Apes are still apes and man is still man, not one “mape” has been found since time first began.

Dogs are still dogs and cats are still cats, no “dats” or “cogs” and dat’s a fact.

Single-celled creatures fill earth, land and sea… so why do you say they were once you and me?

Some teachers, some preachers say we came from the soup.

Give some time and this slime will be man? That’s just poop.

A big bang is what made us, these great minds explain, does a bang have a hand or a brain? That’s insane!

To believe that just nothing made all that we see is a notion that seems like religion to me.

You weren’t there, there’s no proof for your fantastic claims…

To believe it was God is exactly the same.

So my church is a temple but yours is a school, you believe you have truth, I believe you’re a fool.

We BOTH have a God, yours is YOU, mine’s ABOVE!

A perfect creator filled with wisdom and love.

So you preach your gospel, and worship your god, but a god who is nothing is truly a fraud.

Consider the facts, look around you and see.

It sure wasn’t nothing that made you and me.

Psalm 53:1

Proverbs 9:10

Dear Dad,

This is too late for you to read, but I hope you hear of it in Heaven. Thank you for your love, pain and sacrifice, it will remain unrequited no longer.

A man who had a field sent his laborers out to prepare it for planting. First they removed the stones and the trees and the brush. Next they leveled the ground, removing all the high and low spots to make it even. Then began the rigorous chore of plowing to break up the ground and prepare for seed. They hewed out straight furrows for watering. Now the ground was ready for the painstaking sewing of seed, each one pushed into the tops of the furrow carefully to avoid over-crowding. Room for the roots, and future growth were considered.

For days, weeks, and months, the laborers watered, fertilized, weeded, and chased away destroying insects and animals. As the plants grew, dead and damaged branches were removed to encourage the hearth of the plants. Produce appeared and it was cared for and nurtured by hour, dad by day, in heat and cold, in wind and rain, the laborers guarded and tended the field.

As autumn approached, the produce was ripe and ready. The owner of the field was told that the crop was ready and he ordered the field be harvested. Many more were temporarily sent into the field with the laborers to remove the produce. They all together gleaned the field, harvesting in days what had taken months to produce.

After the crops were safely stored in the barns the help celebrated together the great harvest. The temporary laborers were heard to say, “look at the great harvest we have produced.” Ignorant and unappreciative of the sacrifice of those who toiled to make the harvest possible. Those there from the beginning just looked at each other, and smiled.

Father, forgive me for not honoring my dad like I should have, all I am is built upon his sweat his sacrifice and his courage.

I have a puzzle of the universe. In the puzzle are planets, moons, our sun, comets, asteroids, and lots and lots of stars.

Each one of these bodies in space is a complex formation made up of elements joined together like the earth we live on. In looking at the make up of our planet we see an innumerable number of pieces and forces all working together to bind our earth as one.

It is safe to assume that all of these other planets and stars and moons are also like our own home here on earth.

My puzzle is 500 pieces. It came unassembled in the box and mixed up. When I first got the puzzle I determined to test it. I took the universe (only 500 pieces) and gave it a push. I put the pieces in a bowl and poured it on the ground. Over and over and over. No pieces joined themselves, not one. I added more force, substituting my calm pouring for a violent throwing to the ground. Over and over. I thrust the pieces of my universe to the ground. But alas, not one piece joined together. Although some stuck to each other in the disorganized mess of pieces, none joined themselves to the corresponding piece which would even begin to build my universe. I had others try also to form my universe by dropping or throwing the pieces down, but nada. Not one piece even came close to hooking to another piece. And I finally gave up trying to form my universe by uncontrolled force, time and repetition.

I am puzzled, this 500 piece universe of mine is nothing, an absolute zero compared to the immense complexity of the universe I look out upon every night when the sun goes down.

How could the pieces of something so vast, so beautiful, and complex as our universe just put themselves together? Not only to form the universe, but without the obvious advantage my universe had by me continually casting it down by force? It is said by the wisest that the universe did this all by itself.

Later, I put all of the pieces on a flat surface, arranged them by shape and color. In a few hours with my intellect, my eyes, and my hands, I constructed my universe, each piece fit together in perfect conformity. I have come to the conclusion that chance, time, and random force could not create my universe.

