My Space

Eight Day Faith

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 02:19:48 GMT

In the last days of human history, the majority is going to be wrong. They are going to fall prey to a false system of worship that is sponsored by the dragon himself. And it’s not going to be a small movement, because the Bible says that all the world wonders after the beast. So in light of that, what happens to God’s people?

Well, in the verse that comes just before the passage we read, those people, God’s people are described as a remnant, a smaller group that is persecuted by the dragon. And we are told they have some very specific characteristics that set them apart from other people. Just listen to this. The Bible says (Revelation 12:13-17):

“And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

In the last days, the Bible teaches that God’s people are going to stand by faith. Even though the whole world turns to lawlessness and rebellion, even though the imaginations of people’s hearts are wicked all the time like in Noah’s day, these people stand on the commandments of God, and more than that, they actually have the testimony of Jesus Christ. They have a message for the world.

Don’t forget that Noah didn’t just build boats. He was also a preacher of righteousness, a man with an important message for his time. And just like it happened back in Noah’s day, God’s last-day people, according to the book of Revelation, those people whose hearts belong entirely to God, they have a message for their time, which you find just a few verses later in Revelation 14. Listen carefully to how the Bible describes these last-day people of God and the message they share with the world. It says (Revelation 14:5-7):

“And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God. Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come. And worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’”

As it was in the days of Noah, our world is getting more and more wicked with each passing day. But God doesn’t simply destroy this world without a warning, because that’s not how a God of love operates. Before he makes a move, he sends out a global invitation to return to the God of creation. He raises up a prophetic movement that knows exactly what is going to happen, and through that prophetic movement of God’s people, he warns the world and calls everyone to step inside the ark.

The parallels are absolutely amazing. And if this were a longer show, we could dissect this story for hours and hours, and compare it to the passages in the Bible that deal with last-day events. But in the time we have left, I want to underline one simple fact that you find as the story of Noah unfolds in the Book of Genesis--a simple detail that a lot of people miss when they read the story. Here it is in Genesis, chapter 7 (Genesis 7:7, 10):

“So Noah with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the floor were on the earth.”

You see, it didn’t rain the first day Noah went into the ark. Even though God ordered him inside and the door of the ark was sealed, it didn’t start raining for an entire week. Now try to imagine what that was like. For maybe 120 years, you preached that the flood was coming. And then, for a moment, all the evidence pointed your way because the animals came out of the woods on cue, and the Lord Himself closed the door of the ark. It was finally time for the prophecy to come true, and then nothing. Seven days of sitting in the ark with a bunch of smelly animals while the laughter outside got louder and louder.

I’m convinced that God put that detail in the story for our benefit, because God’s people are about to face a moment where all the evidence seems to point in the wrong direction. For a while we have a lot to point to, clear signs that we are on the right track. And then it all dries up for a short period and our faith is tested to the limit. Take a look at this passage found again in Revelation, chapter 13. It says (Revelation 13:11-13),

“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.”

As the final crisis comes to its peak, there is more visible support for the wrong side than the right side. A second beast shows up to support the first one, and he has the ability to bring fire down from heaven. In the Old Testament, in the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, the fire was falling on God’s altar. But now in the last days, God warns us that the fire is going to fall in the wrong place in the last moments. Our eyes are going to deceive us. The visible evidence is going to suggest that we may have been barking up the wrong tree.

But to surrender in those last moments would be a terrible mistake, because just when things couldn’t possibly get worse, just when the devil pulls out all the stops and does his best to destroy God’s people, that’s when Jesus will raise his nail-scarred hand and say, “Enough.” At that moment, He will lead the armies of heaven back to this earth and vindicate his people. Here’s how the Bible describes it in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 19:11-15):

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses. Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations. And he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of almighty God.”

What exactly is the sword that comes out of Jesus’ mouth? According to Hebrews 4 and Ephesians 6, the sword is the Word of God. And in the final moments, that’s what’s going to be important. It won’t matter what public opinion was. It won’t matter what your friends or coworkers said. What’s really going to matter is what God said.

Listen, I know it can be tough to live a genuine Christian life in this world. Especially when even well-meaning Christians seem to be losing their grip on the simple authority of God’s Word. That problem is only going to get worse. But the promise of God to you is this: If you stick with Him, you are going to see the day where your faith will be vindicated. It might take seven days, but on the eighth day, the rain will come. In the meantime, God says, you build your ark, you make plans to get on board, and then you invite as many as you can to take advantage of the cross of Christ before the final moment comes.

Maybe today your faith is faltering just a little bit. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve seen evidence for the faith you have in the Bible. I’m here to tell you today that your faith will be vindicated—God will come through. So why don’t we pray together?

Amzing Wonders of Creation by Joe Crews

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 01:12:03 GMT

ONE
God’s Handiwork

    In spite of being marred by transgression, nature still bears an eloquent testimony to the love and power of a Divine Creator. After resting under the heavy curses of sin for almost 6,000 years, the incredible beauty of God's handiwork continues to amaze and enthrall. When we thank God for our blessings, we should never forget to mention these incomparable natural wonders that add so much meaning to every moment of our lives.
    What would this planet be like without its restful carpet of living green grass and foliage God did not have to clothe the ugly, bare soil with such a covering. Functionally, there needed to be no bright colors. Human beings could have survived on a bleak planet of gray ground and colorless plants. But they could not have survived as happily. The Creator Himself was not only a lover of beauty; He loved His creatures so much that He wanted them to be happy, too. That's why He draped the earth with a half-million varieties of contrasting blossoms and leaves. And hidden inside each tiny bud, God placed secrets that would challenge the genius of earth's greatest scientists.
    How strange it is that so many of those who wrestle with these mysteries do not recognize the Creative Power that produced them. Even though many naturalists stand in awe of the creature, few seem to recognize and honor the Creator. Breathing the marvelous blend of nitrogen and oxygen that makes it possible for them to live, evolutionists refuse to acknowledge that the precise 79 percent to 21 percent mixture of gases was provided by something other than blind chance. Looking through eyes so delicately arranged that no combination of scientific genius can even understand, much less duplicate, their operation, unbelievers deny the miracle which makes it possible for them to see. Through ears, which connect to a brain more complex than the largest computer on earth, doubters listen to lectures on humanism and evolution.
    Who are these people who scorn the record of God's creative power They are only a tiny fragment of finite humanity, whose very existence, breath by breath, depends upon the operation of laws over which they have no control. Rejecting the divine origin of that for which they find no empirical evidence, many scientists ascribe miraculous qualities to matter itself. They build up theoretical creeds in which they place absolute faith, even to the point of believing that blind, unintelligent "nature" created life out of non-life.

TWO
Is Chance Precise and Predictable

    What kind of faith is required to believe that all the orderly processes of nature were produced by chance Almost every plant and animal exhibits amazing adaptations that can only be described as "miraculous." If these highly complex functions had no intelligent Creator or Designer, then our reasoning powers are staggered by the millions of "coincidences" that operate with infinite precision to produce perfect beauty, function, and reproduction on the earth.
    Could they indeed be the products of accident or chance Every law of science on the subject decrees that undirected, random nature tends toward deterioration rather than order. Surely the most persuasive evidence in favor of creationism is that of nature itself. The Bible suggests that the animals and earth should be asked about their own origin. In Job 12:7–9, we read: "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this" Job says if you want to know how God operated in the work of creation, ask these various forms of life, ask the earth, and the earth will explain how mightily God has wrought in these things.
    So that's exactly what we're going to do right now. What does the earth have to say to us concerning the great power of God Did you know there are miracles in every square inch of this earth From the towering mountains to the vast, restless ocean and throughout the limitless universe of God, there is the throb and hum of life. From the microscopic to the immense, we can discover the fingerprints of the mighty Creator who brought all things into existence.
    When I look at the universe and see the amazing fact that it is in perfect balance, that life in this world has been perfectly adapted to the conditions we find here, I know that some great intelligent power is behind it, making it operate in such an accurate manner. The Genesis account of the Bible has been completely vindicated by all the findings of true science. The writings of Moses have been found to be scientifically as well as historically accurate. In this booklet, we're going to look at the water and land in particular. By studying the mysteries of land and sea, we will see how wonderfully they support the biblical story of creation.

