many inventions
Greetings, beloved brethren, in dark and troublesome times. YET . . . though “The fear of man bringeth a snare” . . . “whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25).
You would think we Christians who find it so easy to criticize Israel for her rebellion against the LORD and failure to trust HIM down through the ages as well as for her rejection of the Messiah . . . you would think that we would actually learn her lessons and apply what we have learned when times get tough. After all, says the Apostle Paul, these things were “written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (I Corinthians 10:11). They are a WARNING to us. We say we trust the LORD, but instead, do we not really fear man and take matters into our own hands with our MANY INVENTIONS?
The last six months in the United States of America have revealed much about the sad Laodicean state of the churches. When Paul said the coming of the Man of Sin would be preceded by a great falling away (II Thessalonians 2:3), that was certainly no understatement. I am reminded of the sobering words of King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 7:29:
“Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”
Man has an opportunity to do right by the LORD in any situation, but instead he usually defaults to his own inventions. That is human nature, and it is so, so predictable. Aside from biblical prophecy, the two greatest lenses for predicting the future of a nation are HUMAN HISTORY and HUMAN NATURE. The churches in America had a legitimate opportunity to practice what they preach (i.e trust the LORD) and to do that which is upright by God when the Covid-19 and #BLM chaos descended upon this nation. We had an opportunity to do what was right, to actually live what we speak, and to thereby point many to the truth. Instead, when God says He has not given us a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:6-7), we chose to fear man. And like King Asa of old (II Chronicles 16:12), we feared for our health more than we feared God and have therefore sought out many inventions. “Many Inventions” is just another way of saying PRAGMATISM, and pragmatism, I fear, has become the great idol of Christian life in America. All the last six months has done is expose it.
Here's a local example of the fear of man that bringeth a snare and the pragmatism that goes with it. This church down the road from me only opened up just a couple of weeks ago, and this time with a new "requirement" for entrance. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
The folly of pragmatism can be found throughout the testimony of Holy Scripture, going way back to Cain, the father of all manmade religion. In fact, Jude calls pragmatism the “way of Cain.” Cain invented his own way to worship God because it was practical for his life and profession. God didn’t accept his sacrifice. Sarah doubted the LORD and encouraged Abraham to do what was practical and go in unto her handmaid to raise up a seed. The consequences of that folly rage in the Middle East to this very day. Esau walked the way of Cain in his moment of "hanger" and bargained very foolishly. Therefore, “I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness” (Malachi 1:2-3). King Saul feared the people and thought a public sacrifice to the LORD would prove more pragmatic than simple obedience to the LORD. And therefore, “Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king” (I Samuel 15:23). Do you get the point?
Not that long ago, my family and I finished our daily morning devotional study of the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul, usually had around the breakfast table. I then asked myself: What could we study next, and what could help my children understand best why all these things are happening in America and why their childhood and teenage years are proving to be very very different than mine? Moreover, what study could best give us a platform for discussing how to live and endure in a way that is pleasing to the LORD when everything around us is in chaos? It didn’t take long to find an answer: we started a study of the kings of the Divided Monarchy in Israel, beginning with the death of Solomon and the division of the people under Rehoboam (~975 BC).
My friends, there was a king once who didn’t purpose to be a king, who didn’t seek a kingdom, and who was content to be an industrious contractor. But God gave him a throne and a grand opportunity to build for himself a sure house like that of King David. Instead, the fear of man very quickly became his snare, and he therefore sought out many inventions. We must ask ourselves: Is our legacy in “Covid-19 #BLM America” any different? And please note, like Daniel who prayed for his nation, I am speaking in the FIRST PERSON. Do you know this king’s name?
My brother-in-law built this table for us, and the old thing that had been sitting in our kitchen for many years was finally replaced. This spot has become of late a site of some very interesting family Bible studies.
Jeroboam was an unknown widow’s son and yet very industrious and rose to great and influential responsibility under King Solomon in some of his building projects. He was loyal and hard working. One day, Ahijah the Prophet found him alone in a field and grabbed his new cloak and tore it into ten pieces. The prophet then told the undoubtedly stunned young man that God was going to judge Solomon for his unfaithfulness and rend the kingdom from his son, giving the rule of ten tribes to Jeroboam. It would be a temporary thing (not forever because God would keep His promise to King David as He always does for the people of Israel and for the Church), but nonetheless very real. Thus saith the LORD:
“I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee” (I Kings 11:37-38).
