IT’S GOING TO BE BAD
It was perhaps 10-12 feet to the sun-baked adobe
ground that was littered with scrap lumber and rock. As Carlos and the ladder
were thrust violently away from the roof, they first reached vertical and then
began the accelerating backward trip to the ground. During the time of the trip
to the bottom, he somehow had the ability to think about what was about to
happen…
“When I hit the ground on my back with this ladder
and load of bricks on top of me it’s going to be bad. At the least I’ll
probably be hurt really bad…
I wonder if I’m going to be killed?”
SECRET HANDS
A Collection of “God-Intervention” Stories
By
Dick Carmack
In
most cases names and places
have
been altered. In a few cases at the request
of the subject, they
remain the same.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Secret Hands, Going Under for the Third Time, Runnin’ for His Life (or was it his
death?), “I’m a Good Girl,” Considering the Supernatural,
Facing Adventure in Christ.
Bapticostal, Almost a Head-On, Dreams, Warned in a
Dream, A Horse Riding a
Man, Warts and All.
Nudged Away From Hell, Racket in
the Back, Blowing Your Horn, I Think I’m Going to Hell! Let There Be Light, You Have Sinned!
That’s Just Nature! Listen Up!
Visions of Hell, Everybody Talks
About the Weather, A Heavenly Gift? Wildfires and Floods.
Smokin’ Mountains, I Already Heard You, More Earthquakes, Multiplying the Loaves,
Stranger on a Dark Night, And
the Blind Shall See.
Slow Down! More Deams,
Just Plain Supernatural, Meeting
God Face to Face, Love at First
Sight, Robbing God.
Destroyer
of Millions, Not the
Tooth Fairy, Buried Alive, Creation Cries Out, Called to Preach, Speaking Through Storms.
Mama’s About to Leave, When God Speaks to Small Girls, A King Grazing in the Pasture, Three Lessons in Dreams, He Really Does Speak, Give it Up! Go Home!
Warning of
Disaster, Miracle at the
Superstore, Facing Eternity, Devils Come to Torment Me, Angel in Disguise, Razor Thin.
__________
All Scripture unless otherwise noted is from the King James
Bible.
All emphasis, underlining, bold, etc is added to Scripture
and not in the original.
The debate will never be over till Christ comes and sets it all straight. Some
will be offended to think God intervenes in the affairs of men. Others believe He
controls every facet of our lives, even down to what we eat and wear. This book
will not settle the argument, nor will it probably not change anyone’s belief.
It will however, in the author’s opinion give us another encouraging glimpse
into the Supernatural, the other world that certainly exists, but which we only
on rare occasions have access to.
Does God have
His Secret hands about us, or are we on our own?
__________
When
I was a boy a long time ago, the highlight of my life was when Dad took us
on a trip to town and getting a bottle of chocolate pop. Later on we had cream
soda and even strawberry cold drinks occasionally out of the water filled
cooler at the service station, but none compared with the chocolate pop that I
remember the most and the best.
The stories
that follow are like chocolate pop. Those of which I have personal recollection
are good. Those you can relate to, you will remember. I hope you liken them to
chocolate pop.
Life is like
that. We live a lot of things and do a lot of things but only a few stand out
in our memories. Another good thing I remember well was when Dad or Mom would
buy some Ovaltine (a chocolate powder) and then mix us up a glass-full with
fresh milk. Ovaltine isn’t nearly as big a seller as it used to be, but let me
tell you, on an evening (cold or hot) just before bed, there is absolutely
nothing that can compare with a glass of milk mixed with Ovaltine. You can see
I like chocolate in any form.
This book is a
collection of stories I have heard over the years since I became a Christian
and some are personal memories. Many are salvation stories, some are not but
all indicate there is a God in heaven and He is interested in you and me and
what we are doing. A few of the stories are copied from other books and tell
the sad (and sometimes good) results of a life lived in rebellion to the God
who made us and sent His Son to die on a cross to pay the penalty in our place,
for the sins we have committed.
If you are a
friend of mine, relative or a descendent, you may find yourself in these pages,
especially if you’ve shared your story with me about how God has worked in your
life. Look carefully because your name has been changed and where you live is
unrecognizable. There are also some of my personal experiences, again sometimes
disguised but all pertinent I believe in pointing out the omnipotence of the
One who made us. If you like the book, please let me know, if you don’t, just
keep it to yourself that way I won’t regret offending you and you won’t get
upset writing to me.
__________
As a mother
cradles her child in her arms, God also wraps his heavenly, unseen and secret hands about His human creations, constantly
keeping them from harm He doesn’t desire. He also speaks to them through His
still, small voice. Though we may question why we are allowed to undergo
certain trials, His wisdom is over all, guiding here, nudging there, pushing a
little from behind when necessary, giving us or allowing the experiences we
need.
We live in the
“natural” surrounded by the supernatural. Scripture implies not even a sparrow
can fall without escaping His notice.
Lu 12:7 But even the very hairs of your head are
all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
When we pause
and attempt to comprehend the majesty of such a thing it is beyond the
understanding of mere men. The universe is apparently infinite. As man builds
bigger and bigger telescopes he discovers more and more that he never saw
before, thus the necessary phrase, “The known universe.” And surrounding
it all are the SECRET Hands of an infinite God of such vast intelligence that
the very hairs on our heads are numbered!
In the pages you are reading you will find events described in the life
of this writer and other contributors. True stories, stories that really
happened. You will find stories that can’t be reconciled with the natural and
by default therefore have to be credited to the SUPERnatural. You will read
where the writer heard the audible voice of God (audible at least to him), met
angels face to face (though he didn’t recognize them as such at the time) and
was saved from precarious situations on several occasions, that he now understands
as actually being help from the supernatural.
Steve Hartman, CBS reporter started his television series “Everyone has
a story.” by putting his finger on a
name in a phone book, then investigating and publishing that person’s story.
Proving immensely popular the series has now evolved into searched out stories,
rather than random picks.
The stories that follow however are about ordinary people and
extraordinary events. There are no celebrities, no famous names. Just folks
like you and me, your friends and neighbors who have been moved by SECRET
HANDS, or have actually heard the voice of God.
__________
GOING UNDER FOR THE THIRD TIME
Jesse Hopkins lived in a small town in Iowa and almost drowned three
times, twice in water and once in corn. He was just a kid, far too young to
die. Let me explain.
He was 13 years old and while playing with some other kids as they
waded across a fast moving creek on a sandbar they had crossed many times
before, being the smallest of the group Jesse was knocked off his feet and
caught in the turbulence. The other boys being larger were able to keep their
footing and had little trouble, but as Jesse was swept off his feet he was
quickly swept into deep water, rushing down a rocky creek.
Struggling to keep his head above water and bumping his head on a rock
he blacked out. “The next thing I knew” Jesse said, “they had me on my back and
were roughly and frantically pumping water out of my lungs.” The other boys had
followed down the stream and quickly pulled him out and onto the bank where
they started pumping his chest the best they knew how.
“Thirteen year olds are going to live forever,” at least that’s what
they think. Immortality is the norm and death seems far away until you face it.
The rescue performed by his friends worked that day and soon the boys were on
their way home. Jesse didn’t tell his parents.
Two months later Jesse went to a birthday party for his uncle. They had
a swimming pool and as the party moved away from food and drink and down to the
pool, his uncle without knowing Jesse couldn’t swim, in fun picked him up and
tossed him into the pool. In a few seconds it became apparent the boy was in
deep trouble and his uncle then realizing his mistake jumped in to pull him
out. Jesse, fighting for his life grabbed and clung desperately to his would be
rescuer pulling them both to the bottom of the pool. In quick order two other
men jumped in and they, being better swimmers were able to rescue the almost
drowned boy now welded to his uncle, with soon all four on poolside again doing
CPR on Jesse. Still, the nearness of death failed to impress the boy, his
thoughts were elsewhere but little did he know he would soon be drowning again
in a sea of freshly cut corn.
Jesse’s parents were sold out, born again Christians and being
concerned for their children, saw to it that both boys were in church every
time the doors were open. Dad Hopkins among other endeavors, had a corn farm.
One day while Dad and a friend were in the field cutting and loading corn
Jesse’s job was to monitor the large bin where the still moist grain was
mechanically augered down onto a conveyor tended to stick to the sides,
clumping up and not reaching the conveyor that transported the freshly cut and
dumped corn up to a drying bin. Not being able to reach some of the corn on the
sides of the bin with his shovel, Jesse decided to climb over the side and
hanging onto the rim with his hands, kicked the recalcitrant grain so it would
slide down into the auger.
The night before, Jesse had attended another Wednesday night service
but this time it had apparently penetrated his heart, where he subconsciously
considered what he had heard. Then, in an instant it all snapped together as
his hand-hold failed and falling into the bin, he found himself slowly being
sucked down into the corn as it made its way to the auger. Screaming for help,
a friend who had stopped by on his way home from school heard the cry for help
and got there just as Jesse’s head was going under. He frantically ran to the
field where Dad and friend rushed quickly in, only to find just a pair of hands
barely above the surface of the descending corn. They quickly shut down the
machinery and crawled into the bin to dig the boy out and again, three times in
a row, CPR was administered.
As he felt himself being inexorably being sucked down into the auger
that would soon shred his body, Jesse prayed a fervent prayer. He held his
hands up and cried out to Almighty God, admitting he was a sinner and needing
forgiveness. As his breath failed and blackness descended he knew this was the
end, there would be no more chances to reject God. Then, consciousness slowly
returned as his breath gradually began again and he realized he was still
alive.
Again, three times in a row, he was on his back with men working
frantically to revive a boy who had one more time barely escaped death. Jesse’s
prayer was effective that day as God spoke by sending help when it was
seemingly too late. Jesse is now married to a girl from Colorado who came to
teach in the Hopkins’ church. He, like his dad is also is an entrepreneur, a
welder, construction man and part time farmer. The Hopkins have nine children,
all of which have been taught the Word of God and all are living moral lives.
God is good, our ever present help in time of trouble if we know Him.
Ps 37:39 But
the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time
of trouble.
__________
A SUPERNATURAL MESSAGE
Marvin was
building a house. He had a crew of three or four men helping him and one day
while waiting for a ready-mix truck, the crew was nailing together wooden forms
to contain excess cement whenever the truck carried more mud than was needed
for the particular pour. The resulting square blocks were to be used for
walkway blocks instead of the conventional sidewalk.
Nailing 2” X
4”s together for a form, he absent mindedly reached for a handful of nails,
used them up and was pleasantly surprised when the exact number needed for that
form ran out just as he completed it. Beginning on another form he reached
again for nails and again the exact number was picked up without him being
conscious of what he was doing. By now he was intrigued and the next time he
picked up a handful of nails he deliberately relaxed his hand letting a few
drop back in the box. Again, astoundingly, the exact number of nails needed
proved to be the number he had held onto.
This
astounding miracle went on for a few more forms. Looking around and a little
bit up, Marvin wondered what was going on. What in the world was happening? The
event could not be explained by human reasoning the odds were just too long.
Later, after salvation the incident came again to mind and he then realized God
Almighty deals with every man in the exact way that is needed for that
individual to realize he is in need of salvation and if he applies it instead
of holding it in contempt, at a certain point enough light is given for the
decision to be made in favor or life. If the decision of rejection is made one
time too many, however, at that certain point the offer is withdrawn never to
be offered again.
As an aside,
have you heard the story of the man who was working on a tin roof of a two
story building, lost his footing and sliding down over the eave in desperation
grabbed the rain gutter? While hanging there he breathed a short prayer to
someone and asked, “Is there anyone up there that can help me?” A voice from
heaven came down and said, “Let go and trust Me.” Shaking his head in amazement
and in desperation he then looked down and asked, “Is there anyone down there
that can help me?”
Some folks
come to Christ by reason, some by emotion, some through the sorrow of a loved
one, some by being jolted to the very bottom of their beliefs. Others are so
hard-hearted they have to spend years in the slime of lower parts of society
before they eventually awake and cry out for help. Not all will be saved,
indeed the Bible testifies in
Mt 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide
is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there
be which go in thereat:
There also
eventually comes a day in which time runs out, because if after repeated
chances with repeated rejection of the Gospel message, the Bible teaches that
God will no longer deal with that man;
Ge
6:3 ¶ And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that
he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
That means
simply that most of humanity will stiffen their necks and march straight into
hell all the while insisting “I’m a good person and I’m going to live my life
in such a manner that God will HAVE to accept me into heaven!”
Sorry, you
don’t make the rules, God Almighty does.
After the life
changing experience while kneeling in the woods, Marvin now began to understand
and gradually accept the fact the old man was dead and a new man with a new
nature was beginning to grow. The first few faltering steps were taken as he
toddled, then began to walk and later even ran with confidence. When his old
friends wanted him to drink with them he politely refused and instead tried to
talk to them to somehow explain the miracle that had occurred in his soul. No
longer did he need the former things. The destination had changed and the goals
had changed. Life became valuable as he began slowly to understand the grand
design, not just a solitary life that was to be spent and wasted in
gratification of self.
Rejection
however was swift to come. Not too long after he was saved and while witnessing
passionately to his friends, as they entered the coffee shop for a time of
coffee and visiting, one, visibly upset exclaimed: “Can’t you get off that?
What difference does it make?” Marvin quickly replied, “Because one of these
days you’re going to die and I don’t want to see you go to hell!, that’s what
difference it makes!” Suffice it to say the rest of the coffee conversation
that afternoon was a little strained.
__________
RUNNIN’ FOR HIS LIFE (or was it his death?)
Jerry Underhill was on a
week-end pass in St. Louis. He had spent almost all his money the night before
buying whiskey in a South-Side bar but now with a hang-over he needed food.
This had almost become routine. Party on Saturday night and when the money ran
out go down to the little church for a free breakfast. Only one problem,
whoever gets breakfast, also gets a sermon before he eats.
The trip to the little
church stands out in his memory. The pattern played itself out several times.
On Friday evening as soon as the week-end pass was valid, out the gate they
went and upon reaching St. Louis which was about 130 miles away, a 3 or 4 hour
trip in those days on a 2 lane road with a third passing lane only on hills, by
the time they got there most of the partying was saved over until Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon
Jerry and his buddies hit the bars and by closing time were usually close to or
dead broke. Only occasionally was there enough foresight to fill the gas tank
before the money ran out. A couple of times they had to sell the spare tire to
get gas money back to base.
Then, after a Saturday
night party of drinking, groggily on Sunday morning they pulled themselves out
of bed in time to make the church service and breakfast in the little church on
the corner. First came the sermon, though coffee was served right away. It was
“hell-fire and damnation” but the hearers were usually able to blank out and
not listen to most of it. One morning however, Jerry found himself under
conviction of sin and strangely found himself walking the isle, headed for the
altar behind which the preacher strained in trying to persuade his audience of
the reality of both heaven and hell. He could feel a Secret Hand pushing gently
on his back, urging him to make the commitment he so desperately needed. Just
as he reached the altar however, and just as he began to kneel and pray, he
thrust himself to his feet, broke and ran back down the isle and out of the
little church!
He testified later, “I
could feel a pressure on my back like someone was pushing me to go forward and
confess I was a sinner, and it scared me. Just as I got to the front and began
to kneel I broke and ran. The Devil danced with glee, not knowing he didn’t get my soul, he just delayed my salvation,
not for a few days but for over 30 years. During that 30 years he was
convinced, God still had His hands on him patiently waiting for the day when
enough of his pride would be stripped and he would surrender to the
Supernatural Creator who had made him.
“I can look
back now and see clearly what happened. The little demon perched on my shoulder
almost screamed in my ear ‘Don’t do it! You’ll regret this this!’ Sadly, I
listened to it and missed out on over 30 years of walking in a forgiven life. I
denied myself the security of the
knowledge heaven is my home, I’m just passing through. That Sunday morning in
St. Louis, Missouri I thought I was runnin’ for my life, instead I almost ran
into my death!”
__________
DAVID
In a time of
Benny’s life before he met Susan, he was working as a car salesman for his
brothers who had an Edsel dealership in Denver, Colorado. Somehow, though he
isn’t able to remember the circumstances, he became acquainted with a young man
about his own age named David. They hit it off and were soon fast friends.
David was a big guy, probably 5’11” or so but very gentle in demeanor. The two
spent hours over coffee and somehow David seemed to always gently bring the
conversation around to the subject of God and the Bible. Benny went along with
it because he had an instinctive liking for David but just as gently usually
changed the subject back to something of more immediate attention.
When Benny
wanted to go up to “Lucky’s” and have a beer or two, David quietly declined but
the sessions at the beer hall never seemed to dampen the friendship of the two
young men. They were always able to pick up where they left off and a word of
reproach was never to pass David’s lips.
One day in
November David invited Benny to travel about 80 miles west to visit his parents
who had promised the two a fine turkey dinner for the fall holiday. Benny went,
taking his demonstrator Edsel hardtop and after spending the day with David’s
parents and enjoying a scrumptious dinner, the two drove home. On the way,
David confessed he was the victim of a rare blood disorder and in fact the
doctors only gave him a few more months to live. Dick was shocked. David seemed
healthy and his spirits were excellent. In fact his impending death seemed not
to bother him at all. He confessed he wasn’t afraid to die because, he said, “I
know my Lord has saved my soul and I am going straight to heaven.”
Benny refused
to consider the testimony and quickly put it out of his mind. The coffee
sessions continued from time to time, though declining in frequency, but the
subject of David’s death never came up again. One day the following spring
Benny read in the newspaper that indeed, David had died. Till the day of his
death he seemed to be fine. They had coffee together just a few days prior. He
was just there one day and the next day he was gone. Benny didn’t go to the funeral, never quite understanding why and
deliberately never allowed himself to think of David again until much later in
life. It just didn't seem fair. Here was a young man, a believer in God who was
suddenly taken in death while others who were obviously great sinners went
their way prospering. Thinking back he just didn’t want to grapple with death
and the two destinations that exist. Life was too exciting and when he learned
that of David’s death he found an excuse to be very busy that day and unable to
attend the funeral.
In fact, David
hardly crossed his mind again until Benny and Susan were much older. There had
been several times when the name would pop up but just as quickly it was
dismissed. Several times after he allowed himself again to think of David and
regret not listening closer and acting on the wise advice that he gave,
thoughts of David would come along with the regrets of not acting when he was
able. He knew he was not right with God but didn't want to think about it.
After being
saved though, a transformation in Benny’s mind however took place. No longer
did he enjoy suggestive “Country Western” music. Instead the Gospel tunes he
heard from time to time and rejected now began to be appreciated. Not just for
their message but also for the solid rhythm and soothing effect on the soul. He
also began to think about David again and to consider what he had rejected when
he was young. Needing a character for the story you are reading, who would be
able to express a supernatural presence in the life of Benny, David was chosen.
David had all
the attributes. He was a solid believer without pretense, one who was a
representative of the Lord who first created and later was available to save
our souls by snatching us out of falling into hell. David was gentle and
patient, qualities missing from and much needed in the life of the author.
David was a good representative of God Almighty in that he never raised his
voice, never condemned, simply smiled at stubbornness and patiently planted the
same seeds over and over again though each time they came in different clothing
and appearance.
David, in the
mind of this writer was chosen to represent the supernatural component of human
life that is mostly unrecognized but is always just an arm’s length away.
Angels according to the Bible are deputies or messengers of God. They bring
messages in myriad forms. Sometimes they speak through men in the pulpit, often
they are a quiet voice in the recesses of the soul. Occasionally, they take
human form and show up at unexpected times (probably much more often than we
think), indeed that guy thumbing a ride on the side of the road might be an
angel. How about the derelict you just walked by who was obviously hungry and
you just turned your head and walked on by?
Mt 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat:
I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
No, David was
probably not a real angel but he is a figure that represents that unseen legion
of heavenly helpers sent to minister to those who shall inherit salvation.
In the
multiple years of age though, as many old men do, we start to reminisce about
the past and sometimes have dreams that seemingly prompt us to look up old
friends. That’s when Benny started to remember David as another strange
occurrence began when the night dreams turned to a young couple he had known in
the middle 1950s.
Del and Sharon
were a couple that had no interest in the partying of night life. They
preferred to go to the movies, or out to eat. They liked good food rather than
booze and brawling and even though the young people obviously had different
interests in life, Benny enjoyed a close friendship with Del and Sharon Givens
(fictitious names). Again it seemed God had sent a couple of heavenly
messengers to help guide a lost soul on his way out of the morass of sin.
As the world
turned however, the Givens and Benny drifted apart and it wasn’t until about
2013 (some 50 years later) that Benny started to remember his long lost
friends. One night when it was hard to drift off the Givens popped into his
mind. Often, while lying in bed before going to sleep the Givens kept appearing
in his mind. He recalled them as being church-goers and though they were
obviously believers they never pressured him about religion. Instead they set
an example that he recalled the many years later when he began to approach the
last period of his life.
“Del and
Sharon Givens.” He wondered if they were still living and if so would he see
them in heaven. Benny’s own salvation was clear in his mind and as he
remembered the days of youth he relished the thought of seeing his old friends
again.
Because of the
insistent reminder of the Givens, one day he decided to use the internet and
see if there was a listing for them. Using his search engine, he typed in the
name “Givens” and was rewarded with a long list of hits. Running down the list,
there they were! Del and Sharon Givens, and wonder of all wonders, they lived
in a town only 80 miles from him and Susan. After searching phone books and not
finding a listing he called another Givens living in the same town and only
getting an answering machine he left a message:
“My name is
Benny Lowdermill and I’m trying to locate some old friends named Del and Sharon
Givens who live in your town but I can’t find a telephone listing. If you know
them or anything about them would you please return my call?” Days went by but
nobody called. A week or two more went by but he just couldn’t get them off his
mind. Almost every night at bedtime as he relaxed before sleep, Del and Sharon
Givens came to his mind. It was almost like God was speaking to him. “Go see
your old friends.” Finally, Benny decided the next time he was in the area he
would make an effort to look them up.
Shortly after
that, he and Susan found themselves in the Givens’ hometown about noon and
being pressed for time decided to visit City Hall anyway and see if there was a
utility listing for his old friends. Entering Town Hall Benny found a young
lady sitting alone at the reception desk as all the other city employees were
out to lunch. Boldly he asked, “Do you have a listing for Del or Sharon Givens,
and if so, can I get a telephone number or address?”
The
receptionist looked shocked and said, “It’s against our policy to give out
personal information. Who is it you want to see?” Benny explained the
situation, that he was trying to locate friends that he hadn’t seen for over 60
years, and were there any suggestions she could give as to how to locate them?
As he spoke, the girl, while apparently paying no attention, scribbled a phone
number on a yellow sticky-pad. Next she reached for a photo-copy of the town
map and highlighted with a yellow marker both City Hall and the address of the
Givens. Wordlessly she pushed the paper over the counter and turned away
leaving him to walk out the door, paper in hand, in complete amazement. As he
exited the building he noticed a man driving a city vehicle that seemed odd and
out of place. He was a big guy, dark complexioned and for a fleeting instant,
he reminded Benny of his old friend David. The driver of the city vehicle was
obviously looking at him and smiling as he drove past.
Driving toward
the highlighted address Benny explained to Susan what had just happened. In a
few short minutes he was knocking on the front door to a modest ranch style
home and the lady who answered, he recognized instantly as Sharon. She didn’t
know him however as she called for Del to come and deal with the stranger.
“Hello Del. Do
you remember me? No? Then do you remember a guy named Lowdermill from back in
Denver in the fifties?”
“Lowdermill…”
puzzled Del, “I knew a Lowdermill one time named Benny.”
“That’s me.” A
silence ensued while Del gazed at the stranger and mulled over what had just
been said. “You’re Benny Lowdermill? I sure wouldn’t have recognized you. It’s
been a long time.”
“Can I come
in?”
“Well, I have
a dim recollection of a guy named Lowdermill, but that was a long time ago are
you sure you’re him?”
Benny replied,
“I hardly recognized you either Del, except for the fact I’ve been thinking
about you for the past several weeks.”
“Come on in,”
Del said as he opened the door and motioned him in. “Are you by yourself? No?
Then go get her.”
After going to
the car to get his wife, Benny and Susan entered the house and with a few
minutes of recollection, Benny observed, “I just wanted to stop by and thank
you folks for witnessing to me those many years ago. If it hadn’t been for you
I might still be searching and lost.”
“Witnessing?”
Del asked, with a puzzled look on his face, “What are you taking about?”
It was then
Benny’s turn to puzzle. “You mean you’re not a Christian?” he asked. “I
remember you and Sharon telling me about the Lord several times.”
“No,” Del
replied, “I’m not a Christian. Sharon is and our daughter is a Baptist.”
A stunned
silence ensued as Benny thought over what he had just heard. He had been
convinced in his own mind that both Del and Sharon were Christians and that
they had witnessed to him on more than one occasion those many years ago.
Excusing himself for his assumption, Benny gently turned the conversation to
other topics and the four spent the next half hour remembering some of the
events of Denver those fifty some years ago, Del was retired after working for
many years in Albuquerque for a defense contractor, running computers and
compiling records. He was now in his late 70s and he and Sharon spent most of
their days going back and forth to doctor appointments.
Standing and
preparing to leave, Benny asked Del one more time about his faith. Del said he
had none. He called Sharon over and she assured Benny she was a good person and
had always been a Christian and was certain of her destination in heaven when
her earthly years would come to an end. Benny couldn’t restrain himself as he
told them of the great importance of taking the Bible literally and putting
their faith in Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross as full payment for
their sin. Sharon again stressed her belief she had always been a Christian and
was thus assured of heaven.
Gently, Benny
pointed out that the Bible stresses the fact that nobody has “always been a
Christian.” Becoming a believer was just that, becoming, not “always was.” A
way to illustrate that fact is that going out and sitting in your garage for an
hour or two on Sunday morning won’t turn you into a car. Being born of
Christian parents does not assure that every (not even one) child will be a
Christian. People become Christians by only one method and it’s not hereditary.
First every
individual has to come to a realization of the fact he is a sinner. He was born
that way and before his first cry in the crib his life was already tainted. It
came through his genes, down from Adam and is called “Our sin nature.”
Secondly, we are sinners by choice. All things being equal it’s much easier to
sin than it is to not. Who hasn’t experienced the temptation to “stretch” a
story? That’s called a lie. It’s not a “little white lie,” no the magnitude of
the lie makes no difference, a lie is a lie just as black is black and blue is
blue. Sure we can put shades on blue and say it’s “light blue or dark blue” but
it’s still blue. A lie is a lie and we need to admit it. Did you know there’s a
special place reserved for those who tell lies and have not been forgiven?
Re 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the
abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and
all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone: which is the second death.
Would God send
someone to the lake of fire for one itty bitty lie? Yes He would. Not because
He’s a mean old man in the sky but because sin cannot be tolerated in heaven.
Suppose it could be. Sin (even an itty bitty one) would then in heaven and by
definition heaven could no longer exist! Who then can be saved???
Anyone and
everyone. Do you have to join a particular church?
No because God
is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34) or of denominations. He’s not
impressed with earthly edifices, earthly denominations or success. Truth known
there are probably more rich and famous men in hell (including some preachers
and priests) than are not saved because their pride wouldn't allow them to
humble themselves and ask for forgiveness. The meek shall inherit the earth (Ps
37:11) not the rulers or the super rich or the brilliant or the workers of
good. You can’t be a Christian “all your life,” it’s a decision everyone has to
make, to let go of your own life and let Christ be your Lord. Do you know and
admit you have sinned against a Holy and Eternal God or do you go the way of
the proud and say, “I’ll do it my way!”
Thirdly, every
individual soul has to admit to himself and to God he has sinned and needs
forgiveness and to believe that Christ is the very Son of God who took flesh,
lived on earth, was crucified (put to death) taking the sin of the world on
Himself then was buried and rose again on the third day!
If you will
take those three steps you will have eternal life. If you don’t your
destination is death in hell.
The
Lowdermills said their goodbyes to the Givens and promised to keep in touch.
But before they left Benny found himself compelled to point out Paul said in
Ephesians that nobody can be saved by being a good person.
Eph 2:8 For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Two weeks
later Benny bought a new Bible at the city Retail Club and spent the next 30
minutes sitting in the car highlighting Bible verses. He carefully put it in a
large manilla envelope he had prepared along with a letter stressing the need
to simply put one’s faith in the finished work of Christ on the Cross, and
forget the heresy of “being good” in an effort to earn your way to heaven.
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Leaving the
Club he called Del Givens and receiving no answer, left a message asking if it
was OK for them to stop by for a minute. During the 20 mile trip to Del and
Sharon’s house, they decided they would leave the Bible even if no one was at
home. Upon reaching the house they knocked and receiving no answer carefully
placed the wrapped gift between the screen and the door.
Several weeks
went by and there was no letter, no phone call from his friends, but the
nightly urgings to talk to the Givens about Jesus Christ continued. Again, a
long letter was carefully composed and printed out, then mailed to the Givens.
Again, there was no response but now, gradually the old friends faded from
Benny’s mind. Only God in the heavens knows the answer as to what if anything,
followed the meeting of old friends. Will both the Givens be in heaven on that
Great Day, or just Sharon alone, or perhaps neither?
Even when you
are in your eighties, God still has work for you to do. He knows all the
answers and as the Scripture testifies,
Ro 8:28 And we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are
the called according to his purpose.
Benny rested
in that. He knew that whether the Givens responded immediately or not, they had
heard the truth and they had the Scripture to verify it with. The Lowdermills had
been given an assignment to bring the Word to some old friends. They did that
and the rest was up to the Lord. God works in mysterious ways and death-bed
conversions to Christianity are not unheard of though extremely rare. Those who
are appointed unto Salvation will be saved. God said so and He is a God that
cannot lie.
2Pe 3:9 ¶ The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
__________
“I’M A GOOD GIRL”
As it is
written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Lois Anopolis
really was a good girl. She worked at it. Diligent in school, obedient at home,
studious and reverent in Sunday School. She wanted to “Do the right thing,”
showing herself approved, this small West Virginia girl was everything she
tried to be, except for one thing.
Lois had the
idea if she was good enough heaven was hers. She knew God was good and wanted
her to be good also but complete understanding would only come later. She was
the daughter of a storekeeper in a small coal mining town where Dad sold
hardware and silently fought his own spiritual battle. Dad was vehemently
against his daughters being “indoctrinated” and turned into “religious
fanatics. “ As a consequence, her Mom wasn’t allowed to take Lois and four
sisters to Sunday School, but she was diligent in seeing to it all the girls
went, all dressed in their Sunday best. Dad and Mom were “good” though Dad as
mentioned was far from being a Christian. Lois loved and respected her parents
and showed it at every opportunity.