THREE
How Did Moses Know

    Let's go back to Genesis and take a look at the story as God gave it to Moses. Genesis 1:6 says, "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters that are under the firmament from the waters, which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day." Long, long ago the waters that were over the earth were actually right down here upon the surface. We know that there is a vast ocean in space, suspended in the atmosphere. We'll find out just what purpose it serves in a moment, but at one time that water was resting right here upon the earth. God divided it and lifted a part of it up into the heavens while part of it remained here.
    Now look at verses 9 and 10. "And God said, Let the water under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas: and God saw that it was good." How did Moses know there would be several oceans or seas He had absolutely no human way of knowing there could be more than one body of water in the entire world. He never went around to see how many oceans were in the world, but God inspired this truth in Moses' mind. He said there were seas or oceans.
    Here's another good question to ask. How did Moses know that all these various bodies of water would be connected and would rest in only one bed Now, isn't that what he said "Let all the waters be gathered into one place and let the dry land appear."
    In the next verse, he says there were seas or oceans. It is a scientific, geographical fact that all the oceans of the world are joined together, and they do all rest in a common bed. Moses could not have known that of himself. He didn't say this of dry land. No, it was divided up into continents. Part of it would be over here and another big, discrete mass of it would be in another location. But concerning the waters, he said it would all be in one place, and yet it would be divided into oceans. I think it's tremendous that the Bible is so scientifically accurate as to reveal these things.

FOUR
Watering the Earth—God's Miracle

Now let's see how intelligence and design came into the ratio of land and water. One-quarter of the earth's surface is dry land, and three-quarters is covered with water. In the United States alone we have three and three-quarter million square miles of dry land, and all of it has to be watered and cared for. In fact, if it weren't watered, there would be no vegetation and no growing grass or trees.
Just imagine for a moment that the ratio of land and water was changed from what it is at present. The proportion of water and land determines the rainfall on the earth. Suppose the ocean was only half its present size. That would mean our rainfall would only be one-quarter of what we now receive. What would that mean for the three and three-quarter million square miles of land we have in these United States All of it would be turned into a vast, dry desert! But on the other hand, if half the present land were added to the ocean, there would be four times as much rainfall as there is now, and the entire United States would be turned into a vast marshland where human life would be almost impossible. Now suppose that mankind had to water this entire three and three-quarter million square miles of land. How could we ever spread out that water and irrigate the land effectively What a tremendous task that would be! "There's plenty of water in the ocean," someone might observe, "we could simply use it to water the dry land." Although it may sound reasonable, there are three problems connected with it. First, transportation. We'd have to get the water out of the ocean and spread it evenly over the land. The second problem is the salt it contains, which would kill all the green plants. The third problem is weight. Water is 800 times the weight of the atmosphere, presenting the challenge of how to transport and disperse it.

FIVE
God Solves the Weight Problem

How has God solved the weight problem First, He uses heat. We know heat expands things and cold contracts them, and that water is the material most subject to expansion. In fact, when turned into steam, it becomes 1,600 to 1,700 times its original volume. Remember, though, this water is 800 times heavier than the atmosphere. But God simply sends down the warming rays of the sun, turning the water into a vapor that is 900 times lighter than water. Now it is one-eighth times lighter than the atmosphere. So this vapor is easily lifted up out of the ocean, carried into the sky—perhaps miles into the air—and formed into great cloud masses.
The second problem is deadly salt, but God simply evaporates the water and leaves all the mineral deposits and impurities behind. Taken up into the clouds, the water is sweet and soft, perfectly adapted to irrigate the earth.

SIX
No Sprinkler System Like This

    What about the third problem—transportation The water that is lifted up is still hanging over the ocean, which doesn't need any more water. God sends along winds to blow the clouds and spread them out over the dry land area where it is needed. But how to get all the water down out of the clouds Here is another wonderful miracle. Cold will contract, of course, so when the clouds pass over the mountain peaks, the cold air reaches up and begins to cool those clouds, turning the vapor into a condensation of moisture.
    Now consider what would happen if the clouds gave up all the water they contain at one time—it would flood the entire surface of the earth with three feet of water! Therefore, the cooling process must be gradual. For example, if the temperature of the cloud is lowered by 9 degrees, it will drop half its water! So God arranges for a gradual cooling process to let the rain come down in gentle to vigorous showers to provide the amounts needed to revive the earth. What an incredible process! Of course, some of it rains back into the ocean, but it is needed there to provide the necessary amount of oxygen for fish living in salty ocean beds.
    Did you know that these great facts of nature were all known and understood long before the scientists and naturalists discovered them Ecclesiastes 1:7 is a most interesting verse. "All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full." Why not The text continues to give the answer. "Unto the place from whence the river comes, thither they return again."
    The Bible says the reason the seas do not overflow is that the water is taken up again and returned to where the rivers come from. And so there is a constant movement of water going up from the ocean in vapor form, carried as clouds over the land, and brought down again as rain, which forms rivulets that find their way back to the sea. Even though the great naturalists felt they had made a new discovery when they found out about the cycles of clouds, they could have known it all by reading the Scriptures.

SEVEN
Why Clouds Don't Break

    Another text with scientific information is Job 26:8. "He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them." This is a beautiful text, explaining that the clouds don't break and spill all their water at once, even though millions of tons of water are drawn up from the oceans into the clouds. And, of course, Job was correct. We've just found that God has a process of gradual cooling that releases the water little by little as it is needed to irrigate the surface of the earth. God revealed it to Job long before mankind figured it out.
    I'm sure all of us know that water has weight, and that its pressure increases dramatically as the depth increases. Certain fish that exist in the very bottom of the ocean are especially engineered by God to withstand this tremendous pressure. If brought quickly up to the surface, they practically explode. The pressure that God put into their muscular structure is still there on the inside when they are brought up where the pressure is not exerted from the outside.
    This is a wonderful fact, but do you realize that we, too, live in the bottom of an atmospheric sea, which also has tremendous weight At sea level we are living down at the bottom of a very heavy, dense covering. As the ocean is to the fish, so the atmosphere is to us. Every moment we live, a pressure of 14 pounds per square inch is exerted upon our body structure, and that's pretty heavy. We think a man is strong if he can carry 200 pounds on his back. In fact, the strongest man that ever lived put only 415 pounds over his head. Yet, every single form of life in this world, whether it's a 90-pound woman or a burly man, has a constant pressure of over 15 tons at sea level pushing and pressing upon them from every direction. That's 30,000 pounds!     Even the filmy, gauzy insects have been designed by God to withstand their proportion of this pressure. That little gnat, so light and frail that it seems anything could crush it, is built by God to withstand the weight of the atmosphere. Can you think this happened by mere chance Consider Job 28:25. "To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure." The Bible says the wind has weight.
    The air, in other words, is heavy. The atmosphere has weight. If you climb a mountain, the higher you climb, the thinner the atmosphere becomes, and you feel distressed and uncomfortable. Why Because the pressure is not as great. You see, God has built in a certain amount of pressure that balances that on the outside at sea level. If you went high enough, you would be just as stressed as the fish brought up from the ocean depths. How wonderful that God has designed each living creature to be perfectly comfortable in its own environment.

EIGHT
Lucky Accident or Design

    Now consider another, even greater, miracle. The atmosphere around us is made up of two main ingredients—nitrogen and oxygen—whose mixture is always the same, whether at the highest mountaintops or in the deepest caves. The perfect balance is 79 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen. You might ask, "Why is it this way" Is there some particular reason for it Is it important that we have this exact mixture of nitrogen and oxygen" Yes, I can assure you it is most important. If the nitrogen were increased, our life processes would slow down and we would die. If the oxygenwere measurably increased, our life processes would be rapidly increased. Our pulse rate would just run away and soon we would wear out and die. But God made it just right.
    Suppose, for example, it was two-thirds nitrogen and one-third oxygen. If that proportion prevailed, and an electrical reaction caused the elements to combine, do you realize that the whole world would be turned into laughing maniacs Everybody would be laughing because that would produce the laughing gas, N₂O, the same kind dentists sometimes use when extracting teeth. Or suppose it was divided half and half. That would produce nitric oxide, which is quickly fatal to all forms of life.
    Was it just a lucky accident that it came out like this Did some blind happenstance of nature produce this exact mixture that is necessary for life support Or was there an intelligent design This world would become chaotic if this atmospheric mixture slipped out of control for just a single instant. We would see one of the most tremendous of all explosions, because nitrogen is the basic component of gunpowder; and oxygen, of course, makes for rapid combustion. It would be "Goodbye, world!"
    And yet some day, apparently, there is going to an explosion like this. Some day the elements are going to melt with fervent heat, the Bible says. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:10 that "the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." I don't know how God will arrange that, but I do know that some great fire one of these days is going to burn, and the earth will be purified by this strange fire of God. And the elements will be involved in it because the elements are going to melt. Maybe God is going to change just very, very slightly the present proportion of nitrogen and oxygen, causing this great conflagration to take place. I do know this—we must be ready for that day when it comes. The Bible indicates it is near at hand.
    Another of the mysteries of nature was described in the Bible long before it was investigated by science. We read about it in Job 38:8–11. "Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed"
    What beautiful, poetic language we find here to describe the creation of the ocean. It speaks of it as being born and coming forth from the womb. God says that the cloud was the garment of it and a thick darkness was a swaddling band placed around the ocean at its birth. But then God added, "Here ye may come but no further; here shall thy proud waves be stayed."
    The scientists of this world have been amazed in learning the secrets of the tidal actions. They still don't understand all the deep, underwater cataclysmic actions that affect the tides and wave patterns. No naturalist on the face of the earth has figured out all the secrets of these swift tidal waves as they move to and fro in their own mysterious ways.

