I am sure there will be many who view my writing as nonsense, and I will be viewed as a fanatic; but, for this book to be credible, it must be supported in whole by the Holy Word of God. That means I will not seek to issue my opinion or the opinion of any other and will stick to God’s infallible Word for my substantiation. Opinions today are short-lived and insignificant; and, for my writing to have any force or power, it must be factual. I do not view myself as important or necessary. God can and will use whosoever or whatever He so chooses to convey His truth, and it is up to the individual to decide if they will accept what is being revealed. The choices and opinions of man have no real bearing as to what is to be considered as truth, and will only be used in determining his eternal state or restitution. There is only one power that is sustainable; Almighty God is in control of it all, and He is the only one who has the power to control and command. His powers are unquestionable and absolute. I can do nothing of real value on my own.
If God has inspired me to write what I have written, then it can and will be used by Him to accomplish His intent or purpose. If that purpose was only to get me to reflect and study His Word, then His purpose has been accomplished; it was a worthy cause and is not to be questioned. If God can use what I have accomplished through the power of His Holy Spirit to bless my life, He can also use it, through His same Spirit, to renew and bless the heart of another. I cannot convince or convict anyone; that can only be accomplished through the power of His Holy Spirit, through a loving and all-powerful God. It is His supreme purpose to reclaim man unto Himself, and He willingly died to accomplish His goal. There has never been, in the history of man, anyone who has willingly given so much for such an unselfish purpose, to redeem those who hated Him unto his death, to forgive those who despised Him unto His crucifixion. Some of His last words were, “Father, forgive them for they; know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). The forgiveness of God has given me a solemn purpose; and, in my joy, I am made to feel responsible for the lives of the unredeemed. It is not my intention to cause contention but to express the truth of His Word. All I can do is willingly empty myself of all evil intentions and allow Him to direct me as I seek to honor Him. It is all about Him; it is all for Him; and it will come to naught if it is not blessed by Him. One of the first questions I feel compelled to answer is that of my creditability or authority in writing. While I think this issue to be important, I feel that it is many times overstressed and, on many occasions, a deterrent to a creditable assessment or view. I have spent the majority of my life under the influence of many men, devout men who were deeply rooted in the doctrines and teachings of God’s Holy Word. Throughout all of my years, I have found that God has remained consistent. His intentions have not been altered or restrained, and He will one day return as He promised He would do. The day of His reappearing has not been diminished; He will come again. The only thing in question is the hour of His return. I have listened to many sermons, and while the subject has varied, the theme has always been the same. There is only one true God; and He is the creator of all things, this earth, and all who dwell upon it.
Where do I find credibility in the opinions of sinful man? Knowing godly men, I have been taught the true oracles and commandments of a holy God and how He expects me to abide by all that He has decreed. Knowing godly men, I have been warned not to base my redemption upon the ones who taught me, but upon the One from which that message was acquired. In God’s Word, 2 Peter 3:3, I have been warned that in the last days false prophets and scoffers will come, denying the truth of God’s holy promise. If I willingly heed their deception, I will lose that blessed hope of eternal life in Christ. A foolish thought can only cause me confusion and doubt while a foolish action will bring me unto that place of total destruction. The most foolish action of man is to place his eternal soul in the hands of unregenerate man. The only true gospel is found in God’s Holy Word. To rely upon the advice or opinions of mortal man for my salvation is to place myself in jeopardy of the fires of hell. Where am I to go and to whom am I to listen? My creditability is obtained by God’s command that I go as one of His children and tell this world of His love and power to redeem (Matthew 28,19-20). There has never been given me the right or opportunity to refuse or to question. The command is to go; and, if I am to be found faithful, I will do as I have been commanded.
Man, through the temptation of Satan, has willingly fallen into sin; and, through the love of a submissive God, God has provided the way for our redemption through the sacrificial death of His only Son. Times have changed. We have, as the Bible refers to it, “fallen away”, but the truth remains the same. The intentions of man have become self-directed. He is no longer content with doing those things that are intended, but he is driven to possess those things that are not to be considered favorable. Selfish desires and the lusts of the flesh are at their highest peak, and man is content to revel in the disobedience of the moment. It is all about now with no thought about the future and its consequences. A desire to live comfortably is understandably acceptable, but to sacrifice your eternal future for a moment of evil passion is total insanity. Satan has gone all out to insure that his kingdom will be laden with the tortured souls of unregenerate men and women. It is somewhat understandable that he would willingly sacrifice all that he has because he has nowhere to go but down; he is already defeated; his place has already been determined. What is so difficult to fathom is why so many people have chosen to go with him when they have been given the opportunity to escape such a hideous place. It is not my place to question their decision. Everyone has been given the opportunity of choice, and I have only the truth to examine the rationality of their selection. I do not want to see anyone go to hell, but the only deterrent I have been given is to share the glorious gospel with all those who have not heard and pray for their eternal souls. God has promised that He will honor my attempt, but that does not mean that everyone who is told will listen or that everyone who listens will heed. I pray that I will continue in His will for my life and that many will be led to Him by my decision to do so. I am given credibility by my willingness to obey.
