News you won't see in controlled mainstream media.

King of All the Earth --

"For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding." (Psalm 47:7)

This stirring psalm of praise which celebrates the reign of Christ over all the earth, finds its primary fulfillment in Christ's second coming and full reign over His Kingdom. The reader is exhorted to "sing praises unto our King" (v.6). The reign of Christ certainly gives cause for celebration. His arrival forces the psalmist to proclaim "O clap your hands, all ye people" (v.1)

What has happened to make the Kingship such cause for celebration? After all, "by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible or invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him" (Colossians 1:16). He belongs on the throne. We should expect to find Him there. However, even though there is a sense in which He reigns today, the sad fact remains that another has usurped rule.

This usurper can be none other than Satan, who not only claims rule of the creation for himself, but who spoiled the original perfection of the creation which now "groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now" (Romans 8:22). He has encouraged men to accept the mindless concept of evolution, and even denies Christ recognition as Redemer, as the humanist's creed "We will save ourselves!" boasts.

But all is not lost! Our text assures us that Christ will reclaim His Kingdom: "He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet...God reigneth over the heathen" (vv.3,8). Christ the Creator, the Redeemer, the Heir, has conquered the enemy and soon will assume His rightful throne--"the throne of his holiness" (v.8), "greatly exalted" (v.9). Then we shall join the redeemed of the ages, and "shout unto God with the voice of triumph" (v.1).
___________________
ICR
Days of Praise/JDM
Our God reigns!

Instant Creation --

"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. Creaton 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 heavesn 15 billion years ago, then the earth only about five billion years ago, as some evolutionists 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/ Days of Praise

Our God reigns! / GO TELL SOMEBODY TODAY!

"I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness."
Psalm 17:15

IS it not logical to believe that the only one who can recreate us is the One who created us in the first place?

If your watch were out of order, you wouldn't take it to a blacksmith. If your car needed overhauling, you wouldn't go to a machine shop.

Our spiritual problems can be solved only by the God who created us originally. He created us in His own image and likeness; today, by the grace of His Son, Jesus Christ, He can recreate us in the likeness of His resurrection.

Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are recreated and become partakers of His life.
--------
'There is so much that is out of order in my life, Lord Jesus. Remake all the parts that need the infinite healing of your re-creation.'

Billy Graham/Evangelist
Day by Day

It's a profound insight. I wish more people would take the time to understand God's authority. When God called for a thing, reality complied.

The world, and the one they follow, are always trying to make us believe some sort of magic is involved in God's power (so their counterfeits seem more plausible). That's nonsense. God speaks, and reality complies, and that's that. Where is there any room for or need of magic? There isn't. Matter and energy and fields do what God tells them to do. This is the very first law of nature.

Not much to add to that!

Good Morning CTD!
Thank you for your input. Yes, it's high time we give the LORD praise for His mighty acts. I like what the psalmist penned in PSALM 68:1 :

"Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'The Realiability of Nature' ---

"While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." (Genesis 8:22)

WE are so accustomed to the regularity of the seasons and the various time-constants of nature (e.g., the length of the day and the year), we rarely stop to think how important all this is. When the sun goes down each evening, we are not disturbed, because we know it will rise the next morning; when winter settles over the hemisphere, we are confident that the spring will return in due tuem.

But if it were not so, life would soon become extremely difficult. Science and technology, which are based on the assumption that like causes produce like effects, would be impossible. These basic physical constants (the earth's rotation controlling the length of the day, the earth's orbit controlling the year, and the earth's axial inclination controlling the seasons), in turn, control most other physical and biological processes on the earth. Scientists, however, have no explanation as to why these constants are what they are. There is no better answer than that they are gifts of God's grace.

As a matter of fact, this present uniformity of nature dates only from the end of the great Noahic Flood, which marked a tremendous discontinuity in the processes of nature as they had functioned previously. God's promise to Noah of post-Flood continuity, as summarized in the words of our text, has been kept faithfully now for over 4,000 years.

All of God's wonderful creation gives a daily testimony to His faithfulness; "The living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:...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), and we should thank Him for it!

ICR/Days of Praise

"Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase, and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him." Psalm 67:5-7

Jehovah Nissi reigns! Go tell somebody today!

Praise from the Creation --

"Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein." (Psalm 69:34)

~~WE may not yet understand the full purpose of God in creation, but at least one aspect of that purpose is that all things created should somehow praise their Creator. This theme occurs often in Scripture, especially in the Psalms. For example, in addition to the exhortation in our text:

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

"Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein; then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the LORD: for he cometh" (Psalm 96:11-13).

"All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD: and thy saints shall bless thee (Psalm 145:10).

"Praise ye him, sun, and moon; praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens....Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps; Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word.: Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl" (Psalm 148:3-4, 7-10).

The Lord Jesus said that if men should refusse to praise Him and "should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out" (Luke 19:40). Yet even though the whole creation--in its beauty, complexity, and providential orderliness--gives continual praise to its Creator, men perversely have "worshipped and served the creature [or more aptly stated, the creation] more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever" (Romans 1:25).

How poignant, therefore, is the final verse of the book of Psalms :"Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD" (Psalm 150:6).
~~~~~~~
ICR
Days of Praise/HMM
Blessings, Abishag

The Pictures From The Hubble Are Spectacular!

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...-hubble-camera-first-pictures/index.html

I have An Amazing Fact:
What enables the Hubble telescope to take such sharp pictures of distant galaxies, stars, and other stellar objects?
Part of the answer lies in two special reflective mirrors, which are precisely curved and smoothed out to present the least distorted image possible.

How precise?

The primary mirror was ground down so that it's surface deviates less then 1/800,000ths of an inch from forming a perfect curve.
If this mirror were scaled up to the diameter of the earth, the biggest bump would be only six inches tall!

The Ten Commandments,however,act as a mirror that perfectly represents the character of God.

Like a giganic mirror to us in looking up:
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork" (Psalm 19:1).

~~~A CREATED PEOPLE --

"This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD."
(Psalm 102:18)


ONLY God can create, and whenever this verb (Hebrew, 'bara') is used in the Bible, the subject of the verb, either explicitly or implicitly, is 'GOD! However, certain "progressive creationists" contend that "creation" does not have to be instaneous, but can be a protracted process--some form of evolution. The verse above is used as a proof text for this position, the idea being that the Jewish "people" are being gradually created ("molded") into a nation that will eventually bring praise to God.

This type of scriptural distortion illustrates the extremes to which 'theistic evolutionists' and 'progressive creationists' will go in order to force long evolutionary ages into Scripture. In the context, the Psalmist is not speaking of a long process, but a future event. He is speaking of a future time to "have mercy upon Zion," when "the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come" (v.13). At that future time, "the LORD...shall apear in his glory" (v.16). Then will come the glorious day "when the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD" (v.22).

It is only then that "the people shall be created" who "shall praise the LORD." When a person receives the Lord Jesus Christ by faith as his Creator and Savior, he does indeed become "a new [creation]" (2 Corinthians 5:17), and the miracle of regeneration is always recognized in Scripture as an instantaneous event accomplished by the Creator in the mind and heart of the believer at the time of conversion. As for the Jews who are alive when the Lord returns, "in that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David" (Zechariah 13:1). Multitudes will believe and become, at that time, "new creature[s] in Christ Jesus."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ICR/HMM
Blessings, Abishag / We have been 'created' to give God glory!

"LIGHT" OF
CREATION --

Job 37:1-18
----
[God] does
great things, and
unsearchable,
marvelous things
without number.
---Job 5:9 --

---AMONG the wonders of Jamaica is a body of water called Luminous Lagoon. By day, it is a nondescript bay on the country's nothern coast. By night, it is a marvel of nature.

If you visit there after dark, you notice that the water is filled with millions of phosphorescent organisms. Whenever there is movement, the water and the creatures in the bay glow. When fish swim past your boat, for example, they light up like waterborne fireflies. As the boat glides through the water, the wake shines brightly.

The wonder of God's creation leaves us speechless, and this is just a part of the package of God's awesome handiwork as spelled out in Job 37 and 38. Listen to what the Lord's role is in nature's majesty. "Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes His lightning flash?" (37:15 NIV); "What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?" (38:19 NIV). God's majestic creations--whether dazzling lightning or glowing fish--are mysteries to us. But as God reminded Job, all of the wonders of our world are His creative handiwork.

When we observe God's amazing creation, our only response can be that of Job: These are "things too wonderful for me" (42:3).

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful;
The Lord God made them all. ~~~
_____________________________
WHEN WE CEASE TO WONDER, WE CEASE TO WORSHIP.

