by Deborah Onovae | Apr 17, 2021 | seventh day adventist
Doug Batchelor lived in a cave for more than a year. He was a drug addict, a dropout, a drunkard, a thief, a black sheep in the family, a total failure! But God did something amazing in his life.
This is his story:
He is a son of a millionaire and business Tycoon Father. His mother is a gorgeous show-business high profile woman. Doug had everything money could buy, but not happiness.
His father is an aviation leasing pioneer and got rich easily. Coming off from a poor family in Oklahoma, this is something he want: Money. He is a hard worker doing work 16 hours a day, having little time to rest and is always stressed in managing his fleet. There was a time that his company has more than a thousand employees. That surely gives stress for an owner to a big business like that.
Despite this, Doug’s father is always drunk going home. That scared Doug and his brother Falcon everyday. His father is married to 4 different women. They have a dysfunctional family. The happiness in the home is a thing they can’t buy.
Meanwhile, Doug’s mother is someone who came from a rich family. She had worked in show-business and had friends who are celebrities. She even wrote 3 songs for Elvis Presley, imagine that, the King of Rock and Roll himself. When it comes to fame and business connections, her mother is at the top of the game.
Doug and Falcon had friends who were children of celebrities, politicians, and millionaires. But most of these children were not happy, they are always sad and empty. This feeling crept into Doug too as he attempted to commit suicide multiple times. Thank God he did not pursue it.
Because of that, he ran and lived by himself at the age of 15! He went to Boston and independently worked there. Stealing other people’s stuff became a common instinct for Doug. Drugs became Doug’s morning oats, it’s a daily substance he need to consume to satisfy his addiction.
He was then led to practice eastern religions and done transcendent meditation. He loved Buddhism. He hated Christianity, thinking about them as money-making hypocrites. But despite being acquainted to other eastern religions, he continued using drugs, depressed, and remained slave to his sins. Buddhism did not made him better.
While working there in Boston, he met a Christian guy who is also a security guard. By the way, this millionaire son worked as a security guard! An act he did because he can’t find happiness in their home. His Christian friend told him that everything you do comes back, advising him to stop stealing. He is very stubborn and did not believed what the other guy said until 1 day his television was stolen. He then realized that everything he did really backfired to him.
Golden Rule: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 7:12
He then began searching about God. He went into a hitchhiking trip, leading him to Mount San Jacinto at Palm Springs, California. He decided to find God in nature. When he was stuck in Oklahoma, he prayed for 4 specific things: Ride, food, money, and some good people. Soon as he ended his prayer a car stopped in front of him, gave him a ride, food, and money. All of his prayers were answered as how he asked it from God.
So he finally arrived in Palm Springs.
He went inside a cave and live there for a year and a half. He became a hermit. He even dig in city dumpsters to forage for food.
The miracle is that inside the cave, there was a bible! What are the odds! Remember, he is very religious this time but not with Christian beliefs, but that of the eastern religions. So he began reading the Bible not because he want to learn from it, but because of the reason that he want to argue with Christians. He must know what Christians are studying so he can know how to attack them. Up until this time he still look at the Christians as hypocrites.
Yet, while he kept reading the Bible, he was amazed and learned a lot from it. History, moral philosophies, and common phrases used in life such as “The Golden Rule”, “Writing in the wall”. “turn the other cheek”. He lived all his life learning and hearing about these but didn’t knew that it came from the Bible.
The conclusions he found out about Jesus is that:
1. Jesus truly lived on Earth.
2.Jesus did not lie.
3.Jesus is not crazy.
4.And Jesus has the power to save, no matter how sinful you think you are.
So up here in the cave, he decided to follow Jesus. He tried everything in life but did not found happiness. Now, he is ready to accept Christ. He is a drug addict, a dropout, a drunkard, a thief, a total failure! But He learned that God can still accept him for who he is.
He prayed to God that hopefully he can be used to share the message of truth in the Bible. But he cannot preach in the cave being a hermit. As he ended his prayer, her mum called and said that she will be going to the cave via a helicopter together with the reporters from NBC, ready to interview him about what he is doing alone there! This is not coincidence, this is God answering his prayer instantly. The people will learn about him and this is the best chance that he can share Jesus live on TV
“It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.” – Isaiah 65:24
After a year when he left the cave, he left a Bible there too just in case someone might stumble upon it later in time.
