American Loon

All Glory to God the Father and to our Savior Jesus Christ

From Westminster Shorter Catechism, questions 43 to 46:

Q43. What is the preface to the Ten Commandments?
A43. The preface to the Ten Commandments is in these words, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house OF SLAVERY.” 

Q44. What doth the preface to the Ten Commandments teach us?
A44. The preface to the Ten Commandments teacheth us, That because God is The Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all His commandments. 

Q45: Which is the First Commandment?
A45: The First Commandment is, “thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” 

Q46: What is required in the First Commandment?
A46: The First Commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be only true God, and our God; and to worship and glorify Him accordingly. 

Today we will diverge from our study of John 1 and spend a bit of time in Luke 10. Our Lord Christ is being tested by a lawyer, who had sat there with Christ and listened to the report of the 70 that had been sent out.

Luke 10:1
Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.

And if you apply any of the curiosity that the Good Lord has blessed you with you would naturally wonder what “after this” means. Luke has been a favorite of mine and chapter 9 of his epistle is jammed packed with the works of our Lord. A few of the highlights were His sending the 12 out and them coming back amazed that even the demons obey them through Christ’s name. Meaning that they knew it was not their power but Christ’s. 

And then there was the feeding of 5000 and the Transfiguration and on and on. I will let you read chapter 9 in detail on your own. 

So the Lord had sent these 70 out to proclaim the good news and do what the 12 did. 

Luke 10:2-12
And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. 8 Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.

We’ve all heard this story, head knowledge, but we need to apply it to our heart. The harvest is plenty but the laborers are few. Do you consider yourself to be a laborer for the Lord? That’s a valid question for you to ask yourself. And if you don’t consider yourself to be laborer for the Lord, why not? I mean what are you doing with your time? You might think “Oh, I’m too old or I’m disabled or I don’t know what to say,” the list of excuses are endless really. If you are not serving the Lord, if you are content to let Pastors do all the heavy lifting while you sit comfortably in your pew, then you are serving the prince of this world, satan. That’s how Jesus views things. You either obey God, serve him with your obedience and doing His will and by that be blessed, or you serve man, by being passive, sitting there in your pew and letting others do the work of the spirit. Not changing how you go about your day to day life, even when you know what God wants from you. And by serving man, by not participating, you are serving satan. The bible was written by God so that we might know Him and His will, how to live. 

These 70 were commissioned by Christ to do his will and they did. They went out as lambs, in the midst of wolves, going to houses of men who were obeying God and let these boys stay and fed them. And Peace was blessed upon that house. There were instructions also on how to deal with those not obeying God. As Christians, we are told to not consort with unsavory types:

1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Proverbs 13:20
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

1 Corinthians 5:11
But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.

He told them to shake the dust off their feet when encountering such a place or people, in disobedience to God. It comes down to this passage:

Luke 10:16 “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

The 70 came back with good news:

Luke 10:17-20
The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

When God sends you out, He sends you out with the tools to get the job done. This is why your excuse that you can’t, for whatever reason, is not true. Jesus sent a helper to the apostles and that helper is indwelling you, if you are truly a believer. The Holy Spirit will give you the courage and the words to say.(Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.) I am not saying you will have the courage of a lion, just enough courage to do the job. Doubting this, is troubling. 

At hearing the report from the 70, Christ praised the Father:

Luke 10:21-22
21 At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 22 All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

I hope you noticed that Christ rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit. That very same Holy Spirit that you doubt when you say you can’t.

Luke 10:23
Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, 24 for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.”

Now we are at the point where a lawyer steps up and wants to test Christ. Who do you think he was serving?

Luke 10:25-29
And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” 29 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Who really is my neighbor? It is interesting to me and should be to you as to how God works things out for us. This is called Providence. I see Providence happening all the time. I had it happen last Sunday, or really last Tuesday when I created the graphic to the bulletin for the church. You see, I am the secretary in charge of making the bulletin and I research the bible and come up with some image that will fit with it. I chose John 15:16-17
16 You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. 17 This I command you, that you love one another.

