CSE Blogs

From:    Kent Hovind
Sent:    January 24, 2008
To:    Simon Peter
Subject:

First read:    Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; Luke 6:15-21

KH:    Excuse me, Mr. Peter. It looks like you are soaking wet.

Simon Peter (Pete): I am.

KH:    What happened? Did you fall out of the boat?

Pete:    No, actually I was walking on the water out there and I fell through.

KH:    You walked on the water? Yeah, right!

Andrew: It’s true, Kent. We all saw him do it!

James:    That’s right! I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself.

Pete:    Jesus sent us all out in the boat yesterday afternoon, but a storm came up and we’ve been bailing water for hours. Then about fifteen minutes ago, Jesus came walking out to us on the water just as calm as you please. We were scared at first, but then He said, “It is I. Be not afraid.” That calmed us down. That’s when I asked Him to invite me to walk out on the water to Him and He did! I liked walking on the water just fine until Thomas here yelled, “Watch out for that wave, Pete!” I took my eyes off Jesus and started sinking.

KH:    So what happened?

Pete:    I yelled for help! What do you think I did? I said, “Lord, save me!” and He did.

KH:    I was a lifeguard for two summers at the Salvation Army camp in Mossville, Illinois. I heard that yell a few times myself.

Pete:    You were what? For who? Where?

KH:    Never mind. The point is, how did you get back to the boat? Did Jesus carry you? Did He scold you for falling in the water?

Pete:    No. He just asked me why I doubted and pulled me back up on top of the water. We walked back to the boat. I learned that I can do anything Jesus calls me to do, even if it looks crazy to others (Philippians 4:13). Second, I’ve got to learn to keep my eyes on Him and not my circumstances (John 15). Third, I’m slowly beginning to understand Who this Jesus really is (Matthew 8:27; 16:16).

KH:    Isaiah said the Mighty God would be born on earth and dwell among us (Isaiah 9:6).

Pete:    I know. I can’t stop looking at Him! Yesterday He fed 5,000 men plus women and children with one boy’s sack lunch (Matthew 14:13-21). He stays calm in the storm and walks on water. I think we are looking at God!

KH:    I agree, Pete. I agree.

Pete:    Hey, Kent, you asked me how I got wet. Now, I’ve got a question for you. Why aren’t you all wet?  Did you stay in the boat like the rest?

From:    Kent Hovind
Sent:    January 21, 2008
To:    “All Call”
Subject:    Comebacks

kh:    Hey, Lord?

GOD:    Yes, Son.

kh:    There has been an awful lot of bad press about my case and me going to prison (Psalm 3:1-2; 27:12; 31:11; 38:12,20).

GOD:    Yes, Son. There sure has been and still is (Psalm 119:51).

kh:    Last week, my birthday was designated by the atheists as a week to rejoice at my imprisonment.

GOD:    Yes, Son, it sure was. You are being ridiculed all over the Internet. Read Matthew 5:11-12 and rejoice, Son! The heathen always rejoice when bad things happen to My children. Those who hated the Jews were planning to celebrate the thirteenth of Adar after they killed the Jews (Esther 3:13), but I upset their party. Their hatred is a good sign for you, Son.

kh:    I trust You, but I don’t see it yet, Lord. It looks bad from here. Am I done? Is my ministry destroyed for good? It looks like there is no way to come back from all the negative press (Psalm 120:2).

GOD:    Now, Son, I specialize in comebacks. Do another “All Call” and you will see.

kh:    OK, Lord.

KH:    All Call! Did anyone on Knee-Mail ever face a bad situation but God brought you back?

Job:    Hey, Kent, I’ll go first, but I need to warn you. You will get lots of response to this all call! God is awesome at comebacks! I had lost everything (Job 1-2), including my will to live (Job 3) and my reputation (Job 16:20-17:6). I thought it was all over, but God was just showing Satan what a loser he is, again. God gave me a royal comeback (Job 42)!

KH:    Thanks, Job. Your story always inspires me.

Job:    I know exactly what you are going through, Kent! It seems like you can’t find God during trials like this; but He knows where you are and when He gets done trying you, you will come forth as gold (Job 23:8-10).

KH:    Thanks, Job. That helps.

Joseph:    Hey, Kent, I got to see God give me two comebacks! The first time was when my own brothers sold me into slavery (Genesis 37). God blessed and I was soon promoted to be the head of my master Potipher’s house.  Then, his wife lied about me and I was thrown into prison for doing right! It was hard to handle, especially mentally; but in one hour my life changed so radically it was hard to believe!

KH:    What happened?

Joseph:    God gave a lost ruler a dream that scared him really bad (Genesis 41:8). I interpreted the dream and was out of jail, promoted to be vice president of Egypt, became rich, and was married to a princess before my head could stop spinning! God gave me an incredible comeback straight out of prison to the palace. Wow! What a God!

KH:    Thanks, Joseph. I’ll pray that God does it again for me.

Joseph:    Do you want to be vice-pharaoh and married to a princess?

KH:    Ah…I already have the princess and no, I don’t want to be vice-pharaoh. Preaching and teaching God’s Word to others is a much higher position than that!

Moses:    Hey, Kent, my situation looked bad lots of times. I was only three months old when I was put in a basket in the Nile River, which has crocodiles! All baby boys were to be killed but God protected me. I was rescued by a princess and raised in the palace to be a prince.

Then, I killed a man and went from prince of Egypt to hunted fugitive in one day (Exodus 2:15). After spending forty years running from the law, God made me the leader of two million of His people in just a few days (Exodus 12:33-51). What a comeback! Later, He protected us and brought us back from the brink of disaster many times (Exodus 14; 15:22; 16; 17, etc.).

KH:    You really got to watch God work, didn’t you?

Moses:    Yes, many times, but hey, so have you, Kent! God has provided for you and protected you more times than you know. Did you know that God has had to recall several of your guardian angels (Hebrew 1:14) for stress therapy and all of them have gray hair? Satan wants to kill you (Luke 23:31)!

KH:    Hey, Moses, please tell them thanks for protecting me. I’m pretty oblivious to the dangers in the world. I try to stay focused on the job God called me to do; so I’m sure they have a stressful time with me. My wife does, too!

