CSE Blogs

From:    God
Sent:    November 15, 2007
To:    Kent, Red, Mom
Subject:    A Soldier – For the Duration

GOD:    Good morning, Son! Come with Me and listen to this conversation.

Red:    (Red is a twenty-one-year-old in Pittsburgh, PA in 1941. Everyone calls him “Red” because of his red hair and freckles.)
Hey, Mom, I joined the Marines!

Mom:    Oh, Son! I don’t know how to feel about that. Your father died two years ago. Your older sister got married. It’s just you and I, Son. Times are so hard now. I need you here to help out.

Red:    But Mom, the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor last week! The President is calling for volunteers to join the war effort. I’ve got to go!

Mom:    Son, you are only twenty-one. Your whole life is ahead of you. You could be killed or wounded. Then what would I do?

Red:    Mom, if I don’t go, they may come to attack us here. I’ve got to go to protect you, Sis, and our country. We didn’t start this fight but we’ve been attacked. There is no other choice now. We must fight to defend ourselves.

Mom:    Oh, Son, there will be plenty of other young men who join up. You could stay here and work in a steel mill to supply equipment for the war.

Red:    Mom, you know I love you and wouldn’t hurt you for the world, but this is something I have got to do! I leave in three weeks.

Mom:    How long did you enlist for, two years?

Red:    For the duration of the war.

Mom:    What does that mean?

Red:    I’ll be fighting until it’s over. It’s them or us.

Mom:    Oh, Son! You are a man now. You can make your own decisions. This rips my heart out, but I love you and I’m proud of you!

Red:    I’ll write you every chance I get and send you as much of my pay as I can to help out here. You will make it, Mom. I’ll be back. I promise.

Mom:    Son, you realize that enlisting means that you are giving your mind, body, and future to Uncle Sam, don’t you? You must obey every command he gives, even if it means your death.

Red:    I know, Mom. I’m dedicating everything to this cause.

Mom:    Son, let’s pray for God to protect you and give us the victory.

………Three Weeks Later

Officer:    Next! OK, Soldier: name, height, weight, and shoe size!

Red:    Robert B. Hovind, sir, six foot two, two hundred twenty pounds, size twelve shoe, sir.

Kent:    Oh, God! Thank you for protecting my dad for those four awful years! He dedicated everything for the cause of freedom. He saw all twenty-five of his fellow classmates in training get killed! Those Marines gave it all!

GOD:    Yes, Son, war is awful, and those Marines were dedicated.

Kent:    Lord….I know there is a great war going on for the minds and souls of men.

God:    Yes, there is, Son, ever since the Garden of Eden.

Kent:    Lord….I don’t have much to offer, but You can have me. I’m Yours to use however You want and whenever You want, even in prison……..for the duration.

God:    I accept your offer, Son, again.

Kent:    Lord…I signed up the first time almost thirty-nine years ago now. Does boot camp ever end?

God:    Well, boot camp ends, but I often call My soldiers to get further training for new assignments. I’ll re-assign you soon, Son. Go back to sleep. Training continues when you wake up. I’ve got your back.

From:    Kent Hovind
Sent:    October 14, 2007
To:    Young Father
Subject: Walking With God; Family Devotions

GOD:    Hey, Son! Let’s go for a walk.

kh:    Sure, Lord! Where to?

GOD:    Just hold my hand, Son. Does it matter where we go?

kh:    No, Father. I love to walk with You. Please teach me things.

GOD:    I love to do just that, Son. I loved walking and talking with Adam and Eve in the garden before they sinned (Genesis 3:8). I walked among my people as they camped (Deuteronomy 23:14). I walked with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fire (Daniel 3:25). I even walked on the water to rescue some scared children of Mine (Matthew 14:25). I love walking with My children and teaching them (Luke 24:13-32). I created you to fellowship with Me but you get distracted so easily.

kh:    I’m sorry, Lord. I do love walking with You. Where are we, Lord?

GOD:    Do you recognize this place, Son?

kh:    It looks familiar, Lord, but it’s too dark to make it out. Do I know that man walking with his children?

GOD:    Just watch and listen, Son.

Young Father:    Hey, kids! Shine your flashlights over here! Hurry!

Four-Year-Old Son:    What is it, Daddy?

YF:    It’s a huge moth! Look at the beautiful green wings. It’s called a luna moth. It is one of the biggest moths that God made. Isn’t it pretty?

Three-Year-Old Daughter:    Does it bite, Daddy?

YF:    No-o-o-o-o. Moths can’t bite. Do you see those things on his head that look like feathers?

Four-Year-Old Son:    I see them, Daddy. What are they?

YF:    Those are his antennae. That is how they hear and smell!

