Equus Ex Nihilo Volume 2
Issue 1
Life Issue
Joie de Vivre: How Foals Survive
Wolraad Woltemade's Extraordinary Story of Heroism and Sacrifice
Jesus Christ: The Way to Life
On the Cover Photo credit: Mrs. Tanya Holt
Equus Ex Nihilo
Mare and Foal Photo by Rebekah L. Holt Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, fresco by unknown artist (source: Wikimedia Commons)
eQuest For Truth 7238 CR 36550 Arthur City, TX 75411 info@equest4truth.com www.equest4truth.com
Editor: Rebekah L. Holt Co-Editor: Firn Hyde
Letter from the Editor Rebekah L. Holt
Though May 201 3 marks eQuest For Truth's seventh anniversary, the efforts to formulate this ministry began years before. Through the years, my early training in the Scriptures has guided my course providing a secure contrast to counterfeit thinking. There have been many in my path who whole-heartedly believed false ideologies, like Darwinian Evolution, and sought to enlighten "poor Rebekah". Yet, looking back, experiences and training have fit into a pattern of good, unfurling a time of preparation for life. Though just one of many examples, my preparation to work with eQuest For Truth is unmistakably the Lord's orchestration. As a young person, my God given interests coupled with my parents' careful Bible based instruction has equipped me for the jobs the Lord has brought into my life. Though as a toddler, my interests in animals and writing was distinctively marked--such "natural tendencies" still required discipline, guidance and dedication for development. I am thankful that my parents insisted that I learn not only what interested me, but required me to achieve other life skills--many that are thought to be unimportant in today's career driven world and many I was not too excited about learning at the time. For a young person reading this, have you stopped to consider what God is preparing you to do in your adult life? Many of us get wrapped up in training for a vocation which is important - yet, for the Christian, such training should stem from an anchored mindset of being Christ's servant first and foremost. Or perhaps you have a lack of direction of what to do next as you face the next phase of life. Either way, you must remember that the Lord has a set plan for your life (Jeremiah 29:11 -1 3).
I encourage you to apply yourself with vigor to the tasks at hand as the Lord is using every experience in your life now to get you ready for His work He wants you to accomplish. As life is the theme of this eZine, it seems fitting that this issue even reflects new life in construction. The efforts of two young people have made this eZine possible: Firn Hyde and Haylee Legg. Haylee was gracious to submit two pieces of her foal art per our request. Artwork is always needed and adds to the uniqueness of this publication. Firn Hyde has worked diligently to keep this eZine alive. When my schedule became more complex, Firn was willing to take the bulk of the work. It has not been an easy task. Our original deadline was March - yet illness, travels, duties, etc. have presented their obstacles. Firn and I have never met physically. As sisters-in-Christ, we're oceans apart; Firn living in South Africa and my home in Texas. It seems such an unlikely arrangement to find unity of purpose and yet, with the Lord nothing is impossible. Both Haylee and Firn's enthusiastic service and the many people that have written me feedback have been the Lord's catalysts to keep me on track when this has appeared overwhelming. We ask you to join our efforts. Can you pray for us? We need your prayers for guidance on topics to write on, the time and ability to complete and even occasionally, the motivation to get this done. Perhaps you could submit a short article, testimony, photographs or artwork? The purpose of eQuest For Truth and Equus Ex Nihilo have been to get others involved. May the Lord lead you. Rejoicing in Christ, Rebekah Holt
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Image source: Wikimedia Commons,Piotr Michalowski: Studium of Horse Head
Table of Contents One Spark: The Story of Wolraad Woltemade...........................................4
Taking God out of the Message will Ultimately Lead to Human Error..........7
Jesus Christ: The Way to Life......................................................8
John 10:10.........................................13
Joie de Vivre: How Foals Survive........14
Feedback from Readers......................18
C ONT R I B UT OR S
