All posts filed under: z23

And God said, "Let there be light." Sun appearing over the India ocean/Nasa/Flickr/Creative Commons

Gene study: Life just got way more complicated

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One of the massive problems facing evolutionists is how did non organic material suddenly come to life — living, growing, moving, breathing, consuming and most importantly reproducing. There is no explainable way it could happen and according to an article entitled “Design and synthesis of a minimal bacterial genome” published in Science Magazine, the issue is much worse than previously thought. Over two decades, a group that would involve 20 scientists took one of the simplest bacteria, M. mycoides, and began to strip away unnecessary genes to discover what was the least number needed for it to continue to exist. Unnecessary does not mean these genes are unuseful. If I was to strip my car down to the very basics needed to function, there are probably dozens of things I could remove that are not necessary, but nevertheless beneficial, such as the rear view mirror and front window. With 900 genes, M. mycoides is one of the simpler forms of bacteria. In comparison, the E. coli bacterium has over 4,000 genes. They had sorted out what they …

Temple of Baal in Palmra, Syria. Photo: oriana.italy/Flickr/Creative Commons

Is a Temple of Baal coming to a city near you?

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Español: ¿Está llegando un Templo de Baal a una ciudad cercana a ti? According to an article in the New York Post, next month the Institute of Digital Archaeology (IDA) will unveil a full-sized replica of the Temple of Baal in New York City and London, England with plans to build 1,000 more in other cities. The IDA is a project sponsored by the University of Oxford, Harvard University and Dubai’s Museum of the Future. According to the Post, the temple in New York will be installed as part of an UNESCO’s World Heritage event in April. Standing 48′ tall, these Baal arches are being built in China using 3-D printers. The altars will be set up in prominent locations — Times Square in New York and Trafalgar Square in London. They will replicate the arches of a 2,000-year-old Baal Temple located in Syria destroyed by ISIS in August, 2015. Baal was a Canaanite god that Israel encountered several times after they entered the Promised Land. This god was supposedly in charge of the weather …

One of Jacob's lambs in England. Photo: Paul Blakeman/Flickr/Creative Commons

‘Jacob’s Sheep’ returning home?

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Sheep have played an important role in Israel’s economy and religious life for centuries. However, the sheep that cover  Israel’s fields today are not the same sheep that existed in Old Testament times. Today’s white and brown-faced sheep are part of  a breed known as Awassi that originated in Syria. However, the ancient breed of sheep that the Patriarch Jacob developed and cared for still exist today and a family from British Columbia, Canada has one of the world’s few remaining flocks of this rare breed. And over the past few years, they along with a non-profit society have been working to send this flock to Israel. Going by their name Jacob’s Sheep, they are on the endangered list and are considered one of the oldest sheep breeds in the world. They are officially listed as an ‘heirloom” breed meaning there is stock alive today that is basically unaltered from the time it first existed in the Middle East. They still have the same characteristics mentioned in the Bible: Speckles and spots (Genesis 30:32); Horns …

Hope: Why Justin Bieber, actress Ashley Benson and model Hailey Baldwin have a “G” tattoo

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A remarkable article on theBlaze explains why these three stars have a “G” tattoo. The story begins in 2010, when Pastor Chad Veach and his wife Julia discovered their four-year old daughter, Georgia, had lissencephaly — an incurable genetic disorder that affects the brain. Instead of having the normal folds, the brain is smooth. Depending on the severity, the disease renders a person unable to speak or walk. It causes seizures, vomiting, muscle spasms and swallowing difficulty. In an interview with theBlaze, Veach, who pastors Zoe Church in Los Angeles, California, said like any father he had hopes for his daughter. He envisioned her graduating from high school and even becoming a missionary. He even prayed for his daughter while she was in her mother’s womb believing God would use her to impact the world. However, that all changed as he watched this disorder slowly take control of his daughter. Veach admitted that this was the first time he understood true suffering. But a father’s prayers and purposes of God can still be fulfilled in …

The breath of life.

Breath

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Have you ever felt the need to slow down and just breath? To let your lungs fill with air and just be totally refreshed? I know I have. The book of Genesis tells us God breathed the very first breath of life into man. ‘The Lord formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of the spirit of life and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7 Amplified Bible) Isn’t it amazing that God is the source of life and He ‘breathed’ this life into man. In the Old Testament, Job’s friend Elihu said it well: ‘The spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. (Job 33:4 NIV) In Hebrew ‘ruach’ is the word for breath, wind or spirit according to Strong’s Dictionary. There is a force in this word, like there is in the wind. This wind can blow (breath) wherever it wills and accomplish what it wants in my life (John 3:8). One day last month it was extremely …

Muslim Shrine in Iran. You can see an image of the Ali Khomeni, the Supreme Leader of Iran, on the left. Photo: My life, the universe and ..../Flickr/Creative Commons

