Some supernatural events in my life

I became a Christian in August 1971. My wife wanted to see her pastor - Brother Davis and I went along. Instead of her talking with the pastor I knelt down in his office after hearing the 3 great truths - #1 I am a sinner and separated from God. #2 Jesus died for me and #3 Jesus will save me and bring me to God. Now, I was raised a Catholic. My mother and father sent me to Catholic school for 8 years (Holy Name Church and School 5th and Vine in Camden, New Jersey). I had my First Communion and Confirmation. I always used that as an excuse whenever someone would try and tell me I was lost and going to Hell when I died because I was separated from God. I believed in God, always. But He seemed so far away. I tried to be a good Catholic. I went to confession and Mass - sometimes. But the truth was in that pastor's office I thought (in my mind full of pride - "I might as well have all the bases covered"). So, I knelt down and prayed the sinners prayer confessing my sins to God (He already knew everything) and asking Jesus to save me and give me the free gift of Eternal Life. ("By grace are ye saved, through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast"). I immediately felt a tingling in my head and I knew that something had happened. I had a personal sensory experience. I know that everyone's conversion experience is different - like a snowflake. That was mine. After that the Holy Spirit became my daily companion. He would talk to me. What I remember distinctly was He said, "Now that your sins are fogiven, you are clean inside, what are you going to fill that space up with now? The lies, immorality, anger, pride - all the things that filled my life before , or something else. So, I chose something else. I'm not perfect. I still sin, but when I do I can confess the sin and and have Jesus wash it away with His Blood. ("If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness")
So, I read Christian related books and went to church. I did not want to miss anything that God had for me.
But i digress. This is supposed to be about some supernatural events in my life so far.
The first event happened while I was going to school at the University of Arkansas. I was playing my guitar and singing "Lord God" a song I wrote and my vision went black and I had a vision of the a face. I know that Bible says that no man has ever seen the face of God at any time and lived. All I can say is I had a vision and saw a face.
The next event happened when I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. I had a friend who was a Charismatic Catholic and I sought him out and he laid hands on me and prayed and I had a vision after that. Also I had a tingling sensation in my skin that lasted for quite some time.
The next event happened while I was working at City Hospital and Geriatric Center. I was on the Geriatric ward and a Doctor Herbert Boyer whose mind was gone, all he did was lay in bed with a catheter in. The staff told me when he was first admitted that they would ask him to define medical terms and he could tell them, but when I started working there - no conversation was possible.
A little background. God called me to preach. My first church was the Elkins Community Church which I took after Doctor Alexander Best was unable to be their Baptist Preacher. So, I took his place. After Elkins I took a 'vacation' from the church and the Lord. One night I was draining Dr. Boyer's catheter bag to measure his urinary output and he said "Preacher, have you prayed lately?" I confessed to him and to God, "No sir, I have not prayed as I should" That was the only time that Dr. Boyer said anything the entire time I worked at the hospital - over a year. I think God spoke to me through Dr. Boyer. Maybe I'm wrong.
I have some other events to tell about. But I'll save them for another post.
Since no one is following this blog I guess it won't matter when.

Loaves and Fishes

The economic news seems to be more depressing everyday. People loosing their jobs and families loosing their homes (which are worth alot less than when they first bought them). Corruption in the finance industry. Billion dollar scams bilking people out of their money. Government bailouts in the billions of dollars. The president is looking for the best financial advisers he can find to get the US, and indeed the world out of the present financial crisis.
But one day on a hill in Israel they had a similar crisis. Over 5000 people to feed and only five loaves of bread and a few little fishes. Jesus took the bread and fishes, gave Thanks to God for them and fed over 5000 people with them.
Our money has "In God we Trust" printed on it. Why don't we look to God and trust Him now? Where has the Fear of the Lord gone in America? Although each town has numerous churches, to look at the way the typical American lives, one would come to the conclusion that this is an atheistic country. We pay lip service to God, but our heart is far from Him.
Only one power can save us from the financial crisis. The Lord of Heaven and Earth. And, to show the Lord that we mean business I would urge everyone who loves the Lord to not shop on Sundays. Not go out to eat on Sunday. That always gets to me. After church everyone goes to the local eating restaurants and gives them the business. These are people that should have been in church worshiping the Lord Sunday morning, not making you lunch! If the real Christians in America would stand up and refuse to go to the Wal Marts and Targets and other retail stores and restaurants on Sunday they would have to close down their business because as we all know they are open for one reason - Money. If the money on Sundays dries up the stores will have to close. I also urge all shop owners to close on Sunday. I remember, not so very long ago - maybe 10 years or less everywhere was closed on Sunday. People honored the Lord and gave their employees a day off to Worship the Lord in Church and spend a day with the family. One day a week Monetary gain was set aside and the Lord was honored - NOT ANYMORE! So, as Jesus was able to feed over 5000 more than once, we must look to the Lord of Heaven and Earth to help us in this time of financial crisis. He can make things right again, but only if this country (you and me) repent and turn to the Lord with our whole heart and soul and Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind and all your strength.

The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Understanding. Let's fear the Lord again and worship Him. If not, every civilization that forgot God - God in turn forgot and they are but dust on the pages of history. Can the same thing happen to the USA? Yes it can and it will if we don't repent and do the first works again.

