I’m not sure what you call them in your neck of the woods, but where I grew up they were called sticker burs – little globes of pricklies that can cause large amounts of pain to the barefooted and the four-footed. I’ve heard them called sand burs. They’re not like the polite but troublesome burs … Continue reading –>
“I have been warned [1890] that henceforth we shall have a constant contest. Science, so called, and religion will be placed in opposition to each other, because finite men do not comprehend the power and greatness of God. These words of Holy Writ were presented to me, ’Of your own selves shall men arise, speaking … Continue reading –>
Prakash was a Maoist terrorist living in the jungles of Asia. Although only in his 20s, he had risen to the position of commander for his political party in his village and the surrounding area. He had been taught to torture or kill anyone who did not follow the teachings of his political party or … Continue reading –>
Psalm 8 is one of the best-loved of the psalms. To David, as a believer in God, the Creation spoke of the Lord’s majesty and love. What specific lessons did David see in the Creation, as recorded in Psalm 8? Also, considering what we know about the creation today-the moon and the stars and so forth-in contrast … Continue reading –>
[Thought questions for Through a Glass, Darkly Feburary 13, 2013] 1. Nature belongs to God. Have you ever turned your TV on to a nature program only to be sickened by the scenes of a lion conquering a deer and ripping it to death? Or of insects calmly devoring their mating partner after their own … Continue reading –>
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” Genesis 3:1 NLT Twenty-nine years later, there are still some things I remember from my Composition … Continue reading –>
As humans, we have gained an incredible amount of knowledge and information, especially in the last two hundred years. Knowledge and information, however, are not necessarily the same thing as “wisdom.” We have also gained a much greater understanding of the natural world than our forefathers ever had. A “greater understanding,” however, isn’t the same … Continue reading –>
Key Thought : God revealed Himself through special revelation and also through nature. But evil exists in nature because God has allowed it due to man’s fall. [Teaching plan for Through a Glass, Darkly February 11, 2013] 1. Have a volunteer read Genesis 3:17-19. A. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the … Continue reading –>
“And the Lord said unto Satan, ‘Whence comest thou?’ Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, ‘From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it’ “ (Job 1:7). “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”(1 Pet. … Continue reading –>
One thing is certain: the world in which we now live is vastly different from the one that came forth from the Lord at the end of the Creation week. Certainly, powerful evidence of beauty and design exist almost everywhere; however, we are sin-damaged beings living in and trying to understand a sin-damaged world. Even … Continue reading –>
A scientist once challenged the need for God; he argued that he could create humanity just as well as any God could. God said, “Okay, go ahead and do it.” The scientist began to gather some dirt, but God said, “Wait a minute. Make your own dirt!” Though this story is only a fable, the … Continue reading –>
Read for This week’s Study: Job 12:10;1 Cor. 6:19, 20; Gen. 3:17; John 12:31; 1 Cor. 1:18-21. Memory Text: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’” (1 Corinthians 3:19, NIV). Theologian William Paley wrote a book in 1802 entitled Natural Theology, in which he argued that one … Continue reading –>
In the late 1860s in the United States, shortly after the Civil War, which abolished slavery, a former slave owner is loading sacks of vegetables onto his wagon near the town square. Across the street he sees his former slave and yells out to him, “Get over here and load these bags onto my wagon … Continue reading –>
In his book, The Three Edwards, Thomas Costain tells the story of three kings of England from 1272 to 1377 all of whom were conveniently and confusingly named Edward. According to a well-used illustration from Costain’s book, in the mid to late 1300′s, there was a Duke Raynald III. He was extremely overweight. He was … Continue reading –>
“God gave our first parents the food He designed that the race should eat. It was contrary to His plan to have the life of any creature taken. There was to be no death in Eden. . . .”-Ellen G. White, Counsels for the Church, p. 228. “Satan represents God’s law of love as a law … Continue reading –>
They’re off! Thirty-one kayakers wearing life jackets, hats, and eager smiles embarked on a five-day mission adventure down the Rospuda River in Poland. Their colorful kayaks were crammed with sleeping bags, tents, clothes, and food, and their most important cargo—magazines and books to share with people they met along their route. Their goal was to … Continue reading –>