Setting the Background for my Testimony.

Faith defined. Years of Confusion settled.

As I write this, I have been a Christian believer for 53 years. Since December 1972, the majority of my time as a believer has been apathetic. That means days, even weeks, without praying or reading the Bible. Added to this, I hardly sang in a church service with the enthusiasm shown by others around me. And there were times when I questioned my salvation. And I couldn't understand why.

And in a society in which the culture stemmed from social class distinctions, I suffered from an inferiority complex. That is, a manual worker with little or no formal qualifications in a church which was filled with graduates from universities across the country. They moved into our area to take up employment in high-tech companies that have set up trading in this area, a wedge of land lying between the M3 and the M4 motorways, sometimes referred to as the British Silicon Valley. 

By fellowshipping in a church full of graduates, most of them a little younger than I was, I was also prone to being short-tempered, and on one occasion, I floored a haughty Christian graduate over a disagreement. This isn't meant to be boasting. Rather, this shows my spiritual state, even decades after I first believed. What was the underlying cause of all this?

It is my failure to rightly divide the Word of Truth as Paul instructed in 2 Timothy 2:15.

Divide is the proper translation of the Greek word orthotomounta, which means cutting straight. The word "divide" appears in the King James Version. The version I use most of the time is the New International Version, and the word handle is used. Hence, the KJV conveys the instruction more accurately. When I read about "cutting straight", I pictured a cake sliced into two halves with a knife. Then it's sliced into quarters. Four quarters cut with two straight lines. That is how the Bible should be handled. And so, why didn't I rightly divide the Word of Truth? Because, in all these years, nobody taught me to do that! Yet, even from the very beginning, I was aware of a discrepancy between the four Gospels, especially the first three synoptic Gospels, and Paul's letters to the churches.

The Bible I hold in my hand is divided into three sections: the Old Testament, the Gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the first part of Acts). Then there is the Gospel of Free Grace, preached by Paul the apostle in his letters from Romans to Philemon.

The whole of the Old Testament is addressed to Israel, as are the four Gospels, along with the letter to the Hebrews, the letters of James, Peter, and John's letters, and Jude. Although many, especially among Baptist churches, would raise their hands in protest, in the Kingdom Gospel, baptism in water actually did wash away sins. John the Baptist dunked repentant sinners in water, but also pointed to the One who would baptise them in the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost, Peter cried, Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38 KJV).

In Acts 22, we read about Paul standing before a crowd of hostile Jews and talking about his conversion. He said that soon after he was encountered by Jesus in heaven, he received his sight under Anania's prayer, followed by the words, And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptised, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 22:16). This was still the Gospel of the Kingdom, given only to Israel.

In Revelation, John wrote to the seven churches existing under Free Grace. Here, he writes, Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood...(1:5). In the Gospel of free grace, we are no longer cleansed by water baptism, but by the shed blood of Christ crucified. And this Gospel is appropriate for all mankind in the present church age, both for Jews and non-Jews.  

So what has been my problem over the years? Simply this, my inability to rightly divide the Word of Truth into departments appropriate to the people, location, and time. The four Gospels were addressed to Israel. Paul's letters to us. My problem was that I mixed the two Gospels, bringing the Kingdom Gospel into the Gospel of Free Grace. Hence, the confusion, even to an extent, of slavery.

In the early years of my faith, I was deeply troubled by what Jesus said to the crowds following him. He said that if anyone does not hate his spouse, parents, his children, and his family siblings, he cannot be his disciple. And if he does not take up his own cross and follow him, he cannot be his disciple... Therefore, whoever does not forsake all that he has, he cannot be his disciple - Luke 14:25-34).

The traditional site of the crucifixion, Jerusalem, 1993.

These verses troubled me for years, and these verses were the reason for questioning my salvation and suffering Bible and prayer blues. This tied well with our subconscious that salvation is to be earned. My subconscious says that yes, Christ died on the cross for little more than to annul the Law of Moses and merely open another way of earning our salvation, and that was take up our own cross and forsake everything, even putting my parents in distress, thus reinforcing what Christ said about the love of family ties placed above our devotion to him.

When Jesus spoke these words, first, he addressed a crowd who saw him, heard him, and touched him. Many were healed by him and followed him around. In short, a physical presence. Following him as a disciple back then was literal. Secondly, they were Jews under the Law of Moses, and the Atonement for sin hadn't yet been made. In Jesus' day, Temple sacrifices were still obligatory.