GOD:    Amen, Son! Amen!

Moses:    She will get lots of rewards up in Heaven.

KH:    No doubt!

Moses:    Hey, Kent! You will get to see God work an amazing comeback for you. I know it looks bad now. I had the same hopeless feeling when I was trapped at the Red Sea with a really angry Pharaoh closing in on me. Just do what I did and “stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exodus 14:13).

KH:    I’m really ready for the salvation part.  It’s the “stand still” part I don’t like. Thanks, Moses.

Joshua:    Hey, Kent, we felt pretty down after our humiliating defeat at the tiny town of Ai (Joshua 7:5). We got the sin out of the camp and saw a great comeback (Joshua 8). We lost thirty-six good men because of Achan’s sin. Keep clean and follow God. Even what looks like a setback can become a victory (Joshua 8:15-17).

KH:    Thanks, Joshua.

Ruth:    Hey, Kent, can I tell my story?

KH:    Oh, please do, Ruth!

Ruth:    Well, I belong to a nation of people that shouldn’t even exist. My ancestor Moab was the result of incest between Lot and his daughter (Genesis 19:37). Most people hate us Moabites. They think we are inferior “inbreeds.”

KH:    Like a red neck?

Ruth:    A what?

KH:    Never mind. It is just a joke. Go ahead.

Ruth:    I endured lots of racial jokes and slurs growing up. I married a Jew from Bethlehem and we were happy for ten years. Then, suddenly my husband and only brother-in-law both died. I really wanted to serve the God of Israel, so I came to Bethlehem with my mother-in-law, Naomi, who was also a widow (Ruth 1:22).

The only job I could find was gleaning after the reapers (Ruth 2). That’s just one notch up from begging in this country.

KH:    At least you worked. We have guys here that stand at intersections as cars pass. They hold a sign that says “Will work for food” even though most won’t work at all.

Ruth:    What’s a car?

KH:    Never mind. Did you glean enough to survive?

Ruth:    Oh! The man who owned the field was rich (Ruth 2:1). He fell in love with me and married me! I went from rags to riches in one day! Who would ever have thought that a Moabitess would end up in the genealogy of Jesus! (Matthew 1:5) That is an amazing comeback!

KH:    Thanks, Ruth.

Preacher Boy:    Hey, Kent, I was busy serving God chopping a tree down to build a new building for our Bible college when my ax head flew off into the river  (II Kings 6:1-5). I thought I was done for. You would never believe how God worked a miracle to restore my “cutting edge.”

KH:    Ah, yes, I would. Your story is in the Bible.

PB:    Well, it’s really God’s story. He gets the glory for that. I was careless and didn’t check the wedge, but God is a God of comebacks. He can restore things you think are gone forever.

KH:    He sure can. Thanks!

Gehazi:    Hey, Kent, you won’t believe my comeback! I was Elisha’s servant but I got greedy and lied to get money. God gave leprosy to me and my children (II Kings 5:20-27)! I really thought I was doomed forever, but God healed me later and I stood before the king (II Kings 8:4).

KH:    Was that because it was you and your three sons that saved Samaria from starving (II Kings 7:3)?

Gehazi:    Well…Bzzzzzz

GOD:    Sorry. Blocked by Knee-Mail. You will find out in Heaven, Kent.

kh:    Aw, come on God! That would make the story preach really well! Lots of people think it was him.

GOD:    All things that “preach well” are not true, Son.

Jarius’ Daughter:   I had the ultimate comeback! I was dead (Mark 5:35)!
Jesus brought me back to life!

KH:    Wow! That’s a story to tell your grandkids. Thanks.

Mark:    Hey, Kent, I got homesick and quit the ministry for a while (Acts 12:25; 15:37-38) after I saw Paul get stoned at Lystra (Acts 14:19). It shook me up pretty badly knowing that following Jesus may cost me my life!

KH:    Hey, everyone gets discouraged or scared once in a while. God can still use you.

Mark:    Oh, I know! I eventually got back serving God, and Paul even used me in his ministry (Philemon 24). He said I was “profitable for the ministry” (II Timothy 4:11). Tell anyone who has gotten discouraged and quit on God to get back in the race! We are all up here cheering for you guys down there (Hebrews 12:1). It’s not over till you die!

KH:    OK. Thanks, Mark.

Samson: Hey, Kent, congratulations!

KH:    Thanks, but…for what?

Samson: You made it to the big time!

KH:    I did? What did I do?

Samson: Your enemies are rejoicing in your imprisonment just like they did mine     (Judges 16:23-25). They really don’t like you, but that’s good! The Philistines hated me because I was really good at destroying them. God has used you to be really good at destroying evolution. That’s why they hate you. If evolution is not true and creation is true, then their entire lifestyle is threatened. It’s not really you they hate, it’s God. When atheists make your birthday a holiday, that’s great! Rejoice!

KH:    Thanks, Samson.

GOD:    Son, the world always hates Me and My children (John 1:11). They will hate My two witnesses and make the day of their death a holiday (Revelation 11:3-12), but I will raise them up and I will have the last word.

kh:    Lord…You know my heart.

GOD:    Yes, Son, I sure do (Psalm 26:2; 139:23-24).

kh:    I just want to serve You, win souls, help people learn Your Word, love Your creation, and go home and be Grandpa.

GOD:    I know, Son. It’s coming (Psalm 30:1-5; 40:1-3). Go read a book. I’ll take it from here. It’s not over yet.

From:    Kent Hovind
Sent:    January 20, 2008
To:    Happy Man
Subject:    Their Faith

( First read:    Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26 )

GOD:    Hey, Son, come with Me. I want you to meet a man who can help you learn something today.

kh:    Sure, Father. Where are we? Who is that man carrying that bed?

GOD:    Talk to him. He’s the one with a lesson for you.

kh:    OK, Lord…Excuse me, sir. What are you carrying that stretcher for and why are you in such a hurry and why are you smiling like that?

Happy Man:    Well, let’s see. That was three questions. I’m carrying this stretcher because I won’t need it anymore. Jesus healed me of my palsy a few minutes ago, and I’m hurrying and smiling because I’m going home! Walking! Healed! To my wife and children!

KH:    Wow! No wonder you are happy. How did you get healed?