Hi all, my name is Rebekah Holt. In 2006, the Lord called me to begin eQuest For Truth as a Christian apologetics website ministry and the Lord has continually blessed those early efforts. Horses have captivated my interest since toddler years. Raised in a Christian home with nine siblings, my parents provided me with a homeschool education. I would not consider myself a "Master Horsewoman" but a Christian woman that loves what God has created and who enjoys working with horses. I'm currently learning to Team Rope with my 4 year old buckskin filly, Beauty. I’m Firn Hyde, a homeschooled teenager from South Africa. I live on a farm with my parents, sister, and more than 500 animals. Lord Jesus cured my horse, Skye, of a terrible disease and walked into my life in 2011 . He is my best Friend and has given me a passion and a vision to lead others to Him through His magnificent creature, the horse. Haylee Legg is 1 5 years old. She loves serving the Lord, horses and drawing. She is a finishing her freshman year of school in her home school. Haylee has four younger sisters. Recently she has competed in a District piano competition, and has qualified to compete at the State level. Haylee believes that horses are a proof of the majesty and glory of God. She hopes to one day be able to share in that in her work, her art, and in her home. “Who led them through the deep, As a horse in the wilderness, [That] they might not stumble?" Isaiah 63:1 3 Equus Ex Nihilo - 3
O N E SPA R K
T h e S t o r y o f W o l r a a d W o l t e ma d e B y F i rn H yd e
He pulled his grey stallion to a halt on the top of the sand dune, staring down at the storm tossed bay. The wind was cold, but not as cold as the horror that blew through him. A huge hole had already been torn in the ship’s hull, and precious human lives leaked out like blood from a vein. The old man, fists clenched so tightly on the reins that his wrinkled knuckles were as white as his hair, wondered why the soldiers made no attempt to swim out and help the doomed sailors. But his knowledge of the area and sense of the sea told him immediately that the current from the nearby Salt River was stronger than any human swimmer, and that to swim would be both useless and suicidal. He knew that, in midwinter during a typical South African storm, you’d be lucky to drown. Hypothermia would kill those men long before the winds abated. The old man’s mind raced as he spurred his stallion, Vonk (Spark in Dutch), down the sand dune and onto the grey beach. He could see his son Christian amongst the rest of the soldiers, feel the weight of the pack of bread and cheese he had brought on his back, but above every sensation rose the hopeless yells from the dying men. Something
had to be done. Anything. Because the old man on the proud grey horse, Wolraad Woltemade, knew that he would not be able to watch two hundred men die one by one. No boat would make it out there in this storm; De Jonge Thomas was a strong, wellmade ship constructed by Wolraad’s own employers – the Dutch East India Company – and the wind and waves had torn it, anchor and all, across the bay and into the sandbank on which its remains now rested. Neither could any human being brave the waves. Wolraad looked down at the rippling muscles of his steed. For centuries, horses had gone where no man could have gone alone. Perhaps this was one of those times. The soldiers spun around at the yell of encouragement as Wolraad clapped his heels to his horse. Vonk sprang forward in a whirl of muscle and hair as grey as the sky and plunged fearlessly into the waves. Soldiers shouted and hands reached out to stop him, but Wolraad urged his horse on and Vonk’s muscular bulk shunted them aside. In seconds, the stallion was swimming through the icy water, head stretched out, foam dripping from his jaws, his brave rider on his back. "Go, Vonk! Go!” Wolraad urged, hands buried in Vonk’s mane, as much encouraging himself as his horse. He could hear his son screaming behind him, calling him back, and part of him wanted to listen. He was one sixtyfiveyearold man in the centre of a churning sea of towering waves. He was a dairyman, not a hero. But the sailors were dying, and their plight drew him on.
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Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Screams filled the air and the hearing of the old man who stared in horror at a tragedy in the making. Screams from the men and women on the beach, throwing themselves towards the waves. Screams from the soldiers trying to stop them. And worst of all, the desperate, sobbing screams of the sailors on De Jonge Thomas as the relentless waves hammered their ship against the sandbank out at sea. Their cries were so terrible that they seemed to surf above all other noises to grab the old man’s heart in an agony of fear and pity.
