Tag: creation

Do Miracles Still Exist?

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Do you know how a car engine works?

Can you explain how television works?

What about being able to teach someone about how water on the earth becomes rain from the sky?

I’ll bet almost everyone reading this message, right now, can do all of these things.

But, although you can explain how it works, can you make it work?

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I looked up the definition of a miracle, and (as expected) there are a few different versions, but the main idea is that it is something inexplicable, whose cause cannot be explained by scientific or other means of proof, and thereby considered to be an act of God.

That is a fine definition, don’t you think? My problem with it is that by crediting only the unexplained to God it implies that what we can explain is not by God. Therefore, humans believe that simply because they can explain how something happens that disqualifies it as being a miracle.

I can explain digestion: I eat something, it is transferred to my stomach by my esophagus, then the digestive juices in my stomach dissolve the food into its components, which are then absorbed through my intestines and transferred to the various organs in my body by means of the blood pumped by my heart.

Simple, easy to understand, all scientifically explainable.  Therefore, it isn’t really a miracle, right?

WRONG!!

The entire process is miraculous, and just because I understand how it happens, that doesn’t make it any less a miracle.

Can you create a digestive system?

The Red Sea split open to allow the Israelites to pass through. Now we all recognize that as a miracle, specifically an act of God. The Nile turning to blood, the frogs, lice, boils, etc… every plague God sent upon Egypt were all miracles.

But what about the first couple of miracles? Doesn’t the Bible tell us the magicians of Egypt were able to turn their staffs into snakes? And they also turned the water to blood, so those events couldn’t have been miracles.

Here is a cute drash I read a long time ago:

Many of the best-known scientists in the world gathered to congratulate themselves on being able to read and manipulate the entire human genome. Upon discussion, they came to the conclusion that knowing the genes that cause diseases and other health problems, soon they will no longer need God because they can control disease, and even heal genetic mutations. God asks them, “Can you make a human being out of a lump of clay?” The scientists discuss it and agree that they can. God says, “So, nu -show me.”  They go outside and collect some clay, and as they are heading back to the laboratory God says, “Hold it right there! That’s my clay…you have to use your own clay.”

The things the magicians did to match what God did are miracles because they were the result of a miracle: who created the tree from which they got their staff? Who created snakes, which is what they turned their staff into?

Whose clay is it?

Do you see my point?

People think the Age of Miracles is over because they do not recognize that everything in the world is a miracle. Everything they see, touch, smell and hear is a miracle. No matter what mankind creates, the materials that he uses are already here. The earth, the wood, the water, the elements…everything we have ever created has been made possible because God first miraculously created all the materials.

Every machine humans have created,  every species hybrid we have created, every medicine we have formulated, every everything…all miracles because God miraculously provided the materials we needed to make these things.

So the next time you see a flower bloom, or you hear a child laugh, or you see a building being built, recognize that it is the result of a miracle.

There are miracles happening everywhere, every day and the problem is that we take them for granted; just because we can explain how they happen doesn’t make them any less of a miracle.

And since all miracles come from God, that means God is in everything, everywhere, and we need to remember and appreciate that.

Thank you for being here and please subscribe and share these messages out with everyone you know. I am not in this ministry to make money but to prevent what Hosea said about my people being destroyed for lack of knowledge. This ministry is devoted to helping people get the knowledge they need to make an informed decision about God and how they should live their lives.

So, until next time L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Parashah B’resheet 2018 (In the beginning) Genesis 1:1 – 6:8

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In the beginning, there was nothing anywhere except for God, who (of course) has no beginning.

We are told about how God made the earth and everything in it, finishing with man and woman. The serpent fools the woman into eating the apple, she fools the man and they are all punished. The man and the woman have children, and the brothers are at odds with each other, ending up with the first murder. Sadly, this killing of one human by another is just the beginning.

The earth becomes populated and the evil of mankind is of such a terrible stench that it rises up to the heavens and God, seeing only one righteous man in all the world, Noah. This parashah ends with God informing Noah of his plan to destroy mankind and start over.

So much to talk about and so little time to do it.  As I was reading through this, something caught my attention that I didn’t really think about before. It is right at the beginning, Genesis 1:14-20:

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.  God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.  God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.  And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

I would like to sidestep for a second to add an interesting note: before the sun, moon, and stars were created to give light to the earth, the plants were created. Scientists will tell you that this couldn’t be possible since plants need sunlight to perform the photosynthesis which feeds them. But there is a greater and more powerful, nourishing light that existed before the sun- and that takes us to today’s message.

As I read this verse in Genesis, it reminded me of a verse at the far end of the Bible, in Revelation. You may know what I am thinking about…Revelation 22:5 where we are told:

There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. 

I think we can all agree that the term “light” is used in different ways, identifying something that can be either a physical thing or used figuratively. It can be illumination, something that removes darkness and allows us to see with our eyes. It can also be something that we see with our minds, as “seeing the light”, like the picture of a light bulb flashing on over someone’s head.

