In 1968, the astronauts aboard Apollo 8 circling the moon, sent a live Christmas message to earth by reading from Genesis 1:1-10 in the King James Bible. The estimated one billion people who heard the broadcast was the largest audience to ever listen to a human voice at the time. Borman said, “The only instructions that we got from NASA was to do something appropriate,” so he, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders took turns reading the Scripture. They concluded the historic broadcast by saying, “And God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.” Madelyn Murray O’Hair, founder of the American Atheists, collected 28,000 signatures on a petition demanding that government employees be prohibited from citing Scripture while on duty, but other Americans sent NASA more than 2.5 million letters and petitions in support of the astronaut’s actions. O’Hair sued the U.S. government, but lost the case in the courts. Later she lost her head at the hands of a murderer she had hired in her atheist business. We understand that NASA has since forbade the reading of God’s Word by astronauts, and to our knowledge it has not happened again. In Christ’s coming kingdom, there will never again be such godless restriction, and the wonderful Creator will be glorified in everything.

(Friday Church News Notes, January 23, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Psalm 148:7
"Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:"

Whales pose some interesting problems for those who believe that all living things slowly evolved to their present forms over millions of years. According to evolution, sea creatures gradually adapted to life on land because they could make a better living there. That's where mammals supposedly evolved. Then, for some unknown reason, some of those mammals – Darwin said it was the bear – decided to return to the sea. This required the mammal ancestors of the whale to lose their legs, re-adapt to locomotion in water, develop new vision abilities, and move its breathing nostrils to behind its brain.

As unlikely as all of this sounds, some evolutionists make one more amazing claim. They claim that some whales still have the vestigial bones of their pelvises or legs embedded in their bodies. Some have even claimed that certain whales have been seen that still had vestigial legs growing out of their bodies. However, no trace of these so-called "legs" can be found in any scientific literature. The small bone that some whales have is not a vestigial pelvis. It is not even attached to the backbone or any part of the skeleton but is situated within the body as an anchor for some of the whale's organs. In short, any talk of whales with legs or vestigial walking structures is pure myth.

God created the whales, just as the Bible says. The great whales glorify God with their great majesty and power.

Notes: "The strange tale of the leg on the whale," Creation, 6 8/98, pp.10 13.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

I love reading biographies about all sorts of people, because there are spiritual lessons everywhere, and recently I learned about Bertha Bentz. Called “the mother of motoring,” Bertha made the first automobile journey in 1888. Hailing from a wealthy family, Bertha had used part of her dowry a few years earlier to help her husband, Karl, create the Benz company and she had helped keep the family afloat financially while Karl perfected a 2.5-horsepower, three-wheeled automobile. Karl was a great inventor and tinkerer, but a poor marketer. He had spent three years perfecting his Benz Motorwagen, but there were no buyers. At one of Karl’s public displays, a stranger took the Motorwagen for a spin and promptly crashed into a wall, frightening potential customers. Berta took matters into her own hands and set out on a ground-breaking journey as a publicizing venture. Leaving Karl a vague note explaining that she and the boys were going to visit her mom, she and her two teenage sons crammed into the little automobile and headed out on the 60 mile trip. The adventure began at 5 am, when the boys pushed the car a few blocks from the house so Dad wouldn't be wakened by the noisy engine. There were no motor-able roads, no gas stations, no mechanics. She purchased fuel at pharmacies in the form of the petroleum solvent ligroin and topped off the water from streams and wells. She cleared a clogged fuel line with a hair pin and repaired the ignition with her garter. She even invented the first pair of brake pads when the wood shoes failed and she had a shoemaker install leather pads. The boys pushed the underpowered car up hills and removed obstacles. Finally at dusk they reached Grandma’s house, where they stayed for a few days to show off the car. She telegrammed Karl to let him know what was happening, but news of her exploit had already spread like wildfire. The Benz’s received an avalanche of orders and their company became the world’s largest automobile company at the time, with annual sales of 600 vehicles. Benz eventually merged with another company to form Daimler-Benz, home to the Mercedes-Benz. Bertha lived until the dawn of the rocket age, dying in 1944 at age 95. Today drivers can follow the Bertha Benz Memorial Route in Germany.

(Friday Church News Notes, January 23, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Matthew 9:12
"But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick."

The blessings of modern medicine have saved many lives. Unfortunately, modern medicine's accomplishments have led many people to believe that good medical treatment is more important than God's healing power when you are sick. Astounding medical discoveries are being made all the time. For example, 60 percent of those with diabetes suffer nerve damage. This nerve damage can result in the body's inability to control blood pressure as well as other problems. In some diabetics, branching nerve cells swell, cutting off normal cell communication.