Our Daily Bread/DB
Blessings! Abishag + + + JEHOVAH NISSI

--God's Work of Providence

"Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it." (Psalm 65:9)

~~~THE 65th Psalm speaks especially of God's great work of "providence" as supplementing His primeval work of creation. The latter was completed in the six days of Creation Week (Genesis 2:1-3). The work of providence, however, still goes on, perpetually reminding us of God's care for His creatures. "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 14:17).

God's providential concern, however, extends not only to men and women. "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle" (Psalm 104:14). "So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts...These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season" (vv. 25,27). "Behold the fowls of the air:...your heavenly Father feedeth them" (Matthew 6:26).

Note that He is not 'their' heavenly Father, He is 'your' heavenly Father--yet He feeds 'them'! He is merely their maker and provider; yet a single sparrow "shall not fall on the ground without your Father" (Matthew 10:29).

He even provides for the inanimate creation, "upholding all things by the word of his power" (Hebrews 1:3). The omnipotent God of creation is thus the ever-sustaining and ever-caring God of providence.

Still, some choose not to believe, even though "that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen...so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:19-20).

ICR/HMM
Blessings! JESUS IS LORD! Abishag <><

God's Holiness Demands a Perfect Creation !

By: Henry M Morris III, D. Min /ICR

THE holiness of God is what drives and limits His revelation of Himself to His creation. Scripture is consistent. Holiness is God's fundamental nature, and that unique nature so permeates what God is and does that no action or thought from the Godhead can override it. The majestic seraphs so tantalizingly described in Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1-- those four unique "living creatures" standing in the presence of the Creator (Revelation 4)--continually speak of the thrice-holy nature of God as they breathe.

Humanity will never know holiness until the new heavens and the new earth. We may well experience righteousness in our lifetimes as our hearts long for the presence of the Holy God, but God's holiness--God's perfection--can only be believed.

*GOD'S HOLINESS DEMANDS THAT ONLY GOD CAN BE THE SOURCE OF TRUTH.

Because of His holiness, God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18), and whenever God reveals anything, He must reveal the truth about Himself and His nature. The Creator God is "Truth" (John 14:6) and the originator of "Lie" is the Archenemy, Lucifer (John 8:44). The opposite of truth, even though it may contain partial truth, is the active agent that opposes God's truth as it is revealed to His creation.

This, or course, is the crux of all rebellion against God.

* Lie opposes the revelation of truth in the created things (universe).

*Lie opposes the revelation of truth in the written Word (Scripture).

*Lie opposes the revelation of truth in the new creation (salvation).

Whenever partial truth is presented as 'the' truth, even if it is mixed with truth or just merely incomplete, that partial presentation is a lie. The Bible is very clear in this message: "God is light [truth], and in him is no darkness [lie, untruth] at all" (1 John 1:5). That Biblical axiom is true whether applied to scientific research, educational philosophy, theological speculation, or heretical doctrine. Jesus Himself laid claim to that absolute when He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6)

* GOD'S HOLINESS DEMANDS THAT HE "BE" AND "DO" TRUTH.

Therefore, the Creator God must reveal truth and cannot "be" untruth. When God speaks, He must speak truth. When God acts, God must act without "doing" error. One of the titles by which Jesus Christ is eternally known is "Faithful and True" (Revelation 19:11). God's holiness demands that the creation not distort anything about God--or about the creation itself.

God could not create a lie--He could not make anything that would inexorably lead us to a wrong conclusion. Nor could He create processes that would counter His own nature--or that would lead us to conclude something untrue about Him.

[NOTE] --Evolutionary mechanisms are, by their very nature, both random and nonfunctional. Nothing in naturalist theory "directs" evolution. Vast eons of time, in which chaos "works" and during which death "weeds out" the ineffective, are thought to somehow produce processes and systems of apparent design. No god in this system exists to create anything!

Christians who seek to harmonize the biblical revelation of a holy God with the antithetical evolutionary theories are constructing dangerous hybrids that blaspheme the very God they insist they believe in. May God protect us from such thinking!!

JESUS IS LORD!

"HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY...THOU ART WORTHY, O LORD, TO RECEIVE GLORY AND HONOUR AND POWER: FOR THOU HAST CREATED ALL THINGS, AND FOR THY PLEASURE THEY ARE AND WERE CREATED." REVELATION 4:8, 11

---------
Dr. Morris is Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Creation Research. <><

THE STAR
SHEPHERD ~

Isaiah 40:25-27
~~~~
Lift up your eyes on
high, and see who has
created these things.
---Isaiah 40:26
~~~~~~~~
SOME night when you're away from city lights, "lift up your eyes on high" (Isa. 40:26). There in the heavens you'll see a luminous band of stars stretching from horizon to horizon--our galaxy.

If you have good eyes, you can see about 5,000 stars, according to astronomer Simon Driver. There are, however, far more that you cannot see with the naked eye. In 1995, the Hubble Deep Field Study space probe concluded that there are billions of galaxies, each containing billions of stars. By one estimate, there are more than 10 stars in the universe for every grain of sand on the earth.

Yet each night, without fail, God "brings out their host by number;...by the greatness of His might...; not one is missing" (v.26).

Why then do people say, "My way is hidden from the LORD"? (v.27). Billions of individuals inhabit this globe, but no one has been forgotten by God. He knows "those who are His" (2Timothy 2:19). If He can bring out the incalculable hosts of heaven each night, He can bring you into His light. He does so by "the strength of His power" (v.26)---the power He showed when He raised Jesus from the dead.

Are the stars out tonight? Rejoice! God cares for you!

The God who made the firmament,
Who made the deepest sea,
The God who put the stars in place
Is the God who cares for me.
----------------------------
WE SEE THE POWER OF GOD'S CREATION;
WE FEEL THE POWER OF HIS LOVE.

Our Daily Bread/DR
Blessings, Abishag / JESUS IS LORD!

"The invisible things of him [God], from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead;..."Romans 1:20
----------------

IF you try to rationalize God exhaustively, you will fail. There are mysteries about God that we will never understand in this life. How can the small and finite, limited to time and space, understand an infinite God! We should not think it strange that it is impossible to explain many mysteries in the realm of matter.

Who can explain why objects are always attracted to the center of the earth? Who can fathom the law of gravity? Newton discovered, it, but he could not explain it. Who can explain the miracle of reproduction?

...Thus many evidences and many arguments could be advanced to indicate there is a God. Yet the plain truth is this: God cannot be proved by mere rationalization. He cannot be contained in a tiny man-man test tube or confined to an algebraic formula. If God can be fully proved by the human mind, then He is no greater than the mind that proves Him.

-----------
Billy Graham/ Evangelist ~

Prayer For The Day:
'Lord God Almighty, although my finite mind
cannot comprehend the magnitude of Your greatness,
I have felt Your presence in the quiet of my
heart and I am gladdened. Thank you, our Father, for sending
Your Son, Jesus, to redeem us from destruction.'
-----------------
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

An Amazing Fact!

To simulate one-hundredth of a second of the complete processing of even a single nerve cell from the human eye
requires several minutes of processing time on a supercomputer.
The human eye has 10 million or more such cells constantly interacting with each other in complex ways.
This means it would take a minimum of 100 years of supercomputing to simulate what takes place in your eye many times every second!

If God can be fully proved by the human mind, then He is no greater than the mind that proves Him.

Let a human try to create a human eye from nothing..
Or out of the clay of this earth.
Or let mud just create itself by explosion.
And not just any human eye but one as complex as that..
Was it designed??
Common sense tells me : Yes!
It was... (((( Smiles ))))

I am not pleased to say it, but it appears Billy Graham has come to a conclusion directly opposed to the scripture cited at the beginning of the post.

I cannot say the simple, obvious interpretation of "fully proved" is the one he intended; but one can indeed prove God exists.

"If God can be fully proved by the human mind, then He is no greater than the mind that proves Him." This is a statement worthy of an evobabbler. It may sound emotionally appealing, but it has no merit whatsoever. Can you fully prove your parents exist? Does this define them as the sum of your understanding? Of course not! This does not work for anything, even a rock. I can prove a rock exists, but doing so does not grant me full understanding of the rock, or in any way limit the properties of the rock.

Scripture is our only 100% reliable guide. Individuals are not infallible. Scripture says those who deny the existence of God are without excuse - it does not excuse them. Attempting to "reach" atheists by compromising with their doctrines is a recipe for failure. Neither reality nor truth are subject to negotiation.

Greetings,

---"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!

For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things to whom be glory for ever. Amen." ROMANS 11:33-36

By reading JOB Chapters 38 & 39, I believe will further clarify what the point of this post is, CTD.

I agree that we CAN SEE God all around us, spiritually.

Mr. Graham would not say anything that would indicate himself as being an "EVO-BABBLER".

I agree 100% with you, in that "Scripture is our only 100% reliable guide."
Our God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, and complete veracity.

Perhaps the first sentence needs to be given more thought:
"IF YOU TRY TO RATIONALIZE GOD EXHAUSTIVELY, YOU WILL FAIL.

I have no idea what your last two sentences have to do with my making this post in the Creation Forum. Who's attempting to reach atheist? We are on this earth to 'give God glory'. It is the Holy Spirit who does the work of drawing UNbelievers into the Kingdom. 'Some plant, some water, but God gives the increase.'

Blessings, Abishag / JESUS IS LORD!

I interpret stuff like Billy Graham's saying God isn't detectable as attempts to make things more attractive to the atheist crowd. I didn't think you were involved in anything like that, for sure. I had heard the man drifted into some less-than-sound ideas as he got older, but I never really investigated.

"If God can be fully proved by the human mind, then He is no greater than the mind that proves Him." That's a worthless statement at best. At face value, it's flat-out untrue and misleading. The typical Christian might not pay much attention, it being Billy Graham and all, but the untruth would quickly catch the ear of an atheist. They're always denying that God can be known.

It may also be he isn't the first to say it. Perhaps it struck him as an attractive-sounding sentence and he merely repeated it. I don't really know. What I do know is that it's nonsense. It isn't true of anything whatsoever. One need not fully understand every aspect of anything you can name in order to prove that it exists, neither are any aspects of any things limited by anyone's understanding. The limits of understanding are the limits of understanding; they have no bearing on being.

Now those who claim reality is dependent upon perception, they believe otherwise. Their beliefs are a self-contradictory mess, and we see them asserted fairly frequently. They form the basis of both quantum philosophy and Einsteinian relativity; both fully incorporate the assumption that reality is perception-dependent. Naturally, proponents are not usually very open about their assumptions lest their folly become too obvious and people begin to doubt the authority of "the experts".

Hello CTD,

As the Lord would have it, I was looking for some more information/ Devotions, etc, regarding "CREATION"...and He directed my heart to this firstly.
--------

"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." Colossians 3:13

The Answer to Arguments --

By: Max Lucado
In the Grip of Grace

~~~~UNITY doesn't begin in examining others but in examining self. Unity begins not in demanding that others change, but in admitting that we aren't so perfect ourselves....

The answer to arguments, [disagreements, misunderstandings]? Acceptance. The first step to unity? Acceptance. Not agreement, acceptance. Not unanimity, acceptance. Not negotiation, arbitration, or elaboration. Those might come later but only after the first step, acceptance. ~~~

Therefore, I 'accept' your post(s), and ask your forgiveness where I have misunderstood your insight.

Thank you and Blessings, JESUS IS LORD!
Abishag ~

Hello Lynn,

Thank you for your post "An Amazing Fact". WOW!

Let's take a look at this Devotional by Max Lucado:
__________

What Size Is God?

"With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

-----NATURE is God's workshop. The sky is his resume. The universe is his calling card. You want to know who God is? See what he has done. You want to know his power? Take a look at 'His Creation'. (emphasis mine)
Curious about his strength? Pay a visit to his home address: 1 Billion Starry Sky Avenue.

He is untainted by the atmosphere of sin, unbridled by the time line of history, unhindered by the weariness of the body.

What controls you doesn't control him. What troubles you doesn't trouble him. What fatigues you doesn't fatigue him. Is an eagle disturbed by traffic? No, he rises above it. Is the whale perturbed by a hurricane? Of course not, he plunges beneath it. Is the lion flustered by the mouse standing directly in his way? No, he steps over it.

How much more is God able to soar above, plunge beneath, and step over the troubles of the earth! ~~~
----------
The Great House of God
Max Lucada ~
Blessings, Abishag ------

Hi Abishag, (((( Smiles ))))

Did you read this one??
Don't know if it's been posted on this board already.

One day a professor of a university decided to defy his pupils.

He asked:

Did God create everything that exists?

A student answered bravely:

Yes, He did!

Everything? asked the teacher.

Yes, everything. Was the answer of the student.

In this case then, God also created evil, correct?
Because evil exists - said the teacher.

To that the student had no answer and remained in silence.

Suddenly, another student raised his hand and asked:

May I ask you a question, professor?

Of course, was the professor's answer.

Does cold exist?

Of course, answered the professor. Did you never feel cold?

Actually, sir, cold does not exist.
According to studies in Physics cold is the total and complete absence of heat.
An object can only be studied if it has and transmits energy and it is the heat of an object that transmits it's energy.
Without heat, the objects are inert, incapable to react.
But cold does not exist.
We created the term cold to explain the lack of heat.
And darkness? continued the student. Does it exist?

It exists, replied the professor.

Again, you're wrong sir, darkness is the total absence of light. You can study light and brightness, but not darkness.
The prism of Nichols shows the variety of different colors in which the light can be decomposed according to the longitude
of the waves.
Darkness is the term we created to explain the total absence of light.
And finally the student asked: And evil, sir, does evil exist?

Yes, evil does exist said the professor.

God did not create evil.
Evil is the absence of love and faith.
Love and faith are like heat and light. They exist.
Without love and faith there is evil.

The professor had no response.

The student's name was Albert Einstein.

LIKE WHOA!!! WOW! Thanks, Lynn!

--I have read that before, but it's been a while and I had forgotten the PUNCH LINE!

EVIL IS THE ABSENCE OF LOVE AND FAITH.
LOVE AND FAITH ARE LIKE HEAT AND LIGHT.
THEY EXIST.
WITHOUT LOVE AND FAITH THERE IS EVIL.

Thanks a lot, Lynn! Kind of reminds me of the Scripture verses:

'God is LOVE.' 'Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' Without those two, comes EVIL!

Have a good evening, my friend! Blessings,Abishag

I haven't seen the book myself, but I find more than one (not-terribly-reliable, I admit) source online claiming the following quote is accurate


We grow to trust people over time, as they prove trustworthy. We should not, however, cease to examine the things they say and begin to accept their word as having authority it lacks.

I agree with many, many things Billy Graham said, but I follow Jesus - not Billy Graham, not even Dr. Stanley. That men blessed with abundant wisdom can make profound, fundamental mistakes should serve as a reminder, and keep us vigilant about our own compliance with and submission to scripture.

Hi Abishag. I'm sorry, but I must've scrolled right past your post. I missed it, anyway.

Your post didn't offend me - I was just afraid we weren't understanding each other. I have no dispute with you, of course - only those who would compromise truth.

I really don't know enough about BG to determine how much he was repeating things that sounded nice to him, or how much thought he put into some of the things he said. I'm not out to criticize him personally; I just try to communicate what's right when I see things that are wrong.

The atheist loves to say "God? What God? I don't see any God." No encouragement is needed, nor should any be given. Scripture says those who feign stupidity in this manner are without excuse. God's handiwork is all around; one cannot escape it. Neither has any human ever been born too stupid to properly interpret it. That degree of stupidity may only be reached with a good deal of hard work, if at all.

There is tag-along line of reasoning: "faith is required to detect God". They, and some well-meaning Christians also, confuse the issue of salvation with the issue of detection. Satan knows God exists, and he doesn't need much "faith" to reach the conclusion. Neither did Cain or Balaam. Neither does anyone else. If 'faith' be as the scoffer defines it, far more "faith" is required to deny God's existence.

