Care to have an adventure?
The responsibility is yours and you won’t travel alone.
Thank you … so, where should we start?
First, God does love you.
Anytime we misunderstand God’s love we risk losing the blessings God truly desires for us.
Some are temporary. Others are eternal. And not all blessings may feel or seem like blessings at the time.
Second, I’ve been in pain, hurt, and loss too.
Because of this, I don’t have a Pollyanna view of God. Please don’t think I’m trying to be insincere or shallow. I can only say we live in an imperfect, fallen world with imperfect people who have free will.
Some of this is a paradox, just like an accurate understanding of God’s love. Paradox is defined by Oxford Languages as “a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.”
Third, I’m going to offer the short version with minimal explanation. Then I will provide a deeper view.
Each version will have a conclusion. Obviously, the longer version supports the conclusion better than the short one will.
I’ll provide resources along the way in the longer version and a growing resource list at the end.
Hi, my name is Robert. What’s your name?
I know, I can’t hear you. But you are known.
God knows when a sparrow falls and even numbers the hairs of our heads. He has an easier job with mine.
God loves you. God loves us. God wants us to love one another.
I am imperfect in my love to God and to others, even so, I know God loves you.
If you’re not sure or doubtful about God’s existence, love, or have other spiritual thoughts or worries, I’ve probably had some of those (and different ones too), but not yours specifically.
That brings us to the name of this site, “Care Packages from God.”
After I prayed my first real prayer, God provided me with what I needed.
I was given opportunity for answers to questions unique to my seeking and that I didn’t even know how to ask.
I had prayed God would provide what I needed in my heart and mind so I could follow.
I said follow, but other words used include obey, worship, and serve.
As I said, I am imperfect in my love to God in this.
In fact, this project started as a book a decade ago in 2015. Over 100,000 words with the rough drafts.
For some reason, I felt the impression I needed to have something online today, 2/28/25, before noon.
And this is what I’m able to do.
I hope this serves you in your seeking.
Short Version
If you don’t mind, I’ll start with the conclusion, because within that, I believe you’ll be able to have a very honest prayer with God that will be answered.
If you have any reactions to this, good! You’ll use those to have a very honest prayer.
God is more than just love. God is holy and just. God’s mercy is shown to us through the Prince of Peace, Jesus. Jesus is the gospel (good news) of peace with a holy, living God who desires no sin in His presence.
Jesus, sinless in thought, deed, and word, suffered all our sin under the law. He died, and then rose to life again on the third day. He rose to heaven, but left the Holy Spirit to indwell in followers. When we trust and obey, we are guided in to live righteously.
When we fail on this side of heaven, if we are followers, then we repent or admit our sin. We then follow God’s commands in trust, and continue to grow in righteousness.
Jesus takes on our sin if we surrender and acknowledge Him as the God the Son (not a prophet or instigator against the Roman government).
Jesus said those that love him keep his commandments (John 14:21).
This entire process has fancy theology words. Through Jesus we experience justification. Through the Holy Spirit, reading God’s Word, repenting, and obeying, we experience sanctification.
When we finally reach heaven, we are glorified and made perfect through God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit — three in One.
I’m not going to claim I know exactly how all of this occurs. I will say when you pray honestly, you may not get all the answers you think you need. Somehow though, God WILL give you what you need if you are seeking truth in order to follow Jesus.
There will come a point when you have to make a decision. This is where other Christians may ask, “Are you saved?” or “Have you been saved by Jesus?”
When Christians talk about “Jesus saves,” the unstated part is something like this:
“Jesus saves us from the wrath of a Holy, Living God who hates sin, and punishes it by casting sin and sinner away into darkness and fire (another paradox). God’s love desires none to perish like that and that all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Repentance is agreeing with God’s judgment about one’s disobedience to God’s law, and seeking to follow His law instead. Repentance is agreeing that God has the authority to say what is sin, whether we or others agree or not. So, in His love, God the Son, Jesus, came as explained in John 3:16-21:
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed.
21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God.”
So… within this is a willingness to seek God, surrender to God’s ways, repent from our ways (sins) that don’t honor God and His law, and follow God through faith in practice as new creations in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
So… that’s a lot.
So, if you want an easier one minute version from someone with much more knowledge than me, consider listening to Dr. John MacArthur in this YouTube short here.
I remember one of the first reactions I had when dealing with the idea of “sin” was a comparison to others. I’m better than ___ because I haven’t ____. Plus I do all these things:____, ___, etc.
That is an example of what I call “throwing dust,” which I used (and see others use) to block the intensity of God’s Light or God’s holiness.
Keep reading, because you’ll be able to share that in your prayer too.
If I were to tell you God hates sin partly because of His holiness, then I can guarantee you that most people will have a reaction to that.
Then, if I added, God’s justice punishes sin, and that punishment for sin is eternal darkness and suffering, well, I can guarantee most people have a reaction to that too.
Finally, if I told you Jesus was the answer, the ultimate Care Package from God, to the problem of all have sinned in God’s sight and face judgment, then I hope most people would be willing to seek truth.
I had reactions to those too, and I used them in what I call my first real prayer to God. I had prayed many times before, but they were me trying to keep control and put God in a box of my limited understanding.
The key to that real prayer is being honest about what you think and feel as you seek truth.
“What’s the catch? I’m always honest,” some might say.
If a person is not willing to turn from what God calls sin, God may not grace that person with any answers or guidance.
