Introduction
This book is dedicated to:
My Mom
Inez May Campbell ... July 25th 1926 – Sept. 22nd 2008
My grand-dog/baby
Sampson ... July 12th 2006, & stolen in Nov. of 2009 in Spring Hill Florida
My Daughter
Danielle Hinds ... Sept. 18th 1991
These earthly three
will I love, until the day I die.
Many thanks to a Special Friend – Julie Porter & Family in Lebanon TN.
Julie, your friendship is very rare, I’m forever indebted to you for your support.
CONVERSATION BETWEEN TWO STRANGERS
Creation versus the
Secret; God’s expectations of mankind;
His position and our role
In this interesting tale, two
complete strangers trade ideological philosophies about faith and
spirituality.
In this highly debated exchange,
each person displays a heightened sense of surety in their belief. Read
on to find out exactly where you are positioned, you might surprise
yourself.
Regardless of the
readers’ perspective, my hope is that even one person will find some
inspiration within these covers, which ultimately leads him or her to
our Heavenly Father.
IF GOD WAS AS SELFISH AS US
(One of my favorite pieces from my
book of poetry)
Each individual
on this earth is always hoping for riches
We clamor for this, dream of that, and have a thousand wishes
Imagine God who created the world and everything therein
He has but only one request, and that’s repentance of sin
If we find that time is passing and our desires aren’t met
We walk around with frowns on our faces, to show the world we’re upset
We need to focus on certain things lest we should forget
God never asked for anything before He gave us breath
We tend to take for granted how fortunate we truly are
Just being privileged to exist, is a lot to thank God for
So the next time you breathe a word of complaint, or decide to make a fuss
Remember, there are many things we would be lacking, if God was as selfish as us
©
1997 Audrey C.
Conversation Between Two Strangers
It was a cool and
slightly windy Saturday afternoon on November 6th 2010 in
sunny Tampa Florida, and for me this was one of those relaxed weekends
with nothing much to do at home as I had just completed my third
manuscript for my publicist. The temperature was slated to get to a high
of eighty-six degrees, so this was a perfect day to spend by the
beachside with my favorite book, the Bible.
I snuggled myself on
my pink plastic recliner, thinking about my favorite Book of the Bible –
Matthew, and my mind zeroed in on a question the chief priests and
elders asked Jesus while He was preaching, teaching and healing blind
and lame people. I opened my Bible and began reading from the book of
Matthew.
Jesus left the city
of Jerusalem and went into Bethany.
He stayed overnight
into Bethany then returned to the city of Jerusalem the following
morning, at which time He was hungry.
So, seeing a fig
tree, Jesus went up to the fig tree and found nothing on it to eat, just
leaves only. This angered Him, and He said:
“Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth forever.” And immediately the fig tree
withered away. His disciples marveled and remarked. “How soon is the fig tree
withered away!” Jesus answered and said unto them. “Verily I
say unto you, if you have faith and doubt not, you shall not only do
this which is done to the fig tree, but you could also say unto this
mountain, be thou moved, and be thou cast into the sea, and it shall be
done. And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you
shall receive.” Now, while Jesus was in the temple the chief priest and
elders asked Him, “By what authority do you do these things, and who gave
you this authority?” Jesus answered and said, “I’ll also ask you one thing,
which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these
things. The baptism of John, was it from Heaven, or of men?” And they
reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we shall say
from Heaven, He will ask us, so why did we not believe him, and if we
say of men, the crowd will be angry at us, because they hold John as a
prophet.” So they answered Jesus and said, “We cannot tell.” Then Jesus said to
them, “Neither will I tell you, by what authority I do these things.” (Matthew
Ch 21 Vs 17 thru 27)
I smiled openly to
myself as I ran this moment through my mind.
Suddenly, I noticed
that someone had placed a reclining chair not far off to the right of
me. I would put this person in the age group of 55 to 65.
As I look over, I
smile and say, “Hello”
“Hello.” He says
with a smile, and went back to the book he was reading.
About a minute
later, he covered his mouth, while coughing, and at the end of his
throat discomfort, he asks, “Are you waiting for someone?”
“No,” I tell him,
“I’m actually here just enjoying a bit of our Father’s creation.”
“Creation?” He asks,
quite puzzlingly.
“Yes” I respond.
To that he places a
smirk on his face. He then lifts his glasses to his forehead, and says,
“I see that you are reading a Bible, so you believe that the world and
all existence was created?”
“I sure do.” I
answer.
“In
the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth, and the earth was
without form and void. And darkness was upon the face of the deep, and
the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis
Ch 1 Vs 1 & 2)
“I am the Lord who make all things, who stretch forth the Heavens alone,
and spread abroad the earth by myself.” (Isaiah Ch 44 V 24)
“What are you
reading, and what do you believe?” I ask him.
“This is a book on
keys to empowering yourself. I believe that life form has evolved over
centuries, and I also believe in the power of the mind.”
Before I was able to
give a response, he asks me.
“Have you ever heard
of the secret?”
“Yes I have
actually, it’s the belief that an individual can control destiny,
simply by concentrating and reinforcing their thought process.”
“Pretty much, it
also requires a lot of self discipline, hard work and persistence. You
summed it up quite nicely nonetheless. How is it that you have a
conceptual understanding of the secret, yet you talk about the idea of
creation?” He asks.
“Like I said, I’ve
heard about the concept, hearing and agreeing, are two completely
different things.” I remark with a smile.
“Take a good look at me, can you
guess my age?” He asks me.
“I would say you’re
about 45”
“I’m 51” He says.
“You look great for
you age!” I tell him.
“Thank you! Now, I
have lived the secret nearly all my life, and I’m telling you
that that’s the concept which dictates the laws of the universe and
governs all lives.”
“My name is Audrey,
may I ask yours?” I say to him with an outstretched arm.
“Marlon, the name is
Marlon.” He says as he shakes my hand.
“Pleasure meeting
you Marlon.”
“No Ms. Audrey, the
pleasure is mine.
I detect an accent,
where is it from?”
“Jamaica, yeah I’m
originally from the Island of Jamaica.”
“Beautiful accent, I
like it.” He tells me.
“Thank you. So
Marlon, you’re saying to me that all existence under the sun evolved
over tine, and each of us can control our destiny if we simply apply our
minds?”
“Yes” He says.
“Well Marlon, I have
news for you. Existence was created, and we – humans have
absolutely no control over the future, nil, no control whatsoever.”
“By
the word of the Lord were the Heavens made, and all the host of them by
the breath of His mouth.” (Psalm
Ch 33 V 6)
“Know
ye that the Lord He is God, it is He who made us, and not we ourselves.
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” (Psalm
Ch 100 V 3)
“I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” (Revelation
Ch 22 V 13)
“Really!” He
remarks.
“Yes, really!” I
say.
“I have to challenge
you on that Audrey, and I really don’t know how you could possibly have
me believing or even thinking differently. I know I couldn’t be where I
am today had it not been for the power of thinking, which is clearly
what the secret is. It’s how you perceive your life to be, and creating
your own circumstances. Negative thinking yields negative results, and
negative actions yields negative results, period.”
“I promise you
Marlon, you are not where you are because of any secret.
Who or what you are,
I assure you, there are many others who have thought, hoped, and wished
they were, and if the secret was capable of fulfilling people’s
positive consistent thoughts, I promise you that there would be
thousands of you all over the world.
The Almighty God
designed your life, my life and every other person’s
lives, and our individual choices will most certainly determine whether
we stay on God’s side of life, or not. God Almighty is the
only One in control and that’s why there is only one you,
and one me, there are no two people who are exactly alike.”
“Stay on God’s side
of life or not, what do you mean by that Audrey?”
“By that I mean, us
making the choice as to whether or not we are going to live our lives in
a Godly manner.”
“And what’s a
Godly manner?”
“Loving God with all
your heart, not having nor serving any other God but Him, loving your
neighbor as you love yourself, loving one another, sharing, refraining
from bearing false witness against another, not killing or harming
anyone, not committing adultery, etc.”
“Trust
in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not unto your own understanding.
Be not wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and depart from evil.”
(Proverb Ch 3 Vs 5 & 7)
(We also go over
Exodus Ch 20 Vs 2 thru 17, an outline of God’s commandments.)
“Wow, so serving
a God means living a squeaky clean perfect life?” He says with a
laugh.
“No, none of us can
be perfect, perfection is humanly impossible,” ‘to err is human, to
forgive divine’, “I’m sure you’ve heard that quote from the late
Alexander Pope?