Medical researchers have been testing a growth factor known as IGF 1 to see if it will stop this damage. To their surprise, not only did it stop the nerve damage in diabetic rats, it actually reversed the damage that had already been done! Tests are continuing to see if this treatment is safe for humans.

Do advances like this mean that God is becoming less important in the healing process, as many think? The truth is, all healing comes from God. So when you pray for healing, know that if it is God's will, God will heal you. In our usual experience, He uses modern medicine to do that, but if He wants, He will simply touch you with good health.

Modern medicine is a blessing from God for our good. Despite its accomplishments, however, modern medicine can never heal the root cause of our illnesses – sin. Only Jesus Christ can do that.

Notes: "Compound reverses diabetes damage," Science News, 12/11/99, p. 381.
Illustration: Courtesy of Emw. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16). One of the many lessons from this passage is the fact that the believer is either on fire for the Lord or he is backsliding. There is no neutral territory. I’m either “pressing on to higher ground” or I am going backwards. To stay hot requires a lot of effort. As soon as I pour my morning coffee, before I take the first eye-opening sip, it is cooling down. We have a hot water pot on 24/7 in our house, but the water is kept hot only through a constant flow of electricity to the heating elements. Scientists call this principle the Second Law of Thermodynamics. There is a universal law of decay, deterioration, which reminds us that we live in a fallen world. To maintain anything requires the constant application of energy, whether it be muscle tone or a shiny automobile, and this is true spiritually as well as physically. Lukewarm is merely a step on the way to cold. The source of energy that keeps the Christian life hot is a know-so salvation, a passionate walk with Christ, a serious relationship with His Word, a disciple’s faith and obedience. The hot Christian life is about zeal, passion, fervency, single-mindedness, unwavering devotion, first love.

(Friday Church News Notes, January 23, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Proverbs 12:5
"The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit."

A strange and beautiful family of creatures known as ammonoids nicely illustrate the illogic and lack of scientific reasoning used by defenders of evolution. While the chambered nautilus is the only species of ammonoid that exists today, the fossil record reveals hundreds of extinct species. While some, like the chambered nautilus, had relatively simple shells, others had intricately detailed shells with ruffled, wavy walls.

Historically, evolutionists have always explained this variation by saying that, like all other living things, ammonoids evolved from simple to complex. In 1999, an ammonoid specialist developed a system that mathematically rates shell complexity, based on factors like the length and number of loops and spirals in the shell. He concluded that even though the relatively simple chambered nautilus survives, those with more complex shapes had a survival advantage in the past. He argues that the ammonoids evolved from complex to simple, thus proving evolution.

Simple to complex? Complex to simple? Both arguments cannot be used in science to support evolution. The fact that supporters of evolution illogically argue in both directions shows that evolution is not scientific. It is merely a philosophy that seeks to explain the creation without need for the Creator. But ultimately, evolution is unable to explain the creation without our Creator.

Notes: "Survival of the simplest," Toronto Star, 11/21/99, p. F8.
Photo: Courtesy of Chris 73. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Leadership is difficult, especially when it involves reproof, warning, and discipline, and it often does. We all prefer to be liked. We would rather be popular than unpopular, but this can get in the way of helping those we should be leading. It is a snare into which any leader can fall, from a father and mother to a policeman to a pastor. Recently I read about a grizzly bear attack in a national park in America. The two people who were killed worked at the park, and they had been instructed and warned about how to conduct themselves around bears, but the leaders (in this case, park rangers and concession managers) didn't always enforce the rules. Of one of these it was said that he “was highly popular with his employees; his manner tended to be light and jocular.” And though he “laid down the law to” about bear safety, he didn't follow through with enforcement. When informed that his female employees were ignoring his “law” and walking at night near the bears for romantic interludes, he “threw up his hands” and said “there was a limit to how much advice one could hand out without becoming a bore, and he felt he had reached the limit.” His motive was to be popular and not be a “bore.” In this particular case, the girls in question were not killed by bears, but two others were. We all want to be “liked,” but true love exercises godly reproof and discipline. The Bible says, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes” (Proverbs 13:24). The wise parent who loves his child will correct and chasten him even though it is difficult, because the parent cares more about the child and his relationship with God and character and future than he does about his own feelings and conveniences. This is one of the great motivations for a pastor to exercise discipline. Discipline is never easy, not for the giver nor for the recipient, but it is necessary in this fallen world, and when done right according to God’s Word, it is an act of great love. One wise man said, “He who reproves me gives me a gold coin.”

