Creation Moments

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CREATION MOMENTS

Tasteful Data Preprocessing

October 18, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Computer engineers are learning how to speed up computers and make them more efficient by using a number of processors instead of just one. They have also learned that designing computers that process some results and then send those results to another, larger processor for more complicated processing, helps them solve even more complicated problems. But computer scientists recognize that they were not the first to use this principle. Though these systems are much simpler than the human brain, they mirror the brain's basic structure. God has filled His creatures with biological preprocessors. Even your tongue, scientists have now learned, has preprocessors to help your brain sense a multitude of flavors. The old theory that taste buds could only sense salt, sour, bitter and sweet has now been replaced by a more complete understanding. Each of your taste buds is made up of about 40 taste sensing cells that can detect each of the four flavors in various combinations. These cells communicate with each other, in effect deciding what signals to send to the brain about flavor. Your brain then further processes these signals before you learn that the chocolate ice cream you're eating is extra tasty. Computer scientists have been applying their best knowledge for decades in order to arrive at computers that are this well designed. This helps illustrate the point that even our tongues were designed by a great intelligence so that we could have the blessing of taste. Job 12: 9-12 "Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand [is] the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat? With the ancient [is] wisdom; and in length of days understanding." Prayer: Dear Father, I thank You for the gift of taste and the ability to enjoy flavors. But do not let me become so centered on my senses that I misuse Your blessings by overeating. In Jesus' Name. Amen. Notes: Weiss, Rick. "Taste buds engage in cross talk." Science News, Vol 136, #20, p. 317. Photo: Envato.

The Christmas Star

October 17, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Around Christmastime it is common to hear some authority trying to explain the star that the wise men followed to find the infant Jesus. It is commonly explained as a comet or the conjunction of two or more planets or stars. The question is, are these and similar theories possible? About all you need to evaluate these theories are a Bible and a map of the Holy Land. Matthew 2:1 tells us that the wise men came from east of the Holy Land. Verses 2 and 9 further tell us that these men had seen the star indicating His birth in the eastern sky. They had not followed the star to Jerusalem, as often depicted in Christmas cards. We learn from Matthew 2:9 that when they arrived in Jerusalem, the star they had seen in the eastern sky moved to lead them to the Christ Child. By this time Mary, Joseph and the Child may already have returned to Nazareth, or they may still have been in Bethlehem. No matter which was the case, the movement of the star was now from the eastern sky to either the northern or the southern sky. That is very un-starlike. In fact, the movement of the star was even more un-starlike in that it directed them to a specific house! No comet, conjunction or other natural object of the night sky will do that. These wise men from the East were accustomed to the sights of the night sky. They could easily identify the unusual. This star was clearly created by God to announce the birth of the Savior to the world He came to save! Matthew 2:9 "When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was." Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, You create and control powers I could never comprehend. I thank You that You led the wise men to the infant Jesus, clearly showing that His birth was for all of us on Earth. Thank You for bringing me into His kingdom. Amen. Photo: Stars, Envato.

Nature's Shark Repellent

October 16, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Over the centuries humans have tried different strategies to protect themselves from sharks. But it's no secret that most shark repellents simply don't work. But scientists have learned, from a lowly fish no less, that repelling a shark is as simple as washing his mouth out with soap – released from a squirt gun, of course. The Moses sole, a slow swimming, apparently defenseless little fish, lives in the Red Sea. What puzzled scientists was that such seemingly easy prey never seemed to be bothered by predators. Researchers wanted to know what the Moses sole's secret was, so they offered one to sharks in a laboratory tank, knowing that sharks will eat anything. Sure enough, the sharks grabbed the sole, but just as quickly they let it go. More study showed that the sole releases a milky, detergent like substance from the pores in its skin. As soon as the shark got a little of the detergent in its mouth, it wanted nothing more to do with the sole. While the sole's detergent is poisonous, researchers found that it's the detergent and not the poison that drives sharks away. They have found that a commercially available detergent works even better than the sole's defense. Just as the shark cannot be tamed, neither can our sinful deeds. This is why God encourages us to stay away from opportunities to sin. He doesn't want us to suffer the necessary consequences of sin. 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour…" Prayer: Lord Jesus, I know that sin is wrong because it hurts me and drives me away from You. Create in me a clean heart that has no desire to flirt with sin but seeks to draw ever closer to You, in Whom I am washed clean. Amen. Photo: Moses Sole by Christian Wittmann, CC 4.0

