“When Christ said, ‘Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son’ (Mat. 11:27), He was making another claim to deity. He was claiming to have a mind coextensive with the mind of God, a mind able to think God’s thoughts. He was claiming to have a mind that could grasp all the factors of space and time, all the annals of eternity, all the multitudinous details that make up omniscience. ...  Jesus did not know the Father in the elementary, limited way in which a creature can be said to know Him. Jesus knew the Father even as the Father knew Him--fully, flawlessly. The Lord knew the depths of the Father’s being, the complexities of His character, and all the wonders of His person, nature, and personality”

(John Phillips, commentary on Matthew).

Genesis 1:16
"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."

According to the inflated evolutionary time-scale, the Earth's moon is 4.5 billion years old. A rocky body the size of the moon would be expected to be geologically active for about 1.5 billion years. This means that for the last 3 billion years the moon has been geologically settled or dead. If it is indeed that old.

In the first half of the 20th century there were reports of color changes, bright spots, hazes and other unexplained things being seen on the moon. These sightings were dismissed since it was accepted that the moon was far too old to be geologically active. But the sightings increased to such a level that in 1968 NASA published a report on the sightings titled the Chronological Catalog of Reported Lunar Events.

But this shouldn't be so surprising. Back in 1787 the famous astronomer William Herschel recorded a volcanic eruption on the moon. He reported that he had identified three volcanoes on the darkened limb of the moon. One, he observed, erupted, ejecting luminous material for at least two days. Interestingly, they were in the Aristarchus region of the moon where more than 300 sightings of apparent volcanic activity have been reported.

These reports offer good evidence that the moon is more likely thousands of years old rather than billions, thus fitting in nicely with the biblical chronology.

Notes: Answers Magazine, 1-3/08, pp. 32-33, Ron Samec, "The Moon Is Still Alive..."
Illustration: Courtesy of Kelvinsong. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

According to a 2014 survey by the Southern Baptist Convention’s LifeWay Research, only 14% of Americans believe that cremation is wrong. Commenting on the survey, Scott McConnell, vice-president of LifeWay Research, had nothing to say against the practice, merely noting that “social taboos about cremation are fading” (“Few Americans Have Qualms about Cremation,” LifeWayResearch.com, March 27, 2014). The number of cremations in North America has increased dramatically over the past 40 years. In 1975, only 6% of the dead were cremated. By 1996, it was still only about 20%, but by 2010 it had doubled to over 40%, and it is estimated that by 2025, 56% of America’s dead will be cremated. In some states, the percentage is already higher than that: Nevada, 72%; Washington, 71%; Oregon and Hawaii, 69%; Montana, 65%; Maine, 64%; Colorado, 63%; Arizona, 62%; New Hampshire and Alaska, 61%. The states with the least percentage of cremations per death are in the “Bible Belt” -- Mississippi, 14%; Alabama, 17%; Kentucky, 21%; Louisiana, 21%; West Virginia, 23%. According to the cover story in the December 5, 1995, issue of USA Today, the rising acceptance of cremation has coincided with a drop in “religious barriers to cremation.” It is interesting that a secular newspaper sees the connection between religion and cremation. Historically, Christian burial has been a testimony of faith in the bodily resurrection, whereas cremation has been practiced among Hindus and others who deny the bodily resurrection and who believe in reincarnation. Historically, wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ has found acceptance, pagan practices such as cremation have been rejected. The increase in cremation in North American society has paralleled the rejection of the Bible. As paganism increases its steely hold on American and Canadian hearts and as spiritual compromise and apostasy destroys the power of the churches, cremation becomes increasingly popular. (For more on this see Cremation: What Does God Think?, which is available as a free eBook from www.wayoflife.org.)

(Friday Church News Notes, July 11, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

Genesis 1:12
"And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself after his kind."

Charles Darwin knew nothing about genetics. In his day the cell was thought to be filled with nothing more than a watery jell. Darwin also thought that characteristics picked up during life could be passed on to the next generation.

