Today is the start of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Jewish New Year, or the Feast of Trumpets. Did you know there are many Christians, especially Messianic Jews (Jewish people who believe in Jesus as the Messiah), who are inclined to believe that the Rapture will coincide with the blowing of the shofar (trumpet) at this holiday? There are a lot of interesting aspects to this belief, but I am not a theologian and am not going to attempt to weigh in on that, one way or another.
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This I do know: Jesus, Who came once to die for all men (and women), will be coming back to claim those who have believed on Him. And I also know there will be a judgment day, and it would be a terrible thing to arrive at that day without having your name written in the book of life. Or, as Hebrews 10:31 puts it, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!” (HCSB).

Of all of my 49 Fun Facts, I think the answer to this one may have been just about the hardest one for my students to memorize, and yet, I have one student who, to this day—four years later—can recite this Fun Fact word for word. And to be honest, if he couldn’t recite any of the other 48, I am blessed to know I at least impressed this particularly important one on him:

Who is Jesus?
Fully God and fully man, Jesus is the Creator incarnate Who stepped down into creation to die on a cross to redeem us for eternity. His New Testament words repeatedly confirm the Creation account as told in Genesis.

When discussing or debating on the topic of origins, Creation apologists often point out the difference between observational science and historical science. Truth be told, there is no person on the planet who was around to see (observe) the forming of our universe, planet, or the first human beings. So, we rely on historical data to make determinations. For Christians, we know that there actually was Someone Who did observe the beginning: the Creator Himself. This is why His own words in verses such as Mark 10:6, which says “But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female” (HCSB), are so key to seeing that Jesus—fully God—confirmed the veracity of the historical account of Genesis. And this is why this Fun Fact is included in the set of 49.

But it wasn’t just Jesus’ words that confirmed Genesis. All throughout the Bible (God’s Word, inspired by Him), the writers had an obvious belief of the events of Genesis. They believed them to be historical, and that their impact was ongoing, with spiritual and theological consequences. In Psalm 8:3-4, David wrote, “When I observe Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You set in place, what is man that You remember him, the son of man that You look after him?” (HCSB). In Proverbs 3:19-20, Solomon wrote, “The Lord founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding. By His knowledge the watery depths broke open, and the clouds dripped with dew” (HCSB). In Amos 4:13, Amos wrote, “He is here: the One who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, the One who makes the dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth. Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name” (HCSB). And John starts his gospel with, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created” (John 1:1-3 HCSB).

Indeed, the writers of the Scriptures knew and confirmed the Creation account of Genesis. They knew that God was there at the beginning and will be at the end. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Almighty One. He is the Advocate, the Bread of Life, the Deliverer, the Good Shepherd, the Great High Priest, Faithful and True, the King of Kings, the Lamb of God, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Redeemer, the Rock, the Son of the Most High, Yeshua, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He is truth. And He is love.
That’s who Jesus is. But why do we need Him?

Those last two attributes for Him (truth and love) have a way of confounding people. Last week, in my post, “The Value of a Man,” I mentioned the culture we are living in, and how the message of the world tells us we can make all our own choices now: choose your own ethnicity, your own gender, your own age, your own value. But the sad truth is that message hasn’t just fallen on the ears of people who have never believed in God. It has fallen on the ears of many professing Christians. A message wrapped in a bow of love. Jesus is love. And love covers it all. You be you, love is love, and Jesus will love you no matter what. Jesus will love you no matter what, but the Bible also tells us that God will not be mocked. Paul says in Galatians 6:7, “Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap” (HCSB).  One way that we mock God is by knowingly or intentionally sinning, taking advantage of His promise of forgiveness. 1

Although the writers of the Old Testament confirmed the Creation account of Genesis and foretold the coming of the Messiah, many of the people around the time of Jesus’ birth misunderstood the prophecies. They were looking for a strong king and mighty warrior to save them. Many confused His second coming for His first and overlooked the humble Jewish Carpenter.
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In the same way, many people today are overlooking the fact that Jesus is not just love. He is truth. Not only is He truth, but He taught truth. In Matthew 5-7, Jesus delivered the famous Sermon on the Mount, a collection of instructions not just for the people of that day, but for all His followers from that day until He comes again. He taught us how to pray, how to love, how to give. He told us of the promises of blessings. He told us how He had come to fulfill the Old Testament law. But He also taught against hatred, against murder, against lust, and against sexual immorality. And He ended by describing those who listened to His words: anyone who acts on them He described as “a sensible man,” and anyone who doesn’t as a “foolish man” (Matthew 7:24-26).

