Creation Devotional July 4 - History
Daily Devotional – July 4
History
Throughout America’s Midwest are hundreds of raised mounds and earthworks. Radiocarbon dating places the age of artifacts found in these mounds around 3,000 years old. Archeologists believe an extinct race of settlers known as the Adena culture built them. In Lower Michigan, from 1850 to 1910, some of these mounds were excavated. A number of engraved plates made of slate, copper, and clay were recovered. A book published in 1910 photographically documented 40 engravings that reveal amazing knowledge of this ancient people.
One of the engravings shows a scene of people drowning during a heavy rainfall. The third panel on this engraving shows a boat and a bird flying away with a branch in its beak. The fourth panel shows the boat on shore with the animals coming off in pairs while a man and three sons raise their hands in praise. Sounds very similar to the biblical account of the Flood, doesn’t it? How did the Adena culture in America know of this event some 3,000 years ago? They or their ancestors left the tower of Babel with this knowledge. As they spread across the world, they took this knowledge of true history with them. These people knew of God and the Bible, then over time, this knowledge was not passed down to their children.
We need to make sure those following in our footsteps do not forget the God of the Bible and all that He has done for us.
And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
~ Judges 2:10
Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett
Creation Devotional July 3 - Geology
Daily Devotional – July 3
Geology
Coal deposits are found on every continent - even Antarctica. The deposits range from several inches thick to hundreds of feet thick. They can cover small areas or stretch for thousands of square miles. Evolutionists believe that coal formed in swamps over millions of years. As plants and trees died, they fell and accumulated at the bottom of the swamp. Over millions of years, the pressure and heat from slowly accumulating, overlying sediment transformed the swamp peat into coal. But students are seldom exposed to the problems with this story.
Today, we do NOT find swamps turning into coal deposits. Also, scientists have been able to identify many of the plants that were transformed into coal; most grow on the sides of mountains, not in swamps. In addition, small marine animals, not land creatures, are often found in the coal. All of this evidence leads to the conclusion that the material making up coal was transported from other locations. A modern example of this happened during the 1980’s Mt. St. Helens volcanic eruption. At the base of the volcano was Spirit Lake. The eruption caused an 800-foot wave to wash up the slope and drag a million logs back into the lake. These trees ended up floating in the lake. As wind blew the logs back and forth across the lake, the bark was rubbed off making a foot thick layer of bark at the bottom of the lake; this is the beginning of a peat deposit.
The Genesis Flood with its violent floodwaters and earthquakes would have ripped up all the plants and trees on the entire planet – resulting in huge floating log mats. As the log mats moved back and forth, the bark and waterlogged vegetation would have rubbed off and settled to the bottom. The violence of this Flood caused plant debris to be buried quickly and deeply - forming coal within a short time. The enormous coal beds that we find all over the world are a reminder of theF lood of Noah’s day.
They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
~ Luke 17:27
Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett
Creation Devotional July 2 - Biology
Daily Devotional – July 2
Biology
The caterpillar of the tropical butterfly Heliconius sara eats nothing but the leaves of the passion vines. Problem - these leaves contain cyanide packets along with enzyme packets so that when chewed and mixed together, deadly cyanide gas is released! The result for unwary, hungry insects – death!
However, H. sara caterpillars do not die. Why? Biologists found that when these caterpillars munched on the leaves, the caterpillars released a neutralizing enzyme that changed the cyanide into a harmless chemical. Evolutionists would have us believe that these caterpillars evolved the ability to neutralize the cyanide by accident and chance. Any insect that munched on the passion vine leaf without the neutralizing enzyme would face instant death. H. sara caterpillars had to have this special enzyme from the beginning! God, the greatest Chemist, designed this neutralizing ability from the start in order for the beautiful tropical butterfly Heliconius sara to exist.
For he spake, and it was done;….
~ Psalm 33:9
Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett
Creation Devotional July 1 - Christian Truth
Daily Devotional – July 1
Christian Truth
Peter’s sermon on the day after Pentecost resulted in three thousand souls being saved (Acts 2). The people who heard his message were familiar with the Old Testament; they believed in the Creator God and understood sin and its penalty of death. As Peter preached to the Jews, he was able to build on their existing foundation of truth and reality.
Compare this with Paul speaking to the Greeks in Acts 17:22-34. The Greeks did not believe in a separate Creator God who held them personally accountable for their lives and actions. To them the “gods” were really just part of the universe and world around them. They did not have the same background as the Jews. So what was Paul’s approach? He began by explaining that God was not part of the universe, but the Creator of Heaven and Earth. He began with creation.
