Hope Rises out of Devastation

     Over the course of the next few weeks I hope to write some thoughts about the adventure I have been on since Friday, September 3, 2010. My hope is what I write will eventually become a book about my great, great grandfather and what his life can spark in the lives of others.

Installment 1

     September 3, 2010 was going to be a Friday just like very other Friday until I realized one important factor. I poured coffee into my favorite coffee cup, one that I purchased for my dad while in Vietnam. As I drank my second cup of strongly brewed coffee, some thing I have done since joining the Navy, I realized I was drinking this cup at about the same time I received a phone call 38 years earlier. A phone call from one of my uncles and it devastated me; it is one that I can remember as if it occurred yesterday. The call was to let me know that my dad was being rushed to the hospital and I should make plans to come home. I stumbled into the bedroom, where my wife and son were laying talking, with tears streaming down my face I told her what the call was about. Then the phone rang again and my uncle let me know my dad had died.

     With tears streaming down my face my thoughts turned to the disaster that the last year had been. The shame I felt because of my failure to give grace to another pastor in a heated disagreement and how it destroyed our relationship. The questions about whether God really intended for me to work as a pastor. Doubts that the passions I have really are of God. Heart broken I could feel myself slipping into the beginning stages of depression.

     As I finished my coffee I experienced one of those times when an unrelated thought moved through the nerve cells of my brain. I put my coffee cup down and opened one of the drawers of my desk and pulled out a stack of papers a cousin had sent me several years ago. I turned to the Clark part of the family tree and something jumped out at me. The tree ended with my great, great grandfather, Seth Gold Clark.

     Since I had six hours before I had to be at work I decided to do some research and see what I could find out about this man. I turned to my computer, brought up a genealogy search site and typed in his name, his birth and death dates. After clicking many of the sites that came up I clicked on one that referred to a book called, “The Church at home and abroad, Volume 24 By Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.” and the article was "A Home-Mission Enthusiast".

     Have you ever had one of those times that you know without a doubt that God caused it to happen? This was one of those moments for me. I knew without a doubt God wanted me to read what was written in this book about the Reverend Seth Gold Clark. The words would renew the dream God placed in my heart and begin to give me hope that all of my experiences in life so far was to prepare my heart for this very moment in time.

     The story that follows is about the life of my great, great grandfather and the seeds of greatness he planted. This story is one that God is having written at this moment in time to lift each reader up to move forward toward accomplishing their God given dreams. This story is a story about a legacy that was left by a man who according to his own words, “lived a very busy, checkered life; possibly some good may result.” One hundred and twelve years later that good could be the accomplishment of hundreds or even thousands of dreams, which would not have been achieved without God revealing this story to those dreamers.

     Please come back in the next few weeks for more installments. If God speaks to you in any way please share it in the comment section.

The Secret

A few years ago I received a copy of a book called, "The Secret" and I read it and as soon as I was done with it I dropped it into my trash can. Usually when I read a book and it does not appeal to me I put it in a garage sale or take it to the used book store but this one I placed it where it belongs.

You might be wondering why I am saying this and I hope to answer that for you in this post.

From the official website of The Secret:

One spring day towards the end of 2004, Rhonda Byrne discovered a secret - the secret laws and principles of the universe.

Almost immediately her life was transformed, as she began to put into practice what she had learned. And in that moment her greatest wish, and mission, was to share this knowledge with the world.

The secret describes the "Law of Attraction" and how you can harness the power of the universe to work for you so that you attract people into your life who will help you achieve your dreams and goals.

As I read the book I discovered there was one big piece missing in the writing, any reference to the creator "GOD" being involved in you having the "Law of Attraction". Many of the principles stated in the book are no doubt true and work but apart from them coming from our creator they are nothing more than the power given by the spiritual powers that battle against His involvement in our lives. That alone makes the trash can the appropriate place for this book.

There actually is a true but not secret law of attraction and the power behind it is none other than the creator of the universe which the book, "The Secret" does not recognize or credit for the power in the first place.

This book is none other than Satan's attitudes packaged in a "New Age" religious thought. It is not a book that glorifies our creator, gives credit to the Holy Spirit for any power that we have or acknowledges Jesus as the source for our connection to God. I have no doubt that real power results from practicing the teachings in this book. But where does this power come from? I am confident that it is not from the creator God.

If you want to receive the true gift of attraction take the time to study the topics of spirit and power within the pages of the Bible. You will find that God is willing to give you spiritual gifts and power that will bring Him glory. You can develop the fruits of the Spirit which will attract people to you. You will find that you can tap into the Holy Spirit who will cause divine appoints to occur with people He wants you to either touch or be touched by.

Here are the steps to receiving the true power of attraction:

1. Accept Jesus as your savior.

2. Surrender all to the ruleship of Jesus.

3. Discover the Spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit gives you.

4. Utilize those gifts in serve to others.

If we deeply examine our lives we are either living for the Kingdom of God or we are living for the kingdom of a fallen world which has Satan as it's leader.

I have purposely not listed any scriptures so that you do the study with an attitude subject to the power of the Holy Spirit and prove for yourself that God is not behind the book, "The Secret". 

If you allow God to guide you, you will discover what I did: "The Secret" is none other than another attempt by Satan to mislead people and draw them to himself. If you open your Bible you will discover the lie that is packaged in this book and you will find the true source of the power of the universe.