Jesus came because of His great love for us, and, as Paul said in Romans 5:8, “God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (HCSB). But Jesus was more than love. He didn’t accept us as sinners, condemned for all eternity. He didn’t condone our sin, and He still doesn’t today. He loved us enough to save us from our sin, from the terrible wrath of God, and from eternal damnation.

This is a story that started in Genesis. Death did not exist before Adam sinned. Romans 5:12 says, that “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned” (HCSB). God’s holiness and justness demanded a consequence for sin, and only Jesus could be that sacrifice. He was blameless, without sin. But just as importantly, He was a human, in the flesh, who could be our Kinsman Redeemer. That’s why it had to be Jesus. Love was the atonement for our sin, the substitution for our death penalty.

Love was not a license to sin. Let’s not misunderstand, lest we overlook His return, whether it coincides with Rosh Hashanah this year, another year, or not at all. Eventually, He will be coming, and no man knows the hour. The apostle Peter tells us “the Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 HCSB).

If you are a Christian who has wandered down the path of the world’s wisdom and bought into the compromise of sin, take heart. Like the church in Ephesus, repent: “You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first” (Revelation 2:4b-5a HCSB).

And if you have never placed your faith in the one true living God, today is the best day to do it. You can visit this website for step-by-step instructions and information to get you started on your relationship with Him.

Don’t just take my word for it! Visit YouFormedMe.com/people/jesus.html to read, watch, and listen to supporting research and commentary from scientists, doctors, theologians, and more!
This blog is from a special series of “Creation Fun Facts” by Terri Kammerzell, starting from June 10, 2020. Read the introduction at TruthOfGenesis.com/blogs/building-a-biblical-defense-of-creation.

1 In the Bible mockery is a behavior and attitude shown by the fool (Psalm 74:22), the wicked (Psalm 1:1), the enemy (Psalm 74:10), the hater of knowledge (Proverbs 1:22; 13:1), the proud (Psalm 119:51; Isaiah 37:17), and the unteachable (Proverbs 15:12). A mocker goes beyond mere lack of judgment to making a conscious decision for evil. Mockers are without a spirit of obedience, teachability, discernment, wisdom, worship, or faith. 1
  https://www.gotquestions.org/God-is-not-mocked.html

July 26 is “National All or Nothing Day,” and while the origin of the “holiday” is unclear, the philosophy is “seize the day!” Be all in or be all out. What dream, goal, project, or bucket-list item have you been putting off? This Sunday is the day to commit, make a plan, tell your friends, post it to social media, and get it done!

My goal is to remind my friends, family, and as many others as I can that this world and everything in it is owned by its Creator. (Psalm 24:1)

But the phrase “all or nothing” reminds me of my favorite Fun Fact:
What is irreducible complexity?
Sometimes referred to as “all or nothing,” irreducible complexity is a system of interdependent parts: parts that rely upon each other in order to make the whole function.

In this case, “all or nothing” is about the design of systems that require certain parts that depend on each other in order to function. And, when one or more of those parts are missing, the system cannot operate.

One great example I like goes back to a sermon I heard as a young adult, when my pastor mentioned that an airplane is made up of so many parts—wings, stabilizers, rudders, flaps, engines, etc.—none of which can fly on their own, but when put together, the whole system can transport almost anything you can think of.

God, the creative Engineer, built complex systems too: He designed us, the animals, and most of nature around us, both visible and invisible!

We’ve already discussed some examples of irreducible complexity, such as the giraffe and the bombardier beetle. Both are animals that defy evolution because their complex designs could not have gradually evolved to what they are. In the giraffe, if his heart didn’t beat as powerfully as it does, and if the spongy tissue at the base of his brain was missing, and if the valves didn’t have a pressure-check system, then the supposed ancestor of the giraffe we see today would not have survived long enough to produce offspring to evolve. All those features had to be in place at once. All or nothing.

Similarly, the bombardier beetle, with his gas chambers and his high-pressure nozzle sprayer, could not have evolved one part at a time. From the beginning, the complex system had to be designed just that way. In future weeks, we’ll discuss other amazing examples of irreducible complexity, such as the chuckwalla lizard, the woodpecker, and the human eyes, ears, heart, and brain.

