My Testimony—Why I believe in God

The words of 1 Peter 3:15–16 express my core values and goal: “Always be prepared to answer everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience.”

My earthly Father died when I was five, and my grandfather took over sharing the wisdom. He told me the way of the sound, abundant life, often on the porch of the tiny farmhouse. He told me amazing stories as we whittled chunks of wood until they were too small to hold—I imagine the term whittling away the time came from our activities on that porch. My grandfather passed away when I was seventeen; I had the blessing of twelve years of his stories. When I was in my thirties and living a shallow, ego-filled life, I read a poem my grandfather Stephen wrote called “The Old Dusty Bible.” In his poetry, he said if we find ourselves in dark places filled with fear, we should look to the Old Dusty Bible and read it with an open contrite heart—I did, and everything changed, the darkness dimmed, and the fear diluted away. My transformation was not immediate. In scripture, the Hebrew word לְהַחִיוֹת means “to be made alive” again, the word is to quicken. It took until I was in my mid-fifties when God’s Quickening Spirit entered, and I began to see the world through different eyes. I knocked, sought, stumbled, and often fell back into darkness in those twenty-five years. Now in my seventy-third year, with another twenty years of knocking and seeking, my Lord has quickened my Spirit, and I know him as never before.

I was at a family funeral not long ago. I was comforting the husband, and I said, “She is with God now,” his response was, “Someday, I will debate you about the existence of God. The words from 1 Peter 3 rang loudly. Am I prepared to debate God’s existence with an atheist or non-believer? Could I be gentle and respectful? I was not ready. I realized I would have to use things of this world, Science, history, archeology, and fulfilled prophecies from scripture topped off with my personal experiences with God. When I was “made alive” again, quickened; I just knew God was real and loved His children. But debating God’s existence with, “I just know, I can feel Him in my life providing peace and joy daily,” was not enough to sway a non-believer. I decided I needed to research and found God everywhere. Even Science proves God is a great designer. Books and papers from many brilliant scientists argue the existence of God, but I wanted a short paper testimony that would be a quick read. I hope you read it through.

People often say when an unexplainable event occurs, like a storm that damages nothing and hurts no one, they say, “It’s a miracle!” Stories of near-death experiences, such as a blind birth boy seeing great colors, gardens, and shining people when he was clinically dead for five minutes. Native Americans knew the “Great Creator, Great Spirit,” the Ojibwa call Him gichi-manidoo or gizhe-manidoo— God, the Creator. God’s Spirit is in every one since Adam and Eve walked in the cool morning with Him. When God made man and woman, He also instilled free will so they may choose to love Him or eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They fell, and evil entered and roamed now like a raging Lion. We see it daily in all the media, anger, discord, political unrest, racial division, wars, and rumors of war. Even the mainstream media has used the term “Spiritual Warfare” to explain the global tensions. I agree that God is battling evil for humanity’s soul.

Everyone, even the fervent non-believing atheist, can know God. It is easy, in Matthew 7:7-8 He told us in three simple words: Knock—Seek—Find:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

God gave us His Written Word and the scriptures to assist us in finding Him so he can provide us with the abundant life He planned for each of us. He gave us the roadmap that leads to heaven. The Theme of scripture is love, kindness, gentleness, self-control, and perseverance. God commands us to Love one another. I am amazed these ideas fuel such disdain and hate—or is it fear?

The Lord has blessed me with meeting the right people at the correct times of my life. People to lift me and help me understand. I plan to write and tell each of their stories to assist others in their struggles. God’s word says in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”

We never walk alone when we know God. God is always at our side, even when we are not living according to His Will. A doubtful unbelieving heart can be swayed so they can no longer see God. He even warns us in His Word: 

They do not believe because their minds have been kept in the dark by the evil God of this world. He keeps them from seeing the light shining on them, the light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. — 2 Corinthians 4:4, GNT

As I said initially, it is easy to knock and seek. It all starts with a broken and contrite heart. Psalm 51:17 states: “My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God; you will not reject a humble and repentant heart.” God loves a broken and contrite heart. That is why we find God in the darkest places, filled with fear when we have tried everything to find happiness and only found a hollow life filled with the stuff of the world. My call to God with a humble heart and contrite Spirit happened on my road to Damascus—a route from Culpepper, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. I had lost everything, or so I thought, Morally, Physically, Emotionally, and Financially bankrupt. I called out to God and challenged him with the conditional, proverbial promise, “I will if You, Lord, do this for me.” This event was forty years ago.

This testimony is beyond the ask, seek, and find the rationale of knowing God—God is all around us. He screams from every rock, flower, bird, sunrise, sunset, the stars at night, and birthing babies. God is showing Himself today more than at any point in time. He shows himself in Science, mathematics, music, art, archeology, and most of all, in eschatology, the prophecies in His Word, the Scriptures. I will do my best to deep-dive into all God has shown me in everything I see, study, and read in scripture that convinces me; God is the Alpha and Omega, the source of all love.

