Genesis 10:1-11:9

Notes compiled with my BSF group

Note: Genesis 9 and 10 show the origin of the world’s nations. Genesis 11 shows why they were scattered and is chronologically before Genesis 10.


NIMROD IS THE WORLD'S FIRST DICTATOR (Genesis 10:8-12)

Nimrod was the son of Cush (Genesis 10:8)
Nimrod was a might warrior (Genesis 10:8)
God called him a might hunter (Genesis 10:9)

In history, Nimrod was the world’s first dictator, and he established his kingdom in Babylon. He was very powerful but very corrupted and very evil.

For more info, see here:
http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/nimrod.html

Babylon represents government of men, powered by Satan (Revelation 17-19). Ultimately, this power will ultimately be judged and never again will Babylon stand. (See my notes for details.)


GENEALOGY OF GOD'S PEOPLE IS TRACEABLE

An accurate documentation of genealogy allows us to know exactly the lineage of Jesus Christ. The Bible details genealogies to prove the accuracy of God's prophecies, to leave no room for doubt. Because of these details, we are confident that there is no "maybe" with God. When God says it's going to happen, it's going to happen exactly the way God says it would. Measure it up against history (Check out Daniel, for example); measure it up against science. God's Word stands up to any scrutiny.


TOWER OF BABEL AND THE KINGDOM OF MAN (Genesis 11:1-9)

Shinar (Babylonia) is today's Iraq (Genesis 11:1-2)

Men built the Tower of Babel to be like gods (Genesis 11:3-4)
- To reach the heavens

- To make a name for themselves
- To not be scattered over the earth

Today, we continue to build that Tower of Babel. We hunger for power, to be on the top of the world. We want that power to feed our pride, so that we can be gods and be worshiped.

Do these cravings sound familiar? Satan fell because of the same prideful lusts. Things do not end well for him (Revelation 20:7-10). I highly doubt things would end better for those who follow his footsteps. In fact, I already know things do not fare better for those who continue to challenge the sovereignty of God (Books of Revelation, Daniel, Isaiah... Heck, the entire Bible pretty much makes this very clear).

Men of Babylon sought selfish gains
In the Book of Revelation, people who held on tightly to worldly gains are called "earth-dwellers."

As children of God, we were not meant for this corrupted world. We were meant to dwell with God in Heaven. However, we have fallen with Satan, and that is why we are living in this corrupted world. 

Fortunately, this is not the end for us. God sent Jesus to redeem us, so that we may return to our rightful place next to God.

Unfortunately, there are many who have come to love the world. Instead of accepting salvation and ever-lasting life, they would rather hold on to worldly treasures. Even when they witness the destruction of such worldly treasures in one day (Revelation 18:8), even when they finally witness the sovereignty of God, they would rather curse God than repent (Revelation 16:11). This is how attached earth-dwellers are to this world. This is how hard their heart would be.

Such earth-dwellers care only about themselves and the accumulation of their own earthly treasures. They certainly do not care for God's will. And in God's eyes, they certainly are not fruitful as God had commanded us to be (Genesis 9:1).

There is no lure in being earth-dwellers
Looking at our society today, the entire human population as a whole is prideful and think we are gods. We do not follow God’s commands (Exodus 20:1-17), because we think we can do better on our own. We defy God, and we rebel (in fact, the name "Nimrod" means "We will rebel"). Why? Because we answer to no one. How dare anyone tell us what to do? We are our own bosses. We do whatever we want, whenever we want. And we dare to think and behave so boldly because we believe there is no God.

To such thinking, I would offer an advice: Make sure your beliefs are TRUE. Make darn sure those beliefs reflect the Truth. Because, man, it would suck so bad if you are on the wrong side come judgment day. Atheists, if there is no God, you have nothing to gain (though living the Christian way would make you at least an awesome person); but if there is God (and we know there is), then you have everything to lose. Really, really, check that pride. It's just not worth burning for an eternity.

Love God, love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40)
Christianity is not about rules. Christianity is about love, God's love.

It is very unfortunate that people get bogged down by the Law of Moses, but as I have elaborated in the last BSF study, the main point of the Law of Moses is vividly show us exactly why we are sinners. It is to show us how high God's standards are, and how impossible it is for us to live up to it. But God didn't give us the Law so that we can feel defeated. God gave us the Law so that we would look to Jesus, to understand that because we cannot achieve His standards by our own works, He has Jesus to accomplish EVERYTHING for us. Why? Because God loves us.

With that understanding, we can start to appreciate why Jesus had only two commandments, and both commandments revolved around love: 

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40)

ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS HANG ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS. This sums up exactly what I have just elaborated above. Christianity is not about rules. It is about understanding God's love, allowing that love that flow through us, and ultimately, spreading that love to others.

Earth-dwellers, Babylonians, governments of men -- whatever we want to call them, they have no such concept.

In the last days, people will be lovers of themselves
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth." (Timothy 3:1-7)

The United States of America was found on Christian principles. Our forefathers held Christian values and knew that freedom was a blessing from God. We were founded as a Christian nation, and now, look at where we are. Politicians are eager to disconnect our relationship with God, desperately uprooting the foundation of this nation.

I don't often get on my soap box, because I want this blog to be more about learning about what the Word of God says rather than my opinions on current events. However, I will take the chance to do so here, because BSF has opened that can of worms for me.

Study the Bible. The world is not just about the US. The world is not just about the Middle East. The world is not just about gas prices and wars and shifting political powers. Study the Bible, and we learn that everything that has happened in the past were prophesied in advance. Study the Bible, and we learn that there are prophesies of future events that have yet to pass. And if past events occurred just as prophesied, my money is on those future events being fulfilled down to the t.

Where does this all lead to? The second coming of Jesus Christ. The ENTIRE Bible is about the first and second coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus comes first as the servant savior (Lamb of God), but He will one day return as the judging warrior (Lion of Judah). When will Jesus return? We don't know the exact day or time, but we are taught to know the seasons. And in the end of days, more and more people will become lovers of this world. This is just one of the many signs for the end of days. That is, if we only see more and more people falling away from the Lord, that is NOT enough to say, "Yep, we're in the end of days!" God's prophecies are ALWAYS fulfilled 100%. And so, in order for us to confirm that we are in the end of days, ALL prophecies regarding this period need to be fulfilled.

