Hooray For Tomorrow!

I am excited about tomorrow because it will start the 16^th straight year that Jackie and I have observed a 40 day period of prayer and fasting which we begin on the first of October. This post is taken from one I did several years ago.

Our fasting has been relatively minor. We began by abstaining from carbonated beverages, deserts, and from eating anything between meals but have made adjustments over the years to insure we have something that will work. These things have worked because for us they are difficult, they take a commitment to achieve, and we know that we can see them through to the end. In the weeks before we start we each ask the Lord to show us what we should be praying for, and then right before we begin we talk together about the burdens that God has laid on our hearts. Doing this we end up with a common prayer focus. And prayer seems to be more effective when two or more are in agreement.

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Jackie and I both believe that our annual fast has been an important part of our lives. We praise God, not just for the answers to prayer and for the spiritual growth that comes every year, but also for the goodness of our Lord and Savior, whom we appreciate more because of this time we have spent, unified in prayer and in denying the cravings of our bodies. The results of this time have been much more than seeing God move in the areas that we were praying for. They have shown us that although we may begin and end on a certain day determined by us, the God who loves us and who knows our needs is outside of time.

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For example, our fast begins on the 1st of October and ends at midnight on the 9th of November. On the first year we did our fast Jackie's dad had a major heart attack on the 10th of November. He lived for 6 more days at the critical care heart center on the fifth floor of Borgess Hospital before he went to be with his Blessed Redeemer. Harry was a man of great faith, a gifted teacher of scripture who prayed with many for salvation, for baptism in the Holy Spirit, for healing and for deliverance. The family would usually look to him to be the leader in praying for healing or for receiving a word from the Lord. His heart attack became a time for many more in the family to learn how to search the scriptures, to cry out to the Lord, and to hear and speak forth the prophetic word.

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One of the prophetic words during that time came from a vision that God gave our daughter Ceci. She was with Jackie and some of her aunts and cousins, praying intensely for Harry. They were in a semi-secluded area in a hallway near the visitors waiting room, on the 5th floor at Borgess. In the vision she saw angels with their swords drawn coming into the hospital on the 1st floor, and fighting their way up to the 5th floor, and she gave the play by play to the women as the vision unfolded. To me this vision represents the power of their collective intercessory prayer. God is showing that He is in control, and that He does respond, even if the result was not the recovery they were praying for. And one of the things that show me that God is in control is that He led Jackie and I to fast and pray prior to those events, preparing us, and especially Jackie, for the emotional strain of seeing her father die, and for the intense time of prayer and spiritual warfare that the family would be involved in.

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On the next year we ended our fast as usual at midnight on the 9th of November. Jackie had asked her mom to come and spend the night at our house because it was near the 1st anniversary of Harry's heart attack and she was worried about her mother being alone at that time. Helen wasn't able to make it, but events proved to be very interesting. There was an all day steady wind of between 40-50 mph. That evening it started gusting to 60-70 mph. Occasionally we would hear a "Whomp!", which was the sound of a tree falling somewhere nearby. The power was out before we went to bed and Jackie and I prayed for protection for ourselves, our 15 year old daughter Becky, and for our house. Shortly after ending our prayer we heard and felt the tremendous crash of trees hitting our house, followed by the scream of our daughter. I grabbed a flashlight and bolted down the dark upstairs hallway to her room, finding her huddled in a ball on the floor. There was a jagged 2 x 4 from the roof truss sticking into the middle of her mattress. Looking up past the wood and drywall and trees I could see the sky. Becky was unhurt and did not know how she ended up on the floor and Jackie and I both had the sense that an angel had intervened, moving Becky off her bed at the last second.

