Intelligent Design and Biblical Scripture

The bible predicts that the plowman shall over take the reaper of the harvest, meaning that our life becomes liken unto a vendor’s machine; as soon as one put the coins into the machine out comes the reward. In a theological sense, as soon as adversity invades our life God instantly replaces the adversity with His Glory. Also, at such time, we are in discussion with God continuously, receiving always from His Glory. Jesus is that median; the Son of God Who is God among us.

The Word of God comes together in the person of Christ Jesus. The result is the presence of God. Let Him speak freely, and take heed. Let the Lord lead your life, and you shall receive life abundantly. The bible is the book of life. Its instructions to each person is how to return to heaven since lost by Adam and Eve.

The act of the plowman overtaking the reaper is also liken unto our second nature, we access immediately, and know the next move to take instantly. Yes, as vast as the Word of God, in Jesus we are in contact with God, and can receive His counseling immediately only if we have the faith and love for God.

The question of can you contemplate yourself into heaven? The answer is that we can contemplate only so far until we need the counseling of Christ Jesus. The state of being in heaven is complete dependence on God after the plowman has overtaken the reaper.

Let the Lord do it. Be still and know God.

Amos 9:13
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine and all the hills shall melt [that is, everything heretofore barren and unfruitful shall overflow with spiritual blessing].

*** Will Myers

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I am going to let the scriptures speak for themselves. I found them explicitly informative for those with little imagination…much imagination, very informative.

Job 38:4-30
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, …

Psalm 111:2
Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Isaiah 40:12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

Isaiah 40:22
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

Psalm 104
He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be move.

Ecclesiastes 113
And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 1:6-7
The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.

Job 38:4
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

Job 26:7
He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing.

1 Timothy 6:20
O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,”

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:1-31
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. …

Romans 1:20
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Proverbs 8:27
When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,

Ecclesiastes 1:13-15
And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

Colossians 1:17
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Mark 16:18
They will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Psalm 19:1
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Psalm 91:1-16
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, …

Psalm 53:1
To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.

Job 26:7-14
He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing. He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not split open under them. He covers the face of the full moon and spreads over it his cloud. He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble and are astounded at his rebuke. …

2 Kings 20:9-11
And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” And Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.

Joshua 10:12
At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”

Genesis 2:1-25
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, …

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Matthew 24:1-2
Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Jeremiah 10:13
When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

Psalm 104:2
Covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.

Psalm 14:1
To the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.

Job 1:1-22
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. …

Romans 2:20
An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—

Romans 1:26-2:1
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, …

Luke 11:52
Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

Hebrews 11:3
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

*** Will Myers

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Many world religions predict an end to this world. Christianity does, too; however, it emphasizes the futility of trying to predict doomsday’s timing and instead instructs all humanity to focus on living in a way that is pleasing to God. In many doomsday predictions—such as the December 21, 2012, date based on the ancient Mayan calendar—“the end” simply represented the time when the whole cycle of creation started over. But according to Christian thought, the end of this world will usher in a completely new creation where those who have trusted in Christ to pay for their sins will live with God in eternal paradise.

What are the two most dangerous geometric figures?

A vicious circle and a firing line.

Okay, so the joke is awful, but it highlights the two different ways people throughout history have viewed time. Most ancient Near Eastern religions viewed time in a cyclical fashion where the performance of New Year festivals and rituals “reactualized” the original cosmology. In stark contrast, Christianity describes a universe operating under linear time. The universe starts “in the beginning” and will come to a final end.

One ancient culture’s calendar sparked lots of speculation regarding the possibility of a December 21, 2012, doomsday. Historically speaking, the date marks the end of a 5,125 cycle on a calendar used by the Mayans. Various fringe groups have used this “ending” to argue for doomsday scenarios or New Age spiritual transformations. One scenario even inspired a movie (a marginal one, in my opinion) where the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts and destroys all life except for the passengers aboard a few arks built in Tibet.

While I am confident that December 21 will come and go without the world ending or the occurrence of significant spiritual transformations, I do think it worthwhile to highlight a number of chronological things that validate the biblical view of the universe and the end times.

The Biblical Chronology

The Bible opens by describing the creation of the universe: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Yet, up until the early 1900s, most scientists believed the universe had existed forever into the past. Major scientific discoveries over the last 100+ years have confirmed that the universe had a beginning. Einstein developed the theory of general relativity. Hubble discovered the expansion of the universe. Penzias and Wilson discovered the cosmic microwave background radiation. Hawking and Penrose developed space-time theorems (based on general relativity) showing that the universe had a cause outside of itself. Borde, Vilenkin, and Guth extended those theorems to show that even the multiverse (if it exists) had a beginning.

Genesis 2 continues by describing the creation of the first humans, Adam and Eve. Numerous lines of evidence from bioinformatics, genetics, and linguistics support the idea that all humanity originated from one pair. This first couple decided to disobey God’s direction and, consequently, all people were separated from God by sinful nature.

Then, over 2,000 years ago, Jesus, the second person of the Triune God, “became flesh” and lived among us. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for human disobedience. In a spectacular affirmation of His divinity, Christ rose from the grave on the third day.

Thinking about End Times

The creation of the universe, humanity’s creation and fall, and Christ’s death and resurrection provide a testable chronology that affirms the Bible’s veracity. Since Scripture passes all those tests, it follows that its description of an end to this universe will prove true as well.

Specifically, the Bible describes at least five things that will happen at the end of the world. First, Jesus will come again to Earth. Second, all humans who ever lived will rise from the dead. Third, Jesus will judge all human beings. Fourth, all humans will enter their final eternal state. Those who trusted Jesus to pay for their sin will enter his presence with glorified human bodies. Those who rejected Jesus will suffer consciously the wrath of God as punishment for their sins. Fifth, God will destroy this cosmos and create a new heaven and new earth for all who belong to Him.

The Bible makes it clear that no one knows or can predict when the end will come. Every Christian who has tried to calculate the end has been wrong; Harold Camping provided the most recent public example. (It bears mentioning that, even though many people today have taken the Mayan calendar as a doomsday prediction, the Mayans themselves did not treat it this way.)

