the precious blood of Christ.

--ICR/HMM

-The Obedient Christ

"And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:8)

The only begotten Son of God substituted Himself for all humanity to save them from the righteous judgment of a thrice-holy Creator.

Jesus found Himself "in fashion as a man," which therefore made it possible for Him to humble Himself and to become obedient to the death that had been ordained for Him prior to the very foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20).

Perhaps it is too much to suggest that Jesus "woke up" when He "found" Himself in Mary's womb, but it is certain that He "increased in wisdom" (Luke 2:52) as He grew in "stature." Basically, because He "became" human, He experienced the normal increase in awareness and experience that all of us do.

The difference was, obviously, that He "humbled" Himself, even though He "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). Christ's sinless behavior could have easily "exalted" Him as His wisdom and miracles became known throughout Israel. Indeed, many tried to make Him King.

Isaiah prophetically records the mindset of the Lord many years before He actually entered Jerusalem: "I set my face like a flint" (Isaiah 50:7). Later, Jesus told His disciples, "I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" (Luke 12:50).

Finally, the obedience of our Lord Jesus, understood fully and deeply at Gethsemane, was fully accomplished, "even the death of the cross." May our hearts never forget or tire of these great truths.

ICR/HMM III

The Infinite Wisdom and Knowledge of God
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Colossians 2:3)

One of the most amazing of the divine attributes is God's omniscience. He not only understands all the complexities of relativistic science and higher mathematics, He ordained them in the first place! The same applies to every other discipline of study and activity.

And He knows all about each of us! "O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off" (Psalm 139:1-2).

As far as human knowledge is concerned, it is vital to know that "the fear of the Lord" is the very foundation of "knowledge" and of "wisdom" (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). All the greatest scientists of the past acknowledged that they were seeking merely to "think God's thoughts after Him."

How foolish it is to ignore or to oppose God! There are only four places in the Bible that speak of God laughing (Psalm 2:4; 37:13; 59:8; Proverbs 1:26), and each of them describes His response to such folly.

Instead, we should marvel at all the wonders of His creation and providence. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Romans 11:33).

Our text verse above (Colossians 2:3) is actually referring explicitly to the Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten and eternal Son of God. It is He who has given us access to the Creator God and therefore access to the divine knowledge and understanding. Part of the still-effective dominion mandate (Genesis 1:26, 28) is to learn what we can about God's creation, always remembering that Jesus insisted that--no matter what unbelievers say--"the scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). HMM

-He Knows Our Hearts

"Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men)." (2 Chronicles 6:30)

Eight times in Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple, he beseeches God to "hear from heaven" (vv. 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 33, 35, 39) when His people confess their sins and pray for deliverance. It is marvelous that God, whose "dwelling place" is in heaven (vv. 21, 30, 33, 39) can actually hear the prayers of people here on earth, but we remember that He is omnipresent through His Holy Spirit.

Even more marvelous, if possible, is the fact that He can hear prayers uttered only in our hearts. But He is also omniscient, and thus knows the very thoughts of our hearts.

Then, as we read of Jesus' wrath at the desecration of the temple by those who would commercialize their religion there, it was said that He "needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man" (John 2:25). This is direct confirmation that Jesus is God, for only God knows the thoughts of our hearts.

It is a wonderful day when we realize that God knows our hearts. It can be frightening, of course, if our hearts are not right with God, but it can also be of great comfort and exhilaration--it all depends on the thoughts and motivations of our hearts. As David wrote long ago: "Thou understandest my thought afar off" (Psalm 139:2).

We need, therefore, to guard our thought-life just as much as our social life, "for he knoweth the secrets of the heart" (Psalm 44:21). May God help us to be "casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). It is a good thing if our thoughts please Him.

ICR/HMM

-Jesus Christ Is Lord
-By: Henry Morris III, D.Min.

"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11) -

Often this passage is thought of as an admission by all sentient beings of the Deity of the Lord Jesus--and it certainly is that. There surely will come a point in time in which "every thing that hath breath" will praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6). Those of us who are the twice-born will do so with great joy.
Those who have chosen to reject the gospel will also do so--but with overwhelming terror (Proverbs 1:27).

However, the foundational passage from which the New Testament quotes, and by which it twice applies the event, is found in Isaiah 45:22-23: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me [b]every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."[/b](Believers and UNbelievers!)

Our verse today applies the Isaiah passage to the great final judgment referred to in Revelation 20. Other insights in Revelation cite some of the songs we may sing and something of the ceremonies and pageantry associated with the celebration of Christ's formal assumption of His role as King.

The first New Testament quotation of Isaiah 45:23 is in Romans 14:11-12. Here, Paul applies the judgment to an open report of our deeds: "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Surely this broader sight should strengthen our resolve to "please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier" (2 Timothy 2:4). HMM III

-The Lord Jehovah
-By: John D. Morris, Ph.D.

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation" (Isaiah 12:2).
-----
The English name, usually written Lord in the English Bibles, stems from the Hebrew word, Yahweh, the meaning of which cannot be fully put into words. Although scholars differ (some even claiming there is no real meaning to the word at all), the consensus is that it seems to be a compound of the three tenses of the Hebrew verb "to be," implying the ever living nature of God to which Christ was referring when He said, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8). Note also the similar implications in God's announcement of Himself to Moses: "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM" (Exodus 3:14).

On forty-nine special occasions (seven times seven) the name Jehovah is contracted to Jah. Many consider this to be an abbreviation of Jehovah, but no satisfactory explanation as to why it is so used has been offered. Perhaps a better suggestion is that this name is the present tense of the verb "to be," and therefore the name Jah emphasizes the present activity of the Lord. In nearly all occurrences, the passages are strengthened by noting the present work of God. The first usage of the term Jah is found in Miriam's Song upon deliverance from Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea. "The Lord [Jah] is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation" (Exodus 15:2).

On several occasions, such as in our text, we see that the two names are combined, celebrating both the present and future deliveries of "Jah Jehovah." "Trust ye in the Lord [Jehovah] for ever: for in the Lord [Jah] JEHOVAH is everlasting strength" (Isaiah 26:4).

ICR/ JDM

-Our Rock of Salvation

"He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." (Deuteronomy 32:4)

Here in the song of Moses, which God instructed him to write for the children of Israel as they were about to enter the Promised Land (note Deuteronomy 31:19), is the first of at least 40 references in the Bible to God as the Rock. There are four others just in this song. In verse 15, He is the "Rock of (Israel's) salvation." In verse 18, He is "the Rock that begat thee." See also verses 30 and 31.

Note some of the other wonderful metaphors picturing God as our great foundation stone. He is "my strong rock" in Psalm 31:2, and "the rock that is higher than I" in Psalm 61:2. In Psalm 62:7, He is "the rock of my strength" and "the rock of my refuge" in Psalm 94:22. The prophet Isaiah calls Him "a great rock in a weary land" and "the rock whence ye are hewn" (Isaiah 32:2; 51:1).

During the wilderness wanderings, the Israelites were supplied continually with water from the rock, and the apostle Paul tells us "that spiritual Rock that followed them . . . was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). And, of course, Christ told His disciples that Peter's confession of Himself as the "Son of the living God" was the Rock upon which He would build His church (Matthew 16:16, 18).

But to unbelievers He is "the stone which the builders rejected" (Matthew 21:42), "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word" (1 Peter 2:8).

"Therefore," said Jesus, "whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock" (Matthew 7:24-25).

--HMM

-How Long?

"And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" (Revelation 6:10)

This poignant cry has often been raised by suffering believers anxious to see the Lord work on their behalf. It was often recorded in Scripture under such circumstances, first in Psalm 6:3 and last of all in our text above (see also Psalm 74:10; 90:13; Zechariah 1:12; etc.).

The cry in our text is from "the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held" (Revelation 6:9). The context would indicate that these souls are of those who will die under future persecutions, but the principle surely applies to the martyrs of every age. When they were slain, it was only their physical bodies which died, while their souls live on in heaven, aware of events on earth. This truth, in fact, applies to all who die trusting in Christ as their Savior.

All of these men and women, both while yet alive in the body and also later when "absent from the body, and . . . present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8), have longed for the day when Christ will come to complete "the redemption of the purchased possession" (Ephesians 1:14) and when finally God will answer the age-long prayers of His people as they prayed, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).

For several generations now, Christians have been asking (even singing!) the great question of our text, "How long, O Lord?"

The signs of His soon coming multiply, yet we still wait. Nevertheless, He has promised to return, and His Word is true and sure. He will come--perhaps today! "For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry" (Hebrews 10:37). HMM

-God Is Love

"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16)

God is clearly "the Lord, the righteous judge" (2 Timothy 4:8), but He is also "the God of love and peace" (2 Corinthians 13:11). Not only in our text verse but also in another place, we are reminded that "God is love" (1 John 4:8). Of all the attributes of God, His nature of love is the most definitive. God is love!

It was not His omnipotence nor His omniscience that constrained Him to create men and women in His image. It must have been His nature of love, the desire for fellowship with beings like Himself. There is not much revealed on this question--only hints. "I have created him for my glory" (Isaiah 43:7). "The LORD hath made all things for himself" (Proverbs 16:4).

But fellowship is a two-way relationship and requires freedom to choose on the part of both. When man volitionally broke that fellowship, sin came into the world and God's creation purpose was to all appearances set aside.

But God is love! He had not only a plan of creation but also a plan of salvation already in process. He "saved us, . . . according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (2 Timothy 1:9).

And so "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us" (1 John 3:1).

God is, indeed, a God of love[b]![/b]
--HMM

-Our God Is Everywhere!

"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." (Proverbs 15:3)
--
The God who created and made all things is not only omnipotent, He is omnipresent. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" (2 Chronicles 16:9).

David's insightful 139th psalm is certainly one of the most striking affirmations of God's omnipresence. "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee" (Psalm 139:8-12).

God's omnipresence, however, should not be understood in a pantheistic sense. Although He sees everyone and everything, that does not mean He is in everyone and everything. The creation did not create itself!

But since God is everywhere, He Himself cannot be seen anywhere. Jesus said concerning the Father, "Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape," but He also said, "I am come in my Father's name" (John 5:37, 43). "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9).

It is also a wonderful revelation that the Holy Spirit of God now indwells every Christian believer, so this is another way in which God is everywhere--that is, wherever there are true Christians, God is there. "Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:20).

ICR/HMM

-My Lord and My God

"And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God." (John 20:28)

Thomas has been called "doubting Thomas" because of his initial reluctance to believe in the Lord's resurrection, but neither the Lord nor the other disciples ever viewed him in such a light. His later ministry, as the first missionary/martyr to India, speaks clearly of his great faith.

It is only in John's gospel that we have any specific insight into Thomas' character. When the other disciples sought to dissuade Jesus from returning to Jerusalem, it was Thomas who urged, "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (John 11:16). Thomas understood the dangers awaiting them, but was ready to go wherever Jesus desired him to go. In the upper room when Jesus spoke of going away, Thomas, still willing to go with Him anywhere, was the only one to ask, "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?" (John 14:5). Then, just a few hours later, the Lord had been crucified, and soon "the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews" (John 20:19) as they hid themselves in the upper room.

But Thomas was not hiding! The Scriptures do not say where he was when Jesus appeared in their midst, but he was not hiding there like the others. He may well have been out working or witnessing, doing whatever he could to follow the Lord, but he (like the others) had failed to understand Jesus' promise that He would rise again.

When the other disciples reported that they had seen the resurrected Lord, Thomas, realizing the tremendous significance of such a miracle if it were true, insisted he must see the proof firsthand. Then, when he saw the Lord, he showed a higher comprehension of what had taken place than any of the others, as he whispered in awe: "My Lord, and my God!"

-- HMM

-The "I Am's" Of Christ
-By" Henry Morris, Ph.D.
-- --(this is lengthy, read at your convenience)

Those "Christians" who think of the Lord Jesus Christ as just a great man who never really claimed to be God need to confront His amazing statement to the scribes and Pharisees there in Jerusalem when they were berating Him in the temple. "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day," He said. Then, when they questioned that assertion, He went on to insist that "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:56,58).

This was such a bold claim to deity, that they immediately prepared to stone Him for what they thought was blasphemy. But He somehow "hid Himself," (v.59) and escaped.

Of course, if He was not God, what He said was blasphemous, which was a capital crime under the Mosaic law (Leviticus 24:16). He was actually claiming to be the God to whom Moses spoke at the burning bush, when he asked God what His name was. God had answered that His name was "I AM" (Exodus 3:14)

(continued/ The "I AM's" of Christ) -

Please continue reading this on ICR / Institute for Creation Research / type in search "The "I AM's" of Christ"

Thank you! JESUS IS ALIVE!

Here is an article from the Institute for Creation Research: 'The "I Am's" Of Christ' -- (http://www.icr.org/article/i-ams-christ/)

-
-Contradictions: The Firstborn Creator?

How could Jesus be the Creator (John 1:1–3) if he was the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15)?
By: Bodie Hodge, AiG–U.S.

John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

-Colossians 1:15–16
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

-Psalm 2:6, 7

“Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’”

-Hebrews 1:5, 6

For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”? And again: “ I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son”? But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”

Off the cuff, the first thing that needs to be established is that Christ is the Creator God as these passages reveal. Otherwise, Christ would have been the uncreated creator of the resultant created being, which is obviously illogical!

The alleged contradiction results from an improper understanding of the phrase “firstborn over all of creation” and the meaning and date of the “begetting.” Do these really mean the “first created entity” at a time near Creation, which some claim is implied here? Absolutely not. A Christian apologist has even pointed out that there is a Greek word for “first created,” and it was not used in this instance.1

The context of the Psalms and Hebrews passages is clearly of the time of Jesus’ ministry on earth, indicating his incarnation some 2000 years ago, not the Beginning or not an alleged beginning to His actual existence.

And consider this passage:

-Psalm 89:20, 27

I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him. . . . Also I will make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.

Take notice how David has been allotted the position of firstborn! However, David was the youngest—and not the firstborn—of Jesse, his father; the firstborn was Eliab as indicated in 1 Samuel 17:13. Take notice in Psalm 89:27 how God assigns this title. Consider also Ephraim’s inheritance of the title of firstborn (Jeremiah 31:9), even though he was the younger (Genesis 41:51–52).

Like David and Ephraim, Jesus also received this title. David and Ephraim were obviously not the first created entities, and so it would be illogical to make the claim that Jesus was created due merely to the endowment of this titleship. Hence, there is no contradiction.

Jesus is both the Creator and the One who inherited this elite title.

-Fullness Of Blessing
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ” (Romans 15:29).

One beautiful characteristic of life in Christ is its fullness. Jesus Christ is Himself “the fullness of Him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:23), and He does everything to the full! When He fed the multitude, there were twelve baskets left over (John 6:13); when He brought in the miraculous catch of fishes, the nets were so full that they broke, and the boats so full they began to sink (Luke 5:6,7).

First of all, He gives fullness of grace. “And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). Then comes fullness of joy and peace: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing” (Romans 15:13).

It is then possible—in fact, we are commanded—to be “filled with the Spirit . . . making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:18,19). Not only does the Holy Spirit indwell us, but so do the Father and the Son, by the Spirit. Jesus said: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). In this way, the triune God indwells us, and thereby we “know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that [we] might be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).

All the fullness of God! In Jesus Christ “dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him” (Colossians 2:9,10), “For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell” (Colossians 1:19). With the resources of such fullness of blessing available to us, we should be constantly growing “unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
ICR/ HMM

-The Marvel of Design
By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another." (Genesis 43:33)

When creationists calculate the extremely low probability of the chance origin of life, many evolutionists scoff at the calculation, alleging that any one arrangement of the components of a simple, living molecule is just as likely as any other arrangement, so it is no great marvel that the components fell into this particular arrangement.

This is a puerile argument, of course, quite unworthy of the intelligent scientists who use it. There are at best only a few arrangements that will contain the organized information necessary for reproduction, compared to "zillions" of arrangements with no information at all.

This fact is beautifully illustrated in our text. Why should Joseph's brothers "marvel" when they were seated in chronological order of birth by a host who (presumably) was entirely unaware of that order?

The reason why they marveled was because there are almost 40 million different ways (calculated by multiplying all the numbers, one through eleven, together) in which the eleven brothers could have been seated! It seemingly couldn't happen by chance.

Maybe an evolutionist would not "marvel" that this unique seating arrangement happened by chance, since he somehow believes that far more intricately organized arrangements than this happened by chance to produce our universe and its array of complex systems. Anyone else, however, would immediately have realized this, and so the brothers of Joseph "marvelled one at another."

So also, when we behold the wonders of design in the creation, we should "lift up (our) eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things" (Isaiah 40:26).

-ICR/HMM

-Biblical Accuracy
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?" (John 3:12)

Many who profess to be Christian intellectuals today are arguing that we should defer to the evolutionists in matters of science and history, since the real message of the Bible is spiritual. The Genesis account, for example, is not meant to give us details of the events of creation, for scientists can give us this information. It merely assures us that God is somehow behind it all. But if this were all that God meant to tell us, its very first verse is enough for that! What is the need to describe all the days and acts of creation at all if the record has no real relevance to history or science?

As the Lord Jesus told Nicodemus in our text verse, if we cannot trust God's Word when it relates "earthly things," how can we possibly rely on its testimony of "heavenly things"? To some extent we can check for ourselves whether or not it is accurate when it records facts of history and processes of nature, but we have no means at all of determining whether it speaks the truth when it deals with heaven and hell, with salvation and eternal life, or with God's purpose for the world in the ages to come.

The fact is that the Bible is accurate in all matters with which it deals, scientific and historical as well as spiritual and theological. It is a dangerous thing to listen to these modern "pied pipers" of evangelicalism whose self-serving compromises with evolutionary scientism have already led multitudes of young people astray in our Christian colleges and seminaries.