Somehow Solomon heard about this encounter and tried to kill Jeroboam, but he escaped and found refuge in Egypt until Solomon was dead. Some years later, when Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, went to his coronation in Shechem, the people of the northern tribes called for Jeroboam out of Egypt to come back and lobby for them before the new king, to request a less taxing and more benevolent rule than had been the case during Solomon’s latter years. Jeroboam did so, assuring Rehoboam that the people of the northern tribes would prove faithful and loyal if the king would simply lighten their burden. Perhaps you know the story of Rehoboam’s refusal to heed the counsel of his elders, instead foolishly following the advice of his peers. As a result, the people of the northern tribes said, “Fine, look to your own problems you sons of David. We SECEDE from this union.” And like the Southern States in 1861 who went out to find Jefferson Davis farming in his field in Mississippi, the people called for Jeroboam and implored him to be their king. Like Mr. Davis, Jeroboam didn’t want it, neither did he campaign for it. Notwithstanding, the people “made him king over all Israel” (I Kings 12:20).
This was all of the LORD, my friends, and up to this point Jeroboam had done nothing wrong. He had not taken matters into his own hands; he had obviously believed the word of the LORD and therefore reluctantly accepted a throne over Israel. At this juncture in time, there was an incredible opportunity before him to trust and obey the LORD and to secure for himself a sure house and posterity, just as Ahijah had exhorted him years earlier. The future was bright, and his reign began in uprightness . . .
In and through Solomon's sin and Rehoboam's foolishness, God promised Jeroboam a sure house like that of King David if he would but trust Him and follow Him. This monument to the kings of Judah, beginning with Rehoboam, can be found at the ruins of Lachish in Central Israel.
. . . Rehoboam’s coronation in Shechem would have typically been the first day of the month Nisan at the changing of the Jewish religious year. Jeroboam would have been made king of the northern tribes very shortly thereafter. On 14 Nisan and again on 6 Sivan (the third month of the Jewish calendar), all of Israel were expected to gather in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feasts of Unleavened Bread and Shavuot (i.e. Pentecost), so undoubtedly many of the people of the northern tribes kept these feasts in 975 BC and traveled down to the Temple which would then have been under Rehoboam’s jurisdiction. And so, Jeroboam very subtly veered from the path of a sure house set before him by the LORD and turned down the WAY OF CAIN in the ERROR OF BAALAM with the GAINSAYING OF KORAH (Jude 11). He did what many of us do: “And Jeroboam SAID in his heart . . . ” The Hebrew verb translated “said” in this context involves calling into question within one’s self, the exact same line of questioning that the serpent used in the Garden of Eden when he called into question God's Word to Eve. The serpent is the father of the "Yea God hath said" Society still in existence today.
“And Jeroboam said in his heart”: If I go to church and fellowship with my brethren, I will get sick. If we pray and sing and preach like God has commanded us, people will die. If I don’t do what I am told by people without authority in public, someone will shame me . . . No, wait a minute, sorry . . . I am confusing AD 2020 with 975 BC :) What Jeroboam reasoned, however, is not all that different, not that different from Cain, not that different from Baalam, not that different from Korah, and certainly not that different from many of us who claim in these days to trust the LORD.
“If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah” (I Kings 12:27).
The Fall gathering of Sukkot or Tabernacles would be coming up on 15 Tishri (the seventh month on the Jewish calendar), and this was the third of the three annual feasts during which all of Israel were to come and celebrate in Jerusalem. Within SIX MONTHS of God making Jeroboam king over the northern tribes and promising him a sure and secure house like that of David if he would but fear and trust the LORD, exactly what had been told him by the prophet . . . within SIX MONTHS, the king went terribly wrong; he began to FEAR MAN instead of God. And the rest is a tragic history of a terrible missed opportunity and a stained legacy that continues to this day.