HM:    My four friends back there carried me on this bed all the way to that house behind me where the big crowd of people are listening to Jesus preach.

KH:    Wow! That place is packed!

HM:    I know! Lots of people want to hear Jesus preach. Even lawyers are there listening to Him (Luke 5:17)!

KH:    Boy, that doesn’t happen very often. So, how did your friends get you through that crowd?

HM:    Oh, my friends were not about to let a crowd stop them. They knew I needed to get to Jesus; so they carried me up on the roof, tore a hole in the roof, and lowered me down in front of Jesus.

KH:    Wow! That’s what I call dedicated friends!

HM:    That’s for sure. Jesus looked at my friends, then at me and said, “Your sins are forgiven.”

KH:    What sins?

HM:    Oh, I have plenty, but I think He meant the one that caused my palsy. You and I both know that sickness is not always because of sin, but some is and I’m pretty sure mine was. Anyway, after He did the hard part, forgiving my sin, He told me to take up my bed and go home. I was instantly healed.

KH:    So Jesus saw that you had faith to be healed and He healed you, right?

HM:    No way! My faith had nothing to do with it. He saw “their faith.”

KH:    So you didn’t have faith?

HM:    Kent, I was sick! I barely knew what was going on. I had heard of Jesus, but never thought He would heal me.

KH:    Hmmm…we have a few preachers on TV today that claim God will heal people if they have enough faith and send them $100, of course! When they aren’t healed, the TV preacher blames them for not having enough faith to get healed and keeps the $100.

HM:    That’s crazy! Hey what’s a TV?

KH:    Ah, never mind. Anyway, many people lose all faith in God when they don’t get healed.

HM:    Well, just read the Bible, Kent. Jesus brought that girl back to life (Matthew 9:18-26). She didn’t have any faith. She was dead! The man with the withered hand (Mark 3:1-6) was healed by Jesus’ command, not by his faith. Jesus healed some people by remote that didn’t even know He was doing it (Matthew 8:13; 15:28).

KH:    Good point. Plus, it’s not always God’s will to heal. Some sickness is for God’s glory (John 11:4). Paul couldn’t heal his own eye problems (Galatians 6:11; Philippians 4:14) and he left Trophimus behind because he was sick (II Timothy 4:20). Where do people get the idea that serving God always brings eternal health?

HM:    I don’t know, but who is Paul?

KH:    Oh, that’s right. You won’t meet him for about thirty years but he’ll be famous. Peter was in jail one time, errr, I mean Peter will go to jail for preaching (Acts 12:1-4) and the church will pray for his release (Acts 12:5). He will get out of jail to continue his ministry because of their prayers, not his. He will be sound asleep when it happens and the angel will have to hit him to wake him up (Acts 12:7). It’s not his faith or prayers; it’s the prayers of the church that gets God to move.

HM:    Hey, it worked in my case. I’m healed because my four pals had faith, not me. If it had been up to me, I’d still be on this bed.

KH:    It’s the same with me. I’m in prison now and when God opens the door to send me home, it won’t be because of me. There are thousands of God’s children all over the world praying for my release. Just this week I got letters from South Africa, Kosovo, Taiwan, Fiji, Netherlands, Canada, and several dozen states telling me they are praying. I’m asking God, too, but like Joseph said, “It is not in me” (Genesis 41:16).

Daniel was careful not to take credit when God worked, as well (Daniel 2:28).

HM:    I agree. I’m walking proof that God doesn’t need me to help Him. Ah, where’s Fiji?

KH:    Never mind. It’s a ways off. Hurry home to your family.

HM:    I will! Praise God! They will be so happy! Goodbye, Kent.

KH:    Goodbye, sir.

kh:    Hey, Lord?

GOD:    Yes, Son.

kh:    Thanks. I can relax and wait for You to work, can’t I?

GOD:    Yes, Son. You’ll be fine.

kh:    Lord, are there lots of people out there that no one is praying for?

GOD:    Millions, Son (Psalm 142:4).

kh:    I can’t pray for all of them, but I’ll do one at a time if You want.

GOD:    That’s all I ask, Son. Go read a book. I’ve got your back.

From:    Kent Hovind
Sent:    December 22, 2007
To:    Text Book Author
Subject:    The Biology Book

KH:    Hello. I’m Kent Hovind. Are you the Textbook Author?

TA:    Yes, I am. Glad to meet you.

KH:    I am reading through your biology book and I have a few questions. Do you have time?

TA:    Sure, go ahead.

KH:    How long have you been teaching biology?

TA:    Almost thirty years now.

KH:    Your textbook is beautiful and huge—over 1,200 pages!

TA:    Thank you. A lot of people worked on it with me. Nearly two hundred people reviewed it for accuracy. We think it is one of the best on the market today.

KH:    I taught biology myself for fifteen years.

TA:    That’s great! We need today’s students to learn biology.

KH:    I agree. I really enjoyed your opening articles about “How Geckos Defy Gravity” (p. 1). That was an ingenious experiment they designed to measure the weight a gecko could carry on its back while stuck to a ceiling.

TA:    I know. The results were staggering! A tiny gecko could theoretically “carry a ninety-pound backpack” (p. 2).

KH:    It is amazing, but you finished by saying, “talk about being over-engineered.” Do you really believe that the foot of the gecko is “engineered”? The rest of your book dogmatically teaches the evolution theory with no designer.

TA:    The “engineered” statement is just a figure of speech. It appears to be engineered but all scientists know that it evolved. There is no designer.

KH:    Can you explain why or how a gecko could evolve such an unbelievable “over-engineered” foot like this? I can’t imagine how this could happen.

TA:    It does seem unbelievable but geckos have i—so it must have evolved. Once we get more grant money, we will do experiments to try to figure out how it evolved. That’s the beauty of science. We are always learning (II Timothy 3:7).

KH:    Is it possible that it really was engineered?

TA:    Oh, NO! That would imply a “designer” and all scientists know that there was not a designer. We can explain everything in the universe with the glorious theory of evolution.

KH:    I noticed you start the book by saying that biology is “the scientific study of living organisms and how they have evolved” (p. 3). Isn’t there a serious step in the scientific process you are missing?

TA:    What step is that?

