John N Clayton Archives

September 11, 2026September 10, 2026

Insects Are God’s Tools

One of my neighbors is a mechanical genius – he can fix anything. The secret to his success is that he has a tool for every situation. It is one thing to have a tool, and another to know how to find it. When he needs a screw with a special design, width, and length, he can go to a drawer full of screws and a tool rack full of screwdrivers and have exactly what he needs to do the job. Insects are God’s tools.

Recent studies have shown that scientists have vastly undercounted insect species. Entomologist Laura Melissa Guzman of Cornell University, writing in Science News, says that previous insect species counts of six million are way too low and that the actual count is at least 14 million species and may be as high as 20 million.

The question is why so many species exist, and the reason is that insects are God’s tools to sustain life on planet Earth. Insects serve in many ways. For example, flowers must be pollinated to produce seeds that will grow into new flowers. To pollinate flowers of various sizes and shapes, insects of various sizes and shapes are God’s tools for that purpose. While some insects have particular jobs, others help control insect populations. Scientists have identified over 2,400 species of parasitoid wasps that do this.

Like my neighbor, who has the right tool for every situation, insects are God’s tools for every situation. Guzman writes, “It’s humbling how much we don’t know and how much we have left to know.” Everywhere we look in the world, we see a wonder-working hand has gone before. Insects are another of the things God has created to enable life to exist on our planet.

Reference: Science News, September 2026, page 26

August 31, 2026August 30, 2026

The UFO/UAP Issue and the Media

Yes, this picture is fake.

The media brings up old UFO/UAP stories, making it sound like we are being invaded by aliens. Sometimes the media attempts to relate this subject to biblical accounts. In 2 Kings 2:11, when Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind, some suggest that it was an alien transportation beam. Isaiah 66:15 says the Lord is coming with fire like a whirlwind, and some claim it describes an alien spacecraft coming to kidnap people for food or entertainment. The book of Revelation is heavily quoted as a picture of aliens. Revelation 19:11 says, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.” This, they suggest, is the ancient humans’ understanding of aliens and their spacecraft. Some skeptics use the UFO/UAP issue to discredit the Bible.

Politicians who are not trained in science are very happy to open a hearing where economics and human rights are not involved. When the media resurrects the UFO/UAP issue, politicians jump in to get free media coverage. A classic example of media distortion of the UFO/UAP issue is a Time magazine article for August 17, 2026 (pages 50-54). Here are some common errors the media reports that appear in this article.

1) Sightings are not modern. Time’s leading claim is from August 11, 1948. Many old claims have either been disproven or cannot be studied.

2) There is money in claims. The movie “Disclosure Day” grossed 93 million dollars worldwide on its opening weekend alone. The claims concerning Area 51 in Roswell, New Mexico, mentioned in the Time article, are fraudulent, including the museum with alien figures.

3) The American government continues to promote the UFO/UAP issue to distract Americans from the failures of politicians to answer the real problems facing American citizens today. Avi Loeb, a Harvard astrophysicist and cosmologist, was subjected to congressional questions, but he didn’t give the answers the politicians wanted.

The truth is that there is no credible evidence that aliens are controlling what happens on planet Earth. We need to solve our own problems, and Jesus Christ has told us how to do it. Soliciting alien help is not an option.

Reference: Time Magazine, August 17, 2026, pages 50-54.

August 18, 2026August 17, 2026

Octopus Mating Arm

Evolutionary theory assumes that all organisms are related in some way. Yet some life forms have a unique makeup unrelated to any other. One example is the octopus mating arm.

It’s common knowledge that an octopus has eight arms. What is less known is that one of those arms, called the hectocotylus, is the octopus mating arm. The male uses the other seven arms for hunting and exploring, but generally holds the hectocotylus close to his body when not mating. The female octopus has a mantle, a structure behind the eyes that houses all her organs. The male octopus reaches into the female’s mantle and feels around until he finds her ovary. He then slides a sac of sperm down his arm and deposits it.

It’s interesting that the male cannot see what he is doing, so the female helps by secreting enzymes that produce the sex hormone progesterone, which attracts the male octopus mating arm. The octopus is a highly visual animal in every other part of its life, but its reproductive system involves no vision. Each octopus species has its own chemical signature, so there is no interference in the reproductive system from other species.

As we learn about the octopus and its reproductive system, it seems that God has left His signature on this animal, showing that an engineer designed life. No chance explanation can easily account for how octopus reproduction originated. Romans 1:20 tells us that we can know there is a God through the things He has made.

Reference: Scientific American, June 2026, pages 16-17.

August 10, 2026August 9, 2026

Gender Dysphoria and the Church

A major challenge the Church faces is how to address young people with gender dysphoria. This issue has been complicated by medical experts and counselors who encourage young people to undergo drug treatments and surgeries for gender change. The American Medical Association and the Society of Plastic Surgeons have led the medical establishment in promoting sex-change procedures, and public-school counselors have encouraged primary and secondary students to change their gender identification and pronouns.