After over a century of genetic studies, including the discovery and growing understanding of DNA, evolution looks more impossible than ever. For example, cystic fibrosis is caused by a random mutation at three small points in one protein. This means that one random change in one ten-millionth of the entire human genome is fatal. There are 4,000 known mutations in the human genome, and none of them are beneficial. One so-called good mutation that has been cited is sickle cell anemia since it gives some protection against malaria. However, without medical intervention, even this mutation is fatal.

After studying mutation rates among humans, scientists have concluded that if an unlikely good mutation were to happen, there would be 10,000 fatal mutations before another good mutation would happen. By this math, if life began over 3 billion evolutionary years ago, it would have all died off by now from bad mutations. Random mutations are not the way to turn paramecia into people!

That there is nothing about life or its preservation that is random shows God's love in preserving life.

Notes: Acts and Facts, 9/07, pp. 10-13, Barney Maddox, "Mutations: The Raw Material for Evolution?"
Photo: The orange moss rose, according to Wikipedia, is probably the mutant. But, we would add, it is still a moss rose. Courtesy of JerryFriedman. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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The Northern Province of the Moravian Church of North America recently approved the ordination of homosexuals (Religious News Service, Jun. 24, 2014). The decision at its 2014 synod was approved by a vote of 181-62. The Moravians also determined to create a religious ceremony for “same-sex couples.” Elizabeth Miller, president of the Northern Province’s Elders’ Conference, says, “Moravians understand that God’s call to us is to welcome all people, because God’s embrace is far larger than our capacity to imagine.” Indeed, God invites all people to salvation through the gospel of Jesus Christ, but only those who repent and trust Christ are received. The apostle Paul preached “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). The Moravian Church was founded by Jan Hus, who was burned at the stake in 1415 by the Roman Catholic Church, and has gone through various transformations. In the 17th and 18th centuries it displayed a vigorous, sacrificial missionary spirit, though remaining committed to theological errors such as infant baptism. It has long been liberalized and was one of the first members of the modernistic World Council of Churches. (See The World Council of Churches, which is available as a free eBook from www.wayoflife.org.) Worldwide, the Moravian Church claims more than 1 million members, with most in eastern Africa.

(Friday Church News Notes, July 11, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

1 Kings 6:22
"And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house."

Scripture tells us that Solomon's temple was overlaid with gold inside – the walls, the ceiling and even the floor! Solomon even decorated the Temple with gold, including over two U.S. tons of golden shields. Given the dimensions of the rooms, this would take a huge amount of gold.

For this reason, many modern scholars have expressed doubt about what the Bible reports. Scripture does report that Solomon's annual income was 25 tons of gold. We know that other world rulers in the ancient world held huge amounts of gold. We have all seen the golden treasures that were found in King Tut's tomb. Reliable Greek sources report that Alexander the Great discovered a hoard of 1,180 tons of gold in Susa. So there was obviously a great deal of gold in the ancient world. But what happened to all of Solomon's gold? The Bible records that after Solomon's death Shishak, king of Egypt, invaded Jerusalem and hauled away the Temple treasure. After his death a year later, his son Osorkon I became king. Three years later, Osorkon made an offering to the gods of Egypt of 383 tons of gold. Was some of that from Solomon's Temple?

There is no reason to doubt the Bible's lavish descriptions of Solomon's Temple. There was more than enough gold in the ancient world to do the job.

