Believing in God is one thing, Gaining the faith in God to follow that belief is another. I hope and trust your training will help you to bring many more to have faith that will strengthen their life.

I frequently think of Jonah as he was running or sailing away from God's call and the shipwreck killed many due to his lack of courage and faith. He did not want to go to Nineveh where God called him to go as he felt they were unworthy of redemption. When he preached they changed their ways and Jonah got mad and went out of the city and pouted. I trust you will find turning people to God a rewarding call and that all are worthy of the blessing.

God's speed to you and your family.

Bryce

The Holy Ghost always reminds me of the beautiful soliloquy of St. Paul in his exhortation in The Hebrews of "By Faith". Our Heavenly Father reveals Himself in and through all, but it always comes down to that whispered inner doubt, and the need to take that step in believing God, for Faith comes by hearing and hearing from the Word of God. By Faith we are all justified before God in Christ and by Faith we are righteous before God in believing Him as St. Paul explains by the Holy Ghost.
My father in law is an egg head who kept lecturing about witnesses and proof, because he could not believe. He finally went silent concerning the teaching of Faith as it was the reality of everyone has to trust in God at some point as there are always doubts.
Abraham Lincoln summed it up for most people in "You believe what you can and you take the rest on Faith". The knowledge is sown into the heart, and it sprouts to Faith, some taking root and in most it does not. If only people had as much Faith in God as God has Faith to love them past the condemnations of their own hearts.
God bless.

Pawnee,

Thank you brother for the prayers!
You are correct about DTS. There are 60 nations represented here on campus taught by those who are known across the globe, yet they are as humble as I've ever seen. It's a contrast to the world we live in, that's for sure, and it's noticeable day one here. I'm taking a bible interpretation class from Dr. Bailey, the outgoing (long time) president here at DTS, and he's a special man for sure.

Bryce, There has been more than a few moments that Donna and I have wondered... what are we doing? You know, we're told that when we get to a certain spot in life, or a certain age, I guess we've supposed to go fishing, or travel, or a host of "things". But we've prayed and sought God's council and we both agree we'll equip for yet another chapter of life this side of eternity, and see where God would use us. Not so much where we want to go, because we have no plans, but where He would have us help those who could use a bit of help.
Trust me Bryce, there are a few we know that wonder if we bumped our heads. Nope, God has given us great blessings for so many years, both in business and in health and we're humbled to the point of obedience to a new direction in many ways.

The coyotes on about 5 ranches are still in trouble during the months of November, December, and May however!

Star flakes,

Good points. Since the beginnings of the modern enlightened age, about 150 years ago, up until today, we're taught that science and philosophy and the human mind gain gain and figure out all that is true. And that's the world we live in.

That makes you smile if you really think about that for a moment.
We just had a great speaker at chapel, a multi-credentialed physician who also holds degrees in theology, law and a host of other areas (Wow!) share with us how he's involved in work in animal species and the change they make to their environment, and it's changing how scientists perceive certain "certainties".

We were ALL taught, as they have from the late 19th century, that Darwinism and evolution explains how mankind and animals have evolved slowly over millions of years and adapt as the strongest and fittest breed their way into existence. Only problem, is... as science gets better, they are now learning that certain species can/do mutate in one or two generations to adapt to their environment. That signifies a creator, not a process!

Hmm

This is the website for some pretty fascinating research coming from the Institute for Creation Research.

https://www.icr.org/homepage

My son will be very happy to hear about you Mark. We saw a couple of your videos, and at a couple of conventions. We learned a lot from you. He is currently at Martin Luther College in New Ulm Mn. He is on their Pastor track there. He had started to keep quiet about his plans when he was in high school because of the ribbing he got when he talked about it. It was hard for some to understand since he football and wrestling conference champ. Now he is still a bit out of the norm since he went to public school and most everyone else spent 4 years in a Lutheran school. He'll be very happy to hear someone like you is doing this also.

I don't envy the work you two are doing, but I think I would have really enjoyed his Bible History class. Then being able to read to the original text of the Bible when he gets to the Seminary in Meqoun WI.

Thank-you for sharing this.

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You're most welcome trapdad.

nyhuntfish - now that is creative brother!

that is interesting. which ones and what did they adapt too?

