True to Noel’s word, things did start happening the next morning. News that the ancient city of Tikal had been rediscovered spread like wildfire, and Noel had no trouble putting together a team of people to scout out the city’s ruins. Over the next few days everyone was talking about what the discovery meant and what treasures might be found. Noel ended up with thousands of volunteers, all willing and eager to explore the ruins.

To his great surprise, even Mayor Thornton was enthusiastic. The mayor issued a statement urging the citizens of New Tikal to do whatever they could to help him. When Noel excitedly brought the document to Miles the old man had to read it three times before he figured out what was going on.

“This isn’t as good as it seems,” Miles said at last. “The mayor isn’t actually trying to help you. He has no intention of moving into the ruin on the surface. What he wants people to do is loot the ruins and bring its riches back here. Our leader sees this as a ticket to a more comfortable life.”

“Oh,” Noel said. “Well, that’s kind of disappointing. I was hoping he was on-board with all this. I don’t know what I’m going to do if he start opposing us.”

Miles shrugged. “It is what it is. Honestly, though, did you really expect anything else? He’s not going to want to give up everything he knows and embrace uncertainty. New Tikal is his whole universe. If he ever realizes what you’re really up to I think you can expect some trouble.”

“I really hope not,” Noel said worriedly. “By the way, where is Amy?”

“Oh, she had some business to attend to,” Miles said vaguely. “She left in a big hurry last night and I haven’t seen her since. I’m really not sure where she went or what it’s all about. I’m sure she’ll be back at some point.”

“I hope so. I was kind of hoping that she would be on our reconstruction team. We could really use someone like her to restore that buried city.”

“Um, right,” Miles said. “I’m sure you could. Well, I’m sure you’ll do fine without her.”

“At least we have you as a resource,” Noel said thoughtfully. “That’s better than nothing.”

“Oh no,” Miles said quickly. “I’m far too old for that sort of thing. I appreciate the offer, but this is something you’ll have to do on your own.”

“But this is the lost city of Tikal! How could you not want to be a part of this? Besides, you and Amy are the best technical resources that we have. Not having either of you on the team would be a tremendous setback!”

“Just wait until you’re my age and you’ll understand,” Miles replied. “I’ve done more in the past few weeks than I’ve done in – well, in a long time. The day has come for this old man to retire and hand the baton over to the next generation. That would be you, Noel. It’s up to you to lead these people into the future. I’ll be in the bleachers, rooting for you.”

Noel sighed. “That is not what I was hoping for.”

It took Noel several days to pick out his team, but by April 5th he had reached a decision. He picked twenty of the city’s most qualified personnel, gathered up all the equipment they would need, and the next day he set out for the ruins. His plan was for them to spend the next two weeks scouting out the buildings and making a detailed inventory of everything they could find. He knew that there was no way they could complete an exhaustive survey that quickly, but he was hoping that two weeks would be enough time for them to understand the buried city and learn what it would take to make it habitable again.

What he was not expecting were the crowds of people that tried to invite themselves along on the expedition. Despite strenuous protests, when his team left New Tikal early the next morning thousands of people followed them across the desert. The only thing that stopped them from flooding into the ruin itself was the steep cliff that was the city’s only means of access. The crowd watched as the expedition lowered its supplies and personnel into the fissure. When everyone had made it safely to the bottom the crowd reluctantly dispersed and returned to New Tikal.

While the throngs of people were disappointed that they hadn’t been able to enter the ruin, they weren’t entirely despondent. They had seen the city with their own eyes and knew that it wasn’t a myth or mirage. Over the next few weeks the story of the fabled lost city continued to grow. For the first time in centuries something new and exciting had happened, and people were eager to be a part of it. The terraformation of the planet was a monumental event, but this – this was different. In the eyes of many the ruin offered them a second chance – a new place to live, a new way of life, and a new challenge to overcome.

The expedition ended up going much better than Noel had predicted. By the end of the two-week period they were able to restore electricity and running water to several buildings within the ruin. The next challenge would be securing a food supply. His team had discovered that the city offered several different solutions, but they would all take time and effort to implement.
What was clear to everyone, though, was that even in its ruined condition the city was far better than their home back in New Tikal. The technology the city contained was simply astonishing. There were definitely challenges to be overcome, but if they were able to surmount them their civilization would take a giant leap forward. The potential rewards were great.

When the expedition returned to New Tikal it was greeted with great excitement. After resting and taking some time to go over their findings, Noel publicized the results of their trip. In the documents that he released he talked about the great treasures he had found in the city, its staggering level of technology, and the tremendous promise that it held to be the new home of mankind. The challenges, he said, could all be overcome. With some effort, it would be possible for all of them to leave their decaying, underground city and move back into the sunlight. Rather than waiting underground for the end to come, they could create a new future for themselves on the surface. All they had to do was work for it.

This message proved to be tremendously popular, although there were a few who were not in favor of it. Some people were content with their lives in New Tikal and saw no particular reason to change. But there were countless others who were restless and eager to do something with their lives. Without even knowing it they had been longing for excitement and adventure, and what Noel offered them was the chance of a lifetime.