Rather than focusing on questionable predictions or on how the end times will look, the Bible commands us to be prepared for whenever it comes. Matthew 25 assures us that the end will come, but, again, it mainly illustrates the importance of being prepared. Therefore, let’s live in holiness, anticipating Christ’s return. To show gratitude to God for his precious gift of redemption, let’s exhibit works that promote goodness, peace, and justice. Let’s be “salt and light” to the culture in which we live and do our part to fulfill the Great Commission by delivering the gospel message to all people.

*** Will Myers

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If you ask Christians what they are most thankful for out of everything in their lives, you’ll likely find that Christ’s “amazing grace” tops the list. For those willing to accept the offer, Jesus’ sacrificial death paid the way to heaven even though humans do not deserve it and cannot repay it. Salvation by grace is an idea unique to Christianity. In 7 Truths That Changed the World, RTB philosopher/theologian Kenneth Samples writes, “Christianity at its heart is a religion not of self-help but of divine rescue.”

So how does the biblical idea of salvation compare to those of other faiths? Is it superior to other beliefs—or are all religions “created equal”?

Many people today believe all faiths are valid paths to God, eternal life, etc. Yann Martel’s award-winning bestselling novel, Life of Pi, illustrates this view. Pi is a young Indian man who, in addition to holding his family’s Hindu faith, adopts Islam and Christianity. He views the three religions as different ways to approach God and appreciates aspects of each one.

Though it’s been almost a decade since I read the book, I still remember greatly enjoying the entertaining tale of 17-year-old Pi’s adventures stranded aboard a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. I was not appreciative of his pluralistic approach to faith.

Religious pluralism ignores reality in its attempt to strip the world’s major faiths of their differences and boil them down to a common denominator. Ken’s book A World of Difference aptly demonstrates the profound differences between various major worldviews. Take, for example, the different “salvation solutions” offered by Pi’s three religions of choice: Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity.

•Hinduism (a form of pantheistic monism): This worldview posits that humans must overcome the illusion (maya) that they are “separate and distinct from God” and reunite with Ultimate Reality. In order to do this, humans need to achieve enlightenment, thus breaking the cycle of reincarnation (due to the Law of Karma). There are no assurances of accomplishing this goal.
•Islam: Muslims “insist that sin is merely the result of willful disobedience” and that people will be judged according to their deeds. Entrance into paradise must be earned, but it is not guaranteed because Allah can determine a person’s eternal destiny “based upon his sovereign or arbitrary will.”
•Christianity: According to the Bible, human beings are separated from God due to our sinful nature. Yet God Himself reached across the divide by becoming a sinless man (Jesus Christ), dying as a sacrifice in humanity’s place, and rising from the dead. Moreover, salvation (eternal life in God’s presence) is assured (Hebrews 10:19–23) for those who willingly accept Christ as Savior and Lord. (RTB)

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me….” (John 14:6)

*** Will Myers

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Cultural fascination with UFOs has taken off. A 1996 Gallup Poll found that half of Americans believe UFOs are real, and 12 percent claim to have witnessed a UFO. Worldwide, UFO experts estimate millions of alleged sightings in the past 40 years. For a Christian perspective on this phenomenon, Biola Connections interviewed Kenneth Samples, coauthor of Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men.

How did the UFO phenomenon begin?

During World War II, Allied and Axis pilots reported observing unexplained aerial phenomena. In 1947, a private pilot in the United States reported observing several saucer-shaped disks traveling at incredible speed. By the 1950s, a national craze began, with many people reporting sightings. The U.S. government launched investigations to find out if the UFOs were advanced Soviet aircraft. Since the mid-1960s, people have claimed having encounters with alien beings who pilot UFOs. Many of these alleged encounters have included accounts of being abducted by aliens and receiving religious messages to deliver to humankind. For this reason, the UFO phenomenon has become mostly a religious one. UFO religions have an occult ancestry and engage in occult practices.

Are UFO reports credible?

While this phenomenon definitely attracts strange folks, some credible UFO experts (ufologists) believe UFOs are real, such as the late J. Allen Hynek, co-founder of the Center for UFO Studies, and Jacques Vallée, a French astrophysicist. Among the most credible ufologists, there is a general consensus that 90 to 95 percent of reported UFO sightings have a natural explanation (natural phenomena, human phenomena, hoaxes, and subjective psychological states). The remaining 5 to 10 percent of cases defy a clear naturalistic explanation and may be called “RUFOs” (residual UFOs). If only 1 percent of UFO sightings are RUFOs, then there have been at least tens of thousands of unexplained sightings in the past 40 years.

What are RUFOs believed to be?

There are three general hypotheses. First, UFO skeptics affirm the “Misidentified Hypothesis.” They believe all UFOs are merely natural phenomena—the RUFOs are just yet to be explained. However, this view presumes what it should prove and, therefore, fails to account for all the data. Some UFO reports consistently defy purely naturalistic explanations, even when examined by the most objective researchers.

Second, the most popular theory—the “Extraterrestrial Hypothesis”—proposes that RUFOs are metallic spacecrafts that are piloted by interplanetary space visitors. These aliens represent what is thought to be a vastly advanced civilization that is studying mankind and will eventually make contact. But—due to serious scientific, technological, and logical problems—this theory is rejected by many credible ufologists. For example, it would be physically impossible for spacecraft to travel the vast distances between galaxies in the amount of time available. Also, if RUFOs are physical objects, they could not maneuver in the ways reported—such as making sharp, sudden turns—without violating the laws of physics (which appear to be uniform throughout the universe).

Third, the “Interdimensional Hypothesis” asserts that RUFOs are real and exhibit physical effects, but they actually belong to another dimension of reality beyond our time-space continuum. Some Christian ufologists believe this is a spiritual dimension and UFOs may reflect demonic influence. While this view also has weaknesses, it does seem to be consistent with the reported data (RUFOs) and seems to be compatible with Christian theology. Though this view has explanatory power, one should be cautious in drawing conclusions about the UFO phenomenon.