Jeroboam sought counsel and built an entire false religious system out of fear and envy. He erected golden calves at Bethel and Dan, the foundation of the later still standing today in the ruins of Dan near the Syrian border in the Modern State of Israel. He made priests of those other than the tribe of Levi, and even worse, he established a religious feast on the 15th of the 8th month to entice the northern tribes away from going south to Jerusalem on the 15th day of the 7th month. All this “he had devised of his own heart” (I Kings 12:33)to protect his health and safety and to try to secure in his own power what God had promised He would secure if Jeroboam would but trust Him. All this went terribly wrong, my friends, in LESS THAN SIX MONTHS.
Hmm? A lot has gone terribly wrong in the lives of many American Christians also in less than six months, the last six months.
Just last year, I was able to share about Jesus the Messiah with this Jewish couple right there at the foundation of the golden calf altar that Jeroboam erected at Dan in Northern Israel. You can see that foundation behind us enclosed in the metal framework.
Thereafter and for all of Israel’s history, Jeroboam would be known as he who “made Israel to sin” instead of one to whom God had promised a sure house. Sad, sad, sad, sad, sad. On an interesting side note, Jeroboam himself offered incense on the altar at Bethel to usher in his new feast. And out of nowhere, a street preacher from Judah showed up and prophesied against that altar. He let the king know very publicly that one day a son of David named Josiah would arise and destroy that altar and destroy Jeroboam’s entire false religious system. And, preached the man of God, “Here is the proof that this will happen.” Right before the king’s eyes and in characteristic Old Testament prophecy fashion, the altar was rent in two, and the ashes were poured out upon the ground. “Arrest him,” cried the king, and he reached out his own hand to snag the preacher. Suddenly, Jeroboam’s arm withered and dried up like an old tree. Then, the big bold king who thought he knew better than the LORD suddenly started begging the LORD and the preacher for help . . . you know, just like the rabid thugs on American streets who curse the police and then beg them for help the moment they are in danger. There is nothing new under the sun. Anyway, God was merciful to Jeroboam in that moment and healed him, but the king never again left the man-centered way of Cain. And sure enough, nearly 340 years later, Josiah did exactly what that old street preacher said he would do (II Kings 23:15). You see, God can call a man’s name more than three centuries before He is born, and He does exactly what He says He is going to do, whether men like it or not. He doesn’t answer to us; we answer to Him. We don’t worship Him on our terms; we come to Him on His terms. And His terms are FAITH (not fear) in the MESSIAH (not religion).
Near this very spot in Central Israel, that old street preacher confronted Jeroboam and called Josiah by name more than 300 years before he was born.
God established Jeroboam upright in the Northern Kingdom, but he “sought out many inventions” (Ecclesiastes 7:29). And in the end, he got exactly what he feared. That same spirit, the spirit of Jeroboam, is alive and well in the American churches today, and it has been magnified greatly these past six months. We say we trust the LORD for our eternal salvation, but we fear man and the machinations of man such that we can’t trust the LORD enough to keep doing the simple things He commands us to do in dark days:
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:23-25).
“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:19-21).
“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
“Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
Beware the spirit of Jeroboam, my friends, for . . .
“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25).
“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered” (Proverbs 28:26).
“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Addiction to all the FEAR PORNOGRAPHY out there is not faith, dear brethren. It is sin; and it will bring upon us the very things that terrify us. Such is the overwhelming testimony of Israel’s history.
Way too much FEAR PORN out there!
Now God forbid that I would preach to you folks one thing and then do something else. God forbid! We have two good months before the upcoming election and maybe even longer before the onset of winter. At this time, we can’t return to our normal international target areas for outreach to Israeli backpackers, and a trip to Israel before year’s end is off the table, but there remains a giant mission field right out the back door, a field where can be found both Jews and Gentiles who desperately need to hear the Gospel. It’s called the American Road, the highways and hedges of a nation that has not only forgotten God, but one that has provoked Him to wrath far too long. And many of those highways and byways lead to states that are far less restricted and “locked down” than others . . . places where more doors are open and where more people are open to BIBLICAL TRUTH just by virtue of their disdain for government tyranny. That being said, we covet your prayers as Eric Trent, my teenage daughter Bethany (who can now help us drive) and I will be going out on the road next week and probably will not return to North Carolina until the election, or maybe even after depending upon what the LORD does. All we really know at this point is that our first stop will be to come alongside a brother near Louisville, Kentucky who supports this ministry. Lord willing, we will do some preaching at an abortion mill and a nearby college campus. From there, the road will turn north and west. The LORD gave me this Scripture out of Isaiah 30 the other day, a passage that foreshadows the ministry of the Holy Spirit under the New Covenant and reflects the very thing Jesus said to Nicodemus about the work of the Spirit in John 3:8:
“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).