Two rooms sustained quite a bit of damage. The other belonged to our daughter Missy who was away at college. And that was the room where Jackie's mom would have been sleeping if she had come. There were a couple more upsides to all of this. Tarps covered the roof for three weeks before it could be repaired and it never rained during that time. Being in a woods our roof was covered with moss and insurance paid for a new moss resistant roof as well as for all the other repairs. The missing trees opened up a nice large sunny area out back, which Jackie had wanted for a long time. Even though our house got hit, our time of prayer and fasting had prepared us. God protected us physically and gave us more besides.

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Living our lives as Christians is not about religion or religious acts. It is not about if or how we fast or the fervency of our prayers, or the volume of scripture we read. It all has to do with a living Lord, who loves us and who wants to share a loving relationship with us. He desires to be in every part of our lives, and He desires that we share with Him the things that He finds pleasure in. Prayer and fasting help in bringing down the barriers of the world and the flesh that come between us and the relationship He wants to have with us.

One time I read the 8th chapter of Ezekiel during my morning prayer time. In it the Lord gave Ezekiel a series of visions showing the people of Jerusalem engaged in idol worship, spirit worship, Tammuz worship and sun worship. In one of those Ezekiel digs a hole through a wall to uncover a secret place where seventy elders of the House of Israel were standing, each with a censer filled with incense before walls that had "every form of creeping things and beasts and detestable things, with all the idols of the House of Israel, were carved on the wall around it". Upon reading this my stomach felt nauseous. I became sad because I realized that God loved this people and wanted so much for them, and in return they rejected Him. But of course, this isn't to point a finger at a particular people. I realized that I too can think that I have a secret place where God cannot see. And those things that are kept in a secret place are just as much idols, and just as creepy and detestable to God as were the things worshiped by the elders of the House of Israel. I know these things will affect my relationship with Him, so the solution is to bring everything into the light. I do this not just because things will be better for me. These should be brought into the light because I understand that my sin hurts the One who loves me.

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The real benefit of a time of prayer and fasting is not just in what we are seeking from Him. The practice declares that He is the Lord of the Universe and that we believe that He is in control of our lives and that we are putting our trust in Him for all things. That trust will help soften our hearts, and a soft heart will bring a closer relationship, and the love of God will give us the strength to conform our lives to the pattern that He, in His love and wisdom, has established for us.

Don't End Your Driving Test By Hitting A Parked Car

After Pete drove his car up to our testing area his old lady exited the vehicle and took off across the parking lot for the nearby mall, leaving Pete looking up at me, a real friendly smile that shone through his scraggly hair, unkempt beard and crooked, yellowed teeth.  His arm below the cut off shirt sleeve was completely covered with a vary scary tattoo of some type of court jester.

I noticed from his permit that Pete was born in 1972 so I asked if he had a previous driver's license.  "No" he said.  "I did go to the DMV when I turned 18, went out driving with the woman and passed my test, except that I hit a parked car when pulling in at the end."

"That's never good" I remarked.  "No it's not" confirmed Pete.

Seems that Pete got a bit nervous back then, mostly about telling his father that he banged up the dad's car, and he decided to forgo the formality of actually having a driver's license.  This didn't stop him from driving.  I could tell 50 yards into the test that he probably been driving since about age 12, but would have found out that information from Pete in about 5 minutes anyway.  Guys like Pete are what I've always called "real people".  They look like there are a lot of miles on their face and body, they don't put up a false front or carry any pretense, and invariably they tell me their life story, even if I don't ask.

So in a nutshell - Pete's father kicked him out.  He has been living in shelters most of his life.  He finally got off of drugs which enable him to get a good job.  He just got a deal on a trailer and is living there with his girl friend, his 16 year old son and that son's baby (He was kind of fuzzy about where the baby's mother was).  Now that everything is rosy he can take the next step and get his driver's license.

Pete drove well and when we returned I told him to park next to the other cars over at our area.  "On second thought, maybe you should park over there where no one else is."  Pete gets his certificate and waits for his old lady to return to his car.

