A Bike Ride Out of Atheism

Back in the mid-’70s, I was an evolutionist bicycle rider. I was fulfilling a dream trip by riding cross-country from LA back to Nashville. As I rode along in the open deserts of Arizona, I had plenty of time to think and observe the beautiful scenery.

One day, as I peddled across the high desert towards Flagstaff from the Grand Canyon, I could feel the strength in my legs and my circulatory system working in harmony with all parts of my being. I felt strong and happy. My eyes could see the far-off snow-capped mountains outside Flagstaff (San Francisco Peaks). The blue sky was incredible, and the feel of the cool high desert air on my skin and in my lungs led me to ponder the complexity of life. I began to extrapolate my thoughts.

I reasoned that if I had never seen a clock before but studied it, I would discover a few things. This study would take a while, but initially, I would see that the hands of the clock corresponded to the daily cycle of the sun.

I would discover quickly that the parts of the clock were precise…working together to move the hands exactly to measure time. Ah! Here is its purpose. All that I learned would tell me there must be a CLOCKMAKER. I didn’t know who or where he lived, but I knew he was out there somewhere. I had never met him, but somebody probably had. So, if I wanted to know more, I would (theoretically) start some research and learn as much as possible about the CLOCKMAKER. While the clock and its workings are interesting, it is the punctilious CLOCKMAKER, the originator of this instrument, that is more fascinating.

My extrapolated thought process continued. Our bodies, how we were born, how we are sustained and have the ability to pro-create is far more complicated than a simple clock. I reasoned, there must be a punctilious PERSON MAKER! When I came to that conclusion, I said the first meaningful prayer in my life, “God, if you are out there, please reveal yourself to me.” Well, He did in a way I had not anticipated. The prayer was forgotten as my trip progressed. It was not until many months later that I remembered it.

When I returned from my trip, Julie (the mother of our children-may, she rest in peace) was attending evangelistic-type Bible studies. She seemed different. Calmer. I made fun of her so much that she finally threw a dare at me. She said,

“take my notes and prove me wrong.”

This appealed to my scientific, history-loving, college-educated mind, so I took her up on it. She was crafty to draw me in like that. I knew what she was up to, but I believed I could easily find the errors in the Bible and discount Jesus and the whole world of religion in a few sentences. After all, I was educated. She only had a high-school diploma. But, I would learn that wisdom doesn’t require a Ph.D. behind your name.

To make a long story short, I studied Jesus and the entire Bible for months like I would study a book about the CLOCKMAKER I had never seen. In the early and mid-70s, there was not the madness of the internet, so I researched the church’s history and the Bible’s prophecies at the downtown library in Nashville. Wow! What a journey. My research revealed I knew very little about the Bible, Jesus, and the journey of the Jews.

My conclusions?

Jesus was all He, the prophets, and his disciples claimed Him to be!

Author

Jesus was the prophetic Messiah on a mission to save the world from eternal death and offer us eternal life. He is also part of the Godhead and is, therefore, our Creator God (See John Chapter 1: 1-14. Colossians 1: 15-18, Hebrews 1: 1-2).

I would not have known if I had kicked the clock away with no interest in how it worked. What I learned changed my life and direction eternally, as it has millions of others. I discovered there is a spiritual side to us and not just physical. Jesus said,

The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

John 6:63

Needless to say, Julie was happy and amazed at my transformation as I was amazed at her change! In my efforts to prove her wrong, I found her God!

My point is this…the physical world we see had a beginning and a Creator. None of us were there. While we can’t see the Creator (like I couldn’t see the clockmaker), God put within us all His Spirit to tap into and give us the desire to know Him. Yes, we can know the great Creator.

“…let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:24

We can know about Him through the prophets. creation, and Jesus in the Bible. Even without the Bible, creation is the evidence of His design that gives us faith in Him. In fact, the Bible’s definition of faith is based on evidence and substance:

“Now faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen.”

Hebrews 11:1.

We can have reasons to believe. It doesn’t have to be blind.

The Bible, written by over 40 different authors with the same God experience, is deeper and more accurate than INTERPRETIVE science because there is a God bigger than His creation. Not in size but in complexity. The inspired writers (2 Peter 1:21) moved by God’s Spirit, point our eyes to the heavens to see the power of the unseen Creator.

“For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been CLEARLY SEEN, being understood from what has been made, so that people are WITHOUT EXCUSE.

Romans 1:20

(It would have been silly for me not to believe there was a clock-maker because the evidence was right there in front of me. The same thought holds true for God-the, Creator.)

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

Psalm 19:1

(We can learn about God in His creation which is the work of His hands)

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

Psalm 8:3-4

Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
 For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast. Psalm 33: 8-9

(We are so small when we look at the universe. It is because we are created. He is the Creator.)

How foolish can you be?
  He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay!
Should the created thing say of the one who made it,
  “He didn’t make me”?
Does a jar ever say,
 “The potter who made me is stupid”? Isiah 29: 16 NLT

One last point. As Moses writes in Genesis, God did all this in 6 literal days (evenings and mornings). This is outside the realm of science and their calculations based on things as they know them and their assumption that …

…all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”

2 Peter 3:4

Creation from nothing is only possible from an eternal Creator. Our week of 7 days testifies to creation week. Why not a 10-day or 5-day week?

If you are having trouble with belief, I recommend you get to know the CLOCKMAKER.

At a certain point in my studies and discovery, I prayed the second meaningful prayer in my life:

“Lord, I don’t know what you will do with me. I have made so many mistakes and sinned so much. Would you forgive me? Please put me to work. I don’t want to be a pew warmer.”

He answered this prayer immediately.

I was baptized and began a journey of ministry. What a ride it has been! Julie was very happy. But the enemy of souls does not give up easily, nor does the flesh.

These last 48 years have been a battle, but God is faithful never to leave me nor forsake me despite the war raging around me. Battles have been won and some lost, but I am thankful for the strength of the CLOCKMAKER …” because the one who is in (me) is greater than the one who is in the world.; 1 John 4: 4

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being, I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.  What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7: 21-25

If you are having trouble with belief, I recommend you get to know the CLOCKMAKER.