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Wed, 26 Nov 2008 06:43:56 -0800

What Kind of Love is this?

After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns,
the church's pastor slowly stood up,walked over to the pulpit area and,
before he gave his sermon for the evening
briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service.
In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister
was one of his dearest friends and
that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church
and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service.

With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak,
"A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing
off the Pacific Coast," he began,
"when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore.
The waves were so high, that
even though the father was an experienced sailor,
he could not keep the boat upright,
and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized."

The old man hesitated for a moment,
making eye contact with two teenagers who were,
for the first time since the service began,
looking somewhat interested in his story.

The aged minister continued with his story,
"Grabbing a rescue line,
the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life...
to which boy would he throw the other end of the lifeline.
He only had seconds to make the decision.
The father knew that his son was a Christian and
he also knew that his son's friend was not.
The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves."

"As the father yelled out, 'I love you son!'
he threw out the lifeline to his son's friend.
By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat,
his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night.
His body was never recovered."

By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew,
anxiously awaiting for the next words
to come out of the old minister's mouth.
"The father," he continued,
"knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus,
and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into
an eternity without Jesus.
Therefore he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend."

"How great is the love of God that He should do the same for us.
Our Heavenly Father sacrificed His only begotten Son
that we could be saved.
I urge you to accept His offer to rescue you
and take hold of the lifeline He is throwing out to you in this service."

With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair
as silence filled the room.
The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and
delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end.
However, no one responded to the appeal.

Within minutes after the service ended
the two teenagers were at the old man's side.
"That was a nice story," politely stated one of the boys,
"but I don't think it was very realistic
for a father to give up his only son's life
in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian."

"Well, you've got a point there,"
the old man replied, glancing down at his worn Bible.
A big smile broadened his narrow face,
and he once again looked up at the boys and said,
"It sure isn't very realistic, is it?
But I'm standing here today to tell you
that THAT story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God
to give up His Son for me.

You see ... I was that father and your pastor is my son's friend."

http://farlowd.stumbleupon.com/review/26550097/

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:39:25 -0700

My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thy ear to my understanding: that thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

For the lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb,and her mouth is smoother than oil: but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death:her steps take hold on hell.

Lest thou shouldst ponder the path of life, her ways are movable, that thou canst not know them.

Hear me now therefore, O ye children,and depart not from the words of my mouth.

Remove thy way far from her,and come not nigh the door of her house: lest thou give thy honour unto others,and thy years unto the cruel: lest strangers be filled with thy wealth,and thy labours be in the house of a stranger, and thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, and say,

"How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof! and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to them that instructed me! I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly."

http://farlowd.stumbleupon.com/review/26274329/

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 06:19:57 -0700

http://www.jirehcakes.com/Dont%20Go.mp3

http://farlowd.stumbleupon.com/review/10644130/

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:00:20 -0700

My Testimony

I will give a simple testimony, and some thoughts about seeking God.

I was not brought up in a Christian Home.

Indeed my Mother who raised me on her own (My Dad died of a heart attack when I was 6 Months old.) had decided to have nothing to do with God ever again after a bad experience with some religious folks.

When I was five and we prayed in assembly in school (The Lords Prayer I think), I came home and told my Mum about it, she said "Who did you pray to?"

I answered "Just Ourselves" - I had never been told that there was a God.

Now moving on until I was about 10-12 Years old, I began to have a feeling that there could be a God.

I asked my Mum to take me to a Church. She went White and was not happy about this, but she still took me. She took me to a Baptist Church.

The Minister / Youth Leader / and Christians told me that, If I wanted to go to Heaven When I die, I need to ask Jesus into my heart and I will get the free gift of Salvation, Jesus will save me and I would go to Heaven.

The condition was that I needed to believe in Jesus and that He died on the cross for my sins.

My thoughts were along the lines of "A free ticket to Heaven - Yes please", "I believe He died for me and I believe in God"

I prayed for the Lord Jesus to come into my heart and save me.

Nothing seemed to happen.

I went to Church for a few more weeks and tried to read the bible. I couldn't understand much of it, and it seemed strange and irrelevant.

I found Church to be boring.

