Considering the Heavens--Our Moon

"The moon and stars to rule by night, for His loving kindness is everlasting." Psalm 136:9

The moon takes my breath away when I look at it on beautiful dark nights. Sometimes only a sliver is lit, but I can see the round shadow of the full moon. When the moon is totally lit up and lights up the land around me, it truly gives me a feeling of awe and insignificance. From the 'tiny' craters to the massive 'seas' our moon is breathtaking.

It is also a marvelous testimony to a young earth. From and evolutionist point of view, here are a few questions which may cause a problem:
1. How did the moon get there?
2. Is there proof of how old the moon is?
3. Is the moon actually 'dead'?

These are only just a few of the questions a evolution believer may wonder inwardly but on the outside tell people the 'proofs' and the 'facts'. Looking into their answers, however, reveals that there is really no proof for any of their answers. There is a whole lot of theories of how the moon 'got there' all without proof and made completely by their imagination. Theories such as the earth 'throwing off' the moon, being 'caught' by the earths orbit, or both being 'formed' at the same time, have no evidence what-so-ever. According to the Bible, the earth was specially created to rule the night on day four. Also, these theories are unrealistic, not just unprovable. First off, the earth spinning so fast that it throws off the moon doesn't make sense scientifically, second, according to how real orbits work, the earth would have actually 'whipped' the moon sending it soaring into space. Thirdly, them being formed at the same time may seem a bit more logical, but we know that something cannot come from nothing. Basic law of science there...

An evolutionist idea of how the moon began.

According to the Bible, the earth was formed on day four and is approximately six thousand years old, we know this by adding up the 'sons of' and other time-linking parts in God's Word. Another interesting point is that by scientific observation, at present, the moon is moving away from earth about 4 cm per year. Taking this amount, doing some math, and going back about 1 billion years ago, the moon is pretty close to the earth-- rephrase that--the moon is WAY too close to the earth. As in, it is now in or gone through the Roche Limit, and is rather destroyed...
Lastly, and my personal favorite, is whether or not the moon is what evolutionist call 'dead'. And I say, "Most certainly not!"  In medieval times (AD 1178) it is recorded that moon watchers observed something hitting the moon on the upper side of it and causing a large explosion, the crater (called Bruno), that this comet made, is seen today. Also, the moon still 'rings' by the hit it received.
The below sites can explain it far better than me and I also got a lot of my information from the company.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v3/n1/heavens-declare-young-solar-system

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2006/08/11/feedback-lunar-recession

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/tj/v7/n1/moondust


Also, some incredible movies on the subject:

http://www.answersingenesis.org/store/product/our-created-moon/

http://www.answersingenesis.org/store/product/creation-cosmology/


http://www.answersingenesis.org/store/product/creation-astronomy/

http://www.answersingenesis.org/store/product/distant-starlight/ 

http://www.answersingenesis.org/store/product/astronomy-and-bible-riddle/ 

Plenty of the above isn't about the moon, most of it is just about our amazing created universe and the proof that God made it all! And truly these web pages and movies are worth your time, they are far above anything I could ever write.
Please feel free to comment your own ideas or additional information to me, I'm always in to hearing what readers have to say!

Considering the Heavens- Part 1

"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, the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8:3

"Who makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south;" Job 9:9

"Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion?" Job 38:31

"He who made the Pleiades and Orion..." Amos 5:8

"...; He made the stars also." Genesis 1:16







I'm fascinated with the universe, God has many mysteries, but the universe is the largest one for me. So much is out in space, the earth is merely a tiny, itty bitty dot in the whole thing--no, change that, our whole universe is merely a tiny, itty bitty dot in the whole thing. Yet, this massive and beautiful universe is summed up in 'He made the stars also." Incredible.

"He made the stars also..." 

Even before pictures (above) could be taken or seen, David 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 the son of man that you care for him?"
God created so much, yet He made man on His earth and gave His only Son for us. May we never forget how good God is and how merciful He is, AND what He placed above our heads and around the universe. God has even created whole other galaxies, but He made earth special and put life of IT.

I also put three verses about Pleiades and Orion, common constellations even thousands of years later. Nearly everyone knows and can find Orion, or at least Orion's belt. Looking a little more upward and to the right, one can see a cluster of stars called Pleiades, or also known as the Seven Sisters.

