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The marvel of eternal purpose transcends all the carnal vanity of this life. This eternal purpose surely exists, but it takes faith, repentance, and surrender to see it. Faith isn’t fantasy or wishing; Hebrews 11:1:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
What a fantastic passage! Faith taps into and actually allows us to interface and even become one with the living God who created all that is visible and invisible. Without eternal purpose, all your earthly efforts return to dust.
The eternal purpose of those born-again in God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, is filled with love, grace, mercy, peace, and eternal promise.
God’s eternal purpose is not a “Bless Me Club” where we attend church to receive a bushel full of blessing. The purpose is accomplished as we are grafted into the Tree of Life and become fruitful and multiply. As a believer seeks God’s face in His Word, he begins to reproduce as he witnesses of God’s saving grace—leading others to Christ—as well as encouraging and strengthening the redeemed with his example. This labor of love expands and strengthens the invisible and eternal Kingdom of God. This is the eternal purpose; how marvelous it is!
Have you been born again? Would you like the ability and the privilege to participate in the work of the invisible Kingdom of God? Would you like today to be your day where all your sin, shame, and bondages are washed away? Come on in! Jesus Christ awaits your arrival. Click onto “Further with Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.
GOD SAID, Genesis 1:26-27:
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
GOD SAID, Romans 1:21-23:
21 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.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 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.
GOD SAID, John 10:1:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
MAN SAID: Our great wisdom, our great mounds of empirical data, and now the entire world’s knowledge is at our fingertips; this is our god!
Now THE RECORD: Welcome to feature number 862 that will once again certify the full inerrancy of God’s Holy Word. All of these powerful features are archived here in text and streaming audio for the edification of the blood-bought and as a platform from which to win the lost. Every Thursday eve, God willing, they grow by one. Thank you for visiting. May the beauty of God’s Word fill you up to overflowing.
When we begin our search for our roots from opposite directions, it should be no surprise that we end up with opposite conclusions. The born-again approach this search via faith in God’s Word and therefore, find our beginning in the Garden of Eden, formed in the glorious image and likeness of God. The unredeemed approach this search via unbelief and therefore find their beginning as a one-celled creature that crept out of some mysterious primordial slime, or, as some hypothesize, as a product of amoeba dung. Opposite beginnings yield opposite conclusions.
Today’s feature will demonstrate how unbelieving academia struggles to attribute God’s so-obvious miraculous design to mere naturalism. Carnal academia’s god is evolution and their theory of evolution answers all of life’s fundamental questions, even as the Bible does for the children of God. The Bible tells us of our beginning as the cherished creation of God, of our purpose as children of His invisible Kingdom evangelizing the world, and the end result of our sanctified lives—eternal life in Christ Jesus. Evolution, the god of academia, answers these same questions. Concerning our beginning: Evolution proclaims humanity a product of nothing. Concerning our purpose: Evolution states there really is none. Concerning our end: Evolution concludes that it is nowhere.
The apparent handiwork of God’s supernatural design in His creation abounds everywhere. It is truly impossible to escape this glaring testament, but the unregenerated continue in their incessant efforts to unseat the God of the Bible. Satan has paraded his champions before the sons of Adam for over 6,000 years, attempting to discredit God’s Word. Unfortunately for Satan’s team, they have always failed and failed miserably. Be of good cheer, children of faith! They will not succeed tomorrow.
The very beginning of God’s design demonstrates that man is more than a physical entity; he is also a living soul. Genesis 2:7:
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
The breath of God’s Spirit went up Adam’s nostrils, resulting in Adam becoming a living soul. Job 27:3:
All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
We were originally designed to interface—or better stated: to be possessed of a spirit, the Spirit of God. Men clamor for proof and proof is everywhere. All the day long, man breathes in and out—God’s spirit of life. Man clamors for proof. The Bible says God is light; man sees light everywhere.
Physical structures in the body have been designed by God to interface with the spirit realm. Keep in mind Job 27:3: “…and the spirit of God is in my nostrils.” The following excerpt is from a CNN Special Feature written by Dr. Louann Brizendine, who touts a large list of professional credentials. The title of the feature is “Love, Sex, and the Male Brain.”
