What Do You Believe?

Presupposition: An assumption, conjecture, speculation or something supposed without proof;

What do you believe?

Was all creation just a cosmic accident or did a designer, God, create all there is?

 The Bible says this:

Romans 1:20 NIV

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

The Bible says that there is clear evidence that there is a Creator. The Creator, God, exists even though we can’t see Him. God has given mankind the privilege to observe the wonders of nature, the universe, the beauty and awesome physical evidence of His complex design down to the core of our DNA structure. Each human being has a unique design and through this design we can see that God has clearly revealed Himself. However, even with this clear revelation in conjunction with His inspired Word, people still reject Him.

The Apostle Paul goes on to tell us in the Book of Romans the reasons why people reject Him.

Romans 1:21-23 NIV

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their

thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise,

they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal

man and birds and animals and reptiles.

It seems that human beings have a tendency to be foolish. I myself have acted many times as a fool,

a stupid, stupid man, a jerk, an idiot………..you get the idea. The fact is, I earned these titles by insisting on viewing life through limited perspective and struggling to do life in my own way. Even though I inherently knew right from wrong, I chose to renew my yearly membership in the Frank Sinatra “I did it my way” club. You would think after a while of hitting my head against the wall I would find a new role model.  After about 40 years of roaming through the desert (sound familiar), I began to allow the Holy Spirit to gain a significant foothold in my life, making room for Him to influence and change the course of my life forever. I had realized I had come to the end of my rope with my misguided wisdom and that I needed to turn completely to the One who had promised to reconcile me back to God and save me from spiritual death. Jesus is now intimately connected to my life and He is the one who fills me with inspiration and hope while continuing to be Lord over my life.

The important thing to point out is that my receiving of Jesus was not based on a feeling or the running out of ideas to win the lottery. I began to read the Bible and investigate the evidence of the existence of God through scientific, archeological and spiritual avenues. My faith is not a “Blind” faith. Because of all the evidence I have uncovered, I now live with confidence in God’s power and frequently act on my belief that he will keep His promises. With help From the Holy Spirit I am able to embrace the power of God because there is plenty of evidence that He is the Creator of all things.  My belief in God is more than just acknowledgement, it has become personal and relational. God’s purpose for creation in the first place was so that He could have fellowship with us. I feel privileged and fortunate to be part of God’s family but I am saddened by the fact that there are so many people, who believe innately that there is some kind of higher power, that created the universe, yet refuse to embrace the one true God who desires to know them and have a personal relationship with them. The problem may lay in the fact that God desires that we surrender our lives completely to Him based on what Jesus did on the Cross. One of the greatest stumbling blocks for many people who are investigating Christianity is the fact that Jesus said that He is the only way in which we can receive the eternal life that God had promised. The current “new age” thinking in this matter is that all spiritual roads lead to God. The Bible states clearly there is only one way to receive to eternal life and that in through Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 NIV 
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except

through me.

There is something about our fallen human nature that causes people to deny the Lordship of Jesus even though God says specifically:

Matthew 17:5 NIV 
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said,

"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

If we were to really listen to Jesus we would know the truth and receive the right way to forgiveness and salvation.

Even for those who believe there is a God there is a tendency to shrink Him down to the point where we significantly reduce His Majesty and power. We tend push God aside allotting Him only a back seat until we need Him to intervene when life gets tough. By this action God becomes regularly ineffective and insignificant to the person who chooses for the most part to go their own way and rule their own life. In essence, the definition of sin is the person who acts based on their own will and desires in denial of God’s will and purpose for their lives.

How can we change a person’s perspective on faith and the role God should play in that person’s life?

What can we do to help those who need more proof that there is a God who sent His Son to save the world? How can we help someone to trust God completely in every area of their life?

First, we must equip ourselves with plenty of God’s truth through the understanding of His Word so we can inform others of the reasons why we believe the Gospel and why we have given our lives to fulfill the mission of the Church. Then, when the opportunity arises, share that faith, and provide some proof of the existence of God.

To help us along in this process, here are some areas we can further our investigation to help equip us with the proof we need to help others take greater steps of faith toward the God of the Bible.

The Evidence:

Historical:

•  External evidence from both archaeology and non-Christian writers confirms that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is a trustworthy historical document.

The Bible is unique:
The internal evidence test reveals the Bible's amazing consistency. The Bible contains 66 books and

was written by over 40 authors, in 3 languages, on 3 continents, over a span of 1,500 years, and covers hundreds of controversial subjects. Yet, the authors all spoke with agreement; there are no contradictions. From Genesis to Revelation, there is one unfolding story: God's redemption of mankind.