Having said the above, I do indeed believe we are in the end of days. Why? Many, many Biblical reasons supported by current events and the fulfillment of prophecies. Perhaps one day I'll write up a complete summary. However, for the time being, if you're interested in the knowing the times, you're in for a treasure hunt. Here are some of my notes on the subject:
http://aletheia-seekers.blogspot.com/2011/11/matthew-24-signs-of-end-of-days.html
http://aletheia-seekers.blogspot.com/2011/12/revelation-28-11.html

Before I step down from my soap box, I do want to address an additional point. I am aware that there are many people who are eager to predict when certain things are going to happen. And yes, those people can get quite out of hand. And unfortunately, they become easy targets for mockery.

My thoughts? Study the Bible. I hope all my notes on this blog have been able to paint a clear picture of such a seemingly simple  advice. Study the WHOLE counsel of God -- Don't take things out of context, and don't pick and choose. The ENTIRE Bible needs to be considered, not just the parts that fit out theory the best.

Jesus told us to know the seasons, but He also told us that only the Father know the time and the day. 

And so, to the fanatics who are trying to predict the Rapture, give it up already. Jesus already said no one but the Father knows the day and time. Don't become obsessed with the date. Stay focused on Jesus and use the time we have on this Earth to do God's will.

To the mockers who pounce on every chance you get to take advantage of Christians who fall, nobody's perfect. Christians make mistakes just as readily as the next person, Christian or not. However, if you justify your pride and validate your belief that there is no God based on such mistakes, my heart aches for you. I do not want to see you fall, but if you do not check your facts and only follow the ways of the world, you will. And you will fall way harder than Christians who fall. Because when Christians fall, Jesus holds us up. When non-Christians fall, Satan makes sure you stay down.

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? (Psalm 2:1)
The people in Genesis 11:1-9, the people in Psalm 2:1-5, and the people today are all the same: Prideful. We lust for power, and we fight to have more power, because all we want to do is be gods.

But look at what God says, "Why do the nations conspire and the people plot in vain?" (Psalm 2:1)

Plot in vain means useless plans -- Plans that lead to failure! That is, no matter how much we plan to have power, we will fail. Why? BECAUSE WE ARE NOT GODS.

We are the created. And yet, we have the audacity to think we can beat God?

Just as God broke down the Tower of Babel, God will also rebuke us with anger (Psalm 2:5).


GOD SCATTERED THE PEOPLES ALL OVER THE EARTH (Genesis 11:5-9)

God is behind every power
God confused man's languages and scattered people all over Earth to keep man's pride in check.

Romans 13:1
"The authorities that exist have been established by God"

Through prophets like Daniel and Isaiah, we see clearly that all powers that have taken place in history were all allowed by God. God used the Assyrians to judge the Israelites, and because the Assyrians were prideful, God used the Babylonians to judge the Assyrians. Ultimately, as we read in Daniel, the world will face 4 major powers: Babylon, Greece, Rome, and Mystery Babylon.

The first 3 major powers have already come before us. Cross check it with history. Babylon was a great empire, but it was conquered by Greece. After Greece, Rome took over. Rome slowly declined, but it was never conquered by another power. 

Today, there is a great power in Europe and the US. However, in the end days, the US is not in the Bible. From the Book of Revelation, we learn that Mystery Babylon will arise. It is called Mystery Babylon, because we do not know what this uprising power and future nation will be. However, we do know that it will be led by the Antichrist, powered by Satan. This last great nation will lead us all to the final battle, where Jesus comes on the day of vengeance before He brings 1000 years of peace to Earth.

In sum, God is behind EVERYTHING. Every power, corrupted or good, they all work toward accomplishing God’s vision.

People who are evil and powerful may think they are getting away with being evil, but they are wrong. The time simply hasn’t come yet for judgment. God allows us to do as we wish, because He is giving us time for us to return to Him. But, He will not wait forever. Judgment will come. One day, all evil will be destroyed, and all righteousness will be restored.

Without God, we are corrupted
God’s values give us a guideline about what is righteous and what is evil. God’s judgment allows us to know that justice is fair – Evil will be judged, and the righteous will be protected. And because we know that God is the judge, we know that we cannot just do what we want. We know that we will be responsible for our actions and choices. And thus, we should be driven to make righteous choices. As we see through the disciples of Acts 2, people of God work together to achieve the will of God.

People who do not know God, people who reject God, people who refuse to recognize God -- people of Genesis 11:1-9 -- they have no such values. They can be as corrupted as they want, because they do not think God will judge them. The scheme to become gods themselves as opposed to submitting to God.



AFTERTHOUGHTS

We are Babel; we are Nimrod; we are Babylon
We are just like the people of Babel. We pride ourselves in science and technology. Through technology, we have accomplished a lot. We can send spaceships to Mars, we can make organs out of cells. We feel like gods, and we have started to think we are gods. We think that because we are so advanced, we can use science to prove that God doesn’t exit. Based on our own knowledge, we think that we can do anything we want, that we are the most amazing beings in the world.

Pride is very dangerous. It blinds us. It blinds us from the truth. What is the truth? God created the world. God created us! How can we ever be greater than God? And yet, pride comes into our heart, and we start to believe that we can be more powerful than God.

Instead of acknowledging God’s power and being grateful of God’s love and protection, we spit God in the face and say, we know better than you. We taunt Him and test Him. We dare Him to show Himself, and when He doesn't, we sneer and pat ourselves on the back, "See, there is no God."

Dangerous, dangerous pride. God does not operate on our terms. There is timing for everything. God's grace is the only reason judgment has not yet come. God's grace is allowing all who have not yet heard His message to hear it and have the chance to accept salvation. But that grace will not last forever. And the time will come when God cashes in on such taunts.

Jesus is the only way to God (John 14:6; Acts 4:12)
Receive the salvation of Jesus Christ and Jesus alone. There is no one else. Only through Jesus can we reach God.

Jesus warned us against false religions. Those who seek false religions do not seek the Truth. They do not seek the one and only God. They seek, instead, comfort. They just want a greater force that makes them feel good. They do yoga. They bow to Mother Nature. They meditate and practice zen. They seek inner peace. What they never seek is the Truth. They have no desire to get to know God. At the end of the day, it’s all just a selfish desire to feel better about themselves, to have inner peace. And at the end of the day, it’s all about pride.

Many people say that Christianity is exclusive, and that a truly loving God will never be exclusive. Please try and understand the illogical thinking in that kind of idea.

First, when something is true, by nature, IT IS EXCLUSIVE. If there is only ONE exit out of a building, THERE REALLY IS ONLY ONE EXIT. You may like to think otherwise if that makes you feel better. You may choose to seek other ways of exit in the case of a fire. But, should you really be surprised to find yourself trapped inside a burning building because you chose to ignore the FACT that there has always been that one and only exit in the building?