Worse, he may allow people to be veiled to truth (Isaiah 44:18, 2 Corinthians 3:14, Matthew 13:13) and deluded in thinking they “serve” God and are secure in their relationship.
Ultimately, God judges.
Look at these poor people in Matthew 7 (LSB):
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
We’ll go through Matthew 7 in full in the longer version. It holds multiple keys in what I’m sharing.
Until then, know that God loves those who are seeking truth. At least 10 verses talk about how God can be found by those who seek Him.
Your real prayer may be different than mind, but if it comes from the heart and mind of seeking God in order to follow Jesus, I don’t believe you’ll be disappointed.
My first real prayer developed because of a college logic class taught by an agnostic, Dr. Paul Sharkey, and a small chapter from a book by C.S. Lewis. More on those in the longer section.
How did it happen?
I remember being in boot camp at Fort Dix, New Jersey, when I prayed my first real prayer.
Three days before boot camp, I had found out my parents were separated and on the way to divorce. They had been married 27 years, and I knew what the Bible said about divorce except in rare circumstances.
I was just a few weeks from finishing boot camp. I had just gotten back from the hospital to have an ingrown toenail removed, and I was in the barracks. The only other person was the drill sergeant on duty downstairs. I got down on my knees facing the bed and positioned the tub so my right foot could soak.
“God, I don’t know if you’re real, but if you are, I’m praying to you as you are and not how I think you are.”
“I’ve heard there’s a hell. I don’t even know if that’s true. I’ve also heard that unless I accept Jesus, I’m going to hell. But that doesn’t make sense to me. I’ve looked at a lot of places. There’s a lot of uncertainty. I need help.”
“I’ve heard there is sin. People argue about what that is. There are things I think and do some call sin. If any of that is sin according to you, if it affects my relationship with you, my ultimate destination, I need to know.”
“Give me what I need so if you’re true and if this is true that I know in my heart and mind so I can follow you.”
I fell asleep because I was so tired.
And not long after that, I got one of my first Care Packages from God.
I was on my way back to Birmingham, Alabama from boot camp.
I was in the airport and visited the book store. I was just killing time.
They had a drastically reduced book for $5.00 named A Ready Defense by Josh McDowell. (Still a great book. Remember, I’ll develop resources as soon as I can!)
I had just enough cash to buy it.
I started devouring it on my plane trip home.
It dealt with various religions. It dealt with accuracy of the Bible. It dealt with Jesus’ claims. It dealt with evolution. It dealt with the majority of questions I had, and some I didn’t know to ask.
For instance, I never thought about the difference in kinds of evidence.
There is scientific evidence and historical evidence.
The standards for each determine whether we judge the evidence valid or not.
McDowell had several chapters about that, and even though I’m not a history buff, I needed what was shared.
Now, about your prayer seeking the truth.
Just be honest.
That’s seems ironic to say to be honest when seeking the truth.
Consider Isaiah 55:8-9 in this search:
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares Yahweh.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
So, with that in mind, dare I ask, “What are you thoughts?”
They matter to God when you’re seeking truth.
Don’t believe the Bible is accurate?
Think Jesus was ____ and not God the Son?
Been hurt by people who claimed they loved God?
Think there is no God?
Think there are many ways to get to heaven?
Don’t believe in heaven or hell?
Think this is a silly exercise and nothing will happen?
Good, then say that in your prayer.
One key is let God know in your prayer – silent is fine, and I suggest it be in private. If God is all knowing, God already knows anyway.
The other key is willingness to repent, surrender, and follow if/when God provides.
Believing in God is nice, but the Bible warns us in James: “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
And if you don’t believe God is one, add that too.
If you believe there are many ways to God, add that too.
You’re seeking truth. And if you don’t believe there is “truth” then add that too.
God honors those who seek to find Him.
It has been and continues to be an adventure for me.
It was simply because I was willing to pray honestly about something I knew affected me for more than just this life.
I know you can pray honestly like this.
Will you?
When?
Long Version: Coming soon! I felt I needed to have this website up before noon 2/28/2025, and this is what I was able to get done.
Short Version: Updated slightly 3/16/2025, including the “Resources” below.
Resources:
A Ready Defense: The Best of Josh McDowell.
This has short chapters of 2-6 pages on a wide variety of topics.
The Gospel According to Jesus: What is Authentic Faith? by John MacArthur.
This wasn’t light reading for me, but this has been a very important resource over the years as I’ve grown in maturity as a Christian. One of the issues dealt with is something called “Lordship salvation.” This deals with whether one can just have faith for salvation or does faith also require obedience and submission to God’s authority. If this interests you, consider reading the book of James in the Bible before jumping into this book.
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.
Chapter four deals with some interesting insights on prayer that affected my first honest prayer.
The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul.
This book was pivotal to me in understanding God’s holiness better. If stories like Uzzah who God killed for trying to stop the Ark of the Covenant from hitting the ground baffle you, then this will help. God had provided a way for the Ark to be transported, but they didn’t follow God’s divine law. Because poles weren’t used in the transport, because man wasn’t to touch the Ark, Uzzah thought he was doing good. But our ways aren’t God’s ways. God’s holiness is far beyond our concept of good.
The Ark Encounter at https://arkencounter.com/.
This isn’t the Ark of the Covenant. This is a built to biblical specifications life-size version of Noah’s Ark. By the grace of God, I was able to go with my dad, stepmom, and wife before Dad passed away. I highly recommend it, but please pray for wisdom as you may be challenged.