Volume 13 Homeward Bound Number 02

Our Thirteenth Year of Publication“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 3:11)

Elmer Gantry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2Eta Carinae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5The Sin of Tolerance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7How Old is the Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 11We Must Always be Aware of the Light of the World . . Page 15

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Elmer GantryBanned in Boston, that’s what it was. Literally. You couldn’t purchase a copy of it anywhere in

the city; it had to be smuggled into town. After its publication a cry rose up across the country that itsauthor, Sinclair Lewis, should spend five years in prison for what he wrote. He had spent months inthe Kansas City area researching his work, spending time in churcheshearing the Gospel preached and re-preached in evangelical circles. Itobviously did his soul little good. You see, the novel was publishedwith a tremendous uproar in 1926, therefore you would have to bemighty old to remember that great event as it swept the nation. Todayhe’d win some sort of an award.

Elmer Gantry. Unless you are in your late fifty’s, mid-sixty’s orso, you probably have only heard the name but are not quite sure ofjust who this character is. With the exception of those who are fans ofTurner Classic Movies or late night television, few would know aboutthis novel-turned movie. Thirty- four years later this movie productionby MGM starring Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons and others, wonnumerous awards, the film using only about a hundred pages of Lewis’more lengthy book.

This movie portrays a womanizing, hard-drinking, fast-talkingsalesman who is drawn in through his lust toward a woman who runs atravelling tent meeting as a revivalist. This man then goes on to testifyand preach under the tent, leading souls to Jesus, while all the time youare aware he isn’t the real deal and the woman knows he isn’t the realdeal as well. The whole scenario smells of snake oil, lies and lust but somehow your carnal naturefinds itself rooting for Elmer Gantry, demonstrating the power of movies to twist your moral andemotional compass. Such is Satan’s power over Hollywood and the mind of men. Slowly this man isexposed and there are surprising twists and turns in the plot. I won’t ruin it for you by revealing theending in case you decide to see it for yourself! (The novel is quite different in its scope and endingaltogether.)

At the time the movie was released in 1960, nowforty-eight years ago, many saw a veiled mockery ofAimee Semple McPherson and her traveling band ofpreaching and healing meetings. Although MGM statedshe was not the object of the screenplay, it is plain to seethat the topic of evangelical fervor certainly was. Nothinghas changed. Update the costumes, the sets and propsand you could remake this movie today. Phonyevangelicalism, religious scandals, and ministries–for-money are rampant and although false brethren stilloperate in the name of Jesus, it is not justified any moretoday than at other times in history.

As you use your television’s remote and click pastthe plethora of religious programming available here in

America, beware! Remember that the Bible says, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate,and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: becausestrait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find

(continued on page three)

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Elmer Gantry (continued)

it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) Now remember these are Jesus’ Words not mine. Few. Few will find it. Ifthere are few who will find their way into the Kingdom of God, that means there will be even fewerwho will be leading it, teaching it and preaching it. The few genuine men of God are authenticated byHis Holy Spirit.

My dear brethren do not believe every man who stands in a pulpit and professes to be sent byGod. The next verses in the sequence go like this: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you insheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shallknow them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes ofthorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good treebringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringethforth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every treethat bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and castinto the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall knowthem.” (Matthew 7:15-20)

Jesus warns us about false prophets, forth-tellers ofHis precious Word. Watch the way they live their lives andsee how they preach and teach. Does it all line up with HisWord? How will you know if you are not reading andstudying it for yourself? It is so very important that youare not stung by these vipers, these false prophets who arein Christian ministry for wealth and fame and who, in theend, will have deluded you and led you astray. You will not be able to blame them on the day youstand before Him in Judgment.

Be prepared and know in your heart and your soul, that His Word is alive within you. You see,it is YOU who are accountable. It is YOU who must make the decision. God has given YOU everyopportunity to know the Truth. Remember what He promised to you. Jesus says, “If ye continue in

my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, and yeshall know the truth, and the truth shall make youfree.” (John 8:31b-32) This freedom comes at aprice, your continuance in His Word. Jesus IS theWord. You must continue in Him, which means tofollow Him in obedience. The Bible says,“Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not theFather: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath theFather also. Let that therefore abide in you, whichye have heard from the beginning. If that which yehave heard from the beginning shall remain in you,ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.” (I John 2:23-25)It is very simple. He resides in us in power and remains in us, and we have the promise of

eternal life if we remain with Him and in Him. This is done by “continuing” in the Son. Continuing inHim is simply following Him in obedience. You do not need a degree in theology to understand this.The Bible says, “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom Godhath given to them that obey him.” (Acts 5:32) God gives us (continued on page four)

