THE RELUCTANT FISH
Habakkuk 1:14
"And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?"
One of the strangest creatures in the world is a rather reluctant fish called the mudskipper. Even though it is a fish, it can dig burrows, travel miles on land and even does a mating dance on land that can last up to an hour. Some species of mudskipper can even climb trees.
The mudskipper has the ability to absorb oxygen from water on its skin. All it needs to do is stay wet. It also has sponge-like sacks around its gills that hold a supply of water. And should any of these systems not be enough, the mudskipper can also take in air directly. And just as our eyes do not see well under water, most fish cannot see well out of the water. But the mudskipper has special eyes that give him good vision in and out of the water.
The mudskipper is an excellent example of God's unbridled creativity. Imagine giving such a wondrous design to a fish! The prophet Habakkuk compares men to fish when he asks why God allows men to be caught by evil people, as fish are caught by men. But God reminds Habakkuk that when the evil attack the godly, they are storing up punishment for themselves. Ultimately, the Lord tells Habakkuk, and us, that all things serve the glory of God.
Dear Father in heaven, forgive me for those times when I worry, forgetting that You are in complete charge and that you have an unlimited mind for finding solutions and bringing good out of the worst situation. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
"A Fish out of Water." Discover, Feb. 1985, pp. 56-61. Photo: Atlantic mudskippers. Courtesy of Bjørn Christian Tørrissen. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.
Habakkuk 1:14
"And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?"
One of the strangest creatures in the world is a rather reluctant fish called the mudskipper. Even though it is a fish, it can dig burrows, travel miles on land and even does a mating dance on land that can last up to an hour. Some species of mudskipper can even climb trees.
The mudskipper has the ability to absorb oxygen from water on its skin. All it needs to do is stay wet. It also has sponge-like sacks around its gills that hold a supply of water. And should any of these systems not be enough, the mudskipper can also take in air directly. And just as our eyes do not see well under water, most fish cannot see well out of the water. But the mudskipper has special eyes that give him good vision in and out of the water.
The mudskipper is an excellent example of God's unbridled creativity. Imagine giving such a wondrous design to a fish! The prophet Habakkuk compares men to fish when he asks why God allows men to be caught by evil people, as fish are caught by men. But God reminds Habakkuk that when the evil attack the godly, they are storing up punishment for themselves. Ultimately, the Lord tells Habakkuk, and us, that all things serve the glory of God.
Dear Father in heaven, forgive me for those times when I worry, forgetting that You are in complete charge and that you have an unlimited mind for finding solutions and bringing good out of the worst situation. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
"A Fish out of Water." Discover, Feb. 1985, pp. 56-61. Photo: Atlantic mudskippers. Courtesy of Bjørn Christian Tørrissen. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.
IS THE BIBLE IN ERROR ON PI?
1 Kings 7:23
"Then he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other; it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about."
Everyone knows that when you divide the circumference of a circle by its diameter, you get three and one-seventh, the value of Pi. Even the ancients knew about Pi. But 1 Kings 7:23 tells us that the bronze sea which Hiram made for King Solomon was 30 cubits in circumference and 10 cubits in diameter. Those measurements only give a value of three, not Pi. Is this a mistake in the Bible?
For years, Bible critics have pointed to 1 Kings 7:23 as an error, or they use it to claim that the ancient Israelites were too ignorant to know about Pi. This was answered in the second century A.D., but critics still bring it up today. The solution to the problem is that the circumference of the vessel is measured from the inside walls of the vessel, while the diameter is measured from the outside walls. The wall thickness of the vessel makes up the missing "one-seventh." When confronted with this explanation, even many modern critics find it reasonable.
God has given us His Word without error because He knew that the last thing mankind needed was another book with human error in it! And He did this for a good reason: because it is in the pages of the Bible that we learn of the saving work of Jesus Christ for us.
Lord Jesus, You are the Word made flesh for my salvation. I thank You for the reliability of the Bible You have given us. I pray that You would fill me with a burning desire to study Your Word more than I do now. Amen.
Dr. Crypton. "Circular Reasoning." Science Digest, May 1985, p. 91. Photo: Mosaic outside the mathematics building at the Technische Universität in Berlin. Courtesy of Holger Motzkau. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.
1 Kings 7:23
"Then he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other; it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about."
Everyone knows that when you divide the circumference of a circle by its diameter, you get three and one-seventh, the value of Pi. Even the ancients knew about Pi. But 1 Kings 7:23 tells us that the bronze sea which Hiram made for King Solomon was 30 cubits in circumference and 10 cubits in diameter. Those measurements only give a value of three, not Pi. Is this a mistake in the Bible?
