Restored!

Season 2 - Episode 1

Hello, and welcome to In the Lighthouse: your safe harbor from the storm. This is Daphne Collins, your Lighthouse Keeper and host for our time together. Welcome to Season Two of this podcast, which, as you may have noticed, has been quiet these past months. We are purpose-driven in this ministry, and our content, like this podcast, is presented when there is a story to tell. Before we get started, however, please take a moment to click on the Subscribe button and like this episode. Also, please share our podcast by clicking the button below. We appreciate your help in sharing your light with the world in any way you can. I look forward to bringing you more podcast content during this second season of In the Lighthouse including more stories from Heroes of the Old Testament.  

When we reach the end of a tumultuous season of testing, we take stock of what precipitated the test, what choices were made that brought about the consequences, and how we responded to the severity of the test. If we ask the Lord to give us the wisdom to bring us to that point when personal responsibility leads to repentance and confession, we will be restored to the abiding presence of the Lord. We are once again reminded that he never left us; we chose to leave him and go our own way. Is this you? Have you been deceived by your own understanding to go in a direction that will lead you to destruction? Do you choose to listen to the voices of those whose influence will only make trouble for you? Deception is a common tool of Satan and has been utilized by him since Adam and Eve in the Garden. Let's reflect on their story and see how it resonates with our own lives.

Adam and Eve, the first humans to walk the face of this earth, were placed in the Garden of Eden by God and were given an explicit warning regarding the boundary God placed around a specific tree in the center of the Garden. They were given full access to all that God placed before them – all but this single tree. They obeyed God’s instructions, but they were naturally curious about the tree in the center. They were predisposed to curiosity and temptation to test the boundaries placed before them. All they needed was a little wicked deception and a sprinkle of doubt to change their walk of obedience. In Genesis 3:1-4, a crafty serpent, cunning beyond measure, entered the Garden and distorted the perfection of God’s idyllic creation. “And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’  The woman answered the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’ “You will not surely die,” the serpent told her. “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

      Pride was the major sin that spurred the curiosity of the first man and woman created by God. Their curiosity and disobedience led them to cross the single boundary placed before them. Their mistake was to listen to a deceiving voice instead of obeying the voice of wisdom that reminded them to stay away; otherwise, unforeseen consequences would change everything idyllic within their Garden of Paradise. 

When we stray from the abiding presence of the Lord and find ourselves cast out from the company of other believers because of self-imposed isolation, we become vulnerable to deceptions by the enemy. We believe the lie and justify it to match how we feel. We begin to believe that our cause is righteous and noble. We communicate to ourselves and others that we are on a path to discovery. 

This episode is entitled “Restored!” and my guest today here In the Lighthouse is my sister, Ariane Mitchum, the Beacon of Light for Carry the Light Ministries. She is the newest member of the Carry the Light family, and today, she has a story to tell of God’s restorative grace.  Years ago, Ariane found herself backsliding away from her newly professed faith, and because of a lack of discipleship with a mature Christian and her own feelings of what appeared to be perfunctory religious practices, she left the community of believers and pursued her earlier interest in the occult and its many diversions. When the moth flies too close to the flame, it is dangerously close to having its wings singed, rendering its ability to flee useless.  Ariane learned a very valuable lesson about why it’s important to abide by the safety of the Good Shepherd and his governance. She’s here to tell her story. Okay, let’s get started!

When we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we also renounce our former way of life. We choose to forswear the things that once led us away from God’s light and directly into darkness. And when I speak of darkness, I’m recalling my own past and the depths to which I chose to sink all for the purpose of my own wicked intentions. The things we do in darkness tend to be secretive. We wouldn’t want our dark deeds to be known to many – if any at all. Our sins demonstrate the level of our depravity and desperate need of a savior. We don’t understand how truly exposed we are to the darkest levels of wickedness that have been chronicled in the annals of history. Because of willful disobedience, our souls become vulnerable to spiritual forces unseen by the naked eye. In Ephesians 6:12, the apostle Paul explains “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” The danger imposed is beyond our comprehension and ability. We are powerless against such forces when left to our own devices. We cannot fight what we cannot see. We need a stronger supernatural power to help us cope with these “forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We need deliverance from the impulses that lead us into indulging the curiosity of our sinful nature into things better left unknown. In other words, do not partake of the tree in the middle of the Garden. 

In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis argues, “The moment you have a self at all, there is a possibility of putting yourself first - wanting to be the center - wanting to be God, in fact. That was the sin of Satan: and that was the sin he taught the human race. Some people think the fall of man had something to do with sex, but that is a mistake...what Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they 'could be like gods' - could set up on their own as if they had created themselves - be their own masters - invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come...the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” Our guest chose to partake of the forbidden fruit only to learn that her curiosity led her to dark places.  

Some parts of this podcast will present issues concerning suicide and are not recommended for certain audiences; therefore, I strongly caution parents and responsible adults to use discretion with their young ones when listening to this episode.  

Show Notes

Suicide and Crisis Lifeline - call or text 988 - Counselors and Volunteers available 24/7

All music themes used in this episode are taken from Envato Elements.

Opening Theme: Going For Gold

Introductory Theme: The Gate of Heaven by Adigold

Transition Theme: Quiet Night Guitar Piano by Praded

Conclusion Theme: Rising of the Sun by Praded

Transcript of “Restored!” by Daphne Collins

Transcript of “When God Calls You . . . Pick Up!” by Kinney deHamel