KH:    The obvious first question. Before you study “how they evolved,” wouldn’t it be logical to determine “if they evolved”? You start with an obvious prejudice.

TA:    Oh, NO! All scientists know everything evolved. Now we just need to determine how it happened.

KH:    I noticed that you state that “critics outside of science” call evolution “just a theory” (p. 8). Are there any people “inside of science” who don’t believe evolution?

TA:    Absolutely not! You can’t be a scientist and not believe in evolution.

KH:    OK, let me see if I have this right. Anyone who does not believe in evolution is not allowed to be called a scientist; therefore, all scientists believe in evolution. Is that the way it is?

TA:    Exactly! I couldn’t have said it better myself.

KH:    What do you mean by the word “evolution”?

TA:    Evolution is change over time which applies to all living things (p. 10).

KH:    That seems rather vague. Are there limits to the “change”?

TA:    Not that we know of. Given enough time, anything can happen. Simple life forms like bacteria can evolve into whales—over millions of years, of course.

KH:    Has anyone ever seen a bacteria produce anything other than a bacteria?

TA:    No, but it happened about 600 million years ago in the Cambrian era. No one has been able to make it happen today.

KH:    In discussing the scientific method, your book says, “When an important discovery is announced in a paper, other scientists attempt to reproduce the result, providing a check on accuracy and honesty. Non-reproducible results are not taken seriously for long” (p. 9).

If no one has been able to reproduce the results of the bacteria story, why should anyone take seriously the idea that it happened 600 million years ago, and only one time? Does that make the bacteria-to-whale idea more religion than science?

TA:    Oh, NO! We don’t allow religion in the textbooks—only science.

KH:    Well, I really don’t understand. Your book says, “The scientific process involves the rejection of hypotheses that are inconsistent with experimental results or observations” (p. 9). Yet there have been no experimental results or “observations” of a bacteria producing anything other than a bacteria, so how can the bacteria-to-whale hypothesis not be rejected?

TA:    Simple. We don’t call it a hypothesis. We call it a fact! That way we don’t have to bother explaining that step. Anyone who questions the fact is fired, ridiculed, or banned from publishing in science journals—or all of the above. True science must be protected from pseudo-science these days.

KH:    It sounds like you are dedicated to protecting evolution—e-r-r-r, I mean science.

TA:    Oh…I am! Our whole team is. That’s why we wrote the book.

KH:    I must admit that there is an enormous amount of great science in your book.

TA:    Thanks, we worked hard on that.

KH:    May I ask a few more questions?

TA:    Sure. Science has nearly all the answers.

KH:    Page 10 of your book has a huge picture of Charles Darwin, by far the largest picture of any individual in the book. Under the picture you call him “the great biologist.”

TA:    Yes, he was a great biologist and deserves a place of prominence in our book and in history. Doesn’t he look grand in that picture?

KH:    Yes he does, but I’m curious why you call him a “scientist” when his only degree was in theology. Why don’t you call him “Reverend Darwin”?

TA:    We don’t want to confuse the students. We know he didn’t have a science degree, but he did good science research.

KH:    Can a person have a theology degree today and still be considered a scientist?

TA:    Not unless he also believes in evolution. All scientists believe in evolution.

KH:    On page 10 you mention those people who believe in creation.

TA:    Yes, can you believe that even in spite of all the advances in science, there are still millions of uneducated people who refuse to see the truth of evolution and hold to “creationism”! We need more money for education. Our school system is failing somehow to get the point across.

KH:    Many surveys show that between fifty and sixty percent of the public believes that the earth is only a few thousand years old and God created it.

TA:    I know! That energizes me to go work harder to spread the evolution theory!

KH:    You said on page 10 that people in Darwin’s day thought that species were “specially created and unchangeable, or immutable, over the course of time.” This seems a little unfair. Why do you use the word “species” and not the word “kind” as most of them would have used? They all agreed that variations happen within limits. They just didn’t think the observed variation could change any plant or animal into a different “kind.”

TA:    I know I’m slightly misrepresenting their position, but I have to do that so my students will get the point.

KH:    What’s the point?

TA:    That creationists are fools. That creationists are anti-science. That evolution is true!

KH:    I think we need to better define that word “evolution.” You said, “Darwin’s theory of evolution explains and describes how organisms on earth have changed over time and acquired a diversity of new forms” (p. 10). It looks like you have missed several giant steps in the scientific process here.

TA:    What steps are those?

KH:    You skipped over explaining where the organisms came from. Your theory sort of starts in the middle and takes the origin of time, space, matter, laws, and life for granted.

TA:    None of those are really part of science.

KH:    Then why do you have an entire chapter, chapter 4, on the topic? Is the origin of life part of evolution theory?

TA:    Obviously life had to get started in order to evolve.

KH:    I notice on page 60 you say “The consensus among researchers is that life arose spontaneously from these early waters less than four billion years ago.” You briefly mention Louis Pasteur on page 56 and page 1152 but never mention his or Redi’s experiments showing that spontaneous generation is impossible. Since no one has come close to creating life and this hypothesis is a “non-reproducible result,” why would you lead students to believe that the origin of life is even part of science?

TA:    We know there are serious problems with spontaneous generation, but we certainly don’t want to confuse the students. We feel it is best to gloss over the problems and lead them to believe that future evolutionists can solve these problems as they discover them. Later, in grad school, they can get government grants to do their own research if they like.

KH:    I need to go now, but I’d like to ask more questions later if you don’t mind.

TA:    No problem. Science has solved many problems and I’m confident it can solve many more problems without having to resort to the unscientific “creator” idea. It’s actually quite liberating to feel that we evolved and are now masters of our own destiny!

KH:    I’m sure it is. I’ll get with you later, TA.

From: Kent Hovind
Sent: January 19, 2008
To: Dr. Luke
Subject: Through the Storm
First read: Acts 27:1-20

KH: Excuse me, Dr. Luke (Colossians 4:14), what is the problem here (Acts 27:20)?

Dr. Luke: Oh it looks pretty serious! I’ve been traveling with Paul the
Apostle since we left Ephesus (Acts 20:1) and now we are in a ship of Alexandria (Acts 27:6) headed for Rome. There are 276 of us on board (Acts 27:37) and we are caught in a really huge storm (Acts 27:14-20).
We have been driven by this fierce wind for almost two weeks now without seeing the sun or stars.

