In the late 1970's, when I was a boy, unbeknownst to me at the time, my father delivered an ultimatum to my mom. She would need to leave her Christian faith, or my dad would leave her. She was given several years to make a final decision. l did know that my mom was hurting and spent early mornings at the beach, every day, in prayer. She did not want to lose her family, so she cried out to God.
During this time, she and my dad took a road trip up the coast of California. On the way back, my mom was in silent prayer and my dad suddenly pulled over and exclaimed "Jesus Christ!" He jumped out of his prized Porche (his first love), and snapped this picture with his trusty Canon camera (his second love).
My mom had been praying that God would intervene in her dilemma. God did just that. My dad, an atheist, saw the intervention.... The Jesus Cloud. And he made a clear and personal effort to catch the one-of-a-kind image with his trusty camera. He knew it was more than a regular cloud. How did he "KNOW?" - read on.
But at the time...
...just a couple years later, he left my mom... on the day of her birthday, Yes, she refused to leave her faith. How could she? She prayed for intervention and God showed up. He revealed Himself to my dad... and my mom. How could she possibly refuse a God who made Himself so plain that a life-long atheist would suddenly pull over his car, exclaim the name, "Jesus!" and take this picture? It's interesting how my dad could ignore the sign he had been given and captured, so personally. Afterall, he went through specific, special efforts to capture the image, considered to be "Jesus, Himself" from the perspective of this life-long atheist.
But like many of us, my dad allowed the moment of a "God Experience" to pass. Of course, since in his atheist mind, there is no God, this experience could not be explained by God. It was this same pride that ultimately led him to a divorce, and later a broken family and not too long after that, the estrangement to his daughter (my sister). And about 2 years prior to his death, it led to the loss of his son (me) and his son's family (that's me and mine).
My mom was saddened, but at the same time she was comforted, knowing that Jesus was real. God heard her voice and showed up in one of the most magnificent and clearest ways most anyone has ever seen, through this "Jesus Cloud." Think about it... this very rare image was captured by camera, WITH FILM! As is His way, God presented Himself, yet gave my dad full and free will to respond according to his own choice. He gives all free will and oftentimes, we don't make the best choices.
AND THEN! ... 25 YEARS LATER THE STORY THICKENED
A number of years after becoming a Christian myself, around 2000 something triggered a memory and I became interested in the picture my mom showed me as a teenager. So I asked my dad if he "had a picture mom had talked about of a cloud formation?" Afterall, he was still an atheist and had no use for it. As the photographer, ONLY he had the original, not my mom.
To my surprise, my dad said, "I know what you are talking about....." I thought to myself, "Really? You remember a cloud formation picture you took, over of hundreds of landscape and thousands of pictures in your old slide reels? ..and, one specific one that I really did not describe clearly... just a "cloud formation." "That's great I thought."" But then he said, "I don't have that picture."
"What?" I thought to myself, "...You remember this one, special picture from over 25 years ago (out of thousands of photographs, in dozens of slide reels you have in the attic of mostly unnecessary photo's over your lifetime? ... but this one picture that clearly remember and that you have never revealed to anyone, you KNOW you do not have it?
"Where is it?" I asked. "I DON'T HAVE IT!"
FAST-FORWARD 15 years. about 38 YEARS FROM original photo).
In 2016 my mom passed away. My dad called me when he heard the news and offered, "If there is anything at all that I can do for you, to support you as you grieve during your time of loss, please let me know." So, the picture popped into my mind. So, I asked my dad again (2nd time: once at year 23 and once at year 38)... "Well, do you remember that picture of the clouds? I'd like that to present at mom's memorial service." His reply... "Yes, I know what you are talking about, but I told you previously, I don't have the picture." He even remembered the 20 second conversation from 15 years prior. I replied, "Can I look through your old slide reels, just in case?" He answered, "Absolutely not! I do not want you going through my stuff!" I guess he didn't want to do "anything" to cure my grief.
But interestingly, he still remembered the picture, now almost 40 years forward. And, he remembered that I had asked for it in a VERY brief conversation about 15 years prior.
But again, I was left disappointed. But I did trust (at the time), that if my dad got rid of the picture, I would understand. He was not known to be a liar. Plus, at this time, I knew that he had recently digitized his entire 40+ slide reals (1000's of pictures), So at this time, he would have very recently known which slides he had kept, especially ones that were etched in his long term memory, like this one. As a life-long atheist, I just assumed he got rid of the original slide, whether out of spite or to not encourage me in my faith.
End of story? Nope. Now it gets really interesting...
My dad recently passed away (about a month ago, 7 years after my mom passed, as of the time of this writing - He passed Dec 5, 2023). Now this is about almost 50 years after the original picture was taken (1978 is shown on the slide just below the top of this page), and it is now stored away. The previous 2+ years (starting during COVID) dad became very bitter and angry, even to the point where he wouldn't allow my family and me to visit him, due to our beliefs.