For years, Bible critics have pointed to 1 Kings 7:23 as an error, or they use it to claim that the ancient Israelites were too ignorant to know about Pi. This was answered in the second century A.D., but critics still bring it up today. The solution to the problem is that the circumference of the vessel is measured from the inside walls of the vessel, while the diameter is measured from the outside walls. The wall thickness of the vessel makes up the missing "one-seventh." When confronted with this explanation, even many modern critics find it reasonable.
God has given us His Word without error because He knew that the last thing mankind needed was another book with human error in it! And He did this for a good reason: because it is in the pages of the Bible that we learn of the saving work of Jesus Christ for us.
Lord Jesus, You are the Word made flesh for my salvation. I thank You for the reliability of the Bible You have given us. I pray that You would fill me with a burning desire to study Your Word more than I do now. Amen.
Dr. Crypton. "Circular Reasoning." Science Digest, May 1985, p. 91. Photo: Mosaic outside the mathematics building at the Technische Universität in Berlin. Courtesy of Holger Motzkau. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.
NATURE IS THE BEST CHEMIST
2 Chronicles 16:12
"And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great; yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians."
Aristotle is quoted as saying that the main job of the physician is to amuse the patient while nature heals him. Well, medicine has come a long way since Aristotle, but modern physicians can learn from the medicine man.
A few years ago, an American chemist was visiting villages in the East African Bush. There he witnessed entire tribes drinking a tea made by the medicine man from the berries of a local wild bush. It was said that the tea would ward off cholera. A little local study revealed that the tea did indeed seem to prevent cholera. So the chemist collected a quantity of the berries and took them back to his lab for study. He found that the active ingredient in the berry, maesanin, does act as a powerful antibiotic. Yet, it doesn't cause the body to produce antibodies as does other antibiotics, nor does it fight bacteria in the same way as other antibiotics. This means that maesanin may be effective for people who are sensitive to other antibiotics. The chemist concluded, "Nature is still the best chemist."
Well, it was the God Who created the bush and the berries that offer what appears to be an antibiotic that may well be superior to any before discovered. And He freely gave it to us just as He freely gave us His Son.
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, You are the great physician of both body and soul. Help me always to remember to look to You first when I am in need - and to thank and praise You when I am not in need. Amen.
"Nature's Remedies." Science 83, June, p. 6. Photo: Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera.
2 Chronicles 16:12
"And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great; yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians."
Aristotle is quoted as saying that the main job of the physician is to amuse the patient while nature heals him. Well, medicine has come a long way since Aristotle, but modern physicians can learn from the medicine man.
A few years ago, an American chemist was visiting villages in the East African Bush. There he witnessed entire tribes drinking a tea made by the medicine man from the berries of a local wild bush. It was said that the tea would ward off cholera. A little local study revealed that the tea did indeed seem to prevent cholera. So the chemist collected a quantity of the berries and took them back to his lab for study. He found that the active ingredient in the berry, maesanin, does act as a powerful antibiotic. Yet, it doesn't cause the body to produce antibodies as does other antibiotics, nor does it fight bacteria in the same way as other antibiotics. This means that maesanin may be effective for people who are sensitive to other antibiotics. The chemist concluded, "Nature is still the best chemist."
Well, it was the God Who created the bush and the berries that offer what appears to be an antibiotic that may well be superior to any before discovered. And He freely gave it to us just as He freely gave us His Son.
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, You are the great physician of both body and soul. Help me always to remember to look to You first when I am in need - and to thank and praise You when I am not in need. Amen.
"Nature's Remedies." Science 83, June, p. 6. Photo: Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera.
THE LIGHTER SIDE OF THE BIBLE
Matthew 23:24
"Ye blind guides, which strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!"
Some Christians give others the idea that Christianity is a dull and joyless faith, and that God is stern and humorless. But God is the One Who created humor.
For example, did you ever hear of the Bug Bible? Published in 1551, the Bug Bible got the name when, for some unexplainable reason, "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night" from Psalm 91:5 was printed as, "Thou shalt not be afraid of any buggies by night." Human error was also presumably responsible for The Wicked Bible, published in 1717. The Wicked Bible got its name because the word "not" was left out of one of the Commandments, leaving the Commandment to read, "Thou shalt commit adultery."