A man was exploring a series of underground tunnels. Down deep in the recesses of the earth he carefully made his way along the damp, dark, tunnels, deeper and deeper into the pitch black labyrinth, his trusty flashlight illuminating the walls, ceiling, and floor of the wonderful chasm. He ventured further into the unknown darkness.

His senses now labored to know up from down as he peered into the darkness around him. Unafraid, he continued his trek into the heart of the earth. The silence was deafening as he carefully navigated the floor of the cavern, sometimes traversing steep drops and large boulders. His breath the only sound in the world as he stood still to examine a gorgeous mineral deposit shining like diamonds in the light of his flashlight. Another few steps and then his footing was lost to a slippery stone. Down he went onto the slick rocky surface, his arm striking a rock, his flashlight also struck the solid rock floor, flickering and then with a blinding flash the light was extinguished. He reached in his pants pocket and pulled out the batteries he had brought as a back up. Fumbling in the pitch darkness, like a blind man he carefully removed the screw on the cover and dropped the old batteries on the ground. He felt both of them to determine which way was plus and minus. Screwing on the cap, he pushed the button on the bottom and nothing happened. He tightened the cap, pushed the switch over and over but nothing. His mind raced, “what will I do?” He thought as the alarms rang through his mind.

He touched the walls of the cave but both sides were the same. He had no way to know which way he was going because of the fall he took. The terror of his situation gripping his mind like a vice, he instinctively moved in the direction his mind said was out. Stumbling, falling, crashing his legs, head, and arms on unseen obstacles. Falling down repeatedly until he fell hard, stumbling over a stone. He laid there exhausted, bruised, and afraid .”How will I ever get out of here?” His thoughts echoed like a skipping old record player going off in his head. Hope faded quickly to despair as he lay there in complete darkness. The sound of his heart made a deafening thunder in his ears as he laid there contemplating his demise, now a grim certainty. The times of his life, his family and friends, his hopes and dreams seemed to be disappearing into a dark whirlpool of hopelessness.

He had never believed in anything supernatural, yet from somewhere unknown to him he chocked out a simple prayer: “Oh God, if you’re there, please help me.” The words echoed off the walls of the cave and before they ceased he had a thought, a memory, from some time ago, when he had quit smoking last year. He reached into the inside of his vest and slowly unzipped the hidden pocket, feeling inside. “Is it there?” His fingers felt the waterproof matches he used to light his cigarettes with, hope surged within him for a brief moment. But faded when he felt nothing inside. Dejected by this he almost threw the matches onto the ground, but he said to himself; “why would I put an empty match book in my vest?” He felt the matches again carefully. Right in the edge he felt something. It was a match, one single match. A mixture of elation and sorrow filled his heart. He would finally have light, but only for a few seconds. What good would this little light do for him, he was an hour into this dark tomb. Still, he lit the match, longing for some relief from the suffocating darkness.

Oh how wonderful, how bright that match was when it lit. He could see, just for a fleeting few seconds. The light from that match was as bright as a supernova, the entire cave illuminated by its brightness. He looked back and forth for some clue to his direction out of this mess. But both ways looked exactly the same. The match now nearing his fingers and waning towards going out he dropped to his knees. “No. No. Oh God, no.” He said out loud and then the match was out. Fear again gripped his mind as the darkness closed in to take him to the pit of despair again, and yet something about that moment of intense light stuck in his mind. Did he imagine it? Was it real or just a fanciful thought?

He put both hands on the floor of the cave and felt for it. Was it really there? It took a moment but slowly he realized it was quite real. The glimmer which he saw when he fell to his knees was water. Just a trickle, soundless, invisible to the eye but not to the light which had illuminated the wake caused by his knees hitting the ground. Hope flooded his heart, he knew which way to go now. He crawled along for hours on his hands and knees, following this film of water flowing toward freedom, winding and twisting along. Finally his eyes detected a faint light ahead, which grew and grew until it became a blinding hole of salvation for his once lost soul. “Thank goodness” he said as he emerged from what was certainly his doom just a few short hours ago.

Thank goodness?