Biblical Prophecy

It is startling that the number of Bible Prophecies have come true exactly to the detail—unlike the loose future interpretations of people such as Jeanne Dixon and Edgar Cayce, who have less than 50% accuracy. Then I will move on to the things of this world: Science, archeology, and astrophysics. It then reveals some of God’s exact prophecies that have become fact.

 Deuteronomy 18:21,22: “You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken.” 

Unique among all books ever written, the Bible accurately foretells specific events in detail many years, sometimes centuries, before they occur. Approximately 2,500 prophecies appear in the pages of the Bible, about 2,000 of which already have been fulfilled to the letter—no errors. Here are just a few:

(1) Before 500 BC, the prophet Daniel proclaimed that Israel’s long-awaited Messiah would begin his public ministry 483 years after issuing a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25-26). He further predicted that the Messiah would be “cut off” and killed and that this event would occur before Jerusalem’s second destruction. Abundant documentation shows that these prophecies are perfectly fulfilled in the life (and crucifixion) of Jesus Christ. Persia’s King Artaxerxes issued the decree regarding the restoration of Jerusalem to the Hebrew priest Ezra in 458 BC; 483 years later, the ministry of Jesus Christ began in Galilee. (Remember that due to calendar changes, the date for the start of Christ’s church is set by most historians at about A.D. 26. Also note that from 1 B.C. to A.D. 1 is just one year.) Jesus’ crucifixion occurred only a few years later, and about four decades later, in A.D. 70 came the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus.—(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in10 to the 5th power.)

(2) In approximately 700 BC, the prophet Micah named the tiny village of Bethlehem as the birthplace of Israel’s Messiah (Micah 5:2). The fulfillment of this prophecy in the birth of Christ is one of the most widely known and widely celebrated facts in history.—(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10 to the 5th power.)

(3) In the fifth century B.C., a prophet named Zechariah declared that the Messiah would be betrayed for the price of an enslaved person—thirty pieces of silver, according to Jewish law-and also that this money would be used to buy a burial ground for Jerusalem’s poor foreigners (Zechariah 11:12-13). Bible writers and secular historians both record thirty pieces of silver as the sum paid to Judas Iscariot for betraying Jesus, and they indicate that the money went to purchase a “potter’s field,” used—just as predicted—for the burial of poor aliens (Matthew 27:3-10).—(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10 to the 11th power.)

(4) Some 400 years before crucifixion was invented, Israel’s King David and the prophet Zechariah described the Messiah’s death in words that perfectly depict that mode of execution. Further, they said that the body would be pierced and that none of the bones would be broken, contrary to customary procedure in cases of crucifixion (Psalm 22 and 34:20; Zechariah 12:10). Again, historians and New Testament writers confirm the fulfillment: Jesus of Nazareth died on a Roman cross, and his swift death eliminated the need for the usual breaking of bones. A spear was thrust into his side to verify that he was dead.—(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10 to the 13th power.)

(5) The prophet Isaiah foretold that a conqueror named Cyrus would destroy seemingly impregnable Babylon and subdue Egypt with most of the known world. This same man, said Isaiah, would decide to let the Jewish exiles in his territory go free without any payment of ransom (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1; and 45:13). Isaiah made this prophecy 150 years before Cyrus was born, 180 years before Cyrus performed any of these feats (and he did, eventually, perform them all), and 80 years before the Jews were taken into exile.—(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10 to the 15th power.)

(6) Mighty Babylon, 196 miles square, was enclosed by a moat and a double wall 330 feet high, each part 90 feet thick. It was said by unanimous popular opinion to be indestructible, yet two Bible prophets declared its doom. These prophets further claimed that travelers would avoid the ruins, that the city would never again be inhabited, and that its stones would not even be moved for use as building material (Isaiah 13:17-22 and Jeremiah 51:26, 43). Their description is, in fact, the well-documented history of the famous citadel.—(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10 to the 9th power.)

(7) The exact location and construction sequence of Jerusalem’s nine suburbs was predicted by Jeremiah about 2600 years ago. He referred to the time of this building project as “the last days,” that is, the time of Israel’s second rebirth as a nation in the land of Palestine (Jeremiah 31:38-40). This rebirth became history in 1948, and the construction of the nine suburbs has gone forward precisely in the locations and the sequence predicted.—(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10 to the 18th power.)