Dad Anopolis
came from a long line of Greek preachers who had immigrated to America in the
middle 1800s. But as time continued, first his Granddad and then his Dad
gradually became alienated from the Gospel. And as they did and became
successful farmers and merchants they saw little need for “religion.” It was a
different story for Great-Granddad Anopolis who, born in the old country was
raised in Greek Orthodoxy, but converted to the Baptist faith after attending a
tent revival where he came under heavy conviction of sin. Shortly after his
conversion he was called to preach and for the rest of his life rode the Great
Smokies holding revivals wherever he went. His only son however, though
professing faith, became immersed in making money and providing well for his
family. As a consequence he raised his family as secularists and when Lois’ Dad
came along there was no longer any pretence of being Christian.
Lois’s Mother
however was a different story. She was saved as a youngster and though she
married an unbeliever, was determined to raise her five daughters in the faith
of Jesus. When Dad Anopolis protested at the “fanatics” he had for daughters,
Mother asked simply, “Would you rather they go down town and hang around on the
corner?” From then on there was no more argument from Dad. He simply kept his
peace and ignored the faithful church attendance of his family.
Lois though,
one day came to the point where she wrestled with her salvation. Surely, she
thought, I’m doing the “right thing, and God will accept me because I really do
work at being the very best I can.” But the doubts grew and every time an
invitation was given at church she was quick to go forward and to pray. To no
avail, the doubts continued until one night at age 14, during a night of worry
and sweat, she finally admitted to herself and to the Creator she had fallen
short. She admitted she was a sinner.
In her words,
“I found the conviction so great one night I could not sleep. Stumbling from
bed I fell on my face before the Savior and trusted Him completely for
salvation. Such a burden of sin was lifted off of my shoulders.”
From that day
forward Lois never looked back, she saved her money and prepared for Bible
College. Studying at a small Bible College in Indiana she graduated in 1984 and
became a teacher in a Christian school near Bridge, KY. There in the Ozarks was
a young man in her church who caught her eye but she carefully avoided him.
David however was not so shy and not long after (about a year actually) they
married and moved to a rural area nearby where Dave worked for a grain company
and became Bus Captain for their church.
There David and
Lois Quincy live today. They have raised 8 children and are faithful members of
their church, where salvation by Grace is taught, not salvation by Works.
Throughout their lives, both David and Lois have experienced the SECRET HANDS
of God.
__________
CONSIDERING THE SUPERNATURAL
The Bible tells
many stories about the supernatural. Churches tell very few. Why? Dr. Michael
S. Heiser blogging under the title “Why Are Christians Uncomfortable with the
Supernatural?” has this to say:
“Modern
Christianity suffers from two serious shortcomings when it comes to the
supernatural world.
“First, many
Christians claim to believe in the supernatural but think (and live) like
skeptics. We find talk of the supernatural world uncomfortable. This is typical
of denominations and evangelical congregations outside the charismatic
movement—in other words, those from a background like my own.
“There are two
basic reasons why non-charismatics tend to close the door on the supernatural
world. One is their suspicion that charismatic practices are detached from
sound exegesis of Scripture. As a biblical scholar, it’s easy for me to agree
with that suspicion—but over time it has widely degenerated into a
closed-minded overreaction that is itself detached from the worldview of the biblical
writers.
“The other
reason is less self-congratulatory. The believing church is bending under the
weight of its own rationalism, a modern worldview that would be foreign to the
biblical writers. Traditional Christian teaching has for centuries kept the
unseen world at arm’s length. We believe in the Godhead because there’s no
point to Christianity without it. The rest of the unseen world is handled with
a whisper or a chuckle.
“The second
serious shortcoming is evident within the charismatic movement: the elevation
of experience over Scripture. While that movement is predisposed to embrace the
idea of an animate spiritual world, its conception of that world is framed
largely by experience and an idiosyncratic reading of the book of Acts.
“Those two shortcomings,
while seemingly quite different, are actually born of the same fundamental,
underlying problem: Their view of the unseen world isn’t framed by the ancient
worldview of the biblical writers. One segment wrongly consigns the invisible
realm to the periphery of theological discussion. The other is so busy seeking
some interaction with it that it has become unconcerned with its biblical
moorings, resulting in a caricature.”
[1]
__________
ONE SNOWY DAY ON THE
PASS
When Rudy and
Ruth had been married for about ten years, and being the parents of three small
girls, they took a trip back to Colorado to visit family over the Christmas
holiday. Running short of money and returning over La Veta Pass, Rudy looked at
his gas gauge and figured he had enough fuel to get over the mountain. It would
be close but he knew that gas was a good 6 cents a gallon cheaper on the east
side. What he failed to consider however was how much gas the old Pontiac
station wagon would take if they got in trouble on icy roads.
Sure enough,
about half way up the pass the road got slick and not having chains they spun
their way up the hill, swerving from one side and the other, till finally, with
a great sigh of relief they made the top and began the long descent into Fort
Garland. Keeping a close eye on the gauge, Rudy actually prayed a little,
though to whom he didn’t know, “Please, let this thing go a little farther.
We’ve only got another 10 miles or so to a gas station.”
Prayers though
were not enough. Silently the car slowed and then gave up the ghost, gradually
coasting to a stop. There was six inches of snow and ice on the road and if the
gas had just held out a little longer they could have made it, but the spinning
on the ice had taken its toll, using up that last precious gallon of gasoline.
Sitting there, wondering what to do next he knew the small gas jug in the back
was empty, having used it a few weeks back he had failed to fill it. Looking at
Ruth but trying to escape the blame he knew was his, he assured her someone
would come along that had extra gas. Just then he saw a pair of headlights
dimly creeping up from behind through the blowing snow. Quickly getting out he
held up his hands as the driver pulled up beside him.
“Need a little
help? The traveling stranger asked.
“Yes. I’m out
of gas. Do you have any?” Rudy responded.
“No, but I can
take you to a station, I don’t think it’s too far. Get in.”
After quick
agreement with Ruth, she and the girls bundled up as best they could, locked
the doors and told him to go ahead. Rudy and the stranger eased out and crept
down the road toward the next small town. It was after 4 p.m. and before they
got to the station it was already getting dark. After filling his two gallon
gas can Rudy was ready to start thumbing his way back to the car when the same
man who had given him a ride into town pulled up again headed back toward the
mountain and said, “Get in, I’m going to take you back.”
Almost
pinching himself to see if he was awake Rudy put on his best demeanor and
thanked the stranger over and over for his kindness. “No problem.” He was
assured, “Don’t mind a bit. I just don’t want to see your wife and those kids
out there on the road alone.”
Depositing his
cargo back at the stalled car and waiting to see if it started, the stranger
put his vehicle in gear and as he pulled away, Rudy thought of his old friend
David, the one who had died young, the one who patiently told him time and time
again about the Lord in Heaven who had died for his sin. “I wonder,” he mused,
“I wonder if David ever made it to his heaven? Now why am I thinking about
that?”
As the now
warm and relieved family drove slowly down the road toward home, Rudy wondered
about his friend who had died so young and the question crossed his mind, was
it possible the stranger who helped him get gas was an angel? Dismissing that,
his thoughts turned back to another time when the family had driven over
another pass, again without advance planning and seemingly kept on the road by
an invisible hand. It happened a year
or two earlier when they went from Ouray to Silverton over a mountain pass all
without chains when good traction was sorely needed.
__________
FACING ADVENTURES IN CHRIST
They were young and eager
to face their new lives in Christ. Mike could hardly believe it when he was
offered a salary, a stipend large enough to rent a decent apartment for himself
and his new wife. He was prepared to tough it out relying only on the
generosity of God’s people, but here he was going into a ministry to which he
was called and even paid enough money to not worry about food and housing. On
top of that he was able to preach occasionally and even had opportunity to
practice his “signing” skills for the deaf.
Michael and Melody Lister
are perhaps typical of a very large portion of God’s family. Both were saved at
early ages, neither of them can recall any dramatic happening that was branded
into their memories. They were both convinced however, beyond any question that
God had His hand on their lives and they knew they had a calling.
Michael was the son of a
preacher and at age 7 had knelt at an old fashioned altar and asked Christ to
take charge of his life. He was convicted of sin and understood and believed
that without salvation he had no hope. He was just a little boy and the oldest
member of a family of 4 at the time with 2 more to come, but he was a good boy
right from the start. He cheerfully jumped in and helped out wherever he was
needed.
If there were weeds to
pull, Mike didn’t hesitate. He helped with the laundry, did dishes with or for
Mom and even changed some diapers on the baby. In short, he was just a good
kid. He recalls a few times he was disobedient but quickly repented and
apologized for his misbehavior. About age eleven though he started having
doubts about his eternal destination.
An evangelist came to
their small town in Georgia and expounded mightily on hell and heaven. Michael
was again doubtful that perhaps his earlier commitment wasn’t good enough.
Accordingly as soon as the service had ended and the altar call made, he
quickly made his way forward, knelt and re-dedicated his life to Jesus. That
settled it. From then on his plans were being made to one day enter the
Ministry and like his Dad preach the Gospel wherever God called him.
Melody’ story was similar.
She was the oldest of an eventual family of 8 siblings and though she was
willing to help out however asked, her interests lay in writing. Even before
the time she learned her first letters she was composing sentences in her mind
and repeating them out-loud when nobody was in ear-shot. Practicing for the day
when she learned to write, then type and then one day Dad brought home her
first computer. There it was, her first
computer with a word-processing program already installed. From then on, the
sky was the limit. Hours were spent whenever possible and by the age of 12 she
had written her first novel. Dad was thrilled and willing to put up the money
to have it published by a vanity house and to her great surprise it started
selling!
Five more novels followed
over the years before she met Mike when he was preaching at a summer camp for
inner-city kids. Melody knew immediately this was the man for her. Soon, their
love grew with Mike bringing up the rear the end of the line, only slowly
realizing that he and Melody would be married and soon raise a family.
Once it was done though,
all of his doubts disappeared, the wedding took place and soon Mike was back in
Missions, working with kids and the deaf, reaching the world through his small
part of the world.
__________
JUST ONE SLIP AND…
They had an
old Datsun pickup with a camper shell on the back. Dick and two of the girls
were up front while Vernie sat in the back with the three little ones. They
were all wrapped up in heavy coats and a good blanket and didn’t complain as
they set out over the mountain pass in the dead of winter. Dick was told
several times he had better have chains driving over the mountains but with the
enthusiasm born of pride and a lack of wisdom, bragged.
“Don’t need
‘em. I’ve got posi-traction. This pickup doesn’t need chains, never has, never
will, it’ll go through anything!”
For those who
don’t know, “posi-traction” was an option in early post-war vehicles so that
both rear tires had to turn in unison if one began to slip. With the later
advent of 4-wheel drives, the device fell out of use, and is no longer
recognized except by a few old-timers.
Not
withstanding the snow and good advice, “go” they did, as they passed several
vehicles stopped by the side of the road, that had their drivers out wrestling
with a set of tire chains, Dick smugly congratulated himself on how smart he
had been in buying a truck that was so well equipped (posi-traction) for winter
weather. In the back one of the girls peeked out the window staring down into
the chasm and told her mother,
“It’s a
loooong way down there!”
But the old
pickup traveled on, slipping a little now and then but quickly catching itself
as the driving skills picked up by Dick during many winters in the mountains,
guided them safely over the first pass. Reaching the small mountain town of
Silverton, Dick finally reconsidered and agreed to stop at an auto parts store
and get a set of chains, just in case. No luck, the store didn’t have the right
size, so on over the mountains they went again finally reaching the long
downhill to Durango and then on to home without further worry or trouble.
A week later,
knowing he would have to again brave the mountains Dick decided once more to
buy a set of chains. He did, and then thought it prudent to be sure they fit,
so he jacked the old truck up and as he tried the new equipment on, he suddenly
discovered that he did not, after all, have a posi-traction rear end. The rear
wheels spun easily with one in the air and the other on the ground. Sometimes
it makes sense to check things out instead of taking a car salesman’s word for
it. Some one said one time, “The love of money is the root of all evil,” and it
looked like the car salesman thought more of a commission than he thought of
the truth.
The salesman
at the auto parts store grinned a little as he sold the set of chains. He was
big guy maybe 5’10 or 11” and didn’t look anything like his old friend who had
died early. His laugh however reminded Dick of David.
Another time
when an invisible guardian angel looked out for an unrepentant sinner was when
during Christmas break from college classes many years earlier found Dick on a
mountain pass. This time he was driving a borrowed ’37 Ford Coupe, pulling a
disabled 49 Chevy car. A girl (Charlene) who lived near him and who attended
the same school had hooked a ride home for the holiday and several times they
had to stop and melt snow to feed the radiator that generated enough heat to
boil over. More than once during the slippery trip up Red Mountain they spun
dangerously close to the edge only to seemingly be pushed back by an invisible
force that kept them on the road. Dick however assumed he was just a superior
driver. His eyes were incapable of seeing angels.
Finally, about
half way up Red Mountain it became impossible to go further, so they pulled
over and parked the towed vehicle in a wide spot, then went on to Silverton
where Dick’s sister lived. As he attempted to pull away from the parked Chevy
he saw the vague figure of an angel sitting on the front fender of the Chevy
wiping his brow with a large handkerchief. Next he saw the figure leave its
seat and leap to the back of the Ford, giving it a push to get it started up
the mountain. Dick turned to Charlene and asked, “How in God’s name did we get
as far as we did?” Glancing in the mirror Dick would have sworn there still was
a man still riding precariously on the bumper, jumping up and down to provide
needed traction! Imagination is a powerful thing isn’t it? Or was it possible
there really was a man back there?
Spending the
night in Silverton with Thelma, Dick’s sister the travelers went on home the
next day and two days later a State Patrolman knocked on the door informing
Dick he had only another 48 hours to get the Chevy off the pass or it would be
impounded and sold. By that time the snow had melted enough that he was able to
hook on and pull the Chevy down to where it could be repaired.
As he drove
the last leg, pulling the Chevy, his mind considered the facts as he wondered
how in the world he had got even half-way up the pass without sliding both
vehicles over the side, into a nine hundred foot deep canyon. Youth however,
for the most part is mostly, and usually stupid. Dick thought it was his
superior driving skills that had got them safely to town that night, never
considering there is a God in heaven that looks after old ladies, stupid boys
and egotistical young men. Sad to say, we all have friends who are no longer
young, some who are over 50 or even 60 who still labor in the illusion that
life will go on forever as it is and there will be no consequences for ignoring
the One who made them. On the Day called Judgment there will be a knocking of
knees and rivers of sweat as the books are opened and the caretaker says, “I
see here you heard the Gospel several times but chose to reject it.” Then the
Lord Himself will say, “Depart from me I never knew you."
__________
CHAPTER TWO
In this
writer’s own experience beginning (and staying in) my Christian life in an
independent fundamental Baptist church I was taught early on to be very careful
of those who place experience on a plane with, or even above, Scripture itself.
In other words, Scripture alone can be trusted. Conversely, personal experience
is often dictated from the shadows via an unhealthy, even a demonic spirit. Men
can be easily fooled and made to believe things that actually contradict the
written Word. It’s good advice therefore to check everything against the
written Word. If found in conflict it must be immediately discarded. If there
is no conflict, then, maybe…
When a man says
he heard an audible voice from somewhere that he considers to be the voice of
the Almighty Himself, he should immediately go to the Bible and search it out
before accepting it as real and asking first, “Does Scripture record God
speaking to man?
Ge
8:15 ¶ And God spake unto Noah, saying,
Ex
6:2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:
Mr 12:26 And as touching the dead, that they
rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto
him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob?
De 1:6 The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb,
saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:
Does God speak
to men today? Yes He does but so do demons. For the first, there are thousands
of reports coming out of the Middle East where former Muslims testify of being
woken from sleep by a voice telling them they need to come to Jesus. Or, by a
dream they are instructed to get out of bed and seek a certain person that
knows about Jesus. There are far too many such testimonies to be shuffled out
of sight and mind. Instead they need to be examined, verified and if found
valid, taught to sleepy church members who doze through sermons with their
minds somewhere a thousand miles away.
There are also
people sitting in the pews next to you that may have heard the actual voice of
God but are reluctant to say so. Much like many of those who have seen UFOs,
but won’t admit it because of the skepticism and ridicule to follow from those
who refuse to believe anything they can’t take in their hands and examine.
Nevertheless, many real experiences lie covered with fear of peer pressure
under a cloak of silence.
Do you want to
see a church get on fire? Have a member summon the courage to stand up and tell
about how the Lord has worked supernaturally in his personal life. If
you can persuade more than one to stand and testify then get out of the way!
Continuing, it
is often asked about faith healers “If it’s real why don’t they go down to the
hospital and empty it out?” That view fails to take into account the many
instances in the Bible where God did indeed use men as conduits for His healing
as when in Acts 3 Peter and John told the cripple asking alms to rise and walk.
Paul also healed far and wide as he carried the Gospel into the Gentile world.
In fact if we were to sit down and count it out the Word is replete with
supernatural healing and deliverance. The eyes of the blind were opened and the
lame sprang up, leaping and shouting for joy and the dead were raised.
What is the
percentage of the Bible that is devoted to the supernatural? I don’t know that
it has ever been tabulated. A wild guess might place it around 10-20% or
possibly much more. Another way of saying it might be that at least one in
every ten words deal with the powers that reign but cannot be measured, counted
or seen.
It follows then
that if a faith healer is genuine he has no control over when and where God
will choose to heal a sick body or mind. He is merely the hammer, not the arm
that swings the blow. That being the case, a faith healer if he is actually
doing the Lord’s work will simply be the instrument whom through God works. Is
there deception? Are some pretenders who are in it for the money? Certainly.
Are there charlatans? Of course there are, in fact there are probably more
deceivers than there are people with genuine gifts. Check out Acts 8 and read
about Simon who tried to buy the gift of the laying on of hands. How about the
placebo effect? Could be, but if they are genuinely healed can you say with
certainty how God chooses to work?
__________
THE RAPTURE QUESTION
When Dick got
saved he began to read and to really study his Bible not just read it as a
duty. An old saying was that when he got saved “he got saved all over.” He
began his writing as it was the easiest way for him to learn and to retain new
found knowledge.
As he explored
the Scripture on Wednesday evenings doing research for his writing “The
Beginning According to the Media” he was gradually drawn from one passage to
the next, starting at the front he began in Genesis 1:1. For him that was the
way it worked. He didn’t have any formal training in Bible study so he just did
what he thought was best.
One day while
listening to a sermon in church the preacher was exploring the 24th Chapter of
Matthew and when he got to the part where it talks about great tribulation Dick
shook his head in puzzlement. Did he hear the preacher right? Did he just say
the folks in the great tribulation were the Jews?
Mt 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such
as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall
be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be
saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
After the
service he sought the pastor out and asked, “Aren’t those Christians, the ones
called “the elect?” “No,” the preacher
replied, “The elect are the Jews. The Christians will all be raptured out and
we won’t go through the tribulation.”“That’s not what it says,” Dick protested.
“The next nine verses say it’s the Christians not the Jews.”
Mt 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo,
here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false
Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch
that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have
told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the
desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so
shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is,
there will the eagles be gathered together. 29 Immediately after the
tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not
give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in
heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see
the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other.
“Trust me,”
the preacher smiled and replied, “We will not see tribulation. It’s called the
Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church.” He continued, “See, only the Jews and
other unsaved will go through the tribulation. We’re raptured (lifted instantly
into the sky to meet Christ in the air, "snatched out") to meet the
Lord in the air and so we will ever be with the Lord (1 Thess 4:17).”
Scratching his
head Dick walked slowly out of the church and that afternoon he spent a couple
of hours going over verses that seemed to him to contradict what the preacher
said. Trying to be a faithful Christian however, he dropped the matter and kept
his reservations to himself.
Not too long
after that he had an occasion to attend a friend’s funeral at another Baptist
church where he was impressed with the words spoken about the deceased and
decided to attend the new church at least once, just to see whether he liked it
or not. He did and went home to tell Vernie about it.
After talking
to Vernie, they decided to try the new church. After all, it was closer and
their curiosity compelled them. They did like it and they liked the people,
several of whom they already knew. For a while they bounced back and forth
between the two assemblies not being members of either. As time went by and
their personal fortunes improved somewhat, Dick finally convinced Vernie she no
longer needed to work though they continued to send the girls to the Christian
school. With that they started attending the new church exclusively but
continued with the first church school for the girls.
As time went
by and as Dick became more and more involved in his Bible study he decided to
take a correspondence course with a Bible college in Alabama. Enrolling, he
received his beginning materials and began his work. As the lessons were
completed and sent in he began to notice quite a few typographical errors in
some of the materials. Trying to be helpful, he wrote and pointed them out
expecting to get a nice letter thanking him for his trouble. Instead he was
ignored.
Later, with
his new found leanings toward, and away from, some doctrinal questions and
still hurting a little from being ignored by the college, he decided to drop
the courses and just study on his own. This brought a letter rather quickly
reminding him of his commitment to pay a certain dollar amount for the course.
After a letter or two back and forth, a settlement was reached, the course work
was put aside and he was on his own as far as Bible study was concerned.
__________
TWO MEN, ONE “GHOST”
We turn now to a story of the supernatural involving two young men,
neither being a believer in Christ, at least not at that time.
Chris and Howard were roommates in a basement apartment in Mesa,
Arizona. Both were veterans, both were on the G.I. Bill and both had night jobs
at the railroad where Chris having completed a 4 year hitch in the Air Force
was employed in the office while Howard did his 6 hours a night as an “Oilier,”
pulling maintenance on locomotives. He was a 3 year Army veteran of the Korean
Conflict.
The year was 1956. Chris was in his 2nd year of college with a geology
major. Howard had transferred in after 2 semesters from a smaller college
located in Flagstaff. He too was a geology major. The two were related, nephew
and uncle though they were close to the same age and for several years had
grown up together on a farm near Flagstaff. They were like brothers and very
close. During the great depression Chris’ Dad found his work as a Colorado
miner to be insufficient to support his wife and child and had moved to Arizona
to help Howard’s Dad on the family farm. Thus the boys spent many happy hours
exploring and getting into all kinds of trouble.
The incident to be related occurred one evening as both were studying
in the living room of the three-room apartment in Mesa. Suddenly both were
shaken out of their study with their eyes were riveted on the door leading into
the kitchen. There in the doorway stood a “young man,” medium-dark
complexioned, perhaps 20 years of age, about 5’8” tall wearing a Hawaiian type
shirt with a square tail, not tucked in. He leaned against the south door jam
as he smiled sardonically at the two students who were now his audience.
A deathly, stunned silence filled the room. The “young man” had an
ethereal quality about him. He was in full color yet he was transparent at the
same time and the students could see through him and into the kitchen counter
beyond. To all appearances he was a “ghost.”
In shock, Chris (though almost 2 years younger, but with a cooler head)
turned to Howard and said, “Let’s don’t say a word until we write down what we
think we saw and then compare notes.”
As the descriptions were written and then compared, it turned out the
descriptions of the “apparition” were closely similar, differing only in a few
unimportant details. Both agreed on the age and physical description. What “he”
was wearing, they even agreed on what they thought they saw in the expression
on the transparent face as it smiled its ghostly smile and conveyed whatever
message it was sending.
What could that message be? Howard’s brother Bob (Chris’ uncle), had
been in the Navy aboard the U.S.S. Arizona and had perished on December 7th,
1941 at Pearl Harbor. Did that explain the Hawaiian sports shirt? In addition
the ghostly figure matched Bob’s description, relatively short, medium-dark
complexioned and about the right age. Was it possible, for a few short moments,
Chris and Howard had seen Bob’s “ghost?” Years later, after salvation, at least
for one of them, the answers fell into place. There are demonic entities loosed
upon the earth reading minds and doing the bidding of their master the one
called the Prince of Darkness. And it worked for many years as Howard immersed
himself in the theory of evolution and held off any thought of the biblical
supernatural.
Sitting in stunned silence for the next half hour, the two students
agreed to pack it in for the night and talk again in the morning light.
Breakfast the next morning was cooked individually and in silence and the
incident was never mentioned again, until perhaps two years later when Howard
mentioned he had contacted a magazine that ran stories about the supernatural
and sent them a story about the incident. The editor of the magazine had
written back and said he liked the story but wanted corroboration from both
parties involved because “…double hallucinations are very rare (where two
parties see the same apparition).” Chris quickly shook his head and said he
would not verify it. That closed the matter at least for him but not for
Howard. He just couldn’t get it off his mind and it was only many years later
that pieces of the puzzle began to slowly fall into place.
Years later, after salvation, at least for Howard, the answers fell
into place. There are demonic entities loosed upon the earth doing the bidding
of their master the one called the Prince of Darkness. And it worked for many
years. Do you remember both students were majoring in Geology? The sciences of
Geology, Biology, Paleontology and most of the other physical sciences rely
heavily on the theory of evolution for their conclusions. Evolution is an
atheistic theory. It has no room for a belief in a God, but the innate sense of
man tells us all there is more than just this.
Because of the indoctrination in evolution along with a vivid memory of
the ghostly apparition seen that night in the basement apartment so many years
prior, Howard was given the ammunition to shoot down all attempts by Christians
to talk to him about an afterlife. He was convinced evolution explained
everything and he had seen with his own eyes evidence of the afterlife. He
certainly did not need a God that required accountability. He already had all
the answers; we are just highly evolved animals and life does exist beyond the
grave and it didn’t look too bad! So, for three more decades the “apparition”
had Howard convinced was OK and nothing more was needed.
It was only much later in life when he had a direct encounter with the
Living God that Howard’s mind was instantly changed! But that’s another story
for another time. It’s in this book and a close reader will be able to find it.
__________
AND THEN YOU WERE MY FATHER
The following inspirational story was written by Michael
Stenger, a German working in Switzerland as Editor of a publishing house. Some
of the English is not what we are used to but is highly readable and tells a
wonderful story of how God never gives up on a sinner, and receives him at last
when true repentance is found.
And Then You Were
My Father
“That ship has
sailed!”
Icy grey-blue
eyes in an angry face. You slammed the door. And I was left standing in the
empty hallway of your retirement home.
Latest episode
in 50 years of pain and quarrel. Just some miserable years later you were dead.
You were my father. Or were you? I was your son. Or was I?
You once told
me how they sent you, this 18 year old German boy, to the Russian front. In an
already lost war. Where you had to machine gun countless Russians, storming
towards your lines. I asked you, how that felt. “Had to think technically only.
It was them or us,” you only answered.
Did that make
you so cold? Or have you always been this way? Why did I still want to know?
And still longed for you to be my father?
How did this
all begin?
With Dad
yelling at Mom for waiting for him to come home. In a cold German October
night. She had locked herself out. You were a doctor of medicine after all. And
harshly lectured her on the danger for the baby. She panicked and gave birth to
her first son. That is me. One month too early and very weak. In need of an
incubator. Rarely available in post war Germany. I almost didn't survive.
Then Dad would
yell and almost beat baby me, when I dared to cry at night. If Mom hadn't
stopped you by leaving the room with little me. Sharing one room with the two
of you. Post war conditions. Yelling became your trademark.
You worked in
the nearby university specializing in pharmacology. The science of how pills
work. They say you were brilliant. Working hard. Or drinking with your buddies.
But when Mam wanted to fetch you one night, all of the university's windows
were dark. You were with some girl friend, she learned soon enough. And she had
only wanted to tell you that she was pregnant again.
Mother sank
into an abyss. But leaving you? Just now? Returning to her old parents? She
decided to stay. A desperate, lonely fight of a young pregnant mother. She
confronted you. You cried, you swore: never again!
Soon you were
appointed as a scientist in a pharmaceutical Global Player in Basel in
beautiful Switzerland. A change might help. A young wife always hopes. Only to
find out years later that you had lived with another girlfriend. During your
probation time. While you were “on your own.” Soon the rest of us moved in too.
And soon enough you became head of some 600 scientists. Like I said: Dad was
brilliant.
How did I feel
those days? Every child loves his Dad. And Dad could even be funny. If all went
well. Meaning the offspring would function properly. But Dad never seemed to
care much otherwise. The three times you would “do something Dad-like” with me
I still remember to this day. So much of an exemption. “Normally” you would
stay in your study becoming ever smarter.
Our routine
went like this: The kids had to be fed and ready for bed when Dad returned from
work. Because any tiny something like a monster kid tipping a glass of milk
could set off Dad's trademark.
I only wondered
why Mom always seemed to be on her last legs. Today I know. She could get into
the yelling-business too. Some bad day soon there even three of us little
monsters. “He had always dreamed of three sons,” mother told me years later.
Dad could be even proud of us. Especially me. But he couldn't handle being a
father.
At least we
moved into a big house in a real posh neighborhood. I learned to call it the
“haunted house.” Because fighting and yelling - and crying - had moved in too.
Mom could not take it any longer. Being a “real grown up” 12-year-old I
wondered what went on. And was told clear enough.
“Your father is
having a girlfriend again! I can't stand this man any longer.”
“She's being
hysterical. What's the point after all? I just met a colleague from the office.
I'm helping her write her dissertation. For her PhD.”
“Ah yeah? At
the cinema? I looked for your car.”
And on and on.
Endless variations of one big drama. Shouting, slapping, throwing tableware.
And tiny me
trying to be the referee. Of course that would work! It only meant endless
nights with endless harsh exchanges of words and me in the middle of it all.
And with my little brothers staring horrified into the night through their half
open doors.
Until Mom
decided enough is enough. DAD HAD TO GO!
I vividly
remember the night I cried and begged Dad not to leave me alone. “I can't
imagine living without you!” He didn't say much, murmured something that
sounded like regrets and left. That night something deep in me died.
Dad would even
show up at certain times. Like Christmas. Pretending for some hours everything
was normal. Another act in the “haunted house.”
My teachers had
called me “exceptionally gifted and talented.” Making my parents proud. But
some day soon little/big me started to practice truancy and smoking Hashish.
And experimenting with the all the boxes of pills my father had left behind in
the attic.
At the age of
16 I ended up in Amsterdam, the “paradise” for drugs. Moving in with some
Americans, who had fled from the draft. All expenses paid by their parents.
These were the days of Vietnam. That's where this German guy learned his English.
My Mom was
horrified again. And almost died from a cancer operation. But I was far away
and didn't know. At the age of 19 I had become a “father” too. My girl friend
had become inadvertently pregnant and so I married her. More due to a feeling
of responsibility than of real love.
My Dad had
advised Mom to better totally give up on me and let me go down the drain. From
the medical point of view only two percent of all heroine addicts ever recover.
