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Post by 2fw8212a on Jan 16, 2019 13:21:10 GMT -5
You may have played chess before.
And I will use it to explain to you why you cannot make better decisions than God for your own life.
And why being submissive and obedient to God is essential for a victorious and blessed life.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6
A chess game is very complex, you have an insane number of possible moves to play a game.
And it is even harder to play the best possible moves, always.
It is harder especially for humans because such consistency is very hard to be achieved.
Then, you will always make relatively bad moves in some way or another while playing.
Computers software and hardware have become so powerful that it is safe to say that no human is a competitor for computers at chess anymore.
An average desktop computer running one of the strongest chess software in the world can beat any above average chess player.
And a considerably more powerful computer equipped with the same software can safely beat the strongest human players in existence.
Humans could only beat computers at chess if they are purposefully set to a lower level.
This is indeed one tough adversary.
Playing against such adversary is very, very hard.
If you make a stupid move it can be the end for you, make two or three and you are quite probably done already.
Not only that, computers are able to compute very strong strategies that will make you fall like a baby if you are not aware.
And such strategies may appear like non sense moves to humans at first glance.
But once you have fallen in the trap, you will only notice the destruction it did to you several moves after.
This is because computers look ahead in the future and have already thought of one of the best moves you could possibly make and a better or equal response to all of them.
Then, it requires you that you play at a very high level of consistency.
In real life it is not very different, we have an adversary...
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." - 1 Peter 5:8
And the adversary is stronger than us, otherwise we could overcome on our own strength.
And we all know we cannot overcome on our own. We need the Lord Jesus.
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may
be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." - Ephesians 6:11
"...for without Me you can do nothing." - John 15:5
Now, I will show to you why following God's move and instructions are crucial for our victory.
In chess, we have a very strong adversary - who is stronger than us - but God is stronger than him.
While current computers are only able to compute best moves for them at a limited depth, God already knows all the best moves.
Yes, God knows every best move for each possible situation. And I am not exaggerating, it is a fact.
Then, while we have an opponent who is stronger than us and if we cannot ever beat him with our own abilities...
What would happen if we decide to disregard God's instructions while battling against such tough adversary?!
WE WILL LOSE!
Then, if you think you have a better strategy for your life than God you are simply deceiving yourself.
"There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death." - Proverbs 16:25
God knows of every strategy your adversary is using against you. You may not even notice it now.
And it happens a lot while playing chess against a powerful computer software/hardware.
The computer plays a strategy, you think it is a good thing and you are winning...
But the purpose of the strategy was to think you were winning so you could be checkmated in the next few moves.
Remember that queen you have just captured?! And you thought you did a good job... You took a queen, the most powerful piece of the game.
But you were mistaken, and you have just lost the game. As that same move opened door for a checkmate in the next few moves (yet you were not aware).
"There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death." - Proverbs 16:25
Yes, you could not see that... But you have fallen like a baby and you have lost.
The only way of noticing such strategies the devil will use against you and to answer adequately is by following God's instruction on how to move.
Follow God's move, not your own move. And you will win, it is as simple as that.
"If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;
But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword..." - Isaiah 1:19-20
Just as it happens in chess, a stronger player may show or suggest moves to an inexperienced player.
It is common the inexperienced player will not understand why he is moving in a certain way many times.
But God knows and He is seeing the dangers and leading you to a winning strategy that will guide you to victory (if you keep following until the end).
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God..." - Romans 8:28
Just keep moving as God leads you. It does not matter if you do not understand it now, keep moving and wait.
"...What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know..." - John 13:7
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding..." - Proverbs 3:5
If you keep hearing and obeying His voice, victory is just a matter of time against your adversary.
But what would happen if at the middle of the game, while you are ahead of your adversary and say:
Haha, I am winning!
I can start moving on my own and doing my own moves because I cannot lose anymore.
Then you decide to stop hearing and obeying the voice of the Lord and decide you will achieve victory with your own moves.
