Tag: land

Articles, Roy Porter

THE CONCERNS OF A DEAD MAN

| Roy

LUKE 16:23  – AND IN HELL HE LIFT UP HIS EYES, BEING IN TORMENTS AND SEETH ABRAHAM AFAR OFF, AND LAZARUS IN HIS BOSOM.

LUKE 16: 24 –  AND HE CRIED AND SAID FATHER ABRAHAM, HAVE MERCY ON ME, AND SEND LAZARUS, THAT HE MAY DIP THE  TIP OF HIS FINGER IN WATER, AND COOL MY TONGUE: FOR I AM TORMENTED IN THIS PLACE.

THE CONCERNS OF THIS MAN HAVE CHANGED.

HIS FORMER CONCERN WAS TO MAKE MORE MONEY AND ENJOY LIFE AND FAMILY. HIS CONCERN WAS TO PREPARE FOR LIFE AND NOT DEATH.

WE READ IN A PREVIOUS CHAPTER ABOUT A PRODIGAL SON WHO CAME TO HIMSELF IN A FOREIGN LAND AND WENT HOME TO HIS FATHER. HE WAS DEAD AND ALIVE AGAIN, HE WAS LOST AND WAS FOUND.

THE PRODIGAL SON CAME TO HIMSELF AND WENT HOME TO BE WITH HIS FATHER BEFORE HE DIED.

THE RICH MAN CAME TO HIMSELF IN HELL.

PRAYER LIFE CHANGES IN HELL, IF A PERSON GOES TO HELL HE WILL PRAY A LOT.

THE RICH MAN’S CONCERNS CHANGED IN HELL.

HIS PRAYER WAS FOR A DROP OF WATER ON HIS TONGUE.

LUKE 16:27  – THEN HE SAID, I PRAY THEE THEREFORE, FATHER, THAT THOU WOULDEST SEND HIM TO MY FATHERS HOUSE:

LUKE16:28 – FOR I HAVE FIVE BRETHREN THAT HE MIGHT TESTIFY UNTO THEM, LEST THEY ALSO COME INTO THIS PLACE OF TORMENT. 

THIS MAN IN HELL HAD A CHANGE OF CONCERN, BUT IT WAS TO LATE.

HE PRAYED FOR A WITNESS TO BE SENT TO HIS FATHER HOUSE, TO HIS BROTHERS WHO WERE LOST. 

TESTIFY TO THEM HE PRAYED.

THIS MAN IN HELL HAD NEGLECTED THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION IN ANY ONE’S LIFE, HE REJECTED HIS CREATOR, HE HAD CHOSEN TO SEEK THE TEMPORAL INSTEAD OF THE ETERNAL.

HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE WITNESS TO HIS BROTHER’S. SOMEBODY HAS TO BREAK THE MOLD IN A FAMILY OF LOST PEOPLE. PEOPLE WHO PUT NO VALUE ON GOD AND THE LIFE OF GOD, USUALLY LEAD THEIR FAMILY TO HELL WITH THEM. THEY CHOOSE SPORTS OVER CHURCH,THEY CHOOSE SIN OVER RIGHTEOUSNESS. THEY NEVER READ THEIR BIBLE IF THEY OWN ONE. THEY SELDOM IF EVER GO TO CHURCH. THEY TESTIFY TO THEIR FAMILY THROUGH CONDUCT.

ITS NOT THAT THEY HAVEN’T HEARD THE MESSAGE THEY JUST REFUSE IT. THEY MIGHT NOT EXPRESS IT VERBALLY BUT WITH THEIR CONDUCT. THEY MAKE THEIR OWN RULES OF LIFE.

LAZARUS WAS A BELIEVER THAT WAS LAID AT THE GATE OF THE RICH MAN DAILY.

IF THE RICH MAN HAD STOPPED LONG ENOUGH TO TALK TO LAZARUS, HE WOULD HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE MESSIAH.

THE RICH MAN COULD HAVE WENT TO HIS BROTHER’S HOUSE’S AND TESTIFIE D ABOUT THE ONE WHO AROSE FROM THE DEAD.

THE ONLY MESSAGE THAT WOULD KEEP THIS MAN AND HIS FAMILY OUT OF HELL WAS IGNORED.

HE WAS NOT IN HELL BECAUSE HE WAS RICH, I PERSONALLY KNOW RICH PEOPLE THA LOVE JESUS AND I KNOW PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT RICH WHO LOVE JESUS, BUT I ALSO KNOW PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT RICH THAT COULD CARE LESS ABOUT JESUS.

