Tag: water

What Is Truth? When We Know But Won’t Act

It wasn’t a philosophical question. It was the exhausted sigh of a man who had compromised so often that truth had become meaningless. He had traded integrity for security so many times that he no longer recognized the currency.

Brent Pollard

The Man Who Couldn’t Afford Truth

Pontius Pilate governed Judea the way most of us manage our lives—by compromise. A mid-level Roman official ruling a resentful province, he had learned that survival meant bending to political winds. Truth, in his world, was whatever kept Caesar pleased and mobs quiet.

Then Truth walked into his courtroom.

“Are You the King of the Jews?” Pilate asked. Jesus answered, “For this I was born—to bear witness to the truth.”

Pilate’s response exposes every human heart: “What is truth?”

It wasn’t a philosophical question. It was the exhausted sigh of a man who had compromised so often that truth had become meaningless. He had traded integrity for security so many times that he no longer recognized the currency.

The Coward Who Saw Clearly

Here’s what haunts Pilate’s story: he knew.

Three times he declared Jesus innocent. His wife warned him in a dream. His conscience screamed. Yet when the priests threatened—”If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar”—Pilate’s courage evaporated. He chose career over conscience, comfort over conviction.

Then came his famous gesture: washing his hands before the crowd, announcing, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.”

One cannot wash away guilt if one will not confess. Water cleanses skin, not souls. Pilate’s basin was as empty as his heart.

The Sovereignty in the Surrender

But here’s where God’s purposes shine through human failure: Pilate couldn’t escape his role in redemption. When he ordered the sign above Jesus’ cross—”Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”—the priests demanded he change it. Pilate refused: “What I have written, I have written.”

It was petty revenge, yes—one last jab at those who had cornered him. But beyond Pilate’s passive-aggressive defiance, God was writing truth in permanent ink. The placard that Pilate meant as mockery became prophecy. The “criminal” was indeed the King—not just of Jews, but of Pilate, Rome, and all creation.

God doesn’t need our righteousness to accomplish His purposes. Even our failures serve His sovereign plan.

The Mirror We’d Rather Not See

Pilate is us.

We know what’s right but fear what it costs. We recognize truth but won’t stand for it when the crowd turns hostile. We wash our hands of responsibility while blood stains our souls.

You and I don’t drift into heaven. Neutrality before Christ is impossible—by doing nothing, Pilate crucified Him. Every day we face the same choice: Will we crown Christ as Lord, or dismiss Him when it’s inconvenient?

What Must We Do?

Stop washing your hands. Moral evasion solves nothing. Confession begins where excuses end.

Count the cost, then pay it. Following Christ may cost you approval, comfort, or even advancement. But what profit is there in gaining the world while losing your soul?

Remember who stands before you. Jesus didn’t stand before Pilate—Pilate stood before Jesus. We don’t judge truth; truth judges us.

Act while conscience speaks. Every ignored conviction hardens the heart. Pilate’s tragedy began long before that Friday morning—it started the first time he silenced what he knew was right.

The Final Word

History remembers Pilate not for his power but for his weakness. His name endures not as a hero, but as the coward who asked, “What is truth?” while Truth stood before him.

You and I won’t face Jesus in a Roman court. But we face Him daily in every choice between comfort and courage, between what people think and what God commands.

Pilate’s question remains: What is truth?

Jesus answers: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

The question isn’t whether truth exists. The question is whether we’ll bow to it—or spend our lives washing our hands.

The Split Rock Of Horeb

Rising stark and solemn from the barren Saudi wilderness, the Split Rock of Horeb stands like a silent sentinel of ancient power. Towering nearly 60 feet high, the colossal granite monolith looms over the desolate plain, its weathered and tan flanks are etched by wind and time. But what sets it apart, what seizes the imagination…

Dale Pollard

 —————————————————

It’s not just a rock. 

It’s a rock surrounded by empty silence and scorched earth. It appears, not as a mere geological feature, but a thunderstruck altar where the desert drank. A place where a miracle met stone. 

Rising stark and solemn from the barren Saudi wilderness, the Split Rock of Horeb stands like a silent sentinel of ancient power. Towering nearly 60 feet high, the colossal granite monolith looms over the desolate plain, its weathered and tan flanks are etched by wind and time. But what sets it apart, what seizes the imagination—is the cleft. A prodigious vertical split that is so unnaturally straight it’s as though it were torn by an invisible hand. 

The two halves, still joined at the base, are separated by a gap so wide a man could walk between them. Where is the magic sword from heaven that must have struck it so cleanly? 