Yet Jesus cried out,  The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the Gospel. Mark 1:15. This is the Gospel of the Kingdom. That is, Jesus came in readiness to ascend the throne of his father David in Jerusalem if the nation of Israel accepted him. But, as John writes, He came to his own (Israel), but his own received him not (John 1:11). Therefore, he had to go to the cross, to usher in something which was much better, free grace through faith alone. That is, by believing.

And here is what I consider to be the most important issue: justification by faith underlying the entire Bible. Remember the illustration of the cake cut into sections? Then think of the dish on which the cake sits. The knife cuts the cake, but it's unable to cut the dish beneath it. The dish represents faith, and what I consider to be the most important verse in the entire Bible. 

It is Genesis 15:6. This verse says, Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited him as righteousness.

This verse could be glossed over while reading the narrative, without giving it particular attention. It could easily be missed. But Paul the apostle paid much attention to that verse, devoting a whole chapter of Romans to it, as well as in his letter to the Galatians. James, too, also quotes it in his letter.

Credited righteousness. That is God's righteousness imputed to the believer's account. And this imputation held true throughout history, from Adam to the end of the age. This is the dish that cannot be cut into sections like the cake on it.

In the Kingdom Gospel, baptism was by water to wash away our sins, and one had to endure to the end to be saved. But in this present age, the Church Age, our sins are washed away, at the moment of believing, by the blood of Jesus crucified. Hence, everyone who believes that:

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

Was buried,

And rose again from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)...

The believer receives eternal life. This life is eternal, and cannot be taken away or forfeited. The shed blood of Jesus washes away all sins, past, present and future, and his resurrection from the dead guarantees eternal life given as a free gift. The believer is forever accepted into the family of God and is made equally righteous in the Father's sight as the Son himself.

We all sinned and come short of the glory of God, and deserve the penalty, eternal separation from God in hell.

Jesus Christ, who was sinless, went to the cross to pay the penalty in our stead. He became sin so we could become his righteousness. 

Everyone who believes is instantly washed from his sins by his shed blood. 

At that moment, he receives the new man who is incapable of sinning. This is the new birth.

However, his flesh still sins after he is saved. Hence, flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; instead, it dies and ends up in the grave. 

The believer is adopted into the family of God, and his sonship is eternal.

At the Rapture, the believer will receive a new and glorious body and forever be with the Lord.

Salvation cannot be earned. It's a free gift. This is not to be confused with service, which merits rewards.

Eternal life is not a reward. It is a free gift given to everyone who believes.

No work can ever merit heaven. Salvation is a gift bought by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

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Next week, the cult which freed and then enslaved me.

Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 58.

How the Greek Island of Kos has set the standard for modern life and health. 

Last week, while posting the second half of our 2006 trip to Lanzarote in the Canaries, I was considering whether to make that the last of my Travel Biography and Extravaganza, and I even asked whether you would like to give your opinion.

On the comments, I received two. The first was from my beloved, who was keen for me to keep on posting our travel pics. The other was from a good Blogger friend who encouraged me to revert to my posts centred more on the Christian faith, as she was edified by what I have written and posted in the past.

However, one evening this week, I was driven home from a meeting by a good friend, one of the elders in our church who graduated from University, having studied ancient civilisations. This included a college trip to Naples to visit the excavations of Pompeii. As we talked in his car, the idea of posting photos of the ancient ruins in Kos came to mind, and I decided to go ahead and publish them. However, this will be the last of all the Extravaganza photos, as next week I wish to start on my testimony. If you think that I am just another middle-class graduate who grew up in a Christian home (yawn!), you have another think coming! Rather, my conversion story is more dramatic.

This week is the final of the Extravaganza. It's from the album of our 12th Wedding Anniversary in the Greek island of Kos, one of the Dodecanese. We flew there for a week in 2011 for a single-venue celebratory holiday. As such, it wasn't included in the main Biography, as it wasn't a backpacking trip. But for anyone interested in archaeology and ancient civilisations, Kos has much to offer. That was why I went ahead and published the photos I took of the sites while we were there.

There were three sites we visited. The first was the Agora, or the market, dating back to the 4th Century BC. The earthquake in 1933 turned the site into one resembling a scrapyard, but its entry is free to the public. Here, Alex and I wandered around at our free will.