The Animal that Confused Scientists

October 15, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Sometimes God's imagination is so creative that even the scientists are stumped by the results. One such example is the colugo, an animal that scientists tried to place in three different families before they finally gave up and designated a whole new family just for that one strange creature. Scientists agree that the colugo is a mammal. But beyond that, they're stumped. For a while they had classified the colugo as a bat because it has a membrane that it uses for gliding. But upon closer inspection, it was clear that the colugo was not a bat. The colugo has both front and hind legs and a tail that are all used to stretch the membrane of the cat sized animal to a width of four feet. Based on this, scientists thought it might be a lemur with wings, so they classified the colugo as a primate. The strictly vegetarian colugo is not a lemur, however. So about 50 years ago, scientists decided to give the colugo its own classification – Dermoptera, meaning "skin wing." Scientists classify animals according to an imagined evolutionary history – the most popular school of thought today. This doesn't prove evolution; it is simply arranging similar things together, just as kindergarten children do as they learn about different objects. But the colugo is such a testimony to God's imaginative creativity that scientists have not been able to find anything that even remotely resembles this strange and wonderful creature. Psalm 106:7 "Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked [him] at the sea, [even] at the Red sea." Prayer: Father, too often I take for granted the wonderful things You have made. Sometimes it takes something like the colugo to renew my appreciation for what You have done. Help me to consider the saving work of Your Son, Jesus Christ, for me with complete thankfulness. In His Name. Amen. Photo: Colugo, Pixabay.

The Mountain of the Mists

October 14, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Deep in the Venezuelan jungle, 60 miles from the nearest settlement, it appears as if God decided to plant a very special garden. That garden grows on a mountain that rises 7,000 feet on sheer cliffs above the jungle. The mountain, rising eventually to 9,000 feet, is the highest mountain in South America outside the Andean mountain chain. Called the Mountain of the Mists, this horseshoe shaped mass features a 25 mile long river valley that is just as deep as North America's Grand Canyon. The mountain is so remote and hard to reach that it was virtually unexplored until 1984. Scientists have found that over half of the species of living things found on the mountain are new to science. Some are unlike any other creatures ever seen on Earth. A plant called the Neblinaria resembles a large artichoke standing four feet above the ground on a thick stalk. Four foot-tall carnivorous pitcher plants, giant earthworms, and long legged frogs add to the uniqueness of the place. Rainfall has washed most of the nutrients from the soil, but many plants make their living by producing their own soil in the center of their leaves, while others live off the air itself. There is absolutely no limit to God's imagination. Whether the problem to be solved involves inventing creative ways to allow plants to survive, or whether it's a personal problem that seems beyond solution, your Creator is more than willing and able to help you. Seek Him in the Bible today. Genesis 18:14 "Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." Prayer: Dear Lord, it is true that when I am overwhelmed with difficulty, I seem to forget that nothing is too hard for You to solve. Renew my trust in You as I renew my daily commitment to study Your Word. Amen. Photo: Pico da Neblina by Robson Esteves Czaban, CC 3.0.

The Loving Poison Dart Frog

October 11, 2024 • Ian Taylor

The Choco Indians of Panama and Colombia use the poison from the skin of the beautiful poison dart frog to make their lethal darts. The bright orange and deep blue skin of this frog serves to warn predators that it is best left alone and its poisonous skin untouched. Although it is deadly, the poison dart frog is one of the most loving parents in the entire amphibian world. The female will lay about a dozen eggs in the leaf litter within her mate's territory. Both parents will stand watch over the eggs, keeping them moist, until the tadpoles emerge. Then the female allows each tadpole, one at a time, to wriggle onto her back. She takes each tadpole, in its turn, to its own miniature pond created by water trapped in the fronds of jungle plants. The mother poison dart frog remembers where each one of her tadpoles is and returns on a regular schedule to lay infertile eggs for the growing youngster to eat. I would prefer to think that the care of the adult poison dart frogs for their children grows out of a sense of love for their offspring, and we know that God is the author of all love. But even if this care is programmed instinct, we must still find the "programmer" – and that takes us back to the Creator once again. Such wisdom cannot be said to come from nowhere. 1 John 4:19 "We love him, because he first loved us." Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, the source of all love and wisdom, grant wisdom to Your people so that they may effectively witness to those around them who are being misled to believe that love is merely instinct and that wisdom can come from nowhere. In Jesus' Name. Amen. Photo: Strawberry poison dart frog, Envato

Why Are There Germs?

