She did say yes. We did tie the knot, and it stayed tied for a lifetime so it must have been a good knot. It stayed through many an adventure. Oh. That’s not the knot this is about but I hope you will take the time to read for it does have parts of our life adventures in it and it was written for you.
Dedicated to my beautiful wife, Violet Beatrice, who in collage had just found her Savior through a friend she made at school, and was starting her walk with Him when we met. I, on the other hand had all the advantages, having grown up in a Christian home, Christian schools, Pathfinders and good parents. I had learned my memory verses from an early age. I knew all about God, creation, the fall of Adam, Eve, and the story of redemption. You give me a name, or story and I could probably tell you something about it. Only thing is, I had not gotten to know Him. I was on my way out as soon as I could find the door. Fortunately, God had other plans. God used her and her questions about Him to show me what I was missing. A Creator, God of love, who above all else has a better plan for our live if we but allow Him. I had answers to questions she had about God, and the stories recorded in the Bible. In sharing knowledge about God, I found my need for Him. In watching her, I discovered a desire to have more than a lifetime with her. We made quite a team. And we have for most of 50 years. Seemingly, knowing what the other was thanking and filling in the blanks. She was becoming a teacher, an educator and later, she helped me put my thoughts together for youth programs, including the two weekend teen invitational services from which these thoughts come. She had an amazing memory which any husband will will tell you, can be a very good thing, but can cause it’s own set of problems. ( they don’t forget anything so why should we.) She would ask “do you have your speaker for the upcoming event”? At times I’d reply, I have something I want to share with them this time so am going to do it myself. I could count on her offer, “leave me your thoughts and ideas, this week I’ll look up the text and create an outline for you”. I would leave her my thoughts along with the stories, as I remembered them, that I wanted to use and when I got home I would have an outline for the subject I wanted to cover, complete with text.
However, we live in a sick and dying world, and if the Creator/Savior does not return first, we will all face what Beatrice faced this past Dec. She died in the Lord having blessed me for 50 years of my life. To her, I dedicate this book. And to my son and grandson, who have had to deal with a dad and papa who refused to grow up. They have helped me through the years continue with the outdoor activity weekends. Now, with help from their many friends, continue to enjoy Gods creation in the out-of-doors, allowing me to tag along. Trying to keep the adventure safe while still having fun.
To any that knew her, I put these thoughts, with prayer, into your hands in the hope that it will help you realize the importance of putting your trust in the only one that can, not only see you through this life but will keep His promises of a “New Heaven and a New Earth” where there will be no more sickness or death, nether shell there be anymore tears for the former things are passed away.
We live in a world where promises are made and broken daily, or were made with no intent to keep. God does not make promises “to good to be true”. Think about it. When He but speaks, worlds come into existence. He cannot lie, for the act of Him speaking, makes it happen. He is truth. Satan on the other hand can’t tell the truth as he is the father of lies.
If you are part of “Bea’s Legacy”, (and being on this site say’s you probably are), then please set aside the few minutes it takes to read a small 37-page, double spaced, large print for easy reading book that was written to, and for, you.
Introduction… For the benefit of those that may find there way here and not know me, let me introduce myself and give you my credentials. My name is Bob Hill and at this point in my life I have accumulated a half-century of involvement in youth Ministries, strictly as a lay person. Much of my involvement has been in the area of outdoor activities as I have grown up enjoying most of these myself from an early age. I enjoy exploring and this has led me to leading many caving trips and rock climbing / rappelling activities. You cannot lead or teach these activities without some knowledge of it yourself. I am also a devout Christian with a strong belief in a Creator / Savior who wants to be actively involved in our lives, whether we recognize it at times or not. I will try not to make this too lengthy and yet at the same time include enough to at least spark an interest into a more in-depth study. Thank you in advance for your time spent with my thoughts on this material. If you are among my extended family, this has been on my heart to share with you for some time. It’s not perfect, as I’m not a writer. But it is from the heart.
3-D
I want to look at some characteristics of our Creator God from perhaps a little different perspective. And no, it is nothing new, just a slightly different perspective or way of seeing things. But before I begin, I want to spend a few paragraphs saying what I am not going to cover. “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so”. I know this to be the case, and it has been written about by many authors and literally hundreds of books on the subject. It has been well covered from all angles but the best book ever written on the subject, is undoubtably still the Bible. From cover to cover you have the thread of God’s love for his creation, the human race, the Rebellion, the introduction of sin, the consequence of it, and the story of redemption, the solution. Some readers try to pick it apart and say it says things that it really doesn’t. But if you read it for its content with the realization that it has been translated from its original language and not every word has a matching word or thought in the other language, you can still get the story of God’s love and dealing with mankind. Some will read it and accuse God of being a harsh vindictive God, but just realize the times and thought pattern of those who did the translation. It was translated during a time when the mainstream Christian Church was the Catholic Church which taught, Purgatory and eternally burning hell as God’s Eternal punishment. If that was your belief when you were interpreting or translating you could not help but bring some of those thoughts across. Remember it was The Great Deceiver who said thou shall not surely die. Eternally burning fire is not death or total Destruction. This is still perpetuation of the deceivers lie, thou shalt not die. With much having been written on this subject I will give it a little coverage and then look at yet another perspective I’m not going to spend much time with. Not that it’s not important, it’s just been covered many times over. That is simply the scientific aspect of proving creation. There is plenty of evidence of the flood and many things of which the Bible speaks. If you choose to be a creationist you will find plenty of evidence to support your beliefs. However, if you choose not to believe in a Creator God, then you can find things that will make you question how it could have happened. If you go back and study when evolution first came on the scene, at least in recent times with Charles Darwin, you will find that he was being accused of introducing and promoting Evolution as a theory. Since you could not prove it wrong or could not prove creation right, they were both put up as a theory of creation or a theory of evolution. With the secular world and public schools needing to print something for the textbooks, and with creation being considered a Christian Theory, it could not be taught in the schools. So, over the past few decades Evolution has moved from a Theory to scientific. Again, there are many good books delving into this, where people have tried to prove the validity. Again, I think scripture itself is one of the best books on the story of creation and our existence. If you look at the age of the parchments and scriptures that have been found, and look at the known history of the world as far as countries and powers that have come and gone compared with what the scripture said was going to come to power centuries earlier, that in itself could not have been predicted by anyone other than an all-knowing Creator God. So, I will leave those two for the moment and look at another perspective that I found. It’s not new, it’s been there all along. And perhaps some of you have seen it, and maybe I’m the latecomer. But I would like to think of it as adding a third dimensional to the picture of our creator. Over the past few years three dimensional has become the thing. At first it was being able to see pictures in three dimensional. the first were made and framed that actually were 3D as in, they were layered so they gave it a three-dimensional appearance and you could see it from the side. It was kind of neat I will say. Then we started having 3D movies They were layered and you had to have special glasses to see them. Again, kind of neat. More recently we have the 3D printer that are able to build items in 3D or full dimensional. Fairly recently I went to the dentist to have a tooth repaired. He said I was going to have to have a root canal and a crown. The dentist said, no big deal, we have a 3D machine that will make your Crown while we wait. He made an imprint of the exterior of my tooth, then, proceeded to grind off what he needed to cut away, did the root canal, and then took a second imprint of what was left of the tooth that he needed to fit the crown over. Now he took a small block of the material he was going to make the crown from, put it on the machine, fed the dimensions and information that gave the computer the exterior dimension and details of my tooth. and the details of the tooth after things had been cut away, which became the hollowed-out inside of the crown. He asked me if I wanted to watch the process, I said sure. I went back to the lab, watched it cutaway the outer part and then it cut away the inner part so it would fit over what was left of my tooth, and very soon I had a new tooth. We went back to the dental chair where he glued it on. Now, to this day if you were to ask me which one was the man-made tooth I would have to go check with my dentist because I’m not sure which one he made for me. 3D is a wonderful thing, God has always worked in 3D. He formed us out of the dust of the ground then breathed life into us, Gen. 2:7. I’m hoping this perspective on his character and dealing with his creation will add that third dimension to your thoughts about your Creator God.
