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6/ Can you explain, debate, and argue another person unto salvation?

(Or is it a matter of simply BELIEVING?)

I feel that I can shed some light on this by exploring the idea that Christianity can be proven by logic…

For what we have written in many parts of the Bible is a record of the IMPOSSIBLE, such as Elijah calling forth a drought as instructed of God, and then after three years calling for rain, and the clear skies delivering a deluge.
(SEE 1^st Kings #17-#18)

As a young person I simply accepted this account by faith, from a child on I needed no proof. However the Lord had other plans, and I now assume He wanted to strengthen my faith for my future challenges…

This is how the Lord AMAZED MY FAITH;

‘My trip to McDougall Lake (in 1978)’ by Ken R. Kriese

I have been, and in reality, I still am, a great fan of the sport of wilderness backpacking. When I was 24 I took the opportunity to go on a two-day trip into the Wells Gray Wilderness Park located in my own back yard, namely Clearwater, British Columbia, Canada… As had been my reckless habit, I proceeded on this undertaking solo, except for my two faithful companions, my dogs. This is not recommended, however, I often did so in an effort to be alone with my Creator, and to seek His guidance and counsel. This trip required a two day hike in and another two days out.

 

— So there I was after an amazing hiking and fishing trip, on my first day of the return trek… The only stop-over point was at a volcanic lake called Kostal Lake. (No fishing here, or swimming either, for this lake is thick with blood-sucking leeches, and sits at the base of a dormant volcanic cinder-cone.) It was however the only camp-site on that two-day backpack trail. I had timed my arrival at the lake to coincide with the setting sun. Just enough time to set up my overnight camp, (a three-person pup tent with rainfly). I had just started a camp-fire, complete with a Chinese noodle soup starting to warm to a boil. It had been a scorching week of sunshine and clear blue skies in the midst of our hottest summer month of August. I was a bit apprehensive about the fire hazard, as I was well aware of how dry the forest was becoming. What we really needed was a good rainy stretch of weather, in order to quench the tinder-dry conditions. I hoped to be home safe and dry before that would happen.

— My fear was that the heaviness of the air pressure which I could sense, was not bringing with it any appreciable rain. To the contrary, it looked like I was going to experience one of those dry-lightening thunder storms. In this part of the Park if a natural fire did break out the forest service had a hands-off policy in place, for the point is to let nature reign supreme as much as possible in this nature reserve part of the park. That did not bode well for my situation, for I had entered into a deserted part of the wilderness. On the trail in, I had several times lost the trail-markers in the dense overgrowth and had to retrace my steps to locate the elusive that little red triangle pinned to a tree. (These marked the trail for when it was lost to the undergrowth.

— Not surprisingly, during a full week at McDougall Lake, I had not encountered a single human visitor. (A young bull-moose had wandered through my campsite a couple of times though.) The condition of the trail was probably the chief factor, as chest-high devils club, (an apply named thorny and treacherous plant) had overgrown most sections.

— Almost as soon as I had a moment to stop and worry about a dry-lightning storm, it happened…

If you ever have been close to a lightning strike you will know the sensation. The flash and the explosion of thunder was instantaneous with that electric sensation of the hair standing up on the back of my neck. I remarked aloud to my dogs, “That was a close one!” Then I searched the area with my eyes, wondering about just how close it had been.

— I did not need to search long, for across the lake I could see one tree smoldering, then my eyes caught the sight of another smoke plume rising from further down the rather smallish Kostal lake basin. Oh Oh! …But even worse, there was a third smoke plume right in the area of where my return trail passed through. I whispered, “Oh Lord no!”

— I started my prayer like that, “Lord please no, I need to pass through that part of the valley and the fire is being pushed by the prevailing wind right across the face of my escape route. Lord you know that this trail is almost impossible to find in the best of conditions, please turn the wind back from blowing the fire into my way out.”