BEING SAVED HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR FINANICIAL CONDITION. BEING RELIGIOUS DOESN’T MAKE YOU SAVED.

PEOPLE THAT REJECT THE MESSAGE OF JESUS ARE LOST AND ON THEIR WAY TO HELL, THEY WILL KNOW THE TRUTH IN HELL AND WILL BE TORMENTED OVER THIER FAMILY COMING THERE.

PEOPLE MAKE THIS STATEMENT, IT IS A FALSE STATEMENT, BUT THEY MAKE IT, THEY SAY THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO HEAVEN. WHO GAVE THEY THE AUTHORITY TO SAY THAT? OUR CREATOR IS THE AUTHORITY, WHEN HE SAYS IT IS LAW, AND HE SAID I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE, NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER BUT BY ME.

JESUS PROVED HIS AUTHORITY WHEN HE AROSE FROM THE GRAVE. JESUS IS THE ONLY LAMB OF GOD WHO DIED FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD.

ALL RELIGIONS CAN NOT PROMISE FORGIVENESS FOR SIN. IF YOU HAVE NOT ACCEPTED JESUS BY FAITH AND LIVE IN THAT FAITH, YOU WILL BE PRAYING IN HELL CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR FAMILY.

DON’T LET DECEPTION SEND YOU TO HELL, DON’T LET REBELLION AND PRIDE SEND YOU TO HELL. HUMBLE YOURSELF AND CALL UPON JESUS TO SAVE YOU.

PEOPLE WHO TELL YOU DIFFERENT THAN GOD’S HOLY WORD, DON’T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO SPEAK FOR HIM. 

I TELL YOU AGAIN BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE WORD OF GOD, THERE IS NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED, BUT BY THE NAME OF JESUS.

PRAY NOW AND ASK HIM INTO YOUR HEART AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOUR, TESTIFY TO YOUR FAMILY AND IF YOU LIVE IN A NATION THAT ALLOWS CHURCH ASSEMBLIES START ATTENDING CHURCH. IF BIBLES ARE AVAILABLE BUY A BIBLE IF YOU CAN. IF CHURCHES ARE NOT POSSIBLE SERVE JESUS WITH YOU WHOLE HEART.

I WRITE THIS MESSAGE WITH GREAT LOVE AND HUMILITY, FOR IF WASN’T FOR JESUS REVEALING HIMSELF TO ME, I WOULD STILL BE LOST AND GOING TO HELL. BECAUSE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS I HAVE A GREAT CONCERN FOR THE LOST.   

 

   

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Articles, Jeanette Porter

TRUST PART II

| Jeanette

THERE IS HELP IN THE SRIPTURES FOR THOSE WHO ARE GOING THROUGH A HARD PLACE IN LIFE.  THE HARD PLACE COULD BE THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE, OR IT COULD BE DIVORCE, OR OTHER KINDS OF LOSS.

PROVERBS 3:5,6 – TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL THINE HEART; AND LEAN NOT TO THINE OWN UNDERSTADING.

IN ALL THY WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS.

TAKE THAT THING THAT HAS YOU IN ASHES, AND TALK TO GOD ABOUT IT. TELL HIM THAT YOU ARE HURTING. HE ALREADY KNOWS,BUT HE WANTS YOU TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIM IN IT, HE WANTS TO GET INVOLVED. ACKNOWLEDGE HERE MEANS TO CONFESS. CONFESS IN THE DICTIONARY, READS UNBURDEN ONES SELF. THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME. I HAD NO CONTROL OVER WHAT WAS ABOUT TO TAKE PLACE, BUT I KNEW I COULD GO TO GOD WITH IT, AND UNBURDEN MYSELF. HE RESTORED MY JOY, AND EVEN GAVE ME THIS MESSAGE TO HELP YOU.

IF YOU ARE GOING THROUGH ONE OF THIS THINGS THAT I MENTIONED IN THIS MESSAGE EARLIER OR MAYBE SOMETHING ELSE I DIDN’T COVER, PRAY THIS PRAYER WITH ME AND GIVE THIS TO GOD. THATS RIGHT, REPEAT AFTER ME, “LORD I COME TO YOU WITH THIS THING THAT IS TEARING ME APART, I CAN’T SEEM TO SHAKE IT OFF. IT HAS BECOME A STRONGHOLD IN MY LIFE, AND MY JOY IS NOT FULL. I SUBMIT TO YOU IN THIS BURDEN, THIS PROBLEM AND I TURN IT OVER TO YOU. I TRUST YOY TO LOOK OUT FOR MY BEST INTEREST, AND I AM GOING TO SPEND TIME WORSHIPPING YOU.