On the Ropes
Have you ever had one of those aha moments? You know, the moment that you discover something that you were looking for or possibly something you didn’t even know you were looking for. Maybe it wasn’t exactly as you expected but when you did see it, it was an aha.
Most of us have had many such moments. A lot of them occurred when we were children and we don’t even remember them. Some happened later in life and you could go back and pin point what it was. And whether we like to admit it or not, occasionally we still have that discovery of something new, at least not as we had envisioned it.
I vividly remember such a moment when I was a teenager. I had the privilege of growing up and learning to drive during the sixties and the years of the muscle cars. You know the years when they began to put more horse power under the hood than was needed to merely carry the car down the road. I had such a car in a ‘67 Plymouth. Shortly after acquiring the car, I came to the conclusion that it needed bigger tires – more rubber to the road. I had plenty of power but had trouble converting that power into instant forward motion – without a spin-out. It wasn’t long before I discovered a weak point. High tork and too wide tires equals something has got to give. In my car’s case it was the rear-end.
When it went (tore up) it locked up both tires, then broke loose with a lot of noise. I wasn’t too far from home, so hiked home and got Dad to tow me to the house, where I got it up so I could look under it. Now I had a decision to make. Fix it myself and try to save some dollars or put it in a shop. I chose to repair it myself as money didn’t come that easy and I was making payments on this car. Besides, what I did get, I really rather put in the gas tank.
After pulling the rear-end out, I found a used one and replaced it. Car fixed – right? Wrong! Not so quick. Oh, the rear-end was destroyed alright but that was the beginning. I could pull it into gear- still no movement. OK, now let’s look at the transmission!
Need I say this was an automatic and my first experience with a transmission repair job. My Dad was wise to encourage me to fix it myself, because the repaired transmission lasted the life of the car. Not that it was better than ever, just that I now knew the cost in time and pain (money) to repair it. Now, back to that transmission. I dropped the fluid pan to see if I could determine the problem. There were tiny pieces of metal in the transmission pan. Ok, that doesn’t belong there. I removed the transmission and started pulling it apart, starting at the front. The only way into this model. I removed the front pump assembly, took it apart, cleaning each peace before reassembling and laying it aside. Next the first set of clutches and bands, same process, clean and reassemble, lay aside. I worked my way through the transmission in this way until I was almost to the back of the case. When I removed the rear cluster gears to which the output shaft was attached, I had that aha moment, for in this cluster gear I found the stripped gears from which the pieces had come – the moment of discovery. The missing pieces. Aha
I have faced many things in life the same way. Some out of necessity, and some simply because I wanted to know how it worked.
The reason for giving this insight as to how I approach something I hope will become apparent. It has been the way I approach many things in life.
I grew up near the edge of a mountain in east Tennessee, near some very nice rocks for climbing and bouldering. Many days were spent climbing over, around, and through these rock cliffs. So that you will not get the wrong idea and think that we kids were out there on our own, my Dad was good at loading up several of my friends and me and going to various places to enjoy a weekend afternoon. There were also some older youth who had “done this before” or “been there before” that were more than eager to go climbing with us. As I have grown up, I have continued a lot of outdoor activities including climbing, caving, and exploring that I enjoyed as a youth.
You know the saying, “Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.” I chose to opt out of growing up. So, I have always been willing to take a group, many times being my son and his friends, later my grandson and his friends to go have some adventure.
During my youth and on into my early adult life my climbing was strictly freestyle climbing. Something I would not recommend today as I now much prefer a safety rope, especially when working with someone else and their safety. I seem to have developed early on fairly good judgment of my abilities and tried to never exceed my comfort area. I guess from my track record it’s pretty good, as I’ve never had a fall and the only broken bone I have had was a broken arm jumping off a picnic table in the backyard when I was about five.
Years later while doing some caving it became advantageous for me to learn how to repel and ascend using ropes and ascenders. Some of the caves that I was wanting to access had lower levels that you could only get to on the ropes. Typical of the way I approach a challenge I went down to the Outdoor Store to see what equipment I needed. I picked up a book on the subject and after doing a little reading I purchased a harness, rope, ascenders and various other gear that I was sure I would need. Next, I went to a location I was familiar with that had a very nice 70- or 80-foot vertical cliff with several large pine trees set back from the edge a short distance. I climbed around the edge to the top of the cliff tied off to two very large pines. Way overkill but hey, this is my life hanging on the line. After securing the rope to the trees that a fairly large Dozer would not have been able to push over, I secured my harness, hook myself to the rope and started over the edge. Now, did I say that I had deliberately gone there a few hours ahead of my friends to get comfortable with the ropes so they would not have the fun of seeing my knees shake? Again, not exactly what I would recommend for a first-timer but with sweaty palms inside my gloves and a heart pounding, I headed down the cliff, a few more times and I was ready to try the ascenders to climb back up rather than take the hike around through the trees. Once I was comfortable with the gear and the process, I was ready to share the experience with some friends and later get involved and helping teach others the ropes. After using climbing ropes to descend into and climb out of some vertical caves I continued doing rope work on cliffs which made climbing a lot safer. It also added a safety net to people who wanted to experience climbing but had not grown up doing it.
Since that day years ago, spent learning to trust the ropes and gear and gaining confidence in their ability to function as they were made to do, I have had the privilege of helping dozens of friends both young and old alike to experience that first descent on the ropes. It is rewarding to be able to help someone talk through their fears and anxieties and be able to go over the side and down the cliff. Repelling is not for everybody but for those who enjoy it, for those who use it as a means of getting to a place that is only accessible with the use of ropes, it is very rewarding. I say it is easier to talk a young person over the side after explaining the procedures to them then it is an adult. I know, you knew this was coming but I am going to draw some parallels at this time. One perfect example, is Christ statement about “except you become as little children”, Matthew 18:3 Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Think about it, children trust. They have not been lied to and experienced a reason to distrust. They are willing to take what is said at face value. As adults we tend to want to question everything because we have been lied to about so many things that we don’t know what to accept as truth. Those I have helped experience repelling / climbing and other activities that include rope work have included my son and later my grandson as well as many of their friends and others. A few climbing trips back I was making preparations for the weekend activity and putting my thoughts together for our safety meeting. I was looking to include some spiritual thoughts or lessons that can be brought to mind during the activities. This particular weekend was during an election year which was particularly heated with both sides of the Isle claiming that they were the only ones that could be believed and the other side was lying to you. It didn’t matter which side of the election you were on both were trying to point out how the others could not be trusted. With this as a background, I began to put my thoughts together on the necessity for being able to trust, not only the rope on which we were going to be practicing and doing climbing events, but also the necessity to be able to trust our creator, and how experiences strengthen our trust in Him, just as experience strengthen our trust in our climbing gear. So, studying with this thought in mind I went back to the first recorded lie in Scripture in Genesis chapter 3.