Sadly, the family he engaged with far more than any other during his 2nd marriage was my wife, kids and me. And he cancelled us out of his life during his final 2 years, due to differing beliefs (he told me this clearly after I made several attempts at reconciliation). He even required his wife (my step-mom) to seclude herself from us during almost the entire two years prior to his death and she agreed.
He was a relatively "well off" man, but the only thing I received after his death were a couple of his 60-year old sailing trophies and 40+ boxes of old slide reels, containing 1000's & 1,000's of slide photographs,
I'm sure you have now guessed what I found
Yep! In the second real of dozens and dozens of 100+ picture reals, mostly containing landscapes and Porches, there it was!
My mom's picture - The Jesus Cloud!
But wait! Had he been lying to me (and my sister) all this time?.. maybe 25 years since my first request, then again 15 years later? Or, did God keep it hidden from my dad?
Why did dad never show this picture to anyone? ...even his second wife of 45 years! Yep, I digitized the image and asked her if she had ever seen anything like it. She said, "oh yeah, people make those things up all the time" (meaning, you must have gotten that "photoshopped image" off the internet somewhere). She too, probably because of my dad, did not believe in Jesus. But now I knew, he never showed or told her about this picture either. When I asked her about it, she had no idea it was my dad's picture. He never showed it to his 2nd wife of 40+ years! The picture at the center of his divorce from wife #1. The one he did NOT digitize with all the rest... but he kept in the reels. What would cause him to keep it and not throw it away if he didn't want me to have it and he didn't want to share it or tell anyone about it? ...I think one must ask the question.
It makes one wonder!
1. Why did he remember it 25+ years after taking it?
2. ... and then again, 45+ years after taking it?
3. Why did he hide it away all those years?
4. Why did he keep it at all? If it wasn't anything special?
5. And why did he refuse it to both me and my sister, not once, but even for the purpose of sharing it with others at my mom's memorial service? He rarely came off as "bitter towards my mom",
6. Why did he deny such a simple and easy to manage request, such as, "can I see a (certain) picture you took?". Especially since he didn't want the picture, although he wanted it enough to keep hidden.
7. As a proud man and photographer, that would be a request of honor. To show an amazing picture that someone heard about from 40 years prior, especially your son and daughter.
I never thought of him as a liar. But one must ask,.
8. Why did he stop and take this picture in the first place? ....and more,
9. ...after exclaiming, "Jesus Christ!"?
So, I asked my sister about it. We had never discussed it at all together. It just was never on the mutual radar. I wasn't even sure if she was aware of the picture. So, I called her and she told me that she was there as a child/teenager, the first time my father viewed the slide at home on his projector.
She remembered clearly the moment dad projected it onto his movie screen. She said, "...dad exclaimed, Look! That's Jesus Christ!" (Having proudly captured the image.
That was clear in her memory. And anyone who knows my sister is aware of her sharp mind and very strong memory. She is a highly educated historian and is deeply involved in ancestry and family history. I was not there with her and my dad at the same time. My whole "version" of the picture came through my mom, and in my early teens. I only learned the details of their cause of divorce well into my later adulthood. Anyways, our 2 totally independent stories match up perfectly. The story of the divorce and the picture.
I believe my dad knew, but the atheist in him could not admit it. Deep within his heart, he had to know. Some spirit gave him a strong enough impulse to pull over, stop the car and take out his canon camera and take this picture (of course, few caried cameras at the time and there were no cell phones, making this picture super-statistically rare. He did this while my mom was in prayer about being under the threat of his leaving, being forced to choose between a family and her God.
10. Why did he not just drive by and ignore it at such a time as this?
11. Why take the shot, affirming her faith?
12. Why keep the slide year after year?
13. Why cover it up and lie about it, the rest of his life? ..even to his own children, who were likely to find it eventually?
14. Why leave his only 2 natural children with such a lie as part of his legacy?
15. Why did he never show this picture to anyone?
16 ...including his 2nd wife of 45+ years, and
17. Why not digitized with the other 3-4,000 slides?... but still keep it?
What do I think??? Why am I doing this?? What's this all about?
I don't claim this picture to be God. I claim it to be the work of God. God is God and God revealed Himself in the clouds at this time. God is infinitely times larger, more powerful and more majestic than even this amazing cloud and sunset formation, which God drew with His fingers and intellect. God has a purpose for everything as He created everything. God created this real life "image" of Himself, "Jesus" towering over the trees, mountains and sea in the foreground and allowed my mom to experience Him and allowed my dad to capture it, wrestle over it and pass it on to me and for me to pass it on to you.