Seawater burnt its way down Wolraad’s throat, but he gave Vonk his reins and the stallion strove upwards, breaking the surface, spraying water from his nostrils, mane dripping down his neck like sea foam. And the ship was that much closer. At last, they were under its lurking shadow, the broken spars stabbing into the grey sky like shattered bones. Wolraad coughed to clear his throat of seawater before shouting, hoarsely,“Two of you! Come over here and hold onto the horse’s tail. Quickly!” Wolraad barely heard the cheers from the soldiers as Vonk toiled back onto the beach, hardly waited for the two sailors to stagger onto dry land before wheeling the horse around and urging him back into the waves, spray flying from Vonk’s trampling hooves. Two down. One hundred and eightynine to go. Seven times the courageous pair rode into the deadly sea; fourteen men were dragged back to shore two by two. When the last pair had been seen safely home, Vonk was so exhausted that he swayed where he stood, sweat, blood and seawater dripping through his oncegrey coat. Wolraad could hardly have been less weary. The cold had not been kind to his old joints, nor the drowning sailors to his gentle heart. It was for the brave horse’s sake that Wolraad dismounted, knowing that a well rested horse and rider would be better able to save more people. Vonk had only taken a few easy breaths when a terrible sound rang out from the sea. An earsplitting crack rose above the thunder, followed by screams and groans like a dying tree; worse still was the rush of terrified human voices that mingled with the creaking wood. Wolraad raised his tired white head and saw that the battered remains of De Jonge Thomas were finally falling apart; the wood to
which the sailors still clung was creaking, shattering. There was nothing left to hold on to. Nothing but Wolraad Woltemade and a horse called Vonk. Wolraad slipped back onto Vonk’s steaming back and urged him towards the sea. Weary as he was, the horse staggered back into the waves one more time and started to swim with the last dregs of his strength. Wolraad, huddled and shivering over Vonk’s neck, tried to persuade his hoarse voice to shout encouragement to drowning men and striving horse. The men swam frantically towards them, desperate. Wolraad called out, tried to calm them, to tell them that he could take no more than two at a time, but the sailors could see death coming and they were afraid. Cold hands patterned with blue veins clawed and grasped at Wolraad’s clothes, at Vonk’s mane. Wolraad cried out to stop them, but the sailors were deaf from terror. Vonk tried to pull free, but a coughing, spluttering man lunged forward, staring eyes empty of everything but fear, grasping the stallion’s bridle in both hands. Vonk’s muscles flexed, but he had spent all his strength in serving. His head disappeared underwater; the sea bucked as if with savage glee, a great wave crashed down over them, and horse and men were lost to the heartless ocean. Today every Afrikaner knows the story of Wolraad Woltemade1 , who saved fourteen men on the first of June, 1773 in painstaking pairs in that icy sea. Only 53 of the 191 sailors on De Jonge Thomas survived, and Wolraad was responsible for more than a quarter of them2. He was one man on a horse, one spark in the darkness, who made a lasting difference. He exchanged his life for those of the sailors he had never met before, walking into the maw of death so that others would not have to follow. Wolraad’s memory was well honoured. Just after his death, a ship was named Held Woltemade – Woltemade the Hero – after him. In 1970, the Woltemade Decoration for Bravery, followed in 1988 by the Woltemade Cross of Bravery, was instituted. These were
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Image source: Wikimedia Commons, Robert Salmon: Storm at Sea (detail)
Vonk’s powerful muscles strove on through the sea; Wolraad fought to keep calm. Once, a wave roared out of nowhere and crashed over the heads of both horse and rider.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
sadly discontinued in 2002, but the statue of this selfless person and his trusted horse still stands in Woltemade Station in Cape Town. Wolraad’s story reminds us of another selfless sacrifice, of another Man Who not only died for others, but offered Himself up willingly, knowing that His blood was the only thing that could save those less worthy, those that abused Him, those that He loved. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, is God’s Son3, but when He walked this earth He was still a Man4. He knows about fear, grief, pain, sorrow and loss just as we do, even though He knows and always knew exactly how everything was going to turn out. He was so afraid and distressed in the garden of Gethsemane the night before His trial and eventual crucifixion that He sweated blood5. And yet, when He emerged from the garden, He was solid in His courage. He could have crushed every enemy under His power. He could have wiped every man who spat on Him and abused Him from the face of the earth. Even at the last moment, He could have escaped from that death, easily. But He didn’t. He stood fast in the trial at the house of Caiaphas as He was mocked. He stood silent and noble as Pontius Pilate questioned him. He suffered the blows of the Roman soldiers. He carried the cross on his bleeding back up to the hill of Golgotha. He never struggled as they hammered His hands and feet to the wood. He hung on the cross for six hours until even He felt that God had forsaken him6. He died, and He lay dead for three days. And on the third day He rose again7 and spread the word, a perfect promise from a perfect God: His death was not in vain, nor His resurrection for no reason. Our sins are all punishable by death, and by death they would all have been punished. But Jesus, the sinless, the perfect, took it upon Himself to do the dying for us. He suffered the sentence we deserved, and by rising from the dead, He not only removed our punishment – He added a reward. He allows us to live forever with
Him in Heaven8. We live by our love for the God Who is love9; and we live because He loves us. It is love that will stir a man’s noble nature as far as selfsacrifice. For as Jesus says in John 15:13, greater love hath no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends. Jesus laid down His life for the world. All He asks is for us to lay our own lives at His feet, so that He can hand them back, so much longer and better and more beautiful than they were before.