My next client, Kathy, is waiting for me as I get out of Pete's car.  I ask her if we will be using her vehicle or if she is renting one from us for the test.  Kathy's uncle, who looks like a rather short mountain man with his full beard and wild hair grins at me and says that Kathy will be renting because there is no way his car would pass the vehicle inspection.  (FYI - this also usually means the vehicle is not insured).  Kathy likes the 2006 Malibu she is renting and tells me that she has never been in a car this new.  "My Cavalier is a 93'."

After she asks me about what kind of gas millage the Malibu gets I repeat a joke I just read in Readers Digest while in a hospital waiting room with my wife and sister for an operation my sister's son was having.

"Speaking of gas, did you hear about the elderly man who went to the doctor.  He told the doctor that after breakfast he had silent gas, after lunch he had silent gas, and after dinner he had silent gas.  'And just now talking to you I had silent gas.  What should we do about it?'  The doctor replies; 'First thing we need to do is get your hearing fixed.'"  Kathy doesn't laugh.

Unlike her uncle Kathy is tall, but looks like "real people".  She is 22, smiles constantly, and keeps talking to herself in a quiet but high pitch voice.  When I give her instructions she replies "Yes Sir!"  or for example when I ask her to turn right at the next intersection, "I'm on it Sir!"  We are at a red light and it turns green, Kathy looks around, doesn't see any traffic and exclaims "Ah Ha!" while accelerating.  We need to make a lane change, Kathy looks around and sees nothing but clear lanes and hoots "God bless this traffic!"

The story Kathy tells me is that she loves to read but is currently writing 4 books.  One is called "Nation of Dolls" which is about the world in 2060 where only the dolls have survived.  They "shed their plastic" and form plans to rebuild the country.  I tell Kathy that it sounds really interesting and she tells me that I can be proud to have heard about it 3 years before it is published.

Kathy passes the test and when we get back to our location I see that Pete is still standing by his car.  I leave for lunch and an hour later need to stop in our office which is located in the mall.  While I am there Pete's old lady comes in and asks if I have seen Pete.  "He was waiting for you by his car the last time I saw him a couple of hours ago" I said.  "Well, I was in the mall.  Why didn't he come and get me?"

Why indeed.   

   

    

Occupy The Forest

My first road test client today was a 22 year old unshaven young man by the name of Jordan.  To strike up a conversation I asked him if he was working or going to school.

"I worked for the Forest Service in California this summer and will be going to college this fall."

"That sounds wonderful.  Did you enjoy your work?"

'It was OK."

"Only OK?"

"Do you know what Amercorps is?"

"Oh, sure."

"Well, they provide free room and board but give you  $5,000  for college."

"So, were you fighting fires and stuff?"

"We did work on some property fires, but mostly we would clear out brush and small trees."

"Like around peoples houses so those homes wouldn't catch fire?"

"Yeah, mostly houses of millionaires.  And some would complain we were removing too much and then would not even let us jump into their pools."  The word "millionaires" Jordan said with an actual sneer.

"Do you realize Jordan that the taxes those millionaires pay make up the bulk of the college funds you earned?"  I think Jordan was under the impression that government funds somehow came from some magic pot of gold. (FYI - The rainbow currently ends in China)

"Oh." responded Jordan, looking a little confused.

"And you might be surprised to learn that in their eyes, you represent THE MAN.  As in -THE MAN wants to take away all of my trees."

"Oh" again said Jordan, now embarrassed that he had unwittingly become a tool of the US government and their Wall Street buddies.

Jordan ran through a stop sign 20 yards from the end of the test so maybe we'll have a chance for another mini economics lesson.

Singing About Jesus

A great benefit to having daughters is that they remember the songs we used to play over and over in the house when they were kids. Jackie and I would always be playing Christian albums so even though I'm not current with what's being played today on their ipods/iphones/i-whatever I can still pipe up out of the blue the Evie tune, “One man came to Jesus, John in chapter 3”, and any one of them (much better if they are all together) will join in, “and so afraid, oh oh so afraid”.