At its base, the rock bears smooth channels and grooves—as if torrents of water once burst forth, carving trails into the stone that in wild obedience submit itself to divine command. Light filters through the divide, casting shadows that whisper about that day even to this day.

Yes, the rock still stands. 

Despite centuries of exposure to harsh desert winds, sand, and temperature extremes, the massive split rock remains tall and intact. It has an imposing presence, seemingly sliced vertically in a way that defies typical erosion patterns. The site receives occasional attention, but not too much and rarely up close. 

It’s in a remote, restricted area which is often under military control, and access has historically been limited or even outright prohibited by Saudi powers. 

NO TRESPASSING?

Many of the widely circulated photos and videos of the rock come from unauthorized expeditions, but here’s a couple  stand outs (Ron Wyatt won’t get any attention here). 

Jim and Penny Caldwell

 (1992) 

They were just the average American oil workers living in Saudi Arabia, but with a neat twist.

On numerous occasions they took considerable personal risk by sneaking into restricted areas to document the rock and other sites, including:

  • The Split Rock 
  • The blackened peak of Sinai 
  • Altar-like structures and petroglyphs of bulls (linked to the golden calf story)

Oh, and they had to smuggle all  pictures and footage out of the country. 

Bob Cornuke 

(Late 1990s-Early 2000s)

He was just your average former police investigator, but with a neat twist! 

He collaborated with the Caldwells and visited the site to gather photographic and testimonial evidence. His trips were perfectly reasonable, just slightly (ok, entirely) unauthorized and clandestine.

Other explorers have faced interrogation, arrest, or deportation by Saudi authorities and the government has since built a fence around Split Rock. Access is now heavily restricted or off-limits to the public. 

                      ————————-//————————

Bonus Neat 

Local Bedouins have called it the “Rock of Moses” for generations and their oral traditions speak of how water once flowed from it. Some Bedouins avoid the site entirely. 

Bread Facts 

“And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink.’ And Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.”

Exodus 17:6-7 

(see also, Numbers 20:1–13) 

Breaking (Old) News

Why does everyone’s creation stories, from ancient myths onward, talk about there being water in the beginning? And why is this important for the Christian who believes the Bible is God-breathed?

Dale Pollard

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Romans 1:20 

For a moment I want to walk through some newer findings in the realm of secular based science that match the biblical narrative perfectly. 

WATER WAS PRESENT IN THE EARLIEST STAGES OF THE UNIVERSE 

According to Tel Aviv University & NASA researchers (2016): 

 “Astronomers have long held that water—two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom—was a relative latecomer to the universe. They believed that any element heavier than helium had to have been formed in the cores of stars and not by the Big Bang itself. Since the earliest stars would have taken some time to form, mature, and die, it was presumed that it took billions of years for oxygen atoms to disperse throughout the universe and attach to hydrogen to produce the first interstellar ‘water.'”

However, they go on to say, 

“…new research poised for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters by Tel Aviv University and Harvard University researchers reveals that the universe’s first reservoirs of water may have formed much earlier than previously thought…” (via https://www.aftau.org).

In Genesis (1.2ff), we read that the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. 

Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 

There are countless ancient myths from around the world that somehow include this not-so-coincidental detail that in the very beginning, water was present. Whether or not God intended for that element to speak to something other than its order in the account of creation, it’s fitting. God is the maker and maintainer of life— and water is absolutely essential for life to exist. We’re physically alive because of it and we’re spiritually saved through it (I Peter 3.21).

 It’s a thread that satisfyingly runs through the entirety of scripture and it seems as though science is finally beginning to catch up with what God told us thousands of years ago. 

A Biblical Flood In Our Time:

Hurricane Helene’s Lessons

Brent Pollard

In a remarkable display of divine providence, a changing storm pattern guided Helene far to the east, sparing my cherished home in the north Georgia mountains from its fury. Though this may bring scant solace to those affected by the storms in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, I reflect on the profound insights that the sorrowful occurrences of late September 2024 have unveiled. Sometimes, extreme weather events’ catastrophic character justifies using terms like “biblical.” Indeed, WUNC’s Due South featured an article on the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, capturing the devastation with the phrase “biblical destruction.”

Peter tells us that the great flood swept away the world existing before Noah’s days (2 Peter 3.6). Similarly, WSPA shared a segment from their newscast on YouTube, aptly titled “Hurricane Helene Geographically Changed Western NC River, Fire Chief Said.” In the report, the journalist referenced a first responder from Swannanoa, who shared that the landscape surrounding the Swannanoa River had transformed significantly over the three days of relentless rain and flooding. This change necessitated remapping the area to facilitate the rescue of individuals and the execution of other essential duties!