But there were others who were very concerned about Noel’s proposal. The mayor of New Tikal saw this as a threat – and he was determined to do something about it. As soon as he saw the report that Noel had released he called an emergency meeting of his cabinet. The cabinet consisted of four people: Kevin Cole, who was over the city’s finances; Scott Glover, who was head of security; Robert Finch, who was his political adviser; and Carl Perkins, who was over day-to-day operations. The four of them were old friends of Mayor Thornton and had been in positions of power for many years.

“So what seems to be the trouble?” Carl asked, when everyone had finally made their way to the mayor’s office.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the mayor replied. “Have you been locked in a closet somewhere? Do you really have no idea what’s been going on up there on the surface?”

“I don’t see anything to be concerned about,” Carl replied. “Someone found some old ruins, and it apparently has a lot of useful technology. Personally I think that’s a good thing. This town could use a little sprucing up. It hasn’t changed very much in centuries.”

“It’s not a good thing at all,” Robert replied. “Noel Lawson doesn’t want to loot the ruin; he wants to establish a base of operations there! He wants to turn it into a functional city.”

“Why not let him?” Carl asked. “I don’t see any particular harm in it.”

“It actually might not be a bad idea,” Kevin said. “If people start moving out of New Tikal that leaves more resources for the rest of us. Besides, it’s unlikely that a significant number of people would leave. People may talk about it, but the frontier life is not for everyone. There aren’t many people who can live under those circumstances.”

“You’re not seeing the big picture,” Robert said. “Yes, right now the surface city is not a threat. What you don’t realize is that it’s not going to stay that way. The reports indicate that the technology in that city is astounding. If Noel succeeds in repairing the city, it will be far more powerful than New Tikal – powerful enough to become a threat.”

“Exactly,” the mayor said. “We can’t let a powerful rival civilization develop on the surface of Mars. There’s just no way we could compete with them. We need to nip this colonization idea now, before it’s too late.”

“Why not just outlaw it?” Scott asked. “I could send some men to guard the city’s entrance and make sure that no one leaves. That would put a stop to it right there.”

“You’re out of your mind!” Robert exclaimed. “If we did that we’d have a riot on our hands. Besides, the election is coming up. Doing anything to keep people away from the city right now would be electoral suicide. It would guarantee our defeat.”

The mayor nodded. “I agree. Whatever we do must be done with great subtlety and care. We’ve got to come up with a tactic that will kill the colonization effort without causing a political firestorm. We need to shift people’s opinions on this issue.”

“But the ruin could be a valuable resource,” Kevin protested. “There’s no telling what sort of riches it may contain.”

“We can always go loot it later,” the mayor replied. “After all, it’s not like it’s going to suddenly disappear. After we’ve squashed this uprising and returned everything back to normal, we can quietly send out a team of loyalists and have them take whatever is worth taking.”

“That might work,” Scott said thoughtfully. “But how are we going to stop all of this?”

“Maybe we could eliminate the movement’s leader,” Robert said thoughtfully. “Noel seems to be the one responsible for all of this. If he was no longer a factor the whole thing might calm down.”

The mayor nodded thoughtfully. “Now that’s an excellent idea. If we eliminated the movement’s leader we could issue reports and use the media to change people’s opinion. We could say that the first reports were in error, or the city was more damaged than was first thought, or whatever. We could even plant a bomb and blow up the whole ruin, if necessary. Yes, I think that just might work! Noel caused this problem; eliminating him might just solve it.”

“Do you want me to arrest Noel?” Scott asked.

The mayor shook his head. “No, let’s do this quietly. The last thing we want to do is attract attention and make a big public spectacle. If people found out what we were doing the political damage would be incalculable. I think it would be much better if Noel simply disappeared.”

“How would you like to arrange that?” Scott asked.

Mayor Thornton smiled. “Let’s invite him to dinner tomorrow evening. A nice, quiet, secluded dinner – just him and the four of us. He’ll arrive, but he won’t leave. If anyone asks what happened to him we’ll simply say that after the meal he left to go back home and, sadly, we never saw him again.”

“I’ll make sure that the media doesn’t start asking questions,” Robert said.

“And I will give the invitation to him personally,” Scott added. “I can also make sure that the investigation into his disappearance doesn’t turn up anything.”

“Very good, gentlemen,” the mayor said. “With a bit of luck, this should all blow over in just a few days!”

Hebrews 6:13: “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,”

For the record, there is no one greater than God. There are no other gods; there are no other higher powers; there is just God. You would think this would be obvious, but sometimes the obvious needs to be said.

This verse echoes Isaiah, which says:

Isaiah 44:6-8: “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. … Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.”

Do you see that? There is only one God – the Triune God of Father, Son, and Spirit! There are no other Gods and no other beings like God. This is just one of many reasons why Mormonism is nothing more than a dangerous cult. Mormonism teaches that there are countless gods, and Jesus was just a man who lived a good life and eventually rose up to become god. Mormons claim that the universe is filled with countless beings just like Jesus. That is a lie straight from Hell. There is only one God – and to reject this idea and believe anything else leads not to salvation, but damnation. You cannot accept an offer of forgiveness from a false god of your own making – and naming your false god ‘Jesus’ doesn’t help. If you do not believe in the real Jesus then your belief does not help you at all.