I want to share some of the thoughts that I dug up during this time, and I hope they will be as meaningful to you as they have been to me.
Following is my re-discovery of a known conclusion. (And yes, we will get back on the ropes.)
Only Believe! Really?
I’m going to blow away your thoughts on that and prove them true at the same time.
I’m going to take some well-known passages of Scripture off-the-shelf, dust them off and look at them again. And no, I am not going to take a magnifying glass to them and examine them more closely. Sometimes in trying to look at something too closely we miss the entire picture of what was being said.
John 3:16. “For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Pretty straightforward; belief = life eternal.
Here’s another one.
Acts 16:31 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Another straightforward; belief= be saved.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God:
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life;
John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Ok. Here we have believed + be baptized.
Romans 10:9 If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
John 6:40 And this is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Now we are beginning to hear a bit of the state of the dead, and the resurrection unto life everlasting in those last texts.
The text that started the Reformation for Martin Luther,
Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
James. 2 ;14-26 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise, also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Okay wait a minute, these don’t necessarily fit, the first group sounds like everything is done for me. This second group begins to sound like there’s something I need to do. Something is expected of me.
You mean I have to do something other than saying, I believe. I believe. I believe.
Does simply saying it make it so? Or do our actions make it so?
Let’s go back to Genesis 3 and read the story. How did sin start on earth, and what made it necessary for Christ to have to come, live, and die in our stead to begin with?
Genesis 3:1-5 “And He, the serpent said to the woman, ‘Hath God said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’ And the woman said unto the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said you shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ And the serpent said unto the woman, ‘You shall not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil.’
Having heard this story and read this text on many occasions I had always looked at it the same way. God said “Don’t” and Eve did. It was disobedience pure and simple. But, on this occasion I saw something totally different. This was the aha moment of truth to me. Satan was tempting Eve to distrust her Creator. To “Not Believe”. Wasn’t a matter that the fruit was different, it was a matter of, could the Creator totally trust His creation. And did His creation (Adam and Eve) totally trust its Creator to have their best interest at heart.
Eve’s Choice…
Eve at this point was not so much a “Do I want to try a new fruit?” (appetite,) as it was,” Do I believe my Creator that said it was harmful to me?” “Or do I believe this serpent that is talking to me?” Thereby doubting that her Creator had her best interest, or was keeping something from her. Simple decision, dramatic consequence – Who do I believe? Who do I trust? Who do I have faith in?
Now don’t take me wrong. She did give in to the temptation of appetite. She did disobey her creator, but look at the what if… If she totality trusted her creator to have her best interest at heart, it would have been a no brainer. It would have been a, get out of here, you are lying to me. Of course, she had never been lied to, but here were two different voices giving her two totally different pieces of information.
Who to believe. Who to trust. Who has her best interest at heart. Looking back at it now, it is easy to point a finger and say, she should have trusted her Creator as He would have vested interest in her. But really? Who do we totally believe?
Look at the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness on appetite. Yes, he was very hungry, it would have been no temptation if he had just gotten up from a big meal. But listen to the tempter “if thou be the Son of God” make these stones into bread. See it, see the seed of doubt he is trying to instill? He is trying to get Jesus to question, to distrust who He is, and His relationship with His Father God.
Following are the definitions for faith, trust, and belief.
Faith noun
1. complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
“this restores one’s faith in politicians”
| synonyms: | trust, belief, confidence, conviction; |
faith, certainty, assurance, conviction, credence;
reliance
Trust noun
1. firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.
“relations have to be built on trust”
| synonyms: | confidence, faith, belief, |
Be·lief noun
1. an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.
“his belief in the value of hard work”
2. trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something.
| Synonyms: | faith, trust, reliance, confidence, credence |
You will notice the definition for faith is to believe in and trust in. The definition for trust is to have faith in and believe in. And to believe in something or someone is to have faith in and trust in. Thereby each one uses the other two to define it.
When Eve chose to believe the serpent’s lies, her actions said, “I do not believe my Creator.”
Satan the great deceiver, father of lies through the serpent had instilled a doubt into Eve’s mind. The doubt was simply that the Creator/God could not be totally trusted to give them what was in their best interest. Eve believed the lie over the truth and her actions said,” I don’t trust my Creator to know what is best for me. He is withholding something good.”
Her actions made two profound statements.
1. “I don’t trust my Creator.
2. And now my Creator can’t trust me.”
Broken trust between Creator/God and the created/us.
A little insight as to how God feels about lies or deception, and then why?
Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are abomination to the Lord:
but they that deal truly are his delight.
Revelation 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it (Heaven) anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 22:15 For without (outside the Heavenly City) are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Wow that pretty much puts the liars with the worst of the worst. Why?
Because you can’t trust them. God’s entire universe runs on complete trust. Trusting and being able to be trusted. Complete trust is the very basic foundation block. Obedience follows only if you trust the one asking you to do something.
“Every meaningful relationship is built on trust, and without trust no meaningful relationship can be built”.
Our Creator / God puts a tremendous value on trust. I would like to look at a few of these examples and then spend a little time determining why total trust is such a vital character trait.
Eve’s lack of trust that her Creator had her best interest at heart when He said, “Don’t eat of this tree” resulted in her disobedience; and ultimately the fall of mankind.
Generations later Noah’s faith and trust in God lead to him faithfully building the ark he was asked to build. Thereby offering a deliverance from the flood to those who would believe, which was only his family. Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Abraham, did not always totally trust and tried to help God with the promised son by taking Hagar as a wife and having Ismael as his son and heir. But, later being called the father of the faithful because of his actions when God asked him to give his son, Isaac as a sacrifice. James 2… Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. God didn’t want Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, He just needed to know if Abraham had learned to TOTALLY TRUST HIM. It was indeed a sacrifice, just not unto death.
Joseph in Egypt trusted by all – though he was brought there as a slave.
The children of Israel having been in Egypt for several generations, God used Moses to deliver them. By sending the plagues He showed both the Egyptians and Israel that He was in control and was the Creator of Nature. After the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and their deliverance from the Egyptian bondage, they were still not ready to trust God’s ability to give them the promised land. They said, “We are as grasshoppers and cannot take this land.” God sent them back into the wilderness where they spent the next 40 years relying on Him for their very existence. Story found in Exodus 6 through Leviticus.
Culminating with the second time to the border of the promised land and the total destruction of Jericho with the exception of Rahab and her family who were honored for her faith in the God of Israel.
Gideon was a mighty man of God when he was young. God used Gideon to free Israel from the oppression of the neighboring Midianites. When the people were told God had asked Gideon to lead them, 32,000 showed up to do battle, which was a very small number compared to the Midianites. God said, “There are too many. Send away all the fearful.” 22,000 returned home leaving only 10,000. Still too many. After another test, Gideon was left with only 300 brave men. “With these 300 I will conquer the Midianites.” 300 truly eager to see the Lord work. Judges 6-7.
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valor, but he was a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. Wow what Faith, what complete confidence. Read the story in 2 Kings 5. Here was a young girl who had been taken captive, is a slave, doing the bidding of her captors’ wife. And she said, Would God that my master were in Samaria for the prophet there would heal him. What total faith in the God of her people. Naaman, must have had great respect for her to have made the trip, (but now it is his time to show his faith,) when told to wash seven times in the river Jordan, he got mad, and left in a rage. Only by listening to his servants did he return and do what had been asked of him.