I RECEIVE YOUR DELIVERANCE IN JESUS’S NAME. THANK YOU, LORD, AMEN.

PSALMS 37:3,5  – TRUST IN THE LORD AND DO GOOD; SO SHALT THOU DWELL IN THE LAND, AND VERILY THOU SHALT BE FED.

COMMIT THY WAY UNTO THE LORD; TRUST ALSO IN HIM ; AND HE SHALL BRING IT TO PASS.

REMEMBER YOU ARE GOING THROUGH THIS DIFFCULT PLACE IN LIFE, YOU WILL NOT STAY HERE, KEEP YOUR TRUST IN THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR YOU.

PSALMS 55:22 – CAST THY BURDEN UPON THE LORD, AND HE SHALL SUSTAIN THEE; HE SHALL NEVER SUFFER THE RIGHTEOUS TO BE MOVED.

OH HOW HE LOVES YOU AND ME. GOD BLESS YOU. 

YOU. 

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Articles, Roy Porter

RED SEA LOOSES POSITION

| Roy

EZEKIEL 36:22-28 – THEREFORE SAY UNTO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; I DO NOT THIS FOR YOUR SAKES, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL, BUT FOR MINE HOLY NAME’S SAKE, WHICH YE HAVE PROFANED AMONG THE HEATHEN, WHITHER YE WENT.

AND I WILL SANCTIFY MY GREAT NAME, WHICH WAS PROFANED  AMONG THE HEATHEN, WHICH YE HAVE PROFANED IN THE MIDST OF THEM; AND THE HEATHEN SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD, SAITH THE LORD GOD, WHEN I SHALL BE SANCTIFIED IN YOU BEFORE THEIR EYES.

FOR I WILL TAKE YOU FROM AMONG THE HEATHEN, AND GATHER YOU OUT OF ALL COUNTRIES, AND WILL BRING YOU INTO YOUR OWN LAND.

THEN I WILL SPRINKLE WATER UPON YOU, AND YE SHALL BE CLEAN: FROM ALL YOUR FILTHINESS, AND FROM ALL YOUR IDOLS, WILL I CLEANSE YOU.

A NEW HEART WILL I GIVE YOU, AND A NEW SPIRIT WILL I PUT WITHIN YOU: AND I WILL TAKE AWAY THE STONEY HEART OUT OF YOUR FLESH, AND I WILL GIVE YOU AN HEART OF FLESH.

AND I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT WITHIN YOU, AND CAUSE YOU TO WALK IN MY STATUTES, AND YE SHALL KEEP MY JUDGMENTS, AND DO THEM. 

AND YE SHALL DWELL IN THE LAND THAT I GAVE TO YOUR FATHERS; AND YE SHALL BE MY PEOPLE, AND I WILL BE YOUR GOD.

PROFANED – A HEBREW WORD, HALAL – A VERB, MEANING TO PIERCE. THE FIRST MEANING OF THIS WORD IS TO PIERCE OR WOUND, EITHER PHYSICALLY UNTO TO DEATH OR FIGURATIVELY UNTO DESPAIR.

THE OTHER MEANING IS TO PROFANE OR TO DEFILE, WHICH IS USED PRIMARILYOF CEREMONIAL OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.

GOD SHALL SANCTIFY HIS GREAT NAME BEFORE THE WORLD BY PERFORMING A GREATER MIRACLE THAN PARTING THE SEA. HE SCATTERED THE JEWISH PEOPLE AFTER THEY REJECTED AND PIERCED THEIR ONLY GIVEN WAY TO WORSHIP.

JOHN 4:21-26 – JESUS SAITH UNTO HER, WOMAN BELIEVE ME, THE HOUR COMETH, WHEN YE SHALL NEITHER IN THIS MOUNTAIN, NOR YET AT JERUSALEM, WORSHIP THE FATHER.

YE WORSHIP YE KNOW NOT WHAT: WE KNOW WHAT WE WORSHIP: FOR SALVATION IS OF THE JEWS.

BUT THE HOUR COMETH, AND NOW IS, WHEN THE TRUE WORSHIPPERS SHALL WORSHIP THE FATHER IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH: FOR THE FATHER SEEKETH SUCH TO WORSHIP HIM.

GOD IS A SPIRIT: AND THEY THAT WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH.

THE WOMAN SAITH UNTO HIM, I KNOW THAT MESSIAS COMETH, WHICH IS CALLED CHRIST: WHEN IS COME,  HE WILL TELL US ALL THINGS.