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Elmer Gantry (continued)

His Holy Spirit Who is our power to obey and follow (and therefore “continue”) in Him and with Him.Jesus very simply says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) It does not get mucheasier to understand than that! Jesus goes on to say, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeththem, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him,and will manifest myself to him. If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love

him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode withhim.” (John 14:21, 23)

It is very important to look at the completeWord of God in context and apply what He

saying together in order tounderstand the “big picture”.Do not allow some ministry,some man or woman to getyou off track, to run you

down a dark alley and awayfrom the whole Truth found in

His Word. You might miss outon the grandest reward of all

time, an eternity with the LordJesus Christ. It is simply just too

important, too precious a gift tolose. Check yourself out today.

Firstly for your own salvation: Doesit measure up against the Word of

God and His very simple Plan?Secondly: Does your church measure

up against the Word of God? Does itstand the New Testament test of scriptures? If you need help checking these things out or have anyquestions, the staff at Homeward Bound would be happy to assist you in making sure you are in THEWAY, on your WAY, and in a safe place to worship the author of the WAY! Hallelujah!

John Payne

“The Bible is a book that has beenread more and examined less thanany book that ever existed”.Thomas Paine

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Eta Carinae(our cover photo this issue)

Eta Carinae is a hypergiant luminous blue variable star in the Carina constellation. Its luminosity, orapparent brightness, is about four million times that of the Sun and, with an estimated mass of between 100 and150 solar masses, it is one of the most massive stars yet discovered. Because of its mass and the stage of life, itis expected to explode in a supernova in the astronomically near future. This star has been discovered with theaid of the Hubbell Telescope.

This object is currently the most massive nearby star that can be studied in great detail. While it ispossible that other known stars might be more luminous and more massive, Eta Carinae has the highestconfirmed luminosity based on data across abroad range of wavelengths. Stars in the class ofEta Carinae, with more than 100 times the massof the Sun, produce more than a million times asmuch light as the Sun. They are quite rare, onlya few dozen in a galaxy as big as the MilkyWay containing billions of stars.

Eta Carinae's chief significance forastrophysics is based on its giant eruption orsupernova imposter event seen around 1843. Ina few years, Eta Carinae produced almost asmuch visible light as a supernova explosion, butit survived. Supernovas normally destroy thestar. Eta Carinae is visible primarily from theSouthern Hemisphere, below the equator, and is7,500 - 8,000 light years distant.

It was first cataloged in 1677 byastronomer Edmond Halley. It suddenly becamemuch brighter in 1843 when it underwent itssupernova imposter event, quickly becoming thesecond brightest star in the night sky despite itsgreat distance rivaling the great star Sirius,which is far closer. To put the relationship inperspective, the relative brightness would belike comparing a candle (Sirius) at 48 feet toanother light (Eta Carinae) on the horizon of ourplanet 6 miles away, which would appearalmost as bright as the candle. Absolutelyamazing! This star, due to its nebulosity, cannow be easily seen with the naked eye.

Although you cannot image the star directly, due to the supernova imposter event, the brilliant remainsare there for us to see. The two lobes that are visible are vestiges of this tremendous explosion that occurred in1843. The star is a tiny point of bluish-white light where the two lobes join.

Many scientists predict that when this star finally does go supernova, explode and die, it will be visiblein broad daylight here on Earth and you will be able to read a book at night by (continued on page six)

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Eta Carinae (continued)

its light! The gammaradiation produced maybe harmful to astronautsthen currently in spaceand may wreak havoc onall sorts of tele-communications, damagesatellites and otherdelicate electronics.Remember that if andwhen you see it, it willhave already happenedapproximately 8,000 yearsago, close to the Creationof all things as that is howlong it takes the light fromEta Carinae to reach usfrom its location in ourgalaxy! Enjoy the otherimages of Eta Carinae andthe nebulae in which itresides.

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The Sin of Toleranceby Rev. Billy Graham

At home and abroad, the American people plead for broad-mindedness, tolerance and charity.Abroad, our ambassadors use all of their powers to influence warring parties to come to theconference table in a spirit of given and take.

