![]() “On Monday Obama hosted Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas in the Oval Office in an effort to move forward with the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Obama told reporters: ‘I have to commend President Abbas. He has been somebody who has consistently renounced violence, has consistently sought a diplomatic and peaceful solution that allows for two states, side by side, in peace and security.’ Obama made that glowing assessment despite the fact that last week members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, part of Abbas's Fatah organization, launched some of the deadly rockets that were hurled into Israel. Gary Bauer, chairman of American Values, says Obama has constantly kowtowed to the Palestinians--whose entire culture, he argues, ‘continually promotes hatred of Jews [and] hatred of Israel.’ ‘There's no indication that the Palestinian people in that sense are ready for peace,’ Bauer remarks. ‘And yet the president constantly berates Israel, constantly speaks these pie-in-the-sky views that the Palestinians overwhelmingly want peace. So I've said it before and I’ll say it again: This is the most anti-Israel president in the history of the United States.’” (“Obama Clearly ‘Most Anti-Israel,’” OneNewsNow.com, Mar. 19, 2014) ![]() Psalm 4:8 “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” You might guess that the hummingbird, darting around from flower to flower with wings beating some 60 times a second, must burn a lot of energy to keep going. If a 65-pound boy burned up energy at the same rate, he would eat 100 pounds of chicken every day. The fact is, the hummingbird will die if it goes for more than two hours without eating. You might wonder, if the hummingbird cannot go more than two hours without eating, when does it sleep? The fact is, the hummingbird does sleep a good eight hours every night. How does he do it? God has given the hummingbird a most remarkable metabolism. During the day, the hummingbird’s heart must beat 10 times every second as it keeps its incredibly fast metabolism going. But when it goes to sleep, the hummingbird’s heart slows down to less than one beat per second – about the same as ours. And to further slow his metabolism, the hummingbird’s normal daytime temperature drops from 100 (F) degrees to the same temperature as the night air – 50 or 60 degrees. This drop in temperature would kill most warm-blooded animals. But all of this enables the hummingbird to go without food for a good eight-hour sleep. The hummingbird provides more than enough evidence that the Creator really does care for His creatures, even when they are asleep. Notes: Bob Devine, Uncle Bob’s Animal Stories (Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1986), pp. 38-39. Photo: Courtesy of Mdf. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com ![]() In a major sign of the times, World Vision’s American branch will employ “gay Christians in legal same-sex marriages” (“World Vision,” Christianity Today, Mar. 24, 2014). World Vision, “a Christian humanitarian” organization, took in more than a billion dollars in revenue in 2013 in its objective of “tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.” World Vision’s U.S. president Richard Stearns says that the new rule “makes our policy more consistent with our practice on other divisive issues.” He hopes that ignoring issues such as divorce/remarriage, baptism, female pastors, and now “same-sex marriage” will advance the cause of Christian unity. He has the audacity to claim that “this is not an endorsement of same-sex marriage.” He says that World Vision can make the new rule because it is a parachurch organization and is not responsible for issues pertaining to Bible doctrine and church practice. Yet the Bible’s commands such as Jude 3 and Romans 16:17 are addressed to all true believers, and obedience to these commands cannot be escaped by claiming to have a more focused, limited objective such as social justice, the family, mass evangelism, or creation science. A foundational problem here is that parachurch organizations have no authority in the New Testament. Every ministry should be under the oversight and discipline of a sound New Testament church, which is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). Further, Christ’s Great Commission does not consist of changing the world via social work. The apostles and early churches didn't try to change the socio-economic condition of the Roman Empire. The Lord’s Great Commission does not consist of one or two or three limited objectives, as good as these might be in themselves. The time appears to be very short, and the crying need of the hour is for the building of sound New Testament churches that are geared 100% to the fulfillment of Christ’s Great Commission as described in Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:44-48; and Acts 1:8. World Vision can huff and puff all it wants about how it is not compromising. Bible believers know that this is utter nonsense. Insofar as it is a Christian ministry in any sense, World Vision is a clear fulfillment of 2 Timothy 4:2-3. World Vision’s decision is also the logical result of the “in essentials unity” heresy. We will see many more cases of capitulation to the homosexual rights movement among professing Christians because of the lack of biblical conviction and the renunciation of separatism and because this is