Marlon, we as humans
must endeavor to grow in wisdom and understanding about our Father God
Almighty, as this is important to our existence both here in this world,
and the hereafter. Life and death are two things that are essential to
each other, even though they are entirely physically separated.
How we choose to
live our lives, will undoubtedly determine what the hereafter will be
like for us. If we make the choice to seek God with our whole heart, we
will inevitably gain knowledge, wisdom and understand in that quest, and
with these three, comes a map that will direct our pathway through this
life here on earth, and in the hereafter.
“Happy
is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding. For the
merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain
more than fine gold.” (Proverb
Ch 3 Vs 13 & 14)
“For
wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things that may be desired,
are not to be compared to it.” (Proverb
Ch 8 V 11)
“A
wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of
understanding shall attain unto wise counsels. The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instructions.”
(Proverbs Ch 1 Vs 5 & 7)
“When
their fear come as desolation, and their destruction come as a
whirlwind; when distress and anguish come upon them, then shall they
call upon me but I will not answer; they shall seek me early but they
shall not find me. For they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear
of the Lord.” (Proverbs
Ch 1 Vs 27 thru 29)
“In
all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverb
Ch 3 V 6)
“I hear that, and
your theory sounds plausible Audrey, but I’m a fairly educated person
who has the ability to comprehend and analyze. What about a person who
does not believe in a God or a hereafter, and much less, doesn’t even have a
basic education, to that person, what you just said makes no sense at
all. So how will s/he ever get to know this God?
“Ahh Marlon,
education or the lack thereof, has nothing to do with it. Anyone who
wants to know the Almighty God, they very easily can.”
“My
child, if you will receive my words, and hide my commandments with you,
if you incline your ear unto wisdom, and apply your heart to
understanding, yes, if you seek these as silver, and search for these as
hidden treasure. Then shall you understand the fear of the Lord, and
find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and out of His
mouth comes knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs
Ch 2 Vs 1 thru 6)
“You
shall seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah Ch 29 V 13)
If you don’t mind my
asking Marlon, what field do you work in?”
“I’m a Bio-Chemist.”
He responds.
“Great field. Well
Marlon, I can write on my front door, on my mirrors - everywhere they
are in my house - on the outside of my refrigerator, on my bed’s
headboard, under my pillow, I can plan everything I’m going to do, to be
exactly like you. I’ll get up every single day of my life and rehearse
what I’m going to do first thing in the morning, and the last thing
before I go to bed.
I will implement
these plans with every fiber of my being. And I promise you, that I
could do this for twenty or forty years with precise consistence and
absolute concentration, and I’d never be able to be you. Simply
because your choices are quite distinct to you as an individual,
so neither I nor anyone else will be able to replicate them, in order to
be just like you.
In other words
Marlon, our choices in this life will be like our finger prints
to God, on the day of reckoning when we face Him.”
“So you’re saying
that everything that happens in the universe is God’s plan, and if I or
anyone else does not make choices to suit God, we will be
punished or something?” He asks with a broad smile.
“Behold,
the Lord will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to
render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by
fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh, and the slain
of the Lord shall be many.” (Isaiah
Ch 66 Vs 15 & 16)
“The
Lord is King for ever and ever, the heathen are perished out of His land.” (Psalm Ch 10 V 16)
“God designs Marlon,
He doesn’t have to plan, He doesn’t need to plan.
Our Creator designs, put things in place, and from beginning to end He
knows what’s going to happen, and He has complete
understanding of everything.
“The
Lord by wisdom has formed the earth, by understanding has He established
the Heavens. By His knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds
drop down their dew.” (Proverb
Ch 3 Vs 19 & 20)
“The
earth is the Lord’s and the fullness of it, the world and they that
dwell in it.” (Psalm Ch 24 V 1)
As God is the
designer of existence, this clearly shows that He is a very brilliant
being. With His brilliant mind, He made the decision to give us humans
the freedom of choice, which then puts us in the position of
being accountable for our own personal actions.
You and I, Marlon,
can easily think of many tragic things that have occurred in this life,
things that fellow human beings have done. Let’s use a tragedy that is
world-renowned, September 11th of 2001. Almost 3000 people
lost their lives in a series of attacks on the World Trade Center in New
York City. This was said to have been the mastermind of one called Osama
Bin Laden. God Almighty knew before hand that these things were going to
happen.
“Hell
and destruction are before the Lord, how much more then are the hearts
of the children of men?” (Proverb Ch 15
V 11)
The question that
needs to be asked is, why does He allow these tragedies to occur,
and the answer to that is. Based on the fact that God gave us the
freedom of choice, this means that we will be required to
give account for our actions.
“There
is a way which seem right unto a man, but the end of it are the ways of
death.” (Proverb Ch 14 V 12)
“Woe
unto them who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.”
(Isaiah Ch 5 V 21)
God Almighty will
undoubtedly return and judge mankind, and when we will be
called upon to explain our actions, will be determined at a time
appointed by our Heavenly Father Himself.
“For
man also know not his time; as fishes that are taken in an evil net, and
as the birds that are caught in the snares, so are the sons of man
snared in an evil time when it falls suddenly upon them.” (Ecclesiastes Ch 5 V 12)
“Heaven
and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that
day and hour no one knows, no, not even the Angels of Heaven, but my
Father only.” (Matthew Ch 24 Vs 35 & 36)
We’d like to
think that we’re in control, because as humans, we allow our egos to
dictate most all the times, but we are certainly not in control
of anything.
Please allow me to
elaborate Marlon, half of what happens on a day-to-day basis – we often
say why? Why did s/he do it? Why did that happen?
We are unable to
give answers to so many every day occurrences, and can’t even begin
to understand why some things happen, and we supposedly
have the power to control, or, are in control? If we were
really in control, as we like to think, then we would be able to
comprehend anything and everything.
Marlon can you speak
any other language?”
“Unfortunately, no.”
“I don’t either. So
if you were to hypothetically go to sleep tonight and wake up in China
tomorrow morning, can you even imagine how completely confused and lost
you would be?”
“Oh for sure, but
what’s that got to do with having the power to control your destiny?” He
asks with a smile.
“Well, that’s how
much we are not in control. Something as simple as another person
speaking a different language baffles us. God is certainly not
baffled by a Chinese person’s language. He gave every language to every
person in the world, so anyone, anywhere in the universe can pray to God
in any language, and He can hear and understand all. He knows all
things, and that’s who is in control.
“I
have made the earth, and created man upon it. I, even my hands, have
stretched out the Heavens, and all their host have I commanded.” (Isaiah
Ch 45 V 12)
Marlon, does a young
girl get up thinking, ok, this is the plan for my life, I’m going to
school, when I graduate I’m going to take a brake in Aruba, go off with
a stranger, he’s going to kill me and I won’t live to be twenty one?
Or does one ever
plan, ok, I’m going to take a trip overseas, my plane is going to crash,
and I’m going to die. No, no one ever even thinks anything like
that, but guess what? It could certainly happen, and has happened.
And we’re in control
of the future, we’re able to control what happens in the future, and can
control destiny? We are not in control of anything, neither do we
have the power to control anything, God is in control!”
I assure you Marlon,
if humans were in control by any stretch of the imagination, do you have
any idea how many times they would get upset with each other and turn
off the moon or the sun, simply out of spite?”
(He chuckles)
“So if I’m an
alcoholic, or drug abuser, I’m neglecting my kids, I can’t hold a job, I
end up homeless on the streets. I can’t decide to change that, that is
God’s plan for my life?” He asks.
“I told you before
Marlon, God doesn’t plan, He doesn’t need to plan, ok?”
“Ok, His design,
that’s God’s design for my life?” He repeats.
“God creates, and
everything goes after His order, but don’t forget that our freedom of
choice will either work in accordance with God’s design, or not. If our
choices don’t align with His design, we must be prepared
to deal with the consequences.
Take for example my
birth, I had nothing to do with it, in that, I had no knowledge about
it, and likewise my death, I have no knowledge about it. However, in the
sphere of this existence, between my life and my death, I am
going to make choices and do things. In the midst of birth
and death, the choices I will make, I will have to consider wisely
before making them, if I want to live a life that is satisfactory to my
Heavenly Father.
I’ll be attracted to
men, and I will be having intimate relationships with men. Now, does God
physically pick me up and place me in these positions with a male so I
can enjoy him and he enjoy me, or does He make the choice as to the
number of men I’ll get intimately involved with? Certainly not, I
make those choices.
I was designed a
female by God, so it’s natural for me to be attracted to, and copulate
with, the opposite sex. Did God create humans? Yes, Did He design the
cycle of life? Yes. And in the sphere of that existence, again, we, as
living breathing humans, are going to, make choices, and do
things of our own free will.
