The Fact Behind the Fiction of Pinpoint Analysis

One of the major themes of Pinpoint Analysis is that of courage. Here are just a few random thoughts about courage.

Actor John Wayne once said, “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” That is one way of putting it, but to me, that is a pretty vague description of courage. Courage is much more.

A typical dictionary also gives a vague, generic definition of the word courage such as this from thefreedictionary.com – “The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery."

Consider these seven attributes of the single word, courage.

• Feeling Fear Yet Choosing to Act
• Following Your Heart
• Persevering in the Face of Adversity
• Standing Up For What Is Right
• Expanding Your Horizons;
• Letting Go of the Familiar
• Facing Suffering with Dignity or Faith

Doctor Les Griffin explored each of these areas in his search for his daughter. But the question isn’t what did Les do, but what will you do? In your daily life, you will face one or more these situations.

How will you respond when you are needed in difficult situations? What will you do when it seems all is lost? How will you work through life’s suffering that in time will show its ugly face? Will you let your dreams die, or will you chase them with a vengeance? What will you do when fear looks you in the eye and says, You won’t or You can’t?

Stand tall. Saddle up anyway.

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as The Devil’s Triangle, is a triangular section of the Atlantic Ocean extending from Miami, Florida to the islands of Bermuda, to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and back to Miami roughly covering an area of 500,000 square miles.

The area has become famous because of the many ships and airplanes that disappear, seemingly into thin air, while crossing the area. The planes and ships go missing without a trace never to be seen or heard from again. So what happens in this strange triangle of the Atlantic Ocean?

There have been many theories expounded, but none are all-inclusive and none without question. Perhaps the best-known theory is that of methane gas explosions. This part of the ocean has become a literal graveyard for marine life. As these animals decay at the bottom of the Atlantic, methane gas is given off. The gas collects in great quantities and is released in large explosions.

As the gas escapes to the surface, the vacated area is displaced by ocean water. If a ship is nearby, it would likely sink in the area vacated by the gas. As the water rushes in to displace the gas, the ship would be lost to sight and communication quickly and silently.

If the methane explodes into the atmosphere, it would most likely remove any aircraft from its path with no explanation. The planes would just vanish from sight never to be heard of again.

Due to many ocean storms in this area of the Atlantic, it is also believed that many ships and planes go missing as the bad weather claims them. Remember too, that this area of the Atlantic is also well known for hurricanes. Might that be an explanation?

Because of the storms, electromagnetism seems to have established itself in the area. Electromagnetism can affect the controls of planes and ships. There have been reports of planes entering time warps caused by the electromagnetism and finding themselves in other locations or time periods. Another possible conclusion? It’s doubtful.

It was recorded by Christopher Columbus that as his ships approached the area, the compass began to spin wildly. He also reported strange lights dipping in and out of the ocean. Perhaps an underwater alien base? Probably not.

There is also the story of Atlantis. The missing aircraft and ships are due to the underwater, underground actions of the inhabitants of Atlantis. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction, but in this case, I doubt it.

The fact is we don’t know what causes these occurrences. The fact is that The Bermuda Triangle is more heavily traveled than other parts of the world’s oceans. This means there will be more plane and ship accidents in this part of the ocean. Percentages speak. The fact is so many planes and ships make the passage safely every day.

Still, we know there are many documented accounts of missing planes and ships in The Devil’s Triangle. Maybe he alone is responsible for it.

In Pinpoint Analysis, the underworld is portrayed as partial fiction and partial fact. Let’s draw the line between the two, shall we?

Fact: The body is a temporary shell in which the spirit of man resides while on this earth, It is the soul that sees through the eyes. It is the soul that hears through the ears. It is the soul that speaks through the lips.

Fact: The shell, the body of all humans will at some point cease to function. The soul is eternal and will continue to live forever at one of two locations. This separation is what we call death. Physical death, the death of the body (separation of the body and soul), occurs to all. Spiritual death, the separation of the spirit from God occurs to many.

The separation of man’s soul from God depends on only one fact. What has a person done with Jesus Christ? We live in a world that would claim no absolutes exist.

As a pastor, I have heard many times, “That’s what you believe. I believe something different” – and yet somehow, we are to believe we are both right. A personal belief does not create truth. Two plus two has always and always will equal four no matter what one chooses to believe.

In these times of tremendous growth in knowledge, are we still so naïve as to think absolutes don’t exist in the spiritual realm as well? To say so creates a problem.