I want this truth to be as a frontlet between the eyes when we go out, not knowing exactly where we are heading from day to day. There is far too much planning, scheduling, organizing, weighing, man-centered reasoning, and seeking out MANY INVENTIONS—the spirit of Jeroboam who made Israel to sin—in missions ministry today. And I, too, have been guilty. It wasn’t like this in the beginning for me. When I climbed on that bicycle in Surf City, North Carolina back on July 13, 2003, we had North Carolina and Virginia Gazetters and a Wal-mart road atlas, NO GOOGLE MAPS or a GPS. And, we only had one cell phone. My pregnant wife and I knew where we wanted to be by that evening, at an inland trailer owned by my pastor that would be available for us to lodge, but that was about it. It was up to the LORD to direct our steps from day to day. And, by the end of that first FPGM missionary journey, my friends, the route and the time frame didn’t look anything like I had anticipated or planned. Furthermore, the fruit, the opportunities to preach the Gospel, and the divine appointments are still felt today.
It's time to get back on the road! (On a sidenote, that dormant volcano in the background, Sierra Grande in Northern New Mexico, is one of the largest in terms of overall volume of any mountain in the world).
At the end of the day, we are called to preach the Gospel to the Jewish people first, and also to the Gentiles. We can’t do that in Peru, Colombia, Nepal, India, or Israel at this time. But, we can go out on the highways and byways in our own backyard and trust the Holy Spirit to direct the route and put the right people, both Jews and Gentiles, into our path. It’s kind of the way the old Methodist circuit riders used to do things . . . and it’s exciting. Please pray for us. Lord willing, we will leave out on Tuesday. If the Lord provides, we would like to have our wives join us somewhere on the road for a couple of weeks. I believe plane tickets are still pretty cheap if you can put up with the airlines’ collage of fear pornography and nanny mollycoddling. Stay tuned for news and prayer requests from the road. Also, if you are out there somewhere and bored, and if you would like us to stop by for some fellowship or ministry together, just let us know. We are open to changing routes at the drop of a hat. Pray also that the weather stays good and that we experience an unusually long Indian summer. May the LORD thereby open plenty of doors on trails, amongst crags, and on the back roads. And yes, the God of Israel can put a lost sheep from the House of Israel into our path, even along a seldom-used trail in an off-season.
I’ll never forget a similar road trip across America in the Fall of 2015. I trusted the LORD to guide the route, and He did. From California, I began the return trip home alone and eventually rendezvoused with my dad in Las Vegas who came out to help me drive. I had a nasty tire blow out in the desert near Death Valley National Park late one night. Fortunately, I had a full-size spare, but it wasn’t in the greatest of condition. The headache of the matter compelled me to find a place to camp, so I ventured up a mountain dirt road that would take me high enough in elevation to get amongst some trees. That night, I bedded down in a very creepy grove with howling winds, around 8,000 ft. in elevation. My GLOCK was locked and loaded and within quick reach. The next morning, I found myself near a trailhead and decided to go for a hike. It was cold with some snow on the ground as I climbed in altitude, but I ended up summiting Telescope Peak, the highest peak in Death Valley National Park at 11,043 ft. (about 15 miles roundtrip). From the top, I could see straight down to Badwater at 280 ft. BELOW sea level. Actually, from base to peak, the east side of Telescope Peak is one of the tallest mountainsides in the entire world . . . right up there with Denali’s Wickersham Wall and Dhaulagiri’s Southeast Face. It was a long day but provided needful rest. Late that afternoon, as the sun was going down, I carefully meandered down that steep dirt road thinking that I would need to stop in Pahrump, Nevada to buy a new tire. Suddenly, as I turned a switchback in the road, I saw a disheveled and nervous young man walking alongside the road and obviously lost. I drove past him and stopped to inquire if he needed help. He paused in the road, curiously studied the back of my vehicle, and then he approached. Long story short, I gave this young man a ride back to his vehicle some miles away. He had gone for a short hike and got very lost and didn’t even know where he was when I picked him up. Fortunately, I knew where to find his car. I also learned that the only reason he felt comfortable enough to get into my car in this extremely desolate place is because he saw a sticker on my rear window that read: “God Bless Israel.” You see, he was Jewish . . . and I told Him about the Messiah. That is just one of many such examples in my travels, and our prayer is that we will see more of the same over the next couple of months. Please pray for that.
