10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
Pastor: Dr. Lester Hutson

All of the material listed herein is the property of the Byron McCartney family, and may not be copied without express written authorization.

Have you ever been lost? I don't mean lost in a city or while travelling where help was readily available via  phone call or question to a passerby. I mean lost in a place where no phone would help and where no person would happen by. Lost in a place where your life would be at the mercy of your survival skills. Well I've been that lost and at the pre-know-it-all age of 11 had zero survival skills. It happened on a Saturday that began as a sunny and carefree day but which quickly changed to a stormy and traumatic one.

Saturdays were my day for exploring the woods and hunting with my dog Venena. It was not unusual for me to be up and gone before the rest of the house was awake. Nor was it cause for concern when I didn't show up until right at dusk or just after dark. My parents knew the extent of my love for the woods and learned to accept my long absences. They knew that our property in Recife had plenty of fruit trees from which I could grab a quick, nutritious snack as well as several fresh water springs from which I could drink without fear of getting any disease or parasite. Aside from a couple stupid actions on my part such as playing with a poisonous snake (described in a previous article) they had come to somewhat trust my 'good sense' in avoiding serious injury or getting lost.

As I had done on so many Saturdays previously I got up just at daybreak, loaded my back pack with a couple sandwiches to supplement the fruits I would eat during the day, plenty of ammunition, a pocket knife, a screw driver, some rope and a boy scout's manual. I grabbed my rifle, walked out the side door of our house, whistled for the dog and headed towards the woods. Today I had decided to walk an overgrown and no longer used path which went through thick forest and ended at the old entrance to our property.

The sky was clear and the sun was just peeking through the trees when I reached the edge of the forest. I remember feeling a little uneasy because of the thick vegetation and the gloomy darkness of the interior of the jungle. We had lived on this property long enough for me to learn that the forest held many dangers some of which were lethal.

Every forest has its dangers but the tropical rainforest has the most numerous and the most lethal ones. First there are the bacteria and viruses. These enter the body through any cut or puncture and cause infection which if not treated can result in death. Then there are plants which can kill you if eaten, some which poison you if touched by bare skin and others which cut you at the lightest touch leaving you exposed to the afore mentioned bacteria. Next on the list of dangers are the insects. There are Army ants which travel in their thousands and kill every living creature in their way. There are lethally poisonous spiders. There are scorpions and centipedes whose sting and bite will incapacitate you and leave you vulnerable to the other life threatening dangers. Next are the reptiles. Brazil's rainforests have many of the world's most poisonous and deadly snakes including the longest and most aggressive one, the Bushmaster. There are large caimans in some areas that exceed a man's length and kill by drowning their victims. Then there are the water born parasites that enter the body through any cavity and cause illness and death. There is also the jaguar. This cat is considered to be the most aggressive of all the big cats and has been known to track down and kill humans seemingly just for the pleasure of killing them. Because of these and many other dangers the tropical rainforest is definitely not the place in which you want to get lost.

Pushing aside my apprehension with the self-made promise to not stray far from the path I entered the forest. Venena, unfettered by human fears, plunged fearlessly through the underbrush on the sides of the trail following the scents her sensitive nose was picking up. She never strayed out of ear shot of me and every few minutes would come back to my side as if making sure I was okay. She would stop for a quick pet and scratch behind the ears and then off she would go again unable to resist the lure of the many strange smells and noises the forest produced.

I too was mesmerized by the strange and unfamiliar environment of the forest. Unlike Venena though, I proceeded slowly down the path absorbing every smell and trying to investigate every sound. There were green smells, woody smells, flowery smells and occasionally some dead smells from rotting vegetation or from the decomposing carcass of some unfortunate animal. These competed for my attention with the plethora of sounds coming from the forest floor and from the nearby trees. There were the small, jerky, start-stop noises made by lizards scurrying through the dead leaves searching for their next meal. There were the ever present hum of mosquitoes and other flying insects. There were the chirps, whistles and squawks produced by the forest's many bird species. And occasionally there would be the ultra high pitched squeal of tiny marmoset monkeys, by far my most favorite forest animal.

So thus we progressed for the next couple of hours: Me at a slow and cautious pace, Venena in her usual nose-to-the-ground trot covering several yards to my inches.

The morning began to heat up and thirst hit both of us at about the same time. Venena soon found a delectable mud puddle from which she drank with gusto pausing occasionally to give me what seemed like a what-are-you-waiting-for look. I was just about to turn back towards home, the nearest source of water, when I heard a bunch of parakeets squabbling just up ahead. When I reached the point where the path was the closest to the commotion I could just make out the fluttering of brightly colored wings in the lower part of the trees about 15 yards off the path. I knew these birds usually argued over fruit so I decided to investigate further.

