Jump Start # 3728

Psalms 19:1 “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”

Over the holidays, we took one of our kids and their children to the Creation Museum. Love that place. Been there many, many times. I highly recommend it. It’s worth a road trip, no matter where you live. There are a few things that are not Biblically accurate, and if that’s all you see, you’ll be disappointed. One of the things I love about the Creation Museum is that it does not give softball answers to tough questions, nor does it dodge the accusations and doubts from the Scientific community. Tough answers are given to tough questions. Evidence is piled heavily to show that the choice is not faith or science, but that science, viewed properly, supports what God already says.

One of wonderful and beautiful signs within the museum is entitled, “Starting Points.” Where you start determines where you end up. Beginning with a naturalist evolutionary worldview will take one away from God and all that is good. A Biblical creationist worldview will not only bring one close to the Lord, but it will change how one sees the world.

Big questions, such as “Did dinosaurs and humans coexist?”, or, “Was there a Global flood?” or, “Are human races equal?” or, “Are humans and apes related?” to the age of the earth are viewed differently based upon which worldview one believes in. Here is one thing that is often forgotten. The evolutionary scientific community does not have a corner on the evidence that is examined. It is the same rocks. The same fossils. The same plants. The same stars. The same oceans. The same continents. The same world that is examined by both evolutionists and creationists. They are both looking at the same material but are coming with different conclusions.

How is it that two different people can look at the same rock or fossil and come to totally different conclusions? It’s the same rock! The difference is the starting point. If one begins with the idea that the earth is millions and millions of years old and that there is no God, no matter what the rock reveals, that’s going to be his conclusion. He is prejudiced. But, in the same way, the same thing could be said of the creationist. He looks at the same rock the evolutionist looks at and concludes that the rock is relatively recent in age. Which is right? They both can’t be right. The rock can’t be both ancient and young.

The scientist supports his conclusions based upon dating factors and tests and the surrounding environment that the rock was found in. The creationist begins with God and His word. The testimony of God and the internal and external proof of Scriptures is where the creationist stands. The scientists trusts his dating formulas. The creationist trusts the word of God. Both are systems of faith. Both involve a trust factor.

The evolutionist is troubled by misleading dating formulas. For instance, he begins with the idea that it takes thousand upon thousands of years to make a fossil. Yet, in Australian caves, hats worn by miners have become fossilized. In the basement of several office buildings in Washington, D.C. stalactites have formed. These did not take thousands of years.

Starting point—that is the key.

Here are some thoughts:

First, where you begin determines where you end. Everyone wants to go to Heaven, but you don’t end there, unless you start with that in your heart and mind. One can’t live like a sinner and die like a saint. Be holy, the Scriptures tell us. Walk like the Lord walked. Set your mind on things above, not on the things of the earth.

If you want to spend forever in Heaven, what are you doing about it today?

Second, don’t be intimidated by the evolutionary community. One doesn’t have to have a PhD to know what is true and right. There are so many powerful books on the market that show time and chance, the major mechanism in evolution, is impossible. Do some deep diving into those studies. Be confident. Don’t allow someone to shake your faith, because he is loud, has written books or teaches in a university.

Third, knowing Scriptures makes all the difference. Paul could talk to a idolatrous city about the one true God. The Thessalonians abandoned their idols for the one true living God. I know whom I have believed, is what Paul told Timothy. That faith brought assurance, confidence and all he needed to face a world that didn’t know.

Starting point– that’s the key.

Roger

Jump Start # 3726

Psalms 104:14 “He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the labor of man.”

Psalms 104 is one of the most beautiful pictures of the love and care that God has for His creation. Expressions such as, “He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind” (3b), “He makes the wind His messengers” (4). From the sea, to the mountains, to the animals, God’s amazing hand is seen in all that He has done. This leads the Psalmist to “sing to the Lord as long as I live” (33).

It is in our verse today, that we see the connections of creation and the abundant and continual care of the Lord. The grass feeds the cattle. Man eats the cattle. Everything has a purpose. Everything is connected to each other.

What we also see in this wonderful picture is that God didn’t finish creation like an artist does a painting. Hours and hours are spent by the artist in front of a canvas. Finally, the painting is done. The artist sets the painting aside. He may hang it in his studio. He may frame it and sell it. If he is recognized nationally, it might hang in a gallery. But the painting is done. The artist moves on to his next project.

God’s not like that. He is never done with His creation. The growing grass, year after year, is for the benefit of the rest of creation. God causes the creeks, rivers and springs to produce water that nourishes the rest of His creation. God is involved constantly with the care of His creation.

Some lessons for us:

First, what we commonly call seasons is actually the hand and purpose of God. We complain about rainy days and snowy nights, but those are the means to water the creation of God. In these cold winter days, it is hard to imagine the growing grass of this coming spring. All the necessary things for that to happen are already in motion. We may not fully understand it all, but God does.

When Jesus told the disciples to say in their prayers to say, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Long before that happened, there was wheat that was planted. That wheat grew. The rains nourished that wheat. It developed until harvest when farmers worked the fields. The grain was taken to a mill. It was sacked up and sold. Someone purchased it and made it, along with other ingredients, into bread. We thank the Lord today for food that the Lord was preparing months ago.

We see that with bread. What about that principle spiritually? On a given Sunday, your preacher has spent hours throughout writing, researching and developing that sermon. We sing hymns that were written hundreds of years before. As we gather to worship, so many things have already happened to make things just the way it is for us.

Second, not only looking backward, but we can see this looking forward. God is awaiting us to join Him in Heaven. The Lord is coming. Things will fall in place that we may never understand today, but someday, we’ll see it. The words of encouragement that you share today, may be something that brings a broken soul to the Lord in coming months. Like planting a small tree, we may never enjoy the shade of that tree, but others will benefit from it.

Third, as God cares for His creation, so must we. Baptism and placing membership is not the end of what we do with each other. It’s just the beginning. Developing hearts. Supporting one another. Loving each other. God didn’t just wind up a clock and walk away. He causes the grass to grow our verse tells us. In Matthew, God sends the sun and the rain upon the world. God is actively involved with His work. He never puts down the paint brush. He never walks away, thinking, “It’s completed.” And, the same must be true of us. Never finished. Never completed. Never satisfied. We must labor until the Lord calls us home.

I planted some grass seed on some bare spots a while back. I see tender grass blades now growing. A new season…

Roger