JESUS SAITH UNTO HER, I THAT SPEAK UNTO THEE AM HE.

ANYONE WHO REJECTS THIS WAY OF WORSHIP PROFANES THE NAME OF GOD. JESUS IS THE WAY, T HE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, NO WORSHIPS THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH THE SACRIFICE THAT WAS  OFFERED ON THE  CROSS BY JESUS. JEW OR GENTILE CAN ONLY WORSHIP THE FATHER THROUGH HIS CHOSEN SACRIFICE. IT IS PROFANE TO ATTEMPT TO WORSHIP GOD WITHOUT THE ONE THAT WAS PIERCED.

THERE IS A LAND COVENANT GOD MADE TO ABRAHAM. THERE IS A PEOPLE COVENANT GOD MAD TO ABRAHAM.  THE LAND IS ISRAEL, THE PEOPLE IS THE JEW.THIS COVENANT CANNOT BE BROKEN, GOD SAID I WILL BRING THE BACK TO THEIR LAND.

THAT IS THE FIRST PHASE, THE SECOND IS ONE DAY IN THE FUTURE, THE JEW WILL RECOGNIZE THEIR MESSIAH. THEN JESUS WILL ENTER INTO THEIR HEART AND THERE WILL BE A REBIRTH OF THEIR SPIRIT. A NATION IS REBORN AND THEN THEIR SPIRIT.

ON MAY 14 1948, GOD PERFORMED A MIRACLE GREATER THAN THE PARTING OF THE RED SEA, ISRAEL BECAME A NATION IN ONE DAY. THIS IS THE GREATEST SIGN THAT IT WILL NOT BE LONG UNTIL THEY RECEIVE  THE NEW BIRTH OF THE HEART.

JESUS IS COMING BACK TO JERUSALEM TO SET UP HIS KINGDOM, 144,000 JEWS WILL RECEIVE JESUS DURING THE FIRST  THREE AND ONE HALF YEARS OF TRIBULATION. ALL OF ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED AFTER JESUS RETURNS TO JERUSALEM.

ZECHARAIA 13:6 –  AND ONE SHALL SAY UNTO HIM,WHAT ARE THOSE WOUNDS IN THINE HANDS? THEN HE SHALL ANSWER, THOSE WITH WHICH I WAS WOUNDED IN THE HOUSE OF MY FRIENDS.

ROMANS 11:26 – AND SO ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED: AS IT IS WRITTEN, THERE SHALL COME OUT OF SION THE  DELIVERER, AND SHALL TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB: 

     

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Articles, Roy Porter

DON’T STOP SHORT OF OF THE PROMISE

| Roy

NUMBERS 13: 30-33  AND CALEB STILLED THE PEOPLE BEFORE MOSES, AND SAID LET US GO UP AT ONCE, AND POSSESS IT; FOR WE ARE ABLE TO OVERCOME IT.

BUT THE MEN THAT WENT UP WITH HIM SAID, WE BE NOT ABLE TO GO UP AGAINEST THE PEOPLE; FOR THEY ARE STRONGER THAN WE.

AND THEY BROUGHT UP AND EVIL REPORT OF THE LAND WHICH THEY HAD SEARCHED UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, SAYING, THE LAND, THROUGH WHICH WE HAVE GONE TO SEARCH IT, IS LAND THAT EATETH UP THE INHABITANTS THEROF; AND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WE SAW IN IT  ARE MEN OF GREAT STATURE.

AND THERE WE SAW THE GAINTS, THE SONS OF ANAK, WHICH COME OF THE GAINTS; AND WE WERE IN OUR OWN SIGHT AS GRASSHOPPERS, AND SO WE WERE IN THEIR SIGHT.

THE  HARDEST MILE TO RUN IN A MARATHON RACE IS THE LAST MILE.

HERE WE SEE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, WHO SAW THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD COME ON PHARAOH. THEY SAW THE POWER OF GOD MANIFEST IN SIGNS AND WONDERS.

THEY SAW JEHOVAH GOD, PART THE RED SEA AND BRING THEM ACROSS ON DRY GROUND.

BUT AT THE ENTRANCE INTO THE PROMISED LAND THEY STOPPED SHORT.

THEY WERE AT THE DOOR AND GAVE UP.

FEAR AND UNBELIEF CAUSED THEM TO SEE THEMSELVES UNABLE TO ENTER INTO THE PROMISE.

JESUS NEVER PROMISED IT WOULD BE EASY TO OBEY HIM.

HE NEVER PROMISED THAT WE  WOULD NOT FACE GAINTS IN THE LAND.

THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL DID TO MUCH THINKING AND TALKING ABOUT WHAT THEY SAW, INSTEAD OF WHAT GOD SAID.

GOD NEVER USED THE WORD FAILURE, FEAR, UNBELIEF. GOD HAD THE GRACE AVAILABLE, HE HAD ANGELS THERE TO HELP.

SAMSON KILLED ONE THOUSAND PHILISTINES WITH A JAWBONE OF A DONKEY.

GIDEON CONQUERED THE ENEMY WITH A SMALL ARMY.

HOW DID THESE THINGS HAPPEN? IF GOD BE FOR YOU WHO CAN BE AGAINEST YOU.

I HAVE RUN MANY RACES FOLLOWING GOD’S WILL AND PURPOSE, THE LAST MILE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE PLACE THE DEVIL TRIED TO GET ME TO GIVE UP. JUST BEFORE THE FINISH OF SOMETHING THE DEVIL WILL THROW THE BIGGEST DEVILS AT YOU.

HE WILL TRY FEAR, DISCOURAGEMENT, DISAPPOINTMENTS, REJECTION FROM PEOPLE, CRITICISM. YOUR VISION WILL BE QUESTIONED BY OTHERS. YOUR MOTIVATES WILL BE QUESTIONED, AND IF THE DEVIL GETS REAL MAD, YOUR CHARACTER WILL EVEN BE QUESTIONED.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS AND THE MISSION YOU ARE ON, DON’T TRY TO JUSTIFY YOUR CALL FROM GOD.

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE PROMISES FROM GOD, TO TAKE YOU TO VICTORY WILL KEEP YOUR VISION ALIVE AND YOU WILL NOT GIVE UP RUNNING THE LAST MILE.

REMEMBER THE LAST MILE IS WHERE MOST PEOPLE GIVE UP. DON’T LOOK BACK, DON’T LOOK AT THE SPECTATORS.

DON’T LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THE  QUITTERS, THEY QUIT AT THE LAST MILE AND THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO FINISH AND ENTER INTO THE PROMISES.

HABAKKUK 2;3  FOR THE VISION IS FOR AND APPOINTED TIME, BUT AT THE END IT SHALL SPEAK, AND NOT LIE; THOUGH IT TARRY, WAIT FOR IT; BECAUSE IT WILL SURELY COME, IT WILL NOT TARRY.

IT HAS SURLY COME, WE ARE THE GENERATION OF HARVEST, HOLINESS, AND SIGNS AND WONDERS.

SAINTS AROUND THE WORLD ARE UNDER ATTACK, THE ENEMY IS TRYING TO STOP US AT THE LAST MILE OF THE RACE.

I REFUSE TO GIVE UP, THROUGH THE STRENGHT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORD OF GOD.

GRACE SHALL CARRY ME TO THE FINISH LINE.

 

 

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Articles, Jeanette Porter

WHAT IS YOUR FUTURE? PART II

| Jeanette

WE GO ON MISSIONARY TRIPS TWICE A YEAR TO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES; MOSTLY TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

ON ONE OF THESE TRIPS WE BECAME BURDENED ABOUT AN ORPHANAGE IN SAN JUAN DELA MAGUANA. THERE WAS NO WATER THERE BUT A POLUTED RIVER A FEW MILES UP THE ROAD FROM THE ORPHANAGE. MOST OF THE TIME, THEY HAD TO CARRY CONTAINERS, ON THE BACK OF A SMALL TRUCK, TO THE TOWN OF SAN JUAN TO GET WATER. BY THE TIME THEY GOT BACK, MUCH OF THE WATER WAS SPILLED BECAUSE OF THE BUMPY ROADS AND HOLES IN THE ROAD.

WE BEGAN TO PRAY FOR GOOD WATER FOR THESE CHILDREN.

YOU SEE, THEY LIVE IN THE DESERT AREA.

ONE DAY AS I WAS PRAYING WITH A FRIEND AT MY HOME, GOD GAVE ME A VERSE OF SCRIPTURE. I CRIED AS I READ. I KNEW, THAT I KNEW IT WAS GOD SPEAKING TO ME.

ISAIAH 41:17,18 –  WHEN THE POOR AND NEEDY SEEK WATER, AND THERE IS NONE, AND THEIR TONGUE FAILETH FOR THIRST, I THE LORD WILL HEAR THEM, I THE GOD OF ISRAEL WILL NOT FORSAKE THEM.

      I WILL OPEN RIVERS IN HIGH PLACES, AND FOUNTAINS IN THE MIDST OF THE VALLEYS: I WILL MAKE THE WILDERNESS A POOL OF WATER, AND THE DRY LAND SPRINGS OF WATER.

