Let There Be Light [The Trailer] – IOTW Report

Let There Be Light [The Trailer]

After losing his young son to cancer, Dr. Sol Harkens has dedicated his life to the cause of atheism. As a best selling author and a celebrity debater, he has managed to parlay his attacks on Christianity into a very lucrative business. He is not only anxious to share his disdain for God, but he also finds great joy and satisfaction in attacking his Christian opponents on the stage. But even with all the fame and success, Sol is empty and distraught on the inside and his increasing reliance on alcohol to numb the pain is only making things worse.

His New York party lifestyle has isolated him from his ex wife Katy and their two remaining sons. Their unrelenting faith in God is something that Sol has actually grown to resent and he tells Katy that he just got sick and tired of her praying for his soul.

Sol’s self-destructive habits eventually catch up to him and a serious car crash leaves him clinically dead for four minutes before he is finally resuscitated by some heroic first responders. It’s a miracle that he’s still alive, but what really changes Sol’s outlook on life is what happens during those four minutes. It’s a four word message that refuses to let him go despite his best efforts to deny it.

 

With the support of Katy’s unwavering love and faith, and his own questions about what he may or may not have actually experienced, Sol struggles to find meaning and purpose in the words LET THERE BE LIGHT.

39 Comments on Let There Be Light [The Trailer]

  1. My wife would wait until she thought I was asleep and lay hands on me and pray. At first (for months into years) I would pull away.

    Then eventually I just laid in bed, acting as though I were sleeping, allowing her to pray with her hands on my back.

    My wife prayed for me for 32 years, as did every woman’s group, pastor and elder she had ever met over those long years.

    I had been retired for two years, everything was great, no stress, no needs and life was good, really good.

    Then one day …….

  2. Not a sad story at all, it was a life saving story.

    I was called and found myself at the foot of a 110 ft Cross on my knees at the corner stone of Faith and Hope (Bald Knob Cross, Alto Pass, IL.) https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/10691

    No one was more surprised than me. I was saved.
    My faith was restored to encounter and survive the heartbreaking sadness and losses I was to endure 2 years later.

  3. Ah Cato, you give much heart to those of us who pray regularly for un-saved family members. Thanks so much for sharing…but is sounds like there is more to the story.

  4. @ Cato:
    I knew it would be this kind of good. Many of us here are, quite literally, children trying to learn who Dad is, and what His world is like. Glad you’re one of us. Dodn’t know the how (and still don’t), but did know.

    @ DaveVA
    Never give up. Frankly, I hate the typical church sermons. Maybe your wife would respond better, as I did, if she *happened* to occasionally hear a step-by-step explanation of the Bible in ordinary words. I found this (beginning with) a radio series called “What is God Doing” by Ronald L. Dart on a localish AM station. Perhaps you’d find it useful in some way. Go here: http://www.borntowin.net/audio-archives/
    and type “what is god doing” in the field under “Title.” There are 24 1/2 hour shows in the series, and there are many more series available as well.
    For a little background, I grew up in a Baptist church that had the same sort of sermon every week…something happened to me this last week and IT WAS GOD ALLLLMIGHTY THAT SAVED ME THAT PARKING SPACE… blah-blah-blah. I hate church. Ron is very different. I beg you to give his efforts a shot, that your wife may overhear.

  5. Sturge – Some churches, the priest doesn’t even open the Bible when he’s preaching. And sermons are replaced with social justice stuff. I don’t know what fundraiser for a criminal getting a well-deserved beat down in some inner city 5 states over has anything to do with the person in the pew, and God.

  6. I began writing the what occurred and stopped…… it was becoming too involved, even after 10 years it is too fresh to go into so much depth.

