One of my favorite things to do while I eat lunch is to play Classic Words on my Kindle.  It’s a game that resembles Scrabble, and it allows me to test my vocabulary prowess.  Today while I was playing, I formed a three-letter word, yom.  This Hebrew word was accepted by the computer, and it told me the definition of the submission was “day.” 
     When my husband, Dave, was first studying Biblical Creation I would often pepper him with questions.  One of which was, “How are you sure the days in the timeline of the beginning of the world aren’t long?”  I wasn’t convinced that God’s six days of work, outlined in Genesis, didn’t happen over lengthy periods of time.
     The tiny word yom was a cornerstone in the case.   In most of its uses in the Old Testament it means a literal, twenty-four-hour day; and when it doesn’t the context makes it clear. [1] In Genesis 1:5-2:2, the word yom is used in conjunction with a number (day one, day two, etc.). [2] In all these instances where yom and a number are used (four hundred and ten times in the Old Testament), the word means an ordinary day, a literal twenty-four-hour period.  [3]
     Another place in the Old Testament where the word yom is used is in Exodus 20:9-10.  “Six  days  you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day in a sabbath of the LORD your God.”  God is speaking directly to Moses in this passage.  As Terry Mortenson says, “If God meant that the Jews were to work six days because He created over six long periods of time, He could have used one of three indefinite Hebrew time words.  He chose the only word that means a literal day.”[4]
     For most of Christian history the literal six-day creation account was not questioned.  Some even wondered why the days would have to have been twenty-four hours.  This seemed too long!  Christians in Martin Luther’s time thought that God could have created everything instantly.[5]  Luther’s response was to stand behind the authority of scripture and not support creative notions of what God “could have done” but instead validate what God did.  Luther said:
“When Moses writes that God created heaven and earth and whatever is in them in six days, then let this period continue to have been six days, and do not venture to devise any comment according to which six days were one day. But if you cannot understand how this could have been done in six days, then grant the Holy Spirit the honor of being more learned than you are. For you are to deal with Scripture in such a way that you bear in mind that God Himself says what is written. But since God is speaking, it is not fitting for you wantonly to turn His Word in the direction you wish to go.” [6]
     The change in mindset to long periods of time was driven by hostility to the Christian religion and by extra-biblical influences (influences outside of the Bible) in the nineteenth century.[7] 
     When I heard the explanation of that tiny Hebrew word, I was convicted that yom meant a literal twenty-four-hour day, and that it could be trusted to mean God created all that we see and know in six literal days. The Genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11 give detailed chronological information that also confirms an approximately 6,000-year-old universe.[8] 
​     If you believe God is all-powerful and able to do things that are incomprehensible to our human minds, speaking the world into existence in a short period of time is only another miracle on His list of many.
 ________________________________________________________________________
[1] Mortenson, Terry.  (2006).  Why Shouldn’t Christians Accept Millions of Years.   In Ham, K. (ed).  The New Answers Book 1.  [pg. 26].  Green Forest: Masterbooks.
[2] Mortenson, Terry.  (2006). Why Shouldn’t Christians Accept Millions of Years.  In Ham, K (ed).  The New Answers Book 1.  [pg. 26] Green Forest: Master Books. 
[3] “Does Genesis Chapter 1 Mean Literal 24-hour days?” GotQuestions.Org. 
[4] Mortenson, Terry.  (2006) Why Shouldn’t Christians Accept Millions of Years.  In Ham, K (ed).  The New Answers Book 1. [pg. 27].  Green Forest: Master Books.
[5] Johnson, James J.S. “Luther The Reformation and Taking Creation Seriously.” Icr.org.  Sept. 29th, 2017. ICR.org/article/luther-reformation-taking-creation
[6] “Luther on the days of creation.”  Creation.com.  https://creation.com/luther-on-creation-days.
[7] Ham, Ken.  (2006).  Could God Really Have Created Everything in Six Days...  In Ham, K. (ed).  The New Answers Book 1.  [90].  Green Forest: Master Books.
[8] Mortenson, Terry.  (2006).  Why Shouldn’t Christians Accept Millions of Years.  In Ham, K (ed).  The New Answers Book 1.  [pg. 26].  Green Forest: Master Books.