Bible Prophecy:

There are hundreds of specific prophecies in the Bible which have been literally fulfilled, in many cases centuries after the completion of the Bible. Any attempt to late-date these prophecies is impossible--there is a copy of every Old Testament book but one from before 150 BC, and hundreds of these prophecies were not fulfilled until centuries later Some prophecies fulfilled by Jesus are Micah 5:2, which revealed where He would be born; Isaiah 53 detailed His suffering, work at the cross, and resurrection; Psalm 22 is striking prophecy of the crucifixion.

Physical evidence:

Old Testament:

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which date from 200 B.C. to A.D. 68, included a copy of every Old Testament book except for one. Comparison with the texts of a thousand years later shows little or no variation and change between them.

New Testament:

• There are over 24,000 old manuscripts, that is hand written copies, of portions of the New Testament (NT). Over 5,000 of these old manuscripts are in Greek, the language the NT was written in.

• There are two excellent parchment copies of the entire New Testament which date from          the 4th century (325-450 A.D.).

• Earlier still, fragments and papyrus copies of portions of the New Testament date from         100 to 200 years (180-225 A.D.)

• Perhaps the earliest piece of Scripture surviving is a fragment of a papyrus codex containing     John 18:31-33 and 37. It is called the Rylands Papyrus (P52) and dates from 130 A.D., having  been found in Egypt. The Rylands Papyrus has forced the critics to place the fourth gospel back to the first century.

There is a growing mass of evidence from archaeology that the Bible accounts deal with real people living in real places. In fact, there is no known case where archaeology contradicts what has been written in the Bible. 

Scientific Evidence:

The Design and Diversity of life:

Intelligent design:   

• The assertion that the universe and all of life are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process.

Aspects of ID: 

•  symmetry, Orderliness, Discernible pattern, Predictability and consistency.

Examples of God’s incredible Design: 

• The Cell, DNA, The Human Body, The Human Eye,  The Immune System, The Brain, Species of Animals, The Universe etc. 

 

The Fossil Record:

• The Bible says God created separate species (“according to their kind”: Genesis 1). To this day  there are no transitional fossils that show an evolution from one species to another. The lack    of proof of evolution through the fossil record after scientists have inspected millions of fossils, is proof that life must have been created rather than been part of some undirected process.         Today there is no evidence that a process called macro evolution is found anywhere in nature.   So the scientific evidence actually reinforces the Bible that there had to be a Creator.

Here's one more pertinent consideration, never reported by the most devoted Darwinian: Charles Darwin's own statements of doubt about his theory. He openly acknowledged "the extreme difficulty or rather impossibility of conceiving this immense and wonderful universe as the result of blind chance or necessity."  

With his "The Origin of Species" about to be released, he wrote to fellow British biologist George Bentham,

"Thank you heartily for what you say about my book; but you will be greatly disappointed; it will be grievously too hypothetical. It will very likely be of no other service than collocating some facts; though I myself think I see my way approximately on the origin of species. But, alas, how frequent, how almost universal it is in an author to persuade himself of the truth of his own dogmas. My only hope is that I certainly see very many difficulties of gigantic stature." (Charles Darwin)

The Scientific Laws:

• 2^nd Law of thermodynamics: All systems, if left to themselves, move from a state of order to disorder
• This scientific law is in direct opposition to the theory of evolution

The 2^nd Law In the context with the Bible:

Here, stated in a simple form, is the second law of thermodynamics. The whole creation is slowly running down. God has built a certain amount of entropy into the system, which, if not managed through the constant operations of dressing and keeping, will bring it to a state of disorganization. The Reader's Digest Encyclopedic Dictionary defines entropy as "the irreversible tendency of a system, including the universe, toward increasing disorder and inertness." The principle is that neglect of natural things is destructive.

The Bible confirms this law:

Hebrews 1:10-12 NLT

He also says to the Son, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth
and made the heavens with your hands. They will perish, but you remain forever.
They will wear out like old clothing.  You will fold them up like a cloak
and discard them like old clothing. But you are always the same; you will live forever.”

Spiritual Evidence (Changed lives, Your own story):

Tell your story. Explain how your life has changed since coming into a relationship with Jesus. Try

to identify with the person you are speaking with and look for similarities in life experiences.

Build a relationship with the person. Point to the evidence that convinced you that the Bible

is God’s truth, His playbook for life and road to abundant living. Explain how you use biblical principle in your everyday life. Model a Christ-like character. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Act on your belief in God and His Truth.

More Proof:

There were over 500 witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus:

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 NIV

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according

to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than

five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have

fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he

appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

So, what do you believe?

There is a lot of evidence that God is the Creator of all things.  We just touched upon a few of these proofs. What is most important to us is to know that that Jesus willingly died to pay for our sins and in doing so reconciled those that receive Him back to God. Also, the Holy Spirit indwells in those who have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior marking them with the seal of salvation that can never be taken away. This same Holy Spirit is the change agent who transforms our lives setting us apart to God while guiding our steps, counseling us and helping us understand God's truth. 

Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross we can trust God with the plan and purpose He has for our lives. Simply put, that purpose is to share our faith, love and serve God and others as well as help others do the same. What we believe matters and has eternal consequences.

John 5:24 New Living Translation (NLT)

 I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

Remember these truths from God's Word: (read - Romans 8:31-39)

If God is for us who can be against us……..nothing can separate us from the Love of God.  

Just Sayin……………..Dave

How Does The Fossil Record Support God’s Word as Truth?

How Does The Fossil Record Support God’s Word as Truth?:

Fossil:

·        The remains of a living thing that have been preserved over time

         Fossils are the remains of plants and animals which lived on the Earth during the

         Geological past and are now preserved in the rocks

Paleontology:

·        The study of the forms of pre-existing life as represented by the fossils of plants, animals, and other organisms

Prehistoric:

·        Of, relating to, or belonging to the era before recorded history.

Genesis 1:1 NIV
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

According to the Bible there is a beginning to history and time as we know it. God created all things and made sure it was recorded in the Bible so we would know that without a doubt that He is the creator.

John 1:1-4 NIV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

God also made it clear that through Jesus (The Word or in the Greek “logos”) all things were made.

Logos:

A Greek term generally translated in the Christian New Testament as "Word", it refers to the creative power (word) of God.

Logos/The Word is particularly significant in Christian theology, where it is used to describe the role of Jesus as the principle of God active in the creation and ordering of the cosmos and in the revelation of the divine plan of salvation. This is most clearly stated in the Gospel of John the Apostle, which identifies Christ as the Word

(Logos) made flesh.

So God created the universe. There was a beginning, and that which came about from the point of God’s Spoken Word was recorded in the Bible.

From Genesis:

³ And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light

⁶ And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from

    water."

⁹ And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry 

   ground appear."

¹¹ Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on 

     the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds."

¹⁴ And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day 

    from the  night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years,  

¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth."

 ²⁰ And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above 

     the earth across the expanse of the sky."

²⁴ And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: 

     livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according 

      to its kind."

²⁶ Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule 

     over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, ^[b] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

It is important to recognize that there was purpose and order in God’s creation. God created man for the purpose of being in relationship with Him, “for His pleasure.” Revelation 4:11 says, “Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” Colossians 1:16 reiterates the point: “All things were created by Him and for Him.” Man was created last because he was the highlight of God’s creation, the most excellent of all God’s works. “God saw everything he had made. And it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

Being made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27), human beings have the ability to know God and therefore love Him, worship Him, serve Him, and fellowship with Him.

Along with all the wonderful things God had created for man’s benefit He gave man the ability to make choices. For example He gave Adam the job of naming all the creatures of the earth.

Genesis 2:19-20 NIV
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
 

Yet there was one choice that changed all of History. Adam and Eve chose to believe Satan’s lies and act on their temptation to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  They disobeyed God and thus sin entered the world.

After the fall (The sin of Adam and Eve) sin entered the world and man became corrupt so much so that God decided to essentially start over.

The consequence of the Fall:

The Flood (a.k.a. Noah's Flood) is the worldwide cataclysmic event that utterly devastated the earth sometime between 2,000 and 3,000 BC. According to Genesis, chapters 6 through 9, earth's humanity had degenerated into such a cesspool that God, in His sovereignty, decided to purge the earth. He graciously chose to spare a

single human family and a variety of representatives from the animal kingdom to repopulate the earth after the Flood waters receded. Noah, the patriarchal head of this chosen family, the man who "found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (Genesis 6:8), was commanded to build a massive ark. This ark (a.k.a. Noah's Ark) was the implement of their salvation. In the aftermath, eight human survivors disembarked from the ark. These eight were all that remained of the human race: Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their sons' three wives.

OK, so how did we get fossils?

Most fossils are found in Sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rock is one of the three main rock groups. Sedimentary rocks cover 75% of the Earth's land area.

Fossils are made when living things die and get buried by sediments quickly before the hardest parts of the animal have a chance to decay.  Within the Sedimentary rock there are billions upon billions of fossils. These are the remains or the casts of plants and animals that suddenly died. Today fossilization does not normally occur; for it requires sudden death, sudden burial, and great pressure.

"To become fossilized a plant or animal must usually have hard parts, such as bone, shell or wood. It must be buried quickly to prevent decay and must be undisturbed throughout the process."—*F.H.T. Rhodes, H.S. Zim, and *P.R. Shaffer, Fossils (1962), p. 10.

