JUNE  2007 In this issue...  Promise Keepers?  Who are you kidding? Previous Newsletters    (Archives)  Website Home Page  (Trailheads) * Contact  Hiking the Trail of Truth,  PO Box 1443, Crestline, CA, 92325-1443 Mark's Trail Phone # 909-549-0068, or e-mail   hikemark@hotmail.com Page 2 From The Editor... Hello, and Welcome to the June 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 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 Lake 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 Lake Trail will be well worth your time... Just click on the Lake 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. 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 this truth for yourself and discover! WEBSITE NEWS: As of this month, June 2007, Hiking the Trail of Truth no longer has a telephone number!   I lost my cell phone recently while working (it is somewhere in the midst of a mountain land fill) and it may be some time before I will be able to purchase another one. You can, however, still reach HTTOT via e-mail or regular surface mail. Both addresses are on the cover page of this Newsletter, and on the home page of the website. I am sorry for the temporary inconvenience. Our most recent 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 or e-mail 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... June's Letter From the Editor :  Promise Keepers?  Who are you kidding? Many of us make promises to God. We usually do this in exchange for something we desire. It is usually true that, though God may grant our particular desire, we end up at some point failing to keep our promises—our part of the bargain. There is a group of "religious" men somewhere in the country who have labeled themselves, "The Promise Keepers."  When I first heard of them—what they call themselves, I said to myself, "Yea, right. Who are you kidding?"  Fact is, it is impossible to keep all of your promises to God, or to anyone for that matter. If you could do that, you would be perfect and have no need of a Savior. On the other hand, we truly want to keep our promises to God, and, for a time, we may be successful. But, human nature being what it is, we are prone to failure at some point in this regard. Yes, it is heartbreaking when we find that we have broken a promise to God. For most of us it is probably the worst heartbreak there is, followed by remorse and confusion. Some of us even react with anger toward God, somehow thinking that He is to blame for our failure. It is indeed a time of mixed emotion and misunderstanding—confusion—defeat. We usually want to try again, after we've failed, to keep a particular promise, but can we do it?  Is it possible?  It is only right to try again, is it not?  Remember that God's mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22, 23). The first thing we need to do is to confess our failure to God and to talk to Him about it. We need to tell Him why or how we failed. This is not making excuses—this is talking to your best friend about your weaknesses. He is there to listen, and being a just God, He will consider your plight. You don't need to be afraid, you just need to be sincere—to have a heart that's contrite before Him. I have broken promises to God. I sometimes don't understand why I do it, but I know that the Apostle Paul said, I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate (Romans 7:15). Paul said that it was sin dwelling in him that made him do the things that he did not wish to do. This makes me realize how vulnerable I am—how imperfect I am and prone to wander. I understand why Paul cried out, Oh wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from the body of this death? (Romans 7:24)   According to the Bible, Jesus does not condemn us when we fail. If we are in Him He becomes our deliverer, and the law of the Spirit of life has set us free from the law of sin and death. If we are striving by his Spirit to put to death the sinful deeds of the body, we will live (Romans 8:13).  When we do fail, this grace He has extended to us should make us try harder not to fail again. This is why we want to attempt to keep our promises and not give up entirely. However, the nature to sin is constantly within us and works relentlessly against us, no matter how sincere we may be. Communing with God is the only thing that can strengthen you in your fight against temptations—breaking promises... Sometimes it helps to think about something else for awhile—something you can usually do without failure. If you dwell upon your failed promise too long, you risk developing the attitude of not wanting to do anything right. Bitterness can evolve which will render you absolutely useless to God. God forgives you for your failed promise(s), so why not go on with something else before you tackle that particular promise again?.. It may take time for you to generate the faith required to keep your particular promise!  Faith is a maturing process. What you could not do last year, due to a lack of faith, you may be able to do this year because of a growth in faith. Rome was not built in one day, and no Christian can mature in one day. It takes an entire lifetime to mature in Spirit. Just take a look at the lives of Godly people throughout the Scriptures. It took time for their faith to grow. It took a variety of experiences—a lot of times at taking one step forward and two steps back, for faith is the realization of things hoped for, the confidence of things not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1).  Yes, faith is difficult in a world that disputes and rejects God, yet, there is no excuse for not having faith; For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made...(Romans 1:20). God can be seen in all things, and faith comes and grows through the practical application of this understanding. Sometimes we aren't ready to give up particular bad habits. We may make a promise to God that we will, then when things get tough we pick up the old habit again. This, again, is human nature. And, again, God's mercy is new every morning. Don't fall apart when you fail. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. And one more time, the more you commune with God and are honest from your heart, the better your chances for success. Trust in the Lord completely. Do not trust in yourself (Proverbs 3:5). Here's something unique for you to ponder: Q: What is the shortest chapter in the Bible? A: Psalms 117 Q: What is the longest chapter in the Bible? A: Psalms 119 Q: Which chapter is in the center of the Bible? A: Psalms 118 Fact: There are 594 chapters before Psalms 118.  Fact: There are 594 chapters after Psalms 118. Add these numbers up and you get 1188. Q: What is the center verse in the Bible?  A: Psalms 118:8 Q: Does this verse say something significant about God's perfect will for our lives? Psalm 118:8:  It is better to trust in the Lord than to put conficence in man. I'll see you in July with another Letter From the Editor 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... Ken George of San Juan Capistrano California has recently been diagnosed with a rapidly advancing prostate cancer. Ken will be visiting the doctor again on Wednesday, May 9th, then will be scheduled for surgery. Please pray for Ken and his family regarding this matter. Ken is also a dear friend of Hiking the Trail of Truth. Please remember all of the homeless and the poor of the world as you go about your daily routine this week. Try to locate a homeless person and help them in any way that you can, encouraging the spirit of Christmas all year 'round... 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. May our actions reflect Your character. 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 June issue of the Hiking the Trail of Truth Newsletter. Until July then, may the grace of our Lord Jesus be upon you... Sincerely, Mark S Taylor END [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