There is a sense in which the world needs broad-mindedness and tolerance; and certainly weall need understanding and charity. However, in the realm of intolerance we are too broad-minded incertain areas. In some things Christ was the most tolerant, broad-minded Man that ever lived - but inother things He was one of the most intolerant of men.

Tolerance Can Become Too Stretched

One of the pet words of this age is 'tolerance.'It is a good word, but we have tried to stretch it overtoo great an area of life. We have applied it, toooften, where it does not belong. The word 'tolerant'means 'liberal,' 'broad-minded,' 'willing to put upwith beliefs opposed to one's convictions' and 'theallowance of something not wholly approved.'

Tolerance, in one sense, implies thecompromise of one's convictions, a yielding ofground upon important issues. Hence, overtolerance in moral issues has made us soft, flabbyand devoid of convictions.

We have become tolerant about divorce; wehave become tolerant about the use of alcohol; wehave become tolerant about delinquency; we havebecome tolerant about wickedness in high places;we have become tolerant about immorality; we havebecome tolerant about crime and we have becometolerant about godlessness.

In a book about what prominent people believe, sixty out of a hundred did not even mentionGod, and only eleven out of one hundred mentioned Jesus. There was a manifest tolerance towardsoft character and broad-mindedness about morals, characteristic of our day. We have been sapped ofconvictions, drained of our beliefs and bereft of our faith.

The sciences, however, are narrow-minded. There is no room for careless broad-mindedness inthe laboratory. Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit at sea level. It is never 100 degrees or 189degrees, but always 212. Water freezes at 32 degrees; it is never 23 degrees or 31.

Objects heavier than air always are attracted to the center of the earth. The always go down,never up. I know this is narrow, but the Law of Gravity decrees it so, and science is very narrow.

Mathematics is also very narrow-minded. The sum of two plus two is four, never three and ahalf. That seems very narrow, but arithmetic is not broad-minded. Geometry is also narrow-minded.It says that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points on a plane. That seems verydogmatic and narrow-minded, but geometry is intolerant.

A compass is narrow-minded: it always points to the magnetic north. It seems that it is verynarrow-minded. If it were, ships at sea and planes in the air would be in danger. (continued on page eight)

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The Sin of Tolerance (continued)

If you should ask a man the direction to New York City and he said, 'Oh, just take any road youwish, they all lead there,' you would question either his sanity or his truthfulness. Nevertheless, wehave somehow gotten it into our minds that 'all roads lead to heaven.' You hear people say, 'Do yourbest,' 'Be honest,' and 'Be sincere - and you will make it to heaven all right.'

But Jesus Christ, who journeyed from heaven to earth and back to heaven again, who knew theway better than anyone who ever lived, said, 'Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate andbroad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is

the gate and difficult is the way which leadsto life, and there are few who find it'(Matthew 7:13-14).

Jesus Was Narrow About The Way ofSalvation

He plainly pointed out that there aretwo roads in life. One is broad - lacking infaith, convictions and morals. It is the easy,popular, careless way. It is the way of thecrowd, the way of the majority, the way ofthe world. He said, 'There are many who goin by it.' But He pointed out that this road,easy though it is, popular though it may be,

heavily traveled though it is, leads to destruction. And in loving, compassionate intolerance He says'Enter by the narrow gate....Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life.'

His was the intolerance of a pilot who maneuvers his plane though the storm, realizing that asingle error, just one flash of broad-mindedness, might bring disaster to all those passengers on theplane.

While flying from Korea to Japan, we ran through a rough snowstorm. When we arrived overthe airport in Tokyo, the ceiling and visibility were almost zero. The pilot had to make an instrumentlanding. I sat up in the cockpit with the pilot and watched him sweat it out as he was brought in byground control approach. A man in the tower at the airport talked us in.

I did not want these men to be broad-minded. I knew that our lived depended on it. Just so,when we come in for the landing in the great airport in heaven, I don't want any broad-mindedness. Iwant to come in on the beam, and even though I may be considered narrow here, I want to be sure ofa safe landing there.

Christ was so intolerant of our lost estate that He left His lofty throne in the heavenlies, took onHimself the form of man, suffered at the hands of evil men and died on a cruel Cross of shame topurchase our redemption. So serious was our plight that He could not look upon it lightly. With thelove that was His, He could not be broad-minded about a world held captive by its lusts, its appetitesand its sins.

