Sunday, March 11, 2018

What Killed The Dinosaurs? Go Around. Wisdom Versus Knowledge. Drop the Load. Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:

What killed the dinosaurs?

“What killed all the dinosaurs? What are dinosaurs? Why don’t we find any today?

Huge Sauropod dinosaur leg bone. Compare to the author’s 6’4″ handsome husband!

“Over the years there have been several theories for what killed the dinosaurs and why we don’t really find them today.  Was it an asteroid impact? Was it climate change?  “What killed the dinosaurs?” is a history question, so let’s go back to the reliable source of history that we’ve talked about – the Bible. The global flood, i.e., “Noah’s Flood”, in Genesis covered the whole earth and all the land-dwelling creatures not on the ark died. Since dinosaurs lived on land, they must have died in the flood. As mentioned in the previous article about rocks, fossils, and the age of the earth (read here), many of the rock layers were created during the global flood, including fossils of some of the creatures that died during the flood.

So, the global flood is what killed most of the dinosaurs. Noah did take some on the ark (see full article), so a few dinosaurs did survive the flood. However, the climate after the flood was very different and probably made it difficult for these creatures to survive. Additionally, looking at dragon legends, the ones that remained were probably pests that humans fought and killed in the following years.  What killed the dinosaurs? Several factors – the global flood, changing climate, and humans.

Didn’t dinosaurs evolve into birds?

Archaeopteryx fossil. Photo from pixabay

The idea that dinosaurs evolved into birds is very popular right now. First off, there are a bunch of problems with the idea of evolution as a whole. One type of creature turning into a different type of creatures simply has not on record. You can read more in last week’s article about evolution. Next, looking at the anatomy of a theropod dinosaur (those like T. rex and velociraptor that are thought to have evolved into birds) presents a lot of problems for the way birds breathe and walk.

Then, or course, is the issue of feathers. Feathers are very, very, very different from the scales we find on reptiles – they are very complex and function more like a hair than like scales. There is fossil evidence of skin impressions from many dinosaurs showing scales (even recently discovered on T. rex). The famous “missing link” fossil between dinosaurs and birds, archaeopteryx, is an extinct bird – very clearly not dinosaur. The true identity of “fossil proto-feathers” is still hotly debated among paleontologists. Even many scientists who accept evolution don’t agree with dinosaur-to-bird evolution. To top it all off, fossil parrots, loons, and other birds have been found buried in the same rock layers that we find dinosaurs in. Even the lowest (relatively oldest) dinosaur-containing rock layers have bird footprint fossils.

In conclusion, dinosaurs are marvelous creatures created by God just a few thousand years ago. We don’t see dinosaurs around anymore because of the global flood, changing climate after the flood, and humans fighting these dragons. No, those birds you see in your back yard are not descendants of a dinosaur. Be sure to come back next week as we conclude this series of articles on Creation basics!”        Excerpts from: http://creationclues.org/2018/03/03/what-happened-to-the-dinosaurs-creation-basics-5/   By Sara J. Mikkelson (Bruegel) is a young woman dedicated to bringing glory to the one and only God (the LORD, Yahweh, of the Bible) in all that she does.

For Further Study, Creation Clues: Bone Mix  Behemoth Burial Grounds Tackling Pterosaurs  Making Mosasaurs  Dinosaurs that Defy Millions of Years  Living Fossils Series  Tip-Toe Tracks

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Go Around 

   

“There are times in life when stubbornness, ego or vanity will push us into forcing an issue or putting great effort into something that only amounts to little.

A woman walking on a paved path.Krists Luhaers/Unsplash

Sometimes the best thing to do is to take the other path.

Farmers who had a tough time plowing their fields had an old saying: “Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.” There are stumps and then there are stumps. Some may be worth the effort, some may not. Knowing the difference can save a lot of grief, and having good tools can make a difference.

Jesus gave some good advice when He said that we need to count the cost of projects or things we are facing (Luke 14:28). Sometimes the best thing to do is to take the other path. That is how Abraham solved his trouble with Lot. He told Lot to make a choice and rather than have strife, Abraham would simply go the opposite way (Genesis 13:9). Abraham knew God would bless him wherever he went. When you go around the “stump” for God, hold His hand.”

From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/blogs/this-is-the-way/go-around

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Wisdom Versus Knowledge    

“Wisdom can be found anywhere God chooses, whether we hear it or not.

A person studying on the Bible. Rod Long/Unsplash

God’s Word offers direction for the times we lose our way on the road of wisdom. Ask for wisdom and observe the fruit borne from that request.

Is it possible that as worldly knowledge increases, wisdom decreases? Humanity has accomplished much and has many clever sayings, such as “knowledge is power.” But it’s a spiritual paradox of sorts.

Let’s consider Scripture. Standing amidst an assortment of pagan altars, Paul stood up at Mars Hill and said: “Men of Athens, I see how very religious you are in every way” (Acts 17:22). Paul spoke to them at their spiritual level. He didn’t look down his nose and walk away. He didn’t say, “Your idols are outrageous and need to be destroyed.”

He may have screened his thoughts and practiced diplomacy. Paul found a way to tell them some good news about his merciful, all-powerful God, using a sliver of wisdom he found among these knowledgeable Athenians: “I found an altar where you worship with the words written on it, TO THE GOD WHO IS NOT KNOWN. You are worshiping Him without knowing Him. He is the One I will tell you about” (Acts 17:22-23).

Wisdom can be found anywhere God chooses, whether we hear it or not: “Wisdom cries out in the street; she utters her voice in the markets” (Proverbs 1:20). We may cry out in prayer for understanding and seek it as treasure, but Scripture cautions about misplacing our focus on knowledge: “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2).