KH: That means you can’t tell your longitude or latitude since you don’t have a GPS on board, right?

DL: We have no clue where we are, and what’s a GPS?

KH: Never mind. That would take a while to explain and it won’t be invented for about 1,900 years anyway.

DL: Oh…we can’t wait that long! No one has eaten for fourteen days (Acts 27:33) and we’ve thrown about everything we can think of overboard to lighten the ship (Acts 27:19). As of now, we have no hope whatsoever (Acts 27:20).

KH: No hope…what an awful feeling!

DL: It sure is! Most of these sailors don’t know the Lord and will go to hell where there is really no hope (Revelation 20:13,14)!

KH: So what is Paul doing during the storm?

DL: He’s down below praying or sleeping.

KH: How can he sleep through this storm?

DL: Oh, Paul’s been through all kinds of trials (II Corinthians 11:23-29). He has learned to trust God and “go with the flow.”

KH: I guess I haven’t learned that one yet.

DL: Oh, Kent, you have to learn that lesson! Sometimes we get caught in currents or winds in life that are way bigger than we can fight. If we hoisted our sail in this wind, it would be torn to shreds in a few seconds. Some things you just can’t fight.

Jesus showed us that. He was born, grew up, and did His entire ministry while Israel was under Roman control. He was working for a different kingdom so he mostly ignored or avoided them. He never fought them. All political currents eventually play themselves out; so sit back, be patient, and go with the flow.

KH: That’s great advice, Dr. Luke. When Matthew Maury read Psalms 8:8 about the “paths of the seas,” he was inspired to map the ocean currents. When ship captains learned to sail with the current, even if it looked to be a longer route, they found that it was actually faster and saved billions of dollars.

DL: Ah, who’s Matthew Maury and what’s a dollar?

KH: Never mind. He hasn’t been born yet. Anyway, you are in a hopeless situation. What are you going to do?

DL: I think Paul will be coming up soon to talk with everyone (Acts 27:21). I’ll just listen to his advice. God seems to lead him in times like these. I’ll just do what he says.

KH: Good idea, Luke. It will take supernatural leadership to get out of this storm!

DL: Yes, lots of Bible characters learned to trust God when they were caught in a current too strong to fight against. Moses learned it many times. He followed the cloud just like God said (Exodus 13:17-22) even though he knew it wasn’t leading them the shortest way to the promised land. If God hadn’t lead them the way He did, Pharoah wouldn’t have been destroyed at the Red Sea and probably would have attacked Israel later to get his slaves back.

When Moses got to the Red Sea and was stuck on the beach, he was caught in a current of events way bigger than he could ever control. He learned to “stand still” (Exodus 14:13) and watch God show off His power and plan.

KH: I know, and what power it was, too! If the crossing was 9 miles from Nuweiba to Arabia with a maximum depth of 900 feet, that means each wall of water had over 21 million square feet or over 490 acres of water held vertically on each side! At 64 lbs/cubic foot for water (a little more for salt water) it would require nearly 1.4 billion pounds of pressure on each side to hold the water up—not even factoring in the fact that the pressure is greatly compounded with depth. The lateral pressure is more likely an average of 28,800 lbs/square foot or over six hundred billion pounds of pressure (600,000,000,000 of pressure) on each side that God exerted to hold those walls of water up for His people to pass over! That’s mind boggling!

DL: You are strange, Kent. Have you been to a doctor lately?

KH: Well…you are a doctor.

DL: Not the kind you need. Anyway, we see from Moses’ story that even though we are caught in a situation way bigger than us, it’s never bigger than God.

KH: I’m getting a lesson in that myself.

DL: Good. There are plenty of godly examples to follow and learn from. Hezekiah faced an impossible situation (II Kings 18:13-37; II Chronicles 32:1-22) but in one night, God fixed it all (II Kings 19:35). Esther faced a royal problem that God fixed in one night (Esther 6:1)!

Joseph’s jail term was completely reversed in one hour (Genesis 41:14). Job spent months in agony but God fixed it all (Job 7:3;42). God specializes in turning around impossible situations. Jesus can step in and stop the storm (Luke 8:22-24) or He can see you through it (Daniel 3:25). Either way, you’ll be fine.

KH: So what should I do now?

DL: Hey, this wind is too strong. Let God take care of it. Relax, sleep, read a book, talk to God, and rest in Him (Matthew 11:29). By the way, Kent, God told me to give you a message.

KH: Yes, and I know what it is. “He’s got my back.”

DL: Right! How did you know?

KH: He keeps reminding me because I keep forgetting.

From:    Kent Hovind
Sent:    January 16, 2008, First day in the hole
To:    Richard Wurmbrand
Subject:    Human Suffering

KH:    Hey, Richard! How are you doing?

RW:    Hey, Kent! I’m doing really fine! I’m in Heaven, you know!

KH:    Yes, you’ve been there for over six years now. What’s it like?

RW:    I don’t know about the six years part. There is no time here. As for what it’s like…there is no way to explain it to you. You read that Baptist preacher’s book “90 Minutes in Heaven,” didn’t you?

KH:    Yes! It was awesome! He tried to describe Heaven but said there are not words to explain it.

RW:    He is so right. Explaining Heaven to an earthling would be like trying to explain colors to a blind man or sounds to a deaf person. It can’t be done. Just come up here and experience it for yourself.

KH:    Hey, I’d love to. I’ll be there as soon as God is done with me here. While I’m here, I’ve loved reading your books! They are a great encouragement to me here in prison. I have read six of them.

RW:    Oh, thanks! All I wanted to do by writing was to help people get closer to God.

KH:    They really helped me. When I start to feel sorry for myself here in prison, I think of you spending fourteen and a half years being tortured nearly every day in Communist prisons, all for just preaching about Jesus.

RW:    I forgot about all the pain and prison time as soon as I got here. It was all just “light affliction” (II Corinthians 4:17). Don’t worry about it. We are all watching you, Kent (Hebrews 12:1). You will be fine.

KH:    I believe that by faith but it’s hard going through it now. I miss my family and freedom badly!