(Friday Church News Notes, January 23, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Psalm 51:5
"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."

Modern psychologists and social engineers generally hold that children are born innocent. Any evil they do is learned from those around them. Based upon this notion, they advise that children should not be spanked because that spanking only teaches violence. This modern teaching contradicts the biblical teaching that we are born in original sin, inherited from Adam. Belief in original sin is accepted in some form by most Christians, Jews and practically everyone who has ever raised children!

In 1999, science stepped into the debate. Psychologist Richard Tremblay of the Universite de Montreal studied 511 children, all under 18 months old. He found that 70 percent of the children grab things. Forty-six percent push others, 21 percent physically attack others, 23 percent fight, 27 percent bite and 24 percent kick. These evil behaviors were going on long before the children could have learned them from those around them. Psychologist Tremblay concluded from his study that the parents' real task is not to teach children to be themselves but rather to teach children to obey moral principals.

This research supports the biblical teaching of original sin, and by implication, supports the Bible's account of Adam and Eve. One theologian pointed out that this explains why parents must daily battle against self idolatry and must do this for their children until their children learn to do this for themselves. This study simply supports what the Bible has been saying for thousands of years.

Notes: Alberta Report, 8/16/99.
Photo: Courtesy of Mehregan Javanmard. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

The Sea of Galilee had many harbors and anchorages in Jesus’ day. Sixteen of them have been found since the 1970s. In January 1986, during a drought when the water level dropped, an ancient fishing boat was found in the mud between the harbors of Gennesar and Magdala. It was the first such find ever, and archaeologists have dated the boat to between 100 BC and 100 AD. The boat was 27 feet long and 7.5 feet wide. Such vessels typically had a crew of five (four rowers and a helmsman) and could hold 15 people, so this boat could have held Jesus and the 12 disciples. It can be seen today at the Yigal Allon Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar. The harbor at Capernaum, where Jesus healed Peter’s mother, was quite sophisticated. The beautiful little lakeside city has been recreated by Dr. Leen Ritmeyer, and can be purchased and licensed from www.ritmeyer.com.

(Friday Church News Notes, January 23, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Psalm 145:15
"The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season."

When you are a small animal whose diet could injure or even kill you, eating can be positively dangerous. That danger increases if you belong to a family of animals that normally takes minutes or even hours to swallow a victim.

An adult Texas threadsnake is only about six or eight inches long, a little thicker than a strand of spaghetti and has a jaw unlike any other creature. It eats ants – ants that could seriously injure or kill it. As you may know, snakes generally take several minutes or even hours to swallow their food as they slowly stretch their jaws around their prey. But this method wouldn't work for the threadsnake. By the time it was swallowed, the snake's lunch would have killed the snake. So the threadsnake has a lower jaw, filled with teeth, and a hinge in the middle. As the lower jaws hinge in and out – several times a second, like a swinging door – ants disappear into the snake in the blink of an eye. Thus, they are able to down dozens of ants a minute!

The Texas threadsnake is more than a witness to God's wise design. Its unique jaw structure is essential to its survival. If evolution were true, the Texas threadsnake would have become extinct during the millions of years it waited for evolution to find a solution to its problem. In addition, since there is no other vertebrate with a jaw like the Texas threadsnake, from what could it have evolved? Unlike the serpent in the Garden of Eden, the threadsnake truly bears witness to God's greatness.

Notes: "Weird jaws let tiny snake gulp fast," Science News, 12/4/99, p. 361.
Photo: Courtesy of LA Dawson. (CC-BY-SA 2.5)
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

