Glory Be To God from Nigeria

Please read what I am posting here.  This is from a Brother-in-Christ who I have befriended first on Facebook and now on Facebook Chat.  I talk with “Jeff” almost on a daily basis.  He is an electrician who works in the hospitality industry in Nigeria.  He lives in Lagos with his siblings and he is basically responsible for them.  His father has passed away and his mother relocated.  The following is his story on how he came to Christ and I am leaving it in the form that he wrote it so you kind of get the gist of his story.  Remember that his country is seeing a terrible round of Muslim aggression toward the Christian people.  They are bombing churches and killing people right in their own homes.  I am helping him get his story out to the world as well as the fact that I am working on bringing him back to Christ as the situation in his country has been hard on him.

AM NNODIM JAPHETH AFAM FROM NIGERIA , I RECEIVED CHRIST IN OCT 2003 FEW MONTHS AFTER THE DEATH OF MY DAD, BUT PRIOR BEFORE THIS TIME I HAVE BEEN STRONG MEMBER OF CATHOLIC CHURCH, BUT I KNEW SOME WAS MISSING BECAUSE I DO COMMIT THE SAME OLD SINS I USED TO DO, THEN A SISTER INTRODUCED ME TO A BIBLE BELIEVING CHURCH CALL MFM IN SHORT FORM, ITS A DO IT UR SELF MINISTRY ,WHERE THE SINGULAR CONDITION TO MAKE HEAVEN IS HOLINESS WITHIN AND WITHOUT IS TAUGHT , A CHURCH THAT IS CENTERED ON DELIVERANCE AND REVIVAL OF APOSTOLIC SIGNS, I JUST DEDICATED MY SELF TO THE WORK OF GOD , EXPECTING NO POWER AS A CHRISTIAN UNTIL ONE DAY I ENGAGED IN ARGUMENT WITH A MUSLIM BREAD HAWKER WHO IS ALWAYS CASTIGATING CHRIST AS POWERLESS NAME SINCE HE HAS A MOTHER AND FATHER HERE ON EARTH,, I THEN CHALLENGE HIM TO CONCLUDE HIS PRAYER WITH WHEN EVER HE IS PRAYING IN ARABIC …I TOLD HIM TO PRAY IN WHAT EVER WAY HE USED TO PRAY IN ISLAM BUT MAKE SURE HE CONCLUDES WITH IN … THE FOLLOWING THE DAY HE CAME RUNNING TO TELL MIRACLES THAT ARE HAPPENING IN HIS FAMILY, HIS SISTER WHO HAS BEEN ILL FOR YRS GOT HEALED,HIS BREAD BUSINESS BOOM OVER NIGHT,THE ENTIRE FAMILY CHANGED FROM BAD TO GOOD..THAT REALLY SPUR MY DESIRE TO PURSUE GOD TILL TODAY….

 

Wow!  What a story here.  Now, here is an email that he sent me about his own “revival” his own rebirth in the name of Jesus Christ……GLORY  BE TO GOD FOR  BRINGING ME BACK TO HIS LIGHT, I LOST OUT BEFORE  BUT NOW AM  BACK IN THE FOLD OF BELIEVERS, BUT DUE TO  THE NATURE OF MY JOB I WON’T BE ABLE TO ATTEND SUNDAY AND THURSDAY SERVICES REGULARLY. HIS GRACE HELP ME  ON TUESDAYS  BIBLE CLINIC< SEARCH THE SCRIPTURE>…. THE SPIRIT IS BACK , REAWAKENING OF  CONSCIENCE AND HUNGER FOR CHRIST GROWING  ON DAILY BASIS…. GLORY  BE TO HIM

Jeff has really come back to the Lord.  It is like he lives right next door.  He doesn’t but words just like the WORD of GOD really works miracles.  Thank the Lord!

 

A New Addition to Spreading the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

For a couple of months now, I have been communicating via Facebook Chat over my smartphone with a Brother-in-Christ, many miles away.  Yet, when it comes to communication, it seems as if we are all next door when it comes to Jesus Christ.  We are all brothers and sisters in His blood and His sacrifices that He made for us when He went to the Cross.

The person that I have been communicating with is Jeff from Lagos, Nigeria.  Many of you who read this post hopefully have been following the news coming out of Nigeria, which is an country in Africa.  Lagos itself, which is the capital of Nigeria, is a port city with nearly 8 million people and is one of the fastest growing cities in all of Africa.