I SHARED THIS WITH MY HUSBAND, AND HE AGREED, THIS WAS FROM GOD. WE KNEW WE HAD TO DRILL A WELL FOR THESE ORPHANS.

LATER, A COUPLE OF GODLY MEN WE KNEW WELL, SAID, “ROY, IT’S TIME WE RAISED MONEY FOR THAT WELL.”

WE, ALONG WITH MANY OF OUR FRIENDS, RAISED $10,000.00, AND SHORTLY AFTER, MADE OUR PLANE RESERVATIONS TO GO.

THERE WAS ONE AMERICAN DRILLER ON THE ISLAND WHO AGREED TO STOP WHAT HE WAS DOING IN THE CAPITOL AND GO TO SAN JUAN. GOD IS A GOD OF HUMOR, BECAUSE HE SENT WITH THE DRILLER A GEOLOGIST FROM PURDUE UNIVERSITY, WHO WAS VISITING ON THE ISLAND.

BEFORE WE LEFT HOME, THE LORD SPOKE TO MY HUSBAND AND SAID, “DON’T SPEAK ANYTHING NEGATIVE ABOUT THAT WELL, SPEAK POSITIVE.”

MY HUSBAND EXPLAINED THIS TO THHE WHOLE GROUP GOING WITH US, AND ALL AGREED.

YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE CHILDREN, WHEN THOSE BIG TRUCKS DROVE UP ON THE GROUNDS. THEY WERE SO EXCITED, WE HAD TO DRAW AN IMAGINARY LINE FOR THEM NOT TO CROSS FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY. 

THE GEOLOGIST TOLD MY HUSBAND, “YOU WON’T FIND ANY WATER HERE, THE SOIL IS NOT RIGHT.”

ROY TOLD THEM TO DRILL ANY WAY, WE’VE HEARD FROM GOD. YOU WILL FIND WATER.

WE HAD HIRED THREE MEN IN TOWN WHO JUST HAPPENED TO BE WALKING DOWN THE STREET WITH PICKS IN THEIR HANDS. BELIEVE ME, I WAS SAVED AT AN EARLY AGE, AND I KNOW THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES IN THE LIVES OF A CHRISTIAN, ESPECIALLY THOSE ON A MISSION.

THE DIGGERS BEGAN TO DIG A LONG DITCH THAT WOULD LEAD FROM THE ORPHANAGE TO WHERE THEY WERE DRILLING.

THE WELL DRILLER TOLD MY HUSBAND, “YOU’LL HAVE A NICE DITCH, BUT YOU WON’T FIND ANY WATER.”

THEY DRILLED 277 FEET AND THE DRILLER TOLD OUR GROUP TO GIVE IT UP. IT WAS COSTING $25.00 A FOOT TO DRILL AND THEY HAD ALREADY GONE DOWN FARTHER THAN THEY SHOULD AND RAN OUT OF DRILL ROD.

MY HUSBAND KNEW WHAT GOD HAD SAID, SO HE ASK THE MAN IF HE HAD ANY MORE DRILL ROD ON THE ISLAND. HE SAID, “IN PUERTA PLATA.”

ROY SAID, “GO GET IT.”

WHEN THEY CAME BACK WITH THE ROD, OUR TRIP SCHEDULE WAS COMING CLOSE TO THE END, AND WE WERE ALL KEEPING OUR MOUTH’S SHUT TO KEEP FROM SAYING ANYTHING NEGATIVE.

MY STOMACH WAS HURTING AND I THINK MY HUSBAND WAS CLOSE TO GETTING SICK. YOU SEE, IF WE DIDN’T GET WATER, WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO GO HOME AND FACE THE PEOPLE WHO WORKED SO HARD TO RAISE THE MONEY, THOSE WHO GAVE, AND NOT TO MENTION THEM, OVER SIXTY LITTLE BOY ORPHANS.

BEFORE THEY BEGAN TO DRILL AGAIN, THEY SAID THEY WOULD HAVE TO CLEAN OUT THE HOLE.

I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT DRILLING A WELL, SO IASKED THE DRILLER IF THE WATER WOULD SPEW-UO LIKE A FOUNTAIN, LIKE THOSE OIL WELLS IN THE MOVIES.

HE SAID, “NO. THAT’S ONLY IN THE MOVIES.” I GOT OUT OF THE WAY.

 MANY OF THE SURROUNDING VILLAGERS HEARD WHAT WAS GOING ON, AND YOU KNOW HOW NEWS TRAVELS, SO THEY WERE GATHERED AROUND TO WATCH.

