Old MacDonald Has a Shell

Today's Creation Moment: Old MacDonald Has a Shell

Genesis 4:2b  "And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground."

Until recently, it was thought that, excluding mankind, only a few insects, beetles, ants and termites actually farmed crops for their food supply. Then an amazing snail was found.

The snail lives on the leaves of plants growing in East Coast salt marshes. This amazing snail cuts long gashes down the leaves of cord-grass. It doesn't eat the cord-grass. Rather, it waits. Before long, a fungus begins to grow on the gash, aided by the snail's own droppings. Moreover, without the fungus, the snails do not thrive, hardly even grow, and almost half of their young die. However, when the fungus is available, they thrive and grow, losing almost none of their young.

Now the question must be asked: How could this arrangement evolve? How did these snails exist before they discovered that they needed this fungus? How did they learn to grow the fungus? If they evolved from snails that didn't need the fungus, how did they discover that they all-of-a-sudden needed the fungus? The most straightforward answer is that the same Creator Who taught us to farm also taught these snails to farm when He made them and the fungus they need to survive. He knows all of our needs before we do and provides what we need, including the forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.

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Today is the last day of Creation Moment month. I hope you all enjoyed learning about God's creation. Which creation moment was your favorite? :) 

Seismic Sayings

Today's Creation Moment: Seismic Sayings
James 2:19 "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest
well: the devils also believe, and tremble."      

Speaking, singing, writing and body language are all familiar ways of communicating. Science has now learned of another means of communication that has been going on all around us, yet we are not even aware of it.

A vast range of creatures communicate through vibration. This vibratory communication goes on at frequencies beyond human hearing. Researchers have learned that a number of insects communicate with other members of their species on the same plant by quivering the plant. A tree hopper will call its friends with a specific type of vibration when it finds a good place to feed. The cape mole rat spends nearly its entire life underground. When a solitary male is ready to mate, he thumps against the side of his burrow and then listens for a female's response. The female's burrow may be nine feet away, but she'll sense the vibration.

Golden moles are completely blind, but they hunt for live prey. Further, they live in a desert environment where there are only small stands of grass. They hunt by sensing ground vibrations generated when the wind blows through a stand of grass, where the next meal is likely to be found.

Communication is God's gift. However, we want to be clear in our communication of our faith. To do that, our communication of our faith needs to center on Jesus Christ.

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Baby May Be in Charge of His Own Birth

Today's Creation Moment: Baby May Be in Charge of His Own Birth
Galatians 4:19  "My little children, of whom I travail in birth
again until Christ be formed in you..."

 

 

Does the mother's body or the unborn baby's body trigger the birth process? Those who advise that the baby will come when it's ready may be correct.

Researchers studying mice have found that a protein called SP-A, which coats the inside of a newborn's lungs, begins to rise in concentration in the amniotic fluid shortly before birth. Normally, the protein is used by the newborn to fend off lung infections. SP-A causes the release of the unborn child's immune cells, called macrophages. These macrophages leave the amniotic fluid and go to the uterus. Once there, they produce inflammation that eventually causes the cervix to open and contractions to begin. It seems that this entire sequence of events that leads to a successful birth is controlled by the unborn infant's own body. If the researchers' findings with mice also apply to humans, many premature births might be prevented by manipulating levels of SP-A in the mother's amniotic fluid.

Every step of this system must be in place and work if there is to be a next generation. This fact in itself argues against this carefully tuned system having evolved through trial and error. Rather, it is the gift of our loving God, Who also gave us the new birth into His kingdom by calling us through the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins in His Son, Jesus Christ.

 Copyright © 2016 by Creation Moments, Inc.

Birds With a Memory to Envy

Today's Creation Moment: Birds With a Memory to Envy

Job 38:41  "Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat." 

The shy bird called Clark's nutcracker collects food during the growing season and stores it for the cold winter months. In one year, a bird will store between 22,000 and 33,000 seeds in as many as 2,500 locations, which can be more than ten miles apart. But does the little bird remember where he put all those seeds?