We yet may not have all the answers to alleged problems in the Bible, but we can be absolutely sure of God's Word. When the answers are found, they will merely confirm what He has said all along. He is able and willing to speak the truth, and He means what He says!

ICR/HMM

-The King Will Come Again ~~
1 Thessalonians 4:13; 2 Peter 3:3-14

"He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.'. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen."
--(Revelation 22:20-21)

What a thrilling prospect: Jesus will come again in glory! He will usher in a new heaven and a new earth, bringing everything to perfection. Sin and death will be no more. There will be no pain, no regret, no disappointment, no loss. Every tear will be wiped away by the King Himself.

Each of us will be perfect--and that includes having perfect bodies to replace our present creaking frames! The King of kings will have work for each of us to do in the new order. Forget about those notions of harps and clouds!

The coming of all things new doesn't mean we should consider our present responsibilities and struggles to be not worthwhile. All that is done for the King of Glory here will be of use there. Nothing is wasted of all the good we accomplish for the King in this life; He will incorporate it into the new order.

We read in Revelation 21:24-26 that the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into the new Jerusalem--the new order--and that the glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
---
What quality of work should we be doing right now in light of the fact that it will be used for all eternity?

--Haven Today/ YES! THE KING IS COMING! Jesus said, "Be ye ready for ye know not the day the Son of man cometh."

-"Grieve not the Holy Spirit." {#Eph 4:30}
-By: Charles Spurgeon

All that the believer has must come from Christ, but it comes solely through the channel of the Spirit of grace. Moreover, as all blessings thus flow to you through the Holy Spirit, so also no good thing can come out of you in holy thought, devout worship, or gracious act, apart from the sanctifying operation of the same Spirit. Even if the good seed be sown in you, yet it lies dormant except he worketh in you to will and to do of his own good pleasure.

Do you desire to speak for Jesus—how can you unless the Holy Ghost touch your tongue? Do you desire to pray? Alas! what dull work it is unless the Spirit maketh intercession for you! Do you desire to subdue sin? Would you be holy? Would you imitate your Master? Do you desire to rise to superlative heights of spirituality? Are you wanting to be made like the angels of God, full of zeal and ardour for the Master’s cause? You cannot without the Spirit—"Without me ye can do nothing."

O branch of the vine, thou canst have no fruit without the sap! O child of God, thou hast no life within thee apart from the life which God gives thee through his Spirit! Then let us not grieve him or provoke him to anger by our sin. Let us not quench him in one of his faintest motions in our soul; let us foster every suggestion, and be ready to obey every prompting. If the Holy Spirit be indeed so mighty, let us attempt nothing without him; let us begin no project, and carry on no enterprise, and conclude no transaction, without imploring his blessing. Let us do him the due homage of feeling our entire weakness apart from him, and then depending alone upon him, having this for our prayer,......

"Open thou my heart and my whole being to thine incoming, and uphold me with thy free Spirit when I shall have received that Spirit in my inward parts."

-The Peace of Christ

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)

The peace of Christ is not the peace of the world. If history is any criterion, the search for world peace always will be futile, for there have been wars going on somewhere in the world practically every day throughout history.

But even if the world’s leaders could bring peace to the world, it would not be true peace. "My peace," said Jesus, "is not as the world giveth." Peace is internal, not external. "From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?" (James 4:1).

The true Christian will never be left at peace in the world, even when there are brief respites of peace between the nations of the world. Only in Christ is there real peace. "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

The Lord Jesus Christ alone can give true peace, for only "he is our peace" (Ephesians 2:14). He is the true peacemaker, for He "made peace through the blood of his cross" (Colossians 1:20). Before there can ever be genuine peace between man and man on earth, there must be peace between man on earth and God in heaven.

Once a person has been "justified by faith," however, he has eternal "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Then, for daily peace, he can simply appropriate this truth in his life. "In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).
ICR/ HMM -- LOVE CAME DOWN AT CHRISTMAS!!

-Raised Us up Together
-By: John D. Morris, Ph.D.

"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6)

The Bible clearly identifies the resurrection of Christ as central to the Christian message, just as crucial as the atoning death of Christ. "If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins" (1 Corinthians 15:17). And just as surely as Christ is raised, we who have put our faith in Him shall be raised.

What kind of body will we have then? "We shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). In His resurrection body He could appear and disappear (John 20:19), pass through closed doors (v. 26), be felt by others (Matthew 28:9; John 20:27), eat food (Luke 24:42, 43), and He eventually rose into heaven (Acts 1:9).

Paul, who has now been dead nearly 2,000 years, asserted: "We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body" (Philippians 3:20-21). How can a person, long since dead, whose spirit has been in God's presence, receive once again a body? This, of course, is a miracle, for the physical elements which once made up Paul's earthly body have long ago changed their form, and even while he was alive were continually being replaced.

No, God will not restore a prior body to the dead, but will present them with a new "glorious" body, fit for the eternal environment and service of heaven. Paul could only write of it by analogy, comparing the difference between the old and the new bodies to the difference between a seed and a plant, to different kinds of living things, and to different kinds of celestial bodies. "So also is the resurrection of the dead." It is sown in corruption, dishonor, weakness, as a natural body, but it is raised in incorruption, glory, and power, as a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:37-44).

-ICR/JDM

-The Mercy Seat/ [Christ's Atoning Blood]
"And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat." (Exodus 25:21-22)

In the "holy of holies" of the tabernacle, God would meet with Israel’s high priest once a year to commune with His people at a meeting place called the "mercy seat." The Hebrew word was derived from the word for "atonement," which in turn meant essentially a "covering" for the Ark of the Covenant. On the great day of atonement each year, the high priest was commanded to sprinkle the blood from the sin offerings on the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:14-15) to make an atonement for all the people.

This annual ceremony, of course, merely prefigures the full atonement which Christ would make one day when "by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Hebrews 9:12). Since this blood has been sprinkled once for all on the heavenly mercy seat, as it were, we are now "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God" (Romans 3:24-25).

In this verse, the word "propitiation" is the Greek word for "mercy seat" (and is so translated in Hebrews 9:5). That is, Christ Himself, with His atoning blood, is our mercy seat, where we can meet with God. Thus, the golden, blood-stained mercy seat becomes the very throne of God Himself, where He meets with those who believe on Him for salvation.

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (4:16).

-ICR/HMM

-God Is Able
-By: John D. Morris, Ph.D.

“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto Him be glory” (Ephesians 3:20,21).

The Bible portrays God as omnipotent—all powerful, able even to create all things from nothing (Hebrews 11:3). The individual is portrayed as totally insufficient to do anything but fail. Yet the Bible also teaches that great things will be done in, and through, and to us. How? It is only through God’s power and wisdom that anything of substance will be accomplished. He alone is able. Consider the following sampling of tasks He is able to perform for us.

God is able to do the work of salvation in a believer’s heart. “Wherefore (God) is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). We can entrust that salvation for eternity “unto Him that is able to keep (us) from falling, and to present (us) faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24).

In this life we will have physical needs, and included in a passage on the obligation we have to give so that others’ needs will be met is Paul’s claim that “God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (II Corinthians 9:8). Furthermore, He alone is able to equip us for service. “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (I Timothy 1:12).

His able ministry toward us does not stop in this life, for He “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself” (Philippians 3:21). As our text teaches, He “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”
-- JDM

-You Are NOT Your Own!
-1 Corinthians 6:17-20

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit...? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Young people regularly ask me, "Pastor Dion, is it okay for me to get a permanent tattoo or a piercing?" I usually respond, "Why do you want to get one?" The answer is always the same. They see it as a further expression of themselves.

The real question to ask is this: 'Will this glorify God since He purchased my body with the precious blood of His Son?' We have a tendency to think that the Lord's involvement in our spiritual lives is okay, but when it comes to our bodies, that's off limits!

Paul reminds us that we used to use our bodies for all sorts of unsavory and sinful practices. But now, since we are united to Christ and His beloved servants, we are NOT our own. Our rights are forfeited for His right to do with us as He pleases.

Paul proclaims, "I am not my own; I am bought with a price!" With joy he admits that he used to be a slave to sin, to self, and to Satan but now is a slave to a gracious, good Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. Commit to Him with all your heart, soul, body, and strength.

-"As our reasonable Christian service, we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord!"
--(Romans 12:1-2)

--Haven Today/CM

-Please read these testimonies of the many people who have had their 'spiritual eyes' opened to the TRUTH OF THE WORD OF GOD!

-Testimonies From Creation Evangelism
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

That creation seminars, creation-oriented books, and other means of spreading the message of scientific, Biblical creationism are effective tools for evangelism and discipleship is a truth that is becoming more clearly evident every year. We here at ICR receive numerous testimonies to that effect at each of our seminars and from each of our publications. We need not be surprised at this, for the Bible itself makes it plain that creation evangelism is a Scriptural method for reaching both Christians and non-Christians who have been influenced by the evolutionary humanism that dominates our schools and news media.

We hope it is encouraging to our readers when we share a few of these testimonies with them from time to time. Here, for example, is one received by Dr. John Morris at our recent seminar in Mason City, Iowa.

For most of my life, I was completely lost. Though raised in a home, some might term "Christian;" I was never presented the true gospel of Jesus Christ with any degree of enthusiasm. I therefore eventually dismissed any church affiliation as an archaic predilection rooted more in Western tradition than prepositional truth. I claimed agnosticism but was a practical atheist, and when I did acknowledge God it was to curse His name and dare Him to retaliate, "knowing" that such response was impossible since there was no God.

I found myself in this precarious position in relation to God for one primary reason. I was a scientifically oriented, self-proclaimed intellectual for most of my life. One thing I had to my credit was enough intellectual integrity to realize that, if prevailing scientific opinion regarding origins was true, then the Bible was a dubious and ignoble work of fancy. By no means could it be considered a divine oracle by which to determine the course of one's destiny. Because I believed its foundation to be a whimsical illusion, I rejected the entire structure of the Christian faith.

The course of my life took an entirely unexpected turn a few years ago. As the result of the concerted efforts of a very dear friend, I was coerced into attending my first "Back to Genesis" seminar in Castro Valley, California. I cannot describe the thoughts and feelings that rushed throughout my entire soul as truths, which seem now obvious to me were unfolded. All I can say is that at one point I began to wonder if anyone noticed the tears rolling down my cheeks. It was not the dry data, which stirred me to such a display, but their implications. My rejection of God had been predicated on the fallacy of Genesis 1:1. If it were possible that the creation account were true, then God was real and I was in trouble!

Strangely enough, however, my most intense emotion at that moment was not the fear of imminent Divine retaliation, but a deep sense of agony at having for so long spat in the face of the loving God who created me. A few weeks later, I dedicated my life to the Lord. Although I did not realize it at the time had not only called me to salvation, but also to the ministry of His gospel. At the time of this writing I am a licensed Baptist minister and am currently in the process of gaining a seminary degree.

I have spent the bulk of my life on the path to Hell. If it were not for the ministry of the Institute for Creation Research, I might never have departed from that path. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for ordaining this vast ministry to His service.

Another heart-felt testimony was received recently in a letter from a lady in New England.

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to you for your book The Genesis Record that was sent to my husband by ICR. I cannot express the joy and tenderness of his heart that I have witnessed in the intense reading of your book. It has made him a strong dedicated man, a man that I can see Christ in. It (the book) was sent at a time that I experienced a deep loss and as a result, a hurt so deep that I became both physically and emotionally drained and in despair, losing my faith in a God that is alive and that even cares about me. Nick has been slowly and tenderly sharing your book with me. Thank you so very much, Dr. Morris. There is most certainly a special place in my heart for you.

Here is a fine letter from a Chinese student studying in Iowa.

I have just finished reading your book Science and the Bible. I just bought the book this morning and read it in the evening. I could not put it down except for dinner and I am blessed by your book very much. Praise the Lord[b]! I am a man that loved science very much and find the Bible is contradictory (or at least that was what I thought) to sciences or facts. The Lord is right! I shall know the truth and the truth will set me free. I was overfilling when I was reading chapter two to the end of the book. No wonder many Christian scientists said they were being lied to and now I know exactly why.

The reason I wrote this letter is to tell you the above mentioned and to tell you that I am really blessed! Please can you also send me a list of your publications and other similar books to me? I give thanks to you in the name of Christ.

The following is a testimony from a medical doctor in Arkansas who is now a strong and articulate creationist and soul-winning Christian.

Through my many years of scientific and medical training, I had agreed with the theory that evolution was fact. Since I had a personal relationship with the Creator, I was a theistic evolutionist. Scientific creation was a farce!

Dr. Henry Morris, a scientist, had been invited to speak at our church on the scientific evidence of creation. At that time, I was embarrassed by the promotion of his talk in our community.

On the night before Dr. Morris was to speak, a friend asked if I would please take Dr. Morris for breakfast. I spent that evening preparing many questions designed to humble the man who believed in creation as science. He politely answered questions on the age of the earth, carbon 14 dating, fossils, biochemistry, physics, genetics, geology, biology, history, anatomy, etc. His answers showed irrefutable, clear evidence of a designer. I quickly shifted to the "weaknesses" of the Bible: a seven-day creation, the flood, Cain's wine, languages, races, Jonah and the whale, etc. His answers were clear, simple, and easily understood. For the first time in my scientific life, I was hearing understandable truths and seeing facts, which answered my most difficult questions. I did not need faith to believe the obvious.

A wife and mother in Minnesota writes that she and her husband had both graduated from a denominational college but that all of their textbooks and classes had been heavily weighted toward evolution. One day they happened to hear our ICR radio program. She goes on to say:

….. he had heard someone from ICR on the radio and was very excited about what he had heard. I bought him The Genesis Record and he read it from cover to cover....
Their childhood faith was restored, and all her family soon joined a Bible-believing church where they are happy in the Lord and studying God's word. In the last paragraph of her beautiful, four-page letter she says:

Your books and tapes have been a real encouragement to us. Maybe someday, we will be able to attend one of your tours.


A man in England writes about the way in which God brought him to saving faith in Christ.

I went to church up to the end of my teens and I then stopped. I considered myself a Christian, but accepted evolution as proved, and tried to fit in what the Bible had to say with it, with obviously no success.... I started to think about evolution and wonder how it worked. It made no sense to me. While I was doing this, I was looking at the books about the Bible in our central library. One of the books that caught my attention was The Genesis Flood]. What you had to say made more sense to me than evolution ever did. I decided to look into it, and what I found absolutely appalled me. I decided to fight it at every opportunity I could get. It was this and a couple of other Christian books that the Lord used to lead me to Himself, and I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior in 1983.

From a college student in Arkansas:

While I was at my parent's home during spring break, I came across a book I had read during junior high--entitled Evolution and The Modem Christian, by Henry Morris. I am rereading it now and again I am struck (as I was in the eighth grade) by how well it refutes the doctrine of evolution.... This book transformed me from a skeptical doubter into a defender of the faith armed with scientific knowledge to refute the false and unscientific concept of evolution.

From a student at the University of Papua New Guinea:

I am a second year biology student at the above mentioned university.... I never realized the supreme importance of the question of origins until I came to university. The devil is attacking the book of Genesis and Christians on university campuses are silent! It seems much easier to go and win souls than to be tangled up in a controversial issue--while our very foundations are being destroyed.
I thank God for the tremendous work you guys are doing. I first got to hear about ICR through my Baptist chaplain. He does seminars on creation versus evolution, backed up by slides and films that he has bought from your Institute. He has also bought many books and tapes and we keep them in a little book center that we have started.... My chaplain is leaving at the end of this year and we want to continue learning from you through Acts & Facts.

We hear many such testimonies at our meetings and would like to put them all in a book, if we could. In any case, although we never give altar calls or use other such methods that are common in evangelistic meetings, we are confident that the creation oriented message is effective in evangelism, both in winning people to saving faith in Christ and in strengthening the faith and testimony of those who are already Christians but who have doubts that are hindering their own effectiveness in the Christian life.

We would, in the meantime, love to hear from any of our other readers who would like to share similar testimonies conceding the impact of scientific Biblical creationism in their own experience.

* Dr. Morris is Founder and President of the Institute or Creation Research.

-JESUS: The One Who Takes Away Our Shame!

I invite you to think carefully about the supreme test Jesus faced in the race. Hebrews 12:2 offers this intriguing statement: "[Jesus] endured the cross, despising the shame."

Shame is a feeling of disgrace, embarrassment, humiliation. Forgive me for stirring the memory, but don't you have a shameful moment in your history? Can you imagine the horror you would feel if everyone knew about it? What if a videotape of that event were played before your family and friends? How would you feel?

That is exactly what Jesus felt. Why? you ask. He never did anything worthy of shame. No, but we did. And since on the Cross, God made Him become sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), Jesus was covered with shame. He was shamed before His family. Stripped naked before His own mother and loved ones. Shamed before His fellow men. Forced to carry a cross until the weight caused Him to stumble. Shamed before His church. The pastors and elders of His day mocked Him, calling Him names. Shamed before the city of Jerusalem. Condemned to die a criminal's death. Parents likely pointed to Him from a distance and told their children, "That's what they do to evil men."

But the shame before men didn't compare with the shame Jesus felt before His Father. Our individual shame seems too much to bear. Can you imagine bearing the collective shame of all humanity? One wave of shame after another was dumped on Jesus. Though He never cheated, He was convicted as a cheat. Though He never stole, heaven regarded Him as a thief. Though He never lied, He was considered a liar. Though He never lusted, He bore the shame of an adulterer. Though He always believed, He endured the disgrace of an infidel. ~~

-From: Just Like Jesus
By: Max Lucado

Oh, Blessed Dear Wonderful Saviour, Jesus, thank you for dying so that I,(we), will live eternally with you. WHAT A WONDERFUL SAVIOR! What a Wonderful Maker(Creator)! Praise Your Holy Name!
---
<http://youtu.be/RfWsE7SEhuk>

-Preached in All Creation
-By: John D. Morris, Ph.D.

