LOVING GOD WITH ALL YOUR MIND

Posted on by

MANY PEOPLE, both inside and outside the church, think that Christianity means abandoning the mind. Nothing could be more wrong! Jesus’ “greatest commandment” is to love God with all your mind: our love for God must include our mind. Furthermore, the Apostle Peter told us, “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). So our hope has a reason, and we should be prepared. And the Apostle Paul instructed us: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). That sounds radical: destroying arguments (but not people) against Christianity and bringing people’s thoughts (not emotions) to follow Christ.

Jesus Himself is called the Logos (John 1:1–14), from which we derive the word ‘logic’. We are supposed to be imitators of Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1); thus, loving God with our mind should be logical. Furthermore, it was by and through Him that all things, including mankind in His image and likeness, were created. This divine image must include being programmed with language and logic.

Such programming is clear from the creation of Adam, “the first man” (1 Corinthians 15:45):

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16).

The language was not just about things Adam could see but included abstract concepts such as logic. For example, Adam could eat the fruit of “every tree” but one—‘every’ is a logical concept called a universal quantifier. Adam didn’t need to see each tree to understand this concept. But there was one fruit Adam must “not” eat—‘not’ is a logical negation. And if he disobeyed God (sinned), then he would die. This command presupposed that God programmed Adam to understand logical implication.

This passage also logically links death to sin. Many Genesis compromisers deny this teaching by claiming that Adam could not understand death without seeing a dead animal. However, Adam didn’t need to see things to understand them. E.g., how could Adam have seen a ‘not’? But since God programmed Adam to understand negation, He also programmed Adam to know that death is a negation of life. God also programmed Adam (and Eve) as adults, ready to multiply and take dominion (Genesis 1:26–28).

Creation Ministries International (CMI), including their flagship Creation magazine, exists to help readers worldwide love God with their minds and imitate Christ in logical thinking. In every issue, They interview good examples of that; in the latest issue, geographer Dr Sarah Buckland from Jamaica (pp. 18–21) and biologist Dr KeeFui Kon from Singapore (pp. 36–39). They also show how biblical creation is logically illustrated by super designs, such as the golden plover (pp. 24–25) and even the air we breathe (pp. 50–52).

An important teaching is the Flood of Noah’s day, which must logically be global (Genesis 6–8). With an intense process like the Flood, we don’t need millions of years to form the geological strata that exist today. But millions of years are necessary for evolution from goo to you via the zoo. The Flood explains the spectacular ammolite (pp. 12–13) and the wide Nile valley (p. 56). But God rescued a remnant of people (such as Shem, pp. 46–48) and animals on a massive Ark (pp. 32–35). After the Flood, people and animals migrated around the world, such as rafting monkeys (pp. 14–17).

Another great article, by Jonathan Sarfati, from the latest issue of Creation magazine: http://www.creation.com. “LEAVING YOUR BRAINS AT THE CHURCH DOOR?” in the Editorial section

GENOME MAKES EVOLUTION IMPOSSIBLE

Posted on by

The human genome is much more complex than anyone imagined. In fact, the level of complexity argues directly against any sort of evolutionary origin for the code that makes us. This episode features Dr Rob Carter and Gary Bates. This a must-watch video, just 19 minutes, particularly for young people to show that there is a master designer that has produced this incomprehensible complex universe. To my mind, no rational person could look at this video and think we were created by mutation and natural selection. And no one who is intellectually honest could do anything but be in awe of the genius of God.

BEAUTY AS FOOD FOR THE SOUL

Posted on by

“Beauty as food for the soul” comes from C.S. Lewis. The theme of beauty remained a central thread throughout Lewis’s life.

In fact, Jack (C.S. Lewis’s self-chosen childhood nickname) described himself as a beauty hunter. He spent his life seeking to find that place where all the beauty came from and of course he found it, our magnificent creator God. And that pursuit nurtured his work. Beauty, for Lewis, began in the simple beauty of the landscape and transposed itself into the literature Lewis came to love and master.

The more you study Lewis and his writing, the more you find a man of simple yet robust tastes. A man who took the time to imbibe the simplicity of the beauty around him. It was no frivolous pursuit. Beauty, as it turned out, was food for the soul.

  

Lewis enjoyed the habit of walking the garden before breakfast in order to drink in “the beauty of the morning, thanking God for the weather, the roses, the song of the birds, and anything else he could find to enjoy.”

His brother, Warren Lewis noted:

“Jack’s mind was developing and flowering on lines as unpolitical as can be imagined. His letters of the time are full of landscape and romance: they record his discovery of George MacDonald—a turning point in his life—and his first and characteristic delight in Chaucer, Scott, Malory, the Brontës, William Morris, Coleridge, de Quincey, Spenser, Swinburne, Keats.”

When was the last time you took a walk only to pick out the beauties surrounding you, thanking God for them? If you’re anything like me, it’s been too long.

You don’t have to be a literary giant, a great philosopher, or a mystic to understand and appreciate beauty. You just have to be willing to take a walk and, as Tolstoy says, look around you.

“In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.” Leo Tolstoy

CAN WE KNOW GOD IS REAL?

Posted on by

Nabeel Qureshi, ex-Muslim turned Christian apologist, died in 2017 after a year-long battle with stomach cancer. The 34-year-old left behind a wife and two-year-old daughter.

Qureshi published three books, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity, and Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward, and No God but One: Allah or Jesus? A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity.

Qureshi made the official announcement of his cancer diagnosis August 2016.

“This is an announcement that I never expected to make, but God in his infinite and sovereign wisdom has chosen me for this refining, and I pray he will be glorified through my body and my spirit. My family and I have received the news that I had advanced stomach cancer and the prognosis is quite grim,” he said in a Facebook post.

Qureshi continued to share the gospel and updates on his treatment through videos on his social media page.

In the last video before his death, he said he hoped he leaves behind a legacy of love.

“As you consider my ministry, I hope it leaves a message of love, of peace, of truth, of caring for one another,” he says. “Our God is a God of love.”

Listen to Nabeel on “Can We Know if God is Real”.

DOES GOD EXIST?

Posted on by

Reflections on the Existence of God is a timely book for this time. God is no longer considered relevant by most politicians, and academia teach the new generation that evolution and billions of years is truth. As foolish as it is, God is not even considered necessary for life. We now make up our own rules and believe we shape our own destiny.

This book is a series of short essays seeking to answer life’s most enduring question: Does God exist? It is a well-researched book that is easy to read and understand. Each essay can be read in less than 10 minutes. In the end, it is important to know whether God exists or whether He does not. There is no third option. This book seeks to determine which of these beliefs is true and which one is not.

The author Richard E. Simmons 111 is the best-selling author of The True Measure of a Man, Reliable Truth, The Power of a Humble Life, and more. His approach is structured and methodical, and his passion is transforming lives through gaining wisdom and applying truth to every area of life. In late 2000, he founded The Center for Executive Leadership, a not-for-profit, faith-based ministry in Birmingham, Alabama.

His challenge to the reader: “follow the truth wherever it leads, always remembering that the truth is your friend. It enables you to believe responsibly. It leads to your ultimate well-being.”