Wikipedia states, "The Rest of the Story was a Monday-through-Friday radio program originally hosted by Paul Harvey. Beginning as a part of his newscasts during the Second World War and then premiering as its own series on the ABC Radio Networks on May 10, 1976, The Rest of the Story consisted of stories presented as little-known or forgotten facts on a variety of subjects with some key element of the story (usually the name of some well-known person) held back until the end."

Well, I titled this section "....the rest of the story",  because it is, well .....the rest of the story that you might not have ever been told, maybe only parts of it, or maybe given a contradictory message altogether. There is more effort being expended in keeping this message out of the hearts and minds of people all over the world because it is a life giving/life changing message that threatens the intentions of the enemy (more on that later). My goal is not to make enemies here, but glorify God and proclaim His truth. You have not come to this page by accident, so please keep reading!

I believe in God, that He created the heavens, Earth, mankind and everything else and that He did so for His good pleasure, according to Genesis 1 and 2, Psalms 24:1, and Colossians 1:16-17. I believe in the literal devil - the enemy mentioned above, called Satan, Lucifer, and a host of other names throughout the Bible, who was also created by God (as an angel), but decided he wanted to abandon his created role, and himself, be "like the most high God" according to Isaiah 14:12-20, instead of glorifying God the creator. Ezekiel 28:12-19 gives us a glimpse into Satan and what will become of him very soon! Since his fall, Satan has been busy corrupting virtually everything created by God. Simply put, anything not in its God created state or role, is corrupted or tainted. After God created light, Heaven, The Earth and The Seas, The Sun, Moon and stars, vegetation, animals (of the sea, air and land respectively), and finally, man, God observed one common thing in His creations. Genesis 1, verses 4, 10, 12, 18, 21 and 25 all say, "...and God saw that it was good". According to Genesis 1:31, God then looked over all that He created (including man) and behold, "it was very good". That which God said is good, is what Satan desires to corrupt, as he is able, and make it bad. Let me hasten to say here, God and Satan are not two super powers fighting against each other, one representing good and the other bad. Satan himself would want us to believe that and that he stands a chance to win the "battle". God is omnipotent (all powerful) and sovereign (possessing supreme or ultimate power) and those attributes will never change. Satan at his worst, can only do what Sovereign God allows him to do. Satan "lost" back when he decided he wanted to be like God and his destiny and fate were sealed at that point. The only thing he will win is a free trip to....you know where (Hell, if you did not know!). Interesting point is that Hell was created for the devil and his angels, not for mankind according to Matthew 25:41. Man has a choice as we will see.

God created mankind with a free will, intellect and emotion, to love, honor, obey, worship and respect Him. Of all of God's creations, we are the only species that has a free will, intellect and emotion and can do those things pleasing unto God, or elect to do the contrary. By contrast, other animals, including mammals, follow instinct and do not make conscious decisions like humans.

The first man, Adam, first appears in Genesis 1, Verses 26-28, and in Genesis 2 we see Adam being instructed by God on what his duties were and what he could and could not eat in The Garden of Eden. He was free to eat of any of the trees in the garden, except of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; one of the two trees in the midst of The Garden of Eden, the tree of life being the other tree. In Genesis 3, we are introduced to Eve, (the first woman created, Genesis 2, Verses 18-23 and named  "Eve" by Adam, Genesis 3:20), and we see Satan having a conversation with her related to what God told Adam that he/they could/could not eat. Eve was not present at the time God gave Adam the instruction, she was yet to be created. Some do speculate Adam was present when Satan conversed with Eve. Satan starts by asking (I am paraphrasing), "Did God really say not to eat from any tree in the garden?" Eve's reply adds a twist to what God really said, as she stated, "God said don't eat or touch the tree in the midst of the garden, because you will die". Satan replied, "You will not surely die...for God knows when you eat of the tree that your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil". Eve ate some of the fruit, then gave some to Adam, he ate it, their eyes were opened, and they realized they were naked. This is the point when sin entered the Human Race. Sin, simply put, means to "miss the mark". If you imagine an Archer or Marksman aiming their respective weapon towards a Bulls-eye. With care and skill, they shoot, but miss the center of the target. They "missed the mark". God set the mark and communicated this to Adam in telling him not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and Adam fell short of the mark by partaking of that very fruit. Some want to think it was an Apple. What the fruit was does not matter. It could have been an Apple, Orange, Fig or any other fruit. God said not to eat it, but Adam did anyways, and therein was the disobedience. You might say, "well Eve ate it first". That is true, but God gave the command directly to Adam, not Eve. Consequently, Adam was the first person God called upon to give an account related to this sin. 

