Category: Creation Science

Brother’s Keeper? #2

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

“And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9 KJV).

Let us learn the import of Cain’s reply….

“And the eyes of them [Adam and Eve] both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (Genesis 3:7). However, this was the Law-based acceptance system—and Adam and Eve’s performance in religion was insufficient to address their sin problem. Here now is the Grace-based acceptance system, what God did for them to pay for their sin: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (verse 21). Like his parents who tried in vain to cover up their own sin with fig leaves instead of asking the LORD to offer a blood sacrifice in their behalf, so Cain was a works-religionist: he offered whatever he wanted to the LORD God instead of what the LORD God commanded him to offer.

Genesis chapter 4, verses 1-5: “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.”

Abel offered the blood sacrifice (aligning with Genesis 3:21), but Cain brought the fruit of his own hands (matching Genesis 3:7)—what he worked hard to produce in his garden. God accepted Abel and his offering, but He refused Cain and his offering. This controversy disappointed and angered Cain to the point of giving rise to the Bible’s first homicide, the first fratricide, with Abel losing his life in that bitter works-religion war of so long ago….

Brother’s Keeper? #1

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

“And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9 KJV).

Let us learn the import of Cain’s reply….

Read the context of today’s Scripture, Genesis 4:1-8: “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.”

Never should we take a negative view of the LORD asking questions. Skeptics are so desperate to rid themselves of the Bible’s authority that they will grab anything they possibly can to find fault with it. In today’s Scripture, why would omniscient (all-knowing) God pose a question to Cain? “Where is Abel thy brother?” Did not God know where Abel was? Then, why was God asking Cain? A rhetorical question is something to which the answer is already known. The asker is prompting the listener to think and formulate a response. For instance, if the parent finds the child misbehaving, the parent asks, “What are you doing?” Of course, the parent already knows the answer—but the question is designed to prompt the child to think and reply!

God is trying to lead Cain to accepting responsibility. “Where is your brother, Cain? (Have you murdered him?)” Let us see if Cain will admit his guilt….

The Thing Which is Good

Monday, September 2, 2024

“Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” (Ephesians 4:28 KJV).

On this Labor Day, we talk about work, “the thing which is good.”

In this day and age of increasing “government assistance,” people are becoming less and less aware of our hard work being the Lord Jesus’ preferred method of the source of our incomes. While the physically and mentally disabled are obvious exceptions, the God of the Bible expects all of us to contribute labor in order to provide for ourselves. For children and young adults, even being a student in school is work enough!

Observe the doctrine being communicated in today’s Scripture. The grace life does not merely teach us to quit doing bad things, but it also instructs us to start doing good things (Titus 2:11,12). Once a thief trusts the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished crosswork as sufficient payment for his sins, then God expects that thief to quit stealing and find a job so he can provide for his needs!

The God of creation calls work “the thing which is good” (today’s Scripture). Work is not something to be avoided; it is something to be embraced for the Lord’s glory!

When the Lord Jesus Christ put the first man, Adam, on earth, that man had a divine commission. Adam was not to simply loaf around and do nothing: “And the LORD God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Adam was to protect that garden, to till its ground, to prepare it for Jesus Christ to come down and dwell in with he and Eve (because of sin, that earthly kingdom over which Jesus Christ will rule is still awaiting fulfillment!).

Saints, may we work to provide for our families (1 Timothy 5:8), and may we work to help those who truly are needy (today’s Scripture). In the words of God the Holy Spirit, that is “good!” 🙂

A Father’s Gift #10

Saturday, August 24, 2024

“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32 KJV).

Let us learn about Father’s gift….

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4). This is yet another cautioning regarding how Satan’s evil world system insidiously seduces us from God’s current revelation to man. The Devil, most cunningly in Genesis 3:1-6, encouraged Adam and Eve to move from what the LORD God had told them. They were in unbelief, not content with their God-given identity.

See 1 Corinthians 10:1-15. There, we are reminded of ancient Israel’s failure to walk in the national identity and provisions the LORD had granted them when He brought them out of Egypt. Actually, in their unbelief, they remembered their Egyptian “comforts” (Numbers 11:4-9) and wished to return to them instead of live in God’s land (Numbers 14:1-10)! Again, we should learn how Satan works and not render ourselves vulnerable to his stratagems by being ignorant of them. The Devil knows how to use our sin nature to his advantage, but it is only our fault when we give in to him because we failed to know and/or trust God’s words to us.

