Bible Archives

March 21, 2025March 20, 2025

All Humans Worship Something

The New Testament Greek word for worship is “proskuneo.” It literally means “to kiss the hand” and can be interpreted as prostrating oneself in homage. All humans worship something, and it can be politics, a cause, a movie actor/actress, a sports figure, the NFL, glamour, sex, or anything else. The New Testament identifies five kinds of worship.

VAIN WORSHIP – In Matthew 15:8-9, Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13, pointing out that vain worship involves merely following human rules and rituals. We see a form of vain worship in Colossians 2:13-23 involving asceticism, flagellation, and some eating disorders.

IGNORANT WORSHIP – In Acts 17:22-24, we find Paul telling the Greek philosophers about the God who was unknown to them. The willful ignorance described in 2 Peter 3:4-5 still exists today as people are unwilling to look at evidence. This is especially true of atheists and agnostics. (See Romans 1:20.)

PERVERTED WORSHIP – We see this in many New Age beliefs, witchcraft, and the drug culture. Worshipping the body and sex is described in Romans 1:21-25.

TRUE WORSHIP – This is the worship God desires. John 4:23-24 and 1 Corinthians 14:15 spell out what productive, useful worship is all about. True worship will involve our mind so we know what we are doing and why. The passage in 1 Corinthians 14 tells readers to “stop acting like children” and think like adults. Worship is not a spectator sport and has no financial component. Every act, every prayer, and every part of being a Christian involves knowing what you are doing and why.

All humans worship something, but true worship gives value to life and reduces fear and anxiety. We urge you to worship as John 4:23-24 calls us to. When we do that, we will find answers to our life struggles.

March 20, 2025March 19, 2025

Ten Excuses People Use

A friend in Dublin, Ireland, sent me a list of ten excuses people use. His article is titled “Ten Reasons Why I Never Wash,” but it is really ten excuses people use to avoid worshipping God and following Jesus.

1) I was forced to wash as a child, so I will not do it now.

2) People who wash are hypocrites who think they are cleaner than others.

3) There are so many kinds of soap that I could not decide which one was right, so I didn’t use any of them.

4) I used to wash, but it got boring.

5) I still wash on special occasions like Christmas.

6) None of my friends wash.

7) I’m too young to wash. When I am older and a bit dirtier, I might start washing.

8) I really don’t have time to wash.

9) The bathroom is never warm enough for me to wash.

10) The people who make soap push washing to make more money.

As I read through the Irish list on washing, I thought of what people would say to Jesus when the end comes. In Matthew 25:35, Jesus talks about people who need food or water, and we have to ask what excuse we will use for not helping people who lack food and water. In verse 36, He talks about people needing clothing, those in prison, and those who are ill. We must consider what excuses we will offer for not addressing those needs.

Humans rationalize their selfish inaction. This list of ten excuses people use should pry us from our inconsistent excuses and get us involved in following Jesus and addressing the real problems facing people today.

March 14, 2025March 14, 2025

Learn From a Lunar Eclipse

Yesterday, we told you that the total lunar eclipse visible in the Western Hemisphere last night was connected to the eclipse of 1504, which Christopher Columbus used to get the supplies he needed from the people of Jamaica. It’s an interesting story that you can read HERE. What can we learn from a lunar eclipse, and what is the connection between the eclipse of March 13-14, 2025, and the eclipse of March 1, 1504?

Eclipses come in groups or families called saros. One saros is approximately 18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours, slightly varying depending on the number of leap years. The end of each saros has an eclipse similar to the one at the beginning. Astronomers use saros to predict when an eclipse will occur.

A hypersaros consists of multiple saros cycles and lasts for 521 years. Eclipses separated by one hypersaros will appear very close to the same location in the sky and occur at nearly the same time of year. How far apart are 1504 and 2025? They are separated by 521 years, and both eclipses occurred in March about two weeks apart.

This means the eclipse of 1504 would have appeared in the same location in the sky. If you saw last night’s eclipse, you would have seen the same stars surrounding the blood moon as the natives of Jamaica saw 521 years ago. You had a chance to learn from a lunar eclipse by reliving the historical event of 1504.

Chances are you didn’t watch last night’s eclipse for the full length of totality—about an hour. However, I am sure the Jamaicans continued to watch it as they agonized in fear. Meanwhile, Columbus sat smugly in his quarters, watching his hourglass to know when the eclipse would end. Then, he could emerge to tell the natives that God accepted their apology and would restore the Moon.