I remember clearly when I decided to leave.

We were singing a song that went like this.

There's something more than gold,
There's something more than gold,
To know your sins are all forgiven is something more than gold

I thought to myself, "Well, I'll take the gold any day"

So I left.

I was quite miserable as a teenager and often had thoughts of suicide. I cried myself to sleep on many nights in my youth.

My reasoning was that nobody loved me, so life was not worth living, I believed my Mum did not love me because she had not been there for me as a child (She was working), No girl loved me - I couldn't get a girlfriend. And God (if He existed) most certainly did not love me; otherwise he wouldn't have given me this awful life.

I decided to ring a girl I had fancied in the Church to ask her out (I was about 13 or 14).

If she said no, I decided in advance that I would kill myself.

I rang, she said no, so I the next morning I walked out of school before classes and got the bus home and stole all the pills I could get my hands on (about 500+ minimum pills)

Sleeping pills, paracetamol, all different kinds.

I walked to the local park and swallowed, all the pills, using the water from the sink in the park toilets.

I walked around the park briefly, suddenly everything looked better, the sun was out, the kids were laughing and playing on the swings.

I thought maybe life is ok for some. But not for me I wanted to die to escape the pain of living.

I had the thought, what if there is a hell.

I answered in my mind - "If there is I'm stuffed, out of the frying pan into the Bl***y fire, stuff it I can't stand living here anyway."

So I went to a thick thorny hedge and crawled into the middle of it so I wouldn't be found for weeks.

This was not a cry for help, I wanted to die!

I felt terrible pain in my body, as though my blood felt dirty, everything began to fade out and I said to myself, this is it I'm a dead man.

I woke seemingly instantly somewhere else. I couldn't see anything, other than a yellow colour (like when you shut your eyes and see black, only yellow).

Then I heard a voice - I have never heard any voice so powerful before or since. It was incredible; it was terrifying but also full of love. (I didn't know it then but a perfect description would be "as the voice of many waters")

I will never forget the words that it said.

Continued in part 2

http://farlowd.stumbleupon.com/review/10644165/

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:00:00 -0700

Part 2 Continued From Part 1

I will never forget the words that it said.

"YOU ARE NOT TO DO THIS, THIS IS WRONG, I HAVE A PURPOSE FOR YOU, YOU ARE NOT TO DO THIS, THIS IS WRONG!"

As soon as the words finished, I woke up, and to my amazement felt fine. Then I sat up and about 5ml of liquid came out of my mouth and landed on the leaves on the ground.

I thought I was hallucinating and would soon die, because the liquid was like paint, in separate colours red, yellow, blue, green etc. like a rainbow, I was really puzzled by this.

Somehow now, I didn't want to die.

I thought about the voice and wondered in my mind - Was that GOD?

I went home to my empty house, Mum was at work, I went home expecting to die any moment. A couple of hours passed, nothing happened to me.

Mum came home and asked how I was and why had I not been at school.

I told her that I had the cold.

I never had any medical treatment and never suffered any side effects.

My life continued, I did not become a Christian or a better person, I was still miserable.

Some years later I met a girl that I liked a lot called Alison, she was going out with my best friend, but they seemed to breaking up.

One night walking home after a party (I was about 19-20) I said to God (Not Jesus, I did not believe in Him because I had tried asking Him to save me and nothing happened so I knew He didn't exist). "I want Alison!"

I immediately heard a voice in my head which said - "BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR, YOU MIGHT JUST GET IT."

I was stunned to hear this - so I though about whether I wanted to go out with her or not? - I decided I did, and I said to God - "I still want her."

Within 1 week, I was sitting at home watching MTV - Dream Lover by Mariah Carey - I think, I said to myself, if I don't get to go out with Alison, I will kill myself.

I had dismissed the experience of the voice as due to the drugs I had taken, on my first suicide attempt. Although I couldn't explain to myself why I had not died or even been ill.

That Night to keep a long story short - I did get Alison as my girlfriend.

We went out for years - I loved her and we bought a house together - I idolized her, she was all I wanted in a girl.

I got an easy Job and a nice house, I wasn't rich, but I didn't want to be. I had got all the things I had wanted - someone to love me and a nice life.