We will do natural
things, and unnatural things, good things and bad things; brutal things
and loving things, all based on our choices. In turn, we must not
forget that we will ultimately have to answer for our choices and
actions. Remember, God created humans, not robots, and with His wisdom
He gave us the freedom of choice.
Some people will
make the choice to smoke, some are going to be attracted to the same
sex, some are going to be self righteous, some of us will be alcoholics,
some of us are going to live like hermits, some of us are going to blow
up buildings.
Some of us will
choose to be sexually attracted to kids - and have the nerve to even
justify it. Some are going to kill kids, some are going to kill their
own wives, some will kill their own parents, some are going to kill
strangers, and I could go on and on.”
“And those are God’s
designs?” He asks.
“Absolutely not!
Those are purely choices that we all will make.
Marlon, what we have
to understand is that God Almighty who created the earth and all
existence, is Alpha and Omega, He is the beginning and the end. What
does that mean for humans? There will undoubtedly come a time
when we will have to give account for our actions and choices.
“Rejoice
O young one in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of
your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your
eyes. But know my child, that for all these things, God will bring you
into judgment.” (Ecclesiastes Ch
11 V 9)
“The
eyes of the Lord are in every place, observing the evil and the good.” (Proverb
Ch 15 V 3)
The idea of hell and
Heaven is being openly mocked by modern day society, so in order to be
politically correct, churches and preachers alike, steer clear of
educating people in this respect. Well Marlon, I am no preacher, I am
not affiliated with any denomination, and I assure you that I am not
the mother of Jesus Christ.
But if you don’t
remember anything I say to you today, try your hardest not to forget,
that if you don’t go to God your Creator, confess your sins, ask Him for
forgiveness, and accept his Son Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior
before you die, when you die your soul will be going to hell
eternally.”
“The
wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” (Psalms
Ch 9 V 17)
“And
the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according
to their works.” (Revelation Ch 20 V 13)
“I
acknowledged my sin unto thee, and my iniquity have I not hidden. I
said, I will confess my sins unto the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity
of my sin.” (Psalm Ch 32 V 5)
“So I can’t plan
how I want my life to go, and no individual can’t plan his or her
life? He then asks.
“They sure can, but
they hold no guarantee as to how it’s going to play out, and this is
exactly where I am emphatically saying there is no secret that
any individual has to controlling his or her destiny.
For example, the
mother whose life was seemingly going perfectly, had absolutely no
control or even a thought about a sick pedophile snatching,
raping and killing her beloved child. This is something that has
occurred thousands of times over around the world.
However, it is up to
each individual to make amends with God Almighty for his or her sinful
actions, before it is too late.
“Seek
ye the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let
the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let
him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and
abundantly pardon him.” (Isaiah
Ch 55 Vs 6 & 7)
I promise you that
if the so-called secret had any basis, many mothers would have
been spared such unspeakable tragedies, by simply putting words all over
their homes, to reinforce in their minds, that that will never
happen to them.”
“He laughs out loud
and says sarcastically, “So God designed pedophiles!”
“Again, Marlon, God
Almighty created and designed humans, not robots, and He was wise enough
to give us the privilege of choice, in order to achieve His
end fairly.”
“What do you mean by
that?” He asks.
“What I mean by that
is, with the freedom of choice, comes the mandate of judgment. If
God were to dictate our thoughts and actions, then what right would He
have to turn around and judge us?
We, humans whom He
placed above the animals, are the only specie with a brain that allows
us the ability to speak, reason, invent, and most importantly, make
distinctions between what’s right and what’s wrong.
So, every single
choice we make on a day-to-day basis, places us in a position of
accountability to God our Creator, and we will have to answer
for these choices.
“Howl
ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand, it will come as a destruction
from the Almighty. Behold, the day of the Lord comes cruel, both with
wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, and He shall destroy
the sinners out of it. For the stars of Heaven and the constellations
shall not give their light, the sun shall be darkened when He comes, and
the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world
for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. And I will cause the
arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the
terrible.” (Isaiah
Ch 13 Vs 6 & 9 thru 11)
God Almighty is
completely responsible for the creation of the universe and everything
that exists within it, but I assure you, He is not responsible
for the choices we will make during the time that we are allowed
to be here.
To say that God
created pedophiles, would be saying that God is responsible for those
people’s thoughts and actions, or that He created them
with the predisposed ideas and intentions to harm kids.
“For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says
the Lord. For as the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah
Ch 55 Vs 8 & 9)
God Almighty created
and designed humans, some of whom finds mortal pleasure in raping and
harming children. Is God to be blamed for the thoughts, feelings and
actions of these people? Absolutely not!
We are completely
responsible for our actions? Again, we are not robots or puppets,
we are human beings created by God, some of us choose to be kind and
gentle, and some make the choice to be evil, it’s that simple.
“I
have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which
walk in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts.” (Isaiah
Ch 65 V 2)
Tell me this Marlon,
was it not God who created Mother Theresa, the universally know Saint?
And was it not the same God who also created Osama Bin
Laden?”
“I would suppose so,
but seeing that I don’t believe in creation….” He says while lifting his
shoulders.
“Well, I’m telling
you that just like He created you and me, He created those two people
and every other person that you see as well. My point is Marlon, no
matter how saintly or clearly evil one individual may choose to be, the
bottom line is that each of us is solely responsible for
the choices we make in this life, and we will be called
upon to answer for our choices when God Almighty our Creator returns.”
“I
will also choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them,
because when I called none answered. When I spoke they did not hear, but
they did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I did not delight.” (Isaiah
Ch 66 V 4)
“Ahhh, said Marlon,
and that’s what we are saying, you can choose to be whatever you
want to be.”
“No Marlon, that’s
not what the secret is saying. It says that with the mere power of
thinking, an individual can form, dictate and control all aspects of
their lives. The basic ideology of the secret is that with pure positive
thinking, one can determine whether they fail or succeed in this life.
In essence, an
individual can control everyday happenings, and that’s simply not
true.”
“We can Audrey, we
sure can. The energy in the universe is what masters our existence. So
if we focus our thought process in a positive way, we have the
power to yield positive results in our lives. Tell me this, he
continued, how do you explain so many successful people’s lives, versus
so many that don’t succeed?”
“Simply, Marlon, I’m
going to explain this to you another way. God Almighty our Creator,
designed existence. Every individual whom He created, He created with a
purpose, a pathway – if you will. Now, along that creatively designed
pathway, He gives us the free will of choice.
Now, some of us in
our decision making choose to satisfy our mortal desires with things
such as; fornication, adultery, rape, incest, lust, greed, etc. So we
have to acknowledge that these choices will undoubtedly take us off
the pathway of God’s creative design for our lives. Sin in any form, is
sin, and God our Creator requires that we lead a sin-free life, period.”
“Now
the works of the flesh are clear, which are these; Adultery.
Fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,
quarrelling, jealousy, wrath, strife, rebellious disorder, heresies,
envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and such like. Of these I tell
you, as I have told you in the past, that those who do these things
shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.” (Galatians
Ch 5 Vs 19 thru 21)
“Okay, so was my
designed pathway for me to be a Bio-Chemist?”
“I don’t know
Marlon, you tell me, were you drawn to the profession by a particular
circumstance or desire, or did you just happen to find yourself sitting
in on each semester?” I ask him with a chuckle.
“I must say that
chemistry fascinated me when I was first introduced to it in high
school, and I decided at the beginning of my senior year that I wanted
to study the field professionally. I must confess that I’ve been
repeatedly told that it is my calling, whatever that means.”
(I smile)
“Marlon, humans are
creatively designed by God for a purpose, some people will do their very
best to fulfill their pre-designed purpose, and so they make choices
that align with God’s designed pathway.
Not to say that they
are perfect and/or sinless, (Only Jesus Christ the Son of the living God
has proven to be perfect and sinless whilst He was in the flesh.) they
simply made the choice to commit their time, and energy, in order to
achieve this innate goal, thereby fulfilling God’s purpose for them.
In other words, they
eat, sleep and live the purpose given to them, and in that respect, they
are blessed with success because they chose to follow the pathway
designed by God for them.
Don’t misunderstand
me when I say ‘blessed with success’, because a person gains wealth
while fulfilling his/her designed pathway, does not necessarily mean
that success is measured by money. Successes in these cases simply mean
one has accomplished or fulfilled God’s designed purpose for them.
We ought to strive
to fulfill our designed purpose, and be mindful of sin at the same time.