But this week, let’s talk more specifically about irreducible complexity in the cells of living beings. Did you know that the average human body is made up of at least 30-40 trillion cells?! And that within each cell are compartments called “organelles.” These compartments are not only carefully organized, but they are interconnected and networked to move calcium, lipids, proteins, sugars, and more to keep you alive! Scientists are discovering that these organelles cannot function independently. Right from the start they had to be designed to work together. Someone had to design them that way!

There are many more examples of irreducible complexity even outside my Fun Facts. I would encourage you to visit the page on my website for this Fun Fact, and explore the links I have gathered that will take you to articles, videos, and audio clips about the complexity found in human tears, the knee joint, hemoglobin, blood clotting, the electrical design of the nervous system, weedy plants, fungi, and even the long-time debate of the chicken vs. the egg.

In my mind, irreducible complexity is just about the strongest evidence for a Creator. Just like engineers have to design an airplane with all its required parts in order for it to be able to fly, the Engineer had to design our cells, our bodies, and countless systems in animals and nature all over the earth in order for them to function properly. That’s why this is my favorite Fun Fact! And that’s why I wanted to seize the opportunity to tell you about it!

Don’t just take my word for it! Visit YouFormedMe.com/humanBody/complexity.html to read, watch, and listen to supporting research and commentary from scientists, doctors, theologians, and more!
This blog is from a special series of “Creation Fun Facts” by Terri Kammerzell, starting from June 10, 2020. Read the introduction at TruthOfGenesis.com/blogs/building-a-biblical-defense-of-creation.

     OK, I’ll admit it. I’m a romantic when it comes to Christmas. It gives me such joy to hear Christmas songs about Jesus on secular radio and in the stores. I find myself singing Christmas songs all day long. “O Come Let Us Adore Him,” “O Holy Night,” “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,”…all the traditional songs. One of my favorites is more contemporary. It’s “Immanuel” by Michael Card. The lyrics, the musical arrangement and his voice; to me it’s the perfect Christmas song.

     When we think of the Christmas story, we remember Jesus as the baby in the manger. We can quite easily forget that this is the same Jesus that spoke Creation into existence. His perfect Creation was ruined by our sin and he willingly chose to become our Savior. Such perfect love. The Word of God, the Great Creator, humbling himself to become human; the Word made flesh for us.
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     Christmas time makes it easier to share with others the birth of Jesus. And to talk about why we need a Savior in the first place.  As you prepare for parties, guests, presents and holiday foods, take a few moments to read the Christmas message in Luke 1:26 through Luke 2:40. Then turn to John 1:1-17. Jesus the baby and Jesus the Word made flesh. Immanuel, God with us.
 
     Merry Christmas from all of us here at Truth of Genesis!

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)

The spirit of Christmas is the Spirit of Christ living among us today, and the celebration of “THE” gift which is the only gift which can keep on giving, the love and the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

If you listen, really listen, to some of the best “religious” Christmas songs ever written they speak directly to the reason for Jesus being born and our need for a savior.  O Holy Night is such a song.  It begins…

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.  Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees!
 
It’s easy for us to get caught up in family, gifts and having a fun respite from work.  And there is nothing wrong with any of those things, I certainly love spending time with my family, both mine and my wife’s.  And one of my “love languages” is gifts so I love to give and receive thoughtful presents.

But what I want more than anything this Christmas, is the gift of each and every one of my friends and family coming to know Christ as their Lord and Savior, and for the ones who do know Him to have an even deeper and more profound relationship with Him.

Sharing Christ and affirming His Word is something that I, and most Christians, can get better at doing.  But there can be more to sharing Jesus than just wishing someone a “Merry Christmas”.  We need to also defend the truth of His deity and the authenticity of the biblical text.  Remember, Jesus is the Word.  All of the Word!

Truth of Genesis, and other biblical creation organizations, spend much time trying to help people see that perspective.  Through building on the foundation of the Gospel, Genesis, we hope that Christ may be glorified as Creator, Redeemer, Lord and Savior.  The goal is to show that real science and biblical interpretation confirm the accuracy of God’ word and therefore the Gospel of Christ.  As the song says,

Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
 
I’m greatly encouraged by people like Karen who is a friend of our ministry.  She takes the opportunity of Christmas to give out apologetic or Christ affirming gifts and notes to people she knows.  This year Karen gave out the DVD “God vs. Evolution”.  By giving out faith affirming material, and learning how to defend the truth ourselves, we can help people reduce some of the barriers the secular world has attempted to build between people and the life giving message Jesus’ birth.

