2024-01-06
Hebreërs 11:3 NLV
Gepraat van ons wonderlike liggame – wat van DNA? Elke menslike sel (tot 100 triljoen) bevat ‘n databasis wat groter as die Encyclopedia Britannica is! Kon dit alles toevallig ontstaan het? Die Engelse fisikus, Paul Davies, maak die volgende vergelyking: ‘Dit is soos om ‘n stok dinamiet onder ‘n hoop bakstene te laat ontplof en te verwag dat dit ‘n huis sal bou. Jy kan genoeg energie vrystel om die stene te beweeg, maar sonder om die energie op ‘n beheerde manier aan die stene te koppel, is daar min hoop om enigiets anders as ‘n chaotiese gemors te produseer.’
Dit verg duidelik meer as ‘n hoop stene om ‘n huis te bou. Die argitek se intellek en die bouer se vaardighede is sleutelkomponente. Dis dieselfde as dit by die kompleksiteite van ‘n menslike wese kom. Die kans is nul dat al die nodige elemente wat nodig is om menselewe te begin, eenvoudig terselfdertyd op dieselfde plek op aarde bymekaar gekom het. Selfs al kon dit so plaasgevind het, kon blinde toeval nie daardie 100 triljoen selle in die volgorde wat nodig is om lewe te produseer, saamgevoeg het nie.
Die vooraanstaande wetenskaplike, Francis Crick, is nie bekend vir sy geloof nie, maar selfs hy het gesê: ‘Die oorsprong van lewe blyk amper ‘n wonderwerk te wees, so baie is die voorwaardes wat bevredig moet word om dit aan die gang te kry.’ Wat is die wonderwerk? Die Psalmdigter het gesê: ‘U self het my diepste wese gemaak, my in die moederskoot gevorm. Ek loof U omdat U my so wonderlik gemaak het…’ (Psalm 139:13-14 NLV). Dis die wonderwerk!
Sielskos: Lev 5-7; Matt 3:1-10; Ps 10:12-18; Spr 1:17-19
Hebrews 11:3 NIV
Speaking of our amazing bodies… what about DNA? Each human cell (up to 100 trillion) contains a database larger than the Encyclopedia Britannica! Could all that have originated by chance? English physicist Paul Davies makes this comparison: “It’s rather like exploding a stick of dynamite under a pile of bricks and expecting it to build a house. You may liberate enough energy to raise the bricks, but without coupling the energy to the bricks in a controlled way, there’s little hope of producing anything other than a chaotic mess.”
Clearly it requires more than a pile of bricks to build a house. The intelligence of the architect and the skill of the builder are key components. And it’s the same with all the complexities of a human being. The odds are zero that all the required elements necessary to initiate human life just happened to assemble themselves in the same spot on earth at the same time. And even if we did accept that notion, blind chance couldn’t put those 100 trillion cells together in the order required to produce life.
Prominent scientist Francis Crick wasn’t noted for his faith, but even he said, “The origin of life seems almost to be a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have had to have been satisfied to get it going.” And what’s the miracle? The psalmist said, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-14 NIV). That’s the miracle!
Soul food: Lev 5-7; Matt 3:1-10; Ps 10:12-18; Prov 1:17-19
2024-01-05
Psalm 139:14 NLT
Could life as we know it – plant, animal, and human life – have spontaneously happened by chance? Could our amazing solar system be the result of an accident? The more advanced science becomes, the more evidence there is for a Master Designer. Researchers continue to uncover the divine order in each tiny human cell.
American biochemist Bruce Alberts, former president of the National Academy of Sciences, writes, “We have always underestimated cells; undoubtedly we still do… Cells are the basic unit of life… indeed the entire cell can be viewed as a factory that contains an elaborate network of interlocking assembly lines, each of which is composed of a set of different protein machines in defined positions.”
The psalmist David wasn’t a scientist, yet he recognized that each of us is a complex product of God’s amazing hands! “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb… You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion… woven together in the dark of the womb… How precious are your thoughts about me… They cannot be numbered!… And when I wake up, you are still with me!” (vv. 13, 15, 17-18 NLT).
The average human heart beats 115,000 times a day. Our blood travels 12,000 miles every day (four times the distance across America coast to coast!). Adults take an average of 18,000 to 30,000 breaths a day, and for the most part, all these functions take place without our awareness. Amazing! Today, stop and take a few minutes to acknowledge and thank your Creator for the amazing things He did with that first clump of dirt.
Soul food: Lev 1-4; Matt 2:19-23; Ps 10:1-11; Prov 1:10-16
Psalm 139:14 NLV
Kon die lewe soos ons dit ken – plant, dier en menslike lewe – spontaan deur toeval ontstaan het? Kon ons wonderlike sonnestelsel die gevolg van ‘n ongeluk gewees het? Hoe meer gevorderd die wetenskap raak, hoe meer bewyse is daar van ‘n Meesterontwerper. Navorsers ontdek aanhoudend die goddelike ontwerp in elke klein menslike sel.
Die Amerikaanse biochemikus Bruce Alberts, die voormalige president van die Nasionale Akademie van Wetenskap, skryf: ‘Ons het nog altyd selle onderskat; ons doen dit ongetwyfeld nog steeds. Selle is die basiese boublokke van lewe. Die hele sel kan inderdaad as ‘n fabriek wat ‘n uitgebreide netwerk van verskillende proteïenmasjiene in vaste posisies het, beskou word.’
Die Psalmdigter Dawid was nie ‘n wetenskaplike nie, maar tog het hy besef dat elkeen van ons die komplekse produk van God se wonderbaarlike hande is! ‘U het self my diepste wese gemaak… My beendere was vir U sigbaar toe ek stilletjies gevorm is in die dieptes van die moederskoot. U het my gesien voor ek gebore is… Kosbaar is u gedagtes vir my, o God!.. As ek dit sou moes tel, sou hulle meer wees as sandkorrels! Wanneer ek daarmee klaar is, sal U nog by my wees’ (verse 13, 15-18 NLV).
Die gemiddelde menslike hart klop 115,000 keer per dag. Ons bloed beweeg ongeveer 19,300 kilometer elke dag. Volwassenes neem gemiddeld 18,000 tot 30,000 asemteue elke dag en al hierdie funksies neem meestal plaas sonder dat ons daarvan bewus is. Dis fantasties! Neem vandag ‘n paar minute om jou Skepper te erken en te dank vir hoe wonderbaarlik Hy jou gemaak het.
Sielskos: Lev 1-4; Matt 2:19-23; Ps 10:1-11; Spr 1:10-16
2024-01-04
Mark 12:30 NKJV
Loving God with all your mind means managing your mind and making the most of it. It means loving God logically and creatively, intuitively, and thoughtfully. Albert Einstein, one of history’s greatest minds, said: “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.” Downplaying his genius, Einstein said, “I have no special gift, I am only passionately curious.”
The Bible says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1 NKJV). So, your curiosity should be boundless and without limits. The Latin word for “education” means “to draw out” rather than “to cram in.” Most academic programs focus on force-feeding knowledge rather than releasing curiosity. The result? We know some things – but we lose what’s most vital: the love of learning.
In one study of a top university, the highest scoring graduates were given their same final exams one month after graduation. All of them failed. When you attempt to cram the truth into your mind, it seldom gets past the short-term memory. And it assuredly doesn’t get into the soul. Sadly, sometimes that’s what happens in church each weekend. What’s the answer? Put God’s Word into practice every chance you get.
Soul food: 2 Thes 1-3; Matt 2:13-18; Ps 90:7-17; Prov 1:5-9