 From: http://www.starseeds.net/forum/topics/are-there-any-starseeds-from

I placed a close up picture of the Pleiades above to the right. This cluster is nicknamed 'The Seven Sisters' because of a Greek legend. Obviously, when David and Amos wrote about it, they were called Pleiades. I find it fascinating that even back then they had constellations named. Most names have stayed the same over time, but a few changed or the translators didn't know which formation the writer was speaking about.

Secular scientists are spending  millions, even billions, on trying to find life on other planets, any little rock or dust ball they try and make into some kind of 'there used to be life here!' What should we, as Christians, believe? From what the Bible says, God did not send His Son to save aliens on another planet, Christ did not die for little green men. Neither does the Bible even remotely mention life of any kind--human or not--on any other planet but earth. 'He made the stars also' not, 'He created the stars, and another planet where He made life and saw it was very good', just stars, the universe, and the desolate, extremely cold or extremely hot, waist-land (but VERY beautiful) planets.

As odd as it may seem, God may have created the rest of the massive universe for our benefit and enjoyment, for us to discover how great a God we serve, and how mighty and powerful He is.

Hopefully, I will be able to post a few series on space. Lord willing, I'll write about our moon next.

Faith and Deeds

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily good. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deed, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is dead?"

Pretty strong words there.
In our modern culture and most modern churches they are always claiming that 'say you believe in Jesus, and voila! You are saved!'
Well...it's a little more complicated than just that. 'Even the demons believe that--and shudder'.
Yes, we do believe and are saved by God's grace and our faith in Him, but 'faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.'. Which means not saved. The modern church invites all kinds of heathen into their body and around their vulnerable children, and tell them its okay to sin. Or, this 'saved' person goes to church and acts all proper on Sundays but lives a life of sin through the week. According to scripture, this is wrong, and a person is not saved if they live this way. They would be just like some of the pharisees, calling themselves holly and saved, yet living such a black ugly life without true faith. If you are truly saved, you will have works. Other people should see your deed that you do. Because we have faith, we do deeds.
Of course, there is the issue of a person looking and acting like they are saved but their heart is actually evil, I'm not going to talk about them, but I did want to mention them, just in case you were thinking 'what about...'.
We are not saved by works, but without works and deeds, our faith is dead, the Bible says so, not me. This modern attitude of, 'I can sin all I like and not act remotely like a Christian but I'm still saved,' is wrong and unbiblical. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, we are Christ's servants, and we have to act like one or He will cast us out where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. If you claim to be a Christian, there is no excuse for acting like a sinner. We are a new creation in Christ, so we need to act like it not only in our hearts, but outwardly as well.

The First and the Last, the Living One

"Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a Son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around His chest. The hairs of His head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, His feet were like a burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters. In His right hand he held seven starts, from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying, 'Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.'" Revelation 1:12-20

I have a rather vivid, wild imagination, and I really must to read verses like that. We can't read it just as a story, we read some pretty bizarre tales sometimes that we imagine what would be like, then move on to real life. John's experience is not just story though, this was real this actually happened. It's so incredible, so unbelievable, can we even truly imagine what it would really be like to see such a sight? This amazing, awesome, God, the vivid picture which John portrayed Him as, became a simple man, a man's body and in our cursed world. He died, but 'behold I am alive forevermore,' Breathtaking, that's what, and humbling. I really want us to get a true picture of this, our hearts should nearly leap when we read it, white hair, a face shining like the sun, a voice like the roar of many waters, his feet like burnished bronze, and my personal favorite, which really adds so much to what our Saviour looks like: "His eyes were like a flame of fire." Think of fire, not a little candle burning in your living room, but an actually fire a big glowing flame, His eyes were like this, it almost makes me shake because it's not just a random description, this is REAL. Real: alive, not fake, not just imagination. No wonder John dropped down 'as though dead', you would too. Yet, Jesus said, 'Fear not'. Fear not, when you've just seen what John saw? Wowee. But we need a good imagination to picture it properly. I wish I could post a picture of what I see it as, but I doubt I could find it on the internet, and I know I can't draw it, so I leave it up to your imagination.
Now, "from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword." This, I personally believe, is not a sword sticking out of His mouth, but I believe it is an analogy for words, sort of the the 'sword of the spirit', except He is speaking them. Which I think, is the most powerful of all.
So, use that imagination God has given you, to picture this real, and to USE it. 'Use it?' you ask? Yup, use it. Figure that one out :)