    Unbeknownst to me, I was being prepared.
    After two years of, what I consider divine appointments, study and instruction, my College best friend, of decades before, called and said he was just diagnosed with mouth cancer and he didn’t know what to do because he was caring for his 88 yr. old mother. I spoke to my wife, we agreed I would move 245 miles away from home to help him and care for his Mom. The day I arrived I took him to the dentist and all his teeth were pulled in one sitting. We waited 2 weeks for the gums to partially heal. Each day I drove him 75 miles to the hospital to receive radiation, on wednesday he stayed overnight for chemotherapy. Three times a day I would feed him and medicate him with morphine & Hydrocodone through a feeding tube. I cared for his Mother, shopped, cooked her meals and washed all the clothes and dishes. We followed this regimen for 8 weeks. I stayed 2 or 3 weeks after the radiation and chemo until he could care for himself and his mother. For the next month I went every friday through sunday to help out with yard work, flower beds for his Mom and did all the washing. This was an absolute blessing to me.
    Within 60 days after returning home, we took our 1 yr. old grandson to the hospital, within 2 weeks he was diagnosed with ataxia 7 hereditary disease and transferred to St. Louis Children’s Hospital we were driving 75 miles each day to be at the hospital. At the same time we were also caring for our 3 month old granddaughter.
    Within 3 or 4 months I received a call from my Mother, my 82 yr, old father had fallen and broke his hip. I moved 220 miles to stay with my mother and go to the hospital everyday. Dad was on blood thinners, so they couldn’t reset his bones until they were out of his system. Each day we were with him, he was medicated so he would damage his hip any further. I’d take Mom home at 6 pm and return to the hospital until 9 or 10. In 6 days Dad had a heart attack and died while we were with him.
    I stayed with Mom who had congestive heart failure, on oxygen, and who was devastated with the loss of dad. She was distraught that dad had left her, as they had promised when they got married, they would do everything together (and they had). Mom refused to eat, although I cooked everything she liked. She would eat chocolate ice cream and candy orange wedges. She was in and out of the hospital several times. During that time, our grandson had been in the hospital 7 months and our granddaughter who was diagnosed with Ataxia seven. Two weeks before our grandson passed I was able to see him and sit with him while my wife stayed with Mom. I was not able to be at his funeral. I think it was less than 2 weeks later Mom died.
    I returned home after Mom’s funeral. We provided 24 hour care for our granddaughter, as we all decided that we didn’t want her to linger in an unconscious state on a breathing machine for months as our grandson did. We knew it was terminal My wife would care for her during the day and I at night. She had to be moved every 30 minutes or sooner when her oxygen level dropped (she was on oxygen).
    I’m sorry for the detail, I guess it’s therapy for me or something. I can’t go on.
    JayLynn died in 6 months from her diagnosis and we buried her on her 1st birthday.

    During this two 1/2 year period (starting in 2005), my wife’s brother died, then my younger brother, my wife’s sister, Dad, Jarren, my sister’s husband, Mom, and JayLynn. My college buddy and his Mom died 3 years later. We uprooted (moved 450 miles) to care for my wife’s Mom and Dad, her Dad passed way 2 years ago at the age of 85, we are now caring for her Mom who is 88.

    This time in life has been a blessing to care for those I loved the most and shared their Love with me. Was it demanding, emotionally, physically and spiritually draining? Without a doubt. Quite frankly I don’t believe we could be doing what we did without the faith and hope that the Lord resupplied us with on a daily basis.

    The Lord said it only takes a little faith to move mountains.
    We had great faith, but God didn’t move the Mountain. He gave us the strength and endurance as we struggled to climb to the peak. Those days were the most crushing we have ever encountered, in the same light they were our greatest blessing.

    The experiences we have are no different than the experiences each of us face, it just hit us all at once. I am thankful for my Lord calling me and preparing me for the Journey. Any glory for any actions are attributed to Him.

    God Bless you ! He has, if you acknowledge it or not.

  7. DaveVA, hang in there- I’ll join you in prayer. 🙂
    I’ve known Groucho Marxist since around 2009 and I know he’s been through a lot of stuff. He’s a wonderful example of the good that happens when you let God into your life and have a supportive family, too. He serves the unfortunate and his daughter is following in his footsteps.

  8. @DaveVA

    I can say with certainty there are few who are as jaded, hard hearted and stubborn as I was.
    The more she prayed the more resistance there was.
    I don’t, to this day, know how it all happened, but I do know why.
    She still prays for me ! And I encourage her.

    I pray that when your wife least expects it, she too will be lifted by His love for her and she will be radically saved at the cornerstone of Faith and Hope.
    Never stop praying for her !
    You never know what the Lord has in store or when it will happen. It will happen.

  9. MJA;
    As I may have mentioned before, we try our best, most days our best is good enough, other days not so much.
    What has been set before us, we were prepared for.
    Our life experiences are no different than others — some just may not have encountered them yet. We were and remain blessed.

    @Joe6pack
    Kinda funny, some of my most insignificant troubles/problems have been my greatest lessons learned.
    I just ask,
    “Lord, help me, I don’t understand. What are you trying to teach me?” Many times it’s just patience or forgiveness.