One might ponder how three days of rain could bring about such a remarkable transformation. Yet, Helene’s four outcomes turned the familiar into the terra incognito.

  • Channel shifts: Rivers and streams changed course, forming new channels or eroding existing ones.
  • Sediment deposition: Floodwaters transported significant sediment downstream, affecting riverbeds and water quality.
  • Landslides: Heavy rainfall created instability, resulting in landslides that blocked waterways and altered water flow. 
  • Erosion: Increased water flow has accelerated erosion, particularly in areas with vulnerable soils, altering the shape and depth of river valleys.

From September 25 to 27, Yancey County, North Carolina, got hit with a remarkable 31.3 inches of rain in just a few days. This recorded amount is the highest in the region, surpassing all others with noteworthy distinction. But what if you were to multiply that number by forty days? What wonders might forty days bring if three days can transform a place beyond recognition? Noah constructed the Ark as a refuge amidst the deluge that engulfed the earth, resulting from relentless forty-day rain and the shattering of the planet’s vast aquifers (Genesis 7.11–12).

Anyone who survived Hurricane Helene’s destructive energy will find it more difficult to dismiss the idea of an angry God using water to cleanse the world’s surface of a creation that had become too pesky with its sin. Indeed, it is not difficult to believe that God could use a flood to inundate the world, but that in so admits that there is One to whom we must all account (cf. Romans 14.12). This admission is what the skeptic and scoffer seek to avoid.

The profound effects of Hurricane Helene stand as a poignant reminder of nature’s untamed strength and our enduring fragility in the face of forces that lie beyond our grasp. Though our technological advancements allow us to monitor, assess, and occasionally foresee these devastating occurrences, nature’s power reminds us of her power to transform our world in just a matter of days. The changing landscape of western North Carolina resonates with timeless stories of divine influence woven through the fabric of nature, inviting both the faithful and the doubtful to ponder deeper truths about our connection to the world around us and, perhaps, to its Maker. As communities rise anew and adjust to their transformed landscapes, the teachings of Helene—echoing the timeless story of Noah’s flood—persist in their relevance, urging us to honor the power of nature and recognize our limitations as we journey through the challenges of our ever-changing world.

1 Corinthians: That There Be No Divisions Among You (V)

Unity Analogies (3:1-17)

Neal Pollard

Having been given the mind of Christ through the Spirit-inspired word, we have the instruction book for unity. But, as we all know, taking the information and making proper application is the bigger challenge. It’s more than knowing better; It’s doing better. Paul urges individual spiritual growth so that the message of the cross could take root in their lives and produce good fruit. To emphasize this, Paul gives a series of analogies. But the purpose of each of them is the same, to exhort us to spiritual maturity. The result will be unity in Christ. 

SPIRITUAL FOOD AND DRINK (1-2)

Paul said that he wished to go deeper in his message, but they were still fleshly. That was not an idle accusation. Paul based this on their actions, the jealousy and strife (3). It made them men of flesh rather than spiritual men (1). We may claim to be spiritually mature, but such rings hollow if we exhibit behavior that shows our flesh rather than the Spirit ruling our lives. 

SPIRITUAL PLANTING AND WATERING (3-9)

Paul strikes at the sectarian spirit (4) he first mentions in chapter one. To help Corinth see the silliness of their divisiveness, he shows them who he and Apollos are. They are tools in the Master’s hand, each playing a role in their salvation and development. Paul planted (6; Acts 18:1ff) and Apollos watered (6; Acts 19:1). Which is more important? Exactly! What is most vital is God who causes the growth (6). Each of them is rewarded for doing their part, but God is the true force behind the results. Isn’t that a helpful reminder as we think about the work of the church today? Which of us is most important, who is doing the most or biggest work, who is more indispensable, or any similar question misses the point–“God causes the growth” (7). We each are rewarded based on what we do, but we do it as God’s fellow workers in God’s field (9). 