This week, the Southern Baptist Convention and some of the most popular and influential contemporary Christian musicians joined hands with a New Age Roman Catholic in a unity performance. The January 21 “We Will Stand” concert, sponsored by LifeWay Christian Resources, Voice of the Martyrs, and Compassion International, among others, featured “33 of the greatest CCM artists in history” (“We Are United,” thefishomaha.com). These included Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Newsboys, Don Moen, Mark Schultz, Sandi Patti, Travis Cottrell (Beth Moore’s worship leader), Steven Curtis Chapman, Steve Green, Dallas Holm, Russ Taff, The Imperials, Don Francisco, First Call, Michael Omartian, Francesca Battistelli, Kari Jobe, Jaci Velasquez, Laura Story, Petra, 4Him, Point of Grace, Carman, and Nicole Mullen. The theme is unity: “CCM United: one message, many voices.” The concert title is from Russ Taff’s song “We Will Stand,” which says, “You’re my brother/ You’re my sister/ So take me by the hand/ together we will work until He comes.” We Are United is the brainchild of Stan Moser, one of the fathers of CCM. Board members of the Gospel Music Trust Fund, one of the major beneficiaries of the concert, include Bill Gaither and National Quartet Convention President Les Beasley. They are all peas in one pod, and Amos 3:3 tells us that they agree together in the terrible compromise. Billed as “the greatest night in the history of contemporary Christian music,” it demonstrates unequivocally the one-world church character of this movement. It’s not a biblical unity in truth and righteousness, but an abominable unity in diversity. Roma Downey played a prominent role in the concert. As we have reported in past issues of Friday Church News Notes, Downey is the Roman Catholic co-creator (with her husband) of the History Channel’s popular “The Bible” miniseries and The Son of God movie. She calls Pope Francis “a new pope of hope” (“Roma Downey,” Christian Post, April 4, 2013). She says, “I have prayed to Mary and loved her my whole life” (“The Bible: An Epic Mini-Series,” Catholiclane.com, Feb. 28, 2013). She promotes the use of the rosary as a meditation practice by which she prays to Mary as the Queen of Heaven and the Mother of God. The Catholic Mary is sinless and can hear and answer the prayers of every petitioner, thus having the divine attributes of mediatorship, omnipresence, and omnipotence. But Roma Downey’s heresies exceed Rome’s papacy, sacramental gospel, and communion with a demon masquerading as Mary. Roma graduated from the University of Santa Monica with a graduate degree in Spiritual Psychology, which is described at the school’s web site as “the study and practice of the art and science of human evolution in consciousness.” The benefits of Spiritual Psychology include “experiencing enhanced spiritual awareness through knowing yourself as a Divine Being” and “learning to relate to yourself with greater compassion and awareness of yourself as a Divine Being having a human experience.” Roma Downey’s false gospel, false christ, and false spirit are welcome within the broad tent of CCM, and Bible-believing churches that play around with contemporary worship music are building bridges to this most dangerous world.

(Friday Church News Notes, January 23, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

One of the things I am thankful for in the education I received at Highland Park Baptist Church and Tennessee Temple in the 1970s was the emphasis on Christ’s Great Commission of “go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” That large church gave half of its income to world missions. The annual missions conferences were glorious and powerful. As many as 100 missionaries would challenge the hearts of the students. Hundreds and hundreds went out from there to the ends of the earth with a fire in their souls for gospel preaching and church planting. The old Highland Park and Tennessee Temple are gone, but world missions remains God’s heartbeat today. That is what this age is all about. When Jesus rose from the dead, He emphasized this, and we have that emphasis in Scripture with a five-fold repetition (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:44-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8). The language Christ used is simple and forceful. What is there not to understand about this? It is every church’s marching orders “to the end of the world,” but most Bible-believing churches pay only scant attention. What they do in evangelism and world missions represents the scraps of their resources and endeavors rather than the firstfruits. In a conversation with a friend from Switzerland recently, he told me that some churches there are saying that the time of world missions is over. I would say to them that they have no Scriptural authority for that, and the reality is that probably most people in the world today have not heard a clear presentation of the gospel. There are hundreds of millions in that condition in South Asia alone. And there are people being born every minute. World missions won’t be over until Christ catches away the saints, and even then the baton will be picked up by Jewish evangelists and a multitude that cannot be numbered will be converted during the Tribulation (Revelation 7). God loves to redeem.

(Friday Church News Notes, January 23, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

The hypocrisy and inconsistency of the ecumenical movement was on display recently in the Cairns Christian Ministers Network (Cairns, Queensland, Australia). (Cairns is pronounced “cans.”) On January 13, the CCMN sent out a statement that they are not supporting the local World Day of Prayer service in March because it is being held in the Mormon church. The announcement stated that “CCMN (corporately and individually) emphatically does not support the beliefs of the Mormon church in any way.” Two days later, the CCMN sent out an announcement promoting the annual Blessing Cairns Service at St. Monica’s Catholic Cathedral. They said, “We believe you will be equally blessed this year. Pastors from across ten denominations are participating this year, witnessing clearly to our city that we truly are one Church.” But they aren’t one. They are keeping the poor Mormons at arm’s length, even though they name the name of Christ. The ecumenical crowd criticizes the “fundamentalists” as judgmental and Pharisaical for testing things by God’s Word, but when they judge the Mormons or Unitarians or whoever, that is alright. Either you separate from heresy, or you don’t. If you can judge some false doctrine, then you can judge all false doctrine. If it is right to judge Mormonism’s false christ and false gospel according to 2 Corinthians 11:4, it is equally right to judge Rome’s “consecrated wafer” christ and her sacramental gospel which begins with baptismal regeneration.