I've never read much if anything written by Billy Graham..
((( Smiles )))
Of course I know who he is and have seen him before on T.V..
And also everyone has their own leanings towards certain teachers of the Bible of course..
I have favorites too.

So I had never read that one before..

I believe that God created man, and whether it came by an evolutionary process and at a certain point
He took this person or being and made him a living soul or not, does not change the fact that God did create man. ...

What does he mean by an evolutionary process..
And made him a living soul after??
Was he being flippant??

Plus..
Thought I'd share this not sure how to post the picture though.
Read this awhile back thought maybe you'd enjoy it too.

Laminins

Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes
in almost every animal tissue.
" You see....laminins are what hold us together....LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules.
They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart.
But what does laminin LOOK LIKE.

Here is what the structure of laminin looks like...AND THIS IS NOT a "Christian portrayal" of it....
if you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see...

The glue that holds us together.... ALL of us.... is in the shape of the cross
we are held together...one cell to another....by the cross.

Amen!
I have the picture but maybe someone else can post one??

Hello CTD!

It's nice to 'see' you and read your last two posts. What an absolute surprise to read "Personal Thoughts of a Public Man, 1997" !!! I definitely DO NOT agree with some of BG's words!

I agree 100% with you, in that we base our full 'belief' in Holy Scripture, and not in man!

RIGHT ON! I follow JESUS! There are many things that various Preachers, Evanagelists, Teachers, etc, of Holy Scripture may say, that are NOT truly expressed by the Word of God.

Thank you for your email. The final authority rests on the Holy Bible! AMEN!

May our Lord Jesus bless you, CTD, "and that more abundantly!" You are doing a wonderful job as Moderator. I truly 'thank my God, upon every remembrace of you'.

Have a wonderful evening! JESUS IS LORD! JESUS IS KING!

Blessings, Abishag

I think so


Found by Bex at

http://medievalmind.blogspot.com/2008/05/laminin-and-colossians-115-17.html

WOW! WOW! WOW! Thanks to all of you, CTD, Lynn, and Bex!

There are no coincidences with our Creator God! The Cross of Jesus, our Maker and Redeemer, is clearly visible for all the world to see.

We must 'look past' human comprehension. This is totally a work of God's unmerited GRACE. (God's Righteousness at Christ's Expense). This is spiritual!

It is no wonder that 'Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3

I like an expression of Louis Giglio, "THIS IS CRAZY!"
Louie Giglio has several DVD's available in the "Passion Talk Series".

There is a 'Passion Talk Series' including four DVD's each with a message from Louie, in the CBD catalog. Or you can see this on line at <www.christianbook.com> . The four DVD's are just $34.99 -- Stock #ST706399

Yes, Lynn, laminin, is the substance (cell molecules), which holds each person, all together. I'm talking "CRAZY!"

"How Great Is Our God", is fantastic, yet my preference is "INDESCRIBABLE"!!! LIKE WOW!!!

The others are, "Fruitcake and Ice Cream" and "Hope: When Life Hurts Most".

Thank you, Russ and Herb Allure for having this Forum available to help, "Go and tell..." as Jesus told his disciples.

I highly recommend the "Passion Talk Series", by Louie Giglio to all Christians! There are "BONUS CD's" (Christian songs), included in each individual packet. However, when we received the last few "How Great Is Our God", they were not included. I'm not sure if they ran out of the CD's. You may find them at another Christian Book Store. The songs are dynamic!

Blessings to everyone for a Happy Thanksgiving Day, as we give thanks to our Great Creator!

Blessings, Abishag / JESUS IS LORD!

I am typing the below post from the "Days of Praise" Devotional by ICR. The reason is because there WERE two other people typing in the Evo/Creation Forum, that have lost their posting privileges. One professed to believing in 'reincarnation', and the other a 'Christian Evolutionist'. Perhaps the LORD would use this message to open their, and any other UNbelievers' eyes, to His truth. Thank you.

~~~~~~~~
Christ and the Writings of Moses ~~~

"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 5:46-47)

THIS sharp rebuke by Jesus to the Jewish leaders who were seeking an occasion to have Him executed came as the climax to a long message following His miracle at the pool of Bethesda. These Jews always made a great show of allegiance to the teachings of Moses in the Pentateuch, so Jesus pointed out that this was hypocritical, since Moses "wrote of me"--yet they refused to "believe my words."

There are many "Christian" intellectuals today who are, if anything, involved in even greater hypocrisy, professing to believe in Christ while rejecting the plain techings of Genesis and the other books of Moses. The Lord Jesus, for example, taught that "from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female" (quoting Genesis 1:27) and also that, therefore, "shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (quoting Genesis 2:24). But these compromising Christians insist that He was quoting from two contradictory accounts of creation, and also that men and women were there not at the "beginning" of creation, but came along about 4.5 billion years after the creation of the earth and about 15 billion years after the beginning of the cosmos.

The Lord also taught that the Genesis Flood was global and cataclysmic (Luke 17:26-27)), whereas the compromises argue that it was either local or tranquil or both. They also commonly seek to explain away the miracle of the Red Sea parting, the daily bread from heaven, and other mighty miracles recorded in the books of Moses. Rejecting Moses and his teaching to their shame, how can they really believe in Christ when they reject His words?" HMM ---

Kindest regards,
Abishag <>< -- JESUS IS LORD!

~~In a Fallen City, Lifting Up the Lord of Creation -

By: Franklin Graham

~~~THE most heartbreaking moment on my recent trip to China was a visit to Hanwang, a city left in ruins as a memorial after it was destroyed by last year's massive earthquake. (A 7.9-magnitude earthquake).

We walked through streets that were eerily quiet, weaving our way around mountains of rubble and steering clear of cracked and teetering apartment buildings. On the town's clock tower, the hands are stopped at 2:28--the awful moment on the afternoon of May 12, 2008, that reduced this bustling city to a bleak memorial.

Afterward, I met with Chen Xinyou, the mayor of the Deyang municipality that includes Hanwang. He is also an engineer who owned a turbine factory in Hanwang. Among the 70,000 people who died in the earthquake were 200 of his employees.

We exchanged thanks for the ways that Samaratin's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association were able to work together with the government authorities last year to help tens of thousands of earthquake survivors. When the mayor told me he had never met an evangelist, I took the opportunity to explain to him how the love of Jesus Christ compels Christians to help others.

Compassion he understood, but the concept of our Lord as Creator was a stumbling block. Like many Chinese (and many engineers) he has been taught that the world began with a 'big bang'. Now we were standing in the dust of one of the most powerful earthquakes in history--and it was obvious that nothing but destruction and chaos could result from it.

In contrast, I mentioned the turbine engines he builds--complex, precisely engineered, heavy-duty machines that generate electricity and power locomotives. Obviously, they were not made by chance. They were designed and created by engineers and built by skilled craftsmen.

"God made the world," I told him. "God made you, too. And God loves you." Then I explained from John 3:16 just how much God loves each of us. The mayor seemed moved to hear this and thanked me for sharing the truth of the Gospel. It is my prayer that the Lord will use opportunities like this to build up His Kingdom in China--the most populous nation on Earth.

The Bible tells us that God reveals Himself in creation. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" (Romans 1:20,NIV).

Jesus Christ is the Lord of creation. "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:16-17,NIV).

God has revealed Himself most clearly in the person and work of His Son. We can personally know God through faith in Jesus Christ, who is not only our Creator, but our Redeemer, who is coming again as our King and Judge.

It is Christ we proclaim, and to Him we give all the glory.
-------
This article taken from Decision Magazine/ December 2009

Please take a moment and pray for these Chinese people to 'come to the saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.' Thank you and may God richly bless you.

--The Incarnate Deity ~~

"Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:5-7)

The entire gospel message runs counter to the human mind. The Creator dying for the creation. The judge paying the penalty for the guilty. The immortal One dying. Sinless God substituting for human sinners. No human or devil ever could have thought of this scheme and indeed, no such one did. This is evidenced by the works-oriented salvation offered by all cults and false religions, as conjured up by such sources.

But make no mistake! The babe in the manger was the Creator, holy and eternal! "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature...All things were created by him, and for him: that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself" (Colossians 1:15-20).

In order to qualify as a sacrificial substitute, He had to be born as a child into humankind, but without the inherited sin nature of His parents. A virgin birth was therefore necessary.

He had to live a sinless life. He had to be fully human, but also fully God, so that His substitutionary death could apply to the sins of more than one guilty sinner. He had to be "God with us," the meaning of the precious title 'Emmanuel' (Matthew 1:23), as prophesied years before (Isaiah 7:14).
______________
Days of Praise/ICR/jdm
JESUS IS THE CREATOR, holy, and eternal!

Since the World Began ~

"As he [Lord God] spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began." (Luke 1:70)

---ACCORDING to the theory of evolution as taught in most schools and colleges today, the world began about eighteen billion years ago in a "Big Bang" when the cosmos evolved into existence out of nothing. The sun and planets evolved out of cosmic dust about five billion years ago, life evolved from chemicals about four billion years ago, and human life perhaps a million years ago.

But this is not what God's Word says! According to the priest Zacharias, as in our text, God has been speaking through His prophets ever since the world began--not beginning eighteen billion years 'after' it began.

Similarly Peter, in his temple sermon, preached that God had promised someday to restore all things "which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:21). The restoration of all things obviously was meant to refer to conditions in Eden, not to the primeval cosmic dust cloud of evolutionists.

The Lord Jesus Christ also taught that man has been here since the world began. Referring to the creation of Adam and Eve, and quoting Genesis 1:27, He said: "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female" (Mark10:6). Adam and Eve were not created eighteen billion years after the beginning of the creation, but just six days after the beginning in a "very good" world.