Having paid such a fabulous price, He could not be tolerant about men and women'sindifference toward Him and the redemption He had wrought. He said, 'He who is not with Me isagainst Me’ (Matthew 12:30). He also said, 'He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and hewho does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him' (John 3:36).

(continued on page nine)

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Page 9The Sin of Tolerance (continued)

Christ spoke of two roads, two kingdoms, two masters, two rewards and two eternities. And Hesaid, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me' (John14:6). We have the power to choose whom we will serve, but the alternative to choosing Christ bringscertain destruction. Christ said that! The broad, wide, easy, popular way leads to death anddestruction. Only the way of the Cross leads home.

Peter was reflecting Christ's teaching when he said, 'Nor is there salvation in any other, forthere is no other name (than Jesus Christ) under heaven given among men by which we mustbe saved' (Acts 4:12). Paul taught the same: 'For there is one God and oneMediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus' (1 Timothy2:5).

The popular, tolerant attitude toward the Gospel ofChrist is like a person going to watch the Los Angeles Dodgersand the Atlanta Braves play a baseball game and rooting for bothsides. It would be impossible for an individual who has noloyalty to a particular team to really get into the game.

And baseball fans are very intolerant in both Atlanta andLos Angeles. If you would cheer for both sides in Los Angeles or inAtlanta, someone would yell, 'Hey, you, make up your mind who you're for.'

Christ said, 'You cannot serve God and mammon.... No one can serve two masters' (Matthew6:24). One of the sins of this age is the sin of broad-mindedness. We need more people who will stepout and say unashamedly, 'As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord' (Joshua 24:15).

Jesus Was Intolerant Toward Hypocrisy

He pronounced more 'woes' on the Pharisees than on any other sect because they were given tooutward piety, but inside they were a sham. 'Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!' He said,'For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence' (Matthew 23:25).

A counterfeit Christian, single-handedly, can do more to retard the progress of the church thana dozen saints can do to move forward it. Thatis why Jesus was so intolerant with sham!A great church leader said that the greatestneed in the church today is for churchmembers to live what they profess.

In the book Pilgrim's Progress,Formality and Hypocrisy came tumbling overthe wall into Christian's path. They were goingto Mount Zion and were searching for a shortcut. When they came to the hill calledDifficulty, they shrank back. The hill was steepand high, and nearby were two roads leadingdownward into an enticing valley. The name ofthe one road was Danger; the name of the other was Destruction. Formality and Hypocrisy chose theeasy roads, which led them into impassable woods and swamps, and they were heard of no more.

Sham's only reward is everlasting destruction. The hypocrite has nothing but the contempt ofhis or her neighbors and the judgment of God hereafter. That is why Jesus said, 'Do not be like thehypocrites' (Matthew 6:16). (continued on page ten)

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The Sin of Tolerance (continued)

Jesus Was Intolerant Toward Selfishness

He said, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself' (Luke 9:23). Self-centeredness is the basic cause of much of our distress in life. Hypochondria, a mental disorder whichis accompanied by melancholy and depression, is often caused by self-pity and self-centeredness.

Most of us suffer from spiritual nearsightedness. Our interests and our energies are too oftenfocused upon ourselves.

Jesus was intolerant with selfishness. He underscored the fact thatHis disciples were to live outflowingly rather than selfishly. To the richyoung ruler He said, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have,and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.....'(Matthew19:21). It wasn't the giving of his goods that Jesus demanded, but hisrelease from selfishness and its devastating effects on his personality

and life.He was intolerant of selfishness when He said. 'For whoever

desires to save his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life for Mysake will find it' (Matthew 16:25). The 'life' which Jesus urges us tolose is the selfishness that lives within us, the old nature of sin that isin conflict with God. Peter, James and John left their nets, but Jesusdid not object to nets as such; it was the selfish living they

symbolized that He wanted them to forsake. Matthew left the 'customseat,' a political job, to follow Christ. But Jesus did not object to a political career as such; it was the

selfish quality of living which it represented that He wanted Matthew to forsake.So, in your life and in mine, 'self' must be crucified and Christ enthroned. He was intolerant of

any other way, for He knew that selfishness and the Spirit of God cannot exist together.

Jesus Was Intolerant Toward Sin

He was tolerant toward the sinner, but intolerant toward the evil which enslaves the sinner. Tothe adulteress He said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more’ (John 8:11). He forgave herbecause He loved her; but He condemned her sin because Heloathed it with a holy hatred.