What I found was a cashew tree with ripe fruit. The parakeets heard me coming and went looking for food elsewhere so I had the fruits all to myself. The cashew fruit will pucker your mouth but it is an excellent thirst quencher.

As I sat in the tree eating the juicy fruit I casually scanned the forest floor and spotted something lying in a spot of sunlight several yards away. I looked back to get a fix on the path and decided to check out the mysterious object.

I climbed down and headed towards the sunlit spot but Venena beat me to it. Whatever was lying at that spot scurried off with a great explosion of movement. I thought I caught a glimpse of a large lizard. If it was a lizard then it would have been the largest I'd ever seen because it looked to be over 4 feet long.

Caution and good sense went the way of the parakeets and off I ran chasing I knew not what towards I knew not where. All I had to guide me was Venena's very excited barking. I turned this way and that way dodging thick areas of vegetation I could not hope to push through but never getting within eye sight of either animal.

I finally ran myself out of breath and had to stop. I heard Venena's barking fade into the forest and soon all I heard were my gasps for air. As my breathing returned to normal the reality of my situation hit me full in the face. I didn't know which way the path home was! I turned around trying to determine if I could tell which direction I'd come from. I could tell from a broken twig on a bush how I'd come to be in this small clearing and so started to backtrack but soon ran out of recognizable signs of my prior passing.

I stood still for a minute trying to think of what to do. I decided a quick prayer was in order and asked God to help me find my way. Then I remembered that the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. I remembered that the cashew tree had been partly in the sun and had cast a shadow to its left which meant that if I oriented myself so that shadows fell to the right I might make it back to the path. I felt so relieved I immediately thanked God, began whistling and looking for areas where the sunlight reached the forest floor.

I focused on walking in as straight a direction as possible and searched for any shadow to let me know which way the path was. I had only gone a few yards when I noticed a darkening. I figured it was a cloud and would soon pass but in just a few minutes I could hear the patter of raindrops hitting the leaves above me and I knew I was in big trouble. This was the peak of the rainy season and when rains came during this time they usually stayed for hours. My spirits sunk with each soaking drop that hit me.

Within a very short time the forest floor was a soggy mess, I was drenched and getting cooler by the minute. As the rain increased in intensity and volume any hopes of backtracking my footprints or determining via the sun which way to go were quickly washed away by the deluge.

I called and whistled for my dog as loudly as I could. I had thought that maybe she would be able to get us home but she never came to me. I began to imagine what it would be like to spend a night in the soggy, scorpion and venomous snake infested forest. I had no shelter, no water, no way to make a fire and only two sandwiches for food.

I began to panic. I remember my pulse racing and feeling like I couldn't breathe. At one point I was so bewildered that I had severe tunnel vision and I remember thinking that I was going to pass out. Just then a verse came to mind: "I will never leave thee." My father had recently preached a sermon on God's faithfulness to us and that was a key verse. I focused all my attention on that thought and began to pray for help to get through this ordeal.

Once I began to focus on the fact that as a child of God I was always on His mind I began to calm down. Slowly at first but then as I thought about other verses that promised God would protect His children I became more and more calm. I kept praying, asking God to please show me what to do and where to go.

As I was praying the heavy rain slowed to a light drizzle and I heard more parakeets! I stopped my praying and listened closely to determine their direction. I remember thinking that maybe these were the same parakeets from earlier and that maybe they had returned to the same cashew tree. I got up and headed towards their chirps. I determined to focus real hard on marking my direction of travel just in case I needed to backtrack from this venture.

I finally worked my way through the heavy and very wet brush to where the birds were but it was not the cashew tree. As the birds flew off I looked around and noticed a very neatly stacked bunch of recently chopped wood. You talk about excited! I was so happy to see this evidence of someone's recent presence that I whooped for joy and danced around the pile like a monkey on steroids. Whoever had cut this firewood would certainly come to claim it and I'd be rescued. It didn't matter how long it took I knew the Lord was delivering me. I was so happy I cried and thanked the Lord profusely.

I sat on that pile of wood and began eating a sandwich with all the gusto of a hungry boy. All fears were forgotten. I was going to be saved. It didn't matter how hard it rained or how ugly the day became I knew I was eventually going to be rescued.

Sure enough, about an hour later I heard whistling coming my way. Within minutes a man emerged from the forest into the small clearing and stopped abruptly when he saw me. He noticed my gun and hesitantly approached me. He asked me if I was an American and if I was from Bethel (the name of our property). I answered yes to both questions. Then he asked if I was lost and I told him what had happened and how I believed God had led me to this pile of cut wood. He told me that while hunting for food a couple days earlier he had come across this little clearing which had an abundance of a particular type of wood which was best for cooking. He had cut the wood I was sitting on and had come to collect some of it. Of course he would help me get home.