We tend to read the rest of the story about Elisha’s servant going out and asking for, and receiving a portion of the gifts that Elisha had turned down and receiving not only the gifts but also the lepersy. There is a story here also, but we miss so much of the story. This man Naaman was healed not because of his great faith or belief in, but because of his servant girl’s great faith, though he did have some faith to have believed her. She apparently lived her faith.
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, said, “Our God is able to deliver us, (Total faith) if not, be it known to you O, King, we will serve Him only.” Daniel 3:16-28.
Daniel in the lion’s den. Daniel 6:16-23 “My God hath sent His angels and hath shut the lions’ mouths that they have not hurt me.” Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So, Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
Many other examples of God’s dealings are recorded throughout the Old Testament. Skipping on to the New Testament.
When Jesus started His adult ministry, it became very apparent that faith and belief played a major role in every miracle recorded.
Matthew 8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
Matthew 9:28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
Mark 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Luke 23:39-43 Here is a perfect example. Setting; Jesus is hanging on the cross and one of the thieves hanging beside Him say’s, “if you are the Son of God,” (do you here it? The big if, the declaration of doubt, the same phrase Satan had used in the temptations in the wilderness 3+ years before.) then save yourself and us. Where as the second thief rebukes the first and says, remember me when you get to your kingdom, thereby declaring his belief in Christ. Difference is eternal. Believe or not to believe.
You get the picture. The Bible is full of examples that without faith it is impossible to please Him but through faith all things are possible. I am not trying to be all-inclusive here for I am writing this to my kids, my extended family, those that know me and with the assumption that you have a Bible you can pick up and read. If this extends beyond that point, get online and use one of the online Bibles. My favorite is biblegateway.com/passage/search.
Here you can read, you can search, you can read in multiple translations, you can read in multiple languages to find your answers. Great resource to the Greatest Book ever written. For those who picked this up and have doubts, that’s kind of what this is about. But considering the fact the Bible was written over centuries of time by dozens of writers and they all have the same theme, you will not find that anywhere else. I promise, once you start searching, your faith will grow and with that, your experience will become stronger, more on that later. Back to the topic at hand.
Back to the ropes.
I said I had read a book on the subject, climbing / repelling. Also, in purchasing the gear, I had read the labels, and knew that it had the capability of holding approximately 5,000 lb., more than the weight of my car, to lower it over the edge. Why was my heart still racing and my palms sweating? I had not yet experienced it for myself. I had read of its capabilities. I had no reason to believe the information I had received was not correct, unless they were just saying it to sell me the gear. (doubt? distrust? Always room for that) if you allow it.
I would say at this point I was a believer in its ability.
Now I could set there in my chair and say I believe, I believe all day, I could even go, tie the rope to a tree, but until I put on the gear and back over the cliff, do I really believe?
James 2 Yes, a man may say, you have faith, and I have works: show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
Something to think about; if believing in = trust in, did Eve’s action say that she did not believe what God, her creator had told her? Our action/response to Gods word tells Him and others what He already knows. “Positive response” = believe He is God and has our best interest at heart, “Shows trust”.
“Negative response” = I do not believe He has my best interest at heart, “shows distrust”.
Let me insert at this point, repelling is not for everyone, and that is fine and understandable, but if you are telling me that you want to do it and are still sitting on the rocks at the top of the cliff, then I have not done a good job of convincing you of what I know to be the truth. It will hold you. You can trust it.
I can go down the rope a few more times myself allowing you to watch, or get someone else who is comfortable on the rope and let you watch them while I talk to you. But until you accomplish going down the rope yourself, do you actually believe it will work? Once you have done it you will have experiential knowledge of its ability. After you have done it a few more times, if it is something that you like, I will have to remind you to stop, check and let your climbing partner check your gear before you go off because you will become so accustomed to it always working as it is supposed to, you can get carless. Not that the equipment might fail, but that you might not have a good, proper connection.
Let’s go back, flip the coin and follow up with our other line of thought again. First off, if you tell me you have no interest in going to heaven, then at some point I will have to respect your wishes. However, to begin with, I will feel that I, and others responsible for you have not given you adequate information about Heaven and Eternity. That the information you have received came from a bad source, “father of lies”. No, I do not believe you can scare somebody into heaven. Many preach Hellfire and Damnation but that is not our Creator/Saviors way. We will be there if we accept Him as our Savior and learn to trust Him fully with all aspects of our life. Truly believing = total trust. However, if you tell me you do want a future, a life in heaven, it is very little different than learning to be comfortable on the ropes. First, you read about, gain all the information you can about our Creator/God, His love and His interest in the human race. You will learn of his investment in the human race through creation and the story of redemption, talk to others who have gained such an experience, and then begin your own story of experiences.
And no guys, you don’t ask/pray for a new car and base your faith in Him on whether He grants it or not. The Pharisees tried this with Jesus and said do this miracle, then we will believe. Think about it. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane prayed that He not have to go through with the mission if it be His Father’s will. But it was necessary for our Redemption to take our place, and to allow Satan to truly manifest himself, even to the point of killing his Creator. God is Not a Santa Claus to grant our every wish. More on that later. He does however, have our future best interest at heart, and if it is in our best interest, we will receive it. Remember that mountain He said He would move for you, if you had the faith? There may be people living on that mountain that are praying that it stays in place. God is God and sees the whole picture. We see mountains of obstacles moved on a regular basis.
Trustworthy. Undoubtably the most important attribute you can have, both on this Earth and one that will stay with you through eternity. It would probably go down as the hardest reputation to obtain, and the easiest to lose. It takes only a moment to lose ones’ trust and a lifetime is not long enough to regain it. I know when I’m looking to take a group of youth or young people somewhere, I look for those that are not going to give a problem sure, but primarily ones I can trust. Ones that will be where they’re supposed to be when they’re supposed to be there. If I have to keep looking for them or running them down on a trip, do you think they’re going to be the first invited on the next outing? I drive a bus for a University and when I go someplace with them, I like nothing better to hear after taking them in someplace, what a great group, you’re welcome back anytime. Can you begin to understand why God values trust and trustworthiness so much. Also, why he cannot except lies in a universe that operates on trust. One lie is all it takes for a person to go from being trusted, to not being trusted. I mentioned earlier I wanted to say something about Santa Claus. And this would be as good a place as any to bring it up.
I like Christmas as much as the next person. I enjoy the lights and the festive activity that surrounds Christmas, however I cannot help but feel we are setting our children up to distrust by teaching Santa Claus. Think about it, we teach them there is a Santa Claus who brings them things, if they’re good. Talk about a counterfeit of God, look at the obvious parallels. When the child gets a little older and they begin to question, we say, well if you believe in him, then he is real. They start school and somewhere along the line someone drops the bombshell that he doesn’t exist except in story books. Then we teach them about a God who loves them and who wants for their best in all things. Is it any wonder when they get older and someone places a doubt about His existence, they tossed Him in the same trash can they did Santa Claus? And forget about trying to convince them otherwise for they already lost faith in our truthfulness over the heartbreak called Santa Claus.
Let’s think of this logically. Satan the great deceiver, liar, has gone to great lengths to elaborate the myth of Santa Claus. To create a counterfeit. You do not have a counterfeit of something to which there is not a real. You find no one trying to make and pass off a counterfeit $30 bill as real. Why? Because there is no real $30 bill. So, if you find an elaborate scheme of a counterfeit, its’ worth searching for the real. Where there is a counterfeit – there is a real.