How should Christians respond to people who are fascinated by UFOs?
First, we need to communicate that the existence of extraterrestrials would not disprove Christianity, even if they were physical beings from another planet (though I seriously doubt this). If extraterrestrials exist, they are creatures made by the sovereign Lord revealed in the Bible. Second, we should explain the religious—possibly demonic—nature of UFOs. Finally, we should stress that historic Christianity provides powerful and livable answers to life’s ultimate questions, and those answers are more convincing than anything UFO religions can provide. (RTB)

Matthew 24:40
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.

Matthew 24:41
Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

Luke 17:34
I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.

Luke 17:35
Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”

Revelation 9
And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

Revelation 9:10
And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

*** Will Myers

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Does big bang cosmology best explain the universe’s history? The model has been subjected to exhaustive testing, but one test that could solidify the case has—until now—eluded researchers.

If the big bang model is correct, then it should account for the size and structure of the universe’s largest galaxies. It apparently has not.

In big bang cosmology the universe starts off perfectly homogeneous and uniform. Thereafter, primordial random density fluctuations gradually grow to generate clusters and superclusters of galaxies with giant voids in between. The big bang predicts an upper limit to the sizes of the superclusters and voids. Consequently, in 2000 an international team of astronomers began a project, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), to map the galaxies, galaxy clusters, and superclusters of galaxies in the observable universe.

In 2005 the SDSS revealed what came to be known as the Sloan Great Wall (SGW), a thick filamentary structure of galaxies that appears to be contiguous over a scale of more than 1.3 billion light-years. The size of the structure seemed too large for the big bang model, which had successfully passed every other observational test. Specifically, the structure appeared too large for a flat geometry universe dominated by dark energy, wherein most of the universe’s mass is exotic dark matter in a cold state (the flat ΛCDM model).

Princeton astronomer John Richard Gott partnered with a team of five Korean astronomers to test if the SGW posed an actual, rather than perceived, problem for the flat ΛCDM model. They performed the Horizon Run 2, which is, by far, the largest computer simulation of the universe’s growth arising from a big bang creation event.1

Not only did the team find the SGW to be “perfectly consistent with the ΛCDM model,” but also they drew the same conclusion from their discovery in the SDSS of a void much larger than the SGW. Based on the simulation and according to the ΛCDM model, the researchers predicted that a future galaxy survey, four times deeper than the SDSS, should reveal the largest structure of bright galaxies—an even bigger “wall” about twice as large as the SGW.

Thanks to the work of Gott and his team of astronomers, it can now be said that the big bang creation model has passed every test thrown its way. First posited by Benedictine monk Georges Lemaître in 1925, big bang cosmology dates back even earlier. Bible believers hold that the book of nature and the book of Scripture reveal the glory and righteousness of God. Results such as these affirm the Bible’s predictive power and the reliability and trustworthiness of its revelation.

Update: The recently discovered Large Quasar Group2 (8.5 billion light years away, characteristic size =1.6 billion light years, longest dimension = 4 billion light years) also fits within the bounds of what the Horizon Run 2 would predict for the ΛCDM model.

__________________

For over 2,000 years the Bible has gone on the record declaring:

1. The universe arises from a beginning of space, time, matter, and energy.

2. The entire universe experiences ongoing expansion.

3. The laws that govern the universe are unchanging.

4. One of the unchanging laws is a pervasive law of decay. (RTB)

*** Will Myers

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Human beings climb. Always have, always will. First hills, then mountains, then pinnacles so high they’re called “death zones.” That’s as high as legs could carry them, but not high enough. So people invented balloons, blimps, airplanes, and spacecraft, the higher the better—to a point.

At first, scaling heights made people feel big and powerful. Then they began to feel small, utterly insignificant even, in the hugeness of the cosmos. Today, ironically, the same forces that once shrank humanity’s perception of himself now magnify him beyond the wildest imagination, yet with no basis for pride and every reason for humility. Those forces, insatiable curiosity, and capacity for inquiry have lifted humans to a vista, an insight called the anthropic principle, that carries their gaze to the edge of the universe and beyond.

The anthropic principle says that the universe appears “designed” for the sake of human life. More than a century of astronomy and physics research yields this unexpected observation: the emergence of humans and human civilization requires physical constants, laws, and properties that fall within certain narrow ranges—and this truth applies not only to the cosmos as a whole but also to the galaxy, planetary system, and planet humans occupy. To state the principle more dramatically, a preponderance of physical evidence points to humanity as the central theme of the cosmos.

Support for the anthropic principle comes from an unwavering and unmistakable trend line within the data: the more astronomers learn about the universe and the requirements of human existence, the more severe the limitations they find governing the structure and development of the universe to accommodate those requirements. In other words, additional discoveries are leading to more indicators of large-scale and small-scale fine-tuning.

In 1961, astronomers acknowledged just two characteristics of the universe as “fine-tuned” to make physical life possible. The more obvious one was the ratio of the gravitational force constant to the electromagnetic force constant. It cannot differ from its value by any more than one part in 1040 (one part in ten thousand trillion trillion trillion) without eliminating the possibility for life. Today, the number of known cosmic characteristics recognized as fine-tuned for life—any conceivable kind of physical life—stands at thirty-eight. Of these, the most sensitive is the space energy density (the self-stretching property of the universe). Its value cannot vary by more than one part in 10120 and still allow for the kinds of stars and planets physical life requires.

Evidence of specific preparation for human existence shows up in the characteristics of the solar system, as well. In the early 1960s astronomers could identify just a few solar system characteristics that required fine-tuning for human life to be possible. By the end of 2001, astronomers had identified more than 150 finely-tuned characteristics. In the 1960s the odds that any given planet in the universe would possess the necessary conditions to support intelligent physical life were shown to be less than one in ten thousand. In 2001 those odds shrank to less than one in a number so large it might as well be infinity (10173).

An account of scientific evidence in support of the anthropic principle fills several books. The authors’ religious beliefs run the gamut from agnosticism to deism to theism, but virtually every research astronomer alive today agrees that the universe manifests exquisite fine-tuning for life.