God allowed this story to be lived out and now revealed and told, prior to the end and prior to your final, eternal choice. He gives everyone choice as well as strength and encouragement, and so much more. But specifically, in this story, He gave my dad a choice, my mom strength and to me, encouragement. God gifts all the same to you!
I believe this story and image is just God representing Himself, within His own creation. Have you ever asked for a visual "sign?" This is real. I encourage you to make my mom's choice because eternity is forever and this life is best lived with Him in your life. I have lived both ways (about 30 years each way) and can clearly attest to that. Have you ever asked God for a visible sign? Would you believe it if you saw it?
This was for my mom and for my dad in their struggle between heaven and earth. And now it is for you and for your struggles, all of them. But mostly your struggle over heaven and earth. Here, prior to His next return, Jesus is offering you a chance to "see Him" for who He is.. This is The God who towers over all creation, because HE made it all. And it is HE who is reaching out in love to you. Don't throw away or hide away this picture and this moment!
James 4:14 says, "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away."
After your earthly life vanishes, eternity remains. That's a long time and it will consist of something really good or really bad, based on this one choice you will make. The choice is whether or not to believe in and follow Jesus.
For me, the original slide of The Jesus Cloud is the GREATEST GIFT I COULD HAVE EVER RECEIVED OR WANTED after the passing of my father. I thank my dad for NOT actually throwing it out, but for keeping it there for me to discover so I could pass it on to you and you could do the same.
I am praying that if you are not a believer, you will put your faith in Christ, Who died for your sins and mine, so that we could experience Him in perfection, in Heaven... Everything we ever wanted or needed, for eternity!
If you have eyes, I believe you can tell by this crazy world, the end time is drawing near. If you are a believer, I pray you can use this as one more tool to help others "see God" so they can be saved before it is too late. If you are not, take just a minute more and click below so you can be on the Wonderful, Amazing, Loving side of Eternity! No tricks. Nothing to buy. Clicking just leads you to a prayer so your eternity can be more than everything you have ever dreamed instead of a literal, living hell. Yeah, that's straight talk, but I want to be real with you.
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God's free gift is an earthly reassurance of an eternal & heavenly inheritance. Receive the free gift God gave us through the death of Jesus on the cross.
The image and story above is a "real life" picture painted by God. We paint with paint on canvas, He painted this image with his fingers. He is reaching out to us in love with mountain, sea, clouds and sun as His paint & the sky as His canvas. His demeanor is nothing fancy, one of just love, service and humility. But his majesty is on full display as he dwarfs even the trees, mountains and sea as His foreground. He is reaching out to us, providing reassurance, comfort, peace, power and majesty, in such a personal way (through this story and memory)... and in such a time as this, where there is seemingly endless uncertainty and worldly tumult.
So now, in this time, I believe He is reaching out to you! For the same reasons as he did about 50 years ago to my dad, the Jew, my mom, the Christian and all their children, grand-children and beyond. Your choice is the same as mine and everyone else's. I pray that you will, RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW accept that Jesus is who He says He is. I pray that you will accept Him as it will seal your eternity into a place called heaven and it will lead you to an earthly life of greater peace, joy, comfort, goodness, freedom and value. Not choosing His FREE GIFT of love and eternity is quite a different fate here and in the hereafter.
For "heaven's sake" and for your eternal soul, I am asking you to follow in my mom's footsteps, not my dad's. DON'T be too proud to admit the truth of what you know and DO NOT know. Don't lie to yourself and your eternal soul because you don't want to change, admit wrongness or because you just are "too smart" for Jesus/God! You cannot find another cloud like this, anywhere and you cannot explain it away. It is NOT a coincidence. Jesus made it for anyone who would want to see it for what it is. He has caused it to be presented to you now, in these last days, for a reason. So that you could have an eternal life of peace, joy and love with Him in Heaven.
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Like my dad, me and everyone else, each moment and time that we reject God, we create a higher and harder wall to climb to accepting Him, even when He gives us clear signs of our own sin and His great love, majesty and free gift. NOT being able to admit wrongness WAS a fault of my dad's. He could NEVER admit when he was wrong. He was too intelligent and too proud, especially to admit wrongness, and even more so to anyone he thought to be of lower intelligence than him, regardless of the topic. But that doesn't mean he didn't know the truth. He just wouldn't admit when he was wrong. Perhaps that's why he kept the picture and either lied about it or subliminally hid it even from his own memory. I'll never know his motives.
And now you know the truth and "the rest of the story" of The Jesus Cloud. It is about an atheist, his 1st wife (A Christian) and his son, who was once and atheist and now a Christian.