One of the most amusing word plays was by Jesus Himself and is found in Matthew 23:24. Here Jesus warns hypocrites about straining at gnats and swallowing camels. In Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, the word for gnat is nearly identical to the word for camel. The verbal humor, which is an excellent way of teaching, produced a simple slogan that was easy for the common man to remember: "Blind guides, who strain out a galma, and swallow a gamla!"
Despite occasional human printing errors, we can be sure that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. And despite God's sincere earnestness in calling us to Himself, we can also be sure that He created humor.
Dear Father in heaven, through Your Word of promise fill me with true joy and a lightness of heart so that others may see that being Yours is a joyful, wonderful thing to be desired. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Dr. Crypton. "Mathematics in the Bible." Science Digest, May 1985, p. 78. Photo: Close-up of the error in The Wicked Bible.
Matthew 23:24
"Ye blind guides, which strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!"
Some Christians give others the idea that Christianity is a dull and joyless faith, and that God is stern and humorless. But God is the One Who created humor.
For example, did you ever hear of the Bug Bible? Published in 1551, the Bug Bible got the name when, for some unexplainable reason, "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night" from Psalm 91:5 was printed as, "Thou shalt not be afraid of any buggies by night." Human error was also presumably responsible for The Wicked Bible, published in 1717. The Wicked Bible got its name because the word "not" was left out of one of the Commandments, leaving the Commandment to read, "Thou shalt commit adultery."
One of the most amusing word plays was by Jesus Himself and is found in Matthew 23:24. Here Jesus warns hypocrites about straining at gnats and swallowing camels. In Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, the word for gnat is nearly identical to the word for camel. The verbal humor, which is an excellent way of teaching, produced a simple slogan that was easy for the common man to remember: "Blind guides, who strain out a galma, and swallow a gamla!"
Despite occasional human printing errors, we can be sure that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. And despite God's sincere earnestness in calling us to Himself, we can also be sure that He created humor.
Dear Father in heaven, through Your Word of promise fill me with true joy and a lightness of heart so that others may see that being Yours is a joyful, wonderful thing to be desired. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Dr. Crypton. "Mathematics in the Bible." Science Digest, May 1985, p. 78. Photo: Close-up of the error in The Wicked Bible.
WHERE DO CREATION MOMENTS COME FROM?
Hebrews 11:13
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."
One of the most frequent questions we receive at Creation Moments is: "Where do you get all that fascinating information?" Is there a book that contains all these interesting programs?
Yes, Creation Moments does publish all these programs into a series of books titled Letting God Create Your Day. But the program material is actually from two sources. One is Scripture, and here we are given the key of what to look for. The other is nature, or better said, God's Creation, which is what we see and observe around us.
When this program first began, it took some time to find the material, but over the years this has become easier. It might be said that our vision for seeing the hand of God as our Creator has increased. The key, then, is that we have learned to see it. The material for a broadcast may come from a magazine, newspaper or scientific journal, or a nature TV program. The hand of our Creator is all around us, and we learn to see it.
There's one other key to this vision. It helps us to get used to looking at all things in this world through the eyes of faith, and that means reading the Word of God on a regular basis. We hope that these programs have helped you see a little better.
Lord Jesus, I thank You that through faith, created by Your Word, I am able to see wonderful things which are unseen by the wise and proud of the world. Through Your Word, build my faith and increase my vision. Amen.
Photo: Individual volumes or the complete collection of Letting God Create Your Day books are available from the Creation Moments bookstore. www.creationmoments.com.
Hebrews 11:13
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."
One of the most frequent questions we receive at Creation Moments is: "Where do you get all that fascinating information?" Is there a book that contains all these interesting programs?
Yes, Creation Moments does publish all these programs into a series of books titled Letting God Create Your Day. But the program material is actually from two sources. One is Scripture, and here we are given the key of what to look for. The other is nature, or better said, God's Creation, which is what we see and observe around us.
When this program first began, it took some time to find the material, but over the years this has become easier. It might be said that our vision for seeing the hand of God as our Creator has increased. The key, then, is that we have learned to see it. The material for a broadcast may come from a magazine, newspaper or scientific journal, or a nature TV program. The hand of our Creator is all around us, and we learn to see it.
There's one other key to this vision. It helps us to get used to looking at all things in this world through the eyes of faith, and that means reading the Word of God on a regular basis. We hope that these programs have helped you see a little better.
Lord Jesus, I thank You that through faith, created by Your Word, I am able to see wonderful things which are unseen by the wise and proud of the world. Through Your Word, build my faith and increase my vision. Amen.
Photo: Individual volumes or the complete collection of Letting God Create Your Day books are available from the Creation Moments bookstore. www.creationmoments.com.
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