Heavy-Duty, Big-Time God

It’s a stark and sobering—and even glorious—reality: Everyone that Jesus healed died.  Everyone that Jesus raised from the dead died.  But, everyone whom Jesus saveslives forever! Not only do the born-again have the staggering promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus, but all along this earthly journey, we also have life and life more abundantly.  John 10:10:

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

For many years, I have been privileged to minister as an under-shepherd to a small flock of God’s sheep. I have dealt at the deathbeds of the blood-bought, and have found it to be full of hope and great expectation, even the magnificence of the unspeakable Blessed Hope.  It was the famed American, Patrick Henry, who said:

“Oh, how wretched should I be at this moment, if I had not made my peace with God.”  On his deathbed, he affirmed his Christian faith to his doctor with even greater conviction, poignantly recognizing that Christianity had been under constant attack but always emerged victorious.  “Doctor,” said Henry, “I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the religion of Christ is to a man about to die…I am, however, much consoled by reflecting that the religion of Christ has, from its first appearance in the world, been attacked in vain by all the wits, philosophers, and wise ones, aided by every power of man, and its [the Bible] triumphs have been complete.” [End of quote]

Surely, Psalm 116:15 applies:

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

As the children of God, we have been sent out with the great commission found in Mark 16:15-16:

15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

For those who embrace God’s Christ, it ends marvelously, without exception.  For those who reject God’s Christ, it always ends badly—very badly.

Choices are being made.  Have you been born-again—born a second time, this time of the Spirit of God?  For you, everything will change today.  Today, all your sin and shame will be expunged from your record.  Today, all of Satan’s bondages—no matter how daunting—will be broken.  Today, everything becomes brand-new. II Corinthians 5:17:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

Will you choose life and life more abundantly?  Will today be your grand deliverance?  Your soul is in your hands.  Follow me in this simple prompt and everything changes. Are you ready?  You’re just one click away.  Here we go! Click onto “Further with Jesus”  for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Ecclesiastes 1:9-10:

9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

GOD SAID, Colossians 1:15-19:

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

GOD SAID, Psalm 139:17-18:

17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

GOD SAID, Psalm 19:1-3:

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.

2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.

3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

MAN SAID: There was a “big bang”—out of virtually nothing—and poof!  Here we are!  It’s the ultimate free lunch!  Doesn’t that make sense? 

Now THE RECORD: Welcome to GodSaidManSaid feature 986 that will, for the 986^th time, certify the supernatural inerrancy of God’s Holy Bible.  All of these faith-building features are archived here in text and streaming audio for your edification and as ammunition in the battle for the souls of men.  Every Thursday eve, God willing, they grow by one. 

Take advantage of four highly-beneficial GodSaidManSaid features:

1. You have questions?  God has answers.  Whatever your question, type a keyword into the search bar (top right) and watch the screen populate with related information—from Adam and Eve to quantum physics.

2. Use the Tell-A-Friend feature above to send a message to someone you love.  It is so quick and easy!

3. Imagine—you can download nearly 406 hours of GodSaidManSaid features to your electronic device!  Listen to one every day. 

4. Sign up for the GodSaidManSaid weekly broadcast and fresh bread will be delivered to you, God willing, every Thursday eve. 

Thank you for coming.  May God’s face shine upon you with Light and Truth.

II Thessalonians 2:8-12:

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

This is the spirit that will prevail in the very last days—and the last days are now.

Romans 1:21:32:

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.

24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. 

Does any of that passage sound familiar? 

Biomimicry is a scientific and engineering discipline pursued by many—or should I say all—of the inventors of wonderful things. Biomimicry is basically the attempt to copy or replicate the marvels of God’s creative hand. Men have looked to God’s birds to learn to fly; they seek to duplicate the unparalleled efficiencies of plant’s photosynthesis; they have tapped the science of jet propulsion (think squids); and the designers of today’s computers are attempting to rival the unrivalable human brain that was made in the image and likeness of God.  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.

Biomimicry is serious industry and truly underscores Ecclesiastes 1:9:

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

This GodSaidManSaid feature will add to a list of like features. 

