Jump Start # 3343

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth.”

Fox contributor Greg Jarrett has authored a new book titled, “Trial of the Century.” It is about the 1925 ‘Scopes Monkey Trial,’ that took place in Dayton, Tennessee. William Jennings Bryant, who ran three different times for the presidency on the Democratic ticket was an outspoken voice for fundamentalism in America. Books were banned and in Tennessee, teaching evolution in public school was against the law. John Scopes, a young high school biology teacher challenged that ruling and taught evolution. He was arrested and taken to jail. What followed was ‘The Monkey Trial’ where William Jennings Bryant represented the state of Tennessee. Clarence Darrow, a flamboyant Chicago attorney came to defend John Scopes. In the end, Darrow made Bryant look ridiculous and won the case.

I have been to Dayton, Tennessee and visited the small museum about that trial. Listening to author Jarrett speak of his new book, expressing great appreciation for Darrow’s work and free speech, he said, “Evolution and creationism are not exclusive of each other. They not only co-exist but they work wonderfully together.” Now, that grabbed my attention.

Evolution and Creation, presented as friendly comrades, working side by side and together. In this way, there is a marriage between religion and science. It is a means to keep everyone on all sides happy. People have wondered, “Could God have used evolution as the natural means of creating the world?” This merger of evolution and creation satisfies many in the scientific world and amazingly even in the religious community.

Now, I have not read Jarrett’s book, but I have carefully studied the topics of evolution and creation for decades. Being a science major in college, I had an eye full of theories, ideas and speculations. What God said in the Bible wasn’t even on the table. We were told that stuff belongs in theology class, not science.

Let’s give this some thought:

First, in order for evolution to have a chance, one must look at the Bible in a different way. The six days of Genesis must be considered as an allegory and not literal. But what a way to begin a book. What would lead one to that conclusion other than the desire to make evolution a possibility. Yet, there remains Exodus 20, the Ten Commandment page, where a week is defined according to the creation account. Now, has the allegory become literal?

And, it’s not just Genesis. Sprinkled all throughout the Bible is thought that God is the Creator. Changing a few sentences in Genesis doesn’t take away what the Bible teaches in Psalms, Matthew, Hebrews, Colossians and many other places.

Second, the tenants of evolution are natural law and time and chance. No purpose, no design and no Heavenly influence takes place in that model. It’s all natural. Yet so many questions remain about that. The eternity of matter, which is fundamental to evolution has not and cannot be proven. The great moral argument and the desire to worship something greater than we are, that anthropology supports, does not fit within the evolutionary model. And, then how does life come from non-life? Logically that does not make sense. What God says in the Creation account is seen in the world. There is an “after their kind” in relation to botany and zoology. We don’t see species crossing over to other species. This is often referred to as the missing link idea. We see primates or monkeys. We see homosapiens, or humans. What we do not see are half monkeys and half humans. The transition from one species to another species is not seen in the world today nor found in the fossil record. That is a major, major component of evolution. The simple evolves to the complex. But there is nothing to substantiate that. The theory remains an unproven theory.

Third, Romans 1 tells us that God’s divine attributes are clearly seen in what He has created. Things such as order, beauty, design, purpose are parts of life. These point to God. Evolution cannot explain these. Hebrews 11 tells us that by faith we know that the invisible created the visible. That’s not what evolution says. The Gentiles in Romans were told that they were without excuse. The evidence of God was all around them. Rather than worshipping the Creator, they chose to worship the creature. And, all these years later, nothing has changed. All around us are the evidence of God. Where is the evidence of evolution? It exists only in the minds and textbooks of those who have closed their eyes to the world around them.

To acknowledge creation, is to admit there is a Creator. From that, one must realize that we are accountable to that Creator. We are not at the top, God is. We cannot do whatever we want. What He says, matters.

In the past several years, several excellent works have been published about microbiology and the detailed structure of DNA. Time and chance and a whole lot of error simply will not work in systems so complex that every part is necessary. More and more researchers are coming to the conclusion that naturalism is not the way the world came to be.

Evolution and Creation are exclusive. It’s one or the other. Marrying the two together won’t work. That is not a marriage made in Heaven and that is not a marriage that will make it. It’s one or the other. God was there. He knows. I think I’ll stick with what He said.

Roger

Jump Start # 3198

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Our verse today is the opening statement in the Bible. For Israel heading to the promise land, where every kind of god imaginable existed, they needed to re reminded of this. The pagans worship rocks and rivers and stars and the moon, but the One true God made it all. In the beginning God created.