I have had an extensive educational background, but I feel like higher education does not necessarily come from a college or university. The attentive individual who is aware of his or her surroundings cannot help but gain beneficial insight or knowledge from their everyday experiences. To say that such knowledge is not credible or valid is foolish. In many instances, institutional input has only been detrimental. It has succeeded in changing or destroying what I would consider clear, pure thought and has substituted it with corrupted thinking. It is a common belief in the business world of today that while higher education is a credible alternative, it does not rival on-the-job training and, in most cases, does not stress those attributes that are really needed to do the particular job. Of a truth, many professional jobs or careers must begin with an extensive amount of technical study in order to convey enormous amounts of data in the shortest amount of time. It is also needed to minimize error, to convey the latest improvements or techniques, and to insure intellectual understanding. Every profession, highly skilled or simplistic, had a point of origin and has been improved and expanded by trial and error or some other form of knowledge gathering. During my college experience, I was afforded this appropriate example. As a graduate student, I was required to write a thesis in order to obtain my degree. I have never found any difficulty in my writing except in the case of research and the gathering of materials for my writing. Whether I found it boring or just could not relate to its importance, I found myself doing as little of it as possible. Finding those articles or authorities that concurred with my own particular thoughts or opinions was to me somewhat uninspiring and insignificant. Their agreement would make us compatible, but it would not prove us to be accurate or correct. My opinions and beliefs were already a part of my character, and I did not need to research data to arrive at a conclusion or judgment. It did not impress or concern me that others believed as I, and I was in no way ready to change my opinions or beliefs because of the viewpoint of another. I wanted to write, but I wanted to express what I had learned and what I believed to be honest and truthful. I would rise or fall on what I believed to be most important which was to express my personal beliefs and opinions. When I began to write my thesis, I decided that the input of others was not necessary, so I constructed my paper without any outside assistance. I did not find any difficulty in meeting any of the conditions of the class requirements other than that of footnoting. My graduate advisor and my councilor, after reading my glorious achievement, had nothing but praise and applause until they noted that I had conveniently omitted all my footnotes. They told me the paper deserved an A, but only after I had given credit to those who had inspired me to write what I had written. A problem arose when I explained to them that I had written the paper entirely from my own perspective; they seemed perplexed. It seemed that, in their minds, it was impossible for someone in their mid twenties to have the wherewithal or maturity to write such a paper; and I was presented with the dilemma of justifying what I had already written. I do not consider myself arrogant and was more than willing to do what I had to do to meet the assignment and pass the course. Needless to say, I was somewhat frustrated and annoyed since they had already told me that it was a very good paper, but I was not the one who was grading it. In my opinion, if the paper was good, then why did I have to give it credibility by quoting someone else’s opinions? Were their opinions to be superior to mine? Was not originality to be rewarded? All ideas and opinions have had a beginning, were I to be denied the opportunity of expressing what could be considered novel or innovative? I was the one being examined, and I could not see what the opinions of others had to do with justifying my judgments or opinions. The truth cannot be altered or improved, and I did not feel that my opinion or beliefs needed any amending. What is true needs no cooperation or agreement of the masses.
