Creation Moments on Oneplace.com

The nervous system of an insect is infinitely more complex than our most sophisticated computer-driven robots. Robots can only solve the simplest problems. While an insect has no difficulty walking, a walking robot is limited to an uncluttered, flat floor where it clumsily clanks about until something goes wrong.An Indiana high school student recently had a better idea. He collected syringes for pistons and voltage converters from old computer printers, along with other spare parts. If he had simply assembled them and wired the result into his computer, he would have done well to produce the usual, clumsy robot walker. In an effort to build a better walking robot, he wired crayfish nerve cells that control walking between the robot and his computer. His computer acted as the brain while the nerve cells processed the signal as a real animal would. His robot walked more like a living creature and earned him national attention.As a result of the student's success, researchers have built robot insects with simple, computer-simulated neural networks like those in the crayfish nerve cell. The result has been robot bugs that walk much more like real insects, although not well enough to fool anyone.Such is the excellence of the work of the Creator. A few cells from a crayfish's nervous system can do so much more than all of our most sophisticated computers and programs!Psalm 8:1“O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.”Prayer: Lord, Your work is excellent in every aspect. I thank You for that and I pray that through Your Holy Spirit You would help me to be excellent at everything I do. Let all my actions be for Your glory and not for mine. Amen.REF.: Elizabeth Pennisi. "Robots Go Buggy." Science News, Vol. 140. Image: HEX BUG DELTA 03, midorisyu, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.

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I remember reading in grade school that the human appendix is a useless organ. My textbook said that scientists thought that the appendix was once used to help digest the tree bark that our supposed ape-like ancestors ate. Does the human body have "extra" parts? Do we have organs that we no longer use because we have evolved away from needing them?Atheists have argued that our "useless" organs prove that we weren't created. No Creator, they said, would make useless organs that can threaten our health. Creationists responded that since our knowledge of the human body is incomplete, we cannot say that an organ is useless simply because we are ignorant of its job.In the 1890s, scientists said that the human body has about 180 organs that are useless leftovers of our past evolution. As a result, doctors used to be quick to remove a child's tonsils. Today, we know that our tonsils have several jobs and are an important part of our immune system. Our appendix has been found to serve as a backup for other organs. If your spleen is damaged, your appendix will take over some of its functions. Wisdom teeth are important in chewing food, especially when the diet includes more coarse materials.The argument over whether we have extra parts left over from evolution has been completely won by creationists. Today, science recognizes that we have no useless leftovers from evolution.1 Peter 2:15-16“For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.”Prayer: Heavenly Father, You know all things, and we know so little. Help me to realize my error when I imagine that I know things about which I am in fact ignorant. Through Your Word, enlighten me with truth. In Jesus' Name. Amen.REF.: Jerry Bergman, Ph.D. Vestigial Organs: A Brief Summary of the Latest Research. 

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The swiftly moving bat cuts almost invisibly through the darkness, silent to all but those who can hear its ultrasonic radar. What chance does a poor night-flying cricket—prized as a tasty bat snack—have?Let’s treat this problem as if you were the Creator, faced with the problem of giving your night-flying cricket a chance against its predator. Of course, you could design the cricket so that it would stay in its hiding place at night, but then you wouldn’t have a night-flying cricket. You could give the cricket the ability to hear the bat’s radar, but that alone won’t help the cricket if he can’t get to safety.The solution our true Creator has invented to help the cricket preserve its life is another example of His engineering excellence. He has built the cricket with a single-celled bat detector that is wired into the cricket’s nervous system. The detector is triggered by the frequency that bats use for navigation. When triggered, the cell fires off up to 500 impulses per second. These impulses automatically cause the cricket to steer away from the source of the ultrasound. The most impressive engineering fact about this bat detector is that it only works if the cricket is in flight and therefore vulnerable to bats. When crickets are safe from bats—resting, hiding, eating or preening—the bat detector cell doesn’t fire any warning at all!The precise elegance that the Creator has designed into the cricket for its protection is a witness to His wisdom in caring for all He that has created. Learn more about that wisdom in the Bible.Psalm 119:154“Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.”Prayer: Dear Father, Your love is so great that it extends to all that You have made. Your love for me is deeper than I can ever know, but I thank You that I can know that You so loved me that You sent Your only Son for my salvation. Thank You for Your love. Help me to reflect that love to others. Amen.REF. Shreeve, James. The great cricket escape. Science 85, p. 83. Image: Brown Trig cricket, Katja Schulz, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.