I fear with this deception the great deceiver has masterfully crafted a story that has no grounds, we all know cannot be substantiated and know that a child at least by the time they start school will become aware of it. My fear with this, is that the same child a few years later will not become convinced, though the evidence is right before them, of a Creator / God that loves them. They will have already thrown Him out in the same process.
There are still those that choose to “not believe” that we ever sent someone to the moon. A half century ago, it was easier to “Do” something than it was to make it look like you were doing it. In a Hollywood movie, if you had someone falling from a horse, someone had to “fall” from a horse. That is why they had stunt men, someone to take the fall for the “star” of the show. Sure, they could have him land on something soft, cut and tape the film strips together, and make you think you saw something you didn’t, but reality was, someone fell. In today’s computer graphics it is much easier to show something that never happened. A false reality.
You show me a photo that is pre- digital, authenticate that it is, and you are looking at something that happened. You may not be seeing the whole story, but something happened. As in the man on the moon? There are plenty still alive that were part of the exploration and the moon landings to authenticate it, if you are willing to listen to their story.
However, if you chose to believe it didn’t happen, no one can force you to. There will always be room for doubt or unbelief. Remember Thomas? Doubting Thomas, he was nicknamed? Yes, the one that said “except I put my fingers in the holes in His hand I will not believe. Read the story.
John 20: 25-31 The other disciples therefore said unto him, we have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
Same with the stories of Jesus in scripture. The stories and prophecies foretelling of Christ life to come, combine with the account of His life on earth, written over some 1400 + years by dozens of writers, and authenticated by date processing and excavation of where the tablets and scrolls were found… you get the picture. The evidence is great, but if you chose… there will always be room for doubt, did it or didn’t it happen, always a choice, believe or not to believe He has our best interest at heart.
Eve chose, Thomas chose, we must at some point make the choice. blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
I think I am beginning to understand why Christ made the statement “many there be that seek, but few there be that find”. Also, the text that “many will say to Him we’ve done all these things in your name and He will say, I never knew you” … that is talking of people who thought they had a relationship with Him, they were those who call upon His name, but for whatever reason something important was lacking. Then we have the group which try to work their way, to be good enough and He says, none are good but the Father. It’s impossible to be good enough. You look at that scenario and you have people who try to do all the do’s and not do all the don’ts and still come up short. If you evaluate that, there’s nothing wrong with living a good life. There is, the fact that the Ten Commandments in and of themselves are not asking too much of anyone. In fact, they would just make a person be a better person, better citizen, and regardless of a person’s belief, they just make good sense. But again, they are not what will get you in a relationship that will ultimately provide you with the statement, Well done thy good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.
So, we go back and look at what all the people, Old and New Testaments, that got spoken very highly of, and I think it becomes clear. They trusted their Creator/Savior/God Loved them and had their best interest at heart, whether or not they understood the why. I repeat… James 2… Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works (the action) was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God.
It wasn’t the WORKS. That just showed that he totally trusted/believed in God
Yes, that is all it takes, believe, but a belief, a trust, a faith so strong, that you are willing to grab hold of that rope and swing off.
God has spent the last six thousand years showing the human race that we can trust Him. When are we going to “get it”?
And the saying “God said it, I believe it, that settles it for me” becomes so much more than a stanza in a song. For if we truly believe, we cannot do otherwise than what He has laid out before us, as what is in our best interest. Then, and only then, will we seek out what His will is for our lives and follow, for the right reason, because we trust Him. Then, you cannot but love Him, yes, for what He did on the cross and so much more. It is easy to love someone you totally and completely trust.
It is my prayer that these thoughts will help bring God’s desire for us into greater focus.
I am now going to give the children’s story revised as the ending, so stay by.
Children’s Story “For our children ages 13 to 60 + who at one time were our Kids”.
You have been Hacked
Today, we live in a time when one of society’s greatest fears, is that of being hacked. It is a lucrative multi-billion-dollar industry. Its counterpart, the security of this information is also a multi-billion-dollar industry. It is a time when hackers, if they can gain access to your computer will sell your information or lock it up where not even you can gain access to your information without paying for it. It happens on a personal level with individual information, on a corporate level with millions of people’s personal information, and on a governmental level where one government will hack into another government’s cyber connection to obtain information, wreak havoc, or simply to see what the other is planning.
Another fairly new phenomenon is the fact that every person with a cell phone camera feels they are a news reporter. They see something, they shoot it, then post it immediately without verification to try to be the first to show what is taking place, as they see it. The result has been a tremendous upswing in what is now called fake news. Maybe it happened that way, or maybe you saw only part of what happened. And of course, if you saw it on the internet it has to be true. Correct?
I want to share something with you, and reassure you that there is nothing new “Under the Sun.” I have taken Liberty to upgrade an old story that has been around for years about a little boy and his sailboat. You may recall the story, it could also be titled Owned Twice. For it was about a little boy, Johnny who built a small sailboat, lost it, and had to buy it back. It was used to illustrate how God owned us by virtue of creation but, was willing to pay the price and purchase us back through Redemption.
I have upgraded this story into the 21st century to illustrate again what our Creator God was willing to go through to have his creation back and why.
If you search “Owned Twice” about a sailboat, you will find several variations of the story, but I promise you, you have not heard this rendition for it has only developed over the past few weeks. In the other versions Johnny is perhaps 8 or 10, in this one we’re going to place him as a young adult perhaps a graduate from MIT.
I have entitled this rendition “You Have Been Hacked”.
If there was one thing Johnny loved more than sailing, it was his studies into AI {artificial intelligence}. On his boat we shall name Morning Glory, he had incorporated the best of both. It had the latest in automated rigging with the ability to set sail, trim, even to cranking the diesel engines and navigating in and out of port, and in no wind conditions. This was the marine version of the ever-growing popular self- driving car only better. The self-driving cars uses a lot of algorithms and situation decisions. If this situation then do this, if that happens then go here. A lot of decision making not much actual intelligence taking place. Morning Glory’s software and information gathering intelligence had been built by Johnny himself. Any time Johnny developed a new means of information upgrades he would apply this to her abilities. She could almost sense Johnny’s desire. If Johnny simply phoned his boat and said meet me at the Rock Island Marina at 3 PM this afternoon and let’s go sailing, Morning Glory had the ability to examine wind conditions, current speed, calculate distance from home to the marina and leave, dropping her moorings and arriving at the designated time and place to pick up Johnny and they would head out into the wind and enjoy the afternoon. If Johnny climbed on at home port and simply said I feel like reading a book today take me to a quiet lagoon. Morning Glory checked wind conditions, uses radar to determine where other boats and vessels were and were not, find that quiet spot, sail there and drop anchor waiting for Capt.’s request to return home. Morning Glory was indeed a beautifully crafted vessel. Her lines were flawless, she was sleek and fast, yet agile and stable. Johnny, her designer, her builder, her captain had every right to be proud of her.
Genesis 1:31 “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good.”
Morning Glory knew her captain’s schedule and calendar. If you happen to be around her home port when it was approaching time for Johnny, her captain, to arrive you could almost sense her anticipation.