Because that's how I had ended up at last.
Once we accidentally
met in the streets of Basel. Upon spotting me, Dad and his then girlfriend
moved across the street to the opposite sidewalk, while pretending not to have
seen me. Well, I couldn't have cared less myself.
In all her
misery my mother had eventually become a Christian. Through some “Pietist”
Christians. Very old school and very strict. I was maybe 15 then. Interested, I
listened to what she had to say.
Eventually I
joined her for some evangelistic meeting. It hit me like a hammer. I instantly
knew this was it! So I gave my life to Jesus the same night. To be followed by
another hammer. Those Christians told me I was not allowed to keep my
girlfriend. Being too young.
But she was my
first love. I tried. It went far over my limits. My love and I went to the same
class and we saw each other daily. So I emptied some big bottles of beer,
cursed all religion and this stupid “God” and decided to forget about all that.
Totally. Drugs seemed far more reliable for inner peace. But the idea of this
truth never left me, burnt like a like a flame, regardless of how hard I tried
to forget .
Only at the
very end of my road into oblivion I finally gave in, went to a Christian
therapy home – and God set me free again almost in an instant.
Eventually I
was even hired by a Christian publishing house due to my language skills,
helped e.g. editing the German translations of world famous Christian author
C.S. Lewis.
But with all
these burdens I had, I didn't have much of a life. My wife had left me, had
become unwillingly pregnant again and finally committed suicide. There I was, a
single father. I dearly love my son to this day. But I was constantly
depressed, haunted by horrible attacks of panic, three times I saw a
psychiatric clinic from the inside. Christian “experts” tried to free me from
demons. Nothing worked.
After almost 20
years of depression coming and going I left this publishing house, entered into
the secular press. And started writing myself. Only later I learned through a
brilliant book by a Swiss Christian Psychiatrist, that you have to
differentiate between demonic possession and anxiety psychosis. The latter
often went away by itself with the years. It helped and it worked. After years
of inner horror the anxiety slowly went away. But all the time I only functioned
more or less. Due to what the Germans call the “Prussian sense of discipline
and duty.” I had a son that only had one person left: his father.
Back to my Dad.
One fine day years later I decided to give it another try. Visiting my Dad. If
it ended with his slamming of the door again, well, I had survived the first
rejection, hadn't I?
He opened. He
stared at me in pure bewilderment. And then he cried. Totally, utterly
uncontrolled. And asked me in. And took me into his arms.
Endlessly
repeating how he did regret, that he had slammed the door the first time.
Having left his wife and kids. Having rejected me, having crossed the street
back then.
“You know, my
biggest mistake was to marry and to have kids! Me, the smart doctor, has
finally found out with the help of a colleague, that I suffer from Asperger's.
That's a form of autism. You can endlessly pile up facts, but you're poor
concerning feelings, you cannot recognize other people's emotions.
I just answered
“,Welcome to the club. I'm your son all the way. Highly praised for my language
and other skills, but with relationships gone terribly wrong. And I also did
not know exactly why. I finally decided to stay alone.”
But imagine, I
had a father at last! Two beautiful years were to follow.
He kept on
confessing how his deep feelings of guilt kept him awake night after night.
Regardless of all the pills he took. At least no more booze.
I told him
about my peace with God. Being a Christian is not always exactly a walk in the
park. And I could not really tell, why I had to suffer that much in all those
years. But it had worked. Without God I wouldn't have survived.
He looked at me
with reluctance “,You know, I'm a scientist. I can't believe in fairy tales.
Although they may be helpful for kids.”
So I hammered
in a bit into his big science brain.
“You believe in
evolution?”
He nodded with
firm conviction.
“So we're all
just a bunch of chemicals, electricity and wires in the brain? Could you then,
please, tell me, where your personality comes from? In your model it could only
be called a biological simulation. Like a computer. The image on the screen is
just a electronic illusion. Pull the plug, and the picture is gone. Can anybody
really live with this concept? And this consciousness, that torments you. Just
a hindrance in the survival of the fittest.”
He looked at me
rather surprised.
“Do you have an
explanation for all that evil, we humans commit? That made you cheat on your
wife endless times?”
“I can't
explain it! I had a perfect wife, nothing I could hold against her, I was such
a fool!” he only cried in deep despair.
Or we discussed
physics and cosmology. Our shared hobby. I had read an introduction to
Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, I had found on Dad's bookshelf, at the
age of maybe 13. And even got the basic ideas.
“So those smart
scientists got it all sorted out down to the first fraction of a millisecond of
the Big Bang? Only to discover recently, that the known matter consists only of
maybe five percent of all there is? The rest they call for lack of better terms
'dark energy' and 'dark matter'? Come on! How reliable is that?”
We also
discussed our shared frailty for addiction.
His father had
been a federal prosecutor, but failed in the end due to his alcoholism.
Eventually shot himself. “You know what
shocked me the most as a child?” he revealed to me.“ To see how strangers had
to wheel him home on a pushcart, because he was to drunk to walk for himself!”
And he
confessed, how in younger years he could heavily drink and then stop. But in
later years his company had to send him several times to a clinic to get
sobered up. Until the big smart boss got kicked out of his job and became a
regular inmate of those sad places.
“And I dared to
condemn you for your addictions!”
“Relax, Dad,
we're finally on the same page. Alcohol has been a constant danger for me too,
even through all my Christian years. There has been more booze than should have
been for a real Christian. Only - with all this mess and depression I had some
'good' reasons to take a day off from my misery every once in a while.”
“So, what shall
I do?” Dad one day finally asked.
“Pray to God,
that He gives you the ability to believe and experience His supernatural
peace.”
“Would you help
me?”
So I put my
arms around him and prayed in total helplessness, but nevertheless with
confidence to God, to reveal Himself to my poor old Dad.
And it worked!
Whenever I came to see him: “Please, pray with me!”
He even asked
my mother for forgiveness.
And died weeks
later in peace. At the age of 88.
His last words
two days earlier: “Son, if you come up there too, we'll have some big
welcome...”
Without the
“Father of all fathers” this story could have never been written. Nor without
the countless mailings with an unmet friend in far away Florida. I'm still
learning that my Heavenly Father really loves me. Unconditionally.
God loves us,
even if we commit horrible crimes. He himself suffered a horrible death to pay
for our cruelty and lies. To Him alone belongs all the praise! Despite the
mystery that through suffering only we become “fit for heaven.” All humans
suffer. But some suffering solely leads to hell.
And if you think you are smart enough to understand or
disproof this secret of faith in Jesus and His forgiveness, you are welcome. No
mortal human being can. Even such “know it all” types like Dad and me finally
had to admit that. You can only believe it. It's a gift. You can only ask for
it. Then God will give it to you. If you want it.
__________
BAPTICOSTAL
Several years
ago I met a singer who came to our little Independent Baptist Church. He did
western type songs, many of which he had written himself. I asked him what his
denomination was (that was real important to me back then) and he replied, I
guess I’m a “Bapticostal.” Looking at him with suspicion, I considered his
answer.
Being saved and
taught in a Baptist church I was very leary of anyone who “spoke in tongues” or
thought he could lose his salvation, but I liked him and asked him to come and
play and sing for us. It was a good experience. The roof didn’t fall in and I
didn’t see the devil lurking around the door. Later on we ran into “healers,”
some of which were downright frauds, others genuine servants of God. The latter
were humble people and readily admitted they had no power on their own.
Am I a faith
healer? Certainly not. Can men heal in the name of God? No, God does the
healing but He sometimes chooses to use men as the instrument though which He
works. Should we attempt to be the healing instrument? Only when Scripture
instructs us to do so. James teaches in Chapter Five:
Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the
church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him
up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
For us, as
elders of the church to refuse to anoint with oil and pray for healing is to be
disobedient to God’s instructions. God heals, and has done so on millions of
occasions. Does He use men as instruments? He certainly did in the biblical
record in days gone by and I fail to find a single scripture that teaches He
has quit the practice today. Yes there are arguments from both sides of
cessation and yes there are good men on both sides of the question. It is not
my intention to try to sway anyone to my point of view. I will tell only what I
have seen and what I know. You will have to decide whether or not my points are
valid.
__________
SILENT BOYCOTTS
If you are a
confirmed skeptic of Christianity this chapter may leave you with more
questions than answers. It deals with the reality of heaven and hell and
unbelievers will not find much comfort here. It also challenges a popular
doctrine of the modern, evangelical church.
Dick learned
the hard way that fundamental preachers are set in their ways, as they should
be, but some are downright hostile to anyone that questions the official
doctrines of their particular beliefs. Indeed they should be suspicious of
anyone who questions long-held doctrines, even when it is shown those doctrines
had come from questionable sources. They should however also be willing to
recognize that sometimes even long-held doctrines can be in error.
When Dick was
given a copy in 1991 of "The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church" by a
friend, he read it with exceeding interest as it went to the heart of the
question that had dogged him for the past nine years. There was something that
didn’t add up about the pre-trib doctrine so dearly held by the preachers he
knew. As he read the Pre-Wrath book by Marvin Rosenthal the nagging questions
he had about the rapture of the church came slowly to be answered. As he turned
the pages he pondered the questions and secretly admired the man who left his
position of editor of a prestigious Christian publication because he saw the
truth and would not be swayed to go back to a doctrine he was convinced was a
lie.
The
fundamental churches, Baptist at least, have held, since the early 1900s, a
belief in a doctrine (Pre-Tribulation Rapture) that claims when Christ returns
He will come and gather the Christians to Himself, taking them out of the world
before a seven year Judgment falls upon the population of earth. In opposition,
the Pre-Wrath position holds with much Scriptural support that the seven year
period (properly called “Daniel’s Seventieth Week”) is actually divided into
three parts, the first half being the “beginning of sorrows and the second half
divided into the great tribulation” and after an indefinite period, the Wrath
of God on an unrepentant world.
On the other
hand the pre-trib view is a comfortable belief and millions hold to it with a
passion. Indeed, scores of movies (“Left Behind” series for example) and
hundreds of books proclaim their undying adherence to the belief, but when
someone comes along to question it, the wrath of the Church often descends on
the “heretic” ridiculing and shunning him from that day forward.
Unfortunately,
most Christians who hold dogmatically to the pre-trib view will not even
consider studying the history of their view, such as it being first proclaimed
by a Jesuit Priest named Manuel Lacunza about 1790, and later made popular by a
Scottish maid while in an hypnotic trance in 1823. The C.I. Scofield Study
Bible though is the big culprit in making it almost dogma when he published his
first and then revised versions of the Bible in the early 1900s and made his
footnotes almost as sacrosanct as the Scripture itself. Following is just one
of dozens of facts concerning the theory,
"The first person to whom
the doctrine concerning a rapture prior to the second coming of Jesus
Christ, can be traced to was a Roman Jesuit named Ribera in 1591
AD. Then Emmanuel Lacunza
Lacunza claimed to be a converted Jew named "Rabbi Ben Ezra."
Under that alias, he theorized that the Church would be
"raptured" before Jesus' return to Earth. Later in 1827 his book
was translated into English by a Scottish radical named Edward Irving. He
published Lacunza's view in his paper, "The Morning Watch."
In 1830, a 15 year old charismatic girl named Margaret Macdonald, claimed that
she had a vision of a "secret rapture." A year later, Robert
Norton, a charismatic Irvingite evangelist, meets Margaret Macdonald and
popularizes her "secret rapture" vision around England….”
http://www.upwardcall.net/rapture.html
The teaching
that Christians instead of escaping tribulation will rather have to undergo it
(pre-wrath), but be spared the Wrath of God, has been met with scorn and
derision. Dick’s experience was no different. Instead of a large church group
he had a very small group in the fellowship (and even some of them still held
to the pre-trib position) while invitations to speak in other churches were few
and far between. One notable exception was a relatively large Baptist church in
Arizona where he was invited to come and to present the case for a “pre-wrath
rapture” instead of the traditional “pre-trib rapture.”
After the
presentation the pastor of the church confessed to Dick, “One lady told me
after you left she had long believed the church would have to go through at
least some of the seven year period, but said ‘I just didn’t want to hurt your
feelings Pastor, so I didn’t say anything.’” When Dick heard that it was one of
the bright spots of his day.
Like the
persecuted church in China and other countries, the more the persecution and
the more of the shunning, the more the pre-wrath view continues to grow, till
now there are fundamental Baptist churches that are holding classes examining
the view while large percentages of their congregations are already converted.
However it turns out pre-trib or pre-wrath, God is in charge and in the end it
will all make perfect sense no matter what we think. Until then, men will
disagree and we will hope and pray it will be in a civil manner.
Many will
agree while looking at current events it probably won’t be long until the
“rapture” question is settled one way or the other because the day is drawing
very near when there will be no more debates or disagreements. A discouraging
aspect of the controversy is the "pan-tribbers," those who say
"It'll all pan out." That point of view is indicative of a lack of
study and also a lack of intestinal fortitude.
__________
ALMOST A
HEAD-ON IN WEST TEXAS
There were two
loves for Jerrod Kelly, baseball and Stephanie, or was it Stephanie and then
baseball? At any rate trying to play professional baseball in the summers, cram
college, work, vacation and a love for Steph the rest of the year, all into too
few hours, Jerrod was unknowingly playing roulette with his life. Baseball with
the Chicago Cubs in summer camp, college in Mississippi in the winter and work
for Steph’s dad down at his Cadillac dealership when not at college. To top
that all off, he decided to drive back to West Texas to see his family during
Christmas vacation.
That’s when it
almost ended. Overly tired and driving late at night on a two lane road, the
blur of headlights gradually numbed him to the point where he became simply a
cog in an auto machine that was going west on Highway 8. The road was narrow,
lights were few and just a wink or two and maybe a nod would be all right.
Suddenly he was
jarred awake as a pair of headlights crossed the center line and headed
straight for him! It was too late to react and a crash was unavoidable.
If he thought anything it was “Jesus help me!” And then as he, zombie-like was
unable to respond and the other car kept coming, in his own words, “Nothing
happened!” That was impossible but it happened. Somehow there was divine
intervention, a collision was avoided and his life was spared against any
rational chance.
Jerrod was
jarred awake! He was really awake! And good thing he was, because less than 5
minutes later the same thing happened again! This time though he was alert and
jerked the wheel sending his car to the shoulder as the other car whizzed by!
As we read this true testimony we wonder if perhaps the Lord played a pre-view
for him, knowing what was coming down the road, headed straight for him and due
to arrive in 5 minutes?
Death on the
highway was avoided by supernatural intervention. One way or another there is
just no other explanation. As the years passed and he and Steph settled down to
raise their family Jerrod’s thoughts went back often to that night on a lonely
Texas highway where he narrowly escaped being a statistic in the West Texas Weekly.
“An accident on
Route 8 last night ended in tragedy as a young man from Mississippi was
killed………”
Jerrod and
Stephanie Kelly have been married 58 years, have raised 2 girls who in turn
have presented them with 5 grandchildren. God is good and the Kelly family is a
living testimony of His love and omnipotence. Jerrod lives today because of the
SECRET Hands of a concerned God shook him awake before certain death!.
_________
DREAMS
Dreams as well
as direct revelation are also a common method of communication between the
human race and the Master of the Universe. In Genesis 20 we read of the king of
Gerar called Abimelech who, upon admiring the beauty of Abraham’s wife Sarah,
“sent, and took Sarah.” Abraham, like many of us chickened out and said, ”She
is my sister” which was only half true (she was a half sister). God however
would have none of it because from the line of Abraham, One was destined to
come the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and pollution of the line of the seed was
not to be tolerated. Here’s the rest of the story:
Abimelech got
the message and couldn’t move fast enough to rid himself of the death that had
almost come to his house. The old King James however makes it crystal clear
that nothing occurred between Abimelech and Sarah.
Ge 20:4 But Abimelech had not
come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
5 Said he not unto me, She is
my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity
of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
6 And God said unto him in a
dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I
also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to
touch her.
In the case of
Pharaoh in an earlier day when he also decided Sarah would make a good wife,
the same lesson was taught:
Ge 12:18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What
is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was
thy wife?
19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might
have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go
thy way. (KJV)
Some of the
other “versions” of the Bible say that Pharaoh “took her to wife” which would
have resulted in a pollution of the line of the seed if it had actually happened.
Here is the rendering of the ASV:
Ge 12:18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What
is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was
thy wife?
19 why saidst thou, She is my sister, so that
I took her to be my wife? now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go
thy way (ASV)
That one
example should convince anyone who wants to toy with the newer versions that
you can’t play fast and loose with translations for in so doing you may be adding
unto or taking away from the very Word of God (Rev 22:18,19).
In dozens of
other passages God spoke directly with men via visions and sometimes face to
face in the form of an angel. A memorable supernatural section of Scripture
tells a story of angels sitting and eating with men, one of which turned out to
be the Lord Himself, is recounted in Genesis where we read:
Ge 18:1 ¶ And the LORD appeared unto
him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
Genesis 18 continues to
tell how God tells Abraham that Sarah despite being over 90, would in the
following year have a child that would be named Isaac. Finishing their meal,
the angels arose and proceeded down to Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy those
cities because of their wickedness. The Lord stayed behind and face to face
with Abraham promised not to destroy Sodom if “ten righteous” could be found
among the population. America’s politicians and the Supreme Court presume to
know better however and spitting in the face of Jehovah have decided perverted
sex should be the national pastime of modern United States.
The churches of
our day however have avoided the supernatural taught in the Bible like a
hospital janitor, or sometimes even a doctor, refusing to enter the hospital
room of an Ebola victim. Scared to death to preach what is plainly written in
the pages of God’s message to man, many preachers avoid the subject as if it
were pure poison. Concentrating on personal salvation (certainly of prime
importance, but only a portion of Scripture), most of the rest of the Bible is
shunned or neglected in fundamental circles or distorted into how to prosper
financially in the liberal denominations. Like the supernatural, prophecy is
also shunned but that’s a subject for another day.
The Bible however, whether
or not clergy will preach it, is a SUPERNATURAL book that was written for our
instruction, not for our benign neglect. It behooves us therefore to study it
and see how it applies to our daily lives. Is there evidence of the secret
world or the SECRET HANDS in your own life? You may quickly answer “No.” But
when you look back and remember that unexplained and irritating delay in your
automobile trip, only to find a wreck a few miles down the highway and think
that perhaps because of your unappreciated delay that corpse on the side of the
road could have easily been you, have you considered that perhaps your angel
was looking after you?
How about “hunches” or
“feelings” thoughts that later turn out to have been right on target? Do you
think they just appeared out of the blue? Could it be that “still small voice”
influenced, even saved you from serious injury? Whether we consider them as
just stories or not, the Bible testifies that each and every one that is a
Christian or who will become a Christian, has a guardian angel,
Heb 1:14 Are they not
all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of
salvation?
Ask brother Lot about the
help he received when he and his family fled Sodom. Who protected Daniel when
he spent the night in the same hole as the big kitties called lions? The next
time you pick up a baby look carefully around as you stretch out your arms, you
might get a glimpse of a heavenly protector who hovers over them and has His
hands about them.
Mt 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of
these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always
behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
Those who scoff
at the secret world that is all about us are either willingly ignorant or
afraid to believe their Bible. The Apostle Paul declared in Ac 20:27 “For I
have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” Many today
notwithstanding, refuse to look at current events and “God forbid!” consider
the secret ones. Much of the professing Christian world today won’t touch the
supernatural or a word of prophecy with a long pole. “No point in getting folks
upset or, There are so many interpretations…” No, you are either scared or
ignorant of the plain teaching of the Word of God. God tells us over and over
about the supernatural world but if you hear about it in church it’s usually
about the virgin birth and that’s about all that is mentioned outside of the
resurrection.
It’s the belief
of this writer that the supernatural is all about us. Another dimension exists
that is but the blink of an eye away and is sometimes accessed when you least
expect it. We have all read of “near-death” experiences, indeed some of our
readers or close relatives may have had such an encounter. Is heaven real? Of
course it is. Is God unseen? Of course He is. Is there a world about us that we
cannot at this time have access to? Of course there is. The Bible describes it
in great detail but we are usually afraid to even think about it, let alone
trying to examine it through the pages of God’s Communication to man.
The Bible
teaches throughout of a dimension that we cannot normally see, feel or access.
That dimension was created and is controlled by the One that made you and me
and if you have been born again (as the Bible teaches you must if you are to
escape hell) then you know the invisible dimension in which God resides can
only be exited and entered by Him and by His permission. We call it the
supernatural and we will tell a story here that explores a few of the encounters
with that dimension by one man who, in his life’s journey made contact with it
on several occasions.
__________
WARNED IN A DREAM
One time in
the life journey of the author, he worked for a time as a traveling salesman
for a nation-wide company on a commission basis. Sales were good and
commissions were adequate and one summer day Dick was looking forward to flying
the next day to Los Angeles at company expense for their yearly sales meeting.
That night he went to bed at his usual time and already had his bag packed for
the flight the next day. During the night he had a dream.
“There was an
airplane either floating or resting in shallow water with dozens of people
exiting, standing in groups on the wing while small boats shuttled them off in
turn to the shore not too far away. The scene was vivid. Enough so when Dick
awoke he told Vernie, “I had a dream last night and dreamed the airplane either
crashed or made a forced landing in water and I don’t think I want to fly to
Los Angeles.”
Agreeing the trip
was not a necessity, Dick and his wife unpacked his bags and put the clothing
away. The trip was forgotten until that evening on the TV news there was a
story of a flight that left Phoenix and had to make an emergency landing in the
harbor near LAX. Dick wasn’t able to determine whether or not it was the flight
he was supposed to take, but the lesson was clear:
There is a supernatural world, and from this world that lies beyond we
sometimes get messages or helps from entities unknown. There is a power in the
supernatural that knows everything in advance. Sometimes that power
communicates with this world. Sometimes in dreams, sometimes in pre-cognition,
occasionally as an audible voice.
__________
A HORSE RIDING A MAN
David Wessly thought he was dead, he thought for sure if the horse
didn’t fall on him he would die on the rocks. One bright morning on a ranch in
Northern New Mexico David was cowboying for a living. There were two other
cowboys as they were assigned the task of working out a steeply sloping,
heavily wooded canyon where cattle often went for shade. David decided to leave
the others who went down hill perhaps a quarter mile and then intended to work
up hill, snapping their ropes and hollering, breaking out the livestock from
their shady nests and up to the top for a drive to a corral.
When David left the others he went to the head instead of the foot of
the small canyon and instead of working uphill decided to work down. As he rode
his reluctant horse over a steep place and down into the canyon, the horse lost
his footing and rolled head-over-heels into the draw. David was thrown through
the air and as he began his flight he realized he had made a bad, perhaps a
fatal mistake. The canyon was littered with fallen sandstone, some of which was
very large, which if he hit he would undoubtedly suffer severe injury.
Have you ever prayed in mid-air? David did. “Lord Please Help Me!!”
That’s all he had time for, before he found himself crashing through
the branches of a persistent tree that clung precariously to the side of the
draw and lined up perfectly for a woody landing for the crazy but foolish
cowboy kid. As he lay there he tested his arms and legs to see if they still
worked as he again prayed a fervent prayer for salvation and forgiveness of sin.
God spoke that day with action. He apparently sent an angel which nudged the
airborne bodies and directed David’s path into a small cedar instead of a large
rock.
He was still lying in the tree when his friends arrived and were able
to get to him and to slowly ease him out of the tree and onto the ground to see
how many bones were broken. A miracle was then observed by all. The horse was
able to stand and walk and so was the flying cowboy. David was saved forever
that day, as in a split second of time he made his peace with God and instead
of running from his Creator, he embraced him.
Years later he recalled the incident and as he related it to this
writer it was apparent he was still in awe of the wonder of what had happened.
__________
WARTS AND ALL
When Abraham
Lincoln sat for a portrait during the Civil War he reportedly told the artist,
“Paint it honest, warts and all.” And that’s the way it should be, the way it
must be, if we are to survive as a people or as an individual.
The Bible sets
the standard for telling the truth, it spells it out for Abraham, Moses and
David (two of whom were murderers before they were forgiven), calling David, “A
man after my own heart” and saying Abraham, “…believed God and it was counted
unto him for righteousness.” And it has to be, because if God’s Word shaded the
truth in any degree, it would be instantly recognized and marked down as
unreliable. Just as a lying man is marked by his hearers as unreliable (“He’s
just a liar” or “He stretches everything”), when his lies and exaggerations are
told, so are all writings identified when they try to deceive the reader.
I write about
the “SECRET HANDS of the Almighty God,” not as a theological expert nor do I
claim to be an expert of any kind. I am just an ordinary guy that was Born
Again rather late in life and now wants to help others find God or perhaps know
Him a little better by the observations of someone else by sharing a few of
their stories.
The Bible tells
us with sadness that most of the people in this wide and wonderful world
are on a path to damnation. It doesn’t glory in that statement, it simply tells
it like it is, as a matter of fact. It says the path to eternal life (in
heaven) is very narrow and goes on to tell us that only a few will find the way
(Mt 7:13). On the other hand, the road to damnation (in hell) is wide, wide and
multitudes are blissfully strolling down that boulevard smelling the flowers as
they mostly enjoy the trip, here in the United States at least, and continue
until they suddenly reach an unexpected, horrible and unchangeable destination.
In other parts
of the world, millions even billions of souls are not enjoying the trip at all.
They’re not smelling the daisies, or cruising around in their automobiles and
eating at fine restaurants as they traverse the road as we do here in the West.
Instead, they’re fighting individual, grim daily battles for survival and
unless someone gives them the good news of the Gospel they will perish forever
just as surely as those who are headed for hell in style.
So this book is
dedicated to those who will someday, somehow find the narrow way and will be
snatched out of a certain trip into a Christless eternity. It also offers
congratulations to those who have already found “The Way (1 of 343 occurrences,
see below)”. Quite a change wasn’t it? If you say “No” you are probably not
saved. You just said a few words and thought Christianity was a good way to
live and that was that. If you were not definitely changed, you had
better get on your face before God and reexamine what it takes to become
a Christian.
Ac 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the
way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing
all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
The trouble
with this world is, everyone who has ever been born is going to live forever,
simply because the Scriptures testify that man was made in the image of God (Ge
1:27, 9:6) and therefore because God is eternal, man is eternal. The only
question is will you and I find The Way? Will we listen to the Voice of God
while it can be heard or will we ignore it and concentrate on this life,
stopping our ears and ignoring the reality that it is appointed unto man
once to die and after this the judgment (Heb 9:27)? So ask yourself honestly
the question, will you end up in Heaven or in hell? Be honest with yourself and
with God, it may be your last chance.
He speaks in
myriad ways beside by Voice and we will deal with some of those ways. God
speaks in order to communicate to His creation that He is real and is so close
that if we could just see, we could reach out and touch Him. Unfortunately,
most of us are willingly deaf and blind to the evidence that swirls about us.
This writer was that way for 51 years and it was only in a moment of
desperation that his ears were unstopped and his eyes opened. Yet God was there
all the time, gently nudging in one direction or another and I believe,
whispering in the ear, giving a little push now and then, helping to give me a
chance at least, to avoid bad and often life-changing decisions. Did He make
the decisions? No, but He made it possible for me to make a few good choices.
Speaking from
the advantage of looking back on a long life and from my vantage point where I
now sit, I can now reminisce examining different aspects of life and see in
retrospect the hand of God intervening often in my poor directionless life. God
speaks primarily to all men who will read and study the Scriptures through that
medium, and if you want it without “feelings” or mistakes Scripture is the only
way to go. This book will relate several other ways but generally speaking,
they are mostly unreliable because they can’t be checked against the
written Word of God we call the Scriptures.
I can also now
after living a long time, recall decision points where I was almost pushed
into making the right choice. Did God force me to choose this or that
particular way? No, but I sincerely believe the circumstances that led to
making a correct choice were not there by chance. Many of those choices are
painful to even recall but in order to be honest about how I can now sometimes
discern the Voice of God, I need to relate at least one.
__________
CHAPTER
THREE
The following
may shock some of my Christian friends but the story needs to be told. It is a
story of the grace and secret hands of God that I believe nudged a young man
away from a path that had a high probability of leading straight to hell.
I knew the
young man who was stationed in the U.S. Army at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri in
the early 1950s. I had returned from a year in Korea and for the second time
had been promoted to the rank of Sergeant (three stripes, one rocker) and was
in charge of the base sawmill. We provided building materials for the base in
the form of freshly cut local hardwood timber and dimension lumber. There was a
crew of 5 or 6 men and in those days we still used a 48” circular saw that had
to be constantly switched out with a sharpened blade taking the place of the
worn one. In fact we had one guy from Minnesota whose job was to sharpen dull
blades, 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. That’s all he did. I met Samuel (Sammy)
at the sawmill but the incident I need to tell about was not there, but at the
tavern off base where Sammy and I spent most of our evenings drinking up our
pay, only quitting when we ran out of money.
Over the months
at Ft. Leonard Wood Sammy and myself had made friends with another Sergeant
(Bob) who was co-habituating with the waitress who worked at our favorite bar.
One night as the bar closed, that couple called Sammy from the car and told him
Bob had orders to be shipped overseas and wanted to know if he (Sammy) was
interested in taking Bob’s place with the waitress that would be left behind.
She was a looker but apparently addicted to the constant company of a man and
also apparently had been eyeing Sammy for quite some time. That’s about as
delicately as I can phrase it. Sammy thought (with misgivings, he confessed
later) it was a great idea and agreed to be at the bar the following evening to
pick her up when she got off work.
He told me
later he thought about it all day at the sawmill and could hardly wait to get
to the bar that evening where he nervously proceeded to down drink after drink
until at closing time he was so drunk he could hardly walk, let alone take the
waitress home. She went her way with whomever, while Sammy drove drunkenly back
to base and somehow got into bed. He said the following day he came under a strong
conviction that he should never go back to that bar and he never did. He later
confided that he felt a great sense of relief when that choice was made.
I’ve often
wondered about Sammy and his “indirect” decision over the years but it was not
until much later after I became a Christian that I came to understand and
believe God had spoken to him that night, leaving the option open for “just one
more drink” until he almost passed out, thus taking a different direction than
what he had originally planned. Did God speak to Sammy with an audible Voice?
Not to my knowledge. No, He simply allowed him to do what he needed to do, in
order to avoid a much deeper path of sin.
What would have
happened if Sammy had carried out the plan as he originally agreed to? Neither
he nor I will ever know and don’t want to, but this I do believe, it would have
been a path of depravity that might have led him into depths of sin from which
he might never have recovered. We kept in touch for many years and I last heard
he was running a successful hardware business in the Mid West and had a loving
family. He had also become a Christian. I never heard from Bob again.