Truth is Truth. The Truth exists regardless of how we feel.

Second, God IS all loving. Christianity is inclusive. It is God's will to save ALL humans (2 Peter 3:9). And He has provided the one and only way: through Jesus Christ. ANYONE can receive Jesus. It doesn't matter whether we're rich or poor, highly educated or uneducated, male or female, any color of skin -- It doesn't matter who we are or where we have been or what we have done. At any moment in time, God is there for us. At any moment in time, we can receive Jesus.

Having said the above, let us heed Jesus' warning about false teachers and false teachings. Seek the Truth, and the Truth shall set us free (John 8:32). Temporary worldly comfort is not worth eternal suffering.

How do we know we have the Truth? TEST IT. 

Acts 17:11
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

Never just believe anything people tell you. This is not a safe way to distinguish Truth from false teachings! Read the Bible, and test its truthfulness. There are hundreds of prophecies written long before those events actually took place. Today, we have the benefit of knowing exactly what happened in history and validate whether Biblical passages describing those events are accurate. This is just one of the many ways to determine the Truth that the Bible speaks. Now, do the same with whatever other religion fancies you. Can those religions stand up to the test?

Seek the Truth, my friends. Temporary worldly comfort is just not worth eternal suffering.

Paganism Revels On

from the October 23, 2012 eNews issue
(visit Koinonia House for a FREE subscription)


"When they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." (Romans 1:21-25)

Pagans in Utah stepped out of the broom closet, so to speak, earlier this month to declare their existence and to dispel misinformation about paganism and witchcraft. "A lot of the misinformation is that witches are evil, that witches are green, that witches are ugly, that witches sacrifice children or eat babies or whatever the case may be, that there is worship of Satan, things of that nature," said pagan entrepreneur Rita Morgan, whose store Crone's Hollow in South Salt Lake not only sells ritual supplies but serves as a meeting place for local covens.

The pagan festival of Samhain ("Sawin") was celebrated by the Celts as the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter, halfway between the summer and winter solstices on about October 31st. With bonfires and (rumored) human sacrifice to shy off the dead, the holiday was considered a day in which the door opened between this world and the next, and the dead walked among the living. Other historical efforts to protect oneself from evil spirits involved dressing in costume and lighting carved-out turnips or beets.

In our civilized, scientific culture, we tend to think of paganism as something distant, lost in the world of developing nations. In those places, ignorant medicine men seek to chase off disease through spiritual rituals when they would find better results with a tub of bleach water and penicillin. The word "pagan" often brings to mind half-clothed natives dancing around the missionary in the pot, human sacrifice, and barbarism in general.

However, today there is a form of popular paganism that looks surprisingly modern and has followers among intellectuals. While Judeo-Christian morality is increasingly seen as outdated and 'puritanical' in our Western World, the human need for spiritual fulfillment has not disappeared. Instead, updated forms of the old pagan religions are spreading once again.

Neo-Paganism embraces a wide variety of religious traditions, including Wicca, Druidism, Asatru, Shamanism, and neo-Native American beliefs, mixing a variety of the ancient pagan beliefs about nature and the universe, fitting them to modern society. College professors, screenplay writers and the leaders of many ecological movements have delved into modern Paganism, and their ideas come home to us through our college students and our children's movies.

Many people dive into Paganism innocently - out of a desire to find out more about God and the spiritual. They love nature, or they are weary of dry, boring church services. Many do not know the Bible well enough to recognize red flags, and a large number of people consider themselves "Christian" pagans. It is important that we recognize when Neo-Pagan beliefs come in conflict with Biblical Christianity and not confuse being "spiritual" with being led by the Holy Spirit. With a better understanding, we can help prepare our families to deal with the lure of modern Paganism.

What Do Pagans Believe?
Paganism in general, no matter which local flavor, is characterized by reverence for nature and usually involves a number of gods, goddesses, or spirits. Shamanism, Druidism, and the local religions of hundreds of cultures can all be considered pagan. The most prevalent form of modern Paganism is Wicca, or witchcraft, which is an occult form of Paganism that includes casting spells and seeking 'hidden knowledge'.

Modern Paganism is a religion that reveres Nature as divine. Pagans see every plant, animal, man and woman as part of that divinity. Unlike the God of the Bible, who is separate from and greater than His creation, the natural world itself is considered divine and holy.

While the God of the Bible created us in His image, the god and goddess are made in our image - in the image of created things.

To the Pagan, the divine is both female and male, so that Pagans worship both the goddess and the god; loving, wise figures who are seen as completely equal. There are also other lesser gods and goddesses called pantheons. Since Nature is seen as female - Mother Earth or Gaia - the goddess tends to be emphasized. She is seen as our mother, the creator and sustainer of life. Since she is responsible for all living things, the other creatures on our planet are seen as our brothers and sisters. For this reason, Pagans are highly environmentally conscious people - sometimes to the extreme.

Pagan rituals and celebrations follow the cycle of life through the year - birth, maturity, aging and death, spring, summer, autumn and winter - in a continual, never-ending cycle. Even the universe is in a continual cycle. When this world ends, another will begin.

The God of the Bible calls Himself the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End (Rev 1:8). However, Pagans deny any beginning or end, but see a constant cycle of death and rebirth. For this reason, they tend to affirm some form of reincarnation.


Sex and nudity are seen as part of nature, and Pagans have no qualms about sexual activity outside of marriage. In fact, Pagans have much in common with the ancient fertility religions and the high place worship that was done in groves of trees thousands of years ago (Ezek 6:13, Jer 3:6). In that respect, it is interesting that on May 1 Pagans celebrate Beltain, the marriage of the goddess and god, when the god becomes Oak King.

Pagans do not believe in sin or Satan. They are often upset when they are seen as Satanists or satanic, since Satan does not enter into their worldview. Rather, they accept concepts of karma and positive and negative energy. They have no rules or guidebook and no leader. Each pagan follows his or her own spiritual path. The single solid rule of Paganism is: "If it harms none, do what you will." They seek to do 'good' according to their individual understanding of good, to help their communities and take care of the environment and create positive energy. They are responsible to themselves alone, and have their own values and ethics.

Paganism offers spirituality without any rules or regulations, and connection with the spiritual world without requiring submission to the will of the one true God. Paganism teaches that the individual is god, free to choose his or her own path, his or her own boundaries for morality. This is very appealing to those wanting to throw off what they see as oppressive patriarchal religions in favor of the more 'compassionate' female goddess of Paganism. It has had a great deal of influence in the intellectual world, as well as among teenagers. Teens who love nature anyway, and who don't want to be told what to do, find Paganism an attractive form of religion.