"and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver
and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied;
when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God..." - Deuteronomy 8:13-14
"then you say in your heart,
‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’" - Deuteronomy 8:17
"Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God,
and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against
you this day that you shall surely perish." - Deuteronomy 8:19
"I am the Lord, that is My name;
And My glory I will not give to another..." - Isaiah 42:8
You have just decided that you will follow yourself and disregard all the commandments of the Lord and you will simply win on your own.
But the adversary is stronger than you, so even if you are in a winning state for now...
the adversary will come with a strategy that you will not be aware of and completely destroy you...
unless you repent and start hearing and obeying the Lord again you will surely be deceived and destroyed by the adversary.
"Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall." - Proverbs 16:18
This shows why the once saved always saved (no matter what) doctrine simply does not fit.
It is once saved always saved if you finish the game first. While the game is not finished, you have a promise of winning.
Just as chess players are not considered winners until they finish the game, we cannot say 'It is finished' when we are not there yet.
Then, let us leave the prideful mindset and be imitators of Christ who endured until the end and only said:
It is finished!
when it really was finished.
"...and be clothed with humility, for
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”" - 1 Peter 5:5
"And we desire that each one of you show the same
diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end..." - Hebrews 6:11
"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in
due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." - Galatians 6:9
I hope this was useful for you to see how we need God and how without Him we cannot have victory.
And why to disregard His voice is actually a (very) bad idea.
"...as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”" - 1 Corinthians 1:31
Blessings, blessings in Jesus' name!
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Post by John on Jan 16, 2019 13:45:19 GMT -5
That is a good analogy. I have a chess game on my computer, and have managed to beat it a couple of times, but you work your way up in the skill levels. I am not sure which level I was on at the time, and the computer is very difficult compared to a human opponent. Regardless of who you are playing, you must look many moves ahead, and one wrong move you make could lead to you being set up for defeat.
Yes, it is best to let God fight your battles. Unlike us, he will win every time, where even if we manage a win or a draw now and then on our own, those losses can be very painful. Great post Letters!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2019 14:43:49 GMT -5
Bless you brother for sharing this wisdom of the Lord....He knows every wile of the Adversary.
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Cletus
Senior Member
Posts: 2,517
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Post by Cletus on Jan 16, 2019 15:19:45 GMT -5
true story... when God saved me in jail i didnt have a whole lot to do with my time. we played spades and checkers and chess. I played chess since I was 4 years old. I didnt really know how to pray then and i just asked God to teach me to lay chess. He did. I used to have dreams playing chess. the board and the pieces were made of light. and we moved each turn way faster than any fast pace game you have ever seen. all I dreamed about was chess. I was always black, and i played against white. I lost every single game except the last game. I made the move and my opponent I am sure was God didnt move, I looked closer at the pieces and i thought did I?... is that check mate? YES! yes it is... The king hovered up in the air and from a tiny spot on the center of the piece light shown thru with the outline of the hole looking like electric light. I heard a sound similar to electricity as the hole with light shining out grew larger until it covered the whole piece and dissipated. I woke up. and that was the last dream i played chess. So I have actually played chess with God... in jail. LOL. It was one of the first answered prayers I made. I used to play people in jail and we would win/lose 50/50. after God taught me to play they might win once in a while.
I have an A.I. computer chess game. It learns from you. it thinks over 100 moves ahead and is very hard to beat. It gives a score overall. My score is average. No person i know will play me anymore as I do not let people win unless they are just learning the moves.