Then one day the fateful event happened. Johnny called but Morning Glory did not reply. Thinking perhaps he had a bad signal strength Johnny moved to another location and called again. Johnny did a location scan on his phone only to find his lovely Morning Glory many miles away from home port in what appeared to be a race with another boat. Johnny could see the other boat in his rear onboard camera. It would be no real contest as Morning Glory had quite the array of sails available for use and knew how to use them to their greatest ability. She even had a giant spinnaker sail for running with the wind. The problem was she was not answering to Captain Johnny’s voice. What other features had been disabled?
Johnny was proud of his creation and had every right to be. She was flawless in her design, and in her abilities. To watch her perform was like watching art in motion. Many of Johnny’s friends had been sailing with him on Morning Glory. She knew them by name, voice and facial recognition. It had not been without some reservations that on this morning when a stranger had come by the dock claiming to be an old friend of Johnny, Morning Glory had questioned him.
Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves”
She had been told to never unlock her hatch or allow anyone to board without Johnny’s presence. This “supposedly old friend” of Johnny’s appeared to be safe enough. After all he knew too much about Johnny and Morning Glory to not be a friend. When she suggested they call Johnny, this friend reminded her Johnny was teaching class at this time of day. Going against her better judgment” put there by Johnny” and the direct request of her builder/Captain she allowed this stranger on board. It took only a moment for Morning Glory to realize she was in big trouble for this friend went straight to the heart of her onboard intelligence system. She knew he was making modifications that would not be approved by Johnny. Nobody but Johnny was to make modifications to her intelligence.
After this stranger, (she could no longer call him a friend of Johnny), departed Morning Glory ran a system scan and found there were indeed some changes made. She could not determine just what they were but they included blind spots where she had been able to see clearly, depth perception seemed to have been affected, sense of direction was not good, and she was hearing voices, not her master’s voice but many other voices. Some of them sounding so similar to her captain’s it was hard to distinguish without careful voice analysis.
Not realizing she had lost communication with her captain she tossed off her lines and headed for the open lake hoping to clear her thoughts and attempt to try her navigational system. Morning Glory had not been sailing long before she was surprised by a vessel sailing on her port side. Not being accustomed to anything getting this close without her knowledge was a little alarming and she said as much hoping Johnny would hear. The voice that replied was not her designer, builder, Captain. No, it was not her Johnny.
Voice of Deceiver: That one slipped up on you didn’t it? Yes, you have developed a few blind spots that will take some getting used to. I just deactivated a few of your sensors and desensitized some others that are causing you to be far too cautious
Morning Glory: But I need those sensors, my sonar gives me the ability to safely navigate the shallow areas without doing damage to my hull. And my radar which seems to be hazy in some areas gives me abilities to navigate along shorelines, find peaceful coves, and maneuver through traffic without damage to myself or other craft.
Voice of Deceiver: What’s the fun in that? If you ram another vessel occasionally it will give you opportunity to see who’s stronger, you or the other vessel. Without an occasional bump up, how will you ever know your own strengths and weaknesses. Besides, I’d much rather see a good crash than smooth sailing, hadn’t you? After all, what’s entertaining about smooth sailing?
Morning Glory: I don’t know, I’ve never seen a crash, and what is a good crash. I have always enjoyed smooth sailing. That’s why my captain named me Morning Glory. I have always enjoyed the early morning gentle breeze and smooth waters.
Voice of Deceiver: See that’s what I’m telling you. You have been deprived of the ability to experience some of these things I’m telling you about. The little sailboat that showed up on your port side, leave her in your spray, “if, indeed you have the ability”. We’ve been hearing of your abilities, now show us what you’ve got.
Morning Glory did not know what to make of this last statement. In Johnny’s circle of friends her abilities had never been questioned or challenged. Who was this voice, and where did he come from?
Isaiah 14:12-14 “How art you fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! …For you said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: …I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High…”
The deceiver did indeed know her Johnny. He also had been a perfect creation until he had become jealous of his Creator and wanted to rise above his Maker. There was no flaw in his design, he had been given intellectual abilities, when properly used, made him an awesome creation. When the error of his ways were pointed out to him, he only rebelled, thinking his ways were as good as, or better than those of his Creator / Designer. As time passed, he lied to other created beings about their Creator and successfully convinced one third of heavens created beings that his ideas were better.
John 8:44 last part. “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord; but they that deal truly are his delight.”
This makes it very understandable why the Creator puts such emphasis on truth, and such disdain on lies and deception.
By this time the great deceiver was no friend of Johnny’s. Indeed, he desired to destroy anything to which Johnny displayed his love and affection. Now he was out to destroy Morning Glory which he knew would bring sadness to her creator, Johnny. And the race is on.
Morning Glory: I don’t know, I’ve never raced anything but the wind before. I was always trying to increase my lift and decrease my drag to see how close I could get to the actual speed of the wind that was pushing me. How do you race another vessel? It is not my competition.
Voice of Deceiver: Sure, it is. See if you can beat the vessel that is trying to pass you. Give it your best and let’s see what you’ve got.
By this time Johnny knows what has taken place. The Deceiver has talked his way onboard, the only way he could get to Morning Glory’s AI system and make the changes that have occurred. And now Morning Glory was racing at full speed NE with her nav-aids only partially working.
Oh, and did I tell you on which lake Johnny had grown up and Morning Glory was sailing? Lake Erie. And if you go all the way to the NE end of Lake Erie you get to Niagara Falls.
Johnny goes into action. You’ve heard of the hill called Calvary. Where ransom was paid for a creation held captive. You get the picture. Only problem is, the creation was not handed back to its Creator once the ransom was paid. Seemingly the only thing that happened was payment was made in full to allow the creation to make a choice once again. His creation still had to choose to return to him.
Johnny attempts contact with Morning Glory on their backup communication radio only to hear the voice of the deceiver.
Voice of Deceiver: So-o-o-o, your Morning Glory does not respond to you anymore. Well, I did make a few minor adjustments, giving your masterpiece some real challenges to look forward to. She is, as I’m sure you noted, in a race with one of my controlled vessels. Oh, she will win, but she will be far enough ahead, intent on the race, that by the time she hears the falls it will be too late to turn around, and I will get to watch the big bang as she crumples on the rocks at the bottom of the falls. Of course, you could buy yourself some time, if you think she’s worth it. Tell you what, I know you’ve been saving, after all you are big on Saving. If you will put your entire savings into my name you can reconnect to your Morning Glory. I’ve never been much on Saving, anything or anyone. Much rather use it up, or waste it on a party. Especially if I can do it at your expense.
Transaction is completed, price was paid and communication reestablished.
Johnny has been hearing all the audible traffic including Morning Glory, but now Morning Glory is able to hear Johnny again.
Johnny: Good afternoon, Morning Glory. And where would you be headed? I’ve tried calling you, but got no response.
Morning Glory: Wow! Good to hear your voice again, too, Johnny. I had a problem this morning, but I guess you have already discovered that.
Johnny: Yes, when you did not reply to my call and then when I saw you racing away from home port, I gathered what had happened.
Morning Glory: But he said he was an old friend and he seemed to know so much about both of us. I was sure he must be a friend of ours.
Johnny: It is true, I have known the Deceiver, since before he was the deceiver, before he chose his own path to destruction. He and his accomplices are the reasons I asked you to keep your hatch locked, for they would only do you harm.
Morning Glory: I see that now! What can I do to correct the changes that he made to me?