the easy path. (Friday Church News Notes, March 28, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143) ![]() Comedian Bill Maher’s mocking of the God of the Bible is only a reflection of what is happening in churches in these end times which are so perfectly described in Bible prophecy. In 1944, Methodist bishop G. Bromley Oxnam, one of the first presidents of the World Council of Churches, endorsed calling the God of the Old Testament “a dirty bully.” Oxnam wrote: “Hugh Walpole, in Wintersmoore, tells of a father and son at Church. The aged rector read from the Old Testament, and the boy learned of the terrible God who sent plagues upon the people and created fiery serpents to assault them. That night, when the father passed the boy’s bedroom, the boy called him, put his arms around his father’s neck, and, drawing him close, said, ‘Father, you hate Jehovah. So do I. I loathe Him, dirty bully!’ We have long since rejected a conception of reconciliation associated historically with an ideal of Deity that is loathsome. God, for us, cannot be thought of an angry, awful, avenging Being who because of Adam’s sin must have his Shylockian pound of flesh. No wonder the honest boy in justifiable repugnance could say, ‘Dirty Bully’” (Preaching in a Revolutionary Age, p. 79). More recently, William Young, author of the very popular book The Shack, says that “the God who “watches from a distance and judges sin” is “a Christianized version of Zeus.” In his popular book Love Wins, Rob Bell, former pastor of a megachurch, calls the preaching of hell a “cheap view of God.” He says there is something wrong with this God and calls Him “terrifying and traumatizing and unbearable.” He says that if an earthly father acted like the God who sends people to hell “we could contact child protection services immediately.” (Friday Church News Notes, March 28, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143) ![]() Comedian Bill Maher’s recent blasphemy against God is further evidence that the Bible is divinely inspired. Referring to the biblical account of Noah’s Flood, Maher told his audience on HBO’s “Real Time” show that God is “a psychotic mass murderer” and a “tyrant” who “punishes everyone just to get back at the few he’s mad at” (“No, Bill Maher,” The Christian Post, Mar. 29, 2014). Roughly 3,000 years ago, the prophet David wrote in Psalm 2 that in the last days the heathen would rage against God and against His anointed, Christ, and that they would do this because they want to “cast away their cords.” This refers to rejection of God’s holy laws, and no one better epitomizes this than Bill Maher and his vain entertainment crowd. Psalm 2 says, “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.” God is laughing at a pathetic little man who thinks he knows more than the omniscient God, who thinks he is more just than the God of justice and more compassionate than the God who died for His enemies, who thinks he can effectually shake his puny fist at the Almighty, who thinks he can correct a Book about which he is obviously illiterate. If he would shut his mouth long enough to get a biblical education, he would understand that God loves mercy more than judgment and He has provided salvation at great cost to Himself for all who will receive it. At the same time, God is God, and His Lordship will not be decided by God haters. God’s law is final, and the wages of sin against His law is death, both physical and eternal, and those who reject God’s salvation will pay the full wage. The people of Noah’s day rejected the preaching of repentance and earned the just wages of their sin just as this present generation will earn the wages of sin if it continues to reject the gospel of Jesus Christ. (By the way, Bill Maher, when are you going to blaspheme Mohammed and mock the Quran?) (Friday Church News Notes, March 28, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143) ![]() “Sin is the most costly thing in the universe! To understand this we would need to explore three fathomless oceans: (1) Human suffering since the Fall; (2) divine suffering of the Saviour on the Cross; (3) eternal sufferings of the lost in Gehenna and the lake of fire” (Ernest Wilson, Blood Sacrifices of the Old Testament). ![]() 2 Kings 23:10 “And he [Josiah] defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech.” Those who take the Bible seriously will recall the numerous passages where God condemns the pagan custom of sacrificing the first-born child to the god Moloch. These children were just weeks or months old and burned alive as an atonement sacrifice; that is, offering one life on behalf of another. The Canaanites slaughtered thousands of children in this way when their nation was threatened. God ordered the complete destruction of the Canaanites. We might ask, is this a necessary lesson for people living in the enlightened twenty-first century? Sadly, it is because the very same thing is still being practiced in America and the West today. Oh, the names have changed. Molech is not worshipped, while the fires have become the incinerators, but the motive is still the same: a life for a life. Abortion will immediately come to mind where the mother’s lifestyle may continue by the sacrifice of the fetus, as parts, in an incinerator. However, the national pace of sacrifice is now being accelerated by embryonic stem cell research. Stem cells are harvested from a fertilized human egg, and what remains is disposed of with other tissue in the incinerator. The object of the research is to be able to cure, say, an Alzheimer patient by injecting the brain with stem cells. The principle remains the same: “a life for a life.” God still disapproves. Photo: Babylonian cylinder representing sacrifice of a child to Moloch. Courtesy of Jewish Encyclopedia. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com ![]() “The counter-jihad website Creeping Sharia reported Monday that ‘according to a Facebook post, Somali staffers that work at Minneapolis City Hall declared February 28 Hijab Day and convinced the police chief and female city council reps to wear hijabs on the job.’ The idea originated with female Muslim City Hall employees, who then cajoled non-Muslim women into participating in Hijab Day as well. ... Pictures depicted Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau [a lesbian who recently ‘married’ a female police officer] and several female City Council members, all smiling and wearing hijabs. ... [T]he women who really need protection are not Muslims who are wearing hijabs--who is bothering them? The real problem is the women around the world, including non-Muslims, who have been threatened and even killed for not covering their heads, including Aqsa Parvez who was murdered by her father and brother for not wearing her hijab; Amira Osman Hamid, the Sudanese woman who took off her hijab and was sentenced to be flogged for doing so; and Amira, the young girl in Egypt who killed herself after she refused to wear the hijab and her family beat her. Arab American News reported that the last recorded dispute between Michigan honor-killing victim Jessica Mokdad and her stepfather Rahim Alfetlawi, who killed her, was over the wearing of the hijab, which he originally forced her to wear.” (“Hijab Day,” BreitBart.com, Mar. 14, 2014) ![]() Proverbs 30:18-19 “There are three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not…the way of a serpent on a rock…” Are dinosaurs extinct? Decide for yourself. In 1911, Dutch explorers returned to the West with stories about huge, man-eating “dragons” that lived on the island of Komodo. This is one of the 13,000 islands that stretch from mainland Asia to New Guinea. Scientists dismissed their stories as impossible – since dragons are the stuff of myth – while if we are to call them dinosaurs, these are said to have been extinct for millions of years. Eventually, science had to accept the reality of the Komodo dragon. These huge reptiles grow to a length of 11 feet and can weigh 450 pounds after lunch. They are fast enough in short bursts to catch and bring down a wild horse, a deer or a man. They are also good swimmers. In fact, the Komodo dragons have killed and eaten seven men in recent years. They have been known to enter a small village on the island and steal goats. Their layers of serrated teeth harbor microbes that can easily cause a fatal infection, so they eventually catch up with just about anything they bite. If the fossil dinosaurs were anything like the Komodo dragon, we can all be thankful that most of them are no longer around. Are dinosaurs extinct? It certainly looks as if at least one species of dinosaur under the name of “dragon” is still very much alive. Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com ![]() “Lawmakers in Belgium recently approved a measure that will allow doctors to euthanize children of all ages. As previously reported, the Belgian Senate overwhelmingly approved a child euthanization bill in December, sending it to the lower legislative house. This month, the lower house voted 86-44 in favor of the measure, despite some international criticism. Belgium’s King Philippe is expected to sign the bill into law. Once the new measure is enacted, terminally ill children will have the option to end their lives via lethal injection. As long as children understand what euthanasia is and have approval from parents and doctors, they will be free to choose assisted suicide. Belgium, a predominantly secular country, first sanctioned euthanasia for adults in 2002. Now, the small European nation will become only the second country in the world--along with the Netherlands--to allow child euthanization. ... American businessman and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes likewise expressed concern about the Belgian measure, opining that it exemplifies the ‘slippery slope’ of euthanasia. ‘We are on the malignantly slippery slope to becoming a society like that envisioned by Nazi Germany, one in which “undesirables” are disposed of like used tissue,’ Forbes wrote in a recent column. ‘The Holocaust and other Nazi atrocities sidetracked the eugenics movement. But now it’s making a comeback in new garb--we want to kill only to reduce suffering. As euthanasia becomes more accepted--and we become more numb to the horror of murdering people like this--we’ll descend to the next abomination: pressuring the sick to discontinue treatment for a likely fatal illness in the name of “saving scarce resources” for people who have more years ahead of them,’ he suggested. ‘The true mark of a civilization is in how it treats its most vulnerable members,’ Forbes concluded.” (“What’s the Use of Keeping This Baby Alive?” Christian News Network, Feb. 23, 2014) ![]() 1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.” We sometimes hear of a person worrying so much