Biologists tracked the activity of Clark's nutcrackers in the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona. A small army of researchers tracked the birds' seed gathering and storing activities. One of the first things they discovered was that the birds quickly figured out that they were being observed. Some refused to store food when researchers were watching them. Others faked storing seeds when they were watched. Back in the lab, researchers studied the storing activity of Eurasian nutcrackers. After the birds stored seeds in a large sand floor, the birds were removed. Then the seeds they stored were dug up. When the birds were allowed to return, they quickly discovered that their seeds had been stolen, so they refused to store any more seeds. In the end, researchers concluded that the nutcrackers recover as many as two-thirds of their stored seeds within 13 months.

The remarkable memory of these little birds is their gift from God that enables them to be fed all year around.

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Plants Have Immune Systems

Today's Creation Moment: Plants Have Immune Systems

Malachi 4:2a  "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings..."

People and mammals have a multi-pronged immune system. When a bacterial infection is detected, cells begin to release nitric oxide, which kills bacteria, and they begin a cascade of other defense strategies. Ultimately, antibodies that directly attack any invader are produced.

In recent years, scientists have discovered that even in certain plants there are immune systems that respond to infectious agents. These researchers, working with mustard plants, subjected them to 15 proteins unique to infectious microbes. In response, the plants began producing nitric oxide. Measurable increases of this gas were noted within two minutes of exposure. And, just as in people and mammals, the nitric oxide began to kill real microbes. It also begins a chain of other strategies that would enable the plant to fight infection. In some cases, the entire plant – and not just the plant cells exposed to the infectious agents – also joined in fighting the "infection." Further research has shown that a number of genes in the mustard plant are involved in defense against infectious agents.

While no plants have yet been found to produce antibodies, it appears that many plants have immune systems similar to our own. At creation God said everything was "very good" so there were no diseases, but He gave us immune systems anyway because He knew we would fall, just as He already had our salvation worked out.

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Smart Leaves

Today's Creation Moment : Smart Leaves

Job 36:5 "Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom."

As science learns more about the universe, some are suggesting that they see basic mathematical principles that underlie everything. This principle, which one scientist has called "cellular automata", might be at the root of everything from astronomy to zoology.

The leaves of plants have pores that let in carbon dioxide. However, if the pores open too far or remain open too long, the plant may lose too much water. How does a plant, that has no brain or nervous system, keep these factors in balance? Researchers had always thought that the pores work independently. However, close study has shown that patches of pores in a leaf open and close together. In fact, over several minutes, open and closed patches of pores move across a leaf in patterns. As scientists studied these patterns, they realized that the pattern they were looking at was what they call "distributed, emergent computation" or "cellular automata." The individual cells of the leaves are working with each other to perform complex large-scale computations. In short, the cells of plant leaves are working together as a computer, even though they lack a central processor.

While evolutionists would hope to explain this built-in intelligence by chance, it is difficult to get around the fact that intelligence is built into the creation. Such intelligence can only be ascribed to an intelligent source, our Creator.

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Do You Know How Complex a Single Cell Is?

Today's Creation Moment: Do You Know How Complex a Single Cell Is?
Psalm 96:3  "Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people."

 

 

It wasn't until 1839 that cell theory was first described by Theodor Schwann in basically its modern form. By 1858, researcher Rudolf Virchow had learned enough about the cell to conclude that every cell must come from a preexisting cell. But Charles Darwin wasn't paying attention. The very next year he published a book, On the Origin of Species, which theorized that the first cell was formed from non living matter.

In Darwin's day, the cell was thought to be just a simple sac filled with jellied carbon. This concept is the origin of the term protoplasm. However, nearly 150 years of cell research has shown us that even protozoan and fungi cells are hugely complex. Today we know that even the simplest of these cells, eukaryotes, have an estimated 100,000 parts. Many thousands of different operations are taking place continuously within each of the cell's many parts, called organelles. Furthermore, the cell cannot live until all these parts are working properly. Even the simple E. coli bacterium has 4,000 genes. If we were able to magnify the DNA of the E. coli to the thickness of a clothesline, it would be five miles long!