Just at few hours after I placed this Gospel testimony in the summit register atop Telescope Peak in Death Valley National Park, the Lord put a lost Jewish hiker into my path.
Several weeks ago, we did a test run of sorts with a weeklong road trip around West Virginia, following portions of my old 2003 bicycle route. It was me, Eric Trent, Brandon Gwaltney (pastor of Pleasant View Baptist Church in Harmony, NC and one of FPGM’s Trustees), and Carter Phillips (a young man from Missouri who served on FPGM’s Team Yeshua 2019). There were a few open malls in West Virginia and Ohio that we visited in search of Israelis, but the kiosks remained vacant and closed down. I expect it to be the same when we head out next week. But alas, we will still stop and inquire. Anyway, this test-run wasn’t glamorous, but it was fruitful. We gave out a lot of Gospel tracts and a few Bibles; we met and encouraged a Christian family of Jewish descent on a trail in the New River Gorge; and we were able to re-connect with a family that graciously opened their home to me many years ago when I was on that first bicycle journey. Eric described things this way when he submitted his monthly ministry report for August:
Last week, a few of us travelled around the state of West Virginia to find people with whom we could preach Christ. Our calendar remained fairly open, and daily we sought opportunity to share the Gospel with others. It was a great time of fellowship as brothers in Christ during these dark and confusing times. And the Lord blessed our trip with several divine appointments, a few of which I would like to share:
Near the beginning of the trip, we landed in a part of the New River Gorge near Fayetteville. There is a large climbing crag in the canyon called The Endless Wall. It is a very popular sport climbing sector. We figured we would find good opportunities there to minister to hikers and climbers. While atop the wall, Brandon had a good conversation with an Asian couple as Jesse and I prepared to repel off the top of the wall. It was a bit of a precarious task, and this couple was fascinated by what we were doing. Brandon seized the open door and shared truth with them about the Maker of the Mountains. They received a Gospel tract. Our boldness to repel off the high ledge captured their attention, thus giving our brother the open door. It was a great team effort.
That same afternoon we were finishing up our final route and preparing to leave the crag. We noticed a family was walking the approach trail in our direction. As they arrived, we initiated a conversation and began sharing the Gospel, only to find out that they too were believers! The man and his wife were real encouraged by our sharing with them, informing us that they also attend a small home-fellowship up in Pennsylvania. Jesse spoke with the husband and wife for a long time about the things of the Lord, even giving the man a Hebrew New Testament to share with a Jewish person. It turned out this follower of Jesus was actually of Jewish heritage. Meanwhile, Brandon and I gave tracts to their two teenage sons and daughter, encouraging them to share their faith with others during these dark days. What an incredible divine appointment it was!
Later that day, we drove through a small town called Elkins. Inside this little town was a park where we decided to take a quick break from driving. It didn’t take us very long to notice a lot of drug activity going on under the trees. People congregating around picnic tables were quick to turn their backs toward us and conceal their illegal activity. Notwithstanding, we engaged a young man who was no doubt part of the drug culture in that area. His name was Andy, and as our talk with him progressed, we found him to be very open to talking about the things of the Lord. After Brandon shared with him a Gospel tract, I asked if he had a Bible at home. He told me that he did not, so Ipulled out a small KJV New Testament and told him that he could have it. We encouraged him to seek the Lord where He can be found: within the Scriptures! Andy thanked us for the gift, and told us he would even show his Bible to his friends. Never be afraid to speak to someone even if they do look a little shady, for often they are very open to hearing the truth.
These are just a small handful of the encounters the Lord orchestrated for us on one day of this week-long journey. There were more along the highways and byways of West Virginia and small parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Not only did we have opportunities to preach to the lost, but also to encourage and uplift other believers as well. While many today are ASHAMED to take a stand for Christ and obey His commands from Scripture, we will continue on in obedience as before. Covid-19 and the mass hysteria changes nothing regarding our responsibility to live as obedient children to the Lord. We will continue to congregate together as believers, and we will continue to go out and endeavor to place the Word of God into the hands of others. Rise up Christian and be unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord and soon coming King. All glory to Him alone!