This is the book cover for the sixth book in the randomly-generated Carole Livingston series!

Hebrews 6:10: “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”

This is a vital point. Our lives do matter, and our good works matter as well. As someone once said, the only thing that we can take with us to Heaven are our good deeds. In life it often seems that we’re just wasting our time; we serve and help and love and, in return, are hated, despised, and rejected for it. Yet God will not forget what we’ve done, nor will He fail to reward us. The things that we do really do matter, because we are serving the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:24).

God wants us to “not be weary in well doing,” for we will reap if we faint not. We need to pursue good deeds wholeheartedly, with the understanding that the harvest will come in God’s time, not ours.

I Corinthians says that true love “does not seek its own”. Jesus told us to love our neighbors and our enemies as ourselves. All of us will have to stand before God and give an account of our lives. When we do this, what kind of life will we have lived? A self-centered one? A worldly one? Or a selfless one, characterized by goodness and love? Do you really believe that our lives make no difference to God – that those who spent their lives in self-indulgence, abusing others, will be praised and rewarded the same as those who lived a life of painful sacrifice and service?

Some may say “Oh, judgment is a long way off. It doesn’t really affect me right now.” That may be – but the thing to remember is that judgment is eternal. Are you really willing to sacrifice eternal rewards, that fade not away, for a few short moments of self-indulgence?

Amanda Stryker was sitting in her garden, reading a book, when Jones found her. She had only discovered the secret garden a few days ago when she was exploring the grounds of her estate. During her first few months in Paradise she had never noticed the narrow dirt path that led away from her conservatory. The path itself branched several times, leading to a number of quiet, secluded areas in the woods behind her mansion. It just so happened that the last branch she explored led to a walled stone garden in the heart of the forest. Inside that wondrous place was a fountain, a stone bench, and a single tree. It was the tree that really got Amanda’s attention, for she had never seen another one quite like it before. It had no fruit, but something made her think that its fruit was seasonal, or perhaps triggered by something. With that in mind she had started making a little trip to the garden each day, seeing if anything had changed. Today she decided to bring a book along with her.

“Good morning, miss,” Jones called out. He was standing just outside the entrance to the garden. “Mind if I come in?”

“Not at all,” Amanda said, putting down her book. “You’re always welcome in my home, you know.”

Jones smiled and stepped through the stone entrance. He glanced around and his eyes settled on the tree. He studied it for a moment, intrigued.

“Interesting, isn’t it?” Amanda said. “I’ve never seen one quite like it anywhere else. Trees don’t usually come in that color, and I’ve never seen one that radiated like that before. It’s very different.”

“It is indeed different,” Jones replied. “In fact, it is unique. You have the only one.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

Jones nodded. “I’m quite sure. This tree was a gift, Amanda, from the Creator to you. It’s really quite remarkable. I think you’re going to enjoy it.”

“What can you tell me about it?” she asked, as Jones sat down beside her.

“Not very much, I’m afraid. It is a mystery. It will be up to you to uncover its secrets.”

“How strange! A gift with secrets. I wonder why that is?”

Jones smiled. “As the Word says, ‘It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.’ The Lord delights in hiding things, and it is our joy search out the things that He has hidden. It’s like the times you used to search for Easter eggs when you were a child. God hides treasures all throughout the universe, and we have the pleasure of finding them.”

“That is so true,” Amanda agreed. “Every day I find something new and unexpected. But still, I never thought that I would have a unique gift. Why would God give me something that special?”

“Why not?” Jones asked. “Do you think that God mass-produces His gifts on an assembly line and gives everyone the same stock item? You are not like anyone else; you are unique. The challenges and gifts that God gives to you are likewise unique. Our Lord does not simply stamp out millions of clones, nor does He give thoughtless, boring presents. He loves you very much, you know.”

“I know,” she said, smiling. “So what brings you here today? Did you simply want to say hello to my tree?”

“I have actually come with a request. The Lord wants you to do something for Him.”

“Really?” Amanda asked, surprised. “What is it?”

“Come with me, and I’ll show you,” Jones replied.

Amy and Miles were standing outside of her apartment. Both of them were exhausted. It had been a long day.

“I think that went pretty well,” Miles said.

“I agree,” Amy replied, yawning. “I really don’t think that trip could have gone any better. Noel was just beside himself.”

“That he was. Anyway, I guess I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll stop by sometime after breakfast and we can talk about what to do next. I’m sure that Noel will–”

At that moment the Sentinel appeared. His sudden appearance startled Miles and made Amy scream. “Steve! What are you doing here?”

“It’s Xanthe,” the Sentinel said urgently. “Something terrible has happened! I need you to come with me at once.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Amy grumbled. “I thought I was done with that awful place! Do we have to go right now? I’m sure it’s important, but it is pretty late, and I am pretty tired, and now is just not a good time. Can’t we talk about it in the morning?”

“I’m afraid not,” the Sentinel replied. “You must come now and see what has happened. Something has to be done and you are the one in charge.”