NINE
God's Heating System—The Gulf Stream

    By the way, these tides and movements of water have been in perfect balance to contribute to mankind's comfort. I think of the mighty Gulf Stream, for instance. We don't know everything about it, but we do know life in the United States would be almost impossible were it not for the fantastic influence of this great stream. It comes out of the Gulf of Mexico, goes along the eastern seaboard, and up into the northern sections of the world. It is like a river, flowing through the midst of the sea, and can be seen distinctly from high above because of its different color.
    In fact, this river is about 70 miles wide and nearly 3,000 feet deep. When it leaves the Gulf of Mexico, the water temperature is 840, and off the coast of the Carolinas it is still a warm 800. This warming influence actually makes the northern coastal regions of America and Europe inhabitable; otherwise, they would be frozen wastelands.
    Now notice what happens as this warm river reaches the entrance of the Arctic region at Baffin Bay, where it meets a frigid polar stream that is rushing southward. As a result of the titanic collision of these two giants, the polar stream is forced to dive down thousands of feet, where it continues its southward course, coming up finally in the West Indies during their hottest season, thus cooling down the terrible tropical heat. The Gulf Stream gets deflected eastward, going up along the British Isles, making these habitable.
    It was in God's plan for this to happen. I don't believe for a moment that all this happened by chance or accident. Without that deflection of the Gulf Stream, some of those northern lands would be locked in eternal winter. Surely God was behind the entire plan.

TEN
Goggles and Bifocals

    Let's hurry along now and take a quick look at the creatures of nature and see how intelligence and design came into the picture. Think for a moment of the fish that inhabit the oceans. They are constantly subject to attack from their enemies from above—like the gulls that swoop down to make their meals off marine life. Do you know that fish have specially constructed eyeballs enabling them to look almost instantly in any and all directions They see behind, below, above and on the sides; furthermore, their eyes are designed to take into account the refraction of light.
    Yes, fish can see 30 percent farther than other visual instruments because God designed the eyeball of the fish to take into consideration the refraction of light. We tend to think it's a wonderful accomplishment when the oculist manufactures special goggles for divers that compensate for refraction in the water, yet God did it for fish long before. Goggles could never have come into existence by chance, yet evolutionists contend that a fish's specialized eyeballs just happened.
    In the waters of Malaya lives a fish with bifocal lenses built right in its eyes. This little sardine-sized fish is prized for food by the seagulls especially. They are constantly swooping down to gobble up this little fish if they can. So the little fish has to watch carefully for this approaching danger. It must have good far vision, but since it feeds on the microscopic larvae that abound in the water, it must have very good near vision as well. And do you know the Creator provided a little membrane that comes halfway up on its eyes, giving it bifocal vision That little fish can look up and see the gulls coming or look down and see those nearby bits of life that it can feed on!
    We think it wonderful that the skilled optometrist and oculist can perfect glasses permitting us to see near and far away, yet here is a fish that has been around for thousands of years—and God made it that way from the beginning. It did not just develop blindly; it had to be created. Intelligent design was behind it.

ELEVEN
Birds and Bees

    Now let's examine two Pacific coast water birds. I can find no stronger evidence of design in nature than with the Ousel, a very friendly little bird that lives near mountain streams. It can usually be found where the water is swift-flowing and splashy. This buoyant bird will be floating along, apparently weightless, and then suddenly sink to the bottom like a piece of lead. There he walks around picking up bits of food on the streambed. After taking his fill, he goes over to the bank, shakes himself, and mysteriously sets himself afloat again like a wisp of smoke.
    It has been discovered that this strange bird has some special equipment—a muscular apparatus that can instantly exhaust every bit of air from its body, letting it sink down; then when it walks out, it can take in air again and float off once more. Now, that's special creation, isn't it The evolutionists would say, "Well, it needed to have this bit of apparatus, so nature provided it." Of course, they don't say what nature is, but maintain that it just grew by some accidental development. The truth is that God provided it. He made this particular bird as He did because He saw that it needed this for survival.
    Another kind of bird found on the Pacific coast lives on a diet of large worms that live in holes in the sand. Because this worm is down at the very bottom of its hole, the bird must go down to get the worm out. It so happens that, although its beak is exactly the right length to reach into the hole, the narrow hole keeps the beak squeezed shut. What a predicament—to be able to see and reach a luscious worm but not be able to open his beak to pick it up! Do you know what God arranged for this particular bird He created a tiny flap much like a surgeon's forceps at the bottom of the beak. With this special organ the bird can pick up the worm, back out of the hole, and gobble it down!
    Isn't it wonderful that God thought of a little bird and made something special so it could get its food conveniently If He so loves the little birds and provides the things to make their existence comfortable, don't you think He's willing to provide everything that we might need He loves us even more. Remember, He knows when the sparrows fall.
    Some years ago, a scientific magazine published an article by a clever biologist who did not believe in evolution. In Evolution Goes to Pieces on a Bee's Knee, the author first reviewed the evolutionist's teaching that when the need for a certain organ develops in any creature, the organ is produced in response to that need. Nature itself, or some blind chance, supposedly comes along and produces the necessary organ to fit the creature for survival. Then he cited the example of the bees. When bees crawl into pollen-filled blossoms, their breathing apparatus gets all stopped up with pollen. In fact, they can't even breathe while they are inside gathering their pollen.
    Now it so happens that every bee has a special brush located on its knees—a stiff brush—that it uses to clean out its breathing apparatus when it comes out of the flower so it doesn't suffocate. This biologist noted that if it were true that these insects develop special equipment in response to a need, the very first bee to exist did not have those brushes on its knees. When it went into the flower, it would have suffocated; consequently, the whole bee family would have become extinct right then and there. No, rather than these brushes developing slowly through the ages in response to a need, they were provided by God to meet the need and save the very first bee that was made.
    The conclusion is that God anticipated the needs of His creatures and made them with every necessary apparatus. How thankful we ought to be that God can supply all our needs in advance. The Bible says the fool hath said in his heart, "There is no God." Only a God of love and power could have made the marvels we see about us. And if He cares for the tiny animal world, He cares for us, too. He loves us even more than He loves that little bird out on the West Coast, and He wants to save us. He wants to take us at last to a place where nature will be in perfect balance again and where all of the curse of sin will be forever removed.

TWELVE
And He Loves Me

    Can we doubt the love of God, who makes such infinite provision for everything He created Nothing has been left alone to suffer extinction or deprivation. Only man's bungling interference with the delicate balance of nature has brought sorrow and tragedy. If God cares for the needs of the tiniest cell of the smallest plant or animal, don't you think He loves us enough to care for us
    One of the most thrilling facts I learned about the miracles of nature concerned the lowly cocklebur. Surely it is one of the most despised of all plants due to its clinging, pricking nature. Yet consider the marvel of its reproduction. Every pod of the cocklebur has two seeds inside to guarantee its survival. But during the first year only one of the seeds will begin to grow. The other seed waits till the second year to start growing in order to perpetuate two seasons of growth. But if something happens to the first seed so that it does not grow and produce, the second seed begins to grow immediately instead of waiting for the next year. What built-in wisdom of God communicates to that waiting seed that it should begin to grow when the first seed is destroyed No evolutionist has been able to harmonize miracles like this with their theories of naturalism and chance.
    Surely we can see that God's care extends to the meanest and lowest order of growing things. Are we not more precious to Him than the cockleburs If He works miracles to safeguard a clinging, contrary cocklebur, will He not guide the ways of those for whom He gave His life May God open our eyes to the wonder and wisdom of His great work of creation. Tonight when you kneel to pray, remember to thank God for the landscape of beauty that always lies beyond the manmade mess of human obstruction.