By God’s grace,
I also later married a wonderful girl and fathered a family of five beautiful
daughters, all of whom married and have their own families that they have
raised in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph 6:4).” At this writing
my wife and I have been married for 58 years and have five children and
sons-in-law, 35 grandchildren and 25 or 30 so great-grands (a family of 77 I’m
told).
Was that the
Voice of God speaking to Sammy in that honky-tonk in Missouri those many years
ago? I sincerely believe it was though he never claimed to hear it, and even 20
years ago if I had heard that story as someone else might have told it, I would
have shaken my head in skepticism. I now understand however God is not limited
to speech as men are, though He often speaks not just with a small still Voice
(1Ki 19:12), but also sometimes with a strong and audible Voice. He also
undoubtedly speaks with what we consider to be merely circumstances or
inconveniences, and that’s probably the most prevalent way though we hardly
ever understand it or usually even realize it happened.
The stories
that follow are all based on fact, either from personal experience or by being
told the stories by others. The descriptions and names have usually been
changed to protect the identity of those involved but most readers will be able
to relate to the stories because similar things have also happened to them.
Occasionally a story (but only a very few) is pure fiction. Simply written to
illustrate what we all know to be true and which everyone can relate to. The
first following story is based on personal experience, but one which most have
probably had happen to us:
__________
RACKET IN THE BACK
A young couple,
Delbert and Nancy Downs, driving a mini-van with their three children in the
back seat become concerned about the noise of “something” wrong with the car
and were prompted to pull over and look underneath to see what was making all
the racket. Nothing could be seen, so they decided to drive on which they did
(without any more noise) and a few miles down the road came upon an accident
where a truck had ran a stop sign and crushed another car, throwing the driver
out and then running over him. If our family in the mini-van had been there one
minute earlier it could have easily been him (Del) lying there on the highway
bleeding from the head and possibly dying. Did God just speak to the Downs family
through a vanishing racket under the car that delayed them just enough to
escape a bad accident? We had certainly better consider the possibility that He
did.
Was that really the Voice of God?
Did He place a racket making-something under the car?
"Where can I go from
your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven,
you are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there; if I take the
wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there
your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely
the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the
darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for
darkness is as light to you." (Psalm 139:7-12) "
“This is
not to say that God’s form is spread out so that parts of Him exist in every
location. God is spirit; He has no physical form. He is present everywhere in
that everything is immediately in His presence. At the same time He is present
everywhere in the universe. No one can hide from Him and nothing escapes His
notice."
So as we
travel the road of life and as we decide to turn here or there, we would be
wise to stop occasionally and ask the question, “Was that the Voice of God I
thought I heard, or was it just a chance decision made based on a feeling or a
circumstance I had not anticipated?” As we reflect on day-to-day happenings, if
we are discerning we will often see, feel and sometimes hear the Voice of God
mostly inaudible, usually manifesting itself in ways other than what we
normally equate with speech.
__________
BLOWING YOUR HORN
In case someone
wasn’t paying attention, and though it’s not likely, I want to remind the
reader I am not a “Doctor of Theology.” As I heard a preacher say one time,
“Heck, I’m not a doctor, I’m not even a nurse.”
Nor do I claim
to have all the answers, or even ask the right questions. I simply write as a
called, but not college educated preacher from my perspective of being a
heathen for 51 years until the day when I went down to the church to chew the
preacher out because his influence was turning my girls into “fanatics.” That
was the day I realized God is a person, more real than I am and He has a Voice.
I didn’t hear His voice out loud but I got the message quick and clear, to
paraphrase:
“This is your
last chance, if you reject Me one more time, that’s it.”
Following is an
account of that day as it was written sometime ago.
He’s a Pain
Dick pushed back his coffee cup and took
one last drag on his cigarette. He was nearly 50 and had a wife and five kids
to support, and support them he would though at times he felt like locking them
all in the closet. They were driving him nuts with their never-ending requests
and aggravations about “going to church.” Susan was mostly silent, not saying
much, just going on in her quiet way not rocking the boat. Once he vehemently
declared to himself, “This church business is WAY out of hand! That’s all they
want to do!”
Grabbing his coat he walked out of the
office and headed for home. Once there he opened a beer and sat back in his
chair. Looking at Vernie he said,
“I don’t want those kids going to church
three or four times a week. That’s all they think about and I want it stopped!”
Vernie replied quietly, “Would you rather
they would go down and hang out on a street corner?”
“Of course not! You know what goes on down
there! OK, go ahead, take ‘em to church, I don’t wanna hear anymore about it!”
Vernie took the old Ford and drove the two
youngest into church that Wednesday night as Dick watched TV and drank the last
beer in the fridge. Looking back, the oldest girl was married and living on a
ranch in New Mexico. The next two were in college near Chicago “a Bible college.”
They had to work to put themselves through because Dick was dead set about
supporting such a thing. He said helping kids through college spoiled them,
especially a Bible college, though occasionally Vernie would find a reason to
send them a few dollars.
Tiring of TV and beer, he walked outside
and vowed that next Wednesday he would take those kids to church himself and
make double sure there wasn’t anything going on that he didn’t know about. On
the other hand he always took both Vernie and the kids to church on Sundays
because that way he could drop them off and go on down to Lori’s the biggest
restaurant in town, and find a back booth where he could smoke and enjoy his
coffee and newspaper without interruption.
If they could afford it, he would have
insisted Vernie quit her job as a teacher in the church school. She had taken
the job because they needed the money, their savings exhausted from the last
move. She was well qualified to teach, having obtained a degree in Home
Economics from Oklahoma State, and had indeed taught full time in a public
school for several years when they first married. Then though, when the kids
started going to public school she had quit her job against his wishes,
insisting she had to “be home when they get out of school.”
When that happened Dick was running the
Ignacio Chieftain, a weekly newspaper they had bought while still in Sacramento
before they sold the house and moved to Ignacio.
Many years later, in Durango, Colorado,
each Sunday morning I sat in his booth at Lori’s, watching the clock on my
wrist. At precisely 11:45, I finished off my coffee, folded my paper, paid the
bill and got in the car to drive up to the church. There, I watched the time
and if my family failed to exit the church, when both hands crossed the 12 mark
I got on the horn. Every minute or two, giving it another blast only ceasing
when they came toward the car.
I knew the church people didn’t like to
hear a horn splitting ear-drums out in the parking lot, but he really didn’t
care. I knew I was a Christian myself because I had gone forward in a service
about seven years prior, said yes to all the questions and was promptly
baptized. From that day forward I knew he had made a deal with God, was headed
for heaven and everything was OK.
All was OK except for people like those at
the church and that guy at work back in Tucumcari, who was also a neighbor,
named Wes Spencer who handled circulation at the paper when I edited the
South-Part Daily Times. Those Bible thumpers always thought they were right and
always tried to prove it from “the Word.”
Spencer said he was going to Bible College
some day because God had “called” him and the job at the paper was simply a way
to pay the bills and save the money needed to attend school. Spencer was a
pain.
Yours truly was the managing editor in
that town of about 5,000 and held the top job at the Daily Times. I decided
what stories went in the paper, which ones landed on the front page and which
ones were buried somewhere on page twelve or maybe in a supplement. Not really
having any credentials for the job, never having studied journalism in college,
only my real time experience in a country newspaper that was owned us and
working in a few other papers, got me the job I then held. Most agreed however,
I did a decent job and circulation grew steadily under the new management. My
goal was to eventually sell more papers than there were residents of the town.
Mark Burroughs (fictitious name) was the
publisher, having inherited the publication from his father. Mark drank too
much and the Daily Times was fast becoming the Prior Times until we got the job
as editor, landing it soon after going broke in the greenhouse business. It was
a pretty good job except for Spencer who handled circulation and who was a
constant irritant with his habit of throwing up his hands and exclaiming
“Praise the Lord!”
On Sundays, when the paper was in bed,
printed and distributed by 2 a.m., Spencer and his wife Penny could be counted
on to leave the house precisely at 9:30 and walk down the street to their
church.
“He’s a pain” thought Dick, “why does he
have to be so obnoxious?” “I’m a Christian too, but I don’t try to cram it down
everyone’s throat.”
Leaving Tucumcari, the Carmacks moved to
Grand Junction, CO where Dick sold trailer homes and later traveled Western
Colorado selling fasteners. When they left there they moved to Durango, CO
where Dick, with financing by his older brothers, built an underground home.
That failed to work out to a profit and soon we had started another weekly
newspaper called the Colorado Patriot where we promoted mostly Republican
candidates and specialized in expose’ journalism, usually angering one segment
or another of the powers that be of the town. Going bust there, it wasn’t long
before Dick studied for a real estate license and after working for a few
months as a salesman, obtained his broker’s license and opened his own office.
Have you noticed the job-hopping? Looking
for something, something to fill that “hole in his belly” that craved for
something he was unable to find?
Ten-Thirty was when Dick would load the
family into the car and drop them off at the church before he made his
appearance at Lori’s restaurant. He had already laid down the law,
“Wednesday night and Sunday morning
services are enough. You don’t have to go to Sunday School too. You’re already
getting too much of that stuff. Just look at yourselves. Can’t you see you’re
tuning into fanatics? When Christians are not willing to compromise they just
turn everyone else off!”
A few months after that explosion at home
when Dick complained about the two youngest girls wanting to be in church at
every opportunity, Maury White, a visiting missionary, came out to the car one
morning when a horn blowing exercise was in progress and asked politely,
“Mr. Carmack, won’t you please stop
blowing your horn while church is going on?”
Dick replied angrily, “Just get ‘em out
here at noon and there won’t be any trouble!”
When Spencer heard about that (he attended
a different church back in Tucumcari), he threw up his hands and shouted,
“Praise the Lord!”
Years later, Dick understood what Spencer meant.
When a man gets angry with God (or God’s people) it often means that God is
dealing with that man and forcing him toward a decision to either accept or
reject the only One who can forgive sin and make someone fit for heaven. Are
they then a cut above those that are not saved? Of course not, they are still
sinners, but they are now saved and forgiven sinners.
“…Oh, the turmoil of the mind and soul.”
He knew he was losing his family. They had all become church-goers, more than
that, they had become almost fanatics and indeed lived in a different world
than Dick did. He was intent on conquering the business world but his family
was intent on following the words of a Jewish carpenter that lived some two
thousand years before. Something had to be done if things were ever to go back
to the way they used to be.
On Thursday morning of the following week
I made a fateful decision. Things were out of hand and had to be corrected.
Taking an hour off from the office I drove up to the church and walked into the
preacher’s office.
“Well, good morning Mr. Carmack, glad to
see you,” the preacher said enthusiastically, extending his hand. “Won’t you
please sit down? What’s on your mind?”
“I’ll sit down,” I replied, “But not for long, I
have something to say and you’re gonna listen! I’ve had enough of this
stuff! You’ve got my kids going to
church on Sunday and I even let ‘em go on Wednesdays but when you start
insisting they come out on Thursdays evenings and go door to door crammin’
their religion down everybody’s throat, that’s enough!” He stopped and stared
at the preacher, “All you want is to build a bigger church, so you can have a
bigger salary and lord it over everyone! I’ve had enough!”
For the next few minutes he continued his rant,
recalling every hurt he could think of and making up a few when memory failed.
Finally, running out of words he turned to go when he was stopped by the preacher’s
Voice saying,
“You have a problem Mr. Carmack.”
“What kind of problem?” I snarled in
return.
“You need to get right with God. You need
to get saved.” The preacher said.
Stopping dead, I seemed frozen, unable to exit the door.
“Would you like to be saved?” The preacher asked.
That was the question that did it.
At that moment, heaven fell out of the sky
and crashed to the ground, hitting hard and driving me down under an
overwhelming weight. It seemed like the world had come to an end. There was no
place to go, nowhere to hide. I was suddenly faced with a realization of my own
mortality and the certainty of righteous judgment to come. It was decision time
and I somehow knew in the recesses of his mind and heart that if I didn’t make
a real decision for God, and make it today, this was to be my last chance. A
long moment passed and then, almost as if someone else had put the words on his
lips, I whispered
“Yes.”
“Let’s just kneel down
right here and I’ll lead you in a prayer, just repeat it after me.”
The preacher left his
chair, putting an arm over his shoulder they knelt there on the floor with the
preacher praying and Dick repeating, he said,
“Lord, help me get right
with You. Help me to realize I have sinned against You. Forgive my sin Lord.
Come into my heart and save my soul. Give me this day eternal life. Take charge
from this moment on and help me to make things right with You, with my family
and everyone else. Amen.”
Dick was stunned with
what had happened. He continued to kneel there on the floor while the preacher
rose, stood and then spoke.
“Do you feel any different?”
“No,” Dick replied, paused and then said
as he got slowly to his feet, “Yes, yes I do. I feel like a great weight has
been taken off my back.” It was real. There was a definite physical feeling of
a weight being lifted off and it was sometime later before I realized that what
I felt that day was the actual transferring of all my sin from Dick Carmack’s
“book of accounting” to the ledger of Jesus Christ the risen Savior who said,
“Mt 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
When the Lord of Glory makes a promise, He
keeps it:
Jer 31:34 …, from the least of
them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their
iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Shaking his head in puzzlement at the
rapidity of what had occurred this writer shook his head, trying to decide
whether to leave or to say something.
“Go home and tell your family what happened,”
counseled the preacher as I slowly, in a state of stunned shock walked out the
door and back to his car.”
That’s the way
it happened. I am totally convinced of the reality that God had spoken to me. I
somehow knew if I turned away from God one more time it would be the last time.
So instead of exiting the preacher’s office that day congratulating myself on
setting him straight, somewhat confused, I left there a humbled and sobered
man. You can say what you will but I know God spoke to me that day and it
forever changed my life. I didn’t hear His Voice, but yet I heard
His Voice.
Was that really the Voice of God, Or did He move
SECRET HANDS guiding me silently down to the church that day?
__________
“I THINK I’M GOING TO HELL!”
Pastor George Sullivan
rolled over in bed, rubbing his eyes. It was 5 a.m. and He was scheduled to
drive into Pittsburg that day to attend a conference but inexplicably his mind suddenly
jumped to the idea of taking son Billy with him. He hadn’t considered it before
and he didn’t have a clue as to what was going on in his son’s mind.
Son Billy was in agony. He
couldn’t sleep, as most nights he lay awake for several hours living his life
and his day over and over being haunted with the idea of burning in hell. The
preacher said he was saved and all the evidence pointed that way. He had gone
forward in a church service and prayed the prayer but there was no assurance of
salvation and he was tortured almost constantly knowing something was missing.
He had prayed the night
before that if his fears were real and if
he really needed to get saved God would
send him a sign. Before he went to sleep he decided if he really was unsaved
one day soon Dad would ask him to go on a trip with him. But not tomorrow. That
was out of the question as Dad had explained to all the kids, this was going to
be a hard trip and there was no room for anything but church business.
George had agreed with
Mother that tomorrow was not a good time for a trip with any child, but
promised he would be soon take each and every one of the siblings with him
sometime soon. It would be a long drive to the conference and besides that he
had to meet with another pastor who was involved with their prison fellowship
ministry and they would be staying up late. In addition to that, Billy, along
with his brother and two sisters needed to stay on their lessons, especially
Billy because Mother had mentioned that his mind seemed to be wandering and his
last test in math was only a C.
But the idea of taking
Billy with him persisted in George’s mind as he asked Mother to tend to it. She
went into the other bedroom and shook Billy saying, “Dad wants you to go with
him today, I guess he changed his mind.”
He dressed hurriedly,
packed an extra set of clothes and was already in the car by the time Dad left
the house, as they began the long drive to Pittsburg.
The Sullivan family lived
frugally. Their modest home on 3 acres had been purchased in a close-out
auction and for some strange reason theirs was the only bid. Yes, they had bid
more than they really could afford but they managed to convince the lending
company they could make the payments even though the family income was far from
certain as they lived on whatever the church could pay in the Pastor’s small
salary plus a few honorariums from other churches when he was now and then
invited to preach. Outside of that there was little support for a country
preacher.
Billy had gone forward in
a church service when he was 7 years old and had made a profession of faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ but the doubts persisted. When he turned 15 his soul was
still unsettled. Yes, as some preacher had remarked, “He had a drug problem.”
Every Sunday morning, every Sunday evening and every Wednesday his folks “drug”
him to church. He was saturated with the Word but it just didn’t seem to stick.
His soul was in turmoil.
On the long trip to the
conference the young man sat mostly quietly and wondered how he was going to
tell his Dad that he really wasn’t saved. A month ago a missionary from
Tanzania had preached in their church and as he spoke the tortured soul in the
pew came to a conviction that if he died that night he would instantly be in
hell. From that night until now, he wrestled with the almost certain knowledge
he was in deep trouble. Here he was, he had made a profession when he was only
7 and he really was a pretty good kid. He obeyed his parents and did his chores
and sat dutifully in church, read his Bible and sang the hymns but things were
just not right. However he wanted to be alone with Dad because he needed some
time to somehow explain he had been living a lie. Dad thought he was saved and
so did his mother, only the troubled boy lived with the painful truth.
The trip to Pittsburg was
over 300 miles. The conference lasted two days and all the time they were there
the young man just couldn’t screw up the courage to tell Dad,
“I’m not saved.”
On the trip home the hours
dragged out as the miles faded away and when night fell and they came through
the last village with just a few street lights on, and with only 30 miles to
go, he finally blurted it out,
“Dad I need to talk to
you! I think I’m going to hell!”
In the next few minutes
after George quickly pulled the car to the side of the road and put his arm
about Billy’s shoulder, a short discussion followed and then a sincere prayer
when William Walter Sullivan was born again. That night changed his life. A few
years later the Lord called him “audibly” to preach and as this is being
written he is beginning his third year of Bible college, preparing for the
mission field. Bill explained the calling,
“When I say audibly I mean
I heard it out loud, as clear as a bell but I don’t know whether or not anybody
else would have.”
Was that really
the Voice of God? Had an Unseen and
Secret Hand reached down that night on the way home from Pittsburg and shook
him?
Billy knew.
__________
LET THERE BE LIGHT!
Here is the
first record of God speaking, no one can question that this really was the
Voice of God!:
Ge 1:3 ¶ And God said, Let there be
light: and there was light.
We take light
for granted. It’s “always been there” and always will be. Little do we realize
that light is a created “thing.” The default position is darkness. Which brings
to mind a question, “If there was no one, no thing to see it, would light
exist? It’s like the childhood riddle, if a tree falls in the forest and there
is no man or animal to hear it did it make a sound? Of course it did in the
respect that sound waves went out. Trees make a sound when they fall when only
the animals and bugs can hear it and the radio sends out waves over the ether
whether or not anyone turns on the receiver. Chaos is darkness. Light is the
presence of God:
1Jo 1:5 ¶ This then is the message which we have
heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no
darkness at all.
The light we
live under by day (the sun) and its refection at night, the light we call the
moon, is literally a product of the Voice of God a product, a sound that still exists today. I refer you to the
following website for a short dissertation that explains “sonoluminescence.”
Yes, we understand that the God that spoke the creation into existence and by
the very sound of His Voice created light! But can that feat be duplicated? Can
man create light from sound? Check out the following:
Man, with
expensive apparatus, a relatively large power source and determination can now
copy our Creator in a very limited way. With all of the necessary equipment he
can from sound, now procreate short bursts of light, only pinpricks in a sealed
test tube. God however, spoke the sun and possibly 500 billions of galaxies,
each with billions of stars
into existence with no more effort than you or I would use in raising an
eyelid.
And some think
they can stand up to and defy the God that spoke to Moses out of the burning
bush.
Ex 3:4 And when the LORD saw
that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush,
and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
We can only
imagine Moses the displaced sheepherder’s reaction. Did he stop abruptly with
his hand over his mouth? Perhaps his knees shook and knocked together, or did
he fall down in a faint? The Scripture doesn’t give us the details. The next
verse gives us more:
Ex 3:5 And he said, Draw not
nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou
standest is holy ground.
God continued
His dissertation to Moses for the next 5 verses as Moses no doubt stood in rapt
attention. Finally he gets in a word sideways but instead of saying “Yes Sir!” he
wants to argue:
Ex 3:11 ¶ And Moses said unto
God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the
children of Israel out of Egypt?
The Creator
responds and the conversation continues through the entirety of Chapter Three
and concludes in the 17th verse of Chapter Four. There may be other
biblical instances (like when “The Lord” spoke face to face with Abraham on the
Plains of Mamre [Gen 18:1-33]) where the Almighty spent more time explaining
things directly to His servant, but if so I am unable to find it. Imagine if
you can, the One that made heaven and earth by simply speaking it all into
existence, taking the time and displaying the patience necessary to speak at
length to a mere creature, only one
man of literally billions yet to come.
God spoke to
the prophets by audible Voice and also by that small still Voice that only the
mouth of the Holy Spirit is able to whisper in the ear of the recipient.
Moses was quick to believe that really was the Voice
of God!
Or was he shaken to attention by SECRET HANDS?
__________
YOU HAVE SINNED!
Paula was in
distress. She was tortured with the memory of what she had done. She was only
16 and her life was already over. The pillow was still wet from the night
before and the morning hours weren’t any better.
Suicide came
again to her mind. How could she possibly face her parents, her friends or even
her siblings? How could she possibly face tomorrow? Her mind went back again
and again to the troubling memories and on a sunny day the sky seemed
unnaturally dark. The trees seemed lifeless, even the green grass was turning
yellow.
Turning off the
path and following a smaller and dimmer trail through the woods, she eventually
crested a small hill and looked out over a world of gray. It looked like rain
and even the wind was biting on a day that should have been warm. There at the
top, something drove her to her knees where she knelt and earnestly searched
for the peace she needed so badly. And that’s when it happened. A voice that
certainly could have been heard for miles it seemed so loud, was so firm,
authoritative and so real that she thought for a time she had heard it with her
ears and not her heart. God spoke to Paula.
“You have
sinned.”
The tears burst
forth and her heart broke on the mountain that day, the day she met God face to
face. Nobody led her in prayer. Nobody taught her that day. All alone on the
mountain, just her and the Almighty. A sob was wrenched from inside as she
poured out her confession, a confession of sin and a confession of belief. That
was the day Paula got saved.
Suddenly,
spread there before her, was the panorama of God’s creation. A blue and purple
range of mountains shimmered in the distance and beyond that the bluest sky
with the whitest clouds she had ever seen. Paula could see a farmhouse and
outbuildings in the intermediate picture. The geometrical furrows on the land
formed a beautiful pattern as if a master painter had meticulously brushed in
every line. She could hear the birds chirping and singing in the trees even
through the silence and majesty of the moment
As she rose
again to her feet, her mind was fixed on one thing; from that day forward she
would live for her Savior. She would do all she could to help others along the
way, providing a shoulder to cry on, extending a hand when it was needed. In
her own way she would become a representative for her Creator.
As the years
went by over and over again opportunities seemed to come out of nowhere. There
was the time a co-worker stopped at her desk every morning to read the Bible
verse that Paula kept there for daily consideration and even sometimes listened
to a short prayer though as she followed her mouth, at other times body
language betrayed her unsaved condition. When help was needed later when the live-in
and his behavior necessitated a move for her bad mouthed friend, Paula was
there to help rescue her from a bad situation, she was there to provide
transportation to a safe-house and to provide biblical counsel. Even though
they lost contact after that, several years later she heard from a third party
that her distressed friend who had reached out that day, later in giving her
testimony mentioned the name of Paula so long ago that proved “A friend in need
is a friend indeed.” God simply had his representative on hand for the needed
encounter.
Was Paula
looking for recognition from the friend she had given a helping hand to in a
time of need? No, she was simply doing what she had promised God so many years
before when she met Him at the top of the hill, that morning when was gray
turned to a burst of color and her life was changed forever.
Had a Secret Hand guided her to the spot at the top of the
hill?
Ask Paula
____________
CHAPTER FOUR
God speaks
often with what we call “natural” occurrences. He speaks in the wind, in
floods, in earthquakes and even in the calm of a summer evening. 1st Kings gives us a glimpse into the power of
the Almighty and a few of the ways in which He sometimes does not speak and how
He sometimes does:
1Ki 19:11 And he said, Go
forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed
by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the
rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an
earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake
a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small
Voice.
Adam Clarke comments:
“Stand
upon the mount before the Lord. God was now treating Elijah nearly in the same
way that he treated Moses; and it is not unlikely that Elijah was now standing
on the same place where Moses stood, when God revealed himself to him in the
giving of the law.” (Mt. Sinai)
As this is being written
we are being educated almost daily in exhibitions of His power in what our
controlled media calls “natural” disasters. Occasionally the happenings are so
horrendous that in amazement the commentator will comment with furrowed brow
how the reported event is of “biblical proportions.” Even in their unbelief,
there is sometimes a deep down acknowledgement of the power and majesty of His
power.
Flooding in Texas,
flooding in West Virginia, Colorado and Berlin. Over the world God is
displaying His power with record flooding in almost every country shown on a
map. Yet following the Noahaic Flood, it was promised the world would not be
destroyed again with a flood (Ge 8:21,22). So what’s afoot? Will the promise be
broken and the earth once again subjected to a world-wide flood? No, God
doesn’t break promises and is not a man that He should lie. The answer lies not
being engulfed again with water, instead He is using the elements to get our
attention and to come to an understanding that man simply can’t solve the
problems that he is facing.
A recent article
by Michael Snyder gives us a breakdown of flood and fire in the 10 month period
running from September 2015 to July 2016. The magnitude of destruction is
appalling. Flooding rated as “500 or even 1,000” year floods not only here but
universally over the globe. Here is a very small excerpt of his article:
“At least
24 people have died and crews are still searching for missing residents in West
Virginia after heavy rains flooded several towns. A federal disaster has been
declared for this devastating event that has been described as “complete chaos.
“Roads destroyed, bridges out, homes burned
down, washed off foundations,” said Greenbrier County Sheriff Jan
Cahill. “Multiple sections of highway just missing. Pavement just
peeled off like a banana. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Our weather problem is not
a natural occurrence problem, it’s a sin problem and the solution lies not with
mortal ingenuity or man’s ability to “ride out the storm.” Sure, we’ve always
had periods of bad weather, but one day it will destroy thousands, perhaps even
millions in one event. The only answer
is repentance and a turning away from our sin. America, indeed the world has
sunk into a pit of depravity from which there will be no reprieve outside of
God’s forgiveness which is not going to occur without wholesale repentance and
a turning to Him and away from our own lusts of the flesh.
Do we recall the direct
demonstration of God’s warnings to humans when there was 3 hours of darkness
and an earthquake at the conclusion of the event of Christ’s crucifixion?
Surely, we should listen closely as God speaks through “natural” calamities.
America has become the
cesspool of the world. It’s Sodom and Gomorrah all over again. The natural sex
drives of mankind have been turned into nothing more than animal lusts without
restraint. We are reminded of the biblical account of how the prophet Jonah was
forced to go to Nineveh and preach repentance, which he finally did after
spending some time in the belly of a whale and we ask: Is there another Jonah
waiting somewhere in the wings, looking for the cue that will send him into our
world wrapped in sea-weed and perhaps appearing on world TV testifying that the
end has come? Unless we get on our
faces before God it well may happen. What will the skeptics say then? Truly the
Voice of God is speaking to us through the weather “Turn to Me” as SECRET HANDS
shake our physical world.
__________
LISTEN UP!
The prophet Moses
testified of God using him as a tool to control the weather. Speaking to
Pharaoh, he said in effect,
“Pharry
old boy, just so you’ll know who’s in charge here, when I leave this place I’m
going to look into the sky, raise my hands unto the Lord and the thunder will
stop and so will the hail. I’m going to do what He told me to do. That’s all
going to be done Pharry, just so you’ll know who the boss is.” (paraphrase of
Ex 9:29)
Did Pharaoh hear the Voice
of God through Moses and his execution of the plan of how He was going to bring
the Children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt? We had better believe he did!
Did His SECRET HANDS bring the blood to the waters and the frogs and lice and
darkness in the middle of the day? Yes.
__________
VISIONS OF HELL
Gladys Summerville
remembers vividly the night she was born again. She was only 10 years old and
had attended an evening revival meeting in the basement of the schoolhouse,
just a month after her birthday. The church met there because there was no heat
in the small church building and as it was December and the nights were cold,
that Sunday night the church met in the only heated community building in town.
The preacher was wound up
that night and as he gradually finished his message and the group started
gathering their scarves and coats Gladys was suddenly seized with a distinct
knowledge that hell was hot and she was unsaved.
Seeking the preacher’s
hand as he turned to leave, she stuttered, “I need to be saved.”
“What did you say?” He
asked.
“I need to be saved.” She
repeated.
Kneeling there he led her
in the sinner’s prayer, “Lord Jesus, I know I’m a sinner and I need to be
saved. Please forgive me and save me.”
That was it. From that
day, her life was changed. No longer did she have the bad dreams and looking
back she remembered well the scene. There was a furnace in the school basement
that was used to heat the entire building and on that particular night someone
had built the fire up overly hot, so hot that the case glowed a soft red.
Gladys associated the red walls of the furnace with the fires of hell and that
was all it took to convince her of personal sin and the need for forgiveness.
Years went by as she grew
up and attended college, earning a degree in Home Economics, an education that
she used almost constantly after she met and married Oscar Cummings because of
his inability to keep a job more than a year. As a consequence the Cummings
house was constantly short of money because of several moves and job hopping
and the money earned was quickly expended on moves and needed groceries. The
couple was happy however and over the years they raised five daughters, all of
whom met and married men who were much more stable than their Dad. The
continual lack of money was expertly handled by Gladys though due to her
depression era raising, where frugality was consciously and constantly
practiced on a daily basis.
And then one day Oscar got
saved. It was a pure miracle, happening after almost everyone had given up
hope. The girls and their momma prayed for him every day and when it happened
from that day forward things started turning around for the Cummings family.
They never had an excess but they always had enough. Oscar eventually entered
the ministry and became a preacher and the years wore on they eventually
retired in a small community in Arkansas.
God is good and sometimes
He speaks with angels, sometimes with red-hot furnaces. Sometimes He reaches
down with SECRET HANDS and touches a small girl.
________
EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT THE WEATHER
Is there only bad weather?
No, the Psalms give us an explanation of how most of our weather is blessings.
They tell us in Ps 65 (9-13) that He visits us regularly bringing rain from the
“River of God” and supplies us with corn as according to His wisdom. He rains
on the ridges softening the ground and making springs that leap up from
beneath. He gives us more good years than bad and waters the pastures for
flocks that rejoice at the sound of rain. Yea, even the hills and valleys shout
for joy at the fatness of the livestock and the fields filled with grain.