We had a lot of friends in the street who were our age and we would have parties in our houses - lots of fun - drinking, watching TV, eating out.

It was at this time when, I had got everything I thought I ever wanted, that I started to consider life.

I still felt unfulfilled even though I had all that I wanted.

I said to myself, there must be more to life than this...

I began to look at the fields and lake that I lived beside, and I thought there must be a higher power that made these things, I always loved biology and science at school, and desired to be a vet or a scientist. But when I considered the evolution theory, it seemed to me to be so ridiculous that random chance would produce great order and structure, and anyway I thought what banged in the supposed big bang, I dismissed it as foolishness in my mind.

So that left me thinking, who or what made the world.

It was the 1st of January in the year 2000; I had been at a new year's party the night before, drunk etc.

I woke up and a revelation just hit me - very clearly a crystal clear thought "GOD IS REAL". I was 24 years old at the time.

I was so shocked by this that I think I mentioned it to Alison, she said maybe we should go to Church, I dismissed that idea. I knew that the Christians didn't know God, they were all wimps who couldn't get any miracles or do anything, and I had tried it and it did not work!

I started to think about what God must be like, I decided, after thinking through suffering and various other things that happen in the world that God must be one of two types of God.

Continued in part 3

http://farlowd.stumbleupon.com/review/10644238/

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:59:40 -0700

Part 3 Continued from part 2

1. All good, but not all powerful. - Yes powerful enough to make the world, and all the stuff, but now things had gotten out of control for Him, and even though He was a good God, Who was doing His best for the world, there was a lot he couldn't manage to fix - like starving millions in Africa etc etc etc.

2. Not all good, but all powerful. - Yes all powerful, but more of a personality, like a man likes some people, hates others, hence if He liked you, you got a good life, and if He hated you, He gave you a life of misery, suffering and a horrible death. I thought he could be prone to mood swings, get easily angered or be unfairly good to others.

I decided on a bus to work that no matter what God was like it would be best if possible to know Him. I thought, if He is all good, I want to know Him; and even if He isn't I think it would be better to be His friend rather than enemy.

So I said in my heart - "God, If you are real, I want to know you!"

I immediately thought of praying but I answered that with a quick response --- "and I don't mean talking to the wall, I mean I want to know you. If you have made people able to talk, then you can talk, if you created speech then you can speak!" "If you reveal yourself to me, I will do what you want."

Nothing seemed to happen.

Thinking about this, I decided to look into who might already know God. I thought about religion, I knew it wasn't Christianity that was right, so I thought about Islam, maybe they know God (there was no terrorism stuff from Muslims that I was aware of back then.)

So knowing that I was ignorant of many things, and didn't yet know God, I went to the town's main bookstore to buy a copy of the Koran.

I located a copy and stretched out my hand to lift it, but as I did so my whole arm went ice cold from the shoulder to the tips of my fingers, it seemed as cold as if someone had poured dry ice on it.

Startled and frightened, I looked around the shop to see if there was anything that could have made my arm this cold. There was nothing, everyone else was calmly going about their business. I immediately decided not to try and buy the Koran after all, and hastily left the shop.

Instead, I began to read books by Carl Jung, he claimed to have spiritual experiences - strange dreams and was rated by many as a great thinker.

I read one of His books which described a dream about God, I thought it was too strange and I decided this guy did not know God.

I also read some of Freud; I quickly realized this man was sick in the head.

None of this helped me at all, and since I had said in my heart - "God, if you are real, I want to know you!" I had been thinking about what God must be like a lot of the time, and whether he was all good or not.

Then it happened, I was lying under a sun bed in my house and I heard a voice inside my head - say two words

"READ JOB"

I knew it wasn't my thoughts because I thought in my ignorance the word was pronounced Job as in get a Job.

But the voice pronounced it correctly saying read JOB as in the book of JOB (pronounced Jobe, like lobe).

I was very surprised by this, and was not a person who regularly heard voices in my head.

I told Alison, she was surprised and said, maybe you should read it.

