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THE ORIGIN OF MAN-ADAM AND THE DINOSAUR

Well, now the origin of man wouldn’t seem to be too controversial on the outside. Either one believes in creation, or evolution! This post isn’t to try to justify creation, but rather accepts it as a given! The  potential “contradiction” comes in with pre-historic man. The Bible has been around for just a few thousand years. We have scientific evidence that, at some point in time, there were dinosaurs and and pre-Adamic man roaming around the earth…and that they did so millions of years ago! The Bible seems to indicate that Adam was the first human…so we have a math problem here! So at the risk of opening up an giant-sized can of worms, today I’m addressing the topic of prehistoric man and the dinosaur age.

There are many theories floating around on this subject…even to the point that God created Adam and dinosaurs at the same time (around 6000 years ago), then supernaturally aged the dinosaurs…or something like that! Some are a bit of a stretch, while others sport some credibility. I’d like to share with you an idea that’s not new, but not extremely widespread either. Let’s take a look at this thing from a different angle and see if we can’t get the Bible and science to agree somewhere down the road!

First of all, ancient man and his prehistoric creatures did, in fact, exist. It’s hard to deny the existance of such creatures, while gazing into the lifeless and empty eye sockets of a dinosaur skeleton. In addition to dinosaur bones, we also have dinosaur fossils. We have evidence carved in stone of what we call the “cave man.” It’s important to acknowledge their existance, because to say they never walked the earth would be ridiculous in light of the evidence. The dinosaur skeleton is proof of its being!

At the same time, it’s just as ludicrous to think that prehistoric man (and the dinosaurs he shared the earth with) lived at the same time that Adam did…that there’s some sort of flaw in the scientific measuring of the times gone by. First of all, one would think that somewhere in the Bible…assuming that the men of Adam’s time shared the earth with the cave man…somewhere they would have been mentioned by someone. Secondly, it’s universally accepted that the people and creatures of the prehistoric age were rendered extinct by what we generally call the “Ice Age.” Assuming that’s true, and there’s no reason to disbelieve it, then Adam and the rest of mankind (along with all the creatures of our time) would have perished, as well.

So, we are left with the choice of believing science, which claims they existed and provides the evidence of such…or believing the Bible, which provides little evidence at all on the surface. The truth, however, lies somewhere in between. If we can’t reconcile the Bible to the known and proven existance of the prehistoric age, for instance, how can we reconcile it to our own time? To our own needs? To our very salvation, even?

That’s what this particular series is about…bringing together science and the Bible in one picture of what we’ll call…”the dinosaur story.” Neither is wrong. In fact, they’re both right. But neither is complete on its own. Together, however, they present a clear picture of what took place millions of years ago. Yes, the earth was here then! No, Adam was not. And before any wild conclusions are drawn about each of God’s “creation” days lasting ten thousand years or more, I don’t believe that either. They could have, of course, but I believe they were literal days, just like the days we now enjoy. Twenty-four hours in length.

Our problem is that we try to make what happened fit into our boxes of understanding, rather than changing the size and shape of our boxes! This is gonna be an interesting series, folks! And, I’m not asking you to believe it or not…just offering you an alternative that fits nicely into place with both science and the Bible, without leaving one or the other out in the cold! After all, assuming that God created everything, wouldn’t He be the Father of science as well He is the Author of the Bible?

Take a journey with me, if you will, back into the book of Genesis. Chapter one, even. And if you’ll read that chapter slowly, you’ll notice something very, very interesting! God didn’t create anything at all until you hit verse 20!  Now, it’s true that verse 16 says that He “made” the two great lights and the stars…BUT…it’s interesting to note that it says He “made” them. Everywhere else during the creation process, He “created.” The reason for that, is that in ancient text, two different words were used…one meaning that God caused it to happen from something that already existed…the other meaning He actually created something…from scratch. That, of course, is why we have two different words in our Bibles.

And perhaps, another clue:

“For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited),
“I am the Lord, and there is none else.” (Is. 45:18 NASB)

God didn’t create the earth a “waste place,” but formed it to be inhabited. Yet, Gen. 1:2 says the earth was without form and void (KJV) or formless and empty (NIV). Jer. 4:23-26 describes the same earth that Gen. 1:2 describes…formless and empty. The light from the heavens was gone (implying that it had once been there). There were no people, no birds, all the towns lay in ruins, and the once fruitful land was a desert. What the heck was Jeremiah describing? Can you imagine God creating something void and formless because He didn’t have the ability to create it in whole to begin with? Notta chance!

With that in mind, let’s step back into the past…beyond Adam…beyond the Garden of Eden…to the very beginning!

MY FREE HOME BUSINESS PROGRAMS

I’ve got two favorite free home business programs, and they’re favorites because they work if you apply yourself! With that said, there are all kinds of ways to make money from home! I, personally, prefer to battle my way through to wealth on the internet! I have a much larger potential customer base! With that said, I really don’t want to be too repetitious, so instead of copying myself here, I would much rather just send you to “My Free Home Business Blog” for those who might be interested in it! That way, I won’t waste your time, or mine, by sharing something you may not be interested in. Sooooo… if you’d like to take a look and follow along, simply click the link that says, “My Free Home Business Blog”! Just don’t forget to open it in a new window, or to come back here when you’re done!!!