All rain is not flooding,
all is not destructive, there is much more that comes in moderation to give the
crops a good start and a little more as needed, “Be glad then, ye
children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God (Joel 2:23).” This brings granaries of fatness that overflow with
wine and oil. We need the rain, indeed we must have it or else the crops would
perish and we would die in famine. It’s the abnormal that we notice and take
for granted the natural cycles, the cycles of moisture, planting and harvest
that maintains the population of this planet.
Ps 135:6 Whatsoever the LORD
pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep
places. 7 He causeth the vapours to
ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he
bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.
And when spring comes,
when flowers appear clothing the earth in their beauty the creation shakes off
its winter sleep as the birds begin to sing and the leaves of the trees appear.
The animals arise and stretch and in their own way look up and thank the Lord
for another season of good food and pleasant life. Soon there will be another
crop ripening in the fields and as we breathe in the air we are reminded again
of the goodness of God:
Song 2:11 For, lo, the winter
is past, the rain is over and gone;
12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of
birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with
the tender grape give a good smell.
Men in their pride are now
attempting to control the weather in spite of God’s directions, not remembering
that a mere 170 years ago they couldn’t even describe a weather cycle let alone
try to direct one. But the Book of Ecclesiastes described it perfectly 1500
years ago.
Ec 1:6 The wind goeth toward
the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and
the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto
the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
“It was not until the
invention of the
electric telegraph in 1835 that the modern age
of weather forecasting began. Before that, the fastest that distant weather
reports could travel was around 100 miles per day (160 km/d), but was more
typically 40–75 miles per day (60–120 km/day) (whether by land or by sea).
By the late 1840s, the telegraph allowed reports of weather conditions from a
wide area to be received almost instantaneously, allowing forecasts to be made
from knowledge of weather conditions further
upwind.”
But with the astounding
advance in science, weather forecasting has become much more precise that it
has been in the past. When I was a young man, a common joke was “Do you know
what it means when the weather man says there’s a 40% chance of rain? It means
there are 10 guys that work in the weather bureau and 4 of ‘em think it’s gonna
rain.” And His Hands move hither and yon…
__________
A HEAVENLY GIFT?
Phil Jackson was broke and
out of a job. He really had no skills outside of what Dad had taught him and
the only jobs he had ever held were construction, mostly labor though one time
he had a chance to drive a truck till the road was completed and the company
moved. He was offered a job if he wanted to go with them but there was a girl
he knew and liked and wanted to stick around for a while longer. He was making
plans to go to college in the coming semester knowing he could get the G.I.
Bill that would give him enough money to pay the tuition and he figured he
could get part time work enough to make it through.
One day while killing time
down at the gas station a friend, without any discernable reason, reached in
his pocket and pulled out a used, but accurate multi-meter. Offering it to
Phil, he said,
“I got a new one this
morning but this is still good and if you want it you can have it.”
“Thanks. What’s it for?”
“It’s a multi-meter. You
can check all kinds of voltages, anything from 2 volts on up. Really handy if
you’re trying to do any wiring.”
A month later after
getting settled in the dorm, a new acquaintance across the room asked him if he
was going to try to get a job. “Yes” he replied, “I’ll have to get something.”
The new guy then said, I know a contractor in the south part of town who wants
to hire another apprentice for electric work. I just got on. Wanna meet him?
Later Phil thought about
the multi-meter in the glove box of his car. He didn’t make the connection that
day but years later he looked back and remembered the remarkable set of
circumstances that gave him a tool he would need before he ever got the job
where it was standard and necessary equipment.
God speaks to men in ways
that we often don’t understand without the benefit of hindsight.
God also speaks and moves in the lives of men when He
wants to.
__________
WILDFIRES AND FLOODS
But then come the fires as
God speaks in correction or perhaps in fury:
“As you read this article, the
state of California is being ravaged by gigantic wildfires that are raging
wildly out of control, and West Virginia is dealing with a “500 year
flood”. Since last September, the U.S. has been hit by a series of 11
historic floods. Never before in American history have we seen so many
major floods within such a compressed space of time. And just as the
Shemitah year ended last September, massive wildfires began erupting all over
the country. Thanks to that unprecedented outbreak of large fires, 2015
ended up being the worst year for wildfires in all of U.S. history. And
since 2016 began, things have continued to get worse. As far as the total
number of acres burned is concerned, we are more than a million acres ahead of
the pace that was set last year.”
Here is a point worth
pondering and the asking of a question “Is all this deliberate?.” The book of
Daniel records a curious phrase in the 9th Chapter:
Da 9:26 And after threescore
and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of
the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the
end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations
are determined. (underlining added)
Yet man in his conceit
thinks he can now even control the weather (and floods and fires) with “sky
seeding” which are usually called “chemtrails” which man creates by using
military aircraft to spray chemicals into our upper atmosphere which then spread
and slowly fall to the ground. Aluminum and Barium are reportedly the main
ingredients with the published excuse that it is all designed to reflect
sunlight back out to space in order to fight “global warming,”
in reality a ludicrous excuse for more regulations.
Are what we are seeing in
the unprecedented weather anomalies and flooding a harbinger of the end? We
should never brush off God’s Word with a catch-all answer, “That doesn’t
apply.” Too many students of the Bible have missed out on the fullness of the
Word by applying their knowledge of what they have learned to what they are yet
to learn, and in the process find they didn’t know it after all.
Does God really
speak through the weather? Do His SECRET HANDS control it?
__________
CHAPTER FIVE
We need to consider
earthquakes. The children of Israel had escaped Egypt, but because they refused
to do as instructed and go into the promised land to take it away from the
giants (Nu 13:17-29) they were sent to the deserts of Arabia for 40 years until
they learned to be obedient. While there they were terrified one day when Mount
Sinai shook with fury as the very person of Jehovah descended on its summit to
deliver instructions:
Ex 19:17 And Moses brought forth
the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part
of the mount.
18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD
descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a
furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
When God visits His people
He reportedly appears in a manner that takes away the breath and leaves us in a
state of shock, eyes bulging out and mouths going dry. That’s what happened on
Sinai, and shocked the Children of Israel should have been. God visited them
that day and the people saw the mountain smoking and heard and saw the
thunderings and lightnings and the noise of a trumpet, which undoubtedly was
the very Voice of God, or did He just reach down with SECRET HANDS and shake
the earth? We realize of course science tells us most earthquakes are caused by
the slippage of crustal plates in the earth and that appears to be logical.
Modern day explorers have
now apparently located the real Mt. Sinai in what is now called Saudi Arabia.
It is apparently located exactly due south
of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem
and when the summit is reached eyewitness reports say you can see the red
granite of the area burned to a glossy black where the visitation of God took
place (Ex 20:18) and the mountain top was burned. Indeed, if the granite is
chipped away, the black granite breaks off and the red granite is exposed
beneath.
Lending further credence
to the theory that modern Saudi Arabia is the actual site of Mt. Sinai rather
than its traditional setting on the Sinai Peninsula, is the finding of a rock
formation just below Mt. Sinai overlooking a basin formed of granite that could
have easily served as a lake bottom for billions of gallons of water that would
have watered the flocks of the Children of Israel as they rested from their
trek across the desert after crossing the Red Sea by the power of God.
But where did the water
come from in this arid land where it only rains one inch in 10 years? The rock
that is probably the biblical “rock of Horeb (Ex 17:6)” which by coincidence,
is just a short distance from the mountain identified as Sinai and would have
been able to fill the granite basin. The “Rock of Horeb” stands about 60 feet
tall and is split from top to bottom, with sandstone at the bottom massively
eroded by a tremendous flow of water, that apparently gushed out of this barren
rock!
When the mountain shook
and the smoke ascended off the desert mountain was that really just the Voice of God? Or, did He reach down and
shake it into activity?
I submit it was, and He did.
__________
I ‘VE ALREADY HEARD YOU
Wendell went to church
with his family three times a week, Sunday morning, Sunday evening and
Wednesday evening. As the saying went, every time the doors were open the
Cryson family was there. His dad was a bean farmer and his mother had a pretty
good garden, in which all the kids took their turns in keeping it weeded.
Wendell however had a
burden. He had listened intently the evening before as the preacher made it as
plain as he could if heaven was real, and he knew it was, then hell was also.
For a boy of 12 Wendell had a dilemma, on one hand he wanted to someday be in
heaven with the Lord. On the other hand his flesh was beginning to stir and
temptation tore at him, pulling, urging him to go the way of the world.
Being under heavy
conviction, as he reached the end of the row of melons he dropped to his knees
and poured out his heart to his Maker. Admitting he was a sinner and knowing
Jesus was the Son of God, he was asking for forgiveness. Nothing changed and at
the end of the next row, this one of corn, again he fell to his knees and
confessed every sin he could remember. Again, nothing happened. The sky didn’t
open with bright rays of sunlight landing on him, he didn’t hear any voice from
heaven, it just didn’t come to pass. There was no thunder, no lightning, no
voice that cracked open the clouds, nothing. His heart was about to break. Here
he was trying to do what he knew he had to do but nothing happened.
One more row to hoe, once
more confession to make, but this time a distinct voice reached his soul,
“I heard you the first
time.”
Standing stunned, in an
instant the sun broke through the clouds and forgiveness flooded his soul! He
never again doubted his salvation. From that day forward he spent many hours
reading, studying and later, teaching God’s Word. What a wonderful God we
serve.
God speaks when He wants to speak.
__________
MORE RECORDED EARTHQUAKES
The Bible records the day
Christ was crucified, the sky turned black until the 9th hour,
Mt 27:45 Now from the sixth
hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
In the same chapter
Matthew tells us when Christ gave up the Ghost he cried with a loud voice and
the veil in the temple, (the extremely heavy curtain that separated the Holy
Place from the Holy of Holies) was torn from the top to the bottom, not from
the bottom up as one would expect. The passage from Mt 27:50-53 also testifies
at that time the earth shook and rocks fell. The disturbance was so great that
graves were opened and “many bodies of the saints which slept arose,” and
walked into the city where many people saw the dead walking about. Take a few
minutes to read and reflect on the passage and you will be amazed at the power
of God.
Three days later another
earthquake rattled the earth when an angel from
heaven descended, rolled back the stone blocking the entrance to the tomb where
Jesus was laid and sat upon the stone (Mt 28:3-5). His countenance was blinding
and the people quaked with fear. How would you react if you were visiting a
grave of a loved one when suddenly the earth shook and a blinding light
revealed an angel sitting there upon a huge stone that he had just rolled
uphill from its resting place and then reclining, told the women, “… this Jesus
that you seek is not here for He is risen.?”
And how about Paul and
Silas, arrested and thrown into prison for their preaching? There they were, at
midnight chained down in a dank and damp prison and instead of curled up trying
to sleep on a bed of stone, they were singing praises to God and praying so
loudly the whole prison population heard them. Just as the other prisoners were
probably murmuring and threatening to bring harm to their noisy cellmates, the
ground shook and the doors of the prison flew open at the same time the chains
on the arms and legs of the prisoners fell off!
The jailer, shaken out of
sleep seeing the jail doors standing open, thinking the prisoners had fled, and
knowing his career was over drew his sword and was ready to fall on it. Paul,
however commanded him to stop. This was not a night for the jailer’s death,
this was the night for the beginning of his life! The keeper of the prison got
the message, fell on his face and asked what he must do to be saved.
Paul and Silas replied, “Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Ac 16:26-31) The next scene brings the whole family
in where they learned and accepted the gospel and after that were, in dead of
night baptized.
Was the earthquake that night a message from the
Almighty?
Were those SECRET HANDS from God?
Is God limited to speaking as a man does?
__________
MULTIPLYING THE LOAVES
The Voice of God often
comes in quietly like someone padding over a carpet wearing soft house shoes.
We can hardly hear it even when listening intently but when it does register we
hear it often disguised as something else, and seldom do we discern when it
leaves. John 3:8 describes it as the Holy Spirit (that small still voice
whispering to your spirit “You must be born again”) that shows its effect like
the wind rustling in the leaves. We see its results but seldom discern it in
action.
Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where
it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
In a food bank and church
in southwest Colorado in the 1990s a retired couple picked up out-of-date
groceries from local markets and after a preaching service, gave them out to
all who attended. Sometimes there was a plethora of food, sometimes the pickup
on the routes was below average.
The director described it
this way, “Many, many, times if we had a short week on the route it seemed we
would get extra heavy attendance at the church service and at first I worried
there just wouldn’t be enough groceries to go around. My dismay would come when
after running the routes and knowing supplies were short, I would almost panic
when I saw more people than average coming through the door for the afternoon
or evening service (talk about a lack of faith on my part!). After several
times however, that dismay turned into a smile as time after time, everyone
left with a full box of food.
“It was a visible
testimony of the power of God. We continually tried to catch Him multiplying
the loaves (Luke 9:17) but were never successful as the King of Creation over
and over again, multiplied the loaves, not on the hills of Jerusalem, but on a
mesa in a non-descript building in southwest Colorado.”
__________
STRANGER ON A DARK NIGHT
Janet Logorine was
convinced death awaited that very night. She had gone to a restaurant on the
south end of Detroit for an evening meal and through a bizarre set of circumstances,
somehow had missed her ride home. It was after 10, the restaurant had closed
and she, though being in distress had been ushered out without having the
opportunity to even make a phone call.
The walk across the city
would be over 3 miles, through a part of town that was notorious for muggings
and nowadays even shootings. She had a friend however, a friend she had seen
many times in her dreams, a friend with curly hair. That cold night she pulled
her coat up about her ears, gritted her teeth and started the long walk home.
Those were the days when Detroit was beginning its descent into lawlessness and
fearing the worst, but praying for the best, she almost refused to look when a
car pulled up beside her and a voice said,
“Janet, you look like you
could use a friend.”
Hardly daring to look,
when she did she saw a lone man driving a black sedan, she was tempted to run
but something prompted her to continue watching and listening to the stranger.
As she stood there, afraid to listen and afraid not to, he said,
“Get in Janet and I’ll
take you home.”
Janet looked carefully and
then she recognized friend of her dreams, the only trouble was, his hair wasn’t
curly!
The wind was cold and it
was starting to snow, as Janet hesitated an inner voice told her it was okay.
Trusting that still, small voice she carefully, cautiously opened the car door
on the passenger side and sat down in the warm car.
“I live over on…”
“I know where you live,”
he interrupted.
As they rolled through the
blackened streets of Detroit, “You can turn here” she ventured only to be told,
“Yes, and I turn left two
blocks down and you live at the address where I’ll stop.”
Numbed, Janet kept her
silence as the stranger skillfully drove to her front door and then said,
“Goodnight Janet.’
Looking back now from the
vantage of walking with Jesus for many years, Janet’s eyes light up when she
tells her story about that scary night in a treacherous city so long ago. Her
friend showed up when he was needed most, one thing continued to puzzle her however,
He just didn’t have curly hair!
__________
AND THE BLIND SHALL SEE
When a man says
he heard an audible voice from somewhere that he considered to be the
voice of the Almighty Himself, ask yourself, “Does Scripture record God
speaking to man?
Ge 8:15
¶ And God spake unto Noah, saying, ”Bring ‘em in Noah!”
Ex
6:2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:
Mr 12:26 And as touching the dead, that they
rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto
him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob?
De 1:6 The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb,
saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:
Does God speak
to men today? He most assuredly does. There are hundreds of reports coming out
of the Middle East where former Muslims testify of being woken from sleep by a
voice telling them they need to come to Jesus. There are far too many such
testimonies to be dismissed out of sight and mind. Instead they need to be
examined, verified and taught to sleepy church members who doze through sermons
with their minds in dreamland a thousand miles away.
There are
probably also people sitting in the pews next to you that may have heard the
actual voice of God but are reluctant to say so. Much like many of those who
have seen UFOs (demonic) but won’t admit to it because of the skepticism and
ridicule they think is sure to follow from those who refuse to believe anything
they can’t take in their hands and examine.
Do you want to
see a church get on fire? Have a member summon the courage to stand up and tell
how the Lord has worked supernaturally in his personal life. If you can
persuade more than one to stand and testify of a supernatural encounter then
get out of the way!
Continuing, it
is often mockingly said about so-called faith healers “If it’s real why don’t
they go down to the hospital and empty it out?” That view fails to take into
account the many instances in the Bible where God did indeed use men as
conduits for His healing as when in Acts 3 Peter and John told the cripple
asking alms to rise and walk. Paul also healed far and wide as he carried the
Gospel into the Gentile world. In fact if we were to sit down and count it out,
the Word is replete with supernatural healing and deliverance. The eyes of the
blind were opened and the lame sprang up, leaping and shouting for joy as the
dead were raised. Are there charlatans posing as “healers” speaking in churches
and gathering in the gullible? Of course there are. There are thieves and robbers
everywhere, even in the church. The Bible says we need to be discerning,
Eze 44:23 And they shall teach my people the
difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the
unclean and the clean.
What is the
percentage of the Bible devoted to the supernatural? I don’t know that it has
ever been tabulated. A wild guess might place it around 10% or possibly much
more. Another way of saying it might be that at least one in every ten parables
or stories deal with the powers that reign but cannot be measured, counted or
seen.
It follows then
that if a faith healer is genuine in his endeavors, he has no control
over when and where God will choose to heal a sick body or mind. The “healer”
is merely an obedient servant, he is not the hammer, nor is he the arm that
swings the blow. Is there deception? Are some pretenders who are in it for the
money? Certainly. As asked before, are there charlatans? Of course there are,
in fact there are probably more deceivers than there are people with genuine
gifts. Check out Acts 8 and read about Simon who tried to buy the gift of the
laying on of hands. How about the placebo effect? Could be, but if they are
genuinely healed can you say with certainty how God chooses to work?
1Co 12:28 And God hath set some in the church,
first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles,
then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
Am I a faith
healer? No. Can men heal in the name of God? No, God does the healing but He sometimes
chooses to use men as the instrument though which He works. Should we attempt
to be the healing instrument? In certain cases, Yes. James instructs us in
Chapter Five:
Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the
church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the
Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise
him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
For us to
refuse, as elders of the church to refuse to anoint with oil and pray for
healing is to be disobedient to Scripture. God heals, and has without question
done so on millions of occasions. Does He use men as instruments? He certainly
did in the biblical record in days gone by and I fail to find a single
scripture that teaches clearly that He has quit the practice today. Yes there
are arguments from both sides of cessation and yes there are good men on both
sides of the question. It is not my intention to try to sway anyone to my point
of view. I will tell only what I have seen and what I know. You will have to
decide whether or not my points are valid.
When a
distraught father came to Jesus begging that his son might be healed because
the disciples could not heal him. Did the Lord say, “Tough luck. If they can’t
do it sorry, I’m too busy?” No, He simply said “Bring him to me,” and the boy
was instantly healed. For those (many of which are Baptist like me) who argue
all gifts have ceased we might be well advised to consider how Jesus explained
what happened:
Mt 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart,
and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for
verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall
say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and
nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Perhaps what we
need is more faith instead of more arguing why it can’t be done. The SECRET
HANDS of God can do anything He wants them to!
__________
CHAPTER SIX
Willie Sanderson was 19
and he was driving far too fast on slick ice. He signaled left and turned into
that lane intending to make the turn at the next intersection but came close to
not even getting home. Just as he changed lane he realized his speed would
ordinarily send him sliding into cross traffic, except by the Voice of God that
a few seconds earlier had whispered to a truck driver this would be a good
place to turn left instead of two blocks farther down where he normally made
his change of direction.
Responding to the whisper
the truck driver moved into the left lane but had to stop at the intersection
waiting for the light to change. That’s when he felt Willie Sanderson’s car
slide into his bumper hitch. They both got out and as there was no damage, went
their separate ways. Willie thought about that and finally realized he had been
rescued by a supernatural force from an almost certain collision in the busy
intersection when he was saved from sliding into it by a truck driver’s last
minute decision to turn two blocks early.
Was that really
the Voice of God?
__________
MORE DREAMS
Dreams are also
a common method of biblical communication between the human race and the Master
of the Universe. How about the time both the baker and the butler had dreams
while in an Egyptian prison? Mystified at what they dreamed so vividly and
still remembered, when questioned by Joseph why they had such long faces, they
told him their dreams. The story is told in Genesis 40 and finishes in the next
chapter after the butler, spared from death finally told Pharaoh about the man
in prison who could interpret dreams.
Ge 40:5 ¶ And they
dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man
according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the
king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison.
Because of the
true interpretation of two separate dreams of the two men, Joseph was released
from prison and thereupon proceeded to tell Pharaoh what his dreams
meant also. Because of that correct analysis of the described dreams, Joseph
was subsequently raised to the highest office in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh
himself. It’s a fascinating story, one that should be learned by every boy and
girl, so they can later apply the principles to their own lives. Joseph was
sold into slavery by his brothers, and later saved millions from starvation by
his ability to give the true meanings of dreams. His brothers meant to get rid
of him forever and unknowingly saved their own lives years later when Joseph
was in a position to feed them when famine stalked the land. They meant it for
evil, but God meant it for good (Ge
50:20).
If we think that is
remarkable, how about interpreting a king’s dream by dreaming himself, what the
king had dreamed a few nights before? Wow! Is that possible? Daniel was asked
to interpret a dream that couldn’t even be remembered by the king that dreamed
it!
Daniel not only told the
king what he had dreamed and then forgotten, he also predicted world history
for more than three millennia! Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams and then promptly
forgot what they were. The story goes that after calling up every so-called
wise men in the kingdom and finding they were helpless to tell him what he desired,
the king ordered all the wise men in the kingdom to be executed. When Daniel
heard about it he communed with his friends, and after prayer, was blessed by
God to know what the king had dreamed several nights before!
Da 2:19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in
a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Going to the
king, Daniel not only told him how God had revealed the whole thing to him. He
also told old Nebu what he had dreamed and then he went on to tell him what it
all meant! The king was so astounded he fell on his face and attempted to
worship Daniel (Dan 2:46)!
Who says God
doesn’t move in the affairs of men? Not only then, but also when a man is
willing to admit he is a sinner, God will move in the life of that man also.
__________
JUST PLAIN “SUPERNATURAL”
Steve Goodman had been
saved for about two years. Almost as soon as he gave his heart to Jesus the
conviction that he had some bad habits he needed to get rid of, was heavily
impressed on his heart. The booze problem was easy. He just quit drinking.
There were no withdrawal symptoms probably because he had never drank enough to
become an alcoholic, he could take it or leave it and take it he did, more
often than not. So when he realized he really was a new person and not wanting
to offend his Savior, he immediately put the booze away and never touched it
again except for one swallow of beer while visiting a friend a few years later.
That didn’t stick however because as soon as the beer was in his mouth he was
put off by the taste and pushed it away, becoming at that moment a
“tee-totaler.”
When it came to cigarettes
however it was a different story. He had been a fairly heavy smoker since he
was a boy of 14 and now all those years of inhaling nicotine into his body were
starting to take their toll. His lungs were obviously damaged but he couldn’t
quit. He had tried to quit “a thousand times and had failed a thousand times,”
it just had too tight a hold on him. As he paused in his work in the yard that
day he placed his hand on his heart and wondered if perhaps his time was up. He
was having severe pain across the top of his chest, pain that instead of
subsiding was noticeably getting worse. Steve wanted to serve God but knew with
the cigarettes it would be an obstacle. He had noticed a few days before when
he spoke to a lady at church she involuntarily backed away because of the smell
of tobacco on his breath.
He remembered the time a
friend had seen him with a cigarette and remarked, “Must be gonna rain, the
hogs are runnin’ around with stobs in their mouths!” That didn’t make any
difference then, but later on it came up regularly in his mind as he considered
what he was doing to the temple of God (1 Cor 3:16,17).
Excuses aside, when he was
first offered a cigarette at age 14 down at the pool hall he hardly hesitated.
He took it quickly and in a short time was buying and consuming a pack a day.
That habit increased over the years until at the time of this account he
regularly smoked from 1 ½ packs to 2 packs, 30-40 cigarettes daily. As stated
above, he just couldn’t quit. Sure, he could quit for a few days, maybe even a
week or two but invariably the craving would win and back to his habit he would
go.
The day he stood out in
the yard and considered the pain in his chest he wondered if he perhaps was
building up to a heart attack or maybe even lung cancer. The pain was that
severe. Trouble was, he just couldn’t quit. He had tried again and again, and
as before, he failed. The future looked bleak. What could he do? As a young
Christian (though he was over 50 years old) he had not yet developed a habit of
prayer. Today however was different. Prayer seemed his only option. Looking up
at the sky, Steve emptied his heart out to the God of the Bible.
“Lord,” he said “I just
can’t quit. You know I just failed again and Lord, if You have anything for me
to do, if You want me to live instead of die, Lord You have to do something! I
just can’t quit! And, Lord, I am so sick of this, that I’m just giving up and
what’s more, and you know I mean it, I’ll never try to quit again. I’m just
going to keep on smoking and I guess I’ll just die!!!”
Standing there, waiting
for a miracle that didn’t come, after a while Steve turned dejectedly back to
the house hanging his head in defeat. Life continued however, and perhaps two
weeks later, while driving home one winter night after church, as was his
habit, he reached into his pocket for a cigarette. But, instead of taking out
one cigarette he grabbed the whole package and before he could stop himself, he
opened the wing window and threw it out into the snow-bank beside the road!
“That was dumb,” he
thought. “I’ve tried that before and it won’t work either. I’ll just have to
come back in the morning and find ’em or buy more when I go to town. But, I guess
I can get through the night so I’ll tend to it tomorrow.”
The next morning was busy
and after breakfast Steve drove to his office and went to work on some pending
contracts. Finally, leaning back and looking at his watch he noted the day had
vanished. He had been so engrossed he had even missed his lunch. Then it
suddenly dawned on him. He hadn’t smoked all day, indeed he hadn’t even thought
about smoking! Shaking his head in amazement he realized the miracle he had
prayed for had come. No withdrawals, no craving, no aching for just one more
smoke. It was a complete and apparently instant cure!
But that’s not the end of
the story. Maybe a year later Steve moved his appraisal business to another
office that had 3 others in the same building. There was a hallway between the
offices that led to the toilet and sink area. As was his habit, he usually got
there an hour or so before anyone else showed up and again his habit was first
to make a pot of coffee. That necessitated walking the hallway and as he did he
noticed someone had dropped a cigarette there on the floor. Having quit that
habit he simply stepped around it and went on past. This same scene was
repeated several times as drinking a pot of coffee also required a few trips
back and forth to the bathroom. Each trip that cigarette lay there, beckoning,
almost smiling,
“Come’on, come’on
nobody’ll know! One little puff won’t hurt a thing!”
Finally, Satan won the
fight. Stooping, Steve reached down, picked up the cigarette and walked to the
coffee area where he got a match and lit that little piece of death. Taking a
drag he was amazed and suddenly brought back to his senses when the smoke
entering his lungs tasted as mild as if he had just inhaled water! Throwing the
coffin nail down in disgust he walked back to the office and 30 years later he
could honestly report he had never tasted Satan’s tobacco again, and, he had
never been tempted again!
That evening as Steve’s
little demon reported in on his days work and his failure in getting Steve
hooked again, he trembled in terror because of his failure and the threats he
heard. Nobody wants to be roasted and eaten for supper, not even a fallen
angel. “What did you just say?” demanded Screwtape!
__________
MEETING GOD FACE TO FACE
In dozens of
other passages God spoke directly with men via visions and sometimes face to
face in the form of an angel. A memorable section of Scripture telling a story
of angels sitting and eating with men, one of which turned out to be the Lord
Himself, is recounted in Genesis 18 where we read:
Ge 18:1 ¶ And the LORD appeared unto him in the
plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
Genesis 18
continues to tell how God tells Abraham that Sarah despite being over 90, would
in the following year have a child that would be named Isaac (Sarah laughed).
Finishing their meal, the angels arose and proceeded down to Sodom and Gomorrah
to destroy those cities because of their wickedness (sodomy). The Lord stayed
behind and face to face with Abraham promised not to destroy Sodom if just ten
righteous could be found among the population. America’s politicians and the
Supreme Court nowadays presume to know better however and spitting in the face
of Jehovah, have decided perverted sex should be the national pastime of modern
United States.
The churches of
our day however have also mostly avoided the supernatural taught in the
Bible, like a hospital janitor, or sometimes even a doctor, refusing to enter
the hospital room of an ebola victim. Scared to death to preach what is plainly
written in the pages of God’s message to man, preachers avoid the subject as if
it were pure poison. Concentrating on personal salvation (certainly of prime
importance but not the only part of Scripture), most of the rest of the Bible
is shunned or neglected in fundamental circles or distorted into how to prosper
financially in the liberal denominations. Like the supernatural, prophecy is
also shunned but that’s a subject for another day.
The Bible tells
us if we have just a tiny bit of real faith we can move mountains (Mt 17:20).
What could we do if we practiced what we preach? If we were able to follow the
trail that is begun with our prayers many of us would instantly become
believers in supernatural healing, even today.
The Bible
however, whether or not clergy will preach it, is a SUPERNATURAL book that was
written for our active instruction, not for our benign neglect. It tells us of
supernatural events and occurrences, some so strange that many preachers walk
all over the Bible trying not to trip over them. Genesis 6 and later passages,
come to mind where the Lord tells us plainly without dressing it up, how fallen
angels somehow cohabitated with human women and produced a race of giants that
wreaked havoc upon the earth. Have you ever heard that preached on? It’s right
there in the Bible but is rarely even mentioned, let alone discussed.
It behooves us
therefore to study the Word and see how it applies to our daily lives. Is there
evidence of the secret world in your own life? Will giants once again walk upon
our globe? You may quickly answer “No.” But Luke tells us they will and Matthew
also verifies it (Lk 17:26, Mt 24:37). In other supernatural happenings perhaps
we have failed to remember all the instances when we could have easily been dead
yet somehow, without conscious effort, avoided an accident or sickness.
Does God really speak to men, does he nudge them with
SECRET HANDS?
__________
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!
Jack Wilson did a little bit
of everything. That’s what he did and everything was done in a hurry. Speed was
an intoxicant that he grew to need and when he couldn’t get it everything
inside wanted to die. He was also obsessed with “efficiency” and worried a lot
about how he could do “things” a little faster, and a little better.
