November  2007 In this issue... Consider Noah The remains of the true Ark of Noah. For more information, visit the Trail of Time on this website, and hike to Trailside Meadow. Previous Newsletters    (Archives)  Website Home Page  (Trailheads) * Contact  Hiking the Trail of Truth,  Mark's Trail Phone # 909-549-0068, or e-mail   hikemark@hotmail.com Page 2 One of several anchor stones, found near the discovery of Noah's Ark. From The Editor... Hello, and Welcome to the November 2007 HTTOT 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 on a most profound adventure of learning... Knowing God is first seeing Him through the things He has made (Romans 1:20).  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: The latest edits to the website are on the Wilderness Trail and The Hawk's Trail. This edit work of fine tuning the various writings is a continual process on the website, so that reading and comprehending the information along the various trails will hopefully be easier for you. 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 the opportunity now 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 phone 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... November's Letter From the Editor :  Consider Noah...   Noah was a fortunate man indeed. Let us consider him in this month's Letter from the Editor... Noah was the tenth descendant from Adam. He was born when the earth was approximately 1056 years old. He received his name, Noah, which meant, rest, because his father, Lamech, foresaw that through him God would comfort the race and partially alleviate the effects of the Edenic curse. Noah was uniquely righteous in a totally corrupt age. When he was 480 years old, 120 years before the Flood, he was warned of God that the earth would be destroyed by water. He was then given exact instructions for the building of an Ark, which would serve to save he and his family from the destruction of the Great Flood. While engaged in this colossal task, he warned men of the coming catastrophe, as a "preacher of righteousness", while God, in longsuffering, waited for men to repent. Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japeth, were not born until he was over 500 years old, and grew up learning about God and helping their father in the construction of the Ark. One week before the Flood, God let Noah and his family into the Ark, and then, supernaturally directed, the animals "went in unto Noah into the Ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life."  When all were safely inside, God shut the door of the Ark. The Flood came upon the earth in Noah’s 600th year, lifting the Ark to safety, destroying every living thing on the earth, and reshaping the planet to what we know of it geographically today. The earth underwent significant changes from its original design. Only Noah and his family were left alive to relate to descendants any information regarding the pre-Flood earth. (Note:  When Moses wrote Genesis, many years after the death of Noah, he did not rely on stories handed down from the descendants of Noah. He was inspired instead by the Spirit of God, and all of his writings contain the absolute truth regarding the earth before and after the Flood, the details of the catastrophe itself, and all important events in the growth, continuation, and history of mankind after the Flood. It is to date the most accurate written account we have, in spite of the doubt placed upon it by mere men.) During the year and several days that Noah and his family were aboard the Ark, "God remembered Noah, and every living thing... in the Ark." This implies that God did not leave the task of caring for all of the creatures aboard the Ark entirely to Noah. Yet, I am sure that Noah was indeed good and caring to all of the animals, birds, etc., and learned much from them, and they from him, during their year together in such close quarters. I truly envy Noah here. It must have been like the days in the Garden of Eden, before the Fall, when the creatures of the earth were not a threat—when Adam could walk alongside a tiger or lie down with a lion. There was indeed much love aboard the Ark—mankind’s concern for the creatures of God, and their concern for mankind. Talk about a good year! I try to ponder what it must have been like aboard the Ark. I see order and sensitivity among its inhabitants—I know my own warm feelings when I lie on the floor or in the yard with my dog as we share our affections. I realize he is God's creature, and I am humbled by the fact that he may have more insight than I regarding his Creator. I appreciate him and communicate with him gently as he does in his own way with me. Noah had so many more friends among the animals—he must have experienced exceedingly great joy. This surely gave his life at that particular time the ultimate in meaning and purpose. He was about to pass on generations of animals to a new world, washed clean of wickedness. He himself would be the father of the new human race. We are all related to him, but do we remember him or honor his example?  Do we, in our fast-paced world, take the time to consider Noah?  Think about it. The world can only be made better by our (yours and mine) individual commitment to the truth—learning it and living it... Please visit the Hiking the Trail of Truth website and begin your journey into truth. Sincerely, Mark...I'll see you in December with another Letter From the Editor. 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 or E-mail 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... From Cheryl:  10/3/07... I need your prayers again. Our newest granddaughter was born with a condition that causes her trachea to collapse at times when she is breathing or eating. It is a soft trachea or Laryngomalacia. She saw a specialist today and has to have a test next week at the hospital. They will go down her throat to see the extent of what is going on. Normally they can do this test in the doctors office, but since she is so small, they have to do it in the hospital. It is very scary for the kids, as when she nurses or has a bottle sometimes it happens, and when she is upset and crying. Just imagine your new baby not being able to breath!   It is a condition that they outgrow but not until they are 12-18 months old. Please pray for her that all is okay for her, and the kids. Thank you, again, Cheryl 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 November issue of the Hiking the Trail of Truth Newsletter. Until December 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 (909) 549-0068