(Friday Church News Notes, January 23, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Job 39:26
"Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?"

Flight is a big problem for those who believe that we owe our existence to evolution. Birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, and even some fish fly or at least glide through the air in controlled flight. So many different creatures fly that evolutionists must say that flight evolved several different times. The dragonfly is among the best fliers in the animal kingdom.

The dragonfly can beat its four wings in unison or separately depending on the maneuver it wants to make. Dragonflies can fly at speeds up to 25 miles an hour and even faster. They can hover, take off backward and even make an unbanked turn. The dragonfly eats small insects, including mosquitoes, earning it the nickname "mosquito hawk." A dragonfly can see a gnat from three feet away, fly to it, capture it and return to its original position in just over one second! One third to one half of its body mass is made up of flight muscles. Its two eyes have a total of 60,000 lenses and are situated so that its range of vision is nearly 360 degrees. Dragonflies not only appear in the fossil record fully formed, but in much greater variety than today. One fossilized dragonfly was the size of a crow! Even the United States Air Force has studied the dragonfly to learn how it flies.

The dragonfly is no product of natural selection. It is clearly a specially designed creature whose Designer understands flight better than we do. This Designer is our Creator God.

Notes: Richard Conniff, "The Lord of Time", Reader's Digest, 6/99, p. 142.
Photo: Courtesy of Victor Korniyenko. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Exodus 20:8
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."

Most Christians realize that going to church, and worshiping in earnest, keeps them spiritually healthier. A study by Duke University researchers backs up an earlier study that people who attend church at least once a week do have better health and live longer lives.

Researchers interviewed almost 4,000 people between the ages of 64 and 101 each year for seven years. They asked about general health, their social activities and alcohol and tobacco use. During the seven year period, weekly churchgoers were 28 percent less likely to die than those who were not regular worshipers or did not worship at all. The head of the study cautioned that the study does not show that those going to church for health reasons will get better. Rather, he said that it shows that those who attend worship for religious reasons have better health and live longer. An earlier study in California tracked over 5,000 people ages 21 through 65 over 28 years producing similar results. Other studies have shown that regular churchgoers tend to have lower blood pressure, less depression and stronger immune systems than those who don't worship regularly.

We should stress that attending church simply to gain better health is not a conclusion of these studies. These studies were concerned with finding possible correlations between attitude and general health. The results indicate a relationship between spiritual health and physical health.

Notes: Gary D. Robertson, "N.C. Study Shows Elderly Who Go to Church Live Longer, Healthier", The Christian News, 8/1/99, p. 24.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

“Albert Einstein once said, ‘I want to know God’s thoughts in a mathematical way.’ Einstein wanted an equation, perhaps no more than one inch long, that would encapsulate all physical laws, the beauty, the majesty, the power of the universe into a single equation. That was his life’s goal” (“Einstein,” History Channel). Einstein, a Jew by heritage, was a brilliant man who had a gift of understanding “natural” laws, and he knew that those laws required a Designer, but according to his own testimony he never knew that Designer because he rejected the Designer’s Word. The Bible doesn't encapsulate the mysteries of the universe in a mathematical equation, but it does encapsulate those mysteries in pithy statements that will require an eternity to fully understand. Like this one: “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; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:1-3). In these 70 simple words, 58 of which are a mere one syllable and 51 of which are four letters or less, we learn the answer to the most important questions of life and the greatest mysteries of the universe. We learn that there is a God. The Bible doesn't try to prove God’s existence, because His existence is evident in His work. A universe that must be described in terms of “beauty, majesty, and power” requires a beautiful, majestic, powerful Author. God gave man enough sense to know that, unless the man corrupts his own reason through rebellion. We learn, too, that God has a Son, and that Son is the express image of His person, and that Son is the Creator. We learn that God has so much affection for man that His Son died on the cross for man’s sin. We learn that the Son is currently sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and that the Son upholds all things by the word of His power. The word “uphold” is also translated “to carry” and “to bear.” It refers to bearing a man in a bed (Luke 5:18) and carrying a cross (Luke 23:26). Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, the Creator, bears this universe along in His almighty power. The “God particle” is God Himself (not that the creation is God, of course). Thank the Lord that one doesn't have to have the brilliance of an Einstein to know this lovely God. He only has to humble himself and repent of his sin and put his faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

(Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Job 39:14-15
"Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust, and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them."