Notes: Biblical Archaeology Review, 5-6/89, pp. 20-34, Alan R. Mallard, "Does the Bible Exaggerate King Solomon's Golden Wealth?"
Photo: Tuthankamen's famous burial mask, on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Courtesy of Bjørn Christian Tørrissen. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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In the free eBook The Collapse of Separatism among Fundamental Baptists, we document the slippery slope of change and compromise associated with the adaptation of Contemporary Worship Music. One example we give is Landmark Baptist Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, which used to be an “old-fashioned” fundamental Baptist church with biblical standards of music and dress and a stance against the modern Bible versions. In the 1990s the church took a turn away from its roots and at the heart of this change was music. In 1996, the church brought in a Campus Crusade band playing “high energy ‘50s and ‘60s rock and roll.” In 2001, Mat Holman became the pastor. The church’s web site announced that he was “a firm believer that church should be fun and on the edge.” No Scripture was given to support this philosophy. To document just how far Landmark Baptist has fallen from its past stance, consider that the David Crowder Band performed there in November 2009. Crowder co-founded University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, with Chris Seay, an emerging pastor who believes the Bible contains errors (Seay, Faith of My Fathers, pp. 81-86). He says: “I love the Bible, and I believe it’s perfect in every way IT NEEDS TO BE. But I serve a living God, not a canon” (p. 86). In January 2012, Crowder made a “surprise appearance” as worship leader for the send-off of Rob Bell at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan (“Rob Bell Received a Tearful Farewell,” Christian Post, Jan. 9, 2012). This was Bell’s final Sunday service at the church he founded 12 years earlier before launching out on a new venture. Crowder thus put his blessing on Bell’s rank heresies, including his denial that the Bible is the infallible Word of God and his rejection of eternal hell fire. In his 2011 book Love Wins, Bell preaches near-universalism, as well as a false god, a false christ, a false gospel, a false heaven, and a false hell. In a mere 10 years, Landmark Baptist has sped down the slippery slope to land in the dangerous waters of end-time apostasy.

(Friday Church News Notes, July 11, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

“The Jerusalem District Court has ordered Moshav Yad Hashmonah, a community of Messianic Jews and Evangelical Christians, to pay compensation to two lesbians after it refused to host a same-sex wedding reception. ‘We knew we were breaking the law. Somebody needed to do it.’ says Ayelet Ronen, general secretary for the village. Judge Moshe Yoad Cohen upheld a lower court ruling that the Moshav violated a law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. During the trial, representatives of the Moshav quoted from both Old and New Testaments. ‘We do not hate homosexuals or lesbians. We love them. We simply told the court that it is God’s word in the Bible that calls homosexuality an abomination,’ Ronen told Israel Today. She continues: ‘As a faith-based community we need to be able to refuse events that blatantly oppose our religious beliefs.’... The lesbians’ lawyer accused members of Yad Hashmonah of ‘homophobia,’ pointing to an announcement published by the Moshav that ‘no homosexual or lesbian organization will be allowed to rent space for functions on our premises.’ That announcement came in response to a flood of requests for same-sex celebrations on the Moshav from gays and lesbians hoping to pass more court decisions requiring the Messianic community to pay out huge compensations. As a result, the Moshav was forced to shutter their events-hosting business, resulting in huge financial losses. ... In his ruling, the judge upheld the earlier verdict of the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, ordering Yad Hashmonah to pay the two lesbians damages of 60,000 shekels ($17,000) plus another 30,000 shekels for attorneys’ fees for both the original suit and the appeal.”

(“Homosexuals Destroy Israeli Messianic Business,” Israel Today, June 27, 2014)

A 15-year-old sports chant, “I believe that we will win,” was adopted by fans of the U.S. team playing in the World Cup and shouted from the housetops. But all of the passion and the unity and the believing and the positive vibes didn’t change a thing. The American team was knocked out of the running last week with a loss to Belgium. The chant, which was invented by a cheerleader for the U.S. Naval Academy during the 1999 Army-Navy football game, has been called “the trendiest chant in American sports,” but it is a meaningless thing. Professional sports is one of the gods of these end times. None can beat the popularity of soccer at a global level, but pro sports in every form is an empty thing. What players accomplish at a stadium somewhere has absolutely nothing to do with the real lives of their fans. The emotional high is as pathetically empty as a pretty soap bubble. There is nothing godly about it. Pro sports is 90+ percent pride, boasting, worldly cool, covetousness, gambling, drinking, drugging, cursing, anger, immodesty, and neglect of the house of God. It is perfectly summarized in 1 John 2:16 as “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” It is idolatry in one of its purest forms. I was a serious baseball fan for awhile in the 1990s, and I regret it. I threw away many precious, fleeting hours on vanity that could have been devoted to things of eternal value.

(Friday Church News Notes, July 11, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

Ecclesiastes 12:4b
"... and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low..."

Precision in communication is highly important. This is especially true of the type of communication called music, whether you are talking about Mozart or magpie-larks.