“…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

Wow! Faith. This is a subject that will end up with it’s own category simply because there’s so much to it! For now, though, let me ask you a question. What is the single most important decision you will ever make in this life? If you’re a Christian, that decision was to accept Jesus as your Savior. Actually, even if you’re NOT a Christian, it’s still the most important decision you’ll make because it affects your entire eternal future! To accept Jesus as your Savior, Paul says this:

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

Think about this for a moment. If you “confess with your mouth” and “believe in your heart” that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. That is the single most monumental decision you will ever make (or not!). With that in mind, if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart the insignificant stuff, wouldn’t they, too, become just as real for you? For instance: “I can’t afford it.” If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that you can’t afford it, then you can’t. “I don’t have the money.” “I’m broke.” “I’m poor.” “I can’t pay my bills.” “I don’t make enough.” If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart…

And if you’re confessing it with your mouth, then you’re believing it in your heart, as well…because:

“…out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34

I’ll be the first one to admit, that sometimes the appearance of things makes it seem that we can’t afford it…or that we have no money. (This area of study, too, will have it’s own category…things are not always as they appear!). The thing is,”…my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19). No matter how it APPEARS, God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus! What most of us experience here on earth, is not lack, so much as it is deception. And we fall for it! Everything belongs to God. He’s given it all to Jesus. We’re co-heirs with Christ! So the problems don’t lie with God’s provision. They lie with our lack of faith and mis-management of the provisions he’s given us.

For example, it’s not how much you make that gets you in trouble. It’s how much you spend. If you make $10,000 a year and spend $8000 a year, you’re doing well. If you make 10 million a year and spend 12 million a year, you’re in trouble. It’s true that few people could live off of ten grand a year under their own power. But when you throw Jesus into the equation, manage your money wisely and depend on HIM rather than your own resources…well, you can literally move that mountain of debt. Read that verse again…it says YOU can say to this mountain, “move” and it will move! But it takes more than just speaking. It takes faith…not in your own abilities, but in his!

Please bear in mind, that this is not a prosperity based ministry, or a name it and claim it ministry. I don’t necessarily endorse either one as a whole, though they each DO have some Biblical validity in part. That, too, is for another time and place, though. For the moment, I would ask you to reflect on the thoughts and ideas behind this faith thing…the power of faith, and the power of the words we sometimes speak without thinking. If we truly realized that “…out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks,” we might ALL be more careful of what we say!

Just as a reminder…what is faith?

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

That’s all faith is. Being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. We hope for prosperity, but maybe we’re not seeing it right now. There are two choices we can make. We can accept the fact that because we don’t see it today, that it must not exist for us…or we can believe the promises of prosperity that God has already given us, and be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see because God has promised us these things. Again, we have to use a little wisdom and follow his guidance…but at some point, by following these principles, by following his guidance…by keeping our faith…we shall say to the mountain of debt, “Move from here to there” and it will move.

Keep in mind, too, that it doesn’t require a great deal of faith. It requires only the faith as small as a mustard seed.

“…the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.” Job 24:9

“Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts…if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.” Proverbs 22:26,27

“Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.” Matthew 18:25

“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7

Starting to get the idea? It’s not a good idea to be in debt! It’s ironic that we shudder at the thought of giving 10% to the Lord (when it all belongs to him anyway!), but we think nothing of paying our credit card company 12% or more in interest every month. Even more so, when you stop and think that I’ve actually seen credit card bills, that if you made the minimum payment, you’d actually be LOSING money, because the interest is more than the principle payment! We won’t even talk about finance companies and their 30% or more! Or the rent to own companies, cash advance, etc.  (Now, I know that rent to own companies don’t charge you “interest”, but when you end up paying $800 for a $150 television set…well…something’s wrong.

We are surely the slave to the one we owe! Owe the bank? Don’t pay ‘em and see what happens. You’ll do whatever they say to keep from losing your home. They are your master until your debt is paid. Why do you go to work in the morning? Because your lenders want their money. We’re slaves alright. Slaves to a worldly system…which is what this site is all about. Setting ourselves free, not just from debt, but from the worldly system! Debt just happens to be the first one we’re dealing with because it’s so entwined with our way of life!

It’s strange that the man with money that pays his bills on time can pay off his debt. The man with no money, who is late on his payment, pays a late fee. They demand MORE money from him for not having money to pay on time in the first place! Why? Because we are slaves to those we owe. Because they can. They are the masters.

If you’re like most of us, it’s probably too late for you to stay out of debt. But there are ways you can reduce it and eventually eliminate it. For instance, pay a little extra on your smallest bill and try to pay it off a little early. Then take that money and apply it to the next smallest bill…work your way from there. For a lot of us, it’s hard to find even a few extra dollars, but maybe you can try some of the free ways of making money we have listed on this site. None of them will make you rich fast, but with a little time, patience and sharing with others, you can build yourself a stream of extra income that you can use to apply toward your debts…and they are free.

We’ll be having a post on some other ways to earn money, as well. Ways that take into account the gifts that God has given you to use for the blessings of others. You don’t have to make extra money online. You may not have to make extra money at all. But it would be wise (like the ant) to 1. tithe 2. save 3. give 4. reduce or eliminate your debt. If you can do that without extra income, you’re in great shape!

Control your spending! It’s not how much you make (or don’t make). It’s how much you spend in relation to what you make. There are folks pulling in hundreds of thousands of dollars a year that are just as much in debt as the guy making $15,000 a year! Why? Because they spend more than they have to spend. Debt. Plan a little. Make a budget. It’s Biblical.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?…” Luke 14:28

God has a plan and a purpose. He didn’t just slap together a bunch of stuff and see where it would end up! That means it’s ok for you to plan too! Do you realize why Joseph stored up grain in Egypt for the upcoming famine (Gen. 41:48)? He was planning ahead! Plan what you NEED…then cut where you can, or try to make a little extra on the side. Then start working on getting rid of the master of debt!

Jesus came to set us FREE, my friend! It’s our own doing and our own devices that keep us enslaved, simply because we don’t understand the differences between the way the world works, and the way the kingdom of God works. That’s why you’re here! So stay tuned!! :0)

May the Lord bless you abundantly!