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Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Time to prepare butternut squash and neck pumpkins!
"A Lesson From A Seed"
Message summary: Creation - Of course it's a miracle, wrought by a miracle working, supernatural God!
Listen to this
message on your
audio player.
"Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day" (Genesis 1:11-13). "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible" (Hebrews 11:3).
Yesterday our friends Jesse and Wilma Dourte, who will soon celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary, came over to help Brooksyne in processing neck pumpkins and butternut squash. This involves peeling them, cutting them into small pieces and then making a puree before putting them into freezer bags. The process took about 4 hours.
Our friend, Nancy, gave some butternut squash to Brooksyne from her garden and we purchased the other fruit* at road side farm stands here in Lancaster County this last fall (see here). These store very nicely at room temp for several months before they begin to wilt or mold. They've been nesting on the bench at our lower entrance and on window sills. As we cut the pumpkins up Jesse asked for some seeds from the largest pumpkin (lower right in photo) expecting to plant them this spring. It's pretty neat to be in your nineties and yet still plan for another seedtime and harvest.
Considering the seeds brought to mind the daily Bible text, the first reference to seeds in the Bible.
One of the common questions often considered regarding our origins is "What came first, the chicken or the egg?" A derivative of this might be, "What came first, the tree or the seed?" Actually the Holy Scriptures answer each of these questions in the Genesis creation account. The former in Genesis 1:20ff and the latter in our daily text.
This is a significant point for those of us who accept the Genesis account of creation as a true and reliable record. One of the points made by those having faith in the evolutionary explanation of origins is that it would take extremely long periods of time for everything to evolve from non- living matter to living (something still not explained but vigorously believed nevertheless). Then from simple one cell organism to increasing complex. This all supposedly has taken millions or billions of years depending on who you listen to.
But according to Scripture God created life at the word of His command in a mature state. When He created animals they were mature and fully grown, ready to reproduce. At the time of creation "God blessed them and said, 'Be fruitful and increase in number'..." (Genesis 1:22, 28). In regard to plants God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so."
Of
course the skeptic, who is invested in a secular "There is no God"
mentality, mocks at this belief. But more distressing is when those who
claim to believe in God feel they must concede to the world's belief
system on this point. So many worry about appearing unscientific or
unintellectual as the world is fond of casting believers in God's
account of creation. However in our view believing in the
evolutionary explanation for our origins actually takes a lot more
faith!
Creation - Of course it's a miracle, wrought by a miracle working, supernatural God! "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible" (Genesis 11:3).
So next time you see a seed (probably today), consider, believe, serve and praise the God who created all things.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, we are so very grateful for the signs of life, color, beauty,
shape and functionality that are evident in the plants and vegetation
all around us; a result of Your creative handwork on the third day of
creation. Though You are Creator, You have made us stewards and
caretakers of that which You created. What a joy it is to plant a seed
or seedling in the ground and watch as You also provide the carbon
dioxide, rain, and sunshine to aid its health and growth. We
affirm once again in our writings and prayer that You are the divine
Creator of the universe and all things are in submission to Your
creative power and according to Your will. In the name of Jesus
we thank You for these life-sustaining blessings. Amen.
* According to this site pumpkin and squash are fruit! "Botanically speaking, a fruit is a seed-bearing structure that develops from the ovary of a flowering plant, whereas vegetables are all other plant parts, such as roots, leaves and stems. By those standards, seedy outgrowths such as apples, squash and, yes, tomatoes are all fruits, while roots such as beets, potatoes and turnips, leaves such as spinach, kale and lettuce, and stems such as celery and broccoli are all vegetables." However this same site makes a distinction between botanical and culinary definitions and thus we will still refer to corn, beans and other botanical fruits as vegetables!
The Danger Of Making Concessions: About fifteen years ago I was at a chaplain training conference in Springfield Missouri and attended a seminar where the presenter essentially mocked the traditional Biblical view of Creation in a rather sarcastic and demeaning tone. The college professor told us that that he delighted in refuting any students in his college classroom who came to college believing in the traditional literal viewpoint of creation (likely taught by his parents, pastors and Sunday School teachers) and gloating how he was successful in convincing them otherwise. It's sure sad when you send your kids to a Christian College only to have this type of indoctrination!
Sadly since that time the official position on Creation in this denomination has been revised from a 1977 statement which strongly affirmed the Biblical account to a watered down, concessionary statement that is much more accommodating to the secularists. (Interestingly 1977 was the year I graduated from Bible College where I was taught the traditional Creation viewpoint.) Some might say we've come a long way, but I sure don't believe it to be the right way!!!
Coincidentally, in my observation these concessions are increasing on many other matters of faith, doctrine, and morality all across the church landscape, regardless of denomination.
The problem is this: Once you start making concessions,
Busy at work! These two dear friends, like parents to us in some ways, are now in their early 90's but insist on helping me process our pumpkins and butternut squash. In fact they look forward to it and warn us they would be very disappointed not to be a part of the toilsome job. After lunch we dug right in, or should I say, cut right into the intense labor of cutting and cutting and.... Wilma must have been on her feet more than four hours and wanted to stay longer to clean-up though I drew the line there. They are remarkable in their health and strength for their age.
"Thou Art Worthy O Lord" Video Studio musicians This was a commonly sung Scripture chorus when we were younger. Sure miss singing it!
"He's Everything To Me" Video This old song came to mind and I like this version of young people singing around a campfire from the movie "The Restless Ones". It occurs to me that this scene of "young people" is only a few years older than when we were young!
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise" Video Jaron and Katherine Kamin
Finally today:
We followed this tobacco wagon train for a while yesterday.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
Time to prepare butternut squash and neck pumpkins!