You can certainly question Columbus’s tactics and his deception of the Jamaicans, but we can learn from a lunar eclipse. The pagan islanders were fooled because they were ignorant of science. Knowledge of science gave Columbus the edge. Knowing that God has designed an orderly and predictable solar system and universe frees us from the ignorance of worshiping His creation. It also frees us from believing that so-called “blood moons” are some special sign. They are part of the system God designed, making them predictable.

We can see God’s eternal power and divine nature by the things and systems He has made (Romans 1:20). The laws that govern the universe show fine-tuned design. The cosmos is not chaotic. It is the work of a God who has a plan and purpose for each of the human creatures He created in His image.

P.S. As I watched the total eclipse at about 3:15 a.m. my time, a meteorite appeared just below it. I suspect that did not happen to the Jamaicans, but it could have. For more about “blood moons” and “shooting stars,” read THIS POST. R.E.

References: iopscience.iop.org and Wikipedia

March 12, 2025March 11, 2025

Baminornis Zhenghensis Fossil

Baminornis Zhenghensis - Ancestor of Modern Birds?

For many years, the scientific community has held that Archaeopteryx was the first bird. Most textbooks maintain that it was a crow-sized half-bird and half-reptile found in Germany in 1861. Archaeopteryx had a very long tail, teeth, and wing hooks or clawed hands resembling some dinosaurs. Now, researchers in China have announced they found a fossil called Baminornis zhenghensis that is more like modern birds.

The Baminornis zhenghensis fossil was found 5,500 miles away from Archaeopteryx. Dr. Min Yang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences says it had a short tail, which is critical for flight compared to Archaeopteryx’s long tail. The tail’s bone structure is made of fused vertebrae, allowing for fan-shaped feathers, which improve flight.

There are many problems involved in this find. The Baminornis fossil lacks a skull, so researchers are guessing at the tooth structure. Both specimens are morphologically advanced, suggesting a common bird ancestor. In the biblical account, God said, “let birds multiply on the earth” (Genesis 1:22). The Bible doesn’t tell us when God created birds or what they were like. Baminornis zhenghensis was small, only about six inches long, and Archaeopteryx was slightly larger.

Much about the history of life on Earth that the Bible does not tell us has been revealed in the fossil record. The information we find shows agreement between science and the Bible. We maintain that science and faith are friends. The fossil record is incomplete, just as the biblical record is. Birds have a high body temperature and all the equipment they need to fly, but we don’t see that in other life forms. New chapters will be added to the fossil record as more fossils are found, but they will only add to what the Bible has revealed.

Reference: smithsonianmag.com

March 7, 2025March 4, 2025

Being a Christian Is More than “Churchianity”

For many people in America, being a Christian means attending a worship service in a physical building once a week, once a month, twice a year (Easter and Christmas), or only when a tragedy or death strikes the family. That is far from what God intended as revealed in His Word. It is not Christianity but might be called Churchianity.

The word “Christian” originally meant “Christ-like” or belonging to Christ. Acts 11:26 tells us, “The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.” It was not a label they put on themselves but what the people of Antioch used to describe the disciples of Christ.

In his book Why Aren’t Christians More Like Jesus? Michael J. Clemens coined the word “Churchianity” to describe those who feel that going to Church is all they must do to be in a saved relationship with God. Jesus said many times that being a disciple meant following Him 24/7, not just once a week or less.

Americans have been turned off by what has happened in Christian churches. We have all seen the arrogant pushes of televangelist fundraisers, political activism by churches, blatant hypocrisy by preachers and church leaders, cult activity, immorality, pedophilia, and abusive behavior of church leaders exposed in the media.

Galatians 5:22-23 describes what being a Christian (not a Churchianity participant) involves. Christians demonstrate love (agape), joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Romans 12:3 describes what authentic Christianity is all about: “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment according to the measure of faith God has given you.”

Reference: Why Aren’t Christians More Like Jesus? by Michael J. Clemens, Keledei Publications, ISBN 9781958139493

March 6, 2025March 4, 2025

Bad Geology and Theology

Young professionals with a church background often reject the Bible teaching they received, realizing it can’t be correct. Denominational dispensationalism teaches that the books of Daniel and Revelation predict Christ returning with His followers, defeating Russia and China in a war, and establishing a worldwide political system in Jerusalem for 1000 years. This dispensational teaching has several variations and is not only bad theology but also bad geology.