That statement is mocked and ridiculed by professors in the universities today. Many scientists have no time to deal with such foolishness as they see it. Yet, without realizing it, the theories of evolution is wrapped around a lot of faith. It’s not faith in God, but faith in things not proven, witnessed or explainable. To be honest, evolution is a faith based system. It parallels Christianity in that way, except Christianity has provable evidence.

Many think that the choice is between science or the Bible. That’s not the choice. Science is not opposite of the Bible. The choice is between believing evolution or believing the Bible. While many feel superior because they stand with the popular evolution, there are some dreadful consequences of evolution that most do not recognize nor want to admit.

First, the consequences of evolution makes the Bible a bad book. The Bible becomes a book of lies, false claims, empty promises and erroneous history, if evolution is true. The Bible is not inspired by the Holy Spirit if evolution is true. The Bible is a product of man and only man and it belongs on the fiction shelf if evolution is true.

Those that want to build a bridge between evolution and the Bible are most confused. One can’t have a foot in both. It’s all evolution or it’s all Bible. And, if evolution is true, one has to confess that the Bible is bunk.

Second, if evolution is true, then we are only responsible to society. There is no higher authority than the society one lives in. And, as societies change, so do the rules and so does what is right and wrong. It’s hard to condemn an oppressive nation like Nazi Germany in the 1940’s, when that country supported the evil it was doing. What makes wrong wrong? In the world of evolution, it’s what people determine. If enough people wanted wrong to be right, then it is. Without any higher authority than self, or society, the strongest rule and the weakest are helpless. In the world of evolution, it’s hard to explain why murder is wrong. It’s not right, someone says. Maybe another person thinks it is right. It’s not nice, someone says. Nice doesn’t matter, goes the reply. We need to be good to one another. Why? Without a standard, without an absolute moral law, without an authority that we all answer to, one cannot say that murder is wrong. Change the laws of the land, and then murder becomes lawful.

Third, if evolution is true, then we are hopelessly on our own. There is no one to pray to. There is no one greater than us to help. And, this is it. If evolution is true, there is no Heaven. There is no life after death. The tears at a funeral never end, because you will never see that person again. If evolution is true, the world is dark and getting darker all the time. There is no Savior. There is no forgiveness. Grace doesn’t happen.

And, the big questions in life go unanswered. Questions such as why do people suffer? The Bible has an answer. Questions such as where did we come from? The Bible has an answer. Questions such as what are we supposed to do? The Bible has an answer. Questions such as what is the purpose of all of this? The Bible has an answer. Evolution has no answers.

Why spend a lifetime going to work, if this is it? Why try to live morally if this is it? Why be generous if this is it? The world painted by evolution is dark, hopeless and without value. Misery abounds. Confusion fills hearts. Emptiness and loneliness prevail.

Fourth, if evolution is true there is no hope. There is no hope in life getting better. There is no reason for society to improve. There is no belief that our children will have a better life than we do. Not in evolution. Every funeral is the end, in evolution. There is no difference between an animal and a human in evolution. Why grow old in the system of evolution? There is nothing to look forward to. Suicide looks good in evolution. Sin without consequences is the world of evolution. It’s a world built on self and nothing else. Do what you feel like. Do what makes you happy. It’s all about self.

And, layered right beneath the surface of evolution are the challenging questions that no one wants to talk about. If the Bible is from man, why isn’t there any other book like it? If it is from man, how does it define practices that were not known at the time?

If evolution is true, why is there no evidence of macro evolution between species? Where’s the proof?

If evolution is true, why does the world scream of order, creation, and design? Explain that.

If evolution is true, why is there evidence of man and dinosaurs at the same time? Why is there evidence of a worldwide flood? Why do so many things point to God and not to atheism?

If evolution is true, how does non-life, like a rock, produce life, like a cell?

The truth be told, believing in evolution is easy. Close your eyes, do what you want and live as if there are no consequences or responsibilities to others. But the picture remains dark, depressing and lonely. Hope is with the Lord. Promises are with the Lord. The best life is with the Lord. The evidence is with the Lord.

In the beginning God…that’s how it starts. He knows. He was there.

Roger

Jump Start # 2858

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Beginnings—they are important and they often are milestone events in our lives. Many young people who have spent the last four years in high school are now graduating and are beginning the next big step in their lives. For many of them it will be going to college. That’s a big step and so different than high school. Some college students have finally finished that degree and now comes entering into the work force. Beginnings. For some, this summer is when they get married. A new beginning. For others, this year has brought a new baby into their home. How something so little and precious can change their world so much.

