Martin Luther King Jr. may have had a dream, but God our Creator had a plan and that plan was to abolish racism, once for all, on the cross.

The day was an ordinary day in mid-May, 2003, a partly sunny day as my wife, Olive, came to a stop light at Cook’s Corner. As she waited for the light to change, her heart was heavy with concern for the situation her family was facing. Her husband was battling a severe depression, for about 2 years at that point, with little indication that he was getting better. He had just lost a good paying job at a local Christian radio station a little over a month ago, the severance pay had ended with no job prospects in sight and her heart was crying out to the Lord. Feeling discouraged and all alone she flooded her Father’s throne with her tears and her questions. “Where are you, Lord?”

Have you ever had any of these thoughts: “I don’t dare be who I really am because then nobody will like me” or “If people really knew me they wouldn’t like me” or “I wish I knew who I really was, I have worn different masks so long I don’t even know anymore.” I have been there, and it is a lonely, exhausting way to live.

How does a man know whether or not he is a spiritual man? I mean, is it the length of his devotional time? Is it how many people he witnesses to in a day? I would like to suggest that the real test of a man’s spirituality is the “road test”.

No, this article isn’t a variation of Simon Says. Neither is it as conceited as it may first appear. I don’t presume to be the last word on anything. Some of you know, most of you don’t, however, that there is another Mike Whitney living in the Midcoast Region.

On November 8, 1971 the group Led Zepplin introduced the song “Stairway to Heaven” to the world. It quickly became a tremendous hit and has remained a favorite of “rock and rollers” for almost 50 years. The song has occultic themes and a very dangerous message that most who hear it probably don’t even realize. I am not going to quote the whole song here but there is one line in the song that deserves our undivided attention because it strikes at the core of this life and the next. Before I share that line I want to tell you a little story.

Men, I want to be like this fellow I heard about named Apelles, and when you hear about him you probably will too. As far as I know this guy is only named once in Scripture but oh what a commendation is given him!

The first two articles in this series brought us the wonderful news that God’s grace is unlimited and available to all. Today’s thoughts are more sobering. Can God’s grace be rejected? And if it can, what are the circumstances and what are the consequences?