“I knew that ‘in charge’ thing was going to come back and bite me,” Amy grumbled. “You see, Miles? Being an administrator is not all fun and games.”

“Please, we’re wasting time,” the Sentinel said. “This is urgent!”

“All right,” Amy said at last. “I just hope this doesn’t take too long.”

“Then let’s go,” the Sentinel said quickly.

A moment later they vanished, leaving Miles alone. The old man looked around and, seeing no one, let out a long sigh. “Hurry back,” he said.

“You’ve discovered what?” Noel asked incredulously.

“It’s a giant city!” Miles said excitedly. “You’ve got to come and see it. It looks like the city was buried intact, for the most part. There’s no telling how big it is!”

“The lost city of Tikal,” Noel said thoughtfully. “I guess it is possible. If the original city was buried long ago, the recent rain and seismic activity could have unearthed it. I would think, though, that there wouldn’t be much of it left by now. After all, the city would have been buried for five thousand years! How could anything have survived? Metals tarnish, rust, and disappear; machines break; papers degrade; buildings crumble…”

“Come and see for yourself!” Miles urged.

Noel shook his head. “I think you must be mistaken. Amy, what do you think about all this?”

“I think he’s right. This is something you have to see with your own eyes to believe.”

“But…” Noel said reluctantly.

Amy and Miles had found Noel in New Tikal’s waste treatment facility, struggling to connect it to a series of new water lines that he had just installed. He was deeply involved in a series of infrastructure projects, and even the discovery of a legendary city wasn’t quite enough to motivate him to leave. As intrigued as he was, he hated abandoning something before he had a chance to finish it.

“Now, don’t think that I’m not interested in your discovery. That’s not it at all! What you have to understand is that I’m just really busy right now. It’s going to take me at least another week to get this project finished, and then there’s the new aquifer that I want to investigate. There’s just so much that needs to be done around here! We finally have so many spare resources that the mayor is letting me do things that have needed to be done for ages. This is an opportunity that I just can’t pass up! Chances like this don’t last forever.”

“Let your underlings handle it,” Miles urged. “They can surely lay a few pipes. You have something much bigger to investigate – and much more important. What you find in that city could change the future of Mars forever.”

“I guess you have a point,” Noel said reluctantly. “It would be irresponsible to ignore your discovery altogether. And, who knows, perhaps there really is some truth to the fabled treasure of Don Elliott. Maybe–”

“That’s the spirit!” Miles said enthusiastically. “Hang on to that thought and come along with us. I’ve already gotten everything loaded into the Raptor. We’ll take you straight to the site!”

“All right,” Noel said. “I’ll come.”

Even after he agreed to join them, however, it took Miles and Amy more than an hour to actually get him away from New Tikal. Noel had a long list of instructions to give to his assistants, and he went over the blueprints for the new water lines no less than six times. Miles finally told him that his engineers could figure out the rest on their own and pushed him right out the door.

As the Raptor climbed out of the canyon that housed the entrance to New Tikal, Noel began to relax. “Perhaps I have been a bit too busy lately,” he remarked. When the tank finally left the canyon road and began driving through the grassland he gasped in admiration. “The planet’s transformation has been remarkable! Things have progressed far quicker than I would have ever expected. I wonder if one day we’ll see forests again?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Amy said. “There’s even an ocean out there, if you’re interested in that sort of thing.”

“I’ve never seen an ocean before. I’ve heard they were quite popular, though, back in the day.”

“You’ll love it!” Miles commented. “Just wait until you see the beach. Now that’s a fine way to spend an afternoon. Provided that the beach isn’t on a hopelessly depressing planet, that is.”

“Is that where the two of you have been hiding?” Noel asked. “I’ve been wondering why you were gone for so long. In fact, I was starting to get a bit worried.”

“No, we haven’t been lying around on the beach,” Amy replied. “Well, not exactly. We’ve, um, been working on a construction project together. I actually don’t care much for the beach, but that’s just my opinion.”

“You don’t care much for the rain either,” Miles pointed out. “Come to think of it, is there any part of the outdoors that you enjoy?”

Amy thought for a moment. “Well, there is a lot to be said for small furry creatures. They’re so adorable! Oh, and then there’s my dog Alex. Poor Alex! I wonder how he’s been doing lately? I haven’t seen him for months – I hope he’s ok! I’ve just been so preoccupied with everything else that’s been going on. After I’m done here I’ve just got to go see him.”

“Your dog?” Noel asked. “Do you mean, as in the four-legged animals that were used as pets thousands of years ago? You have a dog?”

“Of course I have a dog! He’s amazing. I bet he’s been terribly lonely, though. He’s never been left alone for this long before. He must be so worried about me!”

Noel sighed. “Amy, dogs have been extinct for thousands of years. You can’t possibly have a real, live dog. There aren’t any left.”

“That’s what you think,” Amy replied. “Just wait until I introduce you to him. If you’re nice I’ll tell him not to bite you.”

“I’m sure it will be an honor to meet your imaginary dog,” Noel replied.