Today, our culture does not know the Bible, and people increasingly think of evolution, i.e. creation itself, as their creator. We need to begin reaching the lost in our culture by explaining that there is a God, who is the literal supernatural Creator of everything. Unlike the Acts 2 crowd, our culture does not know the Bible. Americans have become like an Acts 17 culture. Just like Paul, we need to start with the evidence for creation in order to explain the God of the Bible to them.
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, ….”
~ Acts 17: 22-24
Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett
Creation Devotional June 30 - Cosmology
Daily Devotional – June 30
Cosmology
A planet that orbits around a star that is not our Sun is called an “exoplanet.” Since the 1990s, NASA has reported the existence of more than 1000 exoplanets. These planets come in a variety of sizes and distances from their suns. None have been found to be the perfect size and distance from its sun to allow life. Should Bible-believing Christians be afraid that finding other planets revolving around stars will prove life could pop up anywhere and God is irrelevant? One should not become confused with finding an earth-sized planet with an earth-like planet. Earth is unique in that it is the perfect distance from the Sun; and has the perfect gravitational pull, the perfect atmospheric gases, and copious amounts of liquid water resulting in the perfect “habitable zone” for life. Just because other planets exist outside our solar system does not mean life is there. Examine our own solar system with its Earth-like planets Venus and Mars. They are the right size and approximately the right distance from the Sun, yet they contain absolutely no life. Our Earth is special! It was designed to be a stable, safe place for people to inhabit. Isaiah 45:18 acknowledges this, “He formed it to be inhabited.” Exoplanets just show God’s power and creativity!
For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
~ Isaiah 45:18
“The Bible is worth all the other books which have ever been printed.” – Patrick Henry (1739-1799), Virginia Governor, Declaration of Independence signer, American Founding Father
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
~ 2 Timothy 3:16, 17
Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett
References for this devotional.
Creation Devotional June 29 - Paleontology
Daily Devotional – June 29
Paleontology
Much publicity has been given to feather-like structures found in amber (assumed to be 70 million years old).1 Why is this significant? If someone does not want to believe that birds were created fully-formed and fully-functional, the only other possibility is that some other animal must have evolved into a bird. Thus, it is widely taught that dinosaurs changed into birds. Since this feather-containing-amber is from the “age of dinosaurs”… it is assumed that these feathers came from feather-covered dinosaurs. But let’s look at what was actually found – some fuzzy structures and some modern-looking feathers.
According to the researchers, “We’ve got feathers that look to be little filamentous hair-like feathers, we’ve got the same filaments bound together in clumps, and then we’ve got a series that are for all intents and purposes identical to modern feathers,” McKellar said. “We’re finding some that look to be dinosaur feathers and another set that are pretty much dead ringers for modern birds.”
No bones, no skin, no pictures. In other words, bird feathers and frayed fragments of who-knows-what were preserved in amber. Ignored are fully-formed birds found in lower rock layers. Ignored are all the other creatures found in amber: well preserved insects, flowers, moss, lizards, and mammal hair. Of course, that is exactly what we would find if there was a world-wide flood as trees were ripped up and knocked against each other, releasing resin. During the raging Flood of Noah’s day, huge floating log mats would have had trees oozing resin in which feathers, insects, fuzz and other critters would have been captured. Then sediments would cover them and amber would be formed.
Dinosaurs and birds were created together during that first week of creation. Both were wiped out in vast numbers and buried during the Flood of Noah - which is when the world’s amber deposits formed. The feathers found in this amber are simply from a bird, not a dinosaur.
And God created… every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
~ Genesis 1:21
Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett
References for this devotional.
Creation Devotional June 28 - Biology
Daily Devotional – June 28
Biology
One of the most remarkable builders in the animal kingdom is the beaver. The sound of trickling water stimulates the beaver to plug the flow by building a dam. If it is a sluggish stream, the dam will be built straight across. If it is a fast-flowing stream, the beaver will construct a dam with a convex curve in the upstream direction. First, they push strong sticks down into the stream bed. Next, they fill the gaps with branches. Finally, they place heavier rocks or pieces of wood on top. Beavers know how to compensate for the stresses and strains of water pushing against the dam. On the upstream side of the dam, the wall is vertical and on the downstream side, the wall slopes at a 45 degree angle. Beavers also build outlet sluices for removal of overflow water.
Dams can be built short or long, high or low. One beaver dam was 1800 feet long, 9 feet high and 18 feet wide, strong enough for a horse and rider to use as a natural bridge! When we build dams, great engineering is needed to stop the flow and resist water pressure. Do we say that the engineering of our dams happen by accident and chance? It takes years of schooling to be a good dam builder, but beavers know instinctively how to build a dam. Even if a beaver is born in a zoo and let go in the wild, it still knows how to build a dam. Beavers do not need to learn how to build a dam, they just know; it’s called instinct. If there is instinct, there must be an instinct maker and that instinct maker is God.
Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
~1 Chronicles 16:8
Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett
References for this devotional.
Creation Devotional June 27 - Paleontology
Daily Devotional – June 27
Paleontology
Recently (2012) in Lianonig, China, the fossil of a dinosaur (Sinocalliopteryx gigas) was uncovered that was so well-preserved that even its stomach contents were identifiable. Its last meal must have been a Thanksgiving feast because researchers found not one, but three partially digested birds in its stomach. The birds were intact enough to identify them as pigeon-sized birds (Confuciusornis sancutus) with fully-formed characteristics of modern birds. The fact that this dinosaur had not one, but three partially digested birds in its stomach, indicates it was an active hunter. The report noted that the birds found in the dinosaur’s stomach were “capable of powered flight” with fullyformed feathers and beaks rather than teeth. But wait, haven’t we all been told that dinosaurs slowly turned into birds? The evolutionary story that dinosaurs evolved into birds has never been observed in the fossil record. We find either fully functional birds--complete with wings and feathers—or fully functional dinosaurs without wings or feathers. Dinosaurs evolving into birds? Not in this fossil find; the dinosaur was eating the birds! From a biblical perspective, this dinosaur was simply caught in a worldwide Flood, rapidly buried, fossilized, and dug up some 4400 years later to reveal its last meal - birds.
And God created… every winged fowl after his kind : and God saw that it was good.
~ Genesis 1:21 (emphasis added)
Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett
References for this devotional.
Creation Devotional June 26 - Paleontology
Daily Devotional – June 26
Paleontology
Scientists recently uncovered five remarkably well preserved octopus fossils. Octopuses are soft-bodied animals with no internal skeleton, yet each of the octopus’ eight arms was fossilized with traces of muscles and rows of suckers intact. Several even had their internal gills and ink fossilized! Today, when an octopus dies, its body rapidly decomposes into a slimy blob. Within days, scavengers and bacteria reduce a dead octopus to nothing. To fossilize an octopus would require extremely unique conditions - fast coverage in sediment so thick that no oxygen could exist to support the growth of microorganisms. These special conditions would have been met in the Flood of Noah’s day.
Furthermore, these five octopuses were enclosed in limestone. Limestone is always assumed by evolutionists to take long periods of time to form. But the Flood of Noah’s time would have provided the perfect conditions for rapid limestone formation. The very nature of many fossils testifies to the Flood ofNoah’s day.
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air;
~ Genesis 6:7a
Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett
References for this devotional.
Creation Devotional June 25 - Cosmology
Daily Devotional – June 25
Cosmology
Those familiar with astronomy and cosmology have likely heard of “dark matter.” Many astronomy books state as fact that 85% of all matter in the universe is dark matter – something which cannot be directly measured or observed. If it cannot be directly observed, why believe it exists?
The belief in dark matter stems from the fact that the laws of science directly contradict the belief in cosmic evolution and the Big Bang. The universal gas law (PV=nRT) shows that gas ALWAYS moves from high pressure to low pressure if left to itself. This means stars, galaxies, and galaxy clusters could never form themselves in the vacuum of outer space. Yet, they exist, so how do scientists explain the discrepancy?
Dark matter to the rescue! By inventing a massive, invisible substance to condense and compress the “regular matter” of the universe, believers in naturalism can mathematically rescue the Big Bang explanation of how the universe could have created itself.
Dark matter is also invoked to supposedly:
- Explain irregularities in Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation.
- Explain how outer stars in galaxies can orbit faster than inner ones.
- Explain how some of the most common elements in the universe - helium and deuterium (a hydrogen isotope) could have come into existence.
- Support the Big Bang theory. Without dark matter, the Big Bang model for our universe collapses - thus there is enormous pressure to find proof of the existence of this unobservable, undetectable stuff.
Recent papers claim to have proven the existence of dark matter because light from certain galaxies has been bent in a “gravitational lens” effect in the way that dark matter would supposedly bend light. Yet, this is speculation, not direct observation, and the same effect can be explained in multiple other ways. Russell Humphreys, John Hartnett, and Moshe Carmeli have all shown novel physics solutions that explain the formation of the universe without the need to invent an unobservable, mythical dark matter. All three brilliant physicists acknowledge that the only viable explanation for the origin of the matter and energy in the universe, including stars and galaxies, is a supernatural creation by God. It is the laws of science that lead to this conclusion.
Thus, modern man is faced with two choices as he struggles to explain the origin of the material universe. Either an enormous explosion (from nothing) created the universe of mostly unobservable matter and energy, or the universe exists because an infinitely intelligent and powerful Creator made it. Modern man, in his quest to escape accountability from that Creator, all too often chooses darkness as his god and creator.
If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
~ Matthew 6:23
Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett
References for this devotional.
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