Unfortunately, while Pagans see their religion as harmless and good for the environment and community, they do not know the spiritual forces that are truly at work behind it (Eph. 6:12, 1 John 4:1-3).

Denying the problem of sin is self-deceptive and dangerous (1 John:1:8). And by denying sin, Pagans reject their need for a Savior. Whether or not Pagans believe in Satan has no bearing on the reality of his existence and his ability to influence their lives. Paul warns that even Satan can be transformed to look like an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). A good con artist never looks like a con. Instead, he offers you what you want, in a most appealing package, so that when you buy into his lie and accept what he offers, he can pillage you and strip you bare.

God wants us to seek Him with all our hearts, and He said we would find Him when we do so (Deut 4:29, Jer 29:13). We need to make sure that our seeking Him is according to truth, and the Bible is God's Word to us, His own revelation of who He is. We must always be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, who "received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily" to make sure the things they were being taught were so.


Related Links
• Utah's Pagan Community Opens Its Doors - Fox 13 News
• What Are Soul Cakes? - Mother Nature Network
• "Christian Wicca"? - Spotlight Ministries
• Articles On Christianity v. The Occult - Spotlight Ministries
• Christian Answers for the New Age (By a Former Occultist) - CANA
• In And Out Of Wicca - A Former Wiccan Speaks - The Spirit Watch

Faith and Miracles

eNews issue from Koinonia House
Visit their website for a FREE subscription

FAITH IN WHAT?


"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. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:15-16)


"Have faith," people will often say when troubles come along, even people who don't claim to follow Jesus Christ. Billy Joel once crooned about "keeping the faith" complete with a music video. Faith is popular.

When people tell us to have "faith" though, we ought to ask, "Faith in what? Faith in God? Faith in the good nature of the universe? Faith in our own karma? [By the way, in what bank is karma held, and who are the tellers?] We need to make sure we are building our faith on the right foundation.

We do want to see miracles. We want to pray for Grandma's crippling arthritis or cancer and see her healed; we don't want her suffering. We want to pray for healing and freedom and see them - mercifully, beautifully - take place.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." (John 14:12)

But, does God even want to heal Grandma? What if my faith isn't strong enough, or her faith isn't strong enough? In what exactly are we supposed to be having faith? How do we walk arm in arm with Jesus and do the "greater things" that he promised?

We want the power of God to work through us to open the eyes of the blind and free people from oppressive suffering. If God also wants to heal them, why don't we see more miracles around us?

This article will explore the issue of faith and some of the simple errors that we make, errors that get in the way of our prayers.

Mistake #1: Forgetting Who God Is
"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24)

Too often when we pray, we consider God incorrectly. We come to Him with incorrect assumptions about who He is. If we think deep inside, "Oh, God doesn't want to heal Grandma," then how can we pray for her in faith? When we pray, it is vitally important that we approach God according to what is true about Him.

God is alive and He still does miracles: We can declare this with confidence by His constant work in our lives and the lives of countless people we meet through our ministry. Jesus Christ is alive and working in the world today! We know multitudes of people who have been healed and freed, cleansed and miraculously given provision. We know the daily guidance He gives us and the miracles we ourselves see. Precious people around the world can testify to the power of Jesus still at work today.

God is a God of Truth: When He says something, we can trust Him. He loves us to trust Him!

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19)

"Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God." (James 2:23)

God pays attention to everything: He sees us and all the details of our lives. He knows what is going on with us.

"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." (Luke 12:6)

God loves us extravagantly: One of the greatest insults we can give God is to suggest that He doesn't love us. His love is so massive and deep and constant that when we catch just a whiff of it, it blows us over. He loves us with great patience, with long-suffering as He deals with our sin and foolishness and doubt and fear. He moves constantly in our lives to bring us into an ever deeper, truer, more pure relationship with Him. He doesn't always do things the easy way, the way we often want Him to. He does things the right way - the way that will last.

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-7)

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38)

When He doesn't heal Grandma, and she feels like she doesn't have enough faith and that God doesn't love her, what do we say to her? In the leading of the Spirit, we need to put our arms around her as Jesus would, and we need to tell her, "Grandma, God does love you. Don't be afraid. He loves you magnificently, and He longs for you to know His love. Trust Him. He's very willing to take care of you in every way. It's going to be okay. Trust Him." He may still heal her, but whether He does or not, He absolutely loves Grandma. As Job said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him," (Job 13:15).

If we are going to approach God, we absolutely need to approach Him in the truth of who He is. That's where faith starts.

"Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich [man] glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise loving, kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 9:23-24)


A MUSTARD SEED AND AN EMPTY FRIDGE


Sheri Munson gazed into her refrigerator. She saw a box of Arm & Hammer baking soda, a bottle of ancient mustard, and some very old packets of soy sauce. The barren cupboards held a can of pumpkin and the last cup of a bag of rice. That was basically it.

Sheri had five children to feed. As she stared into her empty cupboards, she said, "Okay Lord. I'm going to trust you. You've brought me this far. I can't believe you're going to let me fall off a cliff now. You said you would be my husband. Please provide for us..."

There are times in our lives when we need miracles to take place. Even among Christians, though, there's often a sense that God is no longer in the miracle business. Many people complain that God doesn't answer prayers. At least, if He answers, He says, "No," a lot. If God is not a liar and He loves us, then, why doesn't He answer our prayers? What are we doing wrong? Do we just not have enough faith?

First of all, God does answer prayers. He answers prayers all the time. Sometimes He doesn't do exactly what we want Him to do in our timing. He does things His way in His timing. But, we also make some errors in the way we pray, and we need to understand those errors so that we can pray in the kind of faith that God honors.

Mistake #2 - Putting Faith in Faith
We often make the mistake of putting faith in faith itself. Our faith isn't supposed to be in how great our faith is. Our faith isn't in us, it's in God.

In Matthew 17:20, Jesus said, "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."

A mustard seed is small, the smallest of seeds. The point is, our faith doesn't have to be huge. It just has to be. We need to stop being afraid and doubting, thinking our faith is too small. We need to trust our God that He can take our small faith offering, and He can work with it.

Example - Filling A Fridge
Sheri Munson stared into her empty refrigerator in Rathdrum, Idaho that autumn afternoon in 1997 and told the Lord simply, "I trust You." That was it. That was her great display of faith.