Christ’s return and establishment of a kingdom on Earth are not the whole story. This doctrine also teaches that creation took place only 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. That means all the geological events have happened in a few thousand, not billions, of years. Various video presentations by dispensationalists attempt to explain folded rock layers by saying they were laid down during the biblical flood when the rocks were soft and pliable. When the waters receded, those soft layers were folded and hardened as they dried.

Any young person with an earth science course or any college student with an introductory geology course can see the problems with this bad geology. There are different types of rocks, and they fall into three categories.

The first category is igneous rocks, molten material that can either be on Earth’s surface as lava or deep underground as an intrusive rock like granite. Erosion has exposed many layers of intrusive rocks, but they cool very slowly, allowing the formation of mineral crystals. You never see crystals in lava. The folded rock layers dispensationalists use in their presentations are granite or other intrusive rocks such as diorite or gabbro. They are not flood deposits and were never soft.

The second category is sedimentary rocks. They are usually produced by water. Chemical precipitates, like limestone, are produced by quiet water or sediment carried by moving water or wind. The size of the particles can vary depending on the violence of the water or wind. Sedimentary rocks can also be conglomerates made of cobble-sized particles or shale made of very fine grains, too small to be seen by the naked eye. Flood deposits are easy to identify and are not made up of a chemical precipitate or igneous rock.

The third rock type is metamorphic, in which the material has been changed. Marble is limestone morphed under heavy pressure. This brief summary of petrology shows that it is bad geology to suggest that folded rock layers, especially intrusive igneous rocks, were produced by a flood.

The Bible does not tell us Earth’s age. Jesus said that His kingdom was not of this world (Matthew 22:21), and Christ does not endorse war of any kind. The biblical message is spiritual, and the Kingdom Christ came to establish is His Church. The false teaching of dispensationalism drives many young people away from faith. Ignorance of what the Bible says makes a person vulnerable to false religious teachings. We offer free postage-paid Bible studies. Send your name and address to jncdge@aol.com, and we will mail you a course listing so you can choose a course to expand your Bible knowledge.

March 5, 2025March 4, 2025

Alcoholic Beverages and Cancer

In 1988, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer first classified alcoholic beverages as carcinogenic. Since then, cancer research has shown that they are a significant cause of cancer of the mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, breast, liver, and colon. A 2024 report in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians indicated that in 2019, alcohol contributed to 54,000 cancer cases in women and 42,000 cases in men. Lancet Oncology researchers reported that about 4% of all cancer cases worldwide were attributable to alcohol in 2020. The British Journal of Cancer reported that female breast cancer was as much as 1.6 times more prevalent in women who drank.

The companies marketing alcoholic beverages will fight all these studies, but some are now selling beverages with the same taste but no alcohol. Alcohol is the most destructive recreational drug in existence. If you drink, you are inviting cancer. The fact that the entertainment industry pushes alcohol in music shows the entertainment value of alcohol.

Our bodies are where God’s Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Alcoholic beverages destroy our bodies and will cause us to die, a fact that science is now confirming. Christians must educate their children and the world in general about the damage caused by drinking, both in this life and in eternity.

Reference: Science News for February 2025, Volume 207 # 2, pages 18-19

February 28, 2025February 27, 2025

Polytheism and the God of the Bible

Evidence of Christianity’s validity is the fact that every religious belief system outside of the Bible is a polytheistic invention of humans. People around the world, especially in Asia and Africa, believe in multiple “gods.” Historically, the same was true of the Greeks and Romans. Wikipedia lists 33 gods and goddesses, including Pelee (the goddess of volcanoes), Minerva (the goddess of weather), Zeus and Thor (the gods of lightning), Poseidon (the god of Horses and seafarers), Titan (the god of the oceans), to name a few. How can we compare polytheism and the God of the Bible?

The God of the Bible is incorporated in the Hebrew word “YHWH,” translated as LORD (all caps), or more correctly Yahweh. The events surrounding the death of Christ show that Yahweh controls all the things attributed to human-invented polytheistic gods. Matthew 27:45-56 describes each area of control: Three hours of darkness shows God’s control of astronomical events. The earthquake that splits rocks shows God’s control of geological events. Bringing people who had died long before showed God’s control of life. This description of God’s control over the creation is unique to the biblical account, giving evidence of the difference between polytheism and the God of the Bible.

