Creation Moments on Oneplace.com

Blood is made up of many components. Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of the body. And even though hemoglobin is based on iron, the healthy body, protected by rust inhibitors, doesn't rust. White cells and other blood components fight infection. It's difficult to decide which of the components of blood are more amazing in their design.But if awards were given to the various components of blood for the amazing ways in which they work, serum albumin would certainly be in the running. Like one of those gadgets advertised on cable television, serum albumin seems to do more things in the bloodstream than seems possible.Serum albumin, which is made by the liver, regulates the volume of your blood, helping to keep your blood pressure healthy. It also controls your blood concentration so that all the components are there in the right concentration. It stores molecules and moves them to where they are needed when they are needed. When you take an aspirin or a drug, serum albumin sees to it that the medicine gets to where it is needed. Serum albumin also prevents an enzyme that digests proteins in your digestive tract from digesting proteins in the rest of your body.Indeed, as the Bible says, much of our physical life happens in our blood. But eternal life is only found in the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross in our place—His death in our place—for the forgiveness of our sins before our Creator.Romans 5:8-9"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."Prayer: Lord, I thank You for the miracle of life. I especially thank You for the gracious and free gift of eternal life through the forgiveness of sins. When I am tempted to comfort myself with my own good life, remind me of my constant need for cleansing in your blood. Amen.REF.: Amato, I. Serum albumin seen in three dimensions. Science News. Image: Serum albumin model on abstract background, Borislav Mitev, PD, Wikimedia Commons, changes made.

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While most termites look for food underground or in mud tunnels they build over dead wood, some are literally farmers, cutting and storing hay.Many termites will go about in the dark of night chewing off pieces of wood that are taken back to their nest. In the nest the wood is stored or cured before being eaten. Some termites cannot digest the wood, so they keep underground gardens of fungi that break the wood down for them so they can digest it. But in any case, most termites never see the light of day—or even the darkness of night.But there is one species of African termite that seeks its food in the open. This termite lives in large, dome‑shaped mounds that cover a huge radiating network of tunnels. On warm nights, the termites leave their nest and go out onto the open grasslands looking for dry clumps of grass. When they find one, as many as 5,000 individuals cover the clump, each one chewing the grass into thin, half‑inch‑long strips to be carried back to the nest. The grass is stored underground as the termites build up a food supply to get them through the winter.But this African termite's habit of harvesting and storing food for winter is one that humans supposedly did not evolve until only recently in their supposed evolutionary history. How can anyone believe that termites could figure out how to harvest and store food before humans did? Even the termite tells us we were created.Proverbs 6:6-8"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank You that Your creation is filled with so much intelligence. Take my intelligence into Your service, refine it, and make me better able to witness Your truth and love in Jesus Christ to those around me. Amen.Image: Macrotermes bellicosus minor soldier, ETF89, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

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"The Bible is not a book of science." We hear and read that statement a lot these days. It's true that a surgeon will not be found peering into a Bible during surgery in order to perfect a surgical technique. But there is a deceptive lie hidden in the claim that the Bible is not a book of science.Back when Ignaz Semmelweis was a doctor, one out of every six women who gave birth in his hospital died of what was called "child bed fever." Dr. Semmelweis set out to discover why this was happening. He discovered that doctors were not cleaning their hands or instruments between patients. As a result, they were spreading germs from one patient to the next. Dr. Semmelweis instituted a policy requiring clean hands and instruments for each patient, and mortality rates dropped almost to zero immediately!But Dr. Semmelweis's discovery was not new knowledge. Thousands of years earlier, God had taught the Israelites, through Moses, that whenever they came into contact with a dead or diseased person, they were "unclean." Unclean people and their clothing had to be cleansed in clear running water. They also had to sprinkle their clothing with wet hyssop branches. Today, we know that hyssop contains a powerful antibacterial and antifungal agent.So when the Bible says something that touches upon an area of science, it is still technically accurate and correct. After all, the Author of the Bible is also the Author of everything that science studies!Numbers 19:18"And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:"Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, the world declares the Bible, Your Word, out of date and then ignores it, to its own great loss. I, therefore, ask you to forgive me for Jesus' sake, for my own neglect to make Your Word more a part of my life. Help me to abandon the world's way and make the Bible a practical part of my everyday life. Amen.REF.: Thompson, Bert. Dr. Semmelweis & the Bible. Reasoning from Revelation. Image: Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865), Ludwig Angerer, PD, Wikimedia Commons + Person washing hands.