I am sad that my dad kept this picture from me and my family. I am more sad that he lied to himself and that even though he knew there was something special, different and important about this one photograph, he hid it and ignored it (perhaps intentionally). Over many thousands of pictures that he snapped during his lifetime, this one was taken at the center of his divorce and immediately during my mom's fervent prayers and was the actual topic of my parent's tumult. This one caused him to stop abruptly on a drive in order to capture it. This one he hid and did NOT digitize. This one, he struggled over and never mentioned to anyone. And this one, he specifically remembered in his heart both 25 and 45+ years after he took it, even while keeping it hidden from the rest of his world. This picture was lost and now it is found. But let's dig further....
This picture, this cloud formation is a very uncommon image. It is by far the most uncommon image in all his thousands of pictures. Yet, unlike many others that he framed to show off his photography), he hid.
Having looked up into the clouds thousands and thousands of times, I can easily state, I have NEVER seen an identifiable image of ANYTHING SO CLEARLY! Not an animal, an airplane, a tree. Nothing like one would see only in a cartoon. Have you? Plus, I personally remembered the picture once as a boy due to it's obvious and striking clarity, But I DID NOT forget the image God provided my dad, my mom and me. I remembered it from 25 years prior.. after I became a Christian.
I pray that you would take at least one or two steps to investigate whether Jesus has shown you something real today. I don't believe He was reaching out to ONLY to my dad and mom for that one moment. I think he has preserved this image in the form of a 50 year-old slide for a day like today, complete with photoshopping and at the dawn of artificial intelligence, I think God left this picture in the form of a 46 year-old slide image, as a remnant to be shared, with a story spanning 50+ years. I believe God did this for impact for you, me and others, to move each of us one or many steps closer to Him. He saved this for an age where we don't know what or who to trust. That's why I included (at the top) an original front and back image of the slide which remains in my possession today.
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He is reaching out to you and showing you what you may have never seen before. He is showing you that He is real and that His Word is true, that "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
Psalm 19:1. This sign to you right now is REAL. DO NOT squander this amazing evidence as my dad did. Take courage and comfort in it as my mom did. I can promise you, God will serve you well! He will protect you, guide you, support you and give you peace, joy, comfort, wisdom and a solid place to dwell in an increasingly fragile and untrustworthy world. Then he will give you an eternal home filled with peace, joy, holiness and love like you couldn't even dream of in a mansion built for you. If you will simply accept that God is real and that the death of Jesus was to cover your sins and mine, so that we could live in holiness with him for eternity. He does all this at no cost to you. He simply asks that you believe Him and follow His ways, all of which will lead you to greater joy, peace and happiness and will similarly, provide love and value to your fellow man.
If you are not a Christian
CLICK HERE to make just one call or get more information to find out whether Jesus is real or not. Just a click or two and you can find out if Jesus is real or not.
If you are a Christian
CLICK HERE so we can show you how The Jesus Cloud can further your walk with the Lord.
If you are a pastor, church or missionary
CLICK HERE so we can show you how we can come along side you to help grow and support your ministry with The Jesus Cloud
2nd Story-line
Wanting validation/confirmation, as I stepped out into this journey, I did ask my older sister of her remembrance and account of The Jesus Cloud from her perspective, which I had never heard. As an adult, I didn't even know if she knew about the picture. So, I called her up and asked her about it.
It was her recollection that she was there the first time my father viewed the slide at home, after the slide had been developed by the lab. She remembered clearly the moment The Jesus Cloud was selected and projected onto my dad's movie screen. She said that he exclaimed, "That's Jesus Christ!" That was clear in her memory (and anyone that knows her, is aware of her sharp mind and very strong memory, as she is a highly educated historian and is deeply involved in ancestry and family history). I was not there. But I thought for presentation's sake, it would only be fair to seek out and offer any additional account of my dad's impression and reaction to the picture from the time was developed and initially experienced.
My sister also confirmed the reason for my parent's divorce, This is only important in the sense, both children were clear on the issue surrounding this event in our lives and how The Jesus Cloud appeared during this particular time and during this particular issue in the lives of my parents. Plus, unbeknownst to me, my sister had also (independently) asked my dad for the slide at the time of my mom's memorial, remembering it from childhood herself and knowing the significance it played in my mom's faith and in the journey of our broken family. That also was new information, that my dad also told my sister he remembered the picture, but "did not have it."
Like me, at the time of my mom's death, my dad asked my sister if there was "anything... anything at all he could do to comfort her (my sister). That's when my sister requested the picture, independently and unbeknownst to me. But instead of comfort, she too was told by my father that he knew of the picture, but that he did not have it and would not look for it. Again, refusing my sister in the same way as he refused me. So my sister's experience and mine differed slightly. But in both cases, my dad still knew of the picture, kept it from each of us, independently and yet kept it for himself, hidden from everyone else.
If you are not a Christian
CLICK HERE to make just one call or get more information to find out whether Jesus is real or not. Just a click or two and you can find out if Jesus is real or not.
If you are a Christian
CLICK HERE so we can show you how The Jesus Cloud can further your walk with the Lord.