Drugs and Alcohol

Many years ago drug related songs were banned from the radio because of the destructive force of drugs on the younger generation, but nothing was done about alcohol abuse. Today many country songs sing the praises of Alcohol drink from Beer to Jose Quavo. Why don't they ban the use of alcohol from country music as well? I know its not illegal like drugs (Marijuana, Meth, Heroin etc), but its just a addictive to drink alcoholic beverages as drugs are. In fact AA and NA are interchangable. Each follow the 12 steps to recovery. Al-Anon and Nar-Anon are also similar as they are meetings to help the family members of addicts (both Alcohol and Drugs). The teen movies have a habit of portraying drug use as common without consequences. But there are consequences. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Every action has a consequence. And for many that consequence is Drug and Alcohol addiction. Also, we read and hear in the news about some college kid that died from alcohol poisioning due to chugging drinks. Why is the movie and TV industry so blind to the danger that these addictions cause? At one time it was illegal to show anyone on TV drinking an alcoholic beverage (beer, wine, whiskey), now its common to see everyone bellying up the bar in a social setting. Clearly beer labels are seen on the dark glass bottles.
Shame on the media for promoting drinking and drugs. People's lives are being destroyed in the name of entertainment! It's time people realize the danger that drugs and alcohol present to society and do something about it.

The High Price of Technology

I've been buying technological products for years. (Pocket PC 2002, PSP, Zune MP3 players etc.) I've spent alot of money on these tech toys. 250.00 is what they usually cost. So, I thought I would look into a smartphone that would replace all my other tech toys (MP3 player, Digital Camera, Web Browser, Email and Phone as well as a game machine). So, I ordered a LG Vu CU930 for free (ha ha). The activation fee was 59.00. My first AT&T bill was over 150.00. And on top of that its a 2 year contract to pay off the phone. This really bothered me. A single 400.00 device was going to cost me well over 2400.00 (12 X 2 and then some). So, I sent the phone back and I am waiting to have my AT&T account closed. Most all the smartphones today are about the same. Touch screen or itty bitty keys for a full sized keyboard. Most all have 4 Gig MicroSD slots for more memory to store pictures and music. Most have a 1.5 to 5 Megapixel camera. Most link to a computer with Bluetooth or USB. Most will do all these things, yet the price is outrageous! So, I have a 16.00 tracfone I bought at K-Mart and it came with 110 minutes of airtime (the web browsing is non - existant and just wastes minutes). It has a few little games, but no MP3, No camera, no Bluetooth. Basically, its just a phone. Thats all. Very low tech for a technophile like me, but the cost - 20.00 for 60 minutes. Service expires in July. More sensible and cost effective, yet I miss the LG Vu I had with voice dialing and email and web browsing. I could even watch YouTube videos on it (on a very small screen). But the question is Do I Need It? Of course not! I did not need the Pocket PC, or the Zune or the PSP or the DS. I did not need any of these tech toys. I just wanted them, but after the initial price paid for the device I did buy PSP games and DS games and Zune music and Pocket PC programs. But they are no where near as costly as a 2 year service contract for a smartphone. Ok, so the phone is smart but is the smartphone owner DUMB? Over 2400.00 for a 2 year contract at 60-90 a month plus taxes (117.00 on average). 117 X 24 - you do the math. Thats alot of money. More than a new notebook computer of SLR Digital camera or MP3 player. In fact, you could buy all those several times over for the price on one device with a 2 year contract. Several years ago I bought my daughter a Motorola Razor phone with a 1 year service contract from Alltel. After the year was over the phone was paid off. And, as the phone did not last 2 years (cracked faceplate, sticky keys - she said it was "ghettoed") I cancelled the service. I just cant see a 2 year contract when the device will probably not last that long and in 6 months or less something newer and better will come along. When I sent the phone back and called to cancel my AT&T account the words "Buyers Remorse" came up. Yes, I was remourseful to send the phone back, but I was more remourseful to have to keep a contract for a device that would not last as long as the contract. I enjoyed the phone while I had it, but there was always that doubt. Life has a tendency to throw things at you that are unplanned and unexpected. I could not see paying 150.00 a month for a tech toy. The money would be more useful elsewhere. So. That's my story about my brief excoursion into the cell phone life. I've got another bill posted to pay - another 150.00 by the 21st. Hopefully the account will be closed and I wont have pay 300.00 for a FREE PHONE!

A sad Sunday Morning

Just the other day I was talking to someone about Paul Harvey. How he had a very unique style in reporting "The rest of the story".
It was always amusing and enlightening at the same time.
But in the news this morning I read that he died in Arizona at 90 years of age.
Surely, its a sad day when one of America's most beloved radio news commentators die.
It seems that alot of irreplacable people that made a major impact on American life have died or about to die.
What a tragic loss for America.
The worse loss is that no one is coming forward to replace them.
The prominent people today are no match for the movie or TV stars of days gone by.
No Red Skelton, no Gilligan's Island, no George Gobel or Three Stooges.
They made us laugh! Where are the good, clean comedians today?
The only one I can think of is Bill Cosby.
Instead we have trash mouthed, unclean, raunchy comedians that keep their jokes below the belt most all the time.
The movies today also leave alot to be desired.

It's a very Sad day in American today.