October 10, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Christians, especially those who believe in creation, hear this question often, "If God created the world perfectly, why are there germs that cause disease? Why did He make them?" The fact is, only a tiny minority of all microbes cause disease. Almost all microbes, or germs, are "good guys." Not only do they make life possible on Earth, but many of them have been put to work helping humans. The most obvious example is antibiotics, which have saved millions of lives since they came into widespread use in the last century. But even 2,500 years ago the Chinese were using antibiotics when they treated boils with moldy soybean curds. And microbes make many other common medicines that save millions of lives. Bacteria are used to turn plant stems into ethanol, which is used to produce gasohol. Some microbes help recover trapped oil, while others help clean oil spills off beaches. Bacteria mine uranium and other important minerals. Without microbes, we would have no cheese, soy sauce or bread. And microbes have even been put to work producing highly nutritious animal feeds. Without microbes, we would be up to our ears in sewage and undecayed wood. Microbes are one of our Creator's most important creations. He didn't make any of them harmful to other life. They became harmful as part of the curse upon creation that resulted from sin. We thank God that in Jesus Christ He has provided a remedy for our greatest danger – eternal condemnation because of our sin! Matthew 13:22 "He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful." Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank You that You have provided us with so many good microbes and the knowledge to use them. Help me not to focus only on my earthly needs but always to look to Your salvation as my ultimate help. Amen. Photo: Culture of bacteria, Envato.

Fish Learn in Schools, Too!

October 9, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Today we're going to a school of fish to learn about the wisdom that God built into some 20,000 different species of fish. First of all, fish don't learn how to school; they know how to school instinctively at birth. Schooling has advantages for fish, and some schools can have over a million fish in them! You see, schools offer a lot of protection from predators. Did you ever wonder why, when a school of fish is attacked or simply startled, the fish don't run into each other – but radiate away from the threat like exploding fireworks? Oh yes, they can all see each other; they can tell where the fish next to them are going. But schooling fish also have special organs, called lateral lines, running along the length of their bodies just under the skin. These organs are filled with sensitive hairs, which sense the movement of water around the fish, so that each fish has a better sense of the speed and direction of its neighbor from subtle movements in the water. It is clear that the advantages of schooling, plus the special organs that schooling fish have to help them school, are not the products of genetic accidents and chance. They are testimony to a Creator Who cares for all the creatures He has made. And if He so cares for fish, how much more does He seek you and desire a relationship with you through His Son, Jesus Christ! Psalm 119:7 "I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments." Prayer: Father, You let nothing in Your creation stand and wait for Your love, but You are always with us. Help me to learn more of Your presence in my life and better learn to reject those who account for everything in life by chance or accident. In Jesus' Name. Amen. Photo: School of fish, Envato.

Does Biology Rule Out Christmas?

October 8, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Christians around the world believe that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary. To those who don't believe in a Creator, the virgin birth of God in human flesh is beyond human comprehension. However, why should science deny what it can never understand? Life is filled with intervention by intelligent forces that we cannot understand. Television allows us to watch what is happening this instant 10,000 miles away. Few, if any of us, understand every one of the intelligently directed efforts that make television possible. Who could master and control all the details that bring together satellite, television, sound and electrical control technologies to produce sights and sounds from anywhere in the world? However, our inability to understand television does not lead us to deny its existence. Then can we say that God cannot take the form of His creatures simply because He loved us? Can we say that it is impossible for a virgin to give birth to God in the flesh? Can science rule out His suffering and death for the payment of our sin? Can science presume to tell us His grave is not empty? Even if God would have visibly shown skeptical scientists every step, our measures are too narrow to span the width, too small to plumb the depth of His purposes. And for that we thank Him. We thank Him for intervening in our history with the birth of His Son. Truly the depths of God's acts are only comprehended in heavenly light! Matthew 1:23 "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Prayer: Father, I am awed and filled with thanksgiving at the mystery of Your love. Help me to be a bold and fearless witness of the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ to those around me. In His Name. Amen. Photo: Envato.