SPIRITUAL BUILDING AND WORKING (10-17)

In the middle of verse 9, Paul switches analogies from farming to construction. He again seems to allude to the beginning of the church in Corinth (10). Now, others were having to take up the work he started and each, like he had done, had to carefully build. But, the only lasting foundation is Christ (11). If they are God’s building, then they are the materials like Paul mentions in 12-15. In the process of time, temptation, and trials, they would either endure the fire of such challenges or they would be lost. Wise building helps, but ultimately each one won to Christ would either stand or fall based on their freewill. Paul is writing to these folks of such varied “materials,” but to encourage their endurance he tells them just what kind of building they are. They are a temple of God with the Spirit of God having residence among them. That makes division doubly deadly! It does individual harm but it also harms the entire church. And one who divides the body of Christ faces the prospect of being destroyed by God (17).

So how can that help us as we strive to live today and every day as a Christian? First, I need to analyze my own level of spiritual maturity. What rules my life–my flesh or God’s Spirit? Second, I need to analyze my involvement in spiritual work. Am I planting and watering or uprooting and trampling? Am I building up and working spiritually, or am I tearing down? Am I beautifying and honoring God’s temple? If each of us seriously considers these questions, we will find ourselves forces for unity and never striving dividers.

The Cosmic Ocean

Dale Pollard

We’re climbing a rope which hangs from heaven. Occasionally we feel a gentle tug reminding us that truth is tied to the end. For the time being, we’re left with a plethora of puzzles to ponder and countless mysteries to mull over. The Bible’s not boring. It’s mankind’s one and only peek behind the spiritual veil. Every once in a while we seem to be gifted with a discovery that further bolsters biblical claims. 

In an article by Robotics and Automation News (2021) they cover an interesting astronomical discovery and it’s incredible. They write the following, 

“Space agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), among others, invest millions of dollars in searching for water on other planets. So, when water was found in a gaseous state near quasar (a massive black hole), it was indeed a big deal! Yes, scientists have discovered a huge cloud containing more water than what exists on Earth! In fact, it’s 140 trillion times more than the Earth! Two teams of astronomers from NASA discovered water in a reservoir in 2011. It is one of the largest and most distant water reservoirs detected in the universe.”

In the beginning there was water. The Bible opens with a depiction of what was before there was anything at all. 

“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Gen.1.2). 

Interestingly enough, there’s no mention of the Spirit of God creating the water itself. Now, this doesn’t mean that God didn’t create the water but it also leads the mind to connect God and water together. Water is a common thread that runs throughout scripture and we have examples of the Lord using this essential element to bring, sustain, and also take life. Science keeps running into God no matter how often it tries to run away from Him!

Jesus Is Real (1 John, Part 14)

Wednesday’s Column: Third’s Words

Gary Pollard

I’ll be repeating the book of I John in present-day terminology. It’s not a true translation of the book, as I am not qualified to do so. It will be based on an exegetical study of the book and will lean heavily on the SBL and UBS Greek New Testaments, as well as comparisons with other translations (ESV, NASB, NIV, ERV, NLT). My goal is to reflect the text accurately, and to highlight the intent of the author using concepts and vocabulary in common use today. 

This is not an “essentially literal” translation, and should be read as something of a commentary. 

Jesus Christ is the one who came to earth with water and blood — notice that he didn’t just come here through water, but also with his own blood. And the true spirit attested to this, because it’s true. In fact, there are three proofs of who Jesus is: the true spirit, the water, and the blood. All three of these agree with each other. We accept what people say about Jesus when it’s true, but God’s testimony about Jesus is far superior.

This is what God said: if you keep believing that Jesus is God’s son, you have God’s approval. If you don’t believe God, you make him a liar. It means you never believed what God said about his son. God gave us eternal life, which exists only in his son. If you have his son, you have life. If you don’t have the son, you don’t have life.

Time Flies, But We Navigate

Monday’s Column: Neal At The Cross

Neal Pollard

Ann Turner Cook passed away at her St. Petersburg, Florida, home on Friday, June 3, 2022. She was 95 years old, was an educator, a novelist, a wife, and a mother. Her father was a well-known cartoonist. But you almost certainly know her for a charcoal drawing that was made of her by an artist neighbor, Dorothy Hope Smith. It was submitted for the label of a baby food company and chosen in 1928, then trademarked in 1931. Ann was the original Gerber baby (news report here)! You’ve seen that iconic picture. If you realized she was a real person, you never thought about the fact that this baby grew up and eventually grew old. Or that she would now be dead.

I know nothing about Mrs. Cook’s religious life or spiritual preparation. But I do know that she is part of a universal truth concerning life, and that is that death comes relatively soon for us all. How soon? 