There has been internal strife in Nigeria and most major cities in the country have experienced bombings and downright murder in the middle of the night.  Most of those being effected are our brothers and sisters in Christ.  They are being singled out for one reason and one reason only:  They believe in Jesus Christ.  They are Christians.  Sound familiar?  When I was growing up Jewish, I had learned a great deal what happened to the Jews of Europe.  Not only in Nazi, Germany but in Russia during the Pogroms of the late 1800s and the Inquisition in Spain a couple of centuries before this.  We also remember the Crusades.  Yet, as Jews it is hard to sit back and just blame its sister faith of Christianity for this.

So, chatting with Jeff in Nigeria, which is nearly six hours ahead of me in Atlanta, Georgia, there is much to learn about his suffering and wanting to be closer to Jesus Christ.  It is hard, I am sure to maintain faith in the wake of such bombings of churches, religious center and being woken up in the middle of the night, dragged out into the streets and murdered in front of families and neighbors and friends.  A few weeks ago, nearly 200 of our Christian brothers and sisters were murdered in nearly 40 different bombings.  Many of these took place while they were worshiping in churches and religious centers and in their homes.  This is just downright wrong and needs to be stopped.  Unfortunately, many of those of faith have been murdered only for their beliefs and to make life better.

Jeff sent me a chat request one afternoon on a Saturday I believe.  He mentioned to me that he found Christ in the same time period (2003) that I found him.  There is a strong connection here between the two of us.  We have our share of unforeseen circumstances and we would like for them to improve and be better.  Because of what is happening in Nigeria all around him, he has had a hard time keeping up with his faith and has stopped praying and believing to a certain degree.  I have been working with him through our chats and through the use of scripture from the Holy Bible.  I said that if there was one soul that I could save it would mean success in my life, but it goes much more deeper than this.  He was saved, but no

w I have to, we have to do what we can to stand together and make sure that the violence, not only in Nigeria, but all across the globe ceases once and for all.

Jeff told me about having to take care of his siblings as his father passed away from cancer a number of years ago.  His mother relocated but did not take the children with her.  S

o, he has a tough job.  He also is looking to relocate and make life better for him and his family.  He is lookin

g to leave for either Europe or the United States.  Of course, I told him that the United States would be a great place to settle in because of religious freedoms and so much more.  He is looking to apply for a Visa but most of the time it is based on a lottery system, so I am going to start working with him to see what can be done to bring him to the United States.

Both Alex and I welcome Jeff to our ministry and he has slowly but with our help and with the help of God and His son Jesus Christ, returning to his faith.  He reads my Bible scripture

t

hat I post to Facebook and sends related stories to me and I plan on sharing them here as time goes on.

God is great and may God bless those who are in harm’s way for His Name.

David M. Brown

Atlanta, Georgia

February 7, 2012

 

Needing God – Finding God

 

Just a couple of days ago I finished a fifteen day Holy Bible Reading Plan compliments of YouVersion.  YouVersion, most of you know is a smart phone application of The Bible and it is just incredible.  It allows you to pick a particular reading plan among many great ones and follow them to conclusion.  It also allows you to share your daily plan, Chapter and Verse with your Facebook and Twitter friends as well as book mark your favorites as well.  I have now been doing this since the beginning of the year and it has been fun and rewarding.

What makes sharing the Bible Chapter and Verses fun and rewarding?  Well first off, here is what it is NOT.  It is not something that I am doing just to show that I am reading the Bible and keeping up with my Daily Devotions.  It IS a way to share the Bible with those who have not yet read it or would like to read it but do not know how or do not understand it when they do try to read it.  What is important is to understand its overall meaning and what the differences are between the Old and the New Testaments, also known as the Old and the New Covenants between God and His children (all of us).

I titled this post, “Knowing God -Finding God.”  Yes, this is the same title of the Reading Plan (15 days) but I find it useful in the understanding of what the Bible is and how to understand it.  First, The Holy Bible is God’s Word.  So by reading it on a daily basis, you already know God.  Second, the Holy Bible is a collection of Books that are written by man, inspired by God Himself. So, putting this all together, you know God and then you can figure out how to find God within the words that He inspired man to write.