If you are a pastor, church or missionary
CLICK HERE so we can show you how we can come along side you to help grow and support your ministry with The Jesus Cloud
During this time, she and my dad took a road trip up the coast of California. On the way back, my mom was in silent prayer and my dad suddenly pulled over and exclaimed "Jesus Christ!" He jumped out of his prized Porche (his first love), and snapped this picture with his trusty Canon camera (his second love).
My mom had been praying that God would intervene in her dilemma. God did just that. My dad, an atheist, saw the intervention.... The Jesus Cloud. And he made a clear and personal effort to catch the one-of-a-kind image with his trusty camera. He knew it was more than a regular cloud. How did he "KNOW?" - read on.
But at the time...
...just a couple years later, he left my mom... on the day of her birthday, Yes, she refused to leave her faith. How could she? She prayed for intervention and God showed up. He revealed Himself to my dad... and my mom. How could she possibly refuse a God who made Himself so plain that a life-long atheist would suddenly pull over his car, exclaim the name, "Jesus!" and take this picture? It's interesting how my dad could ignore the sign he had been given and captured, so personally. Afterall, he went through specific, special efforts to capture the image, considered to be "Jesus, Himself" from the perspective of this life-long atheist.
But like many of us, my dad allowed the moment of a "God Experience" to pass. Of course, since in his atheist mind, there is no God, this experience could not be explained by God. It was this same pride that ultimately led him to a divorce, and later a broken family and not too long after that, the estrangement to his daughter (my sister). And about 2 years prior to his death, it led to the loss of his son (me) and his son's family (that's me and mine).
My mom was saddened, but at the same time she was comforted, knowing that Jesus was real. God heard her voice and showed up in one of the most magnificent and clearest ways most anyone has ever seen, through this "Jesus Cloud." Think about it... this very rare image was captured by camera, WITH FILM! As is His way, God presented Himself, yet gave my dad full and free will to respond according to his own choice. He gives all free will and oftentimes, we don't make the best choices.
AND THEN! ... 25 YEARS LATER THE STORY THICKENED
A number of years after becoming a Christian myself, around 2000 something triggered a memory and I became interested in the picture my mom showed me as a teenager. So I asked my dad if he "had a picture mom had talked about of a cloud formation?" Afterall, he was still an atheist and had no use for it. As the photographer, ONLY he had the original, not my mom.
To my surprise, my dad said, "I know what you are talking about....." I thought to myself, "Really? You remember a cloud formation picture you took, over of hundreds of landscape and thousands of pictures in your old slide reels? ..and, one specific one that I really did not describe clearly... just a "cloud formation." "That's great I thought."" But then he said, "I don't have that picture."
"What?" I thought to myself, "...You remember this one, special picture from over 25 years ago (out of thousands of photographs, in dozens of slide reels you have in the attic of mostly unnecessary photo's over your lifetime? ... but this one picture that clearly remember and that you have never revealed to anyone, you KNOW you do not have it?
"Where is it?" I asked. "I DON'T HAVE IT!"
FAST-FORWARD 15 years. about 38 YEARS FROM original photo).
In 2016 my mom passed away. My dad called me when he heard the news and offered, "If there is anything at all that I can do for you, to support you as you grieve during your time of loss, please let me know." So, the picture popped into my mind. So, I asked my dad again (2nd time: once at year 23 and once at year 38)... "Well, do you remember that picture of the clouds? I'd like that to present at mom's memorial service." His reply... "Yes, I know what you are talking about, but I told you previously, I don't have the picture." He even remembered the 20 second conversation from 15 years prior. I replied, "Can I look through your old slide reels, just in case?" He answered, "Absolutely not! I do not want you going through my stuff!" I guess he didn't want to do "anything" to cure my grief.
But interestingly, he still remembered the picture, now almost 40 years forward. And, he remembered that I had asked for it in a VERY brief conversation about 15 years prior.
But again, I was left disappointed. But I did trust (at the time), that if my dad got rid of the picture, I would understand. He was not known to be a liar. Plus, at this time, I knew that he had recently digitized his entire 40+ slide reals (1000's of pictures), So at this time, he would have very recently known which slides he had kept, especially ones that were etched in his long term memory, like this one. As a life-long atheist, I just assumed he got rid of the original slide, whether out of spite or to not encourage me in my faith.
End of story? Nope. Now it gets really interesting...
My dad recently passed away (about a month ago, 7 years after my mom passed, as of the time of this writing - He passed Dec 5, 2023). Now this is about almost 50 years after the original picture was taken (1978 is shown on the slide just below the top of this page), and it is now stored away. The previous 2+ years (starting during COVID) dad became very bitter and angry, even to the point where he wouldn't allow my family and me to visit him, due to our beliefs.