Janet Nelly did books. She
had a head for numbers and doing books for her was not a stimulant but a
calming sedative. How the two ever got together only God knows because in the
normal course of events, neither of them would have given the other a second
look. But one Sunday morning Jack stopped by his brother’s house for a cup of
coffee to help in curing a hangover. Finding another family there Jack sat down
in a corner and nursing his coffee he listened in amazement as the youngest
girl of the visiting family played the piano.
He had never heard
anything like it. “Down Yonder” came alive as the girl’s fingers ran up and
down the keys. Even as bad as Jack felt he found himself keeping time as he
looked the pianist over. She was perhaps 4 or 5 years younger than him and had
long brown hair that made her beautiful to the man in the corner nursing a
headache. He decided to stick around a little longer and before the day was
over had followed the crowd to the local carnival that came to town once a
year. Once there he asked the piano playing girl to accompany him on a ride and
then for a date later on that evening.
Jack was hooked. Even his
business as a car salesman took second place as he courted the girl. To spare
everyone the details, they were married the following spring and soon children
followed. Jack however was still trying to fill a “hole in his belly” and to
that end he job hopped, remaining on a new job just long enough to master it
before quitting and trying something else. He explained it by saying he “got
bored” easily. He didn’t have any idea he was being driven by a desire to meet
his Maker and it wasn’t until many years later that the “hole” was finally
filled that the job-hopping ceased.
Through it all, the lean
bank account because of the expense of moving frequently and loss of income
because of lack of a pay check, somehow Janet Wilson stretched the few dollars
she had to work with as her organized mind kept track of every penny and even
managed to put some away for the frequent “rainy days” that came their way.
Jack was driven to his
knees one day as he tried to start a fight with a man who was trying to help
him. The other man just ignored the threats and then suggested there was a cure
for “what ails him.” Like a bolt of lighting because of a miracle of God, Jack
finally saw the light. He knew he was lost and needed to be saved. Almost
forced by the power of the Almighty, he went to his knees and for the first
time in his life got honest with the One who made him.
The Wilson’s now live
contentedly in a small house. The need for speed is gone and Jack’s days are
spent mostly helping out in a local mission, encouraging the down-and-outers
while Janet does the books, keeps in contact with the kids and still protects
and acts as a buffer between her husband and the world.
Somehow, through the
SECRET HANDS of God, Jack Wilson was forgiven of all his sin!
__________
ROBBING GOD
I questioned earlier
whether or not God sometimes speaks through the weather, and concluded He
certainly does. We are seeing it almost daily on our television news or read
about it later. There is an obscure passage in Daniel 9:26 that tells us the
horrible floods we are now experiencing may indeed, be signs of the end of this
age. Here it is, underlined:
Da 9:26 And after threescore
and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of
the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the
end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations
are determined.
I can’t say our current,
seemingly constant weather that is devastating not just America but the whole
world is natural, nor can I say it is being executed by the Maker of
Everything. But it seems to fit. Only a few of the willingly blind would deny
the morality of the existing world has fallen to a level consistent with what
is recorded in Genesis 13:13-19:28 when the righteousness of God required the
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Homosexuality is an abominable sin before
the eyes of God that He cannot tolerate. Yes, some people seemingly are immune
from punishment and live the years of their lives while The Almighty apparently
looks the other way. But mostly, statistics tell us those who practice that
particular sin have their years cut significantly short. The numbers are there
for examination, just search “life spans of homosexuals.” Bob Marshall of
politifact.com says the practice, on average cuts life spans by 20 years. Some
who read this will no doubt bristle in self-righteous indignation, muttering
“Who are you to judge?” The truth however is the truth and can be circumvented
only for a season. Eventually all who are not Born Again will face the White
Throne Judgment where all that is out of balance will be set straight, all sin
will be found out and condemned and all that spurn God will face damnation.
As Phoenix, New Orleans
and New England, Pakistan and China not to mention other areas world-wide, are
being ripped apart by flooding and a seemingly never-ending series of “natural”
catastrophes of localized flooding we should consider the strong possibility of
Judgment. Am I saying those named, are
sinners while the remainder are not? Of course not, they are simply the objects
of the lesson. As we see the devastation we should be on our knees asking that
we will not be next. “It’ll never happen here!” Maybe not, maybe so. How about
an earthquake that opens the earth and swallows those where it “never” rains?
There could easily be a lot of water in the bottom of a chasm, even in Saudi
Arabia near Mt. Sinai where the average rainfall is almost nothing.
Is flooding a harbinger of
impending Judgment? In my opinion it probably is, and we should be listening
carefully to see if God is speaking personally to me and to you.
Ps 26:2 Examine me, O LORD, and
prove me; try my reins and my heart.
Ps 139:23 Search me, O God, and
know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
__________
ROBBING GOD
Mal 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet
ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and
offerings. 3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this
whole nation.
This writer can personally
attest to the truthfulness of God in the verse quoted above where He tells us
to honor Him with our tithes, and then stand back in wonderment and see how our
Creator not only protects us but also provides what we need.
I remember well an
incident shortly after I met my Maker and was saved. I had a small business
that was struggling to pay the bills and one day after not getting the business
I needed. In frustration, I made some comment about the God I now was supposed
to trust, was off somewhere else and didn’t even know about me.
My daughter who was
working with me carefully commented, “Daddy, you’re not tithing.”
“What do you mean? I
responded in anger, “I give money to the church every once in a while.”
“Yes,” she replied, “But
you’re not tithing.”
Even though I was saved, I
still had a lot of trouble controlling my anger. That was another lesson. Instead
of firing back at her insolence for daring to tell the truth, I caught my
tongue in time and grabbing my hat, stormed out and up to the local coffee shop
where I felt sorry for myself for an hour or so before returning to the office.
When I entered, instead of asking for the mail like I usually did, I asked her,
“How much do we have left in the bank?”
“A little over $40,” she
said.
“Write a check to the
church for $40, I’ll sign it and I don’t want to hear anymore about it!”
“Do you want the mail?” she
asked.
I took the mail and after
opening the two letters, I found two checks, one for $20 and the other for the
same amount. I sat there in stunned silence trying to figure out the odds for
that. Closely following, another experience nailed forever the question of
whether or not we should tithe to God. I’m not saying everyone should do as I
do, but many years have passed since that little lesson on tithing was taught
and I can’t remember any time we have failed since to give our first-fruits to
Him who provides it all.
2Co 9:7 Every man according as
he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity:
for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Over the years we have
experienced repeated blessings to the extent that we’ve (I should say “I’ve”)
finally learned the lesson of trusting He who is able, willing and faithful to
provide all that is needed.
I’ve never been able to
see how He does it. All I can say is we have never lacked in anything that was
truly needed since that day so many years ago.
__________
CHAPTER
SEVEN
The Austins were cruising
at 55 down I-1, listening to praise music, celebrating their 22nd anniversary,
when suddenly Charlie who was driving stiffly announced, “We’re going to
crash.”
The scene was a summer day
on a freeway in Washington state. Anita later learned that a car had pulled out
in front of them and impact was unavoidable. The crash was primarily on the
passenger side and the next thing she knew “ the whole front end of our Chevy Nova was
almost in my lap.”
Flames burst up from the carburetor as she struggled for
breath, the impact knocking the air out of her lungs. Realizing death was but a
short distance away she prayed, “Lord Jesus, I’ll be there very soon.” She
really believed that, because of the intense pain and in her words, “I didn’t
see any angels!” she knew she was still alive. But the flames from the engine
were reaching for the sky and she believed both she and Charlie would soon be
burned alive as he too was locked by his seatbelt and unable to
exit until helped by the ambulance driver.
Then out of seemingly nowhere, but actually from the median
strip on the freeway, workers in orange vests descended on the wreck, one of
them throwing dirt on the engine, extinguishing the flames. A lady who was with
the “orange angels” had EMT training and spoke soothingly to her through the
broken glass, assuring Anita all was well and she would soon be out of the
wreckage.
The next picture was an ambulance driver with a mouth full
of cotton and blood (He had bolted from a Dentist’s chair, having wisdom teeth
extracted, and rushed to the scene). Apologizing for “dripping blood on her,” they
soon had her on a flat-board, then a ride in the ambulance, through the ER and
finally down the long hallways in the hospital and into a private room.
Anita was hospitalized for 3 days with much pain and
bleeding in the lungs. She also had a broken arm but other injuries were so
severe it was somehow overlooked and not noticed until later. Who complains
about pain in the arm when your entire being is hurting so badly? The arm
however turned out to be serious, the radial bone was broken and needed surgery,
but that had to wait for a few days and when finally performed a plate had to
be inserted to stabilize it.
Barely grinning, she asked Charlie, “Have we paid our tithes
lately?” He assured her they had as they held hands and praised God. This
writer asks, why do people praise God when they have a bad wreck? They’re not
praising having the wreck, but because they’re still alive and they missed the
graveyard once more until the appointed time. In Anita’s case she gave thanks
that her husband still had a wife, her boys still had a mother and her body
would heal. But the next miracle was yet to come…
Let’s have Anita tell about that in her own words,
“I was confined to a recliner chair for 6 weeks as I could
not lay flat. One night I got up to go to the bathroom on my own, but got
caught up in the sheet and I was falling forward and to the right. I was on my
way down & unable to break the fall, when I cried out..."Jesus, this
is going to hurt." The next thing I knew, I was back in the chair
safe and there was no fall, no memory of how I got there & no
pain. God took care of me time and time again, during the whole time of
healing. He is so good.”
Can we safely say that through it all, the SECRET HANDS of
God were there directing, nudging, rescue efforts? The answer is obviously,
Yes.
__________
JUDGMENT IS SURE
But it’s far from over.
The Creator of Heaven and Earth will move in the future to completely destroy
this present earth. Prophecy tells there are days in the future that will make current
and past events we consider horrific today, pale in comparison of what is yet
to come. But even they, like a ghostly vapor will fade into the unseen when God
moves in mighty ways on that coming day.
The Bible also records
there will be a day when it will all come to a point in which judgment will be
ushered in with an event that has not been heretofore seen:
Isa 24:19 The earth is utterly
broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be
removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it;
and it shall fall, and not rise again.
Is that really
the Voice of God foretelling destruction of this present, by SECRET HANDS?
We know that it is.
__________
DOWN TO THE SUN-BAKED ADOBE
As Carlos
drove, his mind again wandered back to a time when he was just out of high
school and working on a house construction job for a bricklayer. While building
a chimney, his job was being a hod-carrier, a day laborer who carried a raft of
bricks in a metal press (a hod) that squeezes the brick together by their own
weight. As you lift the handle (loaded with brick) it creates a pinching action
that presses 6, 8, 10 or 12 bricks (depending on the size) together allowing a
worker to climb a ladder with one hand while carrying a hod of brick in the
other.
On that day
etched in his memory, there on the edge of the roof was a 2” X 4” a foot or two
long that was nailed down horizontally on the edge of the roof. It was there to
provide a hand-hold, allowing the hod-carrier to pull himself up and off the
ladder to climb onto the roof. From there, he simply walked up the roof to the
chimney and deposited his load for the bricklayer. This time though, as he
pulled on the nailed down board, trying to climb onto the roof, it suddenly
came off in his hand throwing him and the ladder, backward off the roof.
Ten to12 feet
below, lay the sun-baked adobe ground that was littered with scrap lumber and
rock. As Carlos and the ladder arched over backward and began their descent
they first reached vertical and then began the backward trip to the ground, it
happened to fast to simply let go and fall. Rather, during the time preceding
the trip first to the top and then to the bottom, he somehow had the ability to
think about it and consider what was about to happen. “When I hit the ground on
my back with this ladder and load of bricks on top of me it’s going to be bad.
At the least I’ll probably be hurt really bad. I wonder if I’m going to be
killed?”
It seemed like
he had plenty of time to think about things as Carlos, his load and the ladder,
first paused at the top and then continued the fall, accelerating backward and
down on their trip to the ground. Suddenly he stopped. The first thing he
noticed that he still had his breath. He had had experiences before in high
school football when after a hard hit, you had to lie there for a while till
the breath came slowly back into your lungs. This time however, he lay there on
his back on the ground and was breathing normally, almost like falling onto
something soft.
Gingerly, he
first moved an arm, then a leg as he realized that somehow he had landed as in
a feather bed! Nothing hurt, there didn’t seem to be any broken bones,
not even a bruise. The only damage he could detect was the crystal on his
wristwatch had been shattered where either the bricks or the ladder had landed
on it.
Getting slowly
to his feet, he stood looking first up at the roof and then down at the
construction litter on the ground. Slowly shaking his head in wonderment not
understanding how he had not been hurt, he set the ladder back up, picked up
his hod and re-loaded the brick. Climbing back up he re-nailed the board that
had come off in his hand, and resumed his work. As the years passed however,
his mind often drifted back to the incident, as he rationalized that all
conditions had to be absolutely perfect in order for the event to have happened
as it did. That never made sense though, it just wasn’t possible to land that
perfectly. Many years later after an experience when he met the Living God, was
Born Again and then read in the Bible,
“Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits,
sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”
…did he finally realize he
had not fallen with precision, instead he had been supernaturally saved
from a serious injury by a God, for whatever his purposes did not want Carlos
to spend his life as a cripple.
Did he really
have a guardian angel? If so, is he on the job 24/7 or is it possible that
angels sub for each other? Do they get a vacation once in a while or perhaps
are periodically assigned to a different human? Who, or what had caught him in
mid-air that day on the construction job, saving him from a broken back? The
evidence for a supernatural world is all around us, but we usually fail to
recognize it.
Many years
later in reflection, Carlos realized the only way he could have reached the
ground from such a height with an armload of brick, without injury, was
that just before he hit the ground a pair of heavenly hands had caught
his body and lowered him gently to the ground.
My! The
patience and power of God! To Carlos’s mind there was no other explanation,
then or to this day. As he told this writer, “I serve a wonderfully, powerful
God.”
Did God speak
to Carlos by sending an angel to catch him in mid-air? Why did He send an angel
at that particular time? Because that’s when he was needed to be there to keep
an unbeliever out of a wheel chair. Why? Only the Lord knows the answer to
that.
Carlos will tell you he heard from God at exactly the right
time.
And he felt the gentleness of SECRET HANDS
__________
THE SECRET WORLD
How about
“hunches” or “feelings” thoughts, that later turn out to have been right on
target, do you think they just appeared out of the blue? Could it be that
“still small voice” influenced, even saved you from serious injury or possible
death? Whether we consider them as just stories or not, the Bible testifies
that each and every one that is a Christian or who will become a Christian, has
a guardian angel (Heb 1:14). Ask brother Lot about the help he received when he
and his family fled Sodom. Who protected Daniel when he spent the night in the
same hole with lions and used a big kitty for a pillow? The next time you pick
up a baby look carefully around as you stretch out your arms, you might get a
glimpse of a heavenly protector who hovers over them.
Mt 18:10 Take heed that ye
despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their
angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven
Those who scoff at the
secret world that is all about us are either willingly ignorant or afraid to
believe their Bible. The Apostle Paul declared in Ac 20:27 “For I have not
shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” Many today
notwithstanding, refuse to look at current events and “God forbid!” consider
the secret. Much of the professing Christian world today won’t touch the
supernatural or a word of prophecy with a long pole. “No point in getting folks
upset or, there are so many interpretations…” No, you are either a coward or
ignorant of the plain teaching of the Word of God. God tells us over and over
about the supernatural world but if you hear about it in church it’s usually
about the virgin birth and that’s about all that is mentioned outside of the
resurrection, and that only rarely.
__________
TOO
LATE…TOO LATE!
“Solomon B. Shaw was a wise recorder of
life-and-death scenes. His best-known book is "Dying Testimonies of Saved
and Unsaved", originally published in 1898.
”In this most touching, and spiritually rewarding, book, Shaw records the dying
scenes, and the last words, of both the saved and unsaved, both famous and
unknown. You will see the tremendous difference between those who are Born
Again and those who have refused salvation, as they approach the hour of their
death. As one physician once remarked, "Christians die well".
Biblical doctrines which saints of God have believed all their lives sustain
them wonderfully in the hour of their death.”
020 -- "OH! I HAVE
MISSED IT AT LAST!"
Some time ago, a physician called
upon a young man who was ill. He sat for a little while by the bedside,
examining his patient, and then he honestly told him the sad intelligence that
he had but a very short time to live. The young man was astonished; he did not
expect it would come to that so soon. He forgot that death comes "in such
an hour as ye think not." At length he looked up into the face of the
doctor, and, with a most despairing countenance, repeated the expression,
"I have missed it -- at last."
"What have you missed?" inquired
the tenderhearted, sympathizing physician.
"I have missed it -- at
last," again he repeated.
"Missed what?"
"Doctor, I have missed the
salvation of my soul."
"Oh, say not so -- it is not
so. Do you remember the thief on the cross?"
"Yes, I remember the thief on
the cross. And I remember that he never said to the Holy Ghost, 'Go thy way.'
But I did. And now He is saying to me, 'Go your way.'" He lay gasping a
while, and looking up with a vacant, starting eye, he said, "I was awakened
and was anxious about my soul a little time ago. But I did not want to be saved
then. Something seemed to say to me, 'Don't put it off, make sure of
salvation.' I said to myself, 'I will postpone it.' I knew I ought not to do
it. I knew I was a great sinner, and needed a Savior. I resolved, however, to
dismiss the subject for the present. Yet I could not get my own consent to do
it until I had promised to take it up again, at a time not remote and more
favorable. I bargained away, resisted and insulted the Holy Spirit. I never
thought of coming to this. I meant to have made my salvation sure, and now I
have missed it -- at last."
"You remember," said the
doctor, "that there were some who came at the eleventh hour."
"My eleventh hour," he
rejoined, "was when I had that call of the Spirit. I have had none since
-- shall not have. I am given over to be lost. Oh! I have missed it! I have
sold my soul for nothing -- a feather -- a straw -- undone forever!" This
was said with such indescribable despondency, that nothing was said in reply.
After lying a few moments, he raised his head, and looking all around the room
as if for some desired object, he buried his face in the pillow, and again
exclaimed in agony and horror, "Oh! I have missed it at last!" and
died.
Reader, you need not miss your
salvation, for you may have it now. What you have read is a true story. How
earnestly it says to you, "NOW is the accepted time!"
"Today, if ye will hear His
voice, harden not your hearts" (Heb. 3: 7, 8). -- The Fire Brand
__________
GOD’S GONNA KILL ME!
Willie and Sophie Larson
were in their 70s and lived about 15 miles from the food-bank. Sophie had a son
from a previous union but that marriage failed and when she and Willie got
married they moved to Durango where he worked for various ranchers in the area,
but, he had a problem with the bottle. His intentions were good, but he often
relapsed and drank up his wages before he got home. As a result, the lure of
free groceries a few miles down the road soon proved impossible to resist and
the Larsons began attending the church services on Sunday afternoon and not
long after that started going on Tuesday night also. That went on for some time
but one night, things changed.
Arriving early, Willie
came into the church early and stated, “Deek, I wanna talk to you!”
Dick greeted
him and said, “You’re here early Willie. What’s up?”
“I wanna talk
to you Deek,” he said with his heavy accent. “I wanna get saved!”
“What brought
all this on?”
“I had a dream
last night and God said if I didden’ get saved He was gonna kill me!”
They retired to
the kitchen that served as a counseling room where Willie knelt down and
surrendered to the Lord. From that day forward, to anyone’s knowledge he never
took another drink.
The writer had known
Willie for 20 years, first meeting him while in the real estate business when
the Larsons were trying to buy a piece of property to settle on and give up
Willie’s life as a day hand on area ranches. The deal went to someone else, but
occasionally their paths would cross and when the food bank began it wasn’t
long before Willie and Sophie started attending because they liked the idea of
free groceries. Sophie had been a Christian since she was a girl but Willie had
turned to alcohol and over the years had gradually ruined his health with
excessive drinking.
That few minutes on his
knees however, changed Willie’s life and several years later we had the
privilege of being beside his bed as he made his exit from earth and stepped
into heaven. To this day we try to have breakfast with Sophie every April as
her birthday and the Carmack anniversary falls on the same day. She is now 97
and still going strong.
__________
CHAPTER
EIGHT
The most
destructive satanic theory ever taught on planet earth was introduced big time
in 1859. It had been around for centuries but was systemized and put in book
form by Charles Darwin that year. Since then it has given millions, perhaps
billions an excuse for behaving in immorality, conning themselves into
believing they have it all figured out and can live the way they want without
consequences.
When the writer
was indoctrinated into the religion of evolution he lapped it up eagerly
because he thought it gave him the perfect out. He wasn’t responsible to the
God of the Bible (which he had heard about) and instead was just an evolved
animal who had the right to live any old way he wanted to, without
consequences. “Don’t judge me!”
Evolution
teaches there is no life after death but that is a lie designed to
eventually lead us to an eternal punishment the Bible calls hell. The
conclusions of evolution are much like believing if you step out of a 10 story
window toward the street below you will somehow not hit the ground.
The most compelling fact
and argument I have ever heard that blows evolution away is this:
Everything
we see and live amongst is going back to dust, there are no exceptions. Houses and machines are built shining and
functional wonders, but eventually rust out, wear out and fall down. Mountains
are eroded, trees grow to their maximum and then begin to decay and slowly go
back to dust. Everything in this world is in a state of increasing disorder, going
downhill into decay and eventually death. In
science it’s known as the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics or the Law of Increasing
Entropy (disorder). Then along comes Darwin and millions of others who are
afraid to (or just don’t want to) face the truth and proclaim loudly that in
opposition to all logic, observation and true science, everything is somehow
magically going uphill!
Real science is ignored
and billions of children are brain-washed with the theory (fairy tale) of
evolution. “Don’t think about entropy (decay), ignore it, rationalize it away,
don’t even consider it, actually we’re getting better! We’re going uphill not
down!”
Think about it
for a moment. I once knew a man who was a firm believer in evolution (I used to
be also, indeed it was my religion and I defended it vigorously) and when he
was told there is an Almighty God who has always existed he exclaimed “I can’t
buy that! It’s illogical.” I replied, “It’s also illogical to think that the
complexity in all living systems is also a happy accident. It’s also illogical
to believe that something can come about from nothing,” yet that is exactly
what evolution teaches. Evolution however is based on faith, not reality. My
friend shook his head, turned away and still rejected God.
If we take the theory
of evolution logically, we must go backward in time to a point where it’s
claimed that lightning stuck a mineral soup and magically life came forth!
Question: Where did the lightning come from? Where did the soup come from?
Where did the minerals come from? Why don’t we just create life the way we want
it? Billions of dollars are spent annually in a quest to improve upon and
somehow avoid death, but still it eludes us and it always will. That’s one
reason our government spends billions upon billions of dollars on a yearly
basis in a never-ending search for “extra-terrestrial life.” With all of their
self-proclaimed “wisdom” (actually just knowledge but called wisdom) Science
can copy, but cannot duplicate “nature.” I’ll predict right now without fear of
contradiction, life will be found ONLY on planet earth. Does the Bible say that
explicitly? No, but I’ll eat a goldfish (make that a bowl full), if even a
microbe shows up somewhere in outer space.
If the theory
of evolution is true then logically, minerals must have been found in rocks
that somehow came from nothing, then slowly erode into dust to form mineral
soup to be hit by lighting, and so our great-great-great etc. granddaddy must
have been a rock (Thank You Kent Hovind)! Where did the rock come from? Life by
chance, out of nothing is totally illogical and it, if you will admit it, is
impossible. That only leaves one option: We, and all that is, was, or ever
were, created by a super intelligent eternal being that says in His Word
that one day we will be held accountable for every idle word and thought not to
mention what we actually do.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but
after this the judgment:
There is a day
of reckoning, there will be a day of settlement. We are responsible for the way
we live our lives whether we want to believe it or not. It really doesn’t
matter what you or I believe, logically, we came forth from the Creator and
logically we will one day face Judgment for how we live because we are
responsible to HIM.
It’s been said
many times because it is demonstrably correct, “It’s not hard to find the
truth, the difficulty is in admitting it.”
I urge you to
check your premises about what you believe before it’s too late. Don’t just put
this aside and say “I’ll think about that and deal with it later.” As the Bible
says,
2Co 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a
time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now
is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
A wise man will
seek the only real truth given, and that’s found in the Holy Bible. He will
check it out. A fool will blunder on in his conceit and one day be taken into a
hell of punishment that he chose himself, and which then cannot be avoided nor
described.
Pr 23:9 ¶ Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he
will despise the wisdom of thy words.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.
Do you have to
join a certain church to be saved? Of course not. Churches are planted by men,
and men make mistakes and often act in their own self interest. There is only
one true church, the one-on-One relationship founded by Jesus Christ the
creator. The church that you can join immediately if you will go to your knees
and admit to Him you have sinned against His will and law and will continue to
sin against Him unless He forgives your sin, turns you around and washes you
clean in His own shed blood.
If you have humbled yourself (Boy! That’s hard!), and having done that
and asked for forgiveness of, and turned away from sin, then seek out a
Bible-believing church, a fellowship of like-minded believers who only want to
worship and praise the God that made them and who loves them eternally. That
way you can learn and grow in your newly found faith.
Why are we talking about
evolution when this is supposed to be about the Voice of God? Because the
Creation shouts loudly of the Creator!
And like the “anti Christ” evolution is a substitute for the real Christ,
evolution purports to speak authoritatively about our origins when is actuality
it is simply the ravings of unsaved men who are desperately attempting to
appear as wise. They postulate and speculate and theorize and philophosize all in
an attempt to speak wisely about where we came from and where, in their
opinion, we are going.
On the other hand The
Almighty speaks to us through His Word, a Word that has never been proved
wrong. Indeed there are dozens, perhaps hundreds of records of men who set out
to prove the Bible wrong and ended up becoming Christians!
The Bible is how God speaks to men, and now is when
He speaks!
__________
NOT THE TOOTH FAIRY
Danny had tooth trouble. A
front tooth that had been crowned was now irritating him and he didn’t know if
it was going to come apart or whether it was fixing to be a bad toothache.
There was presently a dull ache where it should have been benign and he had
finals coming up at the Christian college he attended. Besides all that
semester finals were only days away and he didn’t need the distraction.
Praying, he asked The Lord
to do something about it. The ache continued and the worry was still in the
back of his mind until all of a sudden one day while walking to class he heard
a “click” and the ache disappeared. Why was the healing delayed for several
days until that particular time? Danny doesn’t know. All he knows is it arrived
in time and it sticks in his mind until this day.
___________
BURRIED ALIVE
Brother Ed Justin was a rosy cheeked happy little man of more than
eighty years when we knew him and as he related how God protected him from
death once, when he should have perished. He was probably the most faithful man
in the congregation of the small church he attended in middle Ohio. He loved
everybody and everybody loved him. Especially he loved to sing songs of praise
to the One who saved him one day long before while he was working construction
during the day and drinking up his earnings at night. He couldn’t carry a tune
in a bucket but he loved his Lord and never tired of singing. His favorite I
remember was “Life is like a mountain railroad.”
Ed’s wife and children were long suffering but Mrs. Justin insisted on
going to church each Sunday where she devoted herself to tending to the nursery
and taking care of all the children that were too small to attend services. Ed
either sat out in the car or found an excuse of urgent business each Sunday,
which did not allow him to set foot inside the church while services were
conducted. It was a fundamental church where the Gospel was preached with great
stress put upon the necessity of the new birth (John 3:3), which would take
care of the sin problem and give the sinner a new lease on life. A time or two
however Ed was trapped with no way to leave where he found himself in church
against his will where he heard all about hell and heaven.
In addition to being trapped into a few sermons Ed was also trapped one
day where he came to face with eternity. While working in the bottom of a trench
in rocky, river-run gravelly soil Ed’s job was to force each pipe joint
together to seal the “O” ring that was mounted on one piece and rolled into a
groove on the other making a water-tight seal.
Suddenly without warning the rocky soil of the 8’ deep trench broke and
caved in, trapping Ed at the bottom, forcing his face down to the 10” pipe
where a small pocket of air was formed. The weight of the rock and dirt on his
back was almost too much to bear but amazingly he was able to hear through the
debris of the cave-in as the crew discussed how to get him out. One man
suggested getting the backhoe, and as Ed heard that he began a fervent prayer,
vowing to never take another drink, he confessed every sin he could think of as
he prayed to God for mercy. “Lord! Please don’t let ‘em use a backhoe, it’ll
rip me to pieces!” God spoke that day, decreeing that Ed would have air to
breathe and that he would not be torn apart with heavy machinery. God said in
effect, “You’re forgiven Ed, now follow and serve Me.”
Cooler heads on the rescue crew prevailed as shovels and picks were
carefully used to extricate a nearly dead Ed Justin who upon breathing clean
air again thanked God and vowed to carry through with his commitment. Indeed Ed
never took another drink, and from that day forward he even refused to trade in
a grocery store that sold liquor. Ed was a regular in church sitting
attentively in church and asking to sing every Sunday, praising the Lord of
Heaven that heard the prayer of a drunk, gave him air to breathe and the
presence of mind to repent (turn away from) of sin.
This is in a way, a personal
testimony for this writer as well, as I had the good fortune to know Ed
and enjoyed his help and company as he helped in a later ministry. Two
good-for-nothing sinners basking in the knowledge and pleasure of forgiven sin
and a new life in Jesus Christ.
The Gospel is so simple a child can instantly understand and accept it.
When a man sins, even a tiny little sin, he has disqualified himself for heaven
and is doomed forever unless redemption through the new birth occurs. God says
the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23) but the gift of God is eternal life with Him. It can’t be earned,
it can’t be bought, it is a gift
and all a person has to do to obtain that gift is to get honest with his
Creator and admit his sin. If that is done with an honest heart, repentance takes place with the lost sinner vowing to turn away
from sin and to the best of his ability, follow God as taught in the Holy
Bible.
Ed Justin made that commitment in the bottom of a rocky trench, someone
else makes it perhaps on bended knee in church or maybe at home beside his bed.
Perhaps that commitment will be made in an instant before a deadly crash, but it
must be made or else the sinner will suffer
forever what the Bible calls hell. The decision is called being “born again
(John 3:3)” and without it there is no hope for any man.
__________
CREATION CRIES OUT
God speaks through His
creation to every man on earth every day the sun rises. He also speaks on
cloudy and raining days. He speaks through the wind, through the creation
spread out before us, but mostly and preferably, He speaks to us through His
Word. When things look grim, when the world is falling apart, when it seems
hopeless if we will simply look we will invariably find comfort and reassurance
in the Bible. An unsaved man will question that statement, “How can a
historical book about a tribe of wandering Jews have the answers to the
questions that plague us today?” Ask God. All I know is whatever the need the
answer can be found, will be found, if a person will search will all his heart.
Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me,
and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Sometimes it seems a
miracle and it maybe is. When He speaks whatever it is that is desired will
happen. If it takes moving a mountain the mountain will be removed. If it takes
the softening a heart hardened with sin over many years. At his word, the heart
will melt and the object of His intent will be turned from his present path to
a path of righteousness:
Isa 55:11 So shall my word be
that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it
shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto
I sent it.
When The Lord speaks there
will be no more delay. He is longsuffering to us not willing that any should
perish but that we should all come to repentance and be saved (2 Pet 3:9). It
may be hard to comprehend but God is not a glorified man standing out there in
the heavens somewhere. He made the heavens!
In addition He made every star and calls them by name!!!
Think about the latest
estimates of star numbers. Some think the universe contains at least 500
billion (B) galaxies
,
and each of them containing more than 100 billion (B) stars
.
Eze 12:28 Therefore say unto
them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any
more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.
Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say
unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from
death unto life.
Ps 19:1 ¶ To the chief
Musician, A Psalm of David.>> The heavens declare the glory of God; and
the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth
upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers;
that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent
to dwell in:
__________
CALLED TO PREACH
Does God ever speak
audibly to a man? It happened often in Bible times, but how about today? Let me
relate another personal experience that welded the Voice of God into my
consciousness.
The Carmacks
lived about 35 miles from the church of their choice. Dick and Vernie had been
members for 2 or 3 years when Dick was elected to serve as a Deacon. They were
faithful to attend, driving the 70 mile round trip three times weekly, Sunday
morning, Sunday and Wednesday evenings. During his service as a Deacon Dick
began to hear short remarks and whispered rumors that all was not well with the
preacher and his wife but he chose to ignore them, hoping time would cure the
problem. The rumblings however increased until a meeting of the Deacon Board
was called on a Sunday afternoon to deal with the question.
What was known
was discussed and it was decided to shelve the question until the preacher
could meet with the board and to clear up what was going on.
On a previous Wednesday
evening, after showering and while changing clothes to attend church Dick was
alone in the bedroom when he stopped short, frozen where he stood as a distinct
voice asked out of nowhere (I cannot say it was audible to anyone else, but it
was very clear and audible to me:)
“Will you
preach for me at Pine River?”
The voice was
flat and unemotional, but clear and distinct, very authoritative and
there was no doubt of it's supernatural origin. Dick stood stunned, barely able
to speak but managing to reply,
“If this is ego
speaking, No. If this is The Lord speaking, Yes.”
Two Sundays
later, completely unexpected by the congregation, the preacher stood at the
pulpit and announced his resignation. A Deacon meeting was hastily called which
decided for the following Thursday evening a general meeting which would be
held to appoint an Interim Pastor and during the meeting was held a motion was
made by Ted Sparks to appoint this writer as Interim Pastor.
When the
meeting convened the following Thursday evening, the Carmacks were asked to
stay in the lobby while the congregation voted on the motion and as they waited
Dick told Vernie, “They’re going to vote yes.” He didn’t tell her of the voice
he heard two and a half weeks earlier and she didn’t ask. After a time the
meeting adjourned and the news was given that the church had voted to call him
as Interim until such time as a search could be made and a permanent pastor
chosen.
Dick had no
experience as a pastor or as a preacher but stepped into the shoes and began
preaching. Indeed he received several encouragements as to the quality of his
sermons and then shortly began to struggle with the idea of applying for the
permanent position. After a time of reflection and prayer he decided that God
had spoken to him and had asked if he would preach at the church, and if He
wanted him to be the permanent pastor He was certainly able to speak to him
again or, He was able to speak through others. Dick then decided that unless he
received requests from at least two different people to apply for the permanent
job, he would not apply. No one asked, he did not apply and in due time a
permanent pastor was called.
God was calling
but the voice was not clear. Dick was being prepared to finish out his life on
earth in the Ministry, in the service of God. He had already begun a Creation
Ministry by renting evening space in the local mall, showing films dealing with
biblical creation as opposed to evolution. Later, after his stint as Interim at
his home church, the mall movies morphed into putting on Creation Seminars at
area churches and still searching, after Pine River's permanent pastor was
chosen, he took the creation ministry with him to a winter in Arizona where he
obtained work selling trailers and motor-homes and doing Creation Seminars on
weekends.
While there
helping out in a tract printing ministry and receiving free housing, he began
looking for a new church in which to present his creation program, After
obtaining a slot for a several week seminar at the Baptist church they were
attending at Apache Junction, Dick and Vernie attended a church called East
Mesa Baptist where on a Sunday evening they attempted to enter only to be told
there was no more room and they couldn’t come in. Shaking his head in
disbelief, Dick noticed it was actually true, there it was, a church packed out
on a Sunday evening with even the back pews filled completely with people
listening to the sermon.
Just as they
turned to leave, the preacher spoke to the doorman saying, “Go ahead. Let ‘em
in, I think there are still a couple of seats.”
After the
sermon the Carmacks sat and watched as the entire congregation got up and
silently filed out a side door. The preacher then urged them to rise and follow
the others. As they did they found themselves in another building where a long
line of people carrying empty cardboard boxes went through a line and filled
the boxes with all kinds of packaged foods, meat, milk and vegetables. As the
crowd exited, light trucks and pickups then were filled with boxes of left-over
food, which was hauled off to other churches located throughout the valley and
beyond.
That night Dick
slept perhaps 15 minutes out of eight hours in bed. His mind roiled and broiled
as he considered what he had seen. "What an opportunity!" He thought,
"What a chance to give the Gospel to folks that under different
circumstances would never darken the door of a church!"
When spring
came and the Carmacks returned home to Colorado, the visions of 500 people
packed into a church on a Sunday night refused to leave his mind. The next
several months were spent attempting to sell Real Estate and cruising the roads
of Colorado, selling a piece of property here or there, making a living but
with his mind on the scene he had witnessed in Arizona.
“What an opportunity!
What a way to reach people who under other circumstances wouldn’t even consider
attending a church and hearing a Gospel message!” Over and over the thought
refused to leave his mind.
He tried his
best to convince his home church (Pine River Valley Baptist) to begin a food
bank ministry to help the locals with their food bills and at the same time
bring the un-churched in to hear the Word.
“That’ll work
in a big city but not out here in the country,” he was told over and over.
Finally in
frustration he began actively looking for a building in which to begin the food
bank. After driving by a rural abandoned Grange hall a dozen times he finally
took notice and contacted the local representative, only to be told the
building had just been rented by a “couple of preachers from Aztec.” Undeterred
he told the rep (Jack McIntyre) if the Aztec preacher deal fell through please
call him. A week later, Jack called and said,
“If you want
the building it’s yours, I guess they don’t want it.”
“How much is
the rent?”
“$100 a month
for a profit, $50 for a non-profit”
The building
was 12 miles out of town, about 4,000 square feet and had been sitting empty
for several years. The first winter the monthly gas bill for heat on Sunday
afternoon and Tuesday evening ran about $250 or about five times the rent. They
had decided to hold their services on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. and on Tuesday
evening so area church folks could attend and not forsake their respective
assemblies.
Over the 12
years that followed, the Storehouse Christian Food Bank (later the Storehouse
Baptist Church) paid out over $7,000 in rent in the piddling amount of $50
monthly. In addition they were given (by local merchants), an estimated $3
million worth of groceries (in an area of perhaps 60,000 people) which they in
turn gave out to local people who came from as far as 70 miles away to get the
groceries. The work was hard with long hours spent driving and running a route
of supermarkets by Dick and many, many hours spent by Vernie taking care of the
inside of the building, cleaning, packing, putting out and arranging the food
along with a hundred other small tasks that appeared out of nowhere. We both
had volunteer helpers from time to time that would be there for a few weeks,
perhaps a few months before they moved on.
Taking a lesson
from the “free breakfast” church in St. Louis, and also East Mesa Baptist in
Arizona, the rules were first comes a sermon telling of God’s great sacrifice
of His only Son on a bloody cross, then and only then were the groceries
distributed. Also a rule was established that if you missed the sermon you
couldn’t get in for groceries. That rule lasted for the most part, but with one
notable exception when during the sermon an old lady with a cane got there too
late. The door was locked but she just banged loudly on the windows with her
cane until the management relented and let her in.
Over the next
12 years almost 1,800 sermons and Sunday School lessons were preached and
taught with an average attendance of maybe 60-70 people. In addition there were
perhaps 100 plus people who made professions of faith. Some were genuine, some
were fake, being caught up by emotion rather than decision, but perhaps they
were truly born again later. Only God Himself knows the answer to that. Dick
was 62 when the Storehouse Baptist Church and Food-bank was born. Vernie was 58
and the next 12 years took their toll. Vernie's hip wore out and it became
obvious a hip replacement was on the agenda. The work finally became too heavy
and near the end of the 11th year plans were made to move a commercial trailer
that had been given to them by a deceased brother’s (Rody) family and a living
brother (Jack) about 9 miles down the road where it was set up and a new work
begun, a small fellowship called “The Little Brown Church.” Only trouble was,
the trailer mover wanted $400 and they didn’t have the money.
One Sunday
afternoon, the Carmacks arrived at the Storehouse Foodbank and found an
envelope stuck in the front door. Inside it read: “We’re vacationing up here at
the Lake and just remembered we’re behind on our tithes. We’re wondering if you
can use this. Enclosed was a check for $400, the exact amount needed to pay the
trailer mover. Vernie sent out a “Thank You” note to the Texas address on the
check and went on with other business. A week or two later, the envelope in
which the “Thank You” was sent showed back up in the mail, stamped on the front
with the message “No such address, Return to Sender.” The check cleared though
and was duly credited to their account.
There was no
way to contact the giver as the name had been lost on the deposited check and
there was no need because we really knew who had given the money. It was the
exact amount at exactly the right time, only a Supernatural God can do that. The
incident can be explained away by an unbeliever but it will fall flat on the
ears of anyone who has experienced the hand of God on his life.
Another time
the Carmacks recall was when Jim, another preacher that was helping out, walked
over after a service and asked, “Do you know a guy who drives a new black Ford
pickup?” “No” Dick replied. “Well, he just gave me $500 and told me we had
helped him out one time and now he wanted to help us.” Many was the time when
the till was empty and the food bank was in sore need of funds, the money
always arrived sometimes almost from nowhere. Mostly, without explanation or
our understanding of what had happened.
Do you believe
that God can and will speak through mystical money that is shoved under the door
or delivered by a new black pickup with a driver that refuses identification?
When does God speak? When He wants to. How does He speak? First of all He
speaks through His word, the Holy Bible, after that His Voice is heard through
“circumstances” and other people. Sometimes He speaks so you can hear Him. But
mostly He nudges and pushes a little with SECRET Hands.
__________
SPEAKING THROUGH STORMS
God often
speaks through “natural disasters” but we either fail to see it or attribute it
wrongly. This happens often when storms ravage an area causing a lot of damage,
sometimes with a loss of life. We wonder, is God speaking to America (or
Germany, Italy, Indonesia etc) “because of our sin?” This suspicion is
magnified when a multiple of storms or other disasters occur during a
relatively short time.
We need to be
careful though not to attribute all storms and other disasters to the Almighty,
either as punishments or warnings. Remember what Jesus taught when asked about
the almost a score of Galilaeans suffering death when a tower collapsed,
Lu 13:4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in
Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that
dwelt in Jerusalem?
He used the occasion to teach the vital importance of repentance, a true
change of heart and direction giving evidence of true salvation, not merely
“going forward” or “making a profession” or perhaps “receiving Jesus in my
heart.” In the next verse he tells us the consequences of such self-delusion,
Lu 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye
shall all likewise perish.
God surely spoke in this passage; “Don’t attribute natural events to
divine intervention for if you do without true repentance, you stand in danger
of hell-fire.”
If you can read or hear, a plea of ignorance will not be valid on the
Day of Judgment. Unfortunately we live in an age of “easy-believism,” wherein
many believe regular (or even sporadic) church attendance is all that is
required to go to heaven. How many in America today are truly born again?
According to polls
there may be as many as 45% of our population. On the other hand considering
the widespread tolerance of behavior that would have made our parents cringe
and our grandparents to fall on their knees in intercession to God, we are probably
safe in saying that figure is probably widely exaggerated.
Are all physical events natural then? Nobody can answer that except our
Maker but there is substantial evidence that indicates there is a recognizable,
yet Secret Hand that certainly does seem to intervene via storms and other
“natural” calamities. For example John McTernan in his widely acclaimed book
“As America Has Done to Israel” makes a strong case that each time the United
States takes an action detrimental to Israel, natural calamities follow,
sometimes within just a few hours. Bill Koenig’s book Eye to Eye also makes the
same case with both writings based on Joel 3:2 where God says He is going to
bring all nations “bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat,” for parting
(dividing) His land. In other words, when America pressures Israel to give up
“land for peace” we are treading on the toes of The All-Powerful of heaven
itself.
It reportedly started with George Bush Sr., in October of 1991 when he
organized the Madrid Peace Conference and began the “Land for Peace (dividing
Israel and giving land to the Arabs)” that initiative triggered the series of
“natural” disasters besetting us that continue to this day. Whenever we make
another push to force Israel to give up land or divide Jerusalem, disaster
seems sure to follow.
As President Bush was opening the peace conference the “perfect storm”
started building in the Atlantic and according to Wikipedia, before it was over
caused more than $200 million in 1991 dollars worth of damage. The death toll
was 13.
“Most of the damage occurred while the storm was
extratropical, after waves up to 30 feet (10 m) struck the coastline from
Canada to Florida and southeastward to Puerto Rico. In Massachusetts, where
damage was heaviest, over 100 homes were destroyed or severely damaged. To the
north, more than 100 homes were affected in Maine, including the
vacation
home of then-
President George
H. W. Bush. More than 38,000 people were left without power, and along the
coast high waves inundated roads and buildings. In portions of New England, the
damage was worse than that caused by
Hurricane
Bob two months earlier.”
“The home and contents were substantially damaged
by a strong series of storms in late October, 1991.
[2]
The damage was estimated at $300,000–$400,000 and the President did receive an
undisclosed amount in flood insurance, but failed to take the full deduction
for storm damage on his 1991 tax return to avoid a conflict of interest as he
was one responsible for declaring Maine as a 'disaster area'.”
So we can safely conclude based on the evidence, God does sometimes
speak through tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters.
But we also are required to understand that just because a tower collapses and
kills some men it cannot necessarily be attributed to the Creator and
controller of the elements.
__________
CHAPTER NINE
Lee Mathews was
only 6 years old when he realized his future looked very bleak. He was about to
lose his mother and he was scared. His family had attended their little church
that Wednesday night so long ago but he had panicked for a moment, and he still
remembers what happened.
When the
invitation in Murphy Baptist was given, Lee’s mother with tears in her eyes, stepped
out of her seat and walked shakily down the isle to kneel there before the
altar. Wondering what was going on, Lee paid close attention, watching
carefully as the preacher knelt beside her and put his hand on her shoulder.
After a time,
his mother rose, gave the preacher a half-hug and wiping her eyes made her way
back to her seat. There were only 15 people in church that night but one had
just met God face to face and had been born-again, receiving a new and forgiven
life in Christ.
At home in bed
Lee ran the scene over and over in his mind. Just exactly what had happened?
His mother seemed so happy, so content to now trust in God instead of herself.
The next day as she prepared the meals she hummed happily and the look on her
face looked almost heavenly.
“Momma, what happened? Why
are you so happy? What happened? Did you see Jesus? Did He say something? What
happened?”
“I was born-again and I’m
going to heaven.”
Wow! After a few more
questions Lee’s mother explained what the Bible said in John 3:3
“…Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Lee’s Dad was a dentist.
He had been in the Medical Corps in the Army and after the war, had met and
married Lee’s mother. He spent his weekdays at his office in town and the
evenings and on weekends was a part time farmer on their small place just
outside of Wentworth. Lee helped out on the farm and questioned his Dad about
what had happened to his mother.
“Son,” he explained, “You
don’t go back into your mother’s body and get born again physically, it’s a
‘spiritual rebirth.’ That means when you understand everyone has sinned and you
have too,… You have sinned haven’t you?”
“Yes,” the boy replied,
“I’ve done a lot of bad things.”
“Well, it’s not just being
sorry for sinning, it’s being sorry enough that you have offended God
and that you don’t want to live that way anymore, you want to change. God has
to wash your sin away with Jesus’ blood and give you a new start so you’ll be
fit for heaven, because no sin, not even a little tiny one can be allowed in
heaven.”
As the days went
progressed, the boy thought about it and finally the next Sunday made his
decision. This time when the invitation was given, Lee too went forward. He was
then counseled by the preacher and after an examination of what he understood
and what he believed, was assured that when this life is over, he and his
mother will spend life together in heaven.
As the years
rolled by, Lee became a man, attended college and later spent several years preaching
in a small town about 80 miles west and a little north of Wentworth all the
while working full time.
God is so good. Did He
speak to a small boy when he feared losing his mother to a place called heaven?
Yes, The Almighty speaks in mysterious ways. Each person is different and a
different method is used on each of his children. One needs a helping hand,
another needs a stern warning, perhaps another needs isolation but God Does
Speak!
__________
WHEN GOD SPEAKS TO MEN (OR SMALL
GIRLS)
In this chapter we will deal with what we consider to be the direct
voice of God. We will begin with a story that may leave some readers if not
speechless, at least forced into deep thought when we consider what may lie
directly ahead in this the 21st Century for the true believers in
the Lord Jesus Christ. When if the day comes, we are faced with either living
or dying for Christ, what will we do?
Bear in mind however what you are about to read is only one story of
thousands, and if they were to be written in as many books as necessary,
millions of testimonies such as this could be related.
The story takes place in Emerita in Lusitania in A.D. 302.
The reader is encouraged to take his time and to stop occasionally while
reading and consider how he would react if the events recorded here were to
happen to him or to someone he loves. Remember, this story is an actual
historical event and is copied verbatim from the book, MARTYRS MIRROR by
Thieleman J. van Braght.
You can say, “Won’t happen to me. Nobody is that depraved.” The Bible
testifies that in days to come, there will be a time of decision for all who
claim the name of Christ. Rev 13 gives us an account of the “mark of the beast”
“EULALIA, A
CHRITIAN MAIDEN, BURNED WITH LAMPS AND TORCHES, AND SUFFOCATED THEREBY FOR THE
FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, AT EMERITA IN LUSITANIA, A.D. 302.
At this time there
was a Christian maiden called Eulalia, not more than twelve or thirteen years
old, who was filled with such a desire and ardor of the spirit, to die for the
name of Christ, that her parents had to take her out of the city of Merida, to
some distant country seat, and closely confine her there. But this place could
not extinguish the fire of her spirit, or long confine her body; for, having
escaped on a certain night she went very early the following day before the
tribunal, and with a loud voice said to the Judge and the whole magistracy;
“Are you not ashamed to cast your own souls and those of others at once into
eternal perdition by denying the only true God, the Father of us all, and the
Creator of all things? O ye wretched men! Do you seek the Christians that you
may put them to death? Behold, here am I, an adversary of your satanical
sacrifices, I confess with heart and mouth God alone; but Isis, Apollo, and
Venus are vain idols.”
The Judge before
whose tribunal Eulalia spoke thus boldly, was fill with rage, and called the
executioner, commanding him to take her away speedily, strip her, and inflict
various punishments on her; so that she, said he, may feel the gods of our fathers,
through the punishment, and may learn that it will be hard for her, to despise
the command of our Prince (that is, of Maximian).
But before he
allowed matters to proceed so far, he addressed her with these soft words: “How
gladly would I spare thee! O that thou mightest renounce before thy death thy
perverse views of all the Christian religion? Reflect once, what great joy
awaits thee, which thou mayest expect in the honorable state of matrimony,
Behold all thy friends weep for thee, and thy sorrow-stricken, well-born
kindred sigh over thee, that thou art to die in the tender bloom of thy young
life, See the servants stand ready to torture thee to death with all sorts of
torments; for thou shalt either be beheaded with the sword, or torn by the wild
beasts, or singed with torches, which will cause thee to howl and wail, because
thou wilt not be able to endure the pain; or, lastly be burned with fire. Thou
canst escape all these tortures with little trouble, if thou wilt only take a
few grains of salt and incense on the tips of thy fingers and sacrifice it.
Daughter, consent to this, and thou shalt thereby escape all these severe
punishments.”
This faithful
martyr did not think it worth the trouble to reply either to the entreating or
the threatening words of the Judge, but, to say it briefly, pushed far away
from her and upset* the images, the altar, censor, sacrificial book, etc. A
certain author speaks of her having spit into the face of the tyrant: which is
to be understood of the image or idol*. Instantly two executioners came
forward, who tore her tender limbs, and with cutting hooks or claws cut open
her sides to the very ribs.
*A. Mell, 1st book,
fol. 105, col. 4, and fol. 106, col.1, 2, compared with J. Gys, fol. 23, col. 3,
ex Prudent. Steph. Hym. 3
Eulalia, counting
and recounting the gashes on her body said, “Behold, Lord Jesus Christ! Thy
name is being written on my body; what great delight it affords me to read
these letters, because they are signs of Thy victory! Behold, my purple blood
confesses Thy holy name.”
This she spoke with
an undaunted and happy countenance, evincing not the least sign of distress,
though the blood flowed like a fountain from her body. After she had been
pierced through to her ribs with pincers, they supplied burning lamps and
torches to the wounds in her side, and to her abdomen. Finally the hair of her
head was ignited by flames, and taking it in her mouth, she was suffocated by
it. This was the end of this heroine, young in years, but old in Christ, who
loved the doctrine of her Savior more than her own life.
This happened in
Lusitania at Emerita, now called Merida or Medina del Rio Sacco, in the
uttermost or lowest part of Spain under the Emperor Maximain and the Procounsul
Dacian, as may clearly be seen in ancient writers, and also in the
afore-mentioned authors.”
We now have the question before us, “Did Eulalia hear the voice of God
calling her to give her life as a testimony for Him?” Any purported answer to
that question would be necessarily long and questionable. Only two know for
certain, Eulalia and her Lord, but it would be a miracle in itself if one were
to die such a horrible death for merely a delusion.
__________
A KING
EATING GRASS
GOD
SPEAKS TO MEN
Heb 1: 1 ¶ God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he
hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
There are many passages
where God spoke in an audible voice to men and He will speak in the
future both audibly and through other means:
Most often however, He speaks through His Word (the Bible)
and...He speaks with a still, small
voice.
He walked and talked with
Adam and Eve in the Garden and He spoke to Cain after he had killed his
brother Abel.
He spoke to Hagar in the wilderness and He spoke in person to Abraham
on the plains of Mamre when he began to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah;
Lot had separated himself
from uncle Abraham because of overcrowding of available pasture and pitched his
tent toward the well watered plains of Jordan which was like the Garden of Eden
in those days:
Ge 13: 10 ¶ And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of
Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom
and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou
comest unto Zoar.
And then the Lord spoke
to Abraham and gave him all the land
that he could see
Ge 13: 14 ¶ And the LORD
said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine
eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and
eastward, and westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy
seed for ever.
God also tells Abraham that he will destroy the twin cities of evil, Sodom
and Gomorrah because the stench of their sin had reached unto heaven:
Ge 18:1-33 ¶ And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and
he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day…and spoke in an audible voice face to face with Abraham.
This chapter also recounts
the bargaining of Abraham with the Lord, which undoubtedly accounts for the
general belief of the Jewish people being able bargainers in any transaction,
monetary or otherwise.
In the following God
spares a pagan’s life after speaking to him in a dream; the King of Gerar’s
eyes had landed on Sarah, the very attractive wife of Abraham and having the
power had ordered her placed in his harem:
Ge 20:3 ¶ But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and
said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou
hast taken; for she is a man's wife.
And God spoke again when
He called Abraham to offer up his only son, Isaac as a burnt offering:
Ge 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom
thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a
burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
The list is far from
exhaustive but tells us that God does indeed, at various times speak audibly to
His people and also to unbelievers. Do you remember the dream of Nebuchadnezzar
about the great tree whose limbs spread to cover the earth? God spoke through the prophet Daniel who
conveyed to Nebuchadnezzar the grim tidings:
Heaven itself would drive
him (Nebu) from power and make him like a beast of the field until he knew and understood the “Most
High ruleth in the kingdom of men and give it to whomsoever he will.” (Dan 4:32)
Da 4:31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a
voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The
kingdom is departed from thee.
At that instant a mighty
king surrounded with gold and silver was driven to his knees where he ate
grass and slept in the fields for 7 years. How the mighty can fall!
Has God warned you of
personal Judgment to come? Has He
spoken audibly? Did it sound like a trumpet? Did He speak to your heart?
Perhaps He had simply spoken quietly to the recesses of your mind. Consider the
possibility as we continue to examine the record.
And then we have God
speaking from heaven at the baptism of Jesus:
Lu 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon
him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son;
in thee I am well pleased.
When Jesus announced that
his hour had come and that he would be crucified:
Joh 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from
heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
In the future He will
speak with the sound of a trumpet at the resurrection and gathering of his
elect:
Mt 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a
trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one
end of heaven to the other. My
concordance says: (with a trumpet, and
a great voice).
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with
a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall rise first:
As the book of End-Times
(Revelation) was being written He spoke the John the Revelator with a voice
like a trumpet:
Re 4:1 ¶ After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven:
and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me;
which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be
hereafter.
He says He will speak through
an angel during the Day of His Wrath:
Re 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of
heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of
the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,
which are yet to sound!
He will speak through the
thunder:
Re 10:4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was
about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up
those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.
God showed John things
that mere humans (except those near heaven perhaps) are unable to bear. John
saw and understood but was prohibited from telling you and me.
He speaks from heaven when
the two witnesses have lain in the streets for 3 ½ days:
Re 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto
them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their
enemies beheld them.
He speaks 8 more times in
Revelation and finishes with this proclamation:
Re 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold,
the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be
his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
QUESTION: Has He spoken
to you, that you are a lost sinner, basking in your own illusions,
believing that you can live any old way you want, and not suffer the
consequences of dishonoring His Name? If you believe He hasn’t you just haven’t
been paying attention
Do you think He has told
you that you are special and in your case He will make an exception and let
you be saved the way you want to be saved, instead of the way that He described
in the Bible? Not in a million
years!
John the Baptist preached repentance. Jesus preached repentance. There
is no way other than the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross! God just told
us, repent today and be washed clean!
__________
LESSONS IN DREAMS
There are 7 billion people
alive on earth today and God is simultaneously speaking to each one of them all
at the same time. Every heart is different thus He speaks in 7 billion
different ways. Following are three incidents in the life of the writer. At the
time of their happening I didn’t realize what was happening but looking back it
became crystal clear, all precisely fitting pieces of my life’s jigsaw puzzle.
I call them the dreams of “sitting, seeing and eating.”
When I was a teen-ager,
though I can’t recall the exact time or even circumstances related to it, I
remember a dream that is just as vivid today as it was several score years ago.
Taken by itself the dream could easily be written off as caused by too much
pizza but when you add it into the mix of all the other parts of a Sovereign
God speaking to a speck of dust on a ball of mud called earth, it all makes
sense.
I was in a levitated sitting position, perhaps 2 feet off the ground with my legs
extended out in front of my body. There was a rock wall on my right that was
about 7 feet tall. I was moving, rapidly, without effort, an observer might
have described my flight path something like that of a model airplane. After
moving to the left of the scene and down an unobstructed walkway, all the while
cruising, I came to a right angle turn, which was negotiated without error
still maintaining my 2 foot of elevation. After making the turn to the right
the horizontal plane turned to an elevated angle as I ascended toward infinity.
I recall seeing the horizon in the distance with blue skies and perhaps a cloud
or two.
That’s where it ended,
abruptly as I woke from sleep and wondered about what I had just “experienced.”
It seemed so real and unlike most dreams each minute detail could be recalled
exactly. It’s been over 60 years and to this day I can still feel the
exhilaration and euphoria of the weightless trip. The writer sincerely believes
(and it is real to me though perhaps not to the reader) he was given a glimpse
of our mode of travel in the world to come. By just thinking it, we will be
able to transport ourselves from one location to another.
The second dream came when I was a man of maybe 45. My wife and kids
had talked me into attending church a few times and I either heard about it
from the preacher or perhaps I read it in the Bible in a vain attempt to please
my family to try to understand God’s Word.
I was in a vast field of
wheat as it waved back and forth in a light wind. It stretched in all
directions as far as the eye could see. Off to the right, perhaps at a distance of several miles I could see
a city that seemingly reached to the top of the sky. It rose majestically out
of the field of wheat with perimeter walls seemingly a mile high. Above that I
could see the city reaching for the sky and gradually fading into the limitless
elevation between earth and heaven. It was gorgeous, absolutely beautiful.
That’s all there was. No voice, no message though the vision is still vivid as
these words are written.
Did I get a vision, a view
of the New Jerusalem that will measure 6 thousand furlongs (about 1,500 miles)
on all sides?
Re 21:16 And the city lieth
foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city
with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the
height of it are equal.
Again, perhaps it was
nothing more than imagination after possibly hearing a sermon on the topic. I
really don’t know, but I know I will never forget the sight as it was burned
indelibly into my consciousness and can be recalled instantly.
Dream number
three took place when the writer was in his
early sixties. Having heard an audible call from God to preach as Interim in
our home church after our Pastor unexpectedly resigned, I served in that
position for maybe 4 months. The church called a permanent Pastor and I went
back to my real estate business but had a nagging feeling that I needed to be
about the business of ministry. Should I close my real estate office and go out
seeking support? Or should I continue selling property and conduct ministry
only part time? These were questions that had to be resolved. I had been a
Christian for 9 years, was self-educated and here I was contemplating a
full-time ministry without any way to pay the bills and little stomach for
going out to churches seeking support.
The youngest girls had
graduated Bible college in 1990 and ’91 and had married young preachers the
summer of 1991. The nest was empty. The writer was turning 62 the winter of
92-93 and decided to take early retirement on Social Security. It was a meager
amount but would at least buy groceries, rent coming in some other way as we
didn’t own a home. While contemplating beginning a food bank ministry we
wondered how we could pay rent on the building, the utilities, buy fuel for the
pickup along with other incidental expenses.
Then one night the writer
had a third dream. I was walking slowly around a rectangular garden filled with
trees and bushes all of which seemed to loaded with fruit. I was carrying a
30-30 rifle. The path was about 10 feet wide and on the outside a forest lay
and as I turned a corner a large 4 point buck jumped out of the woods.
Instantly I swung the rifle to my shoulder and with one shot, down he went.