Those Dropping Science Scores

October 7, 2024 • Ian Taylor

We've been hearing a lot about how science scores are dropping among American high school students. Many creationists believe that the dogmatic teaching of evolution is one important reason why science scores are dropping. Today, evolution creeps into many of the subjects taught in America's high schools. Both biology and history classes have units populated with ape-like creatures supposedly on their way to becoming human beings. Students are taught how religion evolved when ancient man invented God. Classes on ecology and natural history dwell on supposed evolutionary ages and developments. Consider these claims from the viewpoint of a student. Evolution claims that non-living matter once formed the first living creature all by itself. Students are taught that a small rodent turned into a horse. They are told in all seriousness about how fish once started walking around on land, and so grew lungs. Often they are not allowed to question these outrageous claims. From the students' viewpoint, science departs from reality and common sense. It becomes confusing, and the student's choice is either to memorize the stuff, pass the examination and have done with it or drop out. When high school students hear a critical analysis of evolution and are shown the evidence supporting creation, they quickly become interested. They never realized that science could make sense or that true science does not call their belief in God into question. Psalm 14:1 "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, I ask You to support all our Christian young people as they are educated. Prosper all efforts to give them a sound education that glorifies You, and help them be examples to the other students. In Jesus' Name. Amen. Photo: Envato.

Flying Through Water

October 4, 2024 • Ian Taylor

It's not at all true that penguins are flightless birds. They are perfectly designed to fly. However, when a penguin goes flying in search of its food, it doesn't search in the air, but in the water. The king penguin is one of the world's greatest flyers in water. Scientists have attached scientific recording devices to the backs of king penguins. To their surprise, they learned that the bird dives deeper than 600 feet in search of its prey. Scientists also studied the penguins' metabolism. They were impressed by the fact that dives to 100 feet take very little effort from the penguins. Some birds averaged over 300 dives to various depths each day! This is especially impressive when you realize that the bird is holding its breath while making these dives. The king penguin must reach such great depths because its primary diet, squid, are found at these depths. Scientists estimated that between 50 to 90 squid must be caught by the penguins on each trip to the sea. There must be enough squid to provide energy not only for the diving parent, but also for the chick back in the nest. We should not think of the penguin as a bird that lost the ability to fly. The king penguin's wings are not designed for flight in the air. However, they are perfectly designed for flight in water. That's proven by the fact that they can reach such great depths and are so effective in catching squid. Even penguins glorify their Creator! Lamentations 3:39-41 "Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens." Prayer: I thank and praise You, Lord, that nothing in the creation fails to glorify You. Forgive me for the times I have complained about something and fill me with thanksgiving and the urge to glorify You before men. Amen. Notes: J. A. Miller. "Deep Dives at Sea with King Penguins." Science News, Vol 122, #8, p. 119. Photo: King Penguin, Pixabay.

One-Way Only

October 3, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Not a week goes by that we don't hear of some plant or animal threatened with extinction. Is such a rapid rate of extinction natural, or is it caused by the activities of modern technological man? It is popularly thought that the extinctions of various species on the Hawaiian Islands resulted when Western civilization began to move there. However, studies of bird fossils on the islands show that many more species became extinct before we arrived. In the last 1,500 years, one-third of all the species on the islands have become extinct. Unquestionably, creatures are becoming extinct while no new creatures are evolving. Nor can there be any question that these extinctions are natural and have little to do with the growth of modern, technological man on islands or anywhere else. This shows that we could not have gotten the millions of different life forms we know on Earth today from evolution, since creatures naturally become extinct faster than they are supposed to have evolved. This is a warning to us that the creation is moving in one direction only. That direction is downward toward death. Realizing this inescapable fact, we need to see another one-way sign. It's found in the Bible where Peter tells us that there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved. That Name is Jesus Christ. Only He has conquered death – and He has done so on our behalf, rising back to life to prove His power to forgive sin. Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Prayer: I thank You, Father in heaven, that You sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from this decaying world. As my sins are forgiven through Him, help me to put away sin in my life and have Your peace. In Jesus' Name. Amen. Notes: C. Simon. "Revising the Record of Island Birds." Science News, Vol 122, #7, p. 103. Photo: Envato.