Whilst it is great to achieve your designed purpose set forth by God
Almighty, we also have to make sure that when the Day of Judgment comes,
we are worthy enough to enter our Father’s Kingdom.
“Not everyone who
says Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. But he that
does the will of my Father which is in Heaven.” (Matthew Ch 7 V 21)
A person who pops
into my head as a perfect example of one who has achieved his designed
pathway, is Michael Jordan.”
“So Audrey, you are
saying that successful people’s lives were designed by God, but people
who are not successful, those who find pleasure in children, those who
would harm or kill a perfect stranger, or their very own family, their
lives are that way because their lives weren’t designed by God?”
“Absolutely not!
Come on Marlon, you are way more intelligent than that question. The
point of that explanation is so clear, Stevie Wonder could see it,” I
say with a smile, “The creative design of each of us lives will be
manifested or not, based primarily on our choices.
Michael Jordan will
go down in history as one of the greatest basketball
players, not because he planed to be or even thought he would be. This
came about as a result of him making the choice to follow the pathway
that God had designed for him.
Michael could have decided after high school that he wanted to peddler
drugs, or addict himself to alcohol, or pursue a degree in anthropology,
but he made the choice to pursue the greatness that he was given by God,
he knew this was his designed pathway, long before even his very parents
did.
Now on the other
hand, some of us will make the choice to wonder around this world
aimlessly, and knowingly make fools of ourselves, by choosing to ignore
our pathway that God designed for us.”
“We know that all
things work together for good, for those who love God, and for those who
are chosen according to His purpose.” (Romans Ch 8 V 28)
“It sounds to me as
if you are saying that Michael Jordan, took control of his destiny, so
that’s what I’m saying, we have the power to control our destiny”
(He burst out
laughing after making this statement.)
“Come on Mr. Bio-Chemist,” I say
with a wide grin on my face, “There is a profound difference
between choosing to be a saint, choosing to orchestrate
blowing up a building and killing thousands of people, choosing
to rape children, choosing to follow your creatively designed
pathway in life, and having the ability to control your destiny.
Having the ability
to control the future, thereby being able to control destiny, and
making choices, are two complete opposite perspectives.
Let me give you a
couple simple analogical differences between choice and
control, Sir,” I say smiling, “A person can choose to be a
philanthropist, but he or she has no ability to control whether
their offspring is going to be a Bio-chemist or a musician.
A person can choose
to live their life based on God’s order, or they can choose to go astray
and live that life in the most demonic, reckless and/or careless way.
However, they have zero control over whether or not they are
going to end up breaking an arm or a leg during this lifetime.”
“Ok, let me ask you
again,” he says, “The people who are not successful, their lives were
not designed by God?”
“Marlon, what part
of my explanation that said we will make the choices in
our lives, did you not understand? Some people have no desire
for success in the literal sense, the mortal sense, nor the financial
sense.
Let me reiterate,
some of us will choose to be hermits, some will choose to
live in big houses, some will choose to live in an apartment for
the rest of their lives, and so on and so fort. Are these bad choices?
No, but they are ours to make nonetheless.
Again, the
choices we make in this life is our responsibility, and what
we need to bear in mind is that upon our Heavenly Father’s return we
will be called upon to answer for these choices, so it is
imperative that we choose wisely, again, always bearing in mind
that God knows and sees all things.
“For
as much as these people draw near me with their mouth, and with their
lips do honor me, they have removed their heart far from me, and their
fear toward me is taught by the directions of men. Woe unto them who
seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord and their works are in the
dark. They say, who sees us, and who knows us?” (Isaiah
Ch 29 Vs 13 & 15)
We don’t have to
choose to be rich and famous, and we certainly don’t have to be wealthy
in order to be considered successful either. Please understand Marlon,
that success, in this case, is not measured in dollars and cents,
it’s measured in the fulfillment of one’s purpose, as set by our
Heavenly Father.
Marlon, from the
very beginning of our creative existence, it was outlined by God
Almighty that there would be a day of reckoning, judgment day, why? It
fits perfectly with His position, as He is Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end. Likewise, there is a beginning to our lives and
an end to our lives. So what did God do? He gave us the opportunity to
choose freely during that lifetime.
“Enter
in at the strait gait. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that
leads to destruction, and many will enter. But strait is the gate, and
narrow is he way that leads unto life, and few will find it.” (Matthew
Ch 7 Vs 13 &14)
You see Marlon, if
my choice is to sleep with children, sleep with other women, to cheat
and kill. I will, by way of my own choices, certainly take my
life off the pathway my Heavenly Father had designed for my life. Also,
without a doubt, I will be answering for each and every one of my
sins, if I don’t go to God Almighty and seek His forgiveness before I
die.
“Then
Peter said unto them, repent, and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
(The
Acts Ch 2 V 38)
I have no control
over the day I will die, (unless I decided to commit suicide, and even
if I did, I would still have to answer for that) but I do have the
freedom to make choices.”
“Audrey, if God is
going to keep control, why bother giving us the freedom of choice, seems
to me that choice without control is useless.”
“Marlon, I can
certainly understand your lack of knowledge about our Creator God
Almighty, but for you to think that He could possibly be an idiot, makes
me want to jump out of this chair and laugh my head off.”
“Oh no Audrey, I
don’t think your Creator is an idiot, neither am I implying that.”
“Good. First off, He
is not just my Creator Marlon, He is everyone’s Creator. Let me
ask you this, if you met someone and befriended that person for the very
first time, ah, let’s say me for instance, would you see me tomorrow and
give me your home address, the key to your house, your car keys, your
bank card and pin number, and all your personal information?”
“Absolutely not, I’m
not crazy!” He says.
“Ok, that would be
pretty dumb of you, right Marlon?”
“Yeah, I completely
agree with that.”
“So why would God
Almighty, the Infinite, the Omnipotent, the Savior of the world, the
King of kings, the Lord of lords, the author of the universe, be dumb
enough to create the world, and then hand over
control to humans?
“The
Lord is King forever and ever, the heathen are punished out of His land.”
(Psalm Ch 10 V 16)
God could just see
us when we got angry, racing each other to turn off the air
supply in certain parts of the world, so the people that we don’t
like (for whatever reason) would die.”
(He burst out
laughing.)
“Do you pray
Marlon?”
“Do I pray? No, I
meditate” He says.
“And what do you
mean by that?” I ask him.
“That means that I
spend quiet times focusing my mind on what I want and don’t want to
occur in my life”
“And have you ever
focused on something you didn’t want to happen and it did?”
“Actually, yes, I
got married to a woman who did not know what fidelity meant.”
“Hm”
“So tell me Audrey,
how do you pray, and by that I mean, what’s the image you have in your
mind of this Creator? I would imagine that you would have
to have some perception of this person or thing.”
“Brilliant question
Marlon, you see, when you know God, you are compelled to see Him
in His greatness. You ask yourself questions such as, am I able to count
the number of stars in the sky, am I able to tell what tomorrow will
bring, do I know the thoughts of others, can I prevent night from
falling? Now, my answer to all these questions is no.
Well, God Almighty
can answer all these questions with certainty. That tells me that
He is beyond perception, so when I pray, I simply open my heart and mind
and speak to His infinity. Marlon, perceptions are limited to
boundaries, and God Almighty is limitless, so He cannot be perceived.”
“Those
who know thy name will put their trust in thee, for thou, Lord, has not
forsaken those who seek thee.”
(Psalm
Ch 9 V 10)
“The
Heaven declare the glory of God and the sky shows His handy works.” (Psalm
Ch 19 V 1)
“Audrey, I can’t see
myself praying to someone or something without having a
visual perception of them or it, I can tell you this much,
I know that there is a greater source or power out there, (because like
you said, and I agree with you, that, if humans could, they would turn
off the sun or the moon from time to time simply out of spite) I just
can’t seem to make a connection with that source though.”
“Your connection
with God is already there Marlon, He is the one who breathed the breath
of life in you. You see Marlon, you first have to acknowledge that you
have no control over life, (neither of us does) and give homage
to the One who does, God Almighty our Heavenly Father.
“Make a
joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands; serve the Lord with gladness,
come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God,
it is He who made us and not we ourselves. We are His people and the
sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into
His courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him and Bless His name, for the
Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth will endure
through all generations.” (Psalms Ch 100 Vs 1 thru 5)
Marlon, consider the
One who truly controls the moon, the sun, the stars and the very
air that we breathe, the God who has never deprived us of the most
essential amenities to our existence. The God who has never acted out of
spite toward us, (and oh, believe me He has more than enough
reasons to be frustrated with us) and I guarantee you, you can’t help
but see His greatness in your mind’s eyes, and feel His wonders in your
presence.