God answered Doug’s prayer, surely he can answer your prayer too.
Surrender your life to Jesus today and receive Christ as your Saviour. Real happiness and real eternal life doesn’t come in FAME and FORTUNE but comes in knowing Christ. Give yourself to Jesus today.
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”- Mark 8:36
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – John 14:6
Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart; it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne,
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” – I John 2:15-17
From a life without meaning, experiencing the extremes of it, he became a humble servant of Jesus and a faithful Seventh-day Adventist pastor.
Today, Pastor Doug Batchelor is the President of the international media ministry Amazing Facts. He is an energetic speaker with an unusual ability to communicate not only to church-oriented people but also to those who aren’t religious. His spontaneous, lively humor and down-to-earth approach to living the Christian life engages and brings hope and meaning to hearts from every kind of background.
Doug and his wife Karen have five children. Currently living in Sacramento, his hobbies include guitar, scuba diving, and racquetball. Like his father, he is also an aviation enthusiast and pilot.
He became the richest caveman not because of his family’s wealth and fame, but because of Jesus’ love and His gift of eternal life.
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Written & Compiled by: Jan
Hope you are blessed! share
by Deborah Onovae | Apr 14, 2021 | Bible Study
2nd Quarter: The Promise: God’s Everlasting Covenant
Lesson 3 *“All Future Generations”*
Tuesday: Covenant with Noah
*Text: [[Gen 6:18]] KJV*
_But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee._
*Message*
God wanted to destroy the world, but righteous Noah found grace in his sight so God wanted to spare him. He therefore enters into a covenant with Noah. This is the foundation of all biblical covenants – God and man enters into an agreement where He offers a blessing (and its conditions/laws), then the man is to accept to subscribe to it, obey, and receives the blessings. In this covenant too, Noah’s family had their part to do, and if they did not do it, the covenant would be broken. If the covenant was broken, they were the ultimate losers, for in the end they were the beneficiaries of the covenant.
Let’s try to understand the covenant with this simple analogy. If well understood, we’ll easily understand all biblical covenants God makes with man. *A man has fallen overboard from a boat in the midst of a storm. Someone on the deck says that he will throw a life preserver over to haul him in. The one in the water, however, has to agree to his end of the “deal,” and that is to grab on and to hold on to what has been provided him.* In all of God’s covenant, he initiates a plan to save us, when we are about to “drown”.
Generally speaking, in every covenant, the 2 parties have what they offer and what they benefit. But it’s absurd to say the one drowning did the man in a boat a favour by holding his life preserver he offered. God’s benefit in this covenant which he calls “My covenant” is that, He offers eternal life to his creation, and this means a lot to Him. So ultimately, God initiates the covenant which we enjoy all the benefits.
*Reflection*
_How does the analogy above help you to understand the concept of grace that exists in the covenant? How does it help you understand what your relationship to God even now needs to be based on?_
by Deborah Onovae | Apr 12, 2021 | Bible Study
2nd Quarter: The Promise: God’s Everlasting Covenant
Lesson 3 “All Future Generations”
Monday: The Man Noah
Text: [[Gen 6:9]] BSB
_This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God._
Message
As we noted in our study yesterday, sin increased on earth to the point that God lamented. Evil grew each day in the then world, and probably some of the most popular statement’s today such as, “everyone is doing it, it doesn’t matter, etc.” were used there as well. But this was false! Not everyone did what the masses did. There was a man – Noah, who separated himself from all the evils. The Bible testifies that he was a righteous man, blameless, and one that had a close relationship with God. Noah showed that it was possible to be faithful in a corrupt world.
Did the writer exaggerate when he said Noah was righteous or blameless? Or was he only picking a lesser of 2 evils? No! Noah was indeed a righteous man. But does it mean Noah never sinned? No! *The Bible nowhere equates righteousness to sinlessness.* There are accounts of several righteous people in scripture, but Only Christ was sinless. Noah simply did what God expected. He ensured he was constantly right with God and so no witness could be raised against him. This isn’t a strange concept. Throughout history, men are made right with God (righteous) when surrender all to God and receive pardon. At that moment, we become blameless, and this can be achieved only through a constant living relationship with God. This is what Noah pursued.