-Eric Trent
Encouraging a believing family of Jewish heritage off the beaten path in the New River Gorge (West Virginia)
Brandon & Andy in Elkins, West Virginia
What the LORD did on that small journey was definitely instrumental in compelling us to go back out next week and redeem the remaining time before the election and before the winter. We shall see what happens.
There was one more incident up in West Virginia worth sharing. I had a terrible driving record when I was a teenager, and it took me a long time to get it clean. By God’s grace, I haven’t had an infraction in about 22 years, and I have driven hundreds of thousands of miles in that window. That seemed to end on US Highway 19 near Fayetteville, one of the country’s biggest traps and one that the trucking company that employs Brother Brandon avoids altogether. I wholeheartedly disagreed with the officer’s citation and didn’t like him asking me to hand over my pistol when I told him I was armed and carrying a concealed-carry permit from North Carolina. In NC, they are not supposed to do that. Anyway, because of the present climate and because of all the garbage police are having to put up with these days, the LORD convicted me in that moment to be very polite and cooperative. When he handed me the ticket, I explained that I was aggravated but still appreciative of local law enforcement, the last line of defense for decent people against tyranny. I informed him that we were preachers and that I had just told these boys the day before that I hadn’t had a traffic infraction in 22 years! “I guess I put my foot in my mouth, huh?” He chuckled and then received a Gospel tract from my hands. I spoke about our nation’s spiritual problem and how that Jesus Christ is our only hope. He reached out and shook my hand with no thought or fear of Covid-19, and that was that. The next week, after I returned home, I wrestled with challenging this ticket for which I truly believed I had not violated the spirit of the law. In fact, I could not have safely adhered to the letter of that law in that moment. I’ll spare you the details. Anyway, I also did not want to undermine my witness to that officer in any fashion nor call his judgment into question. I asked the LORD to intervene and then called the number I was told to call within ten days. The fine was hefty, and I explained to the clerk that I wasn’t ready to make a decision on whether to pay it or challenge it in court. I relayed why we had been up in West Virginia and my present dilemma. She then asked me to let her do some investigation and she would see if there was a way I could make my case to the judge without having to travel back up there. She said to give her several days. Well, ten minutes later she called me back. She said, “Mr. Boyd, I just decided to hang up the phone and go find the officer who cited you. I shared with him what you told me on the phone and he replied, 'You know, I remember that guy. He was very respectful, and those people with him were really cool. Just tell him I am trashing that ticket, and that he doesn't need to worry about it.' " The next week, my parents were driving up to Ohio and had planned to pass right though that same town. I sent two gift bags, one for the clerk and one for the officer, as tokens of my gratitude for the clemency shown toward me. I threw in some locally roasted coffee beans, some really nice athletic socks that my brother’s company manufactures, and a bar of natural soap locally made just down the street. I also included a New Testament, a couple of Gospel tracts, and a very convicting book written by my friend Mark Cahill. In a handwritten card, I shared the Gospel and explained why law enforcement was set up my the LORD to restrain evil in the world. I thanked them for their service and let them know that despite all the clamor on the television, there are many like me in America who are thankful for those with a badge who serve and protect. My mom reported back that the delivery was made, and these folks were much appreciative. Praise the LORD, it's still 22 years and counting!
Praise God for sparing me from the consequences of this traffic violation.
My friends, God uses the simplest of things. As Billy Sunday used to preach: “Destiny’s door turns on small hinges.” That why Paul the Apostle warned that we be not like Eve, that our minds be not “corrupted from the simplicity that is Christ Jesus” (II Corinthians 11:3). New Testament ministry and New Testament missions is actually quite simple, yet we have “sought out many inventions” (Ecclesiastes 7:29). We fear men, we fear viruses with less than a 1% fatality rate, we fear unconstitutional and unenforceable executive orders, we fear someone “shaming” us in public, and we are quick to just shut up and hide in our homes when God tells believers not to quit assembling, especially in times like this. Beware the spirit of Jeroboam! It doesn’t end well. Israeli provoked God “to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them” (Psalm 106:29). American churches have done the same. Israel was “defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions” (Psalm 106:39). American churches have done the same. But to Israel, God was also “a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions” (Psalm 99:8). And God can do the same for the American churches if we humble ourselves, repent, cast aside the fear of man, and GO YE THEREFORE with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jeroboam never got right with the LORD, "the LORD struck him, and he died" (II Chronicles 13:20). It need not be that way for us.