"If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister." (Colossians 1:23)

Many times Christians piously say, "Why get worked up over creation, why don't you just preach the gospel?" But such a question reveals a faulty knowledge of what "the gospel" consists of, for, as has been noted many times on these pages, the gospel consists not only of the redemptive work of Christ, but His entire person and work as well. The message of the "everlasting gospel" is to "worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters" (Revelation 14:6-7). Elsewhere, the gospel includes His coming Kingdom (Matthew 4:23, for example). From creation to redemption to ultimate restoration, all is "good news," all the work and person of Christ.

In our text we see that the gospel "was preached to every creature," or perhaps better translated, "in all creation." What was the message of the gospel for which Paul was so jealous? The answer is found in the preceding verses.

Christ is preeminent, literally "the firstborn of every creature" (v. 15), totally God (v. 19). He is the Creator of all things, both physical and spiritual (v. 16), and continues to maintain His creation (v. 17). He leads the church, assuring victory over death (v. 18). He is the Redeemer, the perfect sacrifice for sins (vv. 20-22), providing each believer total sanctification (v. 22). He will ultimately restore all of creation to its original created intent (v. 20).

Only as we recognize and believe the teachings of His Word on the entire "good news," from creation to consummation, can we hope to victoriously "continue in the faith grounded and settled." JDM

-Without the Shedding of Blood
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22).

It is strange that so many people object to the Biblical doctrine of salvation through the shed blood of Christ. Even some evangelicals will argue that the blood is merely a chemical mixture, and that it was the death of Christ that was the price of our redemption.

Chemistry aside, the Bible does indeed stress that "we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:14), that He has "made peace through the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:20), and that we are "now justified by His blood" (Romans 5:9). We receive His great work of propitiation -- that is His sacrificial death for our sins -- "through faith in His blood" (Romans 3:25).

Why this emphasis on the shedding of His blood, which seems offensive to so many people? Could He not have been put to death in other ways -- drowning, stoning, asphyxiation, etc. -- ways not involving the ugliness of bloodshed?

One can speculate with many "what if?" questions, but we must go by the Word of God. It remains true, theologically as well as biologically, that "the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11, also Genesis 9:4). The basic rationale of sacrifice -- the death of an innocent substitute to provide life for the guilty -- has centered from the beginning (when God provided coats of skin for the nakedness of Adam and Eve) on the spilled blood of sacrificial animals to atone for (that is "to cover") the sins of the one bringing the offering, until finally "the Lamb of God" could be offered by God as "one sacrifice for sins for ever" (Hebrews 10:12).

When the blood gushed from His pierced side, His spotless life was poured out at the foot of the cross, and the price of our redemption was fully paid.

--ICR/HMM

-Sensory Appeal
-John 20:19-23
---
Jesus--the Word Made Flesh--appealed to the human senses of His friends that night in the upper room. He didn't try to explain the physical dynamics of cosmic power over human beings when He appeared. Nor did He provide scientific evidence to validate His appearance as both God and Man when both seemed to have died three days before.

Instead, He invited them not to spiritualize the moment but draw near to Him and to be human. He asked them to touch, listen, look and see. As they did, they realized; this was no phantom. It was true: CHRIST WAS ALIVE!

By pointing to His wounds, He reminded them of His death. He recalled for them what they would need to know from here on out, what would be the center of thier purpose every day on earth; that He had indeed been crucified for their sake, and here were the marks to prove it.

His physical execution guarantees for all of us our eternal relationship with a loving God who transcended every reality ever known. His resurrected life re-defines our lives!
---
-In what ways does Christ's resurrection shape your 'spiritual outlook' and mission today with other believers,(and unbelievers), in your life? We should NEVER be ashamed of the Christ, the God-man, who died to set us free!
The hardest part in Christ's dying, was that His Father had to turn His face away, as the curtain was torn into. God cannot look on sin, and on the cross Jesus took ALL THE SINS of the entire world on his shoulders! He conquered death! He was left totally alone.
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?"
---

-THE LAMB
WHO IS
THE LION!

-Revelation 5:1-12
---
"At the name of Jesus
...every tongue
should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord."
--Philippians 2:10-11
--
IN Revelation 5, the Apostle John portrays Jesus, the Lion of Judah (v.5), as a wounded Lamb (v.6). Referring to this word picture, preacher Charles Spurgeon asked, "Why should our exalted Lord appear in His wounds in glory?" His reply: "The wounds of Jesus are His glory."

Typically, the symbol of a lamb does not represent power and victory. Most people prefer symbols of strength that invite admiration. Yet God chose to be incarnated as a baby born into a poor carpenter's home. He lived as an itinerant preacher and died "as a lamb to the slaughter" (Isa. 53:7) on a Roman cross. Everyone, including His disciples, thought that His crucifixion spelled the end of the One who had dared to defy the established religous order of His day. But when Jesus Christ rose from the dead, He demonstrated mightily God's incomparable power and glory.

The day is coming when Jesus will return in glory to rule what is rightfully His. On that day, all will bow before Him and say, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!" (Rev. 5:12).
Jesus, the Lamb who is also the Lion, deserves our praise!

Every knee in heaven is bending
To the Lamb for sinners slain;
Every voice and harp is swelling--
"Worthy is the Lamb to reign!"
---
-To honor our King, His praises we sing.

-ODB/CPH

-Creation and the Cross
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.
------
The two greatest events in all history are the creation of the world and the redemption of the world. Each of these events involved a great divine Week of work and a Day of rest. Creation Week accomplished the work of man's formation; the week that is called Holy Week or Passion Week (perhaps a better term would be Redemption Week) accomplished the work of man's salvation.

Creation Week, which culminated in a perfect world (Genesis 1:31), was followed by man's fall and God's Curse on the world (Genesis 3:17). Passion Week, which culminated in the death and burial of the maker of that perfect world, is followed by man's restoration and the ultimate removal of God's Curse from the world (Revelation 22:3). A Tree (Genesis 3:6) was the vehicle of man's temptation and sin; another Tree (I Peter 2:24) was the vehicle of man's forgiveness and deliverance.
-----------
Check it out!

Here is an article from the Institute for Creation Research:
Creation and the Cross (http://www.icr.org/article/creation-cross/)

-The Lord Our Maker
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker” (Psalm 95:6).
---
Psalms 95–100 seem to form a unit, with several common themes running through them, all involving praise to the Lord.

One of these major themes is the recognition of the Lord as maker of heaven and earth. For example, consider Psalm 95:5. “The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed the dry land.” Thus, God made the earth, including both land and sea. But He also made the heavens! “For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens” (Psalm 96:5).

Higher and far more complex than any planet of the solar system or any star in the heavens, however, are the living organisms found only on Planet Earth—especially human beings—and He made these too. “Know ye that the LORD He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3).

It is significant that these verses all emphasize the activities of God as maker, rather than as Creator. In the first chapter of Genesis, both types of activity are stressed, the account finally concluding with the summary: “all His work which God created and made” (Genesis 2:3).

The two types of work are almost synonymous when referring to the divine activity, but not quite (otherwise “created and made” would be redundant). Specifically, the three acts of true creation in Genesis are the creation of the physical elements of the cosmos, the entity of biological life, and the spiritual image of God in man (Genesis 1:1,21,27). These entities God simply called into being, ex nihilo, by His omnipotent word.

Everything else, He made, or formed, or let be, out of the three basic entities that were specially created. He is both Creator and Maker of all things, and we should worship Him as such.

--ICR/HMM

-Our Understanding Of Creation
-By: John D. Morris, Ph.D.

“Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee” (Nehemiah 9:6).
--- ---
The Bible clearly states that God created the “heaven, and earth, the sea and all that in them is” (Exodus 20:11) out of nothing. “Things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3). The first verse of the Bible could be paraphrased “God called into existence the space [i.e., heavens]—mass [i.e., earth]—time [i.e. beginning]—universe.” Evidently before creation nothing now intrinsic to the universe existed at all.

While this teaching is clear, not hard to understand, it is hard to believe. Such ex nihilo (i.e., out of nothing) creation is so foreign to our experience that it can only be comprehended as God reveals it to us. We are taught that His creative work was finished at the end of the sixth day of creation week (Genesis 2:1–4). With the exception of certain of the miracles of Christ on Earth, such creation has not occurred since, and we have difficulty believing it could happen, so foreign it is to our experience.

Our difficulty stems primarily from the fact that we are sinful creatures; our minds are hampered by sin. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto Him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (I Corinthians 2:14).

Since the doctrine of creation is foundational to the rest of Scripture, we dare not neglect it just because it is difficult, and we dare not impose our feeble naturalistic reasonings onto the clear teaching of Genesis 1 and related passages, thereby reducing God to mere human abilities.
--ICR/JDM

-Because God is Holy
-1 Peter 1:13-21

"But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written; 'Be holy, because I am holy.'"
--(1 Peter 1:15-16)

Peter tells us we should be true in relation to our heavenly Father. If the holy God is our Father--and He is if we've received Jesus as our Savior--then our lives should reflect that family resemblance, too...even in holiness.

In our passage today, Peter quotes from the Old Testament book of Leviticus, a book which has a lot to say about holiness. After God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, He called them to consecrate themselves, to be holy. He urges Christians to think much the same way. As God's children, we are to obey and bring honor to our Father.

Obedience is the way we bring holiness to a practical level in our lives. The more we obey, the more we come to be like our heavenly Father. We bear the family likeness because God is holy.
---
"Thank You, LORD, for saving me from my old life of sin. Help me walk in obedience to you, reflecting your holiness."
--Haven Today

--SON OF GOD / Starfield
Our Freedom's in Your blood....
Savior, I'm overcome with your great love for me.
Jesus is LORD!

-HEAVENLY
EXCLAMATION!

-1 Kings 8:22-30
---
The heavens declare
the glory of God.
--Psalm 19:1
---
IN August 2011, NASA, released a composite image from the Hubble telescope that left people smiling. The image is of two galaxies beginning to collide. The collision looks like a heavenly excamation point (!). The latest statistic I've read says there are about 100 billion observable galaxies in the universe. Each galaxy has hundreds of billions of stars, and more galaxies are being discovered.

When I saw the exclamation -point image on CNN, I was reminded of our awesome Creator. The heavens exclaim His glory (Ps. 19:1), but He is even greater than the heavens He has made. After Solomon built a temple for the Lord's presence to dwell in, he prayed: "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27). He knew that if the heavens couldn't contain God's presence, the temple surely couldn't contain Him.

The Lord is so much greater than our finite minds can grasp. Yet He has made it possible for us to know Him through His Son Jesus whom He sent to live on this earth, to die for us, and to be raised. When we believe in Him, our lives join the heavens in proclaiming His glory!

Sing praise to God who reigns above,
The God of all creation,
The God of power, the God of love,
The God of our salvation.
----
-In creation we see God's hand,
and in redemption we see His heart.

--ODB/AC / One Day He's coming , O Glorious Day!
/
Death could not hold Him. The grave could not keep Him from rising again!
Buried, He carried my sins far away!
O Glorious Day! "Even so, Come Lord Jesus!"

-NOT A MYTH
-1 Corinthians 15:1-11
---
After that He was
seen by over five
hundred brethren at
once, of whom the
greater part remain
to the present, but
some have fallen asleep.
--1 Cor. 15:6
-----
I'm fascinated with history, so I eagerly watched a television special on England's great King Arthur. A theme surfaced as each historian acknowledged that there were no eyewitness accounts nor historical evidence to support the story of King Arthur, his knights, and their Round Table. Repeatedly, the story was referred to as "legend" or "mythology." It appears that the story is merely a legend woven together over centuries from fragments of other stories.

The good news of the Gospel, however, is not rooted in mythology or legend but in verified fact, and it's the greatest story ever told. Paul wrote that the most important event in human history--the resurrection of Jesus Christ--is supported by actual eyewitnesses. While listing disciples who had seen the risen Christ, Paul punctuated the list of eyewitnesses by writing, "After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:6). At the time of Paul's writing, many of those witnesses were still alive and available for questioning.

-The resurrection of Christ is not a myth. It is the factual pivot-point of history.

Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign.
----
-The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the best attested fact of ancient history. -- [Arnold]
--ODB/BC

-In Christ Jesus

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
---(Romans 8:1)

One of the key doctrines of Christianity is the union of the believer with Christ. In fact, the expression "in Christ" or its equivalent is found over 160 times in Paul's epistles alone. Since, in God's sight, we are "in Him," all His attributes and accomplishments are credited to us as well.

For example, Paul said even to the carnal Corinthians, that "of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). To the Romans (see today's verse) he said that being in Christ frees us from the judgment, since Christ has already borne our judgment.

To the Galatians, Paul emphasized that "ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). The Ephesian epistle has many such expressions, the most comprehensive being Ephesians 1:3: "|God| . . . hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." To the Philippians, he promised that "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). The Christians at Colosse were assured that "ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power" (Colossians 2:10).

Even when we die, we "sleep in Jesus" and, when He comes again, "the dead in Christ shall rise first" (1 Thessalonians 4:14, 16). Paul even wrote to Timothy that God's "own purpose and grace" had been "given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (2 Timothy 1:9).

These are only a few examples of the marvelous blessings shared by all who are "in Christ Jesus."

We should be willing gladly to acknowledge "every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus" (Philemon 6).

-ICR/HMM / IN CHRIST ALONE ~ <http://youtu.be/_ApS9W26eDs>

-THEORY OF
EVERYTHING -

-John 1:1-13
---
For by Him all things
were created that are
in heaven and that
are on earth, visible
and invisible.
--Colossians 1:16
---
Scientists have been looking for the "Theory of Everything." One person who thinks he found it is physicist Brian Greene, who wrote 'The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory'. Grene's "string theory" is a complicated concept suggesting that at its tiniest level everything consists of combinations of vibrating strands, or strings. He has described his theory as "a framework with the capacity to explain every fundamental feature upon which the world is constructed."

Over the years, thinkers from Newton to Einstein to Hawking to Greene have spent the greater portion of their lives trying to figure out how the universe works--and they have proposed fascinating theories.

For any theory to explain everything in the universe adequately it must begin and end with God. "All things...visible and invisible" (Col. 1:16) have their origin in Him and exist for His glory (Ps. 72:19). The first few verses of John's gospel tell us that our Lord created the universe--and that without His hand of creation nothing would exist.

That's why when we consider the world and everything in it, we can exclaim with Isaiah: "The whole earth is full of His glory!" (6:3)
--Praise His Holy Name!

Our God has fashioned earth and sky,
Sun, moon, and stars beyond compare;
His workmanship we can't deny--
His fingerprints are everywhere.
---
-ALL CREATION IS AN OUTSTRETCHED FINGER POINTING TOWARD GOD.
--ODB/DE

-In Heavenly Places
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:20).

This fascinating phrase (actually the Greek simply says "in the heavenlies") is found only in the Ephesian epistle where it occurs five times. That it does mean heavenly places, rather than "heavenly things," is evident from our text. Christ in His physical resurrection body is now in a particular place, and that place is where He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

In principle now -- and ultimately in actuality -- we also have been made to "sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (2:6). In the meantime, however, we must also struggle with the demonic powers who still, like Satan, have access to God's presence to accuse us of sin when we yield to their inducements. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places [actually the same phrase, `heavenly places']" (6:12).

And when, by the grace of God and the indwelling presence of God's Holy Spirit, we are victorious in this conflict, it becomes a glorious demonstration throughout heaven, to fallen and unfallen angels alike, that Christ's salvation is genuine and truly works in our lives. All of this is "To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God" (3:10).

No wonder, with all these glorious events taking place in heaven, the apostle Paul introduces this epistle with a doxology!

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (1:3).

--ICR/HMM

<http://youtu.be/PnWKehsOXu8> / BLESSED BE YOUR NAME, JESUS!

-The Finished Work

"They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this." (Psalm 22:31)

This is the last verse of Psalm 22, the marvelous prophecy that describes so graphically the sufferings of Christ on the cross, a thousand years before the fulfillment. The preceding verse promises that this great event will, literally, "be told about the Lord in every generation." Fathers would tell it to their children, teachers to their students, generation after generation declaring His righteousness. "One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts" (Psalm 145:4).

This prophecy has been wonderfully fulfilled for almost 2000 years as each generation of Christians tells the next generation the old, old story of "the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow" (1 Peter 1:11), both of which are graphically foretold here in the 22nd psalm.

But this final verse especially stresses the fact that the work has been completed. Its last word, "this," is not in the original Hebrew, so the final statement actually should read "He hath finished!" The most glorious aspect of the gospel message is that He has accomplished all that was needed to assure eternal salvation to every one who would "remember and turn unto the Lord" (Psalm 22:27).

This last great prophecy was fulfilled when He cried out as He was dying on the cross, "It is finished!" (John 19:30).

Just as He had, long ago, pronounced that "the heavens and the earth were finished" (Genesis 2:1), completing His great work of creation, so on the cross He had finished the still greater work of redemption.

What is left for us to do? Nothing, for He has finished it all! There is nothing we can do, either to create the world or to save our souls. We can only receive, in thanksgiving, what He has done.
--ICR/HMM

-Witnesses of the Resurrection

"Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, . . . Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that He was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection." (Acts 1:21-22)

The most important event since the creation itself was the resurrection of Christ, and it was vital that the witness of His chosen apostles focus especially on this great event. They must believe with confidence in His bodily resurrection, having been with Him throughout His ministry, heard His predictions of the resurrection, then seen the infallible proofs thereof, especially the empty tomb and His post-resurrection appearances. Both the original eleven and Matthias, chosen to replace Judas, satisfied these requirements.