Only about three percent of bird species are known to sing duets. In a duet, one mate begins singing, and the other mate begins a half second later. Among Australian magpie-larks, pairs that are newly mated usually lack that precision. However, in pairs that have been together for two years, the lag time of the duet usually varies by only a few hundredths of a second.

Researchers also discovered that this precision serves a purpose. Male magpie-larks respond to perceived threats by increasing their singing. When they played the less-precise duets to 12 pairs of other magpie-larks, the males only responded in this way seven times in five minutes. However, the more-precise duets resulted in nine responses in five minutes. In short, other magpie-larks are more intimidated by pairs that sing with precision than by those who do not. This is important in preserving an established couple's territory from invasion by new couples.

Communication with precision is yet another fingerprint of God on the creation. In Scripture, the ultimate in precise communication, God even points us to the birds as He urges us to recognize His involvement in the creation.

Notes: Science News, 6/9/07, p. 357, S. Milius, "Scary Singing."
Photo: Courtesy of J.J. Harrison. 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

“When a man is not deeply convicted of sin, it is a pretty sure sign that he has not truly repented. Experience has taught me that men who have very slight conviction of sin, sooner or later lapse back into their old life. For the last few years I have been a good deal more anxious for a deep and true work in professing converts than I have for great numbers. If a man professes to be converted without realizing the heinousness of his sins, he is likely to be one of those stony ground hearers who don’t amount to anything. ... I believe we are making a woeful mistake in taking so many people into the Church who have never been truly convicted of sin. Sin is just as black in a man’s heart today as it ever was”

(D.L. Moody, “Results of True Repentance,” from The Overcoming Life and Other Sermons, 1896).

2 Samuel 2:4a
"And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah."

There are two major schools of thought among biblical archaeologists. Many archaeologists go about their work with the goal of providing background to biblical accounts with their finds. But another school, called "minimalists", refuse to accept anything the Bible says unless they find solid evidence for it.

For example, minimalists argued for years that David never existed except as a mythical figure. They even went so far as to argue that Jerusalem wasn't even a city at the time David was supposed to have lived. However, in 1993, archaeologists made a huge contribution to this debate. While cleaning up an excavation at the biblical Dan, one of the team members noticed an inscription on a stone that was sticking out of the ground. It turned out to be part of a victory monument erected by an Aramean ruler celebrating a victory over Israel and possibly Judah. It is written in the type of Hebrew letters used before the destruction of the first temple in 586 BC. It boasts of the victory over a king, whose name is missing, but mentions the "House of David/King of Israel."

Believers don't need such evidence to know that the Bible is trustworthy, even when it talks about historical events. However, now there can be no question that David was a real person.

Notes: Biblical Archaeology Review, March-April 1994, pp. 26-39, Herschel Shanks, "'David' Found at Dan."
Photo: The Tel Dan inscription in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Courtesy of Yoav Dothan. Licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

In a recent article, Ed Stetzer describes the influence of Hillsong Church and its contemporary worship music. On any given Sunday more than 30 million churchgoers around the world sing one of Hillsong’s worship songs, including many independent Baptist churches. Stetzer says, “Even churches that are not like Hillsong Church--or even dislike the church--use and love their music. That’s a key part of the global growing influence of Hillsong. It’s simple. Books change minds, but songs change hearts, and that’s central to Hillsong’s influence” (Stetzer, “Hillsong Church at a Glance,” Christianity Today’s The Exchange, June 24, 2014). Stetzer, who works with the Southern Baptist Convention’s LifeWay organization, is effusive and positive in his approach to Hillsong. There is not a word of warning about Hillsong’s radical ecumenism, including its close association with the Roman Catholic Church, or about Hillsong’s Word-Faith prosperity heresy or its tongues is private gibberish heresy or its spirit slaying heresy or its latter rain heresy or its female pastors. Stetzer is right, though, when he speaks of the power of music and says that “songs change hearts,” and this is a loud warning to those who have ears to hear. Too bad so many independent Baptist pastors have their fingers in their ears and their heads in the sand on this issue and are too busy pursuing a pragmatic agenda to heed the warning signs. (For extensive documentation about Hillsong see the report on Darlene Zschech in The Directory of Contemporary Worship Music which is available as a free eBook at www.wayoflife.org.)