Regardless of the magnitude of Sheri's faith, God moved.
"I had to pick up my son Tyler from the bus station in Spokane," Sheri told us. Tyler was 17 and a big eater, and there was no food in the house for the four kids already at home. What's more, Sheri had no money for gas to drive to get Tyler.

"So, I asked my 9-year-old, Max, for the four dollars he had. He said, 'Mom! I wanted to buy jerky with that four dollars!' I said, 'Max, I have to have gas. We'll buy jerky with one dollar, and with three dollars I can get enough gas to get to the bus station.'" So, Max sacrificed his three bucks.

Just before she left to get Tyler, Sheri's friend Kathy Spackman called and invited Sheri and the kids to come to a barbeque – and not a barbeque in three weeks, a barbeque that evening. "Can I bring something?" Sheri asked, (having nothing to bring but a bowl of rice). "No," Kathy said. "Just come!" That was a relief. At least Tyler would have something to eat when he got in!

Then, they lost the three dollars. When Sheri and Max got to the gas station, the money set aside for gas was missing. They looked all over the car for it. "Finally, we just went in to get Max's one dollar's worth of jerky," Sheri sad. That was it. They had nothing left. Sheri didn't want to think about how they were going to go pick up Tyler.

When they came out, though, twenty dollars had appeared on the front seat. "I started crying," Sheri said. "Max said, 'Mom. It's okay. Don't cry. It's a miracle. Let's buy gas!'" So, they put ten dollars into the gas tank. Off they headed to get Tyler and go to the barbeque.

Tyler ate at Kathy Spackman's gathering as only a growing young man can. It was the only meal Sheri had to offer her son. After the meal, though, Kathy approached Sheri and asked her to PLEASE take some of the leftovers home with her. There was so much food, Kathy told Sheri, and the food would just go to waste if she and the boys didn't take it. "There were steaks!" Sheri told us, "And chicken and salads and potatoes and corn on the cob. There was so much food! They just loaded my car up."

On top of the leftover food, a man at the barbeque had a truck full of bread from the bread store. Normally he got the old bread to feed to his pigs, but the store had just gotten a truckload of fresh bread in and had taken perfectly good bread off the shelves to give to him. He asked Sheri if she wanted any. Sheri told us, "So, then we got bread and doughnuts and little wheat rolls and pastries – all kinds of bread – and put them in the car too."

"Wow Mom," Max said. "God is sure a good shopper with just three bucks!"

"Then we got home," Sheri said, "and there was a ham the kids' father had sent us. And somebody had left us a box of oranges and a box of apples. I still don't know who left the apples and the oranges. And a voice whispered in my heart, 'See, I can take care of you.'"

That wasn't the end of it. The next day, Sheri's friend Cheryl called and said, "Hey, Sheri. We had a moving sale, and I have all this food I couldn't sell that I don't want to move it to the new house. Would you like some of it?" It turned out that Cheryl had an extensive pantry. "There was peanut butter and packages of oatmeal and canned food and dried food and, there was just so much!" Sheri exclaimed.

"The best part of it," Sheri told us, "Was when Tyler said, 'You know, Mom. You're poor, but whenever I come to see you, I always eat really well!'"

On Saturday, Sheri had simply told the Lord, "I trust You," while facing an empty refrigerator and empty cupboards and kids to feed. By Sunday, her cupboards were full, her refrigerator was full and her freezer was full. Her faith wasn't in how good she was or in how much faith she had. She just trusted God not to drop her. She hadn't told people she needed help, but God knew, and God provided for her - pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing.

When we come to God, we must approach Him in Truth, trusting Him and trusting His character. We need to put our faith in His goodness and not our own. That's the beginning of the kind of faith that can move mountains, or fill refrigerators.


EVEN OUR HAIRS - HAMSTER TIME


"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." (Luke 12:6)

In the above example, we learned about the abundant provision God gave a woman with five children to feed. When we hear those sorts of stories, we're grateful for God's coming through in times of great need. However, we don't always think that God is willing to take care of us in the "small" things too, things that maybe not all people will recognize as important.

Fear and doubt edge into our prayer-lives in a variety of ways.

Mistake #3: Thinking Our Request Is Unimportant
We sometimes get the idea that God is only interested in really huge problems. We say, yes, God even cares about the sparrows, but we don't really believe it. We forget that a thousand years to God is as a day, and a day is as a thousand years, and our very hairs are numbered. Every detail about us is important to God. Every detail. Here are two similar stories that demonstrate the care God has for even the animals.

Chipper
The Frattarola family of Martinsburg, West Virginia had a 13-year-old boxer-malamute mix named Chipper. He was a faithful old family dog, and like old dogs do, he became seriously ill. He lost his eyesight and most of his hearing as well. "He would stumble along the wall at the edge of the room in order to keep track of where he was going," John Frattarola told us. He got so bad he couldn't even get up anymore. One morning the family woke up and found that Chipper had vomited bile all over himself the floor. They had to clean him up. He'd had tumors and seizures. The poor old dog was at the end of it.

Ursula Frattarola told us, "We had a family meeting and talked about maybe putting him down, but our daughter Giovanna told us that if we did that, she wouldn't ever talk to us again." Giovanna suggested they set up a hospice for Chipper, like they had for Grandma. So, the family set up a hospice for Chipper in the kitchen, and the dog spent most of his time under the kitchen table. "We sprayed his mouth with water, the whole thing," Ursula related.

The family prayed for Chipper, and they brought it to their church and the church body prayed for Chipper. Everybody loved this dog. "He was a neat old dog," John said. "He would come to every prayer meeting and Bible study as soon as they started, and he would just lay quietly throughout the whole thing."

Over the next couple of days, the Frattarolas expected Chipper to die. Giovanna continued to care for her dog. John at one point prayed that God would either heal Chipper or let him die. Then, he just prayed that God heal Chipper. One morning, John went downstairs to check on him, thinking he would find the poor old dog dead.

John told us, "He was lying under the table, very weak. When we came down to check on him, we squatted down to look at him under the table, and he lifted his head up and turned and looked right at us. He hadn't done that for a good week and a half, maybe two weeks. The vet had said he probably had a tumor, but there was no more sign of anything wrong." Still very weak, Chipper struggled to get up, but then headed straight over to the door to go outside.

Ursula fed Chipper chicken broth and rice and some bits of chicken, and after a couple of days, "he was just like he'd always been." He was able to jog old-dog fashioned around the back yard.

Ursula said, "I asked the Lord, when it is his time to die, please let him go in his sleep. Don't make him go through this again." A few months later, on June 12th, 2002, they found Chipper in his bed. He had died peacefully in the night. "It really taught us a lot about how God cares about even the animals - and a child's love for an animal," Ursula said.