America and the 10 Commandments

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 01:03:21 GMT

     In July 2001, Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, in the cover of night, placed in the middle of a public courthouse foyer a two-ton granite display that ignited a firestorm consuming American politics and the national media for months. Lawsuits were filed, protests on both sides were organized, and the battle over this country’s destiny began.
     What could cause such an ill-tempered debate on the future of religion in American politics The 10 Commandments of course! Actually, it’s hard to believe that God’s law, delivered to His people on their freedom tour of the Middle East, could cause such an outrage. Designed specifically to give humans a guide to peace and harmony on earth, it was turned into a smoking platform of anger and self-righteousness. Perhaps not since the Scopes trial of the early 20th century has America experienced such rancor over the state-church controversy.
     By the time the granite dust settled, the 10 Commandments had been removed from the court by the order of a higher justice; furthermore, Chief Justice Roy Moore was removed from office for unrepentantly defying the law of the land. Yet on the day of his expulsion, the passionate judge gave a warning to those who challenged his attempt to acknowledge God from his chair—he’d be back! And what he planned would change the course of American politics.
     A foreboding claim, indeed, in what might appear to be the first real thrust by Christian-backed political forces to challenge the deepening secularization of the United States. Of course, this particular skirmish is only a preview of a greater conflict to come that will be like nothing we have ever experienced in this nation.
     Perhaps not surprisingly, the Bible predicts who in America is going to win this war over religion and government. But before you begin figuring that out, you should ask yourself two questions: What side do you stand for on this issue And are you sure that God is standing behind you

Chapter 1 Faithful Paradox

     For me, the controversy raging over the display of the 10 Commandments is not really about legality or the constitution. No. It really seems to be all about irony.
     As the news reported daily of this battle, I soon began to wonder if anyone else was finding the whole thing paradoxical. As this huge outcry for for the 10 Commandments to be displayed in schools, courthouses, and in other public places reached a feverish pitch in Internet chat rooms, on talk-radio shows, and in newsmagazines, I understood that most Christian churches in the country still teach that all or a part of them were nailed to the cross. (A belief that teaches the Commandments and/or their penalties are no longer in force for Christians.)
     Proponents of that stance say that America should have them on display because they are a part of our Judeo-Christian heritage, even as they also say that Christ did away with the Commandments when He died. In fact, some also say He left just two new commandments with which believers should concern themselves.
     Yet this is confusing: If the Commandments are no longer in effect, why are they, as Christians and Americans, trying to force them on every other citizen by displaying them as a government-sanctioned artifact Also, if Jesus did away with them, can they really be part of a common Judeo-Christian heritage Wouldn’t the most correct course of action be to post the two new covenant commandments of Jesus for a Christian nation
     On the other hand, if the 10 Commandments were so important to this nation’s Founding Fathers, why should we not be compelled to obey them implicitly—every one of them, with or without the benefits of grace—if America is to return to its glorious roots If the Founding Fathers established this nation on the pillar of the 10 Commandments, might they have reasonably expected them to be followed to the letter by likeminded Christian citizens

Chapter 2 America’s Purpose

     Some might label me unpatriotic because I feel it necessary to point out a fundamental flaw in the reasoning of the many Christians who want to see the 10 Commandments displayed in government institutions. Although my purpose is not to argue the details of why this nation was founded, I do believe that the United States plays a pivotal and wonderful role in God’s plan of salvation. As such, I love this nation as the gift from God that it is. My heart always soars with joy when I hear our national anthem.
     Yet whether or not “Christian” leaders established this country as a “Christian” nation is not the issue. Of course, the ideals of Christianity and Judaism should be the moral compass that guides the hearts of our leaders. Christianity offers freedom to every human being, just as the United States has a strong record of fighting for freedom throughout the world.
     However, I don’t think America is responsible for spreading God’s end-time message to the world. Rather, America is here to protect His church, so she can take the gospel to every people and nation. I believe this is why America has acquired such undisputable power, unprecedented in the history of the world. Its economical and political influence protects God’s last-day church from tyrant governments and unwanted political intervention, enabling it to freely spread the good news to people all around the world. God would surely bless such a nation.
     Some Christians boldly claim that they want the Commandments displayed as a way to get God back into America, in addition to prayer in schools and in Congress. But is that really safe Is the government the right power to tell us what is right and wrong morally Surely we are blessed that our laws reflect the basic principles of God’s Commandments; that’s a very real comfort to even non-Christians. But by separating church and state, we are assured that no religious power will have the authority to override the conscience of those who might believe otherwise, suppressing the religious beliefs of another church. Yet well-meaning but misguided Christians who want to smash the wall of separation of church and state will turn the blessings of this country on their head and lead America into a terrible disaster.

Chapter 3 The Heart of the Matter

     Frankly, this nation hasn’t lost its way because the government or strident humanists seek separation of church and state, forbidding the government display of Commandments; it’s lost its way because more and more of her people’s hearts are seeking separation from God in their everyday living. It’s not secular government that’s sending this nation down the sewer of moral decay; it’s secularized hearts!
     Make no mistake; everything about the 10 Commandments speaks of religion. It just cannot be displayed as mere history, because any person who sees it, Christian or heathen, will understand its towering religious significance. It is so powerful that an atheist will feel its influence in a chamber of justice on the other side of the building and truly believe he has no fair shot because of his or her beliefs. And Christians need to understand this about God’s law: It is not just a statue to display in public, like a costume from a famous movie. It affects everybody’s lives, even the unbelievers’, whether they want it to or not.
     Likewise, every Christian acknowledges that the Commandments come directly from the hand of God. “And he gave unto Moses … two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18). They are religious laws, period. The government of man has no real power or mandate to enforce them—they are enforced solely by God’s omnipresence, universal power, and wisdom. And yet far too many Christians are secularizing their own hearts to God’s Commandments, believing the government plays a part in the task He has given to each individual. We should not attempt to use the government to spread God’s message—we should be using our own voices and the example of our lives. What example Reflecting the spirit of the 10 Commandments.
     So as some clamor about the separation of church and state, they still yet deny with their hearts and mouths the ultimate authority of God’s law. They lift up the Commandments without any intention of honoring them completely—the very definition of a form of godliness without power.
     Shouldn’t Christians in this country be more concerned about obeying those Commandments than making them a historical display on the walls in our halls of justice Shouldn’t we stop treating God’s law as an idol of government, but instead as the living, fulfilled testimony of Jesus Christ
     The answer to these questions is yes, yes, yes! And here is why.

Chapter 4 Indisputable Facts About the 10 Commandments

Any healthy debate among Christians about God’s law must begin with how God Himself defines the terms. Without this step, it’s impossible to find a biblical consensus. Yet by letting God define our terms in this discussion, it won’t take long to realize that the evidence compelling us to obey His Commandments today, in the new covenant faith, is overwhelming.
Here are 10 indisputable facts, or definitions, about the 10 Commandments from the Old and New Testaments—two witnesses, or dictionaries, of God’s message to humanity.

1.	God wrote the 10 Commandments. “And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables” (Exodus 32:16).
2.	They are eternal, meaning they will not change or be erased. “All his commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever” (Psalm 89:34).

3.	They are perfect as they are. “The law of the Lord is perfect” (Psalm 19). If they were perfect, would their function or purpose need to change
4.	We’ll die if we break them. “He poured out his life unto death … [bearing] the sin of many.” (Isaiah 13:9). Satan was first to convince a human otherwise.
5.	It is our job to obey them. “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

     These first five points are taken from the Old Testament. Many of those who want to display the Commandments argue that the laws are an old covenant relic meant for the Jews, and Christians aren’t subject to them because they are outmoded in our relationship with Jesus. Although points 2 and 3 each seem to shatter this argument, we’ll see later from the New Testament that Jesus also denied the claim that the Commandments have been nullified.
     But first, this viewpoint contradicts one major reason given to showcase the Commandments in schools and other government-run institutions; that being, we have a government established on Judeo-Christian principles and displaying them is simply honoring that. If we live in contradiction to the Commandments, merely displaying them as a testimony of past government, it is hollow praise at best. We shouldn’t treat God’s law with such diminished value!
     At worst, it is hypocrisy. For if we tell non-believers we want to honor our Judeo heritage, and then claim that actually following its principles is no longer important in a saving relationship with God, what other message could that send It seems logical to conclude that to honor our Jewish heritage, we would honor the 10 Commandments in our lives and hearts. (In addition, displaying a religious icon to honor our past is in fact a sincere endorsement of those principles—something God has asked us to do, not an earthly government.)
     But the New Testament, even after Jesus’ death, doesn’t regard the law itself any differently than the Old Testament. In fact, it is easy to conclude that the New Testament also affirms that God’s law is forever and ever.