There is no such thing as a "simple cell." The fact that a cell cannot live without all these thousands of parts shows that cells were created in their finished form, just as the Bible says. Even bacteria declare the glory of our Creator!

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Nasty Nannies

Today's Creation Moment: Nasty Nannies

Romans 8:21 "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."

There is a species of ant that, although quite small, makes slaves of yet smaller ants. This slave-making ant makes its nest inside acorns, and unlike the species they enslave, they have chemical weapons and powerful jaws.

While they enslave the smaller species, they don't seem to do much else, including caring for their own young. They get their captives by raiding the nests of the smaller species, stealing larvae and pupae. Once these ant babies mature in the acorn, they are expected to do all the work, including taking care of the slave-makers' eggs.

Evolutionary scientists have said that such ants could not evolve resistance against their enslavement. However, now they have learned that the slave ants do indeed resist. Once the slave-maker's eggs mature to the pupa stage, the slave-ants will neglect them or even eat them. This is behavior they do not do in their home colony. Researchers say the slave-maker ant queens lay enough eggs. However, between 60 and 80 percent never make it to maturity when cared for by captive slaves. Such population reductions help reduce future raids on their home colonies – home colonies they have never seen! Clearly, an altruistic objective.

But not all slavery is physical. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Lord and Savior when we were enslaved by sin, death and the devil.

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No Heartbeat? Don't Worry!

Today's Creation Moment: No Heartbeat? Don't Worry!

I Chronicles 16:24

"Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations."

Evolutionists say that an animal's unique features developed because the unique feature gives the animal some survival benefit. Just what that benefit might be is open to interpretation, and sometimes the explanation is a little fuzzy. Sometimes the explanation just doesn't work.

Such is the case with the marine iguanas of the Galapagos islands. These iguanas are excellent swimmers and search underwater for much of their food. However, when they are underwater they are vulnerable to the marine food chain. Sharks find the marine iguanas very tasty. With their sensitive hearing, these predators can hear the heartbeat of a hiding iguana 12 feet away. So part of the iguana's defense is to stop its heartbeat voluntarily. Amazingly, the iguana can keep its heart stopped for up to 45 minutes without suffering any ill effects.

Evolutionists explain that this ability evolved because it gives the iguana a survival advantage in shark-infested waters. Obviously, a creature's ability to stop its heart for this long requires some major internal modifications. To believe that the iguana knew all the changes it needed to intentionally stop its heart for 45 minutes without death requires quite a leap of faith! However, this evolutionary explanation just doesn't work. The Komodo dragon can also stop its heart. For the Komodo this ability provides no survival advantage, for these huge lizards have no natural enemies.

These lizards received their special abilities from their wise Creator. Their special abilities glorify Him, not mindless evolution.

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Intelligence is Built Into the Creation

Today's Creation Moment: Intelligence is Built Into the Creation

Psalm 104:24a "O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all:"

Those who believe that the universe, the Earth and everything on it are the result of mindless evolution are hard-pressed to explain the origin of intelligence. Some even try to argue that there is no such thing as intelligence, saying that we only think that certain things reflect intelligence. As we learn more about the world, it takes an ever greater faith to believe in evolution.

The incredible structure of DNA and how it works is one example. Scientists have now demonstrated, though they did not intend to do so, that DNA is itself infused with intelligence. In 1994 it was discovered that DNA could be used as a computer. Since then, much has been learned about the computing power of DNA. How can DNA be used to solve the problem of, for example, finding a flight path between seven cities so that each city is visited only once? To solve the problem, researchers assign a numerical value to individual strands of DNA. Through a series of steps, they allow the strands of DNA to interact with each other, saving the results after each step. An electronic computer can solve a math problem with 30 clauses and 50 variables in 1.6 million steps. A DNA computer can solve the same problem in only 91 steps!

DNA computers would not be possible unless intelligence was built into the very fabric of the creation. Only our all-wise Creator could have been responsible for this.

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No, Thanks. I'd Rather Walk.

Today's Creation Moment: "No, Thanks. I'd Rather Walk,"

Deuteronomy 13:4 "Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him."