I wish somebody would catch some georgia swamp beaver alive. You know the ones who don't really make big bank dens, stick houses or feed piles. Haul em up to northern MN WI or something in may and put them in a contained environment. I would like to see what they do.

Danny,

I sat through the presentation and there were quite a few documented species, from birds to fish, and on and on. Heck, they were talking about the fact that science is learning blue eyes may not be a recessive gene after all. Newer technological techniques show blue eyes are a genetic progressor, not regressor, so maybe blue is it's own "trait" and not an evolutionary trait. Hmm?

The link I gave will take you to the website where some interesting things are happening from those who do not buy into the "fact" that evolution is how we got here to this point and time. Darwinism was taught to me in undergrad and grad biology studies as "fact", capital F. But who says? Darwin? Others? Others that they taught?

Sorta like climate change is viewed by the "scientific community" as a whole as "fact". But by whom and for how much $$$ did they throw their name with a bunch of initials behind it in the ring?

As I sat in entomology class in the late 1970's I said to myself (not my professors), ain't no way these all mutated one to another from another. There's way too many forms and way too many functions of these forms and way too many... well you get my thinking.

I believe there's a creator and we're not gifted enough at our level to figure out that whom created the galaxies.

I couldn't find anything about one/two generations to mutate in order to adapt.

Danny,

There's a wealth of info at that site.
There are many research papers at the "Publication" - "technical papers" link;

If interested, here you go:
ICR

http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html#CB

Here is one for you. I don't have the science background to argue any of that stuff.

Even I can see mutations. That animals are mutating today in ways to adapt to their environment interests me. I googled it but nothing came up

The medical doctor who spoke to us at chapel from ICR last week is originally from SD, and is one neat dude. While reading one issue of the ICR magazine some years ago, he pivoted on all the science reasoning handed him over his vast years of training, from Harvard to here to there, and while he had a pile of initials after his name, the more he learned the more he knew something didn't smell right at the fish market every time. As an example - mutations... he spoke on that. Said we're learning they can be adaptions in very fast fashion to an animal's environment and not specifically as some vast evolutionary plan. To say that mutations occur quickly flies in the face of evolution, taught as a tedious process. Remember how we're taught dinosaurs lived millions of years ago? There is questioning now about carbon dating and that technology and perhaps it should be revisited as far as scientific reliability. Can you imagine what that would mean if dinosaurs died out millennia ago instead of millions of years. Uh-oh.

You know, it's interesting that a scientist's (Darwin) views in the mid 1800's have parked upon our culture like a vulture sitting on dove eggs. What if "that guy" wasn't correct? That's a game changer. Science is taught to us as "truth" but what if it isn't? Who says? Or what if we can't be sure?
Try telling your teacher that you don't agree with a text book written by humans who often have an agenda that they pursue. "F"

Good pondering, but I'm siding with a God who probably has a good chuckle every time one of His created says "they" have the answers!

Probably never have irrefutable proof about any of it. Its impossible for me personally though to just believe in magic.

Think of it more as mystery, not magic.

There are things we just can't explain. Mankind has always tried to explain any host of occurrences, heck I try to explain why a coyote didn't step where I showed him to step, and there things we just don't really know. Mystery.

Once you grapple and are OK with not being able to answer some things, that's not insecurity or grasping in the wind, that's a humbleness that any of us or even the collective of all of us can't answer all things. And that's OK the way I figure it.

Science seeking truth has been fruitful and brought so many inventions and comforts, we all like living here and now. That seems to be a good thing. To think that we of limited capacity and a heart for selfishness could forge ahead and figure out complexities the likes of which we can't fathom is not really 100% rational.

I don't buy my family tree or your family tree Danny evolved from primates. Never have, never will.
Mystery of creation is all around us and trappers more than most can appreciate the grandness of it all.

Stay after it. Logos is your friend.
It is very humbling to realize that with all the ways God could speak to mankind, he has chosen you as part of that voice.
Live blessed.

Words of wisdom preacherman.
Thank you and I wish you blessings as well.

"Preach the Word" is the motto of DTS. A strong tradition of conservative teaching and preaching.
Chuck Swindoll is our chapel speaker tomorrow... I always come away from his sermons/talks/teachings with a renewed hope along with a greater degree of humility.

Good luck Mark!