It is dangerously close to mocking God for modern Christian teachers to urge people to accept the Big Bang theory of cosmic evolution and the geologic ages' framework of organic evolution. Men and women were given dominion over the earth when the world first began, and God has been promising His coming Redeemer through His prophets ever since, just as the Bible says. ~~
~~~~~~~
Days of Praise/ICR/hmm
Our Redeemer Lives ! Jesus is Creator of all people and things!
Our earth did not evolve, it was created.
Blessings for a Holy Day, CHRISTmas Day! -

Thank you Russ and Herb Allure for allowing 'His Word' to go forth! JESUS IS LORD!

A Global Flood

From Where Did the Water Come?

"And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered." (Genesis 7:19)

LACK of an answer to this question led many theologians in the early 1800s to abandon the biblical doctrine of the global Flood in favor of uniformitarianism. At the time, scientists were saying that the concept of a young earth had been disproved and that since the mountains had been around since before the time of Noah, obviously they couldn't have been covered by the Flood waters. There is simply not enough water to cover the present mountain ranges, they said. Theologians responded by proposing a local flood incapable of laying down the fossil-bearing rock of the world. Even today, most evangelical theologians, denominations, and seminaries teach this compromise.

The world before the Flood was quite different from the world today. A global water vapor canopy encircled the earth and contained vast amounts of water vapor (Genesis 1:6-8). Furthermore, the topography was much less pronounced, since all present mountain ranges are made up of sedimentary rocks or volcanoes attributable to the Flood. Since it didn't rain before the Flood (Genesis 2:5), yet rivers flowed (v.10), there must have been great subterranean reservoirs of water.

At the proper time, these "fountains of great deep" (Genesis 7:11) spewed out their contents and the "windows of heaven were opened" as the canopy was precipitated. The breaking up of those "fountains" which were on the sea bottom implies great tsunamis elevating water to an abnormal level on land. Coupling these mechanisms with the fact that most of the earth (70 percent) is still covered with water in sufficient quantity to cover the entire earth (if it were smoothed out) to a depth of about 7,500 feet, we can conclude that the biblical story is, indeed, quite reasonable.

Days of Praise--
ICR/JDM

Blessings for a New Year, 2010, in our Lord Jesus.
Yes, there was indeed a Global Flood. We can trust the Bible.
JESUS IS LORD!

--CREATION EVANGELISM -

"But these are 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)

--JOHN'S Gospel is perhaps the best tool with which to lead people to saving faith in Christ, for this was John's very purpose in writing. He presents the claims of Christ and evidence for the deity of Christ, along with His substitutionary death and resurrection, in a uniquely effective way.

It is very important to note, however, that John begins with an affirmation of the truth of special creation. "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" (John 1:1,3). This creative word was Jesus Christ, for "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (v.14).

John also points out the world's rejection of its Creator. "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not" (v.10). The world, on the whole, then rejected--'and still rejects'--its Creator, who was "the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (v.9). But not all rejected, for "as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (v.12).

And what is His name? In context, His name is given as "the Word," "God!" "the true Light," (vv.1,9). Only after this is He revealed as the Lamb of God, the Son of God, the Messiah (vv.29,34,41), names which imply His functions and attributes.

If we would be more effective evangelists, we would do well to follow the approach used by John. Christ must first be accepted as the omnipotent (but offended and rejected) Creator, before He really can be understood and received as incarnate, dying, sin-purging, glorified Savior. ~

Days of Praise -
ICR/HMM
Yes and Amen! Jesus is our Omnipotent Creator! Trust the Bible!

ORDINANCES
OF HEAVEN --

Psalm 19:1-7
----
If I have not appointed
the ordinances of
heaven and earth,
then I will cast away
the descendants of
Jacob and David.
---Jeremiah 33:25-26 -

MARK your calendar now if you want to see the next celestial convergence of Venus, Jupiter, and the moon. On November 18, 2052, you'll be able to peer through the evening darkness as those solar system neighbors "gather" in a tiny area of the sky. That remarkable juxtaposition of reflective spheres last sparkled the night sky on December 1, 2008, and it will happen again 4 decades from now.

This predictability, as well as things such as eclipses and the return of Halley's Comet (July 28, 2061), prove the orderliness of the universe. If no fixed set of lawS governed the universe, such predictions could not be made.

Are these set rules more than random standards? Can we see God's hand in these celestial certainties? Look at Jeremiah 33:25-26. God has in view the covenantal relationship between Himself and His people, and He uses a scientific fact in the analogy. In effect, God says that His fixed universal laws, "the ordiances of heaven and earth," have the same certainty as His promises to His covenant people.

God's laws have governed the universe since its creation--and continue to do so with astounding predictability. So mark your calendar, and be amazed by God's unchanging control.
~~~~~~~~~~
A PRAYER: Dear Lord, I marvel at the wonders of Your
creation. You are such a great and awesome God who does
not change. As I place my life in Your hands, I will
trust You to be faithful. Amen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE WONDERS OF CREATION REVEAL GOD AT WORK!
~~~~~~~~
Blessings, BARUCH HA SHEM ADONAI !

One Can Say.... (((( Smiles ))))

From Mud to Sludge Makes Apple Fudge..
Or as Russ put forth..
From Goo to You by The Way of the Zoo..
Or from Glue to You by the Way of the "Laminins".

Which brings up an Amazing Fact!
Dolphins can sleep in a semi-alert state by resting one side of their brain at a time.

And only God can create something as useful as that.
Now that takes intelligence so does designing Laminins.

THE WONDERS OF CREATION REVEAL GOD AT WORK!

All Life is Created
by God....

Thank you, Lynn! Yes and Amen! Laminins are cell adhesion molecules as we read about earlier. (Scroll back to see the scientific design)--

RESPECT FOR LIFE -

Psalm 139:13-16
-------
I will praise You, for
I am fearfully and
wonderfully made.
---Psalm 139:14 -

~~~In Psalm 139, David describes God as fashioning his tiny body together in the darkness of his mother's womb. God loved David before he ever existed.

God designed the person David was to be, and He brought that person into being according to His predetermined plan. In this Psalm, David used the intriguing metaphor of a journal in which God first wrote His plan and then brought that plan into fruition through His handiwork in the womb: "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written" (v.16).

David was shaped by his heavenly Father's love into a unique creation. He came from the inventive heart and hand of God. What was true of David is true of you. You are special--along with everyone else in the world.

This being true, we must be pro-life in the purest sense of the word. We are to respect and cherish all human life: the born and those still in the womb; winsome children and weary seniors; the wealthy executive and the financially destitute. All persons are unique productions of our Creator's genius. With David, let's exclaim: "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (139:14). ~

