THERE COULD BE MAGIC DRAGONS
Psalm 148:7, 10
“Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps…Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl.”
Numerous television programs have been made about the Komodo dragon and the creatures are even going on display at some zoos. Reaching up to 400 pounds, they can even outrun a man. And they eat anything that they find dead or alive. Even a simple bite from a dragon will prove fatal within 72 hours unless you get immediate treatment. That's because its saliva contains 52 different deadly strains of bacteria that will produce blood poisoning. Its jagged, inch-long teeth make a tearing wound that ensures that plenty of poison will be delivered to your system. Even if you were bitten and escape, the Komodo dragon will be able to smell you from two miles away when its poison takes effect. These facts may lead some to ask not only why God made such a creature, but why He has preserved them to this day?
Besides demonstrating variety in God's creation, the Komodo dragon may eventually save more lives than it has ever taken. When the dragon eats, its teeth tear its own gums, exposing its blood to those toxic bacteria. But the dragon never gets infected. Scientists have learned why. They have identified a protein molecule in its bloodstream that kills all those toxic bacteria in its saliva. That protein is now being tested on mice. It could well be that the Komodo dragon has shown us the path to a super antibiotic that could treat the blood poisoning that kills hundreds of thousands of people every year. If so, this creature will again glorify God by giving us an important medical advance.
I thank You, Lord, that You have graciously placed secrets in so many creatures that can help us in this life. Amen.
Brian Eads, Last Stand of the Komodo Dragon, Reader's Digest, August 1999, p.80. Photo: Pixabay (PD)
Psalm 148:7, 10
“Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps…Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl.”
Numerous television programs have been made about the Komodo dragon and the creatures are even going on display at some zoos. Reaching up to 400 pounds, they can even outrun a man. And they eat anything that they find dead or alive. Even a simple bite from a dragon will prove fatal within 72 hours unless you get immediate treatment. That's because its saliva contains 52 different deadly strains of bacteria that will produce blood poisoning. Its jagged, inch-long teeth make a tearing wound that ensures that plenty of poison will be delivered to your system. Even if you were bitten and escape, the Komodo dragon will be able to smell you from two miles away when its poison takes effect. These facts may lead some to ask not only why God made such a creature, but why He has preserved them to this day?
Besides demonstrating variety in God's creation, the Komodo dragon may eventually save more lives than it has ever taken. When the dragon eats, its teeth tear its own gums, exposing its blood to those toxic bacteria. But the dragon never gets infected. Scientists have learned why. They have identified a protein molecule in its bloodstream that kills all those toxic bacteria in its saliva. That protein is now being tested on mice. It could well be that the Komodo dragon has shown us the path to a super antibiotic that could treat the blood poisoning that kills hundreds of thousands of people every year. If so, this creature will again glorify God by giving us an important medical advance.
I thank You, Lord, that You have graciously placed secrets in so many creatures that can help us in this life. Amen.
Brian Eads, Last Stand of the Komodo Dragon, Reader's Digest, August 1999, p.80. Photo: Pixabay (PD)
WHERE DOES TRUE KNOWLEDGE COME FROM?
1 Corinthians 1:25
"Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
Americans lead the industrialized world in belief in creationism and a literal Bible. A recent study by a University of Cincinnati researcher, compares American's belief in a recent creation and the truth of the Bible with beliefs in other countries. The study found that 45 percent of Americans believe that God created the world less than 10,000 years ago. Another 40 percent try to mix God and evolution. Only ten percent believe in atheistic evolution.
In comparison, only seven percent of the citizens of Great Britain take the Genesis account of creation literally. Surveys of people in Norway, Russia and the Netherlands produced results similar to Great Britain. Interestingly, five percent of the physical scientists polled in the United States believe the account of creation as taught in the Bible.
The study concluded that America is losing its scientific competitiveness because so many Americans believe in creation and the truth of the Bible. But scientific progress has come about because, historically scientists believed that we live in an ordered creation that follows the rules imposed on it by a Creator. They saw science as the discovery of God's order. Isaac Newton wrote more Bible commentaries than he did scientific books. Taking the Bible literally, he concluded that the earth was less than 7,000 years old. Other examples from history could be multiplied. But the lesson of human history is that true scientific progress is possible only when man recognizes that all knowledge and wisdom comes from our Creator God through the Scriptures He has given us.