6.	Breaking them is still wrong. “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4).
7.	Humanity still needs them. “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law said, Thou shall not covet” (Romans 7:7).

8.	Obeying them is still a sign of loyalty. “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
9.	They are still eternal. “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail” (Luke 16:17). Jesus exalted them! God established the law with His own voice; might it need Jesus’ voice to do away with them Yet He never does, before or after His death!
10.	They are still perfect. “Think not that I come to destroy the law … but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17, 18). Jesus did not change any part of them.

It’s clear that Jesus wants us to keep the laws of God—the 10 Commandments—and I believe He is dismayed at the hollow gesture of displaying them in our government halls and not in our outward lives. Jesus continued to call the Commandments “laws,” and He never defined them differently. So this next verse is a clear message: “Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10).
Of course, Jesus also obeyed them exactly the way they were intended, so Christians surely cannot conclude that they are not meant to follow them as Jesus followed them. Isn’t that what Christians are—a reflection of Christ

Chapter 5 Why the 10 Commandments Came First

     Most if not all highways in the country have speed limits posted to warn drivers of the laws governing traffic in their jurisdiction. These speed limit signs tend to be very specific. Drivers are repeatedly warned that exceeding 70 mph on the highway is a violation of the law, and if caught, they will be subject to fees and other penalties.
     Now imagine if after several years, even as new drivers are getting licenses, the government begins to take down these very specific signs and replace them with “Drive Safely” signs.
     Here’s how it could happen: Drivers have been complaining for years that traffic laws are too confusing to understand and too restrictive to obey, though they are truly inspired when a new governor issues a proclamation saying, “Very specific traffic laws are a reflection of an even greater traffic law: drive safely.”
     Years later, a new government decides the governor really meant that imposing specific speed limits is impossible for the average citizen today to reasonably obey while trying to get to work, get their kids to soccer games, and other everyday realities. (Even advanced safety features in cars seemed to make those laws archaic.) So they replace 70 mph speed limits with the “Drive Safely” signs and remove the penalties for exceeding them. Right below the new sign, they post, “Suggest 70 mph,” because most traffic engineers agree that 70 mph is the safest limit.
     What happens Some drivers believe 70 mph is in fact the safest, but others think safety is reasonably possible at 85 mph. Still others think that getting there faster is more important, and without having to worry about fees, they travel at speeds of 100 mph or faster! (Perhaps worse yet, some believe 20 mph is safest—as much as keeping in the left lane at all times.) In short, chaos rules the highways! More people actually die, and everyone fears for their lives.
     That might be silly to imagine, but that is how Christians today are treating the 10 Commandments, a very specific set of rules based on two greater laws. Jesus said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ ” (Matthew 22:37–39).
     If He had stopped there, I would understand a little more how someone could believe the Commandments were no longer an issue. But He didn’t stop there, and I think He added His next statement to ensure no one would deny the laws’ eternal purpose. He says, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
     The specific speed limits hang on the greater commandment of drive safely, and without them a “Drive Safely” law would be useless to govern people. Anarchy would prevail! Why Because humans can’t be trusted to figure out right and wrong in our selfish conditions. To paraphrase one modern-day philosopher, “Why are people who go faster than us dangerous and those who go slower than us annoying” Right would always be what we wanted, and wrong would always be what we did not want. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the ends are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
     Let’s reverse the scenario. What would have happened if God instead issued the two great commandments to Moses on the mountain without offering the 10 Commandments The Bible tells us: “He that trusts in his own heart is a fool” (Proverbs 28:26). The world, influenced by sinful hearts and the deceptions of Satan, would quickly crumble. Sadly, much of the problem would be genuine believers foolishly thinking they could determine right and wrong without God’s explicit direction. In essence, it’s the same outcome if the 10 Commandments were ditched entirely for the two greater commandments.
     There is only one way to unify a group of believers from all different backgrounds and beliefs—one common creed. That creed is God’s plan for the universe, His Word, and that emphatically includes His 10 Commandments.
     Some well-meaning Christians also argue that the 10 Commandments should be displayed as “helpful suggestions,” and not laws that require penalty if broken. However, the problem is exactly the same! Without the danger of lawbreaking, and therefore the threat of a penalty, most people would freely violate the greater law. As mere guidelines, they are useless to create order—which is why the government will never remove specific speed limits. It is also why God has not done away with the 10 Commandments either. They still have a very legal and compelling interest in our lives.
     You can also look at it this way: If you break the law that forbids lying, you have broken both of the greatest commandments. How By lying, you cheat another human being. And you also show you have little faith that God can handle your crisis with truth.
     Can it be any clearer Break a 10 Commandment and you automatically break the greater commandments! This shows we are still under the obligation to keep the 10 Commandments, which are the two greater commandments in detail. (It also should be no surprise that Jesus in fact hung more details on the 10 Commandments, calling lust adultery and hate murder!)
     Many Christians utterly forsake God’s 10 Commandments but cleverly veil their disobedience behind these two great commandments. As such, men and women on their own define what it really means to commit adultery, what it really means to steal, what it really means to bear false witness, what it really means to honor the Sabbath, and what it really means to murder. Without the 10 very specific Commandments, it is much easier for “God’s people” to do terrible things in His name. It’s a slippery slope that can only be avoided by committing ourselves to His Commandments as recorded in the Holy Bible.
     Some Americans are concerned about the real threat of moral relativism—the notion that there are no moral absolutes—infecting the nation today. For example, euthanasia, legalizing illicit drugs, homosexual marriage, and abortion are the results of a people who have lost sight of God’s eternal principles. But by doing away with either the Commandments or the penalty surrounding them, they are far down the road to moral relativism, because they rely on humans feelings, and not God’s written law, to ensure morality.
     God wrote His Commandments, which are called eternal, for a reason: that there would be no doubt in our minds and hearts what it meant to obey Him.

Chapter 6 The Danger of Grace: Disobedience

     Now imagine if a country wants to export several varieties of their tasty fruit into the United States, yet for reasons of public safety, our government decides that poor health conditions in that country are too dangerous to permit it.
     So unable to legally transport their fruits into a willing-to-buy U.S. market, they begin to smuggle in their goods, and before long, their amazingly tasty food becomes a sensation.
     Unfortunately, the government’s refusal to legalize the imports shows real wisdom. Soon people start to get strange illnesses traced to the fruit, and some even begin to die. What’s worse, the fruit begins to infect genes and harm unborn babies.
     But strangely, the desire for the fruit continues to soar—people eat it ravenously despite the laws against it and the health effects. The government decides to take decisive action, and soon creates an amazing serum from a very rare blood type that sustains the lives of people who eat the fruit as long as they continue to inject the serum.
     To spread the word, the government offers the serum free of charge to anyone willing to take it. The only catch is that serum receivers are asked to evangelize about the dangers of this poisonous fruit. Even though the law still considers it illegal to buy, sell, or consume the fruit, they give a blind eye to those who spread the word.
     Sounds suspect, right Who in their right mind would willingly continue to eat the fruit knowing that it destroys their body and their children’s lives And most Americans who respect our laws would be outraged by such willing defiance and would not tolerate it.
     Unfortunately, these Americans treat God’s law the same way. Is it right to willingly eat the fruit even with the serum Of course not, but some Christians think that because we have a serum, called “grace,” our sins are covered in even willful disobedience. Does it really make sense to continue to sin because we have His grace God wants to blot out sins not only in our lives, but also from the universe—might we consider cooperating by committing to obedience
     We must remember that there is a very fine line between admitting that we cannot overcome sin on our own and willful disobedience. Someday, the former will lead to the latter if we do not trust our Lord’s promises that He can help us obey God’s law (Revelation 3:21). The amazing thing is that the Bible says if we cling to Jesus, we will have victory. So I think the real question should not be, “Why are the Commandments so hard to obey,” but rather “Why am I finding it so hard to trust God’s promise” Too often the phrase, “We can’t keep them,” really means, “God will forgive me anyhow.” That is presumption, and it is a dangerous game to play with the Almighty.
     That’s why one of the most passionate arguments fired against “Commandment keepers” is the same argument that convinces me that obeying them is really a matter of loyalty to Jesus. It’s been said that all we can do is believe, for we as sinful beings are unable to obey the law anyway.
     But this is really a chilling argument when you unfold its ultimate conclusion. It’s as if they are saying that all of those Bible verses about relying wholly on Jesus for salvation are actually saying we must instead be puppets possessed by Jesus. He must either overlook our sins with His blood or actually take over our bodies, choosing for us. But puppets don’t love Jesus, nor do puppets care or choose. Why should they If we are puppets, why care about the law at all—or even Jesus—who is the Commandments, the Word, in flesh
     Of course, the argument about simple belief is countered in the Bible. “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” (James 2:19, emphasis added). Even the devil believes in the saving power of Jesus, but the Bible says he will not be saved. Which means it must require something that the devil and the demons don’t do!
     What could that be It’s acknowledging God by choosing to live the pure lives He meant for us. He wants His people to be active participants in His plan for their lives. This surely begins with belief, a crucial step. But it must not end there. What does faith really mean without commitment “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26)!
     Should we treat something He came to die for so carelessly Some say, “Even if I don’t want to sin, but do, it is covered under God’s blood.” Should we be so dispassionate and neglectful I think the heartfelt plea is, “I will commit my heart to God’s Commandments as a testimony of His grace in my life. Should I stumble, He will lift me up.” But if we don’t do our best, should we expect Jesus to continue paying the price
     The Word of God sums it up best as always: “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that continues in sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God does not continue in sin; for his seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:7–9).