The tearing of the veil was especially significant. The veil was commanded in Exodus 26:31-33 and Leviticus 16:2 to separate God from humanity. God was in the “Holy Place,” and humans could not even enter that place. Tearing that veil, removed it as a barrier no longer separating us from God. This incredible change is a cornerstone of Christianity. John 1:1-14 and Colossians 1:15-20 describe God taking on human form to draw people to Himself.

In Acts 17:23-30 Paul describes to the polytheistic culture in Athens the biblical concept of God: “…in Him we live and move and have our being for we are His children.” Throughout the New Testament, we find calls to “repent.” That does not mean to remember and beg forgiveness for every mistake you ever made. It means to “think differently.” In Acts 2:38, Peter calls his audience, and us today, to “repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.” We need to think differently about the nature of God.

As we compare polytheism and the God of the Bible, we are reminded of an excellent little book by J.B. Philips titled Your God is Too Small. That same admonition needs to be given to the world today. We cannot achieve the unity that Jesus prayed for and called us to (John 17:20-23) until we understand the uniqueness of Yahweh.

February 26, 2025February 26, 2025

The Mysterious Neutrino

A fascinating science story involves the mysterious neutrino. The famous Italian physicist Enrico Fermi gave it that name, which means “little neutral one.” When I was a graduate student at Indiana University, we were told that neutrinos are the binding energy holding neutrons together. A neutron consists of an electron and a proton held together, making a neutral particle. When a neutron decays, it releases an electron and a proton. Measuring the energy of these two particles leaves a tiny amount of energy unaccounted for. Neutrinos explain that missing energy.

Scientists later discovered that the mysterious neutrino is present anytime there is a change in a nucleus. Neutrinos are so tiny they can go through virtually anything, making them extremely difficult to detect or measure. Researchers obtained neutrino measurements by putting detectors made of glass spheres on the Mediterranean Sea floor and reported their findings in February of 2023. Now, we know that some neutrinos are 30 times more energetic than any previously known neutrinos. They are vastly more energetic than photons that make up visible light, X-rays, and ultraviolet rays.

The media has named the mysterious neutrinos “ghost particles” because of their properties. The truth is that neutrinos tell us that what holds matter together is not the physical material we can sense. Science does not fully understand matter and the particles of which it is made—electrons, protons, and neutrons. Those particles are made of energy in a form different from what we learned in chemistry class. What message about God can we see in the mysterious neutrinos?

The Bible tells us that God is not a man. Isaiah 55:8-9 finds God saying “…my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” In Acts 17:28, Paul described the nature of God by saying, “…in Him we live and move and have our being.” John 1:14 tells us that the God of Israel BECAME flesh and lived for a while among us.” In Exodus 33:18-23, Moses asks God to show himself, but God tells Moses no human can see Him and live (verse 20). These passages tell us that God is not a physical being, and what He does is not by the processes that humans can use.

The more we know about what holds matter together, the more we realize that God’s methods and design are not by physical processes we know, understand, or can duplicate. It reminds us of the words of David in Psalms 8:3-4: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him. You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”

References: CNN Science and Wikipedia

February 25, 2025February 24, 2025

Freshwater Mussels and Design

Humanity’s war with pollution has a surprising helper in freshwater mussels. They are susceptible to any change in the water in which they live. When anything disturbs the quality of the water, these mussels close their shells. In Poland, fifty water processing plants use these mussels to monitor any contamination of their drinking water. Technicians attach sensors to the mussel’s shells with hot glue. When four of the eight mussels close their shells, they trip a sensor alerting control computers to shut off the water supply. After three months, the mussels are removed from service and returned to the wild because they adapt to water quality and become less sensitive.

When Joe Kramarz sent this information, I thought it was a joke, but it’s true, as the National Institutes of Health reported. Our thanks to those who send us information we might miss. In this case, we find it interesting that mussels are designed to avoid pollution in their environment. Freshwater mussels are just one example of many animals that monitor their environment, including bats, whales, corals, moles, and even groundhogs. Some of these may not directly benefit humans, but they help us understand that God has designed animals for a complex and changing world.

When God challenges Job’s understanding in Job 38-41, He refers to many things in the creation that show wisdom and design. We are still learning about many of those examples, but all of them are beyond human capacity to duplicate.