In order to get so many fossils there had to be a cataclysmic event in history like Noah’s Flood to cause so many fossils to be buried in the sedimentary rock.  The key is “buried quickly under great pressure”. There is no other proven worldwide event in history which can claim these same conditions. The other theory that a large asteroid or comet impacting the Earth must have caused a great global catastrophe

causing the climate of the entire Earth to change, is one that doesn’t hold “water”. Killing off the dinosaurs through global climate change cannot be proven nor cause the right conditions for there to be fossilization. So in short God created and then God unleashed His wrath on His creation. We have evidence of His judgment (The Flood) by the Billions of Fossils that are found all over the world.

The Lord pronounces the Judgment:

Genesis 6:5-8 NIV
The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of  his heart was only evil all the time.   The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.   So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them."  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

The Facts:

There is so much written on the flood, fossils, dinosaurs etc. that I didn’t want to overwhelm you with tons Info.  The fact is that the fossil record can confirm evidence for a worldwide flood. The worldwide flood Is exactly what the Bible tells us happened.  Here are some more tidbits that we would expect to find if there

was a worldwide flood. This is exactly what we are finding in the Fossil record.

Results of a Worldwide Flood:

(1)   Animals living at the lowest levels would tend to be buried in the lowest strata.

(2)  Creatures buried together—would tend to be buried with other animals that lived 

       in the same region or ecological community.

(3)  Hydrologic forces (the suck and drag of rapidly moving water) would tend to sort

      out creatures of similar forms. Because of lower hydraulic drag, those with the

      simplest shapes would tend to be buried first.

(4) Backboneless sea creatures (marine invertebrates), since they live on the sea

      bottom, would normally be found in the bottom strata.

(5) Fish would be found in higher strata since they can swim up close to the surface.

(6) Amphibians and reptiles would be buried higher than the fish, but as a rule, below

     the land animals.

(7) Few land plants or animals would be in the lower strata.

(8) The first land plants would be found where the amphibians were found.

(9) Mammals and birds would generally be found in higher levels than reptiles and

     Amphibians.

(10) Because many animals tend to go in herds in time of danger, we would find herd

       animals buried together.

(11) In addition, the larger, stronger animals would tend to sort out into levels apart

       from the slower ones (tigers would not be found with hippopotamuses).

(12) Relatively few birds would be found in the strata, since they could fly to the 

       highest points.

(13) Few humans would be found in the strata. They would be at the top, trying to stay

        afloat until they died; following which they would sink to the surface of the

        sediments and decompose.

Other evidence:

There are hundreds of stories and legends about a worldwide flood. Many diverse cultures share a strikingly similar story.

Something to think about:

Today fossilization is a rare event. Decomposition is instead the rule following death unless the matter is buried rapidly and to a depth that would prevent microbial digestion and oxidation. It should also be noted that many of the animals alive today are virtually identical to their fossilized ancestors arguing against millions

of years separating their fossils from today.

There is absolutely no transitional forms either in the fossil record or in modern animal and plant life that have been found. All appear fully formed and complete. The fossil record amply supplies us with representation of almost all species of animals and plants but none of the supposed links of plant to animal, fish to amphibian, amphibian to reptile, or reptile to birds and mammals are represented nor any transitional forms at all. There are essentially the same gaps between all the basic kinds in the fossil record as exists in plant and animal life today.

So as far as I am concerned the fossil record proves there was a global flood which in turn proves that the Bible contains real historical evidence of how the earth was created and how it has changed since the fall of man. God’s Word is reliable and answers these important questions:

Who am I?

Where did I come from?

Why am I here?

Why is the world in such a mess?

The Bible also addresses other important questions:

Is there any hope for us?

Does God provide a way for us to be rescued?

The answer is yes, God did provide a rescue plan. Jesus Christ came to save us!

In conclusion:

Many people try to discredit God and His Word on a scientific level were they say the Bible can’t explain what we observe in nature today.  Well, the Bible does explain scientifically why we see what we observe in nature today. God put the scientific laws in place. God created time. God designed incredible creatures that amaze us and fuel our wonder. God created man as He is today and did not put in place an evolutionary process where man evolved from a lower form of primate. Randomness and chance cannot explain the design we observe in in the world today. Any process that is repeatable has to have an embedded design and intelligence behind it otherwise we would see in the observable universe constant change and variation within the creation itself that has no order or repeatable design. What we observe today is incredible design that over and over again reflects an amazing designer.  This designer is the God of the Bible.

The fact of the matter is, we see no evidence in the fossil record of the evolution of species which also confirms that God created all species separate and distinct from one another. Remember when God created all the species of living creatures He created them “according to their kinds”.  Science once again proves that the more we study and observe the “natural world”, the more evidence there is that we can trust God’s Word as truth.

Isaiah 44:24 Living Bible (TLB)

The Lord, your Redeemer who made you, says: All things were made by me; I alone stretched out the heavens. By myself I made the earth and everything in it.

Just Sayin…………………..Dave