Chapter 7 The Sabbath Conundrum

     There are some supporters for posting the 10 Commandments who do agree that obeying them is indeed a part of the Christian experience. But for many, this leads to another irony.
     If the government summons you to court at a certain time, it expects you to be there—not three days earlier or a day after. If it asks you to testify at a trial, it expects you to answer questions and not read a sports magazine. Neither does it want you to show up late or leave early. It also considers you in contempt of court, a lawbreaker, if you ignore the judge while he or she is trying to speak with you.
     I have no doubt that most sincere Christians citizens would be angered by such disrespect for the institution for justice, yet these same Christians do not respect God’s government regarding time with Him in His chamber. They don’t show up when asked, and if they do, it’s often on another day and they don’t do the things asked of them.
     Many Christians exclude the fourth Commandment from the other nine as a law meant only for the Jews. Others say that it is still a Commandment to obey, but one that Christians should practice on the first day of the week instead of the last day. Others still argue that it doesn’t matter what day, as long as time is given to God. Yet can you ever imagine finding a judge who orders a trial on Wednesday to accept: “I showed up on Thursday! As long as I show up, does it really matter” Of course, God will accept praise any day and time, and He will bless you for it. But this Commandment asks for your presence at a particular place and time!
     Why is it then that when a judge tells us to show up, we know we are breaking the law when we don’t and will suffer the penalty—but if the Judge of the universe asks us to show on a certain day, it’s really just our call By ignoring or altering the fourth Commandment, it is no longer a relevant part of the 10 Commandments as written in the Bible—the inspired Word of God. Indeed, if it can change on the whims of a person, why not the others But Jesus Himself emphatically said this would never be the case. “Think not that I come to destroy the law … but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17,18). He also said not one part of it would change, not even if the earth and its people passed into history. It’s for all time and for all creation! In addition, He said the wording of the law would never change (Luke 16:17), which is what exactly has to happen if we are to accept that the first day is the Sabbath. Can you imagine changing a court summons date and passing it off as lawful
     Many are surprised to hear that neither Jesus nor the New Testament writers ever tell Jewish converts to worship on the first day of the week. You might guess that many Jews would be put off by such a statement—after all, the Commandments are an essential part of their lives (their ancestors were stoned for not following it!) and they had heard with their own ears Jesus tell them to keep the Commandments. Public defenders would be outraged if a judge told them one day to be ready for trial on Thursday, then suddenly moved it to Wednesday to appease the prosecutors without telling the defense! Yet we hear about no such controversy regarding the Sabbath in the Bible.
     This becomes even more problematic when Paul puts a stop to the practice of circumcision, replacing the commitment, or altering it, with baptism (Colossians 2:11). His act of transforming the circumcision ceremony created a deep division in the church, yet we are to believe the transformation of the Sabbath did not Many claim the fact that Jesus doesn’t vocally reinforce the Sabbath in the New Testament proves, from silence, that He must have not considered it important. But since He did observe the Sabbath, and because we see no Jewish outcry, the argument from silence works best the other way around. Indeed, Jesus often mentions a Commandment to add more meaning to it. It isvery possible that the light on the Sabbath in the Bible is sufficient, so He saw no reason to mention it. Of course, Jesus does mention the Sabbath while defending it from legalists (Matthew 12:1–12), and He honored the Sabbath by going to the synagogue, as “was his custom” (Luke 4:16).
     Would you consider yourself loyal to the government if you didn’t show up to a trial where your testimony could convict a terrorist Why then would you consider yourself loyal to God if you failed to show up on a day He specifically asks of you

Chapter 8 Legalism: The Real Danger

     You wouldn’t call a police officer a legalist if he or she gave a motorist a ticket for going the posted speed limit in a blizzard. Some traffic laws might even seem strange, yet we know deep down there is a reason for them: public safety. Somehow, somewhere, somebody died or was injured, and the law was put in place. (Likewise, the details of the fourth Commandment might seem strange, we might not understand them completely, but it is a law from God.)
     Yet Christians who proclaim the importance of obeying all of the Commandments are often called legalists. And even before the discussion about grace can begin, they are said not to understand grace and are labeled Pharisees. The debate ends, and the confusing rhetoric provides more heat than light.
     Still, this is an important concern, because the Pharisees treated God’s law in such a way that changed its nature, and Jesus rebuked them for it. They added religious pomp and circumstance to not only gain favor or merit with God (in fact, they really seemed to merit favor with people), but also to control the religion itself and His people (Matthew 23:15).
     But the Jews, or even Jesus, never questioned the Pharisees’ zeal for the 10 Commandments themselves, only that they had altered their purpose; loyalty to God’s law was a must for any Jew. In fact, Jesus told His followers that the standards set by the Pharisees was in fact too low to enable human access to heaven (Matthew 5:20).
     He told the Pharisees that their outward obedience to the Commandments did not hide the sins in their hearts. Our outward show of obedience to the Commandments cannot disguise from God the filthy rags we wear beneath our legalistic robes—God sees the filthy rags of lust, deceit, and murder in our hearts. Jesus said that how the Pharisees behaved was altogether different from their hearts, but that their outward behavior was, in fact, appropriate. In this sense they followed the letter of the law, but forsook its spirit (Matthew 23:27).
     The Pharisees changed God’s law from a measuring stick to show us our need of God’s empowering grace into works that could get us into heaven. But this is not a real representation of what God meant for the Jews, who were always to be saved by grace in Jesus Christ. The New Testament tells us that it wasn’t works that made Abraham righteous; it was his faith in God’s promises. If he didn’t believe that God would do as He promised, his obedience would have been for nothing. Yet his works are considered a sign of his faith. Had he no works, no obedience, would he be remembered as the “father of the faithful”
     Was the New Testament calling Abraham a legalist (James 2:21–22). No. It was calling him a Christian—an early version, perhaps, but still a trusting, obedient Christian.

Chapter 9 The Real Power of Grace

     God has given His people the power to rebuke immorality with His law, but we should place this charge in perspective. We should not force His law on anyone—nor should any government power. Our first cause is to convince others of their personal need of Jesus, and in doing so, teach them the judgment is coming quickly.
     Some believe that our relationship with God’s law changed with Jesus. But He came to cleanse us of our sins and give us the power to overcome them—not give us a free pass to sin more. Grace has always been God’s powerful gift, from Adam to the end of time. We should not take it for granted so easily, so cheaply.
     What sense would it be for Jesus to come and explain the purpose of the law, to keep it, to die because humans broke them, only to say that the laws were no longer in effect after His death The equation is simple: If there is no law, there is no sin. If there is no sin, there is no judgment needed. The final judgment, which all Christians believe in to some degree, makes it logically necessary to have a law! If Jesus did away with the law, at the very least those living today would not be sinners. But the Bible says we are sinners (Romans 3:23). We are all judged by a common standard; the righteous and the lost will be weighed by it. The difference: the righteous are thus because Jesus made them that way by His empowering grace.
     Sometimes I am told that I don’t understand grace because I choose to obey the Commandments as they are written. But my testimony is a life utterly transformed by God’s grace, which has in turn made me recognize the astounding beauty and necessity of God’s moral law. How could the Holy Spirit convict me of my desperate need to repent and accept God’s grace without His rules spelled out in detail It’s not a long-gone artifact of faith, but an eternal testament to God’s righteousness!
     Realizing that my sins had been washed away, my love for God blossomed (1 John 4:19). Yet the more I studied His Word, the more I saw that sin devastated God’s heart. It was an unavoidable conclusion. I didn’t want to hurt Him any longer, or treat His law so lackadaisically. Grace has not only made me clean before the Father, it has enabled me to honor His Commandments so long as I cling to Jesus and His promises.
     When we show God our real desire to stop sinning, real change begins. We experience true character-building—a real goal to reach for—a real purpose for living; something that grace without real responsibility won’t give us. (If you give a jobless person a job and a living wage, you will see real passion! But what happens when all you do is give money and walk away) And that is why I am so passionate for God. His law, His government, has given me purpose to live, to work, and to die for.
     God loves us. God has mercy. I count on that love and have faith in that mercy. I am aware of my sinful condition, but I have assurance that He is willing to forgive and that He will complete His work in me (Philippians 1:6). But I also believe He has a big problem with those who willfully defy His Commandments and pick and choose the details they will acknowledge. Can God allow someone into heaven who continues to recklessly defy Him I think God would never want us to conclude that we love Him so much that we won’t worry about keeping His Commandments.
     “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty” (James 2:12).

