Tag: Genesis

Why I believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture (Updated)

1 Thessalonians 5:9 “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

The church is not destined for wrath, we are to encourage one another, not live in fear. Fear is not a virtue of God. 2 Timothy 1:3 Paul writes to Timothy: “I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

Romans 5:9“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

John 14:3 ““And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

Jesus is preparing a place for us in Heaven.

1 Thessalonians 13 ““But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,[d] that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.”” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

Revelation 19:6 “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,”

““Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
    the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.””

9 And the angel said[a] to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, ““These are the true words of God.”” 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, ““You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.”” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

Why would God make His bride go through the tribulation period and then welcome us into his kingdom for the marriage supper of the Lamb? God is not a wife beater.

2 Thessalonians 2:7 “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

You think we live in an evil time now, wait until the church is gone, that is when there will be lawlessness.

2 Timothy 3:1 “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

The Lesson of the Fig Tree: Luke 21:29And he told them a parable: ““Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So

also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.””

There is a generation that will now pass away, that will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord.

34“” But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.””

We must pray that we have the strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, the tribulation period.

Mathew 24:36“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,[b] but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Bible Gateway 2026)

Just like in the days of Noah they were going about their usual business, and they didn’t know that there was going to be a flood or judgement, just like now, in the last days, the unbelievers are not aware that Jesus is coming and separating the light from the darkness. The Bible says two will be out in the field, or two will be griding, and one will be taken. However, we don’t know when Jesus will come back, therefore we must stay ready and keep our lamps full.

Revelation 6:6““And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart[a] of wheat for a denarius,[b] and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

“In this verse John writes that he heard what seemed to be a voice coming from the midst of the four living creatures (Revelation 4:6–8). The voice announced that a quart of wheat was selling for a denarius and three quarts of barley cost a denarius. Symbolically, this passage seems to indicate a common experience in real-world crises: war and famine give way to inflation due to supply and demand.

A denarius in the first century was usually equal to a day’s wages, and the amount of grain given here is just enough to keep a person alive. These are also the commodities of the common person: basic staples for living. The implication seems to be that most people in this part of the tribulation are struggling just to meet their basic survival needs. This is the kind of poverty which threatens a person’s life, not merely their lifestyle.

However, the voice from the midst of the four living creatures also commanded, “Do not harm the oil and wine!” Oil and wine, in this context, are less crucial supplies, making them a form of minor luxury. The implication that these are not harmed might suggest that wealthy people would not be hurt by the economic or inflationary catastrophe. According to Revelation 13:16–17, the false prophet in Jerusalem will control commerce during the tribulation, making it extremely difficult for tribulation believers to purchase even basic commodities.” (Bible Ref 2026)

Revelation 24:22 “And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

“The biblical account of Noah begins in Genesis 6. Approximately 1,600 years had passed since the creation of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26–27). As the earth’s population exploded in number, it also exploded with evil. Long forgotten was the righteous sacrifice of Abel (Genesis 4:4) as “the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Verses 11 and 12 say, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” However, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (verse 8).

When Jesus described the events that will surround His second coming, He said, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26–27). Jesus was pointing out that, although the people of Noah’s day were totally depraved, they were not the least bit concerned about it. They were carrying on the events of their lives without a single thought of the judgment of God. Noah is described as a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), meaning he had spent years warning his friends and neighbors what the Holy God was about to do. No one listened.

The depravity and ungodly lifestyles of the entire world at that time were enough to cause the Lord to “regret that He had made man” (Genesis 6:6). Many scholars believe that part of the need to destroy every human being except Noah and his family was the sin mentioned in Genesis 6:1–4, when “the Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.” As evil reproduced and overtook the world, the most merciful act God could perform was to start over.

It is interesting that God allowed Noah nearly one hundred years to complete the building of the ark. Through all that time, God patiently waited (1 Peter 3:20). Scripture seems to imply that Noah preached to the people of that time about what was coming (Hebrews 11:7). They did not believe Noah and were content with their wickedness and idolatry. Their hearts were hard and their ears dull. No one repented, and no one cared to seek God.

Jesus said that the world will be much the same before He returns to set up His earthly kingdom (Matthew 25:31–33). He warned us to “be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Second Timothy 3:1–4 gives us a clear picture of the state of the world before Jesus comes and most likely also describes the world in the days of Noah. That verse says, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” It is becoming increasingly obvious that, to understand what the world was like in the days of Noah, we only need to watch the evening news.” (Got Questions 2026)

Travel to and Fro throughout the world and an increase in knowledge

Daniel 12:1““At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above;[a] and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. 4 But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

2 Timothy 3:1 “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

I believe we are living in the last days being spoken of above. We have artificial intelligence (AI). We have access to endless data. We can look anything up, but this manmade knowledge cannot save us from the wrath of God. A saving grace knowledge comes from the Bible. We carry our phones around with us everywhere we go, but do we tuck away in our hearts the love of Jesus Christ and the saving grace knowledge of God?  