Do We Know Moses Wrote Genesis? 

When I was in 4-H many years ago, I did a genealogy project where I traced my ancestral history and made a family tree.  Although I could only go back about four generations, it was a good research activity.   More recently, my mother in law gave our family the gift of tracing our roots, and I found out through a DNA testing company that I was more Danish than I thought, and less German than I had assumed.  It’s fascinating to discover pieces of information about my personal pedigree, but even more intriguing is the wonderment of the lineage of humankind.
 
All people need to know where they came from.  It’s natural to wonder about our history.  How did we get here?  Who were our ancestors?  History taught in elementary school doesn’t go back far enough to cover these details.  However, the Bible gives us a narrative about how humans were formed, and how we dispersed over the planet.  When I open my New International Version Bible on the first page, before each book, the author is listed on the side.  My NIV Bible states Moses is the author, not only of Genesis, but also the next four books as well.  Together, these five books are also known as the Pentateuch or the books of the law.  Bible studies and reading plans will often refer to the collection by these names.   But, how do we know Moses wrote Genesis?
   
 First, the Old Testament attributes authorship to Moses.   We can read in the Old Testament fourteen times where Moses is directed by God to write down things being spoken to Him.  Let’s look at Exodus 17:14a, “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure Joshua hears it.”  Another scripture from Exodus states, “Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.” (Exodus 24:4a).  Other places Moses is given authorship are found in Exodus 34:27; Numbers 33:1-2; Deuteronomy 31:9-11; Joshua 1:8; 8:31-32; 1Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6; 21:8; Ezra 6:18; Nehemiah 13:1; Daniel 9:11-13; and Malachi 4:4. [1]  How does this prove Moses wrote Genesis?  It can be inferred that Moses was given direct revelation from God on what to write throughout the first five books of the Bible.
   
 Second, the New Testament gives Moses credit.  We find fourteen references in the New Testament that refer to the Law of Moses, clearly stating that in the mind of the Jewish people the authorship was not in question, but rather presupposed as Moses.  When Jesus says in Mark 12:26, “Have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’” He is not questioning whether or not Moses wrote the book, but rather using it as a reference.  If Moses was not the inspired journalist wouldn’t Jesus have corrected the matter?  Instead, He affirms it.  Other New Testament scripture references can be found in Matthew 8:4; Luke 16:29; Luke 24:27; Luke 24:44; John 5:46; John 7:22; Acts 3:22; Acts 15:1; Acts 28:23; Romans 10:5; Romans 10:19; 1 Corinthians 9:9; and 2 Corinthians 3:15. [2]
 
 Third, Moses had a royal, Egyptian upbringing.  The privileges afforded to him growing up under the Pharaoh would have included a royal education.  In Acts 7:22 it states that “Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.”   He was an eyewitness to the events that occurred in Exodus to Deuteronomy, which include references to Egyptian gods, people, places, cultural factors, and idioms. [3]  He was qualified to write these historical books.
 
 Fourth, he was a prophet.   He was regarded as an inspired teacher and proclaimer of the will of God. [4]  On the mountain of Sinai he was given the ten commandments to share with the Israelites (Exodus 20:2-17).  He foretold that Israel would become a wasteland (Deut. 29:23), and he proclaimed that the Jewish people would never be completely destroyed (Lev. 26:32-33). [5]  Because Moses was used by God to tell future events, could we also imagine that God used him to pen past events as well? 
 
When we study the history of human kind, God told Moses to write down that we were formed out of the dust of the earth.  A man and woman, not a young boy or girl, were created as the first humans, and given the names Adam and Eve.  God explained to Moses (perhaps directly and/or through written accounts) that Adam and Eve had children, and they had children.  Eventually God causes them to disperse over the globe taking with them their unique languages and DNA that would form specific people groups.  In closing, God spoke to Moses face to face as a man, as one speaks to a friend (Exodus 33:11).  God really had a deep, personal, intimate relationship with his child, Moses, and wanted to use him to tell His story.   Moses was called a friend of God.  He gave Moses the amazing replay of the history of the first humans, and we can trust his account. 
 