  10. @Cato
    “…but God didn’t move the Mountain.” Of course he did. Throughout Genesis – Deuteronomy, God told the Israelites when to go fight and when not to. When they did not fight, but should have, they were overrun. When they fought but shouldn’t have, they were soundly defeated. The best way I’ve heard this stated is that God will fight with you, but not without you. My point is that once you started climbing that mountain (by going to care for not just your friend, but also his mother) God lifted the mountain with you on it. You had to climb no further than you would have on your own, but you wound up much higher than you would have on your own.

    Another note: A few months ago, I lost a dear friend. At 55 years old, and a 33 year vet of the USAF, he died in his sleep – a blood vessel in his brain ruptured. This man, Ray, was my last remaining hero… someone I looked up to and have tried for 25 years to be like.

    Thanks for taking on that role for me, Cato. Hope you don’t mind, but I’ve saved your post that I may remember.

  11. Cato, God bless you and your family.

    DaveVA, my prayers are with you. It is crucial to pray for your loved ones. God bless you.

    My mother prayed for my two brothers and me for years. My brothers wandered farther but I wandered longer. Both brothers know that it was Mom’s prayers that were answered when they returned to God. I also acknowledge that it was Mom who daily asked God to bring me back. I stopped going to church, reading the Bible and just lived my life like I wanted. I didn’t turn my back on God, I just ignored him.

    But Mom didn’t accept that. She prayed and God answered. Twenty years, but he answered. What happened was only attributable to God. My coworker was a JW and wanted me to go to his church. I kept saying no and finally he said that I at least needed to attend a Bible believing church. Even though I said yeah, I would, I never intended to try.

    Then, just a week later, I got a note on my door that invited me to a local church. As soon as I saw what it was I knew it was God and I had to obey. I kept thinking that maybe I’d forget and not go that Sunday and I could keep letting it slip my mind. But he didn’t let me forget. I knew that this was a line that he was drawing – if I didn’t go, it would be my choice to leave him.

    I went, kicking and screaming. I got in my car and said, “God, don’t make me drive there.” I pulled into the parking lot and said, “God, don’t make me go in.” I went in and said, “God, don’t make me sit down.” I sat. Just as they started the service, I said, “God, don’t make me stay. If they turn out to be a charismatic church, then I can leave.” It was a charismatic church. I said, “I told you, God! Now I can go, right?” I didn’t leave. I said, “The sermon is going to be fluff and I won’t get anything out of it. Can I go now?” The pastor got up and said, “I have been feeling that God wants me to start on a series teaching from the Bible, so we are going to start in Romans.” I fell off my chair.

    I really didn’t fall, but I did in my spirit. I stayed, and went back. I learned so much about studying the Bible and my Faith at that church.

    So, prayer works. Now Mom is praying for two of her grandsons. By brothers and I are praying, too.

  12. I believe in God because the evil people try day and night to discredit what they think is a fictionary character: JESUS.

    Why waste so much time, money, and energy? If religion is all fake, then why not bash Islam? Why Jesus over and over again?

  13. Cato, The True and Living God had you covered the whole time you went through those heartbreaking experiences, emphasis on “through”. The mountain you speak of crumbled the day you instinctively began caring for those close to you. The strength of God Himself provided by his Spirit helped you make it – through. Your testimony is very profoound and unique. No two journeys with the Lord are the same. Not everyone has the faith and trust in God to be there for others. Thank you for your testimony. It’s encouraging to hear how our Loving Savior keeps His word because He is the Word.

  14. @Sturge
    Thank you for this, “God lifted the mountain with you on it.”
    AMEN ! Thank you Lord ! I too will keep this as a reminder.

    Heroes who we desire to emulate were placed in our lives to cause us to strive to be better than we are. By their words, actions, relationship and deeds they blessed us.

    I believe these connections with exceptional people we meet and interact with in a positive manner creates branches similar to a family tree.

    One person receives a blessing and forwards that blessing to others and they to others. The branches grow.
    We are bound together.

    I am a Blessed Branch of the heroes in my life.

    The people we may bless today, are receiving the blessing we initially received from our heroes actions and deeds from years ago. Those we bless will probably never know the blessings they received originated years before with the person we honored.

    My faith assures me it was all written in the Book of Life.
    Our life, is a good life, blessing and encouraging others.