Conclusion

     Thus, God-fearing Americans don’t need the government to enforce the 10 Commandments, or have schools with prayer time. For all their days, the Jews had posted His moral law everywhere, and yet they still disobeyed and their nation crumbled. They were lost because their hearts rejected His laws, not because they didn’t display them. That should tell us something: A plaque in a government hall doesn’t honor God; that method was tried, and it failed.
     Of course, there is a big difference between that and forbidding biblical teaching in the public domain; this is the real issue Christians should fight for. Ensuring religious liberty does not mean forbidding expressing our faith; sharing our faith is a Christian duty! Yet nor does religious liberty mean forcing the faith on someone who doesn’t want to hear it. It is a sad fact that God’s influence is dying in the land, but the government can’t fix that. Only God can through the agency of His church.
     Most Americans appreciate the safety and freedom afforded to a people living under the rule of law. By obeying the laws of our government, we contribute to the public peace. The laws of our government are a lot of “thou shall nots,” but very few people, only anarchists, grumble that they are restrictions. Why then do Christians, good Americans, treat God’s government as if it is currently void of the rule of law—as if He doesn’t expect future citizens of His kingdom to keep them Why do we grumble about keeping them, as if they were terrible If we keep them, to us they are a “law of liberty!”
     Instead of a Christian-governed nation, I believe there is an even a better way to promote peace, love, and Jesus in our country. Instead of raising an alarm when they are removed from government buildings, I believe we should hang the 10 Commandments in our own homes and on our hearts. If we honored them by our actions, it wouldn’t matter what the government did, because the hearts of unbelievers would be touched dramatically. Think of the stories of Joseph, Daniel, and of course our perfect example, God’s Commandment Keeper, Jesus. His life of love, grace, and perfection changed the course of history—no earthly government required.

We Can Believe In God

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 01:39:39 GMT

We Can Believe In God

Jim once asked an atheist if he had ever wrestled, even for a few moments, with the thought that maybe God does exist.

"Absolutely!" the atheist said, to Jim's surprise. "Years ago when our first child was born I almost became a believer in God.

"As I looked down at that miniature-but-perfect little human being in the crib, as I watched the flexing of those tiny fingers and saw the dawning of recognition in those little eyes, I went through a period of several months during which I almost ceased to be an atheist. Looking at that child almost convinced me there had to be a God."

1. Everything Designed Has A Designer

The design of the human body demands the existence of a designer.

Have you ever pondered all that's involved in the simple act of seeing? Scientists tell us that the delicate engineering of the eye's cornea and lens make the most advanced camera seem like a child's toy by comparison. The tiny rods and cones in the eye change light into electro-chemical impulses through processes the most sophisticated laboratory can't reproduce. And brain cells transform these electrical impulses into the miracle of perception-something no high-tech computer can come close to doing.

Engineering, chemistry, information processing-all are involved every time we open our eyes. Charles Darwin once stated that the thought of the eye, and how it could possibly be produced by natural selection, made him ill. Here's why.

The human eye could not have evolved over long periods of time, because it is absolutely useless unless complete. The lens, which focuses light, would be useless without the retina, which senses light. And all the light received would serve no purpose without the nerve fibers which carry signals to the brain.

Vision involves a complete system of organs-all interrelated, all thoroughly designed. That's the way it is with the whole human body. Lungs and heart, nerves and muscles, all perform incredibly complicated tasks that depend on other incredibly complicated tasks. No wonder the Psalmist concluded that the human body speaks loud and clear of a wonderful Creator:

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."-Psalm 139:14. (Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptural texts in the DISCOVER guides are from the New International Version of the Bible [NIV].)

We don't have to go far to find the "works" of God. The evidence right in our own bodies points to an infinitely skillful designer.

If you were to mark ten coins from one to ten, place them in your pocket, shake them around, and then pull each one out and put it back in your pocket one by one, what is the likelihood you could do so in exact numerical sequence? By mathematical law you have only one chance in ten billion of taking them out in order from one to ten.

Now consider the chances of a stomach, brain, heart, lungs, arteries, veins, kidneys, ears, eyes, and teeth all developing together and beginning to function at the same moment in time. What is the most reasonable explanation for the design of the human body?

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,' . . . SO GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."-Genesis 1:26, 27.

The first man and woman could not just have happened. The Bible affirms that God designed us in His image. He is the great Engineering Intelligence who thought us up and brought us into being.

2. Everything Made Has A Maker

But evidence for God is not confined to the design of our bodies; it's also spread across the heavens.

Leave the lights of the city and go out into the country. Look up into the night sky. That milky cloud beyond the stars that we call the Milky Way is really a galaxy, or island universe, of billions of blazing suns similar to our sun. In fact our sun and its planets are a part of the Milky Way.

Now look at the Andromeda star group. See that hazy oval of light. Under a telescope it becomes another spiral galaxy, and like our Milky Way it is composed of billions of giant suns. Andromeda is but one of an estimated one hundred billion island universes that can be seen through giant telescopes. Astronomers tell us that some of these island universes are actually moving through each other at an incomprehensible speed, all perfectly balanced in space. Somehow all this motion is synchronized. All the orbits within orbits proceed on track, on time. No wonder the psalmist concluded that the stars speak of a glorious Maker:

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard."-Psalm 19:1-3.

What may we reasonably conclude by looking at the intricate design and vast size of the universe?

"[God] is before all things, and in him all things hold together."-Colossians 1:17.

The Weymouth translation is even clearer: "He is before all things, and in and through Him the universe is one harmonious whole."

All creation boldly testifies:

"God designed! God created!" From the perfect balance of proton and electron in the atom to the whirl of planets around the sun we find evidence of a master plan, a master thinker, of God the Master Designer and the Infinite Creator.

When an anthropologist, digging in the sands of New Mexico, comes across a triangular-shaped stone, he examines it carefully. If he sees markings on the stone that suggest it has been chiseled into shape, he immediately concludes that an American Indian created the object. He will even attempt to assign a date to the arrowhead, and determine which Indian tribe it belonged to.

No anthropologist worth his salt ever argues that arrowheads got there by chance. No one has attempted to explain that lightning or wind and water could have shaped these objects. It seems perfectly obvious to everyone that a human being made them.

Yet when many scientists dig up fossils, evidence of living things from the past, they make a very different assumption. They don't see the hand of a Creator; they assume these creatures must have been produced by the blind forces of nature, that they just naturally evolved. The animal fossils we discover, even those buried deepest in the geologic layers, represent creatures infinitely more complex than any arrowhead. So why not draw the obvious conclusion: someone had to create them? The Bible suggests a logical answer to the question of origins:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."-Genesis 1:1.

In these simple words, "in the beginning God," we find the answer to the mystery of life. The first doctrine recorded in the Bible is that there is a God; in fact, this first verse in the Bible tells us of His mighty act of creation. Dr. Arthur Compton, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, commenting on this verse of Scripture, once said:

"For myself, faith begins with a realization that a supreme intelligence brought the universe into being and created man. It is not difficult for me to have this faith, for it is incontrovertible that where there is a plan there is intelligence-an orderly, unfolding universe testifies to the truth of the most majestic statement ever uttered-`In the beginning God.'"

Many great scientific minds today believe in God. The book Behind the Dim Unknown, edited by John Clover Monsma (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons), contains twenty-six chapters, each chapter written by a scientific researcher who is both a specialist in his field and also a Christian. Each author emphasizes the same fundamental truth-God exists.