Beginnings. That’s how God started the Bible. He didn’t tell us the backstory. For instance, God didn’t say, “for about ten thousand years I was thinking about this.” Or, “Originally, I was thinking of making all the animals talk, but I changed my mind.” None of that. Simply, “In the beginning God created…”

Recently, I saw a congregation appoint men into the role of shepherds. For those men it was a new step and a new beginning for them. Spring time is about beginnings. We see flowers coming out of the ground. We see some limbs that need to be cut because they no longer have life in them.

Here are some thoughts about beginnings:

First, life is full of beginnings. All around us there are new beginnings. With new beginnings often comes new challenges and new adventures. That teenager gets a driving permit and a whole new world of scary opens up for the parents. A young man preaches his first lesson and really does a fine job. This could be the first step in a lifelong journey of serving and teaching the people of God.

Adjustments have to be made with beginnings. Another car bought for a new driver in the family. Lots and lots of baby stuff for that new child that has come into the home. God has a way of preparing us for the next steps in life. And, when we surround ourselves with others it truly helps.

Second, new beginnings are like doorways to new opportunities. Often one thing leads to another. In service to the Lord, this is good. The first invitation, the first sermon, can lead to hundreds and hundreds of more lessons in coming years. Being new parents has a way of making a young couple become more serious about the Lord. Serving in the capacity of deacon or shepherd has a way of seeing after the little details that before were not given much thought.

Third, new beginnings has a powerful way helping us to count our blessings and to be thankful to the Lord. Looking back, who would have thought that the teenager who was baptized would someday be preaching or serving as one of the leaders in the congregation. Like in nature, mighty trees began as little saplings. Where I live there is a large woods behind my house. Tall, tall trees reaching upward high into the sky. I expect some of those trees have been there fifty to eighty years. But they didn’t start that way. They were small, struggling for sunlight, hoping deer and rabbits wouldn’t eat them, and that they would survive winters harshness and the hot dry summers. But they did. They grew and grew and grew. Today, they are majestic, large, beautiful trees. They are full of leaves, which fall into my yard and I have to deal with every fall. But like those mighty trees that started out so small, so do we in faith. So many questions. So many things we didn’t understand. So young in faith. Satan tries to grab us. The world tries to pull us back. Some never survive, but those that do and continue to grow and grow, one day they are mighty pillars in God’s kingdom. When a young man is baptized, I love to plant that idea in his head and dreams. “Maybe someday, you’ll serve as a shepherd.” There is a lot of winters and summers to go through and a lot of growing that must take place, but it starts with the beginnings.

Fourth, beginnings also introduce changes. More shepherds. A new preacher. A new church building. A new time of meeting. A new set of classes. It’s like a new school year. The hope and expectations are there. Some like things the way they are. Some don’t like change. But, life changes. Those little trees become big trees. Those little babies grow up and graduate and drive and move out. Faces we love, pass through that doorway of death. Friends move. People retire. Stores close. Menus change. Life is constantly changing. And, those that try to fight it sometimes hold things back. You can go back to the neighborhood you grew up in, but it’s not the same. The house has changed. The neighbors aren’t the same. Life has moved on. New beginnings.

And, someday, hopefully soon, you and I will experience a new home in Heaven. That will be so different than here. No sun. No pain. No tears. No death. What a new beginning that will be. And, unlike anything we have ever known, that will never change. Never. God won’t have to update Heaven after a few years. We won’t grow tired of it and start to look for another place. Heaven will be our home—forever. A new beginning.

In the beginning God…

Roger

Jump Start # 2750

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Beginnings. The beginning of a new year. The beginning of life. The beginning of a marriage. The beginning of a new school year. The beginning of a new job. A new house. A new school. A new teacher. A new congregation. A new life in Christ. We celebrate so many new beginnings. They are often a journey with a bit of uneasiness and fear. Sometimes a person hopes that they made the right decision. New beginnings.

And, where we are at the start of a new year. Last year certainly didn’t turn out as we’d planned, hoped or wanted. But we made it. We had to make adjustments. We had a few set backs. We struggled. But, here we are at a new year. Will this year be any different? Will this year be better?

For some, a new year is nothing more than the flipping of a calendar to a new date. That’s about it. But for others, a lot of thought, planning and resolving goes into that next year. Steps are made to make things better. And, with those steps comes needful changes, both on the inside, outside and around us.