Barney the Hamster
"We had just moved back to Ohio," Juanita Middlebrook, mother of three, told us, "and we'd had to leave our German Shepherd behind. Bill and I had told the boys we'd get them another dog, but the place where we moved didn't have a fenced-in yard. So, we gave our middle son Scott a hamster."

They all enjoyed Barney the Hamster.



The Middlebrooks kept Barney's cage down in the basement. The basement had rooms, but they were unfinished. Winter set in and mice became a serious problem. Bill Middlebrook asked a neighbor what to do about the mice, and the neighbor suggested getting d-Con. So, Bill put d-Con in the basement for the mice.

Of course, Barney got out, as hamsters do, and he disappeared. One day, Juanita went into a storeroom, and she saw Barney. At first she was glad, but she quickly grew concerned. "He tried to bite me," Juanita said. "He was weaving back and forth. One eye was bulging out and one was sunken in, and he was weaving back and forth. It was obvious he'd gotten into the d-Con." Bill was going to just put Barney out in the field, but they decided instead they would tell the boys the truth.

Bill and Juanita went upstairs and got Tim (9), Scott (8) and Phil (4) and took them downstairs to see poor Barney. Bill said, "I'm sorry, but Barney is going to die, guys. There's nothing we can do." Scott said, "Can't we pray for him?"

"So," Juanita said, "We joined hands and prayed." The whole family stood in the basement holding hands and the little boys prayed in faith for their hamster.

The next morning Bill went downstairs, expecting the hamster to be dead. Instead, Barney the Hamster was running around in his box, as healthy as could be.

"It wasn't our faith," Juanita said. "It was the boys' faith." Those little boys didn't think a hamster was too small a thing for God, and God healed Barney.

It is easy for us to think that our problems are not important enough to worry God with, as though He has only a limited number of interventions he can offer the human race. "Whoops. You used up your last prayer for the year on that empty gas tank. Sorry." No, God has no quota. He has no limits, and He cares even about our pets.

When we are struggling through something major, something massive, and we feel as though God isn't even paying attention, we need to know our feelings are wrong. God is paying attention, and every detail matters to Him. The God who started the spinning of the most massive galaxies is the same God who placed the little bitty ribosomes in our cells. Nothing is too small for Him. Nothing is unimportant to Him.

Jesus told his disciples, "But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." (Luke 12:6)

Sparrows...or hamsters.


EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED


In 1933, when education guru John Dewey and 33 others signed the Humanist Manifesto, they were casting off what they saw as the outdated chains of established religion. They were forming a religion of their own, one in which man made the ultimate determinations of good and bad, right and wrong. While there have always been atheists and there have always been "religious" people who were ignorant of God's ways, the humanists made a religion of it. They boldly proclaimed that they did not recognize God (or His laws) and took the position that they were capable of using their human reason and intellect to determine morality.

With a sweep of their wrists, the humanists dismissed thousands of years of human religious history and decided that they knew better. There is no God, they said. They assumed that all religion is merely the result of the cultural evolution of the human species. They embraced the view that all life on earth is the result of a continuous process of biological evolution.

Institutions of higher learning are now the churches of humanism, and while Westerners are permitted to keep their religions in the name of religious tolerance, those who actually believe that God is real and intervenes in human lives are no longer considered intellectually respectable. 

Even the Christians in Western culture are slow to expect miracles. It's too often (even unconsciously) assumed that God is far away and silent if He exists at all. If we want to see God do miracles, we need to believe God is both alive and willing to do the things we ask Him to do.

Expecting The Unexpected
Hilary (Roberts) Jones reclined her seat on the passenger side of Brian Reed's car to relax as Brian started to drive over the mountains. It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving in 1993, and Hilary, Brian and Hilary's friend Amy drove through the snowy night to get back to school at Northwest College in Kirkland, Washington. It was a dark, quiet drive, with snow beginning to fall as they drove down I-90 past Ellensburg. On the radio, they listened to Jack Hayford preach about expecting the unexpected – about expecting miracles. In the back seat, Amy took off her seatbelt to relax and get some sleep on the long drive over Snoqualmie Pass.

Hilary decided to get more relaxed as well. She said, "I had just leaned my seat back when we hit a patch of ice and the car started to swerve. Then we hit the side of the road, and the car jumped and rolled. I yelled, 'Jesus please save us!' while the car rolled over." As the roof of the car caved in, Hilary's head swung up and cracked into it.

In the back seat, Amy didn't shout for help. She told us, "I just thought, 'Darn. We're going to go off the road. It's going to take a long time to get back to school, and I'm not going to get my sociology paper done.'" As soon as the car began to roll, though, Amy began to tumble in the back seat because she had no seatbelt on.

Supernatural Protection
Hilary said, "While we were rolling, I pictured in my mind's eye two angels spinning around Amy as she flew up in the car. I think they kept her in the car because she could have easily gone through the back window."

"That's what the police officer told me too," Amy said. "He asked Hilary if she was wearing her seatbelt, and she said, 'Yes.' He asked Brian if he was wearing his seatbelt, and he said, 'Yes.' Then he asked me, and I said, 'No, sir.' And he shouted, 'What! Don't you know you could have been flung from the vehicle! You could have been killed!' I …I do always wear my seatbelt now."

The car had come to a stop upright. The roof above Hilary's head had been badly crushed in, but because she had been reclined when the rollover took place, her head swung up into the dented roof rather than being directly smashed. Still, while Amy suffered no harm, Hilary's head and neck and back were painfully injured.

"I remember looking through the cracked windshield and feeling this huge despair and isolation," Hilary said. "And then God gave me peace all of a sudden. Unexplainable peace. I was praying in the spirit, and it was like I was speaking right to God and He was speaking to me, and He was just pouring peace into me.

"All Amy said during the accident was 'Ouch' because she'd hit her face against the ceiling. Brian wasn't hurt either. He had glass in his shoes, but he didn't have a single scratch on him."


Two young Central Washington University students took Hilary and Brian and Amy to the nearest hospital, then helped them get rides back home over the mountains to the Seattle area.

Supernatural Healing
Hilary's neck and back continued to hurt her. "Back at school," she said, "I was in excruciating pain with my back. I had to take a pillow with me to class."

Amy remembers, "I would joke with her, and she'd say, 'Haha..owww… don't make me laugh' because she hurt so much."