WHEN THEY PUT THE THING IN WITH A LIGHT ON IT, THEY FOUND THE HOLE HAD CAVED IN. THEY WENT DOWN TO CLEAN IT OUT, AND AT ABOUT 37 FEET, THE WATER BEGAN TO SPEW OUT, JUST LIKE IN THE MOVIES!!

I WAS SO EXCITED!!

EVERYONE WAS CHEERING AND PRAISING GOD.

AND THE DRILLER AND THE GEOLOGIST, WHO WAS EXAMINING SOIL EVERY SO MANY FEET AND SHOWING US IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR WATER TO BE FOUND THERE, WERE SO AMAZED.

THE WORD GOT AROUND THE SAN JUAN AREA, THAT A GROUP OF EVANGELICALS HAD FOUND WATER IN THE DESERT.

BUT WE KNOW WHO HOLDS THE FUTURE, WE KNOW ONLY GOD KNOWS; AND HE PERFORMS MIRACLES.

THIS IS REAL.

EVERY OTHER POWER BUT GOD’S, IS FALSE, AND WILL LEAD YOU INTO A PLACE WHERE THERE IS NO PEACE, AND NOTHING BUT BONDAGE , AND A FUTURE YOU WILL WISH YOU HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED.

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Articles, Other Writers

FROM PRISON TO THE PULPIT PART I

| Roy

THIS IS AN UNUSUAL TITLE FOR A TESTIMONY, BUT I’VE LIVED AN UNUSUAL LIFE.

MY NAME IS CHARLES SELLERS, FORMALLY KNOWN AS C.A. SELLERS.

BEING A SHARECROPPER’S SON, AND IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT A SHARECROPER IS, IT IS TAKING CARE OF ANOTHER PERSON’S LAND. YOU CAN LIVE THERE AND PLANT FOOD ON THAT PROPERTY.

IN OTHER WORDS, MY FAMILY WAS POVERTY STRICKEN.

MY DAD LEFT MY MOM WITH 6 CHILDREN, WHEN I WAS 4 YEARS OLD. SO ME AND MY SIBLINGS HAD NOTHING. WE HAD NO CHRISTMAS PRESENTS, NO BIRTHDAY PARTIES; NOTHING NORMAL CHILDREN ENJOYED. EVEN OUR CLOTHES WERE HAND-ME-DOWNS.

IT WASN’T MY MOM’S FAULT, IT WASN’T MY FAULT; IT’S JUST THE WAY IT WAS.

PROBABLY, IF THERE WAS ANYONE TO BLAME, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MY DAD.

BUT THAT IS A DIFFERENT STORY WITHIN ITSELF.

MY DAD DIED WHEN I WAS 9 YEARS OLD. MY MOM HAD HIS BODY BROUGHT HOME. WHILE HE LAID IN HIS COFFIN IN OUR LIVING ROOM, I WAS AT MY FRIEND’S HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET, AND STOLE SOME MONEY THAT WAS LAYING ON HIS AUNT’S DRESSER.

AT THAT MOMENT, I STARTED A LIFE OF STEALING.

OVER THE YEARS, I’VE STOLEN EVERYTHING FROM BICYCLES TO ROBBING BANKS. I SPENT MOST OF MY LIFE LOCKED UP.

I’VE DONE TIME IN 8 FEDERAL INSTITUTIONS. SOME, LIKE TERR HUNTA, ATLANTA FEDERAL PENN., LEWISBURG FEDERAL PENN., ASHLAND KENTUCKY CORRECTIONAL INST., PETERSBURG VIRGINIA FEDERAL FORMITORY, TALAHASSIE (FLORIDA) CORRECTIONAL INST., LOUIVILLE KENTUCKY CORRECTIONAL INST.

ALSO, I’VE DONE TIME IN 7 STATE INSTITUTIONS, STARTING AT HOMESVIEW TO PERRY CORRECTIONAL INST., AND SEVERAL MORE.

I REMEMBER AND INCIDENT WHEN I BROKE IN A SCHOOL AND THE POLICE SHOWED UP. I CLIMBED OUT A WINDOW, AND WAS RUNNING ACROSS THE ROOF. THE ROOF RAN OUT AND I DROPPED DOWN 2 STORIES TO THE GROUND, ROLLED, AND KEPT ON RUNNING. FOR THIS ONE, I NEVER GOT CAUGHT.

BY LOOKING OVER THIS EVENT AND MANY MORE IN MY LIFE, I NOW REALIZE, GOD HAD HIS HAND ON ME.