(Friday Church News Notes, July 4, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

Psalm 118:12a
"They compassed me about like bees...."

We all know that when bees swarm they are in defensive mode. However, not all species of bees have stinging in mind when they swarm.

We did a program about an Asian honeybee species that engulfs an invading wasp and cooks it to death. That's what scientists thought Cyprian honeybees were doing when they engulf an invading hornet. However, further study showed that the bees could not kill the attacking hornet with heat. They simply didn't generate enough heat to kill it in the hour they were observed killing a hornet.

Further observation showed that the bees favored encasing the hornet's abdomen. It appeared that they knew that the hornets have an unusual breathing arrangement for insects. The hornet in question actually breathes through holes in its abdomen by contracting the abdomen. The bees appeared to be suffocating the hornet. So researchers placed tiny plastic blocks under a hornet's abdominal plates. This propped the hornet's breathing pores open when the bees tried to smother it. Sure enough, the next time the bees attacked, the hornet survived twice as long.

In His love for His creation, God knew that when sin entered His creation, His creatures would need to know how to defend themselves. So He gave the Cyprian honeybee the knowledge to protect itself against its worst foe.

Notes: Science News, 9/29/07, p. 205, "Honeybee Mobs Smother Big Hornets."
Photo found at Sciencemag.org website. Courtesy of Emmanouil Filippou.
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

The following is excerpted from “Sudanese Christian Mother Jailed for Apostasy Now ‘Safe’ at US Embassy,” Breitbart.com, June 28, 2014: “27-year-old Meriam Ibrahim, who became internationally known after the government of Sudan sentenced her to death for refusing to convert to Islam, is now safe at the United States embassy in that nation after being re-arrested while trying to leave the country. Ibrahim's attorney told the Associated Press that Ibrahim had reached the U.S. embassy and was safe--a fact confirmed by an American official speaking on the condition of anonymity. She is said to have sought the embassy for fear of her life, as she and her family had received death threats. American officials are now working to bring Ibrahim to the United States. Ibrahim was arrested and convicted of apostasy and adultery for having married Christian American citizen Daniel Wani. The former crime carries a death sentence; she was sentenced to lashes as punishment for the other. The arrests happened while Ibrahim was pregnant, and Ibrahim gave birth to daughter Maya in church. Her toddler son, Martin, was also kept in prison with her. Ibrahim's father, who she has stated she knew very little, was a Muslim, but Ibrahim has always been a Christian and was raised Christian by her mother. Wani has said previously that Ibrahim converted to Catholicism shortly before their marriage.” [Note from Bro. Cloud: Ibrahim’s Christianity does not appear to be of the Bible-believing type, but she is being persecuted as a Christian, and her case should be of interest to any person who loves religious liberty.]

(Friday Church News Notes, July 4, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

1 Chronicles 9:30
"And some of the sons of the priests made the ointment of the spices."

Many ancient peoples made various ointments from spices, including ancient Israel. In India, they have been using a spice called turmeric for medicinal purposes for 3,000 years.

Turmeric is made from the roots of a broad-leafed plant that grows well in the warm, moist climate of southern Asia. Ancient healers in India used turmeric to treat skin wounds, jaundice, indigestion and several other ailments. Turmeric is found in most curry dishes. Modern medical science has now begun to study the spice. Preliminary research shows that turmeric lowers total blood cholesterol by 11 percent and increases good cholesterol by 29 percent. But the most hopeful and dramatic medical use of the spice may be in treating, even reversing, Alzheimer's disease. The active ingredient in the spice is curcumin. In lab tests, curcumin has been shown to aid the body in ridding itself of the amyloid-beta plaques that result in Alzheimer's. These results are supported by a population study done in India. A study of people over 65 in that country who ate turmeric showed an incidence of Alzheimer's that was a quarter what it is in the West.

In His foreknowledge, God knew that man would sin and bring death and disease on himself. In His mercy, He stocked the creation with natural medicines to help us.

