A Complex Question

A thought came to me last night while laying in bed an hour after the State of the Union address which went something like this;

If the smallest living things are programmed in their DNA with 3 million bits of information, all of it needed by an organism to form shape, make tiny machines to form proteins, take in energy, dispose waste, move around in it's environment, defend itself and reproduce like from like,

and if each of the trillions of cells in a human body have at least one DNA chain consisting of over 3 billion bits of information,

then the process of evolving from the simple to the more complex would require at each stage an addition of DNA information, possibly millions of links long.

So without tackling the original question of the how and why random phosphates, sugars and nitrates would self organize from nothing into a rather complex double helix shape millions of links long in the right order by chance in the first place to provide the minimum information life needs, I proceed to the second question which is;

What would be the cause of forming another million links of information input into the DNA code of any cell? I mean really, it's not like small links of DNA form by themselves in nature, floating somewhere ready to be picked up.

Mutations may change a small section of the DNA code of any living thing, for better or most likely for worse, but as far as I can determine, mutations do not cause cells to add more information.

Natural selection may activate or deactivate information already contained in DNA but it does not cause the growth of longer DNA containing more information.

This afternoon I checked a bunch of articles on line to see if scientists had any suggestions that might seem reasonable. Apart from their bold affirmations that life did indeed began millions of years ago when materials combined to form a type of algae in the acid bath of the early Earth ocean (no mention of life's need for information) these articles did not address any process or cause of addition of complexity.

I did find out two interesting things though. Science has in the last few decades discounted natural selection as a driving force for the addition of more complex features. They seem to finally realize what God said in Genesis, change in environment can cause species to morph into other like organisms but there isn't any evidence of those organisms becoming more complex in the process.

The second goes along with this. Faced with stress an organism will become less complex in order to better compete for survival. Now isn't that interesting?

Hopefully tonight, having written this down so now stress free, my body can morph into a nice comfortable sleeping position.

  

  

When I Worship

I wrote this as a spoken word piece, much more effective to be heard with a bit of emotion and passion in my voice and with the words flowing the way I think they should. Perhaps someday I will get a chance to record this on a platform such as You Tube and can re-post if it turns out well.

Just a note. I believe that worship should be directed to God and it is all about Him, not us or our needs. So by that standard this is not really a worship poem because it focuses quite a bit on what "I" experience in worship. Yet on the other hand, in the proclaimation it does at the same time exalt "Him", which is what I desire to do in all things.


When I worship

It is not a thing I do with insinuation of obligation to simply
make a declaration of my imagination

When I worship

It is not just words in a book or scrolls on a screen with
melody and harmony to determine my ultimate spiritual destiny

When I worship

Whether it's part of a congregation or in a situation
where I am alone, I am alone

with Him

the Cornerstone who has shone through the contusions of confusions
that come to all because of the world and the flesh and the devil

When I worship

I speak or sing directly to the Father in the name of His Son
and pour out to Him and to the One all that is within

When I worship

I don't condescend to pretend that without Him
I could in any way ascend close to where He
contends for the souls of men

When I worship

I close my eyes to take off the disguise that we all surmise

When I worship

I picture a tapestry of Jesus reigning in all His majesty
with thunderous sounds and golden crowns
the plenitudes of multitudes singing to the Son

Glory, Glory, Glory

and

Holy, Holy, Holy

and

Worthy, Worthy, Worthy is the lamb
who shed his blood for the sins of man
who was and is and is to come

When I worship

I'm not ashamed to feel the churning and burning
of tears while I surrender my fears

When I worship

I may groan and even moan
sometimes in languages I've not known
because He is the One who for me did atone
for all of the rebelling that had been welling inside

When I worship

I am not better than you or more holy than you
but I am being true to what He has called me to do

When I worship

Hands raised and eyes closed and heart open
I am not hoping for some pie in the sky
in the dear bye and the bye with no reason why

When I worship

I am surrendering all that I am
the past and the present and whatever I plan
to the Father and to Jesus Christ the Lamb

And it is in those moments

Submitted before Him in the civility of humility
that I feel His gentleness and experience a love
that can only come from Him and His kingdom above