Next day I strangely forgot about it and opened my Carl Jung book, all I could see down the page I was reading was Job.......Job...Job, Job. Carl Jung had never mentioned the bible before or any books in it that I had noticed. So I said to myself, I'm definitely going to read Job tonight after work.

During the day I considered that God had told me to read Job, and thought this must mean that The Jew's knew God or the Christians.

I was astonished to think that the Christians could be right, and still dismissed that, but when I thought of being a Jew, I sure didn't fancy wearing black coats and having a strange beard.

Continued in part 4

http://farlowd.stumbleupon.com/review/10644267/

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:59:22 -0700

Part 4 continued from part 3

That night I read the book of Job in my NIV youth Bible, which I still had from my brief Church days in my youth.

I read the whole book all 42 Chapters; because I was sure God had told me to.

I hardly understood any of it, it seemed to be one big nightmare for Job, then after lots of reading - God spoke to me for the first time ever from the Bible.

When it happens you know that it's happened.

The verse he spoke to me cut me to the heart. It addresses all of Humanity as one, so I knew finally something in the book would apply to me from God.

It was JOB CHAPTER 28 VERSE 28. I will never forget it.

Job 28:28 And this is what he says to all humanity: 'The fear of the Lord that is wisdom; and to turn from wickedness is real understanding.'"

I was stunned by the idea that I should fear God, I had heard that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, but this said that the fear of the LORD is Wisdom.

I stopped reading and said out loud "what's wickedness." Immediately my mind was flooded with things that God was saying was wickedness too many to mention - some of them were getting drunk, sleeping with my girlfriend, swearing, etc. etc.

I answered these accusations inside by saying things like, I'm not doing anything wrong, I'm not hurting anybody; it's not wrong to be with my girlfriend, I love her. etc etc.

But the feeling that these things were wrong just got stronger.

I thought, what I have I got myself into, if this is real, I'm in big trouble.

I read to the end of the book of Job - and understood that Job was a man who questioned what God was doing when His life was totally ruined, but God answers Him with a series of Questions, which he cannot answer and He realises, and I realized That God knows everything and how can a mere man think to beat his maker in thought and argument about right and wrong and what should or shouldn't happen.

I realized I needed to listen to God a whole lot more than he needed to listen to me.

I was humbled and realized that God was all good and all powerful even though in my puny thoughts I had concluded otherwise.

I was still not a Christian, but I now knew that the bible was God's word - (otherwise He wouldn't have told me to read it).

So every morning going into work on the bus I read the New Testament, I also started going to a church with Alison, her new friend from college had been inviting her for weeks.

Reading the New Testament and believing it was amazing. I realized only one thing though, which was, if this is all true then I am definitely going to HELL.

I read about the kind of life that a Christian should live, it seemed impossible; also every thing I seemed to do or enjoy in life, the bible was calling a sin!

For two and a half Months I did not repent and give my life to God - Even though I now knew it was all true.

On possibly the best day of my life though I finally gave in and on my knees at home, repented of my sins and asked God to forgive me for making a mess of my life and to save me.

Nothing seemed to happen, (and a thought said to me - See it isn't real - it didn't work last time either.)

This time was going to be different though and I went to bed in a separate bed from Alison that night.

When I woke up, I felt no different, but remembered that I had committed my life to Jesus Christ.

I went to work, knowing that I was not born again yet, I was scared in case I died and went to Hell.

When I went to work a verse kept coming to mind -

Matthew 10:32 "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.

So I wanted to tell someone so that God would save me.

I went to the nicest guy I knew and said

"Simon - At the weekend I gave my life to Jesus Christ - I'm going to live for God."

He said something like "Are you serious, my parents are Christians, that's good Dave."

I didn't care what He said, I just wanted God to save me right there and then.

Continued in part 5

http://farlowd.stumbleupon.com/review/10644282/

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:59:02 -0700

Part 5 continued from Part 4

Nothing seemed to happen.

Desperate now - I went to the most ignorant guy in work, who mocks everyone and said something like

"Nigel at the weekend I became a Christian, I'm going to live for Jesus Christ"

He laughed at the top of his voice and shouted - Dave's a Christian - I give you 2 weeks at the most.

I didn't need to tell anyone else because nearly everyone heard him.