It happened so slowly, imperceptible to the senses, camouflaged by the slow, yet constant ticking of the clock. The beautiful rose bush, producing gorgeous and fragrant blooms which pleased the eye and delighted the nose year after year. It blessed us with its lovely offerings, it was trimmed, fertilized, and watered regularly. But for a time it was neglected, the grass around its base was not pulled out, only cut.

After a time, a stem, resembling the branches of the rose bush grew up among the other branches. Because of the carelessness of its tender it was allowed to coexist with the host plant. And it grew, and grew, and grew, up through the branches slowly, insidiously curving its way to the  top. Beneath the ground its roots co-mingled and wrapped around the roots of the rose, vigorously surrounding the life giving, nutrient bearing foundations.

One day, it finished its climb to the top and there it produced a single leaf above the leaves of the rose. Its color cloaked the greens of the rose bush with a fuller and more vibrant green appearance. The sunlight, the wonderful power that causes growth was finally fully experienced by this alien organism. Just one shoot had finally reached the top.

In the meantime the squeezing, encircling root invisible to the eye continued to rob the rose of its ability to nourish the stems and leaves above the ground. The flowers grew smaller and lasted for shorter periods. Even the fragrance, once robust and penetrating, became dull and hardly noticeable anymore. Now the intruder had grown over the top of the rose, exalting in its new found position. The sunlight caused an exponential explosion of growth at the top of the single, previously unnoticed stem, and it flourished, spread out over the rose and soon it blocked the precious sunlight which had been the source of its growth and beauty. The rose bush became weak, wilted, and dead. It’s roots strangled below the surface, its leaves and branches covered in darkness.

In the place of the once colorful, fragrant rose bush, there is now just a bush. No flowers for beauty, no fragrance for delightful smell, just a bush.

Mark 4:3-8

Hebrews 12:15

(look it up)

Look up at the sky at night and see the stars, so great in number and so far away. Who invented them? Look at the beautiful blue sky, the clouds floating by, the rain, and the rainbow. Who designed these? Look at the vast oceans, the high mountains, and the great rivers; long and winding as they make their way to the seas. Whose ideas were these? Look at the animals, the plants, the insects swarming everywhere. Who formed them?

Look at your phone, your television and the light bulb in your lamp. Who invented them? Consider the cars, the tall buildings, even the airplanes. Who designed these? See the computer, the watch on your wrist and the shoes on your feet. Whose ideas were these? Look at your house, the furniture, the bathroom, and even the kitchen sink. Where did they come from? How were they formed?

We know who invented the light bulb, the T.V., and the phone. We know who designed the car, the building, and the airplane. We know whose idea became the computer, the wristwatch, and even the shoes on your feet. We know where your furniture, your bathroom, and even your kitchen sink came from and how they were formed.

These wonderful achievements from the wisdom of man; their inventors, designers, and builders all known and recorded in the history and science books for all to see. How awesome these mighty inventions are taught in our textbooks to future generations of children who reap the benefits of these wonders of human ingenuity… and yet…

NOWHERE in the textbooks will you find that the telephone, the television, the light bulb, the car, the skyscraper, the airplane, the computer, the wristwatch, your shoes, your house, your bathroom, and even your kitchen sink just appeared out of thin air. That would be ridiculous to think that, wouldn’t it? And yet…

Look at the stars, the beautiful blue sky, the clouds, the rain, and the rainbow. See the vast oceans, the mighty mountains, and the great rivers. Consider the animals, the plants, even the insects. The same writers who recorded the inventions of man and their skillful, thoughtful, wise creations write that the stars, the earth, and all living things, things far more complex than any of mankind’s achievements or inventions just appeared our of thin air…

Is this really wisdom??

^{14 “}What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? ¹⁷ Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

¹⁸ But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.²⁰ But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? ²² You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

James 2:14-24, NASB

^{20 “}And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; ²¹ for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I will get well.” ²² But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well.”

Matthew 9:20-22, NASB

This poor woman, bleeding for twelve years. The Bible calls her ailment a hemorrhage, which means this was a persistent, twelve year illness. By Jewish law and custom, she was unclean and was most definitely ostracized from public gatherings. She was sick. But when she heard about Jesus, she believed; in other words she had faith in him, saying to herself, “If I only touch the fringe of His garment, I will get well.” She had faith, she believed in Jesus’ power to heal but still she remained unhealed. In her desperation she put her faith into action, taking a bold step; to go into a public gathering without the announcement  of unclean as prescribed in the Jewish law. And further, she would touch Jesus, which would make Him unclean, according to the Law. (Lev 15:19+25)

So in her faith, she performed a work, she covered herself, concealed her ailment  and in faith touched Jesus’ garment. What awesome faith! If she had been discovered , she could have suffered serious consequences from all those who she touched in the crowd to get to Jesus.