  • Like water spilled on the ground (2 Sam. 14:14). 
  • Like a weaver’s shuttle (Job 7:6; Isa. 38:12). 
  • Like a breath (Job 7:7).
  • Like a shadow (Job 8:9; 1 Chr. 29:15; Ec. 6:12). 
  • Like a flower (Job 14:2).
  • Swift as a runner (Job 9:25).
  • Like a handbreadths (Ps. 39:5).
  • Like a wind that passes (Ps. 78:39). 
  • Like a sigh (Ps. 90:9). 
  • Like smoke (Ps. 102:3).
  • Like a lengthened shadow  and grass (Ps. 102:11; 109:23). 
  • Like a passing shadow (Ps. 144:4). 
  • Like a fading flower or withering grass (Isa. 40:7-8; Js. 1:10; 1 Pet. 1:23-25). 
  • Like a vapor (Js. 4:14). 

With that in mind, shouldn’t we pray with David, “LORD, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am” (Ps. 39:4).

Yes, we can look at the Gerber Baby and see that. Or we can look through our own family albums. The baby, childhood, and young adult photos of our grandparents, parents, or ourselves. The weathering winds of time do sure and quick work, reminding us of the many ways the Bible depicts it for us. Time is short and it passes quickly.

Rather than a depressing inevitability, this should be a respected teacher. We should pray with Moses, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:9). We should take Paul’s inspired advice and “be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16). Don’t leave undone what needs to be done. Don’t put off what must be done before this life is over. It will be over before you know it. As the writer of Hebrews tells us, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (9:27). 

Make Like A Tree And “Leaf”

Friday’s Column: Captain’s Blog

carl-pic

Carl Pollard

The Redwood National Park in California is home to the world’s tallest tree. Standing at over 380 feet tall this tree is incredible to look at. The California Redwood is estimated to be able to reach a staggering 425 feet in its lifetime. It continues to grow all its life and there’s a reason it gets so tall, as the lifespan of this tree is up to 2,200 years. Think about that! There are redwood trees that are still growing today that were planted 200 years before Christ was born.
The California Redwood is massive. It is over 29 feet in diameter and has a root system that spreads over three miles underground. These trees are truly incredible. But like most trees, the key to their growth is water. California redwoods consume over 56,000 gallons of water each year or 150 gallons of water each day!
 
In Psalm 1:1, we are given this description: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.” This person is blessed when they avoid the progression of sin. Notice how the psalmist describes the progression:
 
  • Walk not in the counsel of the wicked.
  • Nor Stands in the way of sinners.
  • Nor Sit in the seat of the scoffers.
 
These steps illustrate what people do when they are tempted by sin. They walk among it, noticing the wicked and their deeds. Once they walk among it, their curiosity gets the best of them and they begin to pause and spend time in the presence of sinners. Finally they are fully drawn into sin and they sit down and practice the evil that they have observed.
 
Rather than walking, standing and sitting with sinners, the righteous man delights in the law of the Lord. Verse two says, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” The choice is obvious for the righteous man. He avoids the sin and chooses the Word of God over anything else.
 
Verse three reads, “He is like a tree that is planted by the waters that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, in all he does he prospers.” The source of life for this tree is water. Just like the California Redwood needs water in order to grow, the saved man spends his time next to the source of life. What is this water? John 4:14 reveals, “But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” For the Christian, our source of life comes from Christ. We are able to grow and thrive on the words of God.
 
Let’s make the decision daily to be firmly planted in the words of life. That way, we too can be counted as righteous!
General Sherman (Sequoia National Park)

Two Important Ways Water Is Found In the Bible

Thursday’s Column: Captain’s Blog

IMG_0806

Carl Pollard

The longest anyone has ever gone without air is 22 minutes. The longest anyone has ever gone without food is 74 days. But when it comes to water, our bodies can only last so long without it. Water is one of the most essential parts of the human body. It makes up two- thirds of our bodies. The common answer for how long the average person can go without water is about 3 days, but it actually varies from person to person. In strenuous conditions you can lose up to 1.5 liters of sweat an hour, but in comfortable conditions an adult man can go a week or more without water.

Andreas Mihavecz, an 18-year-old Austrian man, may have survived the longest without drinking water: Police accidentally left him in a holding cell for 18 days in 1979. It’s a fuzzy record, though, since he allegedly licked condensation off the walls of the prison. The point is this, water is essential to physical life. What does scripture have to say about water? I’d like to notice two brief ways that water is used in scripture.

Water is mentioned as a way to salvation (John 3:5; Acts 2:38). John 3:5 says, “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” What happens if we are not born of water and the Spirit? Eternal life will not become a reality. Water itself is not what saves, but the process of obeying the holy command of God. A very well known quote is this, “My faith is not in the water, but in the One that told me to get into the water.” Water is what gives us eternal life, but only through the act of baptism.