Two days after the accident, Hilary wandered down to the cafeteria to eat, still in pain and hardly able to raise her head. She saw her friend and fellow Idahoan John Vincent, and went up to him. "I said, 'John, would you pray for me? My back really hurts.' John said, 'Sure!' So, he prayed for me, and as he prayed, I felt this tingle go through my back and up my spine, and the pain just went away. I told John, 'I don't feel any pain anymore.'"

For several minutes, Hilary walked around, testing it out, making sure that she was really healed. "Then I got excited and started telling everybody."

Amy recalled, "I was standing by the Pecota Center, and Hilary comes bouncing up to me. She said, 'Make me laugh,' and I said, 'What? Oh! You're healed?' She said, 'Yeah!' It was obvious that something big had happened, because that morning Hilary had been grumpily carrying her pillow everywhere, and now she was standing there all bubbly with a huge grin on her face.'"

Did Hilary's back bother her after that? "No," she told us. "I was just fine."

People are mistaken when they believe God is no longer in the miracle business. We regularly hear of miracles experienced by normal people, people whom God has touched and protected in powerful ways. We're not done yet telling about them. God is still doing miracles, healing and protecting and speaking into human lives. What's more, Jesus promised that we would do greater things than he did because he went to the Father (John 14:2). Let us continue to expect great things of God working through His Son in us.


THE FIERY FURNACE


The story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is one of the most fun miracles in the Old Testament. These three Hebrews stood up to King Nebuchadnezzar and were thrown into the furnace for it. They obeyed God and remained faithful to Him, trusting that God could marvelously, miraculously save them.

They didn't know exactly what was going to happen, though. They knew that God could save them. They didn't know if He would.

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." (Daniel 3:16-18)


"But if not."
We are usually in that same boat. We believe that God can do anything. He can split the ocean and let escaping slaves walk through on dry land. He can provide money or food at the last moment to feed orphans. He can heal people from cancer and Alzheimer's and drug addiction. We know He can. We just don't know in our situation if He will. So, the question we asked at the beginning remains... in what, exactly, are we supposed to have faith? That God will do something? We don't know that. Then what?

Depending On God's Love
One of the biggest errors we make when we pray is that we really don't think that God WANTS to do what we ask. We have the idea that God wants us to go through this suffering for a reason. And perhaps He does. Maybe He's refining us through fire (1 Peter 1:6-7). Maybe He is teaching us to depend on Him and not our own strength. Then again, maybe He is perfectly willing to do what we ask. The bottom line of our fear is that we do not really believe God loves us.

And yet, believing in HIS LOVE may be the very key to our faith. We believe God exists. We believe He is powerful. Do we truly believe He loves us? If yes, then we can believe that His will is excellent. Then we can believe He wants to do the most excellent things in our lives, no matter what those things are.

Guess what!! God didn't let those young men perish! He protected them in the middle of the fire and they walked out unharmed and not even smelling of smoke!

Maybe... maybe God wants to do wonderful healing, protective things in our lives, but He's waiting until our understanding is correct. God our Father loves us so deeply and selflessly that He gave His precious Son for us. He would never pay that price for us and then drop us. When we pray, we need to pray with confidence in that love.

Example - Amy Joy
On November 27, 2010, Amy Joy Hess (one of our writers) piled wood and paper on the burn pile behind her house on her 4.5 acres. She had been renovating her house, and she piled scraps of lumber along with bags of papers she wanted to get rid of. She set the pile on fire, and as the flames rose, she realized she had forgotten to pay attention to the wind. The cold November wind whisked up ashy, burning papers and blew them into the woods near the burn pile. "I am such an idiot," Amy Joy told herself. She knew better than to light a fire when the wind was blowing.

"Dear Lord," Amy Joy prayed fearfully, "Please don't let the woods catch on fire. Please don't let the woods catch on fire." She begged God, "Please calm down the wind. Please calm it down." Nothing changed. The wind continued to blow orange flames toward the trees. Dry leaves at the base of the fire ignited, reminding Amy Joy of the thousands of dry oak leaves in the woods.

"Wait," Amy Joy said to herself, "I'm not praying right." She quit her frightened begging and began to remind herself of the truth. "Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me," she told herself.  "Jesus loves me." She felt her confidence in the love of God for her grow. The fear left.

"Jesus cared about me," Amy Joy told us. "He didn't want my woods to burn down. I knew He would keep me safe."
Then, full of confidence in God's love, Amy Joy spoke to the fire and wind, and she said, "In the name of Jesus Christ, calm down."

The change was immediate. "Instantly, the fire just 'whoosh!' went from lion-mode to kitten mode," Amy Joy said. "It didn't simply calm. It was like a giant hand pressed down, and it actually puffed out the sides. The flames relaxed, and there was no wind, and the fire became as docile as you could want. There was a soft blue flame in the middle of glowing red. I was like, 'WOW! Let's try that again!'"


Later on, when a few gusts of wind came through, Amy Joy grew worried again. "But, then I remembered that God was taking care of things, and I knew I was safe." The fire eventually burned out, and Amy Joy swears she will check for wind before lighting fires in the future.

When we pray, we need to rest in the belief that God desires to do wonderful things in our lives, and we need to trust in the work He is doing in us. Everyday need to we say, "Lord, we are Yours. Thank you so much for loving us. Please keep us in the cross hairs of Your will today, because we know Your will is good."

That's praying in Faith.

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-7)


BUT IF NOT


"But see, there's a problem when Grandma prays to be healed and she isn't healed. She thinks she doesn't have strong enough faith or that God doesn't love her. What about Grandma?" - An anonymous skeptic

"…Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." (Daniel 3:17-18)

There are many times in our lives when we say, "God, if You love me, You will do X, Y and Z." We mistakenly believe that if God doesn't answer our prayers the way we want, it's because He doesn't care about us. Remember the three young men faced with a fiery furnace; they did not know what God was going to do, but they trusted him anyway.

The Bible is very clear that God loves us (John 3:16, 1John 4:10, Jer 31:3, Rom 8:35-39). God's Word declares that He loves us more than we can possibly know, that He IS love (1 John 4:8). We can go to God with confidence in His love for us, ready for whatever glorious things He wanted to do in us and through us. That's the heart of God.

No matter what happens, we can still trust Him implicitly.

More Miracles
In January of 1992, Tony Darmanin went for a ride with Jeremy Benson in his sweet 1973 Chevy Nova hatchback. Jeremy and his father had spent a year fixing up that Nova for Jeremy's 16th birthday, and he loved it. Jeremy hadn‘t had his license long, though, and inexperienced teen boys with muscle cars generally spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

On a rainy winter evening, Tony Darmanin climbed into Jeremy's Nova with Brandon Wright and Billy Walters. As soon as Jeremy started up the engine and took off, Tony knew he was in trouble. They sped down North Shore Drive in Bellingham, Washington at speeds worthy of the car, but unwise considering the weather conditions. They came to a hairpin turn, Jeremy hit the brakes, and the car naturally hydroplaned on the wet pavement.