The Revolt Against a Revolution

This view of humanity as the focal point of the cosmos represents the historic overthrow of an idea rooted in an ancient revolution, the Copernican revolution. For the first fifteen centuries of the Christian era, Western science assumed that Earth’s inhabitants, humans in particular, occupied the central position in the universe. When Nicolaus Copernicus revived the ancient Greek proof that the Sun, rather than Earth, holds the central position in Earth’s system of planets, a new scientific perspective took root. From this perspective, the Copernican principle, emerged the philosophical notion that humans occupy no privileged or exceptional position in the universe. For the past four hundred years, this principle has been the reigning paradigm of science and society. And, during the past forty years, an extension of it, the mediocrity principle, has grown increasingly prevalent. The mediocrity principle asserts that humanity is not special in any way and that human origin and development have likely been duplicated on billions of other sites throughout the cosmos.

The anthropic principle, emerging almost simultaneously with the mediocrity principle, emphatically contradicts it, exposing a distortion of Copernican thinking. The anthropic principle makes this obvious and crucial distinction: while humanity’s place in the universe is not spatially central, it does not necessarily follow that humanity’s place is not central, or special, in any way.

Few people yet realize that current cosmological research demonstrates a physical universe with no spatial center. All the matter and energy of the universe reside on the three-dimensional surface of the expanding four-dimensional universe. Just as all Earth’s cities reside on the planet’s two-dimensional surface and none can be identified as geographically central to all others, likewise none of the galaxies, stars, and planets hold the center position on the cosmic 3-D surface.

In one sense, the anthropic principle is possible because Copernicus was right. What makes humanity’s location in the cosmos unique, or special, is that Earth resides away from the center of any astronomical system, such as Earth’s galaxy. Humanity lives in a unique location—and moment—in cosmic space-time that allows not only for the possibility of human existence but also for the opportunity to discover that human existence represents a miracle, a special case.

Earth’s particular location gives humans a special window to the solar system, the Milky Way galaxy, and the universe itself. In virtually any other galaxy or at any other location in Earth’s galaxy and at every other time in cosmic history, the view to the surrounding area would be so unstable and/or so occluded that the form, structure, size, and other characteristics of the galaxy and universe would remain obscure to any sentient observers. Earth’s creatures enjoy a special view to the splendors of the cosmos. Nowhere else and at no other time in the universe would such glory be visible.
The importance of the anthropic principle can hardly be overstated. It returns legitimacy and respectability to the human species as a worthy, even primary, subject of scientific research. Further, the anthropic principle has the potential to bring about a paradigm shift arguably as profound as any shift in human remembrance.

Cosmic Anticipation

As early as the 1980s, physicist Paul Davies concluded that the physical evidence for design of the universe and of Earth for human life could rightly be described as overwhelming. Today, no physicist or astronomer who has researched the question denies that the universe, the Milky Way galaxy, and the solar system possess compelling hallmarks of intentional design for human life. Many researchers have commented over the past twenty years that it seems the universe “knew” humans were coming.

Brandon Carter, the British mathematician who coined the term “anthropic principle” (1974), noted the strange inequity of a universe that spends about 15 billion years “preparing” for the existence of a creature that has the potential to survive no more than 10 million years (optimistically). Carter formalized this enormous imbalance between the time required to produce the possibility for human life and the brevity of the species’ (potential) survival as the “anthropic principle inequality.”

In response, some researchers speculated that the human species might represent an anomaly, an exception to the rule (e.g., a late bloomer or a more fragile species) among many possible intelligent life forms elsewhere in the cosmos. However, Carter and (later) astrophysicists John Barrow and Frank Tipler demonstrated that the inequality exists for virtually any conceivable intelligent species under any conceivable life-support conditions. Roughly 15 billion years represents a minimum preparation time for advanced life: 11 billion toward formation of a stable planetary system, one with the right chemical and physical conditions for primitive life, and four billion more years toward preparation of a planet within that system, one richly layered with the biodeposits necessary for civilized intelligent life. Even this long time and convergence of “just right” conditions reflect miraculous efficiency.

Moreover the physical and biological conditions necessary to support an intelligent civilized species do not last indefinitely. They are subject to continuous change: the Sun continues to brighten, Earth’s rotation period lengthens, Earth’s plate tectonic activity declines, and Earth’s atmospheric composition varies. In just 10 million years or less, Earth will lose its ability to sustain human life. In fact, this estimate of the human habitability time window may be grossly optimistic. In all likelihood, a nearby supernova eruption, a climatic perturbation, a social or environmental upheaval, or the genetic accumulation of negative mutations will doom the species to extinction sometime sooner than twenty thousand years from now.

These figures demonstrate that the inequality is extreme. The survival time for advanced intelligent physical life is only a millionth as long as the time required to produce the conditions necessary for its survival.

Another British mathematical physicist, Roger Penrose, was among the first to give voice to a philosophical conclusion: the extremely high level of fine-tuning astronomers and physicists discern powerfully suggests a purpose behind the universe. That the design is so focused on providing a home for humanity implies that a significant, even central, part of the purpose for the universe is anthropic. Specifically, the universe was created for the express benefit of humanity.

Given the awesome capacities necessary to create and design the universe, the purpose for humanity must be significant indeed. Further, given that human survivability is cosmically brief means that humanity’s purpose can and must be fulfilled quickly. The rapid fulfillment of a profoundly significant purpose for humanity—that’s the message of the Bible. No other “revelation” makes such perfect sense of everything humanity observes and experiences.

Purpose, Destiny, and Hope

Distinguished astrophysicists Lawrence Krauss and Glenn Starkman recently analyzed the ultimate consequences of the measured self-stretching property of the universe. They deduced that the universe from now on will expand at a faster and faster rate. This exponentially increasing cosmic expansion means that astronomers will see less and less of the universe as time goes on. Thus, knowledge of the universe will decrease with time. Eventually, the cosmic expansion will be so rapid that intelligent beings will lose the capacity to draw adequate energy for work from the heat flow of the universe. All forms of knowledge, then, will necessarily decrease. Inevitably, heat flow will be so tiny that all metabolic reactions will cease, and with their ceasing, all possibility for physical life will end.