about something that they become obsessed with fear. We talk about someone being “worried sick.” A number of studies have now confirmed that continued grief, worry, or fear can literally make us sick. Scientists are even learning just how this works. A state of worry, fear, or grief causes chemical changes in the brain, pituitary gland and adrenal glands. These changes ultimately have the effect of weakening our immune system that protects us from disease. As a result, a wandering cold or flu bug – or even a skin infection that might be easily handled by our immune system – can get out of control. Continued fear, worry or grief can also cripple our body’s ability to fight cancer – something scientists tell us our bodies are doing all the time. Other changes in blood chemistry during these periods can also increase the risk of stroke or heart attack. While worry over circumstances will not help in the least, it does mean that we have forgotten – or perhaps never understood – that it is God who is in charge and not ourselves. Yes, He is in charge of everything in this universe. While God always wants us to learn from the circumstances, He loves us and even invites us to cast all our worries and concerns on Him. Notes: Gina Maranto, “Emotions: How They Affect Your Body,” Discover, November 1984, pp. 35-38. Photo: Courtesy of Ignas Kukenys. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com ![]() Tennessee Temple University has changed dramatically since I graduated from there in 1977. The school’s heyday was in the 1970s and early 1980s with 4,000 students enrolled. By 1992, enrollment had fallen to 650 and today stands at about 400. The founding congregation, Highland Park Baptist Church, is down to 300 members, having changed its name to Church of the Highlands to reflect its new location and generic contemporary flavor (“Tennessee Temple Carries on,” Times Free Press, Chattanooga, Sep. 17, 2012). When I graduated from Temple, church attendance was about 4,500. Since then the church and school have gone back into the Southern Baptist Convention, where they now belong. Steve Echols, Tennessee Temple’s President since 2012, says, “I am Southern Baptist from my toenail to the little bit of hair on my head.” He was educated at Mercer University, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and Beeson Divinity School, and was on the faculty of New Orleans Seminary for 11 years. He also pastored SBC churches and always “emphasized the Cooperative Program” (“Tennessee Temple Univ. Strengthens SBC Ties,” Baptist Press, Apr. 19, 2012). Founded in 1946 by Lee Roberson as an educational arm of his church, Tennessee Temple began as a Bible School for the training of preachers and Christian workers. As the years passed, a college and seminary were added and the emphasis changed to Christian education in general. We have documented the philosophical and doctrinal changes at Tennessee Temple in The Old Highland Park Baptist Church, available as a free eBook from www.wayoflife.org. (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143) ![]() Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” In July of 1969, people all over the Earth watched the first astronauts land on the moon. Twenty years later, the first President Bush challenged the American people to make a manned landing on the planet Mars. It was acknowledged that it would take the astronauts nine months to get to Mars and part of the plan would be to use the natural resources of Mars once they were there. But what should Christians think about the effort to land on Mars? Is it a waste of effort that could be better used on Earth? Did God intend man to remain on Earth only? In Genesis 1:28 God gave man the commission to “subdue the Earth.” Many Christians call this “the great science commission.” However, He did say “Earth,” not the moon or Mars and, thus, thoughtful Christians are divided on this issue. Nevertheless, exploration of God’s creation is fulfilling the natural desire He has placed within us. Historically, it has always been the case that man’s efforts are blessed when we give Him the glory. To be sure, the Bible became the first book to travel to the moon; but in future exploration, will God be given the glory for His creation? So far, practically every extra-terrestrial discovery made has supported the creation account and caused problems for evolution. That certainly proclaims God’s glory and justifies space exploration. Photo: Astronaut Bruce McCandless II outside the United States Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984. Courtesy of NASA. Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com ![]() Speaking on the official PA (Palestinian Authority) TV, senior Palestinian official Abbas Zaki said that Israelis “are an advanced instrument of evil” and that “Allah will gather them so that we can kill them” (Mar. 12, 2014). He said that he was informing Israel President Benjamin Netanyahu of “his death” (“Senior Palestinian Official,” Palestinian Media Watch, Mar. 13, 2014). Zaki is a close associate of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who met with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House five days after making the previous statement. The PA has refused to recognize Israel as “the Jewish state,” and on March 13 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs that it is a mistake to require them to do so. In 2011, Zaki