Miles interrupted. “You know, we’re going to need a road around here at some point. The Raptor can cut through the grass just fine, but we don’t want to do too much damage to the landscape. I have a feeling that a lot of people are going to be traveling from New Tikal to the chasm we’ve discovered.”

“Perhaps,” Noel said. “If the site is as significant as you claim then it will probably attract thousands of people, looking to find whatever they can scavenge.”

“I think it will do a lot more than that,” Miles replied. “If I’m right about this, what we’re looking at is the start of an entirely new colony – one located on the surface! I think it may be time for us to leave our underground homes and return to the open air. That is where we belong, Noel – up here, in the sunshine. It’s not good to live in the shadows.”

It was late in the afternoon by the time they finally reached the fissure. Miles parked the Raptor a couple hundred feet from the edge of the newly-formed rift, and the three of them exited the vehicle.

“It certainly is a big hole,” Noel remarked. “And it looks pretty deep, too! I don’t remember there being anything like that in this area.”

“It’s pretty new,” Amy commented.

Miles led the way to the fissure and pointed at the city below. Noel crept cautiously toward the edge and glanced down. When he saw the city that was stretched out in the chasm he gasped. “Why, there must be at least a dozen buildings down there!”

“And I bet there are even more hidden underground,” Miles added. “The earthquake only revealed part of them. It could extend for miles!”

Noel stared at the buildings in astonishment, taking in their every detail. “The architecture definitely dates back to the 19th century. Just look at that detail! In fact, the buildings almost look familiar. Is it possible that this is part of the actual capitol of ancient Mars – kept intact, underground, for all these years?”

Amy smiled and handed him a rope. “Care to scale down into the fissure and find out?”

It took nearly an hour for the three of them to climb down to the bottom. Noel had never done anything remotely like rock climbing before, and Miles had to show him how it worked. Under normal circumstances Noel would have been very hesitant to rappel down the side of a thousand-foot cliff, but his excitement over the lost city outweighed his sense of caution.

After they finally reached the city the three of them spent the remainder of the afternoon scouting out the abandoned buildings. Noel wanted to spend the night there and continue exploring the next day, but Miles pointed out that they hadn’t brought any supplies. Despite this, Noel ended up tarrying so long that it was actually dark by the time they climbed out of the fissure and returned to the Raptor.

“That was amazing!” Noel exclaimed, as Miles drove the tank back to New Tikal. “I really think that with a little effort we could get that city operational again. The electrical systems appear to be mostly intact, and the buildings still have a remarkable degree of structural integrity. I’d love to know what sort of metal they’re made of! For them to have been buried for so long, with so little damage – well, it’s just astonishing.”

“It does seem pretty unlikely,” Amy commented.

“Now, I do think our work is cut out for us,” Noel continued. “It’s not going to be easy to dig out the rest of the city, but I think it’s certainly possible. If everyone in New Tikal lends a hand we should have more than enough manpower.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to persuade them?” Amy asked.

“Oh, absolutely! Just wait until I tell them what we’ve discovered. The technology I saw today was just incredible – incredible! This is generations ahead of anything we’ve got today, and represents a huge leap forward. Who wouldn’t want to live in the city of tomorrow?”

“True,” Amy said. “But, if you think about it, isn’t that actually the city from yesterday?”

“Quite to the contrary! I think that city is our future. It could revitalize our entire culture! It’s a fantastic opportunity.”

“All of this is going to take some time, you know,” Miles commented. “There’s a lot of work that has to be done before you can start moving people in. You’ll need to put together a scouting party first and spend a few weeks mapping the area, so you can get an idea of what you’re dealing with. Then you’ll need to put together more teams to–”

“Believe me, I know exactly what you mean, and I’ve got it all covered. Tomorrow morning things are going to start happening. You just wait and see!”

I have finally put together a second collection of Sunday School lessons. All of the lessons in this book have appeared on my blog at one time or another, but I’ve now collected them into one document and have edited them. The book can be downloaded free-of-charge right here:

Collected Sunday School Lessons, Volume 2 – PDF file; 188 pages.

Printed copies of the book are also available. You can get them here:

Paperback edition

Thanks! I hope you enjoy them.

Hebrews 6:7: “For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.”

This goes back to “you will know them by their fruits”. Yes, we all know that Christians do sin, and sometimes they sin in truly awful ways. But the point is that there is a real difference between those who are actually saved and those who are not. People who are saved have the Spirit within them, and that fundamentally changes who they are. There is a world of difference between the saved and the lost.

It is true that, today, it’s pretty much impossible to tell the difference between church members and atheists. You can look at any statistic you want – divorces, attitudes on homosexuality, number of abortions, etc. – and there is no statistical difference between church members and non-church members. What this means is that a great many people who call themselves Christians are not Christians at all. They are simply fooling themselves. Why do we know this? Because genuine salvation results in a genuine change. As Jesus said, a good tree will bear good fruit, and an evil tree will bear evil fruit.

Here is another way to think about it: if you’re in love with your sins and hate the thought of holiness, then why on earth do you think that you’ve been saved? If you have no interest in seeking God, can’t stand the Bible, and dislike spiritual truth, then what reason do you have for thinking that you’ve become a new person in Christ? Telling God “Don’t you dare tell me what to do!” isn’t a sign of salvation; it’s a sign that you have never known God at all.