By God's wise designing
We are wonderfully made,
Every part essential
And in perfect balance laid.
~~~~~~~~~
ALL LIFE IS CREATED BY GOD AND BEARS HIS AUTOGRAPH.

Our Daily Bread/DR
Blessings, Praise the LORD for we are fearfully and wonderfully made, by our great Creator God!

~~The Father of All -

"Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?" (Malachi 2:;10)

~~THE message of Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, was primarily directed to the Jews of the restoration, who already were backsliding after being restored from their Babylonian captivity, and God's rebuke of their sinful behavior focused on the key to its correction. They needed to remember, first of all, that they were all brothers, because they all had the same Father. This was not a reference to their becoming spiritual children of God by the new birth, but a reminder of the even more basic fact that they had all been specially created by God in the first place. They should therefore be united in God's great calling of the Jews as God's chosen people, bearing His message to the whole world.

Although Malachi's message was primarily for the Jews, it also has all men in view. "For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; ...saith the LORD of hosts" (Malachi 1:11). There was an earlier covenant than the Mosaic and Levitical covenants--one which God made with all men after the great Flood, which has never been withdrawn.

This Noahic covenant, continuing for perpetual generations, does indeed remind us that all men everywhere are brothers, created by the selfsame Creator, and responsible to Him for their behavior toward one another, and for their stewardship of the earth under His ownership. Thus, Malachi's rhetorical questions remind us that the only way to resolve problems among the nations of the world is, first of all, to remind and try to convince them that they all were created by the one true "Lord of Hosts," that they must someday answer to Him, and that He still loves them as a father loves his children.

Days of Praise
ICR/HMM
Blessings, Abishag

Foundations Out of Course --

"They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course." (Psalm 82:5)

~~Christians sometimes wish they could call down God's judgment on the wicked, especially wicked rulers. In almost every civilization throughout history, men and women have been oppressed by their own despotic rulers or invaders from outside their nation's borders. It seems that the Jewish people and Christian believers have received more than their share of persecution, and it is a comfort to realize that there is Biblical precedent for the grieved saint to call out to God for action and justice. In this Psalm, the writer does just that.

The judges of the day were evidently quite unjust. The Psalmist calls on them to "defend the poor and fatherless" (vv.3-4), but his cries were not heeded. Our text tells us that the rulers were devoid of understanding and walked in darkness: "all the foundations of the earth are out of course."

In our day, those who defend animal rights advocate the killing of unborn children. Many cry "Protect the guilty" while they ignore the innocent victim. Adherents to academic freedom tell us that only evolution is science, and creation must not be allowed in schools. We must be tolerant of all viewpoints, say liberal professors, except the Biblical worldview. Homosexuals seek favored status, calling good evil and evil good. Centainly something is "out of course."

Our confidence, however, rests in God, who "standeth in the congregation of the mighty" (v.1). He sees the injustice and will act accordingly, as He sees best. It may be sooner or later than we would like, but He will act at the proper time, in the proer way. In the meantime, it is proper for us to pray as did the Psalmist, "Arise, O God, judge the earth" (v.8). Until then, "commit thy way unto the LORD: trust also in him: and he shall bring it to pass" (Psalm 37:5).

Days of Praise
ICR/JDM
Blessings! Our God reigns!

Foundations Of The Earth.. (((( Smiles )))))

Amazing!
The world spins at something like sixty-seven thousand miles per hour at all times..
And we don't fall off or fly away into outer space.
Why?
Because God created it that way for us.
With purpose.
Just like the Laminins.
A very intelligent design by the All Mighty God.
Indeed!

--The Witness of Creation ~~

"Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name." (Amos 5:8)

~~This striking exhortation is inserted in the midst of a prophetic rebuke by God of His people Israel. They were rapidly drifting into pagan idolatry, and Amos was trying to call them back.

His exhortation, given almost 3,800 years ago, is more needed today than it ever was before. Modern pagan scientists have developed elaborate but absurdly impossible theories about the chance origin of the universe from nothing, and the evolution of stars, planets, and people from primordial hydrogen. But the mighty cosmos and its galaxies of stars--even the very constellations, such as Orion and Pleiades (the "seven stars"), as well as the solar system--were made. All of these had to be made by an omniscient, omnipotent Creator, who had a glorious purpose for it all.

Similarly, the global evidences that waters once covered all the earth's mountains (i.e., marine fossils and water-laid sediments at their summits) cannot possibly be explained--as evolutionary geologists try to do--by slow processes acting over aeons of time. God the Creator had to call massive volumes of water forth from their original reservoirs and pour them out on the earth in His Flood judgment on a rebellious world.

All of these witness to the fact of creation and judgment, not to impotent "gods" personifying natural forces. Men urgently need to seek the true God of creation and salvation before judment falls again, for "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).

Days of Praise
ICR/HMM

--Questions About Creation -

"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding." (Job 38:4)-

IN chapters 38-41 of Job is recorded a remarkable series of 77 questions about creation--questions which God asked Job and his philosophizing friends, and which they were utterly unable to answer. At the end of the searching examination, Job could only confess: "Therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not" (Job 42:3). Modern evolutionists, despite all their arrogant pretensions, still are not able to answer them either, over 35 centuries later!

But there is one who can answer them, and His answers echo back from another ancient document, the marvelous eighth chapter of Proverbs. To God's first quesiton, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth," comes His answer: "When he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him" (Proverbs 8:29-30). The speaker here is the Divine Wisdom. He is the Word of God, the pre-incarnate Son of God, soon to become the Son of man. In this amazing chapter, He echoes an answer to the most searching of God's inscrutable questions to Job and his friends:

"Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth?" (Job 38:8). "He set a compass [literally 'sphericity'] upon the face of the depth:...When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment" (Proverbs 8:27, 29). "Hast thou commanded the morning...and caused the dayspring to know his place?" (Job 38:12). "When he prepared the heavens, I was there" (Proverbs 8:27).

Our Savior was there "For by him were all things created" (Colossians 1:16). One more question: "Have the gates of death been opened unto thee?" (Job 38:17). Yes, and they have not prevailed! "For whoso findeth me findeth life,...all they that hate me love death" (Proverbs 8:35-36).

ICR/HMM
Blessings!... as we seek the One who is coming soon.
JESUS IS LORD!.. The Creator of this world and all things therein. PRAISE YE THE LORD!

Appreciating God's Creation ~~

"And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food." (Genesis 2:8-9)

Everything in the garden of Eden was prepared for man's enjoyment. In the time between creation and the curse, Adam and Eve no doubt fully enjoyed the vegetation (Genesis 2:5,9, 15-16), the animals (vv.19-20), the atmosphere and the weather (vv. 5-6),the rivers and the raw materials (vv. 10-14), each other (vv.18, 21-25), and fellowship with God (3:8). But soon they rebelled and were driven from the beautiful garden (3:24), and ever since, mankind's ability to enjoy creation has been shackled somewhat, for creation was distorted by sin, and the eyes of each one of us have become dull.

In his abundant love for His children, our Lord promises to supply all our needs. "Why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" (Matthew 6:28-29). Creation's beauty waits to thrill us and instruct us. Our loving Father wills it so. But creation will be fully restored soon, and "the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing" (Isaiah 35:1-2). He beckons us to join Him in His kingdom.

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Days of Praise
ICR/JDM
Blessings! Jesus is coming soon. Praise the Lord!

WORSHIP ~~

Our greatest claim to nobility is our created capacity to know God, to be in personal relationship with him, to love him and to worship him.

Indeed, we are most truly human when we are on our knees before our Creator. --

--John Stott (God, Creation)

THE STARS ALSO ~~

"And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also." (Genesis 1:16)

ON the fourth day of Creation Week, God made the two lights for day and night, and then--almost like an afterthought--"he made the stars also." Nothing, of course, is an afterthought with God, but this emphasizes the relative importance of these parts of His creation. Whether or not the earth is the 'geographical' center of the universe, earth is the center of God's 'interest' in the universe. This is where He created man and woman in His own image, and where He will reign over His creation in the ages to come.
The primary purpose of the stars, as well as the sun and moon, was "to divide the day from the night; and..be for signs, and for seasons,and for days, and years: And...to give light upon the earth" (Genesis 1:14-15). They could not fulfill these functions, of course, if their light could not be seen on the earth, so we can be sure that these heavenly bodies and their light rays were created--like Adam and Eve--"full grown," in a state of functioning maturity.

All that can be known scientifically about the stars must be determined from their light intensity and spectra. (Their distances can be measured geometrically only to about 300 lightyears.) Any other information--any greater distances, size, temperature, etc.--must be derived by inference, based on some theory of stellar evolution.

Although the stars all look alike (even through a telescope, they all appear as mere points of light), these calculations have shown that each one is unique, as revealed long ago in Scripture: "one star differeth from another star in glory" (1 Corinthians 15:41). Those who believe can learn more about them in the ages to come, for "they that be wise shall shine...as the stars for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3).

Days of Praise
ICR/HMM

--The Witness of Creation -

"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God." (Revelation 3:14)

~~THIS salutation in the last of ths seven church epistles in Revelation contains the last of four occurences of the distincitve phrase "the beginning of the creation." The glorified Christ here assumes this as one of His divine names. Even God's work of creation, long since completed (Genesis 2:1-3), had a beginning, and that beginning was Christ. "In the beginning was the WORD...and...all things were made by him" (John 1:1-3).

The first two occurrences of this phrase also come from the lips of Christ. "From the beginning of the creation God made them male and female" (Mark 10:6). This assertion by the Creator, Jesus Christ, quoting Genesis 1:27, makes it unambiguously certain that Adam and Even were created at the beginning of creation, not after the earth had already existed for 4.6 billion years. God also wrote this plainly on the tables of the law (Exodus 20:8-11). Those evangelicals who accept the geological ages evidently reject this clear statement of the creation's Creator

Then Christ also referred to the end-times in the context of the beginning times. "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).

The phrase is also used in Peter's very important prophecy concerning the scoffers of the end-times, who will argue (in willful ignorance) that "all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation" (2 Peter 3:3-4), thereby denying that there ever was a real creation or real Creator and thus rejecting Christ Himself. But He is also the "true witness" and the "Amen," and such denials will only be "unto their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:16).

Days of Praise
ICR/HMM
JESUS IS LORD! JESUS IS THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE. JESUS IS GOD! Tell somebody today. He's coming back soon. Amen and Amen!

THE LIGHT AND THE SUN ~

"The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun." (Psalm 74:16)

ONE of the traditional "discrepancies" attribued by the skeptics to the Genesis account of creation is the fact that there was "light" on the first day of creation, whereas God did not create the "lights" to rule the day and the night until the fourth day.

However, it is interesting that modern evolutionary cosmologists find no problem in having light before the sun. According to their speculative reconstrucion of cosmic history, light energy was produced in the imaginary "Big Bang" 15 billion years ago, whereas the sun "evolved" only five billion years ago. Thus, even in their attempts to destroy the divine revelation of Genesis, they inadvertently find it necessary to return to its concepts. Light energy somehow had to be "prepared" before the sun and other stars could ever be set up to serve as future generators of light energy. The fact that light is an entity independent of the sun and other heavenly bodies is one of the remarkable scientific insights of the Bible. As the basic form of energy (even intrinsic in the very natue of matter, as expressed in the famous Einstein equation), it is significant that the first recorded word spoken by the Creator was: "Let there by light" (Genesis 1:3).

In this chapter, the psalmist is entreating the Lord of light, the Creator of all things, to deliver His people from those who are seeking to destroy all genuine faith in the true God of heaven. "The tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually" (Psalm 74:23). Nevertheless, "God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth" (v.12). The mighty God of creation, who established and controls all the basic energies of the cosmos and their manifestation on the earth, is fully able to defeat His enemies and establish his people. We can be sure of that. ~~

Days of Praise
ICR/HMM
JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD! Let's shine for His glory!

--THE GOD OF HEAVEN ~

"And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land." (Jonah 1:9)--

--IT was by these words that the prophet Jonah identified himself to the merchants of Tarshish as he was fleeing on their ship from the presence of the Lord. This special title, "the God of heaven," seems generally to have been used by the Jews when they were talking to men of other religions, stressing that their God was no mere tribal deity, but the true God who had created the very heavens.

The title was first used by Abraham, speaking to his servant: "And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth" (Genesis 24:3). At this time, the nation of Israel existed only in the promise of this "God of heaven."

It also appears frequently in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, first in the decree of Cyrus the Persian: "The LORD God of heaven...hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem" (Ezra 1:2). Even though the Persians followed lesser gods, Cyrus knew that the one God of heaven was the Creator. The name then reappears several times in the book of Daniel, who was living in the palace of the heathen king of Babylon. Its final Old Testament occurrence is Daniel 2:44; "The God of heaven [shall] set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed."

In the New Testament it occurs only twice, both in Revelation. In one instance, John writes that the ungodly nations "blasphemed the God of heaven"; in the other, he says they "gave glory to the God of heaven" (Revelation 16:11; 11:13).

In our own witnessing today, especially to those who don't know or believe the Bible, it is also good to stress that our God is not just the God of Judeo-Christian tradition, but the CREATOR of all things. ~~

Days of Praise ~
ICR/HMM
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"The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner." (Psalm 119:22)

"Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious:...Unto you therefore which believe he is precious; but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient" (1 Peter 2:6-8).
JESUS CHRIST THE SAME YESTERDAY, AND TODAY, AND FOR EVER.

---Naught Changeth Thee

"For all flesh is like grass, and the glory of men as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; But the Word of the Lord endureth for ever." (1 Peter 1:24-25)

WHAT comparison can be made between the unchanging, eternal CREATOR of life and frail, temporal man? Verse three of the beautiful hymn "Immortal, Invisisible, God Only Wise" makes such a comparison, or rather, such a contrast.

To all, life thou givest to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on a tree,
And wither and perish--but naught changeth thee.

As in nature today, life comes only from life, and in the beginning, the living CREATOR imparted life to otherwise inanimate chemicals. To the plants and non-conscious animals, He gave only biological life; but to the creatures, from the smallest to the greatest, He gave true life (i.e.,breath, blood, and consciousness); and to men, His image. As CREATOR, He needs nothing from His creation: "Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath and all things" (Acts 17:25). Furthermore, "in him we live, and move, and have our being" (v.28).

But the creation was distorted by sin, and now death reigns over all life, "like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth" (Psalm 90:5-6). But God lasts forever. "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). He doesn't change. "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8). And, as we see in our text, neither does His Word change.

Days of Praise
ICR/JDM
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There's a longing in every heart that only Jesus can satisfy.

Created and Made ~

"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)

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).

Days of Praise
ICR/HMM
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No service for Christ goes unnoticed by Him.

THE ETERNAL COSMOS ~

From:ICR/HMM

"He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass." (Psalm 148:6)

In this central psalm of the last five psalms comprising the "Hallelujah" epilogue to the book of Psalms, the entire physical CREATION is exhorted to praise the Lord, as all the universe is restored to its primeval perfection. All the people of the earth,all the angels, even all the animals, will praise the Lord.

Furthermore, in some way WHICH CAN ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD BY FAITH, the entire inorganic CREATION---sun, moon, stars, mountains, winds, everything---will be able to praise Him. Even the primeval waters above the heavens (Genesis 1:7-9) will have been restored, and 'they' will praise the Lord (Psalm 148:4-5).

And all of this will continue forever and ever! The new heavens and new earth--that is, the 'renewed' heavens and earth, with the curse removed (Revelation 22:3)--the sun and moon, stars, with the eternal throne of the Lord Jesus established on the earth in the New Jerusalem, in the midst of all the redeemed men and women of all the ages--all of these will forever be a praise to God.

God is not capricious, and He does not fail. He will not "uncreate" what he has created. "Whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever" (Ecclesiastes 3:14). The earth must yet be purged by fire (2 Peter 3:10), but it will be renewed in righteousness (v.3) and without any evidences of the former regime of decay and death.

And then it will last forever. "And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever" (Psalm 78:69) "[God] laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever" (Psalm 104:5).

"And they that turn many to righteouness [shall shine] as the stars for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3).
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Thank you, Russ, Laura and Herb Allure. You are allowing the Lord's Word to go forth, and you are part of the righteous ones, who help 'turn many to righteouness'. God bless you!
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CREATED ~

"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) -

There are three main verbs used to describe God's work of creation in Genesis. These are "CREATE" (Hebrew-, bara), "MAKE" (asah), and "FORM" (yatsar). The three words are similar in meaning but each with a slightly different emphasis.

None of them, of course, can mean anything at all like "evolve", or "change," on their own accord.

All three are used in Genesis with reference to man. "And God said, Let us make man in our image...So God CREATED man in his own image...And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground" (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7).

Although the subject of CREATION is commonly associated with Genesis, it is mentioned even more frequently by the great prophet Isaiah. The words 'bara' and 'yatsar' are used twice as often in Isaiah as in any other Old Testament book and are applied uniquely to works of God. All three verbs are used together in Isaiah 45:18 in order to describe, adequately, God's purposeful work in preparing the earth for man: "For thus saith the LORD that CREATED the heavens; God himself that FORMED the earth and MADE it; he hath established it, he CREATED it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else."

God CREATED, FORMED, MADE, and ESTABLISHED the earth, that it might be the home of men and women. But what was God's purpose for the people who would inhabit it? Our text answers this most fundamental of questions, and once again, all three key verbs are used: "I have CREATED...I have FORMED him...I have MADE him...FOR MY GLORY." (emphasis mine)

This Biblical perspective alone provides the greatest of all possible incentives to live a godly and useful life.

The reason we were CREATED is to glorify God
~~~~~
Institute for CREATION Reaserch (ICR)
Days of Praise/HMM
Blessings, as we serve our Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ!