God was about to destroy the world, “but Noah found favour in the sight of the Lord. (Vs 8)” Noah therefore was going to be spared, not because he was righteous, but because of God’s Grace. *He was righteous, but that couldn’t save him, God’s Grace alone could!* What a powerful lesson for us today. If Noah was sinless, then he didn’t need grace to escape, for the sinless cannot be condemned by a just God. But *however “blameless” and “righteous” Noah was, he was still a sinner who needed the unmerited favor of his God* His situation isn’t different from any sincere sinner seeking God today.
Reflection
Understanding that Noah needed God’s grace, as do the rest of us, look at your own life and ask yourself this question: Could it be said of me that I am, like Noah, “righteous,” “blameless,” and that I “walk with God”?
by Deborah Onovae | Apr 11, 2021 | Bible Study
2nd Quarter: The Promise: God’s Everlasting Covenant
Lesson 3 “All Future Generations”
Sunday: The Sin Principle
Text: [[Gen 6:5]] KJV
_And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually._
Message
One of the arguments that still bothers many minds today is whether our generation is better or worse of than those that lived 1000s of years ago. On one hand, we see technological advances that one might say never existed in those days. Going by this, we may be better of. But again, think about the exponential increase in crime and evil. This is not surprising because from the day man sinned in Eden, we became inclined naturally to sin,and our nature actually enjoyed it. Man’s urge to sin, like bacteria growth, increases rapidly. But God, in order to remedy the situation employed the best approach which we’ll explore this week. We’ll look at God’s covenant with Noah in detail.
From the time of creation to the time of Noah, things had moved from being “exceptionally very good” to unbearably bad. The Bible records that, “the imagination of men were evil continually”. Things were getting out of hand, and God couldn’t watch all his creation destroyed. “it repented God for creating man”. This is a language implying God’s impending judgment. But how did things get worse so quickly like that? The problem we all face today is, we underestimate sin or play with it hoping we can kick it out anytime. But one sin subtly leads to another, then another, till we’re far gone.
Sin progressively gets worse. It tends to do that. Sin is not like a cut or a wound, with some automatic, built-in process that brings healing. On the contrary, if left unchecked, sin multiplies, never satisfied until it leads to ruin and death.Unfortunately, like our 1st parents, we follow the same slippery way. To avoid its multiplication is to avoid nurturing the very 1st seed (thought of evil).
Reflection
The Good news is that, though God wants to destroy sin, He eagerly wants to save the sinner. This is how to view the story of the (Noah’s) Flood, and it’s the premise for God’s covenant with Noah.
by Deborah Onovae | Apr 9, 2021 | Bible Study
2nd Quarter: The Promise: God’s Everlasting Covenant
Lesson 2 Covenant Primer
Thursday: The New Covenant
Text: [[Jer 31:31]] KJV
_Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:_
Message
The story of Israel after they left Egypt is known to us all. Though God showed them great love and Mercy, their response was very negative. Over and over again the nation broke the covenant law. God was faithful in keeping the covenant promises, but Israel remained unfaithful. Because of God’s faithfulness, He couldn’t go against his words, and so, for the 1st time in the OT, God mentions his intention to make a new covenant with Israel after their long exile. One consistent thing we can see about God’s covenant with man is that, He always initiates it, and He comes with the full package to bless.
Again, the type of covenant relationship He had with Israel is one we can learn from. It was a marriage relationship – one that required strict faithfulness. Israel failed in this. In God’s new covenant, note that the components remained the same, namely: two parties, a promise, and a requirement (law). God still required a relationship which will be expressed through obedience, the difference is found in how Israel was to keep their part now. In the earlier covenant, their fathers attempted to obey and they failed, in the new one, God himself promises that He’ll put those laws in their hearts so that obeying will be easy.
But what does this mean? Has God left everyone to follow his/her conscience? No! No! Note that, even in the new covenant, the laws are still very important (without it, there’s no covenant). What we see is an element to help them keep the same law which their fathers disobeyed. This element is God’s amazing Grace. A special enablement to keep God’s law out of love for Him not just because you have to. Paul says, _”For the grace of God… hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,… (Titus 2:11,12)_ In short, in the New covenant, everything, including our ability to obey is on God. When men tried by their strength, they failed.
Reflection
In the New Covenant, _the people simply obey Him, not in some rote, mechanical way, but purely because they know Him, because they love Him, and because they want to serve Him. This captures the essence of the covenant relationship the Lord seeks with His people._