A Case of Bad Dates

October 2, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Scientists who believe in creation have always said that evolutionary methods for dating the ages of rocks give ages that are too old. There are many examples of how those who believe in evolutionary long ages exaggerate the abilities of their dating methods. Several years ago, scientists at the Institute for Creation Research published another example of how evolutionary dating methods give wildly exaggerated ages. The dating methods that give the most ancient ages for rocks work on rock that was once lava. In the Grand Canyon of the western United States we find two rock formations that were once lava. One is intruded deep in the canyon. It is dated by evolutionists as among the oldest rocks in the canyon – over a billion years old. There is a second lava flow, universally recognized as the youngest rocks, that flowed from the top of the rim of the canyon all the way to the river at the bottom of the canyon. This flow is dated as merely thousands of years. However, ICR scientists had samples from this flow dated at three laboratories, using the same method used to date the older flow. While the rock should have been too young to produce a date, it was actually dated as being older than the rock at the bottom of the canyon! This is still more scientific evidence that those huge evolutionary ages are not well supported by science. There are no good scientific challenges to the truth of the Bible. John 10:35b "…and the scripture cannot be broken…" Prayer: I thank You, Lord, that among all the words in the world, Your Word is trustworthy. Bless those who are working to reveal the lies that unbelievers would heap upon Your truth, and increase my commitment to study it every day. Amen. Photo: Grand Canyon, Envato.

Bird of Paradise

October 1, 2024 • Ian Taylor

The bird of paradise is among the strangest and most beautiful birds in the world. They are so unusual that evolutionary scientists are having difficulty explaining how such creatures could have evolved. It was not until 1824 that the first European saw a bird of paradise. Before that time, the bird was known in Europe only by the skins and feathers that natives had sold to European feather dealers. Since the skins did not include the feet, Europeans thought that the bird of paradise remained in flight its entire life. Its Latin name even means, "of paradise, without feet." The male bird of paradise is probably one of the most beautiful birds in the world. Its body is a dark maroon, with bright green feathers. The 42 different species have an assortment of bright yellow plumes, tufts and other decorations. At mating time, about all one can make of the bird is a wildly screaming yellow tuft that bounces from branch to branch, zigzags in the air, and hangs upside down from branches. Science has always thought that this odd behavior, and the bright plumage, served to attract female attention. This was the justification for these traits to evolve, according to evolutionists. However, more recent research shows that females do not select males – the males select the females. Evolutionists are left with no way to explain the bird of paradise. However, the beauty and odd behavior of the bird of paradise are not hard to explain for those of us who know that our Creator has unlimited creativity and inventiveness. Genesis 2:19 "And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof." Prayer: Father, I thank You for making the wonderful bird of paradise. I especially thank You for the way in which this creature glorifies You among men. Help me to glorify You as You have created me to do. Amen. Notes: Laura Tangley. "Sexual Selection's Strangest Inventions." Science News, Vol. 122. September 4, pp. 152-170. Photo: Bird-of-Paradise, Envato.

Your Brain's Produce Section

September 30, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Your grocery store has a produce section. Recent discoveries suggest that your brain has a produce section, too. We use many different kinds of filing systems to keep track of different kinds of information. Your medical records are stored using a filing system that is quite different from the system used to keep track of your subscription to your favorite magazine. While we can think of many different kinds of filing systems, no one has ever discovered the filing system used by the human brain. We simply don't understand how it keeps track of things. Researchers are wondering whether a stroke victim might offer a clue to how the brain arranges information. One man suffered damage to the left frontal lobe of his brain. As is common with this kind of damage, he had difficulty naming things. However, this patient's difficulty was most unusual. He could identify just about anything. He could look at pictures, memorize lists of words, and do as well as anyone else, except for one class of things. He could not identify the picture of a fruit or vegetable. He couldn't remember any fruits or vegetables that he memorized out of a word list. One scientist said that it was just as if he had lost the page in his brain that had fruits and vegetables written on it. We may never be able to understand the human brain fully. But clearly an organ this wondrous and complex had to be designed and created by an even greater mind. That Creator desires a day-by-day relationship with you through His Son, Jesus Christ. Job 38:36 "Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the heart?" Prayer: Dear Lord, when I see how wondrous the human brain is, I am humbled and know that I could never completely appreciate You. Do not let this prevent me from having a closer relationship with You through faith in Your sacrifice for me on the cross. Amen. Photo: Envato.