I stuck that on the front page of the bulletin and thought no more about it. Sunday comes around and as we go to church, about a block from the church, we passed what I initially thought was a mannequin and pointed out to my wife, but as we drove, I reviewed it in my mind and found it probably was real because I also saw a sign that read “Anything will help.” It was 26 degrees at the time and my mind was burdened by this. I get in the building and my normal routine is to set up my iPad to start a Zoom session and get the video camera rolling. However, I made a beeline to my Brother in Law, Leighton, and asked him if he had seen the homeless guy on the road. Now I know Leighton well, he and God are why I am doing all this. This is called discipleship. And I know that Leighton would be concerned if I said there was a homeless guy a block from the church. Except he wasn’t. “Nope” he said “didn’t see him” and that was that. I am now really bothered, because of the homeless guy and Leighton’s response. I get everything set up and sit down by my wife. We discuss the homeless guy and then look up and around and notice that Pastor Aaron is not around. He should be very evident at this time. I asked my wife if she had seen him. No, she had not. I asked her what the bible verse for the sermon today is. Luke 10:25-37. I opened my bible and started to read and stopped. 

God has blessed me with an active and curious mind. One that can see patterns and sometimes put 2 and 2 together. I looked up and told my wife the homeless guy is Aaron. Then I got up and found Leighton and asked him if Aaron was the homeless guy. My Brother in Law got a brief moment of surprised panic in his eyes and nodded yes. My stomach dropped and what came out of my mouth was “I am convicted!” This was worse than a random homeless guy. I had just about been ready to get back in the car and convince the homeless guy to come back to the warm church. Just about, but not quite. Good intentions don’t count when doing the Lord’s work. I found out something else about myself. ALS will give you the shakes now and then, but it breaks the knob off at the 11 mark when under stress. I confess to being a tad stressed while wobbling back to my seat. I picked up the bulletin and looked at the bible verse on the front page, the one I put there. “This I command you, that you love one another.” This is where Providence left its mark. I was convicted, I did not do what my Lord had commanded me. And it hurt, bad. I spent the rest of the service shaking and repenting. It made for a good combination of contrition.

Pastor Aaron had been calling for testimonies from the congregation for the last month. So of course the homeless man had made it to the church and of course the homeless man slowly walked up and gave his testimony. And it was a killer one too. And then said homeless man took off his long wig and became our strong Shepard again and told of the Good Samaritan story.

Luke 10:30-37
30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

Go and do the same, and I did not. My wife reminded me that we are forgiven, and I said yes, I know, but that does not make it any easier that I have failed my Lord, for I knew what I should have done.

While we are forgiven, we are still sinners and as such, our Father expects us to repent our sins and learn from them. 

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Matthew 6:14
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,

Disappointing our Lord should be painful and was. Accept the conviction, repent and forsake the sin, and learn the lesson so that you may not sin like that again. We have a merciful and forgiving Lord. That is the best part of this lesson.

My Mother in Law who was also at church, asked me on her way out the door “Was it you that gave him (homeless guy) your coat?”. No I said, but it should have been.

All Glory to God the Father and to our Savior Jesus Christ

From Westminster Shorter Catechism, questions 39 to 42:

Q39. What is the duty which God requireth of man?
A39. The duty which God requireth of man is obedience to His revealed will.

Q40. What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience?
A40. The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the Moral Law.

Q41. Where is the Moral Law summarily comprehended?
A41. The Moral Law is summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments.

Q42. What is the sum of the Ten Commandments?
A42. The sum of the Ten Commandments is, “to love the Lord our God” with all our heart, all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbor as ourselves.

Today we will go through John 1 verses 35 to 42. John the Baptist is just about to complete his task as defined by God and spoken by the prophets so long ago (Isaiah 40:3). This chapter is also where Jesus begins his ministry and starts to gather his disciples.

