Culley sat at the chessboard with his palms sweating just a little, staring at the neatly arranged pieces like they were waiting to judge him. It was his first real game—no more practicing with apps or moving pieces around alone in his room. His opponent sat across from him, calm and confident, while Culley’s mind raced. What if he messed up? What if he made a move so bad everyone watching remembered it forever? After what felt like an hour, he finally reached out, nudged a pawn forward, and sat back with a shaky breath. At least he’d started.

But something surprising happened once that first move was made. Culley found himself studying the board more closely, noticing patterns he hadn’t seen before. Each move he made helped the next one make a little more sense. The game didn’t feel like a giant wall anymore—it felt like a puzzle he could actually solve. With every decision, his confidence grew. By the end of the match, Culley wasn’t just proud of how he played; he was excited to keep learning. Chess wasn’t scary anymore. It was an adventure he was ready to keep exploring, one move at a time.

Rumble

A little while back I talked about a blog article by a writer named Dan Kent from a couple of years ago titled “Why Did David Pick Up 5 Stones?“.

Here’s a little bit from the article:

“Don’t stand around waiting for God to act, or for God to win your battles for you: don’t stand around watching for what God might do: rather, show God what you can do. Gain wisdom, gather knowledge, develop skills, give the Lord something to use as he rumbles through the earth unfolding his glorious will.”
Dan Kent

“Show God what you can do.” Don’t be afraid or hesitate to take action, to develop skills and to make yourself the very best you can possibly be. That’s what God desires and that’s how you put yourself in the flow of His grand plan: “…give the Lord something to use as he rumbles through the earth unfolding his glorious will.”

Devise your way, and God will direct your path—if you choose the way that is right and fits your good desires, talents, and interests.

Get Started

Here are some ways you can do that starting today:

• Write down three things you really like to do, like play baseball, dance, sing, write stories or poetry, or build models – whatever they might be, write down the top three. Take your time and really think about this.
• Now write down three things that are necessary skills in life and work that you may not be good at but that you want to learn and get better at. These are school, job, and life skills—like getting better at math and science, learning about carpentry or cooking, learning to swim, or how nutrition works best.
• Now you have six areas you can work on and focus on in your daily life. Keep a little notebook with those things written down, read them regularly, and think about how to develop those skills, then get busy developing them.

Some or all of these six things you write down may change over time, but if you really think about them before writing them down, you should have a pretty good idea of what your skills and natural talents are. These are the things that you can apply to being God’s partner in His work in the world.

Culley grinned as he whispered the first sentence to the kid next to him, carefully covering his mouth with his hand like it was a top-secret message. The sentence was simple and harmless—something about a blue bike leaning against a tree—but as it traveled around the circle, giggles popped up, eyebrows lifted, and whispers grew faster and messier. By the time the message reached the last student Culley could barely sit still in his chair.

When the final sentence was spoken out loud, it was nothing like the original: the blue bike had turned into a flying goat, the tree had become a volcano, and somehow a librarian was involved. The class burst into laughter, and Culley laughed too, realizing how easily a message could change when passed from person to person.

A Blue Bike or a Flying Goat?

Our little story here shows how the meaning of words and ideas can change into something different from what was meant at first. It’s how true things become false rumors.

This happens with some of the things God has said in His Word, the Bible—especially things about heaven, hell, and the end of the world. So, we want to be sure that what we hear about the things of God is actually what God really meant when He inspired people to write them down in the Bible.

Was It an Apple?

For example, how many people think that the fruit that Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden was an apple?

Genesis 2:16–17 (KJV):
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

But it doesn’t say “apple,” does it? It says “fruit.” Do you see how words and ideas can change?

So, before we dig into what the Bible says about heaven, hell, and the end of the world in the next chapter, let’s be aware of the ideas, words, and pictures we already have in our minds that may or may not be what God actually meant in His Word.

Next: Where Is Heaven?

Remember the four ways people in the Old Testament plugged into God’s plan?

Seek God first.
Add value to the world around you.
Do hard things without fear.
Fight darkness with light.

Did Jesus practice those things? Let’s look.

Did Jesus Seek God First?

Of course. He always put the will and presence of God above everything else. He made a habit of it. He sought God first, not popularity or comfort.

Mark 1:35
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

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Did Jesus Add Value to the World Around Him?

Obviously, Jesus added value wherever He went by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and doing good wherever He went.

Acts 10:38
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

But He was also was a skilled carpenter and builder, adding value to the community he lived in.

Mark 6:3a
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon?

Jesus spent years doing ordinary, physically demanding work. He understood hard work. He learned and developed His trade skills before beginning His public ministry.

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Did Jesus do Hard Things Without Fear?

Yes, Jesus willingly faced suffering, rejection, and even death. He also did things fearlessly that were far from easy or popular; like physically tossing scammers out of the temple.

Matthew 21:12-17
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

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Did Jesus Fight Darkness With Light?

Yes, indeed. Jesus showed that by shining forth the light God has given us through His truth and His Spirit, darkness retreats. Even Satan himself has to run away from the light.

Matthew 4:10-11
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

John 8:12
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Now it’s our turn to walk in light. God has started a new creation through Jesus Christ, and that new creation includes us, you and me.