References: 1. http://mieliestronk.com/woltemade.html 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolraad_Woltemade 3. John 1:3334, Matthew 17:18 4. Luke 24:29, 1 Timothy 2:5 5. Luke 22:44 6. Matthew 27:46 7. John 20:17 8. 1 Co. 15:5557, Romans 10:9, John 3:15, John 6:54 9. 1 John 4:8
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Photo By Kate Megill
TAKING GOD OUT OF THE MESSAGE WILL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO HUMAN ERROR The common denominator running among all of the various hybrid systems of interpretation [of the Genesis creation account] is the elevation of man’s “discoveries” over and above the words of God. The most elemental example of faith is God’s omnipotent and omniscient authority displayed in His creation (Hebrews 11:3). The matrix in which modern science is enmeshed is atheistic, naturalistic evolution. The Bible puts man’s “natural” mind in direct juxtaposition and diametric opposition to the Spirit’s revelation (1 Corinthians 2:14). To insist that the revelation of a supernatural creation must be wedded with a naturalistic and evolutionary god, flies in the face of the whole of Scripture (Romans 1:20). These issues are not merely choices of a favored method of interpretation, but a frontal assault on the opening declaration of God. Stripped of their “science” and “literary criticism,” these theologies are dangerous denigrations of who God is and what He has revealed.
REMEMBER THE FORMER THINGS OF OLD, FOR I AM GOD, AND THERE IS NO OTHER; I AM GOD, AND THERE IS NONE LIKE ME, DECLARING THE END FROM THE BEGINNING, AND FROM ANCIENT TIMES THINGS THAT ARE NOT YET DONE, SAYING, “ MY COUNSEL SHALL STAND, AND I WILL DO ALL MY PLEASURE. ” (ISAIAH 46: 9- 10) Genesis—book of beginnings—is the introduction to that God. Rejecting any of its record will both undermine the understanding of the rest of God’s revelation, and also slowly dissolve one’s confidence in the biblical message itself and discourage any thought of establishing or maintaining a relationship with the God of that Bible.
Morris III, H. M. 201 2. The Book of Beginnings, Volume 1. Dallas, TX: Institute for Creation Research, 28. Copyright © 201 2 Institute for Creation Research, www.icr.org. Used by permission.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons, Heinrich Hoffman: Christ
THE WAY TO LIFE b y R e b e k a h L . H o lt
generations, it is surprising that our recognition of beauty, peace, order and our yearning for a perfect world has not gone extinct. To some degree, all humans can distinguish a contrast between good and bad. Yet, regardless of human Newspapers, commercials, advertisements, efforts, overcoming cultural distresses, atrocities, websites, magazines—they are all filled to the and suffering is a never ending struggle. Truth be brim with formulas, exercise routines, diet plans, told, human efforts—no matter how well meaning therapies, advisors, philosophers and more to sell or enforced—cannot in themselves offer any you a better way of life. It remains true that permanent solution to the problems we face. We people are inherently in quest for an oasis of require a Savior. beauty, a summit of fulfillment, a passage to peace, a purpose to exist and reprieve from toil, Jesus Christ offers to all who will believe in Him weariness, despair. As reflected by the unending and take up their cross to follow His pathways drone of materialism and “me-mantras” in our free and eternal salvation. The Bible provides us culture—the things of this earth do not provide a a history of why we require Salvation and why lasting satisfaction. there is but One Way, One Hope, One Path in Jesus Christ that leads to a better life today. Considering that human existence has been united with suffering, disease and death for all Equus Ex Nihilo - 8 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me. John 14:6
A Plan to Fix Life’s Problems
In His mercy, God did not just wipe out Adam and Eve or give up on humanity.
choice. It was done. Sin and death entered the world through a matter of human choice and reasoning. There was now a gulf between mankind and his Creator. It was due to the willful disobedience of mankind that God’s initial perfectly formed world was to begin decaying, people would begin to age and die, and horrific atrocities and even “little white lies” would be committed. All the descendants of Adam and Eve—humans—would be born with the sin nature, an inherent desire to do wrong. Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
pattern of death by His resurrection unto life (2 Tim. 1 :1 0; John 1 0: 1 7-1 8; 1 Co. 1 5:25-26; John 11 :25; Ro. 1 :4).