So, here I am, one who Needed God and Found Him back in March 2002.  Yet, there is not a day that goes by that says we do not need Him.  We get up in the morning and pray for answers or people that are sick or just to say thanks for giving us another day on planet earth.  We need God to guide us in our path of success or to get us from point A – to Point B safely in our daily journey.

Granted, God is not a visible being that we can see on earth.  He did not want us to be able to see Him.  He would not even let the Israelites in the Old Testament to see Him.  Moses saw Him as a fire in a burning bush. Yet, God exists in our hearts, our minds and even in our souls.  He appeared to Moses and other prophets in the Old Testament and even to those disciples in the New Testament through the clouds.  In the Book of Numbers (which will be the subject of my next posting), God appeared numerous times to Moses through the Clouds and a Pillar of a Cloud.  When He walked through the desert with the Israelites during the Exodus, He appeared as a pillar of fire to protect them when they were being followed by the Egyptian army.

Yet, with all of this said, people still believe that there is no God.  In the Holy Bible, it says that those who lay their eyes upon the Lord shall surely die.  This is what the Lord says to Moses in Exodus 33:20 NIV, “You cannot see my face for no one can see me and live.”

What if someone said this to you?  Would you turn away and still believe what the person is telling you?  Maybe if that person was looking to harm you.  But not with God.  You would turn away, yet still believe and still listen because you Believe in Him and because you know what the Bible says about this.  We all need God and we can certainly find Him in everything.  We can find God not just in what we do on a daily basis, but what we see and what we can touch.

Needing God in our lives is a no brainer.  He is no doubt the most important part of our lives.  Why?  Think about it, He gave us birth and He leads us through our daily lives and He brings us home to Him when it is time.  Finding God is easy as well. He is EVERYWHERE and EVERYTHING.  Some turn away from Him because they cannot see Him.  Well, guess what, YOU CAN SEE HIM.  YOU CAN HEAR HIM.  YOU CAN TALK TO HIM.  He wants to be with you in your daily walk.  He wants to hear from you in Prayer.  He does hear you.  You only have to know how to Pray and what to ask for.  Guidance is one thing you can ask God for and He will deliver.  You can ask for Success and He will deliver.  But know this, He is looking for something in return.  He wants you to be genuine in what you are asking for.  It might not come when you reopen your eyes after prayer, but it will come to you, but you have to do your share.

If you are in need of God in your life, yet have not found Him, take a look at yourself in the mirror.  Ask yourself, how did I get here?  How did the earth form?  The stars and the moons and the planets, did they just one day go bang, here we are?  Oh there was a bang alright, but guess what?  It was God and it is God.  When you see yourself in that mirror remember this:  We are ourselves a spitting image of God.  He said so in Genesis Chapter 1, Verse 26, “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Thanks to all of my readers and to Biblegateway.com for the use of Bible Verses

Next up….”What is in a Number?”  A Look at the Book of Numbers……..

 

 

 

Israel to Strike Iran Soon

Day in and day out, through both Social Media sites like Facebook and Twitter, as well as local and national media, we are constantly hearing mixed signals from both the United States of America and its greatest ally in the Middle East, Israel that an attack is about imminent on Iran.  Iran has constantly and consistently been playing

“war words” with not only Israel and the United States but with the European Community as well.  What I have to say here is this:  Prophecy is about to be fulfilled, and we all need to be ready!

There is a problem however, with Israel attacking Iran.  Teheran, Iran’s capital, supposedly houses nearly 10,000 Iranian Jews.  Of course, Israel’s attacks may be more “surgical” in other areas where suspected nuclear weapons facilities are located, but still, what would Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad do with the Iranian Jews that still occupy Iran?  Will he murder them or release them to Israel or to the United States?  These are questions that need to be answered.

So, what may need to happen is for the innocent Iranian population to stand up once again and speak out on possible war.  It is going to be up to them to stand tall and oppose their president so that they can live the lives that they deserve to live:  in Peace.

Today, it is said that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta made a statement that Israel will strike Iran by the spring or early summer.  This is irresponsible as it opens up the possibility of failure since the news is out.  This is what happened in the summer conflict between Israel and the Hamas in the Gaza Strip a couple of years ago.  News of Israeli troop movements was broadcasted over the Internet making it extremely hard for the Israeli ground units in their success.  Unfortunately, this can’t be stopped unless the internet is shut down.