Here's a hint

Horrid Tongue

"Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you? by his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom." James 3:4-13

Oh, that horrid, horrid tongue. Very few of us have learned to control it completely. Words come out and hurt people when we did not mean to hurt. Sentences slide off our tongue like ice melting down a the side of glass. They come out so quickly and sharply, over and over and over we say words and more words. Yet, how many of these words actually glorify God fully? How many of those long sentences have offended or hurt people because of our carelessness? I hate my tongue, I wish I could stop it sometimes--or at least control it a little. Sometimes we say too little, sometimes we talk till our throats are sore, but either way, are we trying to keep every word pure and from God? I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes their brain had a processing machine. I think a thought, it goes through the processor which decides if it's fit to say or not. But, lo! Not many of us have been gifted with such a thing. Words poor from out mouth without us thinking of them first, I believe I talk before I think even, I say things that my brain had not yet even thought the slightest bit about. Usually we know when we've said something we should not of. A sudden pang darts into our hearts the moments we say it. But my pride stops me from apologizing. Yes, my pride. When I should be saying "I'm so sorry," I sit there growing ever more guilty inside, but not being able to say it out loud.
Horrid, horrid, awful, tongue. How shall I ever tame it just a little? When will I know to shut my lips and keep silent or just listen to others? I never will be able to: "no human being can tame the tongue." No human, that means me, that means my Dad, my Mom, nobody can tame my tongue. Wait...lets look at the verse again: "no HUMAN BEING can tame the tongue." Human being, God is not a human being. He is perfect, and He is loving and helps us to grow and to change. HE can help me tame the retched tongue. If I give all my thoughts and words up to Him, He can help me. May we all surrender our tongues to Him, and only let that which edifies and builds up others come out of it.
...and lets work on that pride too...

Book of Daniel

I would just like to do a quick badly written post about the book of Daniel today, or parts of the book of Daniel.

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king." Daniel 2:20-23

Often times when we think of 'the story of Daniel,' our minds are always drawn to 'Daniel and the Loin's den', the old childhood story we read as preschoolers. What our small minds failed to realize is this: There is so much more to the book of Daniel than we realize. Prophecies, wisdom, riddles, and so many other stories fill the book of Daniel far beyond the small story of the loin's den. Don't get me wrong though, Daniel standing strong in his faith and being completely unharmed after a night with hungry lions is very astounding and shows us God's power. But there is so much more we need to think about in the book of Daniel. 

One area which I'll write a bit about today, is Daniel's attitude. The verse above gives a good example of his willingness to give God all the glory. He could easily have marched up to Nebuchadnezzar and stated, "Oh, King, guess what I discovered all on my own! I'm amazing!" But he didn't, he gave God the glory for giving him such insight. (Not to mention I doubt God would give Daniel insight and wisdom if he took all the credit for himself.) To me, Daniel always seems to be quite confidant in God and what He can do. Often times he goes right out and says something in faith, such as: "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare out appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." (Daniel 1:12-13) Daniel trusted God to keep them healthy, even though they only ate vegetables. Speckled all through the book of Daniel are similar words Daniel says, he possessed so much faith and trust in God. To end another one of my rambles, I say, may we try to have the faith and trust Daniel did in our God. We ARE His servants after all, He saved us from hell, we need to trust Him with ALL our minds and ALL our hearts.

Spreading the Gospel

Wow, I'm sorry, I've not been in a blogging mood lately, but now I officially decided to start blogging again-- at least for a while ;)

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore, go 'teach' and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 (note-- the version of the Bible I usually use does not have 'teach', but I added it anyways because it makes a better point)

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an exsample for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching." 1 Timothy 4:12-13

"Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." Revelation 1:3

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16

Spreading the gospel and being a good testimony lay on my mind lately. I want to keep what I say short, so all I'm really doing is pointing toward the verses above. I believe in modern society we don't think of spreading the gospel or saying what we believe very often. Many times I've heard conversations where there opened a perfect avenue to share the gospel with someone, yet whoever the speaker was, did not.  Maybe because we don't know what to say, or perhaps it never even entered our minds. But I'm trying to say that it SHOULD enter our minds, and we SHOULD know what to say-- at least just a little. We should tell them what the Bible says and to do that we need to know the Bible. Sometimes I find myself fighting between two sides, one says "Talk, tell them!" and the other says, "I-I-um...well, you see, I-er...uh...". I'm sure some of you have had this before :)
Well, with this ramble, my main point is to speak when we have a chance, not just when we hype ourselves up enough to slightly mention something referring to our God. We should be proud to tell others, how He saved us from eternal death and how much He loves us, and how we strive to serve Him with all we have in us. We need to tell everyone we can, whenever we can, and not just with tracks (though tracks are a pretty good way as well).
And live it too!