God’s Word offers direction for the times we lose our way on the road of wisdom: “What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). Communication and signs are navigation tools. Ask for wisdom and observe the fruit borne from that request. “Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly” (Proverbs3:18).

Connecting the dots on this spiritual treasure-seeking quest will help us stay on target for the heavenly wisdom of James 3:17 and our true, living God.”

From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/blogs/wisdom-versus-knowledge

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Drop the Load

“Many people carry loads that are heavy, but invisible.

If we carry our concerns and worries from the previous day into today, we will have an ever-heavier load to carry.

These invisible heavy loads are thoughts that burden us with anxiety, fear and concern. There could be thoughts of revenge and records of hurts we may have suffered. These inner loads are heavy only to you. “It does not take a very big person to carry a grudge,” someone noted. But the one carrying it may find their life changed and the joy they could have had curtailed. “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; it only causes harm” (Psalms 37:8). Most of that harm impacts the one carrying the load, but all those associated with him are affected.

Jesus advised His followers to stop worrying about tomorrow or things they could not change—there are plenty of things a person needs to be concerned with without adding some extra (Matthew 6:34). If we carry our concerns and worries from the previous day into today, we will have an ever-heavier load to carry. There are some parts of the load that we must bear, but things like grudges, anger or attempts to retaliate are ones that we do not need. Drop them, and your load will be lighter.”      From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/blogs/this-is-the-way/drop-the-load

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Update:

Zack got one coat of paint on one side of the 15-light door in the mini-house, and we did a few other odd jobs. 

Chris and I took the van to Pete’s auto repair shop in Conroe as he has got it inspected for me in other years.  But he said that his scanner would not give him a good code for why the engine light is on.  So we picked it up and I took it to a larger shop. They scanned it, free, and said it is one of the 3 oxygen sensors and that they didn’t have time to fix it until the following Wednesday, (for $220). 

As I was driving it back to Willis, the engine light was off, so I thought that I would get it inspected.  It passed everything, except they said that the computer had been reset and that I had to drive it for 100 miles within 2 weeks, and then they would inspect it again.  I set the trip to zero, and wondered how I was going to rack up 100 miles in two weeks.  I didn’t have to worry about that, the engine light came back on in only 18 miles. 

On Monday, Luna, my Siamese foster was picked up by my SPCA boss, Kenya, and taken to her house overnight so that she could be taken to the vet Tuesday morning.  They had to verify that she is indeed already spayed, and get her next shots. Then Kenya put her in the Habitat at Petco.  The next day, Wednesday, Chris and I were going to get my van from Pete’s when Chris got a call from the Habitat that Luna was having a seizure again.  We rushed there and picked her up.  Chris dropped me off at Pete’s and took Luna to my house while I took the van to the larger shop.  When I got home, Luna was fine and as loving as always.  So it is either the shots or being confined in a small spaces that sets off the seizures.  Kenya is going to pick her up again next week and keep her under observation with a camera. She is going to trade with me,  I will be getting a gray boy cat who was saved from a foster mother’s home that caught on fire on Tuesday.  Three of the critters, 1 dog, 2 cats died in the fire, but this cat, and two others were saved and treated for smoke inhalation. 

Puddin’, my other foster cat, is so happy to be home from the Habitat that she hardly leaves my side, and is tolerating Luna being in the house. At first she swore terribly (a sailer would blush) anytime she saw Luna, but now she has calmed down to a growl.  By the 17th., I have to get her used to being around other cats as she has a potential adopter who already has a cat.  Luna and Puddin’ sleep on my bed with me, but not near each other. Maybe Puddin’ will like the new cat better? 

I have trained Puddin’ some “catiquette”, or cat etiquette. She doesn’t get on counters or the dining table, she comes when called, that gets two treats, and if she comes on her own, that’s one treat.  Of course, she has me trained, too, she lets me know when she wants her canned food, and comes to get me when she thinks it is bedtime. The changing of the clocks will probably confuse her tonight.

When I took Zack to the local food pantry, he was given two batches of beets,  and a package of ground bison, which he promptly gave me.  Some people don’t know what’s good, or what’s good for them.  I put the beets in a big pot, boiled them, skinned them and I will have a great time eating them in different dishes.  I have some brown rice soaking, ready to cook it in a crockpot, and cooking it in the beet water will give the brown rice an interesting hue.  Who says you have to stick to the conventional recipes?  I find cooking in a crockpot gives my kitchen smoke alarm some rest.  If I cook food on the stove, I often forget about it, until it reminds me.

The ground bison was cooked with some chopped onion, and as I had an abundance of potatoes, I cooked and mashed them, too.  What did that make?  A Shepherd’s Pie, of course, though I had to add a pound of grass-fed ground beef to make it enough for the church potluck.  I took some beef gravy for the pie, and a cut up cantelope, too. We also had chicken alfredo, tamale pie, beef pie, etc., lima beans, broccoli and other veggies.

The Bible readings were Exo. 30:11-34:35, about the Altar of Incense, the golden calf, the second pair of tablets of stone inscribed with the 10 Commandments, the seventh day the Sabbath, and the Feast Days being days of rest, 1 Kin. 18:1-39  and 2  Cor. 3:1-18.  The Teaching was more about what Martin Luther’s Reformation has done for us.  The people now had translations of the Bible in their own languages. The pilgrims had came over here with the Geneva Bible, as the King James version was so new.

After I had helped clean up the dining hall kitchen, I went to the nursing home to see Claudia, who is still hanging in there.  The weather this week has been variable with air conditioning needed one day, and heat the next day.

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