From Evie's YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN and 4'11 to Keith Green's THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS, complete with every Keith Green nuance, it's in their hair covered computers and quick to their lips. Praise God! Oh course, behind many Christian songs are the scriptures they are inspired by. And so here is the rest of the story after Evie sings, “and Jesus said be born again.”

A prominent member of the Jewish Sanhedrin comes to Jesus at night and makes this statement; "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with Him." Nicodemus is looking for God to establish an earthly political kingdom and wonders if God has sent Jesus for this purpose. Jesus answers Nicodemus by saying; "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (quotes from the 3^rd chapter of John)

Nicodemus asks the obvious question; "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" To which Jesus replies; "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." In other words, what we are, flesh, blood and spirit, comes from our parents, but who we will become in the spirit comes from God.

Nicodemus, recognizing that Jesus was sent from God, wanted to gain understanding in his mind (soul) as to what the will of God was. Jesus tells him that the will of God is to be "born again". He goes on to say that one must be born of "water", which I think is referring to the baptism of repentance happening with John the Baptist at that time, and "the Spirit", which I believe is talking about the regeneration, or rebirth, of the human spirit, dead through sin, through the action of the Holy Spirit. "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Jesus then gives Nicodemus an example from scripture that will also apply to Jesus. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

The example Jesus gives comes from the 21st chapter of Numbers. The Jewish people complain against God and Moses that they were brought out of Egypt only to die in the wilderness, to which the Lord responds by sending fiery serpents among the people. Many were bit and many died. The people then go to Moses, repent, and ask Moses to intercede for them. The Lord instructs Moses to make a fiery serpent in bronze and set it on a standard, and then if anyone is bitten they should look at the bronze serpent on the standard and they would live.

Jesus too would be lifted up on a standard and seen as detestable like the fiery serpents. The cross was a symbol of shame, but much more, the shameful sins of mankind would be put upon Jesus. The result would be that all who look upon Him in faith, believing that it was our sins and shame he was bearing, would live.

Jesus suffered, bled, and died for us as the perfect, God proscribed sacrifice. And God raised Him from the dead that not only would we be changed spiritually, but one day physically as well. Jesus always was (“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” John 1: 1-14). Through Mary and by the Holy Spirit Jesus became a person built just like us, physical body, soul and spirit. This means that the spirit of Christ that went to the cross for us can now by the power of the Holy Spirit unite with our dead spirit, and we can become "born again".

The exciting thing here is not only are our sins forgiven, not only will the sin of Adam be canceled, but we can have a spirit made new by Christ. In Him we are indeed a new creation. And the Holy Spirit, who reveals to us that Jesus is God, who brings the spirit of Christ to unite with our spirits so that we become a new creation, will also live in our reborn hearts (spirit) as well. This allows for fellowship with God, but more than that, we now are part of God’s family, truly brothers and sisters with Christ.

This new life in Christ Jesus is exciting. It is not because we have followed a teacher sent from God and have advanced in our soulish efforts. Instead, our spirits are alive, allowing the Holy Spirit to minister His joy, His truth, His power in our lives. As Evie so cheerfully sings: “Born again, there's really been a change in me. Born again, just like Jesus said. Born again, and all because of Calvary. I'm glad so glad that I've been born again.”

Fire And Ice

Fire and Ice

by

Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire;
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

On a recent road test the young lady driving remarked that she enjoyed reading poetry. “What poets have you been reading?” I asked. She mentioned a few including Ogden Nash. Having a chance to reveil my vast literary knowledge I proceeded to receite what I've always thought was an Ogden Nash poem.

“Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

If I had my desire,

Ice would suffice.”

As you can see from the poem on top I had both the author and the verse confused. I was always quite happy in my ignorance, having quoted my version many times, but that evening I went home and did a fact check on myself and discovered the error.

Oh bliss no more, you can be sure, my verse was wrong but heart was pure.