Then after the coming of God's Holy Spirit at Pentecost, "with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection . . . and great grace was upon them all" (4:33). The resurrection proved that Christ was the Creator and Savior, for only the Creator of life could defeat death.

Paul also saw the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, and thus he also could be an apostle. "Am I not an apostle? . . . have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" he could say (1 Corinthians 9:1). Only those who had seen the risen Lord and been specifically chosen by Him could be true apostles, for they must be credible witnesses of His resurrection.

And that they were! Peter could say, "We are witnesses of all things which he did . . . whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up" (Acts 10:39-40). And Paul could say "God raised him from the dead: And he was seen many days of them . . . who are his witnesses" (13:30-31).

Yes, the apostles were true witnesses of Christ's resurrection, and multitudes have received eternal salvation because they were!

--ICR/ HMM

-The Design and Complexity of the Cell: Testimony to the Creator of All Life
-By: Jeffrey Tomkins, Ph.D.

The sin nature of man will turn our world into a technological nightmare for humanity if science is not guided by strong moral and biblical values. Gaining understanding about the building blocks of life, honing our skills to defend the faith, and developing a deeper understanding of the wonders of creation will lead us to ultimately honor the Creator of all life.
---
Let's check it out from ICR--
---
Here is an article from the Institute for Creation Research:
The Design and Complexity of the Cell:
Testimony to the Creator of All Life (http://www.icr.org/article/6924/)
---

-Christ The Creationist
By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be” (Mark 13:19).

In predicting a future judgment on the unbelieving world, the Lord Jesus referred to “the beginning of the creation which God created,” thus affirming the Biblical doctrine of supernatural, sudden creation. In the pagan world of His day evolutionism was dominant almost everywhere. The Epicureans, for example, were atheistic evolutionists. The Stoics, Gnostics, Platonists, and others were pantheistic evolutionists. None of the extra-Biblical philosophers of His day believed in a God who had created all things, including even the universe itself.

But Christ was a creationist, and the much maligned “scientific creationists” of today are following His example and teaching. He even believed in recent creation, for He said, speaking of Adam and Eve, that “from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6). The pagans all believed in an eternal cosmos, but Jesus said it had a beginning, and that man and woman were a part of that beginning creation, following which, “the sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27).

He also believed that the “two accounts” of creation (Genesis I and 2) were complimentary, not contradictory, for He quoted from both in the same context. “Have ye not read,” He said, “that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female [from Genesis 1], And said For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? [from Genesis 2]” (Matthew 19:4–6).

There may be some Christians who are evolutionists, but there is no such thing as “Christian evolution,” for Christ was a creationist!

--ICR/HMM
-THE GREATNESS OF OUR GOD!

-Instant Creation
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together” (Isaiah 48:13).

This is one of many passages in Scripture which not only tells us that God is Creator of both Heaven and Earth, but also that He created them instantaneously. Creation is not a “process,” but a miraculous event! With a wave of the hand, so to speak, God simply called them into being.

This is also the testimony of the incomparable account of creation in Genesis. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). This primeval testimony does not say: “From the beginning, God has been creating heaven and earth” as theistic evolutionists would say. Creation of all things was an event completed in the past.

The divinely inspired psalmist agrees: “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. . . . For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:6,9). “For He commanded, and they were created. He hath also stablished them for ever and ever” (Psalm 148:5,6).

Furthermore, according to our text, when God spoke into existence the Heavens and the earth, they both proceeded to “stand up together!” He did not create the Heavens 15 billion years ago, then the earth only five billion years ago, as some creationists allege. They stood up together! “In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is” (Exodus 20:11).

It is important to recognize the recent creation of all things, not only because God said so, but also because the multi-billion-year framework of cosmic evolution, pushing God as far away and long ago as possible, is merely the modern pseudoscientific way of getting rid of Him altogether! Christians should not compromise with such a system!
--ICR/HMM
-------------
Please also see below, Instantaneous Creation!
Here is an article from the Institute for Creation Research: Instantaneous Creation (http://www.icr.org/article/2036/)

-The True Gospel

---
"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel." (Galatians 1:6)

There is only one true gospel (meaning "good news") in Christianity, but there are many false gospels. Various cults have proposed such concepts as the social gospel, the prosperity gospel, the full gospel, and others, but it is dangerous to attach adjectives or other modifiers to the gospel unless these are specifically attached to it in the Scriptures. There are enough of these, however, to emphasize that the true gospel does have many facets. God's "good news" is always about Christ--His person and work--but His work is from eternity to eternity, and He is both the mighty God and perfect Man. Therefore, with Paul we can say, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16).

The gospel is the "everlasting gospel," focusing on Him as the one "that made heaven, and earth" (Revelation 14:6-7). It is also the "gospel of the kingdom" (Matthew 4:23), focusing on Him as the coming "King of kings" (Revelation 17:14).

It is the wonderful "gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24) and "the gospel of your salvation" (Ephesians 1:13). Thus it also is the true "gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:15), reconciling man to God.

Because Christ is God, this "gospel of Jesus Christ" (Mark 1:1) is surely the one true "gospel of God" (Romans 1:1).

This is the gospel which we have been commissioned by Christ to preach "to every creature" (Mark 16:15), so we need no other. And since it is, indeed, "the glorious gospel of the blessed God" (1 Timothy 1:11), we should never desire another. It meets every spiritual need for time and eternity.
--ICR/HMM

-Sudden Creation

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6) -

Even a superficial reading of the account of creation in Genesis 1 and 2 impresses the reader with the idea of suddenness. God simply called the universe into existence from nothing and then quickly set about the rapid formation of certain features, interspersed with other direct creative acts. All of the events, whether creative or formative, seem to have happened over a brief period of time, such as the formation of the plants (Genesis 1:12), the animals (v. 20), and the sun and stars (v. 16).

Even aspects that were evidently formed by a process such as the continents and oceans (v. 10) and humankind (2:7, 22) seemingly took no great length of time.

This is especially true of the creation of light. "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (1:3). No slow and sporadic arrival of light from distant stars is mentioned, nor a gradual heating up of the sun as interstellar gas collapsed and fused. Some evangelical advocates of the old-earth concept hold that God slowly cleared the atmosphere of left-over interstellar, dust which allowed the light from the sun and stars to penetrate to the earth.

But, if Scripture alone is our authority, then it happened suddenly and spectacularly. As discussed in our text, it happened just as suddenly and just as supernaturally as a new creature is created out of a dead creature at the moment of salvation. Sanctification may be a life-long matter, but "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature" (2 Corinthians 5:17), literally creation. No more time is required for the transformation than for darkness to turn into light at the Creator's command.

--ICR/JDM

-The Divine Designer

"Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?" (Isaiah 40:12)

The answer to this rhetorical question can only be God, the divine Designer of all the intricate interrelationships of His great creation. Four of the disciplines of natural science are implied here, and in each case a key principle of that science is anticipated.

The emphasis is on the precision of the divinely allocated quantities of each component. First, there is the precise balance of the waters of the earth between the oceans, rivers, groundwater, and atmospheric waters. Hydrology is the science of earth’s waters, and life on earth is dependent on the fine tuning of the components of the hydrologic cycle. "He looketh to the ends of the earth. . . . To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure" (Job 28:24-25).

The atmospheric heaven also has been carefully dimensioned in size and composition to make life possible, as formulated in the science of meteorology.

The "dust of the earth" is nothing less than the basic chemical elements out of which all things are made. The accuracy with which elements combine with each other is based on their valences, and all of this is involved in the study of chemistry. The principle of isostasy ("equal weights") is the fundamental principle of the science of geophysics, involving the weights of mountains and hills, continents, and ocean basins.

God does not deal in chance and caprice, even with inanimate physical systems such as mountains and waters. Not even a sparrow can "fall on the ground without your Father" (Matthew 10:29).
--ICR/ HMM

-Eternal Things
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (II Corinthians 4:18).

One of the most difficult handicaps for a Christian to overcome is spiritual nearsightedness. It is easy to see temporal things, but hard to think on eternal things.

Paul, however, in the midst of an extremely busy and difficult temporal life, somehow did manage to keep his sights on that eternal life to which he was called. The wonderful redemption which Christ purchased for us with His blood is nothing less than “eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12); and therefore “He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9). Consequently, as joint-heirs with Him, “they which are called . . . receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15). He is, surely, the “God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus” (I Peter 5:10) and has there provided for us “everlasting habitations” (Luke 16:9).

All of these eternal things—eternal redemption, eternal salvation, eternal inheritance, eternal habitations, and eternal glory—are of infinitely greater value than the temporal things which crowd our minds and limit our goals. They are all a part of the wonderful eternal life we have already received through faith in Christ. It is significant that the phrase “eternal life” (or “everlasting life,” which is the same Greek phrase) occurs no less than 44 times in the New Testament. God speaks of it often, and so should we!

The very first eternal thing mentioned in the Bible is the “everlasting covenant” God has made with all men (Genesis 9:16). The last is the “everlasting gospel” to be preached to all men (Revelation 14:6).
--ICR/HMM / Everlasting God / By: Lincoln Brewster /
<http://youtu.be/jP2nz6PG8KM>

-The Living Word/The Word of Life

"Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain."
--(Philippians 2:16)

There is such beautiful correlation between the Living Word (Christ) and the written Word (the Bible) that certain Scriptures could well apply to either one. Such is the case with our text. The Philippians were exhorted to hold forth the Word of life, which presumably could mean either Christ, the Living Word, or else the Scriptures, which speak of eternal life.

The same dual meaning can be discerned in such texts as 2 Timothy 4:2 ("Preach the word") and Hebrews 4:12 ("The word of God is quick, and powerful"). In fact, there are many beautiful figures of speech that are applied in the Bible to the ministries of both Christ and the Scriptures in a believer's life.

For example, Christ is "the light of the world" (John 8:12), but also, "the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light" (Proverbs 6:23). Similarly Jesus said, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35), but He also said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God" (Luke 4:4).

The Lord Jesus Christ said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink" (John 7:37). God also promised that "as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, . . . So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth" (Isaiah 55:10-11).

Both are described as the very personification of truth. Jesus said, "I am . . . the truth," and He prayed to the Father, "Thy word is truth" (John 14:6; 17:17). Finally, both must be received: "receive . . . the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21), for "as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God" (John 1:12).
--ICR/ HMM

-The Infinite Jesus
-Read: Philippians 2:5-11
---
-The virgin birth of Jesus is a miracle, but it does not mark His beginning. Christ existed long before He was born in Bethlehem. As John 1:1 tells us, "In the beginning was the Word [Jesus] and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Debating the scientific probability of the virgin birth seems rather pointless when we're talking about the firstborn of creation by whom all things were created (Col. 1:15-16). It isn't logical to say, "I believe in Jesus" or "I believe in God" and then reject the fact of Mary's virginity. The God of the Bible is certainly capable of causing such a miracle. And that is exactly what He did. Jesus laid aside His glory, was born a human, and carried out the Father's redemption plan (Phil. 2:6-11).

If Jesus had come to earth still wrapped in His glory, no one would have been able to look directly at Him. Divine radiance is too great for human eyesight--which is the same reason Moses had to be protected from seeing anything more than God's back as He passed by (Ex. 33:18-33). But what Jesus didn't set aside was His deity. He was fully man, so He experienced temptation, pain, and sorrow and therefore knows how we feel. Yet He was also fully God, and He came to earth to show us what the Father is like (John 14:9)

Jesus was born of a virgin woman. Those two words convey a wealth of information about His dual nature on earth. One tells of His divinity; the other, His humanity and ability to sympathize with our weaknesses (Heb. 4:15). It adds up to an eternal Savior who looks on us with mercy and love. ---

-GLORIFYING GOD!
--Luke 2:13-20

"Then the shepherds
returned, glorifying
and praising God for
all the things that
they had heard and
seen, as it was told
them."--Luke 2:20
---
On the fist Christmas, the shepherds heard an angel announce the birth of the Savior, Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11), followed by a "multitude of the heavenly host praising God" (vv.13-14). After they found Mary, Joseph, and the Baby in Bethlehem, the shepherds couldn't help telling others about this Child (v.17).

"The shepherds went back to work, glorifying and praising God for everything that they had heard and seen, which had happened just as they had been told" (v.20 Phil.).

They had been changed by their real world, the Savior had come. They now carried the Good News about Jesus in their hearts and voices.

May we too take God's love, grace, and mercy into the real world this Christmas and every day of the New Year, 2013!

May the grace that we encounter
At this time of Christmas cheer,
Not be true just in this season
But remain throughout the year.
----
-TAKE THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS WITH YOU EVERYDAY! /
JOY TO THE WORLD![Unspeakable Joy!] With: Chris Tomlin<http://youtu.be/tC3SwhJsLqU>

-WHY JESUS CAME TO EARTH~

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
---John 3:16-17

I want you to try and picture those moments in heaven just before God the Son left His throne of majesty and came to earth as a baby. Think about it: The angels in heaven understood the life that lay before Him. The Father was putting Him on a path that would lead to humiliation and death. And Christ Himself knew the pain He would endure on the cross. It must’ve been so hard.

So what made Him go? It was love. God loved the people of this planet, and knew Jesus was the only way we could be saved from the consequences of our sin. And our planet – a little speck in the great universe – was loved so much that God became a man. We didn’t deserve Him, but we got Him.

It’s been well said, “God doesn’t love us because we’re valuable; we’re valuable because He loves us.” No truer words have been spoken. Jesus didn’t come into the world because He found us attractive. No, He came into the world so that we might become holy and blameless in the eyes of God.

Our Lord experienced so much hardship by coming into the world. But He knew it was worth it, to rescue us from the dominion of darkness and bring us into His Kingdom!

-JESUS CAME BECAUSE OF HIS GREAT LOVE FOR US. PRAISE HIM THAT BY ACCEPTING THAT LOVE, YOU’RE MADE HOLY IN GOD’S EYES.

--Our Heavenly Appointment
-Read | 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

-Each tick of the clock brings us one second closer to our heavenly appointment with the Lord Jesus. As believers in Christ, we will stand before Him one day and give an account for our lives. At that time we will be held accountable for our actions and recompensed for the choices we made while on earth, whether good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10).

This is not a judgment of condemnation. At salvation, when we acknowledged Christ as our Savior, all blame was removed from us (Rom. 8:1). In taking our place on the cross, Jesus bore our sins and experienced the wrath of God against our iniquity (1 Peter 2:24). As a result, the penalty for our sin has been fully paid.

When we stand before our Lord, He’ll look to see which of our choices were in keeping with His will. Every act of obedient service, whether large or small, will be remembered and rewarded.

Colossians 3 gives us a picture of who we are to be and how God wants us to live: our minds should be focused on things above, not earthly matters (v. 2). And we are to get rid of anger, malice, and slander, clothing ourselves instead with compassion, kindness, and patience (vv. 8, 12).

Since the Lord holds us accountable for our actions, it is urgent that we replace ungodly patterns with righteous ways. Both inward attitudes and outward behavior matter to Him. When facing decisions each day, seek scriptural guidance and godly counsel. Then reflect on which choice would please God.

-ENDLESS HALLELUJAH! ...to our King JESUS!
----

--Joseph’s Adopted Son
-By: Paul G. Humber, M.S.
--
“. . . Espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. . .” (Luke 1:27).

-Some wonder how the Lord Jesus could be a descendant of David through Joseph and at the same time virgin born. Mary may well have been of David’s line too, but when Joseph accepted Jesus into his family, there was no contest. Mary’s Son was entitled to all the rights and privileges of being Joseph’s legal heir; therefore, Jesus was of David’s house, also!

According to Old Testament marriage law, a man could have an heir without contributing the biological seed. “And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of His brother which is dead, that His name be not put out of Israel” (Deuteronomy 25:6). In other words, a man who died without child could have an heir without contributing personal seed.

The Lord Jesus was a very special gift to the house of David. Hundreds of years prior, one son was removed from David’s line (II Samuel 12:16) because of his sin. But now, almost a millennium later, a wonderful gift arrives in David’s house. Even David’s sin can finally be removed. “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

Isaiah had prophesied much earlier, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder. . . . Of the increase of His government there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever” (Isaiah 9:6,7).

Gabriel said, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32,33).
--ICR/PGH/ ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUS NAME!

---

-JESUS CHRIST OUR HEALER ~~

We read in JOHN Chapter 5 about "The Healing at the Pool of Bethzatha" (TEV). Our God, Jehovah Rophe', is the God that heals. He always heals, whether on this side of eternity, or in the Celestial City [Heaven], with Him and all the saints gone ahead of us. We must trust in His perfect will.

....This story shows that Jesus asked the man that was lame/paralyzed, "Do you want to get well?" We must first admit to the 'want/need', and wait for His will. "Sir, I don't have anyone here to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am trying to get in, somebody else gets there first."

Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your mat, and walk." Immediately the man got well; he picked up his mat, and walked.
Let's listen and watch what takes place next......

--The Divine/Human Word

--"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son." (Hebrews 1:1-2)

The title of the Word of God is given both to Jesus Christ as the Living Word (John 1:1-3; Revelation 19:13), and to the Holy Scriptures as the written Word (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12; etc.). They are so perfectly synchronous that what is said of one can usually be applied also to the other.

Both are human, yet without error; both are divine, yet can be comprehended by man. "God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16). "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21). "In him is no sin" (1 John 3:5), "The Scripture cannot be broken," and "all Scripture . . . is profitable" (John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:16).

Furthermore, each is eternal: "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8). "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven" (Psalm 119:89).