Five-Year-Old Son:    Why is he on the street, Daddy?

YF:    I don’t know, Son. But this is not a good place for him to sleep. A car might come by and smash him flat. You should never play in the street!

Four-Year-Old Son:    Can we pick him up?

YF:    Sure, Son. Go ahead. Put your hand down flat in front of him, so he can walk up on it.

Four-Year-Old Son:    I’m scared he will bite me!

YF:     Here, I’ll pick him up to show you.

Five-Year-Old Son:    You got him, Daddy! You got him!

Four-Year-Old Son:    Can I hold him?

YF:    Yes, sir. Hold real still so we don’t scare him. Good job, Son. Isn’t God smart! He made the most amazing world for us to study! I love Him so-o-o-o-o much! I want you kids to always love Him, too. Let’s put him on a tree over here. OK, kids, let’s go have devotions!

All Three Kids:    Yea!!! Can we have raisins tonight?

Three-Year-Old Daughter:    I want to ride the donkey!

Four-Year-Old Son:    I want to be the robber!

Five-Year-Old Son:    Can I be the one who helps the man going down to Jericho?

YF:    Everybody hold hands and stay close to me in case a car comes.

kh:    Lord, do they all live in that tiny house?

GOD:    Yes, son. It’s eight hundred square feet of love and joy. Those children love to learn about My Word and they really love to go for walks every night with their mommy and daddy. Their daddy loves teaching them things.

kh:    I see that. Are they poor?

GOD:    In the eyes of the world; yes, Son, but they are rich in the things that really matter.

kh:    Can I talk with that young father, Lord?

GOD:    Yes. Go ahead.

kh:    Excuse me, young man; this is quite a little family you have here!

YF:    I know! I wish I had ten. God has been so good to me! I love our nightly walks. We always stop and learn about God’s amazing creation. We study bugs, birds, plants, rocks, trees, toads, and anything else that comes along.

kh:    The kids seem to enjoy it.

YF:    Oh, they do! I pray so hard that they will always love God and serve Him with their lives. I try to make learning about God fun. I want their relationship with God the Father to be as real as taking a walk with Dad.

kh:    Do you do this every night?

YF:    If possible. I want to build a love for God in their hearts.

kh:    Isn’t it crowded in that tiny house?

YF:    Oh…cozy would be a better word. We are a really close family. God has always provided for us.

kh:    Are you happy?

YF:    If I were any happier, I’d burst! I love my wife. I love my teaching job. I love my kids. They are close in age which was really difficult during the diaper stage, but now with that stage over; they are easier to handle. They love me and don’t have any idea how poor we are.

kh:    It’s pretty dark but this place looks familiar. Where are we?

YF:    This is 804 Everett Street, Longview, Texas, sir.

kh:    What year is it?

YF:    It’s 1982, sir. Are you OK?

kh:    I’ll be fine. I think I know you.

YF:    I’m Kent Hovind, sir. I don’t recall ever meeting you. Are you from around here?

kh:    Oh…I used to live around here years ago, but that’s a long story!

YF:    I need to go in now, sir. Every night we act out Bible stories for family devotions and then ask questions to see what they have learned. If they answer the question right, they get a prize. Tonight, it’s raisins. I’ve only got one box, but you are welcome to join us. We’ve had hundreds of people join us for family devotions to see how we teach our kids the Bible. It’s real fun!

kh:    No, not tonight. Thanks so much for asking. I need to go for a walk with my dad right now. He loves to teach me things as well. Good night, Kent. Enjoy your family. They grow up fast.

YF:    Good night, sir. Enjoy your walk with your dad. Ah…sir? I didn’t get your name.

kh:    You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, Kent. We’ll meet again one day and I’ll explain.

kh:    God? Please hold my hand and walk with me. I don’t understand why all this happened to me, Lord. Please teach me tonight.

GOD:    Oh, Son, it would be My pleasure! Let’s walk on a while. I’ve got more to teach you than you could ever imagine!

From:    Kent Hovind
Sent:    January 31, 2008
To:    Rachel
Subject:    Thank you, Rachel!

Dear Rachel,

Almost every week I receive a letter from you with a picture you have drawn and colored for me. I don’t know if we have ever met before or not. Your letters are postmarked California. I’ve preached at many churches and schools in there, so I might have met you at a Creation Seminar. You never put a return address on your envelope; therefore, I have no address at which to thank you. Hopefully you will somehow read this blog because I want to try to explain what a blessing your letters have been to me, Rachel!

