Mary Jo and I just finished doing a seminar at Grace Bible Church in Sherman, TX. The pastor of this church teaches solidly on the Biblical record of Creation, and the people are eager to increase their understanding of scientific evidence that supports the Biblical view. We enjoyed the informed and enthusiastic response, especially from the young people who are being trained to defend their faith with boldness and confidence. It is so good to be in a church like this. I...
Read More2010 Speaking Impacts Kids and Adults
2010 was a busy, “ministry-packed” year with 187 separate speaking/teaching events in 17 states (AZ, CO, CT, IL, KS, MN, MO, MT, NE, NM, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WI, WY) as well as internationally in India and The Netherlands. Of these 187 events, over 20 were multiple-day events of 5 to 12 days (VBS’s, camps, and extended field trip classes). Speakers reported a total of 439 speaking days (not including travel and layover days). That’s a lot of speaking for our 3 main speaking...
Read MoreWait Upon the Lord
The AOI Board met this past weekend to consider direction and set the budget for 2011. This January meeting is always vital as we seek the Lord together to discern His goals and budget for the year. We are so grateful for a Board that prays! This year, we face a very real challenge, as year-end giving was substantially down. Since we already operate on a very “lean” budget, cutting expenses by much would be detrimental to our ability to reach people with the truth of...
Read MoreFreaked Out!
I just received these thoughts from a man in Texas who we have had the privilege to help train in creation. What he reports really concerns me: The Spanish pastor at my church shared with me that our denomination’s theology conference was taking place at our local church and that there was a Genesis & Science session. Without even thinking about it (and doing my due diligence), I asked for a free pass to this session and eagerly attended. It all seemed fine and...
Read MorePolar Bears and Dogs Playing!
I just saw a short video on the Mercoloa.com website showing adult polar bears playing with sled dogs. They were quite friendly with each other. The bears actually gave the dogs “bear hugs.” Both the dogs and the bears are carnivores and could be quite vicious. It made me think of what the original creation was like with all the animals getting along with each other — perhaps playing like these were. Likely, Adam & Eve were also thoroughly enjoying them....
Read MoreFruitfulness
In my past 2 blogs (His Workmanship and Chosen to Bear Fruit), I have looked a little bit at what it means to be a new creation in Christ and how we can bear fruit. The Bible talks much about fruitfulness – and bearing fruit for His Kingdom is one of the greatest desires of my life. But the question might be asked: What is this fruit? We often think of souls won for the Kingdom of God, and certainly this is wonderful fruit for which we can be grateful. But fruitfulness is...
Read MoreGod’s Handiwork! Amazing!
I was just thinking about the marvel of God’s Creation. The detail He put into His creation is absolutely amazing. Look at the exquisite designs of the snowflake (earlier blog), the wonderful design of our eyes, or think about the intricate details and bewildering complexity of the cell. Looking deeper we see even more supreme technology in the inner workings of the cell, including sophisticated molecular motors and the computer instructions we call the DNA. Contrast that...
Read MoreChosen to Bear Fruit
In my last blog (His Workmanship), I shared some thoughts from Andrew Murray about being God’s workmanship and being “in Christ” by His work. We become a “new creation” when we are joined to Christ, and bear much fruit as we stay connected to Him. Let’s explore these truths a bit further. Have you ever thought about how a vine produces fruit? It’s certainly not by thinking or effort on the part of the vine. Fruitfulness comes naturally as the branches are connected to the...
Read MoreEvolution and Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer!
I just received a call from a friend of mine who had watched a Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer Christmas/New Year’s program on television. They must have worked really hard to weave it into the story, but sure enough, they managed to squeeze evolution into it! They went back through “Father Time” to the first “Father Time” “millions of years ago.” Of course, in keeping with the true spirit of evolution, “Father Time” back then was a hunched over half-man/half-ape caveman....
Read MoreHis Workmanship
In his classic, Abide in Christ, Andrew Murray powerfully reminds us: “God Himself Has United You To Him.“ According to I Cor. 1:30, “Of God are ye in Christ Jesus … ” We are “in Christ,” not of our doing, but of God’s – and therein lies our confidence and our fruitfulness. Murray writes: “You are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works”: grafted by Him into Christ, unto the bringing forth of much fruit. Whatever God creates is exquisitely suited to its...
Read More40th Anniversary Thoughts
We wrote this a few days ago while looking out over the lights shimmering across a beautiful bay in Manzanillo, Mexico. What a wonderful spot to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and reflect on the beauty of God’s creation and our life and work together! When we were first married, we had no idea what God had in store for us – the miles we would travel, the sites we would see, the people we would meet, the blessings we would receive, and the challenges we would face....
Read MoreSnow and Snowflakes
Wow! Even in the midst of cold shivers in a blizzard, we can marvel at the beauty and intricate design of what God has made. It escapes me how someone can look at snowflakes under magnification and not see this. The hexagonal shape and pattern is slightly different in each flake. The shape depends on many factors happening right at the boundary of the snowflake as it is forming. This includes the air temperature, humidity, wind, and interaction of other nearby snowflakes....
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Friends - Richard's Life was Changed!! - And this is why he is leading AOI's Colorado Family Camp! Join us July 30 - Aug 4 - conta.cc/3X4JroB pic.twitter.com/u8j1AP1Pmu
