To fight or not?

Οὔπω μέχρις αἵματος.… “Not yet unto blood have ye resisted in your contest with sin.” Bengel says: “a cursu venit ad pugilatum”. Cf. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. But this is doubtful μέχρις αἵματος [Theoph., ἄχρι θανάτου, cf. Revelation 12:11.] Does this mean, Ye have not yet become a martyr church, suffering death in Christ’s cause; or does it mean, Ye have not yet resisted sin in deadly earnest? The interpretation is determined by the connection. Jesus endured the ἀντιλογία of sinners even to blood, the death of the cross; the Hebrews have not yet been called so to suffer in their conflict, a conflict which every day summons them to fresh resistance against the sin of failure of faith and apostasy. “ ‘Sin’ is not here put for sinners, nor is it sin in their persecutors; it is sin in themselves, the sin of unbelief, which is here regarded as their true antagonist, though of course the excesses of their persecutors gave it its power against them” (Davidson and Weiss).

Hebrews 12:4
You have not yet resisted to blood, striving against sin.

Are mutations part of the "engine" of evolution?

I find science very interesting. I was doing a lot of reading on the common mechanisms of genetic mutation. This explains how the mechanisms actually provide examples of a loss of information rather than the creation of new information necessary to explain molecules-to-man evolution.

In evolutionary theory, mutations are described as the mechanism that fuels the engine of natural selection, creating new organisms as a result. However, the vast majority of mutations are either neutral or cause a loss of information in the genetic code of an individual.

Evolution teaches that mutations have accumulated over millions of years to increase the complexity of organisms on the earth.

The Bible teaches that, as a result of Adam's sin, all of creation is in a downward slide-including the genetic information that is in every living cell.
The law against marrying close relations was not given to Israel until Leviticus 18.
Up to this point, the accumulation of genetic mistakes was apparently not significant enough to cause genetic disorders in the offspring of  close family members.

Today, with thousands of years accumulated genetic mistakes in the human gene pool, intermarriage would be much more likely to produce children with genetic disorders. So it seems that the explanation of a genetic degradation since the Cause of Adam actually fits the evidence better than the evolution model of increasing complexity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d-J974AlF0

The Argument from Gradation (Perfection) in Things

1) There are different degrees of perfections among beings (some are most nearly perfect than others).

2) But things cannot be more or less perfect unless there is a wholly perfect.

3) Whatever is perfect is the cause of the less-than-perfect (the higher is the cause of the lower).

4) Therefore, there must be a perfect Being that is causing the perfections of the less-than-perfect beings.

5) This we call God.

Hebrews 1:1-4

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.  So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Do not lose heart!

I will confess my feelings that I have now and it goes with the Bible verses that I will explain to you.
In this life, we will have many distractions and temptation to sin.
I don't know where you live but I live in Seattle which I think is the city where most people are "none". The word "none" means that they really don't have faith in anything and really don't care about spirituality.

I have felt that my efforts are in vain because it seems that Seattle is getting more indifferent towards Jesus and the Bible which is hatred towards the Maker.
If you are in this state of mind which I am currently in, then let's go to the Bible if you are an true believer in Jesus.

They are not many people in Seattle that are encouraging me to keep going for Jesus. I must remember that I am alien in this world (aliens are real, for I am not of this world!!).
There have been millions or billions of people that followed Jesus in tougher positions then  me.

Let's read Hebrews 12:1. This verse says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

I can look back at the people that God inspired to wrote down the Bible because of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Hebrews (No one knows the author of the book of Hebrews but I think it is Paul).
He was treated poorly but he keep on going for Jesus.

I can look at the believers that died for their faith and refuse to renounce their faith. I can look at believers in North Korea and China and they will suffer for their faith and many will die because of Jesus.

I think that every believer needs to know what Hebrews 12:2 says. The verse says, " fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

If you claim the name of Jesus then we need to only look at Jesus and keep on going. He the the beginning and end and that should never change in our view point about Him but we all lack faith something.