When you can ascribe
honor and glory to God for his amazing wonderful works here on earth, in
the ocean, in the deep seas, and the sky up above, you will gain
a sense of respect and appreciation for Him, and that will give you the
courage to pray to Him without having a physical perception of Him.”
“O
Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Thou hast set
thy glory above the Heavens. When I consider thy Heavens, the work of
thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou has ordained. What is
man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that thou visit
him?” (Psalms Ch 8 Vs 1. 3 & 4)
“Audrey, at what age
did you begin developing a concept of a God, were you raised in a
Christian home or did you get to know God from your life experiences?”
“My mom was a very
spiritual woman, and so she instilled the knowledge of God in us. She
always paid homage to God, even when she was hungry and had nothing to
give us. I never did quite understand that philosophy, God is good, so
how could He let anyone go hungry? But of course, I know much better
now.
“The
Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.” (Psalm Ch 9 V 9)
As I grew older and
started reading the Bible on my own, I found that the more I read, my
interest to know God grew more and more intense. When I was
reading the bible, around ages nine or ten thru fourteen, I experienced
some things that took me almost twenty years to share with anyone,
including my mother.”
“Really, would you
care to share them with me also?” He asks.
“Sure, I must have
been like I said around nine or ten years old. Growing up we had a
beautiful garden in the front of our yard, and every evening after
school I would go and play with the plants and flowers. They were like
friends to me. I would dance and sing and pretend as if they were an
audience, and I really had a great time doing this.
One afternoon, I
would say it was around 2:30 or 3:00, the sun was brilliantly shining,
glowing and golden. As I was dancing and skipping around, suddenly I saw
a patch of rain coming down. I was startled, because the rain wasn’t
falling anywhere else, just a wide round patch in one spot right in
front of me.
So I jumped back to
prevent myself from getting wet, and as I jumped back I stood staring
down at the rain as it fell on the plant, and in a very short time it
began to recede to the sky, I followed the water with my eyes as it
mysteriously went back up to the sky and simply vanished.”
“Um…and you told
this to no one? Shoot, I would be so excited I’d be running and telling
everyone.”
“Marlon, when you
are nine or ten years old, you think first before you talk. I now fully
understand an abused child not telling anyone what’s happening to
him/her for two reasons. One, they don’t understand what’s going on, and
two, they are afraid of possible repercussions.
In my case, what I
had seen was not something I’d ever heard about before, so of course I
don’t understand it, and my greatest fear was that anyone I told this,
they would say that I was crazy. What I certainly thought to myself was
that God was showing me that He is.”
“Ye
are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that
you may know and believe me, and understand that I am He. Before me
there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” (Isaiah
Ch 43 V 10)
“Um” He mutters.
“Another time, as
kids, we were playing in what we called then ‘the gully’, this was the
property right next to ours, and the owner had it bull-dozed so it
became deep. Anyway, we were playing either ‘tag’ or ‘one two three red
light’, I don’t recall exactly what we were playing, but altogether
there was about seven of us.
Marlon, don’t ask me
how, but all on a sudden I found myself standing on the edge of the
‘gully’ and I was falling face down, so I outstretched my arms, I would
assume out of desperation to hold on to something, even though there was
nothing around me that I could hold on to.
During this time
that I’m falling, I’m moving my head from side to side looking at my
cousins and friends on both sides of me. And I’m shouting, help me!
Don’t you guys see me falling! Aren’t you going to help me or call
somebody!?
Obviously, not a
sound was coming out of my mouth, no one saw me falling or heard me
calling out to them, and it was as if I wasn’t even there, they all just
continued playing. Now, here is where it became even more strange to me,
just as I began falling face down with my two arms outstretched at my
side, mysteriously, my body began to rise upward with my two arms still
outstretched, and I went right back into an upright standing position.”
“Wow, so how far
down did you go?”
“I went down until
my body was fully outstretched, I could only move my head from side to
side. Picture a bird flying, that’s the position my body got to. Again,
I can tell you definitively, when it was all over, I thought to myself,
God is showing me that He is. I could not think of any
other reason but that, otherwise I would have been forced to think that
I was crazy, and I knew I wasn’t crazy”
“Um…wow! And you
told no one?”
“No one. The thing
that intrigued me with those occurrences is that they all took place in
broad daylight. Another afternoon, I was standing by the fence, just
watching cars, busses and people go by. It must have been around 4:30 as
I had returned home from school, High school at this point.
Again the sun was
blooming, very golden. Suddenly, the sky began to fall, I mean fall,
literally come down. I was shocked, scared and amazed all at the same
time.
I began to pull my
face away from the fence, because this was how close the sky felt to me.
It got as low as my eye level, and I was looking directly into the
clouds right in front of my face. I was frozen! Like the rainfall I saw
a few years before, it began to recede and simply went right back in its
place. Here I was either twelve or thirteen years old, and I was still
afraid to tell anyone.”
“So when did you
decide to share those experiences, and do you recall who you first
told?”
“I was about twenty
nine or thirty, and at that time I was spending a lot of time with this
guy, I wasn’t too interested in him, but his unwavering persistence got
me to start liking him. And so I got to a point where I felt very
trusting of him, and comfortable with him, I felt very confident that he
would not view my experiences in a negative way, and so I decided to
open up and share them with him. And about five years after telling him,
I told my mom.”
“He must have been a
very special guy Audrey, you told him before telling your mom?” He
remarks with a broad smile.
“Yeah he was, I
actually thought that I would have married him, but that didn’t happen.”
“So would you say
that your belief in a God and creation was influenced by those
experiences you just shared with me?”
“No, my experiences
didn’t just serve as influences Marlon, they changed my childhood
teachings about God from a belief into a knowing.”
“I
will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the congregation
will I praise thee.” (Psalm Ch
22 V 22)
“Audrey, I have
often wondered about a certain aspect of life that I have observed time
and time again. What would you say about the people who spend their
entire life praying, trusting and believing in God, and they still die
poor and destitute?”
“Marlon, not
everyone who we may assume died poor and destitute, was poor in the
sense that we think. They are actually some of the wealthiest and
happiest people when they finally departed this place.
There was simply
nothing here that appealed to them, or anything that could satisfy their
spirits or their souls, so they were at perfect peace when their souls
and spirits finally left here.”
“But how do we
know that though?”
“I saw that
Marlon”
“You saw
that, how?” He asks quite shockingly.
“It’s nothing
strange Marlon. I saw that in the life and death of my dear sweet mom.
My mom was the kindest, most caring, loving, forgiving, committed,
hardworking, humble, and true confidant, anyone could have possibly met.
Yet, with all the care she gave to others, families and strangers alike,
my mom got nothing from anyone, including us, her own children.
Despite not
receiving anything from anyone at anytime, my mom continuously thanked
God, and trusted in Him up to the very last day of her life here on this
earth. September 22nd 2008, a day I will never live long
enough to forget.
I have to confess
that I would sometimes criticize my mom’s lack of material achievement,
and blame it on her not trying hard enough. Thank God that at no time
did I ever muster the courage to say this to her, as I now know
that I only thought of things in those ways, because my eyes were
darkened then by ignorance and sin.
Marlon, not everyone
who gained nothing materially before they died, necessarily even wanted
anything while they were in this life, they were more inclined to listen
to the words of God concerning such.”
“Do
not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust can
corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for
yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure
is, there will your heart be also.”
(Matthew
Ch 6 Vs 19 thru 21)
“The Bible speaks so
clearly on something like that?” He asks me surprisingly.
“It sure does, it
speaks very clearly on every aspect of our human existence.”
“Ok Audrey, but how
do we know that those people who have lived on this earth, and
left having accomplished nothing, is really at peace?”
“Marlon, whatever it
is that you want to know, all you have to do is ask your Father God. Go
to Him in faithfulness and truth, ask Him for forgiveness of your sins,
and commit your life to serving and honoring Him. I promise you, that He
will give you the answers to what you wish to know.
Three months after
my mom’s passing. One night I was up reflecting on her. I started crying
uncontrollably out of fear about her being ok or not, I can’t explain it
fully, but I was just consumed with the thought of her not being ok, as
if she was somehow lost somewhere.
Like everything
else, I went to our Heavenly Father in prayer about it, and asked Him to
please let me know if my mom was ok. That very night I awoke from
a dream wherein I saw my mom.
She was sitting
amongst a group of people, I couldn’t see anyone else’s face but I could
clearly see my mom in the back of the group. The only way I could
describe the setting would be just like a spotlight when it’s being
focused on someone in a crowd.