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Post by 4hizglory37 on Jan 16, 2019 21:02:28 GMT -5
true story... when God saved me in jail i didnt have a whole lot to do with my time. we played spades and checkers and chess. I played chess since I was 4 years old. I didnt really know how to pray then and i just asked God to teach me to lay chess. He did. I used to have dreams playing chess. the board and the pieces were made of light. and we moved each turn way faster than any fast pace game you have ever seen. all I dreamed about was chess. I was always black, and i played against white. I lost every single game except the last game. I made the move and my opponent I am sure was God didnt move, I looked closer at the pieces and i thought did I?... is that check mate? YES! yes it is... The king hovered up in the air and from a tiny spot on the center of the piece light shown thru with the outline of the hole looking like electric light. I heard a sound similar to electricity as the hole with light shining out grew larger until it covered the whole piece and dissipated. I woke up. and that was the last dream i played chess. So I have actually played chess with God... in jail. LOL. It was one of the first answered prayers I made. I used to play people in jail and we would win/lose 50/50. after God taught me to play they might win once in a while. I have an A.I. computer chess game. It learns from you. it thinks over 100 moves ahead and is very hard to beat. It gives a score overall. My score is average. No person i know will play me anymore as I do not let people win unless they are just learning the moves. That is a cool story Cletus, may I ask why you were in jail? I would love to hear your testimony of how the Lord captured your heart!
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Cletus
Senior Member
Posts: 2,517
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Post by Cletus on Jan 17, 2019 0:17:02 GMT -5
true story... when God saved me in jail i didnt have a whole lot to do with my time. we played spades and checkers and chess. I played chess since I was 4 years old. I didnt really know how to pray then and i just asked God to teach me to lay chess. He did. I used to have dreams playing chess. the board and the pieces were made of light. and we moved each turn way faster than any fast pace game you have ever seen. all I dreamed about was chess. I was always black, and i played against white. I lost every single game except the last game. I made the move and my opponent I am sure was God didnt move, I looked closer at the pieces and i thought did I?... is that check mate? YES! yes it is... The king hovered up in the air and from a tiny spot on the center of the piece light shown thru with the outline of the hole looking like electric light. I heard a sound similar to electricity as the hole with light shining out grew larger until it covered the whole piece and dissipated. I woke up. and that was the last dream i played chess. So I have actually played chess with God... in jail. LOL. It was one of the first answered prayers I made. I used to play people in jail and we would win/lose 50/50. after God taught me to play they might win once in a while. I have an A.I. computer chess game. It learns from you. it thinks over 100 moves ahead and is very hard to beat. It gives a score overall. My score is average. No person i know will play me anymore as I do not let people win unless they are just learning the moves. That is a cool story Cletus, may I ask why you were in jail? I would love to hear your testimony of how the Lord captured your heart! normally i would tell someone who asks what i did they are out of bounds, and I have been locked up for quite a few things. but on this one thing, this one time I must speak on it because it speaks to Gods goodness and how he works, everything in His time. I was 14 or 15 maybe 16? and back at the folks house for a couple weeks before i got kicked out and was homeless again. had just gotten out of Juvee. well i was out long enough for my probabtion officer to have some wool pulled over their eyes and cut me some slack. and i was back out in the world doing what I wanted. One night I went to a party and got super duper drunk. I went home. A friend called me who was at the party. they were bored and we were all stuck at home now. I say bored because we were doing the 3 way or party line... what ever its called and I was actually talking to two people from the party. One person said lets make prank phone calls. Without hesitation i grabbed the phone book as i was the only one with three way service not already in use. So I had to make the calls. we called a few residences. but it was around 2-3 in the morning so everyone hung up on us quick and it was no fun. turned to the yellow pages and started