RW:    I know. I missed my family, too (II Corinthians 1:3-7). It might help you to know that you have lots of family and friends up here cheering for you, Kent. Keep running your race! Don’t get discouraged! Your first three children are here, your mom and dad, your son-in-law, your father-in-law, plus lots of people you led to Christ over the last thirty-nine years. Do you remember Raymond that you led to Jesus beside Highway 29 when you first moved to Pensacola?

KH:    Yes. He had just bought a beer and said he felt bad talking about Jesus while holding a beer, so I bought it off him and poured it out. That’s the only beer I ever bought in my entire life. He felt relieved. He listened to the Gospel and asked Jesus to save him right there.

RW:    You know he was killed the next day by a speeding car, didn’t you?

KH:    Yes, that was so sad.

RW:    Maybe it was sad for you down there, but not up here (Psalm 116:15)! He’s been cheering for you for nineteen years now, Kent. Keep going (I Corinthians 9:24).

KH:    Thanks, Richard. I’ll try. Hey, tell Raymond “hi” for me. Also, how did you make it when they put you thirty feet underground for two and a half years in dark, damp, cold, solitary confinement? I’d go crazy!

RW:    Many times, I thought I would or had. I sang every song I could remember and quoted every Scripture I had ever memorized, plus I preached lots of sermons to my imaginary congregation. (See “If Prison Walls Could Talk.”) People who don’t have the Lord have a really hard time in solitary. Tell everyone you see to get saved!

KH:    I’m trying. They just put me in “the hole” while they “investigate” one of the hundreds of anti-Hovind Web sites that recorded a lewd song about a man in prison and ascribed it to me!

RW:    Paul knew about those who try to “add afflictions to my bonds” (Philippians 1:15). It’s nothing new. Rejoice! I don’t want to burst your bubble, but your cell in “the hole” is a five-star hotel compared to what I had and what millions of other believers have had. You have fresh air, a mattress, a blanket, clean water, paper and pencil, and a Bible, don’t you?

KH:    Yes.

RW:    You are not tortured every day or fear the guards crashing into your cell to beat you in the middle of the night, do you?

KH:    No.

RW:    Do you have relative peace and quiet all night long, or do you have to endure other prisoner’s screams as they are tortured next door?

KH:    It’s pretty quiet.

RW:    Do you have heavy chains on your wrists and legs twenty-four hours a day?

KH:    No.

RW:    Are you made to stand up inside a box with sharp nails on all sides for days at a time, or are you hung up by your feet, hands, or thumbs?

KH:    No, I can lie down at night and rest.

RW:    Are they giving you mind-altering drugs in your food?

KH:    No. Some think my mind is already altered.

RW:    Good point. I’ve heard those rumors, too. Are you ever subjected to near freezing or near heat stroke or alternating between the two for days on end?

KH:    No. I have adequate clothes for cold weather and AC for hot weather.

RW:    There are millions of people, saved and lost, all over the world that would gladly trade places with you and stay in “the hole.” That’s why I started Voice of the Martyrs to keep God’s children informed of what is going on so we can help or at least pray for them.

KH:    I know. I love your work! The persecution of God’s children is getting worse!

RW:    That just means it is almost time for the trumpet (I Thessalonians 4:13-16)! You will love this place, Kent. It’s worth dying for!

KH:    I believe you, but why does there have to be so much opposition? I’m trying to do good! I just want to serve Jesus. Why can’t they leave me alone?

RW:    The opposition is what makes this whole Christian life so great (Matthew 5:10-12)!

KH:    What!? Please explain that one.

RW:    Well…if you went to the Dallas Cowboys football stadium and ran all the way down the field with a football, would people cheer and pay money to watch you do that?

KH:    That depends.

RW:    Depends on what?

KH:    Oh, I see! It depends on how much opposition I had.

RW:    That’s right! If the field were empty, a five-year-old could carry the ball for one hundred yards. Nobody would pay to see that. But…if you could run one hundred yards, or even ten yards, while eleven three-hundred-pound trained gorillas are trying to stop you, that would draw a crowd (I Peter 2:19-20)!

KH:    I understand.

RW:    You see, Kent, up here in Heaven we love it when you believers on earth sing praises, witness, read your Bible, and go to church, but…when you do those things with great opposition like pain, problems, or persecution, everyone here comes out of their seats! You’ve never see a “wave” like we can do with a billion people!

KH:    I can’t wait to join in!

RW:    Hey, your grandpa Ole Espenes came from Norway and lived in Wisconsin for sixty-five years. You were only eight when he died, but he watched you get saved from here and he gets real excited when you serve God! Your mom was never the type to get too emotional or excited, so she got a little embarrassed when your grandpa would put on that cheese-head hat and start yelling. She would sort of quietly move away and cheer softly. All the opposition you have had these last two years has really gotten folks up here watching your race.

KH:    I’m glad, but right now those three-hundred-pound gorillas terrify me!

RW:    That’s what makes that crown you will cast at Jesus’ feet worth something (Revelation 4:10). It’s even better if your enemy lies or cheats (John 8:44). Hey, we see it all from here. God is keeping really careful records!

KH:    OK. I’ll keep going, but it sure looks like they have me cornered.

RW:    That’s when Jesus steps in. He won’t let them give you more than you can handle (I Corinthians 10:13). I thought I had reached my limit many times when I was being tortured, but God was with me and strengthened me every time.

KH:    Hey, Richard, one more question. You were a Lutheran pastor in Romania down here. What church do you go to up there?

RW:    Ah…there are millions of Lutherans up here, Kent; but we all had to become Baptists when we arrived.

KH:    Ha! I knew it!

RW:    All that time, I was eternally secure and didn’t know it. Oh, well, keep running and we’ll keep cheering.

KH:    Thanks, Richard. I’m so glad Tom White is doing such a great job of continuing your work. I’ll see you when I finish my race.

RW:    OK. Hey, Kent, God said to tell you, “He’s got your back.”

From:    Kent
Sent:    January 10, 2008
To:       Preacher Boy (Son of a Prophet)
Subject:    Check the Wedge

( First read:    II Kings 6:1-7 )

KH:    Excuse me there, Son. What are you doing?