— As I watched the almost cloudless sky, I saw tree after tree go up in reddish explosions of increasing intensity. This was occurring at each of the 3 fire sites. I waited nervously for an answer to my prayer…

— Amazingly enough, I didn’t need to wait long. I watched with fascination as the smoke that was being pushed across the lake towards my campsite mysteriously rose up, and started to retreat in a line back into the forest. The wind had turned 180 degrees, and was being pushed back upon itself, away from my trail-head. My heart rose with my spirits, and I began to praise God for answered prayer…

— I was in the midst of my impromptu praise session when I began to notice something was wrong. A strong smell of smoke was reaching my nostrils, even though the smoke from those fires had never reached my campsite… “What on earth?” I asked my dogs as I looked towards the source of the smoke. Now my spirits hit the downward slope of my emotional rollercoaster, for I was to discover that it had not been a three-pronged lightning strike, but four. The fourth strike, the one that I had felt was so close, had hit just behind my campsite. When the wind was blowing into my face, I had no knowledge of its growing presence. Thanks to my prayer, the wind was now pushing it directly towards me. My dogs and I were now in real danger, and darkness was fast approaching…

— I was not about to go crashing off into the bush under these circumstances. I knew I had to control the urge to panic. …So I started a new prayer.

It went something like this; “Lord I thank you for changing the wind, however that didn’t work very well. What I really need from you now is rain. Lord, please send a rainstorm to put out these fires.”

— So great was my faith (lol), that even as I was wording this prayer, I was throwing together my backpack with what I considered the essentials. For I was making an alternative plan, just in case the Lord wasn’t listening. (Maybe he had gone back to sleep in the stern of the boat.)… I figured when the fire would break through onto my campsite I would then reluctantly swim out into the leech-infested lake with my dogs. Using a heavy wood plank from the campsite’s only bench as a makeshift flotation device.

— I started to get my stuff together. In the leech-infested water, we could wait out the forest fire. One thing this plan did for me was to occupy my mind and help me to fend-off a threatening panic in regards to the advancing forest fire. It was while I was in the midst of these preparations for flight, that I finally noticed the strange din that had been growing in intensity for a while. “What is that sound?” I thought to myself…

— Looking once again for the source of this new phenomenon, I gazed out over the lake and I saw what appeared to be some sort of frothy line drawn with ruler precision across the center of the lake’s surface. “Now what is that?” I thought to myself, as I watched and heard, this mysterious line approach my campsite… I guess it was the first drops of rain that fell against my face that caused me to recognize what was happening.

— The reality of what I was witnessing was finally penetrating my bewildered understanding… Out of an almost cloudless sky, the Lord was sending an answer to my latest prayer request. Those millions of pounding drops of rain advancing across the surface of the lake were what was making that noise, and frothing the surface of the water. It was like the sound of thousands of snare drums being played in rapid cadence…

— I had just enough time to grab my soup from off the campfire and call my dogs into the shelter of the tent… And then it hit.

— I had spent all my life in these parts, but I have never seen such a deluge. Both layers of nylon tent fabric were squashed down upon us. The force of the rain caused a steam-like vapor to penetrate right through into the interior of our little cavity. Then it was over. The rain had lasted only a matter of about five minutes. Buckets of wonderful rainwater had collected in pockets where the sides of the tent had been squashed down upon us. Before draining these I scooped up a pitcher of wonderful drinking water, and then allowed the tent to spring back to its proper shape. Then I was able to survey the results of God’s fire-fighting technique…

— The sky was once again clear, actually I don’t even remember seeing any cloud with that wall of rain. An not a further drop fell for the rest of my trip. However, Praise the Lord, there was not a sign of smoke nor smolder anywhere in that precious basin, for all four fires had been extinguished…

— Needless to say, because of my excitement, I hardly slept at all that night, and when I returned home the next day I seemed to be walking ten feet off the ground. Surprisingly, those close to me responded to my story with a “That’s nice” attitude. I guess you just had to be there to appreciate the moment…

So what was that all about, and what does it matter to you?

— I know that I am not special, and yet what God did in the secret of that wilderness, was for the purpose of teaching me, (and perhaps through this testimony you) a lesson in faith. I believe that He will do the impossible in your life as well, if you will only receive it by faith…

You cannot put God in a test-tube. He is beyond and so far above scientific discovery. You will only find Him through Faith, a faith that He does exist… and then He will hear your prayers. And you too will see the impossible accomplished in your life.

— This same Jesus from Matthew 8:23-27 is alive with the same power over the elements and all the ‘storms’ of life that we face today. However, His greatest desire, is that we would trust Him even in the midst of those storms…

May God bless you, and give you faith!

— If you need help to pray or if you have any questions E-mail me with the subject of ‘McDougall Lk comments’.

— Thanks for allowing me to share these testimonies with you today, KK.