Anyway, my mom had a
huge cup (that was obviously filled with ice as I could see the
condensation on the outside of the cup) in her hand and she was drinking
from this cup through a straw, and every time she took a sup from the
straw, she would lift her head from the straw with a broad smile on her
face, showing teeth and all.
Marlon, I woke up
from this dream bawling, I wasn’t crying, I was bawling tears of
joy and thanks to our Father God. He showed me that my mom is completely
contented where she is now.
That night after
having that dream about my mom, I began to reflect on a certain
scripture in the book of St. Luke, and this brought even more joy to my
heart.
You know Marlon, as
my mom got up in age, she was always welcoming death, and that explains
to me now, that there was nothing here that she delighted in or
even wanted.
The sixteenth
chapter in the book of Luke describes a certain beggar man named
Lazarus, who was inflected with sores. He would lay by the gate of
another man who was very wealthy, and dogs would pass by and lick the
beggar man’s sore, as he waited and begged for the crumbs that fell from
the rich man’s table.
It so happened that
the beggar man died and was carried away by the Angels into Abraham’s
bosom. The rich man also later died and was buried.
While in hell, the
rich man who was in pure torment, lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham a
far off, and Lazarus the beggar man in his bosom.
The rich man 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 flame.” But Abraham said, “Son,
remember that thou in thy lifetime received the good things, and Lazarus
received evil things, but now he is comforted and thou art tormented,
and besides all this, between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed so
that they that would pass from here to you, cannot, neither can they
come from there to us.”
(St.
Luke Ch 16 Vs 19 thru 26)
So I know with
certainty Marlon, from seeing my mom in that revelation, that she is
not tormented in flame and suffering from thirst, but she is
indeed comforted. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! I’ve
never worried about my mom since then.”
“There is
such a story in the Bible?” He asks.
“Yes Marlon, and
there are many more in God’s words that are there to teach us and guide
us, you just have to go and read it for yourself. Ask Him for guidance
and understanding, so you too can learn about our Heavenly Father, and
live a life that is pleasing to Him.”
“Another thing
Audrey, what do you think about homosexuals who are preachers, and
homosexuals in various types of fields who are successful at what they
do, so successful, that they might be quite sure that they are
– as you put it - fulfilling their designed pathway set by God?”
“Marlon, it is very
easy for us as mankind to justify our actions one toward another, but
when it comes to God Almighty, our justifications are mockeries.
In the book of
Romans, it says,
“For this cause God gave them
up unto vile affections, for even their women did change the natural use
unto that which is against nature. And likewise also the men, leaving
the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another,
men with men working that which is inappropriate, and receiving in
themselves that reward of their error which was met.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave
them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not suitable.”
(Romans Ch 1 Vs 26 thru 28)
“Audrey, I would
have to read that from the Bible myself, that is in the
Bible?!” He asks, as he burst out laughing.
“It sure is sir, go
read Romans chapter one, and read it in its entirety, there is a lot
more that you can learn there.
God is not to be
mocked Marlon. I’m not one to past judgment, but I also aim not to
please mankind, as it is my duty to keep our Heavenly Father’s laws and
commandments.”
“Let
us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep His
commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes
Ch 12 V 13)
“Like I said earlier
Marlon, preachers are more concerned these days about being politically
correct, and so they steer clear of preaching and teaching God’s laws.
Again, when we take ourselves off God’s designed pathway for our
lives, the chief reason we do this is to satisfy our mortal desires.”
“So will homosexuals
go to Heaven Audrey?”
“Like the day and
hour at which time God Almighty will return here, no other soul knows,
only God Himself, so is the answer to that question.
Again Marlon, I am
in the flesh like every other human, so I am in no capacity to past
judgment.
However, I aim not
to speak to mankind’s ego in order to appease them. I would rather speak
in accordance with God’s laws, as it is my duty to please
our Heavenly Father above even my own self.
In an attempt to
address your question Marlon, this much I can tell you. There was a
certain time when Christ went unto the Mount of Olives, and the scribes
and Pharisees brought a woman before Him, whom they claimed was caught
in the act of adultery. Back then, the law of Moses commanded that the
punishment of such, was for one to be stoned to death.
So they asked Jesus,
“What say you?”
Jesus responded by
stooping to the ground, and wrote in the dirt with His finger, simply
ignoring them. They continued to ask Him, so He finally said to them, “He
that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
One by one they all
left, only Christ and the woman was left there. So Christ ask her, “Where
are those who accused you, has none of them condemned you?”
“No
man, Lord.”
She answered.
Jesus then said to
her, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no
more.” (St.
John Ch 8 Vs 1 thru 11)
“Judge
not, that you will not be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you
shall be judged also. And with what measure you give out, it shall be
measured to you
again. Why do you observe the mote that is in your brother’s eye, but
considers not the beam that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your
brother, let me pull out the mote out of your eye, and yet there is a
beam in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take out the beam out of your
own eye, and then you shall see clearly to take out the mote out of your
brother’s eye.” (Matthew Ch 7 Vs 1 thru 5)
Marlon, the final
and ultimate analysis, will be between God and each of us. There
is no human under the sun who can make the determination as to who will
or will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, that decision rest with
only God Himself.
For more information
on this topic, I also strongly suggest that you read (Genesis Ch 18 Vs 1
thru 33 and Ch 19 Vs 1 thru 29.) These chapters discuss the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah, and details precisely what was taking place
during those times that led to God’s decision to destroy the cities.
“Audrey, if I’m
going to get to know God, I sure would like to be able to see Him in the
light that you do. I don’t want to feel insecure or unsure, I want to
feel as confident and certain as you do, yeah, I really would.”
“Marlon, as soon as
you make the decision to accept and acknowledge our God in His
greatness, He will willing share things with you, and so your confidence
in Him grows instead of diminish, and you feel even more secure in your
acceptance of Him.”
“Call
unto me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things
which you know not.”
(Jeremiah
Ch 33 V 3)
“Share things with
you?” He asks puzzlingly.
“Yes, there will be
times when you get the opportunity to see some things in reality, such
as some of the things I shared with you from my childhood, and sometimes
you will get the opportunity to see things in your dreams. I personally
believe those are God’s way of revealing things to us.”
“Things like what?
I’ve never had a dream or experienced anything in reality that’s even
remotely similar to what you described to me that happened in your
childhood. So I suppose that God doesn’t share anything with you unless
you accept Him first.”
“Because
that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God had showed
it unto them.” (Romans Ch 1 V 19)
“Marlon, I definitely can’t speak
on whether or not God reveals things to people who claim to not know
Him, or people who doesn’t acknowledge Him, or haven’t accepted Him.
What I can assure you of is, that God is no respecter of persons, and He
certainly doesn’t discriminate.
Whether or not an
individual make the decision to accept Him as their Lord and Savior, He
always acknowledge and accept each of us as His child. Some of His
children may make the decision to become allies of satan, but that’s
their choice to make, and it’s one for which they will ultimately have
to answer to Him for.”
“Okay Audrey. So you
have experienced things in reality that you believe were God’s way of
affirming to you that He exist, have you seen things in your dreams
also?”
“Yes I have
actually. I can recall two that stands out in my mind, one was very
frightening.” I say with a very broad smile.
“Frightening?” He
asks, “Okay, tell me about that one first.”
“Marlon, it was back
in 2006, I can recall the year based on where I was living at the time
when I had the dream, but I don’t remember exactly what month it was. In
the dream I was on a beach, wow! Just like we are now, my God! What an
eerie coincidence?”
With a big laugh he
says, “Okay Audrey, say no more, this is the frightening dream so I
think it’s definitely time for me to go.” He jokingly attempts to fold
his recliner.
(I burst out
laughing.)
“This is too funny
Marlon.”
“No Audrey, this is way too
coincidental.” He sits back on his recliner. “Alright I’m going to take
my chances and stay, and hear this out.”
“Okay Marlon.” I
say, after recouping from my belly aching laughter, “I was on the
beach,” for the love of God I can’t stop chuckling, ‘okay Audrey get it
together,’ I tell myself, as I again attempt to continue describing this
dream. “Okay Marlon, it was a normal day at the beach.”
(Oh my God! I start
cracking up again.)
He is dying laughing
also, and between his laughs he says, “Audrey, I see what it is, don’t
mention the beach, okay, just don’t say the word beach.”
I’m still chuckling,
and I finally say, “Okay Marlon, I got you, I got you,” in order to calm
myself down, then I continue. “Suddenly I saw three huge men walking on
the water and coming toward the shores, I began looking around and
shouting to others, saying, look! They are walking on the water! But
everyone seemingly didn’t care, as they were not paying any attention to
me, or they simply weren’t seeing what I was seeing.