Well, God who was, is and will forever be rich in mercy and love for his prized creation, had a plan of redemption for mankind since the beginning, knowing mankind would need deliverance from the curse of sin, commencing with our father, Adam. Remember, God told Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and if he did, death would be the consequence. Death has 2 meanings: cessation of life and separation from God. In this case, Adam did not drop dead immediately upon eating the fruit (actually Genesis 5, Verse 5 says that Adam lived 930 years, but would have had an endless life had he not sinned), but there began a separation between God and man. Man had lost his innocence and both Adam and Eve realized they were naked after eating the fruit, so God sowed them garments to cover themselves. The first part of Romans 6:23 states, "The wages of sin is death..." and Adam was duly warned. 

Lust is an attraction towards something (could be a person, sex, fame, money, food/drink, drugs, power, etc.) that is triggered by one or more of our 5 senses: sight, hearing, smelling, tasting and/or feeling. Lust if not put in check, can lead to Sin. Sin always leads to Death. James put it like this in James Chapter 1, Verses 13 - 15. I did make some changes for clarity.

"13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 

14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire (also known a LUST) and enticed. 

15 Then, after desire (LUST) has conceived, it gives birth to SIN; and SIN, when it is full-grown, gives birth to DEATH."    NIV

Lust - Sin - Death: This is called the "LSD of the Bible". This LSD is not to be confused with the 60's era psychedelic drug:

Wikipedia states:

"Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known as acid, is a psychedelic drug known for its psychological effects, which may include altered awareness of one's surroundings, perceptions, and feelings as well as sensations and images that seem real though they are not"

...but like the 60's era drug - LSD, which plays tricks on the mind/senses, lust also plays on the psyche/mind/senses, deceiving and making things appear different than what they are in reality (hallucinate), which again often leads to Sin, which always leads to Death. Satan has been so successful in this that he has never had to change this tactic. He unsuccessfully tried to tempt Jesus to sin in Chapter 4 of both Matthew's and Luke's Gospels, with lust being one of his tactics. Jesus had a stronger desire to do the will of The Father, and that desire overshadowed any possibility of him yielding to Satan's temptations. Hebrews 4:15, speaking of Jesus Christ, puts it plainly like this:

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin."     NIV

Being tempted is not sin, but yielding to temptation is. Had Jesus yielded to Satan's temptations and devices, it would have been over for mankind, and any hope of redemption would have been lost. Jesus was and still is mankind's only redemption from the curse of sin....death.