Before I sign off, and in the spirit of what I ask you to pray that this upcoming missionary journey across America will be, I want to share the words from my journal that I penned after that first day of the bicycle journey in 2003, where all we knew in terms of the route was where he hoped to be that evening:
From Surf City, I began the bike ride, pedaling 46 miles to a trailer somewhere in Duplin County that a pastor friend of mine agreed to let us use. As it turned out, this trailer was a true blessing, shelter from some of the most tempestuous downpour that I have seen in a long time. Enroute to the trailer, Jamie and I got separated and lost. I got caught pedaling in two severe thunderstorms, and Jamie never could find the trailer. In each of our respective adventures, God provided protection and guidance at just the right moment, demonstrating from the "get-go" that we would have to trust Him on this journey. My protection came in the form of a front porch, and later, a closed-down restaurant. Jamie's came in the form of some kindhearted people who guided her to the trailer and helped her search for me out in the thunder and lightning. Once the dangerous lightning finally ceased, I left the abandoned restaurant and went looking for the trailer. I never could find it--only one that looked like the description I was given. As it turned out, I was at the wrong trailer trying to find the key and get inside when two young men drove up. They thought I was trying to break in, but then discovered otherwise when I told my story. They invited me in, let me use their phone to call Jamie, and inquired about why I was riding across the country. The two brothers insisted that I let them take my picture because, as they said, it was rare that they met folks like me doing crazy stuff like biking across the United States. At this point, I had already begun to think I was crazy and wonder what I had gotten myself into. After sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with these two young men, one of them expressed astonishment because of a dream he said he experienced a couple of weeks before. In this dream, he said that he woke up in hell and it scared him to death. Since, he had been pondering this fate and wondering about how to escape it. I was amazed and told him that maybe God gave him the dream to show him how real and horrible hell is and then sent me to show him the way to escape it (John 14:6). He made no decision to follow Christ that moment, but his ears were open and seeds were planted. From this and other seemingly "accidental happenchance" experiences throughout this first day, God taught me one important lesson--NOTHING HAPPENS BY ACCIDENT!!!!!! AND, WE MUST TRUST HIM TO GUIDE US ON THE ROUTE. At the end of that first day, God answered our prayers and brought my wife and me back together. We were then able to share our respective adventures one with another. God provided safety from the storm, shelter, friendly folks to point us in the right direction, and abundant opportunities to share the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ. AND THIS WAS JUST THE FIRST DAY!
Little did I know what Day 1 of this long bicycle journey would entail when I pedaled away from this beach at Surf City, NC on July 13, 2003.
It has been really hot the last couple of days and not many people have been out on the streets. Nevertheless, God has given us opportunities to share the blessed Gospel with people we seem to "accidentally" come in contact. On Tuesday, we were able to lead a young man to Christ down on the Neuse River where I had simply stopped to take a quick swim. Apparently, his grandmother is a solid Christian that had been praying for his salvation for quite some time. We were overjoyed by this unexpected development and gave him a nice Bible, insuring that he could get some discipleship. His grandmother lived nearby and attended a local Baptist Church. He promised to call her with the news that night. In some ways, situations like that have to be left up to the Lord. If He can save a man, He can most certainly see to his adequate discipleship. Well, today will be a slow day—only about 25 miles—but it’s the Lord’s route.
This young man gave his heart to the LORD down on the Neuse River two days after pedaling away from Surf City in 2003.
Ok, I’m sorry to bore you on memory lane. Just pray or us and for the LORD’s provision over the coming weeks. Things are crazy and tense out there, but we are going anyway. Pray also for our country, that God would bring true repentance and revival, beginning in the churches.
For the Word of God & the Testimony of Jesus Christ,
Jesse Boyd
Full Proof Gospel Ministries