[1] Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge, How Do We Know the Bible is True: Volume 1 (Master Books, 2011), p.89
[2] Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge, How Do We Know the Bible is True: Volume 1 (Master Books, 2011), p.90-93
[3] Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge, How Do We Know the Bible is True: Volume 1 (Master Books, 2011), p.94
[4] Oxford Dictionary, prophet, Bing Translator
[5] Aboutbibleprophecy.com, Moses’ prophecies

“Coffee,” “be you,” “be good to people,” “good vibes” read the shabby chic signs on the wall in the coffee shop where I sit. Attractive little things on the outside, but why be good to people? Why have good vibes? And isn’t it obvious that a person should be himself? Without truth behind words, they quickly lose their meaning. These phrases evoke emotions but dig no deeper than the surface and leave emptiness inside. Instead of finding fulfillment in truth, people grasp at food, sex, material belongings, and “spiritual” experiences in a desperate attempt to feel full. 

There must be something to fill that hole. There must be something so pure, so powerful, so satisfying that we will long for nothing else. Truth that conquers the lies of the world. But what if there was no hope of such? What if there was no knowledge of truth? Would I want to live in such a world? No, I think I would rather die. Where can thirst-quenching water and satisfying food be found?
  
The Bible makes 139 references to the word “truth.” I’d say that’s a good foundation. Some may quote the verse, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” in John 8:32. But many may skip over the knowing part and just see the freedom promised. But if we back up, just one verse, we clearly see where the truth comes from. “So, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
  
First, Jesus said. We must believe in Him. Later in the book of John we read, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” The way, the truth, and the life. That is the complete package. For those wandering aimlessly, He is the way; for those hopelessly seeking, He is the truth; for those desperate to find meaning, He is life.
  
Second, we must abide in Him. In this place of intimacy, we find sustenance. We abide in him through knowing him through his word. In this world today, we have taken God and His Word out of schools, out of public places, and sometimes even out of our churches. If we have refused to accept the truth of Christ, it is no wonder we are in the jumbled mess we are in today.
  
His creation still cries out his name, but do we as Christians? Do Christians forget their citizenship in heaven and instead also get trapped seeking fulfillment on this earth? 1 Peter 4:17 says, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”  We will be judged when Christ comes again. Let us live in the light of revealed truth. Let us not be afraid to stand firm and to share the truth in this broken world.  ​​

 Local Church Apologetics was birthed in 2016 to respond to the growing need within America for local churches to equip their people in how to defend their Christian faith from the onslaught of a skeptical, unbelieving culture. After pastoring an Assembly of God church in Moline, IL. for 34 years, my wife and I stepped out in faith to follow the Lord’s call to this new ministry venture. Our mission is to impact believers and local churches throughout the nation; challenging, inspiring and equipping them in the area of apologetics.

 While pastoring, a growing burden developed in my heart as I saw the attacks upon the Christian faith increasing and the numbers of Christian young people walking away from the Christian faith by the time they graduated from college. I began to study apologetics about 25 years ago and began to incorporate apologetics into my ministry at the church in various ways. Many local churches in America today do not address the issues of apologetics in any way and many others only touch on these issues lightly. I believe this must change! I devoted the remainder of my life to help see this change come about.

 Local Church Apologetics involves 4 main focuses of ministry. We seek to assist individual believers in becoming better equipped in how to defend their faith, but we our primary goal is to assist local churches in becoming better equipped to equip their people in these areas. Our 4 focus areas are as follows: (1) Preaching and Teaching in Churches, Schools and Conferences, (2) Producing Apologetics Materials for All Ages (I have recently published my first book entitled, “Faith & Reason Made Simple” and we are now working on a children’s ministry curriculum to be used in local churches to teach their children apologetics.), (3) Coordinating Truth Conferences (see description below), & (4) Developing a Web Site at “localchurchapologetics.org” that will eventually offer Materials for Local Churches to Teach Apologetics at Every Age Level.