Her faith was not enough to heal her, she had to do the work to be healed.

As a result Jesus turns to her and confirms her healing. She was already healed (Mark 5:29), but to hear the master say to her, “Your faith has made you well,” must have been the single most precious words she had ever heard. Mark records in chapter 5 verse 22 that this woman had grown worse by the doctors care she received. And that verse 29 immediately the flow of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed from her affliction.

Her faith that “If I just touch Him” was followed by her work “she reached out and touched His garment” and it was reckoned to her as righteousness. “Your faith has made you well, go in peace.”

Is her act of faith any different than Abraham? Abraham believed God which is faith, he offered up Isaac to be burned, his work, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Neither the woman with “the issue of blood” or the Patriarch Abraham would have been justified by their faith alone, the proof of their faith to God and to themselves was not saying “I will offer him” or “I will touch Him,” but it was the work of doing what they said. By this these two were united as doers of the Word and not simply hearers or speakers.

True faith, produces works, it has to or it is just not true faith. The justification which follows is the product of the works done in faith.

We do not do works to be righteous. We do works because He is righteous.

Not to be saved.

But because we are saved.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Ephesians 2:8-10

 

Noah and his family lived in a valley near the mountains, a stream flowed through it which he, his wife Sophia and their two children, Liam and Emma used for drinking water, their livestock, and to irrigate new fields. One year the Sky was barren of clouds and the usual rains did not come.  Soon the stream dried up to a trickle which left no water for the vegetables in the field, so Noah and his family had to let their crops die. All of the trees turned brown and nothing was left growing but sparse patches of grass near the hill under the shade of the rocks. Not long after the crops died the trickle ceased, and Sophia and their kids were forced to stop watering the livestock, because there was barely enough water for them to drink.

One by one, the chickens, the dogs, the goats, and the milk cow died with no water to drink. Without the animals, no eggs, no milk, no meat, the family began to become malnourished. The puddles of water became mud and Noah was forced to leave his family, weak and dehydrated to look for water.

He kissed the dry parched lips of his wife Sophia and held her tightly, then he took his son and his daughter, weak from this accursed dryness into his arms and shed a small salty tear, as he headed for the mountains to look for water.

He climbed up and up to the heights, looking for water, but found none. Barely able to walk, he started back to his home, hopeless and weak.

As he approached the house, there was no shout of joy at his return. Not even a movement from anywhere around the once lush farm. Inside, he found his wife and children, on the bed, all dead from dehydration and malnutrition. He cried, but no tears were found in his eyes; too dry. He gently lifted Sophia and carried her body up the hill to the rocks. After, he carried  Liam and Emma up the hill, lastly he carried the shovel to dig the holes to bury his beloved family. With his last ounces of strength he began to dig his wife’s grave. One, two, three shovels full of dirt, and the fourth shovel of dirt caused him to fall to his knees. He collapsed and died, not from lack of food, or water, or strength. He perished from sorrow, his fourth shovel of dirt revealed a hidden spring at the base of the rock.

A spring where the grass had been in the shade of the rock, a spring only yards from their home. A spring of life, undiscovered until it was too late.

Please, don’t wait too long to discover the hidden spring in your life.

John 4:14 (look it up!)

 

“Truly truly I say to you he who believes in me, the works I do, he will do also. And greater works than these he will do because I go to the Father.”

John 14:12

“Truly truly I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is the one sent greater than the one who sends him.”

John 13:16

“Remember the word that I said to you, a slave is not greater than his master, if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you, if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.”

