The 10 Greatest Bible Verses

This morning, I thought I would put together a list that I considered as the 10 Greatest Bible Verses of all-time. Now I know that all the Bible is 'God's Word" and that it is all good stuff. Yet, I love God's Word, and so I wanted to share what is my quick list of the greatest verses in the Bible. If you have any additions, I would enjoy hearing your suggestions. Or if you just want to share a favorite Bible verses, please share it. Without further ado (and you know, I have much dew in my writing), here is my favorites list:

 

Genesis 1:1        In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth… If you have this one down, you've won half the battle;

Exodus    3:14        ¹⁴ God said to Moses, "I am who I am… The name of God first revealed to man. An awesome moment in history;

Exodus 34:10-34    The Ten Commandments. What else is there that is written over 4,000 years ago, that we still fight over today? What else but the 10 Commandments, which were originally given by God to Moses. These verses are still so powerful, still so teachable to our children, and still cause fear in our judges. There is nothing like the Commandments to teach us right from wrong, to help us to see we can never be good enough before God, and to also help us to see that we need a Savior to rescue us from our sins. There is nothing more powerful than God's Law, except perhaps the Good News.

Jeremiah 31:31-34    "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah…For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." This is the promise of one day a New Covenant coming. The promise of a New Covenant fulfilled in Jesus Christ;

Matthew 1:23    Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). The fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy in Isaiah 7:14, saying a virgin will give birth to a son and he shall be called Immanuel which means God with us.

Matthew 6:9-13    Lord teach us to pray. The Lord's Prayer is seminal in so many ways. Never before in Judeo-Christian tradition, had God been described as a 'Father'. Let alone as a loving, kind, caring Father (Abba Father is used in this prayer). This prayer also tells us to pray for our daily needs. The prayer describes that God's Kingdom is present, yet still coming. And finally, that there is an evil enemy from whom we need deliverance. The Lord's Prayer is the best way to start a conversation with God.

Matthew 7:12    Do unto others as you would have them do to you. The Golden Rule is influential as a standard of conduct for many generations, even through today.

John 3:16    The Gospel shrunk down to one verse – Jesus died as God's sacrifice for the world's sins. But this sacrifice must be received in order to obtain the gracious gift of eternal life. And those who do not accept this sacrifice will perish. So clear, concise yet powerful.

John 14:6    I've talked a lot about this verse. Jesus is the only way to heaven. Enough said. Period.

Romans 3:23-24 (and 5:1, 6:23, 8:1)    all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ^24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Yes, all of Romans could be added to this List. But the Romans verses listed here make the Gospel message of our sinfulness, and our only hope we have is to be justified through faith in Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross in our place.

Ephesians 2:8-9    For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith… The Protestant Reformation's trumpet call – we are saved by God's Grace and not by being a nice person or doing good things.

1 John 1:9    If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all our unrighteousness. This is a foundational verse, which teaches us that even though Jesus died for our sins, we still need to confess our sins to be forgiven. And what a great verse to show our wonderful Maker is both faithful and just.

Revelation 20:11-15    Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it… Revelation is so important because we see such a clear picture of Jesus. Right from the start in Revelation, we see Jesus saying He is the Alpha and the Omega (1:8). That His hair is white as wool, His eyes are like a flame of fire (1:14). And of course, in Revelation 20:11-15 we see He is going to return one day to judge the dead. There

 

OK, for those counting, I've already reached 13 verses. But I hope you are feeling the excitement that I have for God's Word. I hope that I Have also glorified the Lord through His Word. My prayer is that you are likewise blessed through God's Word, that you have other verses that have blessed you, and that you would also like to share with others.