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When penicillin was first used as an antibiotic, it was considered a wonder drug. Infections which had been fatal for thousands of years were suddenly curable. Without antibiotics, I would not be here today, and many of you would not be reading this.Man has long known that some natural substances have a natural ability to fight infections. But recently modern medicine had to step aside and acknowledge that not all medical breakthroughs are made by doctors—or even human beings.For years, it has been known that the roots and leaves of the Apsilia shrub are used as a traditional African treatment for wound and stomach aches. Researchers also observed chimpanzees swallowing the leaves of the shrub. This led them to investigate more about the leaves. They learned that Aspilia leaves and roots contain a chemical which kills some infectious bacteria, as well as fungi and worms. Researchers hope to learn whether this chemical is safe and effective for humans when taken orally.However, the mystery remains. How did the chimps discover the antibiotic nature of Aspila? We need to look to our Creator Who appears to have given the chimps this knowledge. While disease and death are not part of His original design for the creation, He was loving enough to provide medicinal help for these consequences of human sin. But the permanent cure for sin and death began with the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ.Romans 8:20-21"For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."Prayer: Dear Father, disease and death were not Your plan for the creation, but the result of man's rebellion against You. Let the wide scope of Your mercy in providing us with some earthly remedies for the results of sin fill me with even greater appreciation for Your boundless mercy and love to us in Christ. In His Name. Amen.Image: Aspilia africana plant, Peter B. Phillipson, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons + Aspilia africana flower closeup, Peter B. Phillipson. 

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It may surprise you to learn that evolution goes back to a time long before Charles Darwin. Even two thousand years ago, those who wanted to escape the inevitable conclusion that we are responsible to our Creator were trying to explain all things by appealing to natural laws.So, though he lived before Charles Darwin, Thomas Jefferson knew of evolutionary ideas because men like Immanuel Kant, James Hutton, and Thomas Malthus were promoting them. Of course, with three doctorates, well-versed in the sciences, and at home in six languages, Jefferson was as well-educated as anyone. And he pointedly rejected evolutionary ideas.Jefferson wrote against evolution and in defense of belief in the Creator. "I hold (without appeal to revelation) that when we take a view of the universe in its parts, general or particular, it is impossible for the human mind not to perceive and feel a conviction of design, consummated skill, and indefinite power, in every atom of its composition... It is impossible... for the human mind not to believe that there is, in all this design, cause, and effect, up to an ultimate cause, a Fabricator of all things... Surely this unanimous sentiment renders this more probable than that of the few other hypotheses..."We add that the creation testifies of the Creator of all, but only in the Bible do we learn of His deep love for us in Jesus Christ. Let the creation lead you to His revealed Word and love for you in Christ.Psalm 139:15"My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth."Prayer: Dear Father, when I am moved by a beautiful sunset or the sweet song of a bird to glorify You, let me be reminded to return to Your Word that I may learn even more about the forgiveness of my sins in Jesus Christ. Amen.Image: Inside the Jefferson Memorial in DC, Erik Cox, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

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What is warm-blooded, sits on its eggs like a hen, but flies much better than a hen, and has six legs? It's the bumblebee.The amazing fact that bumblebees are warm-blooded was discovered after a scientist saw a bumblebee gathering nectar one frosty morning. As it turned out, even with air temperatures near freezing, a bumblebee can maintain a body temperature of 95 F. In order for the bee's tiny body to stay warm, it has a power output that is 20 to 30 times that of a world‑class marathon runner!Bumblebees are made up of three body sections; the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. They heat their blood in the thorax, where the flight muscles are located and where the heat is most needed. This heat is regulated by the bee's circulatory system, which flows through its narrow "waist." Blood passing through this "waist" from the cooler abdomen can be heated by the sun if necessary. It then passes through a heat exchanger in which it is further heated by the warmer blood flowing away from the muscles. On a hot day, the bee does the neatest trick of all. It actually changes its circulatory system, so that fresh blood coming to the wing muscles is not heated at all by the heat exchange system. The queen bumblebee also uses this ability to control heat to incubate her eggs at 80 degrees, like a mother hen.There is no simple form of life. What sets humans apart from other life has nothing to do with warm blood, their brains, or evolution. Humans, created in God's image, find redemption only in Jesus Christ.Genesis 1:27"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, I thank You that You do not evaluate me for what I am—a sinner. Since I have forgiveness of sins through Your Son Jesus Christ, I trust Your promise that when You look at me You see His sinless life. In His Name. AmenREF.: Jordan, William. The bee complex, Science 84.

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Evolution says that life today arose from fewer, simpler forms of life. Evolutionists tell us that life is an ever-ascending ladder of increasing complexity as new forms of life develop. For proof, they claim that the fossil record shows this kind of development of life. But is this really what the fossil record shows?It would be easy for me, as a creationist, to tell you that the fossil record shows no increase in biological complexity. But a listener recently sent me a brochure from the Yoho National Park in Canada. The brochure talks about the richness and complexity of the fossilized life forms in the Burgess Shale of the park. Published by the Environment Canada Parks Service, the brochure clearly says that the fossils in the park contradict standard evolution.Let me share a few quotes with you. "Life is simpler today than it was long ago." "Long ago things used to be much more complicated. In fact, this is the central truth underlying one of the most revolutionary discoveries in the history of paleontology." "The animals of the Burgess Shale were more diverse and no less highly specialized than today's living creatures."The Bible gives us the same picture as the fossil record. Living things have always been complex. But early in the Earth's history, there were many more kinds of living things than there are today. And no fossil anywhere shows one kind of creature changing into another. The Bible has correctly predicted what is now found in the fossil record.Exodus 20:11"For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."Prayer: Dear Lord, kings and armies have tried to stand against Your Word of life to us. They are gone, and Your word remains. Let me never imagine that any man could successfully challenge Your Word, but let me treasure the Word by using it. Amen.Image: Burgess Shale community, M. Alan Kazlev, CC0, Wikimedia Commons, changes made.