A person who has never been locked up away from their family cannot understand how hard it is. The days and nights can be so long! Mail call is a very special time for the men in prison. They all hope and pray that their name is called, but sadly, way over half never get mail.  It’s hard to explain the look of defeat and discouragement on their faces, Rachel. They really think that “no man cares for their soul” as referenced in Psalm 142:4. Sometimes I take my stack of mail back to my cell and cry.

I have the picture you drew of the goat standing on the rock taped up beside my bed. Your artwork is really good, but your heart blesses me the most!  Every time I look at the picture, I’m reminded that a young girl in California is praying for me.

Thanks so much, Rachel! You will never know how much it helps. Proverbs 25:25 says it best. Your mail is like cold water to a thirsty soul. Jesus said that in the eyes of God, helping or visiting those who are in prison or sick is like visiting Jesus Himself (Matthew 25:34-46)!

I just read a book by a young man named Zach. He is working hard to abolish slavery in the world today. He started his crusade when he was only twelve.  He was only fifteen when he wrote this book!  I don’t know how old you are, Rachel, but God can use you no matter what your chronological age is. I am grateful that you have learned to be a servant so young.

I know God has a special plan for your life, Rachel! Thank you so much for faithfully sending me the pictures you draw! I can’t wait to meet you when I get out! Maybe your family can all visit Dinosaur Adventure Land!

Your Brother in Christ,

Kent Hovind

From:    Kent Hovind
Sent:    October 10, 2007
To:    Azor
Subject:    Loving Earthly Wealth
Matthew 19:16-26; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-23

kh:    Excuse me, sir. This is a fine boat you have here!

Azor:    Well, thank you, Kent. I like it.

kh:    It looks like the biggest one on the Sea of Galilee!

Azor:    It is. She cost about a thousand denarius ($80,000.00). It’s the top of the line.

kh:    Do you live near here?

Azor:    Yes. That’s my house up there on the hill.

kh:    Isn’t that the mansion where the governor of this region lives?

Azor:    Yes. I am the governor.

kh:    Wow! I’ve heard you have lots of money.

Azor:    Oh, I’ve got plenty to meet my needs. I decided as a young man to work hard and earn as much money as I could. I’ve lived around here all my life and always wanted to build a nice house on that hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

kh:    Didn’t Jesus do a lot of His earthly ministry around here about twenty-five years ago?

Azor:    Yes, He did.

kh:    Did you ever get to hear Him preach?

Azor:    Well…sort of…from a distance you might say. I heard some of his message as I was doing business one day. He had quite a crowd following him as usual.

I also saw him feed nearly 20,000 people one day with only five loaves and two fishes. It happened on that grassy slope over there to the right. People talked about that day for many years afterwards.

kh:    Did you ever actually talk to Jesus?

Azor:    Yes, one time, but only for a few minutes (Matthew 19:16-26). I was just in my thirties, but was already doing real well financially and politically.

kh:    What did you talk to Jesus about?

Azor:    I was rich but still felt pretty unfulfilled. I had heard a lot of real excited people talk about Jesus; so I actually ran to see Him. I asked Him what good thing I had to do to inherit eternal life.

kh:    What did He tell you?

Azor:    He told me to keep the commandments so I asked Him which ones. He only listed six of the ten Moses gave us in the Torah. They were the ones that deal with man’s relation to his fellow man (Matthew 19:18-19). I told Him that I had kept all of those but still felt like something was missing.

That’s when he told me to sell everything I had, give it to the poor, and follow Him (Mark 10:21)!

kh:    So did you do it?

Azor:    No way! I was rich even then. If the poor want money, they can work for it like I did. I was pretty sad. I wouldn’t have minded if He had said give some money, but He wanted it all!! I couldn’t believe He would even suggest such a crazy idea (Mark 10:22)! That was many years ago now. I decided that day to really climb the political ladder and make money.

I have endeavored to give much to the poor and to worthy causes. I think God will let me into Heaven.

kh:    Have you thought anymore about what Jesus told you to do?

Azor:    Almost every day of my life! His words still haunt me. I just can’t believe that God would require everyone to sell everything that they owned and to give it away in order to go to Heaven!

kh:    I don’t think He does. Maybe He told that to you because He saw your love of money was keeping you from obeying the other four commandments.

Azor:    I thought about that. That’s why I give so much money away to charities. I built the synagogue at Bethsaida. From the deck around my house, I can see the grassy spot where He fed all those people. He did a lot of things around this lake. People around here still talk about Him all the time. A few of his disciples are still alive and come up here to give tours or fishing trips once in a while.

I give charity boat trips to under-privileged children and gave land for the cemetery at Capernaum. I’m very civic-minded but it never seems to satisfy the pain in my heart.

kh:    Do you ever wish you would have followed Jesus that day?