The self driven person doesn’t wait for someone else to start making changes. He makes changes whether others do nor not. He wants to improve and do better, and most times it shows. I’ve seen that through the years in many people. I do not know if what they did was built around a resolution at the start of the year or not. Many times these changes are the result of a sermon or a private conversation. The honest and good heart is always seeking to better things.

This past year has been hard on us spiritually. Services were slashed. Bible lessons were on video. So many things were band aided together so we could survive. And, what this has shown us is the importance of keeping yourself strong in the Lord. We relied less on others and did what we had to in order to connect with the Lord and others.

Here’s my list of things you can give a try this year as we start things new:

• Find some challenging spiritual books to read. Not “Christian Fiction,” but things of substance, that will help you, strengthen you, and challenge you. The books you choose do not have to be newly published. There are mountains of old books that are wonderful to read. My personal choice at the start of this year is to read some material about the lands of the Bible. I have a special project later in the year and I want to refresh myself about the area, climate and customs.

• Try something new spiritually. Try to memorize some passages. Try leading singing. Start in your home. Watch some videos and see if you can get it right. Write up some lessons to be given on a Wednesday night. Think about who you want to invite to your home when the all clear single is given.

• Maybe this is the year that you need to step up and serve as a shepherd of God’s people. The church certainly needs more and more gifted leaders. Begin the year with a serious and concentrated study of leadership. Lots of great material will help you to get your thinking in the right direction. Talk to current shepherds. Learn. Observe. Then, step up and join the ranks of helping the people of God.

• Find a new routine, whether it’s sitting in a different pew, reading from a different version, or singing without looking at the words. Bring freshness and life to your worship with God. Start a spiritual journal and record your thoughts. Make a list of people you want to encourage and share the Gospel with this year.

So many ways to start “new.” This could be the year that makes a real difference in your spiritual journey. This could be the year that the Lord works through you to make a difference in the lives of others. But one has to put some energy, thought and planning into this. Without that, we’ll be a year older this year, but not a year better.

Roger

Jump Start # 133

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

  In the ancient Hebrew Bible the opening words of a book became the title. Genesis was called, “In the beginning.” Later it was shortened to “Beginnings,” which is the definition of the word “Genesis.”

  This is how it all started. The beginnings of life, mankind, relationship, marriage, family, God’s will, man’s disobedience, God’s redemptive plan and hope. There are several interesting things to note about this first sentence in God’s book.

  Nothing is said to prove God. It is assumed and understood that the reader knows God. Many in the scientific word have taken away that assumption. They can’t begin at this point. They must understand that God is. There are ways to show that. The evidence abounds.

  Also, we note that this is not a science book. The how-did-God-do-it are not detailed. The only thing we see is that God said and it came to be. The power, wisdom, planning and force belong to God. Hebrews 11 says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” How do we know this? By faith. Not a blind faith. But a faith first in the word of God and beyond that a faith in God Himself. The word of God stands true, honest and right. What God says about nations, medical practices, astronomy and many other things are right, years and years before man knew these things. God’s fulfillment of prophecy is 100%. So when God said He created, by faith we believe that.

  The word “created” means out of nothing. The process God used was His will and His mind. Evolution was not the process God used. God created in 6 days. Some ask, “How do you know it was 6 literal days?” Or, “if a 1,000 years is a day to God, maybe each day represented millions of years.” First, God said. Second, God identified. He said there was evening, there was morning, one day. Third, God distinguished. After God made the solar system He said, “let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.” God saw a difference between a day, days, seasons and years. Fourth, in Exodus 20, when God establishes the Sabbath day, he identified what a week was—seven days. He used the creation account as an example. God worked six days and rested on the seventh.

  But within the creation account, there are many things God made but didn’t identify. Nothing is said about DNA, atoms, electrons, chemical compounds and all the “invisible” things of our world. Also, nothing is said about color, sound, smell or taste. Have you ever thought about that? What if our world was black and white? We could function and probably not know any difference, but look at all the colors today, the greens of summer, the color of birds, the color of dirt. Listen to the sounds of nature—rain, thunder, birds, wind. Consider what you taste today—hot coffee, cold water, breakfast, lunch, dinner. All these wonderful things given as a gift by God.

  We sing a song, ‘This is my Father’s world’ and thus it is. Louie Armstrong sang, “What a wonderful world.” Amen to that. Look about at what God made. Enjoy. Be thankful. Consider. And then realize you are part of that creation, too. Special. Unique. And made by God!

Roger