Johnny: There is nothing you can do at this point. But I have already paid the ransom to purchase you back. It was important that you trust me and that I be able to trust you. That has not changed as you will see. Your very existence will depend on you having a total trust in me, though you may not understand. Many of your sensors and navigational instruments have been compromised making it impossible for you to see your directions or the dangers surrounding you. With my equipment and vantage point and knowledge of the lake, I will be able to safely direct you back to home port, where all repairs can be made and you can be restored whole again.
Morning Glory: OK, tell me what I need to do, Captain!
Johnny: For starters, you must make 180-degree U-turn. You are presently headed directly toward Niagara Falls with no sensors to warn you of impending total destruction. I will give you your turns by degrees and not by compass headings. It appears that your compass has been compromised. I do believe that Deceiver dropped a magnet by your compass so that it points to the magnet rather than true north. He knows that it is a non-electronic instrument and you would rely on it in the event of electronic failure. He is smart and very crafty, and he wants nothing more than to destroy anything I have created especially you, Morning Glory.
Morning Glory: Thank you, so-o-o much, Johnny. I am so sorry for the trouble I have caused. Thank you for your willingness to pay the price and guide me back to home port. I will attempt to follow your directions as you are correct. I am blind out here.
Little Morning Glory finds the going much more difficult than she had anticipated. After all, the prevailing winds had been blowing her east now she is attempting to navigate into the wind tacking left then right to catch a side wind, all with no instruments to tell her where she was going. In her compromised state, she was having to rely turn by turn on Johnny’s instructions.
James 2:18 “Yes, a man may say, you have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
What had been only a few hours and a short run going with the wind and current was turning into a long tiresome journey back to home port. Being blind to hazards around her, Morning Glory, had to rely 100% on Johnny for not only direction, but to alert her to other hazards as well. At one point in a fog, she had been told by Johnny to make a 20-degree right turn which seemed to make no sense as it brought her into the wind and completely stopped her forward movement. Moments later, a large cruise liner passed off her bow which she realized would have run over and crushed her. She was grateful she had learned to obey Johnny’s directions without question, for her very survival now depended on him.
There were times when Morning Glory would make a turn thinking she had heard her Captain’s directions only to hear Johnny’s voice come back saying, ‘Now, why did you do that?’ She would realize she had been listening to the wrong voice that only sounded like her Captain. Now she would need to readjust according to Johnny’s directions.
Morning Glory: Captain, I am having a terrible time pulling out your voice from all the other conversations and chatter. Could you please speak louder or tell me how to get rid of some of these other noises?
Johnny: Morning Glory, I know you are having trouble hearing and understanding the information I am trying to relay to you. Try running all the conversations thru this filter and you will be amazed at how much of the chatter will disappear.
Philippians 4:8 “Whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and there be any praise, think on these things.”
Morning Glory: Wow, what a difference that makes. If I filter out everything that does not fall into those categories, it does make it so much easier to hear you. In fact, it becomes almost quiet.
Morning Glory continuing her journey toward home port, finds some vessels willing to change direction and go with her, but many going the opposite direction are making such great headway. She attempts to alert some which answer her communication, that they are headed toward a great falls and ultimate destruction. They assure her they know where they are going and are headed in the right direction. Some of the large mega-yachts with obvious parties in progress are singing praises to their captain. Some even attempt to persuade Morning Glory to travel with them. It is easier going, after all they have been purchased, too. They say, we are all headed to the same home port, just by different routes.
Matthew 7:22, 23 “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? and in Your name have cast out devils? and in Your name done many wonderful works? And I shall profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me…”
Morning Glory: But, Captain Johnny, are you sure you have me going toward home port when there are so many vessels going the opposite direction? And their traveling with much greater ease. They are traveling with the wind and the current. I am seemingly bucking all the elements. Surely not all these vessels would be headed toward the falls and ultimate destruction?
Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Matthew 7:13, 14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in there … 14). Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life and few there be that find it.”
It is not that the Captain would have any of the vessels lost, but only He will never remove their freedom of choice. He has paid the purchase price, opened communication and given them every opportunity, but He will never send a tugboat attaching a tow line to the back of the vessel, dragging them kicking and struggling back to home port. No vessel will arrive unwillingly back to port. It is critical that they put their total trust / faith in their Captain/Creator. Totally believing that He has their best interest in everything He ask of them.
Proverbs 3:5, 6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do and He will show you the right way.”
What will be the fate of Morning Glory? I cannot say, for it is your story and the ending has not yet been written for you. Like Morning Glory, we must each decide which voice we listen to and in whom or what we put our trust.
The Deceiver would have you believe you are the Master of your own destiny, however, again he is a liar and the truth is not in him.
He would have you to believe that the following would represent your beginnings.
Once upon a time, a long time ago… sounds like the beginning of a story book doesn’t it? Or perhaps the beginning of a science book on Evolution. The Deceiver would have you believe that you came from nothing, so you owe allegiance to no one. Once upon a time, millions of years ago a reed or small stem of grass began growing in the marsh which was planet earth. How earth or the grass seed got there, we will never know. It just started with a bang. But this reed fell into the marsh, decayed and from it grew a larger bush. Over time, this bush too died, fell into the marsh and regrew into a small tree. You get the picture. Eventually we have a large, magnificent tree falling into the water, partially decayed, the interior rotting away and now we have the hull of a canoe. With time it also decayed, and from it, grew an even larger tree, which upon falling into the water, became a vessel. Through time this vessel developed a smooth exterior surface and pointed bow and out of necessity of moving about the waters, grew a tree in the center which provided a sail in the wind…Without spending a lot more time developing the Deceiver’s story, you get the picture of what he would have you believe. You, as an intelligent, decision making human, coming from nothing is as unreal and untrue as Morning Glory, a beautifully crafted vessel with state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and navigational aids coming from a reed falling into the marsh. The Deceiver does not want you to believe that there was a Masterful Creator behind your existence. If he can get you to believe this, then he has succeeded because without a purposefully designed and created beginning you have no one to thank for your existence and give guidance and direction to your life.
For, in fact “no man can serve two masters, for you will love one and hate the other…” Matthew 6:24, you are not The Master, you only chose who will be your Master. You may choose the One who created you, loves you, and knows what is in your best interest. If this is your choice, you will listen to His voice. Following His directions will get you on course for home port where you can be remade new. And the more clutter you filter out the easier it will be to distinguish His voice. If your choice is to follow the Deceiver’s voice that tells you, you are your own Master, you will be swept along on the current of popular beliefs, buffeted by winds of strife, and wind up on the path to ultimate destruction.
At the beginning of this story, when I made the statement there is nothing “New Under the Sun” I want you to contemplate the following: The human race has spent the last several decades developing computers that can retain and manipulate records and files, then developed computers with the ability to communicate and transfer records between themselves. And finally, with the Internet came the ability for computers to communicate, share information, analyze and resolve problems. Along with this came the danger of someone using a computer to access files and make changes they were not authorized to do. When I say “Nothing New Under the Sun” think of God’s creation, formed by His own hands, given intellectual abilities, that make even our most sophisticated computers and artificial intelligence pale in comparison. We were given the ability to choose, and Satan, the great Deceiver, the Ultimate Hacker, entered God’s creation via the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Lying to Eve and ultimately making changes to the human creation, changing our understanding of what is right and wrong. Things we consider “entertaining”, are the destruction of Gods creation. Rubbing in the Creators face, “see what they like now”. To destroy is much more exciting than creating. If they are not at war, they want to play war games, or watch others being killed.
