HAPPY YEAR JANUARY  2007 In this issue... Humility—a difficult task Previous Newsletters    (Archives)  Website Home Page  (Trailheads) * Contact  Hiking the Trail of Truth,  PO Box 1443, Crestline, CA, 92325-1443 Mark's Trail Phone # 707-477-2460, or e-mail   hikemark@hotmail.com Page 2 From The Editor... Hello, and Welcome to the January 2007 Newsletter!  We here at Hiking the Trail of Truth sincerely hope this day you have allowed the Spirit of God to be active within your heart, and that you are perhaps able to get out for a hike and consider many of the wonders He has made. We are uniquely drawn to these wonders because we were formed from the very dust of the earth, and, because of that relationship, we have the ability to develop the understanding that will allow us to discover our unique balance with nature. Come along with us this new year on a great adventure of learning... Knowing God is first seeing Him through the things He has made. Hiking the Trail of Truth is here to help you along in your journey of discovery and sharing. If you have been or are presently unable to get out this season for a physical hike, just visit our website's feature trail for this month; The Wilderness Trail. Your mental trek there can take you where you may be unable to journey physically. The eye-opening education, inspiration and lasting encouragement which you can find along the Wilderness Trail will be well worth your time... Just click on the Wilderness Trail link on the bottom of this newsletter, or click on that trailmarker on the left side of the website's Home page, or you can locate the marker on the website's Hiking Maps and Trailheads page as well.— We sincerely hope that you will hike all of our devotional and educational trails at the website this year. This would indeed be the wisest of new year decisions that you could make... Again, we are here to help you in any way we can and, as always, look forward to hearing from you. Hiking the Trail of Truth is currently the most truthfully informative Christian site on the web. Please, be our guest; explore and discover! WEBSITE NEWS: This month we celebrate a new year...a new beginning, a traditional time of new resolutions. Resolutions are important to the Christian. Do we not resolve everyday to walk more like Jesus?  I hope you are able to make and to keep some new resolutions this year. Here's a good one for you...resolve to learn more about how much you truly need to depend daily upon God. This needed dependance is a harsh reality in a world where we are influenced to not think about it.— This month's Letter from the Editor was written to help you in this regard. Our latest trail addition to the website is the Discovery Trail.  Along this trail, you can immediately add to your knowledge of truth through some most profound discoveries... The Discovery Trail is an eye-opening place for you to begin the adventure of exploring Hiking the Trail of Truth, a most informative and unique website. The most important way to begin your day is with a short reading from the Bible. Today is indeed a good time to begin that resolve. For this purpose, the Mountain and Valley Trail was built. There you will find daily Bible readings for the entire year, with accompanying photos, created especially for you. To locate this picture/Scripture calendar, simply click on the Mountain and Valley Trail. You will find a compass there that will lead you to the calendar of months, and you can then choose a month to begin your day-by-day readings. Your daily journey through life is sure to begin in the right direction!  After all, we live only one day at a time, right?— Why don't you then take opportunity this year and begin a one-year hike along the Mountain and Valley Trail. You will not be disappointed, in fact, your journey will be full of enlightening, life-changing insights! Don't forget that HTTOT offers FREE COUNSELING to anyone who wants it (Lord knows we all need it). Your varied questions are also important, and are given the utmost consideration in answering them. For you to be aware of the truth, in a world where falsehood abounds, is very important to us. Your spiritual struggles are of our utmost concern—we can help!  So just write, e-mail, or phone any time. Contact information is listed at the bottom of the cover page of this Newsletter, or you can visit Questions and Answers Trail Camp at the website, where a ''submit a question" link is provided... January Letter From the Editor: Humility—a difficult task ¤ For thus says the Lord; "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. —Could you ever build Me a temple as good as that?  Could you build a dwelling place for Me?  For those things My hand has already made, and through Me they all exist.— But this I will consider;  one who is humble and of a repentant heart, who trembles at My word." (Isaiah 66:1, 2) The type of humility that God requires is indeed a rare find in humans. It involves most of all a total denial of self—a triumph over one's self-will. There are many things we do to make ourselves believe that we are going against our personal will and doing God's will. We've erected buildings in His name. We've invented and imposed rules and regulations in His name. We've also been involved in seemingly fitting programs or projects to collect and deliver food and clothing for the poor. We boast in these human accomplishments, thinking that we are significant and that we walk in His way by the things we say and do. But, each and all of these sacrifices on our part can mean nothing. God considers the actual, individual condition of our hearts more important. His ultimate desire for us is humility, a repentant heart, and to tremble at His word (i.e. respect). He wants us to realize who and what we truly are—sinners in need of constant guidance—babes in arms. Only when we become true believers will He bless and make worthy the efforts on our part. James tells us to draw near to God... ¤ So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you. Clean yourselves up, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be anguish