“Consciousness is eventually lost.”

Krauss and Starkman’s response—an expression of despair—betrays their presumption that humanity’s destiny must lie within this universe. An important aspect of the biblical message is that God has an existence and a plan for humanity beyond the confines of the cosmos. His plan involves the cosmos but does not end there. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God reveals His plan to prepare those humans for a paradise vastly superior to anything Earth can offer, a new creation completely beyond the physics and dimensions of the universe.

Therefore, the biblical basis for purpose, destiny, and hope supersedes the limitations, even predicts the limitations and cessation, of the universe. The anthropic principle becomes personal, however, with the commonsense observation that human beings universally and uniquely yearn for a sense of destiny and purpose. Human beings stay alive not just by the powerful instinct to survive possessed by all living creatures, but by a unique and universal awareness that they exist for a reason beyond mere physical survival.

The Christ Connection

Those people who need hard data to affirm their sense of destiny can find it. The space-time theorems of general relativity prove that an Entity transcending matter, energy, space, and time is the cause of the universe in which humanity lives. Of all the gods, forces, or principles that people have proposed throughout human history to explain the existence and operation of the universe, only the God of the Bible is consistent with the characteristics of the cause established in these space-time theorems. Only the Bible predicts and explains the anthropic principle.

True to their inquisitive and skeptical nature, some scientists and philosophers have challenged the validity of the anthropic principle and certainly of its implications for the Christian worldview and faith. Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan argued that the design of such a vast cosmos for such an infinitesimal creature seems wasteful, thus inconsistent with the character of the Christian’s all-wise, all-powerful God. Such a God, they imply, would have fulfilled His purpose of providing humanity a home by creating just one planet in one planetary system in a relatively tiny and short-lived cosmos.

This argument fails to consider, however, that purpose governs what a person (or God) does as opposed to what he can do. Given the physics of the universe, the laws and properties for which the Bible reveals a specific divine purpose (see “The Physics of Sin,” page 00), the universe is the necessary size and age. A universe either slightly less massive or more massive than what researchers observe would be unsuitable for human life. In a human frame of reference, God’s provision of such an enormous universe so carefully “machined” for billions of years for human benefit makes a compelling statement about His care for humanity—and His purposefulness.

Some skeptics have attempted to trivialize the anthropic principle with the assertion that humans simply would not be here to observe the universe unless the extremely unlikely did somehow happen to take place. British philosopher Richard Swinburne responded to this notion with a simple illustration. He points out that the survivor of a firing squad execution would not attribute his or her survival to a lucky accident. Rather, the survivor would conclude that either the rifles were loaded with blanks or that each of the executioners missed on purpose. The measured fine-tuning of the universe tells us that Someone purposed for humans to exist for a certain period of time.

Another argument claims that there is nothing remarkable about the fine-tuning of the universe if an infinitude of universes exist, each with a different set of characteristics. In this case, chance could dictate that at least one would manifest the characteristics necessary for human life.

The fallacy in this appeal represents a form of the gambler’s fallacy. A gambler might conclude that an ordinary coin could land on heads a hundred thousand consecutive times if he rationalizes that 2,100,000 coins exist (though he cannot see them), each being flipped 100,000 times by 2,100,000 coin flippers. Statistically, one of these coins could come up heads 100,000 times. Such thinking is considered fallacious, however, because the gambler has no evidence for the existence of the other coins, coin flippers, or distinct results. With a sample size of one, the only rational conclusion to draw is that someone “fixed” the coin to land on heads. In the case of the universe, no evidence can be found for the existence of other universes. In fact, the principles of relativity dictate that the space-time envelope of a universe that contains observers can never overlap that of any other universe(s). Thus, the sample size for human observers is one and always will be one, and the conclusion that Someone purposed, or fixed, the universe for human existence remains compelling.

Testing the Conclusion

The anthropic principle invites testing. A skeptic not yet persuaded that the fine-tuning of the universe reflects more than a lucky coin toss can choose to examine the universe, the “coin,” more closely. If the anthropic principle and its implications for transcendent design are false, research will discover declining evidence for fine-tuning and existing evidence will be erased by new data. If, on the other hand, the anthropic principle and its implications are true, research will yield an increase in both the number of fine-tuned characteristics and the degree of fine-tuning. Based on the accumulating evidence, to bet on the anthropic principle seems safer than taking another breath. The anthropic principle energizes humanity’s climb on the pinnacles of Truth.

*** Will Myers

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87% to 95% of the illnesses that plague us today are a direct result of our thought life. What we think about affects us physically and emotionally. It’s an epidemic of toxic emotions.

The average person has over 30,000 thoughts a day. Through an uncontrolled thought life, we create the conditions for illness; we make ourselves sick! Research shows that fear, all on its own, triggers more than 1,400 known physical and chemical responses and activates more than 30 different hormones. There are INTELLECTUAL and MEDICAL reasons to FORGIVE! Toxic waste generated by toxic thoughts causes the following illnesses: diabetes, cancer, asthma, skin problems and allergies to name just a few. Consciously control your thought life and start to detox your brain!

Medical research increasingly points to the fact that thinking and consciously controlling your thought life is one of the best ways, if not the best way of detoxing your brain. It allows you to get rid of those toxic thoughts and emotions that can consume and control your mind.

Change in your thinking is essential to detox the brain. Consciously controlling your thought life means not letting thoughts rampage through your mind. It means learning to engage interactively with every single thought that you have, and to analyse it before you decide either to accept or reject it.

How do you go about doing that? By “looking” at your mental processes. That may sound like a strange, if not impossible thing to do. After all, it’s not as if you can just crack open your skull like an egg and have a look at what is going on inside your brain.

It is possible, however, to look at your mental processes. In fact, it is not just possible, it is essential.