Things I have learned from life experience
While you are pondering the future of Morning Glory. Let me personalize this by telling you an experience that happened to my family a few years back.
My work took me to South Florida on a regular basis. Overtime I took up scuba diving as did the rest of my family. We enjoyed getting to the Florida Keys as often as possible, and diving the reefs of John Pennycamp Park. One thing leads to another, and eventually I ended up owning a 40-foot twin diesel, motor yacht. Our boat, as with anything else, size is a perspective. If you’re at a dock where it is primarily bass fishing boats or ski boats a 40 foot is a big boat. But if you’re at one of the coastal marinas of Miami or Fort Lauderdale or the Keys, a 40-foot is still a small boat. We used it primarily to dive from and to spend time on when we were in Florida. It had 3 staterooms (bedrooms), and upper and lower station (Control room), two heads (bathrooms) and a galley (kitchen). Comfortable for our family.
One Christmas break we had gone to the Florida Keys and were spending some time on the boat. The we, consisted of my wife and myself, our son and his wife and their child, our grandson, and one adult neighbor girl that had grown up with our son which we considered part of our family, totaling 5 adults and a child. The weather was nice, however quite windy, so we had stayed in the Florida Keys for 2 or 3 days. We wanted to go over to Bimini, one of the Bahama Islands, but the wind conditions were not conducive to the trip. We got up one morning and the wind had died down overnight. Checking the weather, it looked like it was going to be a calm morning with the winds coming back in by mid-afternoon. It is approximately 4-hour trip from where we were located to Bimini, we decided to go. We threw off the lines and started out to sea. After traveling through the shallows and out along the reef that we were familiar with, we headed out to open water. We were soon in the Gulf Stream headed east to Bimini. The first two hours we were making good time in the light 3-5-foot swells. But about Midway across the wind started to pick up and change directions. This was not supposed to happen for several more hours. Soon, our 3-5 foot swells we were running turned into 15 to 20 ft, and each time we would come down one we would throw water up over our boat’s bow. At this point all we could do was run with the waves. If you tried to turn, the waves would hit you on the side which was not very good. Checking the GPS to see where running straight with the waves was going to take us, I found we were not going to arrive at Bimini but instead at Cat Key. Anytime I tried to turn more to the north toward Bimini it was too unstable and I would correct back to the East toward Cat Key. As soon as I was within radio range, I called up the dock master at the Cat Key Marina. With the high wind and wave condition, and having never been into Cat Key I needed some guidance. The approach to Cat Key from the West can be quite tricky. Like most of the Bahama Islands you come up onto the shelf from the deep water, having a distance to navigate over shallows, sand bars and reef through a very narrow, winding passageway. The dockmaster ask me if I was familiar with the approach. I assured him I had never been to Cat Key before. He said he advised me not to come to Cat Key as the sand bars had shifted and neither the navigational aids or the GPS could be relied upon to keep you off the bars. I told him of my predicament as in the current and waves taking us in the direction of Cat Key and not our original destination. He assured me that coming in over the bar without being familiar would be equally treacherous or perhaps even more so. While I was off the radio tending the navigation of the boat and trying to decide our next move, a voice came back over the radio. It addressed me as Seize the Day, which was the name of our boat. He said, this is Captain of the boat Rejoice. He asked me a few questions about my boat and my location. After a few moments he said, I think I see you on my radar. He was traveling from Nassau, further to the east in route back to Miami, but had decided to go into Cat Key and shelter until the wind died down. He said he was very familiar with the entrance to Cat Key having been in and out of there many times and as recent as the previous week on his way to Nassau. He offered to continue slightly further west before making his turn, allowing me to get within sight of his boat. He said, “When I make my turn just lay in behind me and I will guide you in through the shallows.” I continued on course until seeing him at which time he began his turn and I fell in behind him. As he made his turn and his boat laid up on its side. I was able to see all the way down to the kiln, half of the underside of his boat. It corrected after the turn and he continued in with me on his heels. After we rounded the island arriving on the east side away from the wind and waves it calmed down and we continued in to the marina. We spent three days there before the wind died down at which time we continued to our destination at Bimini. Over the years we made several trips to Bimini including taking a group of teens over to do Vacation Bible School on the island for their children 4 years running. However, I will never forget that first trip with the family over to the island. Now, let me ask a question. I was Captaining my own boat. Did I have to accept the help from the other Captain “who had been this way before?” No, I was not under obligation to accept his help. but did I say he was a commercial captain and had been this way many times before. He captained boats for people, including delivering new boats. He had picked this boat up at Nassau and was delivering it to Miami for a family. It was a 90-footer and he had a crew of three besides himself on board. I was under no obligation to accept his help; however, it would have been radically unwise and potentially fatal for myself and my family to have not accepted it. At this point it is obvious I did except his help, and followed his leading into port. Not only did I not lose my freedom, I lived to tell the story and to make many more enjoyable trips. Now there would be those that would say, I’m suggesting salvation by works. Our Ransom was paid by nothing we could do. However, I think it is obvious that if we are headed in the wrong direction, a change of course is needed to get us where we want to go safely.
In conclusion.
I know that “nothing that defiles” shall enter into Heaven. I also know that one can be certain about our relationship with our Creator/Savior, to know “in whom you have believed”.
I have been blessed through the years to have, not only a family of my own but a large family of young people that have allowed me to be a part of their life during their growing up years. I was also blessed with a wife, who was a teacher and loved children and loved sharing with them, her faith and trust in her Creator/Savior/Captain/Friend. As mentioned earlier. She died only weeks ago, at the time of this writing. If you knew her and have interest in viewing her “Memorial Service” her “Celebration of Life” they call it today, you will find a link to it on this site. I’m going to quote from the ending of this service given by the pastor.
“I know that Bea loved her family, and her very extended family. But she rests in the Lord. We all wish there were a way to have extended her stay here on earth with us. But from what I understand, if she had been connected up to monitors in the ER room, it would have made no difference. No extension possible, at least not on this earth. But I can assure you of one thing, she knew in whom she believed. She knew her Creator, her Savior, her Friend. She had a relationship with Him and it showed. She spent a lifetime after meeting Him, trying to share with others, the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus”.
No, We can’t bring her back. Only Jesus has the power to do that. But Tuesday night, when Beatrice put on her pajamas and prepared for bed, she had no idea that the next person she would be meeting was going to be her Savior, her Friend. You know who is going to be the next group of people she will be looking for? You, her family and friends. If you didn’t have enough time to spend with her here? Guess what. Eternity is just enough time to spend with someone you love. “
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so, shall we ever be with the Lord.
When I get to heaven “Homeport”, if there are vacancies where some of you should have been, you will be greatly missed. I know, “He shall wipe away all tears for the former things are passed, and all things are made new”. Rev. 21: 1-4. But eternity is a long time to wonder if I could have done more to encourage or strengthen you in your time of doubt. Please do not allow that to be the case. When you find that grain of faith, tie a knot to it and hang on. It is plenty strong, and will get stronger as you use it.
Final note. I know there will be someone that will say ” are you not aware that we built a canal and locks around the falls”. Yes I’m aware of that, but for the sake of the story thought, in it’s original river channel you could not get out of lake Erie with the current with out going over the falls to destruction. And there is no alternate way around what is ahead for this planet other than the one provided by our Creator / Captain / God.