35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples,

36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
Charles Spurgeon, known as The Prince of Pastors and also known to be able to speak, without microphones (this was the late 1800’s) to large auditoriums and everybody could hear him. Here is a charming story that relates to verse 36. “Spurgeon once tested an auditorium in which he was to speak that evening. Stepping into the pulpit, Spurgeon loudly proclaimed, “Behold the lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.” Satisfied with the acoustics, he left and went his way. Unknown to him, there were two men working in the rafters of that large auditorium, neither one a Christian. One of the men was pricked in his conscience by the verse Spurgeon quoted and became a believer later that day!”

It is very interesting how God uses us in our everyday lives. Our job is not to deliver salvation, but to bring the True Word (John 17:17) to an unbelieving world. As believers, it should show, by our actions and our words. We have the ability, through the Grace of the Lord, to say or do something that will cause an unbeliever to wonder at where this example of faith or good works is coming from. You really need to think about this and how it relates to your life. John the Baptist understood his role as herald to the Lamb of God. His example, his life, was used by God to show people their sin and repent, for that is the first act of a believer. Repent and forsake your sin, and then pursue Christ like your life depends on it.

37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
The implication may be that they went after Jesus to examine Him more closely because of John’s testimony. These guys knew the scriptures and when they heard “Lamb of God”, that was good enough for them to follow this Jesus to see for themselves. They eventually dedicated their lives to Him as true disciples and apostles when Jesus called them to permanent service after these events. At this point in the narrative, John the Baptist fades from the scene and the attention focuses upon the ministry of Christ.

38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?”

The strongest and most prevailing argument with an awakened soul to follow Christ, is, that it is he only who takes away sin. Whatever communion there is between our souls and Christ, it is he who begins the discourse. He asked, What do you seek? The question Jesus put to them, we should all put to ourselves when we begin to follow Him, What do we design and desire?

39 He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

Come and see. They think of a visit later, it may be, on the following day. He bids them come at once. Then, as now, he was willing that they should come at once and enjoy the full opportunity which they desired of his conversation. Jesus is ever ready to admit those who seek him to his presence and favor.

40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

From MacLaren’s Expositions:
There are many ways by which souls are brought to their Saviour. Sometimes, like the merchantman seeking goodly pearls, men seek Him earnestly and find Him. Sometimes, by the intervention of another, the knowledge of Him is kindled in dark hearts. Sometimes He Himself takes the initiative, and finds those that seek Him not. We have illustrations of all these various ways in these simple records of the gathering in of the first disciples. Andrew and his friend, with whom we were occupied in our last sermon, looked for Christ and found Him. Peter, with whom we have to do now, was brought to Christ by his brother; and the third of the group, consisting of Philip, was sought by Christ while he was not thinking of Him, and found an unsought treasure; and then Philip again, like Andrew, finds a friend, and brings him to Christ.

41 He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ).

From Gill’s Exposition
He first findeth his own brother Simon,…. Either before the other disciple, or before he found any other person: after he and the other disciple departed from Christ, being affected with the grace bestowed upon him, and his heart warm with the conversation he had had with him, and transported with joy at finding the Messiah, goes in all haste in search of his relations, friends, and acquaintance, to communicate what he had seen and heard, in order to bring them to the knowledge of the same; for such is the nature of grace.

42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Cephas – This is a Syriac word, meaning the same as the Greek word Peter, a stone. The stone, or rock, is a symbol of firmness and steadiness of character – a trait in Peter’s character after the ascension of Jesus that was very remarkable. Before the death of Jesus he was rash, headlong, variable. Yet when Christ had ascended, Peter became what Christ had wanted in him:
Matthew 16:18
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Let the Grace of the Lord flow through you and take pleasure in the fruit of the spirit that has been your allotment. Your life truly does depend upon it.

