40th Anniversary

On August 4, 1971, a young man with long hair and a straggly beard (a hippie) stood outside a hardware store on Highway 101 South, in Eureka, CA. When a van loaded with young people stopped, asked where he was going, and offered a ride, he replied that he had no idea but might like to see the ocean. "We live by the ocean," they replied. He hopped in and went with them to the Lighthouse Ranch, a former Coast Guard lighthouse station during World War Two, which had reverted to private ownership, most recently by a Christian millionaire who had since left for Hawaii. That night, at a small group meeting that discussed how to rear children in a Christian context, he was confronted with the gospel of Jesus Christ. He had heard it before, in Boulder, CO, at a Navigator House, and in Portland, OR at the Prince of Peace Ministries. So he gave them the same half baked philosophical nonsense that he had told the others. At length a man named Gus, whom he had never seen before, came up and said the same basic message that everyone else had said. This time the young hippie remained silent as the conviction of the Holy Spirit grew. When the believers finally asked whether he wished to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior he agreed and prayed with them.
Forty years later, after many vicissitudes, pain, suffering and blessings, he continues to endure to the end. ( Matt 24:13) Life remains hard but God has proven Himself faithful. His mercy, patience and perseverance has proven His enduring love.
For those that may be unaware, the lack of blog posts over the past three weeks reflects a sojourn in Brazil. God willing, I hope to write a long report in the next several days of my time there, and what God has shown me to post on this blog.