The long-term consequences of gender change are becoming more apparent. Males who choose to identify as women have dominated women’s sports. Men and women who have undergone gender-change surgeries are finding, years later, that they made a mistake. Recently, a New York woman sued her psychologist and plastic surgeon and was awarded two million dollars by a jury. She was pressured into a mastectomy at age 16 and put on hormone therapy. As an adult, she realized she wanted to live by her birth gender and was either not told or did not understand the consequences that would arise later in life.

The Bible makes it clear that God created man and woman with distinct gender identities. Undoing what God created is to challenge God and the biblical directives. It is essential for the Church to address gender dysphoria in young people. The cause is psychological and, in most cases, rooted in environmental problems.

The Church is not just a place to worship but a fellowship of Christ followers who must address all human needs. In Matthew 25:34-40, we see Jesus challenging those who want to enter “the kingdom prepared for them since the creation of the world.” Among the things expected of them was to take care of those who were sick. Gender dysphoria is a sickness, and like all of Satan’s attacks, it calls for loving care from His people.

Reference: The Week for February 26, 2026, page 12.

August 6, 2026August 5, 2026

A Reader’s Digest Joke

A Reader’s Digest joke on page 51 of the August/September 2026 issue conveys an important message. The joke goes like this: “An atheist is rowing on Loch Ness in Scotland when the Loch Ness Monster attacks him. The petrified atheist shouts, ‘God, help me!’ And suddenly the monster freezes. A voice from heaven booms, ‘You say you don’t believe in me, but now you ask for my help?’ The atheist shrugs, ‘Well, ten seconds ago I didn’t believe in the Loch Ness Monster either.’”

Modern-day atheists say they don’t believe in God because they haven’t seen Him and don’t see His activity in the affairs of this world. This ministry exists to show all who will look that there is evidence for God’s existence. Most people who say they don’t believe in God are unwilling to look at the evidence or admit that the Bible is more than just a human creation but came from God.

If you don’t believe in God or have doubts, please go to our website, doesgodexist.tv, and see the evidence demonstrated in the videos. Start with program #1 (don’t just skip around), and watch it. If you have questions, go to jncdge@aol.com or call 269-687-9426 and ask me. If you don’t have questions, go to program #2 and repeat the process. If we don’t have answers (and we certainly don’t have all the answers), we will send your question to someone who does. If you go through all 36 programs, you will see how much evidence there is. You can KNOW there is a God and that the Bible is His Word (Romans 1:20), but like the atheist in the Reader’s Digest joke, you have to look.

August 5, 2026August 4, 2026

The Courage to Help Someone in Need

Americans are a culture of cowards. We should have the courage to help someone in need. What do we feel when we see a homeless person, or someone on a street corner holding a cardboard sign that says, “Need Food”? Of course, some people make a business of begging and have no real need, but we cannot let that fact keep us from doing what Jesus called His followers to do.

Matthew 9:35-36 tells us: “Jesus went through all the towns and villages …healing every disease and sickness. When He saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” What is your reaction to needs? In Michael Clemen’s book Why Aren’t Christians More Like Jesus, he points out that real Christianity is doing what Jesus would do. James 2:14-26 points out that faith without compassion is useless (verse 20). Our faith must have feet. Going to a building where you sit in a pew once a week is not what being a Christian is about. Clemens calls that “Churchianity.”

Every person we read about in the Bible who was converted to Christ had the courage to help someone in need. In Acts 9, Dorcas was making garments for the needy. In Acts 16, Lydia opened her home for people who needed lodging, including Paul. Throughout the book of Acts, Barnabas was an encourager. Today, the opportunities for service include caring for people who can’t care for themselves, helping care for children, or getting groceries or medicine for a shut-in. If you have the skills, it might be maintaining or repairing a vehicle for someone who can’t afford it. It could even be visiting or using your phone to encourage someone who needs a friend.

A living, dynamic faith is a faith of action. Read James 2:14-26 and be like Christ. Jesus was not a wimp, and neither can His followers be.

August 4, 2026August 3, 2026

God’s Design of the Central Nervous System

One of the great mysteries of science has been the properties of human beings that separate them from all other living things. Pharmacist and pastor Shawn Arstein wrote that modern tools of medical research show that God’s design of the central nervous system “affects mood, motivation, memorization, pain, pleasure, action, response, love, and fear—and it also regulates the heart.” He said the miles of nerve threads that connect body parts from head to toe illustrate how God “is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:6).

The fall of Adam and Eve demonstrates how sin affects the central nervous system (CNS), causing neurological instability. In Genesis 3:10, Adam says, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” Fear, hiding, and blame-shifting resulted. The story of Cain in Genesis 4:1-12 also shows CNS instability, with anger, murder, denial, being downcast, and panic.