This is the book cover for the third book in the randomly-generated Carole Livingston series!

Hebrews 4:13: “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”

Some people think “Well, God does not see” or “God does not care” or “I’ll get away with this.” The truth, though, is that no one ever “gets away” with anything. God knows all and sees all; nothing is hid from His gaze. Justice will always be done, every single time. Those who accept God’s mercy and grace will find forgiveness; those who reject it will face His wrath. There are no exceptions. Every single last sin that has not been covered by the blood of Jesus (and for Christians, all sins are covered) will be brought into account and judged. Revelation tells us that in Heaven the deeds of men are recorded in books, and on Judgment Day those books will be opened and the wicked will be faced with every last evil deed they have ever done. In that day those who rejected the forgiveness Christ offered will have no defense; they will be forced to bear the unbearable, eternal wrath of an angry and spurned God.

It is so easy to forget these truths when watching the news. We tend to expect things to be put right immediately, and when that doesn’t happen we start thinking that maybe sin doesn’t really matter after all. However, the Bible tells us otherwise. God is patient, and is withholding His wrath in order to give people time to repent and seek His forgiveness. Justice will come, in time. As James said, we must have long patience for it. But it will be done.

Ten days later, Amy met Miles outside his underground bunker. A few months ago his bunker had been located deep in the arid Martian desert, but the terraformation project had made drastic changes to the landscape. When Miles emerged from his home he was greeted by a vast blue sky that was dotted with fluffy white clouds. The rain had stopped and the air was warm and humid. The endless miles of sand had disappeared, replaced with a rolling field of fresh green grass. There was a sense of hope and life in the air – something that had been missing from Mars for a millennia.

“It’s beautiful!” Miles exclaimed.

“It’s April 1st,” Amy replied. “Right on schedule! Mars is really looking good. I wish I could have accelerated the growth of trees, but that seemed a little risky. Even Noel would have had a hard time explaining how an old-growth forest could suddenly appear in just a couple months.”

“You know, you’d think that he would know better, but on the other hand I wouldn’t put it past him. His powers of imagination are quite vast. Noel is absolutely determined to find a natural explanation for all of this. He is convinced that all of these changes are just a part of an ordinary planetary cycle. The countless anomalies don’t trouble him at all.”

“Which is exactly what I was hoping for. That’s the whole reason I did it this way – to keep myself out of the picture. I really don’t want anyone to stop and realize that their whole planet started changing right after a strange girl appeared out of nowhere. I’m not interested in attracting that kind of attention.”

“Well, I don’t think you’re in any danger. These people just aren’t that curious. Do you realize that everyone is still living in New Tikal? I made a trip there last week and found that they’ve already taken the new atmosphere for granted and have gone back to their old lives. I guess the novelty has worn off.”

“Everyone?” Amy asked. “Even Noel?”

“Well, Noel has actually been pretty busy lately. He’s planning on borrowing the Raptor soon so he can drive around and see what’s changed, but right now he’s trying to adjust the life support systems in the city to take advantage of all the new resources. The atmosphere towers have to be changed, the water system needs to be adjusted…”

“Then I guess we’d better get to work and give him a new set of challenges to face! It’s time for him to leave the nest and move boldly into the future. So, what do you think – should we put the city right behind that hill over there?”

“Sure, why not? Although I see that you’ve made the same mistake that I did – there aren’t any patches of desert lying around! Everything is green, as far as the eye can see.”

“Goodness, you’re right! I don’t know what I was thinking. All right, then, let’s fix that. I think we need to make a slight adjustment to our plans. Let’s put the city right over…there.”

Without warning, the ground began trembling. A few miles away the soil rippled as if it was made of water. With a sudden crack, the ground parted and a fissure opened. The hole quickly grew in size until it was nearly half a mile wide.

Miles gasped. “I didn’t know there was a fault line around here!”

“There’s not,” Amy replied. “But thanks to that remarkable and unexpected earthquake, we now have a path to the lost city of the ancients. Now I just need to put the city in the fissure.”

“But the fissure isn’t big enough! At best it could only hold a small section of the city.”

“Which is exactly what we want. The rest of the city will be buried underground, just as we had planned. The only difference is that instead of hiding it under sand, it will be hidden under dirt and rock. I think it’ll still work. It will take more effort to dig it out, but they have the manpower to do it.”

Miles saw Amy close her eyes and make a quick gesture with her hands. In the distance he saw the ground around the fissure rumbling, as if something was happening beneath the surface. Over the next few minutes the ground shook, and then all became quiet again. Amy opened her eyes and smiled. “That should do it!”

“Where’s the city?” Miles asked. “I still don’t see anything.”

“I’ll show you,” Amy replied. A split-second later both of them were standing at the top of the fissure.

“Oof,” Miles exclaimed, shocked at the sudden change in location. “I wasn’t expecting that! Please let me know next time before you transport me across the planet. It’s a little unsettling.”

“Sorry – I forgot that you weren’t connected to the network anymore. But look down there!”