Notes: Science News, 9/15/07, pp. 167-168, Patrick Barry, "Curry Power."
Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com

Harvard-trained researcher Shaunti Feldhahn has published a book challenging the standard divorce rate statistics both for society at large and for “the church.” The book The Good News about Marriage: Debunking Discouraging Myths is the result of eight years of investigation. Feldhahn says the overall divorce rate in society is “about 31 percent” (for all marriages, first, second, etc.) and it has been declining for many years; the divorce-rate of first marriages is 20-25%; and the rate of those “who regularly go to church” is “maybe 15 percent, maybe 20 percent for all marriages (first, second, third).” Of course, the term “church” is used in a very general sense here, but I have long believed that the divorce rate for faithful members of Bible-believing churches is exceedingly low. That is my observation over the past 40 years of personal church membership and church planting, preaching in more than 500 churches, and communicating with leaders and members of literally thousands of churches. I doubt the divorce rate among faithful members of Bible-believing churches is even five percent. And I have known many people who have become faithful church members after a divorce, and I can’t think of any of those who divorced again (even though in the general population subsequent marriages typically have less chance of succeeding). Salvation and Bible living definitely changes things! Even when it comes to “evangelical” churches, Feldhahn gives statistics that the divorce rate is 10% or less. “Therefore if any man be in Christ,he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

(Friday Church News Notes, July 4, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

1 Kings 3:1a
"And Solomon made affinity with pharaoh king of Egypt, and took pharaoh's daughter, and brought her to the city of David...."

Scripture notes several times that King Solomon married a pharaoh's daughter in the tenth century B.C. His dowry for this marriage was the city of Gezer, which he received from the pharaoh.

Many Egyptologists and biblical critics have claimed that this was simply impossible. They base their argument on a 14th century B.C. Egyptian inscription. The inscription shows a pharaoh speaking with his daughter with the caption, "From of old no [Egyptian] king's daughter has been given to anyone." However, in 1 Kings 11:19-20 we read of a pharaoh giving his sister-in-law in marriage to an Edomite prince. This took place just a few years before Solomon's reign. Extra-biblical sources tell of another pharaoh who gave his daughter to a Libyan noble later in Solomon's reign. We would have to conclude that the Egyptian royal traditions in the 14th century B.C. had changed by the tenth century B.C. After all, that is 400 years later.

While many scholars doubt that the Bible presents history accurately, believers know that the Bible presents us with the story of our salvation. That salvation is based on real people and real events in history. So we thank God that He has given us an accurate account of how our salvation came about, beginning in Genesis.

Notes: Biblical Archaeology Review, 9-10/01. pp. 32-37, Kenneth A. Kitchen, "How We Know When Solomon Ruled."
Photo: 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

This is a deeply troubled world, and the Bible says that things are going to get worse before they get better. But Bible believers have a thousand reasons to be encouraged every day. It is not God’s will that we fret or fear. We possess a sure hope of eternal life in Jesus Christ. We are children of the living God. We serve the One who said, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” One of His commandments is to “rejoice in the Lord alway.” A God who commands His people to rejoice alway, who wants His people to be happy, is a good God! We live in dark and confused times, but we don’t walk in darkness and confusion. We have the bright light of God’s holy Word, and we know the “end of the story.” Islam will not take over the world or destroy Israel. Life will not become extinct through man-made global warming. The church age will continue to progress toward its prophesied end at the Rapture of New Testament saints. Until then, the focus of every child of God and every assembly should be on the fulfillment of the Lord’s Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. He has promised, “Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Mat. 28:20). Scorners will increase, and apostasy will spread in perilous times, but the Spirit of God will continue to restrain the mystery of iniquity and save souls and comfort saints until God is good and ready for this age to end, for it is He who changes the times and the seasons and removes kings and sets up kings. When the Restrainer is taken out of the way, the Antichrist will rise out of the old Roman Empire as a brilliant, charismatic leader and an unprecedented diplomat. He will seemingly solve the “Middle East crisis” with a peace covenant affecting Israel. The Third Temple will be rebuilt. The world will cry, “Peace and safety,” but then sudden destruction will come upon them (1 Th. 5:3). There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time” (Dan. 12:1). God’s judgments will fall. The Antichrist will set himself up as God and force the world to worship him on pain of death. No one will be able to buy or sell without his mark. This time of unprecedented trouble will last a few years only, and Jesus Christ will return as He promised. Those of us who know Him, are looking for the uppertaker, not the undertaker. We are strangers and pilgrims in this present world. Our citizenship is in heaven where Christ sits at the right hand of God. And that’s only the tip of the blessing iceberg! Pray tell, why should I be discouraged? “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:1-4).