for the wrong things you have said and done. Let there be tears and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence upon Him. It is then that He will lift you up and give you hope. (James 4:7-10) When and if you are able to discover the true sinfulness and depravity of your human nature, you will be unable to comprehend God's mercy on the human race. You will be unable to reason as to why He would be so kind as to bestow such unmerited grace upon us. When you are within the depth of this humility, you will also find yourself in awe of your deep need to depend on and trust in God—in and for all things. Finally, understanding which comprehends that there is no good within the human nature (Romans 7:18) is indeed an eye-opening recognition. It casts great light onto the significance and importance of living just one day at a time. This New Year is a good time to resolve to get to know more about the awesomeness of God and the depravity of your own human nature. With each day the world sinks more into the mire of depravity. Bottom line; I am constantly in shock and awe of the evil that can proceed from my own heart and be generated into action. If you really understood the condition of yourself, you would open a great door into comprehending the condition of the world. There are many trails at the Hiking the Trail of Truth website to educate you in these most important matters. This needed education could lead to your ultimate salvation, and time is running out. We live in an exceedingly deceitful world. I hope this letter from me will influence you to not be taken in by this subtle deception, and to get started in the right direction...If you need any help in this or any other regard, please drop me a line or give me a call.  Sincerely, MS Taylor HTTOT Page 3 Encouraging Gods' Children Here is this months' list of those who need encouragement through your prayers and letters. I hope you will take the time to encourage them... Some of their problems are personal and we will respect their privacy; leaving it up to those individuals to share at their discretion. Please pray for them and write to them (I can provide addresses for you. Please call, E-mail or write to me for that information). Encouragement is a noble thing and a profound way to honor God through lifting up His children... Please inform me if you would like to add anyone to our prayer list. Also, please check Newsletter Archives for folks and their situations previously on the prayer list. Let us this month encourage and pray for... Update 1/15/07 on Baby Max Hogan:  Mark, below is the email I got from my friend. It is her grandson that was born with Downs syndrome and now has this infantile spasms. He sure needs our prayers. You mentioned him in the Ap\ril/May Newsletter, 2006. Thank you, Mark. I know the site will get him more prayers than they could ever hope for. Sarah and Jason Hogan are Max parents. He was in your April/May letter last year when they found out about the Downs Syndrome.  Love, Cheryl... Hi Cheryl, I just wanted to give you an update on Max. He has developed a seizure disorder called, infantile spasms. It is a rare and very aggressive form of epilepsy, and it can cause lots of neurological damage. It was just diagnosed last week... Sarah and Jason spent last week at Evanston Hospital with him. The good news is that there is good chance of arresting or even curing it with an aggressive form of drugs. So, for the next 6 wk's he is on ACTH and a separate seizure medicine. The side effects are pretty scary, his immune system will be very comprised and also issues with blood pressure. Sarah gives him his shot every day and a visiting nurse comes to check him and he goes to the neurologist every week and has an EEG. We are very hopeful that this drug regime will do the trick. So keep the little guy in your prayers. We want his smiles to come back... Mary Lynn Herschel Taylor of Writewood CA... Hersch has been fighting cancer for over seven years now. His body is deteriorating and not allowing him the strength to continue this brave fight. Time is running out for him as his liver is shutting down. Please pray for him and his wife, Kim, who cares for him faithfully, and has to sit by and watch him fade away from this life. In spite of God's unwavering promises, this is an extremely difficult task.  Please, your prayers will indeed help... Update, January 10th...Herschel passed away this night, peacefully. Please continue to pray for his family. Please remember all of the homeless and the poor of the world during this special time of year. Try to locate a homeless person and help them in any way that you can, encouraging the spirit of Christmas... Continue to pray for all of those in need of daily bread, and please pray earnestly for all the people of the world in which we live, in every country, that men and women will desire to find wisdom, that they will turn and seek God's face in this world full of spiritual blindness, rebellion and increasing depravity. The Lord's coming will not be delayed much longer. Endeavor to encourage others to seek Him, in truth, while there is still time. Father, grant us the humility to seek Your face for the well being of others. Help us to reach out to them, with kindness, in word and in deed this Holiday season and all year 'round. We are, each one of us, in need of Your guidance in the use of possessions, our prosperity, our tongues and our talents. Though we are quite unworthy, we ask you to bless our efforts... In the name of your glorious Son, Jesus, we pray. Thank you so much for hiking with us through the January issue of the Hiking the Trail of Truth Newsletter. Until February then, may the grace of our Lord Jesus be upon you... Sincerely, Mark S Taylor END Back to Top [Home] [Hiking Maps & Trailheads] [Discovery Trail] [Bible Map] [Trail of Time] [New Birth Trail] [Mountain & Valley Trail] [Desert Trail] [Lake Trail] [High Sierra Trail] [Wilderness Trail] [A Hawk's Trail] [False Trail] [Monthly Newsletter] [Newsletter Archives] [Questions & Answers] HIKING THE TRAIL OF TRUTH Mark S. Taylor (707) 477-2460