Sadly, the family he engaged with far more than any other during his 2nd marriage was my wife, kids and me. And he cancelled us out of his life during his final 2 years, due to differing beliefs (he told me this clearly after I made several attempts at reconciliation). He even required his wife (my step-mom) to seclude herself from us during almost the entire two years prior to his death and she agreed.
He was a relatively "well off" man, but the only thing I received after his death were a couple of his 60-year old sailing trophies and 40+ boxes of old slide reels, containing 1000's & 1,000's of slide photographs,
I'm sure you have now guessed what I found
Yep! In the second real of dozens and dozens of 100+ picture reals, mostly containing landscapes and Porches, there it was!
My mom's picture - The Jesus Cloud!
But wait! Had he been lying to me (and my sister) all this time?.. maybe 25 years since my first request, then again 15 years later? Or, did God keep it hidden from my dad?
Why did dad never show this picture to anyone? ...even his second wife of 45 years! Yep, I digitized the image and asked her if she had ever seen anything like it. She said, "oh yeah, people make those things up all the time" (meaning, you must have gotten that "photoshopped image" off the internet somewhere). She too, probably because of my dad, did not believe in Jesus. But now I knew, he never showed or told her about this picture either. When I asked her about it, she had no idea it was my dad's picture. He never showed it to his 2nd wife of 40+ years! The picture at the center of his divorce from wife #1. The one he did NOT digitize with all the rest... but he kept in the reels. What would cause him to keep it and not throw it away if he didn't want me to have it and he didn't want to share it or tell anyone about it? ...I think one must ask the question.
It makes one wonder!
1. Why did he remember it 25+ years after taking it?
2. ... and then again, 45+ years after taking it?
3. Why did he hide it away all those years?
4. Why did he keep it at all? If it wasn't anything special?
5. And why did he refuse it to both me and my sister, not once, but even for the purpose of sharing it with others at my mom's memorial service? He rarely came off as "bitter towards my mom",
6. Why did he deny such a simple and easy to manage request, such as, "can I see a (certain) picture you took?". Especially since he didn't want the picture, although he wanted it enough to keep hidden.
7. As a proud man and photographer, that would be a request of honor. To show an amazing picture that someone heard about from 40 years prior, especially your son and daughter.
I never thought of him as a liar. But one must ask,.
8. Why did he stop and take this picture in the first place? ....and more,
9. ...after exclaiming, "Jesus Christ!"?
So, I asked my sister about it. We had never discussed it at all together. It just was never on the mutual radar. I wasn't even sure if she was aware of the picture. So, I called her and she told me that she was there as a child/teenager, the first time my father viewed the slide at home on his projector.
She remembered clearly the moment dad projected it onto his movie screen. She said, "...dad exclaimed, Look! That's Jesus Christ!" (Having proudly captured the image.
That was clear in her memory. And anyone who knows my sister is aware of her sharp mind and very strong memory. She is a highly educated historian and is deeply involved in ancestry and family history. I was not there with her and my dad at the same time. My whole "version" of the picture came through my mom, and in my early teens. I only learned the details of their cause of divorce well into my later adulthood. Anyways, our 2 totally independent stories match up perfectly. The story of the divorce and the picture.
I believe my dad knew, but the atheist in him could not admit it. Deep within his heart, he had to know. Some spirit gave him a strong enough impulse to pull over, stop the car and take out his canon camera and take this picture (of course, few caried cameras at the time and there were no cell phones, making this picture super-statistically rare. He did this while my mom was in prayer about being under the threat of his leaving, being forced to choose between a family and her God.
10. Why did he not just drive by and ignore it at such a time as this?
11. Why take the shot, affirming her faith?
12. Why keep the slide year after year?
13. Why cover it up and lie about it, the rest of his life? ..even to his own children, who were likely to find it eventually?
14. Why leave his only 2 natural children with such a lie as part of his legacy?
15. Why did he never show this picture to anyone?
16 ...including his 2nd wife of 45+ years, and
17. Why not digitized with the other 3-4,000 slides?... but still keep it?
What do I think??? Why am I doing this?? What's this all about?
I don't claim this picture to be God. I claim it to be the work of God. God is God and God revealed Himself in the clouds at this time. God is infinitely times larger, more powerful and more majestic than even this amazing cloud and sunset formation, which God drew with His fingers and intellect. God has a purpose for everything as He created everything. God created this real life "image" of Himself, "Jesus" towering over the trees, mountains and sea in the foreground and allowed my mom to experience Him and allowed my dad to capture it, wrestle over it and pass it on to me and for me to pass it on to you.
God allowed this story to be lived out and now revealed and told, prior to the end and prior to your final, eternal choice. He gives everyone choice as well as strength and encouragement, and so much more. But specifically, in this story, He gave my dad a choice, my mom strength and to me, encouragement. God gifts all the same to you!