Each brings regeneration and everlasting life to all those who believe. "He saved us, by the washing of regeneration . . . through Jesus Christ our Saviour" (Titus 3:5-6). "God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son" (1 John 5:11). "Being born again . . . by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" (1 Peter 1:23). "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39).

Finally, judgment comes by both Christ and the Scriptures. "The Father . . . hath committed all judgment unto the Son" (John 5:22). "The dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books" (Revelation 20:12). Both Christ and the Bible are vitally important to each Christian and must be studied, understood, known, loved, trusted, and relied upon in every human endeavor.

--ICR/ HMM

--IS THIS THE GENERATION?
--By: David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 - April 27, 2011]
---
-The whole world is frightened, perplexed and confused. Even the saintliest Christian must be wondering about all the prophetic events rapidly unfolding. I know that believers all over the world are asking themselves a question that I, too, am pondering: Are we in the last decade of human history? I do not know, but one thing is sure: We have seen an acceleration of world events. Suddenly, without warning, the Iron Curtain fell. Almost overnight, Eastern Europe was free. Seemingly in a flash, the Soviet Empire—once threatening the United States—was brought to the brink of disintegration and utter turmoil.

Could it be that in the same sudden manner, the antichrist world leader will be revealed? Could it also be that God has come to the end of His patience with the sins of North America, as happened with Sodom and Gomorrah?

Frightening bankruptcies in our savings and loan organizations, mounting national debt, diseases and nationwide plagues—are these all signs that our country is entering the corridor of a divine curse as outlined in Deuteronomy 28? Read what God does to the nations that sin against the light. You can see it happening right now!

Are we already in the early stages of the biggest depression in our history? The Great Depression of the 1930s has been regarded as the worst ever, but many economists believe we are on the brink of a depression that will make our worst look tame by comparison.

Is God even now beginning to cut off our supply of bread? Is He bringing ruin upon us, as He did upon Jerusalem and Judah because of their sins? In Isaiah 3:1-6, you will find that God does cut off bread and massive unemployment results. When judgment fell in Zion, "there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast" (Zachariah 8:10). Will there be massive unemployment as God judges America's sins?There is a sense of danger in the air; every situation seems volatile. There is a feeling that the world is on a course from which there is no turning back. There is talk of wars, race wars, holy wars. Israel is feverishly preparing for war as never before, gearing up for a final conflict.

Is this the day that Jesus predicted when men's hearts will fail from overwhelming fear as they behold the frightening things happening on the earth? Could it be we really are the generation that will behold the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ? Have we come to such a point in human history that it can now be said, "This generation shall not pass away till all these things come to pass"?

-Will it indeed happen in our time?~~
--------
-"Even so, Come Lord Jesus!"

--JESUS: The Final Payment

-"By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). No more sacrifice needs to be made. No more deposits are necessary. So complete was the payment that Jesus used a banking term to proclaim your salvation. "It is finished" (John 19:30). Tetelestai was a financial term used to announce the final installment, the ultimate payment.

Now, if the task is finished, is anything else required of you? Of course not. If the account is full, what more could you add? Even saying the phrase "forgive our debts" does not earn grace. We repeat the words to remind us of the forgiveness we have, not to attain a forgiveness we need....

For some of you these thoughts about bounced checks and God's grace aren't new, but aren't they precious? Honestly, have you ever been given a gift which compares to God's grace? Finding this treasure of mercy makes the poorest beggar a prince. Missing this gift makes the wealthiest man a pauper.

Again, many of you knew that. I pray the reminder encourages you.

But for others, this is more than good news...it is new news. You never knew there was a roof of grace. And what a grand roof it is. The tiles are thick and the beams are sturdy. Under it you are shielded from the storms of guilt and shame. Beneath the covering of Christ, no accuser can touch you and no act can condemn you.

Isn't it good to know you don't have to stand outside in the storm anymore?

"But is it big enough for me?" you ask. Well, it was big enough for one who denied Christ (Peter). One who mocked Christ (the thief on the cross). One who persecuted Christ (Paul). Yes, it's big enough for you. Though you've spent a lifetime writing insufficient checks, God has stamped these words on your statement: 'MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU.'

Picture, if you will, a blank check. The amount of the check is "sufficient grace." The signer of the check is Jesus The only blank line is for the payee. That part is for you. May I urge you to spend a few moments with your Savior receiving this check? Reflect on the work of His grace. Look toward the roof. Its beams are from Calvary and the nails once held a Savior to the Cross. His sacrifice was for you.

Express your thanks for His grace. Whether for the first time or the thousandth, let Him hear you whisper, "Forgive us our debts." And let Him answer your prayer as you imagine writing your name on the check.

Perhaps I best slip out now and leave the two of you to talk. I'll be waiting in the hallway of the Great House of God.~~
-(From: The Great house of God/ By: Max Lucado)

-Jesus and the Flood

"For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." (Matthew 24:38-39)

-The Lord Jesus Christ not only believed in the special, recent creation of all things by God (note Mark 10:6-8), but also in the worldwide Flood of Noah's day, including the special preservation of life on the Ark. The Flood in which He believed was obviously not a "local flood," for He compared it to the worldwide future impact of His Second Coming.

Neither was it a "tranquil flood," nor a "selective flood," for Jesus said, "The flood came, and destroyed them all" (Luke 17:27). It is clear that He was referring to--and that He believed--the Genesis record of the great Flood! There it says that the whole earth was "filled with violence" (Genesis 6:13), having first been filled with people, and that the resulting world-cleansing deluge was so cataclysmic that "every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth" (Genesis 7:23). Indeed, "the flood came, and took [literally 'lifted'] them all away."

This is what Jesus said, and what He believed, and therefore, those who are truly His disciples must also believe this. The destructive effects of the Flood can still be seen today, not only in the biblical record, but also in the abundant evidences of cataclysmic destruction in the rocks and fossil graveyards all over the world. To refuse this evidence, as do many modern intellectuals, can only be because they "willingly are ignorant," as Peter said in referring to this testimony (2 Peter 3:5).

--ICR/ HMM / INDESCRIBABLE! / Chris Tomlin
<http://youtu.be/8FlIchSJoOA>

-CROWNED
WITH GLORY

-Psalm 8
----
What is man that You
are mindful of Him?
--Psalm 8:4
---
The Voyager I spacecraft, which was launched in 1977, is on the outer edge of our solar system more than 10 billion miles away. In February 1990, when Voyager I was almost 4 billion miles from us, scientists turned its camera toward earth and took some pictures that revealed our planet as an almost imperceptible blue dot on a vast sea of empty space.

In the immense reaches of our universe, Earth is just a minuscule speck. On this seemingly insignificant pebble in the ocean of galactic objects live more than seven billion people.

If this makes you feel insignificant, God has some good news. Tucked into one of David's psalms is a rhetorical question that can allow you look up at the sky and rejoice. Psalm 8:3-5 tells us that we are superstars in God's eyes: "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,...what is man that You are mindul of him?...You have crowned him with glory and honor." God--who spoke into existence a universe so vast that the Hubble telescope hasn't found the end of it--created you, and He cares deeply for you. He cared enough to ask Jesus to leave heaven to die for you.

Look at God's creation and praise Him that He crowned you with glory through His Son Jesus.~~

We praise You, Father, for Your creation which reaches
beyond our imagination, for the spellbinding night
sky with its vast array of lights, and for loving each of
us enough to send Jesus to be our personal Savior.-----

-WE SEE THE POWER OF GOD'S CREATION; WE FEEL THE POWER OF HIS LOVE.=/STILL By: Hillsong

------

--The Indwelling Christ
"And they glorified God in me." (Galatians 1:24)

One of the greatest doctrines of the Christian faith is the amazing truth that the Lord Jesus Christ indwells each believer, through His Holy Spirit. "Christ liveth in me," said the apostle Paul (Galatians 2:20) and, since that was true experientially as well as doctrinally, he could invite people to see Christ and hear Christ and follow Christ by seeing and hearing and following him. This might seem incredibly arrogant if it were not real.

He could say, for example, that "it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me" (Galatians 1:15-16). And he could say, as in today's verse, that those who heard him "glorified God in me." He also commanded, "Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you" (Philippians 4:9).

The Lord could say to His disciples, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9), and no one thinks it inappropriate, because He fully manifested the heavenly Father in word and deed. Similarly, Paul said that "the truth of Christ is in me" and referred to "Christ speaking in me" (2 Corinthians 11:10; 13:3), noting that Christ was "mighty in me toward the Gentiles" (Galatians 2:8).

This was not boasting, for Paul acknowledged that "in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing" (Romans 7:18). Still, he was bold to exhort, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Now the same Spirit of Christ who dwelled in Paul also indwells all true Christians, for "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9). We should be able to say with Paul, in practice as well as theory, that "Christ liveth in me."
--ICR/HMM

--The Wonder of His Love
--By: Henry Morris III, D.Min.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (&#8201;John 3:16&#8201;)

This poignant passage has become one of the most well-known of all Bible verses in the English-speaking world. Via national television, the reference routinely appears on placards in demonstrations and banners in stadium bleachers and in the eye-black of famous athletes. But sometimes, as the adage says, “familiarity breeds contempt.” Perhaps a quick focus on this marvelous promise would encourage you and your family.

The key to this verse is the little adverb “so.” The end product—everlasting life—and the means, His only begotten Son, are absolutely important. But it is the quality of God’s love that is stressed. It is how God loved us that governs this promise.
-Continue reading by clicking on this link...Here is an article from the Institute for Creation Research:
The Wonder of His Love (http://www.icr.org/article/7234/)

--Guard Your Fellowship with Jesus!

"LOOK! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." (Revelation (3:20)

JESUS stands at the door and knocks. That's a great image to use in an evanagelistic presentation--and it's undoubtedly true--but that's not the context of the verse. No, the words of Jesus to the church at Laodicea appeal to the congregation to stop shutting Him out. They have been indifferent to Him, and their lukewarmness is nauseating to God. They have been having their feasts, specifically the Lord's Supper, without His Presence. They are a church going through the motions but not filled and empowered with the Presence of the living Lord. This "body of Christ"' is behaving as though it is lifeless.

That can easily happen to our congregations too. We go through the motions and "do church" by habit rather than by the Living One spontaneously moving in and through us. We have programs and policies that take on a life of their own, slowly marginalizing the Jesus who birthed the church to begin with. If we aren't careful, the church becomes an impersonal organization rather than a living organism.

Guard your fellowship zealously with Jesus! --not to keep it in its patterns and habits but to keep it responsive to each breath of the Spirit. The picture of Jesus standing outside of His own church is tragic. Not only does that disappoint Him, it leavs His people without their source of Life. Any fellowship that isn't experiencing superanatural fruit is missing Jesus. Without the Presence, it's nothing more than a club or committee. With Him, it's a 'Living Temple of God'.

"Jesus, I open the door to You and invite You into the fellowship of those I worship with. We need You. Without Your Presence, we have no reason to exist. Please enter in, eat with us, and let us enjoy Your friendship and life.Amen"~~


--HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD! Darlene Zschech

-How to Know You're Ready for Eternity~~

"And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." -1 John 5:11
---
-WHEN SIR WILLIAM RAMSAY was executed in 1683, the English patriot took his watch out of his pocket, gave it to his doctor on his way to the gallows, and said, "Here, take my timepiece. I have no need of it now, for I am dealing with eternity."

Your time is ticking. And if you just put your hand on your heart, you can feel those heartbeats as if they were saying, "Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly." Then one day, they stop. And while death is sure and life is so brief, God gives you this life as an opportunity to prepare for the future because everyone will live forever somewhere.

My soul and your soul will go on endless, dateless, and measureless throughout all eternity. You'll be alive a thousand years from now. You'll be alive 10 billion years from now, either in Heaven or Hell. So don't miss this opportunity!

So, here's the question I have for you today: Are you ready for eternity? Are you ready for that day you move from this life to the next? The only way to be 100% sure is to confess in your heart that Jesus is Lord and trust in Him for the forgiveness of your sins. When you do that, you'll be ready to come, face to face with our Creator Jesus the Christ, our crucified Savior. Jesus is alive right now!

Every person will one day enter Eternity. So make sure you're ready by trusting Jesus Christ to forgive your sins. Jesus is Lord!

--Daily Word/ Jack Graham

-WONDERFULLY
-MADE!

-Psalm 139:13-18
---
Marvelous are your
works, and that my
soul knows very well.
--Psalm 139:14
----
-WHILE getting an eye exam recently, my doctor hauled out a piece of equipment that I hadn't seen before. I asked him what the device was, and he responded, "I'm using it to take a picture of the inside of the back of your eye."

I was impressed that someone had invented a camera that could do that. But I was even more impressed by what my doctor could learn from that picture. He said, "We can gather a lot of details about your current general health simply by looking at the back of your eye."

My doctor's comment amazed me. It is remarkable that a peron's overall health can be measured by the health of the eye. What care the Lord has taken to place these details in the bodies He has created! It immediately brings to my mind the words of David, the psalmist, who reveled in God's creativity: "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well" (Ps. 139:14).

The enormous complexities of our bodies reflect the genius and wisdom of our great Creator. The wonder of His design is more than breathtaking--it gives us countless reasons to worship Him![/color]
---
-ALL LIFE IS CREATED BY GOD AND BEARS HIS AUTOGRAPH.
--ODB/BC/ INDESCRIBABLE! / Chris Tomlin

-ALREADY
-SETTLED!

-1 John 5:10-15
---
These things I have
written to you who
believe in the name
of the Son of God,
that you may know
that you have eternal
life.--1 John 5:13
---
LIFE is often like observing live sporting events. There are shocks and surprises, frustrations, and fears, because we are unsure of the outcome. Followers of Christ can draw comfort, however, from the fact that though many of life's situations are uncertain, our eternal outcome is settled by the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

The Apostle John wrote, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God (see text)... "Life may present us with surprises along the way, but because of Christ's work we can have peace. He has already settled our eternal outcome.
-----
-I asked Jesus,
How much do You love me?"
And Jesus said, "This much...."

Then Jesus stretched one hand to the right
and the other to the left and had them nailed
in that position so you would know He died loving you and me.

-Yes, He spread His arms and died for us. ALL OF US!"
---
-Peace rules the day when Christ rules the heart!

-ODB/

-LIKE JESUS

-1 John 2:5-11
---
-Sometimes we make the mistake of viewing the Bible as a list of rules. Certainly obeying God (John 14:21) and spending time with Him are important, but not because we need to be rule-keepers. Jesus and the Father had a loving relationship.

When we have a relationship with God, we desire to spend time with Him and obey Him so we can become more like Jesus. John said, "He who says he abides in [Jesus] ought himself also to walk just as He walked" (1 John 2:6). He's the example we can follow.When we want to understand how to love, or how to be humble, or how to have faith, or even how to set our priorities, we can look at Jesus and follow His heart.

Even David remembered the past by contemplating the good that God had done, "meditate on all [His] works; ...muse on the work of [His ] hands" (Ps. 143:5). As we call to mind the loving-kindness of the Lord, we can see His blessings through the years.

These blessings are the memories that foster the highest good. They evoke a deep longing for more of God and more of His tender care. They transform the past into a place of familiarity and fellowship with our Lord.

I have promised you My presence
With you everywhere you go;
I will never, never leave you
As you travel here below.~~
----
-FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST IS THE SECRET OF HAPPINESSS NOW AND FOREVER!
ODB/DR & AC

-On March 24th we will celebrate Palm Sunday. Then, on March 31st we celebrate Easter! (2013)= JESUS IS ALIVE!
------------------
-"AND IT
WAS NIGHT"

-John 13:21-30
---
Having received
the piece of bread,
[Judas] then went
out immediately.
And it was night."
--John 13:30
---
-DURING a business trip to Philadelphia, I attended an evening service on the Thursday before Easter--a service of Communion and Tenebrae (darkness) held in a chapel lit by candles. Following the bread and the cup, a passage was read aloud from the gospel of John, one candle was extinguished, and we sang a hymn about Jesus' journey to the Cross. This was repeated 14 times until the chapel was completely dark. In silence we knelt in prayer and then left one by one without speaking.

The darkness of this type of service can remind us of the dark elements surrounding Jesus' death. Think of His last meal with the disciples (John 13:21-30) as He explained that one of them would betray Him. Only Jesus knew it was Judas. "Having received the piece of bread, [Judas] then went out immediately. And it was night" (v.30).

On the darkest evening of Jesus' life, He agonized in prayer in the Garden, faced a wrongful arrest, endured humiliation at the hands of religious leaders, and winced at Peter's denials. Yet He moved faithfully toward the Cross where He would die for our sins.

Jesus endured darkness and death to give us light and life. Praise Him for what He did for us!

-See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
---
-Calvary reveals the vileness of our sin and the vastness of God's love.~

--AT CALVARY! THANK YOU, JESUS!

--SHOUT OF TRIUMPH!

--John 19:28-37
---
-It is finished!
----
-Those who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus saw His hours of agony and heard Him cry out in a loud voice, "It is finished!" as He gave up His spirit (John 19:30). His final words from the Cross were not a cry of painful defeat but a shout of triumph, because He had accomplished all that the Father sent Him to do.

When Jesus died, He shared in what all of us must experience. But far beyond that, He did what none of us can do. He paid the price for our sins that we might be forgiven and have eternal life through faith in Him.

"It is finsihed!" was the Lord's shout of victory because now, through Him, we can escape the power of sin; we can live and be free.

Because of Jesus' sacrifice for us, we call the day of His death Good Friday.

-I have been to the Cross where my Savior died,
And all of my life is made new--
In the person of Him I am crucified.
I have been to the Cross. Have you?
---
--JESUS DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE!

