Suddenly!

Suddenly!

David Farnholtz 2009

I have hunted white tail deer for years but have never gotten a large buck. I had an opportunity to go to Texas to hunt white tail deer and so decided to go. However the Lord closed the door to the trip. I talked with Stephen, a man at church who did a lot of archery hunting and asked if he would mentor me. He has been willing and patient with me.

One Sunday I preached a message that included how SUDDENLY, when everything seems to be going wrong and no hope is left, our Lord may intervene and turn things around. We also need to be ready because Jesus will SUDDENLY come back again when no one expects it. The next day, Monday, I was late to meet Stephen to go hunting. We got together and raced out to our hunting stands. We both went into the woods to different spots and then came out of the woods because there was someone already there. We drove to our backup spot and there were cars there and hunters going into the woods. Our third choice was 30 minutes away, but we had little choice. As I walked into the woods to my stand I went by a large deer scrape and said “I would like to see the buck that made that.”. Until i got to my stand I had 1 hour to hunt. After 45 minutes I began to quietly pack up. SUDDENLY I saw a large buck with high antlers begin to come into the woods from the field. I was all excited, but the buck turned away. I thought that he was going to come down along the corn field, so I switched positions. I waited and waited and began to think that he had sensed me and was gone. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him coming through thick brush. I switched position again and waited and waited. I picked out a tree at the end of the thicket and decided that when he stepped out from behind it I was shooting. Well, it seemed like forever, first the antlers appeared, then the head and neck, and then SUDDENLY, he stepped out and I instinctively shot. In archery, they always run away and you wait before going after them. I sat in the dark, wondering, “It happened so fast, did I even aim?”. Later, Stephen came, and we began tracking. There was no evidence that I shot him for about 15 yards. Then we found the blood trail and 15 yards later he lay dead. The Lord had directed my arrow through both lungs. Stephen field dressed him and we began to drag him out of the woods, wondering “How are we going to lift him into the truck?”. We went back to the truck to get a better way of dragging him. A farmer passed by and talked with us. We went back into the woods and continued to drag him, when another flashlight approached us. The farmer had taken his equipment home and come back to help us. Praise the Lord! He estimated the deer to be between 180 and 200 pounds live weight.

I know that God has blessed me with every trophy on the wall in my all season porch, both from Pennsylvania and Africa, and I draw all the closer to God with thanksgiving for all of the journey of life that I have experienced with Him.

I have lived long enough to see many die SUDDENLY in traffic accidents, by heart attacks and in other ways. I am concerned that many in America have been given a false hope of being ready to meet the Lord by preaching that includes what I call “sloppy or cheap grace”. These preachers teach that all you have to do to go to heaven is to make a prayer receiving Jesus Christ as you savior. This type of preaching and evangelism lulls people into thinking that they don’t have to make any changes in their lives. The message given is “Just go on living the way you have been and because of the Love of God you will be saved.

It is true that the love of God is expressed in sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross so that we can have forgiveness of sins. It is also true that we are saved by grace through faith and not by a string of good works that we have done (Ephesians 2:8,9). God is a just God and has made the opportunity for everyone to come back to Him through Jesus Christ. The bible also teaches that we must first repent of our sins (asking for forgiveness of our sins and deciding that with God’s help, we will turn from our current life style to one that honors Him), and then ask Jesus Christ to come into our lives to be our LORD AND SAVIOR. The Bible is clear that if we continue certain life styles, or center on self instead of the Lord’s will for our lives, we will most likely not go to heaven (Acts 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:1-21; Colossians 3:1-10; Romans 1:18-2:11).

However, the good news is that Jesus came, not only to forgive us of our sins, but to also set us free from the slavery to those sins (Luke 4:14-20). When I first repented and prayed to receive Jesus Christ, I was instantly delivered from binge drinking. There were other areas of sin, that step by step, the Lord has delivered me from, and released me into a wonderful journey of walking with God through every day life, led by the Holy Spirit. When we do mess up and commit an act of sin, we can quickly ask forgiveness and purpose to continue to repent. If we do, God will not only forgive us of the sin but also cleanse us from all unrighteousness giving us a brand new start (1 John 1:9). When we surrender control of our lives over to Him for Him to lead us by the Holy Spirit we also have the assurance that we will continue to be with Him even when we die. Our earth suits degrade but our spirits live eternally with Him and one day we will receive a glorified body like Jesus has as He was raised from the dead (1 John 5:11-13; 1 Corinthians 15:35-58). Until then we will continue to go through trials here on earth, but we are no longer alone, for our Lord leads us through the trials.

May God richly bless you as you continue on your journey with our Lord. If this note will help others that you know, please make as many copies as you want and give it to them in the Love of our Lord, Jesus Christ.