I believe this story and image is just God representing Himself, within His own creation. Have you ever asked for a visual "sign?" This is real. I encourage you to make my mom's choice because eternity is forever and this life is best lived with Him in your life. I have lived both ways (about 30 years each way) and can clearly attest to that. Have you ever asked God for a visible sign? Would you believe it if you saw it?
This was for my mom and for my dad in their struggle between heaven and earth. And now it is for you and for your struggles, all of them. But mostly your struggle over heaven and earth. Here, prior to His next return, Jesus is offering you a chance to "see Him" for who He is.. This is The God who towers over all creation, because HE made it all. And it is HE who is reaching out in love to you. Don't throw away or hide away this picture and this moment!
James 4:14 says, "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away."
After your earthly life vanishes, eternity remains. That's a long time and it will consist of something really good or really bad, based on this one choice you will make. The choice is whether or not to believe in and follow Jesus.
For me, the original slide of The Jesus Cloud is the GREATEST GIFT I COULD HAVE EVER RECEIVED OR WANTED after the passing of my father. I thank my dad for NOT actually throwing it out, but for keeping it there for me to discover so I could pass it on to you and you could do the same.
I am praying that if you are not a believer, you will put your faith in Christ, Who died for your sins and mine, so that we could experience Him in perfection, in Heaven... Everything we ever wanted or needed, for eternity!
If you have eyes, I believe you can tell by this crazy world, the end time is drawing near. If you are a believer, I pray you can use this as one more tool to help others "see God" so they can be saved before it is too late. If you are not, take just a minute more and click below so you can be on the Wonderful, Amazing, Loving side of Eternity! No tricks. Nothing to buy. Clicking just leads you to a prayer so your eternity can be more than everything you have ever dreamed instead of a literal, living hell. Yeah, that's straight talk, but I want to be real with you.
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God's free gift is an earthly reassurance of an eternal & heavenly inheritance. Receive the free gift God gave us through the death of Jesus on the cross.
The image and story above is a "real life" picture painted by God. We paint with paint on canvas, He painted this image with his fingers. He is reaching out to us in love with mountain, sea, clouds and sun as His paint & the sky as His canvas. His demeanor is nothing fancy, one of just love, service and humility. But his majesty is on full display as he dwarfs even the trees, mountains and sea as His foreground. He is reaching out to us, providing reassurance, comfort, peace, power and majesty, in such a personal way (through this story and memory)... and in such a time as this, where there is seemingly endless uncertainty and worldly tumult.
So now, in this time, I believe He is reaching out to you! For the same reasons as he did about 50 years ago to my dad, the Jew, my mom, the Christian and all their children, grand-children and beyond. Your choice is the same as mine and everyone else's. I pray that you will, RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW accept that Jesus is who He says He is. I pray that you will accept Him as it will seal your eternity into a place called heaven and it will lead you to an earthly life of greater peace, joy, comfort, goodness, freedom and value. Not choosing His FREE GIFT of love and eternity is quite a different fate here and in the hereafter.
For "heaven's sake" and for your eternal soul, I am asking you to follow in my mom's footsteps, not my dad's. DON'T be too proud to admit the truth of what you know and DO NOT know. Don't lie to yourself and your eternal soul because you don't want to change, admit wrongness or because you just are "too smart" for Jesus/God! You cannot find another cloud like this, anywhere and you cannot explain it away. It is NOT a coincidence. Jesus made it for anyone who would want to see it for what it is. He has caused it to be presented to you now, in these last days, for a reason. So that you could have an eternal life of peace, joy and love with Him in Heaven.
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Like my dad, me and everyone else, each moment and time that we reject God, we create a higher and harder wall to climb to accepting Him, even when He gives us clear signs of our own sin and His great love, majesty and free gift. NOT being able to admit wrongness WAS a fault of my dad's. He could NEVER admit when he was wrong. He was too intelligent and too proud, especially to admit wrongness, and even more so to anyone he thought to be of lower intelligence than him, regardless of the topic. But that doesn't mean he didn't know the truth. He just wouldn't admit when he was wrong. Perhaps that's why he kept the picture and either lied about it or subliminally hid it even from his own memory. I'll never know his motives.
And now you know the truth and "the rest of the story" of The Jesus Cloud. It is about an atheist, his 1st wife (A Christian) and his son, who was once and atheist and now a Christian.
I am sad that my dad kept this picture from me and my family. I am more sad that he lied to himself and that even though he knew there was something special, different and important about this one photograph, he hid it and ignored it (perhaps intentionally). Over many thousands of pictures that he snapped during his lifetime, this one was taken at the center of his divorce and immediately during my mom's fervent prayers and was the actual topic of my parent's tumult. This one caused him to stop abruptly on a drive in order to capture it. This one he hid and did NOT digitize. This one, he struggled over and never mentioned to anyone. And this one, he specifically remembered in his heart both 25 and 45+ years after he took it, even while keeping it hidden from the rest of his world. This picture was lost and now it is found. But let's dig further....