Dear Father, help me never to be deceived by man's false wisdom. Help me to rejoice in the knowledge You give. Amen.
Americans for Creationism, The Christian News, December 21, 1998, p.18. Photo: Pixabay (PD)
HE LITERALLY WALKS ON WATER
Matthew 14:25
"And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea."
Would you like to be able to walk on water the way Jesus did? The closest human beings have come to walking on water is water skiing, which some even do without skis. But they still need a powerful and noisy power boat to do it. But there is an animal that can walk on water without help of any kind.
The basilisk lizard is yet another tribute to God's unlimited creativity, knowledge and power. Basilisk are found from Mexico to Ecuador and are equally at home in the trees, on the ground and in and on the water. The basilisk is an excellent climber and can outrun any enemy on the ground. Since its back legs are proportionately longer than its front legs, when it needs extra speed, it can run just on its back legs. It runs so fast that it can run across the surface of a body of water that's up to 100 feet wide. That's impressive for a creature that can reach two feet in length! Skin flaps on both sides of its back toes, as well as scale fringes on the toes, help the basilisk to stay on the surface. Should the basilisk run into danger while crossing the water, it sinks beneath the surface and either swims or runs along the bottom in a different direction. The lizard is able to stay underwater for several hours.
While the basilisk's method of walking on water is different from our Lord's, its abilities come from the same God. This lizard shows the wisdom and power of God to do things that seem impossible to us, including giving forgiveness of sins and eternal life to us through His Son Jesus Christ.
I thank You, Father, because Your wisdom is used in love for us. Amen.
Brown basilisk, basking in the sun on the Osa Peninsual, Costa Rica. Courtesy of Benjamint. (GFDL 1.2)
Matthew 14:25
"And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea."
Would you like to be able to walk on water the way Jesus did? The closest human beings have come to walking on water is water skiing, which some even do without skis. But they still need a powerful and noisy power boat to do it. But there is an animal that can walk on water without help of any kind.
The basilisk lizard is yet another tribute to God's unlimited creativity, knowledge and power. Basilisk are found from Mexico to Ecuador and are equally at home in the trees, on the ground and in and on the water. The basilisk is an excellent climber and can outrun any enemy on the ground. Since its back legs are proportionately longer than its front legs, when it needs extra speed, it can run just on its back legs. It runs so fast that it can run across the surface of a body of water that's up to 100 feet wide. That's impressive for a creature that can reach two feet in length! Skin flaps on both sides of its back toes, as well as scale fringes on the toes, help the basilisk to stay on the surface. Should the basilisk run into danger while crossing the water, it sinks beneath the surface and either swims or runs along the bottom in a different direction. The lizard is able to stay underwater for several hours.
While the basilisk's method of walking on water is different from our Lord's, its abilities come from the same God. This lizard shows the wisdom and power of God to do things that seem impossible to us, including giving forgiveness of sins and eternal life to us through His Son Jesus Christ.
I thank You, Father, because Your wisdom is used in love for us. Amen.
Brown basilisk, basking in the sun on the Osa Peninsual, Costa Rica. Courtesy of Benjamint. (GFDL 1.2)
THE ORIGIN OF RACISM
Acts 17:26a
"And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth�"
The descendants of Ham, who were cursed, were the Canaanites. Yet when Rahab, a Canaanite, came to faith in the true God, she not only was welcomed to marry a believer, but God included her in the line leading to Christ. The idea of different races, as distinct from different religions, was not much of an issue until 1859 when Charles Darwin published his famous book, On the Origin of Species. Darwin was a product of Victorian times and extremely racist in his views, always referring to colored peoples as "savages." Among the book's purported scientific claims for evolution was the claim that there are different races because some groups are more evolved than others. As this idea became accepted both in and out of the Church, racism became institutionalized. Today we know that typically the genetic differences between you and anyone else is only 0.2 percent.
Scientifically, there is only one human race, as Scripture clearly teaches. The Church can only combat racism by proclaiming the truth that all people on earth are one flesh, descended from one, real Adam, whose blood we share. It can also proclaim the Gospel that all believers are spiritual descendants of the Second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who has redeemed us and made us new creatures.
Help me, Father, love all people as Your Son did when He died for them. Amen.
