The Dead Watch and The Living Cell

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20 NASB)

The Watch
Everyone knows that the watch cannot be evolved. No matter how many billion years you give "Nature", "Nature" cannot make a watch. The simple reason is there is no mechanism for the watch to be made by "Nature". The watch is too primitive. It does not respond to outside stimuli and cannot reproduce. Because it is so primitive, only Man, with intelligence and purpose can produce it. It is too primitive for mindless and purposeless "Nature" to make.

The Cell

The living cell can be pictured as a "large bustling hugely complicated city that is occupied by micro-machines. And these micro-machines really are the heart of life, these micro-machines, which are the envy of nano-technologist all the world over are self-directed, powerful, precise accurate devices that are made up of strings of amino acids. And these micro-machines power how a cell moves. They power how a cell replicates. They power our hearts. They power our minds." (Quoted from this TED video, "David Bolinsky: Visualizing the wonder of a living cell")

The cell responds to outside stimuli and can reproduce. Its genes adapt to its surroundings and reproduce cells that are slightly different from itself. Using this ability, cells can evolve and adapt. The original cell was made from complex carbon-based molecules probably by a series of physical and chemical processes that have yet to be correctly identified, but believed to be possible by faith. Man, with all the intelligence he possessed, cannot, until today, make a living cell (because the processes are yet to be identified). Because the cell is so advanced, only mindless and purposeless "Nature" can produce it.

Evolution - Fact and Fiction

Evolutionist believes that evolution is both a fact and a theory. The quote below taken from this website gave a very clear explanation:

QUOTE
Evolution--the process by which the genetic composition of a population changes over time--is a FACT.

• This process is all that is required to produce the diversity and similarity of all life on this planet today.
• Evolution has occurred; it still is occurring; it has been directly observed, documented, demonstrated, and described. Supporting evidence for it is overwhelming (and obtained from a wide range of scientific fields).

The mechanisms by which evolution occurs (e.g., natural selection, mutation, genetic drift) are presented as SCIENTIFIC THEORIES.

• Several theories have been proposed and debated. It is far from clear how evolution proceeds in every detail.

In summary, Darwin established the FACT of evolution, and proposed a THEORY, natural selection, to explain the mechanism of evolution.
UNQUOTE

Changes in species due to natural selection, mutation, genetic drift are obvious. In fact, humans used these to create many varieties of domestic animals and plants. However, the current observation of evolution process has always been confined within the species. The evolutionist's answer is that nobody lives long enough to observe evolution beyond a species. But given enough time, a microbe can become a human. Exactly how that can happen is the THEORY of Evolution.

Creationist called the observed facts of evolution microevolution, and the theory that all life forms basically descended from some microbes macroevolution. Microevolution is a fact, but macroevolution is fiction.

Earth's Past Records - Facts And Interpretation

There are events that definitely had left evidence, but were not interpreted correctly by scientist who were observing the evidence from the past.

Sin
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12 KJV)
So the LORD God sent him away from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. (Genesis 3:23 HCSB)

The whole creation was originally perfect. The lion will eat straw like the ox (Isaiah 65:25) but sin changed everything. Now we see the lion eating the ox. We have houseflies and mosquitoes. And there is death and decay everywhere. It became the natural thing. There are earthquakes and tsunamis. Surely there must be traces left for such a major transition.

The Flood
And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. (Genesis 7:10-12 KJV)

A global flood that destroyed all living things on land must have left evidences. The question is, do we recognize these evidences?

The Missoula Floods refer to the cataclysmic floods that swept across eastern Washington and down the Columbia River Gorge. Geologist J Harlen Bretz first recognized evidence of the catastrophic floods in the 1920s, which ran against the prevailing view of uniformitarianism. (Adapted from Wikipedia Missoula Floods)

QUOTE
Bretz was ridiculed until 1940, when geologist Joe Pardee described giant ripple marks on the bed of Lake Missoula. The 50-foot-high ripples, he said, were formed by fast-flowing currents and not by the sluggish bottom water of a lake. Only sudden failure of the glacial dam could have released the 2,000-foot-deep lake. The catastrophic release of 600 cubic miles of water through a narrow gap would sweep away everything in its path. In 1979, when Bretz was 97 years old, the Geological Society of America awarded him its highest honor, the Penrose Medal.