(Friday Church News Notes, July 4, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

The Muslim terrorist group formerly called the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL or ISIS), a split from Al Qaeda that has seized large portions of Iraq and Syria, has announced a caliphate called the Islamic State, dropping the rest of its name. It has proclaimed its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as “the caliph for the Muslims everywhere,” demanding allegiance from all Muslims, and announcing that “the legality of all emirates, groups, states and organizations becomes null by the expansion of the caliph’s authority” (“Sunni Militants declare Islamic state,” Fox News, Jun. 30, 2014). Its goal is to recreate the Islamic empire that existed during the Ottoman era, but they have as many enemies among fellow Muslims as they do outside of Islam. For one there are the leaders of all of the “emirates, groups, states and organizations” that are being ordered to submit and who have no intention of doing so. Then, too, there is the division of Muslims along Sunni-Shia (Shiite) lines, which began after the death of Mohammed in AD 632. The Shias trace their lineage back to Mohammed’s cousin Ali bin Abu Talib, whereas the Sunnis trace theirs to Mohammed’s advisor Abu Bakr. They have been killing one another ever since. “Tension and violence characterize the relationship between the two sects in countries where both communities reside” (“Sunni and Shiite Terrorist Networks,” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Dec. 18, 2002). Sunnis make up some 85-90% of Muslims today, including the majority in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Tunisia, Gaza, Turkey, Lebanon. But there are perhaps 100 million Shias and they form a majority in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, and probably Yemen. The ISIS is Sunni and has declared that Shia Muslims deserve death (“ISIL terrorists raises flag at Turkish border,” AhlulBayt New Agency, Jul. 1, 2014). Sunnis push the harshest form of Sharia law and have birthed the most infamous of the modern terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda, the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafists, Hamas, and the Chechnyan terrorists. It was reported that Sunnis committed 70% of terrorist murders in 2011 (National Counterterrorism Center, “Report on Terrorism,” Mar. 12, 2012). This is not to say that Shia Muslims are not terrorists. Hezballah is Shia, and Shia Iran is a terrorist state that threatens Israel’s existence and is near to possessing the nuclear bomb. Both Sunnis and Shias hate Israel and can unite in that hatred.

(Friday Church News Notes, July 4, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

Genesis 1:3
"And God said, 'Let there be light;' and there was light."

Though tiny, the scales of the swallowtail butterfly's wing are similar in design to light-emitting diodes. We say similar because the design is closer to a specialized light-emitting diode that puts out six times as much light as a standard LED.

The blue-green wing of the swallowtail is covered with millions of tiny scales. Each microscopic scale has three layers. The top layer is made up of thousands of hollow cylinders shaped in a honeycomb pattern. There is fluorescent pigment within the sides of those cells. The second layer adds the blue-green color to entering light, and the bottom layer reflects it back out. As the light enters, the top layer focuses and reflects all the blue-green light that enters it. The second layer turns any other color entering light – including ultraviolet light – blue-green, and the bottom layer reflects it back out.

The efficiency of the delicate structure has been compared to LEDs that have two-dimensional photonic crystals that put out six times as much light as a regular LED. As one scientist put it, they had no idea that the design would be so "precise" and "refined."

Of course it's precise and refined, showing an understanding of light! It was designed by the same Creator Who created light in the first place.