The creation is literally filled with millions of what those who believe in evolution call "happy coincidences." But when you encounter millions of instances of what appears to be thoughtful design, the obvious conclusion is that there is a Designer. Take the example of bird eggs.

The shape of the egg makes it strong. This strength comes in handy in a busy nest. Mom and dad are coming and going, and they turn the eggs periodically during incubation. But all eggs are not equally egg shaped, and there is a pattern to their shapes. Birds like robins that build a nice, dish shaped nest tend to lay eggs that are more round in shape. Screech owls, which lay their eggs at the bottom of a hole in a tree, also have round shaped eggs. Birds like the killdeer barely build any kind of nest and lay eggs on the ground where almost-round eggs could roll away. For this reason, birds such as a kildeer lay much more sharply pointed eggs which are designed to pivot on their small end. Likewise, eggs that are laid where predators are not likely to see them are usually pale or solid in color, but eggs laid out in the open are camouflaged. Moreover, baby birds that hatch in protected nests, like the bluebird, tend to be naked, blind and helpless. But the unprotected killdeer hatchlings are ready to leave the nest within minutes of hatching.

All coincidences? It seems more scientific to say that here we have a few of the many fingerprints of our wise Creator!

Notes: Jim Williams, "Bird basics: egg size, color and shape", Star Tribune, 7/29/99, p. 8.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

On January 6, Kelvin Cochran, fire chief of Atlanta, was fired for publishing a book that contains quotes from the Bible and statements against homosexual behavior and other forms of immorality. Last November, Cochran had been “suspended without pay and ordered to undergo sensitivity training after publishing a book that contains quotes against homosexual behavior and other forms of sexual perversion” (“Atlanta Fire Chief Suspended,” ChristianNews.net, Nov. 26, 2014). The book, Who Told You That You Were Naked, contains lessons that Cochran prepared for men’s Bible study groups. At the press conference to announce Cochran’s firing, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said: “I, too, am a person of very deep religious faith … 1 Corinthians 14:40 says, ‘Let all things be done decently and in order,’ and I want to make very clear in my judgment that was not done here. Chief Cochran’s book … was published in violation of the city’s standards of conduct, which require prior approval of the ethics officer and the board of ethics” (“Fire Chief Loses His Job,” The Blaze, Jan. 8, 2015). Cochran claims that he had verbal permission from Atlanta ethics officer Nina Hickson to write the book and that he had given Reed’s office a copy of the book in January 2014. Regardless, this is religious persecution, and it is probable that Cochran’s firing was pushed by homosexual rights activists who were not satisfied with public reproof and sensitivity training. How ironic that Atlanta has an “ethics officer,” yet they persecute a Christian for quoting the Bible. How amazing that America has arrived at the place where government workers must get approval for their speech even when they are off duty. The Christian’s constitutional liberties are being sacrificed at the altar of homosexual rights, and this is just the beginning of this phenomenon. Yet when we urge churches to have special prayer for the nation, the plea is met with silence. We are glad that hundreds of people gathered at Georgia’s capitol building to protest Cochran’s firing and to leave a petition with the mayor with nearly 50,000 names (“Better Luck Next Times,” Family Research Council, Jan. 13, 2015), but it is earnest prayer that is going to make any real and lasting difference. Persecution has been the order of the day for Bible believers for 2,000 years, and the Lord has given some wonderful promises along that line. If Mr. Cochran knows the Lord, he has nothing to fear. In fact, it is rejoicing time. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).

(Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Psalm 119:103
"How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

We hear many warnings these days that tell us not to eat this food, it's full of cholesterol, or that food, it's loaded with fat. It's easy to come to the conclusion that the curse of sin has turned the whole creation against us. But God is a merciful God. He has given us the ability to learn about many of the beneficial foods and medicines that He has created.

One good example of this is Xylitol, also known as birch sugar. Earlier research showed that birch sugar, used more in Europe than America as a sweetener, inhibits growth of bacteria that cause tooth decay. Researchers in Finland wondered if birch sugar inhibited any other bacteria. They gave one group of pre-school children sucrose-based chewing gum and a similar group birch-sugar gum five times a day. The group that used the birch sugar gum had only about half as many ear infections. Scientists aren't sure how the birch sugar reduces ear infections. They suspect that it somehow prevents the bacteria that cause the infections from attaching to cells in the mouth and ear. If this is what happens, there is an added bonus. Since the sugar does not attack the bacteria directly, the bacteria would be unlikely to develop any defense against it.

In His mercy, God has given us more than just solutions to our problems in this life. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, He grants us the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. And through His Word, He tells us what salvation means.