As you sing hymns this Christmas season, think about what Jesus really did by coming to earth on Christmas day.  He brought the light of truth into a dark and dying world as “THE” perfect gift. 

Make it a point at Christmas and throughout the year to build up people’s faith and the authority of scripture.  Give some gifts and send some notes of encouragement that do just that.

O Holy Night concludes with:

With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
 
Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year from Truth of Genesis!
 

In all my years of celebrating Thanksgiving I had never heard of Sarah Joseph Hale.  Does that name sound familiar to you?

She is most known for being the author of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” which was also part of the first recording on Thomas Edison’s invention of the phonograph.

But she is also probably the person most responsible for Thanksgiving being a federal holiday.
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Her series of editorials influenced President Lincoln to back legislation making Thanksgiving a national day of remembrance in 1863.  It was the culmination of 17 years of work pleading with five U.S. presidents before providence took hold in the middle of the civil war.

For the Christian, Lincoln’s action is the perfect example of giving thanks even during difficult times.  And the Civil War was one of the darkest hours in American history.  We are reminded in Thessalonians, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

This is important for me because I have a tendency to thank God only during times of plenty or opportunity.  But His grace and mercy abound in my life at all times, and Jesus’ sacrifice is an eternal gift.  I’ve already experienced the thing most desired in every human heart, real love and real peace.

If you’re a Christian, remembering this and letting its truth be something that we’re thankful for daily is part of our call.  If you’re not a Christian, it is part of the promise that God makes available to all who seek Him.

Lincoln “urged his countrymen to be mindful of their many blessings that are ‘the gracious gifts of the Most High God’ who ought to be thanked ‘with one heart and one voice, by the whole American People’.”1
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As Christians today we should be urgently sharing the truth of the gospel, upholding the authority of scripture and giving thanks daily for our personal relationship with our Lord Jesus above our material blessings.
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Sarah Joseph Hale and President Lincoln were instrumental in establishing Thanksgiving on our calendar each year.  Let’s not forget God’s Word calls us to give thanks in times of famine and in times of feast.    
 
References: 1. http://www.icr.org/article/thanksgiving-heritage
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/recon/jb_recon_phongrph_2.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)
http://www.icr.org/article/9023
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Josepha_Hale
 

 The Protestant Reformation: What does this mean to us today?

October 31st, 2017, marked the 500th Anniversary of the recognition of the Protestant Reformation. In 1517, Dr. Martin Luther (a Roman Catholic monk) challenged the Catholic Church, in regards to doctrine and salvation, by nailing a declaration to the door of Wittenberg Church.

​Martin Luther and other Reformers addressed four questions: *How is a person saved? Where does religious authority lie? What is the church? What is the essence of Christian living? The Reformers answered these questions with five points that would separate biblical doctrine of the Protestants and the Roman Catholics. These five points are:

1. Scripture Alone: The Bible is the only authority for all matters of faith and practice (emphasis mine).
2. Salvation by Grace Alone: Salvation is proof of God’s undeserved favor and that we are rescued by faith alone, not by works.
3. Salvation by Faith Alone: We are justified by faith in Christ alone.
4. In Christ Alone: Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone; no one and nothing else can save.
5. For the Glory of God Alone: Salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God for His glory alone.

How does the Reformation affect us today as Creationists? The Protestant Reformation returned us to the Bible as the only spiritual authority. It reminds us that we must stand against any doctrine of faith that takes us away from the Bible as our spiritual authority.

As a nation, we have allowed the religion of Evolution in our schools, in our homes, in our churches, and given it authority over our children. As followers of Christ, we need to realize that Evolution and the Bible do not agree. They are two polarizing faiths; you cannot believe in both and be intellectually and biblically consistent.

I thank the Lord for the Reformers’ strength and resolve (even to the point of death) so that we can stand on the Bible as our Scriptural authority today. Please join us and others as we encourage the Body of Christ to return to the Bible as their only spiritual authority regarding the origins of creation. Join us in prayer for another reformation.  One that will free the church from Evolution’s deception and its influence over the Body of Christ, so that we can then disciple others with the truth of Scripture.

Reformation is just as important for us today as it was for Martin Luther over 500 years ago.  Just as we need to continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit and press into our Lord; we need to continue to prune dead man-made philosophies and beliefs from the church.  May God bless us to continue the good work that Luther started until THAT DAY!

*Excerpts from GotQuestions.org “What was the Protestant Reformation?”