(8) The prophet Moses foretold (with some additions by Jeremiah and Jesus) that the ancient Jewish nation would be conquered twice and that the people would be carried off as enslaved people each time, first by the Babylonians (for 70 years), and then by a fourth world kingdom (which we know as Rome). The second conqueror, Moses said, would take the Jews captive to Egypt in ships, selling them or giving them away as slaves to all parts of the world. Both of these predictions were fulfilled to the letter, the first in 607 BC and the second in A.D. 70. God’s spokesmen said further that the Jews would remain scattered throughout the entire world for many generations but without becoming assimilated by the peoples or of other nations, and that the Jews would one day return to the land of Palestine to re-establish for a second time their nation (Deuteronomy 29; Isaiah 11:11-13; Jeremiah 25:11; Hosea 3:4-5 and Luke 21:23-24). This prophetic statement sweeps across 3,500 years of history to complete fulfillment—in our lifetime.

(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10 to the 20th power.)

(9) Jeremiah predicted that despite its fertility and the accessibility of its water supply, the land of Edom (today a part of Jordan) would become a barren, uninhabited wasteland (Jeremiah 49:15-20; Ezekiel 25:12-14). His description accurately tells the history of that now bleak region.

(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10 to the 5th power.)

(10) Joshua prophesied that one man would rebuild Jericho. He also said that the man’s eldest Son would die when the reconstruction began and that his youngest Son would die when the work reached completion (Joshua 6:26). About five centuries later, this prophecy found its fulfillment in the life and family of a man named Hiel (1 King 16:33-34).—(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10 to the 7th power).

(11) The day of Elijah’s supernatural departure from Earth was predicted unanimously—and accurately, according to the eye-witness account—by a group of fifty prophets (2 Kings 2:3-11). (Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10 to the 9th power).

(12) Jahaziel prophesied that King Jehoshaphat and a tiny band of men would defeat an enormous, well-equipped, well-trained army without even fighting. As predicted, the King and his troops stood looking on as the supernatural destroyed their foes to the last man (2 Chronicles 20). (Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10 to the 8th power).

(13) One prophet of God (unnamed, but probably Shemiah) said that a future king of Judah, named Josiah, would take the bones of all the occultic priests (priests of the “high places”) of Israel’s King Jeroboam and burn them on Jeroboam’s altar (1 Kings 13:2 and 2 Kings 23:15-18). This event occurred approximately 300 years after it was foretold.—(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10 to the 13th power).

Since these thirteen prophecies cover mostly separate and independent events, the probability of chance occurrence for all thirteen is about 1 in 10138 (138 equals the sum of all the exponents of 10 in the probability estimates above). For the sake of putting the figure into perspective, this probability can be compared to the statistical chance that the second law of thermodynamics will be reversed in a given situation (for example, that a gasoline engine will refrigerate itself during its combustion cycle or that heat will flow from a cold body to a hot body)—that chance = 1 in 1080. Stating it simply, based on these thirteen prophecies alone, the Bible record may be said to be vastly more reliable than the second law of thermodynamics.

Proof from the things of Science:

Archeology:

One of the main arguments against the accuracy of the Bible is that the words written by man could be manipulated over time. My first response to this argument is the discovery of ancient Qumran scrolls called the Dead Sea Scrolls. These documents were written 2,000 and 2,200 years ago and determined by the amount of radio-active carbon-14 remaining in the scrolls. Previous age estimates were based mainly on paleography, the study of ancient writing. On this basis, scholars had deduced that the scrolls were written over three-and-half centuries, from the mid-third century BCE to the eve of the Roman conquest, or 68 C.E. The 800 documents were likely written over a long period. Science agrees these documents are ancient. The main takeaway to my point is that the entire book of Isaiah was discovered and reads precisely today. Remember, this was the oldest copy of Isaiah, which wrote about Christ’s passion in detail 700 years before Christ walked on Earth. Isaiah 53 accurately details the life and death of Christ, the Messiah. Isaiah 53 is called the forbidden chapter by the Jews—for obvious reasons.

Now the technologies enable excavations in areas that could not have been accomplished a few years ago. Since discovering the Qumran scrolls, these technologies have led to a flood of recent discoveries:

• Most recently, a 3,200-year-old lead amulet discovered on Mount Eval with the Hebrew word for God. This amulet was found by Joshua’s Alter.
• The pool of Shalom was excavated in 2007—Pool of Siloam John 9:6-7; Nehemiah 3:15; Isaiah 8:6; John 7:37-38
• Dead Sea scrolls and the Bar Kochba letters
• The 6,500-year-old Chalcolithic collection
• The Tel Dan stele
• The Priestly Blessing amulet
• The ossuary of Jesus’ brother
• Seals and bullae from the First Temple era
• Possibly Abrahams well
• And much more

Historical events:

Looking into history, I wouldn’t say I liked history in school. So sad I could have used it long ago to improve my life. History proves a Devine plan was written before time existed. How relating the empirical events in history to the people, places, circumstances, and prophecies in the Bible, these happenings were not just luck.