in the A's. made it to the G's calling random numbers. this was back before voicemail and everyone had answering machines. remember the little tapes? ahhh memories. we called all the attorneys.... all the bakeries. and when we got to letter C... all the churches. for the churches the recordings went something like this... "this is the devil... and i am going to cut your head off!" only the churches called the cops. there was a whole desk drawer full of those little tapes for evidence. in one church a buddy of mine had a girlfriend who had a sister who just happened to be the secretary. she recognized my voice and told them it was me. i was busted. the same detective that had arrested me when I went to juvee was the one that came to the house, but I was gone and he spoke to my dad. he left his card and i was supposed to call him. He wanted to handle it without making me look like I was running. fast forward a year. they had passed a law said you could go to county jail at 17. i got picked up on another charge, dont remember what now and went to county but this didnt pop up and i bonded out before my probation officer found out, called her first thing in the morning and smoothed it out. I want to take a break here for a sec and i will come back. i was in a lot of trouble all the time. two weeks to two months and i was back in jail. i saw people doing much less and getting serious time. when God saved me and began using me in a ministry i had a dream. i saw me in white prison garbs. someone called my name and i turned and walked to the voice. i saw me in the dream. i woke and God told me I saved you from that. it was very humbling. i described what i saw to someone in the dream and they said you never been in that prison... no... well i just got out of there and it looks exactly like that. I didnt know they just got out a few days before. anyway... i stayed in trouble. some petty stuff some pretty bad. My probation officer still didnt know about this charge because the detective never reported it. the paper stayed on his desk. I somehow, dont remember how found out i had a court date for the charge. it was december the 2. i went. the DA asked me if i was seeking psychiatric help. i said no, i cant afford it. LOL. He asked where i was living and i told him I am homeless. he told me he was going to fix me up with a nice place to stay and three meals a day for quite a while. i said well thank you i appreciate it. he was livid. then we went out of the little room to wait to be called to talk to the judge. i walked outside. walked over to the pay phone to act like i was talking to someone. when the bailiff ducked back inside, I looked up at the sky. pretty blue sky with just a few clouds. the air was cool and the sun was warm. I said out loud... not today, and got to stepping. Picked up a failure to appear charge on that. now this particular D.A. and i had a history. he wanted to put me in prison, and i wanted to strangle him. i wasnt running you see, i was going everywhere i wanted or had in broad daylight. but one day... march 20th... just five days before statue of limitations was to run out i was riding a bike... that i stole, kinda. the college kids moved and left it and i cut the chain and took it. no one missed it. but it wasnt mine. anyway, I thought i will ride down this one road to avoid cops... never any cops on this road. wrong place wrong time. and it wasnt just any cop... it was the cop that everyone has dubbed "robocop"... this guy was really fond of me too! He wanted me behind bars. this guy had a paper with my face on it taped to his dashboard. I passed him on the bike and he busted a U-ie. I thought aww here we go. i tried to give a fake name, but it didnt work. dispatch named off a few names that were similar and he figured it out and i got to wear those silver braclets... for the last time in 18 or 19 years. the charge was phone harassment first I heard of it on my bond papers. which was funny they even gave me a bond with a failure to appear. my buddy got the money on the 25th... i was going to bond out and be done with this. I asked the jailer if my name was on the docket to go to court. he said no. i called my buddy and he was about to come bond me out and i was going to be free. they would have to drop it. but as i was speaking to my buddy on the phone they opened the door to my tank, and called a few names... then they called mine. my heart sank. i told my buddy never mind, they called my name and i got to go to court. the transport officer obviously had the revised edition list. the D.A. that likes me so much was on vacation i found out and some new lady was working in his spot. she was super nice. she asked if i could do 6 months. i acted shocked and said no thats too much. she said 4 months. I said I can do 4 if you drop the