Tony said, "So, we're not slowing down, and now Jeremy can't steer." They shot off the cliff edge and flew through the dark night air. They should have all died.

A tree at the bottom of the 40-foot deep ravine helped save the young men's lives. The car smacked the tree, which changed their trajectory just enough to keep the car from landing upside down and crushing all its occupants. Instead, the Nova smashed nose-first into the ground.

Tony dangled in the back seat by his seatbelt. The hatchback had popped open and its cover had slammed down into his neck and back. His internal organs were gashed by the force of the seatbelt, and his ankle was injured. Tony only knew that he'd never felt that much pain in his life. Billy had cracked the windshield with his head and his brain had started to swell. (After temporary blindness, he would recover.)

Miraculously, Jeremy and Brandon climbed out unharmed and went for help.

Tony woke up outside of the car in the rain. He knew he had to get some help quickly, and he saw no friends around. He began to pull himself a little bit at a time out of that ravine in excruciating pain. As soon as he reached the top, flashlights shone in his face. People in a nearby house had seen the Nova's headlights fly off the cliff and had already called 9-1-1.

At The Hospital
Tony's mother Alice Darmanin raced to the trauma unit at St. Luke's Hospital ahead of the ambulance. When they brought in Tony on the gurney, she thought he was already dead.

"He wasn't moving and he was a grey color, and my heart just sunk. Of course they couldn't tell us anything. We sat there praying and praying, and the kids were calling everybody they knew to pray. We still didn't know anything about Anthony. Finally they told us that there was so much blood in the pictures they had taken, they couldn't could tell if it was his liver, his kidney or spleen that was bleeding.

They said , 'If he survives the next half hour we'll take another set of pictures.' I only heard the 'if he survives' part."

Instant Healing
Tony was conscious as the doctor probed his stomach and felt for damage and took him in to get a CAT scan. All he knew was that there was serious internal bleeding. "If you do not go into surgery in 15 minutes, you will die," the doctor told him. "Do we have your consent to take you to surgery?"

Tony gave the doctor permission to save his life while a sense of excitement filled him. In 15 minutes he could be standing in the presence of Jesus. If they did surgery and he got better, that was great, and if he died, he realized that was also great. Tony told us, "It makes you realize the significance of 'O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? [1Cor 15:55]'" Already his veins had started to collapse and he felt pins and needles through all of his extremities.

Even as they sent Tony in for a CAT scan, though, he knew people were praying for him. "I felt their prayers. It was the first time in my life where I could actually feel the prayers of people praying for me."

About 45 minutes after she'd first visited them, the doctor returned to the Darmanin family in the waiting room to give them the relieving and unexpected news that their son was okay. According to Alice: "All she says is, 'Do you want to see your son?' We walked back there and he's sitting up. The doctor said, 'I don't know what to tell you, but we don't know what happened. We don't know where the blood came from. We don't know where the blood went.' There was no blood. There were no wounds. She said, 'He has a very nasty crack on the back of his neck.' Actually, he should have died from that. The crack was on the hangman's vertebrae, and we were told only one in a thousand survives that."

The doctor kept Tony overnight, For the next few days Tony had some soreness, but that was it. He never had surgery.

Pain Remains
Tony noted: "But even though God did that miracle and healed my internal organs, for the past 18 years I have lived every day with pain in my back and neck from when the hatch slammed into me. I've gone to chiropractors, done physical therapy and deep tissue massage, and I'm still in constant pain.

"People tell me, 'You just don't have enough faith. If you had more faith God would have healed your whole body.' And I think, 'No… I have faith.' Or they say, 'You have unconfessed sin, that's why you're not healed,' and I think, 'No… I have my faults, but I don't have unconfessed sin.'

"No, this is what I've learned. I've learned that pain is not the enemy. I have learned that God has allowed me to have this pain for His reasons and for His purposes."

God's Love In Every Detail
A year later, Tony was at college living in the dorms when he ran out of all his toiletries at one time. "I squeezed out the last of my toothpaste. I used the very last of my shampoo and conditioner (yes, I condition) and even my deodorant had been completely used up. All on the same day."

Tony walked down to his bank to see if he could take out five dollars. When he checked the ATM, though, he had only $3.67 - too little to draw out on a Saturday afternoon.

"Well, Lord," Tony said, "If You don't want me to be stinky, please help me out here."

He walked back to the dorms. As he was heading to the door, his friend Margaret walked up to him with a paper bag in her arms. She said, "I don't want you to be offended, but while I was at the store shopping this morning, I really felt God wanted me to buy these things for you." Tony took the bag and looked inside. It held shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and deodorant.

"And after all these years," he said, "It still brings tears to my eyes. Because it told me that God really cared about me, even in the little things. And it wasn't that she gave me money. Anybody can hand you money. She handed me the very things I needed."

It's Not About Toughness
People often think that the proper response to pain is to be tough and pony up and push through it out of sheer determination. But, that's not the heart of God. Everything He does is for good, and He desires that we learn to completely depend on His love for us, no matter what things look like. He is willing to give us all we need, down to things as seemingly small as toothpaste. Almighty God who created the stars and calls them by name cares even for the sparrows.

"But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." (Luke 12:7)

Tony said: "The fact is that God cares intimately about me and knows about the smallest details of my life, and yet He's allowed me to live with this pain for the past 18 years. It's not that He's doing these things - He didn't cause my suffering. But, He's allowed me to suffer pain. None of us escape it. It's part of the territory of being human. What God has promised is He'll never leave us. He'll never abandon us. And He'll never let us suffer more than He can carry us through. Some people ask why does a loving God allow pain? And I've learned that it's because of God's love that I can live through the pain."

Is suffering always God's plan? Of course not. Jesus had great compassion and healed people constantly, and he promised that we would do greater things than he did (John 14:12). God wants us to know Him and He wants to form us into the image of His Son (Rom 8:28-29). He wants us to trust that He loves us, and when we go to Him for help, to go boldly (Hebrews 4:16). And whatever happens, as the Hebrew children said before Nebuchadnezzar threw them into the fiery furnace, "But if not" - But if not, we will still trust Him, we will continue to follow Him alone. Whatever He decides, we need to have confidence that nothing is able to separate us from His great and perfect love.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39)