Miles looked down into the fissure and gasped. At the bottom of the chasm he saw buildings rising out of the ground. The metal structures looked old and worn, but they were still largely intact. At the very bottom he could see broken streets that were littered with debris. More skyscrapers could be seen partially buried in the sides of the fissure. Judging by the street layout, it looked like the city continued on to the north, just beneath the surface.

“It’s beautiful,” Miles said. “It’s exactly as we designed it. But how are they going to get down there?”

“Oh, they’ll have to build a road. I guess that will be their first challenge. They should be able to manage it, though. After all, if they can’t build a road then they have much bigger problems.”

“So what do we do now?” Miles asked.

Amy smiled. “We go to New Tikal and tell them what we’ve found.”

“What if they don’t come? You don’t suppose we’ve miscalculated, do you? I mean, it should work, but–”

Amy shook her head. “From what I’ve heard, people have been risking their lives for centuries trying to find the lost treasure of Don Elliott. Do you really think they’re just going to ignore this? That city isn’t phony, you know; it really does contain treasure. Not just treasure in silver and gold, but something far more valuable – knowledge. No, they’ll come all right! I’m not worried about that.”

“Then let’s go!” Miles replied.

Before Amy could move, however, Miles grabbed her arm. “Let’s not go that way, though. I think it would be much better if we took the Raptor. That way we could use it to actually drive people back here, like civilized people.”

Amy grinned. “You mean like people who haven’t discovered the art of teleportation yet. All right, you have a point – I guess that would be less suspicious. Lead the way, then!”

After a month of intense work and countless hours of debate and experimentation, Amy and Miles at last agreed that the new city was complete. With a feeling of tremendous accomplishment, the two of them stood back and looked at the metropolis that they had created. The city was almost entirely buried under a mound of sand, as it would be when they reconstructed it on Mars. Using the nanites, however, they could peer beneath the sand and see the maze of riddles that they had created. They were both very pleased.

“So are we going to just move this city to Mars?” Miles asked.

“Oh no!” Amy replied. “No, we’ll recreate it once we get back there. Trying to move this city all the way across the galaxy would be a huge pain. Besides, it’s not necessary. Since we have the digital blueprints for it we can just feed them to the Martian nanites and let them do the work. It won’t be a problem.”

“So what should we do with this copy of it? Are we just going to leave it here?”

“I don’t see why not. After all, it’s not going to do any harm to just let it sit there. Besides, someone might come here one day and discover it!”

Miles laughed. “What a shock that would be! They’d probably go crazy trying to figure out how an exact duplicate of Tikal ended up on an abandoned planet on the other side of the galaxy.”

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll know what’s going on by then. I think once they reach the network they should be told about what we did. There’s no reason to keep it a secret forever. After all, we’re trying to help them, not mess with their minds! Later today I’ll contact the Stewards and make sure that they know to tell them.”

“For that matter, you could tell them. After all, for all practical purposes you’re immortal! You’re still going to be young and spry 500 years from now, or however long it takes them to reach this place.”

“I actually wasn’t planning on being around that long,” Amy replied. “I was kind of hoping that after I finished my work I could go home to my family. There’s really no place for me here in this galaxy. I don’t fit in.”

“What do you mean? I can understand why you wouldn’t want to live on Xanthe, but you will always have a home on Mars. It is your native planet, you know! You have as much of a right to be there as I do. Besides, I think Noel would be pretty disappointed if you left.”

Amy shook her head. “It sounds like a great idea, but it wouldn’t work. If I start hanging around other people they’re eventually going to find out that I’m not like everyone else. Noel hasn’t figured it out yet, but it’s only a matter of time before even he realizes that I have vast powers. Once people know that I can do things they can only imagine, well, they’re going to panic. The government would see me as a security threat and would eventually try to assassinate me. There’s simply no way they’re going to trust that an immortal with unfathomable power would never lose her mind and try to take over the world – and I don’t blame them.”

“Well, that’s certainly a depressing outlook on life! I see your point, though. But couldn’t you live as if you were a normal person? After all, you don’t have to use your powers, do you?”

“I’m an immortal,” Amy pointed out. “I can’t get sick or injured, and after I reach maturity I will never age. People are going to notice, Miles.”

“They never noticed with me!”

“That’s because you live alone, far from everyone else, and only rarely enter society. That’s really not the sort of life I’m looking for. I have no desire to spend the rest of time living all by myself on some empty world, making once-in-a-decade trips to Mars.”

“Couldn’t you set yourself up as a legendary figure?” Miles asked. “For example, you once told me about Christmas. After digging through the historical archives I was finally able to uncover an obscure reference to that holiday. Wasn’t there some fat red person associated with it – a happy guy who gave away toys at a steep discount? Why not become someone like that?”

Amy laughed. “No, Miles, I’m not going to turn into Santa Claus. The key thing about Santa was that no one ever saw him. If the government ever thought there was a real person out there with seemingly unlimited power, you can bet that they’d try to find a way to ‘neutralize’ him. Governments like to have a monopoly on power, you know. Besides, absolute power is corrupting! How do you know that I won’t someday lose my mind and become an evil dictator?”