"A Lesson From A Seed"
Message summary: Creation - Of course it's a miracle, wrought by a miracle working, supernatural God!
Listen to this
message on your
audio player."Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day" (Genesis 1:11-13). "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible" (Hebrews 11:3).
Yesterday our friends Jesse and Wilma Dourte, who will soon celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary, came over to help Brooksyne in processing neck pumpkins and butternut squash. This involves peeling them, cutting them into small pieces and then making a puree before putting them into freezer bags. The process took about 4 hours.
Our friend, Nancy, gave some butternut squash to Brooksyne from her garden and we purchased the other fruit* at road side farm stands here in Lancaster County this last fall (see here). These store very nicely at room temp for several months before they begin to wilt or mold. They've been nesting on the bench at our lower entrance and on window sills. As we cut the pumpkins up Jesse asked for some seeds from the largest pumpkin (lower right in photo) expecting to plant them this spring. It's pretty neat to be in your nineties and yet still plan for another seedtime and harvest.
Considering the seeds brought to mind the daily Bible text, the first reference to seeds in the Bible.
One of the common questions often considered regarding our origins is "What came first, the chicken or the egg?" A derivative of this might be, "What came first, the tree or the seed?" Actually the Holy Scriptures answer each of these questions in the Genesis creation account. The former in Genesis 1:20ff and the latter in our daily text.
This is a significant point for those of us who accept the Genesis account of creation as a true and reliable record. One of the points made by those having faith in the evolutionary explanation of origins is that it would take extremely long periods of time for everything to evolve from non- living matter to living (something still not explained but vigorously believed nevertheless). Then from simple one cell organism to increasing complex. This all supposedly has taken millions or billions of years depending on who you listen to.
But according to Scripture God created life at the word of His command in a mature state. When He created animals they were mature and fully grown, ready to reproduce. At the time of creation "God blessed them and said, 'Be fruitful and increase in number'..." (Genesis 1:22, 28). In regard to plants God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so."
Of
course the skeptic, who is invested in a secular "There is no God"
mentality, mocks at this belief. But more distressing is when those who
claim to believe in God feel they must concede to the world's belief
system on this point. So many worry about appearing unscientific or
unintellectual as the world is fond of casting believers in God's
account of creation. However in our view believing in the
evolutionary explanation for our origins actually takes a lot more
faith!Creation - Of course it's a miracle, wrought by a miracle working, supernatural God! "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible" (Genesis 11:3).
So next time you see a seed (probably today), consider, believe, serve and praise the God who created all things.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, we are so very grateful for the signs of life, color, beauty,
shape and functionality that are evident in the plants and vegetation
all around us; a result of Your creative handwork on the third day of
creation. Though You are Creator, You have made us stewards and
caretakers of that which You created. What a joy it is to plant a seed
or seedling in the ground and watch as You also provide the carbon
dioxide, rain, and sunshine to aid its health and growth. We
affirm once again in our writings and prayer that You are the divine
Creator of the universe and all things are in submission to Your
creative power and according to Your will. In the name of Jesus
we thank You for these life-sustaining blessings. Amen.* According to this site pumpkin and squash are fruit! "Botanically speaking, a fruit is a seed-bearing structure that develops from the ovary of a flowering plant, whereas vegetables are all other plant parts, such as roots, leaves and stems. By those standards, seedy outgrowths such as apples, squash and, yes, tomatoes are all fruits, while roots such as beets, potatoes and turnips, leaves such as spinach, kale and lettuce, and stems such as celery and broccoli are all vegetables." However this same site makes a distinction between botanical and culinary definitions and thus we will still refer to corn, beans and other botanical fruits as vegetables!
The Danger Of Making Concessions: About fifteen years ago I was at a chaplain training conference in Springfield Missouri and attended a seminar where the presenter essentially mocked the traditional Biblical view of Creation in a rather sarcastic and demeaning tone. The college professor told us that that he delighted in refuting any students in his college classroom who came to college believing in the traditional literal viewpoint of creation (likely taught by his parents, pastors and Sunday School teachers) and gloating how he was successful in convincing them otherwise. It's sure sad when you send your kids to a Christian College only to have this type of indoctrination!
Sadly since that time the official position on Creation in this denomination has been revised from a 1977 statement which strongly affirmed the Biblical account to a watered down, concessionary statement that is much more accommodating to the secularists. (Interestingly 1977 was the year I graduated from Bible College where I was taught the traditional Creation viewpoint.) Some might say we've come a long way, but I sure don't believe it to be the right way!!!
Coincidentally, in my observation these concessions are increasing on many other matters of faith, doctrine, and morality all across the church landscape, regardless of denomination.
The problem is this: Once you start making concessions,
- Where do you stop?
- At what point is it an altogether different belief system than you started with?
Busy at work! These two dear friends, like parents to us in some ways, are now in their early 90's but insist on helping me process our pumpkins and butternut squash. In fact they look forward to it and warn us they would be very disappointed not to be a part of the toilsome job. After lunch we dug right in, or should I say, cut right into the intense labor of cutting and cutting and.... Wilma must have been on her feet more than four hours and wanted to stay longer to clean-up though I drew the line there. They are remarkable in their health and strength for their age.
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"Thou Art Worthy O Lord" Video Studio musicians This was a commonly sung Scripture chorus when we were younger. Sure miss singing it!
"He's Everything To Me" Video This old song came to mind and I like this version of young people singing around a campfire from the movie "The Restless Ones". It occurs to me that this scene of "young people" is only a few years older than when we were young!
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise" Video Jaron and Katherine Kamin
Finally today:
We followed this tobacco wagon train for a while yesterday.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
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