Mr. Stern Face

Earlier this week I was scheduled to do a driver test for a man from India who will be renting our vehicle.  After waiting about 10 minutes past the scheduled time which has effectively screwed up my schedule I spot a guy who looks like he might be Indian wandering aimlessly around by some stores that are about 80 yards away from our test site.  He is clutching loose papers in both hands and as he rounds the corner out of sight past the Jet's Pizza I decide this might be my guy so I take off after him in the rental.

As I close in he spots me and asks if I am Bob.  I assure Nagaraja that I am indeed the right Bob and tell him to hustle into the passenger seat as we are running late.  "What do you want me to do?" he asks.  I tell him again to get into the passenger seat but I think to him it must have sounded like; "Get your butt into the car so we can get started!"  Nagaraja finally gets said rear end into the car, I drive to the starting spot for the parking lot portion of the test, and ask Nagaraja to show me his required document from the Secretary of State as well as his International Driver's License.

 "While I am looking at these documents I would like you to get into the driver's seat and adjust the seat and mirrors."  I have given these same instructions hundreds of times but perhaps today my vibes were different.  We get the documents done and I read the instructions for how to do the parking lot portion of the test and although Nagaraja's English seems fine he never looks at the charts that I have displayed for him and he keeps telling me "I don't understand."

You know how it's our natural tendency to speak slower and louder (and maybe even jab at the diagram more aggressively) when someone doesn't understand what you are trying to tell them?  That was me.  He especially cannot understand what he needs to do for the blind side backing exercise.  I show him the charts again. He doesn't understand. I stand in the spot he needs to get into and tell him "I am the car. The front end faces this way and the rear end faces that way.  Start with the front end facing this way and back or reverse the vehicle into this space."

He starts to drive the car God knows where and I yell; "Stop the car!  Stop the car!"  Then I tell him to get out of the car, walk him over to the area and tell him that "the car goes here."  He points the wrong way and asks; "In this direction?"  I whip up my clip board once more and explain; "Just like it shows on this picture, you start over there, you back up into this space, the front of your car faces that way and the back of your car faces the other way.  If you would look at the diagram you would understand.  I can't tell you how to do this but you must end up here."

Well, after starting late and wasting so much time the guy actually passes the parking lot portion.  I get into the car, now about 25 minutes behind schedule, to begin the driving portion of the test and get a lecture.  "You have a stern face.  I am 50 years old and have been driving for 30 years and you should not treat me as a child. I am an actor but unemployed and I need this license.  And I am worried that if I drive you may fail me because you do not like me."  I calmly tell Nagaraja that my personal feelings will have no bearing on how he is graded and that we can get started.

We turn right out of the parking lot.  There are two lanes that go to the right with a car approaching in the outside lane.  Nagaraja turns out of the parking lot into the right lane then starts to fade into the left lane.  I grab the steering wheel so we don't run into the other car.  We turn right into a nearby residential area.  Nagaraja is going 32 in a 25 zone and I tell him that he needs to stay at the speed limit or slower.  We turn left at the first stop with out making a complete stop, but then he stops completely at a through intersection where we have the right of way and the side streets have stop signs.  However he does not even slow down for the four way stop at the next intersection.  Again we stop at a through street for no reason and roll through a stop sign turning left out of the residential area.

For obvious reasons I'm heading back early to Go at his point but that requires turning left at the next intersection.  The light is green and I need to grab the steering wheel again because Nagaraja tries to turn in front of the oncoming traffic.  We do make it back and I very sweetly inform him that he did not pass, explain in detail what he did wrong, and advise him that although Michigan Department of State regulations allow him to take the test again in 24 hours he would be wasting his money without first getting lessons from a trained professional.

He stares at me blankly, brown eyes and mustache not moving, with a look from that ancient land not really understood in this new world.  "You mean I didn't pass?"  "No, you didn't pass."  "What would you advise me to do?"  "Get lessons, from someone who is trained to teach driving."  "But this is my 5th time taking this test.  It makes me mad that young girls who know nothing can pass this test and here am I, 50 years and driving for 30 years and you do not pass me.  What do you suggest I do?"