In 1948 Israel was reborn in a promise made by God that they would be scattered and God would bring them back again. These events happened back in the Babylonian takeover and, most recently, in 1948, the rebirth and re-establishment of Israel (the only nation in the history of the world to become a country again after being dissolved, and Jews scattered all around the world are still returning to Israel.)

Ezekiel 11:17— “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’ 

There are many verses about the destruction and rebuilding of God’s Temple in Jerusalem and the historical records of those events. There are talks right now about rebuilding the Temple on the Temple Mount. History agrees with the scriptures about what happened. Books are written about Escatology, the prophecies of future events in the Bible, such as Matthew 24:

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

The whole of chapter 24 should be read. It sounds as if it was written about the times we live in today. I will strive to keep this to less than an hour read in this short message and leave some to your curiosity or persistence to attempt to disprove God’s existence. The scientific method calls for looking at both sides of the point of debate.

In the Bible, events point to God always keeping His people as the underdogs. One can go to the story of David and Goliath, Joshua and the Jericho walls, and Gideon and the Midianites. The six-day war is an event in my lifetime that screams of God granting unlikely victory to His people. I have always been amazed at the events that brought Israel success in the six-day war. Israel was stunningly outnumbered and outgunned, yet in a short time, it won victory and Jerusalem. This victory was a total God victory. Again check out the facts in many books written on these six days, such as: “Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East.”

Science;

The common saying, “if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck—it is a dang duck.” I am a simple man lacking a doctorate from a prestigious university. Everything I will discuss in this realm of “smart people” comes from the common sense layman’s perspective based on my natural observations. I believe “Common Sense” is a God-given ability, like discernment.

Wisdom is not imparted in a piece of paper granting it. The only source of wisdom is the source of all wisdom, the designer of everything in Science—God. God gives wisdom to those who run after him, guided By his Word and bearing it with a contrite heart and humble presence. God grants wisdom to any man who asks, even the most uncomplicated-minded person.

I am a photographer. I am captivated by the beauty surrounding me daily. I have been saying photography is easy; God does all the work. My photographic eye is observational, a discerning eye, and a loving eye. As I record moments of an incredible sunrise or set, the softness of a rose, the birth of a lamb, the rhythm of waves crashing on a seashore, the flight of the Albatross, a breaching whale, the milky way, and a star-filled night, I can only believe the orchestration of such beauty cannot be explained away by Science. As I observe the things of this world and the heavens above it, my heart knows there is a loving God who designed it. I know that drives disbelievers crazy. How can a person know God? Simple God told us how to see the truth in those three words: Knock, Seek, Find.

In this practical observation of intelligent design, the top-down (God), explanation versus Darwinian evolution, and the atheistic, I will discuss the views of some very bright minds such as Michael Behe Biochemist John Lennox Mathematics Professor Emeritus Oxford, Hugh Ross Astrophysicist, Dr, Sy Garte, and Steven Meyer Geophysicist. I am not an avid reader of Science. Instead, I watch video discussions and debates on this subject. The subject of intelligent design—is of interest — if you should want to begin knocking on heaven’s door, watch these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXexaVsvhCM&t=3340s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVCVt-dvVOc&list=TLPQMTkwMzIwMjORu3pVDkzNqQ&index=9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0-hgSjnomA&list=TLPQMTkwMzIwMjORu3pVDkzNqQ&index=7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw94qm4qdn8

There are too many to list. Just google the subject matter and these men.

I want to keep this writing to a short read pointing to some “Common Sense” observations of Science that, to me, have only one conclusion: The nano-machines within a cell, such as the molecular motors of the bacterial flagellum point to a designer, and the linguistic mathematical digital coding of the human genome scream of a coder. As I mentioned, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck—it’s a dang duck!

Another outside observation is that the number of naturally brilliant scientists who have adopted intelligent design is growing exponentially with the explosion of scientific discovery. Why?

In Closing, I do not need my faith to be reassured by Science, history, or archeology because God has given me eyes to see, ears to hear, a loving heart, and the fruits of His Spirit: 

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.

What person can hate these attributes? Only the evil. Jesus gave us the Great Commission and reminded us of the Greatest Commandment:

The Great Commission, Matthew 28:16-20

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of 16all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Greatest Commandment, Matthew 22:34-40 — Love God and Your Neighbor:

34 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 One of them, an expert in Moses’ Teachings, tested Jesus by asking, 36 “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in Moses’ Teachings?”

37 Jesus answered him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and most important Commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ 40 All of Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”

I have fallen more than most men. I have not always had a righteous life. I am not perfect; however, I am forgiven, God has given me clear direction on the work ahead of me in my final years—To love God and everyone I meet and spread the good news. 

I plan to spread the good news daily: in these writings, our website, our travels, the YouTube videos we produce, and our daily connections. So as Forest Gump might say, “That’s all I got to say about that,” for now.