He led me to the path he had used to get to the woodpile. Once on the path he instructed me which way to go and that it would eventually lead to the road that passed the front of our property. He told me that when I got to that road to go to the right and keep going and I would come to the gates to our property.

I wanted to give him a huge hug but settled for shaking his hand and thanking him for his help. I then headed down the path thanking God all the way. I made it to the road, then to our property and finally home right at dusk. Guess who welcomed me home? Venena and my father.

My father wanted to know if I was alright, if anything had happened. I told him everything and when I was finished he led us in prayer thanking the Lord for His helping me. Then he told me of his concern when the dog came home without me. He said she walked around barking and whining and now he knew why.

The next day was Sunday and I promise you I have never been more attentive in church than on that day. It would have taken a purple, yellow spotted, three headed monkey quoting Shakespeare in German with a Chinese accent to distract me from Dad's sermons. I was the model of attentiveness and sobriety.

Later that afternoon the man who had found me showed up at our house.  Dad and I thanked him again and he humbly said that he had something for me. He reached into his pocket and produced a very large rattle from a rattlesnake and handed it to me. He said that after seeing me off down the path to the road he went back to gather the wood and found a huge rattler sitting where I had been sitting. He killed it for food and determined to give me the rattle and let me know that God had spared my life more than once. If that snake had bitten me when I first got to that little clearing I would have been too far gone by the time I was found and would probably have died.

My Father took advantage of the opportunity to witness to this man and I'm happy to say that eventually he and his entire family came to know the Lord. He became one of my father's most trusted and valuable workers and friends.

The next time Dad went into town he bought me a compass and taught me how to use it. However, from that day to this I have never allowed myself to be so distracted in the woods that I would ever lose my way again. I made plenty of other mistakes but I have never gotten lost in the woods.

SUMMARY:

Being lost in the forest was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life; one which I never wish to repeat. However, do you know that there is a form of being lost that is far worse than my experience? One which has eternal penalties? One which many people fail to realize until it is too late? I'm talking about being lost spiritually.

God's Word says that Jesus came to 'save that which was lost' (Luke 19:10). Who are the lost He came to save? They are those who have not accepted Christ as their personal Savior, those who are not sons of God, those who when they die will spend eternity separated from God.

The Bible is very clear that all men are born into this world in a lost, without-God status. Romans 5:12 explains that because of Adam's sin all of us inherited death or separation from God. That verse reads, "wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

Death, or eternal separation from God, is the inheritance of every person born on this planet. No one is born with immunity from this penalty according to God's Word. Look at just a few verses that explain this reality:

Ezekiel 18:4 says, "...the soul that sinneth, it shall die."

Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."

Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death..."

What is this death? Everyone dies, right? So what's the big deal? Well the last book of the Bible answers this question. Listen to its warning.

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:12-15).

According to God's Word whoever dies and goes to Hell will eventually be cast into a lake of fire. That is a very permanent and horrible death don't you think? Who dies this type of death? All those who have sinned and come short of the glory of God, according to Romans 3:23. All those who are lost. All those who have not become sons or daughters of God.

But listen to how easy it is for you to be found! To be rescued! To avoid this terrible type of death!

The Bible tells us that "whosoever believeth in him [Christ] should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:15). Christ is the Son of God and He died to pay for your sins and mine so that if we just believe on Him we would not die but have everlasting life. That truth is recorded in the famous John 3:16 verse that we see plastered all over sports events. Specifically it says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Further on in that same chapter of the gospel of John it is recorded that "he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36). This same gospel of John also tells us that anyone who believes in Christ as the Son of God will be made sons and daughters of God (John 1:12).

So here's your question. Are you lost? Have you believed on Christ as the only payment for your sins? Have you accepted Him as your personal Savior? He is the only hope for rescue you have if you are lost spiritually. Going to church and leading a good life will not save you from eternal death in the lake of fire. Your only hope for salvation is to believe on Jesus Christ as the Son of God. If you are lost without God you may life a long and happy life but when you die you will find yourself in Hell eternally separated from God and eventually headed to the lake of fire.

Make the right choice, the smart choice today. Allow yourself to be found and rescued. Accept Christ as your personal Savior right now. Just believe on Him as the Son of God and accept what He did for you on the cross as payment for your sins. Do it now!

NEXT LESSON:

I bet you just like the rest of us have heard that preacher's kids have the worst reputations; that they are the wildest of kids. But is that true? Join me in the next lesson as I give you a first hand account on this subject. Maybe you will see yourself or your children?

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"