Several interesting thoughts ran through my mind at this point but over the years I've learned to control myself.  I tell him that it would be cheaper for him to pay a little more first for lessons so that he would understand the rules of the road here, but that he can do whatever he wants.  Nagaraja goes to the office, makes a fuss, and is scheduled to be tested by Mr. Stern Face tomorrow.  Pray for me.

   

Let There Be Light

"So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart."  (Ephesians 4: 17-18)

Then God said, "Let there be light", and there was light . . . and God separated the light from the darkness . . . And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day". (Genesis 1: 3-5)

"Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night . . . And God made the two great lights; the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness . . . And there was evening and there was morning, a forth day". (Genesis 1: 14-19)

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"Now I can see!" (From a past blog entry by my youngest daughter Becky, telling about changing a headlight all by herself on her Toyota Corolla)

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When I took biology in high school our teacher told us that we shouldn't look to the Bible for information on the beginnings of life because in the Biblical account vegetation appears on the third day, and the sun isn't created until the forth day, meaning that all the vegetation would have died instantly without the sun. I suppose in a universe without a Designer and Creator, that begins from point B (point A cannot be discussed), and which runs through to point Y (Z also cannot be discussed), where all matter expands from a BB sized unit, expanding and forming in that expansion - time and space, gravity and forces, elements and stars, planets and water, nuclei and DNA - that all the vegetation would have indeed died.

In a viewpoint that does not include a Designer and Creator all things must be reduced to mathematical equations, which the average person cannot even begin to cipher or comprehend, although we are asked to trust both the method and the messenger. Understand this; There is no such thing as being belief neutral. All men are both physical and spiritual beings, and the physical and the spiritual are intertwined in all creation. To claim that spiritual considerations are not science ignores the fact that atheism is a religious viewpoint. And if atheists make the rules for science, then science becomes an extension of that intellectual denomination.

Nova once did a program looking at a 2006 court case brought by the ACLU, representing a parent group, against the Dover (PA) school board.  Our newspaper reviewer praised this as being a very even handed presentation.  That was not my reaction.  Clue 1;  The judge in the "reenactments" always displayed an approving smile anytime a "true scientist" would testify  Clue 2;  There were shown ample examples of religious bigotry and hysteria.  Clue 3;  A scientist displayed and discussed a fossil of a fish with leg bones that he identified as a missing link between fish and land animals.

Not discussed were the facts that (A) No fossils exist showing the process of development of more complex features (all features found on fossils are already fully developed and useful for that particular species), (B) No reason is given why non-working leg bones would be a benefit to that species for the million years it took to develop them to the point found on the fossil, (C) There was no consideration that the DNA of the species might be programmed so that form and shape can change to adapt to different conditions (that of course would require "intelligence"), and (D) No mention of the obvious;  Contrary to what the public has been led to believe it has not been observed , in the lab or in nature, that genetic mutation increases complexity.

Species are observed becoming extinct, but new species do not appear (unless discovered in previously unexplored areas or classified as new because of variations of existing features).  Life forms change, but not from simple forms to more complex forms.  The observable fact that species can change over time in regards to color, size, shape and number should not be considered proof that genetic mutations will develop more complex features. Genetic mutations always result in a limiting of variation, not an increase it.  A reasonable person should consider those facts as more than just "minor difficulties."

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The Dover case is hailed as a benchmark victory of scientific evidence for evolution crushing the religious belief of intelligent design, although the case had nothing to do with the merits of either. Yes, arguments for both were presented, but the case was all about the idea that any challenge to the teaching of evolution is an imposition of religion doctrine into the public classroom. It was an argument that could not be won by debating the validity of evolution, and the outcome was predetermined by the acceptance of the perception that the definition of science excludes the discussion of design by an intelligent force. In other words, there is already a pre-existing religious doctrine (atheistism) in place, which prohibits discussion of opposing religious viewpoints.