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What is the Christian to think when told so often that the "facts of science" prove evolution—and disprove the Bible's story of man's history?Not all "facts" are created equal. For example, the fact that Jesus Christ was a real person is not open to interpretation. He is mentioned in the Bible and by other writings of the time—that's a fact. Evolutionists use a different meaning for the word "fact."A fossil, the "Tepexpan Man," is an example of an evolutionary "fact." Tepexpan Man is a fossil which, school children were taught, lived over 10,000 years ago. Evolutionists themselves recently proved that "Tepexpan Man" is not only less than 2,000 years old but is actually a woman! An object found in the United States was said to be a fossilized egg, possibly 16 million years old. Now it has been learned that the object is a three-to-five-year-old stomach stone from a modern mammal—possibly a cow. A giant fossil found in South Australia early in 1990 was declared to be Australia's largest dinosaur bone. Further study has now shown the object to be a fossilized tree trunk. All "facts" are not created equal.If you went to school more than 20 years ago, you need to know that most of the "facts" that you were taught in support of evolution have since been found to be either in error or open to serious question. Evolutionary "facts" are only interpretations of the world. So the Christian can follow the Scripture with confidence, knowing that the Bible is unchallenged by the "facts" of evolution.I Timothy 6:20-21"O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen."Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, as the word made Flesh, You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Give Christians a boldness of faith so that we are unintimidated by the claims against Your truth which are made by the unbelieving world. Amen.Image: The Tepexpan skull on display at the Tepexpan Museum, Mario Yaír TS, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

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According to unsubstantiated reports, it was about 50 years ago that Chinese immigrants to the United States brought some freshwater clams with them. The clams were eaten for good luck on Chinese New Year. What is substantiated is that today the clam is found in at least 35 states. That's an amazing amount of territory to cover in only 50 years for a creature that only has one foot.The spread of the Asian clam costs the industry over a billion dollars per year to clean up. Lacking enemies, it reproduces rapidly and clogs the water intake line which industry uses to cool its equipment. Scientists began to wonder how the creature could travel so rapidly even going from lake to lake and stream to stream.What scientists learned was that when the Asian calm encounters a current, it sets sail. Lifting off with its one foot, it releases a transparent film that catches the current like a sail. It sails off using its foot like a rudder. This explains not only why it spread so rapidly down rivers, but also how the clam could spread from one body of water to another during floods.The Asian clam's ability to sail is a clever design. So, too, is the balance of nature which prevents creatures from over-populating. Unfortunately, the Asian clam in the United States has few enemies to keep it under control. If evolution were true, such a lack of balance would be the rule in nature. The balance that exists, keeping each creature fed but not over-populated in their natural settings, is but another witness to the fact of the Creator.Psalm 104:24-25"O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts."Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, the balance You have designed between all living things, so that they can make their living and yet do not run out of control, shows Your continuing love toward the fallen creation. Help me to be a clear and specific witness to Your love for us in Jesus Christ. Amen.

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High drama takes place even among the tiny, almost unnoticeable creatures in even the most remote parts of the world. In the frigid waters of Antarctica there's a tiny plankton that kidnaps even tinier chemists for its protection.The tiny shrimp‑like plankton are not much larger than a grain of rice. They spend their days foraging the cold waters for food and hopefully not running into any plankton‑eating fish. The tiny creature has absolutely no defenses of its own. But this creature is not a shrimp without a plan. As it searches about, it may find an even smaller snail‑like pteropod. If it finds one, it will fasten the pteropod to its back, not harming it at all.The pteropod makes a chemical that fish hate. Plankton‑eating fish that have tried to eat one of the shrimp‑like creatures with its chemist backpack have been seen to shake their heads violently and spit the pair out. But the shrimp's captive backpack slows down his foraging for food. So after several days, the shrimp releases the pteropod unharmed, to search for more food and, hopefully soon, another pteropod.It sounds rather silly to suggest that one day, many years ago, one of these tiny plankton noticed that fish never ate pteropods because of the chemical defense they produce. Who would suggest that once he told his friends, all the shrimp‑like plankton started kidnapping pteropods? This strategy was obviously taught to the plankton by the Creator Himself.Job 35:10-11"But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night; Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?"Prayer: Dear Lord, there is nothing that You have made that You do not care about. Fill me with the same love and concern for what You have created. Help me to love my fellow human beings as you do. Amen.REF.: Amato, Ivan. Kidnapped plankton shares its defenses. Science News, v. 138. Image: Unidentified plankton, NOAA's National Ocean Service, PD, Wikimedia Commons.

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