When we die, our physical body is lifeless—but our As God is flawlessly just, he could not allow mankind soul is eternal and who we are keeps on living either with Jesus or with Satan. That is why it is so important to live forever practicing acts of sin. Because of His great love, He also did not want people to always live in for children and adults to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior from sin. People that want to the effects of sin’s curse but to be released from such misery. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God “is long suffering”, live good, righteous and rewarding lives need Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit’s indwelling to help them. meaning very patience, and is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:1 5). God had to step in with a plan to save mankind—but like Adam and Eve, we would still have to choose to be The only way to God is through believing in Jesus forgiven by God. We would have to make another Christ and that it was through His shedding of blood we choice to obey Him so that by following His Plan we might have remission of sins (John 1 4:6; Mt. 26:28). By might one day live in a recreated world governed by confessing Jesus Christ as a personal Lord and Savior God’s righteous perfection. that we can begin to once again have a relationship God’s plan to make right the world again was to pay with the Lord, live a redeemed life today and have the sin’s cost Himself. He did this by sending His only Son security of eternal life with Him. Jesus Christ. There was only one way that the For people that do not believe in Jesus Christ as their punishment of sin could be paid once and for all. A Savior—their soul can be destructively influenced by perfect man would die for all men’s sins and then conquer death by coming back to life physically! Since Satan and his demons. Without Jesus’ help to overcome, worldly temptations and our inherent selfish no mortal man on earth is capable of never nature to always seek what we want, will rule our lives sinning—God had to send His Perfect Son, Jesus to (John 8:34, 44; 1 John 2:1 5-1 7). live as a man, though still God. It was Jesus Who would pay for all sin by giving His life and conquer the
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Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Eve were given full-rein, except in one thing. They were not to The Origin of Life’s eat of the Tree of the Knowledge Problems of Good and Evil. They were According to the Bible, when warned that if they ate of the God created all things in just six tree’s fruit, they would die. Yet, days, this earth was perfect and living in perfection and the daily fellowship with God was not sinless. It was a world of no enough. Through the temptation bloodshed, no sickness, no of the devil’s agent, the serpent, death, no tears, no Eve was deceived. She in turn thorns—perfect. God had set urged her husband to eat of the apart mankind as a special creation by creating a man and Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. a woman in His image. Though Eve was deceived, Entrusted with the care of the earth’s dominion, Adam and Eve Adam was not and it was through his willful act of sin that were not mere “robots” God held him accountable. operating under some “engineered remote.” God had Adam and Eve’s disobedience was a conscience decision they given them freewill to make decisions. Placed in a beautiful made for themselves and now garden called Eden, Adam and they were powerless to save themselves from their bad
Who is Jesus Christ?
Jesus is God’s only Son, the Creator and Savior of the world (John 3:1 6). It was through Jesus Christ, that God gave humans an opportunity to overcome their sin nature. Jesus Christ came to earth in the form of a baby and grew up as a perfect, sinless man though the Son of God (Luke 2:1 -7; 1 Peter 2:21 -24). Some people hated Jesus and instead embraced Satan, God’s enemy and the father of all sin (John 8:34, 44). Though his enemies sought to put Jesus to death, He gave His life to save ours (1 John 3:1 6). However, Jesus Christ was raised by God from death back to life (2 Corinthians 5:1 4-1 5). He now sits at the right hand of God in Heaven (Hebrews 1 2:2). For faithful Christians, Jesus promises us that He prepares a place for us to live with Him for eternity (John 1 4:3)! He also promises us that He will one day return to earth (Mark 1 3:27, 32). Here are some of the names and characteristics of Jesus:
• The Son of God (Luke 1:32; 9:35) • The Creator (Colossians 1:15-17; Ephesians 3:9) • The Word of God Made Flesh (John 1:1-2, 14) • The Good Shepherd (John 10:11) • The Perfect Example for Our Lives (John 13:15) • The Only Way to God (John 14:6) • The Redeemer (Galatians 3:13; 4:4-5) • The Crucified Lamb (Revelation 5:12) • A Risen Savior (John 12:47; Acts 3:26; 4:12; 5:31; Romans 10:9, 11) • The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25) • Savior of the World (1 John 4:14) • The King of Kings (1 Timothy 6:15) • The Bread of Life (John 6:51) • Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 51:9) • The Light of the World (John 8:12) • Door to Heaven (John 10:7)
How Does One Become a Christian? 1. Confess and accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. You can do this anywhere and at anytime. He will hear
you.