The second was the Asklepion (also spelt as Asclepieion). This is the combined Temple of Healing and a hospital. It was the original source of modern medicine, and it was where the famous Greek physician, Hippocrates, treated his patients by administering herbs with healing properties as well as housing in-patients in wards, as does any present hospital. The site also had a Temple for patients with terminal illnesses to find peace with their deities before passing on. Hippocrates brought into being his Oath, known as the Hippocratic Oath, sworn by graduates into the medical profession to this day. In addition to all this, many psychologists credit the theory of the four humours to Hippocrates, who erroniously believed that each of the four temperaments was governed by one of the four body fluids. These were Blood, Yellow Bile (both extrovert), Black Bile, and Phlegm (both introvert). When considering all of these, I could help but believe that the Asklepion was the most important ancient site I have ever visited.

There are actually seven restored Roman columns.

Near the harbour is an ancient tree, still living, which legends say that Hippocates taught his students under its shade. For its protection, it's now within an enclosure.

The third site we visited was the Gymnasium. This is the proper Greek word for the exercise yard. The abbreviated version, the gym, is in the English language. However, the Romans called it the Palaestra in their Latin, and it was the word widely used throughout the Roman Empire, but never found its way into English. Among these ruins, there is a well-preserved Mosaic floor of Roman origin.

A few night photos are included. This includes the alfresco restaurant, where we dined on the evening of our anniversary before taking a stroll along the esplanade that circles the harbour. Our table was by the wall which separated us from the sea. As we dined, the waves lapped gently against the wall. It was the most romantic night I have known.

One morning, we decided to hire a bicycle each and ride along the main road to the Thermae. From our hotel, the distance was approximately 10 km or 6 miles. The coastline of the city of Kos faces Turkey, and the resort of Bodrum can be seen, with its white houses standing out clearly. However, during our ride out, the road turned in a different direction, and we were able to see the majestic mountains of Yarimadasi, a long, slender peninsula jutting out from the western coast of Turkey into the Aegean Sea. Eventually, we passed through the village of Ag Fokas on the southeast coast, and the main road narrowed into a footpath on the clifftop until we arrived at some steps leading to the pebble beach. Along the beach we walked, having locked up our bikes, until we arrived at the thermae.

The thermae is an artificial pool, or a miniature lagoon, holding hot water from a spring which issues from the cliff wall. The water was too hot by the cliff face, so we bathed at the far side. A breach in the enclosing wall allowed the warm water escape into the sea. In the middle of the pool, volcanic gas bubbles rose to the surface. Both Alex and I bathed in the spa before drying off by sunbathing.

As already mentioned, this is the final photo posting of this Extravaganza. Like with Lanzarote, there is no link to the main Biography. But for a while, I thought about writing my testimony, after giving it verbally at a church meeting exactly a year ago, and the audience wanted to hear more. It's not likely that I will get it all in just one week. At this point, I can't say how many weeks it would take, two, maybe three.

Also, to say that between the Biography and the Extravaganza, it took around three years to cover the entire travel section of my Blogger page. During that time, it is estimated that it has collected as many as 500,000 views, far more than all the Christian contemporary blogs I have written before starting on Travel. Furthermore, the writing of the Biography wasn't my original idea, but the result of suggestions posted by my readers.

Therefore, by returning to the original intention of writing, a fall in viewership numbers would not surprise me. However, one lesson I have learned is not to make my blogs too long. I was told several times that my previous long text had put readers off. Therefore, I feel it would be better for me to write in a series of short blogs rather than cram too much in a long one. However, one thing is guaranteed: that my entire Travel Biography and Photo Extravaganza are permanent features here. With the Index between the two, one can link a week's posting of the Extravaganza to the appropriate week of the Biography.

Finally, let me say a big thank you for your participation in this project. It's greatly appreciated!

You can access the Index by clicking here.

Photos of Kos. Photos of the Agora Archaeological Site.

The Agora, Kos, looks more like a junkyard.

Restored Columns.

These columns are original.

These were tidied up after the 1933 earthquake.

Not too crowded here.

A close-up of a stone detail.

General view of the Agora archaeological site.

Fragment of a Mosaic floor.

Remains of the Temple of Hercules.

Looking across the Arora site.

Looking at masonry dating back to 400-500 BC.

We celebrated our 12th Wedding Anniversary in 2011.

We dined at a seaside Restaurant.

We then strolled along the harbour esplanade.

