“Are you a Young Earth or an Old Earth creationist?” This is a question we get quite often, especially when trying to set up seminars with churches or groups that have never seen or heard of our program. My answer used to always be “Young Earth”. However, I now give a different answer to the question. Now don’t get me wrong … I do believe in a young earth, recently created about 6000 years ago. I believe in that age because of the genealogies...
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 MoreBlack Bart the Friendly Pirate
Just before Christmas, we had a visitor adopt us … a coal black raven. I have been putting scraps, left over from butchering an elk, out near our pond for the wildlife to enjoy. The birds have really enjoyed this “manna” from heaven. Within minutes of putting out the scraps, magpies show up, followed by ravens, blue birds, and then an occasional red-tailed hawk. Coyotes and bobcats have also visited the banquet. One day I was kneeling on the ground out in the...
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 MoreWhat is Christmas?
The celebration of Christmas is a wonderful time of year that I enjoy very much. However, the Christmas season is not about traditions, emotions, the giving of presents, family, or decorations … and it’s certainly not about Santa Claus. Even though these can all bring us delight and give us warm “fuzzies”, these are not the true meaning of Christmas. At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ child. What that infant did when he grew into a...
Read MoreAOI’s Newsletters
I was able to get the Kids Think & Believe Too! newsletter finished and ready for the printer before the busyness of Christmas season took over. AOI publishes an adult newsletter and a children’s newsletter every 2 months. Dave and Mary Jo Nutting, along with occasional guest writers, write the articles for Think and Believe, and then have graphic artist Mark Sonmor add the artwork and layout. I (with occasional help from my wife Marilyn) write the Kids Think...
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 MoreProphecy Fulfilled
In the 1830’s Charles Lyell created uniformitarianism, the idea that “the present is the key to the past”, a popular philosophy. From this philosophy came the foundation of modern geology – billions of years of slow and gradual geological processes. With this timescale in place, Darwin’s theory of organic evolution emerged to try to explain the development of all life on earth. As a result, the worldview in place today has turned away from the...
Read MoreA Note of Thanksgiving
Notes like the one below are a great encouragement as we prepare for 2011. “Hi, Everyone! Thank you for your ministry! My oldest son, who is 15, had been taking Marine Biology and Oceanography at the local community college. He’s had the same professor for both classes. This teacher is hard core evolution in thought. My son said he was thankful and glad that he got to hear your seminars, because he said if he hadn’t, he would have easily gone to the side of...
Read MoreCreation Ministries – Making an Impact
Recently I was in the doctor’s office getting some stitches in a couple of my fingers as a result of an accident in the workshop. As the doctor, still in residency, was stitching me up, I began to ask him about his education, where he was from, etc. … just getting to know him. After a short time, he asked what I did for a living. Since I was dressed in old patched insulated coveralls (covered with grease, sawdust, and fresh blood), and beat-up work boots (with grease...
Read MoreSEARCH ME, O GOD
Almost as soon as she could talk, my oldest granddaughter, who is now 4 years old, has been praying at mealtimes when given the opportunity. At first I couldn’t decipher all of her words. She always started out with “Jesus”, which I recognized, but then followed with a phrase that took me a year to finally figure out. “Jesus” was, and is to this day, followed by the phrase, “Help be good.” I find it interesting, that children, even...
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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