said on Al-Jazeera TV that their goal is for Israel to be “removed from existence” and that they try to keep this a secret from the world press. (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143) ![]() Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Could it be true that we have unwittingly been telling our young people that Christianity is irrelevant? As I present the evidences for creation and explain to young people the problems with evolution, a similar pattern emerges each time. While the material is new to them, it rings true. Soon, the questions start, and they begin to express anger as they realize they have been misled by those teaching evolution. The words of one young man sum it all up. He told me, “I just wish that my older brother had heard this message a couple of years ago. I talked with him a lot, and I just know that if he knew that the Bible had intelligent answers, he would not have left the church and hurt my parents. As a matter of fact, until I heard you, I was ready to follow him.” Other young people tell similar stories. They grew up learning about creation and Adam and Eve in Sunday school. As they were exposed to evolution, they desperately wanted the Bible to offer an intelligent alternative to evolution. But no one could ever offer it to them. Our silence seemed to confirm what evolution suggests – Christianity is outdated. Could it be that through our young people the Lord is telling us that we cannot be neutral or ignorant about the question of origins? Photo: Many good books are now available to teach children of all ages the whole truth about evolution. Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com ![]() Bobby Davis, co-pastor with his wife Christine of Miracle Faith World Outreach Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut, recently died of a heart attack after his wife revealed his adultery to the congregation. A church member told the Christian Post that Davis had confessed his infidelity to his wife prior to a church service, and when he entered she demanded that he tell the congregation. After he replied, “Yes, that’s right,” family members reacted in anger. A son attacked him, and a daughter poured water on him. “It was like something out of ... a bad reality TV show” (“Bishop Dies of Apparent Heart Attack,” The Christian Post, Mar. 13, 2014). The church’s web site says that Davis was ordained by T.D. Jakes as “Bishop of the Eastern Connecticut Diocese, Higher Ground Always Abounding Assemblies.” He was a certified marriage and family therapist and a repeat guest on Trinity Broadcasting Network and Promise Keepers seminars. (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143) ![]() On March 9, Ulf Ekman, Pentecostal pastor in Sweden, told his congregation that he is joining the Roman Catholic Church. Ekman has a wide influence. Not only is he a pastor of a megachurch and founder of Scandinavia’s largest Bible school, but he also was on the board of Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, whose senior pastor is David Yonggi Cho, and he mentored Kong Hee, founder of Singapore’s largest church, City Harvest. (Cho was recently convicted of breach of trust and corruption for misuse of church funds to support his son’s business, and Hee is currently on trial on the charge of misuse of church funds to support his wife’s pop music career.) Ekman now denounces “the ongoing Protestant fragmentation of Christendom” and plans to “pursue unity among Christian movements and denominations” (“Conversion of Sweden’s Most Influential Pastor,” Christianity Today, Mar. 14, 2014). Ekman said that it was “contact with catholics” that was a major factor in his conversion, reminding us that evil communications corrupt good manners (1 Cor. 15:33), and that all ecumenical roads eventually lead to Rome. (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143) ![]() Olav Tveit, Secretary General of the World Council of Churches, had an audience with the Pope on March 7 to discuss “new opportunities for Christian unity” (“WCC General Secretary Shares with Pope,” Oikoumene.org, Mar. 8, 2014). Tveit said that “faith leaders” could find unity in a “pilgrimage of justice and peace,” referring to common action on issues such as conflict resolution and climate change. Social work is one of the adhesives of the one-world “church.” During the audience, the Pope said, “These divisions must not be accepted with resignation, as if they were simply an inevitable component of the historic experience of the Church. If Christians ignore the Lord’s call to unity, they risk ignoring the Lord Himself and the salvation He offers” (“Positive Meeting between Pope and Ecumenical Leader,” Christianity Today, Mar. 10, 2014). There we have the latest word from the Pope: salvation is through ecumenical unity. (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143) ![]() According to the latest and most thorough research, the King James Bible remains the most used Bible translation in America. The Bible in American Life study found that the KJV is read by 55% of professed Bible readers, the NIV by 19%, the New RSV by 7%, the Living Bible by 6%, and the New American Bible by 5%. All other versions combined are read by the remaining 8% (“The Bible in American Life” by The Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, March 6, 2014, www.raac.iupui.edu). Among congregations, 40% use the KJV and 21%, the