Lenski’s E. Coli Experiments

Bacteria Makes "Major" Evolutionary Shift in Dr. Lenski's Lab, is the headline of a recent New Scientist article. An interesting paper has just appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, It is the "inaugural article" of Richard Lenski, who was recently elected to the National Academy. Lenski, is well known for conducting the longest, most detailed "lab evolution" experiment, growing the E. coli bacteria continuously for about twenty years in his Michigan State lab. For the fast-growing bug, that's over 40,000 generations! E. coli you may recall is the bacteria that are often cited as the cause for food poisoning in humans. Here is an article in New Scientist that discusses the Lenski experiments: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/dn14094-bacteria-make-major-evolutionary-shift-in-the-lab.html;

 

So does this mean the end for Intelligent Design? If a major evolutionary change can take place described as "the first time evolution has been caught in the act of making such a rare and complex new trait", doesn't this doom any claims that Darwinism is wrong? Well, I don't think this is much of a story for a number of reasons. But let me first describe what the Lenski experiments show, and then I will later explain why this is exactly what was described in Prof. Michael Behe's (pro-ID) 'Edge of Evolution' book.

 

The Lenski experiment is fascinating. He examined trillions of E. coli bacteria cells, over 20 years time, resulting in over 44,000 generations. What he did was set up 12 different groups all descended from the Adam E. coli parent. All of the groups developed along similar lines in the ideal lab: they all evolved larger cells; and all developed faster growth rates on the glucose that they were fed. But one of the 12 test groups developed a unique trait – the ability to metabolize citrate, which was a second nutrient (besides the glucose) in all of the cultures. And when the "evolved" E. coli developed the ability to metabolize citrate, it was a beneficial new trait that allowed this group an advantage over the other 11 groups because of its growth in population size.

 

So was this really a "major" evolutionary shift? Was it the development of a new leg, or a proto-eye? What was the "complex new trait" that the E. coli bacteria developed after 40,000 generations? Yes, this "profound change" meant that it could "metabolize" citrate. The article makes it sound like it is a big deal. But consider that E. coli is normally capable of utilizing citrate as an energy source under anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions, with a whole suite of genes involved in its fermentation. In addition, the Krebs cycle (or citric acid cycle, where chemical reactions create energy for the cell to use) for E. coli already generates and utilizes citrate in its normal metabolism of glucose and other carbohydrates. Now is this really a big deal? It doesn't seem like it's a major new step – instead, it appears to be just the re-tooling of machinery inside the E. coli that is already there. Here is the way Prof. Behe describes it: "the wild bacterium lacks an enzyme called a "citrate permease" which can transport citrate from outside the cell through the cell's membrane into its interior. So all the bacterium needed to do to use citrate was to find a way to get it into the cell. The rest of the machinery for its metabolism was already there."

 

So there you have it – The E. coli's major evolutionary shift is to allow citrate to be transported inside the cell membrane so that it can be used. All of the machinery to use citrate was already inside the cell. Yawn, excuse me while I go to sleep…

 

The real question is why are the Darwinists making such a big deal about this? It's obviously because Prof. Behe's pro-ID book "Edge of Evolution' has drawn blood on the dying, critically wounded Theory of Evolution. Louisiana just this past week passed a bill to teach Darwinism critically (like Texas before it), and this seems like it is a growing trend. And the Darwinists will use anything to try and show that observed major evolutionary changes really do take place. That's all well and good, but we still haven't seen any major changes, and the Lenski E. coli experiments certainly are not Darwinism's savior.

 

Instead, this looks like it is exactly along the lines of what is described in Prof. Behe's 'Edge of Evolution' book, where he describes malaria's resistance to drugs used against it, as well as HIV's evolving resistance. In fact, chapter 7 of EoE Prof. Behe actually describes and uses the Lenski experiments in support of his position. He placed the Edge of Evolution at three successive mutations. And the way it is described in the New Scientist article, this appears to be exactly what took place in the Lenski E. coli experiment – one change took place in one of the 12 groups after 20,000 generations. And the new trait was discovered after 30,000 generations. Although there are no details learned of what genetic changes took place, it sounds like these are successive, single point mutations building upon each other, perhaps up to three mutations working together. Professor Behe's full Response is posted in his Amazon blog, which can be found at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNK3U696N278Z93O; Thus, it seems just like the other genetic studies reviewed in Prof. Behe's book – no new major evolutionary changes. Instead, just minor mutations that eventually provide a small benefit.