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A coincidence occurs when two events that you know are not related happen in such a way that they seem related. Let's say that you receive an unexpected bill in the mail for $124.00. And in the same day's mail, you find a check for $124.00 with a note from a friend saying, "Here's the $100.00 you loaned me four years ago with some interest." What a happy coincidence.When more than two seemingly unrelated events seem to work together, you would have to conclude that they were, indeed, related.That's why scientists are beginning to wonder whether there isn't a plan to the universe after all. For life to exist in the universe, literally millions of details must come together in just the right way. If the force of gravity or the forces holding the atom together were only a tiny bit stronger or weaker, life could not exist. The carbon atom is the basis of life. Is it coincidence that the carbon atom is unique in its ability to form the long, complex chains of molecules needed for life? If stars burned at a slightly different rate than they do, life would either be burned up or frozen to death.Many scientists have actually stated in writing that they are astonished at the huge number of cosmic "coincidences" that have come together in the universe to make life possible. Some are even suggesting that the universe has an impersonal intelligence. But why cloud the issue this way? Why not simply recognize that there is indeed a Creator God who has created a whole universe just for the benefit of life—especially humankind?Psalm 40:5"Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank You that despite man's studied unbelief, You have made Yourself and Your concern for mankind so clear that even unbelievers must recognize it. Use me and all of Your people to clearly voice the more complete details of Your love for all mankind in Your innocent suffering and death on our behalf. Amen.REF.: Mallove, Eugene F. Scientists puzzle over coincidences of the cosmos. Minneapolis Star and Tribune. Image: ISS-66 Astronaut Mark Vande peers at the Earth below, NASA, PD, Wikimedia Commons.

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While most woodpeckers carve out cavities in dead trees for their nests, the red-cockaded woodpecker prefers to use the living pine trees of the southern United States. The woodpecker always chooses one of these living southern pines that is over 60 years old. While these pines can live 200 years or more, usually at about age 60, a fungus infection begins to rot away the heartwood at the center of the tree.Over months or even sometimes years, the woodpecker works his way through the living tissue to the hollow center where he will build his nest. The nest cavity is always above the level of shrub growth in order to provide a safe haven from any forest fires.In addition, surrounding foliage can give the gray rat snake access to the nest. These snakes, natural enemies of the woodpecker, can also climb pine trees. But the snake does not like the gummy resin of the pine tree. In fact, snakes that encounter the resin will begin to writhe and fall to the ground. So to make sure that its home is absolutely safe, the woodpecker drills a series of holes around the hole leading to its nest. The holes are kept open so that the nest hole is always protected by the resin.The red‑cockaded woodpecker carefully selects a site for its home in order to be safe from both fire and a natural predator—using the natural chemistry of the tree to aid its survival. Obviously this intelligence was given to the woodpecker by the Creator since trial and error cannot explain such careful planning.Acts 17:28"For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring."Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, the entire creation bears witness to the fact that You are a caring God not distantly removed from us. Grant me a clearer sense of Your presence in My life and Your desire to be even closer to me that You are now. In Jesus' Name. Amen.REF.: Mohlenbrock, Robert H. Bienville Pines, Mississippi. Natural History. Image: Picoides borealis (Red-cockaded Woodpecker) Mississippi, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.

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Imagine that you want to catch some fish, but all you see before you is dry sand. It hasn't rained in some time, and there is no sign of life. Now imagine that you also have a large tanker truck of water. So you pump the water out of the tanker and let it run into a depression in the sand. Let's say it takes you ten minutes to shut off the water and pull a net from the front seat. By the time you get to the small pool you've created, you can net fish.That's exactly what researchers did. And they caught instant fish! These fish are called salamander fish. They live only in the on‑again, off‑again lakes and ponds of southwestern Australia. When there is plenty of rain the fish live in their ponds, feeding on insect larvae. But when the ponds dry up, the fish follow the water table underground, burrowing into the sand and entering a kind of dormant state, apparently breathing through their skin.The salamander fish has no living relatives, and doesn't seem to be related to anything else in an evolutionary sense. Its skull is extra large and strong for its size, and its spinal bones are separated, providing extra power and mobility for digging in the sand.While millions of lakes and ponds with fish have dried up throughout history, there is no evidence that fish have ever learned to change their way of life so that they could continue to live during dry spells. The salamander fish was obviously created with this very special ability. Just as the Bible says, all creatures were created fully formed by God.Psalm 100:1-3"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."Prayer: Dear Lord, the salamander fish has no one but You to thank for its wonderful abilities. I thank you that this is true for all of us, and I ask that You would help me learn to see and use all the abilities You have given me to Your glory. Amen.REF.: Benowitz, Steve. Of instant fish and pickled sharks. Ohio State Quest. Image: Lepidogalaxias (slamander fish), Magdaléna Kostková, CC0, Wikimedia Commons + 256-17 Lepidogalaxias (slamander fish), Magdaléna Kostková, CC0, Wikimedia Commons + Ubs6u!d-pongsakorn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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As winter settles over the northern hemisphere of our planet, many kinds of creatures are moving toward hibernation. True hibernation is much more than just a deep, prolonged sleep. In fact, many animals that are popularly believed to hibernate, like bears, are not true hibernators. A wintering bear's body temperature seldom falls below 86 degrees, so bears are easily awakened. True hibernators actually need several hours to awaken.The ground squirrel is a true hibernator. Its hibernation pattern is triggered by an internal clock that causes hormone changes. These changes not only lower the squirrel's temperature, metabolic breathing and heart rate, but also changes the way its nervous system and cell membranes operate. If the squirrel's nervous system and cell membrane operation were not modified for hibernation, the other changes would kill it.Once the squirrel is in true hibernation, its body temperature drops to about 35 F, its heart rate drops from 350 beats per minute to about 3 beats per minute, and it will breathe only once every several minutes.The vast and complex internal changes that must take place in hibernation, affecting the function of every cell, show us that hibernation is an ability that was built into many creatures. If all these changes were due to genetic accidents, there would be no hibernating animals today. They would all have died trying to find the right combination of internal changes to allow hibernation to occur.Psalm 121:2-4"My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep."Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I see Your love for all that You have made in the ways that You have provided for good of all Your creatures. If You would be their Father through such tender loving care, how much more would You be my Father for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ! Amen.REF.: Fleming, Carol B. How do animals hibernate? Science 84.