Psalm 32

Okay, I know I said I'd right about the book of James, but I read this chapter and new I must right about it for there is so many interesting points in it.  Instead of just telling you to read the chapter, I'm actually going to write it all out, don't worry, it's not too long. Also, the little numbers mark the verses.

Psalm 32

"1Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. 3When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped and in the heat of summer. 5Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord" -- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. 6Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach Him. 7You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. 8I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. 9Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding and must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. 10Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trust in Him. 11Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!"

Now, quite a few points I want to share come to mind when I read this, so I'll start from the beginning and work my way down the chapter. Firstly, verse 1 and 2 go together, notice how even though this is the Old Testament, David mentions transgressions forgiven, and God not counting sins against him, but it follows with "in whose spirit is no deceit". Consequently, I think a person cannot be forgiven if they still do evil, which contradicts the modern philosophy of 'you're saved even though you can live a sin filled life'.
Secondly, David writes he wasted away when he kept silent and did not repent, very interesting, I think. So many people try and hide their sin and end up with their 'strength sapped as in the heat of summer.' Which brings me to another interesting little point, from this verse, the weather during the summer obviously roasted many, a little weather thought ;)
Following, verse 5 and 6 also go together, mentioning forgiveness and repentance, then protection after the forgiveness, which I find very interesting as well.
Verse 7 explains itself, a very encouraging verse to me.
With verse 8, notice how David says, "I will instruct you and teach you...I will counsel you and watch over you." I'm wondering if this is actually how the Hebrew wrote it, or is David rather saying how God will instruct and watch over us? (of course He will, but I'm just referring to this verse). At this moment (perhaps until I read the Hebrew) I believe when David writes 'I' it meant himself, which would make sense, seeing that David was an amazing man with more faith in God than  I could ever possess myself, I'd take his instruction and counseling any day.
Afterwards comes my favorite part (not really :). I think with David saying about bits and bridles slams the idea of horses being braver and smarter in his time frame (for battle and such) than now. I think horses mentality is the same as it is today as it was back then, just in their time frame, they trained their horses to ride into battle and to obey their masters, it didn't come automatically. The analogy also proves something to think about.
Verse 11 is so true, God gives His unfailing love to those who trust in Him, and without it, we are lost.
Lastly, verse 12 perfectly ends this magnificent chapter, I'll write it again,

"Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!"

Stephen - A Man Full of Faith and of the Holy Spirit

"They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit..." Acts 6:5

"Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people." "...but they could not stand up against his wisdom and Spirit by whom he spoke." Acts 6:8-10

"...his face was like the face of an angel." Acts 6:15

"But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." (emphasis added) Acts 7:55

Many heroes (not including Jesus) made their way into my mind throughout my life, people whom I look up to or am encouraged from. I'm not talking about people I've actually met, mind you, I'm sure the ones I do know are far more important to me than the once I do not know. Some of my heroes actually lived, others do not - from movies and such. Coming from me, you're most likely thinking, "Oh boy, Sarah has heroes...I'm not sure I even want to know who they are..." but I shan't bore you with the telling of my heroes, I shall only expound on one, and reading my intro, I'm sure you know who I am mentioning.
Ever since I read Acts, Stephen became my greatest hero of all (excluding Christ and people I know). He possessed such astounding faith I'm sure I could never reach his level. Could you even imagine seeing the glory of God and Jesus standing by Him? Stephen did. Could you actually cry out while being stoned, "Do not hold this sin against them." to your murders? Stephen did. What about a glowing face, 'like an angle'? Stephen did, you see where I'm going. Especially the 'face like an angel', all other accounts of angels in the Bible are accounts of people struck terrified or in total awe, or perhaps perfect peace. Paul speaks of us having "peace that passes all understanding", and I'm sure Stephen's peace certainly surpasses ours. Either way, he is a model for me to follow wherever I am.
I encourage you also, to stand strong in all circumstances, and boldly proclaim Christ crucified, and why He was killed on the cross and now lives with God on high. Stephen did. I want to encourage you in the face of danger, to act bold like Stephen, and I hope he becomes one of your heroes too :)


Next post!
The book of James!