The headline in Volume 45 of the 2008 Creation Research Society Quarterly reads: “God Saw that the Light was Good: Light production in Photinus pyralis.”  Several paragraphs follow:

Bioluminescence is the production of light by living organisms, usually as a result of specific chemical reactions involving enzymes in which light is produced and emitted at “cold” or room temperatures. Living light is produced by several different organisms, most notably by specific bacteria, which often living in colonies inside certain fish and other organisms, free-floating plankton such as bacteria or dinoflagellates, insects, and in many instances, marine invertebrates. 

Living tissues emit light when complex compounds react with oxygen (and ATP), releasing photons of light.  An example of such a compound would be luciferin (from the Latin Lucifer, meaning light bearer).  Luciferin is actually the generic name of a whole family of pigment compounds that are used in bioluminescence.  Generally, these reactions occur slowly at room temperature; therefore, many organisms also employ specific enzymes (or catalysts, such as luciferase), which accelerate the light-emitting reaction.  Luciferase is also a generic name for the specific family of enzymes that break down luciferin.  Many of the bioluminescence methods employed by living organisms are extracellular, meaning the compounds are excreted outside of cells before light is produced (especially in shellfish).  The more sophisticated method, however, appears to be intracellular luminescence such as produced by fireflies, or lightning bugs. 

Luciferin and luciferase, the complicated compounds that most fireflies use to generate light, come in many forms.  They are also involved in different types of chemical pathways that produce light.  This causes problems for evolution theory, which requires them to be related by evolutionary descent.  They, thus, should look and act similarly, which is not the case.

The luciferin/luciferase system has important modern uses in the fields of medicine and agriculture.  This complex is now commonly used as a light-emitting probe that can be inserted genetically into living systems (in vivo) in order to image certain cellular functions. Scientists can observe, in real time, the activity of infectious diseases, tumor growth, viral infections, and genetic plant transformation when the genes that code for the bioluminescence cell machinery are expressed. In fact, the oxidation of luciferin by luciferase is the most efficient bioluminescence system known—one photon of light is released for each molecule of luciferin oxidized.  Thus, very bright signals can be generated with only a few thousand luciferin molecules.

Luminescence in fireflies, and in particular the systematic flashing of light, is used most often for mate selection.  Males flash in specific patterns while in flight in order to locate (often wingless) females, which rest on trees and bushes, mostly at twilight.  Females respond to these signals by blinking their own abdominal lantern in a similar pattern to attract males. In one genus, however (Photuris), females use “flashing mimicry” to attract, and then predate upon, males of the genus Photinus.  Predation is a biological interaction where one organism (a predator) feeds on other organisms (known as prey). In this case, Photuris females attract males of a different genus (Photinus) by flashing just the right signals (i.e., posing as a Photinus female seeking a mate) only to eat them when they arrive.  All of this remains unexplained by evolutionary theory. [End of quotes]

Under the heading “Biomechanics,” the feature headline in the February 12, 2016 release of ScienceMag.org reads: “Bendy Bugs Inspire Robotics.”  Several excerpts follow:

“Bend but not break is a lot of what happens in these insects,” says Harvard University roboticist Robert Wood.  “We’re trying the same thing to see if we can have similar robustness in our robots.”

Until recently, most engineers designed for a tough-and-tumble world by making machines stiff and sturdy or agile enough to avoid danger.  Modern cars incorporate a third approach: They absorb impact by crumpling, sacrificing the structure to protect the occupants.  “Nature has come up with a tactic that we don’t have,” says David Hu, a mechanical engineer at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. “Crumple…and then keep on going.”

To see how cockroaches do it, integrative biologist Robert Full at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, and Ph.D. student Kaushik Jayaram coaxed the insects through even smaller slits or tighter tunnels while filming them with a high-speed video camera.  They also lowered weights of up to 100 grams onto different parts of the insects’ bodies and watched how the creatures collapsed. 

Full and Jayaram found that when the 9-millimeter-tall Periplaneta americana approaches a slit no more than 3 millimeters high, the roach first inspects the opening with its antennae.  Then it jams its head through, follows with its front legs, and begins pulling the rest of its body into the breach.  The back legs splay but continue to push.  In about 1 second, it emerges on the far side unscathed. 

