2021-02-14
Genesis 1:2 KJV
Science defines the universe as being made up of five components: time, space, matter, power, and motion. With that clearly in mind, read this: “In the beginning [time] God created [power] the heaven [space] and the earth [matter]. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved [motion] upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be…and there was” (vv. 1-3).
The first thing God tells us in the Bible is that He created all things and that He controls all things. Now consider these quotes from three leading magazines and newspapers:
(1) “Most cosmologists (scientists who study the structures and evolution of the universe) agree that the Genesis account of creation, in imagining an initial void, may be uncannily close to the truth” (Time magazine).
(2) “The universe suddenly exploded into being…The big bang bears an uncanny resemblance to the Genesis command” (Jim Holt, science writer: The Wall Street Journal).
(3) “New scientific revelations about supernovas, black holes, quarks, and the big bang even suggest to some scientists that there is a ‘grand design’ in the universe” (U.S. News & World Report).
The retina in your eye contains 137 million light-sensitive cells, while the focusing muscles in your eye move approximately 100,000 times a day. Well guess what? Charles Darwin wrote in On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection, “To suppose that the eye…could have been formed by natural selection [evolution], seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.”
The truth is this: God made you, and He has a plan for your life.
Soul food: Eph 5:21-33; Song of Sol 2:1-7; Ps 45; Prov 5:15-19
2021-02-13
Matthew 19:4 NKJV
A fascinating quote from a 1995 issue of U.S. News & World Report reads: “Researchers suggest that virtually all modern men – 99 percent of them, says one scientist – are closely related genetically and share genes with one male ancestor dubbed ‘Y-chromosome Adam.’ We are finding that humans have very, very shallow genetic roots which go back very recently to one ancestor…That indicates that there was an origin in a specific location on the globe, and then it spread out from there.”
Furthermore, we know that the male needs the female to reproduce, and vice versa. Neither can carry on life separate from the other. Jesus pointed this out, saying, “He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female.'” So which one of them came first, according to the evolutionary theory: male or female? As one author writes: “If a male came into being before a female, how did the male of each species reproduce without females? How is it possible that a male and female each spontaneously came into being, yet they have complex, complementary reproductive systems? If each gender was able to reproduce without the other, why (and how) would they have developed a reproductive system that requires both genders in order for the species to survive?”
Just because an academic says something, doesn’t make it so! Christians need to speak up and demand answers from those who offer unproven theories in the name of higher learning? Jesus said we would know the truth, and the truth would set us free (See John 8:32). Free from what? Free from error!
Soul food: Ecc 1-4; Matt 14:13-21; Ps 145:14-21; Prov 4:23-24
2021-02-12
Genesis 1:1 NKJV
A growing number of educators and scientists around the world believe the Bible account of creation and are pointing us back to the truth of these words: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The question “evolution or creation?” becomes clearer when you rephrase it as “accident or design?”
Sir Fred Hoyle, professor of astronomy at Cambridge University, said: “The chance that higher life forms might have emerged in this way [through evolution] is comparable to the chance that a tornado sweeping through a junkyard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein.” He continues: “The likelihood of the formation of life from inanimate matter is one out of 1040,000…It is big enough to bury Darwin and the whole theory of evolution. There was no primeval soup, neither on this planet nor on any other, and if the beginnings of life were not random, they must therefore have been the product of purposeful intelligence.”
Even evolutionist Stephen Hawking, one of the most respected scientists since Albert Einstein, acknowledges: “The universe and the laws of physics seem to have been specifically designed for us. If any one of about 40 physical qualities had more than slightly different values, life as we know it could not exist: Either atoms would not be stable, or they wouldn’t combine into molecules, or the stars wouldn’t form the heavier elements, or the universe would collapse before life could develop.”
As a Bible believer, never apologize or compromise when it comes to the truth that says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Soul food: Rom 15-16; Matt 14:1-12; Ps 145:1-13; Prov 4:20-22
2021-02-11
Leviticus 7:23 NLT
God warned His people about the dangers associated with animal fat. If you’re hooked on fried or fatty foods, check out this Scripture: “Give the following instructions to…Israel. You must never eat fat, whether from cattle, sheep, or goats. The fat of an animal found dead or torn to pieces by wild animals must never be eaten, though it may be used for any other purpose” (vv. 22-24 NLT).
While polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats found mostly in plant-based foods and oils promote dietary health, the kind of fat in many of the foods we eat are saturated and trans fats which raise dietary cholesterol, a major risk factor for coronary disease which leads to stroke and heart attacks. In reference also to prostate cancer, a study by the University of Pennsylvania cancer center stated, “The fourth most common cause of cancer among men may be related to saturated fat consumption.”
God also gave His people laws of hygiene. “When he who has a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall…bathe his body in running water” (Leviticus 15:13 NKJV). In the eighteenth century, three out of ten mothers died following childbirth, even though they seemed healthy. Why? Because back then doctors routinely examined the bodies of corpses, then without washing their hands, moved on to the maternity ward where they examined expectant mothers. “Microscopic disease” was unknown until 1845, when Ignaz Semmelweis, a Viennese doctor dubbed “the Saviour of mothers,” introduced hand-washing in “running water” with chlorinated lime solution, and the death rate from childbed fever plummeted.
Bottom line: living by the principles of Scripture will keep you healthy.
Soul food: Rom 12-14; Matt 13:47-58; Ps 141; Prov 4:18-19
2021-02-10
Proverbs 14:30 NLT
In the last half century, doctors have come to understand and emphasize the correlation between mental and physical health. Yet the Bible talked about it over three thousand years ago when King Solomon gave us these four proverbs: (1) “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.” (2) “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health” (Proverbs 15:30 NLT). (3) “Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul and healthy for the body” (Proverbs 16:24 NLT). (4) “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength” (Proverbs 17:22 NLT).
These Scriptures could be summed up like this: a faith-filled attitude (focusing on what’s good instead of what’s bad), laughter (the ability to rejoice), and spoken words of encouragement have a profound effect on your health (and the health of those around you). What’s the antidote for stress? Serenity! What’s the remedy for fear? Faith! And where do serenity and faith come from? God!
David was in bad shape when he wrote, “I begged the Lord for mercy, saying, ‘What will you gain if I die, if I sink into the grave?'” (Psalm 30:8-9 NLT). We don’t know whether he was stressed-out mentally, or if he was physically ill. But God intervened, and later in the same psalm David wrote, “You have turned my mourning into…dancing. You have…clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent” (vv. 11-12 NLT).
There’s no doubt about it – your thinking has a profound effect on your health!
Soul food: Rom 9:17-11:36; Matt 13:36-46; Ps 138; Prov 4:14-17
2021-02-09
Romans 8:15 NLT
If you’re adopted, that means your parents chose you. They could have picked a different gender, color, or ancestry. But they selected you. You say, “But if they could have foreseen the rest of my life, they might have changed their minds.” That’s the point exactly!
God saw our entire lives from beginning to end, and He was still convinced “to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:5 NLT). We can now live “like God’s very own children, adopted into…his family, and calling to him, ‘Father, Father’…And since we are his children, we will share his treasures – for all God gives to his Son Jesus is now ours too” (Romans 8:15, 17 TLB).
God doesn’t accept you because of your pedigree. And He doesn’t reject you because of your divorce, deficiencies, debt, or dumb choices. You’re His redeemed child. You can call him “Abba,” which means “daddy” or “papa.” You “may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Ephesians 3:12 NIV). And that’s so, on your bad days as well as your good ones. And it gets better. Your adoption is horizontal as well as vertical. You’re now a member of His redeemed family. Dividing walls of hostility are broken down, and community is created on the basis of a common father. Instant family worldwide!
If God loves you, you must be worth loving. If He wants to have you in His kingdom, then you must be worth having. God’s grace invites you – no, requires you – to change your attitude about yourself and take sides with God against your feelings of rejection and unworthiness. You’re accepted, loved, and secure!
Soul food: Rom 7:1-9:16; Matt 13:24-35; Ps 134; Prov 4:5-13
