Friday, January 9, 2015

CREATION MOMENTS: 1.9.15

MORE PROOF YOU'RE NOT ACCIDENTAL CHEMISTRY

Psalm 139:14

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

Most people know that the most important molecule in our bodies is DNA. But another large molecule called ATP is what keeps you and your DNA alive. ATP is the primary energy system within your body. It generates the electricity in your nerves, making it possible to move your muscles. ATP's operation should remove any doubt that it is a product of a wise and intelligent Creator.

ATP converts the energy in the food you eat to just the right level needed most of the time by your cells. When ATP delivers its energy within your cell, it loses a group of phosphate atoms and becomes ADP. ADP is immediately recycled back into ATP within your mitochondria to again deliver its energy. On the average, each ATP is recycled like this three times per second. Despite the fact that each of your one hundred trillion cells have one billion ATP molecules, you would die within a few minutes if anything interfered with this recycling. During the course of a day, your body will recycle 400 pounds of ATP! Within your mitochondria are what have been described as molecular "water wheels." When working at its peak, this "water wheel" spins as fast as 200 revolutions per second, generating 600 ATP molecules during that second!

The Psalmist was right when he praised God because he recognized that he was fearfully and wonderfully made.

Lord, I thank You that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Amen.

Jerry Bergman, "ATP: The Perfect Energy Currency for the Cell", Creation Research Society Quarterly, 6/99, v. 36, p. 2. Illustration: ATP molecule. Courtesy of QuteMol. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
 
SUNFISH HAVE PERSONALITY, TOO

Revelation 4:11

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
Are you shy or bold? Actually, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that we all have areas where we are bold, and other things we're shy about. A person can be bold in willing to fly in any aircraft, and at the same time terrified when crossing a high bridge.

Now scientists have surprised themselves by discovering that the same is true of sunfish, crabs and the octopus. Evolutionary scientists had always assumed that since "survival of the fittest" is the driving force behind evolution, evolution would favor boldness. But scientists found that when they introduced a novel object - a stick with a red tip - into a school of sunfish, about a quarter of the fish fled from it, while another quarter of the school boldly nipped at the stick. But those fish who were shy toward the stick were no more likely than any other individuals in the school to be shy when introduced to unfamiliar food. Those who nipped at the stick didn't prove any more likely to be bold when introduced to unfamiliar food.

Other researchers have concluded that studies show the same behavior in crabs and in the octopus. The researchers marveled that even so called simple animals showed individually unique traits just as humans do. As one said, "There must be something very special here."

There is something very special here. That these creatures have individual personalities says nothing about evolution. But it does remind us that all living things have but one divine Creator.

Father, I thank You for my unique personality and ask that it would be better conformed to Christ, my Savior. Amen.


S. Milius, "Fish Nature: Sometimes shy, sometimes bold", Science News, 10/24/98, v. 154, p. 263. Photo: Sunfish. (PD)
 
WHAT DO CHICKENS TALK ABOUT?

1 Corinthians 15:49

"And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."

We have all heard that our ability to communicate our thoughts is one of the things that make humans unique. On the evolutionary scale of things, language was considered a sophisticated development. Supposedly, chickens didn't have any thoughts worth communicating anyway. Now, this view is being challenged by multiple studies of animal communication.

Most of the studies have looked to see if there is any pattern to various species' distress calls. For example, researchers have found vervet monkeys are very specific as they warn each other of danger. When the danger is a large monkey eating creature like a tiger, the danger call is "wrr." At this call, all the monkeys in earshot hurry up their trees. If an eagle threatens them, the alarm call is a grunt, causing the monkeys to dive into the underbrush. If the threat is a snake, the alarm call becomes chuttering sounds. This leads the monkeys to stand up and look around the ground for the threat. Researchers were amazed that specific sounds lead to specific actions, depending on the threat.

Other animals, like ring tailed lemurs, have been found to have their own pattern of communication. And yes, even the lowly chicken has a different warning call, depending on whether the threat is a raccoon on the ground or a hawk in the air!

So it's not our ability to communicate that makes us unique but the fact that we were created in God's image and we have been redeemed by Christ's blood.

I thank You, dear Father, that You have made me to have a relationship with You, and that You have redeemed me. Amen.


Susan Milus, "The Science of EEEEEK!", Science News, 9/12/98. Photo: Vervet monkey and baby. Courtesy of SajjadF. (CC-BY-3.0 UNPORTED)
 
AN EVOLUTIONARY QUANDARY

Psalm 14:1

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good."