Recalling Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13, we will recognize how Satan could not motivate the Lord Jesus Christ to question Father God’s words to Him. Jesus was not deceived, for He remembered Father’s words: no matter what Satan said or did, Jesus would not be drawn from them. Likewise, when we remember God’s words to and about us, Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon, we recognize our identity in Christ. Satan therefore cannot master or fool us. Remember the pitiful story with which we opened this devotionals arc—the father, the son, and the sports car. We ought to be thankful of what Father God has given us in Christ, and not throw tantrums because we are too childish to recognize His generosity!

For Students This is Safe

Thursday, August 8, 2024

“Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way” (Psalm 119:128 KJV).

As a new school year dawns, let us awake unto spiritual truth!

Although the autumnal equinox is still over a month away here in the Northern Hemisphere, summer is finally beginning to wind down for most of us. Students—with long faces and deep sighs—have returned or are beginning to return to school. As students return to the classroom, they need to be particularly mindful of the following.

Firstly, learning in and of itself is not a sin. Moses was “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7:22). Luke was a medical doctor (Colossians 4:14). Daniel and his companions were skilled in science (Daniel 1:4). Adam was the first taxonomist (Genesis 2:19,20). The God of the Bible is never against learning new things—remember, He gave us His Holy Bible so we can have plenty to learn for all of eternity!

Secondly, what the God of the Bible opposes is when we believe/trust ideas that do not seek our best interests, that contradict the way He designed our lives to function. Certainly, we Christians should never go around believing anything and everything heard and seen. Just because the professor, preacher, pope, or president says it is true, that does not make it so. Scientific consensus has been wrong before, religion has been wrong before, politicians have been wrong before. Much of the ideas that permeate our world today are wrong.

Lastly, there are many wonderful, exciting ideas and concepts out there—medical advancements, technological breakthroughs, and so on—but there are equally detrimental ideas that will mess up your life—religious traditions, secular humanism, and other philosophies. Daily intake of the King James Bible rightly divided will cleanse our souls of the filth and foolishness that we hear and see day in and day out in this evil world system. We highly exalt God’s Word, we know it is right “concerning all things,” and we hate and ignore the error.

Have a wonderful school year in our Lord Jesus Christ! 🙂

No Wedding Garment! #9

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

“And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless” (Matthew 22:11,12 KJV).

Who is this who has no “wedding garment?”

If Israel will fellowship with JEHOVAH God under the New Covenant, it must be imputed righteousness instead of self-righteousness (The Parable of the Wedding Feast, Matthew 22:1-14). God is calling all Jews in the prophetic program via the Gospel of the Kingdom, but those chosen for service are they who will believe and thus possess His righteousness not self-righteousness (verse 14). Only believing Israel, justified in the Lord because of His righteousness, will be Christ’s wife because they alone have the wedding garment. “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you [lost Israel, especially religious leaders], and given to a nation [believing remnant, Little Flock of Luke 12:32] bringing forth the fruits [righteousness] thereof” (Matthew 21:43).

Isaiah 64:6: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” The Hebrew word rendered “filthy” means “menstruation,” the monthly bleeding of a woman’s reproductive organs. According to the Holy Bible, man’s “very best” is but a soiled sanitary napkin in God’s sight! (How flattering!) Billions upon billions are still struggling in vain to obtain a right standing in God’s court (justification) by offering their “filthy rags.”

Like Adam and Eve, they wear their “fig leaves” hoping to cover their spiritual nakedness—but God is not fooled (Genesis 3:7-11). Following apostate Israel’s example, they use the Law of Moses to prove their supposed “goodness” and “worthiness of Heaven.” Unfortunately for them, God is not impressed… save (except) in Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3,4)! Like self-righteous Saul of Tarsus (the Apostle Paul) had to learn in Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:….” May we learn this too!

The Roller-Coaster of Life #4

Friday, June 28, 2024

“God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9 KJV).

In this roller coaster called “life,” who is truly “faithful?”

Addressing the heathen Gentiles in central Turkey, Paul referred to how they worshipped “vanities” (worthless idols) because the God of Israel had “in times past suffered [permitted, allowed] all nations to walk in their own ways” (Acts 14:11-17). In Athens, the intellectual capital of the Roman Empire, Paul pointed out their pagan idolatry was “ignorance” (Acts 17:16,22-31). This was the spiritual darkness and blindness to which God had handed over the nations back at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9.

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Romans 1:20-23). Here was the origin of Greek philosophy—systems of thought founded on Satan worship.

Doubtless, the Corinthians were not faithful, reliable, dependable, trustworthy. God could not—and did not—expect them to live the Christian life. He knows the flesh is weak, though it certainly exerts great effort to try to manage or overcome sin. The secular pressure from nearby Athens was so tempting. Supposedly, every “wise” man in Corinth boasted he had the solutions to the world’s problems. Of course, this was human wisdom, not the wisdom of the God of the Bible. Yet, the Corinthian Christians had even adopted these faulty ideas, discarding the Holy Scriptures in favor of something “more rational” (appealing to the intellect). As long as it was the resources they had in and of themselves, they were totally void of God’s power and life—and, hence, their Christian life was not functioning properly.