Preacher Boy:    I’m checking the wedge that holds my ax head on. I check it pretty often.

KH:    Why is that?

PB:    I really learned my lesson yesterday, but you wouldn’t believe the story if I told you. I still have a hard time believing it myself.

KH:    Try me. I love good stories.

PB:    Well…several of us preacher boys decided we needed a bigger building for our prophet, Elisha to hold classes in. It was so crowded in that little old building we had (II Kings 6:1). Elisha is a great man of God and lots of young men feel called to train under him.

We decided to locate the new school near Jordan (II Kings 6:2). Everyone pitched in and worked on building it. I was cutting down a tree when this ax head right here flew off into the Jordan River.

KH:    Who on earth swam down to find it? The Jordan is muddy during most of the year. How could you ever find an ax head in a river like that?

PB:    That’s the part you won’t believe! I felt the ax handle get lighter and knew that something was wrong. When I noticed the ax head plop into the river, I felt sick. It wasn’t even my ax (II Kings 6:5). I had borrowed it. If I had only checked the wedge that holds it on, it never would have happened.

Anyway, I was faced with a choice. I knew no one else had seen what happened; so I could have kept swinging the ax handle and pretending I was cutting. No one would have known. Or, I could admit I had lost it.

KH:    The ax handle would make a lot of noise, but would never cut the tree. Was your goal to cut the tree or fool the others into thinking you were getting something done?

PB:    I know it seems silly, but, for a moment, I thought about pretending I still had the power.

KH:    Lots of people still do that today! They go through all the motions and make a lot of noise, but really they have lost their cutting edge.

PB:    Well, I knew I had lost mine and I knew exactly where I had lost it. It was embarrassing. I had lost it simply because I didn’t check the wedge once in a while.

KH:    So what did you do?

PB:    First, I called the man of God and admitted I had lost it. Then I showed him the place (II Kings 6:6).

KH:    Boy, what a great lesson. Many people today lose their power with God and even know where they lost it but won’t admit it. They can point to the very place where they lost it. Often it is real simple, like watching bad stuff on TV or DVD (Psalm 101:3; Matthew 5:28).

PB:    What’s a TV or DVD?

KH:    Never mind. That would take a while to explain to you. Anyway, what did Elisha do about it?

PB:    He cut down a stick and threw it into the spot I pointed out and the ax head swam back to me (II Kings 6:6)!

KH:    Do you mean that it floated up to the top of the water?

PB:    No, man, it swam!

KH:    This piece of iron swam?

PB:    I told you that you would not believe it.

KH:    Did it jump back on the handle, too?

PB:    No, I had to pick it up and put it on. That’s why I’m checking the wedge now. I don’t ever want to lose it again.

KH:    I think God is teaching us that when we lose our power with God, we need to bring the cross into our lives and He will miraculously restore our power with Him.

PB:    What’s the cross?

KH:    Oh, that’s right. You are BC, aren’t you?

PB:    What’s BC? You don’t make much sense!

KH:    I’m sorry. I’ll explain later in heaven. Anyway, you got your “cutting edge” back. Did you finish the tree?

PB:    Oh, yes, and started another one. The school is going up fast with everyone working together.

KH:    How often do you check the wedge?

PB:    Real often now.

KH:    My birthday is in five days. That’s one of the days I use every year to really evaluate my life and check all the wedges in all four areas of life (II Kings 10:15; I Corinthians 11:28; II Corinthians 13:5).

PB:    What are the four areas to check?

KH:    Well, Joseph and Mary went a whole day without Jesus and didn’t even know he was gone (Luke 2:43)! Without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5).

PB:    Who?

KH:    Ah…I’m sorry I forgot. You are BC. I mean, the Messiah.

PB:    What’s BC?

KH:    Jesus is the Messiah and He is our example. Just trust me on that one!  Jesus increased in wisdom—that’s the mental area of life. He increased in stature—that’s the physical area. He increased in favor with God—that’s the spiritual area. He increased in favor with man—that’s the social area (Luke 2:52).

I make it a practice several times each year to check myself in all four areas to see if I need to “tighten up”; so I don’t “fly off the handle.” We can lose the cutting edge so easily, especially if we are real busy. Today, with cars, TV, Internet and cell phones, it’s real easy to lose our power and keep going through the motions like nothing is even wrong.

PB:    TV? Cell phones? BC? You are making no sense, Kent. I think I’ll just go finish my tree.

KH:    Great idea! Tell Elisha I said hi.

PB:    OK

From:    Kent Hovind
Sent:    December 18, 2007
To:    Michal, Saul’s Daughter
Subject:    Bitterness

KH:    Excuse me, ma’am. Why are you eating in here all by yourself and crying? This palace is full of kids running everywhere full of joy and laughter. Why do you look so sad?

Michal:    Oh…that’s a long, sad story. It’s depressing. My family was pretty dysfunctional. I doubt you’d want to hear about it.

KH:    Yes, I would, if you don’t mind telling it.

Michal:    OK. I was the youngest of five children (I Samuel 14:49). I had three older brothers and an older sister. My dad was Saul, the first king of Israel. He was real tall (I Samuel 9:2) but real shy and humble when he was first made king (I Samuel 10:21-22). The longer he was king, the more proud and independent he became.

KH:    Did he love the Lord?

Michal:    That’s a tough question. There were times when he did (I Samuel 9:25; 10:6-13; 15:24-30) and other times when he acted pretty heathen (I Samuel 16:14; 18:9-12). Some days he was humble and other days he was full of pride. Some days he obeyed God and other times he did not (I Samuel 15). It was hard for us five kids to know what kind of mood he would be in from day to day.

KH:    Is that why you live in the palace, because your dad is king?

Michal:    No. My dad was king, but he was jealous of David, the young man who killed Goliath (I Samuel 17:49-51). Dad had said he would give my sister, Merab, to the one who killed Goliath (I Samuel 17:25; 18:17-19) but he went back on that promise. I fell in love with David the first time I saw him (I Samuel 18:20) and when Dad found out, he decided to try to use me to get David killed by the Philistines (I Samuel 18:21, 25). He said if David killed one hundred Philistines, he could marry me.

KH:    Did David really kill one hundred Philistines?