failure to appear, i will sign right now. deal. done and done. like I said she was real nice. back to jail I went... since I knew i was going to be in there for a little bit i knew i needed to make my stay work for me... so i picked a fight with the biggest loud mouth punk that everyone was scared of. I nearly killed him. i got respect and settled in. once settled in to my prime real estate... thats a bottom bunk up close to the TV... I was sitting on my bunk one day. started having these thoughts. what good is my life doing on the earth, in others lives, in my own life... etc. the questions came faster and faster till my head was spinning. the answer was nothing none nothing... then all the sudden i felt God up by the ceiling. i tried to get up but fell off my bunk. for the first time i felt who wicked i was. it was a weight on my crushing me and i could not breath. I felt God lift it off me and put His Spirit in me. I was weeping and rocking back and forth sitting Indian style. I just kept saying over and over... I'll be good, I'll be good, I'll be good. THe guy I nearly killed is now healed up playing dominoes at the table and he asked what is wrong with that dude? the biggest black guy in there turned and looked at me and said he is praying and if anyone messes with Him they will have to mess with him first. now this guy is black and i am white. in jail you do not take up for other races. you stick to your own. thats the rules. you break them, you pay. both your race and the other race are going to get you. so that was God. I didnt really know what happened then. when i explained it then i said God came and took me. later i told this story to a retired baptist preacher and he said you were apprehended. like Paul was. anyway i decided i should get a bible. someone i played dominoes with told me they got them in the library. so when it was time to get a haircut i ducked in and there was only one bible. the day i was getting out the guy i almost killed spoke up and said man... you are leaving that bible... yea i dont need it. He said you are the evilest dude in this whole jail you need that bible. the jailer told me you dont have a bible? no... you can not leave until you go get that bible and take it with you, i am not letting you out. cant argue with that after penut butter sandwiches for 4 months for dinner. so I went and got it. i was going to throw it away on my way back across town to my abandoned run down shack house i was squatting in. but what do you know, every dumpster had a lock and no trashcans in sight... not a one. there where two couches in the back room of this shack. i tossed it down on the first and slept on the second. i went back into the world and started doing drugs and shacked up with a woman. 2.5-3 years later it all fell apart for me, and i went back to this shack. homeless. very low point in life. i didnt want to kill myself but didnt want to live. i said i have tried everything, and turned my head. I saw the bible sitting there. placed there. not as i tossed it down a couple years back. it was sitting straight, perfect for me to see it. i said i have not tried that. i picked it up and said God if your out there, and you care anything about me at all, show me something. i opened it up and something grabbed my eyes and they fixed upon the words of the first page of the book of Ecclesiastes that read...
respect and obey God! this is what life is all about. God will judge everything we do, even what is done in secret whether good or bad.
my eyes got big and I said he sure did show me something and kept reading. i read also in psalms and proverbs. God showed me my sin was cursing my life and I said ok god i wont steal no more unless i have to eat.... I tell you i have ate every day since. some days not so good... but i aint complaining, i ate. I didnt have to steal no more. in 2 weeks I was off the streets and had been homeless for years. couldnt get off the streets. I had a job too. everything started falling into place for me once i decided to Live for God. and where I lived i had favor and God provided everything and he grew me.
the bible i got in jail years ago sits right in front of me today. the words i quoted are circled. many things are as well as highlighted. God was so heavy in my life with the Word then i could ask Him a question and turn and there was the answer right there. people say thats dangerous... but you had to see it, had to be there. on the page that says nothing but new testament... a friend of mine saw this and prayed and asked God some stuff. he had come over and said God showed him when i pray and ask and open up God is going to show him what God wants him to know. i asked and opened and it was the page that just says "the new testament" i made him sign it. I have a lot of memories with this bible.
