Gtcotr/ss122213
Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the
Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a
Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
Some
years ago a well known talk show host who is also an agnostic was asked whom,
of all people who have ever lived, he would most like to interview. He
immediately replied his choice would be Jesus of Nazareth and that he would ask
Him just one question: "Are You indeed virgin
born?" "The answer to that question," he said,
"would explain history for me." The talk show host, though agnostic,
hit the bull's eye on this one. For if Christ's virgin birth is a reality (and
it is), the answer to every other question becomes clear.
Luke 1 NKJV
26 Now in the sixth month the
angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a
man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And having come in, the
angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you;
blessed are you among women!"
29 But when she saw him, she
was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
30 Then the angel said to
her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 "And behold, you will
conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
32 "He will be great,
and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the
throne of His father David.
33 "And He will reign
over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
34 Then Mary said to the
angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
Although
Mary was both attentive and sincere, she had no idea the depth of the question
she asked Gabriel. “How can this be?” It’s not possible!
Mary
may not have known the intricate biological dynamics necessary for her to
conceive, carry and deliver a child, but she was aware that she could not accomplish
this task on her own …
Only
in the last few decades have we realized the complexities of the human anatomy
and physiology that serve to make the virgin birth an outlandish claim. You
see, the more medical science learns about the makeup of the human body, the
more they are overwhelmed.
For
example: Most of us know that we are made up of cells. Brain cells; hair cells;
blood cells; white blood cells; red blood cells; skin cells and cells of all
sorts that somehow know how to make and maintain bones, lungs, eyes and ears
and every other part of our body. In fact, it is estimated there is somewhere
between 35 and 100 trillion cells at any given time resident in the human body.
A
cell can be broken down into three main parts:
1.
Outer
cell membrane
2.
Cytoplasm
3.
Nucleolus
Everything
in our body is made up of cells.
There
are nerve cells, muscle cells, red and white blood cells, bone cells,
reproductive cells and others. It is simply amazing how each one is linked
together to create and maintain the body as they are continually being replaced
and each one takes its place. Some cells, like those in the digestive tract,
live only a few days while skin cells can live 2 to 3 weeks, red blood cells up
to 4 months, white blood cells near a year and some muscle cells as long as 15
years. Eventually however, every cell in the human body is replaced.
In
the nucleolus of each cell there is a non-living chromatin material called
deoxyribonucleic acid, more commonly known as DNA. If stretched out each strand
of DNA would be about 6 feet in length. Multiply that by the number of cells
estimated to be a single human body and if put together end to end would make a
DNA rope that would reach all way from the sun to Pluto and back again. That’s
a lot of DNA for each one of you to be carrying around on any given day.
If
you were to find a piece of paper whereon was written:
ryola=-[polkbe2faz=[pkm;nxc98698yu[‘m.n,q7i87=-08ujn-pjnlq2btbgieb090ipok;JMLNKLTGEZVUI[Klm;n,vm/,??
]\=]p-o[0ip9uihu7i8tiuk098yuijkbM, F,vz/
\] [pjo;enkf.zbn boipp[p’;,?>?Vn Hop[p’
\] [pjo;enkf.zbn boipp[p’;,?>?Vn Hop[p’
?
[E[]GONIKPL’09IUJHG09iuyhgf5tyhj09IUH5TGHJ0oiu54rt9IUY65T9ii
What
would you think? Perhaps I would consider some kid or maybe a monkey had been
randomly banging on my keyboard or maybe a janitor had inadvertently brushed it
while cleaning. However, I would not think for one minute that there was any
intelligible intent or any intelligence at all.
Conversely,
if you saw a piece of paper with:
1.
1. Cook first 3 ingredients in a large skillet over medium heat,
stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until bubbly. Add bananas; cook 2 to 3
minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat.
2.
2. Whisk together 3/4 cup granulated sugar, next 3 ingredients,
and 4 egg yolks in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking
constantly, 8 to 10 minutes or until a pudding-like thickness. (Mixture will
just begin to bubble and will hold soft peaks when whisk is lifted.) Remove
from heat, and stir in vanilla.
3.
3. Divide half of banana mixture, pudding, and wafers among 8
(1-cup) ramekins or ovenproof glass dishes. Layer with remaining banana
mixture, pudding, and vanilla wafers.
4.
4. Beat 4 egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until
foamy. Add remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until
stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves (2 to 4 minutes). Spread meringue over
ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet.
5.
5. Bake at 325° for 15 to 20 minutes or until meringue is
golden. Let cool on a wire rack 30 minutes.
Note:
For the best flavor, choose
firm, ripe bananas with brown speckles.
You
would immediately accept the absolute fact that someone wrote this on purpose
with intelligent design and aimed at a specific outcome. This is in no way
random nor would anyone imagine that it was. If somebody tried to tell you that
they dropped their keyboard or drug it through a maze for a million years until
it finally, randomly, got every letter and every space so perfect that you
could follow these instructions and get banana pudding every time – you would
count them either a liar or delusional.
The
recipe above is only 202 letters long. Can you imagine enough letters to reach
from the sun all the way to Pluto and back, each one in perfect order so as to
accurately record and play back the schematics necessary to build a human being
and link them to every ancestor they have ever had as well as connecting them
to every relative they will ever have in the future? That’s what is written in
microscopic detail on the chromatin material contained in every nucleolus of
the trillions of cells in your body.
Don’t
tell me it was randomly written through the trial and error process of
evolution. And it would have had to have happened not once, but twice in
perfect order within only a few years, ever so slightly different so as to
create one male and one female of every species we observe and evolve the food
and water sources at that same instant as well. Either that or … man is a
created being by someone so intelligent that we cannot comprehend them.
That’s our God!
Every
cell in the body has 23 pair of chromosomes which make up the 46 necessary for
life … Every cell that is except the reproductive cells. The reproductive cells
in both the male and female only carry 23 single chromosomes. When the male
sperm and the female egg are joined together they make up the 46 chromosomes
and life begins, merging the characteristics of each parent as the two become
one and a child is conceived.
When
Mary said, “How can this be?”, she could not have understood the complexity of
her dilemma. Since she was a virgin and her reproductive cells only had 23
chromosomes, she was near 6 billion bits of genetic information short of having
a child … where would the other 23 chromosomes come from? God designed us so that
life could not come from a single reproductive cell.
If
God created mankind (and He did), then it was only a matter of choice for Him
to make a virgin conceive and bring forth His Son. Things impossible with man
are possible with God. Herein was the answer:
Luke 1
35 And the angel answered and
said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born
will be called the Son of God.
36 "Now indeed,
Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is
now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
37 "For with God nothing
will be impossible."
38 Then Mary said,
"Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word."
And the angel departed from her.
Upon
Mary’s submission to God’s will and declaration of His Word, she received the
seed of the Holy Spirit and conceived the Son of God.
The
Apostle John described it thus:
John 1: 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth.
This
is Jesus, our Immanuel, the Messiah, Son of man and Son of God.
Jesus
was born in the town of Bethlehem to a virgin named Mary who was espoused to a
man named Joseph. Shepherds heard the multitude of heavenly hosts worshipping
God and declaring “Peace on earth, good will towards man.”
We
do not know the day on which the Son of God was born, but the whole world has
set aside one day each year to celebrate His birth. In 3 days it will be
Christmas. Remember the reason for this season and as well remember:
With God, nothing will be impossible.
Merry
Christmas!