Notes: Science News, 11/19/05. p. 324, A. Cunningham, "Way to Glow."
Photo: Courtesy of阿爾特斯. 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 Presbyterian Church (USA) voted Thursday (June 19) to allow gay and lesbian weddings within the church, making it among the largest Christian denominations to take an embracing step toward same-sex marriage. By a 76-24 percent vote, the General Assembly of the 1.8 million-member PCUSA voted to allow pastors to perform gay marriages in states where they are legal. Delegates, meeting in Detroit this week, also approved new language about marriage in the church’s Book of Order, or constitution, altering references to ‘a man and woman’ to ‘two persons.’ This change will not become church law until a majority of the 172 regional presbyteries vote to ratify the new language. But given the lopsided 3-1 ratio of the vote, approval is expected. ... The Presbyterian Lay Committee, which opposes gay marriage, urged congregations to launch a financial boycott out of protest. ‘The Presbyterian Lay Committee mourns these actions and calls on all Presbyterians to resist and protest them,’ the group said in a statement. … ‘You should refuse to fund the General Assembly, your synod, your presbytery and even your local church if those bodies have not explicitly and publicly repudiated these unbiblical actions.’ ‘God will not be mocked,’ the statement continued, ‘and those who substitute their own felt desires for God’s unchangeable Truth will not be found guiltless before a holy God.’”

(“Presbyterians Vote to Allow,” ChristianHeadlines.com, June 20, 2014)

Genesis 1:21
"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female created He them."

We have all seen those illustrations supposedly showing the stages of human evolution from some ape-like creature. Progressing from the earliest ape-like creature to modern man, you see Homo habilis and, closer to modern man, Homo erectus.

Although this illustration continues to adorn textbooks, paleontologists have known for some time that it is an inaccurate depiction of even their own theory. While digging in Africa in 2000, a paleontological team headed by the Leakeys found bones of both erectus and habilis. Not only were they within walking distance of each other, they were in the same level and, thus. have the same dates. The evolutionary dating of the jaw from the habilis as well as the erectus skull were dated at 1.44 million evolutionary years. This was long after habilis was supposed to have evolved into erectus.

Evolutionists also once thought that modern humans evolved from Neandertals. But then they found clear evidence that modern humans existed at the same time as Neandertals. Commenting on the finding, one evolutionary scientist cautioned that this finding should not be considered a weakness in evolutionary theory. However, real science is all about evidence. And there is no evidence that modern humans evolved from some early ape-like creature.

While evolution views man as just another animal, God made us in His image to be His children.

Notes: http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,292572.00.html.
Photo: Courtesy of Lillyundfreya. 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

An estimated 36,000 gathered on June 20-21 to worship the sun and celebrate paganism at the ancient shrine of Stonehenge. The pagan festival falls on summer solstice, the longest day of the year. The crowd represented a mixed multitude of self-styled Druids, New Agers, Neo-Pagans, Hindus, Animists, Aztecs, and curious onlookers. Some chanted to the Egyptian sun god Ra; some worshipped goddesses; but all celebrated the worship of Self. Many practiced yoga to align themselves with the pantheistic “god in all.” The 25 arrests were largely for drug offenses. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves... (2 Timothy 3:1-2).


(Friday Church News Notes, June 27, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

2 Peter 3:5
"For this they are willingly ignorant of, that by the Word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:"

Most people find the subject of radiometric dating too technical to understand. Until recent years, scientists who believe in creation haven't had the necessary resources to explore radiometric dating in detail.

Now that has changed, and some important discoveries are being made. When granite rock hardens, it freezes radioactive elements in place. The most common radioactive element in granite is Uranium-238. This element is locked in tiny zircons within the granite. As part of the decay process, helium is produced. While it stays within the zircon for a period of time, being a very small atom, helium escapes the zircon within a few thousand years.

When creation scientists studied granite samples, they made interesting discoveries. The samples were from a mile below the earth, which, according to inflated evolutionary years, were 1.5 billion years old. The helium still locked in the samples was studied as well as the rate at which the helium diffused from the rock. They concluded that the helium in the rock was 100,000 times more plentiful than it should have been if the rocks were really 1.5 billion years old. They concluded that their findings are consistent with an Earth that is about 6,000 years old.

As our knowledge continues to grow, what we know continues to be in agreement with Scripture.

Notes: Answers, 7-9/06, pp. 22-24, Don DeYoung, "Raising the Bar on Creation Research."
Photo: Courtesy of Forwardbias. 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