I really hate to write things when it comes to possible conflict in the Middle East again.  When I say this, we have to remember that the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are not considered part of the Middle East, so they cannot be considered part of an overall Middle East conflict.

What I do like to do is point out some scripture from The Holy Bible that mentions the Middle East conflict that might be imminent here in the near future.  Then you might get a better grip on what we might expect.

The reason for Israel’s prominence today is biblical rather than political. The Bible says that God chose a special people to be His witness to the world:

‘”You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen” … And what nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people and to make a name for Himself, and to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land …’ (Isa 43.10)(2 Sam 7.23)

Although the nation of Israel was scattered some 2500 years ago, the Bible says that it will be regathered in the last days of this age:

‘”I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone … and bring them into their own land …”‘ (Ezek 37.21)

The ‘all-nation’ invasion is precisely that. God says:

‘I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle …’ (Zech 14.2)

At the very end of this age all nations will be gathered against Israel for war. But despite sophisticated weapons, they will be defeated by the God of Israel. The Bible indicates that this could be nuclear war:

“…the day is coming, burning like a furnace … (it) will set them ablaze … they will be ashes under the soles of your feet…” (Mal 4.1,3)

http://www.seekingtruth.co.uk/middle_east.htm

The president of Iran made the following statement to the world ….“Israel should be eliminated from the pages of history” … President of Iran, 2006. At no time would you hear a leader of the State of Israel make such a remark about another nation. Adolf Hitler during the Second World War did what he could to annihilate the Jews of Europe but failed. So, how does the president of Iran think he can annihilate Israel? God will not let it happen. Just as the Pharaoh of Egypt capitulated and allowed the Israelite’s to leave Egypt, so it will be that God will allow His People to survive another war.

The question is, how will they survive? God. The Jewish people were told that a savior would come to them and save them. This was mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible in the Book of Isaiah as well as other Books and this was fulfilled when Jesus Christ was delivered to earth.

So, Gog and Magog or not as was outlined in the Book of Elijah in the Old Testament, is being set. Will Russia and China and Iran and other countries of the region line up for war against the State of Israel at Meggido, a mountainous region overlooking Jerusalem? By the way, Megiddo translates into Armageddon.

Something or someone strong needs to intervene. It just might time for Jesus Christ’s return.

 

BEFORE I GO

2012.  A new year is upon us.  I have seen so much good and some bad come and go.  I have seen in the last couple of decades so many of my loved ones including my brother Jeff, my father and then my mother and many of my good brothers and sisters in Christ succumb to cancer and diseases that I had no idea would take their lives.  I have to say that they are sorely missed but something tells me they are not fully gone.  I can sit here and say that they are watching me and tracking not only my good days but my bad.  They are telling me in some way or another that everything is going to be alright.

Just a short story before I get into the poem that I wrote today.  My parents both told me a story that I want to relay to you.  When my father was just starting out in his insurance business long ago, he and my mother were on the road and staying in a hotel, most likely somewhere in Florida.  While my mother was getting out of the shower, she could hear my father talking with someone. She walked out into the room and saw something that startled her but did not scare her.  My father was talking with his father, my grandfather who was in plain view on the opposite bed.  What was interesting about this was that my grandfather was long deceased.  My mother told me that my grandfather had said one thing to the both of them, “Everything was going to be alright.”  Then, he just sort of disappeared with a smile.

Everything was going to be alright.  My grandfather was right.  I personally believe this and so much more because I have the greatest “parent” of them all.  I have God in my life.  I have His Son, my Lord and Savior, My Brother, Jesus Christ in my life.  Everything is going to be alright.  This, I have no doubt.

Just yesterday, something in the shape of a poem came to me.  I was thinking about my brother, my father and my mother and all of my brothers and sisters in Christ that are gone.  I wish I had the opportunity to witness the Lord to my brother and my father but I still remained a Jew when they died.  I did not even know Him then.  Yes, God was in my life but not His Son.  This was something that I knew was missing in my life.  With Him I am now complete.

Since finding Jesus and accepting Him in my life, this has brought me closer to my wife Amy who is the love of my life along with Jesus and this applies to my friends as well.  Things may not be easy today for me and for many others but knowing Jesus makes life more grand.  Knowing that there is Eternal Life in knowing the Lord makes living so much greater.  Yet, when the time comes that I am called home, I am not afraid as I once was.