Looking back at the nighttime city.

Photos of the Asklepion.

Approaching the Asklepion site.

The site has three levels. This is the lower one.

Remains of temple columns, level 2. 

Close up of the columns.

On level 3 was the temple for the terminally ill.

Looking down to level 2, which was the hospital.

Left over of a temple column.

From level 3, looking across the sea towards Turkey.

The restored seven pillars on level 2.

The same pillars as seen from level 3.

Remains of the wards, level 2.

Hospital wards.

I pose next to some masonry.

The bathing pool is to the right.

 Looking across the Asklepion towards Turkey.

This tree, legends say, provided shade for Hippocrates.

The Thermae

On the beach approaching the thermae.

The hot spa or lagoon.

View of the thermae from the cliff.

The source of the hot water is from the base of the cliff.

Gas bubbles up from deep below.

I relax in the hot water.

The Greek/Roman Gymnasium.

Part of the main gymnasium structure.

Alex by the Roman Mosaic floor.

Detail of the Mosaic floor.

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Next Week, I'll start on my testimony.

Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 57.

Making a comparison between Independent Travel and being on an Escorted Holiday.

As with all good things, this Travel Biography and Photo Extravaganza may have come to completion. Although I featured three single-venue package holidays (Spain 1972, Rhodes 1999, and Lanzarote 2006), my travel career was all about backpacking, mostly on my own, but one trip with my wife, Alex. That was to the Holy Land 2000. The remaining vacations were single-venue breaks to the Greek island of Kos, along with Lanzarote, Sicily and Malta. Here, there is a difference between a single-venue package and an escorted tour. The latter, like backpacking, involves stopping at multiple venues.

The main header photo of this Blogger page is of my beloved Alex posing at the restored Roman columns at the Asklepion, a combined hospital and religious site in Kos, where Hippocrates treated his patients around 400 BC. Here in the UK, every student who graduates to become a medical doctor takes the Hippocratic Oath. Our modified version of the oath had its origin at the Asklepion, where we visited. The site not only had a Temple of Healing, but also wards where patients were cared for, just as in hospitals to this day. Also, like at present, Hippocrates dispensed medicine, mainly of herbs with specific healing properties. However, surgical procedures were forbidden, as he believed that this would desecrate the body.

As this Travel section of my Blogger page was about an individual backpacker, I didn't intend to post photos of single-venue package holidays unless there was something special about them. Such as Spain 1972, being my first trip abroad, independent of my parents. Rhodes 1999 was our honeymoon, and Lanzarote 2006, which I have also included, as the album contains underwater photos as well as some independent travel, as shown below.

Three factors combined eventually caused my backpacking trips to tail off. These were marriage commitment, age, and health. Although it's extremely rare to see an ageing couple don rucksacks and head for the airport, with me, I backpacked well into my late forties, around twice the age of an average traveller. Yet, whenever I open a newspaper, I come across various travel firms such as Saga, Travelsphere, or Titan Travel, among others. These firms specialising in escorted tours cater to a large percentage of the elderly.

I once read a story about a coachload of tourists stopping at the South Rim village of the Grand Canyon. The driver/escort then told all the passengers alighting that they had only twenty minutes to view and admire the Canyon before boarding the coach to move on. Twenty minutes! Indeed, that may be enough, after gasping, Ooh-Ahh! to snap companions standing at the Canyon's edge with the straight line of the North Rim far away behind them. But such a short duration leaves out a stroll through the Village, even to browse through to buy a souvenir. Any time for a short hike? Forget it!

"Wow! I have seen the Grand Canyon!" The tourist may excitedly boast to his work colleagues after arriving home. Seen it? Yes. But experiencing it? Not at all. That's the difference between being on an escorted tour and travelling alone. In 1978, I arrived alone by public bus at the South Rim. While I was there, I was offered a bed for the night at Phantom Ranch on the Canyon's floor, close to where Bright Angel Creek joins the Colorado River. All of a sudden, a hike, which I never thought about, was on my schedule. It meant hiring a rucksack at the Village, as I was totally unprepared on arrival. The two-day hike from Rim to River and back turned from merely seeing the Canyon to experiencing it. Something like that would have been impossible as part of an escorted tour when the escort told us to be back by a certain time.

About to hike the Grand Canyon, 1978.