SON OF GOD ~~

"[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 1:2)
~~~~~
THE unique divine Sonship of Jesus Christ is emphasized here in Hebrews 1. The above text, for example, introduces the Son as the CREATOR, then as the revealing Word, and finally as the appointed heir of all things.

This chapter also demonstrates that God's Son was recognized even in the Old Testament. Verse 5 quotes Psalm 2:7: "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee," and 1 Chronicles 17:13: "I will be his father, and he shall be my son." That this Son is none other than God Himself is confirmed in verse 8, quoting Psalm 45:6: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever." That He is the CREATOR is asserted in verse 10 referring to Psalm 102:25: "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth." That He is now at God's own throne is stressed in verse 13, citing Psalm 110:1 "Sit on my right hand." Thus, He is to be worshipped as God. "Let all the angels of God worship him" (verse 6, taken from Psalm 97:7).

Furthermore, Hebrews 1 notes a manifold description of the meaning of the divine Sonship. He is Son of God by eternal generation, as the "brightness [or 'out-radiating'] of his glory, and the express image of his person" (v.3).

He is Son of God by miraculoous conception (v.5), also quoted in Acts 13:33 (note Romans 1:4) as referring to His Sonship by bodily resurrection. Verse 6 refers to the divine proclamation of the Sonship (also Matthew 3:17; 17:5). Verses 8 and 9 stress the testimony of His uniquely holy nature. "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity."

Finally, as the Son (Jesus Christ), He is promisd universal inheritance from Father God (vv.9, 13). From eternity to eternity, Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son! And yet God "gave his only begotten Son" that we might have everlastng life

Institute for CREATION Reasearch
Days of Praise/HMM

The Finished Works of Creation ~

"For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world." (Hebrews 4:3) --

HERE is a strong New Testament confirmation of the Genesis record of a CREATION completed in the past--thus not continuing in the present as theistic evolutionists have to assume. Whatever processes God may have used during the six days of creation, they are no longer in operation for "the heavens and the earth were finished,...on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made...And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made" (Genesis 2:1-3).

The record in Genesis could not be more clear and specific, but the fact that it is in Genesis tends to demean it in the minds of many scientists and theologians. So they prefer to believe in a continuing evolution and long ages in the past. But the writer of Hebrews once again confirms the fact of completed CREATION: "For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his" (Hebrews 4:10).

The writer is not trying to defend the completed creation as such, but merely assuming it as a commonly acknowledged truth. In fact, God's "rest" from His works of CREATION is taken as a prophetic type of the spiritual rest of a Christian believer when he ceases trusting his own works of legalism and relies fully on the finished work of Christ for his eternal salvation.

On the cross, after the Lord had died for our sins, He had cried out, "It is finished " (John 19:30), and our debt for sin was fully paid. God's great work of redemption was completed, just as was His work of CREATION, and now we also can rest from our "dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews 9:14).

Institute for CREATION Research ~
Days of Praise/HMM

ASCENDING VAPORS

"He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries." (Psalm 135:7)

THIS striking verse is practically identical with Jeremiah 10:13 and Jeremiah 51:16, suggesting the possibility that the prophet Jeremiah may have written the otherwise anonymous Psalm 135. The two Jeremiah passages do preface this statement with the note that there is "a multitude of waters in the heavens" in connection with the processes described in the verse.

In any case, this thrice-mentioned mechanism beautifully summarized what we now call the hydrologic cycle, and it did so over 2,000 years before the cycle began to be understood by modern scientists. In order to provide rain to water the earth, there must be vapors ascending all over the earth (that is, evaporation from the world's great oceans), winds then blowing from God's unseen treasury (actually the global atmospheric circulation), and, finally, lightnings for (or "with") the rain (electrical discharges associated with the condensation and coalescence of the particles of water vapor in the atmosphere). All of this repeatedly transports purified waters from the ocean back over the lands to fall as rain and snow, there finally to run off back to the oceans after performing their life-sustaining ministries on the lands. "Unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again" (Ecclesiasstes 1:7).

Not only does this hydrologic cycle sustain physical life on earth, but it also is a type of the spreading of God's Word, giving spiritual life. "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, ...So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please" (Isaiah 55:10-11).
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ICR/HMM
Days of Praise

--The Rain and the Word ~

"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither; but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10-11)-- --

IN these familiar verses, there is a beautiful anticipation and spiritual application of the so-called "hydrologic cycle" of the science of hydrogeology. The rain and snow fall from the heavens and eventually return there (via the marvelous process of river and ground water run-off to the oceans), then later evaporation by solar radiation and translation inland high in the sky by the world's great wind circuits, finally to fall again as rain and snow on the thirsty land, beginning the cycle once more.

But they do not return until they first have accomplished their work of watering the earth, providing and renewing the world's water and food supplies to maintain its life.

Analogously, God's Word goes forth from heaven via His revealed Scriptures and their distribution and proclamation by His disciples. It does not return void, for it accomplishes God's spiritual work on earth. But it does return, for it is "for ever...settled in heaven" (Psalm 119:89).

The fruitful spreading of God's Word is presented in many other Scriptures. For example: "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days...In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good" (Ecclesiastes 11:1,6).

Thus, as we sow and water the seed--which is the Word of God--we have God's divine promise that it will accomplish that which He pleases. ~~
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ICR/HMM

Signs and Seasons, Days and Years ~

"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years." (Genesis 1:14) --
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The subject of "time" is enigmatic. Everyone seems to know what is meant by time, but no one can define it. We may complain about time going too slow or too fast, but time doesn't go anywhere. But neither does it "stand still."

At least we can measure time intervals--seconds, hours,centuries,etc. This is because of God's gracious forethought in providing means for doing this. He was not a "blind watch-maker," as some evolutionists have called Him. He actually created time "in the beginning" (Genesis 1:1).

Then He set the sun and the moon in the sky, and made the earth to assume a global shape and to rotate on an axis, making the measurement of time in "days" possible. Next He placed stars in the far heavens in various locations and combinations and the earth to orbit around the sun, enabling us to tell how many "days" make up a "year." Then, once the earth's rotational axis was "tilted," that made "seasons" measurable. So we can at least identify time durations in days and years with their seasons, and we can subdivide or combine these in whatever ways we find convenient (minutes, decades, summer, winter, etc.).

But what about the "signs"? Although this is a controversial question, certain ancient Jewish scholars believed that God named the stars and their groupings (Isaiah 40:26; Job 38:31-32;etc) and then revealed their prophetic meanings to patriarchs Seth and Enoch in order to record His great plan and purpose in creation permanently in the heavens. If so, it is no longer needed, since the written Word of God, "for ever...settled in heaven" (Psalm 119:89), has now been transmitted "unto the fathers by the prophets" (Hebrews 1:1) and "shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35).
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ICR/HMM --

GARBAGE
PATCH !

Genesis 1:20-28;2:15
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The waters He called
Seas. And God saw
that is was good.
---Genesis 1:10
~~~
THE other day I ran across a troubling report about people who think it is acceptable to use the ocean as a giant garbage dump. Here is an excerpt: "If you should see this amazing floating pile of plastic in the Pacific Ocean, it's called 'The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.'

It features three million tons of plastic debris floating in an area larger than Texas. An eye-popping 46,000 pieces of plastic float on every square mile of ocean!" Other sources estimate the amount of garbage is even bigger. Plastic is especially bad because it does not dissolve.

During our sojourn on earth, we have been charged, like Adam, with taking care of the earth and its creatures that God has given us. Genesis 2:15 says, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it." God delights in what He has made and this extends to the sea and all that live in it (1:10,20-21).

This world should remind us of the greatness of our CREATOR and serve as a springboard of praise to Him. Indifferently using it as a garbage dump mars its beauty and threatens the creatures that live here. Showing respect and caring for the land, the ocean, and the air is our duty as believers in Christ. -
~~~
The natural world that God has made
Must not be used at whim;
We serve as stewards of His earth,
Responsible to Him.
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Caring for God's creation is the believer's duty.
ODB/DF

The Birds of
Heaven -

--The birds of the
heavens...sing
among the branches.
--Psalm 104:12
~~~
Birds were an inspiration to the Psalmist. In Psalm 104, he praises God for caring for the living creatures He has put on the earth. Included in his observations are birds who fly in the heavens above, perch in the branches of trees, and sing songs of heartfelt joy: "The birds of the heavens have their home; they sing among the branches" (v.12). Nature filled the Psalmist's heart with praise to God, and I think that must have included the musical sounds of the birds.

Often the marvels we see in CREATION prompt us to worship. This theme is repeated throughout Scripture: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork" (Ps. 19:1). Creation's stimulus to praise need not be limited to the visual. It can also be widened to include hearing nature's songs. As we go about our daily routine, we can tune our hearts to the melodies God has placed in His creatures and let them serve as an added springboard of praise to the CREATOR, the Lord Jesus Christ. ~
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All of nature is a grand symphony
conducted by the Creator. ~
ODB/Blessings, in our Sovereign One!

Love of the Father for the Son ~

"The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." (John 3:35)-

The Gospel of John, in a special sense, emphasizes the love in the divine Trinity of the heavenly Father for the Son. The words "love" and "Father" and "Son" occur more in this book than in any other book of the Bible, and there are at least eight references to this love in John's Gospel.

The first is in our text above, revealing that the Father has entrusted the care of the whole CREATION to the Son whom He loves. He has also shown Him everything in creation: "For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth" (John 5:20).

The Father also loves the Son because of His willingness to die for lost sinners. "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again" (John 10:17).

Then in the upper room, as Christ prayed to His Father, it was revealed that this divine love had existed in eternity, and therefore must be both the root and the measure of all forms of true love ever since. "Father...thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:24). Parental love, marital love, filial love, and love of country--all types of genuine love--are derived untimately from this eternal love of the Father for the Son.

And it is this love that can also be in us, if we will have it. "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you...If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love" (John 15:9-10).

It was thus prayed (and still prays) for us: "That the world may know that thou...hast loved them, as thou hast loved Me. ...And...that the love wherewith thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:23,26). --
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ICR/HMM
Blessings!

The Resource for answering the critics of Noah's Ark.

By: John Woodmorappe

<http://www.icr.org/articles/view/402/307/>

Did Noah's Flood cover the whole earth?

The flood was global.

Here are a few of the many Biblical reasons for believing in the global Flood.

<http://www.icr.org/noahs-flood/>

"Let God be true and every man a liar." JESUS IS LORD!

-Understanding Ownership

"The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Psalm 24:1) --
---
The doctrine of creation is not merely a "scientific" debate. The opposite concepts of natural and evolutionary development versus the fiat creation of an omnipotent, omniscient, and transcendent Being impact every facet of our worldview. God owns the earth; He is its Creator (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1-2; Revelation 4:11; and hundreds of other passages throughout the Bible.)

Christians who revere the biblical revelation of God are not to be in conflict with this most basic of all doctrines. God owns the living creatures that inhabit the earth (Psalm 50:10). He owns the metal and esblish monetary value in the earth (Haggai 2:8). He claims ownership over our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19). He even states ownership of our very souls (Ezekiel 18:4). Nothing is excluded from the sphere of His ownership and kingship (1 Chronicles 29:11-12; Isaiah 45:12; Colossians 1:16-17). And we are to manage God's resources as stewards of the Owner.

Lucifer's error was that he thought he could become like the Owner, usurping all the rights and privileges of the Creator (Isaiah 14:12-14). Israels' error was similar; they behaved as if their possessions were their own property (Malachi 3:8-10). The prodigal son claimed for himself the right of ownership and treated the money as if it were his own (Luke 15:12-14). The unfaithful steward made no effort to be productive (Matthew 25:24).

We have been delegated authority over the creation itself (Genesis 1:28), are required to be faithful with the "mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1-2), and are expected to administer "the manifolrd grace of God" (1 Peter 4:10).

May God preserve us from self-serving stewardship.--
Days of Praise
ICR/HMM III

Stewardship Warfare

"A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." (Galatians 5:9)-
-----
Most of us have seen ripples created from a pebble dropped in a pond. They also make good illustrations of what antheistic and naturalistic science does to truth.

The Bible uses a number of illustrations about the importance of getting rid of the 'source' of the problems. The Psalmist David cried out for strength when he saw the enemies destroying foundations (Psalm 11:3). Jesus warned about the "leaven" of false doctrine (Matthew 16:12). And the prophet noted that if the stump is left, the tree will grow again (Daniel 4:23-26;contrast with Luke 3:9). These principle illustrations warn us to focus on the 'cause' of the error, not the 'symptoms'.

It is tempting to go after only the symptoms. The pain of abortion, pornography, flagrant promiscuity, widespread STDs, easy divorce, victimless crimes, politcal corruption, evolution being taught to our children in public schools,and so on are very real and terribly destructive. But the core rationale in the educated Western world for all the anti-God, anti-righteous, anti-authority beliefs is atheistic and naturalistic science.

Ephesians 6:12 explains that the real battle is "not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, spiritual wickedness in high places." A great part of biblical stewardshp must involve direct opposition toward these "rulers of the darkness."

Our "intellectual" world needs the evidence that will expose the atheism in naturalistic science. Christian leaders must not only be trained biblically, but also in a defense of the faith "once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3). That work is extensive, time-consuming, and expensive, and those called to so labor must have the prayer support of other Christians.

[We must begin telling and teaching our children, grandchildren, little ones, about creation and our Creator Jesus Christ, before they hear the worldly viewpoint. They will certainly not hear about it in public schools. In fact, they are hearing about evolution right now.]

Days of Praise/ICR
HMM III

Blessings as we learn the way of the Master. -
[The last paragraph was added by me, Abishag]

I found this article regarding 'The Created Camel' from ACTS & FACTS magazine/ ICR, to be most interesting and somewhat amusing. Enjoy....

THE CREATED CAMEL
By: Frank Sherwin, M. A.

"Evolutionists must insist that camels evolved from a non-camel ancestor over millions of years."

Camels--including the llama,....are truly part of the world of animals whose design features magnificently reflect the mind of their CREATOR.

<http://www.icr.org/article/5539/>

All Creation Cries Holy ! -

"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

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 2:9-11)

Unto the Lamb ~
--
Unto the Lamb By: Brian Wing

I can see Jesus, high and exalted,
My eyes are fixed upon His face,
it shines like the sun.

I can see Jesus, clothed in glory,
He is high and lifted up,
And His train fills the temple

And all of the angels cry holy,
All the saints cry holy,
All creation cries holy,
Holy is the Lamb

All praise unto the Lamb
Who sits on the throne,
Honor and power, dominion and praise,
Unto the Lamb, who was and is, and is to come!