The Magician's Nephew and Genesis' View on the Creation

Here is a paper I wrote for a writing course I'm doing right now. Let me know what you think of it, it's a 'Compare- Contrast' paper. I focused on the compare part :)

            Although the Bible’s book of Genesis and The Magician’s Nephew differ in many respects, they share many similarities in their description of the beginning of the world. It is true that in The Magician’s Nephew, Aslan creates the stars first, whereas in Genesis, God creates them on day four. In addition, after Digory brings sin into the world, they plant a tree to keep the land peaceful for hundreds of years, while in Genesis, consequence for sin bears immediately. Finally, the cabby man, who later became the father of all humans in Narnia, watches the creation of the world, in contrast to Abraham coming much later in Genesis. However, in general, The Magician’s Nephew follows the pattern of Genesis surprisingly well. While the stars posses different times and days of their creation, in both forms, the trees, grass, and rivers appear by the creator’s words. In both stories, the creator makes the animals after the plants. Furthermore, although the consequences for sin vary between the two in time, in both cases, sin enters into the world through disobedience. In like manner, both parties endure temptation to eat forbidden fruit. Even the pilgrims, the cabby and Abraham, share similarities. Although the cabby and Abraham arrive at different times in the books, they both undergo the same calling and blessings. Aslan tells the cabby man to stay in Narnia, and similarly, God calls Abraham out of his native home to a land he never perceives before. In both versions, through one husband and wife, the land becomes populated. Since so many similarities occur between The Magician’s Nephew and Genesis, C.S. Lewis presumably uses Genesis as a guide through his book. 

Just for fun, I want to write another one about The Loin, the Witch and the Wardrobe compared to the gospels.

Delighting in God's Law

Psalm 119:16, 47, 72, 97, 129, 143b

Verse 16, "I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word."
V. 47, "...for I delight in your commands because I love them"
V. 72, "The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold."
V. 97, "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long."
V. 129, "Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them."
V. 143b, "...but your commands are my delight."

(Emphasizes added)

My Mom and I were going through Psalm 119 this month and we noticed how often (even more than the few verses above) David mentions delighting in God's law and decrees. How often do we grudgingly pick up our Bibles because we are told too? How often are we annoyed because we are forced to meditate or memorize them? Yet David declared, "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long." Should not we try and meditate on God's law all day long? He says that God's commands are his delight and he loves them. I believe we also should delight and love God's commands as well as the Bible that holds them. We should not drag ourselves to the couch to read our Bibles because our Dad or Mom said we had too and then read one chapter and think we do not have to read anymore for the whole day. We should not feel obligated to read a tiny bit before we indulge ourselves in a novel of sorts (I am not saying novels are bad--I am particularly fond of them). How much time do you spend in prayer? We think spending five minutes in prayer and Bible reading it plenty. We have over ten hours in a day, can we only give God a chapter of Bible reading? We should delight in reading God's Word, we should love His commands and the law that He gave us. What are we thinking when we spend just five minutes with our Creator!? Should not we pray to Him, love Him, meditate on His law and His Word all day long. Get our lazy bodies (mine in particular) up earlier in the morning to read and pray for at the very least more than five minutes!
And I do not want you to get the wrong impression (not that you did), I am not perfect with this either. There are some days which I am ashamed of how much I read in my Bible, but I keep working on it to read and meditate more and more and more. My Mother, for instance, gets strangely grumpy if she doesn't read her Bible. Notice how she gets strangely grumpy with not reading her Bible, not with having to read it. So, let us challenge ourselves to read, love, meditate, memorize and delight in God's law.

God's Law, Reading the Bible, and False Teachers

Romans 7:7-12

"What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, 'Do not covet'. But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from the law, sin is dead."