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:910).
You will find that Jesus Christ obeyed all the commandments that God gave people in the Bible. There is New Life in Christ. That means that your old life has to be replaced with a new “image” in Christ Jesus. 2. Follow Christ’s example in your life.
“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:2224). “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Remember that Jesus can forgive a person even if he or she has been a great sinner. If that person is truly repentant and wants to overcome his or her sin, no one is too “bad” to come to Jesus for forgiveness of sins. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
All sins have been overcome by Jesus’ death and victorious resurrection. If accepted, Jesus Christ can help anyone become a new person and live a righteous life (Romans 6). “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:10).
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Image source: Wikimedia , Michelangelo: The Creation of Adam
What is in Store for Christians?
When we accept Jesus to rule our life, He comes and really lives in us through His Spirit. If we will humble ourselves to accept Christ’s free gift of Salvation, He comes in to make our lives redeemed, sanctified and set apart for His glory. By taking up our cross and following Christ’s example, Christians find an eternal worth in their lives. It is because of Jesus that we can smile and have joy because without Him there would be no hope of a better world one day! In truth, the Bible teaches us that true Christians will one day enjoy a recreated, perfect world without sin, pain or sadness! This earthly life is but a vapour, a short existence when compared with eternity. While we may not have much choice on where we live on earth, we do have a far greater choice to make where we’ll live eternally. The choices we make while living temporarily on earth have a dramatic consequence on where and how we will live after we draw our last breath.
Promises and Truths for Christians to Remember 1. God knows you personally. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee…” (Jeremiah 1:5a). “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30). 2. God has a specific plan and purpose for your life. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11) “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). 3. Jesus Christ will never leave you nor forsake you. “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5b). 4. The Lord will help you live righteously. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure”(Philippians 2:13). “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). 5. A world of pain and suffering will not be forever; faithful Christians will eternally live with Jesus in a perfect heaven. “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (Revelation 3:11).
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Live Life to the Optimum—TODAY!
Secularists declare that mankind’s existence ends with death. Life is pointless. Empty. The truth remains, apart from Jesus Christ, a man’s life is unfulfilled, pointless, and empty. It may appear that materialism, talents, wealth and philosophy can fashion a man into a satisfied whole. Yet, these trappings of earth are fleeting and have no anchor point—just a continue climb for “more.” Each of us was created with a void, hollowness within that only the Lord can fill. We were made to bear His image. Though man’s inherent sin nature has defaced the perfect image that God created—the Lord has made a way for us to get rid of the old man and be a new creation. It is through belief in Jesus Christ that we may know God and through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling we can bear Christ’s image today on earth while we wait to receive our new body when resurrected in Christ. While secularists deny that humans are specially created, eternal beings—God
created man in His image thus granting him an eternal existence. Our outer body may die and decay in the ground, yet, a man’s inner soul lives for eternity. It is man’s choice to choose a life eternally separate from the goodness of God or an eternity of fellowship with Christ —that begins with the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is only through accepting our design and destiny God created for us that we can allow Christ to fill our lives overflowing with His goodness. The way to a fulfilled, satisfied, abundant, joyful life is through Jesus Christ. Though sin and death entered the world through the choice of mankind, God still made a way for us to live to the optimum! Secularists may tout that we can “unlock” our inner potential and “be all that you can be.” Yet, the padlock within us that will release our full potential is only aligned to One Key—Jesus Christ. Image source: Wikimedia Commons, Carl Heinrich Bloch: Denying Satan
ETERNAL LIFE IS A FREE GIFT. WON’ T YOU ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR TODAY? Equus Ex Nihilo - 1 2
T h e t h i ef c o m et h n o t , b u t f o r t o
STEAL, and to KILL,
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
and to DESTROY:
I am come that they might have
L IF E ,
and that they might have it more abundantly.