 

So, those of you who distrust the Darwinist fairy tale description of how life developed on Earth, commonly known as Evolution, you have nothing to fear from what is contained in the Lenski E. coli experiments. And it looks much more supportive of Intelligent Design than it does of Darwinism. Here are a few of the reasons why I say this:

 

• Trillions of cells evolving over 30,000 generations? Look at the math! For humans to evolve anything during this same period (30,000 generations), would be the equivalent of 600,000 years (30,000 generations averaged over 20 years time, a rough estimate of an adult generation). And the ability to metabolize citrate is all that was developed? Darwinism is not at all an effective explanation for how life developed on Earth. Too little change and not enough time. As one blogger writes – "Presumably, the same mechanism that gave E. Coli citrate capability turned a primitive simian ancestor into Beethoven, with orders of magnitude fewer probabilistic resources." This problem of Darwinism sounds very persuasive to me;
  
• It looks like mutations that hurt the cell are much more numerous than any possible benefits. Prof. Behe claims that all of the E. coli mutations in the Lenski study are "degradative" (see Behe link, above), making the cells less active. This makes for the exponentially more difficult problem of Darwinism to make for a beneficial mutation;
  
• The straightforward ID prediction is that any experimentally demonstrated change in the genome of E. coli will be limited to two, or at the most 3 separate steps, unless the steps can be demonstrated to be sequentially more fit. That's a scientific prediction, if you will, which would seem to make ID a scientific theory. Where are the Darwinists to show that this prediction is wrong?
  

 

Keep the faith! Happy birthday to my child no. 3, and to me, Jeanne, and Boy George. Enjoy Father's Day tomorrow, all you fathers out there.

Odds n’ Ends (8)

1).    Supercomputer Sets Speed Record. http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/09/technology/09petaflops.php; An American military supercomputer, assembled from components originally designed for video game machines, has reached a long-sought-after computing milestone by processing more than 1.026 quadrillion calculations per second.

The new machine is more than twice as fast as the previous fastest supercomputer, the IBM BlueGene/L, which is based at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

The new $133 million supercomputer, called Roadrunner in a reference to the state bird of New Mexico, was devised and built by engineers and scientists at IBM and Los Alamos National Laboratory, based in Los Alamos, New Mexico. It will be used principally to solve classified military problems to ensure that the nation's stockpile of nuclear weapons will continue to work correctly as they age. The Roadrunner will simulate the behavior of the weapons in the first fraction of a second during an explosion

 

2).    New Atheist Videogame Let's You Kill Bible Heroes. http://www.switched.com/2008/06/08/atheist-video-game-asks-players-to-slaughter-biblical-figures/; The game's objective? Slaughter people in the Bible and Koran to prevent the spread of organized religion. You've got to be kidding me!?

 

3).    Senator McCain Wants US Embassy in Jerusalem. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212659679638&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter; US Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain used the status of Jerusalem to attack his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama on Friday, accusing his opponent of flip-flopping on the issue while affirming his own commitment to an "undivided Jerusalem." …

"The point is Jerusalem is undivided. Jerusalem is the capital," he continued, and, in an effort to offer a practical demonstration of his stance, suggested moving the American embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv….On Thursday, the Obama campaign told The Jerusalem Post that the Democratic presidential nominee did not rule out Palestinian sovereignty over parts of Jerusalem when he called for Israel's capital to remain "undivided."

 

4)    Minor League Baseball Coming to Burnsville? http://www.startribune.com/local/south/19697094.html?location_refer=Homepage; The proposal is to build a 7,200 capacity stadium near 35W and Highway 13 on a former dump site. This would allow the Northern League to return to Minnesota in time for the 2009 season. They claim they will not need public funding (we'll see on this one.)

Why is the Pre-Tribulation View So Popular?

As an attorney, I like to make sure that I at least understand the other side's view. I have found this also serves me well in understanding difficult issues contained in the Bible. In taking a look at the different ways of understanding the End-Times and Jesus' Second Coming, I have found it helpful to try and summarize the other side (I am an Amillennialist, and so the other side is the Pre-Tribulation, Pre-Millennial view). I believe this is useful so that I am not dismissing or being condescending of what other Christians believe. And given that there are so many great Christians who hold the Pre-Trib view (like John MacArthur, Tim LaHaye, and Chuck Swindoll), it makes sense to me that when there is a majority Christian view, like the Pre-Trib view currently is, then a good Christian should at least understand what the majority understand and why they believe what they do.