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Post by 4hizglory37 on Jan 17, 2019 1:39:08 GMT -5
That is a cool story Cletus, may I ask why you were in jail? I would love to hear your testimony of how the Lord captured your heart! normally i would tell someone who asks what i did they are out of bounds, and I have been locked up for quite a few things. but on this one thing, this one time I must speak on it because it speaks to Gods goodness and how he works, everything in His time. I was 14 or 15 maybe 16? and back at the folks house for a couple weeks before i got kicked out and was homeless again. had just gotten out of Juvee. well i was out long enough for my probabtion officer to have some wool pulled over their eyes and cut me some slack. and i was back out in the world doing what I wanted. One night I went to a party and got super duper drunk. I went home. A friend called me who was at the party. they were bored and we were all stuck at home now. I say bored because we were doing the 3 way or party line... what ever its called and I was actually talking to two people from the party. One person said lets make prank phone calls. Without hesitation i grabbed the phone book as i was the only one with three way service not already in use. So I had to make the calls. we called a few residences. but it was around 2-3 in the morning so everyone hung up on us quick and it was no fun. turned to the yellow pages and started in the A's. made it to the G's calling random numbers. this was back before voicemail and everyone had answering machines. remember the little tapes? ahhh memories. we called all the attorneys.... all the bakeries. and when we got to letter C... all the churches. for the churches the recordings went something like this... "this is the devil... and i am going to cut your head off!" only the churches called the cops. there was a whole desk drawer full of those little tapes for evidence. in one church a buddy of mine had a girlfriend who had a sister who just happened to be the secretary. she recognized my voice and told them it was me. i was busted. the same detective that had arrested me when I went to juvee was the one that came to the house, but I was gone and he spoke to my dad. he left his card and i was supposed to call him. He wanted to handle it without making me look like I was running. fast forward a year. they had passed a law said you could go to county jail at 17. i got picked up on another charge, dont remember what now and went to county but this didnt pop up and i bonded out before my probation officer found out, called her first thing in the morning and smoothed it out. I want to take a break here for a sec and i will come back. i was in a lot of trouble all the time. two weeks to two months and i was back in jail. i saw people doing much less and getting serious time. when God saved me and began using me in a ministry i had a dream. i saw me in white prison garbs. someone called my name and i turned and walked to the voice. i saw me in the dream. i woke and God told me I saved you from that. it was very humbling. i described what i saw to someone in the dream and they said you never been in that prison... no... well i just got out of there and it looks exactly like that. I didnt know they just got out a few days before. anyway... i stayed in trouble. some petty stuff some pretty bad. My probation officer still didnt know about this charge because the detective never reported it. the paper stayed on his desk. I somehow, dont remember how found out i had a court date for the charge. it was december the 2. i went. the DA asked me if i was seeking psychiatric help. i said no, i cant afford it. LOL. He asked where i was living and i told him I am homeless. he told me he was going to fix me up with a nice place to stay and three meals a day for quite a while. i said well thank you i appreciate it. he was livid. then we went out of the little room to wait to be called to talk to the judge. i walked outside. walked over to the pay phone to act like i was talking to someone. when the bailiff ducked back inside, I looked up at the sky. pretty blue sky with just a few clouds. the air was cool and the sun was warm. I said out loud... not today, and got to stepping. Picked up a failure to appear charge on that. now this particular D.A. and i had a history. he wanted to put me in prison, and i wanted to strangle him. i wasnt running you see, i was going everywhere i wanted or had in broad daylight. but one day... march 20th... just five days before statue of limitations was to run out i was riding a bike... that i stole, kinda. the college kids moved and left it and i cut the chain and took it. no one missed it. but it wasnt mine. anyway, I thought i will ride down this one road to avoid cops... never any cops on this road. wrong place wrong time. and it wasnt just any cop... it was the cop that everyone has dubbed "robocop"... this guy was really fond of me too! He wanted me behind bars. this guy had a paper with my face on it taped to his dashboard. I passed him on the bike and he busted a U-ie. I thought aww here we go. i tried to give a fake name, but it didnt work. dispatch named off a few names that were similar and he figured it out and i got to wear those silver braclets... for the last time in 18 or 19 years. the charge was phone harassment first I heard of it on my bond papers. which was funny they even gave me a bond with a failure to appear. my buddy got the money on the 25th... i was going to bond out and be done with this. I asked the jailer if my name was on the docket to go to court. he said no. i called my buddy and he was about to come bond me out and i was going to be free. they would have to drop it. but as i was speaking to