    The tree our heroes created have many living and growing branches. The blessings they shared with others had far reaching effects. They have done well.

    These trees and branches of blessings will continue to grow for eternity.
    Not just affecting individuals directly, but their families and their children’s families. Many who are not known or we will ever meet.
    What a fitting memory for the Heroes placed in our lives that their blessings are passed on. Even though they are no longer on this earth their good deeds and blessings will always continue building branches well after we have passed.

    Thank God for placing heroes in our lives.
    The memory of a good person is a blessing !

  15. Cato – Thanks for sharing your wonderful testimony. I’ve found that the inner peace that God alone can offer is worth more to me than all the wealth in the world. And that’s something that I truly wouldn’t have believed 15 years or so ago even though I considered myself a Christian. God moves in mysterious ways and even when we can’t understand His ways, we can receive great benefit while not knowing exactly why at the time.

    And my prayers are with all those on this thread and thanks for sharing your stories as well.

  16. Christain themed movies finally going mainstream without lots of pushback. Hollyweird movies tanking helps. Sean Hannity and Kevin Sorbo are off to a good start with this film.

  17. @Joe6pack
    Kinda funny, some of my most insignificant troubles/problems have been my greatest lessons learned.

    It is never the major things that destroy us, but invariably the multitude of trifling things which are mistakenly thought to be of major importance. These are so many that, unless we get out from under them, they will crush us body and soul….

    “Oh God, we are so inundated with distracting things and clamorous voices. Deliver me today from the trifling things and help me to spend every minute of the day on ‘the things that matter.’ Amen.”

  18. Thank you for sharing, Cato. You have helped many by doing so. For some it’s eye-opening, for others it’s confirmation we are not alone in our experiences of God.

    Maybe the fact your troubles weren’t prevented by God is one of the most important aspects of the lessons that can be had from your story. Many don’t believe in Him because life isn’t perfect RIGHT NOW. We grow through the troubles we have. We become better people with focus and realization of how precious time and other people really are. There is no time to waste. Appreciate and help others while you can. Selfishness is a death unto itself.

    There is much we get in giving and perfection is for heaven. If we never experienced travails, we would never grow spiritually. Most importantly, this life is not all there is. That’s what most fail to understand.

    My own father’s death when I was 13 had me know I wanted to be a Dad – not just a sperm donor or childless. It was THE gift of life from his death.

    My own spiritual journey started with a near death experience – at 3. I had no words to describe the vivid experience so I never talked about it as a child. No one ever described anything like it themselves either. It was the scariest thing I ever experienced and set the stage for discerning what others had to say about God and the spiritual world. It was an experience of the physicality of the structure of creation. God was there but I didn’t have a conversation – just an experience of the “outer darkness” where every question gets answered and there is absolutely nothing but your essence. It was infinite darkness and as soon as I felt the panic of being ultimately alone forever someone had me turn around and I was shown my home with our life in it. I wanted that – YES! YES! THAT! and I was instantly back in my crib. I knew this was a created world ever since.

    After that, I could also tell what was BS about religion and what men have done with it. I knew that moving my hands in certain directions and saying specific “magic” words didn’t really matter to God. It is what’s in your heart. When I started studying what Jesus really said and what the Bible really said, I could see what matched up with my experience. When I read that Jesus was particularly upset with the rote recitation of canned prayers, I knew I was reading the real deal. What’s in your heart is what matters. This is also why just saying the prayer of asking Jesus into your heart and life is ineffectual. You need a humble heart with genuine desire for Him.

    Something Youtube did in this matter was show me that many others had like experiences. VERY similar. It was very comforting to know this. I do keep looking for one that has no floor in it, though. Mine didn’t. That was one of the first questions my little 3 y.o. mind asked and was answered. Yet – not all of them on YT are genuine. I don’t know what they are doing, but they are full of crap and not helping.

    Thank you, Cato. God bless you and yours.

  19. Don’t ever give up on praying for the salvation of others. My Grandfather was 92 years old when he died and only became a Christian in his last year or so of life. This was despite his whole immediate family praying for him (his wife,three daughters, their husbands–including one who is a pastor–and his 7 grandchildren, all of whom became Christians to his disbelief.) Did we despair at times? Yes, especially after having many ruined holidays with him mocking God and professing his ardent atheism. But, after 70 years of prayer by his family, he finally became a Christian and was a truly changed man after that. Sometimes moving mountains can take decades, but God is faithful and just.

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