So, BEFORE I GO, is about knowing whether or not everything is truly going to be alright.  In the Name of JESUS CHRIST, my Lord and Savior, My Messiah and My Brother, I know that everything is going to be alright.

Here is BEFORE I GO…….

BEFORE I GO….

 by

David M. Brown

Times as of late have been up and down

There is so little time on this earth to wait around.

I am here to say that there is still so much to do

Yet, I wonder when it will all come together

BEFORE I GO.

The storms are plentiful today

I want to learn sometimes to play.

Friends have been so good to me

I want more time to say thank you, you see.

Yet, I wonder when it will all come together

BEFORE I GO.

My life changed one day

I wish mom, dad and Jeff could stay.

They are gone from this place

I have been left by God’s grace

Yet, I wonder when will it all come together

BEFORE I GO.

It was over ten years ago

When I met the love of my life

I know that I am not alone

Because I have my wife.

Yet, I wonder when will it all come together

BEFORE I GO.

Nine years ago I died and was born again

I accepted my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I was Baptized and never looked back

Yet, is there anything I lack? (No)

Life has been full of dreams

Sometimes I wake with a terrible scream.

Still wondering, when it will all come together

BEFORE I GO.

My life is full as I have the Lord

He is my FRIEND this I know.

HIS Name means the world to me

Yet, I pray it all comes together, you see

BEFORE I GO.

 When it is my time

I will sorely miss

All of those who are left behind

When it is time for me to unwind.

Still, when will it come together

BEFORE I GO.

For those of you who are my friends

I want to know that you are the world to me.

For those who are lost

It will come together you see

 BEFORE I GO.

In the Name of the Lord

Life is right and just.

Only for HIM do I lust.

Yet, once again, I wonder when it will all come together

BEFORE I GO.

There is no time to wonder anymore

Only know that it has come together.

Knowing the Lord

HE is my tether.

The storms have cleared

Now there is nice weather.

I wonder no more

As it has all come together.

I have my wife, the love of my life.

I have my friends

The strength behind the strife.

I have the Lord, I have no other

This I know my sisters and my brothers

BEFORE I GO.

I want you to know

Your love and your caring

Is so demanding.

I am in prayer for us all

So, Let us love the Lord and have a ball.

BEFORE I GO

This poem is dedicated to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to the love of my life, my wife Amy, and to all of my friends who have stood by me through thick and through thin.  Thank you so much for your love and your understanding and for being here as Jesus Christ has been here since the beginning of time.

Have a great and safe weekend ahead and may the Lord be with you in your journey’s and your life each and every day.

God Bless and God Speed.

 

New Year, Time for a Great Holy Bible Reading Plan

With the onset of 2012, I have made a promise not only to myself but to God, to my home church and to my wife that things are going to be much better than they have been and that I am going to make some changes. One of those changes starts with reading God’s Word each and everyday. The second is to return to church on a regular basis and give back to the Lord as He gives His all day in and day out. The third is to witness as to many people as I can, especially to those who yet have not come to accept Him.

All of what has been mentioned already in this post starts with reading and understanding God’s Word. The other is to become a prayer warrior. Without prayer, God does not hear us. We can read the Bible day in and day out but we have to learn also to apply the lessons we learn. This helps us become more like Him.

There are many ways to read the Bible and there are many Bible Reading Plans on the market. What is neat, they are free and available for your computer, smartphone and for your IPAD and Android Tablets.

One great program that I have been learning and using is YouVersion. It has full versions of The Bible including the New King James Version as well as the New International Version. It also has the ability to set up Bible Reading Plans, Daily Devotionals and even reminders. You can even bookmark special verses and share them on Facebook and Twitter.

So, no matter what you have planned this year make room and time for The Lord and read His Word and talk with Him through prayer time.

God Bless and God Speed.

David

 

God is Great and Answers Prayers: You are my Copilot

Mount Carmel Christian Church, Stone Mountain, Georgia

I am an executive car driver taking passengers to and from the airport on a routine basis.  However, sometimes this position is not so routine.  There are times a call may come in from the dispatcher sending the drivers to points other than what is on their trip sheets which are a requirement for executive car drivers here in the State of Georgia.  When a call comes in unexpectedly, those are usually sent as a text message to our cell phones and then transferred to our trip sheets.