These are a few scriptures why I believe in the pre-tribulation rapture and an article from Got Questions.

What if the first words in the Bible proved that the church won’t endure God’s wrath? Genesis 1:4 “And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.”  (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

It says God separated the light from the darkness, what if God is going to separate the believers or the light from the darkness, the unbelievers?

It’s not the first time that we have seen someone separated or taken. Enoch was taken to Heaven by God.  Genesis 5:24 “Enoch walked with God, and he was not,[c] for God took him.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

And Elijah was taken to Heaven.  2 Kings 2:11“And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

Noah was separated from the flood, “These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh,[c] for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. “(Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

Abraham and Lot were separated from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 19:27 “And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.

So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

God separated Isreal from the plagues Exodus 11:4 “So Moses said, ““Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, 5 and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 6 There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. 7 But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ 8 And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.”” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. 9 Then the Lord said to Moses, ““Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”” (Bible Gateway ESV 2026)

And God will separate the light from the darkness and save us from the great tribulation period.

The Days of Noah (Devotional)

I’ve got a question for you:  Doesn’t it feel like we are living in the Days of Noah?  What’s going on out there?  Are you paying attention to what’s going on in the world?  

On Friday, there was a shooting at a grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas, and on Thursday you probably received an Amber alert on your phone about someone that allegedly killed multiple people was found in Morrilton, Arkansas.  That’s too close to home.  it’s getting dangerous out there. 

1 Thessalonians 4:13 “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,[d] that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2024)

1 Corinthians 15: 50: “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2024)

The other day I was leaving work.  I walked out of the building to where our parking lot is and this strange feeling came over me, that I have never experienced before.  I felt a strong feeling that Jesus could come back at any time, or I could die at any second.  I thought, I might not make it across the parking lot to the truck.  So, I walked across the parking lot and got in the truck and here I am.  No-one knows when Jesus will return except the Father, but it sure feels like it could be any second.  It feels like we are living in the time of Noah. 

Matthew 24:36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,[b] but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”  (Bible Gateway ESV 2024)

Men, I don’t know when Jesus is coming back, and I don’t know when I am going to die, but I know one thing for sure.  I’m either going to die or Jesus is going to come back.  One of those two things are going to happen, and that goes for all of us and I know we are running out of time. 

Genesis 6: 11 “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh,[c] for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2024)

17 “For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2024)

This is from Got questions .org 2024 I searched what was it like in the days of Noah:

“The biblical account of Noah begins in Genesis 6. Approximately 1,600 years had passed since the creation of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26–27). As the earth’s population exploded in number, it also exploded with evil. Long forgotten was the righteous sacrifice of Abel (Genesis 4:4) as “the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Verses 11 and 12 say, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” However, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (verse 8).

When Jesus described the events that will surround His second coming, He said, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26–27). Jesus was pointing out that, although the people of Noah’s day were totally depraved, they were not the least bit concerned about it. They were carrying on the events of their lives without a single thought of the judgment of God. Noah is described as a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), meaning he had spent years warning his friends and neighbors what the Holy God was about to do. No one listened.

The depravity and ungodly lifestyles of the entire world at that time were enough to cause the Lord to “regret that He had made man” (Genesis 6:6). Many scholars believe that part of the need to destroy every human being except Noah and his family was the sin mentioned in Genesis 6:1–4, when “the Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.” As evil reproduced and overtook the world, the most merciful act God could perform was to start over.

It is interesting that God allowed Noah nearly one hundred years to complete the building of the ark. Through all that time, God patiently waited (1 Peter 3:20). Scripture seems to imply that Noah preached to the people of that time about what was coming (Hebrews 11:7). They did not believe Noah and were content with their wickedness and idolatry. Their hearts were hard and their ears dull. No one repented, and no one cared to seek God.

Jesus said that the world will be much the same before He returns to set up His earthly kingdom (Matthew 25:31–33). He warned us to “be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Second Timothy 3:1–4 gives us a clear picture of the state of the world before Jesus comes and most likely also describes the world in the days of Noah. That verse says, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” It is becoming increasingly obvious that, to understand what the world was like in the days of Noah, we only need to watch the evening news.”  (Got questions. Org 2024)

2 Peter 3:8“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,[a] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies[b] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.[c]

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (Bible Gateway ESV 2024)

This is something that is on my heart is that only eight people made it on the Ark, eight people!    When God destroyed the earth, he could only find eight people that were called righteous! There’s more people in this room right now. (Hopefully) And like I said before, it feels like we are living in the times of Noah. 