---------
The Creator of the entire universe, Jesus the Christ, is coming back to reclaim His bride (the church). "Be ye ready for ye know not what hour the Son of man cometh."

Jesus' last words in the Bible are, "Surely I come quickly!"

Creation VS Chance ~

Devotional thought from the messages of Adrian Rogers

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Genesis 1:1 - "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
An eloquent preacher said, "God stepped from behind the curtain of nowhere and stood upon the platform of nothing and
spoke a world into existence."
God is the creator of all that your hand can touch, your eye can see, your ears can hear, and your nose can smell. If you see a watch, I hope you assume there's a watchmaker.

And if you see the precise atomic flux of the
universe, I hope you don't believe that happened by chance. The evolutionists believe that if you take billions of years, if you add time plus chance, you can turn frogs into princes. In school they call that fairy tales. In the laboratory they call it science.

ACTION POINT:
God spoke your life into existence. His Word sustains your breath. His Word can silence your breath. Thank Him for your life today!
____________________ __________________

--Creation's Testimony
*A Glorious Display of God's
Character and Power ~

PSALM 104 --

Heaven and earth provide a constant display of evidence concerning God's existence, power, and character. However, many people have lost their capacity to hear its message (Rom. 1:18-22). Even nature's most obvious exhibit of the Lord's omnipotence leaves the doubter unconvinced, because without faith, no one will accept the truth (Heb. 11:3). But for those who can hear the voice of God speaking through creation, the proof is overwhelming (Ps. 19:1-6).

Consider how creation testifies about the Creator, man, sin, and the future.

The Creator's Attributes:
*Sovereignty and power (Job 37:1-13; Isa. 40:21-28)
*Wisdom and knowledge (Isa. 40:12-18)
*Care and kindness (Matt. 6:26; Ps. 147:7-9)

After we gain an understanding of God's greatness, recognition of our own limitations follows. One severe storm or earthquake is enough to open our eyes to the evidence that He is God--and we are not.

Mankind's Limitations:
*Impotence (Job 38:31-41)
*Ignorance (Job 38:1-30; 37; 14-20)
*Dependence (Ps 46:1-3; Hab. 3:17-19)

Even while marveling at the majesty and beauty of our world, we are also keenly aware that something has gone terribly wrong. Death, disease, and natural disasters are all results of the curse of sin that wreaks havoc on God's creation.

Sins Effects:
*Hardship and death (Gen. 3:17-19)
*Futility and corruption (Rom. 8:20-21)

The preponderance of disaster movies reveals the fear that people feel living in a world they cannot control. But God's sovereignty over the future gives hope to believers. Creation offers evidence of His plans for restoration.