For example consider the following:

• How many “could-have”, “would-have”, “should-have” statements have you made today?
• How many “if onlys” were part of your inner vocabulary today?
• How many times have you replayed in your head a conversation or situation that pained you, or one that hasn’t even occurred yet?
• How many scenarios have you created of the unpredictable future?
• How much is speculation taking out of your day?
• How passive is your mind?
• How honest are you with yourself?
• Are you at cross-purposes with yourself – going through the motions, but not really committed to the goal, saying one thing but meaning another?
• How distorted is your thinking? Are you forming a personal identity around for example, a disease? Do you speak about “my arthritis”, “my multiple sclerosis”, “my heart problem”?
• Do you ever make comments like “nothing ever goes right for me”; “everything I touch fails”; “I always mess up”?

If you answered yes even to just one of these, your thought life needs detoxing right now.

A potential pitfall on the path towards detoxing your brain is the fact that toxic thoughts come in many guises. On the surface, a thought like “I must do well” seems positive enough. It is only when you look at it closely, and check out the feelings it generates and their effects on your body and mind, that you will be able to judge fairly and squarely if this is a thought that serves you well.

If you base your thought life on assumptions like the above the foundations will be shaky and the edifice (your body mind) that you create thereafter will be highly unstable. As you think more toxic thoughts and generate more toxic emotions, that edifice will show cracks, cave in and eventually collapse altogether as burgeoning illness and disease takes hold.

Right off, you need to ditch unrealistic thinking and keep in mind some key principles to kick-start the process of controlling toxic thoughts:
Thoughts create your moods
When you experience a fear-based emotion you will feel depressed and your thoughts will be characterised by negativity
A negative thought linked to emotional turmoil will be distorted
“…bringing all thoughts into captivity to Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 10:5) becomes the golden rule of safe thinking

There are four simple techniques involved:

1. Understanding that thoughts are real and have an actual anatomy
   Thoughts are real things: they have a structure in your brain and occupy space. Thoughts are the same as memories. Thoughts and memories look like trees and are called neurons or nerve cells. You build a double memory of everything as a mirror image of each other. This means that the memory on the left side of the brain builds from the detail to the big picture; and the memory on the right side builds from the big picture to the detail. When you put these two perspectives of thought together, you get intelligent understanding taking place. As information comes in from the five senses, you process it in certain structures of your brain, then you grow branches on the “trees” to hold this information in long term memory. In fact, as you reading this, you are growing thoughts, because, thoughts are the result of what we hear and read and see and feel and experience. This means that whatever you grow is part of you, actual branches in your brain that create your attitude and influence your decisions.
2. Increasing conscious awareness of your thoughts and how you are feeling.
   Knowledge of the anatomy of thought naturally leads into the process of actively analysing incoming information and thoughts constantly. You should never let a thought or thoughts roam chaotically and unchecked through your head. Examine every thought you have and ask yourself: is this good for me? Is it from God or the devil or my own confused thinking? Conscious awareness of your thinking should become like a habit. A habit takes twenty-one days to create. Today is the first day of that twenty-one…
3. Doing something once you have analysed the thought.
   So, whilst technique two is developing a conscious awareness of what you are thinking about. Now technique three is doing something about the thought. This means making a conscious decision to actively accept the thought (if it is good for you) or reject it (if it is bad for you). This means you use your God-given ability of free will (this also has actual structural position in the brain) to do something about the thought you are consciously aware of. Thoughts have as much control as we give them.
4. Building new memories over the old.
   This is the really exciting part in dealing with our thought life because, accepting or rejecting the thought is changing the neural circuitry of your brain: you brain is growing while you think and you have control over the process. Technique four happens when the brain steps in and creates a structural representation of what you have chosen to accept (adds more branches on the tree) and converts what you have chosen to reject into hot air!
   • Lets see how these four techniques work if you have an unforgiveness in your memory trees towards someone:
   • Technique one: this unforgiveness looks like a thorn tree and will hurt you – visualize the twisted bitter thorn tree.
   • Technique two: be consciously aware of this thought of unforgiveness – where it comes from, how long it has been there, and so on.
   • Technique three: ask the Holy Spirit to help you use your free will to make the wisdom decision to reject unforgiveness and forgive. Picture the unforgiveness disappearing as hot air.
   • Technique four: now build a new de-thorned memory to replace the thorny unforgiveness with for example, quoting scriptures, singing a worship song, praying for the person, and so on. (Dr.CL)

     *** Will Myers

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Genesis 1:1
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 40:28
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Salvation

John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Revelation 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”

Ephesians 2:8,9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Assurance

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Isaiah 40:30-31
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart ,and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?

Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Christian Life

2 Corinthians 4:18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Psalm 37:4,5
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him and he will do this.

Proverbs 3:5,6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Luke 16:13
No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

1 John 4:7,8
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Prayer

1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Philippians 4:6,7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Scripture

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Psalm 119:11
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Confession/Temptation

Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out, so that you can stand up under it.

Mission

Micah 6:8
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Matthew 25:40
The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Matthew 28:19-20
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms

Bigger challenges:

If you want to memorize whole chapters, here are my top 5:
Isaiah 53
Psalm 23
1 Corinthians 13
John 15
Psalm 139

These chapters are all important; I have left them out of the top 50 verses because I couldn’t choose just one or two verses from any of them. The whole thing is great. So if you’re up for a family challenge, memorize a chapter.
Look at it this way: if you spend one year memorizing the fifty verses, and the next year reviewing those fifty and memorizing a chapter, and then go back to those fifty verses again to make sure you have them down, and then the next year go back and do a different chapter, and so on, over the course of ten years you’ll have 50 verses and 5 chapters so committed to memory there is no way anyone could ever forget it.
And I think knowing fewer verses, but knowing them inside and out, is sometimes more beneficial in the long run than trying to make yourself learn a verse a day or something.
So print this out and use it with your family!
Now, here are just the references if you want to copy and paste:

1. Isaiah 9:6
2. Isaiah 40:28
3. Genesis 1:1
4. John 3:16-17
5. Romans 3:23
6. Romans 6:23
7. Revelation 3:20
8. John 14:6
9. Ephesians 2:8,9
10. 2 Corinthians 5:17
11. Romans 8:28
12. Isaiah 40:30-31
13. Romans 8:38-39
14. Matthew 11:28-30
15. Psalm 27:1
16. Jeremiah 29:11
17. Hebrews 13:8
18. 2 Peter 3:9
19. Lamentations 3:22-23
20. 2 Corinthians 12:9
21. 2 Corinthians 4:18
22. Psalm 37:4,5
23. Proverbs 3:5,7
24. Philippians 4:13
25. Galatians 2:20
26. James 1:22
27. Colossians 3:23
28. 1 Corinthians 15:58
29. James 4:7
30. Luke 16:13
31. 1 John 4:7,8
32. Galatians 5:22-23
33. Hebrews 12:1-2
34. Acts 1:8
35. Romans 12:1-2
36. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
37. Psalm 19:14
38. Philippians 4:6,7
39. 2 Timothy 3:16
40. Psalm 119:105
41. Psalm 119:11
42. Hebrews 4:16
43. 1 John 1:9
44. James 5:16
45. 1 Corinthians 10:13
46. Micah 6:8
47. Matthew 25:40
48. Matthew 28:19-20
49. Matthew 5:16
50. Ephesians 6:12
Happy memorizing!

Tune in and ascend! Faith without doubt has supernatural powers.

*** Will Myers

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What are these gifts of the Spirit? How can you know that you have particular gifts of the Spirit? Can others give us an indication of what our gift is? What does the believer do with these gifts in the church? Are some gifts more important than others? Are the gifts of healing still being accessed today by believers? Is the gift of miracles still existent in the church today?

Each and every believer has been given by the indwelling of the Spirit of God, gifts of the Spirit (Acts 2:38). In Acts chapter 8 and in 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14 we see external gifts of the Holy Spirit. They were not gifts that they have been developed by human capacities, therefore the believer has absolutely no right to brag on these gifts. If we exalt in our gifts, we are taking credit for something that we have not earned ourselves. It is like taking credit for a gift you receive on your birthday. It is just that; a gift that was not yours but given to your freely and it is given apart from any inherent capabilities that you have within you. It is not like changing the old hymn from How Great Thou Art to How Great I Am.

No believer can say that they have no gift of the Spirit from God. God has given all believers gifts; some have several but everyone has these gifts. These gifts of the Spirit are given not for the believer but for the Body of Christ. It is to make the Body complete. These gifts are intended for the church to edify it, to strengthen it, to feed it, to exhort it, to encourage it and to have the Body of Christ empowered to do the work of Christ. These gifts are always to exalt Christ, to witness of God’s power, to build up the Body, and to work to enlarge the Body of Christ by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost. There are several biblical tools and surveys that believers can use to discover their own gifts of the Spirit. These are helpful applications to allow the Christian to see what their gifts are and therefore how they can best help the church. No believer in Christ has any gift of the Spirit.

Isaiah 11:2-3 speaks of seven different spirits or gifts: “And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord.
He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay (called discernment).” These are important gifts and some of them are similar to but different from the gifts of the Spirit that Paul talks about in the New Testament in I Corinthians chapter twelve. There are nine gifts of the Spirit mentioned by Paul in I Corinthians chapter twelve:

1) Word of Wisdom
2) Word of Knowledge
3) Faith
4) Gifts of Healing
5) Working of Miracles
6) Prophecy
7) Discerning of Spirits
8) Divers (or different) kinds of Tongues
9) Interpretation of (different) Tongues

This is not an exhaustive list of the gifts of the spirit, for example some are said to have the gift of mercy which is a person who is quick to forgive and not judge others who have sinned while others are not so quick to do so. God gives these gifts as He sees best and not what we think they are for (v 11). We can not receive gifts we are not intended to receive but we can desire certain gifts, indicating that we can receive gifts of the Spirit that may fulfill the desires of our hearts while still fulfilling God‘s purpose for them (v 31). Let’s examine what these gifts are and what is their intended use is for in the church today.

Romans chapter twelve has a similar listing of the gifts of the Spirit but I Corinthians chapter twelve is more comprehensive in nature. I Corinthians chapter twelve begin with Paul telling the Corinthian church, and for the most part, all believers in the church today. Paul wants to make these gifts crystal clear to us and so we will depend upon the inspired Word of God to reveal them to us (v 1).

Paul tells us that “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them” (v 4). No two gifts are the same and generally no two believers have exactly the same gifts but always these gifts are given for the common good of the church (v 7).

The Gift of Wisdom
The first gift Paul mentions is the gift of wisdom (v 8). It is listed first perhaps because it is foundational to the church and this is a gift that the believer can earnestly desire (v 31). Wisdom is clearly taught in the Word of God and “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding” (Psalm 11:10). This is the precious gift that Solomon asked for and received from God to be able to rightly rule God‘s nation (I Kings 3:12). With this wisdom, Solomon could understand what do in difficult decisions. Wisdom is also associated with fearing the Lord. Fear is simply standing in awe of God in reverence and respect. It entails loving His Word and being obedient to what it says. There is no wisdom in disobedience. This means that if some members are revering God’s laws and statutes, including loving God and loving your neighbor, that many members in the church can have this gift. Of course, many can not have it either. This gift is of supreme importance for members in the Body of Christ for if we can love God and our neighbor, we can greatly contribute to the church and those outside of the church. This love is another way of showing unbelievers and attracting them to Christ by it (John 13:35).

The Gift of Knowledge
The next gift of the Spirit is that of knowledge (v 8). Some people have such a gift of remembering scriptures. They have knowledge of God and His ways. They seem to be able to quickly distinguish which is biblical and which is not. Some translations say it is the “Word” of knowledge while others say that it is the “utterance” of knowledge. The Word is most certainly the Word of God. The “utterance” of knowledge could indicate that those with the gift of knowledge know when to speak particular words, when not to, and what words to speak with. Both words seem to fulfill what true knowledge is. These with this gift make excellent teachers, deacons, elders, or pastors.

The Gift of Faith
The next gift of the Spirit Paul mentions is the gift of faith (v 9). Those with this gift are truly amazing in how they see things. They tend to exude confidence in all situations. For example, our church deacon has said about our church growth “when” it grows we will need more Sunday school books, while others say “if” we grow we will need additional books. I met an evangelist once that spoke about things as if they already had existed or had come to pass. He spoke about finances that God would provide while simultaneously have nothing to show for it in the church’s bank account. He would always later prove to be right. This is a person more like God. He sees things that aren’t as if they already are!