There are over 2,000 world religions, each with a different worldview. All cannot be correct as contradictions abound between them. Some say we are to look to ourselves. Others say we are to look to others. Some say there is no afterlife. Others would preach a message of reincarnation. Still, the message of others is all will go to heaven while others say only some will go. I’ll not go on. You get the point.

Absolutes do exist, and if we are to say they don’t, we contradict ourselves. To say, “There are no absolutes,” is an absolute statement.

So, if truth exists, how are we to know which religion is true?

To answer that question, we must consider the fact that all of the world’s religions require its adherents to perform certain “works” or deeds to obtain favor with their chosen god. That makes it even harder to distinguish. What deeds must I do? What creed must I follow? Is there a belief system that stands out among the world’s religions because it is markedly different?

Yes, there is, although as we will see, it cannot be classified as a religion. Consider the claims of Christianity. There are five things that are unique to Christianity that do not exist in other religions.

• The Bible (the holy book of Christianity) claims for itself that it was delivered by God Himself to His people (I Timothy 3:16; I Peter 1:21). No other religion can make that claim.
• The Confirmation - History, archaeology, and true science all back up the Bible as truth. 2. Its harmony - The Bible is a volume made up of 66 separate books written by 40 different human authors over a period of 1,500 years, on three different continents, yet without error. 3. Its prophecy - Of the over 300 Messianic prophecies in the Bible, 100% has been fulfilled. No other holy book has ever come close to 100% fulfillment.
• The Founder – Christianity is the only belief system that claims to be founded by God Himself. God came to this earth in the person of Jesus Christ. Its founder was not a man as was Gautama Buddha, Mohammed, or Charles Russell. These men never claimed to be God, but over and over again, Jesus Christ made that claim.
• The Message - of the Bible, both Old and New Testament, centers on the cross of Christ. The writer of Hebrews says in chapter 9:22, "...without shedding of blood is no remission. "This is the primary difference between Christianity and the other 2,000+ religions of the world. It was Christ, Emmanuel, God in the flesh that purchased our redemption on the cross as He bled and died for mankind. The Creator-founder died to save his wayward creatures from self-destruction. In no other religion has the founder responded to its followers in such a way.
• The Resurrection – The death of Christ was not enough. For Him to fully conquer death, He needed to overcome death with resurrection. After laying in the grave for three days and three nights, He arose the victor over sin, death, and hell.

As I mentioned earlier, Christianity is not a religion. Religion is a belief system that teaches the human race there is something we must do to reach God. The fact is there is nothing we can do to reach God. It’s all about what God did to reach us. Christianity does not offer a religion, but a personal relationship with the God of the Universe. What could be better than that!

It’s not about working your way to Heaven, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. It’s about trusting in the finished work of Christ on the cross and allowing Him to direct your life. But it is a choice.

For those who choose to reject Christ and continue to try to do their best and hope for Heaven, it will never work. Jesus himself says in Matthew 7:22, 23, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

These people did many wonderful works in the name of Jesus, and yet he rejects them. Why? Because salvation is not found in good works with good intentions. Isaiah puts it this way in Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” The standard is God, not other people. The question becomes, have we measured up to God? Absolutely not. We need an intercessor. Jesus has become that one. To Him we owe our life and should want to willingly follow Him out of a heart filled with love.

The flipside of rejecting Christ results in a literal hell. The old hellfire and brimstone preachers knew what it’s about. If we don’t measure up to the standard, there is no hope. We cannot measure up to the standard.

That’s why Jesus provided Himself for us. He provided what we are incapable of providing. Hell is the eternal abode or all who have rejected the Truth. Jesus is that Truth.

We saw earlier that spiritual death is the separation of the soul and spirit from God forever. The fact is hell is everything the Bible says it is and then some. Hell is the absence of all light. Hell is the absence of all contact. In hell, you will know no one. There will be no parties. You will forever be alone with yourself and past memories. Hell is everlasting pain and torment. Hell is the complete absence of God.

I’ve often been asked, “Why would a loving God send a person to hell?” My response is simple. He doesn’t. God sends no one to hell. People choose to accept or reject the loving offer of Jesus to come to Him. In his great love, He did everything possible for you to escape hell. If we neglect the only fire escape, there is no other choice.

And contrary to popular belief (remember, belief doesn’t make it so), there is no second chance. Unlike Trista in the story, once you enter the final abode by death, it becomes the final abode for life, and all of us will live forever – somewhere. It’s your choice.

Yes, it is your choice. God never forces us to choose Him. He wants us to choose Him because we love Him, not because we have to. So, yes. It is your choice. To make no choice is to make a choice of rejection. Deuteronomy 4:29 tells us, "But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." Stand tall. Saddle up. If you seek Him, you will find Him. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.