Christian population surging in Iran

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Despite Iran’s heavy-handed crackdown, the Christian population in Iran is flourishing and growing rapidly. The country has a population of about 78 million. The official religion is Muslim, and on paper it allows other religions including Christianity. However, it is illegal for a Muslim and even members of other religions to convert to Christianity. Iran is an Islamic Republic and though there is an elected president, according to Iran’s constitution he is subject to the country’s “Supreme Leader” who is the highest ranking religious leader in the country — currently Ali Khomenei. Iran is made up primarily of Shia Muslim, the smaller of the two main branches of Islam, the larger being Sunni — ISIS comes out of this latter group. It is dangerous for a Muslim to convert to Christianity in Iran and aside from societal/family pressure can lead to imprisonment, torture and even death. As a result, most Iranian Muslims convert secretly, keeping it hidden from their family. One of those Muslims who converted to Christianity in Iran but didn’t keep it quiet …

Mt Gerazim on the left and Mt Ebal on the right. Photo: Tom Miller/Flickr/Creative Commons

Where did Israel’s giant footprints come from?

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Español: ¿De dónde vienen las huellas gigantes de Israel? In Israel’s Jordan valley, archaeologists have discovered a curious phenomena — six huge man-made footprints. These structures, where the low outer stone wall is distinctively foot shaped, are quite large. One referred to as el-‘Unuq is 228 feet wide and 816 feet long — about two football fields in size. Perhaps the most famous of these sandal-shaped sites is one found on Mt. Ebal. Discovered in 1980, its most unique feature is a massive altar found in the center measuring about 23′ by 30′ feet in size. It is also a story high — 10’. Of course, such an altar, created of unhewn stone, required a huge ramp to get on top, which this one had. They also found charred animal bones and ash in and around the altar. It was apparently a religious site where the people made animal sacrifices. This is where it gets interesting. Adam Zertal, the archaeologist who discovered this site, believes this is the altar Joshua created when Israel first entered …

Map of the area of the Red Sea showing the region where God parted the waters.

And God sent a wind — the parting of the Red Sea

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England’s BBC recently posted a video to its YouTube Channel about the impact of storms hitting their country. Because of the high cliffs along the coast there are many waterfalls cascading over the edge into the ocean. When a massive storm or hurricane hits at the right angle, they can actually reverse a waterfall and push the water back over the top of the cliff. In the video below, you will see this happening to a waterfall on the Isle of Mull off Scotland when Storm Henry hit on Monday, February 1, 2016. Wind can move water. This is relevant because when Israel was trapped between the Red Sea and an approaching Egyptian army, God used a wind to part the Red Sea allowing Israel to escape over land. As the Egyptians entered the land passage way, the waters collapsed drowning the soldiers. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters …

Purified faith. Photo: Molten gold Domiriel/Flickr

Peter’s word for today — testing of faith and garrisoning our salvation

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According to ancient tradition, the Roman Emperor Nero crucified the Apostle Peter because of his faith in Christ. However, believing he was unworthy to be crucified in the same fashion as Jesus, Peter requested crucifixion upside down which the Romans did. By the time Nero became emperor in 64 AD, Christians were considered social outcasts in Roman society. The Roman emperors were considered gods and it was a person’s civic duty to make sacrifices to them. Christians could avoid martyrdom by simply making an offering to the Roman emperor. Later, the Romans required Christians to show certificates that they had made a sacrifice to the emperor, witnessed by others. If they refused it usually meant torture and death often by crucifixion or fire. After the Romans finished constructing the Colosseum in 80 AD, along with commons crooks and slaves, Christians were thrown in the arena before massive crowds to be ripped apart by lions or other wild beasts. One of the contraptions the Romans used to entertain the tens of thousands sitting in the seats …

Za'atari Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. Photo UNHCR Photo Unit/Flickr/Creative Commons

Muslim family receives a message from God through a vision

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Ekballow Project is a ministry actively involved in sharing Jesus among Muslims. According to  Ekballow’s Tyler Connel, because of the horrific suffering Muslims are experiencing in the Middle East at the hands of extremists many are becoming disillusioned and are increasingly open to the Gospel. The organization recently shared a video on the compelling story of how a whole family of Muslims in the Middle East became Christians. Two years ago, A young man, 24, from Vermont, USA, who they refer to only as “Daniel” to protect his identity, was ministering to Syrians in a refugee camp in an unnamed Muslim country. With an interpreter at his side, he was going from tent to tent sharing Christ. When he arrived at one tent, he introduced himself as “Daniel” and told the family he was there to talk about Jesus. He had barely finished his sentence, when the father started yelling and the family sat stunned looking at him. It was obvious something unusual was taking place. Daniel asked the interpreter what was going on. Through …

Understanding who we are in Christ will change us. Photo: James/Flickr/Creative Commons

Rooted in love

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Recently, I heard a beautiful message on having Christ’s love rooted in our lives because it has the power to radically change us. Our pastor talked about Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians: “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge , that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God.”  (Ephesians 3:17 -19 NASB) This prayer came out of the Apostle Paul’s deep desire that the Ephesians would know their identity in Christ.  Once they grasped who they really were through a revelation of God’s love their perception of themselves and the world would change: Paul was passionate about believers being rooted and grounded in the love of God.  He knew it would bring a stability and security that would produce wholeness and make them complete. Our pastor referred to a story …