Do You Really Believe What The Bible Says?

On a homeschool forum a lady raised a question about something that she read in Apologia's Exploring Creation With Zoology 3 book. The book mentions in the first chapter, which is available to read online as a sample, that all animals at creation were vegetarian. It has the scripture to back up what it is saying. Her question was "Is this a common Christian belief?" She stated that she is a Christian and had never heard this before.

Please understand, I am not the final judge of "who is or is not a Christian", but I do sometimes wonder why people will say they are Christians, yet when they are faced with some of the *hard* to believe things, they question the Bible. The original question asker wanted to know if this was a common belief. Some people responded yes, some no. Some responded by saying things like how it would be ridiculous to think that a T-Rex would have had a vegetarian diet. I really think, however, that how a person views those first few chapters of Genesis says a lot about the person and their beliefs.

Think about it: If you do not believe that God is capable of doing things that seem irrational to us (T-Rex eating plants, whales and such not eating other sea creatures) why do they think the Bible states it a certain way? And what, exactly is God capable of doing, if you feel this way? I really thought when I was younger that it did not matter if a person believed that the earth was 6,000 or billions of years old. But, if a person does not believe God from the outset of those first few chapters, I wounder why they should believe ANY of the Bible.

Some of the people who responded to this lady's question gave the verses showing why this is believed

Genesis 1:28-30:28And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 29And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food."

and

Genesis 9:1-3 1And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

Yet, they are people saying they don't believe it! Have you ever come across someone who can be shown a verse and still say "Well, I still just don't believe it."? Hmm.... I would never do that! Or would I? Do I really believe that I am am going to have to give an account for every careless word? If I believe that I would choose my words more carefully than if I not believe it. Do I really believe that children are a blessing? Am I treating my children like blessings if I yell at them, or speak those careless words to them? So, I think you see where I am going with this one. We all have areas where we need to improve. The question is, are you seeking to improve, or are you saying I just don't believe that way? What say you?

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled BLog To Bring You This Important Announcement

Elections are over. Votes have been cast and counted. The boys have their maps with each state colored red or blue to show how they voted. The people have have spoken. So, what now? Do we spend the next four years mad, fearful, mutinous, or what? My wonderful husband posted the following on his Myspace page and has allowed me to repost it here:


5 REASONS I AM NOT UPSET ABOUT THE ELECTIONS RESULTS
Current mood: hopeful
Category: Religion and Philosophy

America has spoken. We now have a new president-elect. I know some people who are ecstatic with the outcome. I know others who are worried... to put it mildly. Even though the election didn't go like I had hoped, I am not upset. Honestly, I am not even worried. I know many of my Christian friends might wonder how that is possible. Please allow me to explain myself with five reasons.

REASON 1- God is still on His throne.
Psalm 47:7-8 says, "For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne." No amount of votes can take my Father off of His throne. Even when things do not go my way God is still on His throne, ruling and reigning. He is not elected to His office. He rules in power and might. I am often encouraged when I read Revelation 4. The Apostle John had been in exile on the island of Patmos. His whole world seemed upside down. All of the other apostles were dead. A tyrant was ruling Rome. Now John was in exile for preaching the Gospel. What is the first thing he sees in his vision of heaven? He sees God seated on His throne. In the midst of John's troubles, God was still in control, ruling and reigning on His throne. He is ruling and reigning no matter what we go through as well.

REASON 2- God is still sovereign.
Psalm 103:19 says, "The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all." What does it mean to be sovereign? Psalm 115:3 says, "But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases." Let's let Scripture explain a little further what it means to be sovereign. Psalm 135:6 says, "Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps." Elections on earth cannot stop God from doing whatever He wants to do. No amount of campaigning or voting will change the fact that God is in control of the future. No one can overcome His sovereign rule.

REASON 3- Elections cannot thwart God's plans.
Job 42:2 says, "I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted." There are no plans, policies, or politicians that can thwart God's plans. Whatever He plans, He will accomplish. If He has said it, then He will do it. Isaiah 46:10 says, "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure." God was not surprised by the election results. He already knew the outcome and it is part of His eternal plan. It will not stop His desires from being accomplished.

REASON 4- God can use ANY world leader to accomplish His will.
Proverbs 21:1 says, "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes." World leaders may think that they are in charge, but Scripture teaches something different. God can use leaders to accomplish His will, with or without their approval or knowledge. What an amazing God we serve! Don't believe me? Listen to what King Nebuchadnezzar said after he had been humbled by God. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?" (Daniel 4:35) A godless world leader cannot stop God's plans and desires. On the contrary, God can and does use them to accomplish His will. Take heart! Psalm 16:9 says, "A man's heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps." The president may have an agenda, but God's agenda takes precedence. The president may have a plan, but God's plan directs his steps.