As everyone knows, most sea creatures get from place to place by swimming. Others – like the octopus – use a form of jet propulsion. But one thing that no one expects to see on the sea floor is a fish that walks! And what makes this creature even more unusual is that the spotted handfish gets about on pectoral fins that look almost like human hands!

This unusual form of locomotion isn't the only almost-human thing about the spotted handfish. According to an article in Science News, they "fish the way people do, with patience and lures." In their words, "The fishes' dorsal fins' front spines have evolved flamboyant deceptions: tendrils that wiggle like worms, a pom-pom on a stick, a lump with stripes and an eyelike spot."

Once these lures bring the fish's lunch within range, in a flash the fish opens its mouth, creating a suction that sucks the prey into the fish's mouth.

Despite its skills at fishing, the spotted handfish has become one of the most endangered creatures on Earth. Efforts are underway to keep them from total extinction. Let me add that our Creator has also made considerable efforts of His own for rescuing another kind of walking creature from a fate even worse than extinction. Humans have disobeyed God and refused to walk in His ways. Thankfully, our Creator entered His creation and died on the cross to rescue us from a fate far worse than death. Oh, what a Savior!

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Dolphins At Play

Today's Creation Moment: Dolphins At Play

Job 40:20 "Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play."

Bottlenose dolphins have a reputation as intelligent, playful creatures. A newly released video shows just how intelligent their play is.

The video shows various dolphins creating rotating bubble rings which seem to hover in the water for a few seconds. The dolphins do this by first creating a water vortex with their dorsal fin. The ends of the vortex then come together into an invisible ring. Then the dolphin injects air from its blowhole into the spinning vortex. The vortex has enough energy to hold the ring from rising too quickly for play. Such a vortex bubble is about two feet across. However, dolphins might play with the vortex to create a smaller ring. Sometimes a dolphin will insert a smaller bubble ring inside a larger ring. They also create rings that flip vertically or even flip completely over. Sometimes a dolphin will create two bubble rings that collide and produce a third ring. The video shows one dolphin creating a large ring and watching it rise through the water. Just before the ring breaks the surface, the dolphin swims through the ring and leaps from the water.

Intelligence and such play as this are linked. Our Creator has not just shared intelligence and creativity with man. He clearly has shared some of His intelligence and creativity with His other creatures as well.

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What Your Tears Reveal About You

Today's Creation Moment: What Your Tears Reveal About You

Revelation 21:4 "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

Did you know that your tears, when dried and viewed under a microscope, reveal whether you were crying tears of joy, tears of pain, or just peeling an onion?

Photographer Rose-Lynn Fisher discovered what our tears reveal about us when taking pictures of the dried tears of one hundred subjects for her project called "The Topography of Tears". When viewing her own tears, Fisher said they "looked like an aerial view, almost as if I was looking down at a landscape from a plane."

The Telegraph news website points out that "tears contain oils, antibodies and enzymes and fall into three categories; basal, which are released continuously to keep the eyes lubricated; reflex, which occur in response to irritants such as when chopping onions or when getting poked in the eye; and psychic, triggered by emotions."

The website also noted that "scientists have identified that different types of tears are made up of distinct molecules. For example, those caused by emotions contain hormones which act as a painkiller and are released when we are stressed."

Wasn't that good of our Creator to supply us with tears to help us deal with both emotional and physical pain? Even better, He is always ready to comfort us in times of sorrow. Tears are not the result of mutations over millions of years. They were given to us by a Creator who experienced great emotional pain in the garden of Gethsemane and incredible physical pain when He died on the cross for you and me.

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**********
 A quick note: I wanted to let you all know that the sign up for the 
tea cup and mug exchange is open until Sep. 21st. 
Don't have a blog??? That's not a problem! Everyone is invited 
to participate, blog or no blog.  :)  Visit The Enchanting Rose
to sign up. It's always so much fun, so I hope you'll join in!

In The Blink of An Eye

Today's Creation Moment: In The Blink of An Eye

Psalm 6:6  "I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears."

The miracle takes place in the blink of an eye. Literally.