--ODB/DM

---- Jesus: The Son of Man
--- ---
-He lived among us. He donned the costliest of robes; a human body. He made a throne out of a manger and a royal court out of some cows. He took a common name--Jesus--and made it holy. He took common people and made them the same. He could have lived over us or away from us. But He didn't. He lived among us.

He became a friend of the sinner and brother of the poor. He touched their sores and felt their tears and paid for their mistakes. He entered a tomb and came out and pledged that we'd do the same. And to us all, and to all the frightened Freds of the world, He shared the same message. "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me...I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:1,3).

And how do we respond?

Some pretend He doesn't exist. They occupy themselves with a study of the piano and ask no questions about the Maestro.

Others hear Him, but don't believe Him. It's not easy to believe that God would go so far to take us home.

But then, a few decide to give it a try. They venture out of their corners and peek up through the opening. Each day they look toward the sky. They, like Simeon, "wait for" and "look forward to" the day Christ comes (2 Peter 3:11).
They know there is more to life than the belly of a piano, and they want to be ready when Christ comes.

--From: When Christ Comes/ ML

--The Obedience of Christ

"I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." (John 5:30)

Christ is our great example in all things--even in that of obedience to the Father and His will. As the perfect Son, He obeyed His Father in all things. "I do nothing of myself," He said, "but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him" (John 8:28-29).

There are three specific references in the epistles to the obedience of Christ. One of the most profound passages in the Bible is Hebrews 5:8: "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." How could the omniscient Son of God have to learn anything? There are some things that cannot be learned in books but only by experience, and obedience in hard circumstances is surely one of these. Jesus learned obedience by actual experience.

Christ obeyed His Father even after praying that the bitter cup might be taken away. "Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross" (Philippians 2:8).

Had He been disobedient, as was Adam, we could never have known salvation. "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous" (Romans 5:19). Jesus was, indeed, always perfectly obedient to His Father's word, "leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps"(1 Peter 2:21).

As our text emphasizes, His obedience consisted simply of seeking and following the will of His Father in all things. "Not my will, but thine" (Luke 22:42).

--ICR/HMM

--JESUS: AUTHORITY AND POWER
---- ----
-There are many examples of Jesus' authority, but I'll just mention one of my favorites. Jesus and the disciples are in a boat crossing the sea of Galilee. A storm arises suddenly and what was placid becomes violent--monstrous waves rise out of the sea and slap the boat.

The very storm which made the disciples panic made Him drowsy. What put fear in their eyes put Him to sleep. The boat was a tomb to the followers and a cradle to Christ. How could He sleep through the storm? Simple, He was in charge of it.

"Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, 'Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?'" (Mark 4:39:,40).

Incredible. He doesn't chant a mantra or wave a wand. No angels are called, no help is needed. The raging water becomes a stilled sea, instantly. Immediate calm. Not a ripple. Not a drop. Not a gust. In a moment the sea goes from a churning torrent to a peaceful pond. The reaction of the disciples? Read it in verse 41: "they feared exceedingly, and said to one another. 'Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"
--From: The Great House of God/Max Lucado


-FOREVER REIGN/HILLSONG

--King Of Kings And Lord Of Lords
--By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.
--- ---
“These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful” (Revelation 17:14).

There is coming a time—perhaps not too far in the future—when all the kings and other rulers of the world will “have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast” (Revelation 17:13), the great humanistic world system of the last days, whose Satan-possessed leader will then have power “given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations” (Revelation 13:7).

Only one opponent will remain, the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, against whom “the kings of the earth . . . take counsel together, against the LORD, and against His anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us” (Psalm 2:2,3).

So they will proceed to “make war with the Lamb,” but they will lose! At the final “appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. . . . He shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (I Timothy 6:14,15). He, who as God’s sacrificial Lamb, has taken “away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), is greater than all kings and rulers.

No longer as the submissive Lamb before His shearers (Isaiah 53:7), but as the “Word of God,” out of whose once-silent mouth now “goeth a sharp sword” with which He shall “smite the nations.” He will have “on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:13,15,16).

Indeed, the kings and leaders of the whole world will think they can successfully “make war with the Lamb,” but He “shall overcome them.” In that great day that is coming, it will be far better to be with Him, than with them!

--ICR/HMM / KING OF LOVE <http://youtu.be/ENK04pDfnFA>

-PERFECT LOVE

--John 13:5-17
---
I have given you an
example, that you
should do as I have
done to you.
--John 13:14
---
FOR thousands of years, the Jewish people had only the Law telling them what to do and what not to do. But then came Jesus Christ, who showed them how to live the life God had been telling them about all along. Jesus didn't just say, "Be humble"; He "humbled Himself" (Phil. 2:8). He didn't just say, "Forgive others"; He forgave us (Col. 3:13). He didn't just say, "Love God and your neighbors"; He demonstrated love by His actions (John 15:12).

Christ's perfect example of love shows how great God's love is for us and how we are to show His love to others.
----------
-LOVE IS GOD'S WILL IN ACTION!

--ODB/JAL

--All About Jesus
--Read | Revelation 21:10-27 (Please Read)
--
-All of us have sinned, and our transgressions demand atonement. Because of this, God the Father sent His Son to die in our place and pay our sin debt in full. We are forgiven on the basis of the price He paid, and if we accept His sacrifice on our behalf, our names will be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Christ’s death on the Cross paved the way for us to go to heaven. Because He died, not only can we live for eternity, but we also get to enjoy a personal relationship with the Lord while we are here on earth. It’s all wrapped up in the Cross. It’s all about Jesus.

Have you ever acknowledged your sin against God? Are you willing to ask Him to forgive you—not on the basis of who you are or what you’ve done, but based on the simple truth that Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, went to the Cross in your place?

If you are willing to confess your sin, turn from it, and yield your life to the Lord, the Holy Spirit will come into your heart and seal you forever as a child of God. You can live the rest of your life knowing that no matter what happens, as you travel the peaks and valleys of life, you are forever safe in the arms of Almighty God—and eternal life in His presence awaits you.

When you think about what Jesus endured in order to atone for your sins, the only appropriate response is humble gratitude. Pray that the Spirit of God will penetrate any arrogance or resistance so you can truly acknowledge, privately and then publicly, that the Cross is our only hope.

[If you've never met Jesus, He is, at this moment, knocking on the door of your heart. He longs to have a personal relationship with you. Won't you invite Him into your heart and life now? You can use the following prayer or your own words:

"Lord Jesus, I believe You are truly the Son of God. I confess that I have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed. Please forgive my sins and allow me to live in a relationship with You from now on. I receive You as my personal Savior. Thank You for saving me, Lord Jesus. Help me to live for You. Amen. ]

--In Touch
We will gladly send you our free All Things Are New kit to help you take the next step in your relationship with God. Contact our Customer Care department at 800-789-1473, or visit <www.intouch.org/god> for more information.

-GOLDEN EAGLE~

-Psalm 145:1-7
---
I will meditate...
on Your wondrous
works. --Psalm 145:5 -
---
MY son Mark and I were leaving the Clyde Peterson Ranch in Wyoming to head back to Michigan. In the distance we spotted a huge bird sitting in a solitary tree overlooking a steep canyon. As we approached, the golden eagle leaped from the tree and soared out over the canyon, the golden streaks in its feathers shimmering in the morning sun. Its immense size and beauty filled us with wonder. We felt privileged to witness this magnificent demonstration of God's awesome creativity.

Creation displays God's "wondrous works" (Ps. 145:5). And when we stop to meditate on those works, we can't help but be awed as our minds and spirits are moved to reflect on the character of the God who created them.

That golden eagle told my son and me a story of the creative genius of our mighty God. So does the flitting songbird, the doe with her playful fawn, the pounding surf, and the delicate little flowers such as bachlor's-button and Spring beauty. In the most unexpected moments and out-of-the-way places the Lord shines His glory in this world in order to reveal Himself to us. Those serendipitous moments are opportunities to "meditate...on [His] wondrous works" (v.5)

This is my Father's world,
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas--
His hand to wonders wrought.
---
-ALWAYS BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR THE WONDER FROM OUR CREATOR!

ODB/DE

-He Is the Owner and Creator!

-"Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. But if a man be just . . . he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD." (Ezekiel 18:4-5, 9)

What an awesome statement! The eternal Creator of all mankind asserting His ownership over each man's soul to do with it what He deems proper.

What is the worth of one eternal soul created in the image of God? The Creator is the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills. Indeed, the earth and all the galaxies are His, but there is something about a soul that is of far greater worth. A soul can choose, can worship its Maker, and can reflect the very nature of God. Nothing else in all creation has these powers. Yet He owns all souls. He has an unquestionable right to them, and they will never be taken away, for He has created them. Furthermore, their numbers are growing, for He has given His subjects the command and power to reproduce. At each conception He supplies a newly created, eternal soul. Truly, His wealth is great!

How should we respond to His ownership? By obedience! By choosing to act according to His will as revealed in reason, our conscience, and above all, in His written Word, we ascribe to Him the glory due Him. We must jealously guard our affections, reserving the adulation which He deserves for Him alone. We must lovingly care for His creation, including the many fellow souls whom He brings across our paths.

Above all, we must avail ourselves of His gracious provision of mercy and forgiveness through the redemptive work of His Son, Jesus Christ. At that point, He performs another creative act, for "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [or creation]: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

--ICR/JDM

--- Resurrection Hope
--- By Charles F. Stanley

What is Easter about? Greeting cards speak of “renewal,” “the promise of spring,” or even “God’s love.”
To believers, however, these sentiments fall far short of the power and victory of Easter—Christ’s resurrection from the dead.

Does it really matter if Christ rose from the dead? Some would argue it doesn’t. But I submit to you that if Jesus didn’t conquer death, Christianity is a lie. Without the Resurrection, the most eloquent sermon is empty; sin still holds us captive; and our faith is nothing more than wishful thinking (1 Cor. 15:13-14,17).

The Resurrection is a fact. Those who are not quite sure, and who do not trust the Bible story, can go to the library and investigate the records of the time written by Josephus, a Jewish historian.

And for those of us who do believe the Bible is an accurate account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have much to rejoice about.

For many years, our church, First Baptist Atlanta produced a three-hour dramatic performance about the life of Jesus. Many of those years, the civic center has been sold out for all performances. It was the highlight of the Easter season for thousands of people. I enjoyed it immensely.The basic script was “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” Each year it ended with the ascension of Jesus.

Each year as I sat there and anticipated the Resurrection scene, I felt as if I would explode with excitement. I felt tense during the trial and the beating of Jesus. I got angry at the Roman soldiers (who are my church members!) as they yelled at and hit our Savior. I grew weary and sad during Gethsemane and the Crucifixion scenes. I became exhausted after those scenes because they seemed so real to me.

Then, the music would change. And women would run across the stage looking for Jesus, wondering where His missing body could be. Women weep. Disciples shook their heads. Jesus’ mother is pondered. I recall wanting to stand to my feet and shout, “He’s risen, just as He said!” I never have said that, and I’m sure those around me were grateful. But I’ve wanted to.

The strangest feeling overtook me one year. As the disciples peered into the tomb and as angels hovered nearby and they cradled His folded grave-clothes in their hands, I wanted to get up and walk up on to the stage to look in the tomb, too. I knew it was empty, but I wanted to experience the thrill that those first disciples must have felt when they walked into the empty tomb.

We can’t imagine their despair and then their feeling of utter amazement and victory.

His resurrection assures our resurrection.
There would still be the sting of death if He had remained dead. But He was the firstfruits of resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20). He paved the way for us.

Of course, we grieve when someone we love is taken in death. But we grieve differently from the way the world does. We do not grieve as those who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). We can look forward to a wonderful reunion someday with them and with the One who died—and lives—for us!

If He had remained dead, we would have nothing.

No hope. No faith. No comfort.

But we have a living Savior, who transcended the laws of death and smashed them forever.

A little girl took a caterpillar and put it in a metal box that once held Band-aids. She shut the lid tight to keep the caterpillar in and then went on her way, virtually forgetting about her wonderful catch. The caterpillar spun a tight cocoon inside the box.

One day, when the girl was at school, her mother was cleaning her room. The mom opened the box to see what treasure the little girl had hidden. Out came a beautiful butterfly.

The mother closed the bedroom door tightly, so she could show this creation to the little girl when she came home. She could hardly wait. She met her daughter at the door and said, “Guess what! You’ve kind of become a mother!”

The child couldn’t imagine what on earth her mother was talking about. But then the mother slowly opened her daughter’s door and showed her the butterfly basking in the sunshine on the window sill.

Butterflies, although a beautiful illustration of new life emerging out of something seemingly dead, do not adequately portray the Resurrection. Jesus was not in some flimsy metal box. He was in a sealed tomb with guards standing nearby. He was wrapped in a cocoon of death, yet He broke free.

The stone was rolled away from the tomb, not so Jesus could get out but so the world could look in. His resurrection assures yours. Because He lives, you will live forever.

-HE'S ALIVE!

--Breath and Spirit

"Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein." (Isaiah 42:5)

God the LORD (Elohim Jehovah) is here identified as the Creator and organizer of all the universe, the heavens, and the earth, and all things therein. In context, He is also identifying Himself as the One sending forth "my servant" to be given as "a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles" (Isaiah 42:1, 6), the coming Messiah of Israel.

He who does all these things also gives every person born both breath and spirit. The "breath" (Hebrew neshumah) is that "breath of life" which God breathed into Adam's nostrils when He created him at the beginning. Even those who do not believe in God must depend on Him for their very breath, since "he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things." Therefore, He is "not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:25, 27-28).

He also gives each person a spirit (Hebrew ruach), a word used first of all in reference to the "Spirit of God" (Genesis 1:2). It is this attribute in particular that constitutes the created "image of God" in man (Genesis 1:27). The higher land animals all possess "the breath of life," along with man (Genesis 7:22), but only men and women are created in the image of God, each with an eternal spirit.

Man's breath and spirit are closely related, and sometimes the words are used almost interchangeably. When the breath departs from a person's body at death, the spirit also departs with it, but the latter "shall return unto God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7). The breath also will be activated again on the coming resurrection day.

--ICR/HMM / HOLY SPIRIT RAIN DOWN/ HILLSONG ~~

----

--God's Perfect Way

--"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him." (2 Samuel 22:31) -

This is the 30th verse (out of 50) in David's great "song of deliverance," evidently considered by God to be of sufficient importance to have it included twice (2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18) in His written word. Its testimony is greatly needed.

One of the most common excuses given by men for rejecting the God of the Bible is their opinion that His ways are unfair. Even Christians are prone to complain at the way God deals with them. But the fact that we may not understand God's ways hardly gives us the right to pass judgment on them. He often reminds us in His word that His way is perfect and His word has been tried and proved, again and again. "For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth" (Psalm 33:4). "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul" (Psalm 19:7).

We need to settle it in our hearts that, whether we understand them or not, God's ways are always perfect. What He does is right, and whatever He says must be true by definition. His ways are always in the context of eternity, but we leap to judgment in terms of present inconvenience.

His perfect way is seen most fully in Christ, and His truth is heard most clearly in Christ, for "I am the way," He said, and I am "the truth" (John 14:6). Yet Christ's way was through the Cross, and His truth was opposed by the father of lies (John 8:44).

God's way for us may also lead us into suffering and great opposition, but His way is always perfect, and His word is tried and true. If we trust Him through it all, He will be our buckler as He was for David. "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him" (Proverbs 30:5).

"Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator
of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.

He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.
Yet those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not grow weary, they will walk
not grow faint." ISAIAH 40:28-31

ICR/HMM/ WINGS AS EAGLES/ PHIL DRISCOLL

--This Same Jesus
--By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).

When the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, then later ascended into heaven, His body was immortal, no longer subject to death-yet it was a physical body, capable of being seen and heard and touched, even capable of eating with His disciples.
He was clearly recognizable, yet could quickly ascend from earth to heaven and could pass through a solid wall. As He ascended, two angelic messengers said: “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). He was immeasurably different after His resurrection, yet Peter could also proclaim “that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

Furthermore, even when He returns and assumes the eternal throne of the universe, He will still be the same. “But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: . . . they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail” (Hebrews 1:8,12).

This was the same Jesus whom John the Baptist identified at the beginning of His earthly ministry. “He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost” (John 1:33).

In fact, before His baptism, and even before His incarnation, He was the same. “In the beginning was the Word, . . . The same was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1,2).

This same Jesus who lived among men, identified by John the Baptist as the Son of God, and who died on the cross, is the eternal Word by whom all things were made, as well as the resurrected Savior and coming King. Jesus Christ is truly “the same yesterday. and today, and for ever.”

--ICR/ HMM

--UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE --
--1 Corinthians 2:12 - 3:3
---
"I just don't understand the Bible." That's a comment I hear quite often, even from believers. It is no mystery why those without Christ are unable to comprehend Biblical concepts, but why do those who know Him struggle? Some people think a seminary education is the answer, but I've met several trained Pastors and Teachers who didn't really understand the Word of God. They knew facts but had no excitement for the Scriptures or for the Lord.

The key is not education but obedience. As we act on what we read, the Holy Book comes alive, and we begin to hear and understand the voice of God. However, if we have not obeyed what He's previously revealed to us, why would He give us His deeeper truths? "The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him" (Ps. 25:14). So who are "those who fear Him?" They're the ones who obey His commandments and are promised "a good understanding" (111:10).

Living a fleshly lifestyle amounts to disobedience before the Lord. It will cloud our eyes, diminish our ability to hear, and fog our thinking. Although we, as believers, have full access to the mind of Christ, attachment to our own sinful ways can prevent us from tapping into the rich treasures of wisdom that are found in His Word.

