our world is intelligently designed.

DEVOTIONAL READING

C.S Lewis & Intelligent Design - You Tube video below.

Statement by C.S. Lewis - "If the solar system was brought about by an accidental collision, then the appearance of organic life on this planet was also an accident, and the whole evolution of Man was an accident too. If so, then all our present thoughts are mere accidents—the accidental by-product of the movement of atoms. And this holds for the thoughts of the materialists and astronomers as well as for anyone else’s. But if their thoughts—i.e. of materialism and astronomy—are merely accidental by-products, why should we believe them to be true? I see no reason for believing that one accident should be able to give me a correct account of all the other accidents. It’s like expecting that the accidental shape taken by the splash when you upset a milk jug should give you a correct account of how the jug was made and why it was upset."

Statement by Albert Einstein - "Concerning matter we have all been wrong. What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses. There is no matter." 
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Statement by Max Plank - "As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter"

Statement by Werner von Braun - "It is so obvious that we live in a world in which a fantastic amount of logic, of rational lawfulness, is at work. We are aware of a large number of laws of physics and chemistry and biology which, by their mutual interdependence, make nature work as if it were following a grandiose plan from its earliest beginnings to the farthest reaches of its future destiny. To me, it would be incomprehensible that there should be such a gigantic master plan without a master planner behind it. This master planner is He whom we call the Creator of the Universe . . . One cannot be exposed to the law and order of the universe without concluding that there must be a Divine intent behind it all."

Statement by G. K. Chesterton - "It is absurd for the Evolutionist to complain that it is unthinkable for an admittedly unthinkable God to make everything out of nothing, and then pretend that it is more thinkable that nothing should turn itself into anything."

Genesis 1 - Genesis 2, Verse 7 - Chapter 1, 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. 6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8 God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. 9 Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. 13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day. 14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. 17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. 20 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” 21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. 24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. 31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Chapter 2, 2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. 5 Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. 6 But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

You were covered in sapphires & pearls when you were made (before the fall of mankind).
"You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The ruby, the topaz and the diamond;
The beryl, the onyx and the jasper;
The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald;
And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets,
Was in you.
On the day that you were created
They were prepared.
You were the anointed cherub who covers,
And I placed you there.
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
​You were blameless in your ways
From the day you were created."
-Ezekiel 28:13-15

Ironside/Lewis Debate, Excerpt from New York Ave Church of Christ bulletin 7/9/17, Notes by Dennis Winebarger - Many years ago, Dr. Harry Ironsides was asked to speak at a street revival meeting in San Francisco. As he finished, Arthur Morrow Lewis (who often lectured against Christianity) challenged Dr. Ironsides to a debate on the subject of “Agnosticism vs. Christianity.” Dr. Ironsides answered: “I accept your challenge on the condition that you defend the worth of your belief by bringing to the platform with you one man who has been rescued by the power of your teaching to a useful life from the grip of some vice against which he was helpless, and one woman of deep immoral background who because of your philosophy is now a modest, pure, honorable member of society. For my part I will meet you with one hundred such witnesses to the power of Christ.” Mr. Lewis shrugged his shoulders and edged out of the crowd. 

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE
Before an acorn grows into a mighty tree forces of nature must act on it. And the acorn did not appear from nowhere either. Where do these forces come from, and what is the origins of All? Did we, the earth and its lifeforms, evolve from a universe that previously contained no life or intelligence within it? If you think so, then even soup has more meaningful life-force in it, than random acts by random micro-particles forging their way into the reality we know today. But that is not the case. Meaning and purpose proceeded the origins of man, and a great force created men and women for a meaningful and purposeful reason. Morality stems from this meaning and purpose, and hence there is goodness in our world. We can see that with our own eyes.

Did mankind invent meaning & purpose, codes of ethics, and a fantasy about supernatural reality? Supernatural reality and spiritual reality can be perceived with our prayers and answers to prayers. There is much evidence for the true prophets of Christianity starting in the Old Testament, the miracles in the Bible, and other corroborating Biblical events such as the great flood. Prophets interacted with supernatural phenomenon, and today we have the amazing Word of God - the Bible. There are ancient truths that can be tested over time, putting to rest any manmade-theory for the origins of morality. Morality and spiritual truths were passed onto us by God, and because of God. Our meaning and purpose stems from the creation story and our walk with God throughout history. The existence of a spiritual world is difficult to refute, for even science is recognizing the reality of consciousness and other dimensions--the beginnings of a scientific explanation for our soul and other spiritual realms of existence.

Are we prone to worship gods or God because we have a long history and play of royalty, super-beings, war-heros and religious leaders who drive this type of worship? Yes we are, and No we are not. We are because God is real and royalty, war-heros and religious leaders have bowed down before Him. They have also been involved in idol worship along with the general masses of people, and worshipped other gods and super-beings. In many cases this worship, and the worship of the One God, has been co-opted and re-packaged for the purposes of driving the masses to support the whims of the kings and leaders. But Christianity, for the record, has a fairly decent history of salvation and has spread moral teachings across continents. What is taught is the unchanging laws of God. For when people have heeded His laws, history provides rich proof of the benefits. Thanks be to God.

DEVOTIONAL PRAYER
Dear God, Your laws are unchanging and You are unchanging. For over a century now, science has diverged from studying the laws of nature in reverence to the divine. Science now postulates secular theories to support the whims of the "kings" we have today and their progressive movements. But their movements have been more of a de-evolution than progressive evolution, and Your unchanging laws are being ignored. This falling away has been prophesied about, however, I pray that science move towards a state of awe (of Your design) in its study of Your creation. I pray that meaning, purpose and morality are not taken for granted by people and they understand the Source. I pray that people "see" and "hear" once again, for we are not mere soup. For I see the acorn growing into an oak and it is a true wonder, and proof of intelligent design. I see answers to my prayers over time, which is proof of a supernatural spiritual world. I see people heeding Your laws in various circles and the blessings that surmount. I read and hear Your Word, and see that ancient truths have survived the tests of time and history. I stand in awe of Your design. Thank you for creating us. When I hear of how we were made before the fall and separation from the Garden, I weep in my heart for we are now a broken people. Women and men have a long history of choices, and we must obey rather than disobey. Bring us back to a period of obedience. Glory be to God. Amen.