In the words, "in the beginning God," we find the foundation of all existence. The Bible does not attempt to prove God-it declares His existence. That God exists is proved by our own existence and also by the existence of the things we see around us. Every effect must have an adequate cause. There is design in this world, hence there must be a designer. There is mathematical plan in the universe, so there must have been a planner. All things, then, must have been created by some being, and that being is God.

Dr. Arthur Conklin, once a biologist of Princeton University, wrote: "The probability of life originating from an accident is comparable to the probability of an unabridged dictionary resulting from an explosion in a print shop."

We know that human beings can't create something from nothing. We may construct things, invent things, put things together, make things work, but with all our wisdom, we have never brought into being from scratch even the smallest spear of grass or the tiniest toad or the simplest flower.

Who, then, did make all things? Who created them in the beginning? Who started them? There is only one satisfactory answer-God.

The things about us cry out that God designed, God created, God sustains. Only life-or its ultimate Source-produces life. The only plausible answer to the origin of the universe, this world, and human beings-is God.

3. God Comes Into Personal Relationships With People

The God who designed the starry heavens, who created the universe, comes into personal relationships with people. Deep in the mind and heart of every individual, God has revealed a knowledge of His existence. He is "the true light that gives light to every man" (John 1:9).

The Bible asserts that our Creator seeks personal relationships with us. Abraham "was called God's friend" (James 2:23). "The Lord would speak to Moses . . . as a man speaks with his friend" (Exodus 33:11). And God will enter into a personal relationship with you and become your Friend. Jesus promised those who follow Him: "You are my friends" (John 15:14).

Human existence itself supports the idea of a personal God. We all know it to be a fact that personality exists here on this earth. We are persons, our friends are persons. Since there is personality, there must be a personal God as its cause. It is impossible for human beings to exist without a personal Creator back of them. Since there is individual personality, it is logical to conclude that a God who is also a Person is responsible for creating personalities.

About 2500 years ago a group of Greek philosophers discussed the question, "What is the briefest possible definition of man?"

Plato suggested: "Man is a two-legged animal."

Another philosopher, however, exposed this definition's limitations by fetching a rooster. He held it up and said, "Behold Plato's man!"

They pondered in silence a few moments until one of the thinkers exclaimed, "I have it! Man is a religious animal."

That's it in a nutshell. Humanity is incurably religious. We alone feel a sense of need for a Higher Power. All of us, whether atheistic or devout, have wrestled with the idea of God. We're distinguished from animals by our imagination and reason, and by our will to choose right or wrong. No animal ever builds an altar for worship. Yet everywhere you find men and women, you find them worshiping. Deep within every human heart is a desire to worship, "a consciousness of God."

God has placed within all of us a desire to come into companionship with Him. When we respond to our longing and find God, there is no longer a doubt about His existence and our need. During the 1990s millions of atheists in Russia renounced atheism and turned to God. A university professor in St. Petersburg whose field is astronomy made a statement that typifies the comments made by many transformed atheists in the former Soviet Union:

"I have searched for a meaning to life in my scientific research, but found nothing to have confidence in. The scientists around me feel the same vacuum. As I looked at the vastness of the universe in my study of astronomy, and the emptiness of my soul, I felt there must be some meaning. Then, when I received the Bible you gave me and began reading it, the vacuum in my life was filled. I have found the Bible to be the only source of confidence to my soul. I have accepted Jesus as my Saviour and have found true peace, comfort, and satisfaction in life."

A Christian believes in God because he or she has met Him and discovers that He satisfies the heart's deepest needs. The God whom Christians have joyfully found to exist, gives us a new perspective, new meaning, new motives, new purposes, and new joys.

God doesn't promise a life free from trouble and conflict, but He does assure us that He will guide and sustain us if we come into a personal relationship with Him. And millions of Christians will testify that they would give up everything rather than go back to life without God.

This is the greatest wonder of all-that the Almighty God who designed all creatures and created and sustains the galaxies also desires a personal relationship with every man and woman, boy and girl. David marvelled at this, when he wrote: "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him?"-Psalm 8:3, 4.

Our Creator is "mindful" of each one of us. He takes as personal an interest in you as if you were the only being He had created.

So we can believe in God:

Because of the intricate design in everything He created about us.
Because of the longing for God within us that leaves us restless till we find our rest in Him.
And because when we seek and find Him, God satisfies our every need and longing-to the full!

Now, it's only reasonable that a personal God would want to reveal Himself to His created beings just as a father desires that his children know him. And God reveals Himself to us in the Bible. (Guide 2 will give evidence that the Bible is a reliable Book given to us by the God who created us.)

4. What Kind Of God Is He?

In the Bible God tells us who He is and what He is like.

What pattern did God use for creating men and women?

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."-Genesis 1:27.

According to Scripture, we are made in God's image. This is why we can have a personal relationship with Him. Our abilities to reflect and feel, to remember and hope, to ponder and analyze-all are derived from Him.

Although God is a Spirit, He also has a bodily form (see Exodus 31:18 and 33:11). Since God has a personality, what is His dominant trait?

"God is love."-1 John 4:8.

God relates to human beings out of His own heart of love. There is nothing He has done or ever will do which is not motivated by a selfless, sacrificial love.

5. How Jesus Reveals What God Is Like

What family member gives us an idea of what God is like?

"Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us?"-Malachi 2:10.

In the Bible God repeatedly speaks of Himself as a father.

Some of the father images we see today are anything but desirable. There are neglectful dads, dead-beat dads, abusive dads. God is not like that. Rather, He is a caring, sensitive Father. He is the kind of Dad who loves to spend time with his son or daughter, the kind of Dad who charms his kids by telling wonderful bedtime stories.

God, our loving Father, wanted to do more than reveal Himself through the words of Scripture. He knew that a person we live with is much more real to us than someone we only hear about or read about in a book. So He decided to enter our world as a real, specific individual.

God came down on our level-He became like us-so He could teach us how to live and be happy, and so we could see what God is really like.

How did God visit the world as a person?

"[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God."-Colossians 1:15.

God came down to our world in the person of Jesus.

A small boy and his older brother, were standing before a large portrait of their father who had died when the younger boy was a mere babe.

"Tell me," the younger brother said, "just what was Father like?"

The older boy attempted to tell his little brother something about their father. He described his strength. He said he was a good man, kind and handsome. He was friendly, and people liked to be with him. He was always gentle with Mother. He made people happy.

In spite of all the older brother could say, the small boy could not form a satisfying picture of his father. He wanted so much to know what his father was like. At last he interrupted his brother with the question, "Tell me one thing, Henry, was Father anything like you?"

The older boy hesitated a moment, then said: "Well, friends of ours who knew Father best say that I'm the living image of him. And even Mother says the same."

With his heart all aglow, the small boy walked away, saying: "Now I know exactly what my dad was like. He was just like my brother Henry."

Jesus came to our world as God in human flesh. Jesus is "the Son of God" (Mark 15:39)- God made visible, the thought of God made audible. Jesus Himself said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). So if you have seen Jesus, you have seen God Himself. Whenever you want to know what God is like, then look at Jesus as the Bible reveals Him.

As you read the story of Jesus in the four gospels, the first four books of the New Testament, you will discover a fascinating portrait of our Heavenly Father. Rough,self-sufficient fishermen dropped their nets to follow Christ, and small children flocked to receive His blessing. He could comfort the most devastated sinners and disarm the most self-righteous hypocrites. He healed everything from blindness to leprosy with the quiet assurance of a doctor prescribing a couple of aspirin. His two-word command: "Be still!" forced a violent storm to calm down like a naughty child brought suddenly to its senses. In all His actions Jesus demonstrated that God is love! He met human need in a way no one had ever done before Him-or has since!

Jesus' final glorious revelation of what God is like happened at the cross. That's where He died for us so that we would not have to die forever ourselves.

How do we benefit from Christ's death?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life"-John 3:16.

Jesus died not only to give us a happier life now, but also to give us eternal life. Jesus is God's "one and only Son"-He is unique, one of a kind. He is the one and only being who is both wholly God and wholly man.

For long ages people wondered, and hoped, and dreamed about God. They saw His handiwork in the sky and in the beauties of nature. Many thought to themselves, "If only God were like this!" or, "If only God were like that!" But the beautiful, self-sacrificing life of Jesus and His death on the cross revealed God more clearly than ever. People found themselves looking into the very face of God, seeing Him as He really is-love, eternal and immortal love!

You can discover God right now as Jesus reveals Him. That discovery will lead you to make a very personal affirmation: "Father, I love you!"