 

So first, let me do a quick summary of what the Pre-Tribulation / Pre-Millennial view is (I will use 'Pre-Trib' as my shorthand for this end-times view.) The Pre-Trib Christian generally believes the following:

 

• Pre-Tribbers believe there is a Rapture of the Elect to heaven before the 7 year period of Tribulation. The End-Times sequence of events is as follows:
  
• A Secret Rapture of Believers from the Earth to go with Jesus to heaven;
  
• The Great Tribulation, 7 Years in length;
  
• Israel Accepts Christ as their Lord and Messiah during the Tribulation;
  
• Return of Christ;
  
• The 1,000 Year Millennium where Jesus and His saints reign on earth (Rev. 20:1-:6);
  
• Falling away led by Satan, resulting in the Final Battle, and Judgment upon the World.
  

 

So why is the Pre-Trib view so popular? It is the End-times view which is being taught in most seminaries. It is the view taught in the wildly popular Christian book series 'Left Behind' by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Those who hold this view are vocal, and dominating most Church discussions on the return of Jesus. Locally, there is a Pre-Trib radio program hosted by Jan Markell (AM 980, 10:00 on Saturday mornings). There are Christian magazines devoted to the Pre-Trib viewpoint (Prophecy in the News), and we will see its continued growth as a new 'Left Behind' movie is released in the near future. So why has the Pre-Trib view become so popular? In my thinking about the subject, there are good reasons for their position. Here is why I think that Pre-Trib is so popular:

 

1. Return of Israel; A big part of the Pre-Trib theology is that God is primarily focused on Israel, and that the period of the Church is only a "parenthesis" in His dealing with Israel. And so, when the nation of Israel was reformed in the Holy Land after World War II (1948), and took back most of Jerusalem in 1967, it looks to most of us as though something supernatural is going on here. There are prophecies in both the Old and New Testaments about Israel (Here are a few verses contained in the New Nave's Topical Bible on the Restoration of Israel - Of blessing and restoration: Isa. 1:25–27; 2:1–5; 4:2–6; 11:11–13; 25; 26:1, 2, 12–19; 27:13; 29:18–24; 30:18–26; 32:15–20; 33:13–24; 35; 37:31, 32; 40:2, 9; 41:27; 44; 49:13–23; 51; 52:1–12; 60; 61:4–9; 62; 66:5–22; Jer. 3:14–18; 4:3–18; 12:14–16; 23:3; 24:1–7; 29:1–14; 30:3–22; 32:36–44; 33; 44:28; Ezek. 14:22, 23; 16:60–63; 20:40, 41; 36:1–38; 37:12, 21; Dan. 11:30–45; 12:1; Joel 3; Amos 9:9–15; Obad. 17–21; Mic. 2:12, 13; 5:3; Zeph. 2:7; Zech. 1:14–21; 2; 8; 10:5–12; 12:1–14; 13; 14:3–21; Mal. 3:4; Rom. 11; 2 Cor. 3:16; Rev. 7:5.) One great verse is Luke 21:24, that speaks of there being a time when Gentiles trample upon Jerusalem, and implying that Israel would return this time is fulfilled. And so, the Pre-Trib view has ascended along with Israel, because it has placed such a strong emphasis on the importance of Israel during the Last Days. And it continues to draw attention, especially as Israel has become more and more the target of the leaders of the nations of Islam.
   

 

1. Old Testament Descriptions of the Millennium; Revelation 20:1-6 describes a 1,000 year period when Christ and the saints reign on earth, which Pre-Tribbers understand as taking place after the 7 years of Tribulation. Although there is not much of a description in Revelation of what this 1,000 years will be like, most Christians believe the details are filled in by some Old Testament prophecies. If you look at the prophecies contained in Isaiah, some extra detail is provided as to what the Millennium could look like. The prophecies speak of such things as the Lion laying with the lamb (Isaiah 11:6, and especially Isaiah 65:17-25), and a young man dying when he is 100 years old, no more sound of weeping in Jerusalem, lions eating straw like an ox, etc. These prophecies flesh out what Christians understand what the Millennium will be like: it will be a time of unprecedented peace and blessing. And so, the Pre-Trib view does a nice job of bringing together of the prophecies of Isaiah and the Millennium prophecy of Revelation 20:1-6;
   