 In my book “Faith & Reason Made Simple” I have attempted to present the complicated areas of apologetics in a simplified way so that the believer who does not have previous apologetics training can easily digest, memorize and utilize key points which will help them defend their faith. For example, the book explains 6 Scientific Flaws with the Theory of Evolution and gives 8 Levels of Evidence that confirm God Created Everything. It also presents 8 Areas of Evidence which Confirm the Bible is the Word of God. In addition, the book deals with evidences confirming who Jesus Christ is, differences between Christianity and other religions, answers to the questions of skeptics, and a Christian response to issue of Homosexuality. These are all key issues that Christians are facing today.
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 In the Truth Conferences we bring together speakers like Josh McDowell, Chris Brooks, Eric Hovind, Charlie Campbell, and many others to offer people a full day of training and inspiration. Topics covered include Creation vs. Evolution, How We Know the Bible is the Word of God, The Person of Jesus Christ, Christianity & Islam, The Christian Response to Homosexuality, and Answering the Questions of Skeptics. Phil Stacey, former American Idol finalist serves as our worship leader during the conferences. We believe that apologetics and worship go hand in hand!
 In all of our ministry efforts we seek to help believers understand that apologetics and reasoning must be combined with the love of Jesus flowing through our lives and the power of the Holy Spirit guiding our words and actions if we desire to be effective in both defending our faith and reaching the lost for Christ!
 Our current focus is the development of a children’s ministry curriculum to be introduced in a future Truth Conference and offered to local churches across the nation to help them teach apologetics to children in their churches.

You can learn more about Local Church Apologetics at localchurchapologetics.org. You can contact me at rick@lcapologetics.org. Please pray for us as we seek to follow the Lord’s calling! Thank you and God bless you!

Prayer is the foundation of the ministry efforts of the International Association of Creation (IAC). My friends and I unknowingly launched a unique organization by simply praying for one creation-affirming museum in Washington State back in 2012.  Once the museum directors began to see the Lord answer their requests, they gave other museum friends our contact details.  We began praying for them.  We also see intercession at work as we connect people together as prayer partners through the IAC ministry.  Today, IAC is an international network of creation ministries and museums that serve local communities with the love of Christ and the truth of His word.

Our passion for Jesus and declaring His glory through the Word and the truth of creation drives our efforts. In this, we remember that it is Christ who holds all things together, including the important connections between apologetics, creation, and the Gospel. As the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, it is this truth which should compel us to share a defense of our faith (an “apologia"), and facts about our Creator God's design and purpose.  This is the mission of the International Association of Creation.

Nationally, our footprint is represented through learning centers and tour groups in major metropolitan areas including Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Nashville, Cleveland, St. Louis, Dallas, Phoenix, San Diego, Portland, and Seattle along with many locations spread across the United States.  Internationally, we have member locations across Canada and Europe, as well as missionaries throughout the 10/40 Window, including the African continent and across the Asia-Pacific Region.

We equip families through IAC affiliated ministries by helping them to know God and understand His purpose in their lives.   Our network of creation learning locations, speakers and missionaries are excellent local resources.  We offer participating members growth through professional development opportunities including accreditation, faith-affirming resources, unified guest experiences, youth development programs, national events and strategic guidance for tactically advancing the biblical worldview.   Our global platform provides communities the opportunity to experience God's creation first-hand and advance the biblical worldview across the Earth through individual and small group ministries.

We look forward to educating, empowering and reaching your local communities with the biblical worldview and the love of Christ.  We want to encourage you through our organization, network and resources to advance the message of our Creator, Savior, and Lord.

Learn more about our work and join us at: www.AssociationForCreation.org

 
 Truth, Why Is It Important?  
Picture this scene. You are called to be a witness during a court trial. As you approach the bench, you are instructed by the judge to place your left hand on a Bible, raise your right hand and repeat the following: “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God”. Apparently, telling the truth in court is of the utmost importance. After all, if you were a witness and someone’s future was determined by your account of what happened wouldn’t you want to give the most accurate (and truthful) account of the events? 
  
Our ministry’s name, “Truth of Genesis,” is a reflection regarding our commitment to being witnesses to the Truth… to the very Word of God. As Christians, we have an awesome and sober responsibility. Our witness could help determine someone’s future by our account of the truth regarding the Lord’s Word, His character, and His desire to have a relationship with the people He loves so dearly.  
 
