In 1974, at the ripe old age of 27, I came to faith in Jesus Christ through personal revelation. Later in life, as I learned from personal Bible study, I was in no wise the first to experience this.
In Matthew 16:13-16, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” There were various and sundry answers. Peter was the exception, answering, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.“
“The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth through unrighteousness. For what may be known about God is clear to them since God has shown it to them. The invisible things about Him—His eternal power and deity—have been clearly seen since the creation of the world and are understood by the things that are made, so that they are without excuse.” — Romans 1:18-20
To confirm that supernatural experience, God miraculously healed me of hypertension. A Christian doctor in Richardson, Texas, was treating me pro bono for an infection. On my last visit to the doctor’s office my blood pressure was 196/96. My next appointment was the next Monday morning. There, God confirmed my supernatural encounter. My blood pressure was miraculously 120/70.
In the summer between my junior and senior high school years, I lied about my age. I did this to work for an offshore drilling company. The summer after high school graduation, I continued working on offshore drilling rigs.
Drilling through solid rock thousands of feet down-hole to reach oil and natural gas was challenging. This experience dispelled for me the idea of billions of years of sedimentation. Furthermore, older experienced roughnecks regaled me with stories, in particular stories about depleted oil reserves that again produced oil.
Profound evidence of a global flood includes the layers of undisturbed sedimentary deposits in the Grand Canyon. It also includes polystrate tree fossils, meaning fossilized trees within multiple layers of sedimentary coverings. (See photo above.)
In my youth, my friends and I hunted ducks, geese, and doves. Walking the fields of farmers and ranchers, we often discovered decomposing carcasses of dead cattle. After the wild carnivores had their fill, maggots would lay claim to the dead animals. Not once were any of our finds turning into fossils. In a short time, the animals were born, nursed, grazed on grass, died, and turned back into dirt.
Fossilization was dependent on a sudden covering of soil and sediments.
Genesis chapter 7 tells the story of a global flood. I believe this based on personal observations and credible scientific studies.
My wife and I plan a few road trips in the waning years of life. The Ark Encounter is at the top of our list of must-see places.
What is science? Science is a system of knowledge about the physical world, explaining or describing what it is and how it works in general laws, gained by observing, experimenting, and testing theories. The word, science, derives from the Latin word scientia, meaning knowledge.
In the book of Exodus, it is written God filled Bezalel the son of Uri with the Spirit of God in wisdom. He gave him understanding. He gave him knowledge. He provided him with all manner of craftsmanship…in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of craftsmanship to devise artistic works for work with gold, with silver, and with bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of craftsmanship. [Exodus 31:2-5]
How has God supernaturally equipped you? If you have the Spirit of God within you, like Uri, have spiritual gifts. Uri was a gifted master of all trades. Most of us have a few gifts with which we excel. How can you discover your gifts?
All believers filled with the Holy Spirit feature select gifts enumerated in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.
Spiritual gifts are not the same as the fruits of the Spirit, as enumerated in Galatians 5:22-26.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control; against such there is no law. Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be conceited, provoking one another and envying one another.
God gives each believer specific gifts, as described in Philippians 2:13 For God is the One working in you, both to will [the desire] and to do [the ability] His good pleasure. This is the definition of grace.
John White
Rockwall, Texas
John N. White 