John 15:20

The works I do, he will do also. If we look at this sentence, the works I do, you will do also, we can substitute a different “work” and perhaps understand better. For instance, “the shoes I make, you will make also.” Let’s put it into perspective. The master cobbler has made his best pair of shoes for three years, and during that time he has taught twelve cobblers to make the same shoes. The same quality shoes of the same resemblance which the old cobbler has instructed them. Two days before his death the cobbler say to his apprentices;

“The doctor says I have two days to live and so now I command you in my name , continue to make these shoes as I instructed you, just the way I showed you these last few years. If you believe in my product and continue to make them according to my instructions, you will make many more pairs of shoes than I did, because I will die in two days.”

After the cobbler’s death, these twelve fully trained cobblers continued in the trade as trained, they make shoes for years and years, perhaps fifty years. In the future years some turn to mass production as technology increases. Most abandon the old methods thinking them to be archaic and tedious. But one cobbler of the twelve continues to make his shoes the same way as he was taught, one pair at a time, one stitch at a time, one tack at a time. Because he makes fewer pairs of shoes than the others he is laughed at and minimalized by the others as a relic.

The shoes of the production cobblers are many thousands more. People see the new styles and colors and buy them with zealous abandon. They wear them out, throw them away, and get another pair. These shoes are cheap to produce and cheap in quality.

The old style cobbler’s shoes are fewer. They look more old fashioned than his contemporaries. Unnoticed by everyone but the cobbler and the ones who buy his product is this; his shoes are still sturdy, lasting, and beyond the growth of those who wear them, they are often handed down and worn by multiple generations. Yes, they are more expensive, but this is because of the care and quality which this old style cobbler has put into them. Still he makes his shoes the way the master cobbler taught him, believing that his product was worth replicating. Those who own them do not throw them away, they hand them down to others because these shoes are built to stand the test of time.

The new style cobblers are living large, rich and fat with the world’s goods. They are sure that they are far more powerful than the old style cobbler and that they know even more than the master cobbler who taught them long ago, after all, look at all the shoes they’ve made compared to him.

What a failure they say among themselves when they look at the less successful, faithful old style shoe maker, still crafting by hand according to the masters teaching. All things considered, they are all still just shoes.

1 Corinthians 3:11-15

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house, and yet it did not fall for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rains fell and the floods came and the wind blew and slammed against that house and it fell, and great was it’s fall. ”

Matthew 7:24-27

Both men have heard the same words from Jesus. The first man has believed the words and has build his life upon the truths of the Gospel, he has entered through the narrow gate. It was not an obvious, wide opening, but one which he had to search to find. The truth which he received upon entering was a blueprint for righteousness and truth, faith in Christ and reliance upon God and not his own self. He has constructed the walls of his  house/life on the rock of His salvation and grouted the stones with the blood of Jesus. It is firm upon the foundation of the prophets. The stones of his house are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. The storms of life rage against this house, but it is steady, built upon a foundation not made by man but by God.

The second man has heard the same words, yet he has not believed them. He has entered through the wide gate. (v. 13) It was easy to find because most everyone was going that way. He said in his heart; “This must be right because everyone is going this way, completely forgetting the words Jesus spoke he receives blueprints for for his life from his own intellect, the opinions of others and popular human beliefs.”

The stones of his house are greed,lust, pride, arrogance, self reliance, materialism and humanism. The foundation is upon the sands of change and uncertainty. The mortar of his house is self-righteousness. He is sure that he is safe. The storms rage against his house also, and as the stones of his life crumble, filled with fear the mortar of self-righteousness fails, his house is undermined and his house falls. And great is its fall.

Friends, we have all heard the words of Jesus. But not all of the stones of our life are His stones. The righteous wise and the unrighteous foolish are both subjected to the storms of life. Neither are exempt from failure, financial ruin, sickness, or death. The difference is their outcome. If your life is not built upon the solid foundation of Jesus’ words, please, please, turn around, listen to the Master’s word again, listen and believe, turn around and go back against the flow of people entering that wide gate and exit through it. Don’t stop until you are out, and when you are out, find that narrow gate which leads to righteousness in Christ Jesus. Find it and go through it. 

Our Father is rich in mercy and longs for your arrival inside the narrow gate. If you have breath in your lungs and another beat in your heart; repent, believe, and enter in. Our God is waiting with open arms, ready to forgive. Rebuild your house on the rock, the only solid foundation, with stones of righteousness and the mortar of Christ’s blood.

Yes, our God allows and even encourages you-turns.