I was embarrassed and sat down at my desk to start work.

I was in despair, I really knew I wanted to be born again, but couldn't make it happen.

I felt like giving up because I knew if God did not change me that I would go back to sinning all the time before long.

But in all my weakness and despair I said to the LORD, even if you don't save me I'm going to live for you anyway.

I started to work almost crying.

At that moment my whole inside was instantly transformed by the Power of the Almighty God he had saved me in an instant!

I knew I was born again, and that all my sins had just been forgiven, I felt clean for the first time in my life.

Suddenly I had clear access to heaven, it was like a great invisible barrier had been removed and the voice of God spoke to me so clear.

He said

"I LOVE YOU"

I wanted to run around the room with joy, I felt brand new - I was a new man - All desire for drinking just left me.

I stopped blaspheming and swearing with no trouble at all, I had a brand new heart.

If you ever get this you will KNOW for sure.

That night in bed was the first time in my life that I lay down and had wonderful peace - knowing 100% that God had forgiven me, that He is real and that He loves me, and that I was going to Heaven and living forever.

It is wonderful to know these things.

I have much more to say especially about many miracles I have experienced. (I would not live for a God that could not do miracles, or really reveal Himself)

No one witnessed to me, it was God that drew me to Himself and saved me. I thank Him for his grace which I don't deserve.

I love Him with all my heart and would die for Him; after all He did die for me.

http://farlowd.stumbleupon.com/review/10644303/

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:58:38 -0700

Part 6 from part 5
I know many who read this could be atheists etc. but when people used to tell me about Jesus when I was growing up, it meant nothing to me.

I can sympathize with your situation, and not believing.

There is however an answer to life's question?

All you need to be is sincere, there are many people who are not sincere, and are so proud that they think they know all about all aspects of life and how the world is here, they think they have it sussed even though they have only lived for a few short years.

But if you are a sincere person, no matter what you believe or don't believe.

I recommend (only if you really want to) that you say to God like I did - God - If you are real, I want to know you.

If you are sincere and you would obey Him as God once you know Him - He will reveal Himself to you.

If you are not sincere or would reject Him as God if he revealed Himself to you, He is very, very unlikely to reveal Himself to you, and you will see Him in your mind as torturous.

Just like the Bible promises you would see Him as.

Psa 18:25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
Psa 18:26 with the pure you show yourself pure; and with the crooked (devious, False) you make yourself seem tortuous.
Psa 18:27 For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.

Also banding together to strengthen each other in the false way won't ultimately help you.

Pro 11:21 Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished:

I hope there is even one among you who will consider these things and be simple and sincere with himself.

If my testimony helps save even one man or woman in my whole life, then my whole life has been worthwhile

Joh 18:37 Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

If you have never heard His voice - you have something that is not true in you - be real with God and He will be real with you.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

I have much more to say especially about being raised from the dead. But I must go to bed now.

I leave you with this passage of scripture

Act 17:24 "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
Act 17:25 "Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
Act 17:26 "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
Act 17:27 "so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
Act 17:28 "for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'
Act 17:29 "Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising.
Act 17:30 "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
Act 17:31 "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."
Act 17:32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, "We will hear you again on this matter."

I know some of you will mock - men have not changed since that time - but I hope others who read this will say like the other men did "We will hear you again on this matter."

Wise men still seek JESUS.

If this Gospel is worth anything, it is worth everything.

http://farlowd.stumbleupon.com/review/10644335/

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:58:18 -0700

Part 7 Final post in my testimony

Don't accept the weak false version of Christianity that abounds in our day. Be real and go for the real thing, do not rest until you have experienced God's salvation for yourself, there is nothing greater to be had.

I used to say, I'll take the gold, But now I say Just give me Jesus.

I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I'd rather be His than have riches untold:
I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands.
I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand

Refrain
Than to be the king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin's dread sway.
I'd rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

2
I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause;
I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame.
I'd rather be true to His holy name.

3
He's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He's sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He's all than my hungering spirit needs.
I'd rather have Jesus and let Him lead

Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.

Don't delay or you'll go astray!

God bless you and have mercy on you one and all. I'm so glad He saved me.