God has always been intolerant toward sin! His Word says:'Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil ofyour doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil....' (Isaiah1:16).

“Awake to righteousness, and do not sin” (1 Corinthians15:34). "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteousman his thoughts . . . . ”(Isaiah 55:7).

Christ was so intolerant toward sin that He died on thecross to free men and women from its power. 'For God so loved the world that He gave His onlybegotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life' (John 3:16).Sin lies at the root of most of society's difficulties today. Whatever separates a person from Goddisunites that person from others. The world problem will never be solved until the question of sin issettled. (continued on page eleven)

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But the Cross is God's answer to sin. To all who will receive the blessed news of salvation throughChrist, it crosses out - cancels forever - sin's power.

Forest rangers know the value of the 'burn-back' in fighting forest fires. To save an area fromuncontrolled fire, they carefully burn away the trees and shrubs to create a safetybarrier. When the forest fire reaches that burned-out spot, plantsand animals standing inside the area protected by the burn-back aresafe from the flames. Fire is thus fought by fire.

Calvary was a colossal fighting of fire by fire. Christ, taking onHimself all of our sins, allowed the fire of sin's judgment to fall uponHim. The area around the Cross has become a place of refuge forall who would escape the judgment of sin. Take your place withHim at the Cross; stand by the Cross; yield your life to Him whoredeemed you on the Cross, and the fire of sin's judgment cannever touch you.

God is intolerant toward sin. That intolerance sent HisSon to die for us. He has said 'that whoever believes in Him shall notperish.' The clear implication is that those who refuse to believe in Him will beeternally lost. Come to Christ today, while His Spirit is speaking to your heart!

How Old is the Earth?I had the most wonderful conversation the other evening with a gentleman while driving him home

from the airport. For about an hour and a half we discussed how old the earth was. He claimed to be a man offaith stating that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior, and I believe him. It was a great pleasure for me to speakat length with him.He was concerned that although he believed the earth wasindeed created by God he also believed the earth wasapproximately four and one half billion years old and that Imight think less of him or that his faith might not be what itought. This was in light of the fact that I had told him on aprior trip that I firmly believed in the six days of Creation asoutlined in Genesis chapter one, and that the earth is only8,000 to 10,000 years old. I assured him that nothing could befurther from the truth and he had nothing to worry about. He iscompletely sound in all the essentials of salvation and has agreat command of the primary doctrines of the Bible and islearning more all the time. (I know that in time God will revealthe Truth to this man and to all whose heart is open to Him!)During our conversation I brought the following scriptures tohim for consideration. Firstly, that Jesus, the Son of God, is Hisagent of all Creation. The Bible says, “In the beginning was theWord, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.The same was in the beginning with God. All things weremade by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) Here we find theestablished fact that the Logos, the Word of God, Who we know to be Jesus the Christ, created all things.Nothing, absolutely nothing that has been made was made without Him. (continued on page twelve)

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How Old is the Earth? (continued)

Look around you. The earth, moon, sun, stars, the great vastness of space were all created by the Son ofGod, the Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture leaves no doubt about this. Although science is wonderful in explainingthe existence, composition and in-depth analysis of it all, they simply cannot with any real degree of accuracytell us its origin. What existed before all that we see? Or, where did all we see come from? This is where

scientific theory collapses. Just as we mustaccept by faith what the Word of God says, wemust, if we are to accept what science says,believe what the scientists say by faith as well.

Regarding the age of the earth, and theentire universe for that matter, the Bible andscience are on opposing sides, both as to ageand origins. Who are we to believe? God orscience? Long ago I simply closed my eyes inprayer and gave it over to Him and trusted inHis Word and the greatest peace came uponmy soul and the matter was settled once andfor all. At that moment in time the deepestTruths concerning His creation were revealedfrom His Word in the simplest manner andfrom that point onward I haven’t looked back.I had always believed the scientific descriptionof how it all occurred and tried to harmonize itwith the Creation account, but there wasalways a confusion, a deadening, a sort of brickwall through which my understanding couldnot penetrate. No longer did this trouble methough once the matter of faith in His Wordwas settled.