“I guess I don’t,” Miles admitted. “It just – I don’t know. It just seems really unlikely. I can’t see you doing that.”

“I’m only fourteen, you know. I’m not even an adult yet!”

“That’s true,” Miles agreed. “Say, when is your birthday? I don’t remember ever seeing that in the records.”

“July 23,” Amy replied. “My sister and I were born in 1853, for what it’s worth.”

“Oh my! I mean, I knew that, but it’s still amazing. You were born a really long time ago. You’re a part of history, in more ways than one. I bet there are historians out there who would love to sit down and talk with you. So much of that period has been lost to time.”

“It doesn’t seem that long ago to me,” Amy said softly. “The way I remember it, last summer Tikal was still standing and my father was still the governor of Mars. I never dreamed I would end up here.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t know. I just have a feeling that something will turn up. If it doesn’t then I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Miles nodded. “Well, are you ready to return to Mars?”

Amy hesitated. “Not quite yet. The basic terraformation of Mars won’t be done until April 1st, and I don’t want the city to be discovered until then. Right now is just too soon.”

“You do realize that the first is more than a week from now, don’t you? What are you going to do in the meantime?”

“I think I might go visit the Sentinel. It’s been quite a while since I’ve spent any time with him. I’ll see if I can lend him a hand.”

“Well, in that case I think I’ll return to Mars. Jasmine is a nice planet, but I’m about ready to return home. Besides, I need to check up on Noel and see how he’s doing. Someone’s got to make sure that he doesn’t get into too much trouble.”

Amy nodded. “All right – that sounds good. I’ll see you later!”

“Hold on there!” Miles called out. “I need you to transport me back to Mars – I don’t seem to be able to do that. Oh, and you’ll probably want your shoelaces back.”

Amy shook her head. “No, you can keep them. They are yours, after all, and they go so well together with those orange shoes. I’d hate to break up a matching set.”

Miles looked down. “Goodness – the shoes! I forgot all about my shoes. I could have used the nanites to change them into something not quite as garish, couldn’t I?”

“Among other things,” Amy said, laughing. “I’ll deactivate the shoelaces when I return you to Mars, but you can keep them as a memento. I don’t see any harm in that.”

“Then it will be an honor to keep them. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome! I’ll see you next week.”

With that, Miles disappeared. After making sure that Miles had arrived safely at his home on Mars, Amy disappeared as well, leaving the planet Jasmine empty.

Hebrews 4:8: “For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

There are a few important things that we can immediately glean from this. First of all, verse 11 makes it clear that the only way to obtain this rest is through belief. If we believe in Jesus then we will enter into His rest; if we don’t then we won’t. It is as simple as that. Saying “Well, I just didn’t believe it” will not be accepted as a valid excuse. The Bible always portrays unbelief as a fearful sin.

We can also see that this rest hasn’t yet been given to us. It is still in our future, and is something to look forward to. It is immensely comforting to know that one day we will rest from our works. I suspect that the “works” that are being discussed are our labors in this life, and that our rest comes when we leave this world and move on to be with the Lord. At that point we will be free from all of the things that troubled us, and our soul will be refreshed.

Now, this doesn’t mean that we’re going to sit around in Heaven with nothing to do, and will spend eternity staring at a wall. Revelation 22:3 tells us that in the New Jerusalem “His servants shall serve Him”. But this is going to be very different from what we’re going through now, because in that golden city the Lord’s will is done. Nothing evil will ever be allowed to enter into it (Revelation 21:27). We will live there with God and all will be well. In this life we constantly struggle with the forces of darkness, fighting spiritual wickedness in high places – but there we will have rest.

The promise is clear: for now, we labor and are burdened with many sorrows, trials, and pains. But one day our labor will be finished, the Lord will call us home, and we will rest. That will be a good day. Those who “come short of it” do so because of their unbelief. These trials will not last forever – a better day is coming.

This is the book cover for the second book in the randomly-generated Carole Livingston series!

Hebrews 2:8: “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.”

Even to this day, all things have not yet been put under Jesus. One day this will change, however. The day is soon coming when Jesus will return to Earth and defeat Satan, the antichrist, and the forces of darkness – at which point His will is finally going to be done “on earth, as it is in heaven” (as Jesus Himself taught us to pray). This will not be the end, however. The final victory won’t come until after the Great White Throne judgment, where sin, death, and the devil will be done away with once and for all. After that takes place Jesus will be the undisputed ruler of the Universe. All things will at last be in complete subjection to Him, and all traces of rebellion will be stamped out forever. That will be an awesome day.

Now, there are some who say “Oh, you shouldn’t worship Jesus. You should just worship the Father.” This is a lot of nonsense. Jesus is the very image of God; when you honor Jesus you honor the Father, and when you dishonor Jesus you dishonor the Father. All throughout the New Testament people fell at Jesus’ feet and worshiped Him, and Jesus never stopped them. It is altogether fitting and right that we should worship Jesus, and praise Him, and give Him our thanks – for dying for us, for saving us from our sins, for blessing us with countless blessings, and for interceding on our behalf. Jesus is altogether worthy of all of our worship, honor, and praise.