Apostle Peter walked on the water but then he doubted then he fall into the lake. If you have fallen in that lake then ask God to strengthen your faith and pray and read the Bible.

When I think of Jesus, I think of Him being God and coming down on this earth and living the perfect life. His purpose was to die on the cross so we can be made pure. We all have sinned and one sin leads separation from Him and hell.

He was hated on but He only thought of us when He was put on that cross.
He didn't just die on that cross and forever was dead. He arose from the dead and then went back up to heaven to be on the right hand of the Father.

I want to encourage every believer to keep on going and these are my last words for you.
Hebrews 12:3 says, "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

When is a whale a whale?

Evolutionists predicts  the presence of billions of transitional life forms that have existed in earth's history. Despite the presence of 250,000 fossil species, clear transitional forms, which would bolster evolutionary theory, are virtually absent. The situation of transitional forms is glaringly obvious in the case of whales and other marine mammals. The gap in transitional forms was supposedly filled by a partial fossil specimen named Pakicetus inachus. Even though the fossil was only a fraction of the skull and a few teeth, the media and scientists portrayed it as a whale-like transitional form. The fact that it was found in a deposit that was likely from a river area puts the interpretation of Pakicetus in doubt. (Most complete specimens have been found that show Pakicetus as a dog-like land animal.)

Fossils of Ambulocetus nattans were later discovered and this creature was considered to be a walking whale. Despite the lack of pelvic girdle (a partial pelvis was found in later specimens), Ambulocetus is described as having walked on land much as sea lions do and swimming with a combined motion much as otters and seals do. Why a whale would hooves on its rear feet and living near the seashore are questions that are not answered by the fossils.

The deposit containing Ambulocetus were found 400 feet higher than where Pakicetus was found, but both are supposedly 52 million years old. Pakicetus is called the oldest whale (cetacean) but Ambulocetus is supposed to display transitional features as land animals turned into whales. Based on teeth alone, several other wolf-like carnivores (mesonychids) are thought to be ancestors as well. The exact arrangement of these groups is disputed and some consider the mesonychids to be a branch separate from whales.

This interpretation of scant fossils evidence is very imaginative and totally necessary to support the notion that whales evolved from land animals. Such imaginative claims of evolutionary history have been claimed in the past only to be false. Further evidence will certainly change the current thinking in drastic ways.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCiVk5hTAnc

Thomas Aquinas, The Argument From Possibility And Necessity

The Argument From Possibility and Necessity

1) There are beings that begin to exist and cease to exist (i.e., possible beings).

2) But not all beings can  be possible beings, because what comes to exist does so only through what comes to exists does so only through what already exists. Nothing cannot cause something.

3) Therefore, there must be a Being whose existence is necessary (i.e., one that never came into being and will never cease to be).

4) There cannot be an infinite regress of Necessary Beings, each of which has its necessity dependent on another because:
a) An infinite regress of dependent causes is impossible because of the reasoning in the argument for efficient causality.
b) A Necessary Being cannot be a dependent being.

5) Therefore, there must be a first Being that is necessary in itself and not dependent on another for its existence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nkx8GnHaIc 

The worthy life

The world considers that the righteous are not worthy to live in the world, and God declares the world is not worthy of them. Though the righteous and the worldlings widely differ in their judgment, they agree in this, it is not fit that good men should have their rest in this world. Therefore God receives them out of it. The apostle tells the Hebrews, that God had provided some better things for them, therefore they might be sure that he expected as good things from them. As our advantages, with the better things God has provided for us, are so much beyond theirs, so should our obedience of faith, patience of hope, and labour of love, be greater. And unless we get true faith as these believers had, they will rise up to condemn us at the last day. Let us then pray continually for the increase of our faith, that we may follow these bright examples, and be, with them, at length made perfect in holiness and happiness, and shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father for evermore.

Hebrews 11:39-40

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXrILKy3QQ4