Adam’s rebellion altered his nervous system both physically and spiritually. In Genesis 2:17, God had told Adam, “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will certainly die.” What did God mean by that? Adam didn’t drop dead from physical poisoning. The key to understanding this death lies in the term “naked” in verse 25. God’s design of the central nervous system involves myelin surrounding the axons of neurons, insulating them and allowing electrical impulses to pass at a faster rate. According to Arstein, severing the Spirit from the image of God is like leaving the central nervous system stripped of a protective layer, allowing a short in a wire. Adam and Eve looked alive, but the connection with God vanished, making them feel vulnerable in their nakedness. Simultaneously, the knowledge of evil brought anxiety, fear, and chaos. Nakedness demanded a response, and fig leaves provided the first coping strategy for stability.

Because of God’s design of the central nervous system, the fruits of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23 enable humans to battle evil, resulting in changed behavior and stability. Achieving that stability, however, requires effort. Ephesians 4:22-24 tells us, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Seeing God’s design of the central nervous system and how He helps us, as Christians, to walk in the light instead of in darkness (1 John 1) is essential for our growth as children of God.

Reference: godandnatureasa3.org 2026 #2

July 30, 2026July 27, 2026

Broken Promises

We live in an age of broken promises. Nations break treaties. Professional athletes dishonor contracts. Politicians go back on campaign promises. Spouses abandon wedding vows. Even in business, we sign legal documents pledging to honor agreements. Yet lawyers still take businesses to court over broken promises.

The one place where we can find promises that will not be broken is in God’s Word. When God makes a promise, He always keeps it. Hebrews 6:13-15 gives us a model of God’s promises and how they are kept: “When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, ‘I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.’ And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.” We find no broken promises there.

Although we sometimes must wait to receive what God has promised, God always delivers. The most important promise God gives to you and me is the promise of salvation. God says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The PROMISE is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord God will call.”

We don’t have to worry about our future because God has promised eternal life to us. All human religions contain broken promises, but the promises of God contained in the Bible will never be broken.

July 29, 2026July 27, 2026

Chimpanzee Civil War

One of the doctrines of Darwinism is that animals are driven by a basic obedience to “survival of the fittest.” The fit survive, and the less fit do not, and that determines the future and existence of the life form. In Darwinism, war is viewed as a human creation based on politics, history, or economics. In Darwinian terms, the only time an animal would kill another of its own species is when a male kills the babies of a female he wishes to mate with to produce his own progeny. More recent research indicates a chimpanzee civil war.

Recent studies of chimpanzees in Uganda have shown that the roughly 200 chimpanzees in Kibale National Park have split into two groups of about 100 individuals and have declared war on each other. The groups have been called the Central and Western clusters. Between 2018 and 2024, researchers witnessed Western adults kill seven males and 17 infants from the Central group. An additional 14 adolescent or adult Central males disappeared during that time, and their bodies were never recovered. Researchers have documented two more attacks on Central males since the study ended in 2024.

Primatologist Jane Goodall observed a chimpanzee civil war in Gombe National Park in Tanzania, with several chimpanzees killing others in the 1970s. However, it was assumed that the action was not natural, but because humans gave Gombe chimpanzees bananas. We now know that this is normal chimpanzee behavior and that war is not restricted to humans. What we have now seen among chimpanzees has also been seen among lions, dogs, cats, and hyenas, and has been misunderstood by Darwinists. Behavior among higher forms of life is not just controlled and driven by sex and food.

Because humans have a spiritual makeup in the image of God, we can live together without violence or conflict. Read Matthew 5-7, and you see a blueprint for how that is possible. Jesus brought peace to mankind, but greed, politics, and selfishness have corrupted what God intended for us.

Reference: Scientific American for July/August 2026, pages 10-11.

July 28, 2026July 27, 2026

Dragonflies and God’s Design

Imagine what this world would be like if there were no controls on the number of bugs we have to contend with. Insects are part of the food chain on our planet, but there is a difficult balance between insects as food for birds and fish, and making life miserable for humans. God has given us dragonflies to control other insects.

Dragonflies live in various environments, from wetlands to desert pools to mountains, on every continent except Antarctica. There are 3012 species known to science, and they demonstrate God’s genius of design. To catch and eat other insects, dragonflies must be fast enough to outfly them. One dragonfly species has been clocked at 60 mph (96 km/h). They must also make quick turns, and researchers have found that they can experience 9 Gs when turning to catch prey. If a dragonfly gets upside down, it can right itself in .2 seconds.

Dragonflies have a wingbeat of 30 times per second, and their eyes can take in their surroundings and process 200 images per second, allowing them to capture and eat various insects. Dragonflies have virtually no enemies at any stage of life. In the nymph stage, they have gills, so they develop underwater and feed on mosquito larvae, among other things. Unlike most other insects, dragonflies produce relatively few offspring, helping maintain the balance between predator and prey.

Scientists study dragonflies to improve flight technology, and they amaze us with their complexity and design that allows them to be insect predators. In Job 38:39-41, God challenges Job to explain how various forms of life find food. Everywhere we look, we see that a wonder-working hand has gone before. Romans 1:20 tells us that we can know there is a God through the things He has made, and the dragonfly is an example of that truth.