About the Webmaster John

I’ve always believed in God and Jesus and in dutifully going to church every Sunday. Once a long time ago a co-worker named Sonny asked me if I was a believer and if I was going to heaven. He challenged my personal beliefs by sharing some Bible verses he knew. I was not about to be outdone so I went right out and bought a Bible of my own the next day! That was the beginning of my journey in the Word of God and then I purchased a Strong’s Concordance for the Hebrew/Greek dictionaries.

I began testing the beliefs I had been taught to see if the Bible supported them. After three years of reading and studying on my own the Lord sent me some help. He brought three people into my life who forced me to decide what I genuinely believed about God, His Son, and the Word of God. There was a nun named Margret, an ex-Pentecostal preacher named Jack and the man who turned out to be my father in the Gospel, Bob. They shared their beliefs with me that I then studied out. I am thankful to each of them for kindling a fire that eventually led me to a real relationship with my Lord and His Word.

It did not take long before I realized that Bob, the author of this blog, was a true student of the Word who dared to ask the question. “Why do we believe this and does the Word confirm it?”  He taught me to look at the Word of God without the colored glasses of religious dogma and tradition to see what it actually SAYS. He gave me the courage to trust in the Word instead of the crowd. I think I know a little how the Apostle Paul must have felt when he finally began to see things clearly for the first time.

I am involved with this blog in the hope it will provoke you to dig into the scriptures and find answers to your own questions. The ones I struggled to answer were:

  1. Why did the God of the Old Testament always drive home the point so emphatically that HE IS ONE, and never tipped His hand that two other “persons” with Him made THREE?
  2. What did the Apostles believe regarding the Godhead since modern Jews have no doubt the Trinity is a form of polytheism? Did the Apostles think the same way?
  3. How can a single being have two natures?
  4. Did God give the councils of the 4th century new revelations, or was man behind it?

As I studied the councils and the violence that resulted, these two scriptures haunted me:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?”  (Matthew 7:15-16 NKJV)

“For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:18 NKJV)

I hope our blog really blesses you! Please consider the simplicity of what God has placed in His Word and don’t be afraid to examine your own beliefs. My prayer is that you might gain a clearer vision of the great “I AM” we worship as God, and of His Son Jesus Christ.  Have fun with this blog and thanks for reading my story!

About the Author – Bob Shutes

The Best Conversations I Ever Had About God

I grew up in the days when parents were not afraid to let their children roam a little so we had the freedom to explore and camp out in the fields and woodlots around us. We told scary stories late at night and cooked over campfires and sometimes we talked about God. We wondered about about eternity and infinity and the mystery of the the night sky and about God Himself. I think they were the best conversations I ever had about God.

Children Ask Good Questions

We often camped out in fields of clover under a starry Michigan sky and we asked good questions! Questions like how did God Himself get started? What is beyond infinity and what was before eternity?  We stretched our minds as only children can and the night sky above us was our classroom. We realized that the mystery of it all was just too big for us to grasp. I’m much older now but I can still smell the sweetness of that clover field and remember the sense of wonder we breathed in.

Negotiating With God

I recall another starry night too. It was on Lake Huron and I was a teenager standing alone on the bowsprit of a old wooden sailboat sailing north in the middle of the night. The mystery and glory of the night sky was so beyond words that I started negotiating with God! “Lord! You walked on water once and showed yourself to your disciples so how about doing that again right now? I promise I won’t tell anyone, it’ll just be between me and you!” ( I thought there was at least a chance He might show Himself to me!) Well I gave it everything I had and tried to cajole Him into appearing, but it didn’t work.

Finally… A Vision of God That Satisfies the Heart

I’m thankful that many years later God finally answered my prayer and opened my eyes enough so that I could begin to know Him and see Him more clearly. If you are reading this I have a hunch you are also someone who is drawn to knowing and seeing God more clearly. My prayer for you is that God will grant you an understanding of the Mystery of God that satisfies your heart and your mind too. Thanks for bearing with my ramblings. I’m glad you came to visit our blog and hope you’ll come again.

Bob