All Glory to God the Father and to our Savior Jesus Christ

From Westminster Shorter Catechism, questions 35 to 38:

Q35: What is sanctification?
A35: Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.

Q36: What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?
A36: The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are, assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end. 

Q37: What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
A37: The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection. 

Q38: What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
A38: At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgement, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity. 

Last week’s bible study concerned John the Baptist’s declaration of he being unworthy to untie the sandal of the One who is coming. I also introduced you to the Bereans who were known to hear what was said and go search the scriptures to see if the word that was spoken was true. True in as much as scripture is concerned. Not the truth as we know it today; we are seeing displayed before our very eyes on whichever media you choose. People, sometimes church people declaring statements of this or that, obviously not true, but since they say it is “their truth”, we must accept it as such. The very thing the Judaizers did to those who Paul was teaching the True Word to. 

A Judaizer taught that, in order for a Christian to truly be right with God, he must conform to the Mosaic Law. Circumcision, especially, was promoted as necessary for salvation. Gentiles had to become Jewish proselytes first, and then they could come to Christ. The doctrine of the Judaizers was a mixture of grace (through Christ) and works (through the keeping of the Law). This false doctrine was dealt with in Acts 15 and strongly condemned in the book of Galatians.

We find this in our day as such. They say abortion is Women’s Healthcare and so vital that Planned Parenthood was allowed to remain open, but churches were closed due to COVID.

They say that Black Lives Matter, but when you add “all” to that statement, they become incensed that you have changed “their” truth and will condemn you and call you a racist.

Truly nothing is new under the sun and that is very true in this supposed postmodern world. Which really means a post truth world. So it is very important to be like the Bereans and search through the scriptures to find out what is really true. An interesting side note; Monday morning, when going through my usual reading of Grace Community Church’s devotionals, the first thing I encountered was mention of the Bereans. And I have had this happen many times. I will have something that I am compelled to research and then up it pops in these devotionals from John MacArthur’s church. Now, you may nod your head internally and say to yourself, “sure that happens to you, but that never happens to me.” And if this is the case, I would ask yourself why that is? Maybe you just consider it a coincidence. This would happen when you have drunk in the world to such an extent that you believe in this thing that was brought to us by satan. It is a cousin to luck. Also an invention of satan. Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. Or maybe you have eyes to see but cannot see the beauty of Providence. You need to pursue the scriptures to remove the scales from your eyes and notice the beauty of God working in your life. Obey God and you are blessed, disobey God and you are cursed. It’s a binary choice and a free one too.

So we will pursue John 1 verses 29 to 34. 

29 The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 

Let’s look at what John said. Where did his reference of “the Lamb of God” come from?: We know of the sacrificial lamb that was killed, and the blood sprinkled over the door in the time of Moses to save the firstborn of all the Hebrews when God destroyed the first born of Egypt.

We know that the lamb is the Passover animal sacrificed once a year in memory of that night when death passed over the Hebrew homes because of the blood of the lamb. This is saying then “This is your Passover sacrifice” speaking of Jesus. The blood of the animal could do nothing but cover the sin. 

The precious blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, does away with sin. In fact, not for just that occasion, but for all of eternity. “Taketh”, means to continually take away. It is so interesting how every little word is so important in Scripture.

John the Baptist used the expression “the Lamb of God” as a reference to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to atone for the sin of the world.  This “sin” spoken of is in the singular form. The use of the singular “sin” in conjunction with “of the world” indicates that Jesus’ sacrifice for sin potentially reaches all human beings without distinction. John makes clear however, that its efficacious effect is only for those who receive Christ.

Jesus took on sin on the cross, and sin (for the believer), died on the cross. Not just covered, but done away with. Animal’s or man’s blood could never do away with sin.

Hebrews 9:12 “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” The blood had to be pure from God, Himself.