And so, I am considering finishing this Extravaganza with the second half of our 2006 single-venue package to Lanzarote. Our self-catering apartment was in Puerto de Carmen, and one of my favourite spots while we were there was a little lava cove, Playa Chica, a popular diving and snorkelling site. This week's album carries on straight after the snorkel, then focuses on first, our day trip to Playa Blanca, on the southern tip of the island, and then a ferry crossing to our neighbouring island of Fuerteventura.

How did we do them? For Playa Blanca, we boarded a public bus and alighted at the venue, where we spent the day. One of the striking sights was the tall Saguaro Cactus near the beach. It stood alone, but it was enough to remind me of Papago Gardens in Phoenix, Arizona, which I visited in 1995. Looking out to sea, the northern coast of Fuerteventura was clearly seen, and the resort of Corralejo was just visible, just over 10 km or six miles across the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

On another day, we boarded a small ferry at the port of Puerto de Carmen for a sailing to Corralejo on Fuerteventura. The weather wasn't on our side. It started to rain on Lanzarote, the only wet day we experienced (it was January after all). The sailing was moderately smooth, but we considered ourselves fortunate, and during the sailing, the rain stopped, and the sky began to let the sunshine through. However, not long after we arrived at our neighbouring island, a gale-force wind picked up. This made the Atlantic very choppy, which did not bode well for the return sailing to Puerto de Carmen.

One of the features of Corralejo was the street layout and residential area, having a startling likeness to California. To see this, we walked a little way inland to escape the blast of the gale-force winds, which were whipping up the grains of sand from the beach and onto our faces. During the windy spell, Alex wore a makeshift mask. Yet, I was amazed at the unexpected Californian scenery.

This is why I'm considering making Lanzarote the final venue of this Extravaganza. I saw Lanzarote as the terminus station of all my travel experiences. For example, the backstreets of Corralejo resembled the layout of a Californian residential estate, the Saguaro Cactus reminded me of Arizona, and Playa Chica of both Eilat in Israel and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The basaltic lava reminded me of Mt Etna, which I visited in 1982. The architecture of Avenue Gran Playa reminds me of my visit to Tijuana, Mexico, in 1995, and the castle of Areciffe is a reminder of both the medieval side of Rome, Rhodes and Jerusalem.

However, although I'm considering finishing this collection of photos, our 2011 single-venue package to the Greek island of Kos contains ruins of ancient Greece, photos of the Asklepion, as well as beautiful scenes. But I have not included this vacation in my main Biography, as I don't consider this to be backpacking. Yet, I might consider posting them if I am encouraged to do so. Therefore, I leave next week open to your opinion. Just one response would make a difference.

Thus, if you're able to, do comment in the forum space below. Should I post our pics of the island of Kos? To any of my readers connected to me on Facebook, you can use the comments section under the link.

Photos of Lanzarote, of Playa Blanca and Corralejo, Fuerteventura.

Resting after the snorkelling at Playa Chica 

I finally dried and dressed.

We spent a couple of hours in Areciffe.

Areciffe Castle guards the island's capital.

At one of the castle's cannons.

The castle door.

The Drawbridge.

General view of the castle.

We took a bus to Playa Blanca (White Beach).

On the Playa Blanca esplanade.

Originally, these pics weren't meant for posting here.

Looking across the bay at Playa Blanca.

Looking across 10k of water towards Corralejo.

Saguaro cactus at Playa Blanca.

A close-up of the same cactus.

Alex loved tall ships.

The tall ship at Playa Blanca.

Beautiful architecture near the port.

A reminder of Arizona

The Totem Pole cactus looks out to the sea.

We leave Puerto de Carmen for Fuerteventura

Our ferry leaves a wake in the Atlantic Ocean.

On the approach to our neighbouring island.

The way we were dressed shows that it wasn't that warm.

Meanwhile, we leave Lanzarote far behind.

We pass Isla le Lobos, an isolated volcanic cone.

We arrive at the port of Corralejo.

Dry land at last! Corralejo, Fuerteventura.

The resort of Corralejo is just behind me.

Beach view of the town.

Cacti thrive here, too.

Behind Alex is Isla de Lobos.

The wind picks up as we walk along the coast.

Sand dune vegetation, like that in the UK.

Spanish architecture resembles Californian.

The street layout resembles suburban California.

We begin to make our way back to the harbour.

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Next Week, the Greek island of Kos, or finish travel altogether? You decide by Thursday, 22nd January.