How do you know sin is sin? Because the Bible says so, if we ignore what the Bible says we are sinning. So many people in our culture over look many sins, coveting in general. We think it is okay to 'really, really' want something. But according to God, this is very wrong. God hates covetousness, "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the covetous, nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swinders will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Cor. 6:9-10) But now people in our culture seems to ignore these verses. 'Christians' get drunk, are sexually immoral, are 'swindlers' and covet (plus other sins). They will not inherit the kingdom of God if they continue in sin! God is so clear on this point, why then, do people not obey it? I believe because they are either, 1. totally ignorant of it and need to be 'enlightened' so to speak, or 2. they are willingly going against what God says and putting their desires before His--which of course, is even more sin to begin with. But I believe, if we can, we should tell these lost people that they are sinning, it is our responsibility to "preach the word" to these people: "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction." (2 Tim. 4:2) Correct, rebuke and encourage, not look down on or chastise for being not like you. We are to pray for them and to remember to "Take the plank from our own eye before we remove the speck from there's". Please understand me, I hate it when I look down on people, I simply (well, not so simply) am stating that people who say they are Christians and do not follow God's law--by faith--are not really Christians. And if you do sin, don't wallow in it!! Pick yourself up, dust off, ask for forgiveness and keep climbing higher and higher up the mountain. What ever you do, don't get up and trip over the same rock again, eventually you'll end up picking up the rock and rolling down the hill, * and if you're not going up toward heaven...where are you going...? (I expect you know the answer)
Apart from the law-God's Word- we do not understand sin. This is such a convicting reason to read our Bibles. If we don't read our Bibles, how are we to know what God says? We wouldn't. And that is the problem with our society, we have stopped reading our Bibles and take what we are taught from others for granted. This should not be! We shouldn't believe what ever we hear, we have to take it back to the Bible, look it up, measure it up, and see if it's true. We should only believe the Bible, many, many preachers believe things which aren't true and preach it over a pulpit (or not over one). Be weary of these people! Peter calls them, "...springs without water and mists driven by a storm." and also that "Blackest darkness is reserved for them." (2 Peter 2:17) Remember, compare all things people say to God's Word, go look up what I say before you agree with me!

So to wrap up my lovely little rant, don't sin, God says what sin is, don't do it, read your Bible, don't believe what anybody says, read your Bible, and...don't sin... :)

* Hill analogy from Daniel and Mom.

The Difference Whether We Are Created or Evolved

Here is a paper I wrote some time ago, I truly hope to post a new thought about a few chapters in Romans, but seeing that I don't have time at the moment, it will have to wait.

Tell me what you think and what you believe could change.

Being created or evolved is an on going battle in our modern world and one we cannot get away from. Evolutionists believe that we have evolved over millions of years starting from tiny unrecognizable forms to apes and humans as by random processes. Is this actually scientific? Do these people and scientists who claim this have logical proof that has been proven by the scientific process? Or is their beliefs based upon their own emotional assumptions?  Our entire outlook on life and the lives we live completely change on that one fact: are we created or evolved?

            According to the scientific evidence around the world there must have been a massive flood that was very destructive. Layers are laid down all over the earth with hundreds of fossils buried in them. Obviously water ripped up these rocks, broke down more rock as it traveled then deposited it in another area in layers. Burying the animals it had taken with it beneath the rock layers and fossilizing them rapidly. These layers of fossils are found covering the globe, from mountaintops to valleys, all pointing to a global flood of some kind. But does not the Bible say the earth had a worldwide flood that covered the earth for a little over a year? Indeed, it does, and the proof we find is inevitable. Evolutionists believe that there was no global flood but millions of years of local floods; as stated above, the facts do not support this.

            Our bodies as well as the things around us could not possibly have come by chance. How could such a complex creation happen by random happenings? Even if the parts to all of life and objects were present they could not have come together without some kind of creator. Modern day scientists have not the slightest idea of how everything stays together and lives. Life itself was given to us by God.  

            If we evolved then there is no right or wrong, and it is random chance that we are on earth. Our lives are virtually hopeless and pointless. But if there is a God (as the earth, science, math, history, and all other things point to) then we have a sense of right and wrong, we were specially and carefully created, put on earth to be good stewards of the land and, most of all, to serve God with our whole being and to give glory and honor to Him in everything we do. If we are created we have something to live for, and our lives are full of hope and promise that God gives us. God is merciful, but if we continue to live for ourselves denying His existence, we will get our just punishment of the fire of hell. All humans deserve this punishment but God mercifully sent His Son to earth to die for our sins, that we committed, so that we may live eternally, if we have faith in Him, serve Him with our entire minds, and do not love the wicked world we are in; then we may live forever with Him in paradise.

            All of our very existence comes down to if we were created by an ever-lasting God, or if we came about by random chance and are on earth for virtually nothing.

 I choose life.    

The New Blog

This is my new blog, it shall be most likely like a Bible study with a few other posts hear and there. I hope you enjoy it and become a follower :)
I shall post as soon as possible.