It is a simple thing for God to create theentire universe as Adam saw it from his

viewpoint in the Garden, with apparent age. All the universe in its brilliant, glowing glory, the galaxies andstars in their shining radiance, sun, moon and planets in their perfect orbits, the earth and her mountains,valleys, glaciers, oceans, volcanoes, earthquakes, rift valleys, plains, lakes, tides and on and on it goes. All set inmotion and in place by the spoken Word, or Logos, of God. All of this was created out of nothing into existenceto serve His specific plan and purpose. And why not? Is anything too difficult for God? Just because it seemsall too difficult for you and I to imagine creating it that way does not make it so for Him!

The wedding feast at Cana is a perfect example of what I am trying to explain. Read what happened:“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: and bothJesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saithunto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yetcome. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there sixwaterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith untothem, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feasthad tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew thewater knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at thebeginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hastkept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth

(continued on page thirteen)

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How Old is the Earth? (continued)

his glory; and his disciples believed on him.” (John 2:1-11) Jesus is God’s agent of Creation, no? We havealready established that fact from His Word, the Bible. Here we see Jesus perform a miracle. Can you turnwater into wine? I know that I cannot. And it was not just ordinary wine, it was good wine. Jesus is noordinary man; He is the God-man and performs everything in an extraordinary manner, so much so that it iseven recorded in the Bible. It says that men, “ . . . were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath doneall things well.” (Mark 7:37) You must remember that this is God, the Logos we arespeaking about here, the One who in Genesis it is said, “In the beginning God createdthe heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) As Christians, we must believe what He hassaid.

This Jesus, the Logos of God, somewhere between the filling of these ceremonial waterpots with waterand the drawing out of the liquid and the taking of it to the governor of the feast simply performed His miracleand the water became wine. Did you see him go out back and plant a vineyard? Wait for the vines to grow?The grapes to ripen in the sun? Harvest the grapes? Crush them? Ferment them? Bottle them? I don’t thinkanybody else did either. Do you know how long it takes to do that? At least three to seven years if you includeplanting the vines and aging the product to produce a fairly decent wine. Only about two and a half to threeyears if the vines are already there. Maybe a year or so is needed if you want wine quick and cheap. Weobviously know this is not what happened.What did Jesus do? He performed a miracleand created wine with apparent age! The winehe created already looked, smelled, and tastedas if it had been through all the processespreviously described. Do you understand nowwhat a miracle this was? How Jesus indeedcreated it with apparent age? How often do weread about these miracles and take them forgranted?

Looking at this miracle of creating thewine from water is on a smaller (at least in ourway of understanding) but of no lesser scalethan the sweeping grandeur of the createduniverse which includes this tiny and almostinsignificant rock we call earth upon whichboth you and I stand. Pause for a moment andtake it all in, God having created an entireuniverse in the same manner, as He did thewine, with apparent age. It is simplybreathtaking and totally beyond ourcomprehension.

Somewhere beyond a miracle of thesize of converting water into wine and short ofthe creation of an entire universe we somehowlose the ability to grasp the reality of it. For another example, look at the healing of the lepers. They all foundnew skin in place of the old diseased skin, not having to wait for it to grow into place over time. Again, we havecreation with apparent age. In every miracle of healing that took place, people did not have to wait! Everymiracle that involved creation of any kind involved doing so that with the appearance of apparent age. Plainand simple! Wine from water, new skin from diseased. Why not then the earth? If not the earth, why not theentire universe? What is the difference between a ladle full of water turned wine and a universe to God?

It is generally understood that only since the 1600-1700’s that science has proposed the earth is anyolder that 8,000 to 10,000 years. Prior to this the majority of scientists believed the Biblical account of the sixdays of creation and a comparatively “young earth”. (continued on page fourteen)

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How Old is the Earth? (continued)

With all of science’s research and methods, they have not been able to disprove God’s creative act in Genesisnor dismiss His ability to do so with apparent age. Logic alone dictates that anything “created” would have toappear to have “age” to begin with. This very day most of science mocks and howls at those believers whochoose to accept the Biblical account of God’s Creation, scoffing at these thoughts and beliefs. The Bible says,“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walkingafter their own lusts.” (II Peter 3:3)

Jesus says, in speaking to the Father, “Sanctify them through thytruth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17) The Word of God is undeniably theTruth of all ages. A day is coming when all will know this. It is far wiser toaccept Him at His Word and believe, working it out by faith, rather than tobe found on that last day in opposition to Him. The Bible says, “Jesus saidunto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord,I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” (Mark 9:23-24) This man, although hedid not understand or conceive what Jesus was about to do for his son,spoke by faith, “I believe”. Those simple words spoken by each of us unlockthe storehouse of God’s wisdom found in His Word and open unto us theunderstanding He so lovingly has placed there for our edification.