But it doesn’t have to be that way Salvation is being saved or rescued from the penalty of sin. We are all sinners, and the consequence of sin is death—not just physical death, but eternal separation from God. To be saved from your sin, you must do three things: Ask forgiveness for your sins; be willing to turn from your sins; and believe that Jesus Christ—our Lord and Savior—died for your sins and rose again. If you have done these things, you are saved! You have salvation, which means you have accepted God’s love and forgiveness, are adopted into His family and have fellowship with His people—your fellow Christians. You are free from the power of sin—a child of God! The Bible promises you eternity in heaven (Romans 10:9-10). How Are We Saved? John 3:16-17 and John 10:10 tell of the great love God has for us. Because of His love, He wants us to come to Him just as we are. He wants to have a personal relationship with us and longs for us to talk to Him freely about our sins and our needs. God revealed His love for us by sending His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins more than 2,000 years ago. Jesus understands us because He lived as a man on earth for 33 years. He lived a sinless life and paid the price for our sins by offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice on the cross. He rose from the dead three days later and went up into heaven, where He intercedes on our behalf (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25).

Guys I don’t know all your hearts, but God does.  I don’t know your walk with Christ.  But if you need to talk to someone about that.  There are people in this room that you can talk to.     

Rainbows, God, and Science

Sunday morning, May 17, 2020, I took my dog out and I witnessed a beautiful rainbow in the sky and I was reminded of the origin of the rainbow in Genesis.  God promised to not flood the Earth again. 

Genesis 9 King James Version (KJV)

9 “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.

6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of thecattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.

11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.” (Bible Gateway King James Version 2020)

It’s kind of funny, not in a laugh out loud sense, but more of a ludicrous way that scientists feel the need to explain or prove everything through scientific method which means “a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses”, (Powered by Oxford Dictionaries Bing Translator 2020), and that led me to wonder when the first scientist discovered rainbows or at least came up with “why” and “how” rainbows appear. 

According to (Coffeeshop Physics by Jim Pivarski 2011 – 2015),” Rainbows continued to be the bleeding edge of scientific research through the middle ages, with many Islamic scholars and Christian monks contributing to the problem. It often happens in science that the same discovery is made independently by two groups, simply because enough pieces of the solution are “in the air.” The idea of the Higgs boson, for instance, occurred to three independent groups at the same time: it should be called a Higgs-Englert-Brout-Guralnik-Hagen-Kibble boson. The reason that water droplets reflect light within 42 degrees and outside of 51 degrees was solved simultaneously by Persian scholar Kamāl al-Dīn Fārisī and Dominican monk Theodoric of Freiberg in the first decade of the fourteenth century.”

“Fārisī and Theodoric both approached the problem with the combination of mathematical rigor and experimental honesty that defines modern science. They both filled spherical balls with water to simulate a raindrop, measured angles of light entering and leaving the ball, and used these measurements to arrive at a correct geometrical interpretation of how light bounces around inside. However, there were errors in the details that weren’t resolved until René Descartes solved the problem in 1637.”

I mainly wanted to show when scientists started the whole process of a droplets and the temperature, the whole conditions for a rainbow to form, etc., etc.  Of course Genesis was written around 1450 – 1410 B.C. and according to Pivarski “the first part of the puzzle was solved by Aristotle (350 B.C.): why is the rainbow a bow?”  You can read the entire article here: http://coffeeshopphysics.com/articles/2011-10/30_the_discovery_of_rainbows/ It’s funny to me that God creates something and then scientists feel like they have to prove or disprove its origin, like how long the Earth has been formed, and how it was created, there may be another article about that coming soon.

Just Believe

I couldn’t sleep last night. I’ve got insomnia and I had this article stuck in my head. I got up twice to literally put pen to paper in the dark so I don’t wake up the rest of the family. I was up first at 1:30 am and again at 2 am. My best ideas come at night when I can’t sleep and if I don’t write them down, their gone the next day, no matter how much I rack my brain, I can’t remember it.

I was up last night wondering what it’s like to be a non-believer. What’s it like to not believe in God? You can either choose to believe in God and Jesus or you can believe in nothing or maybe you believe in science. Don’t you think it takes more energy being a non-believer than it does being a believer? It’s kind of sad, when you think about it. How do you fully love if you don’t believe in Jesus? That’s a big part of being a Christian, is to love like Jesus or to try, how can we ever love like Jesus, but as a Christian, we must love one another. If you don’t believe in Jesus, it almost sounds like the absence of love.

What does it take to be a believer? I’m no expert, but I think it takes a person with an open mind and a willingness to believe in something greater than yourself.

Something that I think we take for granted, is the sun rising every day. Another miracle that we take for granted is the miracle of human life leading up to child birth. I don’t believe that these things just came about on their own. I believe that God created all living things and created Heaven and Earth. Genesis 1. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of waters. 3. Then God said ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. 4. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day’ and the darkness ‘night.’ And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day,” Holy Bible NLT, Second Edition. But I believe in the bible, if your an atheist you don’t believe in the bible.

It’s hard for me to fathom not believing so I’ll chose to Just Believe.