my buddy on the phone they opened the door to my tank, and called a few names... then they called mine. my heart sank. i told my buddy never mind, they called my name and i got to go to court. the transport officer obviously had the revised edition list. the D.A. that likes me so much was on vacation i found out and some new lady was working in his spot. she was super nice. she asked if i could do 6 months. i acted shocked and said no thats too much. she said 4 months. I said I can do 4 if you drop the failure to appear, i will sign right now. deal. done and done. like I said she was real nice. back to jail I went... since I knew i was going to be in there for a little bit i knew i needed to make my stay work for me... so i picked a fight with the biggest loud mouth punk that everyone was scared of. I nearly killed him. i got respect and settled in. once settled in to my prime real estate... thats a bottom bunk up close to the TV... I was sitting on my bunk one day. started having these thoughts. what good is my life doing on the earth, in others lives, in my own life... etc. the questions came faster and faster till my head was spinning. the answer was nothing none nothing... then all the sudden i felt God up by the ceiling. i tried to get up but fell off my bunk. for the first time i felt who wicked i was. it was a weight on my crushing me and i could not breath. I felt God lift it off me and put His Spirit in me. I was weeping and rocking back and forth sitting Indian style. I just kept saying over and over... I'll be good, I'll be good, I'll be good. THe guy I nearly killed is now healed up playing dominoes at the table and he asked what is wrong with that dude? the biggest black guy in there turned and looked at me and said he is praying and if anyone messes with Him they will have to mess with him first. now this guy is black and i am white. in jail you do not take up for other races. you stick to your own. thats the rules. you break them, you pay. both your race and the other race are going to get you. so that was God. I didnt really know what happened then. when i explained it then i said God came and took me. later i told this story to a retired baptist preacher and he said you were apprehended. like Paul was. anyway i decided i should get a bible. someone i played dominoes with told me they got them in the library. so when it was time to get a haircut i ducked in and there was only one bible. the day i was getting out the guy i almost killed spoke up and said man... you are leaving that bible... yea i dont need it. He said you are the evilest dude in this whole jail you need that bible. the jailer told me you dont have a bible? no... you can not leave until you go get that bible and take it with you, i am not letting you out. cant argue with that after penut butter sandwiches for 4 months for dinner. so I went and got it. i was going to throw it away on my way back across town to my abandoned run down shack house i was squatting in. but what do you know, every dumpster had a lock and no trashcans in sight... not a one. there where two couches in the back room of this shack. i tossed it down on the first and slept on the second. i went back into the world and started doing drugs and shacked up with a woman. 2.5-3 years later it all fell apart for me, and i went back to this shack. homeless. very low point in life. i didnt want to kill myself but didnt want to live. i said i have tried everything, and turned my head. I saw the bible sitting there. placed there. not as i tossed it down a couple years back. it was sitting straight, perfect for me to see it. i said i have not tried that. i picked it up and said God if your out there, and you care anything about me at all, show me something. i opened it up and something grabbed my eyes and they fixed upon the words of the first page of the book of Ecclesiastes that read...
respect and obey God! this is what life is all about. God will judge everything we do, even what is done in secret whether good or bad.
my eyes got big and I said he sure did show me something and kept reading. i read also in psalms and proverbs. God showed me my sin was cursing my life and I said ok god i wont steal no more unless i have to eat.... I tell you i have ate every day since. some days not so good... but i aint complaining, i ate. I didnt have to steal no more. in 2 weeks I was off the streets and had been homeless for years. couldnt get off the streets. I had a job too. everything started falling into place for me once i decided to Live for God. and where I lived i had favor and God provided everything and he grew me.
the bible i got in jail years ago sits right in front of me today. the words i quoted are circled. many things are as well as highlighted. God was so heavy in my life with the Word then i could ask Him a question and turn and there was the answer right there. people say thats dangerous... but you had to see it, had to be there. on the page that says nothing but new testament... a friend of mine saw this and prayed and asked God some stuff. he had come over and said God showed him when i pray and ask and open up God is going to show him what God wants him to know. i asked and opened and it was the page that just says "the new testament" i made him sign it. I have a lot of memories with this bible.
WOW! Thank you so much for sharing Cletus! Our God is so good and faithful! What a testimony! I'm sorry I was so forward. I am one of those people that is pretty direct. I don't beat around the bush. For me too, what you see is what you get. That was a wonderful story! Our God is so gracious. He just shows us His love to us so many ways. May your testimony bring many to Christ!
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