So, how old is the earth? I cannot tell you exactly. I do know that the Son of God created it along withthe entire universe for God’s purpose and plan not all that long ago. It certainly wasn’t a few billion years ago!I am certain of one thing. When we meet Him face to face all things will come sharply into focus and once weleave this place called earth and enter into Eternity and begin our reign with Him we shall know for sure. Itwill not matter then, it will be simple trivia at that point as we will have far more important things to do!

John Payne

Read This Book!At all costs read this book! Cover to cover. This book IS the Word of God. It contains His revelation of Himself to us.“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction inrighteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (II Timothy 3:16) “Studyto shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (IITimothy 2:15) Read your Bible cover to cover and tell Homeward Bound about your experience and we will behappy to provide you with a frameable certificate of your achievment!

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We Must Always be Aware of the Light of the World!

I must share with you all how one afternoon before I set out for work I received a much-needed email.A dear sister, Noel Georgette, sent me a message with some revelation to her from God’s Word andthis was just what I needed as a pick me up. I read with joy and it got me thinking and praying andpraising as I got in my car and drove on down the highway. I had been doing some very heavy dutycounseling that morning with someone and the problems seemed insurmountable. THIS messagehelped put me over the top! Noel is a serious student of the Bible and it shows. I am so thankful thatshe is led by the Spirit of God. I can only add my hearty Amen to what she has to say.

Here is the message Noel sent:

Dear John,

At 2:00AM I was suddenly awake. I noticed a strange, soft light, spreading across a part of mybedroom ceiling. A large amorphous shadow took up a healthy portion right in the middle of theshadow. I couldn't fathom the source of this strange aurauntil I remembered that eight hours before I'd attached mycell phone to its charger and then laid it face up on mywindowsill. I marveled at the amount of light emanatingfromthe tiny feeble monitor, as strong, if not stronger than anyreal night light made expressly for the purpose.

Then it hit me, as a Christian I am to be part of theLight of the World and though initially feeble, I am to growmore and more Christ-like. Now I understand that theLord truly is my lamp because he turns my darkness intolight, “For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD willlighten my darkness.” (II Samuel 22:29) Even Job askedthe way to the light and he didn’t want to reside in thedarkness, “Where is the way where light dwelleth? and asfor darkness, where is the place thereof.” (Job 38:19)

Jesus was sent to us that we may walk before God inthe light of life, “For thou hast delivered my soul fromdeath: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that Imay walk before God in the light of the living?” (Psalm56:13) Jesus and the Word of God are a lamp to our feet and a light for our paths, “Thy word is alamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105) Continually through the Bible,starting with the oldest book of the Old Testament right through to the last one of the New, we arereminded that God is light, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare untoyou, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (I John1:5), and that the glory of God GIVESlight and that the Lamb is the Lamp, “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, toshine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” (Revelation 21:23)

Let us gather at least the slivers of light cascading from the Lamb's lamp because like amustard seed, their power will grow. As long as we feed them and feed ourselves off the Word,Christ's light will expand until the Coming, at which time it will engulf the darkness, obliterating andswallowing it up completely.

Noel Georgette

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The other day I had the privilege of driving Mr. TedDiBiase, pictured at left, in my limousine. He is aformer career wrestler for the World WrestlingFederation. He is now an evangelist serving Godturning the souls, hearts and minds of men andwomen to the Lord Jesus Christ. It was an honorbeing of service to him and I look forward tomeeting with him again. You might want to look inon his web site at:

http://www.heartofdavidministry.com

http://www.teddibiase.com/ministry.htm

Homeward Bound is published by Homeward Bound Ministries, Post Office Box 3351, Milford,Connecticut, USA, 06460. Homeward Bound is a teaching ministry attempting to edify the body ofChrist, prepare men and women to serve in the Great Commission and furnish articles of timelyinterest and content relevant to our day and the issues we face in our daily walk with Christ. Weinvite you to write to us and ask questions regarding the Bible and matters of faith, and submitarticles, testimonies or other pieces for publication that glorify God. Thank you for taking the time toread this issue of Homeward Bound! 2009 Homeward Bound Ministries

Rudy Abraham, Rich and Judy Machnicz and theirgranddaughter Viena Machnicz at a recent Saturday

Bible Study at the Trumbull Mall.