I’VE BEEN SHOT; I WOKE-UP OUT OF A THREE DAY COMA BY FOOD POISONING, AND FOUND MY LIVE-IN GIRL FRIEND WAS DEAD. THE DOCTORS SAID IT WAS NATURAL CAUSES, BUT I BELIEVE SHE ALSO HAD FOOD POISONING.

AS MY LIFE PROGRESSED, I FOUND MYSELF DOING THINGS I THOUGHT I WOULD NEVER DO: LIKE SHOOTING DRUGS IN MY VEINS, UNTIL I DESTROYED EVERY VISIBLE VEIN IN MY BODY; AND TAKING UP A GUN AND ROBBING BANKS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. THIS WAS A LONG WAY FROM STEALING BICYCLES AS A CHILD.

I GUESS YOU COULD SAY I WAS NOW IN THE BIG TIME: SELLING DRUGS, ROBBING BANKS, BUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS LIFE STYLE TOOK ME FURTHER THAN I WANTED OR PLANNED TO GO, AND COST ME MORE THAT I WANTED TO PAY. YOU SEE, THE COST WAS MY FREEDOM, THE SUFFERING OF MY FAMILY, AND ALWAYS LOOSING EVERYTHING AGAIN AND AGAIN, AS I WOULD REPEATEDLY GET ARRESTED AND CONVICTED, AND SENT BACK TO PRISON.

A LIFE IN PRISON WASN’T EASY. WHEN I STARTED OUT IN REFORM SCHOOL, I HAD TO DIG 10 FOOT DITCHES, 18 INCHES WIDE, WITH A 10 FOOT SHOVEL. I KNOW YOU PROBABLY HAVE NEVER SEEN A 10 FOOT SHOVEL, BUT BELIEVE ME THEY HAD THEM.

I WAS 12 YEARS OLD AT THIS TIME.

WHEN I TURNED 15, I WAS SENT TO THE NATIONAL TRAINING SCHOOL IN WASHINGTON DC. BELIEVE ME, THIS PLACE WAS “HELL”. I WAS IN A FIGHT ALMOST EVERY DAY. WHEN THEY WOULD PUT ME IN LOCK-UP, THEY WOULD STRIP ME OF ALL MY CLOTHES, AND PUT ME IN  A SMALL TILED ROOM. THE TEMPERATURE IN THE ROOM WAS THE SAME AS IT WAS OUTSIDE. SO CAN YOU IMAGINE DECEMBER AND JANUARY? HOW COLD IT GETS IN DC? 

I COULDN’T TAKE MUCH MORE OF THIS PLACE, SO I PLANNED MY ESCAPE AND CARRIED THROUGH WITH IT. AS I CLIMBED THE FENCE SURROUNDING THE INSTITUTION, THEN BARBED WIRE BROKE AT THE TOP OF THE FENCE, AND I FEEL 10 FEET, AND JUST KNEW I WAS GOING TO GET CAUGHT, BUT NO ONE SAW ME BREAK OUT OF LINE GOING BACK TO THE DORM FROM THE GYM.

WE WERE SURROUNDED BY GUARDS. IT WAS AT NIGHT, BUT NOBODY SAW ME.

I MADE MY WAY TO A RAILROAD TRACK, AND THERE WAS A SLOW MOVING TRAIN. I JUST KNEW IT WOULD TAKE ME A LONG WAY FROM WHERE I WAS AT. I DIDN’T CARE WHERE IT WAS GOING AS LONG AS IT WOULD TAKE ME AWAY FROM THERE. WELL I JUMPED IN THE OPEN DOOR OF THE BOXCAR, AND THE TRAIN KEPT ROLLING FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES; IT STOPPED, AND HERE CAME A TOW MOTOR IN THE BOXCAR I WAS IN, TAKING OUT PALLETS OF FREIGHT. I GOT OUT OF YTHE BOXCAR AND FOUND MYSELF IN DOWN TOWN DC.

TO SHORTEN THIS, I MADE IT BACK TO SOUTH CAROLINA, WENT TO CALIFORNIA, CAME BACK TO SC AND GOT CAUGHT. I WAS OUT FOR 2 MONTHS, AND THEY PUT ME BACK IN THE STRIPP-CELL AGAIN, NAKED. THEY THEN TRANSFERRED ME TO ASHLAND KENTUCKY.

THIS IS NOT THE END OF MY STORY: BUT HOW I CAME TO THE LORD, AND WHERE I AM NOW WILL BE IN “FROM PRISON TO THE PULPIT PART II”, COMING UP NEXT.

    

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