 

1. Jesus and the New Testament writers warning that Jesus' return is imminent; I think this is one of the main reasons (along with the return of national Israel) that the Pre-Trib view has become so popular. I also think this holds one of the problem areas for those holding a Mid-Trib or Post-Trib view, and to a lesser extent even the Amillennial view. First, let me go over some of the many verses that speak of Jesus' return being at hand:
   

 

Romans 13:11-12 – Now it's high time to awake out of sleep; The night is far spent the day is at hand.

Phil. 4:5 – The Lord is at hand.

James 5:8-9 – The coming of the Lord is at hand… Behold the Judge is standing at the door.

1 Peter 4:7 – The end of all things is at hand.

1 John 2:18 – It is the last hour… we know that it is the last hour.

 

And in case you think you can dismiss all of these verses because within one generation's time of these writings, Jerusalem would be destroyed (in 70 AD), let me ask you to think about these same references in the Book of Revelation:

 

Rev. 1:1 – The Revelation of Jesus Christ… (shows the) things which must shortly take place.

Rev. 1:3 – The time is near.

Rev. 3:11, 22:7, 22:12 – Behold, I come quickly!

Rev. 22:10 – The time is at hand.

Rev. 22:20 – Surely I am coming quickly.

 

My point in asking us to consider the same verses speaking of Jesus' imminent return in both Revelation and throughout the Epistles is this – Revelation seems fairly clearly to have been written in 96 AD, which is after the fall of Jerusalem (70 AD). And so, if all of these verses say that we are to live as though Jesus could return at any moment, this is something that strongly supports the Pre-Trib position. The imminent return of Jesus verses support the Pre-Trib view because they believe that the Rapture could virtually take place at any time. And no other end-times view can say this – for example, with the Mid-Trib view Christians know that exactly 3 and one-half years after the Tribulation starts, they will be raptured up to heaven with Jesus. Same goes for the Post-Trib view (except it is 7 years). And so, these verses are one of the strongest reasons for having a Pre-Trib end-times view, and for its growth.

 

1. The Signs of Jesus' Return. This is a fun one. I enjoy reading about news stories about the threats increasing against Israel, because I know God will faithfully protect His chosen people. But the stories of famine in our day, earthquakes, increasingly violent storms, etc. are more terrifying, and seem to be reported increasingly each week. All of these are the relied upon those with the Pre-Trib view as "signs" of the times, showing Jesus' return could take place shortly. I have a list of over 50 "signs" the Pre-Tribbers believe show that Jesus' return could take place at any time. This list includes the following (and I'm not kidding):
   

   
    

• Unemployment;
  
• Financial unrest;
  
• Oil supply / price;
  
• Debt;
  
• Growing spread of knowledge / speed of knowledge;
  
• 200 million man army in China;
  
• Redevelopment of the Roman / European empire, and many, many more.
  

  
   

So because we all pray for Jesus' return, I think one of the best selling points for those with a Pre-Trib view is their constantly telling us of the signs that happened recently that show Jesus could return any time now. I'm not saying that I agree with them, I'm just pointing out that its' something that grabs the attention of most people, even a hardened Amillennialist like me.

 

So I hope I have done a fair job explaining why the Pre-Tribulation / Pre-Millennial Rapture view has become so popular. I would like to hear from anyone else out there if you think there are other reasons why the Pre-Trib view has become so popular. Otherwise, may God bless you with health, peace and provision as you go through this next week using your gifts and talents to serve others. In Christ, /s/Tom.

New Dog Hybrid Breeds

I came across a fun story showing some of the new dog breeds that breeders are experimenting with. For example, I'm sure that you've heard of the 'Labradoodle', a cross between a Lab and a poodle. But there's many more. There is actually a Canine Kennel Club which registers all of the new breeds. Well, if you are interested in seeing some cute puppies (I like the Ba-Shar Shar Asset, very cute), check out this link:

 

http://www.portfolio.com/slideshows/2007/09/Hybrid-Dogs/?TID=advert/drudge/HypridDogSlideshow