Then an audible voice suddenly penetrated my heart, “God will provide.”
The doubts vanished, the
decision was made to start the food bank and we proceeded with our plans. We
rented the building beginning January 1, 1993, the same day Social Security
kicked in. I had already contacted area grocery stores and they had agreed to
give us their out-dated product that would normally hit a dumpster. On the
night of December 31, 1992 it snowed enough I had to spend an hour of shoveling
before I was able to begin the routes to the stores. But after that, we never
looked back (at least not that I can recall), and true to His Word, God
supplied and dream three completed the message from then on, God would provide
what we would eat.
I believe I heard the
voice of God through 3 dreams. I can’t prove it but that’s OK.
__________
GOD REALLY DOES SPEAK TO MEN
The title of this book is
“SECRET HANDS” and some would disagree with the stories told, arguing none are
conclusive that God interacts directly with men. If though, the Bible is the
Word of God, there can be no doubt that He really does speak through and to men
and in the case that will be copied below, He spoke in righteous judgment
painting an unforgettable object lesson to all of mankind that saw or even
heard about the event. Skeptics can scoff, men can stop their ears and close
their eyes but the truth remains that God is real and He does speak audibly to
some, thundering to multitudes in other cases and occasionally in a manner that
demonstrates His power to all.
The Scripture that follows
leaves no doubt that God spoke through Moses and dramatically dispatched a
group of rebels to eternal damnation.
Nu 16:23 ¶ And the LORD spake
unto Moses, saying,
24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the
tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the
elders of Israel followed him.
26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you,
from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be
consumed in all their sins.
27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and
Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of
their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me
to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be
visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.
30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her
mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go
down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked
the LORD.
31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all
these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and
their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into
the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the
congregation.
“According to the commentaries,
Korach was an incredibly righteous man who never sinned until he rebelled
against Moses and Aaron,” explained Rabbi Trugman. “His claim that all the Jews
were equal was a valid claim, but it was made at the wrong time. His vision was
for the messianic era, which is why he wasn’t killed. According to the Midrash
(Bible commentary), he was swallowed up by the earth and will reemerge in the
days preceding the Messiah.”
The foregoing is almost
breathtaking. As our nation and others struggle attempting to decide which
candidate they will support for president, or how can we put food on the table
for this evening’s meal, we miss the obvious. If you are a born again (John
3:3) child of God you are immortal until
His purposes are complete and calls us home.
We are totally in His
hands. He promises to provide for us and provide He will. God also assures us
that if we are appointed as one of those that will undergo extreme tribulation,
He will allow nothing that we cannot bear. If even death stares us in the face,
we are not to flinch, not to deny our faith. We are to remember His promise to
see us through.
What about the Christians
that are perishing and being tortured and abused in the Middle-East, some being
beheaded by the monsters calling themselves ISIS? We need only read the last
book of the Bible to know that in the end, every criminal will get his just due
and every believer and martyr will be exalted and share the glory of God
forever!
__________
GIVE IT UP! GO HOME!
Hans
and Erika Steinbach started going to the food bank because of the free
groceries that were provided after each church service. They lived in a small
village where Hans collected junk metal and batteries and selling them for
scrap managed to keep enough money in his pocket to give Erika a little now and
then for groceries.
Hans
was on the bottle for most of his life, his dad had been a drunk and though he
detested what his dad was, he became the same. Erika suffered in silence,
thinking that was her lot in life. She dutifully did what she could, but to no
avail as all of the children took after their father and followed him into drug
and alcohol abuse. The whole family wore 2nd hand clothing and livid
in a run-down house that had been added onto with scrap to make room for the
kids as they came along. Things looked pretty bleak most of the time for the
Steinbach family.
Then
one day someone told Erika about the food bank and when the groceries ran low
enough she managed to talk Hans into going because the report was that each
person, not each family, got to carry away a box of free groceries. Both Hans
and Erika had been taught the Bible when they were little because their mothers
and grandmothers fussed over them and prayed over them that somehow God would
see them through. Hans’ grandmother in particular was a prayer warrior who
spent countless hours praying for and teaching her grandson, hoping he would be
able to find his way.
The
Steinbachs drove 40 miles one way, twice weekly to hear first a sermon and then
being able to fill their boxes with out-of-date groceries collected from area
supermarkets. It didn’t take long till Hans began contributing his opinion of
different Bible teachings remembering from his childhood what Grandma had
drilled into his little head as she looked to heaven for guidance on how to
look after her children and their children.
One
Sunday afternoon Erika came under conviction of the Holy Ghost and trembling at
the front of the church, kneeling there a few feet from the pulpit gave her
heart to God. When she rose to her feet her face was radiant, shining with the
love of a merciful and loving God who had forgiven her sin and saved her soul.
The following Tuesday evening after the sermon she sought out the preacher and
imploring him asked again and again what she could do for Hans to have him
saved also. With faith the preacher answered, “Pray for him. There’s no power
stronger than prayer. Pray for him.” Turning away disappointed, but believing,
she promised to do just that.
The
very next Sunday as the Steinbach vehicle chugged, coughed and missed, up the
long hill a few miles south of the food bank, Hans swore they wouldn’t make it
and vowed to turn around and go home at the first wide spot. Erika urged him to
continue, “We’ll make it,” she said. Sure enough, another half mile up the road
and the old truck smoothed out and ran perfectly the rest of the way. We talked
later and mused about how 2 demons were on the front doing their best to stall
the truck finally giving up, but God was pushing on the back.
There
were two preachers at the food bank, working together to preach, to counsel
with the people and to help with food distribution. As the sermon closed that
afternoon the preacher closed his Bible, and turning to leave noticed old Hans
kneeling there on the floor with the other preacher who had his arm over his
back and was talking to him. Telling the story later, preacher #2 testified, “I
just told him Erika was now saved and was going to heaven and if he ever wanted
to see her again after death, he had to get right with God and get saved.”
Preacher
#1 who had just preached the sermon, told what he saw as he walked by, “I thought
to myself, that’s a phony if I ever saw one, that old man’s not going to get
saved. But boy was I wrong! That was probably 25 years ago and now old Hans is
still going. He threw away the booze, attends church every week and a bible
study in the middle. He is very opinionated and regularly declares, “That’s not
right,” “My Grandma said,” Whatever it was that Grandma said.
The
grounding of a small child is of prime importance, we know that from what the
Preacher taught in Proverbs:
Pr 22:6 ¶ Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old,
he will not depart from it.
__________
CHAPTER TEN
One time in the
life journey of the author, he worked for a time as a traveling salesman for a
nation-wide company on a commission basis. Sales were good and commissions were
adequate and one summer day was looking forward to flying the next day to Los
Angeles at company expense, for their yearly sales meeting. That night I went
to bed at my usual time and already had the bag packed for the flight the next
day. During the night I had a dream.
“There was an
airplane either floating or resting in shallow water with dozens of people
exiting, standing in groups on the wing while small boats shuttled them off in
turn to the shore not too far away. The scene was vivid. Enough so when he
awoke he told his wife, “I had a dream last night and dreamed the airplane
either crashed or made a forced landing in water and I don’t think I want to
fly to Los Angeles.”
Agreeing the
trip was not a necessity, George and his wife unpacked his bags and put the
clothing away. The trip was forgotten until that same evening on the TV news
there was a story of a flight that left Phoenix and had to make an emergency
landing in the harbor near LAX. We weren’t able to determine whether or not it
was the flight I was supposed to take, but the lesson was clear:
There is a
supernatural world, and from the world that lies beyond we sometimes get
messages or helps from sources unknown. There is a power in the supernatural
that knows the future. Sometimes that power communicates with this world.
Sometimes in dreams, sometimes in pre-cognition, occasionally as an audible
voice.
Did God speak
through that dream so long ago? You will have to decide.
__________
A MIRACLE AT THE SUPERSTORE
Sunny Blotkins was
devastated. Her precious engagement ring was ruined. The center diamond set was
lost! Her arms were full of packages when she noticed it. Hastily depositing
them in the back seat of the car she checked again to see if her wedding ring
was still there, it was. Then she carefully retraced her steps back to the
Supermarket watching intently looking, looking for the precious small stone.
Back and forth she went
but no ring was to be seen. She scanned every square foot she could remember,
even going back into the store looking carefully at every step of the way, but
no diamond set was to be found. Dejectedly she finally gave up and drove back
home where Joe was playing with their small son. With tears Sunny told her
story while her husband consoled her and promised to buy a replacement as soon
as possible.
Sleep that night was
scant. Tossing and turning and alternately shedding a few tears as she relived
her steps over and over again, back and forth, until finally with exhaustion
she drifted off to sleep.
Waking, the young Mrs.
Blotkins was suddenly convinced the search was not over and as soon as
breakfast was over, she quickly drove back to the store. There in the morning
light she caught a glint off a small stone lying there beside her parking spot
of the previous evening. Picking it up she wasn’t sure it was the right stone
but it looked about right. Hurrying down the street a few blocks she found a
Jeweler who quickly confirmed,
“Well, it must be the same
one because it fits perfectly.”
Sunny could
hardly believe what she had heard as she quickly authorized the Jeweler to
re-set her precious diamond. Joe was happy also, he didn’t have to buy another
one. Miracles sometime come in the form of a shiny spot in a parking lot. And
what told Sunny to give it another try down at the super store? There was no
rational chance that a very small diamond would lie for hours in a parking lot
with being run over by a car or being seen by someone who would pause and pick
it up.
__________
CONTEMPLATING ETERNITY
The writer
stands in his north facing window and sees a panorama of lush green fields with
the summer sun about to break over the north east horizon. As he gazes at the
rising sun, his eye is gradually drawn back to his left where he sees it fading
into night but with storm clouds, rain, funnel clouds, erupting volcanoes and a
spectre of war moving fast and overlaying the panorama of peace.
The world is
erupting in turmoil. Ebola, the plague and Zika are just the latest of the
pestilences that torment earth. Before them were several “flu” viruses and all
sorts of diseases and pestilences that had become common, though those are
seldom mentioned in the media. In addition to disease we have riots in
Ferguson, Missouri, Baltimore, Oakland, and Harlem. But America’s first black
president, instead of setting an example of calm, slyly encourages the pitting
of black and white against the other. He ran on a platform of fundamentally
changing America and change it he has. Given a little more time he will
probably completely destroy it.
“What’s next,”
the writer wonders?
Standing there
he looks inward, musing over events of his life and wonders if things are
coming to a head? Are we nearing the end of this age? Is great tribulation
about to engulf all of mankind instead of just China, Africa, South America,
Europe and the Middle East? Are ancient prophecies being fulfilled or is it all
just a temporary interruption in the long and often difficult journey of
mankind?
Many argue that
science will eventually solve our problems, indeed, if we read the literature,
we seem well on our way to even the conquering of death itself. Gigantic leaps
are being made in medicine and DNA, RNA technology, Artificial Intelligence and
other disciplines and we are constantly told if we can just weather the present
storms, unending prosperity, perhaps even unending life lies barely beyond the
horizon.
But is it all
wishful thinking? Could it be that Bible prophecies are really being fulfilled
before our eyes and that judgment is close around the corner?
Man is born at
odds with God born already in original sin, and indeed it has to be that way.
Men are not automatically forgiven of sin and ushered into heaven when death
comes, because if they were, sinners would be in heaven and heaven would no
longer be heaven. Instead, men are given a choice: They can continue to live
for themselves, in denial of the sin in their lives, or they can choose to
humble themselves before their Maker, believe on His Son and ask for
forgiveness which will be instantly granted.
God speaks on a
daily basis to every last soul on this earth, “Follow me, seek me, find me and
gain eternal life and forgiveness of sin.”
__________
DEVILS TO
TORMENT ME?
“Solomon B. Shaw was a wise recorder of
life-and-death scenes. His best-known book is "Dying Testimonies of Saved
and Unsaved", originally published in 1898.
”In this most touching, and spiritually rewarding book, Shaw records the dying
scenes, and the last words, of both the saved and unsaved, both famous and
unknown. You will see the tremendous difference between those who are Born
Again and those who have refused salvation, as they approach the hour of their
death. As one physician once remarked, "Christians die well".
Biblical doctrines which saints of God have believed all their lives sustain
them wonderfully in the hour of their death.”
003 -- THE AWFUL DEATH OF
SIR FRANCIS NEWPORT
Sir Francis Newport was trained in
early life to understand the great truths of the gospel; and while in early
manhood it was hoped that he would become an ornament and a blessing to his
family and the nation, the result was far otherwise. He fell into company that
corrupted his principles and his morals. He became an avowed infidel, and a
life of dissipation soon brought on a disease that was incurable. When he felt
that he must die, he threw himself on the bed, and after a brief pause, be
exclaimed as follows: "Whence this war in my heart? What argument is there
now to assist me against matters of fact? Do I assert that there is no hell,
while I feel one in my own bosom? Am I certain there is no after retribution,
when I feel present judgment? Do I affirm my soul to be as mortal as my body,
when this languishes, and that is vigorous as ever? O that any one would
restore unto me that ancient gourd of piety and innocence! Wretch that I am,
whither shall I flee from this breast? What will become of me?"
An infidel companion tried to
dispel his thoughts, to whom he replied. "That there is a God, I know,
because I continually feel the effects of His wrath; that there is a hell I am
equally certain, having received an earnest of my inheritance there already in
my breast; that there is a natural conscience I now feel with horror and
amazement, being continually upbraided by it with my impieties, and all my
iniquities, and all my sins brought to my remembrance. Why God has marked me
out for an example of His vengeance, rather than you, or any one of my
acquaintance, I presume is because I have been more religiously educated, and
have done greater despite to the Spirit of grace. O that I was to lie upon the
fire that never is quenched a thousand years, to purchase the favor of Gods and
be reunited to Him again! But it is a fruitless wish. Millions of millions of
years will bring me no nearer to the end of my torments than one poor hour. O,
eternity, eternity! Who can discover the abyss of eternity? Who can paraphrase
upon these words -- forever and ever?"
Lest his friends should think him
insane, he said: "You imagine me melancholy, or distracted. I wish I were
either; but it is part of my judgment that I am not. No; my apprehension of
persons and things is more quick and vigorous than it was when I was in perfect
health; and it is my curse, because I am thereby more sensible of the condition
I am fallen into. Would you be informed why I am become a skeleton in three or
four days? See now, then. I have despised my Maker, and denied my Redeemer. I
have joined myself to the atheist and profane, and continued this course under
many convictions, till my iniquity was ripe for vengeance, and the just
judgment of God overtook me when my security was the greatest, and the checks
of my conscience were the least."
As his mental distress and bodily
disease were hurrying him into eternity, he was asked if he would have prayer
offered in his behalf; he turned his face, and exclaimed, "Tigers and
monsters! are ye also become devils to torment me? Would ye give me prospect of
heaven to make my hell more intolerable?"
Soon after, his voice failing, and
uttering a groan of inexpressible horror, he cried out, "OH, THE
INSUFFERABLE PANGS OF HELL!" and died at once, dropping into the very hell
of which God gave him such an awful earnest, to be a constant warning to
multitudes of careless sinners. --
__________
AN ANGEL UNAWARE?
A very recent experience
needs to be included in these pages. A friend and I were having breakfast in
the lobby of our hotel (my friend had graciously paid for the room) when a
rather shabby man was seen standing with his plate in hand looking around the
room. His eye fell on us, then he ambled over and without invitation sat down
at our table. There were other empty tables in the lobby, but he chose to sit
with us.
My friend and I looked at
each other in surprise as the stranger proceeded to eat his breakfast and down
his coffee. We both said “Good Morning.”
“Mornin.’” he replied.
“Are you staying here in
the hotel?”
“Yeah.” he mumbled
After surveying the scene
for a minute or two, I asked him “What do you do for a living?”
“Lotta things.”
“Do you live around here?”
“No.”
“Are you a Christian?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know what it means
to be born again?”
A puzzled look crossed his
face, so I asked, “Have you asked the Lord Jesus to forgive your sin and come
into your heart?”
The stranger mumbled something, indicating he had, picked up his plate and
walked away. I looked at my friend as he shrugged his shoulders. Looking up,
our rather strange friend had disappeared. I looked down the hallway but failed
to see him. Did we have a short visitation of an angel, or perhaps it was just
a homeless man getting a free breakfast?
Where did he come from?
Did he just sneak in off the street to get a free breakfast? That wasn’t likely
because our hotel sat a half-mile from town and it wasn’t likely anyone would walk
that far, taking a chance on being thrown out, in search of a few bites to eat
and a cup of coffee. Was it really possible God sent an angel showing us both
that He is a real God who is constantly watching over His children? I have to
consider that possibility. Jesus knows.
I’m certainly not claiming
our friend was an angel. The circumstances however were strange, and the
thought is lodged in the back of my mind that perhaps that’s what happened. Was
it important how we treated our uninvited guest? The Bible says it’s always
important how we treat “strangers.” Any reason why I would think about that?
Were all the afterthoughts unimportant? I don’t have a clue, at least not at
this time, maybe later.
I do know this, the SECRET
hands of God are all around us, we just fail to see.
__________
Isa 33:22
For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he
will save us.
__________
RAZOR THIN
Jack Thurmon was 10 years
old when he and a friend snuck into a neighbors barn and using pocket knives
cut the strings on every bale of hay they could get to. Old man Joshua Cummings
who owned the place had run them off the previous day when he found them
trespassing while hunting rabbits.
“Old coot! I’m gonna get
even!”
“Me too.”
A day or two later, before
their crime was found out, some older boys were caught while vandalizing the
Cummings house with graffiti while the old man and his wife were in town. A
neighbor happened to see them and after informing Mr. Cummings it wasn’t long
till the sheriff had them in custody. That afternoon Jack heard the old man
tell his father the same boys that had painted up the house had also no doubt,
cut all the bale strings down at the barn.
“That was close! Razor
thin!” Jack and friend exclaimed.
Over the next 5 years Jack
seemed to be made of grease the way he slipped out of trouble, time and time
again. Judgment seemed a long way off but things were about to change. One
night when he and two friends were spreading red paint around and turning over
outdoor privies, a deputy stepped out of the shadows and almost instantly had
them in the back seat of a locked patrol car!
Mr. Thurmon was summoned and
after assuring the sheriff Jack would be in his office the following morning,
judicial justice was pronounced that evening at the Thurmon house and swiftly
applied with a razor strap. That was the last whipping he got before leaving
home, but only after repairing the turned over toilets and finishing all the
paint jobs that had been started in red were finished off in proper colors, was
the curfew lifted. The summer work earning and paying the money to pay for the
paint hurt more than the whipping, Jack ruefully commented later.
Another thing that rankled
him was Dad’s insistence on church, three times a week, twice on Sunday and
also Wednesday evening. He heard about Jesus, he heard about heaven and hell,
and even went forward once to be told he was now a Christian, but that also
seemed to slip away.
Then one day his thumb
carried him to Jackson where he lied about his age and was soon wearing the
uniform of the United States Navy. It was a four year hitch with ups and downs
of military life. In less than a year he made Seaman First Class, only to be
busted a week later for fighting at a bar downtown. A few days later, ambling
along looking for something to get into he noticed a little red book only about
3” square that had been trod on many times and finally kicked into the gutter.
Reaching down he found the Gospel of John pretty much intact and having nothing
better to do he began to read. As he read he found himself becoming fascinated
with the story, as over and over again he read the small book.
Conviction came with a rush.
Jack Thurmon suddenly realized he was standing in the Judgment of God and was
nearing the flames of hell. Going to his knees, that evening there in the
barracks, he sealed it all up and never looked back again. When his hitch was
done, as a committed Christian he landed a job as a roustabout on an oil rig
and soon found himself transferring to Amarillo, TX where at his church he met
and eventually married Jolene, a beautiful and dedicated Christian girl.
It didn’t all end in
sweetness and light however. As the years went by and children came, first Bobbie
the only son, then in quick order three girls. Jolene and Jack were faithful to
attend, tithe and pray for their church, but as the children reached puberty
problems began to set it. Once when the oldest girl decided she was leaving
home, a wrestling match took place in her effort to have her way. That ended
only when Jack physically pinned her on the floor and ignored her screams for
help till she finally gave up and went to her room where she called the Law,
claiming her father had hurt her. The deputy listened to her story and then
told Jack and Jolene there was nothing he could do as the girl had turned 18.
Jack exploded! “Eighteen!
She’s only 15!”
Back to the bedroom the
deputy went and after threatening the daughter with Juvenile Detention if she
tried it again, things settled down and eventually peace was restored, with no
more threats of running away.
Other trials came their way,
but one by one they were resolved by whatever was needed. Today, the Thurmon
house dwells in peace, Bobbie and the girls all have married and have children
of their own, and no doubt are fighting their own battles as the process of
overcoming childhood obstinence takes place on a daily basis. God is good,
seeing the future, giving us a little push here or there and putting a
miniature Bible on a dusty street at just the right place where an errant
Seaman would find and read it, believe it and give his life to Christ.
If
we could just see them, the SECRET Hands of Almighty God are right there
In
plain sight.
__________
Following is
the author’s account of his experience of being a guinea pig in an atom bomb
test. This account first appeared in another book entitled “Ancient Prophecies
of the Burdens.”
ANOTHER EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNT
For those who
may be interested, we are including here, an account of our own personal
experience when the writer was a guinea pig in an atomic test: This
writer was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri (Corps of Engineers, U.S.
Army) in early spring of 1953 when many of us were ordered as “volunteers” to
board a train for Nevada to participate in an atomic test.
It was early,
perhaps an hour before sun-up on a chilly March morning. We had been
trucked to the site the afternoon before, a few miles from Camp Desert Rock
which lay about 80 miles north of Las Vegas, Nevada. We had come almost 1,600
miles from Missouri to be the “invited” (ordered) but reluctant guinea pigs in
an atomic test called "Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE, “1953 (CONUS
“Continental United States).” We were told the device to be tested was of
approximately the same size as “Little Boy” that was dropped on the Japanese
city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 which was followed shortly by another called
'FatMan' over Nagasaki on 9 August.” If our recollection is accurate then the
test in which we participated was “Annie” and took place on March 17, 1953. The
following paragraph is the official government release of information
concerning the event:
“ANNIE, the
first device tested, was an "open shot," meaning that reporters were
allowed to view the detonation from News Nob, 11 kilometers south of the
shot-tower. The Government wanted to show the American public that nuclear
weapons could be used defensively, without destroying large urban centers and
populations “
Early next
morning, the entire troop of men numbering at least in the hundreds, perhaps
more, were ordered into a series of trenches (five or six feet deep) running
horizontal to and about 3000 yards from ground zero to the north where the
“device” rested atop a 300’ steel tower. It was a cube and looked to be perhaps
the size of a small camper trailer. There were no distinguishing
characteristics, just a black box barely seen in a gradually lightening sky.
Sun-up was near, but not yet. First we faced south and at an unknown range in
the dark of early morning, saw a huge explosion which we were told had been
20,000 lbs (ten tons) of TNT. Very large, very impressive, but, as we were soon
to understand, merely a candle at 50 feet compared to what was to come.
“The official
yield estimate of "Little Boy" (Hiroshima) was about 16 kilotons of
TNT equivalent in explosive force, i.e. 6.3 × 1013.” The comparison therefore
between the TNT and the atomic device would be roughly ten tons to 16,000 tons,
assuming our test was the same size as Little Boy. We were told to close our
eyes but that proved almost impossible. The temptation was great to “take a
peek” although we had been warned to do so might result in permanent blindness.
There was a huge flash that is impossible to describe. A flash no known machine
could produce. A flash that lit your eye up like daylight even with the eyelid
tightly closed. The mountain landscape more than 20 miles away exploded in a
brilliant white (that’s a few seconds later when we dared to look). The flash
lit the mountain as brightly as if a trillion flashbulbs had exploded in
unison. It was a blinding, white light that rested on the eye for several
seconds.
As we began to
slowly comprehend what we were seeing, we felt the first shock wave. The ground
began to rumble like a sleeping giant rolling over and beginning to wake. The
noise started as a low hum and quickly expanded into the roar of a locomotive
bearing down on you with violent shaking, throwing equipment, men and animals
first one direction and then another. Soldiers in trenches, in this and in
subsequent tests of similar weapons testified their bodies were thrown
uncontrollably from one side of the trenched excavation to the other.
As the shaking
and heaving continued we looked up to ground level and saw dust and sand. Also
rocks the size of five gallon buckets were thrown violently across the ground.
A suffocating shroud of dirt immediately dropped on anything that was not blown
away. Roughly 15 seconds later, instead of blowing south, the hurricane of
debris shifted 180 degrees and instead of small rocks and boulders flying
overhead we saw large blocks of fused sand (Trinitite) and possibly large
boulders going back to the north, back to “the point of detonation.” This
continued for maybe 20 seconds before an eerie silence descended on the scene.
Not a sound
was heard as the entire army of guinea pigs crouched in stunned silence.
Next, as the dust began to settle we were told by loudspeaker it was safe to
stand and see the after effects of the blast.
First we
looked north toward the point of detonation, and where a 300 ft. tower had
stood only minutes before there was now only flat ground, no debris, just
desert, the tower had disintegrated.
In the silence
a mushroom cloud ascended in the early morning light and as the sun peeked over
the mountains to the east, a beautiful blue, the color of Safire spread across
the top of the first “mushroom.” Out of that, the cloud continued its spiral
toward the sky and as the second and third mushroom tops formed, the intensity
of color grew. We stood in breathless awe and then as we lowered our eyes we
saw a “wheel within a wheel” reminiscent of Ezekiel’s description of God Himself…
Ezekiel 1:4 ¶ And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind
came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a
brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber,
out of the midst of the fire.
The dirty
brown cloud roiled and boiled on the ground. The tongues of fire licked through
the dirt as a huge fat wheel looking like a dirty donut on its side, was
growling and wrestling with itself as it rolled from the bottom up, curling on
the outside of the donut and disappearing “infolding,” toward the inside at the
top. And out of this writhing mass of dirt and fire at a 90 degree angle came a
“wheel within a wheel.”…
Eze 1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their work
was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their
appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
The center
“wheel” turned at a right angle from the donut lying on the ground. It spun in
a counter-clockwise direction (like a contained tornado) as viewed from the
top. Up and up it snaked into the atmosphere mushrooming out at perhaps 500-800
ft., then topping and forming a new “wheel” which continued its trip to the
sky, again, topping and continuing on to a third mushroom top, each capped with
a layer of blue:…
Eze
1:22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature
was as the colour of the terrible crystal stretched forth over their heads
above. (ED: “colour” A beautiful aquamarine beryl blue),
We stood with
mouths open in speechless astonishment and as we stood and looked, it gradually
dawned on me that instead of my field jacket being buttoned tightly around my
throat, I had unconsciously opened each button in sequence and stood with
jacket wide open. The temperature had risen from probably 35 F to perhaps 70 or
80 F in a matter of a few minutes. As we looked to the outside of the area, in
a ring of fire, a radius of what we were told was about eight miles; the
sagebrush was burning. The initial blast had burned everything in its path,
reaching its extremity at roughly eight miles. At this point, the blast had
reached its maximum and the resulting vacuum then pulled much of the debris
back to “ground zero,” extinguishing all fires as the air rushed back to the
center, filling the void created by the atomic blast. The effect was to leave a
“ring of fire” sixteen miles in diameter encircling us.
Gradually, the
“mushrooms” began to disintegrate, all the dust settled and a clear Nevada sky
came to bloom. Our next and almost immediate action was “scrimmage.” We
were ordered, and I mean that as a fact, to take our M1 rifles and scrimmage or
dogtrot toward ground zero, only stopping at what we were told was 1000 yards
from the blast point. As we scrimmaged toward the center our feet crunched
through fused sand (“Trinitite” see addendum), snapping it like thin
yellow-green glass as we made our trails across the desert. Jackrabbits wobbled
crazily from side to side, somehow having escaped death as the blast tore across
the earth. By this time we were sweating heavily because of the physical
exertion and the dramatic rise in temperature.
Next on the
agenda was a tour to view the effects of the blast on buildings and test
animals we had seen the previous afternoon, stick-built sheds and houses
simulating a small village and a long, wide excavation sloping downward away
from the “device.” In this wide “trench” were about a half dozen sheep. After
the blast we went by again and of the six or seven sheep only one had its coat
burned and that only on one side. The other animals were singed on their backs
and had obviously “instinctively?” lined up one behind the other so only the
lead sheep took the main effect of the blast. We surmised they were crowded in
the farthest and deepest part of the trench when “Annie” went off. Suffice it
to say, the buildings had disappeared.
The final
action of the morning, before we boarded troop carriers back to camp, was the
sweeping down with brooms of accumulated dust and the removal of our REMM
badges that each soldier was issued and had pinned to his jacket. The badges
were supposed to record the amount of radiation each of us had been exposed to.
After the trip back to camp we were finally allowed to shower, never being told
the amount of danger we guinea pigs had undergone. A month or so later I was
given a 30 day leave and while at home in Colorado I started losing all my
hair. Not relating the hair loss with radiation at the time, I assumed I was
going prematurely bald, though in a few months the hair later grew back to
normal.
Many years
later I read about one effect of radiation being hair loss, and finally made
the connection. We heard speculation and stories and in later years I
understand many of us guinea pigs died from various types of cancers and other
diseases. I was one of those that was spared. I later married and fathered five
children, our children giving birth to many more children, till today we number
over 50 grand and great grandchildren. None of who, to the best of my knowledge
suffer from any ill effects of the experience.
Am I claiming my personal observation of an
atomic explosion is comparable to the description of God given in Ezekiel 1? Of
course not. I simply saw things that to me were hard to put into words until I
later became a Christian and then was astounded to read in the Bible, almost
exactly what I had seen on the desert of Nevada so many years ago.
__________
ADDENDUM
“A number of
different types of Trinitite have been identified. Green is the most common
form. Black contains iron from the tower structure. Red contains copper from
the device used in the blast or from the communications cables that led away
from the site. Both black and red specimens are extremely rare. Rounded
"pearls" also are found, which come from melted silica that returned
to solid form before hitting the ground.
“The glass has
been described as "a layer “ to 2 centimeters thick, with the upper
surface marked by a very thin sprinkling of dust which fell upon it while it
was still molten. At the bottom is a thicker film of partially fused material,
which grades into the soil from which it was derived. The color of the glass is
a pale bottle green, and the material is extremely vesicular with the size of
the bubbles ranging to nearly the full thickness of the specimen."
_____30_____
http://www.theopedia.com/omnipresence-of-god
http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/73346/sudden-plague-sinkholes-presage-reappearance-korach/#lHCwrDRdQEy4kaTB.97