With the above said, I found that I once again had a helper in my vehicle.  It was God Himself and what occurred brought tears to my eyes as I drove from the airport to my unexpected pickup.  Here is what happened:  At 5:30pm, I had a pickup in mid-town Atlanta, Georgia.  That passenger was delivered to the airport no less and no more than a half an hour later.  I decided that since my next pickup was not until at least 9:08pm at the airport, I would drive over to Virginia Avenue and get something to eat.  This was a little after 6pm, usually at the heart of the evening rush hour traffic.

So, instead of getting something to eat, I received a call from the office dispatcher.  I was going to a point off of Hugh Howell Road in Stone Mountain, Georgia to do a pickup and then take back to the airport.  What was interesting about this pickup is that it was on a direct route to the same church, my home church of Mount Carmel Christian Church, also in Stone Mountain.  What came across my thoughts was that I could skip dinner and then head toward my pickup and decide to see my family at the church.  God did not distract me or send me into the McDonald’s.  What He did was push me back in the car and said, “Visit your family.  They haven’t seen you in six or more months.”  Off I went.

As I drove up Memorial Drive in Decatur, Dekalb County, Georgia toward my destination, I felt the tears well up in my eyes.  I have been telling myself and my best friend Alex (who by the way is also a member of the same church) that 2012 is going to be a different year and that I was going to do what it took to be at church.  I felt that somehow I was headed to church, with this being the first Wednesday night back for dinner and for fellowship, Bible Study with Interim Senior Minister Wye Huxford and Choir Practice (I had been a member of the Mount Carmel C.C. Choir for nearly nine years).

As I got closer to my exit off of Stone Mountain Highway (Hwy 78), I could feel the tears getting thicker and pretty much wetting my face more than I ever.  This was not tears of sympathy or because something bad happened.  These were tears that God produced for me because He knows just how much I miss being at church for a number of reasons which I will not go into here.  I pulled into the church parking lot at approximately 7:15pm.  I did miss the earlier dinner but that was o.k.  I did get to meet with many of my church family members and even had the opportunity to talk with the members of the choir.

What was special for this part of the evening was that I got to see my best friend as well after six months or more of a hiatus from hanging out with him.  The last time I saw him was when I picked him up at the airport after he returned from his late summer trip to Italy.  At the same time, I got to see his daughters and his wife as well.  The daughters, Christina and Chloe are just awesome and God’s great little children.  They should be so proud to have the mother and father, grandparents and friends that they do.

Time is short, yet, this was a very special time for me.  I hope that they will be able to once again continue as this is the best church family a man could ask for.  God puts us in places for a reason and what happened this evening was a great blessing.

The pickup went extremely well, I got to the airport in plenty of time to meet my 9:08 pickup and get them home after their long Christmas Holiday trip in Denver, Colorado.  So, when I got home safely, I knew that God was once again with me as He is day in and day out.  He is my Rock and My Redeemer.  He is my Copilot.

Thank you God for not only being my co-pilot but also for delivering Jesus Christ to sacrifice His life for all of humanity.  He is the Messiah and He is the King of Kings and He is the Son of God and He is the Son of man.  Bless You My Lord!

David M. Brown

Thursday, January 5, 2012

 

Mount Carmel Christian Church

Mount Carmel Christian Church, Stone Mountain, Georgia. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, the Messiah and the Son of God and was Baptized here on Sunday, March 9, 2003.

 

Pursuit Your Dream, Not a Paycheck

Sunday morning while I was listening to 104.7FM, the Fish Atlanta radio station (while driving on my job as an Executive Driver for a great company), I heard bits and pieces of a devotional or commentary that I can truly relate to.  It was something along the lines that we spend a great portion of our lives pursuing the proverbial paycheck that can come once a week, bi-weekly or even once a month.  Granted, it is nice to know that there is a paycheck coming and it is what pays the bills, but it also allows us to do something that we find out later on.  That something else is that we tend to forget to pursuit God.  I know this because it has happened to me and even today it has happened to me.