When you get to the nitty-gritty
my worship may not be that pretty

Whether head in my hands
or fist raised while I stand
declaring to the Great I Am

You have washed away my stain
You have broken every chain
You have both redeemed me and esteemed me
and there is nothing else that remains

When I worship

I am the man He created me to be

Word For America - 2018

Take this for what it is worth. I have been praying about what to share next on this blog and have had in the last week several impressions to talk about Iran, with the title simple being - Iran. It was with that in mind that I was again doing some research today on the recent mass demonstrations as well as the explosive growth of Christianity there since 1979, but especially in the last two decades. However, God happened to put together something else for me to relate.

In regards to Iran I will note that it has a theocratic government reflecting its Shite brand of Islam and the government allocates massive funds and manpower both internally and externally to propagate Islam and to persecute any opposition to it. Partly because government repression is so severe, there has been great dissatisfaction with Islam among the youth. They have been turning to Christ in large numbers.

Some say the growth has gone from less than 1000 Christians in 1979 to 360,000. Then I began reading a number of over 800,000 and the last article I read suggested the true number is now about 3 million. And this is not just an economic or a cultural rejection of young people not happy with the way things are, an alternative designed to shock parents or society.

First, the potential cost for an Iranian Muslim to convert to Christianity could be imprisonment, financial and social disaster for the family and even death. Second, many have converted because they or someone in their family or village has had a dream or vision of Jesus, inviting them to come and know Him. And third, Christianity offers a relationship with God that is not fear based but grace based, an experience of love, hope and faith that God forgives sins, cares and has a plan for each life.

Today I came across a prophetic word for 2018 printed in Charisma Magazine from a Gregory Reynolds, someone I had not previously heard of but his message seemed interesting. He said that because of a vision he had he believed God was saying that this was (I think he was saying for the American Church) to be a year of threshing, where the chaff is separated from the grain. The process of threshing is not an easy one. The kernel gets tossed up, comes down and gets banged, then tossed up again, on and on until the wind (the Holy Spirit) carries the chaff away.

In other words, our faith is going to be tested like never before but it will ultimately result in a much stronger and effective Church.

I then went to Scripture to see if there was any conformation and here are the two sections I opened up to.

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.  (1 Thessalonians 5-6)

Receiving the Word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit fits very well with what I was studying about the revival in Iran as well as what was sounding like an increase of adversity for our Church here in America as well. It also fits in with another article I read in Charisma magazine that was wondering if now was the time of fulfillment of a famous Smith Wigglesworth prophecy that said that in the last great revival coming upon our land there would be a combination of the Word (knowledge and application of Scripture) and the power (an outpouring of the Holy Spirit).

OK God I thought, let's make it a little tougher on You. I'm going to open up a Psalm. What can you do with that? So I opened up randomly to Psalm 85 and put my finger on verse 8.

I will hear what God the Lord will say; For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; But let them not turn back to folly. (8) Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him. That glory may dwell in our land. (9)

In the midst of all that is raging about us in this crazy world today the Lord will speak peace to us. He will knock the chaff away and not let us return to our folly. His glory will dwell in the hearts and in the gatherings of those who fear Him.

Oh, there is a third conformation that God showed me today as well. Yesterday Jackie and I both noticed that there were what looked like bean bags laying on the edge of our lawn by the street, the kind you would play corn hole with. How and when they got there we can only speculate because the snow just melted early this week. Jackie noticed this morning that a black squirrel had been working on one of the bags. This afternoon I went out to gather them up to be able to dump them in the trash.

The bags were red and blue. There were seven of them. Five were frozen, one was just the cloth because of the squirrel, and the seventh had been bitten open with grains of corn spilling out. As I headed back into the house it occurred to me that the colors red and blue and the content of corn could certainly represent our country. In a way the black squirrel represents our spiritual enemy and he had some success. But the promise is still out there that things will unfreeze and we will have seed that will produce a great harvest.    

Happy New Year

May your New Year's be blessed

May your heart find it's rest

May your spirit seek it's thrill
in the center of His will

May you give more than last

May you learn to pray and fast

Have a happy, happy, happy New Year