The Corinthians were building their Christian life on a foundation of shifting sand….

Tokens #9

Sunday, June 23, 2024

“And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:…” (Genesis 9:12 KJV).

What are “tokens” in Scripture?

Apparently, Paul signed his name to each epistle (formal doctrinal letter): “The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write” (2 Thessalonians 3:17). That signature indicated, signified, or symbolized authenticity and apostolic authority.

Sometimes, tokens are hidden in the Bible, since their corresponding Hebrew or Greek words were translated as other English terms. For example, though the Greek “endeixis” was rendered “evident token” in Philippians 1:28, it was translated “proof” in 2 Corinthians 8:24: “Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.” The sign or indication of our love for the Lord and fellow believers is when we help them in their time of financial need. That Greek word was twice rendered “declare” (show, signify, demonstrate) in Romans 3:25,26 with respect to God manifesting His righteousness (rightness or justness) at Calvary: “[Christ Jesus] Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

In the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible), the word “’ot” was translated “token” in Genesis 9:12,13,17 (the rainbow signifying God’s promise never to flood the world again), in Genesis 17:11 (physical circumcision representing Abraham’s death to the flesh), and in the many other references we covered earlier (Exodus 3:12; Exodus 12:13; Exodus 13:16; Numbers 17:10; Joshua 2:12; Job 21:29; Psalm 65:8; Psalm 86:17; Psalm 135:9; Isaiah 44:25). That Hebrew term was also rendered “sign/s” some 77 times (for examples, see Genesis 1:14, Exodus 4:9, Exodus 10:1, Exodus 31:13, Deuteronomy 6:22, Joshua 24:17, Psalm 78:43, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 8:18, Jeremiah 10:2, and Ezekiel 20:20). It was also translated “miracles” in Numbers 14:22, Deuteronomy 11:3, and Deuteronomy 29:3. Additionally, it is the “mark” of Genesis 4:15. On one occasion, it is “ensign” (Numbers 2:2).

Let us summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

Tokens #1

Friday, June 14, 2024

“And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:…” (Genesis 9:12 KJV).

What are “tokens” in Scripture?

In ordinary life, we think of tokens as coins used to operate machines. Yet, depending on the context, the word can carry other meanings. The way we grow and develop is to recognize the limitations of our knowledge and make an effort to discover whatever we are unfamiliar with. It is easy to complain about how we do not understand this Bible word or that Bible word, but the mature response is to study like an adult to obtain an answer. For example, the first case of “token” in the Holy Bible is today’s Scripture, and it concerns the LORD’S promise to Noah and the rest of mankind.

Read this “Noahic Covenant” as it is found in today’s Scripture and its context: “[12] And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: [13] I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. [14] And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: [15] And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. [16] And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. [17] And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”

Of course, God’s promise never to flood the world again was invisible, but its representation, sign, or symbol could be seen—a rainbow. Here we take our first steps in learning what the Bible says about “tokens….”

Spiritual Calligraphy #12

Saturday, May 18, 2024

“And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising” (Isaiah 60:3 KJV).

What can today’s Scripture teach us about spiritual calligraphy?

Read this excerpt from the Sermon on the Mount, Christ’s Kingdom Constitution of Matthew chapters 5–7. It is Israel’s prospect in the ages to come, and complements today’s Scripture: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). Also, Matthew 13:43: “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Our parallel passage as members of the Church the Body of Christ is Philippians 2:13-16, what we read earlier.

Whether the nation Israel living in accordance with the Law of Moses (time past), or we the Church the Body of Christ conducting ourselves in agreement with the Pauline epistles of Romans through Philemon (but now), or the redeemed nation Israel functioning under the New Covenant or Law of Messiah (ages to come), it is the life of the one true (Creator) God being revealed in and through His people. He is thus glorified in His creation. Yet, if they do not walk in their respective identities, they will give an occasion for Satan’s people to sneer, laugh, and discredit them.

Indeed, it can be spiritual calligraphy—God the Holy Spirit’s attractive handwriting on the pages of Scripture being brought into the very details of human existence. Or, it can be spiritual cacography—hideous words and repulsive deeds that are not even worth mentioning or thinking about. To state it another way, either it will be a “sinner’s gospel” or a “scoffer’s creed.” We would do well to remember grace living as taught in Romans 6:1-14, Ephesians 5:1-20, Colossians 1:9-13, and Titus 2:11-15. It is our choice to allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through us, so any poor decisions we make will not be God’s fault. May we choose spiritual calligraphy! 🙂