Opinions are only important in that they express the views of the deliverer. The important reality is the sincerity of the author and his ability to express or relate what has been proven to be undistorted. Most of what I was to write was to be my judgment or view and I could not see what another’s opinion had to do with what I thought or believed. The only undiminished truth in existence is God’s Holy Word. God is the only infallible entity that exists; God is the only perfection that we have ever known or will ever know. His ways are true, His judgments are honest, and His existence is without beginning or end. The opinions of man are to be considered, but unlike the Holy Word of God, they are not infallible and are not to be deemed as totally credible. When we choose to glorify the opinions of man or to make their opinions the rule of action, we insert ourselves in a place of instability. Without the substantiation of the truth of God, opinions are only theories or assumptions and are not considered sustainable. To build or establish your existence upon assumption is to live the life of a fool, and to dismiss the truth of God’s Word as invalid is total self-destruction. Life, in and of itself, is a journey of learning and of gaining knowledge. The association of those around us, friend and foe, is not only for our enjoyment and enlightenment but aid in our edification for the good as well as the bad. The person who refuses to learn from those things that he is forced to endure is at least ignorant, if not foolish. Everything that we are taught or have learned has a purpose or intent, and if we are to gain any knowledge from it, we must be willing to accept and apply its meaning or intent. Many of the unpleasant things that we experience are there as a deterrent, and the wisdom that we gain from them is there as an admonishment or warning. To undergo those unwanted experiences repeatedly does not show any intelligence and we should do all that is necessary to not go through them again. I have known many people. Some I considered to have been very knowledgeable, but my consideration was not based upon how much schooling they had or how well off they were. True intellect is not based upon chance or being in the right place at the right time. The truly intelligent individual is one who has not only the knowledge for proper living but also the wisdom in knowing how to apply it. A fool who will not be swayed by the truth will always remain a fool no matter how educated or enlightened he becomes. To refuse to accept those things that can be proven as profitable because they affirm you to be misinformed is the purest example of arrogance. “I believe that God can make me as intellectual and creative as He wants or needs me to be.” That is not to say that I have gained any greater relevance or importance but that I am only being used to fulfill His divine purpose. All knowledge comes from God, and the ability to use or transfer that knowledge is also from Him. This manuscript is and of itself, evidence of that truth. The only thing I can and must do is to open up my heart and my will to His direction and willingly go wherever He leads. The only complete source of knowledge that can truly be without dissention is the Holy Word of God. That is why it must be maintained within its unaltered state. That is why we must not trifle with it. When the Word of God is changed, we do not become better off; we are made to become more ignorant. When the Word of God is changed, doubt is increased and we become less reliant upon it for being infallible and honest. Without God’s Word, we are left in total confusion and lacking a true pattern for a way to live. Most of what I write is based upon God’s Word, and I have no other purpose than that of expressing what I have found to be the truth. Just because I say that something is true does not make it so, but when it can be confirmed by God’s living Word, there can be no justifiable dissention. Truth is not determined by believing, and believing does not make it truth. It is a wise policy to question all that you are told. Patients wisely seek a second opinion. It is just as prudent for you to check out those things that have eternal consequences. Once you have determined what you know to be the truth, it is just as prudent that you follow and obey those things you have been shown.
As I began to write, I asked God to allow me to show and reveal those things that are profound and mystical. The more I thought about it, the more I was directed to reveal those things that are truly significant and consequential. It really doesn’t matter how deep or knowledgeable you are; if you refuse to apply that knowledge to your everyday living, it becomes fruitless and unprofitable. God did not intend for His children to be burdened with the many cares and problems of this evil world. It was not God’s intention for man to be His enemy. In the beginning, the ardent love of a flawless God was intended for man’s endless blessing, not to become a necessity for his eternal deliverance. What good are those things that we see as desirable when we do not have those things that are necessary? What good are the deep, profound things of life if we cannot understand those things that are simple? God wants to be that shining light that leads us into His infinite goodness. As the star directed the shepherds to the manger, He wants to light the way unto His undeniable truth. Without Him, we are forever lost; without Him, we have no way of deliverance. His humble birth and then His painful death reveal the truly deep and important things in life to us. Life without a Savior is a life without hope, and life without hope is a life that would have been better left un-imagined. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. 1 Corinthians 1: 27-29
I have spent many hours in prayer, seeking God’s will in my life. I have asked Him for His guidance and constant leadership as I go through each day. That does not make me special, but it does help me to be more readily available and eager to understand what He has for me in my life. The only thing that makes me better is when I seek His guidance and willingly apply what He shows me I must do. It is only God’s will for my life that will make me what I am intended to be. It is only God’s will that will give me the true peace and purpose that I need to become truly fulfilled and successful. God’s will is the only success that is without limits and is constantly enduring. I have no strength of my own but must depend upon God for all that I do. That is not a cop-out but a true expression of how it really is. No man has been given the ability to exist on his own, and attempting to do so only shows one’s pride and ignorance. The Bible states that all of our labors are in vain without God’s guidance and blessing, and I find it only prudent to attest to its accuracy. I do not seek to glorify myself or gain any praise of man. My true desire is to please the One whom I wish to serve. I thank Him for all that He has done in my life as I humbly seek to serve. May God’s abundant grace be granted unto every man, and may everyone who seeks His will for their life find true and eternal peace. The only credibility to be found in this life is to be found in the existence of an all-powerful Savior. A God without beginning or end, He will give us all that is required to meet the needs of an ever demanding day. His ways are holy, and His judgments are pure. He will forever uphold the ways of the righteous, and He will lift up the hands of the poor and sorrowful. True wisdom is found in Him; and, without Him, we are destined to fall in defeat. In all that I have written, I give praise to Him as I seek to do what in my heart I know He has called me to do. What is more worthy than to honor Him, or what is more creditable than to obey?