Notes: N.S., "A sugar averts some ear infections", Science News, 10/31/98, v. 154, p. 287.
Photo: Courtesy of Anders Østergaard Madsen. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

“In the wake of the slaughter of four Jews in a Paris kosher supermarket by an Islamic jihadist, a Parisian Jew said: ‘In the past year, 7,000 Jews have already left France and after this there will be many thousands more. We are not safe in France any more. There is no future for Jews here in France. We are finished in France.’ Europe loves to memorialize dead Jews, even to the point of fetishizing them--it’s live ones that they cannot tolerate. The idea that French President Francois Hollande did not want Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at a memorial march for Jews who were slaughtered in exactly the same way as Jews were in 2012 in Toulouse--where he said they were murdered because they were Jews, and even more importantly, in the same way as the Germans murdered Jews--speaks volumes. Inviting the head of a terror movement, Mahmoud Abbas, because Netanyahu was coming, was depraved. A French Jew wrote to me Monday: ‘No one in France can protect the French Jews, who will be massacred one by one. And even with 50,000 officers in front of synagogues, there are over 12 million Muslims in France. If 10% of them go extremist (which is low), there will be a bloodbath in Paris, and that blood will be Jewish.’ He said this about the massive march in Paris Sunday that was attended by political leaders from all over the world (except Barack Obama): ‘As you saw on TV, three million people marched for Charlie Hebdo, but believe me, no one marched for the Jews who were massacred in the Hyper Cacher supermarket! No one cares. People are getting used to it. France let its Jews die in World War II and it will do it again.’ So will the rest of Europe. The Holocaust, while it was a German initiative, was carried out by every nation in Europe, save for the Danes. There were Dutch Nazis, Polish Nazis, French Nazis, etc. Europe as a continent decided it was a good idea to get rid of the Jews. Researchers at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum have catalogued 42,500 Nazi ghettos and camps. That number includes death camps, forced labor camps, POW camps, brothels, and ‘care’ centers in which the Nazis forced pregnant women to have abortions. There were 30,000 slave labor camps; 1,150 Jewish ghettos; 980 concentration camps; 1,000 POW camps; 500 brothels; and thousands of other camps. Over 42,000 concentration camps? That wasn't just the Germans.”

“The Death of the Jews of France,” Pamela Geller, Breitbart.com, Jan. 12, 2015

Luke 19:40
"And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out."

We have always been told that it takes millions of years for muddy deposits to turn into rock. Those who believe in creation have always disagreed. It seems pretty clear to us that much of the sedimentary rock we see today was deposited during the Great Flood at the time of Noah, which was not millions of years ago. Creationists generally place the Flood at about 4,600 years ago. Until recently, evolutionists dismissed this date as impossible: sedimentary rocks simply could not form that fast. Well, now it seems that they spoke too soon.

While digging some trenches in a salt marsh, a team of sedimentologists found stony nodules in the mud. Further research on how the nodules formed revealed that a mud deposit can be transformed into a layer of sedimentary rock in as little as six months! They found that two bacteria are responsible for this. One species gets its energy from the sulphates in sea water. In the process, it produces hydrogen sulphide. The second species of bacteria can do the same thing. But if there is too much hydrogen sulphide, it can also change iron compounds so that they react with hydrogen sulphide and other salts. The result is stony lumps of iron sulphide and iron carbonate – sedimentary rock that is hardened quickly enough to fossilize any animal before it decays.

Science has now confirmed what creationists who believe the Bible have always suspected. There are natural processes that can form sedimentary rock within the limited timeframe allowed by a literal reading of scriptural history.