NIV. The results of The Bible in American Life study are similar to the results of the American Bible Society’s 2013 “State of the Bible” survey commissioned with Barna, which found that 52% of Americans read the KJV or the NKJV, compared with 11 percent who read the NIV. These studies indicate that though the NIV outsells the KJV, it isn't used as much. In spite of the vast advertising campaign that has been waged for 100 years in favor of the modern versions, the KJV has more than held its own. The percentage of KJV Bible users is steadily decreasing, though. In 1995, approximately two-thirds of Americans claimed the Authorized Version as their main translation (Jennifer Lowe, “Buy the Book,” Dayton Daily News, Dayton Ohio, Sept. 16, 1995, p. 7C). At the same time, The Bible in American Life study found that while 70% of those who use the NIV read it at least weekly, only 54% of those who use the KJV read it at least weekly. This would indicate that large numbers of “KJV Bible readers” are nominal in their Christianity. In fact, if an individual doesn't read the Bible even once a week, it is doubtful whether he is a born again Christian, as one of the evidences of salvation is a love for God’s Word. Jesus said, “He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God” (John 8:47). (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143) ![]() Psalm 119:31 “I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame.” Scientists say that it is not man but the lowly barnacle that makes the strongest glue in the world. This glue, called anthropodin, works well under water and enables barnacles to stick to the bottom of ships, sea turtles, rocks and piers. Barnacles on the ship’s hull slow the ship down, and they have to be removed about every six months. The Phoenicians were among the greatest of the ancient seafarers and tried to keep barnacles from sticking to their ships by coating the hulls with tar. However, that didn’t stop the barnacles; they could even stick to tar! Modern seafarers have learned that there is no stopping the barnacle’s glue – at best, they can only slow down the inevitable. Scientists are now studying the glue with the hope of being able to manufacture it for human projects. Despite man’s great claims for his science, everything man makes can be improved through a better understanding of how God did the same thing in the creation. The same holds true, in a sense, in spiritual matters. None of us by ourselves clings as tightly to God’s revealed Word as we need to. This is why we end up filled with worry, get depressed or have problems. Each of us needs to cling to God’s Word with a spiritual glue that is even stronger than that of the barnacle’s. Notes: Bob Devine, Uncle Bob’s Animal Stories (Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1986), pp. 23-25. Photo: Courtesy of MichaelMaggs. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com ![]() “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest” (Proverbs 6:6-8). The latest research into ant supercolonies throws light on the tiny creature’s proverbial industry, described so effectually in God’s Word. The supercolonies were discovered in the 1920s by Dr. Eugene Marais. One of them is “comprised of 33 distinct ant populations living along a 3.7 mile stretch of Mediterranean coast, with more than a billion workers in millions of individual nests” (“The World’s Most Amazing Structures Not Built by Humans,” Gizmodo.com, Mar. 6, 2014). Dr. Louis Fortune excavated a white ant supercolony by pouring 10 tons of cement into the holes. The ant-made tunnels were packed so well that the cement distributed throughout the colony and when the surrounding dirt was removed the entire amazing structure became visible. The ants had “created a complicated subterranean city, with fungus gardens, nurseries, dairy farms, garbage pits, and ventilation networks. It looks like the design of one architect--one single brain--however is was created by a ‘super organism’--the ant colony” (“Giant Termite City Excavated,” Digital Journal, Feb. 15, 2009). “There are subterranean highways connecting the main chambers, and off the main routes are side roads. The tunnels are designed to provide the shortest transport routes.” It is estimated that the ants had moved 40 tons of soil to construct their city. “Billions of ant-loads of soil were brought to the surface, each load weighed four times as much as the worker, and in human terms was carried a kilometer to the surface. It is the equivalent of building the Great Wall of China. It is truly a wonder of the world.” (Friday Church News Notes, March 14, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143) ![]() Genesis 43:11 “And their father Israel said to them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts and almonds…” Just about everybody has seen a Swiss army knife. This tool is much more than a knife and has all sorts of other devices tucked away in its handle. The legs of the worker honeybee are very much like the Swiss army knife. Each leg has an extra joint between the knee and the joint of the foot. The bee’s foreleg has a special notch with bristles like a brush for cleaning its antenna. The middle leg has what has been called a crowbar that comes in handy for a variety of jobs in the hive. The back legs of the worker honeybee have pollen baskets that the bee uses to carry pollen to the hive. In addition, the back legs have a combination of spears and pincers for use in defending the hive. The back legs also have cleaning bristles for scraping pollen off the middle legs, while the middle legs have the same bristles for scraping pollen off the front legs. Just as no one finding a Swiss army knife would think that it was just a random formation of nature, no one should think that the worker honeybee is something formed randomly by nature either. God has made the bee’s legs for the purpose of making it an efficient link in the production of honey, a food prized by many living things, including man. Notes: Darwin’s Fatal Bee Sting (Book Fellowship, Tract No. 1218). Photo: Courtesy of Todd Huffman. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com ![]() John Short, the 75-year-old missionary who was arrested in North Korean on February 16 was released on March 2. The Australian missionary, who lives in Hong Kong, was forced to write a “confession” and “apology” of committing “a criminal act by secretly spreading my Bible tracts” (“Australian Christian Missionary John Short,” The Christian Post, Mar. 7, 2014). American missionary Kenneth Bae remains imprisoned. He was arrested in November 2012 and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for “trying to overthrow the government through religious activities.” It was also reported this week that Kim Jong Un has ordered the execution of 33 people “on charges of attempting to overthrow the regime by receiving money to set up 500 underground churches” (“North Koreans Face Execution,” The Chosunilbo, Chosun, South Korea’s English news media, Mar. 10, 2014). The money was supposedly received from Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook, who was arrested last year, but a source in China says that he was kidnapped by North Korean agents in Dandong. North Korea is the most oppressive country in the world. It operates concentration camps where prisoners are treated with horrible brutality. Former prison guard Ahn Myong-chol described prisoners as “walking skeletons and cripples in rags.” Large numbers of prisoners die of starvation, illness, work accidents, and torture. In a testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002, Lee Soon-ok said that “most of the 6,000 prisoners who were there when I arrived in 1987 had quietly perished under the harsh prison conditions by the time I was released in 1992” (“Testimony of Ms. Soon Ok Lee, North Korean prison camp survivor,” United States Senate Hearings). It has been estimated that some 200,000 people are currently imprisoned in North Korea’s concentration camps and that 20 to 25 percent perish each year. Last December dictator Kim Jong Un had his own uncle killed, reportedly together with the entire family. (Friday Church News Notes, March 14, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143) ![]() Genesis 2:9 “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food…” God not only is powerful and creative as Master Designer, but He is more. He is the supreme artist. For example, the Earth could get along with a lot less color. All those beautiful sunsets and sunrises actually serve no purpose, and neither does each one have to be different from every other. Many flowers have colors that attract their pollinators, but few flowers actually need color for this purpose. But then, flowers in black and white certainly would be dull. There are many beautiful deep-sea fish that don’t need their bright and beautiful colors at all. Some of these fish live so far below the surface of the water that only a small amount of blue light reaches those depths. Where these fish live, everything always looks a very dim blue. Yet, some of these fish have incredibly bright coloration that they and their friends never see. Here we have to ask the evolutionist what value could it have been for this fish to develop all these bright colors when they can serve no purpose for survival? In Genesis 2:9 we read that when God created the fruit trees for food, He also made them “pleasant to the sight.” They didn’t need to be. Clearly, God does indeed appreciate beauty and has created works that human artists can only try to copy. Notes: Gary Parker, Ed.D., “Nature’s Challenges to Evolutionary Theory,” Institute of Creation Research, Impact Series, October, 1978, No. 64. Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com ![]() Facial recognition company Emotient is testing new technology to measure emotion in individuals and crowds. It works by detecting subtle pattern changes in a person’s face (Alice Truong, “This Google Glass App Will Detect Your Emotions,” FastCompany.com, Mar. 6, 2014). The current manifestation of the technology is a Google Glass app. Emotient sees the most potential in retail and health care. It will enable retailers to judge customers’ reaction to products and health care providers to screen for depression, “a costly ailment because it is often linked to other health problems.” With the government taking over every aspect of health care and otherwise intruding into every nook and cranny of our lives, it is not difficult to imagine how this technology will be abused. Google and Apple have filed patents that point to their own interest in measuring emotions for the purpose of serving ads. (Friday Church News Notes, March 14, 2014, www.wayoflife.org [email protected], 866-295-4143) |
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