Marlon, I’m talking
about huge, extremely tall men, three of them, and with every step they
took, the water seem to come right before my eyes, so close, that I
could see and hear the water crush beneath their feet like ice. With
each footstep they took, it felt as if ice flakes were getting in my
eyes, because that’s how close the image of them walking on the water
came to my face.
I was petrified! So
petrified, that I’m putting my hands before my eyes so I wouldn’t see
their footsteps or feel the ice in my eyes. It was frightening! Because
instead of me looking afar off at them, which is how the dream started,
as they came closer to the shore, it seems as if the water was
immediately before my eyes. Oh my God! Marlon, I was scared.
“I would have ran
out of that dream Audrey, oh man, that do sound scary.”
“Anyway Marlon,
finally, they hit the shores, and immediately as their feet touched the
sand on the shores, they became very small, and now they had wings on
their backs, and their wings were white.”
“Wow, oh man!” He
says excitingly, “What?!”
“Now while they were
in this form, all three of them began talking, but I couldn’t hear
anything that they were saying. But based on how they were
gesticulating, I could tell that they weren’t saying anything good.
They were doing
things like putting their hands on their foreheads and shaking their
head. They were pointing their fingers and shaking them. They would open
their arms widely and look up to the Heavens. Marlon, I was so scared.
And finally, God
clearly realized how frightened I was, I jumped up out of my sleep and
realized that I was only dreaming. Marlon, I was drenched in sweat, I
was shaking, and even more scared when I woke up from the dream.”
“Wow! Audrey! Man!
I’ve never had any dream that I can even recall, furthermore, one with
giant men who turns into angels, wow! I don’t even know how I would
handle seeing something like that in my dream.”
“Oh Marlon, you
would handle it, you take it for what it is, and hope that someday you
will get the full understanding of what it all means. What I tend to
believe about that dream, is that it was a forewarning about my own
life, I just wasn’t able to hear what they were saying.
I lost a very good
job I had in December of that year, 2006. I lost my place the following
year in 2007 because I couldn’t pay my bills anymore. My mom passed way
in 2008, I lost my grand-dog, Sampson in November 2009, and for the
major part of 2009, I was pretty much a prisoner in someone else’s
house, as I had no way of paying for my own existence or my daughter’s.”
“So Audrey, while
you were going through those upheavals, were you still praying to God
and trusting in Him?”
“Marlon, when you
get to know our Father, you have no choice but to depend on Him in
trying times. You know, that there is no way for you to handle the
turmoil you’re going through without Him, it’s a given for you, so it
becomes natural for you to depend on Him. I promise you Marlon, that
when you get to the point of accepting God for His greatness and His
infinity, and you
keep His laws and commandments, you will understand exactly what I mean.
“Therefore,
if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my commandments, then you
shall be a precious treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth
is mine.”
(Exodus Ch 19 V 5)
Think about the organs of your
body Marlon, if you didn’t have a heart pumping the blood through your
veins, and your heart was not beating, your body couldn’t function and
in essence you’d be dead. If both your feet were to be amputated, you
couldn’t stand or walk, and if you somehow lost your eyes you certainly
wouldn’t be able to see, right?”
“Right.” He
responds.
“Okay, so it is with
one’s faith in God, and God. You know with all certainty that you just
can’t handle any trial or tribulation without Him.
Without your feet
you couldn’t walk. Likewise, without God, one finds it impossible to
handle or deal with tribulations. So your only choice is to confidently
trust in Him, and you do that quite naturally.
“For
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it
is written, the just shall live by faith. (Romans
Ch 1 V 17)
Imagine a baby after
it’s born, it is solely dependent on its caregiver to provide and take
care of it. Well, that’s how one feel about God when they get to know
Him, you depend on Him completely, and trust that He will take care of
you.”
“And
we have known and believed the love that God have for us. God is love,
and he who dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him.” (First
(1) John Ch 4 V 16)
“Audrey, I can only
hope that I can get to the point of having such confidence in God.”
“You can Marlon, and
I think you will, you have displayed the interest in getting to know our
Father, and that’s the main ingredient that you need.”
“I hear you Audrey,
now tell me your other dream that was less frightening.”
“Okay, back in June
of 2008, I can recall the month very vividly, because during that time
my mom was on what the doctors referred to as her ‘death bed’, so I
would spend my nights sleeping in my mom’s room with her at the
hospital. Sometimes I would climb into the bed with her, or sometimes I
would just pull up the lazy boy chair that was in the room and sleep in
it.
So this night I was
in the chair covered with a blanket and reading from the Psalms. I have
never read the Psalms the way I did that night, but this night I found
myself reading one after another until I got to about the 63rd
Psalms, I recall closing the bible when I got somewhere in the early
sixties number, so give or take a Psalm or two.
I honestly can’t
recall if that night I slept in the bed with her or in the chair, but
during my sleep I was dreaming that I was driving South Bound on Bruce B
Downs Boulevard on a bright noonday here in Tampa. This is a three-lane
road, and I was driving in the center lane.
For some reason
there was a line of traffic so cars were backed up. As I’m sitting there
in traffic, I could see about half a mile ahead of me, cars rolling,
turning over, and bursting into flames.
I’m now looking to
the other drivers to both my left and right and screaming at them about
the burning cars, like what always seem to happen in my dreams, no one
is paying me any attention, they’re just sitting there calm and
collected, while I’m in a state of hysteria.
Suddenly, the
atmosphere started becoming overcast, and the sky begins to darken, just
as if it was about to rain. Marlon, don’t ask me how, but I’m now
floating above my car and looking down on everything beneath me. Somehow
I wasn’t scared, I was just floating up and looking down all around me.
The next thing I
heard was people screaming loudly, and they’re yelling and crying, and
the whole place was now in a state of total ciaos. Then I heard a loud
noise that sounded like a very large plane landing, but I couldn’t see
this thing though.
The sound was
clearly coming from above, because even though I couldn’t see this thing
that was making this very loud noise, I saw the cars being thrown around
by the wind, and debris flying all around on the ground beneath me, and
as the sound got louder the wind blew stronger.
Marlon, I turned my
head, and looked up to the Heavens above me, and I was in complete awe
at what I saw next. The Heavens open, and I saw a man descending, oh my
God! I couldn’t see His face, but as He was falling from the sky, He
took His hands, and lapped the brown shawl He was wearing between His
legs.
As He continued to
descend, I watched Him as He went lower, and lower beneath me. I never
once saw His face or what complexion He was, but as he passed beneath me
I could see His hair pulled back and held together, His hair was thick
and curly, and it rested at the back of His neck right to His shoulder.
Marlon, I began
screaming my lungs out, “He’s back, oh my God! Jesus is back! It’s
terrible now! He’s back! Jesus Christ is back!” I will never forget
those words that I screamed. All this time, the screaming and crying
from the people beneath me never stopped, and I must have woken up from
the dream, because I never saw nor heard anything more.”
He repeats, “Audrey,
I’m scared of you, I’m scared of you. Dreams like that? Wow! I don’t
even know what to say right now.”
In a low tone I say
to him, “Don’t say that you’re scared of me Marlon, I am just as sinful
as anyone else is. As a matter of fact, with the dreams and visions I’ve
experienced, I worry that I have absolutely no excuse.” My tears begin
to roll down my face.
With his eyes fill
with tears, he says, “Audrey, I wouldn’t worry if I were you.”
With my tears still
rolling, I say to him, “I am compelled to worry Marlon, it’s not just
about me, it’s about my fellow humans also. It will be terrible.”
(We are both silent
for a while.)
“Audrey, have
you lived your pathway designed by God?”
“Absolutely not.
When I got to the age of fifteen, and this is one mistake I won’t soon
forget. I did what I think ninety percent of teenagers do. I began
experimenting with the opposite sex.
Marlon, I have to
admit that I was taken. And by that I mean, I liked being with boys and
playing with them intimately. From that point on, I continued to live my
life satisfying the mortal desires of Audrey C, and men became toys that
I played with for almost twenty years.”
“You! Miss all
living our lives as designed by God?” He says with a laugh.
“It’s Ok Marlon,” I
respond with a smile. “I think the important things are, for us to
realize the errors of our way, find the Heavenly Father, ask for His
forgiveness, change the course of our lives before it’s too late, and
open our hearts and minds to His reprimands.”
“My
child, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of
His corrections. For who the Lord loves He corrects, even as a father
corrects the son in whom he delights.” (Proverb
Ch 3 Vs 11 & 12)
“Ok Audrey, you said
earlier that we have no control over our death, so how then will we
know, if and/or when, it’s too late?”