Recognition of the Missoula flood helped other geologists identify similar landforms in Asia, Europe, Alaska, and the American Midwest, as well as on Mars.
UNQUOTE
(Source: "Biblical-Type Floods Are Real, and They're Absolutely Enormous" Discover Magazine July-August 2012 issue)

The Genesis Flood is a cataclysmic flood like the Missoula Flood, except that it was on a global scale. We read that "all the fountains of the great deep broken up". The water not only come from the sky. It also came from the ground. The evidence is there, but it ran against the prevailing view that the Genesis Flood cannot be true.

Noah And Eve
According to a BBC news article, every male living today can trace their ancestry to a man (the Y-chromosomal Adam) who lived in Africa around 59,000 years ago and every female can trace their lineage back to a single Mitochondrial Eve who lived in Africa about 150,000 years ago. Articles had been written to explain that Adam and Eve never met and were not the only person living at that time, but just a lucky pair of guy and gal whose genes survived while the rest of their peers didn't. Whatever the explanations may be given to disprove the Biblical Adam and Eve, this fact can be interpreted to confirm the Bible. Every male is descended from Noah and every female is descended from Eve. Noah and Eve never met. Many scientist remembered Adam and Eve but forgot the flood. Now we just have to work on the time span.

Little Time Counted As Much

Israel, from the time the nation was formed, spent 400 years in Egypt, 40 years in the wilderness and most of the time in the Promised Land during the days of Judges and Kings disobeying God and worshiping idols and was exiled for 70 years. Then they spent most of the time after the return from Babylonian Captivity practicing hypocrisy. Finally, they were exiled again for 1900 years for rejecting the Messiah. Israel spent so little time obeying God. Though Israel spent so little of their 3500 years of existence obeying God, it was enough to preserve the Old Testament, to show God's glory and mercy.

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25 NIV)

Jesus only preached for three and a half years, but that was enough to lay the foundation of Christianity. We are glad that God is not demanding on us. Rather, He supplied all our needs (Philippians 4:19).

We waste most of our time doing things that do not matter for eternity. It is the mercy of God and the power of God that the little that we spend for God counts as much in His sight. He is able to use the little time to achieve His eternal purpose.

Mary Tang's Blog

On the watchnight service on 31st December 2012, Mary Tang Ji' Ai mentioned that she has a blog. I searched and found some bunnies.

Redeeming The Time

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:16 KJV)
Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. (Colossians 4:5 KJV)

Greek
Redeem: ἐξαγοραζόμενοι (exagorazomenoi) - redeem, making most of
Time: καιρὸν (kairon) - time, right time, convenient season, opportunity

We must make full opportunity to do God's work. We have to redeem (i.e. buy back) time, because the days are evil. There is a price to pay. Choosing wisely among the good things, the good things that are temporal and the good things that are eternal. At the end of our lives, we must make sure that our time is used wisely, to buy gold, silver, precious stones, or wood, hay, stubble. Live, as we wish to live, when we die.

Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; (1 Corinthians 3:12 KJV)

"Everything is permissible," but not everything is helpful. "Everything is permissible," but not everything builds up. (1 Corinthians 10:23 HCSB)

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. (Psalm 90:12 KJV)

Inspired by JSM 2013 New Year's Message "The Christian Walk" preached by Dr Tan Kian Lee on 1st January 2013.

Walking The Spiritual Tightrope

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16 KJV)

Circumspectly - Greek: ἀκριβῶς (akribōs), from which we get the word acrobat.

5 Occurrences, translated in KJV as follows:
Matthew 2:8 diligently
Luke 1:3 having had perfect
Acts 18:25 diligently
Ephesians 5:15 circumspectly
1 Thessalonians 5:2 perfectly

Walk circumspectly in our Christian walk, as an acrobat walking on the tightrope, carefully, step by step, taking note of the following:

The tightrope is straight and narrow;
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:14 KJV)

The acrobat must be focused, must not carry unnecessary weight, follow the principles of physics in his walk;
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1 KJV)
An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. (2 Timothy 2:5 ESV)
Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. (1 Corinthians 9:25 ESV)

The acrobat must finish his walk, from beginning to end, he cannot stop in the middle;
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: (2 Timothy 4:7 KJV)
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (Galatians 6:9 KJV)

The acrobat cannot look down, but always look ahead at the end point.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 KJV)

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14 KJV)

Inspired by JSM 2013 New Year's Message "The Christian Walk" preached by Dr Tan Kian Lee.