JOHN 10:10 Equus Ex Nihilo - 1 3
How Foals Survive
Photo Courtesy of Firn Hyde
Joie de Vivre
by Firn Hyde Everyone loves foals. Who can help it? With their long legs and fluffy manes and tails, foals are amongst the most iconic and beautiful of baby animals. Foals are not just adorable, however. Everything about them – from those endless spidery legs to the way they sleep flat on their sides – was designed by God to help the next generation of horses live on. nature, horses are flight animals. Unlike many herbivores, such as cattle and antelope, mares will not hide their foals in Let’s start with the most striking feature of the grass and leave them. Foals can be foals: the legs. A foal is born with legs seen running with the herd from day one, approximately 90% of the adult length1. and if there is a threat, their first and best However, the legs are not as thick or solid defence is to flee. as they will be when the foal matures; in If a foal were born with legs in proportion fact they look so long and slender that it to its body, like a calf or puppy, running seems a miracle they can hold the foal up. would be hopeless. He would drop The legs often seem to get in the foal’s behind in seconds and become vulnerable way. Many foals will forge or overreach – to being eaten. But God gave foals legs striking the front hoof or leg with a hind almost as long as their parents’ and tiny, hoof – simply because the legs are too light bodies, a long for the body. physical They will also have combination created trouble learning to for speed and hence, graze, having to survival. They can resort to various easily keep up with contortions just to the herd, taking get their noses down huge strides. The to grass level. gawky creature God didn’t just give fumbling around in foals long legs to an attempt to graze make them look turns suddenly cute! Going back to graceful with a burst This is the same foal as in the above photograph. At half an one of the most basic of speed. hour old, he is still wobbly on his feet, but by a month of age elements of equine he can run like the wind!
Photo Courtesy of Firn Hyde
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Photo Courtesy of Firn Hyde
Adult horses spend only two and a half to three hours out of every twentyfour lying down to sleep2. This is because they can sleep standing up, and so go from fast asleep to galloping in a split second. God designed a series of joints and tendons in the horse’s pelvis to coordinate and form the Equine Stay Apparatus. This means that the horse can stay standing up with minimal muscular effort by locking its joints into position, which is why they don’t simply collapse as they fall asleep the way a human would do if we fell asleep on our feet.3 Like most babies, foals need more sleep as they grow. It takes them several months to learn to sleep on their feet, so they spend much of every day lying down and sleeping. Often they will sprawl flat on their sides with their legs stretched out, close beside their grazing mother, dead to the world. They sleep much more deeply than adult horses, and hence are most vulnerable when sleeping. The remedy for this vulnerability is in the way God designed horses’ herd behaviour. Mares will almost never leave their foals while they are sleeping. Often in a group of mares and foals, one mare will be selected to babysit a group of sleeping foals while the other mares go off to graze. She will only leave them when they are all awake. Some mares will even babysit when they don’t have a foal of their own. This way, the adult horse can call or nicker to the foals when danger arises, preventing them from becoming easy prey. Adult horses sleep standing up because they are so heavy that it takes them several seconds just to get to
their feet. Foals, however, are so light that they can spring to their feet in an instant and gallop away. Behavioural Quirks
God designed foals to have certain behaviours that help them to survive. For example, everyone knows how curious a little foal is. They are always licking, chewing, tasting, and smelling new things and will explore a new object until thoroughly bored. Everything from a fence post to a new member of the herd catches their attention, and this is one way they have of learning vital skills for survival. Although God has “programmed” certain instincts into horses – most importantly, the herd instinct and the flight instinct, neither of which the foal has to learn – they are not born knowing everything. They learn that water is for drinking and grass for eating; they find it out by exploration. Actually, some foals will play in the water trough for hours, thoroughly drenching themselves, before finally learning to drink the water. They will also learn behaviours by copying them from other horses in the herd. This is one reason why foals with “tame” mothers will turn out tame themselves. They learn from their dams that there is nothing to fear from humans. Often, foals will be nibbling grass long before they actually have the teeth for eating it. Some will pull it out by the roots and suck it before spitting it out. By the time their incisors have come out – usually around a week of age – they will have acquired a taste for grass, the ideal food for horses. When they’re weaned around six months, they’ll be grazing just like adult horses.