REASON 5- Nations might fall, but God's kingdom will prevail.
Matthew 16:18 says, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." This is a truth that I find great comfort in. The nation we love might falter and fail. Yet no power can overcome God's kingdom. No president, law, or legislation can stop God's kingdom. If the gates of hell cannot prevail against the church, then I am confident that a government cannot overcome it either. Governments and the laws they pass might go against everything the Bible teaches and the church stands for. That can't stop God's kingdom from growing. Why? Because our sovereign God is on His throne and HE WILL ACCOMPLISH ALL OF HIS GOOD PLEASURE. No one can stop Him or the spread of His kingdom.

So, what can we do in light of the election of our new president. 1 Timothy 2:1-3 say, "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior." Let's pray for our new leaders and trust in God that He will use them to accomplish His will. After all, He said He could and would.

Until next time, blessings to you



Currently reading :
A Tale of Two Sons: The Inside Story of a Father, His Sons, and a Shocking Murder
By John MacArthur

6:46 AM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Fire + Strep + Surgery + Falling 70 Feet Off A Mountain= Blessings (huh?)

Lately I have been reminded how God works in mysterious ways. Not just in my own life, but in the lives of those around me. Let me fill you in on some of the things happening in my family and around our (normally) quiet neighborhood.
The girl who was having family problems and came to stay with us for a while was out at the pier near their house with her family and some friends when their house burned. They lost pretty much everything. There were a few things here and there that made it out unharmed, but not too much. OK, you might be asking how a blessing can come from something so horrible. This fire has caused the mom's boyfriend to get a job. This fire caused at least three churches and I do not know how many individuals to come together and help out. This family is seeing that there are people who care about them. Hopefully, the family is emerging stronger than before. The mom's parents have helped them by paying off the loan on their vehicle. They found a mobile home that is bigger than the one they had before, and nicer, and affordable. Someone is going to move it for them at a reduced rate. The mom and I were talking about how God causes all things to happen for the good of those who love Him. I told her that it is sometimes hard to see the good when you are going through the bad, but it is there. She even opened a bit and said that she felt like God knew the family needed help, and He really is showing Himself to them.
Benjamin: I should have seen the signs. Not only did he NOT protest against cleaning his room, he VOLUNTEERED to mop both the bathrooms, his bedroom, NATHANIEL'S bedroom, AND the living room. (he has never moped anything before in his life!!) The same day he told me his head hurt. Mom interprets this as "I have a headache" So I gave him Motrin. He stopped complaining. Til the next morning when he says, "Do I have something on my head?" I looked at eh back of his head and at first did not see anything through his thick, wavy hair. I touched his head, and there was a big knot. I asked if he had bumped his head. He could not remember bumping it, but he gets bruises frequently that he can't remember what happened. But after a few days, it was not going away, and some knots popped up on his neck. So we head off to the doctor. They ask his symptoms; "uhm, he has knots, maybe lymph nodes?" "Any fever?" "No" "Any sore throat, coughing or congestion?" "No" ANY SYMPTOMS AT ALL????? "No" So they decide to do a strep test, just as a precaution. It turned out that he DID have strep. So thankfully God sent us a doctor who actually did the strep test instead of saying, "oh it is probably viral, just come back in a few days if he is not any better".
Now on to Mark: Ever since I can remember he has had frequent sinus infections. And it really takes him some time to get over them. For at least the past year, however, he NEVER really seems to fully get over it. So his doctor did a CT scan after three weeks of heavy-duty antibiotics. WOW!!! Looking at the pictures from the scan we were able to see (with our untrained eyes) that there was a whole lot of "stuff" in there. So he had to have sinus surgery. So many people have shown that they care for us. We have had so many phone calls, e-mails, and people just coming up to us asking how he is, asking if we need anything, offering to do anything for us. Sometimes it easy to get in a "everybody hates me" kind of funk, but this has reminded that there are people who care.
Last but definitely not least: A lady from our church was going home after church last Sunday when her cell phone rang. She was going a bit too fast, on a curvy mountain road, but she took her off that curvy road just long enough to reach for the phone. That split second was all it took for her to lose control of the car. She started skidding off the side of the road and so she jerked the steering wheel. Jerking it overcompensated, so she went off the other side of the road. The side that goes down. 70 feet down, to be precise. As her car was air born and falling she said she gripped the wheel and prayed for God to save her. He saved her, alright!! Her car landed at the foot of the mountain. It is messed up. She could not get out, but she was not hurt. She called 911. They drove around trying to find her. She had to honk her horn to alert them as to where she was. There were so many trees at the foot of the mountain that they could not find her. They got her out of the car and had to lift it up on ropes. She then had to follow the rescue workers up the side of the mountain on foot. (Keep in mind, the rescue workers are dressed for rescue work, she is dressed for church) When she got to the top of the mountain and saw how far she had fallen, she realized it was only by the grace of God that she was alive. God is so good that not only did she not have a scratch or bruise on her body, but, her shoes and pantyhose even made it through!! It is amazing that God cares about people so much that He even takes care of the small things.