30 This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ 

“John is saying this is the one I was talking about. That is the Messiah, He is greater than I am”.

31 I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.”

John knew that Jesus was a relative of his in the flesh, because John’s mother and Jesus’ mother were cousins. Although John was Jesus’ cousin, he did not know Jesus as the “Coming One” or “Messiah” (verse 33).

In the Spirit, John knew that Jesus was the promised Christ (the Messiah). Manifest means, in this instance, to render apparent (to be made visible). John’s job is to make the coming of Messiah apparent to His people, Israel.

To prepare them for meeting their Messiah, John is baptizing them, cleansing them from their sins. You cannot walk in the Light without confessing your sins. And where is that truth found?

I mostly use the NASB for bible reading and research, but this version of the text in New King James I think says it best: 

John 1: 7-10
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 

At the baptism that John is speaking of, a voice from heaven saying “This is my beloved Son” (Matthew 3:16-17). The thing John would have us see here is the Spirit remaining.

We can see here the Father (voice from heaven), Son of God (Word), and Holy Spirit (dove), present at the baptism of Jesus. They are all in agreement.

God had previously communicated to John that this sign was to indicate the promised Messiah, (verse 33), so when John witnessed this act, he was able to identify the Messiah as Jesus.

33 I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 

Note that Matthew chapter 3 tells a little more about this baptism of the Holy Spirit.

“But Jesus answering said to him “Permit it now; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” The “He” permitted Him.

Christ was here identifying Himself with sinners. He will ultimately bear their sins; His perfect righteousness will be imputed to them (2 Cor. 5:21). This act of baptism was a necessary part of the righteousness He secured for sinners. This first public event of His ministry is also rich in meaning.

1. It pictured His death and resurrection, Luke 12:50;
2. It therefore prefigured the significance of Christian baptism;
3. It marked His first public identification with those whose sins He would bear, Isaiah 53:1-12;
4. It was a public affirmation of His Messiahship by testimony directly from heaven.

The baptism of Jesus is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

34 I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

Not just because of the Holy Spirit descending, or the voice from heaven, but on all knowledge of Jesus and on what God had told him, John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Son of God.

Although, in a limited sense, believers can be called “sons of God ( Matt. 5:9; Rom. 8:14). John uses this phrase with the full force as a title that points to the unique oneness and intimacy that Jesus sustains to the Father as “Son.” The term carries the idea of the deity of Jesus as Messiah. 

That is our primary lesson of today. The last thing I will share with you is a carry over from my conversation with Delroy from last week. I said that I believe that God is at work with all believers’ lives. Those that God has given up to their sins I don’t know. And that is a mystery that none can know with certainty. We become two lumps of clay yammering of supposed inside knowledge of the Master Potter’s thinking. Anyway, this story, found by my wife on FaceBook is delightful and confirming:

My grandfather was Harry T. Shepard.  He was a trick rope and horse back rider in the Will Bill Cody “Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World Show” and known as “Handsome Harry.”  He was a horse riding, trick rope entertainer.  He had an accident and fell off of his horse one day and broke his leg.  He was recuperating in Lyndon, Kansas where he saw a picture of my grandmother in the window of the photo shop.  He said in his heart, “I am going to marry that girl.”  The town was having a box supper, where eligible girls secretly prepared a supper and put it in a box to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, the buyer not knowing who prepared each box.  Then each buyer got to have dinner with whoever prepared the box.  Grandpa bought my grandmother’s box, and the rest is history.  They married in April, 1917 and were happily married until my grandfather passed away in July, 1975, 58 years.  They were a wonderful Christian example for our family to follow.  Every single person in their lineage are Christians down to their great, great grandchildren.  There are no “accidents that just happen” and my grandfather didn’t  just fall off of that horse for “no reason”.  God had a plan and He made it happen just like He planned.  Praise God!

Isaiah 55:11

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

Go forth and do the Will of the Lord and love one another as He commanded us. Amen.