Every time you blink, you bathe the surface of your eye with a miraculous fluid called tears. Tears are not simply a salty water solution. They are made of water, but also have oils, electrolytes and sticky carbohydrates called mucins. In addition, they contain antibacterial and antiviral substances. One of these substances is called lysozyme. Any bacteria or virus that finds itself in tear fluid has a 95 percent chance of being dead within ten minutes. That blink of an eye keeps the surface of the eye properly moisturized so that our vision remains clear. Without this moisturization, your eyes would become red and painful, and, if untreated, you would probably go blind. Tear fluid also provides needed oxygen to the surface of your eyes.

But perhaps the most amazing property of tears is even more unexpected. Humans are the only creatures that cry emotional tears. Studies have shown that the ability to produce tears and cry actually helps us cope with emotional situations. There are some inherited diseases which make people unable to cry tears. Studies have shown that people with this disease cannot deal well with stress.

Tears are a blessing in many ways. But we also remember that God has promised to wipe away all our tears when we reach heaven.

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At the beginning of last year, Creation Moments started a youtube channel called Creation Moments TV.

  There are so many fascinating creation moment videos on there...I encourage you to take a look around their channel and watch some of the awesome videos. If you have a youtube account, subscribe to their channel so you can receive updates about new videos. I've included a video below. It's the same creation moment that's above, In The Blink of An Eye, just in video form. Enjoy!

Why Do We Sigh?

Today's Creation Moment: Why Do We Sigh? 

Psalm 150:6 "Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD."

As we all know, coughing is a reflex that clears our breathing passages from secretions, irritants, foreign particles and even microbes that might make us sick. We also know that sneezing is a reflex that cleanses our nasal cavity by forcefully expelling foreign particles and irritants. But why do we sigh? Is it just because we're exasperated or surprised?

Well, here's a surprise for you. Though you aren't even aware of it, you take a deep breath – that is, you sigh – about 12 times every hour. As researchers have discovered, we sigh about every five minutes to keep our lungs functioning properly.

In fact, if we didn't sigh, we would die. Researchers from UCLA and Stanford call sighing "a life-sustaining reflex that prevents air sacs located in the lungs, called alveoli, from collapsing." Study co-author Jack Feldman told LiveScience, "A human lung has as much surface area as a tennis court, and so that's all folded inside your chest." If humans didn't sigh about every five minutes, the alveoli would not be able to reinflate, causing the lungs to fail. The only way to pop alveoli open again is to take a deep breath.

Now remember that sighing is just one of thousands if not millions of vital processes going on inside your body all the time. If your body was lacking even one of those vital processes, you'd be in big trouble. So the next time you sigh, thank Your all-wise Creator!

 creationmoments.com

The Lizard That Sneezes Salt

Leviticus 11:30  "And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole."

In the arid desert regions of the southwestern United States lives a creature with so many astonishing abilities, it speaks loud and clear about God's hand in creation!

Chuckwallas are large lizards that eat desert plants loaded with salt – a diet that would kill most animals. But these lizards are equipped with special glands in their nostrils that remove salt from their bloodstream. When the glands have filled up with salt, the chuckwalla sneezes, shooting crystallized salt out of its nostrils!

Our Creator has also given them the ability to change the color of their skin. Of course, other lizards and sea creatures are able to do this to hide from predators. But chuckwallas change color for a different reason. To survive in desert regions that are freezing cold at night and blazing hot during the day, their skin is dark in color in the morning to quickly absorb the warming rays of the sun. Later in the day, their skin becomes much lighter to reflect the desert heat. How cool is that?

The chuckwalla's skin is also very loose and baggy. Here's why. When a predator approaches, the chuckwalla squeezes itself into a rocky crevice. It then swallows lots of air, blowing itself up like a balloon that's wedged so tightly in the rock, the predator can't pull it out.

Now, I ask you – how can mindless, purposeless evolution account for a creature with so many extraordinary abilities?

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Slightly Imperfection Sale

2 Corinthians 5:17  "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

We've all seen advertisements from retail establishments selling merchandise they call "slightly imperfect". Well, if you listen to evolutionists, we humans are more than slightly imperfect. As one writer claims, "From our knees to our eyeballs, our bodies are full of hack solutions."