Azor:    Well…sometimes. I think about His words a lot. I probably should have done what he said.

kh:    Are you happy?

Azor:    I’ve had the best of everything. My children went to the best schools. I have the best clothes. I eat the finest food and live in the biggest house. I have the biggest boat on the lake and my wife shops at the elite stores, but…no – I’m not happy in life. I missed God’s calling on my life twenty-five years ago.

kh:    It’s not too late! You can still do what Jesus said. He is gone, but His disciples are going all over starting churches and preaching. Paul is trying to raise money now for his third missionary journey to Macedonia and Achaia. You could just sell this boat and finance the entire trip yourself. Think about the rewards in Heaven!

Azor:    That sounds tempting but…I’m pretty comfortable with where I am. I like my boat (Matthew 13:22; Mark 10:23; Luke 8:14; James 5:2).

kh:    Have you thought about what happens to you when you die (Hebrews 9:27)?

Azor:    I try not to think about that.

From:    Kent Hovind
Sent:    October 9, 2007
To:    Jacob
Subject:    Jacob, Why Are You Still in Egypt?
Genesis 46:1 – 47:28

kh:    Hey, Jacob! You look relaxed. You have had a long life, haven’t you?

Jacob:    Oh, yes! God has been good. I’m 147 years old. My thirteen children have given me more grandkids than I can count. All my needs are met by my son Joseph. He’s the Vice-Pharoah here in Egypt. I’m content and ready to die.

kh:    May I ask you a few questions?

Jacob:    Sure, go ahead.

kh:    How did you end up in Egypt?

Jacob:    I brought the family here seventeen years ago because of a great famine in the land. My son, Joseph really rescued us from starvation. There were about seventy of us in the family at that time (Genesis 46:27).

kh:    How long did the famine last?

Jacob:    It lasted seven years all together. We came down here in the second year. So six years after we got to Egypt, it was over.

kh:    Since God promised the land of Canaan to your grandfather Abraham (Genesis 13:15), why didn’t you go back when the famine was over eleven years ago? Why are you still in Egypt?

Jacob:    That’s a hard question to answer. I probably should have. It would not be easy to move now. There are several hundred of us. We all have nice houses, good jobs, plenty of food (Numbers 11:5), and good weather. I know God really wants us up there, but that’s a long hard walk!

kh:    Yes, I understand. Many people don’t follow God’s calling to the mission field or full-time service for Him because of the comforts of this world (Matthew 4:19; II Timothy 4:10; I John 2:15). Many are called but few obey (Matthew 22:14).

Jacob:    You are making me feel kind of bad about staying here. It’s not like we are doing wickedly, you know. We worship God here and give to missionaries. We still maintain our heritage. We won’t let too much of Egypt rub off on us.

kh:    Won’t it just get harder to go back every year?

Jacob:    Well…that’s a good point. I don’t know how to answer that one. I know I’m the spiritual leader, but there is no hurry to go back. It’s comfortable here.

kh:    Will God have to make it uncomfortable to get you to do His will?

Jacob:    Boy! Your questions pierce my heart! I know I’ve always looked for ways to get things the easy way. I swapped a bowl of soup for a double portion of my father’s inheritance (Genesis 25:29-34). Then I tricked my dad into giving me the blessing (Genesis 27). Years later I basically stole the flocks from my father-in-law Laban (Genesis 30:32-43).

kh:    Didn’t you also deceive your brother, Esau, again when he offered to lead you home, but you went another way to avoid him (Genesis 33:17)?

Jacob:    Well…maybe a little bit.

kh:    I noticed that you also didn’t defend your only daughter when she was defiled. You let your sons do it (Genesis 34:5).

Jacob:    Well…it was a lot easier just to drop the issue. I guess I do always take the easy road, don’t I?

kh:    It looks that way to me. Don’t you think staying in Egypt eleven years after the famine is another example of this?

Jacob:    I guess I never thought about it like that. After all, my needs are all being met right here.

kh:    But God called your family to Canaan. I’ve met a lot of people who seem perfectly willing to sacrifice the future of their family as long as they get to experience pleasure and comfort. Would it bother you if you knew that your eleven years of easy life would cost thousands of your family members great pain and suffering for hundreds of years?

Jacob:    Well…yes, a little bit. But not enough to get me to move.

kh:    I’m sure glad that George Washington, Patrick Henry, and thousands of other patriots who founded my country didn’t feel that way.

Jacob:    Who are you talking about?

kh:    Never mind. That’s a long story. It seems to me that people who take drugs, smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and commit adultery think the same way you do.

Jacob:    Smoke what?

kh:    Never mind. Hey, Jacob, how about if I help you pack and move? Would you go then?

Jacob:    Maybe later. Not now.