Ken Ham, Inter-racial marriage: is it biblical?, Creation 21(3) June-August, 1999. Photo: Pixabay (PD)
Acts 17:26a
"And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth�"
The descendants of Ham, who were cursed, were the Canaanites. Yet when Rahab, a Canaanite, came to faith in the true God, she not only was welcomed to marry a believer, but God included her in the line leading to Christ. The idea of different races, as distinct from different religions, was not much of an issue until 1859 when Charles Darwin published his famous book, On the Origin of Species. Darwin was a product of Victorian times and extremely racist in his views, always referring to colored peoples as "savages." Among the book's purported scientific claims for evolution was the claim that there are different races because some groups are more evolved than others. As this idea became accepted both in and out of the Church, racism became institutionalized. Today we know that typically the genetic differences between you and anyone else is only 0.2 percent.
Scientifically, there is only one human race, as Scripture clearly teaches. The Church can only combat racism by proclaiming the truth that all people on earth are one flesh, descended from one, real Adam, whose blood we share. It can also proclaim the Gospel that all believers are spiritual descendants of the Second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who has redeemed us and made us new creatures.
Help me, Father, love all people as Your Son did when He died for them. Amen.
Ken Ham, Inter-racial marriage: is it biblical?, Creation 21(3) June-August, 1999. Photo: Pixabay (PD)
EIGHT LEGGED THIEVERY
John 10:10
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
Out of more than 30,000 species of spiders, there are three species that make their living through thievery. Several years ago that number was raised from two with the discovery of a tiny, thieving species on the island of Taiwan. The other two species live in South America and are known to steal only silk from the webs of other spiders. This strange little spider from Taiwan steals much more than just silk and is described as looking like a tiny drop of mercury with legs attached. It preys on the webs of giant wood spiders, whose webs can be more than three feet across. Many spiders eat their own webs for the purpose of recycling the silk to repair a tattered web. But this newly discovered little thief eats the webs of the giant wood spider. Researchers say that these little spiders can, on the average, make a wood spider's web 21 percent smaller. They have also been seen stealing small insects from the wood spiders' web as well as wood spider eggs. They are able to do this because they are small and rather sneaky. They do spin their own webs when they are ready to lay eggs, and they also spin their own silk to cover their eggs.
While it is wrong for us to steal, theft is apparently the way God has chosen to feed these spiders in a fallen world. That our world is corrupted by our own sin should remind us that God is our ultimate provider. He has even prepared forgiveness and eternal life for us through the holy life and innocent suffering and death of His own Son, Jesus Christ.
Dear Father, help me to keep Your commandments because You have given me salvation in Jesus Christ. Amen.
S. Milius, New spider: Unusual suspect steals web, Science News, v.154, p.53. More than 30,000 species, "Spiders" Grolier, 1995, Multimedia Encyclopedia. Image: Diagram of the internal anatomy of a female two-lunged spider. Courtesy of John Henry Comstock. (CC BY 3.0)
John 10:10
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
Out of more than 30,000 species of spiders, there are three species that make their living through thievery. Several years ago that number was raised from two with the discovery of a tiny, thieving species on the island of Taiwan. The other two species live in South America and are known to steal only silk from the webs of other spiders. This strange little spider from Taiwan steals much more than just silk and is described as looking like a tiny drop of mercury with legs attached. It preys on the webs of giant wood spiders, whose webs can be more than three feet across. Many spiders eat their own webs for the purpose of recycling the silk to repair a tattered web. But this newly discovered little thief eats the webs of the giant wood spider. Researchers say that these little spiders can, on the average, make a wood spider's web 21 percent smaller. They have also been seen stealing small insects from the wood spiders' web as well as wood spider eggs. They are able to do this because they are small and rather sneaky. They do spin their own webs when they are ready to lay eggs, and they also spin their own silk to cover their eggs.
While it is wrong for us to steal, theft is apparently the way God has chosen to feed these spiders in a fallen world. That our world is corrupted by our own sin should remind us that God is our ultimate provider. He has even prepared forgiveness and eternal life for us through the holy life and innocent suffering and death of His own Son, Jesus Christ.
Dear Father, help me to keep Your commandments because You have given me salvation in Jesus Christ. Amen.
S. Milius, New spider: Unusual suspect steals web, Science News, v.154, p.53. More than 30,000 species, "Spiders" Grolier, 1995, Multimedia Encyclopedia. Image: Diagram of the internal anatomy of a female two-lunged spider. Courtesy of John Henry Comstock. (CC BY 3.0)
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