Future's Hope:
*Signs of Christ's return (Matt. 24:3,7-8,29-30)
*Freedom through redemption (Rom. 8:18-23)
~~~~~~~~~
Questions for Reflection:

Does the display of God's power in creation fill you with fear or comfort?
What does His control of the stars and His provision for the birds tell you about His ability and desire to care for your concerns?
--------
In Touch Ministries--
JESUS LOVES YOU VERY MUCH! He died that you and I might live! Hallelujah what a Saviour!

The Fellowship Of The Mystery
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“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 3:9).

In the third chapter of Ephesians, the apostle Paul is outlining the tremendous message he had been called by God to preach. By special “revelation,” God had “made known” to him the essentials of what had previously been a great “mystery” (vv.3,4). Since all—both Jew and Gentile—had the same Creator, and since that Creator had now become the Redeemer, therefore all were to be “partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel” (v.6).

Thus there was established a wonderful fellowship among all those whom He has created and redeemed. This great mystery, long hidden from the Gentiles and from the Jews (accustomed to viewing themselves as the chosen nation), must now give way to “the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vv.10,11).

That great purpose, now revealed, had from the beginning of the world been “hid in God.” He had first “created all things by Jesus Christ” (see our text for the day) and “now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). He has forever reconciled both Jew and Gentile to the Father and to each other “in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby” (v.16).

True fellowship between any two groups can only be on this basis. That is, both the creation of all things and the blood-bought redemption of all things have thereby been completed through the Lord Jesus Christ. This former mystery is now fully revealed as the essential foundation of true fellowship with God and man. ~~

Days of Praise/ICR/HMM

Blood on Our Hands~~
ICR/HMM

.....("...tell them that their Creator and Judge has died for them, to become their Savior.)

----Blood On Our Hands
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand” (Ezekiel 3:18).

Ezekiel had been called as a prophet and “watchman” (Ezekiel 3:17; 3:7), to warn the sinning Israelites of impending judgment, because of their persistence in compromising their worship of the true God with the pagan pantheistic evolutionism of the Canaanite nations around them. Soon they had adopted the immoral life styles that almost invariably develop from diluted confidence in God as Creator/Savior.

One could easily draw a sharp parallel between ancient Judah and the apostasy and moral degeneration of modern Christendom. The wicked (that is, “the nations that forget God”) are surely going to be “turned into hell” (Psalm 9:17), if they do not soon repent, whether or not they hear the warning of any watchman. They have already rejected the evidence of God in creation and conscience, so they are “without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

Nevertheless, the Lord does call us who have His Word to do all we can “to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life” (that is, in the present context, to tell them that their Creator and Judge has died for them, to become their Savior). If we fail to do this, then we become, in effect, their executioners with blood on our hands. Even the “righteous” need to be warned, “that the righteous sin not” (Ezekiel 3:21). “Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked” and he ignores or rejects the warning, “thou hast delivered thy soul” (Ezekiel 33:9). We have a great responsibility, as well as a wonderful privilege, to warn men of impending judgment, and then to tell them of the Savior. ~~

ICR/HMM

--OUT OF
THE MOUTH
OF BABES

Psalm 8:1-2
--
Out of the mouth of
babes and nursing
infants You have
ordained strength.
--Psalm 8:2 ---
--
PSALM 8 begins with a startling contrast. David seems to suggest that while God has revealed His glory in the skies, another persuasive answer to His critics comes in the utterances of a child: "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger" (v.2).

Why is a child's praise so persuasive? For one thing, it's because unlike the impersonal universe, a child can know and love God.

Jesus quoted Psalm 8:2 when religioius leaders were scandalized that children were running around in the temple shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" (Matt. 21:15-16). These little ones knew--as those leaders did not know--that Jesus was the long-awaited Son of God, our Creator.

Some of my most memorable moments as a parent came when I knelt beside our children's beds at night, and they opened their hearts to God. The simplicity of their love and trust as they prayed touched me deeply, dispelled my doubts and fears, and drew me to faith.

We must never take lightly little ones who believe in Christ (Matt. 18:6,10). Their witness is great, as is the witness in the skies.

Could it be that the trusting child--
Who with childlike faith stands strong--
Can teach us more than sun and stars
About to whom our hearts belong?
-----
CHILDREN ARE GOD'S PRECIOUS JEWELS--HELP THEM SHINE FOR CHRIST!
ODB/DR

--Father, Abba, Father

"They are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8:14-15)-

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17-18). As out text explains, once we have received the spirit of adoption, we are the sons of God--He owns us as His child. This is a "new" thing. We who formerly were estranged from our Creator have been reconciled to Him. "Old things," such as the bondage to fear, are "passed away." The close-knit ties are strong, "for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee...I will not fear what men shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13:5-6).

Now that He is our Father, we have direct access to Him. "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you" (James 4:8). As an earthly father desires the best for his children, "how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:11). "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us; And..we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him" (1 John 5:14-15).

This father/child relationship goes deep. The term "Abba, Father" reflects a most sensitive and loving bond, perhaps best rendered " O Sweet Daddy."

"We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20). --
--
Days of Praise
ICR/JDM

TOPSY~ TURVY

by Henry Morris III, D.Min.

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (Isaiah 5:20-21) --

The term “topsy turvy” has been around since sometime in the 16th century. The various usages of it convey a sense of the confusion and chaos that one feels when things are not the way they are supposed to be. A few other such words from my childhood memory are “higgledy-piggledy,” “hugger-mugger,” and “head over heels.”

The recent book The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow is a prime example of such topsy-turvy thinking. The very title itself is “higgledy-piggledy.” The grand design it refers to is “no design”! Hawking and Mlodinow spend enormous intellectual capital to demonstrate that even though things seem to work beautifully in our universe, there is absolutely no reason to conclude that Someone or something (other than the universe itself) is responsible for what we observe.

Their position is that we cannot observe anything for sure. We are like a poor little goldfish in a glass bowl. Our perspective is warped by the environment in which we live. If we could somehow get out of our wretched and restricted “bowl,” we might just possibly be able to see differently. But for now, Hawking and Mlodinow conclude, God is not at all necessary to consider when we observe and think about the origin and maintenance of the universe. In fact, the goldfish’s viewpoint of the universe is just as valid as our own.

The psalmist asked the question, “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” (Psalm 2:1). Often we feel the weight of the godless pundits who spit their venom at the Creator who loved them and died for them. Surely we can expect such rebellion, and many times those who openly shake their intellectual fist at the King of kings seem to be “in great power, and spreading [themselves] like a green bay tree” (Psalm 37:35). They seem to have the resources, the logistics, and the overall advantage to rule the world with an atheistic and evolutionary naturalism as the dominant worldview.

There are two grand and unalterable facts that I would have you remember.

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

Nothing will prevent the message of the Creator from reaching those whose hearts are open to the message. No “raging” by the heathens will ever mute the message of the “invisible things” of our Creator—so that “they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). Yes, we are to be the spokespersons and the ambassadors for the Gospel, but our witness is framed by the undeniable backdrop of the creation itself. That message goes out in “surround sound”— the sound of the glory of God and with the very power of God as we announce the Good News!

Secondly, those who reject or resist the message will not win!
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision. (Psalm 2:4)

The wickedness of our time in history may make us feel small and impotent, but we are saved “to the uttermost” (Hebrews 7:25), commissioned with the “unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8), and are absolutely guaranteed to be “conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29).

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39) -
---
ICR/HMM III

Understanding Creator God!

Understanding through the Word
November 5, 2010

"Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments." (Psalm 119:73)

Understanding the Word of God begins with seeing God as the Creator of all things (Colossians 1:16-17). The beginning of faith rests solidly on belief in the creation (Hebrews 11:3), and even the "everlasting gospel" embraces the conscious worship of the Creator (Revelation 14:6-7). "I am the Lord, and there is none else….Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! (Isaiah 45:5, 9).
Scholars who distort Scripture to compromise with the atheistic naturalism of evolionary science wind up "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7). May God rebuke them.

The theme of this stanza (Psalm 119:73-80) weaves a series of requests around various examples of need centered around the psalmist’s leadership position. "They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word" (v. 74). "Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies" (v. 79).

Though he recognized that the Lord "afflicted" him in the past (v. 75), the psalmist also expected the Lord to bring him mercies and comfort, for the law of God was his delight (v. 77). We might view this godly leader as "set for the defence of the gospel" (Philippians 1:17) and "ready always to give an answer" (1 Peter 3:15).

In summary, the last verse of this stanza reads: "Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed" (Psalm 119:80). Would God that our hearts be driven to this level of boldness in our witness while resting in the absolute authority, integrity, and accuracy of the infallible writings of the Creator-God for our salvation (2 Timothy 3:16).

ICR/ HMM III

I Was Reading That, ((((( Smiles )))))

Lightning can give enough electricity to a light bulb to last 100 years and since God created electricity...
His power must be millions times greater then lightening!
He could light up this universe for infinity.
God is the light of the world.

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)

Amen!

Does Genesis Address the Time of Creation, or Just the Fact of Creation?
by John D. Morris, Ph.D.

"He that planted the ear, shall He not hear? He that
formed the eye, shall He not see?" (Psalm 94:9)

It has become popular among evangelical leaders to hold that God is truly the Creator, but that creation occurred over millions and billions of years. These "semi-creationists" are fond of claiming that the Genesis account only reveals the "fact" of creation, and that God orchestrated it all, but that it does not specify when He created, nor how long He took. Is their position valid? Let's go "back to Genesis" and check it out.


Hypothetically, consider a person fluent in Biblical languages who knows nothing of either Scripture or the various claims regarding the age of things, but who can read, carefully analyze, and understand a written document. Given the Bible for the first time, such a reader would certainly understand Genesis 1-11 to teach that creation occurred only thousands of years ago, not millions or billions, and he would cite several reasons.

He would note that the word "day" (Hebrew, yom) in Genesis 1 is best understood as a literal day (either a 24-hour day or the daylight portion of a day). While this common word can mean an indefinite time period, it almost always means a literal day and is so defined the first time it is used in Genesis 1:4,5. Furthermore, it always means a literal day when modified by a number (i.e., 2nd day) or evening and/or morning, as it is in Genesis 1. To cap it off, it always means a literal day when used in the plural form (i.e., six days of creation, Exodus 20:11).

Next, he would note the narrative character of those early chapters. They are telling a story, and there is no indication that it is figurative. He would find the poetic portions are no less "historic" than the prose portions. It all appears to be chronological, with each event followed by another.

For instance, every verse in Genesis 1 starts with the conjunction "and." The entire chapter is one run-on sentence, with no hint of major time gaps. The remaining chapters use a similar format, implying an orderly sequence of events.

As a matter-of-fact, of the 299 verses in Genesis 1-11, 32% contain "time" words, such as "days, weeks, or years." Also, 49% of the verses contain some sort of "sequence" words such as "and" or a resulting action verb. Of the remaining 19% which don't contain such words, most amplify the thought in the previous verse which does mention time or sequence. There can be no doubting the Bible's intention to communicate the "when" and duration of creation.

Genealogical records dominate two complete chapters, 5 and 11. There is no hint that these lists are mythological. It's as if the Author wanted us to know this information and knew that there was no other way for us to obtain it, so He told us in no uncertain terms.

Our hypothetical reader would no doubt conclude that Genesis, coupled with the rest of Scripture, clearly teaches that God created, cursed, and flooded all things only thousands of years ago.

To modern old-earth "semi-creationists," whether theistic evolutionists, progressive creationists, or day-age advocates, he would say: "You may choose not to believe what is written here, but if so you should cease deceiving yourselves and others by using the term 'Bible-believer' to describe your position."
-----

GOD'S
FLANNELGRAPH

Psalm 19
----
The heavens declare
the glory of God; and
the firmament shows
His handiwork.
--Psalm 19:1 --
---
In this age of new video technology, it might be hard to believe that some teachers still feel the best way to depict Bible stories is the low-tech flannelgraph board. I recall that my childhood Sunday school teachers used those flat boards covered with flannel, which enabled them to display cutouts of David, Daniel, Jonah, Jesus, and all the other characters. The flannergraphs helped my teachers capture the essence of the Bible story in an artistic way.

Those old-school flannelgraphs aren't the oldest graphic teaching devices , however. God has long had a kind of "flannelgraph' of His own, and it is called creation.. God uses the marvel of creation to instruct us and to display His power.

In Psalm 19:1, David wrote, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork." In creation, God has revealed Himself so clearly that Paul declared, "His invisible attributes are clearly seen." Those who have the witness of creation are "without excuse" (Rom. 1:20). Why? On the flannelgraph of God's creation, we see God's order and design; His power and glory. This should lead us to worship. "O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!" (Ps. 8:1).
--
With words of great power God formed the world--
By the strength of His voice heaven's hosts were unfurled;
Now in His honor we worship His name
And in heartfelt devotion His glory proclaim.
---
Creation is the canvas on which God
has painted His character.

ODB/BC

Creation In Praise Of God
By: Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12). -

Every now and again, the Biblical writers were so lifted up in spirit as they contemplated the glory of God and His great works of creation and redemption that they could sense the very creation itself singing out in happy praises. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1) is one of the most familiar of these divinely inspired figures of speech, but there are many others. “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: . . . Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. . . . Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together before the LORD; for He cometh to judge the earth” (Psalm 98:4,7,8,9).

Often, these praises are in contemplation of God’s final return to complete and fulfill all His primeval purposes in creation, as in the above passage. This is also true in our text, which looks forward to a time when “instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: And it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off” (Isaiah 55:13).

And this all points ahead to the eventual removal of the great curse which now dominates creation because of man’s sin (Genesis 3:14–19). For the present, “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22). One day, however, the groaning creation “shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21).

Therefore, “let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; . . . Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice” (Psalm 96:11,12).


"Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD."
---King David/ Psalms ~

ICR/HMM

STAR POWER!

Job 38:1-11,31-33
___
Do you know the
ordinances of the
heavens? Can you
set their dominion
over the earth?
--Job 38:33 --
--
For all of us who, like Job, have suffered through tragedy and then dared to aim our questions at God, chapter 38 of Job's book should give us plenty to think about. Imagine what it must have felt like for the great man of the East when "out of the whirlwind" he heard God say, "Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me" (vv.1-3). Gulp!

Job must have felt as puny as an ant. As God unveiled His questions, what He said was as unexpected as it was powerful. He didn't really answer Job's "why" questions. Instead, God seemed to be telling him to notice the power and might with which He created this world and to observe His ability to control every element of it. Job should have been asking himself, 'Isn't that reason enough to trust God'?

As one example of His awesome power, God told Job to observe two of His awe-inspiring creations in the sky: Pleiades and Orion (v.31). Highlighting His grandeur and man's relative insignificance, God mentioned two constellations that demonstrate power beyond our understanding.

This is Someone we can trust! If He has the stars in His hands, surely He can take care of us as well.

Creator of the universe
Who reigns in awesome majesty;
How can it be You love and care
For such a one as me?
---
He who holds the stars in space holds His people in His hands.

ODB/DB

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

“And, thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands” (Hebrews 1:10).
--
The primary name for God in Scripture is the majestic name Jehovah, occurring nearly seven thousand times. The early Jews were reluctant to use that name, for fear of using it lightly (Exodus 20:7), and substituted the word adonai (meaning master or Lord) in its place. Our English versions have followed suit, using the term “LORD” for Jehovah (all caps to distinguish it from adonai, or Lord). Thus the name Jehovah appears only four times in the King James, and causes us at times to miss the full impact of the passage.

This is especially true in the New Testament passages quoting from Old Testament passages which used the name “Jehovah,” for which “LORD” has been substituted. Now, in the English versions, the name “Lord” appears. If “Jehovah” (i.e., deity) were read instead, much richer meaning would be gathered, and it would prove beyond a doubt the full deity of Christ. Consider two examples:

First, our text quotes from Psalm 102:25–27. The entire psalm consists of praise to Jehovah, and here in Hebrews it addresses the Son. If we read “thou, Jehovah, in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the earth,” and realize that Jesus is the subject of the passage, we recognize that Jesus can be none other than the Creator God.

Also, in Matthew 3:3, where John the Baptist fulfilled his prophesied role by teaching, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord,” quoting from Isaiah 40:3, we see Jesus equated with the Jehovah of the Old Testament, for Isaiah uses the term LORD, or Jehovah.

In these and many other examples, we see Christ as the Jehovah Jesus, and that the God of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament.
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ICR/JDM

-Jesus Left a Light Behind -

A small boy from a non-Christian home had been brought into the Sunday school. His mother was not only unsaved, but she had a mobid fear of death. After her little boy became interested in the Sunday school, he begged her to come to church with him, but she persistently refused his entreaties because she was afraid that the preacher might say something about death or dying.

On Easter Sunday, the teacher noticed the lad's rapt attention while she told the beautiful story of the risen Christ. The child hastened home with a shining face, and exlaimed, "Oh, Mother, you needn't be afraid of dying any more, for Jesus went through the grave and left a light behind Him!"

Gradually, the fear in her heart melted under the influence of her son's words about "the light behind Him."

Early one evening, she had put him to bed and heard him pray as he did nightly that God would make her a Christian, "and do it right quick!" he added.-

Later that evening, a neighbor persuaded the mother to go to church. The Heaven-sent message brought conviction, and that night her little boy's prayers were answered!

The mother now knew she need not ever fear death, because "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord Jesus."

--Harvester

-How Will the Present Earth Pass Away?
-By: John D. Morris, Ph.D.

First, let's review some facts of physics. We have discovered that atoms themselves are held together by mysterious forces. These forces keep each atomic nucleus, which contains particles of like electrical charge, from flying apart. They also keep the electrons in proximity to the nucleus, allowing atoms to bond to form more complex molecules, including all organic compounds which make up every cell in every living thing. These forces can be manipulated by man, in some cases with the release of great energy, but their ultimate nature is not understood, and they cannot be replaced by something of our own creation. The facts are quite compatible with the truth of Scripture, that Christ "upholds all things by the word of His power" (Hebrews 1:3), and that "by Him all things consist" (Colossians 1:17).
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Let's also remember that "the ground," probably including even the physical elements (Genesis 3:17), was cursed because of Adam's sin. Many of the atoms today spontaneously decay into smaller, less complex atoms, giving off harmful radiation. The earth's surface substantially consists of sedimentary rock deposited by moving Flood waters, full of the remains of dead organisms which died horrible deaths in that flood. Other rocks were melted by unimaginable heat and later cooled into our present igneous and metamorphic deposits. Everywhere we see remnants of bent and broken rock. Our planet has experienced past violence not encountered by modern man.

Surely, one of the primary purposes of the coming renovation of the heavens and the earth will be to replace it with a "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (II Peter 3:13). Neither heavens nor earth will fully be "un-created," for both were created to last forever (Psalm 148:5-6). Evidently, the raw materials which comprise the present atoms will be transformed into something recognizably similar, but different. The atoms will disintegrate and their matter will be reshaped into our permanent home, free from any memory or evidence of sin.

We will dwell there forever, enjoying the unbroken fellowship of our great Creator/Savior Jesus Christ.-

*Dr. John D. Morris is President of the Institute for Creation Research.

-WHEN THE
WIND BLOWS

Romans 8:26-30

Blessed be the...
God of all comfort,
whom comforts us in
all our tribulation.
--2 Corinthians 1:3-4
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Harold and Cathy and their two sons were in a wooded area in Minnesota when a tornado touched down. Cathy described her experience to me: "My husband and older son were some distance away, but my younger son and I took cover in a cabin. We heard a sound like a hundred railroad cars and instictively dropped to the floor. The cabin began to break apart, and I shut my eyes because of all the flying debris. It felt like I was going up in an elevator and then was shot into the air. I landed in a lake and clung to debris to stay afloat."

Tragically, however, their younger son did not survive. Harold said of their loss: "We cried every day for 6 weeks. But we believe that God's loving sovereignty allowed that tornado to come down where we were. And we also took comfort in the fact that our son knew the Lord."

When a loved one is taken and we are left behind, it can create all kinds of questions. In times like these, Romans 8:28 can be of great encouragement: "We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." This couple's trust in God's loving sovereignty brought them comfort in the midst of their grief (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

When we sustain a heartbreaking loss,
When grief overwhelms our soul,
The Savior who gave Himself on the cross
Reminds us that He's in control.
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-Our greatest comfort in sorrow
is to know that God is always in control.

--ODB/DF

-THE WONDER
OF WILDERNESS

Psalm 98
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Shout joyfully to the
LORD, all the earth;
break forth in song,
rejoice, and sing
praises.
--Psalm 98:4
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The psalmists had an advantage in praise because of their closer tie to the natural world. David began life outdoors as a shepherd, then spent years hiding in the rocky terrain of Israel. Not surprisingly, a great love, even reverence, for the natural world shines through many of his poems. The psalms present a world that fits together as a whole, with everything upheld by a personal God watching over it.

Wilderness announces to our senses the splendor of an invisible, untamable God. How can we not offer praise to the One who dreamed up porcupines and elk, who splashed bright-green aspen trees across hillsides of gray rock, who transforms the same landscape into a work of art with every blizzard?

The world, in the Psalmist's imagination, cannot contain the delight God inspires. "Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises" (Ps. 98:4). Nature itself joins in: "Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the LORD" (v.8).

The Psalms wonderfully solve the problem of a praise-deficient culture by providing the necessary words. We merely need to enter into those words, letting God use the Psalms to realign our inner attitudes.

All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon
with softer gleam! O praise Him! (St. Francis of Assisi)
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IN PRAISE, THE CREATURE HAPPILY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT EVERYTHING GOOD COMES FROM THE CREATOR!

-ODB/PY