This picture, this cloud formation is a very uncommon image. It is by far the most uncommon image in all his thousands of pictures. Yet, unlike many others that he framed to show off his photography), he hid.
Having looked up into the clouds thousands and thousands of times, I can easily state, I have NEVER seen an identifiable image of ANYTHING SO CLEARLY! Not an animal, an airplane, a tree. Nothing like one would see only in a cartoon. Have you? Plus, I personally remembered the picture once as a boy due to it's obvious and striking clarity, But I DID NOT forget the image God provided my dad, my mom and me. I remembered it from 25 years prior.. after I became a Christian.
I pray that you would take at least one or two steps to investigate whether Jesus has shown you something real today. I don't believe He was reaching out to ONLY to my dad and mom for that one moment. I think he has preserved this image in the form of a 50 year-old slide for a day like today, complete with photoshopping and at the dawn of artificial intelligence, I think God left this picture in the form of a 46 year-old slide image, as a remnant to be shared, with a story spanning 50+ years. I believe God did this for impact for you, me and others, to move each of us one or many steps closer to Him. He saved this for an age where we don't know what or who to trust. That's why I included (at the top) an original front and back image of the slide which remains in my possession today.
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He is reaching out to you and showing you what you may have never seen before. He is showing you that He is real and that His Word is true, that "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
Psalm 19:1. This sign to you right now is REAL. DO NOT squander this amazing evidence as my dad did. Take courage and comfort in it as my mom did. I can promise you, God will serve you well! He will protect you, guide you, support you and give you peace, joy, comfort, wisdom and a solid place to dwell in an increasingly fragile and untrustworthy world. Then he will give you an eternal home filled with peace, joy, holiness and love like you couldn't even dream of in a mansion built for you. If you will simply accept that God is real and that the death of Jesus was to cover your sins and mine, so that we could live in holiness with him for eternity. He does all this at no cost to you. He simply asks that you believe Him and follow His ways, all of which will lead you to greater joy, peace and happiness and will similarly, provide love and value to your fellow man.
If you are not a Christian
CLICK HERE to make just one call or get more information to find out whether Jesus is real or not. Just a click or two and you can find out if Jesus is real or not.
If you are a Christian
CLICK HERE so we can show you how The Jesus Cloud can further your walk with the Lord.
If you are a pastor, church or missionary
CLICK HERE so we can show you how we can come along side you to help grow and support your ministry with The Jesus Cloud
2nd Story-line
Wanting validation/confirmation, as I stepped out into this journey, I did ask my older sister of her remembrance and account of The Jesus Cloud from her perspective, which I had never heard. As an adult, I didn't even know if she knew about the picture. So, I called her up and asked her about it.
It was her recollection that she was there the first time my father viewed the slide at home, after the slide had been developed by the lab. She remembered clearly the moment The Jesus Cloud was selected and projected onto my dad's movie screen. She said that he exclaimed, "That's Jesus Christ!" That was clear in her memory (and anyone that knows her, is aware of her sharp mind and very strong memory, as she is a highly educated historian and is deeply involved in ancestry and family history). I was not there. But I thought for presentation's sake, it would only be fair to seek out and offer any additional account of my dad's impression and reaction to the picture from the time was developed and initially experienced.
My sister also confirmed the reason for my parent's divorce, This is only important in the sense, both children were clear on the issue surrounding this event in our lives and how The Jesus Cloud appeared during this particular time and during this particular issue in the lives of my parents. Plus, unbeknownst to me, my sister had also (independently) asked my dad for the slide at the time of my mom's memorial, remembering it from childhood herself and knowing the significance it played in my mom's faith and in the journey of our broken family. That also was new information, that my dad also told my sister he remembered the picture, but "did not have it."
Like me, at the time of my mom's death, my dad asked my sister if there was "anything... anything at all he could do to comfort her (my sister). That's when my sister requested the picture, independently and unbeknownst to me. But instead of comfort, she too was told by my father that he knew of the picture, but that he did not have it and would not look for it. Again, refusing my sister in the same way as he refused me. So my sister's experience and mine differed slightly. But in both cases, my dad still knew of the picture, kept it from each of us, independently and yet kept it for himself, hidden from everyone else.
If you are not a Christian
CLICK HERE to make just one call or get more information to find out whether Jesus is real or not. Just a click or two and you can find out if Jesus is real or not.
If you are a Christian
CLICK HERE so we can show you how The Jesus Cloud can further your walk with the Lord.
If you are a pastor, church or missionary
CLICK HERE so we can show you how we can come along side you to help grow and support your ministry with The Jesus Cloud