We also know that sunlight has life-giving substances within it, as well as deathly rays that can burn us. And isn’t God sort of like that, as well? He can give us nourishment from heaven, life from death and warmth to fend off the deathly cold. At the same time, he can burn us with the light of his truth.

God was the light that provided the nourishment for the plants he created before he ever made the sun, and when all things are done and God’s plan of salvation is complete he will, again, be the only light that will be needed.

The Bible identifies a definite beginning for Mankind, but there is no end. The world and pretty much everything God created will come to an end, but Mankind (those who remain faithful to God and Messiah) will have no end. And just as life was first created with only the light from God, his Shekinah glory, so we will again bask and be nourished by the Shekinah glory of God throughout all eternity.

Here at the beginning we already know what to expect at the end- living for all eternity nourished and illuminated by the light of God. No more sun, no more moon, no more stars to guide us because we won’t need them. We will never again be in darkness, physically or spiritually.

What a great thing to look forward to!

Is It Faith or Apathy?

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Some people think I am apathetic, but I don’t care what they think.

I don’t like to read posts about what Obama, Clinton or Trump have done or are doing; I don’t get involved in sports (a religion to many); I am very interested in animals, was a Docent at the Philadelphia Zoo for some 18 years,  volunteer here in Florida with the Sea Turtle Emergency Recovery Program and will soon be training to help the Florida Wildlife Hospital (where my wife, Donna, has volunteered for years) wild animal capture team recover animals in need. Yet, with all that, when I read about extinctions and watch specials about how animals are becoming more and more endangered, I don’t get all “riled up” about it.

I am not, really, an apathetic person- I do care what we are doing to the wildlife, the planet, and to each other. It is a hurt and a frustration I feel, but I get through it all by remembering what the bible says, and what is in store for us all.

My faith is what keeps me centered, and not just my faith in God and my salvation, but faithfully believing that when God judges this world, what we read about in Revelations will happen. That means that no matter what we do, nearly 2/3 of the earth will be totally destroyed: humans, animals, environment…nearly everything will be gone, and then whatever is left will be replaced. So, no matter what we do now, it is all doomed: we are all just waiting for destruction.

That means even if we recover the endangered species, fix the environment, correct Global Warming, reverse El Nino, and treat each other with mutual respect and care, it will all come to destruction, anyway. I believe the time for putting on sackcloth and sitting on the ground in ashes has passed. Just as God told Jeremiah that he shouldn’t pray for the people, I believe we are in that same place, today. Except it isn’t just  the people in Jerusalem, but the entire world population.

Truth be told…I do care. Still and all, I believe with all my heart that it is too late to make a difference. God created the world and every single life form on it, put us in charge of it all, and look what we have done to it! Not only that, look at what we have done (and are still doing) to ourselves. We are passed repentance, we have done too much, and are increasing our sin against the world and it’s creatures.

Europe is under terrorist attack from the enemy, as well as America. Soon Asia will feel the heat from North Korea and immigrants, as the rest of the world is feeling. It is not starting- it is happening! We are quickly coming to that fateful day, which will be upon us before we know it.

I know, I know- Steve is sounding like one of those nutcases holding up the bible on top of a mount of destroyed building during the Apocalypse and screaming, “REPENT! REPENT! THE END IS HERE.”

You know what? That is exactly what I am doing.

I care, but my faith in God, in that He will do as He has shown us, is paramount and overcomes my grief and sorrow at seeing what is happening in the world. I know this is all part of His plan, and that it must happen. Just as Yeshua prayed in Matthew 26:39:

 “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

It is clear (to me) that those bowls of God’s fury that we read about in Revelations are filled, and ready to be poured down upon us. We will see more destruction, more political upheaval, and more and more of our leadership being exposed as corrupted and unjust. This all has to happen to make the path straight for the enemy. Just as Yochanan (John) cried to make straight paths for the Lord, the false prophets will make a pathway straight for the Son of Perdition to come. Think about it: won’t we all desire, even cry and pray for, a deliverer to come and save us when there is no one left we can turn to? Even the elect, we are told, will be so desperate for Yeshua’s return that they will not allow themselves to be led by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) but will be fooled by these false prophets and made to take the mark of the beast.

I am not really apathetic, and faith is not a cause of apathy: faith is what overcomes apathy and gives us the strength to deal with the world as it is, and with what will come. Faith is the foundation for survival during the Tribulation, so practice your faith now. When you see tsouris in the world, pray to God that His Will be done quickly. When you hear of wars and see natural disasters occurring, pray to God that your friends and loved ones are saved before it is too late. Shout from the rooftops, talk to people in the streets, show you’re ability to handle the terrible things that happen as a sign of faith, and demonstrate the peacefulness and confidence you have in God to others, especially those who are not saved.

It is OK to be upset about what is happening in the world, and it is good to try to help, but that is a temporary bandage: don’t you think it is more important to help people make the right decision before their time to decide is over?