The writer goes on to list such supposed design flaws as a spine that was ideal when we walked on all fours but fails miserably once we stood upright. Other so-called evolutionary flaws include: meandering arteries, crowded teeth and a retina that's backwards.

But here's our favorite "flaw" of the bunch – a misplaced voice box. "To keep food out of the trachea," he writes, "a leaf-shaped flap called the epiglottis reflexively covers the opening to the larynx whenever you swallow. But sometimes, the epiglottis isn't fast enough. If you're talking and laughing while eating, food may … get lodged in your airway, causing you to choke." Want to hear his solution? Evolution should help us develop blowholes like whales and then move our voice box over there. Of course, he admits, we would lose our ability to talk!

While such "improved" designs from evolutionists are – at best – laughable, the Bible does tell us that we are, indeed, seriously flawed as a result of Adam's disobedience. Thankfully, though, God doesn't just destroy every flawed human being. He sent His flawless Son to take our many sins upon Himself and to pay the penalty that sinful people could never pay.

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The Tsunami and the Animals

Today's Creation Moment: The Tsunami and the Animals

Job 12:7 "But now ask the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee;"

Almost everyone in the world today knows of the terrible disaster that struck the coasts of South East Asia. The North American news media gave daily body counts, reported human tragedy and inflicted damage yet, as far as is known, none mentioned the animals.

However, Asian reports from the damaged areas comment not only on the ability of trees to withstand the devastating waves but the almost total absence of animal deaths. It appears that the animals, from flamingoes to elephants, took off for the hills long before the humans. The Chinese have done extensive investigations on animals and earthquake detection but are at a loss to explain it. Chinese scientists simply conclude that animals have far greater sensitivity than the best of scientific instruments.

Reuters reported from Thailand that the elephants used in the tourist business at Khao Lak began to "cry" at 9 am, about the time of the quake. Some elephants broke their hefty chains, but they all raced away toward the jungle-clad hills, taking their surprised tourists and guides with them. Some people were even picked up by the elephants using their trunks. They all came to a point on high ground where the waves stopped just short of where they stood. Three thousand, eight hundred people died in that area. God is merciful to those sensitive enough to His warnings.

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Rube Goldberg Flukes

Today's Creation Moment: Rube Goldberg Flukes

Genesis 3:17b

"...cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life...."

The lancet fluke is a parasite that accomplishes its life cycle in a most complicated, Rube Goldberg, manner.

Mature lancet flukes live in cows and other grazing animals. Their eggs are spread in the manure left by the animal. Snails, which naturally eat the manure, eat the eggs. Once in the snail's intestines, the eggs hatch. The flukes make their way to the outside of the snail. Meanwhile, the irritated snail tries to get rid of the flukes by imprisoning them in balls of slime, which it leaves behind in the grass. A foraging ant is likely to find the ball, filled with hundreds of flukes. When the ant eats it, the flukes leave the ant's intestinal tract, finally settling as a cluster of nerves that control the ant's mandibles. The ant seems perfectly normal until the sun begins to set. Then the ant, under the control of the flukes, climbs a blade of grass, and the mandible clamps shut on the end. There the ant waits to be consumed by a grazer, where the lancet life cycle begins all over. Even stranger, if the ant isn't eaten by the time the sun returns, the ant returns to normal life, until the next sunset.

Although parasites are part of the curse of sin, the lancet fluke is still a testimony to God's incredible creativity.

Copyright © 2016 by Creation Moments, Inc.

The "One-and-a-Half-Feet" Orchid

Today's Creation Moment: The "One-and-a-Half-Feet" Orchid
"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."

The star orchid is an amazing flower that really shouldn't even exist. You see, its pollen is located at the bottom of a long and narrow spike – or spur – that extends behind the flower. That's also where the nectar is. So how long is that spur? The last part of the orchid's scientific name gives us the answer – a whopping one and a half feet!