How did life get started? We all know that the Bible tells us that life got started when God created it. But we have also learned, perhaps in school, or reading the news, that evolutionists believe that life could have started in the distant past all by itself if the conditions were right. Perhaps you have read that scientists can form amino acids in the laboratory. Besides the fact that amino acids are a long way from life, the amino acids made in the laboratory are the wrong kind for life. The idea that life can form spontaneously under the right conditions places modern evolutionary scientists in a very precarious position.

One assumption of evolutionary scientists is that the early Earth had no oxygen. Oxygen destroys amino acids. Yet geologists tell us that oxidation even in the oldest rocks proves that the Earth has always had an oxygen atmosphere. Besides, if the Earth didn't have an oxygen atmosphere when the first amino acids formed, that means there was no ozone, a form of oxygen, to protect those amino acids. Amino acids are quickly destroyed by ultraviolet light from the sun. So, you see, with or without oxygen, amino acids can't begin to form. The truth is that the Bible offers the only sensible explanation for the origin of life. As the great scientist Louis Pasteur said, "Life can only come from life," while the Bible tells us that eternal life can only come from the eternal life-giver - Jesus Christ.

Father, in Your wisdom, You have put to shame those who would deny that You exist. Thank You for salvation in Jesus. Amen.


David Rosevear, "The Myth of Chemical Evolution", ICR, 7/99. Illustration: Generic structure of alpha amino acid. (PD)
 
TOO MUCH ON YOUR MIND?

Proverbs 12:25

"Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad."
The Bible frequently warns against anxiety. Modern science agrees that anxiety produces all sorts of negative changes in the body. A study on rats some years ago suggests that the damage done by anxiety begins practically at the onset of anxiety.

In the study, scientists used electrodes on some of the rats to simulate what happens in the brain when learning takes place. Then they put all the animals through a learning exercise. The rats were to learn to find and swim to a submerged platform in a water tank. Scientists found that those rats whose learning centers were overstimulated did much more poorly at learning than those who had not been overstimulated.

Learning normally takes place as new experiences strengthen connections between nerve cells. However, scientists concluded that overstimulation prevents those connections from being strengthened. In practical terms, this means that there is a limit to how quickly we can absorb new information. In other words, the student who stays up all night cramming for final exams will end up less able to learn than the non anxious student who sleeps peacefully the night before finals.

So, if you have ever had times when you thought that your brain just couldn't absorb more information, you were probably right. So now we have yet another reason why God, in His Word, urges us not to be anxious, but to cast all our cares on Him. After all, if He sent His only Son to rescue you from sin, death and the devil, will He not also carry you through whatever makes you anxious?

Dear Lord, I cast all my cares on You, for You love me. Amen.

J.T., "Rats have too much on their minds", Science News, 10/17/98, v. 154, p. 250. Photo: Courtesy of Maxwell GS. (CC-BY-SA 2.0)
 
 THE BIBLE: CONVINCING HISTORY

Joshua 11:11

"And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire."
The Bible tells us that in conquering Canaan, Joshua destroyed the city of Hazor, which was the chief city in the area. Bible critics are usually skeptical of the claims made by the Bible, especially when it comes to Israel's conquest of Canaan. Excavations at Hazor began in 1955 and have gone on sporadically ever since. Archaeologists wanted to know when Hazor was destroyed and who it was that destroyed it. Doubting that Israel could have caused the destruction, some suggested Hazor was destroyed by the Philistines, by another Canaanite city, or the Egyptians.

New excavations during the 1990s revealed some interesting answers. The city was clearly destroyed by fire, as attested by the remaining ashes of the city, which are 3 feet deep in some places. This is consistent with Scripture's account. Because of the large amount of olive oil stored in large jars in the palace, the fire was especially bad there, reaching temperatures estimated at over two thousand degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, statues and idols were smashed, which is what the Israelites typically did in obedience to God. The idols destroyed were gods worshiped by the Philistines, Canaanites and Egyptians, making them unlikely as the destroyers. The pattern of destruction is the same as described by Scripture, leaving the only conclusion, say those closest to the excavations, that only Israel could have done this! It's good to see that even those who doubt the truth of Scripture can be convinced of its truth by history itself.

I thank You, Lord, that I can be sure of the Bible's promise of salvation. Amen.

Amnon Ben-Tor and Maria Teresa Rubiato, "Did the Israelites Destroy the Canaanite City?", Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1999, p. 22. Photo: Tel Hazor. (PD)
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