I think about two individuals, both in the Old Testament in the Holy Bible when it came to pursuing dreams and what the answer to them were.  One is the Pharaoh of Egypt in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 41)  and the other is King

Joseph Made Ruler in Egypt

Nebuchenezzer in the Book of Daniel.  In the case of the Pharaoh, it was Joseph (one of twelve sons to Jacob), who became the second in command of all of Egypt after his brothers sold him into slavery and he rose to fame because he was the one who was able to interpret the Pharaoh’s dreams.  They did come true and this is why Joseph became famous among the Egyptians.  Then, in the Book of Daniel, Daniel became famous with the King because he also was able to interpret the dreams.  But, the answers from both Joseph and Daniel was that it was not them but the God of Israel who was the one who led the way.

So, as I said in the opening paragraph, I am one who pursuits the dream but most of the time it is the wrong one.  Long ago, after college to be exact, I continued to say to myself, I am not going to look for that huge paycheck, that huge house with a million garage’s to store material wealth.  I wanted that “perfect” job that would make me comfortable, maybe just a tad more comfortable, have little to no debt and just live a righteous job.  Unfortunately, this did not happen as I saw it, and I ended up in debt over my head and to this day still struggle to get out of it.  But one thing I am desperately not trying to do is stop the pursuit of God.  I believe in Him more than anything and believe in His Son Jesus Christ as well.

How do I pursuit God and Jesus Christ?  First and foremost, I read devotionals on a daily basis.  I also read The Word, the Holy Bible, of God.  These are His Words, inspired by God and written by man.  People, day in and day defame the Holy Bible because they say it is nothing but a story, one that is full of half-truths and some even call it a flat out lie.  Well, as time moves on, archaeologists and other scientists, continue to find evidence and proof that the stories in the Bible are more than just mere stories.  They are complete truths.  Ask yourself this question, “If the Holy Bible is fake, then would places like Israel, Egypt or even Iraq and Iran even exist today?”  Probably not.

We have a right to earn a paycheck, do not get me wrong.  I am one that is not afraid to get one.  But at the same time, I want to know I am doing everything I can to keep God in my mind.  I do this on the job when I have the opportunity to listen to Christian Music and even Hebrew Music.  Both are filled with the Love of God and the Word of God.  Both are beautiful in their right sense.  At the same time, I say to myself this:  If I can save one lost soul and bring that person to God and to His Son Jesus Christ, then I have succeeded in my life.

I also have the dream of being a pretty good photographer and a representative of the media.  So, I pursuit this dream and use both as a hobby to some degree but also as a way to bring in extra income.  At the same time, I spend as much of my waking time with God as well.  Think about it.  When we wake in the morning, we have to remember to thank God for another beautiful day on planet earth.  We thank God for our meals throughout the day.  Then, before we go to sleep, we thank God for the beautiful day and for our successes of the day and we can also ask Him for guidance if we took a small slide from the right way.

So, let us remember God, let us pursuit Him and let us worship Him and thank Him for His Word, which should be our guidance on a daily basis.

Thank you God for all you do and for Who You are.  Thank you for allowing me to pursuit You and to talk and walk with You.

David

Joseph Made Ruler in Egypt

 

 

Lost in the Dark? Jesus Christ Leads You Out

Are you in the dark?  Nothing there but the unknown of what is lurking in the alleyway or around the corner? You had every reason to not have a flashlight or did not even think about guidance of any kind.  However, no matter what, somebody or something is there and it begins to make you nervous maybe even begin to hyperventilate.  If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the dark is nothing but a temporary set back.  He is the one who will lead you out of the dark and away from that unknown. If you are not yet a believer, no worries because now that you are in the dark and lost and have no guidance, you can get it.  You can accept Jesus Christ into your life and the world around you will become bright.  He becomes your flashlight, your lighthouse, your lamp, your guidance.  But, wait, you are still in the dark?  O.K. still do not know which way to turn?  Know this: There is someone there with you and he is the darkness himself and his name is Satan, the Devil.  It is your decision and yours alone on which way to walk and hope that it is the right one.

I am writing this blog post for two reasons.  One, because of a television series that I watch on a regular basis and two, because for such a very long time, I was in the dark myself.  I was not and am not a criminal or anything like that but I was lost in the dark abyss for many years and I knew that something had to lead me out.  The first one is probably not the most important as the second, but the program, Criminal Minds (CBS-Wednesday’s at 9pm and ION Television, throughout the week), had a recent repeat episode that helped lead me to write this post.