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In the tenth chapter of the book of Joshua, we read how, as Israel fought for occupation of the Promised Land at Gibeon, Joshua asked the Lord to stop the sun so that Israel could finish its battle. According to Joshua 10:13, the sun stopped in mid‑sky and did not set for nearly an entire day. According to the most accurate dating, this was about 1400 BC.Our modern scientific age knows that the earth, which weighs billions of tons, revolves around the sun while turning on its axis. In order for the sun to stand still in its apparent movement across the sky, the earth would have to stop spinning. The earth spins at a speed of about 1,000 miles per hour. If it were to suddenly stop, the force would rip the earth apart. All of this is what science tells us. And from these facts, science therefore concludes that the sun could not have stopped in its path across the sky. But this final conclusion is not scientific, even if all the other facts are true.Joshua 10 tells us that God made the sun stop in its apparent path. Science admits that it cannot tell us what God can or cannot do. Science can only tell us that it would be very unlikely for the sun to stand still in the sky. But Joshua 10:14 tells us this and more—this had never happened before and had not happened again at the time Joshua was written.It's not surprising, then, to learn that, according to Aztec lore from Mexico, virtually on the other side of the world, the sun failed to rise for an entire day in the City of the Gods around 1400 BC.Joshua 10:13"And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day."Prayer: Dear Lord, our age is a materialistic age where we deny what we cannot understand. I confess that I cannot understand how the sun could appear to stop in the sky, but I know that Your Word says that You did this great miracle. Grant me your Holy Spirit so that I may not be infected with the doubt that so permeates the world. Amen.REF.: Sitchin, Zecharia. How Jericho fell. The Christian News. Image: The Sun and the Moon Stand Still, Camden Press, CC0, Wikimedia Commons + Aztec calendar stone, Boston Public Library, PD, Wikimedia.

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Your eye is a miraculous system of individual parts, all of which work together to provide vision. Light must be collected, focused, interpreted and then translated into signals that are sent to the brain, where the information is further processed and turned into the images we see. For as much as we know, modern science still isn't quite sure how the whole system works.Scientists would like to learn just how vision works so they can build robots that can see. Some experimental robots have been built that can see after a fashion, but even the common housefly can see better than the best machines made by science. Scientists are now studying the fly's eye in order to learn more about how vision works.The fly's eye, with its 3,000 lenses, is remarkably complex and similar to the human eye. There's no sign of evolution here. Even the fly's nervous system, which is essential in translating sight, is highly complex. Each of the fly's 3,000 lenses collects light into a tubular structure. This structure contains eight light‑sensitive cells. These cells process the light and turn it into electrical signals that then go to the fly's brain.It's easy for people to say that there is no Creator. But as soon as they begin to study any living system, they are quickly humbled and eager to learn from it. That in itself is an excellent argument for the existence of the Creator.Proverbs 1:29-31"For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices."Prayer: Dear Father, I thank You that even when man denies You, You have the last word. Help me to see those actions in my life which deny You as Creator and Jesus Christ as my Savior, and with Your help, make a better confession. In His Name. Amen.REF.: Spice, Byron. Scientific vision. Albuquerque Journal.

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When scientists finally learn how to make ceramics that can endure high temperatures and conduct electricity without resistance, they may have to thank the sea urchin for teaching them how to do it.While the ceramics that humans manufacture are fairly strong and resist forces that destroy other materials, they have their imperfections. They are not shatter-resistant. And it takes a lot of heat to create them. On the other hand, mollusks like the nautilus and sea urchin make shatterproof ceramics out of calcium carbonate—which is chalk—using no heat and a little water. And the mollusk‑created ceramics come in intricate shapes, often much more complex than those made by humans.Scientists are now studying how mollusks make their ceramics so that we can also make better ones. The processes they are learning will enable the manufacture of strong ceramic materials that conduct electricity without resistance. They will be cheap and easy to make, yet they will provide us with better building materials and even artificial bones.Scientists are learning that the secret to making superior ceramics uses cheap materials and a very complex series of chemical reactions carried out by special cells in ceramic‑making mollusks. It's definitely not a system that was worked out by no one at all through chance and accident. In effect, science is seeking to learn how the Creator made ceramics, so that we can do it too!Genesis 1:31"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."Prayer: Father, I often forget that Your wisdom extends to very material things, things which I don't usually associate with the spiritual. Teach me not to separate the spiritual and material, but see them both as coming from Your Hand. Help me to glorify You in spiritual as well as material matters. In Jesus' Name. Amen.REF.: Amato, Ivan. Better ceramics through biology. Science News. 

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