Jayaram and Full’s study, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that the cockroach’s secret lies in the design of its exoskeleton.  It consists of hard yet bendable plates—capable of efficiently transmitting energy to its legs—connected by elastic membranes that allow the plates to overlap as the insect compresses.  Thanks to the spines that give traction when its legs are splayed, a cockroach can scuttle even at maximum scrunch.  [End of quotes]

Another feature headline from ScienceMag.org, published July 30, 2010, reads “New Opportunities for an Ancient Material.”  The lead paragraph follows:

Spiders and silkworms generate silk protein fibers that embody strength and beauty.  Orb webs are fascinating feats of bioengineering in nature, displaying magnificent architectures while providing essential survival utility for spiders.  The unusual combination of high strength and extensibility is a characteristic unavailable to date in synthetic materials yet is attained in nature with a relatively simple protein processed from water.  This biological template suggests new directions to emulate in the pursuit of new high-performance, multifunctional materials generated with a green chemistry and processing approach.  These bio-inspired and high-technology materials can lead to multifunctional material platforms that integrate with living systems for medical materials and a host of other applications.

Catalogue the next two marvels as simply Good-God-Amazing. 

Creation101.org published the following information about the Hawaiian Opu Fish:

Of all the fish in the world, the ‘o’opu ‘alamo’o (opu)—native only to the island of Hawaii—is one of the most amazing.  This fish only lays its eggs far inland from the ocean in the upper reaches of the Kolekole stream.  Once the eggs hatch, the larvae are swept downstream by the swift current of the river and flushed into the warm, clear waters of the Pacific Ocean, where they mature into colorful, 5-inch-long fish.  To produce the next generation of fish, the female must swim back upstream to lay her eggs in the fresh water of the mountain stream.  Here is where the miraculous occurs!  Between where the mother lays her eggs and her ocean habitat is the Akaka Waterfall—which plummets 440 feet from a narrow opening on a sheer cliff wall.  How can a fish swim up a 440-foot waterfall?

Unique to all the fish in the world, this particular species has a special set of fins fused together to form a suction cup directly between its front pectoral fins.  The Opu laboriously attaches its suction cup fins to the water-slickened surface of the falls and drags itself upward against the force of the flowing water and reattaches itself again.  Moving a fraction of an inch at a time, over many days, she literally climbs the 440-foot falls against the flow of water to the top of the stream where she lays her eggs. 

The following question arises: How did this fish learn to do this?  Without the suction-cup shaped fins, the climb would be impossible!  The opu had to have this ability to climb with suction cups from the beginning or no more opu fish.  God created the opu fish to delight us in His creative ability.  Only God could create a waterfall-climbing fish! [End of quote]

Impressive, wouldn’t you say? 

A Google search on “how long can marine iguanas stop their heartbeat” found the following wonder of God’s handiwork:

As marine iguanas eat, they also swallow seawater, which they must sneeze out once they resurface.  While underwater, the reptile’s main predators are the sharks who can hear their heartbeats from up to 13 feet away.  However, these iguanas are able to voluntarily stop their hearts for up to 45 minutes to deter the sharks. [End of quote]

The hand of our marvelous God is everywhere—from birth to the grave and all that fits in between, and to all the hereafter.  God’s Word is true and righteous altogether, a place to build a life that will last forever.

GOD SAID, Ecclesiastes 1:9-10:

9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

GOD SAID, Colossians 1:15-19:

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

GOD SAID, Psalm 139:17-18:

17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

GOD SAID, Psalm 19:1-3:

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.

2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.

3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

MAN SAID: There was a “big bang”—out of virtually nothing—and poof!  Here we are!  It’s the ultimate free lunch!  Doesn’t that make sense?

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

 

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

“Astounding Marine Iguana Facts & Video,” AllThatsInteresting.com

“God Saw That the Light was Good: Light Production in Photinus pyralis,” Creation Research Society Quarterly

“Hawaiian Opu Fish,” Creation101.org

Omenetto, F., and Kaplan, D., “New Opportunities for an Ancient Material,” ScienceMag.org, July 30, 2010

Pennisi, E., “Bendy Bugs Inspire Roboticists,” ScienceMag.org, February 12, 2016

 

• Go Further With Christ
• Email To a Friend
• Comments or Questions?