Criminal Minds is about a team of FBI Agents known as the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU).  Their job as a team of FBI profiler’s is to assist local law enforcement jurisdictions in possible serial killer cases.  There was a repeat episode recently which centered around one of the agents, Emily Prentiss.  She was once an agent with Interpol, a European Police Agency, and she was following the inner workings of a faction of the IRA.  One of the IRA operatives and Agent Prentiss got a bit close and things began to unravel.  Eventually, the IRA operative ended up in the U.S. to hunt and kill her for reasons not necessary to mention here.  During the investigation, Agent Prentiss laid down her badge and her service weapon and walked away from the team of agents only to protect them from getting hurt themselves or killed.

The IRA operative eventually caught up with Agent Prentiss and began to torture her.  Before this however, she received a cell phone call from one of the team members, the computer and hacker genius, Penelope Garcia.  She is sensitive to the members of the team, especially Agent Prentiss.  She made the following comment on her cell phone voice mail (not word for word, but you will get the gist of it):  “..You are in a dark place, alone.  You must be afraid.  We are in that dark place with you.  We are waving flashlights and calling your name.” You see, the BAU is a family just as we are.  We are a family of believers and we trust in Jesus to lead us into the light (the good) and remove us from the dark (evil). The character Emily Prentiss is killed off at the end of this particular episode but what is interesting, she really did not die.  She returns in the first episode in Season 7.

The second reason for writing this is what I consider most important, yet, the first is what led me to thinking of this writing.  After my conversion to Christianity in 2003, I had the opportunity to teach my first Bible Study Class at my home church, Mount Carmel Christian Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia.  The title of my Bible Study was, “Jesus as the Light.”  I felt that by teaching this, I was also learning much about my new faith.  I found that I came out the darkness of my “prior life.”

In my prior life, even though I believed in God, I did not do all of the right things.  In college, I drank like a fish because I felt this was just one way to belong.  I did not attend synagogue later in my old life and I did not fully practice the faith of Judaism from my time after college until my conversion.  There was much I just could not see anything being right anymore.  I was hopping from job to job.  I was never what you would consider a success.  However, after the death of my old life and the rebirth into new, I began to learn a great deal.  I was no longer in the darkness but now in the light.  The light of Jesus Christ.

Of course, nothing has been easy and God has never promised life would be easy.  He gives direction through His Word and it is one that I am doing everything possible to follow.  Unfortunately, the burden’s of every day living and situations beyond my control, I find myself straying from the path of the righteous.  This is not going to be the case in the new year, 2012.  I am going to settle down and work my calling.  I am a writer.  I am a photographer and I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and God.  I always have been.  It is time to turn the tide of what was and bring on the light of what will be and what is.

So, my message to you, my brothers and my sisters and to those who have yet to find the light of day, there is a way out of the darkness and that way is through the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is not for me to tell you what to do and I am not here to grab your hand and pull you through unless you want it.  I can help because I want to and because Jesus tells us to.  It is for you to take that step in the right direction and if you need some help, return to this blog and read on!

Thank you for visiting, God Bless, God Speed and Happy New Year!

 

David

 

Below are some verses that I found for you to read.  The final line is where these verses are found on the internet.

 

1 Jn 1:5-10 (Phi) Here then is the message which we heard from him and now proclaim to you: GOD IS LIGHT and no shadow of darkness can exist in him. Consequently, if we were to say that we enjoyed fellowship with him and still went on living in darkness, we should be both telling and living a lie. But if we really are living in the light in which he eternally exists, then we have true fellowship with each other, and the blood which his son Jesus shed for us keeps us clean from all sin. If we refuse to admit that we are sinners, then we live in a world of illusion, and truth becomes a stranger to us. But if we freely admit that we have sinned, we find him reliable and just; he forgives our sins and makes us thoroughly clean from all that is evil. For if we say “we have not sinned,” we are making him a liar and cut ourselves off from what he has to say to us.

Ps 119:105 (NIV) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

1 Cor 4:5b (Phi) He will bring into the light of day all that at present is hidden in darkness, and he will expose the secret motives of men’s hearts.

Eph 5:8-14a (Phi) Once you were “darkness”, but now as Christians you are “light”. Live then as children of the light. The light produces in men all that is good and right and true. Let your lives be living proofs of the things which please God. Steer clear of the fruitless activities of darkness; let your lives expose their futility.

Rom 13:12 (Jer) The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon; let us give up the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light.

http://www.acts17-11.com/light.html