How do we determine the meaning of truth? Webster’s dictionary defines truth this way:  
1. The body of real things, events, and facts  
2. The state of being the case  
3. A transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality  
4. Fidelity to an original or to a standard  
 
The Bible defines truth this way:  
1. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” Exodus 20:16  
2. “For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth” 2 Corinthians 13:8  
3. “Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth” John 17:17 (emphasis mine)  
4. “A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful.” Proverbs 14:25  
 
Regarding origins (the beginning of the universe), evolutionists have convinced many that their dating methods are sound and that the universe is billions of years old. But is this the truth? If we read Genesis Chapter 1, the Lord Himself has given us His own personal testimony (witness) of how long He took to create the universe. He’s also given us an ancestral timeline from Adam to Jesus, giving us a fairly accurate age for Creation.  
 
So, who’s telling the truth about the origins of the universe? Our perspectives could be, and often are, self-serving.  This is called relative truth and isn’t really truth but instead opinion.  There are people who willingly deceive others about the origins of the universe because they feel justified in not having to acknowledge the Lord. There is only one witness to how the universe formed (the Lord), which then leads to two choices. We either believe what the Lord says and embrace His Word as truth or reject what He says and thus reject the Lord Himself. 
  
Where do you stand? Do you acknowledge that the Lord created the universe in six days?  Do you believe in the fall of man into sin and separation from the Lord?  How about the gift of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus?  Perhaps you choose to embrace evolutionist theories creating a humanistic stronghold in your life.  The bible is clear on all these issues: creation, sin, salvation as well as eternity.  Remember, our witness could help determine someone’s future by our account of the truth in the court of public opinion regarding God’s Word.  We pray that the Lord has opened or will open your eyes to see His truth, and that the truth would set you free. John 8:32 ​

The story goes like this… An atheist sues the government claiming that their faith has no holiday celebrating what they believe.  The judge says that is not the case because atheists have a holiday that is on the calendar every year.  Puzzled, the atheist’s lawyer asks for clarification.  The judge replies, April Fool’s day is the “Atheists national holiday”!  Why?  Psalms 32:1, “The fool says in his heart, there is no god.”  Easter, also on April 1st, 2018, rises above the lesser day of pranks like the best steak rises above cheap, garbage filled hot-dogs.

Easter burst on the world-scene magnifying God’s love and leading humanity back on a clear path to Him.  Whereas April Fool’s day is another historical trick whose actual origin is doubtful.  Like atheism itself, grounded in evolutionary faith, interesting stories abound around the day but not much foundational truth.

One story has “All Fools Day” going back to 1582 when the French changed from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian.  The New Year began sometime during the last week of March and people who failed to make the switch to January 1st earned the jeers and jokes of the well-informed.   Another story says that the day replaces, Hilaria, a Roman celebration for spring and the end of winter.  The celebration boasted both get-ups and gags.  Weather fans suggest that it has something to do with the capricious weather during that time of the year which often fools us with snow overnight and fifty-one degrees by the end of the day! 

Like the evolutionary thinking, none of this is verified, and comes from the creative mind of man.  Regardless, the contrast of choices in worldviews this year couldn’t be clearer while at the time being immensely symbolic and relevant for our lives today.  Celebrate the most documented, studied, verified and life-changing event in history and faith, the death and resurrection of Jesus or join the fools.  The great evangelist and creationist Henry Morris said, “Indeed a wise person will ‘hearken’ unto good counsel and thus someday ‘inherit glory’.”

Easter is the celebration of a prophecy fulfilled, i.e. trusted and verified.  Its foundation is Genesis which tells us the need for a Savior, and is the bedrock of the gospel message.  That’s why creation and the cross go hand in glove.  Unfortunately, many who call themselves Christians have one foot in both worldviews.  Many “Christians” have been taught secular worldviews that use humanistic religion taught as science.  They don’t realize that the same peddlers of millions of evolutionary years also say humanism is not compatible with the gospel!
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Easter is the day to stop being a fool and kneel at the foot of the cross.  I say kneel because we need to acknowledge Him as Lord and repent of our sins.  No matter who you are, what you’ve done or believed in the past, Jesus is there to meet you.  As the Bible says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near”. (Isaiah 55:6)