A man in hot pursuit of a mate doesn’t even remotely resemble a devoted, doting daddy. But that’s what his future holds. When his mate becomes pregnant, she’ll emit pheromones that will waft into his nostrils, stimulating his brain to make more of a hormone called prolactin. Her pheromones will also cause his testosterone production to drop by 30 percent.
These hormonal changes make him more likely to help with the baby. They also change his perceptual circuitry, increasing his ability to hear a baby cry, something many men can’t do very well before their wives are pregnant.
And a word to the wise for all the young mothers who are reluctant to let your husbands hold and care for your newborn. The more hands-on care a father gives his infant, the more his brain aligns with the role of fatherhood. So, hand over the baby. [End of quote]
Man has been designed by God to interface—to be possessed of a spirit—and he has been given the power to choose which spirit: God’s or the devil’s. I Thessalonians 4:4:
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
GodSaidManSaid has published numerous features on neuroplasticity and how man is literally hardwired for faith. It is a matter of initial design in the Garden of Eden. The September 2017 edition of Discover magazine published the following excerpts written by Stav Dimitropoulos under the heading “Trying to Lose My Religion.” The subhead is, “How does a spiritual experience play out in the brain—even a rational one?”
The questions racing through my mind about the inexplicable lure of religious, spiritual and mystical experiences (RSMEs) have long fascinated researchers. In their classic textbook The Psychology of Religious Behavior, Belief, & Experience, psychologists Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi and Michael Argyle describe RSMEs as moments of revelation that strike like lightning; swept away by ecstasy, you may lose your sense of place, time, and self, and have feelings of redemption and ineffable beauty.
Now, with the help of imaging technology such as single-photon emissions computed tomography (SPECT), researchers can see how these experiences play out in the brain. Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist and director of research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at Thomas Jefferson University in Pennsylvania, headed a small, preliminary study that used SPECT to measure changes in the cerebral blood flow of three Muslims during prayer.
It turns out that while they were praying, participants had less blood flow to their prefrontal cortex and frontal lobe, the areas of the brain where complex behaviors such as planning and expression of personality take place. “Hence, the feeling of surrender,” Newberg explains.
He and his team also observed a slowdown of blood to the parietal lobe, the area that integrates sensory information to help us form a sense of self. When activity in that part of the brain was dialed back, instead of their usual self-identity, the volunteers instead reported a feeling of “oneness” at the peak of their RSMEs.
Finally, the researchers saw a spike in the activity of the limbic system, the brain’s emotional center, and changes in the thalamus, which helps us shape our sense of reality. All of these results, Newberg says, are tied to what he calls the five core elements of religious experiences: sense of intensity and unity, transformation, clarity, and a feeling of surrender.
Jordan Grafman, one of the study’s investigators, and his team found that injured veterans who experienced more RSMEs were more likely to have damage in an area of the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This region regulates executive functions like planning, some aspects of memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and our ability to reason abstractly—all skills key to tamping down our inclination to use mysticism as an explanation for the world around us.
But while these functions might be hampered in people who have RSMEs, Grafman, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University, says there’s another side to this phenomenon. “Mystical experiences can lead to creative thoughts and artistic development,” he says. “So for most people, there is this search to find the right balance to have a meaningful existence.”
“We are all capable of religious and other forms of belief systems,” Grafman says. “But, I think, yes, there is sufficient evidence to indicate that, on average, some people are more neurologically wired to be religious.” However, he’s quick to point out that wiring isn’t set in stone, thanks to neuroplasticity—our brain’s ability to change and shape neural pathways over time, which leads to new memories, skills, and habits. [End of quotes]
In the Garden of Eden, man was designed by God to interface with—to be possessed by—His Spirit. Jesus prays to the Father in John 17:21-23:
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
The science of faith sees God’s design and eternal promise. The science of unbelief sees evolution and its nothingness. Choices are being made. Joel 3:14:
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
GOD SAID, Genesis 1:26-27:
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
GOD SAID, Romans 1:21-23:
21 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.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 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.
GOD SAID, John 10:1:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
MAN SAID: Our great wisdom, our great mounds of empirical data, and now the entire world’s knowledge is at our fingertips; this is our god!
Now you have THE RECORD.
References:
Authorized King James Version
Brizendine, L., “Love, Sex, and the Male Brain,” CNN.com, March 25, 2010
Dimitropoulos, S., “Trying to Lose My Religion,” Discover, September 2017
