Tuesday, October 7, 2014

CREATION MOMENTS: 10.6.14

THE TEN-HEARTED FERTILIZER FACTORY

Psalm 22:6

"But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people."
The lowly earthworm is one of the most under-appreciated little creatures on Earth. People probably don't appreciate the earthworm because it's not very pretty. Biology textbooks say that the earthworms were among the first simple land creatures to evolve. Well, clearly there hasn't been much evolution since, and they are not that simple. The earthworm has a well-developed nervous system, a brain and ten hearts!

Earthworms tunnel through the soil by literally eating the soil itself. As the worm draws nutrition from organic matter in the soil, its digestive system processes these chemicals to produce excellent natural fertilizers. In one recent test, soil scientists compared earthworms and the best fertilizers you can buy. The earthworms easily won the contest. The ground they fertilized had five times more nitrogen, twice as much calcium, two-and-a-half times more magnesium, and seven times more phosphorus than the best that modern science could produce.

Since earthworms like lots of organic material in the soil, you can encourage earthworms in your garden by digging lawn clippings and most types of tree leaves into your soil this fall rather than throwing them away. One caution, however. Some leaves like red oak are acid and best left out of the soil.

So, while earthworms are not pretty, our Creator has provided them to enrich the soil and help to feed us all.

Dear Lord, some of Your best gifts to us come in humble and lowly form. Indeed, the world's wisdom leads it to scorn the Savior of the world and Your plan of salvation. Protect me from such false wisdom. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Photo: Mating earthworms. Courtesy of Jackhynes.
 
VACUUM CLEANER LUNGS

Genesis 2:7

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
The air we breathe has always been filled with dust particles. And whether it is dust blown off the ground, smoke particles, or tiny particles of fabric or even paper in the house, these particles find their way deep into our lungs.

In His wisdom, our Creator has provided us with tiny, but effective "vacuum cleaners" in our lungs that collect and remove the particles that enter the lungs. These "vacuum cleaner" cells are actually a specific type of macrophage. They work in the deepest part of the lung, reaching out with tubular extensions to engulf any particle in much the same way that an amoeba eats. This "vacuum cleaner" essentially eats the particles it finds, and every one of these "vacuum cleaner" cells can clean an area forty times its own size.

Scientists say that they still do not fully understand whether certain particles, like poisonous heavy metals, affect the working of these cells. They suspect that certain particles may prevent these "vacuum cleaners" from effectively doing their work.

Though science has known about macrophages for over a century, scientists are only just beginning to learn how these cells actually clean the lungs. We can be very thankful that we have a Creator Who is not only clever enough to think of our need, but wise enough to know how to design a solution.

Dear Father, I thank You that You have created so many mechanisms to help keep my body healthy. Help me to be as concerned about my health as You are so that I may enjoy the life You have given me and be in better condition to serve You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Illustration: The human lungs flank the heart and great vessels in the chest cavity. Gray's Anatomy.
 
DO CHRISTIANS NEED EVOLUTION?

1 Corinthians 15:21-22

"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
Many of the leaders of the creationist movement today were once evolutionists. Most of them believed that God created but that He used evolution to do it; this is called "theistic evolution."

Theistic evolutionists who have come to accept biblical creation point out that there are some very serious objections to evolution. For example, the fossil record offers no evidence of the development of living things from simple to complex. Theistic evolutionists might object, but check it out: Representatives of every major phylum of animals living today are found in the very deepest layers of rocks containing multi-celled fossils. They appear suddenly without any evolutionary ancestors.

Further, the fossil record offers not one undisputed "missing link" between the various kinds of creatures. Dr. Colin Patterson, formerly head of paleontology for the British Museum, who was not a creationist, admitted in a well-publicized letter that there is not a single transitional form to link any kind of animal with another. Even the most famous of the so-called transitional forms have not stood the test of scientific scrutiny.

Evolution claims that there was death as indicated by the fossils long before the emergence of mankind, but the Bible clearly tells us that there was no death before Adam sinned. So whether you look at science or at the Bible, there is no reason for Christians to adopt evolutionary beliefs and every reason to believe the Bible's account of creation!

Dear Father, the belief in evolution, even the belief that there was death before Adam, has done great damage. Show me how I can help to proclaim Your truth. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Photo: The BioLogos Foundation is a leading proponent of theistic evolution. It was founded by Francis Collins in 2007.
 