The Gift of Healing
The gift of healing has been a controversial one (v 9). Some “faith healers” claim to have this gift yet have often been exposed to be frauds by undercover reporters. Many of those “healed” have been interviewed prior to their supposed healing. Some tap the power of positive thinking to convince them that they are healed. Others have even used “scam artists” or actors to portray someone that has been healed from an infirmity that they never actually had. This gift was more prominent in the New Testament church to confirm that Jesus Christ’s name had power and that God was working in the church. I am not saying that people are still not healed today but the days of having someone’s shadow passing over them and they are instantly healed is over. The gift of healing may be in relations to the power of prayer and we know that the effectual prayer of a righteous man or woman can accomplish miracles (James 5:16). In any event, we must attribute any healing that is done is “…by that one Spirit“ and not by humans (v 9).

The Gift of Miracles
The gift of “miraculous powers“ is another gift of the Spirit that appears to be unique to the New Testament church (10). This may also be associated with faith healers who claim that that have the gift of miraculous powers but they must remember that any gift or its results are always credited to the spirit and not to humans. It could also be attributed to those who are prayer warriors. There is an elderly lady that I know I want her praying for me. I have had some pretty interesting results when this lady has prayed for me. I would call some of the things that have happened miraculous in some ways. The greatest miracles that occur today are, for the most part, the miracle of human conversion. I see this as the greatest miracle of all since only the Spirit of God can illuminate the Word of God and reveal to us Who Jesus Christ is (John 6:44, Matt 16:17).

The Gift of Prophecy (Speaking)
The next gift is that of prophecy (v 10). Prophecy has several different interpretations and it is clear that in this context, within the church at Corinth, prophecy is the gift of teaching and/or speaking. The literal translation here is that it is “publicly speaking” or “speaking forth” the Word of God. This gift is associated with those who are teachers or pastors since God would not gift someone in the church to teach or preach without having an ability to do so. It is not inferring that they know the future or know what is to come since only a sovereign God alone knows the future.

The Gift of Discernment
The gift of “distinguishing between spirits” is having the gift of discernment. It is able to discern scriptures and their application to believers in the church. It is also being able to tell whether someone is earnest and sincere, or they appear to have an agenda. Peter displayed this in Acts chapter five when Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property and kept back part of the money and brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet but lied saying they had given it all to the church (Acts 5:1-10). Those with this gift of discernment or “distinguishing between spirits” may be able to know whether the church should or should not do particular things.

The Gift of Tongues
The next gift is the ability to speak in different tongues (v 10). This has been one of the most controversial and most misunderstood gifts of all. When the original outpouring of the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, there were many speaking in tongues. Paul wrote about tongues extensively in 1 Corinthians, chapters twelve through fourteen, but he was reproving the Corinthians for misusing the gift. It’s very difficult out of this passage to get any kind of mandate to speak in tongues, to get any kind of affirmation that this is something to be sought, because what you have here are primarily corrective orders given to the Corinthians. They had actually prostituted the gift of tongues into something pagan that wasn’t even representative of the work of the Spirit. All you need to do is to go back to Acts 2 and read verse 4, “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages”. The literal translation in Greek is “glossa” and means tongues. This same word “glossa” (language) is used again in Acts 2:11. This means it is a known language not some unknown tongue. Then it says (in Acts 2:5-11) that there were unbelievers present at Pentecost and were hearing God’s message in their own “dialektos” dialects or language: “Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues” (dialektos or dialects)! So there were unbelievers present at Pentecost hearing God’s message in their own languages and their own local dialects, not ecstatic gibberish.

The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues
The next gift Paul mentions is the gift of interpretation of tongues (v 10). This gift is someone who is able to interpret another tongue or language. I am bilingual and can speak English and Spanish but I would not say that I have this gift necessarily. Some have a natural gift or ability to learn a foreign language. It was not natural nor did it come easy for me. For those who this is easy, then they may be imbued with such a gift. If anyone was speaking in tongues in the church, there absolutely had to be someone there to interpret or they were to be silent. And no more than one person was to speak in tongues because there is only one interpreter available to translate at a time. If several were speaking in tongues at the same time, there would be confusion and God is not the author of confusion, but He is the God of order (1 Cor 14:33). It would not be edifying the church to have several speaking in tongues at the same time and with no one to interpret. Tongues are a sign for unbelievers and not for the church. Paul writes, “In the Law it is written: ‘With other tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.’ Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers” (1 Cor. 14: 21-22). Isaiah 28:11-12 is where Paul quotes Isaiah the prophet, “For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, ‘This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.’” This clearly indicates that the gift of tongues (Greek for languages) and the interpretation of them is that of a known language as a witness to unbelievers.

Paul wants to make clear that we should not elevate one gift over another but esteem each and necessary for the completeness of the Body of Christ as Paul says in I Corinthians 12:12-23, “Now if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.”

Other Gifts of the Spirit
Romans 12:7-8 also speaks of additional gifts; “if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” This shows that some are gifted at teaching, some at showing mercy, some in giving to the work of the Lord, and some who show an unusual amount of forgiveness (called mercy).

Ephesians 4:11 reveals yet more gifts as Paul indicates there are, “…apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers.” Again teachers are mentioned, evangelists are those who are unusually gifted at sharing the gospel with the lost, pastors and prophets (again, this is those who proclaim the gospel). Apostles can no longer exist because by definition, they would be those church leaders who have been commissioned by the risen Christ and having been done so in His presence. Those who call themselves apostles have no such authority given by God and they are self-designated only, thusly disqualifying themselves as a true apostle.

Many Gifts, Many Members, One Body
Each and every church member is clearly a part of “… the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles (no longer in this church age), second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts“(I Cor. 12:28-31). I pray you not only seek and discover your gifts but that you utilize them to the strengthening of the Body of Christ, for which you are a part. If you are not, then today is the time to become part of Christ’s church because members of this body will live on into eternity.

*** Will Myers

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