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All Foal photos in article by Rebekah L. Holt unless otherwise noted
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F u n F ac t s
Training the Foal Many horse trainers and owners will start working with the foal from only a few days of age. When foals see humans handling their dams, they will quickly learn that people are not to be feared. Their natural curiosity can also be used to the trainer’s advantage; sooner or later many foals will come up to you of their own accord, simply to find out what you are. Foals can also be imprinted when they are newly born. In the same way as the dam imprints herself on the foal’s memory by licking him clean after birth, the foal’s trainer can come up to him and touch him before he can run away when frightened. The foal will then learn that the trainer is not harmful. Because they are herd animals, like all horses, foals will always want a leader in the relationship with their trainers4. If they have the slightest shadow of doubt in your leadership, they will try to take over themselves. Foals exhibit dominance in varying degrees, from leaning their weight against you to biting, kicking and striking with the forelegs. Such habits have to be nipped in the bud, as what’s cute in a foal won’t be so cute in a 16hh threeyearold. Disciplining a foal can be a most unpleasant business for the handler. No one likes to scold or push away a baby – one feels like such a bully! Deuteronomy 8:5 says “Thou shalt consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee.” Just as God disciplines us for our own good, just as our parents discipline us for our own good, we should discipline our horses for their own good. Spoilt, pushy horses are often even more dangerous than wild, untouched horses because they have no fear of or respect for man. Dangerous horses seldom have bright futures, unless someone is willing enough to put in the time and effort to correct their behaviour.
Artwork by Haylee Legg
- Foals can stand within an hour of birth. - A male foal is called a colt. A female foal is called a filly. They will keep the names of “colt” and “filly” until they turn four years old and become adult horses, known as stallions and mares. - The first milk the mare produces after the foal is born is called colostrum. This milk is packed full of essential antibodies that boost the foal‛s immune system and help it to stay healthy. - Horses grow in fits and starts out of proportion, and often even the most well-bred young horse will become deplorably ugly as a yearling. By the time he‛s two or three, the colt will be back to his good-looking self. - Foals‛ short, thin manes and tails will be long and full like an adult horse‛s when they are about one and a half years old. - At birth, a foal‛s little hooves are encased in a soft, white covering. This covering prevents the foal‛s hooves from hurting the mare during the gestation and birthing process. As the foal gets up and walks around, he‛ll painlessly break the covering off within a day or so. - While cows, which are of similar size to horses, are pregnant for only nine months, horses gestate for a much longer time. It takes a little more than eleven months for a foal to develop in the womb. - In domestication, foals are taken away from their mothers – weaned – around the age of six months. Even in the wild, though, a mare – especially if she is pregnant – will often wean her foal herself by chasing it away whenever it tries to suckle. This usually happens later, around eleven or twelve months of age.
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A FourLegged Symbol of Life When driving around the countryside in the spring, one is likely to spot a foal or two in a paddock by the roadside. These beautiful, lively little creatures are always on the go, whether they’re playfighting with their friends or just galloping circles around their mothers for the fun of it. Always ready for a game, foals constantly exhibit the sheer, simple joy of being alive. Prancing and leaping on their long and fragile legs, eyes alight, fluffy tails sticking up in the air, foals are a classic and beautiful symbol of life. References:
1 . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foal 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_behavior#Sleep_patterns 3. http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/grossanat/largemenu/hplvlstov.htm 4. Maxwell, Richard. Train Your Young Horse with Richard Maxwell. David & Charles Publishers, 2008, Part Two – Creating a Trainable Brain: The benefits of an early start
Artwork by Haylee Legg
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From readers of eQuest for Truth and Equus Ex Nihilo
Thank you for creating such a wonderful magazine that gives praise to God our creator and his stunning creations! .... God Bless, Sincerely, T. J., via email
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Photo by Rebekah L. Holt
...Your latest issue of Equus Exnihilo was fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed the articles and the photographs. Your article on horse toe evolution was outstanding足足one of the best I've read! The many quotes of Scripture and the mini足devotions interspersed throughout the magazine make it a joy to read [...] I have to say that it is one of the best magazines I get, but without a doubt, it is the one that means the most to me because of how it is put together and I can sense your love for the Lord and desire to honor Him! I trust that the Lord will continue to bless your efforts and fill you with good ideas...! R. G., South Dakota