Michal:    Oh, no. To show his love for me, he killed two hundred of them (I Samuel 18:27)!  We were very happily married for a while (I Samuel 18:28). David was such a godly man. It was easy for me to love him. My brother, Jonathan, also loved David (I Samuel 18:3; 19:2) and when Dad plotted to kill David, we helped him escape (I Samuel 19). When Dad’s paid assassins came, I lied to them to give David time to escape. David went and spent time with the great prophet Samuel (I Samuel 19:18) and then fled again into hiding for several years (I Samuel 20-25). Dad made me marry Phalti since David was gone (I Samuel 25:44).

KH:    What did David think of that?

Michal:    He was heartbroken, but with Dad and the army chasing him as he was running for his life, there was nothing either of us could do. He married two other women (I Samuel 25:42-43) and I was called on to raise my five nephews, the sons of my sister Merab and her husband Adriel (I Samuel 18:19; II Samuel 21:8).

When Dad died (I Samuel 31:4) and my half brother became king, (II Samuel 2:8-9), things were pretty unstable for a while with two kings over different parts of the country (II Samuel 2:8-3:11). After a few years, Abner, my brother’s head general, offered to meet with David to try to bring the whole kingdom together under one king: David.

David said he would not meet with him unless he brought me with him (II Samuel 3:13). I thought it was pretty cool that David still loved me after all those years and wanted me back.

KH:    What did your husband think?

Michal:    Oh, he was upset about losing me, but not enough to really fight for me. He gave up pretty easily (II Samuel 3:14-16).

KH:    How was it getting back with David after all those years?

Michal:    I expected it to be like it was when we first got married, but I was now his seventh wife and never felt special like I did before. Later some evil men murdered my brother, the king (II Samuel 4:1-8) and David became king of all Israel (II Samuel 5:1-10). He married even more women (II Samuel 5:13) and I felt left out even more.

KH:    I don’t really understand your culture, but didn’t God say that the king should not have more than one wife (Deuteronomy 17:17)?

Michal:    Yes, He did, but all the kings around us had many wives, so David tried to be like all of them. It sure causes lots of family problems that way. The king has many children but he can’t really spend quality time with them; so they are pretty much raised by the mothers.

KH:    OK. That explains why you are living in the palace as one of David’s wives, but I still don’t understand why you are eating by yourself and crying.

Michal:    Well, when my husband David was bringing the ark of God back to Jerusalem, he was so happy (II Samuel 6:14). He was dancing around naked in public and didn’t care (II Samuel 6:20). I saw him out the window and lost respect for him. I actually began to despise him in my heart (II Samuel 6:14; I Chronicles 15:29).

KH:    I think you are exaggerating. He wasn’t really naked, was he (II Samuel 6:14)?

Michal:    Well…practically naked. He had taken off his royal robe and just had the ephod on.

KH:    Michal, the linen ephod was designed by God and is really modest (Exodus 20, 28). I think that your tendency to exaggerate the negative shows a deeper problem of the heart and will strain any marriage. Was the problem his dancing and praising God or was it really a bad attitude in your heart? I think you may have lost your first love (Revelation 2:4).

Michal:    I see what you mean. I guess going from being his one-and-only love to being a small part of a big kingdom has caused me to get bitter (Hebrews 12:15). I never saw it growing in me.

KH:    Has anything else helped to rob your joy and to make you bitter?

Michal:    I’d have to give you a little history to explain it, but…yes.

KH:    That’s fine. I love history.

Michal:    Well, when Joshua led the people of Israel to conquer this land four hundred years ago, the Gibeonites fooled him into making a league with them (Joshua 9). The Gibeonites should have all been killed by God’s command, but Joshua’s treaty saved their lives. My dad couldn’t stand them; and when he became king, he killed lots of them. Dad never cared much for following God’s laws very closely. Anyway, God sent a famine on Israel and David asked God why (II Samuel 21:1). God told him it was because of what my dad had done to the Gibeonites; so David called in their leaders to see what would make them happy and break the famine. They said they wanted seven of Saul’s descendants to kill (II Samuel 21:6). David gave them my two half brothers and my five nephews that I had raised (II Samuel 21:8).

KH:    How did that make you feel?

Michal:    Oh…I knew it had to be done…but I was pretty bitter.

KH:    At who?

Michal:    Well, at Joshua for not seeking God’s face and for sparing the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:14), at Dad for not honoring the treaty, and at David for saving my crippled nephew Mephibosheth and offering the nephews that I had raised instead. I guess I was also bitter at God for this entire situation.

KH:    Does David ever come see you?

Michal:    Oh, he is friendly to me and always provides for me, but he never spends the night with me. I have no children of my own. That is pretty bad for women in my culture (Genesis 15:2; I Samuel 1:2-18; II Samuel 6:23). So here I sit in this big house full of laughter and eat alone and cry.

KH:    Wow! That’s quite a story! Can’t you go apologize to David for feeling bitter toward him and try to get right with God?

Michal:    I have thought of doing that thousands of times. I don’t know why I can’t bring myself to do it.

KH:    David sinned plenty of times. His sin with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband were terrible sins (II Samuel 11), but he knew how to repent and keep his heart right with God (II Samuel 12:13; I Kings 15:3-5; Psalm 32:1-5; 51). God restored his joy (Psalm 51:12). You could have your joy restored, too.

Hey, I’m going in to play with the kids. I wish you would join us.

Michal:    Maybe someday. Not now. Good-bye.

kh:    Lord, did she ever get her heart right and get rid of that bitterness?

GOD:    No, Son. I kept waiting for her, but she did not. Bad things happen to all people. Some get bitter and some get better. She was one who chose to get bitter.

You have poured concrete many times, Son. First you set the forms where you want it to go, then you pour the concrete in and wait for it to set up.

In the same way, you need to set your affection on things above (Colossians 3:2). You can make your heart go where you choose. You can choose to love those who are not very lovely. Michal set her mind on all the negative and chose to get bitter. She wasted her life, Son. Don’t do that.

Son, I know some things have happened to you that are unjust. Don’t let anyone or anything rob you of your joy. I’ll fix the injustices when this mission is over. Keep your eyes on Me, Son. I don’t make mistakes and I’ve got your back.