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Several Christian members of the Dover school board, believing that evolution is more theory than fact, pushed through a proposal whereby the 9th grade science teacher needed to read a brief prepared statement at the beginning of the first day of class, only stating there were "gaps" and "problems" with the theory of evolution, and that intelligent design was another option to consider. If any student wanted more information, the school had available the book, Of Pandas and People (which discusses intelligent design without reference to God). That was it. The ACLU argued, and the judge agreed, that the words "gaps" and "problems" came from creationist literature, which talks about a Judeo-Christian God, meaning that intelligent design was simply creationist doctrine in disguise. The use of those two words implies acceptance of creationist ideas by the school administration, and thus was the imposition of religious doctrine into the school.

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That was the type of catch-22 logic used in the old Soviet bloc countries. Any citizen that would disagree with Soviet policies must be crazy, and was sentenced to a mental hospital in the gulag. Here we have science excluding a Designer and Creator from consideration, making evolution both a necessary and a foundational concept. Any disagreement with the foundational concept cannot be true science, allowing the judge to rule that intelligent design was not science. Even though all complex structures, including the cell, look designed, design cannot be included as a consideration in science because all matter and structure must be the result of non-intelligent, mathematical processes of movement and relationship.

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Now, let us briefly take a closer look at the two passages from Genesis, from the viewpoint of those that consider the word of God to have been written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and is an accurate account of the beginning of life on our earth. We believe that the Designer and Creator of all matter can do anything He wants with it, and the result will still be within the bounds of the laws of physics that He Himself established.
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From this camp there are three major, but different viewpoints. Each looks at scripture literally, but each sees a somewhat different story.
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There is the traditional interpretation, where creation happens over six, 24 hour days. All matter began about 6,000 years ago and all life was formed from the material of the earth, by God, during those days. Species multiply each after their own kind, but with multiple variations designed into each species.
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Then there is the group, best represented by scientist Hugh Ross, who see the six days as being long ages, with the age of the earth, and the progress of creation during those ages, as being compatible with current scientific understanding. They see God implanting in the physics the design for the beginning of life, with life evolving on an evolutionary model, albeit under the watchful eye and plan of God. Perhaps man was created separate, or perhaps God put into an existing creature, at the right point of evolution, the first divine spirit.
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The third group believes that Genesis may be telling the story (after Genesis 1:1), not of original creation, which may have happened thousands, or even millions of years before, but of a restoration of the Earth after a judgment by God. They see the evil one as having an exalted position on the pre-Adamic earth, and judgment coming upon the earth after he rebels, taking with him a third of the angels. The Earth becomes formless and void, and the Spirit of God hovers over the waters (v2), and restores shape and life to the earth over six, 24 hour days. Things then progress from there along the same lines as the first group.

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Exploring these three viewpoints would take quite a bit of time, but I want to move on to the answer for my high school biology teacher.
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A careful reading of Genesis verses 3-5 indicates that the earth was rotating on the 1st day, and that there was a fixed light source, causing the side of the earth toward the light to be in the day, and the side away from the light to be in the night. The presence of vegetation before day 4 meant that there was also some source for heat as well. Although we are not given the identity of that light source, it could be the sun, depending on how the passage is interpreted, or it could be something else.
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An example of a something else is given in the 21st chapter of Revelation in the description of the New Jerusalem. The time period is after Jesus returns and rules on the Earth for 1000 years. Near the end of those 1000 years the evil one is released for a short time to bring rebellion to a close and then is thrown into the lake of fire. This is followed by a final judgment for those whose names were not found written the the book of life, who also end up being thrown into the lake of fire. 
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"And then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband . . . And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its Lamp is the Lamb".

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Viewing the physical world without any comprehension of it's spiritual dimension is like driving at night in a heavy rain with only one headlight. There is so much more that is out there.