One of the cool attributes of water is that it has the ability to take on impurities, and it
can also release them when it evaporates and becomes purified. What happens at baptism? We are lowered into water and our spiritual impurities are taken away and we come up pure.

I stumbled across an article one time that said this, “Thirst Drives Sailors to Drink Sea Water.” It was July 30th, 1945 and the Battle Cruiser USS Indianapolis was returning home from a mission. On the way back it was struck by a Japanese torpedo. Sadly this ship didn’t make it home. In fact, in just 12 minutes 300 men died and 900 were in the water.

Those in the water went on to endure 4 days and 5 nights in the water. No food, no water and under the blazing sun of the pacific. Of the 900 that went into the water, only 316 survived the lack of water and the shark attacks. One of the survivors was the chief medical officer. He recorded his experiences and said this, “There was nothing I could do, nothing I could do but give advice, bury the dead at sea, save the lifejackets, and try to keep the men from drinking the water. When the hot sun came out, and we were in this crystal clear ocean, we were so thirsty. You couldn’t believe it wasn’t good enough to drink. I had a hard time convincing the men they shouldn’t drink. The real young ones…you take away their hope, you take away their water and food, they would drink the salt water and they would go fast. I can remember striking the ones who were drinking the salt water to try to stop them. They would get dehydrated, then become maniacal. There were mass hallucinations. I was amazed how everyone would see the same thing. One man would see something, and then everyone else would see it. Even I fought the hallucinations off and on. Something always brought me back.”

A lot of times people think, “There is no way that this won’t save me.” How couldn’t I be saved if I’m sprinkled with water? Or if I say a prayer asking Jesus into my heart? Whatever it is, they look at salt water and think it will quench their thirst, that it will save them. But God has told us what to do, and it is up to us on whether we listen or not.

Water is also used as a metaphor describing a way to strengthen our resolve. Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.” Water here is used as an example of trials and hard times. These waters help us to lean on Christ. We can have comfort in Him. But what is the point of these trials? God can’t use us if we are filled with sin and imperfections. Through these trials and hard times we are purified and God is able to use us.

Water is essential for survival, as every living thing would die without it. Did you know that 97% of water is undrinkable? Thankfully God designed the ocean to evaporate and rain down on us as purified water. When water freezes it gets lighter and floats, saving arctic sea life from getting squished under the weight of the ice.

What does the tired athlete ask for after he performs? Water. What is the word you hear from the traveler lost in the desert? Water. What do you hear from the sick and feverish man laying in his bed? Water. What does the wounded soldier on the battlefield cry for? Water. How beautiful it is that we come to the Living Water for nourishment. We must ask ourselves, Are we quenching our spiritual thirst with the one and only true source?

Celebrating Independence Day

Neal Pollard

Scores of people from virtually every nation on earth make the journey by land, sea, and air to come to the United States, “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”  The day in American history, marked by the signing of the Declaration of Independence during the Revolutionary War with Britain, is considered the birthday of America.  “Independence Day” symbolizes not merely a day, but a way of life and the blessings of living in a free nation.

Mark’s gospel begins with the life of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ.  In the passage, Mark tells about the many people from Jerusalem and all the land of Judah who came to be baptized by him.  This immersion, though not the one to which all believers must submit today for salvation (cf. Mark 16:16), was an important precursor to Jesus’ earthly ministry.  Apollos (Acts 18:25) and certain men of Ephesus (Acts 19:1ff) were among those even in the Christian age who had previously undergone it.  The baptism bears a remarkable resemblance to the water baptism of the Great Commission.  It was a baptism involving repentance (Mark 1:4), as is baptism under Christ’s covenant (Acts 2:38).  It was a baptism resulting in the remission of sins (Mark 1:4), as is baptism into Christ today (Acts 2:38).  It was a baptism done in much water (Mark 1:5; cf. John 3:23).  So it is with baptism into Christ (Acts 8:38-39; Romans 6:3-4).  It was a baptism properly submitted to only by those understanding its importance in light of their sin problem (Mark 1:5).  So it is with baptism into Christ (Acts 22:16).

Both the baptism of John and the baptism of the Great Commission share this, too.  Both brought freedom and independence from sin, each in its proper dispensation.  Freedom to vote, own property, and pursue happiness are wonderful, but nothing compares to the Independence Day we celebrate when we are baptized into Christ.

miamifireworks