That these orchids even exist means there must be a pollinator that can reach into that long spur. And indeed there is. Meet the hawk moth. The proboscis – or tongue – of this moth is over 10 inches long. By getting close enough to the orchid, the moth can reach the pollen with its long tongue. When Charles Darwin received a specimen of the star orchid in 1862, he deduced that a pollinator with a tongue as long as the spur must exist. Though some people thought he was crazy, the orchid moth was discovered 41 years later. According to evolutionists, the hawk moth "proved Darwin's theory regarding co-evolution or how plants and pollinators can influence each other's evolution."

But we would ask these people, how could the orchid survive if it arrived on the scene long before the moth? And if the moth arrived first, why would it bother to evolve such a long tongue? No, there's a more reasonable answer. They arrived at about the same time, made for each other by their all-wise Creator.

Copyright © 2016 by Creation Moments, Inc.

Sea Cucumber Man

Today's Creation Moment: The Sea Cucumber Man

Genesis 1:26a
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: 
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea..." 

Here's an idea for those who create superhero comic books and movies. Introducing the amazing Sea Cucumber Man-able to turn his skin into a hardened shield that can stop bullets cold!
Actually, this isn't entirely a joke. Someday scientists may be able to develop a material that would allow soldiers to wear comfortable and flexible bulletproof vests that can harden instantaneously when they are in combat situations.

The idea for such a thing comes from the sea cucumber. According to the book Bulletproof Feathers, the sea cucumber can crawl between narrow spaces when the whiskers of its skin are soft, but "in defensive mode, surrounding cells release molecules that cause the whiskers to bind together, forming a rigid shield."

By mimicking one of God's amazing creatures, scientists have already developed a polymeric substance that works like the sea cucumber's skin. This substance has been used to develop adaptive microelectrodes for brain implants to help doctors treat Parkinson's disease, stroke and spinal cord injuries. As the book points out, the implant is stiff when inserted into the brain and then becomes soft once it interacts with brain fluids.
  
Unfortunately, the book's author gives credit to nature for inspiring such cutting-edge technology and not to the God who created the natural world. That's the problem with too many scientists nowadays. They copy what God has created, but then they fail to give credit where credit is due!

creationmoments.com

Smart Squirrels

Today's Creation Moment: Smart Squirrels

Matthew 7:11

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"

Squirrels often seem to run about without any purpose. However, a naturalist in the State of Maine recently discovered that the squirrel's activities are well planned and efficient.
It was a cold January day when the naturalist was watching a red squirrel who seemed to be nibbling on a sugar maple. Then the squirrel would run to a tree where some of the sap had leaked out and lap at it with his tongue. The naturalist knew that conventional wisdom said it was too early to tap trees for sugar. He also knew that the sap from the trees is 98 percent water and could not provide enough energy to keep the squirrel going in cold weather. Becoming more curious, he decided to study the squirrels' activity in detail.
He discovered that the red squirrels were systematically tapping the sugar maples with a peculiar bite into the tree. Each bite went through the outer and inner bark and into the xylem where the sap runs. The squirrels were then allowing the running sap to dry until the sugar content was more than 55 percent. Not only were squirrels tapping just the maples, they only tapped them when the weather was right for the sap to run. The mad running up and down the trees actually followed a careful daily schedule of tree visitations that could include over 70 trees!
Could it be that humans learned from squirrels to tap sugar maples? Whatever the answer to that question, we know that it was the Creator Himself Who taught the squirrel the processing and use of this sugary winter treat.