As you read the Scriptures each day, look for God's instructions. Then with reliance upon the Holy Spirit, commit to do what He tells you. When you obey His voice, He will reveal deeper truths, and your understanding will grow. Soon your time in the Word will become a delight instead of a duty.~~

--In Touch

-There is Only One Way to Become a Child of God~~

--Christ's Blood: The Necessity
--Read | Romans 3:21-26 -(Righteousness Through Faith)

-Romans 3 communicates the very heart of Scripture. Apart from the cross of Christ and His atoning death, no one can be declared righteous.

In other words, there is only one way to become a child of God—through the blood of the Savior (John 14:6). Good works and right living will not earn the Lord’s favor, because every person inevitably sins, and a sinner cannot enter the presence of holy God. The shedding of Christ’s blood on the world’s behalf made it possible for anyone to be cleansed of sin and have a relationship with the Creator. The only requirement is trusting Jesus as Savior.

For God to be just, He must remain true to His own principles. His holiness dictated that “the soul who sins will die” (Ezek. 18:4). The penalty for sin—namely, death—had to be paid in a way that was acceptable to God.
He explained through Moses why a blood sacrifice was required: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement” (Lev. 17:11). A life must be given for a life to be spared.

On that basis, the heavenly Father provided a perfectly sinless sacrifice for all mankind. The only way God’s justice could be satisfied and His holiness could be maintained was for Jesus Christ to take our guilt and sin upon Himself and die in our place.

When we say that there is only one way to the Father, we mean that a person must believe Jesus Christ died as a perfect sacrifice. To trust in anything else is to ignore God’s holiness and the admonition of His Word (Acts 4:12).
--In Touch/
NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD/ By: The Swift

----

--STAR SHEPHERD

-Ezekiel 34:11-16
-----
Why do you say,...
"My way is hidden
from the LORD"?
--Isaiah 40:27 -
---
IN the Spring, shepherds in Idaho move their flocks from the lowlands into the mountains. Thousands of sheep move up the passes into the high country to summer pasture.

My wife and I came across a flock on Shaw Mountain last week. It was bedded down in a meadow by a quiet stream--a scene that evoked memories of Psalm 23.

But where was the shepherd? The sheep appeared to be alone--until a few broke away from the flock and began to wander toward a distant gully. Then we heard a shrill whistle from above. Looking up, we saw the shepherd sitting high on a hill above the sheep, keeping watch over his flock. A mountain dog and two Border collies stood at his side. The dogs, responding to the shepherd's signal, bounded down the hill and herded the drifting sheep back to the flock where they belonged.

In the same way, the Good Shepherd is watching over you. Even though you cannot see Him, He can see you! He knows you by name and knows all about you. You are the sheep of His pasture (Ezek. 34:31).
God promises that He will "seek out" His sheep, "feed them in good pasture," and "bind up the broken" (vv.12,14,16).

-You can trust in God's watchful care.

I trust in God, I know He cares for me
On the mountain bleak or on the stormy sea;
Though billows roll, He keeps my soul,
My heavenly Father watches over me.
---
The Lamb who died to save us
is the Shepherd who lives to care for us.

--ODB/DR


-The Lord is My Shepherd/ Keith Green [Psalm 23]

--Heaven: Our Eternal Home
--(Read John 14:1-4)
----
-JESUS warned His disciples that He would soon be going away. However, the Lord also promised to return someday and take them to a home that He'd have prepared for them (John 14:3). This verse confirms to us that Heaven is a real place.

According to the Bible, Christians have citizenship in paradise (Phil 3:20), our treasure is stored there (Matt. 6:20), and it will be our eternal home (1 Thess. 4:17). God is not describing a celestial dream world. Rather, all believers can confidently look forward to being gathered there, in a tangible dwelling place.

Immediately after physical death, the Christian's spirit enters God's presence(2 Cor.5:6). At some point, after divine timing is fulfilled for Tribulation and Judgment, the Lord will renew all things. Our bodies will be resurrected as immortal, pain-free, and vigorous sheaths for our spirits (1 Cor. 15:42). Later, the earth will be changed into an uncorrupted Paradise, and we'll also have access to a Heavenly City--the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:10-27).

In these two spheres of Heaven, God's children will spend eternity serving and worshipping Him. Despite misconceptions about reclining on clouds and playing harps, we won't be sitting around, doing nothing! We will rest, but this holy respite is from all the things that make life on earth so wearying--temptation, heartache, trials, and pain.

Paradise is beyond our imagination, but we do know the believer's life goes on: as citizens of Heaven, we'll be serving and praising the Lord. And together with other saints and our Lord Jesus, we'll enjoy unlimited energy and perfect harmony. We will have the peace of God, that transcends all human comprehension.~~

--Thine, O Lord

"Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all." (1 Chronicles 29:11)
---
This is one of the great doxologies of Scripture, originally a part of King David's prayer at the time of Solomon's coronation as his successor. Although David and Solomon were the greatest kings of Israel, and two of the greatest kings in the world of their age, David rightly acknowledged that the Lord Himself was the true King, not only of Israel, but of all heaven and Earth. He is head, the supreme ruler, over all.

This is the first occurrence in Scripture of the great testimony of worship: "Thine is the kingdom." In the modern world, however, there are relatively few who acknowledge Him as King of creation. Except for a small minority, most people believe that the universe has evolved and man is king.

But David's prayer will be echoed again in the great prayer of the cherubim: "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created" (Revelation 4:11). Then, soon afterward, "the four and twenty elders" utter their prayer: "We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty . . . because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned" (Revelation 11:16-17).

Someday, every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess Him as King of kings and Lord of lords. "Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. . . . Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. . . . Blessed are all they that put their trust in him" (Psalm 2:6, 10, 12). In that day, "there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him" (Revelation 22:3).

--ICR/HMM

--Fellowship with the Father and With the Son~

". . .and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:3) -

One marvelous reason for which God has adopted us (Ephesians 1:5), indeed part of the very "calling" to become God's children, is to fellowship (1 Corinthians 1:9) with the great God of creation!

Jesus prayed (John 17) that we, His chosen disciples, might have the same kind of relationship with the Heavenly Father that Jesus Himself had throughout eternity. Our minds may not totally grasp that wonder down here—except as we try to understand something of the key of walking "in the light" (1 John 1:7).

The nature of light in our universe gives us clues:
Light is unchangeable; one cannot make light dark.
Light exposes everything (reveals and brings clarity).
Light is the sustainer of all life as we know it.

The nature of darkness is also very instructive:
Darkness is driven away by the smallest spark.
Darkness covers everything (hides and obscures).
Darkness will kill all life as we know it.

"The path of the just is as the shining light. . . . The way of the wicked is as darkness" (Proverbs 4:18-19). The promise of fellowship with God is that He "will lead them in paths that they have not known" and that He "will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight" (Isaiah 42:16).

Therefore, "let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation" (1 Thessalonians 5:8). Since we were "sometimes darkness" (Ephesians 5:8) but have been delivered from "the power of darkness" (Colossians 1:13), we should no longer "fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Ephesians 5:11).
--ICR/ HMM III

--JESUS CHRIST OUR CREATOR~

-God's Seven Wonders ~

Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live.
--- [Psalm 63:3-4]

~There were seven wonders of the ancient world, and from time to time we read about the seven wonders of the modern world. But God has His seven wonders too.

The first is the wonder of God's love. The Almighty God, the Creator of the whole universe, loves you and is interested in you as if you were the only person who ever lived. Even when we sin against Him, He still wants to put His arms around us and say, "I love you."

The second is the wonder of God coming to live among us. God became a man--and that man was Jesus. He took on flesh so that He might know our trials, heartaches, and temptations. He understans us.

The third is the wonder of the Cross. Jesus died for you and for me. Far more than His excruciatingly painful physical death, He suffered spiritually when God laid on Him your sins and mine. He who had never known sin took the penalty for all our sin.

-What wondrous love is this!

--HOPE For Each Day/BG

--JESUS CHRIST OUR CREATOR

-God's Seven Wonders, Part II

-"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)~

THE fourth of God's seven wonders is the wonder of conversion. The word conversion means "to change, to turn." You cannot convert yourself: you have to have God help you repent. The Holy Spirit helps us say no to sin and yes to Christ--giving us a new life.

The fifth wonder is the gift of peace and joy that Christ gives. God's wondrous love and the gracious forgiveness He offers through Jesus Christ bring peace and joy.

The sixth wonder is God's plan for the future. I look forward to that day when Jesus will return. What a glorious day that will be when we see Him face-to-face!

The seventh wonder of God is your own commitment to Jesus Christ. He has come to save you, but He won't force you to make that commitment. Have you committed your life to Him--totally and without reserve?

Love, the incarnation, the Cross, conversion, peace and joy, God's plan, your commitment to Jesus--God definitely is the God of wonders!--
<http://youtu.be/iiYejm_O6JU>

--Made in Christ

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Many men would boast of being "self-made" men, but no Christian can do this. Everything we are that is truly worthy and eternal was made in us by God through Jesus Christ. Our text is clear on this. We have been made righteous in Christ, but this was only because God made Him to be sin for us.

When He made us righteous in Christ, He also "made us accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). Furthermore, we were "made nigh by the blood of Christ" (2:13). The contexts of these passages make it abundantly clear that our being made righteous, accepted in Christ, and nigh to God, is all of grace; we did nothing to merit such privileges.

This is not all. At the same moment, He also has "made us meet ['fit'] to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light" (Colossians 1:12). That we in our poverty should be made joint-heirs with Christ once again is only by His unmerited grace. "Being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:7).

In promise now and in full reality later, He has "made us kings and priests unto God and his Father" (Revelation 1:6). Positionally, we even share His throne, for He "hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6).

Without Him we are nothing; but in Him we have all things. He is "made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). Truly, in salvation as well as in creation, "it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves" (Psalm 100:3).

--ICR/ HMM

--JESUS' SACRIFICE:
PAYMENT IN FULL ~~

--Psalm 51
------
A church deacon once confessed a horrible sin in a social media site. After giving a description of what he'd done, the man commented, "I know there's a price to pay for this sin now. And that price is death."

Not only was his heart broken over what he had done; he also knew that the effect on his friends and family would be devastating. And yet, overshadowing his remorse was fear. He'd become afraid of God, believing that the sovereign Lord of the universe was now "out to get him."

What would you say to this believer? Does his statement reflect an appropriate view of God's response to sin?

It's true that Romans 6:23 clearly teaches that "the wages of sin is death"; however, this sorrowful young man had overlooked the all-important second half of the verse: "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." If our Father gives us a gift, we can trust that He will never take it away; it becomes ours to keep--that's what a 'gift' is. We did nothing to deserve it, so we can do nothing to lose it. It all rests on God's initiative.

Moreover, a greater theological principle is at work here. If the believer's sin after salvation could require death--or any form of punishment--then Jesus' sacrifice was insufficient. However, the Bible tells us that Jesus' death was wholly sufficient and a once-for-all payment of mankind's sin debt. (Heb. 10:10).

Either Jesus' blood does cover our sins, or it doesn't. There's no middle ground. The Holy Spirit, Christ's words, and biblical testimony clearly assert that it does.
Jesus died on the Cross to set us free from sin, and to set us free to love and live for Him. Take that 'gift' from Him, and don't ever worry about Him taking it back. You are saved once and that's enough for you to be a follower of Christ. As Jesus said in the Bible repeatedly, "Go, and sin no more."

--Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!The Creator of the universe, and all man-kind, has already paid our sin debt. Please receive His gift and live for Him every day.

---IN TOUCH

--- Son of Man
--By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle." (Revelation 14:14)

This is the last of some 87 New Testament references (84 in the four gospels, one in Acts, none in the epistles, two in Revelation) to Christ as the Son of man. Here we see the Son of man coming on a white cloud from heaven (just as He had ascended into heaven after His resurrection) as the conquering King of all the earth.

What a contrast is this to the first New Testament reference to the Son of man. "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). From humility and poverty on Earth to power and riches in heaven, and for all eternity—this was His journey when Christ left His heavenly glory to join the human family.

In between the poverty and the power lay the whole human experience, for He "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). Finally, as Son of man He must die for man's sin, for "the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again" (Luke 24:7). Even in heaven He is still the Son of man, for Stephen saw Him thus: "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56).

There is, indeed, a great man in the glory! Christ called Himself "the Son of man" much more often than "the Son of God," though He will eternally be both, the God/man. He delights to identify with those whom He has redeemed, for He "is not ashamed to call them brethren" (Hebrews 2:11). "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" asked Jesus. Then we say, with Peter, "Thou art . . . the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:13, 16).

--ICR/HMM

--THE CREATOR~

--Have you ever wondered....

***If the story of Creation is true?

***Why God bothered to create you?
--Read: Nehemiah 9:6; Job 26:7-14; Acts 14:15-
---
IN the beginning, God breathed life into Adam. God formed each living thing out of nothing. God's color palette is richer than any human artist's. His brush strokes are light and precise. The Bible praises God for His creativity. He left His stamp of craftsmanship on each one of us.

When He created you, He deliberately chose the shape of your face and the color of your eyes. In addition to your physical features, He combined a unique mix of talents and traits. And since that initial moment of creation, He has watched you ever since. Anyone who would labor so much to form you would naturally care enough to lead you the rest of the way through life. You are His child, His artwork.

Perhaps you've wondered why He bothered creating you. What can you possibly give to God that He doesn't already have? Certainly, you can't bring Him power, glory, or holiness, but you can bring Him one thing that He dearly wants--yourself. You are the masterpiece that the Great Artist treasures.

"By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." -Hebrews 11:3 ~~

--Some personal applications:

***What does it mean to you that you were created in God's image?

***For what can you choose to praise the Creator today?

--For a more in-depth study read: Psalm 8

"Only in seeking his Maker does a man truly become man. For in seeing his Creator man catches a glimpse of what he was intended to be. He who would see his God would then see the reason for death and the purpose of time. Destiny? Tomorrow? Truth? All are questions within the reach of the man who knows his source. It is in seeing Jesus that man sees his Source."

--Max Lucado

-FEAR OF WITNESSING~~

"And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all not teach in the name of Jesus." Acts 4:18,29; 5:29

WHY are most of us reluctant to witness to others? FEAR. But in the face of fear, the apostles courageously answered that they "ought to obey God rather than men," and they prayed, "Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word."

But today we fear ridicule more than physical harm. Such fear is out of character for real Christians. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
If we love the Lord and those He died for, we must learn to conquer our fear of men.

But some, because of their high position, refused to take an open stand for Christ. "Among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."

May God give us the courage of Paul. "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ," he wrote, "for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth."

--Scripture:
Acts 4:18,29; 5:29; 2 Timothy 1:7; John 12:42-43, Romans 1:16 ~~ NEVER BE ASHAMED OF YOUR CREATOR!

--Jesus Christ Our Creator~

--Christ in Suffering and Triumph
-By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).

In the final book of the Bible occur seven great “I am” assertions by the glorified Christ, all speaking of His ultimate victory. However, in the Book of Psalms occur seven vastly different “I am” statements by Christ, all speaking prophetically of His sufferings. These are in four of the wonderfully fulfilled Messianic psalms, all written 1000 years before Christ, yet each psalm cited in the New Testament is fulfilled by Christ.

“But I am a worm, and no man” (Psalm 22:6, comparing Christ to a mother “scarlet worm” who dies that her young may live, and in so doing, gives off a scarlet fluid which protects and nourishes her young).

“I am poor and needy” (Psalm 40:17).
“I am . . . a stranger unto my brethren” (Psalm 69:8).
“I am full of heaviness” (Psalm 69:20).
“I am poor and sorrowful” (Psalm 69:29).
“I . . . am as a sparrow alone upon the house top” (Psalm 102:7).
“I am withered like grass” (Psalm 102:11).

In contrast to these lonely sufferings of Christ, there are the glories that shall follow. The first of the seven “I am’s” of Revelation is our text above, and four of the others proclaim the same great truth (Revelation 1:11,17; 21:6; 22:13).

-The self-existing one, the “I am,” Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who created all things (Alpha) will one day triumph and make all things new, forever (Omega). Listen to the other two wonderful testimonies: “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:18). “I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star” (Revelation 22:16).

--HMM/ICR

--The Name of the Lord

"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." (Exodus 3:14)
-
This unique name of God was given to stress the truth that He is timeless. The name "LORD" (Hebrew YHWH = Yahweh, or Jehovah) is essentially the same, conveying the truth that He is the eternal, self-existing One.

The Lord Jesus Christ appropriated this divine name to Himself when He told the Jews: "Before Abraham was [i.e., 'was born'], I am" (John 8:58). Correctly assuming that this statement was nothing less than a direct claim to identity with God, the Jews immediately (but unsuccessfully) attempted to stone Him to death as a blasphemer.

As the I Am, the Lord Jesus Christ is, indeed, everything, and He has revealed Himself to us under many beautiful symbols. It is well known that there are seven great "I am's" in the gospel of John, each of which is rich with spiritual depth of meaning. They can be listed as follows:

**"I am the bread of life . . . the living bread" (John 6:35, 51).
**"I am the light of the world . . . the light of life" (John 8:12).
**"I am the door of the sheep" (John 10:7).
**"I am the good shepherd . . . |who| giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:11).
**"I am the resurrection, and the life" (John 11:25).
**"I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).
**"I am the true vine" (John 15:1).

It is well known that this magnificent self-assertion of the Lord permeates the whole Bible, from its first use in Genesis 15:1, "I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward," to its final occurrence in Revelation 22:16, "I am . . . the bright and morning star." And all these beautiful figures help us to pray more fervently "that God may be all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28).

--ICR/HMM

---THE OTHER
EIGHTY PERCENT~

-Psalm 69:29-36
----
"Let heaven and earth
praise Him, the seas
and everything
that moves in them."
---Psalm 69:34-

-RECENTLY I saw a billboard stating that 80 percent of all life on Earth is found in the seas. That staggering number is difficult to process, largely because most of that life is out of sight.