The second part of Romans 6, Verse 23 goes on to read, "...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord". So, though we all deserve the sentence of death because we have all sinned, are sinning and/or will sin, (with one exception, the one whom was sent to save us from our sins, that is Jesus, never sinned), God sent forth a Savior to redeem mankind from the curse of sin. Remember, God set the mark and sin is just missing that mark established by God. Because He is God, He pretty much can put the mark wherever He chooses, but one thing He never does, and that is violate His word. God said in the Law or Commandments, don't steal or kill, and you might say, "I never stole from or killed anyone", but then the Commandments are summed up in this, "You shall love the Lord with all your strength, soul and mind and you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37-40, Mark 12:30-31, and Luke 10:27). God created us so that he could love us and that we would love him in return. How many of us really love Him above all, including ourselves and/or other people, places or things? To how many of us is The Lord God our master passion, and all we think or do is centered on whether it is pleasing to Him? He said we are not to have any other gods before Him, or in other words, nothing is to be a wedge or barrier between you or I, and God. How many of us can say that is the case with our relationship with God the Creator of the Universe and all we do and think is that which will please him? Jesus did, to the point of even suffering and dying for us, His own creation. Yes, that is something else I believe, Jesus is God, manifested in the flesh as indicated throughout the Bible in places like Zechariah 12, Verse 10, John 1, Verses 1-4 and 14-18, and Colossians 1, Verses 15 and 16. Don't stumble over this truth. It does not make mathematical sense, but it does make God sense, which is far greater than man's math.

Romans 5, Verses 8-19, sheds light on God's plan to deliver mankind from the power sin has on all of us.  Adam's and Jesus' names were added in parenthesis below for clarity.

"8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since we have now been justified by his (Jesus') blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 

10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.

14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come (Jesus).

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man (Adam), how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 

16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s (Adam's) sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 

17 For if, by the trespass of the one man (Adam), death reigned through that one man (Adam), how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 

19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man (Adam) the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man (Jesus) the many will be made righteous.

...and 1st Corinthians 15, Verses 20 - 26 also speak on God's plan for redeeming mankind from the curse of sin (death), but also lets us know that in the end, death shall be destroyed. Also note, death is an enemy of Jesus Christ, as is its cause.....sin. In verse 21, Jesus' and Adam's names were added in parenthesis again for clarity.

 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 

21 For since death came through a man (Adam), the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man (Jesus). 

22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 

23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when He (Jesus) comes, those who belong to Him (Jesus).

24 Then the end will come, when He (Jesus) hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He (Jesus) has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 

25 For He (Jesus) must reign until He has put all his enemies under His feet. 

26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Jesus said, speaking of himself in Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 20, Verse 28,

"...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus came to set man free from curse of sin....death. Our old nature, which we inherited from our father Adam, is subject to sin. It is tainted, therefore, we need a new nature with a renewed heart. As Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3, 3 “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again". President Jimmy Carter is in our history books using the phrase, "born again", but Jesus said it over 2,000 years earlier!  There is an old saying which goes:

"A man born once will die twice, but the man born twice will only die once".

God has made the conversion from the old to the new nature so simple, even providing the most important part, the sacrifice. All we have to do is believe in the work Jesus already did on the cross at Calvary for our sins. The sacrifice he paid was sufficient for not only our sins, but the sins of the whole world, those past, those present and those yet to come. Jesus was the propitiation or substitute for our sins.  This is not a license to continue in sin, but to live free and eternally.

If you have never done so, ask God to forgive you of the sins in your past and accept His Son Jesus as your savior.

Or maybe at some point, you accepted Jesus into your life, but have since taken on a different path. It is not too late to turn back to the Savior. He still loves you and God has more than enough love, mercy and grace to allow you back.

Once you have made the decision to have Jesus as your savior and desire to have God's will done in your life, you will need help with your walk. That is where prayer (man's communication with God), the study of His word (God communicating with man), and fellowship with other believers come into play. Find a solid place to land where you can be fed a healthy dose of His word from someone who not only knows and can effectively communicate God's word, but lives it, where the fellow believers are spiritually healthy, also living according to God's word, and where you can become a viable part of that fellowship, being used to glorify God. If you need help finding such a body, ask God! He will not disappoint as this is what He desires for His children.

We have covered a lot of information within a small window of opportunity. If it has and/or will lead to one person accepting Jesus as savior, it has been more than worth it.

If you have made a decision to ask Jesus into/back into your heart and life, please drop me a note. I would love to rejoice with you and also pray for you for strength, guidance and encouragement.

Stay blessed and stay on His road.

Ron L.

Ron L.