DOCTORS USE GOD'S INVENTION

Job 10:10-12

"Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit."
For thousands of years, man has applied a huge variety of things to his skin to help injuries heal. By trial and error he has come up with ointments that keep injured skin moist to assist the natural healing process. Antibiotics were eventually added to these ointments. But until recently no one has been able to actually increase the rate at which skin naturally heals.

That has now changed. Epidermal growth factor is one of the chemicals that God created to help keep the body in working order. Research has learned how to copy the chemical responsible, and tests have shown that application of the man-made epidermal growth factor can speed the rate at which wounds heal. Studies show that wounds on which epidermal growth factor is used heal about a day-and-a-half faster than normal. That might not seem like much, but when burn victims need many skin grafts, epidermal growth factor could mean the difference between life and death.

With all his knowledge of the chemistry of biology, one would naturally assume that man should be able to develop better healing agents than mindless evolutionary processes. But, of course, man is not emulating mindless evolutionary processes but the work of the Creator God Himself. The Creator of natural epidermal growth factor had the original wisdom to design it and include it in our physiology.

Dear Lord, as I look around Your creation, I see so many ways in which Your knowledge and wisdom is so obviously practical. Help me to understand that all of Your wisdom, including what You tell me in Scripture, is really practical and useful for life. Amen.

Photo: Mouse epidermal growth factor.
 
THE MOST COMPLEX STRUCTURE IN THE UNIVERSE

Job 38:36

"Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?"
Whether you know it or not, you are the proud owner of the most complex arrangement of matter in the universe. I am speaking of your brain. Even though it weighs only three pounds, the brain's structure is so complex that it defies all explanation except to admit that a higher intelligence created it.

The average brain has ten billion neurons and multiple billions of connections. It has been estimated that the brain is able to hold one million times more information than anyone could possibly learn in a lifetime. If true, this suggests that man was smarter in the past or meant to live much longer. Thanks to the brain, you can listen to someone talk and begin to put your reply together for him while your brain is also directing a number of other projects - like your heart beat, breathing, and blood chemistry - without your conscious attention. Your brain, through its extended sensory system, allows your finger to feel a vibration of less than eight-one-thousandths of an inch and lets you see 10 million different colors.

The brain is so marvelously complex that even scientists who deny the soul and believe that the material stuff is all that exists have admitted that the brain leads them to wonder if there is not more to reality. Some are now even willing to talk about a spiritual reality.

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for the gift of my brain and all of the abilities it gives me. Help me to use my mind and all its powers to do Your will and, in this way, love You and serve You with all my being. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Photo: A pyramidal neuron from the hippocampus, stained for green fluorescent protein. PLoS Biology Vol. 4, No. 2, e29. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license.
 
TETRAKAIDECAHEDRON SKIN

Job 10:8

"Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me."
Dr. David Menton is a biologist who believes that God created the heavens and the Earth in six days only some six thousand years ago. As he likes to point out, he is a biologist who evolutionists say cannot exist - a biologist who rejects evolution.

But Dr. Menton's accomplishments make it hard for evolutionists to deny his right to be considered a top-notch scientist. Before completing his doctorate, David Menton worked as a dermatology researcher at the Mayo Clinic. After earning his doctorate, he worked as a research scientist at the University of Iowa, where he made a major discovery acknowledged by fellow scientists. Dr. Menton discovered that skin cells are 14-sided polygons called tetra-kai-deca-he-drons - sort of fun to say when you get the hang of it. He also discovered that these flat tetrakaidecahedrons are stacked and interlocked like poker chips, one exactly on top of another. From this he learned that when skin cells reproduce too rapidly they do not stack as they should, resulting in skin problems like psoriasis. No, there can be no question that Dr. Menton is a qualified biologist.

We wouldn't want you to think that Dr. Menton is the only scientist, or even the only biologist, who believes in creation as taught in the Bible. Thousands of qualified scientists believe in creation, despite what some evolutionists say.

Dear Father, I give thanks to You for all of the Bible-believing scientists who are working today. Protect them and give them boldness to witness Your truth. I also ask that You would give more of our Bible-believing young people the desire and strength to go into science professions. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Photo: Dr. David Menton.
 
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