As I considered this, it reminded me of how much greater God's creation is than we typically appreciate. While we can easily have our breath taken away by a majestic mountain range or a panoramic sunset, we sometimes fail to see His extraordinary work in the details that require more careful study and examination. Not only is much of God's creation hidden by the oceans, but other parts are also too small for our eyes to observe.

From the microscopically small to the unsearched reaches of the Universe, it is all the work of our Creator. In those magnificent structures--seen and unseen--God's creative glory is revealed (Rom. 1:20).

As we grow to understand the wonder of creation, it must always point us to the Creator Himself--and call us to worship Him. As the Psalmist said, "Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them" (Ps. 69:34). If creation itself gives praise to the Creator, we can and should certainly join the chorus. What a mighty God we serve! Oh Lord, How Great Thou Art!-

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the Universe displayed!
-----
-THE WONDER OF CREATION CAUSES US TO SAY, "WHAT A MIGHTY, POWERFUL GOD WE SERVE! LORD, HOW GREAT THOU ART!

--ODB/BC
<http://youtu.be/mHqgQjJrxI8>
-----

-JESUS DIED FOR YOU!

---- /
"He lived among us. He donned the costliest of robes; a human body. He made a throne out of a manager and a royal court out of some cows. He took a common name--Jesus-- and made it holy. He took common people and made them the same. And the best part of all, Jesus our Redeemer, gave up His life on the Cross for forgiveness of our sins. He did it for you. He did it for me. What will we do for Him? By dying on the Cross, Jesus paid our sin debt. Yes, He took all of your sins and mine, and nailed them to the Cross of Calvary.

What Can Wash Away My Sins? "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus." /= If you have not asked Him to come into your heart, why not do it today? You may not be here tomorrow. You will be a totally different person, and will want to serve the King of all kings, Jesus the Crucified/Risen Lord and Savior. He's ALIVE! He is coming back! Many of the notorious Theologians and Pastors believe Jesus is coming soon. Only the Father knows.

Please get right with Him, before He comes, and must serve the sentence for each and every person, "For what reason should you be allowed to enter the Heavenly Jerusalem, the Celestial City"? There is only One person and one way. ~~
<http://youtu.be/8paf2NvZAZM>

--SEEING GOD IN
FAMILIAR PLACES ~~

--Isaiah 6:1-6
----
-The whole earth
is full of His glory!
---Isaiah 6:3-
---
--BECAUSE of where I live, I'm treated to spectacular displays of the magnificent, creative glory of God. Recently, on a drive through the woods, I was struck with a breathtaking display of deep rich reds and a variety of yellows that decorated the trees of Autumn--all artfully arranged against the backdrop of a brilliant blue sky.

And soon, as the temperatures plummet and winter blows in, I'll be reminded that no two snowflakes are ever the same as they pile on top of one another to create a rolling landscape of pristine white drifts. After that will come the miracle of Spring, when that which seemed hopelessly dead bursts into life with buds and blossoms that will grace the meadows with a multitplicity of colors.

Wherever we look in the world around us, we see evidence that "the whole earth is full of His glory!" (Isa. 6:3). What is amazing is that the creation that surrounds us is damaged by sin (see Rom 8:18-22), yet God has seen fit to grace our fallen landscape with these loving brushstrokes of His creative hand. It serves as a daily reminder that the beauty of His grace covers our sin and that His love, our awesome Creator's gift to us of the beautiful earth and majesty of His splendor, is always available to us.
--------
-NEVER PASS UP AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY
NATURE'S BEAUTY--IT'S THE HANDWRITING OF GOD! ~

--OCB/JS
<http://youtu.be/jjxPG_mRHDs>

--JESUS, OUR LIFE PRESERVER ~
--John 3:16-18 (recommended reading)

PICTURE a muddy river, swollen with rain and rushing over rocks. You've fallen into that dirty water and cannot fight the current for long. Your head goes under once, then twice, and both times you come up sputtering after swallowing some of the filth. A third dunking might kill you. Suddenly, from the shore, someone throws a life preserver, which floats past your chest. Will you grab it?

The answer seems obvious--of course you would! But too often people drowning in the world's fast-moving current refuse to grab onto the 'Spiritual Life Preserver: Jesus Christ.' He died on the Cross for all humanity, but individuals have a responsibility in salvation. A person must recognize his or her own helplessness and acknowledge the need for Christ. That means the new Christian accepts Jesus' sacrifice as true and personal, believing that there is no other way to be rescued.

It isn't necessary to understand everything about faith and the Bible in order to be saved--God will ensure that His children learn whatever they need from the Holy Spirit. However, it is critical to realize that we cannot save ourselves.

Can you point to a time in your life when you received Jesus Christ as your Savior? God is calling, longing for you to recognize your need for Him and to pray for rescue from sin. He is faithful to answer by saving you and making you blameless before Him.

God is offering you a life preserver and waiting to pull you to eternal safety. The choice is yours. Will you choose Christ and live? ~~~
--In Touch--(Jesus, Be Lifted High!)
<http://youtu.be/lW0QJfcmqYQ>
--------

-The Difference between
-Faith and Works ~~~

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
---(Ephesians 2:8-9) ~

-Isn't it funny how there are basically two kinds of religions in the world? There are those religions of works, which are false religions. And then there is religion by faith, which is true religion. Those are the only two categories: works-based religion and faith-based religion.

Now, a religion of works says 'do'. It tells you that if you accomplish 'XYZ' in your life, you've done well. I you haven't, then you've done poorly. That's how works-based religion determines the success of the follower.

But the faith-based religion, the religion of Christ (which is not a religion but a relationship) has already been done. It takes into account the fact that God is so holy and man is so sinful that there's no amount of good works we can do to even come close to success. That's why Jesus came...to live the life we couldn't and give us His righteousness as He took away our sin.

When Jesus cried out, "It is finished," He said, "DONE!" The work of salvation has been accomplished. And because of His faithful obedience which took Him to the Cross, you can now have life in His name by placing your faith in Him! Jesus is the only way to Heaven. Jesus paid the price that we could not pay, so we can live eternally with Him.

--Christ did the work you couldn't do so that you can have eternal life. So thank Him today for that wonderful gift! Hallelujah! What a wonderful Savior!-"We are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast."[Eph. 2:8]

--PP/JG / = "GRACE" by: Michael Smith
<http://youtu.be/IxMUPY5VKYA>
----------

-- YOU CAN BE SURE THE BATTLE IS WON!

"When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." -
--JOHN 19:30

There are many people in the world today who don't know that the war against condemning sin is over. They're still fighting and struggling, trying to overcome sin on their own, but the mission has already been accomplished. JESUS WON OUR VICTORY ON THE CROSS!

You see, when Jesus went to the Cross, He didn't die for a possibility of salvation. He didn't give His life on the outside chance it would work. No, He came to earth, humbling Himself, and died willingly in your place so that for all who know Him, there would be a guarantee of eternal salvation.

All you have to do is accept the victory of Jesus Christ--what He accomplished for you upon the Cross. When you do, peace will come into your heart and the war will be done. Just as He proclaimed on the Cross, "IT IS FINISHED!"
Hallelujah! What a wonderful Savior! Blessed Be Your Name!
--PP/JG
<http://youtu.be/PnWKehsOXu8>
--------

--HUBBLE, ZOOS,
AND SINGING
CHILDREN ~~

-Psalm 148
----
'Praise Him, all you
stars of light!'
---Psalm 148:3
----
WHAT do the Hubble Space Telescope, a zoo, and singing children have in common? According to the teaching of Psalm 148, we could conclude that they all point to God's magnificent creation.

The idea that God created our world is often questioned, so perhaps it's a good time for a reminder of the praise we and all creation should heap on our heavenly Father for His magnificent handiwork.

Hubble can help us with that through its eye-popping pictures of our universe. Every one of those brilliant photos points to stars that focus attention on God's creative majesty. "Praise Him, all you stars of light!"

A visit to a zoo points us to the great diversity of wildlife God created. We look at verses 7 and 10 and say thank you to God for sea creatures, wild animals, insects, and birds.

And a few minutes of watching children singing praises to God symbolizes the truth that all people of earth should lift their voices in honor of our Creator (vv.11-13).

Stars, animals, and children: "Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted" (v.13). Let's join in saying thanks for His creation. "Praise the Lord!"-
------------
-CREATION DISPLAYS GOD'S POWER! PRAISE HIM ALL THE EARTH! PRAISE HIM ALL CREATION!
<http://youtu.be/jwWOH_ZRtSg>
------

---God Of The Cosmos
--By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee” (Nehemiah 9:6).

---------
These are the opening affirmations of the prayer of the Levites after the return of the Jews from captivity in Babylon and the completion of the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah’s leadership. This prayer followed immediately after a great revival of Bible reading led by Ezra, the priestly scribe (Nehemiah 8:1–18; 9:1–3).

The natural outcome of such a return to the word of God by all the nation was this great national affirmation that Jehovah was the true Creator of all the universe. He had created all things in Heaven and in Earth even the stars!

Such an acknowledgment was especially significant for a people who had just emerged from more than 150 years of captivity in Babylon—the very center and archetype of the polytheistic evolutionism of the ancient world. Furthermore, the Jews had been sent into captivity in the first place, because they had fallen into the same sin as the Babylonians—that of blasphemously worshipping the “host of Heaven.”

But now God’s people had recognized and acknowledged once again that this very host of Heaven had been created by God, and that the faithful host of Heaven (the unfallen angels) still worshipped this same Creator God who had now brought His people back to their promised land.
If mighty angels worship their Creator, how can we do less?

Herein is an important lesson for our own nation today. A true national revival must begin with a great renewal of sincere Bible study, with a foundational emphasis on the basic fact of special creation, recognizing that control of all things must be by the true God of the universe.

--ICR/HMM/ AT YOUR NAME (YAHWEH, YAHWEH!)
<http://youtu.be/il-bJjeiOhY>
----------

--THE END?

--1 Corinthians 15:50-58
------
But thanks be to
God, who gives us
the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ.
--1 Corinthians 15:57-
------
EVERYTHING in this world eventually comes to an end, which at times can be disheartening. It's the feeling you get when you read a book that's so good you don't want it to end. Or when you watch a movie that you wish would go on a little while longer.

But all things--good and bad--do come to "The End." In fact, life ultimately does come to the end--sometimes sooner than we expect. All of us who have stood by the casket of a loved one know the painful emptiness of a heart that wishes it wasn't over yet.

Thankfully, Jesus steps into the fray of terminal disappointments, and, through His death and resurrection, He interjects 'HOPE' for us. In Him "the end" is a prelude to a death-free eternity, and words like "it's over" are replaced by a joy-filled "forever." Since our bodies are not an eternal reality, Paul assures us that "we shall all be changed"' (1 Cor. 15:51) and reminds us that because of Christ's conquering work we can confidently say, "O Death, where is your victory?" (v.55).

So let not your heart be troubled. Our sorrow is real, but we can be filled with gratitude because God "gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (v.57).
--------------
-In Christ, the end is only the beginning! You O Lord, Are the Famous One! Great is Your Name in All the Earth!

--ODB/JS-/ FAMOUS ONE! - By: Chris Tomlin
<http://youtu.be/jwWOH_ZRtSg>
---YOU NEVER LET GO! / MATT REDMAN
-------------
<http://youtu.be/y83-vMeWc9E>
------------

--THE WORD OF LIFE~~

--1 JOHN 1-9

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The Life appeared; we have seen Him and testify to Him, and we proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 JOHN 1-9 ~~~=JESUS IS THE WORD OF LIFE!
--------/ NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD--Matt Redman
<http://youtu.be/8paf2NvZAZM>

--JUST THE WAY YOU ARE!

"In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus."
--Philippians 2:5

~~It's dangerous to sum up grand truths in one statement, but I'm going to try. If a sentence or two could capture God's desire for each of us, it might read like this:

'God loves you just the way you are, but He
refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to
be just like Jesus.'

God loves you just the way you are. If you think his love for you would be stronger if your faith were, you are wrong. If you think his love would be deeper if your thoughts were, wrong again. Don't confuse God's love with the love of people. The love of people often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God's love. He loves you right where you are. ~~~

--Just Like Jesus/ML=[My Jesus I Love Thee, / Paul Baloche]
<http://youtu.be/iAqaOXqW1gI>

--THE CHOICE IS OURS~~

"I will make you my promised bride forever. I will be good and fair; I will show you my love and mercy."
--Hosea 2:19

~~~For all its peculiarities and unevenness, the Bible has a simple story. God made man. Man rejected God. God won't give up until he wins him back.

~~God will whisper. He will shout. He will touch and tug. He will take away our burdens; he'll even take away our blessings. If there are a thousand steps between us and him, he will take all but one. But He will leave the final one for us. The 'CHOICE' is ours.

Please understand. His goal is not to make you happy. His goal is to make you His. His goal is not to get you what you want; it is to get you what you need. "JESUS!!"

--A Gentle Thunder/ML

--RUN TO JESUS!

-"If we live, we are living for the Lord, and if we die, we are dying for the Lord." (Romans 14:8)

--Want encouragement and motivation? Think back to the moment when you first saw love of JESUS CHRIST. When you were separated from Christ you knew only guilt and confusion, and THEN---A LIGHT! Someone opened a door and light came into your darkness, and you said in your heart, "I am redeemed!"
/////
RUN TO JESUS! Jesus wants you to go to Him. He wants to become the most important Person in your life, the greatest Love you'll ever know. He wants you to love Him so much that there's no room in your heart, in your life for sin. Jesus has redeemed you from the curse of the Law, SIN IS GONE! Give Jesus full residence in your heart and LIFE! RUN TO JESUS! ~~~~
<http://youtu.be/WrSwSG65ggY>
-----------

--THE HEART OF JESUS~~~~

--"The Son does whatever the Father does."
--JOHN 5:19

~~The crowning attribute of Christ was this: his heart was spiritual. His thoughts reflected his intimate relationship with the Father. "I am in the Father and the Father is in me," he stated (John 14:1)...

Jesus took his instructions from God. It was his habit to go to worship (Luke 4:16). It was his practice to memorize Scripture (Luke 4:4). Luke says Jesus "often slipped away to be alone so he could pray" (Luke 5:15). His times of prayer guided him. He once returned from prayer and announced it was time to move to another city (Mark 1:38). Another time of prayer resulted in the selection of the disciples (Luke 6:12-13). Jesus was led by an unseen hand...

The heart of Jesus was spiritual. Jesus said, "I and the Father are One." (see Colossians 1:15-20)-'Supremacy of Christ'~

--GRACE FOR THE MOMENT/ML-/ Hallelujah! Praise the One Risen Son of God!=BEFORE THE THRONE!

<http://youtu.be/0HmbJhk_jaU>

-JESUS CHRIST OUR CREATOR!

--SEE WHAT GOD HAS DONE!

--"The heavens tell the glory of God!"
--Psalm 19:1

~~HOW vital that we pray, armed with the knowledge that God is in Heaven. Pray with any lesser conviction and your prayers are timid, shallow, and hollow. But spend some time walking in the workshop of the Heavens, seeing what God has done, and watch how your prayers are energized.....

Behold the sun! Every square yard of the sun is constantly emitting 130,000 horse power, or the equivalent of 450 eight-cylinder automobile engines. And yet our sun, as powerful as it is, is but one minor star in the 100 billion orbs which make up our Milky Way Galaxy.

Hold a dime in your fingers and extend it arm's length toward the sky, allowing it to eclipse your vision, and you will block out fifteen million stars from your view....By showing us the Heavens, Jesus is showing us his Father's workshop....He taps us on the shoulder and says,"
"Your Father can handle that for you."

--The Great House of God/ML / OUR GOD IS GREATER!/ C.Tomlin
<http://youtu.be/jbqPQkH5HYA>

--OUR FEARLESS
CHAMPION~~ JESUS!

-Matthew 8:23-34
-------
-Why are you fearful?
--Matthew 8:26
----
Left to ourselves, we are up against a lot of fiery dragons in our lives.

In the story of the disciples in the storm-tossed boat, I'm struck by the fact that the only one who was not afraid was Jesus. He was not afraid of the storm, nor was He afraid of a crazy man in a graveyard or of the legion of demons that possessed him (Matt. 8:23-34).

In the face of fear, we need to hear Jesus ask, "Why are you fearful?" (v.26) and be reminded that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5-6). There is nothing that He can't overcome and therefore nothing for Him to fear. So, the next time you're haunted by your fears, remember that you can rely on Jesus, our fearless Champion!
------
-In times of fear, call out to Jesus, our fearless Champion.

--ODB/JS / You Never Let Go! Matt Redman~
<http://youtu.be/RB1NJV3rG6k>
------------

---Recognizing The Son Of God
--By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“For He received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (II Peter 1:17).
--
Most people today consider Jesus Christ to have been a great man, but will not believe He is the unique Son of God. Nevertheless, He is indeed God’s only begotten Son.

Before His birth, the angel Gabriel predicted it. “That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). John the Baptist identified Him: “And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God” (John 1:34). His disciples recognized Him. “Nathanael answered and saith unto Him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God” (John 1:49). “Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). John said that the very purpose of his gospel was to demonstrate “That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). After Christ’s resurrection, even Thomas exclaimed: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).

The powers of darkness grudgingly acknowledged who He was. “And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God!” (Mark 3:11). Even the centurion who supervised His crucifixion had to confess: “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54). Most important of all was the testimony of God the Father from heaven to Christ’s Sonship, both at His baptism (e.g., Mark 1:11) and on the Mount of Transfiguration as Peter records in our text.

Therefore it is necessary for our salvation that we also believe this. “He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).

--ICR/HMM
<http://youtu.be/sF_t1vFPrN8>
------------