Does the Lion's Tooth Bite Your Lawn?

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Does the Lion's Tooth Bite Your Lawn?

May 2, 2024 • Ian Taylor

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Romans 8:28

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose."

As spring comes to the temperate areas of the northern hemisphere, one of the first signs of spring is the blossom of the Lion's Tooth. This bright yellow flower is also called the Irish daisy, priest's crown, peasant's cloak and yellow gowan. Its other name appears on the sides of bags of lawn care chemicals – the dandelion.

The millions of homeowners who wage unrelenting war on the dandelion will probably not be pleased to hear anything good said about the plant. But the dandelion actually has a very interesting history. It was first brought to North America from Europe because of its beautiful flower. As late as the early 20th century, seed companies were still selling packets of dandelion seeds for home flower gardens.

Up to 1957, more than 100,000 pounds of dandelion roots were imported annually to the United States for pharmaceutical use. In spring, the dandelion contains mannitol, which is used as a base for pills, a treatment for hypertension and coronary insufficiency, as well as in manufacturing radio condensers and percussion caps. And many people enjoy a salad that includes young dandelion leaves freshly picked in the spring.

While you may not like dandelions in your lawn, the dandelion illustrates that God has not made anything that is without use. It is up to us to put what He has given each of us to use for His purposes.

Prayer: Dear Lord, forgive me for the times that I have not appreciated the good purpose for which You have brought some experience or event into my life. Through Jesus Christ fill me with the conviction that my life can fulfill Your purpose if I follow You. In His Name. Amen.

Notes: "A weed by any other name." Science 83, Apr. 1983. p. 82. Image: Dandelion (PD)

Infants' Talk Puzzles Scientists

May 16, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Luke 10:16 "He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me." Because we were created by God who values communication and has always desired to communicate with us, we are born with the natural ability to learn and to speak language. Those who believe in evolution usually disbelieve that humans have the natural mental ability to speak, since they think both the ability to speak and language itself evolved. Research has forced evolutionists to change their thinking so that it is more in line with what the Bible says. As one science writer put it, learning to speak is "a miracle". Instead of being a socalled "blank slate", infants are born into the world with the inborn mental and physical abilities to learn any language on Earth. Researchers have found that the ability to learn language is highest before a child reaches three years of age. Researchers learned that by age three, children from bilingual households have learned the basics of, and the differences between, the two languages. A child's brain is – to use computer language – specifically wired to learn language. Infants understand language long before they have mastered the breath, mouth and tongue control to speak it. All those baby noises are preprogrammed exercises needed to master control of our speaking abilities. The fact that our Creator built in our ability to communicate helps to show us that we were intended to have a communicating relationship with Him. He speaks to us in the Bible, and we speak to Him in prayer. Do you have good communication with your Creator? Prayer: Father, I confess that communications between us have not been as good as they should be. It is my fault. Fill me with eagerness to hear Your voice in the Bible and to come to You in prayer. In Jesus' Name. Amen. Ref: Kobren, Gerri. 1990. "Tots assemble building blocks of language." Minneapolis Star Tribune, Jan. 20. p. 1E. Image: Baby with toys (http://pixabay.com) © 2024 Creation Moments. All rights reserved.

"Just So" Stories of Evolution

May 15, 2024 • Ian Taylor

1 Timothy 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee." There is a common sense saying in science that when anything can serve as an explanation to support a theory, the theory is not scientific. Let's say that you have a friend who has a theory that invisible pink elephants fly over his house every day at noon. He wants to prove his theory to you. So you agree to be at his house at noon to see his evidence. It's noon and you are staring at the sky, seeing nothing but a nice, clear blue sky – the very sight you have expected and hoped to see. At one minute past noon, he asks you, "Well, did you see them?" You answer "no", and he responds, "That proves it. I told you they were invisible." When science discovered that the human brain is divided into specialized left and right halves, evolutionists said this specialization shows why humans have evolved further than the animals and can do so many things. Evolutionists said the left side of the brain became specialized so that humans could specialize in speech while also specializing in emotion with the right side of the brain. Then scientists discovered that many animals also have this left and right brain specialization. All of a sudden, the fact of left and right brain specialization among so many creatures was used by evolutionists as evidence of our supposed relationship with animals. Evolution is a "just so" story where anything can serve as "proof". But when anything can be proof, then nothing is proven. Prayer: Lord, people use many stories to convince themselves that they can ignore Your true Word. Help me to see that I too often use the story that "I just don't have time to read the Bible today," repent of it and resolve to hear You teach me every day in Your Word. Amen. Image: Pink elephant (http://pixabay.com) © 2024 Creation Moments. All rights reserved.

The Miraculous Seed

May 14, 2024 • Ian Taylor

1 Corinthians 15:35-38 "But some [man] will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? [Thou] fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other [grain]: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body." Can the dead come back to life? While many scientists assure us that they cannot, the empty grave of Christ assures us that in Him everyone who trusts in His saving work on the cross of Calvary will live bodily with Him forever. When modern science tries to raise doubts about the bodily resurrection of Christ, just keep in mind that science cannot even explain the miracle of the seed. Any seed, whether an ordinary bean seed, an acorn or a coconut, is a marvel of life. Consider the oak tree. Within the acorn, weighing less than an ounce, is a tiny embryonic oak tree, enough nutrition to get the young tree started on its own and all of the coded information needed not only to direct the start of growth, but to also guide the design and development of tons and tons of tree! Lotus seeds can remain alive and sprout for up to 1,000 years! If it had been up to the first plant to figure out how to accomplish this miracle by trial and error, we would still be waiting for the first seed to develop! But Scripture solves this problem for us by clearly stating that God is the author of all life! Besides Scripture's clear statement on the matter, it seems most unscientific to say that the tiny, packaged bundle of life we call a seed was not carefully designed and created but came about by chance. And as the seed in the ground shakes off its old, dry coat to burst forth in vibrant new life, let each of us look to Christ to shake off the old and decayed and allow Him to place on us the vibrant new life He gives us through His resurrection. Prayer: Lord, let me truly show forth the new life You have given me so that the hearts of doubters may be opened to You. Amen. Ref: Pope, Jon Cedar. 1979. "Carrying an immature plant through time and space." Science Digest, May. p. 60. Photo: Lotus seeds. (PD) © 2024 Creation Moments. All rights reserved.