Notes: Andy York, "Set in Stone", New Scientist, 9/19/98, p. 25.
Photo: Courtesy of Woudloper. (CC-BY-SA 1.0)
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Two died and a thousand sought medical attention in the commotion surrounding the worship of a Roman Catholic statue of Jesus in the Philippines. Five million barefoot people performing penance flooded the streets as the statue was paraded through Manila preceding the visit of Pope Francis. The frenzied crowds want to touch the statue and rub cloths on it, in the pagan belief that they can experience the transfer of blessings and miracles from a dead idol. The popular 17th-century statue, which depicts a dark-complexioned, long-haired, haloed Jesus carrying a cross, was approved for veneration in 1650 by Pope Innocent X. In 1880, Pope Pius VII gave the statue a papal blessing and granted plenary indulgence for those who pray before it. It is brought out for public veneration three times a year: New Year’s Day, January 9, which is the statue’s Feast procession, and Good Friday. It is exactly the type of thing that Hindus do, hoping for blessing and good luck from their idols. Last year, a new routine was begun for the Black Nazarene. The Jesus statue stopped at the Basilica Minore de San Sebastián where a Mary statue (Our Lady of Mount Carmel) was brought out and held up by priests to “see” and “meet” the Black Nazarene. As the Jesus statue is transported from the basilica, the priests slowly turn the Mary statue so that it “watches” the Black Nazarene depart (Ricky Velasco, Doctor Love radio show, DZMM 630, Manila, Jan. 9, 2014). This is supposed to re-enact the mythical fourth Station of the Cross in Jerusalem, where Jesus allegedly met Mary on His way to the cross. Of course, no Catholic ritual would be complete without a reference to Mary. False Christianity is the devil’s masterpiece and has been a great stumbling-block to many people. They see this type of thing and think, “Christianity is just another vain religion,” not knowing that this is not true Christianity. None of this is supported by Scripture, and the prophet Isaiah warned, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).

(Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

Some years back, Brian Houston, senior pastor of Hillsong Church in Sydney, was asked by a reporter from the city newspaper why his church is so prosperous in a country like Australia, which is decidedly not the Bible belt. He replied, “We are scratching people where they are itching” (“The Lord’s Profits,”Sydney Morning Herald, January 30 2003). It was refreshing to hear his honesty in admitting that he is fulfilling prophecy. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3). The apostate generation described in this prophecy has ears that itch for new things and fables, and there are “heaps” of teachers clamoring to satisfy that itch. A major way that Hillsong scratches the apostate itch is through music, which is admitted in the following review of Hillsong Young & Free’s “This Is Living” album: “As oxymoronic as it may sound, JESUS CERTAINLY SOUNDS GOOD ON THE DANCE FLOOR. While Hillsong Worship and Hillsong UNITED thrive on a decidedly more anthemic pop-rock stadium filling sound, Hillsong Young and Free (Y&F) exists more for those who wish to take Jesus into electronic dance music (EDM). With swirling beats and disco dazzling daze, Y&F has given worship music an updated sound that makes it stand toe to toe with the music of Meghan Trainor and Bruno Mars ... With more and more members of UNITED getting past their youthful prime, Y&F has been pioneered to lead younger folks to Jesus WITH MUSIC THAT TICKLES THEIR EARS and gets them JIVING FOR THE GOSPEL” (“Hillsong Young and Free,” Hallels.com, Jan. 6, 2015). There is no doubt that Hillsong is one of the biggest itching-ear-ticklers on the planet. This generation is “hooked on a feeling,” and CCM scratches that itch in a big way.

(Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143)

“I definitely do think that causation by an intelligent agent can usually be detected. This presupposition underlies practically any investigation into past events. Most criminal investigations, archaeology digs, cryptography (is it a coded message or a random signal?), forensics (was death from natural causes or foul play?), the government-funded Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), etc., presume the ability to detect actions by intelligent agents by their effects. Why do archaeologists get so excited when they find a stone axe buried in a cave? Why are they thrilled at finding cave paintings? It’s because they instantly conclude that men--intelligent causation--generated these effects. The key question is always, ‘What is the most reasonable explanation of the effects?’ Without an eyewitness or recorded testimony, one can never prove the validity of an explanation of a past event. One evaluates explanations and chooses the most reasonable one.”

Bible Science Guy by William Pelletier, Ph.D., BibleScienceGuy.WordPress.com, Dec. 9, 2010

Deuteronomy 4:19
"And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven."

In August 1989, Voyager 2 made its contact with the planet Neptune nearly 3 billion miles from Earth. This was a tremendous technical achievement and enabled mankind to know a little more of the planetary system in which we all live.

But did Voyager learn anything relevant to Scripture? We found that Neptune is hundreds of degrees colder than any temperature ever recorded on Earth. Worse, storm winds on Neptune were measured at over 800 miles per hour! Voyager's first message to us should be obvious. Of the planets so far explored only the Earth has exactly the right conditions for life. Then something else, those beautiful rings of Neptune offer wonderful support for their creation only thousands of years ago as indicated by the Genesis account. Those rings are very delicate, finely balanced by the forces that sustain them, and if the solar system was really billions of years old, they should have collapsed millions of years ago.

Man may venture into space, but Earth is our home, and always will be. We will always long for that perfect garden in which we were placed by the Creator Who hoped for, and made us for, an intimate, personal relationship with Him. And that means that Man will always need the Good News of Jesus Christ through Whom we are restored, once again, to our wonderful Creator.

Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com