August 2014

ACH Study Groups

Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders

7659 Gingerblossom Drive

Citrus Heights, CA 95621

916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com

www.ACHStudyGroups.com

August 26, 2014

This is a letter to our friends –

Tree Rings

“Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts will be established.” [ Proverbs 16:3]

Lately, as I pray about these blog posts, “tree rings” pops into my thoughts. Some folks have a hard time with the biblical account of the beginning. Moses lived some 1500 years after Adam & Eve. Moses wrote the book of Genesis. How did he know so much about the Garden of Eden?

The Bible says Adam lived 930 years. That overlapped with Methuselah some 243 years. Do you suppose Adam shared stories around the campfire with Methuselah?

Methuselah lived 969 years and overlapped with Noah’s son, Shem, some 98 years. Shem (600 years) overlapped with Abraham’s boy, Isaac, 50 years. Isaac overlapped Amram for 53 years. Amram passed the stories on to Moses for 58 years.

So that is just 5 generations with big overlaps between Adam and Moses. Not to mention the many other opportunities to pass on information.

But how about rocks that appear to be millions of years old? And the light rays from the stars that have traveled eons to reach us? The Bible account of human history since Adam in only around 6000 years.

That brings up “tree rings”. The Bible account of creation spans only 6 days. When Eve saw the trees in the garden, how old did they appear? They were bearing fruit and were strong enough to carry the weight. Had Adam used a chain saw and cut the trunk of a tree it would have had tree rings. Tree rings show the age of the tree. BUT – The tree was less than 6 days old!

Conclusion – Things were created with the image of age. Star light waves were created when the star was created. This brings to mind – HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD?”

ACH Study Groups

Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders

7659 Gingerblossom Drive

Citrus Heights, CA 95621

916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com

www.ACHStudyGroups.com

August 23, 2014

This is a letter to our friends –

Introducing God

A true story — He was a wilderness shepherd drawn aside by a burning bush that was not being consumed. A voice from the flames was sending Moses to introduce Him to a community that did not know Him.

Moses asked, “How do I do that?” The voice answered, “I AM”.

As I think about that, “I AM” translates to the hearer as, “GOD IS”.

In order to introduce the uncreated, creator of everything that was created, one must first establish that – God Is.

The Bible says, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” [Psalm 14] Men appear to me to have been making “fools” of themselves for well over 6,000 years.

Those who would debate the issue must begin with the false presupposition (i.e. false belief) that there is another source for what is. If we accept a false presupposition and permit the debate to continue, we build upon sand. The imaginations and speculations run wild!

On the other hand, challenge the false presupposition that there is no creator God. “What evidence do you have that there is no God?” All the evidence they may produce is unfounded.

“Well,” they reply, “Where is your evidence that there is a God?”

The product demands a producer – Consider a Gibson guitar – Does it exist? If so, could it reasonably have been assembled by random events? That is unreasonable. The existence of the guitar demands that there be a Gibson guitar producer.

The product reveals attributes of the producer — By studying the Gibson guitar, we discover that the producer was interested in quality, detail, utility, beauty, music, …, … .

Reason is a gift given to each man (generic) – The universe (macro and micro) exists. I (each man) exist physically. I (each man) exist extra-physically (i.e. mind, will, intellect, emotions, etc,). The universe & I are “products”.

What can I (each men) discover about the Producer by studying the “product”? — He is very big else very fast! He is infinitely powerful and creative. His intelligent design is extraordinary. Yet, He is concerned and compassionate, in that there is a wholesome means of fulfillment for my every need. Nothing He creates is without a set of rules (laws) to govern it.

Lyrics to an old song

The angel asked,

“Lord, what will you do to cause men’s turning?”

The Lord replied,

“Any old bush will do as long as it’s burning!”

ACH Study Groups

Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders

7659 Gingerblossom Drive

Citrus Heights, CA 95621

916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com

www.ACHStudyGroups.com

August 2, 2014

This is a letter to our friends –

Answers & Gratitude

Are you still writing your blog posts? How is your health? What is going on?

Cards, e-mails, phone calls and prayers have poured in. I have been overwhelmed with love and tender care. This is the first day I have been able to compose an answer. My goal – Give answers and express truly humbling and heart-felt gratitude. God is good!

On July 8th, I had surgery to repair an aortic aneurism. The aorta is the big artery that carries fresh blood from the heart to the groin, where it forms a “Y” and delivers fresh blood to both legs. An aneurism is like a “mouse” that forms on the wall of the aorta. If it balloons and pops, it is usually fatal. There are no symptoms.

Five years ago, by accident, we discovered an aortic aneurism just “north” of the “Y”. Each year we monitored it for growth. This year it grew. The procedure is to place a “Y” shaped “stent” into the artery to relieve the pressure. Not an uncommon procedure, but major surgery.

Four nights in the hospital and a week at home was better each day. Then the recovery direction seemed to reverse. I was weaker each day. Back pain kept me awake. My appetite decreased with my stamina.

Blood tests confirmed I am anemic. Normally that is caused by internal bleeding – yet – CT scans and other tests failed to show the source. Yesterday I added iron capsules to help rebuild the blood (and thus – stamina). We will monitor tests next Monday and following.

That is the physical report. Yesterday, my dear friend, pastor Mark Dahlin (Living Hope Church), came by and used some olive oil from Jerusalem to anoint and pray for me. Fran and I sensed a spiritual breakthrough. Today I am much better than yesterday. I have not been able to compose text before today.

Enough about me – During these “valley times” I have had hours to listen and pray. I am looking forward to sharing what the Lord has given me to post in this blog as strength returns.

Our “Prime Timers 50+” Sunday school class roster has been added to my blog list for just this one time. I think of these dear friends as extended family. If any wish to be added to the blog list, please e-mail me and ask-on.

For now – Continued prayer is appreciated.