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Squirrels

Today's Creation Moment: Squirrels
Genesis 1:31
And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Even though you may think of squirrels as pesky creatures (sometimes they can be), they're actually a really neat creature. Squirrels are about 8-20" long and can weigh from .33-1.5 lbs. In the wild, squirrels live for about 6 years. Did you know there are over 100 species of tree squirrels? They inhabit all of the world's continents except for Antarctica. As indicated by their name, tree squirrels are arboreal, and they often make their homes either in tree cavities or leaf nests, which are constructed of leaves, twigs, bark, and other nesting materials. All tree squirrels rely on mast (the dry fruit from woody plants and trees)-especially acorns and other nuts-for food.  Some of the squirrel's favorite foods include walnuts, sunflower seeds, fruits, and berries.  In warmer months when food is more abundant, squirrels cache (hoard) food like nuts for the winter. They'll dig small holes in the ground to bury their food, and  sometimes they'll use abandoned burrows, to hide their stash for a later date.  In an effort to deceive other animals and protect their real food caches, squirrels will pretend to bury food periodically, digging empty holes and covering them up with leaves.
Although squirrels store food in different locations, they don't always remember where they buried it. Unrecovered nuts and seeds give way to germinating trees.
Squirrels are diurnal, which means they are mainly active during the day. They don't hibernate but will usually spend long hours in their nests during the cold winter months.
Squirrels are extremely vocal-they bark, chatter, scream, and purr to communicate with one another. They also communicate through body language, by moving their tails and stomping their feet.
A squirrel's teeth never stop growing, so they must continually chew and gnaw to keep their teeth filed down.
God designed squirrels with one unique tail. They use their fluffy tails to balance when traveling through treetops and electrical lines. A squirrel's tail can also serve as a parachute to ease falls-squirrels can fall from heights of up to 100 feet without injuring themselves. Truly the squirrel is an amazing part of God's creation. 

Thanks daddy for suggesting a creation moment about squirrels. Do you have an animal in mind that you'd like to know more about? Leave a comment below!  :-) 

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I wanted to let you all know that Dairy Queen is giving away a free small Oreo Frappe per customer from 2-5 on Tuesday, September 6th.  Click here to find a participating Dairy Queen near you. 

Have fun!  :D 

Creation Moments: A Serpent Can Point to Christ

John 3:14

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up...."

The Tiger Keelback snake has a bite that delivers slow-acting venom and prevents the victim's blood from clotting. An adult human could bleed to death from a bite, but it takes a while for the snake to deliver a lethal dose.

When threatened, the average Keelback will raise its head and display its colorful swollen neck. Should the attacker bite the snake near its head, it will get a mouth full of a much stronger poison from glands in its neck. Where does that poison come from? For years scientists have debated whether the Keelback produces its own poison, or does it get the poison from some other creature that it ate?

Now research has revealed that the Keelback actually does store the poison of a poisonous toad that it eats. Moreover, it seems to know that it has this poison stored. For example, on an island where there are some Keelbacks but no toads, these Keelbacks when threatened do not display their neck to an attacker. Rather, they flee from their attacker.

God has used many ingenious designs in His creation, knowing that some would recognize this and, by doing so, acknowledge His existence, power and glory. His desire is always that we might be driven to His Word to learn of the salvation He has prepared for us in Jesus Christ.

creationmoments.com

On a side note, Sarah left for college today. If you think of her, please pray for her. 

Creation Moment Month Begins

A cheery hello to you all!
As some of you may remember from previous years, September is Creation Moment month which means I'll be sharing a creation moment with you almost every day. I hope you enjoy reading them, and if you have an animal, plant, etc. in mind you would like to learn about, please leave a comment and I'll see if I can find an article.

Genesis 1:22

"And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth."

 

 

Which came first – the chicken or the egg? Well, I'm happy to report that this age-old dilemma has finally been solved. It was the chicken that came first – something that creationists have known all along. After all, the Bible tells us that God created every winged fowl and gave them the ability to reproduce after their kind.

Though atheistic evolutionists don't look for answers in the Bible, they have now come to the same conclusion as those of us who do take the Bible seriously. According to a news item in the U.K.'s DailyMail, "Researchers found that the formation of egg shells relies on a protein found only in a chicken's ovaries. Therefore, an egg can exist only if it has been inside a chicken."

The article adds that the OC-17 protein acts as a catalyst to speed up the development of the shell. This hard shell is essential to house the yolk and its protective fluids while the chick develops inside.

Professor John Harding, an evolutionist from Sheffield University's Department of Engineering Materials, predictably left God out of the picture when he said, "Nature has found innovative solutions that work for all kinds of problems in materials science and technology – we can learn a lot from them."

Professor Harding, the only reason why we find innovative solutions in nature for all kinds of problems is because nature itself reflects the creative genius of its Creator!

creationmoments.com

If you'd like to see the post I wrote about chickens, click here.

Have a good and godly day! :-)