“We will know when
it’s getting late, when suddenly we begin to realize how bad
things are with us, and for us. We start focusing on the downward
direction of our lives, this is now bothering us, when before, we seemed
ok with everything. And things that never seem to matter before, we find
ourselves being concerned and worried about. We begin to feel
remorseful, and empathic toward others.
All that is just our
conscience having conversations with our conscious mind. That’s when we
know it is getting late Marlon, and that’s our awakening.”
“Audrey, how did you
take your life of the pathway your Father had designed for you, or what
caused you to loose your way?”
“Again Marlon, He is
yours and everyone else’s Father too, and that makes Him our
Father, ok?”
“Ok Ms. Audrey, I’ll
try my best to remember that.” He says with a smile.
“Good. I can tell
you Marlon, (and I’m sure that there are many other people who can
attest to this fact) that the design pathway that our Heavenly Father
had for my life was derailed simply by my choices. What I am
doing now, I delayed by thirty years. So in actuality, I wasted thirty
years of my life.
I should have been
writing books ever since I graduated high school, but I chose
fornication over our Heavenly Father’s design for my life. Long before I
tasted (so to speak) the male specie, I can vividly recall being on my
knees and asking God repeatedly to make me earn my living from
writing.
You see Marlon,
God Almighty promises us that:
“All
things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”
(Matthew Ch 21 V 22)
“Ask and
it shall be given to you, seek, and you shall find, knock, and it shall
be open unto you.”
(Matthew Ch 7 V 7)
Now, even after I
started messing around with boys, I remember doing a paper on Nelson
Mandela’s release from prison back in high school. After grading our
papers, the teacher asked me if I intended to become a journalist when I
graduate, because, he said, my piece was ‘excellently’ written.
So even though our
choices may take us off God’s designed pathway for our lives, He
does not turn around and take away that which He had already given to
us. What I do think happen, is, He gives us repeated
opportunities to get our lives back on His pathway, and as long
as we continue on the path that’s based on our choices that
satisfies our mortal desires, and excludes His righteous ways, He
will eventually leave us. That’s just what I personally believe.
There are a lot of
people who believe that no matter how demonic or evil some people chose
to live their lives, as long as they’ve been saved before,
at any point and any age in their lives, they will still
be worthy of our Father’s Kingdom, because once He’s got your soul, it
cannot be returned.
I don’t agree with
that.
Marlon, regardless
of the fact that one may have gotten baptized at whatever point in their
lives, if they decide to turn away from God’s laws and commandments,
they stand the chance of condemnation.
If and when those
people go to our Father and sincerely ask for His forgiveness,
He will always welcome them, but if they don’t, I can’t see how
they could still qualify to live eternally with Him. Again though, that
decision is entirely our Father’s to make.
There will always be
some people who make the choice to be patrons of satan, and adversaries
of our Heavenly Father. These people, I believe, our Father eventually
will turn His face away from.”
“Your
iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have
hidden His face from you, that He will not hear.”
(Isaiah
Ch 59 V 2)
“For
whosoever finds me finds life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord. But
he who sins against me, does wrong to his own soul. All they who hate me
love death.”
(Proverb Ch 8 Vs 35
& 36)
“Whoever
shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father
which is in Heaven. And whoever shall deny me before men, him will I
also deny before my Father which is in Heaven.” (Matthew
Ch Vs 32 & 33)
“The
wicked is driven away in his wickedness, but the righteous has hope in
his death.”
(Proverb Ch 14 V 32)
“The
way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord, but He love those who
follow after righteousness.”
(Proverb
Ch 15 V 9)
“The
way of the wicked is as darkness, they know not at what they stumble.” (Proverb
Ch 4 V 9)
“So the important
things that will save us, are, to come to realize our mistakes, turn
away from our selfish desire of self-gratification, ask God for
forgiveness, give Him honor and glory, accept His Son Jesus Christ as
our Lord and personal Savior, and serve our God the Creator only,
wholeheartedly.
“For
the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our answer, the Lord is our King, He
will save us.”
(Isaiah Ch 33 V
22)
Marlon, do you
recall asking me earlier about some people who spend their entire lives
praying, trusting and believing in God, and yet they achieve nothing?
(He nods in
agreement)
Indeed there are
some who spend their lives trusting and hoping in God, but achieve
nothing from that hope. I was once one of those people. Fortunately for
me, I got the opportunity and time to learn the truth. Some die
before ever getting to the point of recompense, which is very sad.
While I was praying,
trusting and hoping in God to bless my life with success and prosperity,
I was openly mocking our Heavenly Father.
“Seek
first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things
shall be added unto you.”
(Matthew
Ch 6 V 33)
I was forced to ask
myself these question, am I doing this our Heavenly Father’s way, or am
I trying it on the reverse, by attempting to first accomplish,
then seek Him? Even worst, am I pretending to serve Him, while
knowingly and openly doing things I know I’m not supposed to be doing?
Marlon, I say
openly, because our Heavenly Father sees, hears and knows
everything, it’s only secret to our fellow humans, our wives, husbands,
children, friends and co-workers.
“For
my eyes are upon all their ways, they are not hidden from my face,
neither is their iniquity hidden from my eyes.”
(Jeremiah
Ch 16 V 17)
You see, everything
we do, is seen clearly by our Heavenly Father.
So one need to ask
the question, am I doing something, anything that I know
our Heavenly Father does not approve of? If you can’t honestly and
emphatically say no to that question, you need to start your
chapter over.
We can’t fool God
Almighty, again, He is not to be mocked. So if you are a man married to
a woman and openly engage in sexual encounters with other men, don’t
anticipate that your false hope is going to be satisfied. Or, if you are
a man or woman who openly derives sexual pleasure from children and/or
animals, again, your false hope will remain just that.
If you are one who
claim to be a servant of our Heavenly Father, but openly drinks alcohol
to the point of drunkenness, or openly use your nostrils and lungs as
chimneys, behind your closed doors, take heed, because our Heavenly
Father will not be mocked, your hope is guaranteed to die
mercilessly.
“Can
any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him; Do I not
fill Heaven and earth?” (Jeremiah Ch 23
V 24)
“For
God shall bring every work into judgment, every secret thing, whether it
be good, or whether it be evil.”
(Ecclesiastes
Ch 12 V 14)
So Marlon, should
one pray to God Almighty? Yes! Trust in God Almighty? Yes! Hope on God
Almighty’s blessings? Absolutely! But don’t go thinking that your
prayers, trust and hope will be satisfied by God Almighty, when
you make the choice to continue satisfying your mere mortal
pleasures, and disregarding His laws and commandments. God Almighty
is not to be mocked!”
(With a very serious
look on his face, he asks me;)
“So what does
someone like me do, if I can’t somehow come to the acceptance of a God
in my mind? I view the world from a scientific point of view, so the
idea of God seems very fictional to me.”
“Marlon, when I
finally realized my sinful way of living, I prayed and asked God to
forgive me, and begged Him to please help me to take my life back on His
designed pathway, and here I am today, praise God from whom all
blessings flow!
What I would like
for you to understand is that, God is very much aware of your plight and
He knows your confusion, just like He knows everything else. So He is
patiently waiting on you to come to your realizations. God never
stop loving us, remember Marlon, He created us, and He is our
Father.
To fully understand
our position with God Almighty, just think of someone who means a lot to
you, say your children, or wife, parent or friend. We did not create
anyone, yet we adore them, and want absolutely nothing or anyone to harm
them. How then do we think God who created us, feels about us?”
“What
man is there among you, who if your son ask for bread, you would give
him a stone? Or if your child should ask you for fish, you would give
him/her a serpent? If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, how much more will your Father, which is in Heaven, give
good things to them who ask Him?” (Matthew
Ch 7 Vs 9 thru 11)
“That makes sense.”
He says.
“God does not have
the capacity to hate, because that is completely against His nature. So
even though you claim to not know Him Marlon, He loves you just
as much as He loves me or anyone else, you are His child too.
God does not hate
any of us. No matter how far we may go astray from His designed pathway
for our lives, no matter how much we claim to not know Him, If we
humble ourselves and go to Him, He is always willing to forgive
us.
“If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
” (The
First Epistle of John Ch 1 V 9)
“For
a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I
gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment. But
with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, says the Lord.” (Isaiah
Ch 54 Vs 7 & 8)
“How can I get to
know God Audrey?”
“Fear
thou not for I am with thee, be not dismayed for I am thy God. I will
strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea I will uphold thee with the
right hand of my righteousness.”
(Isaiah
Ch 41 V 10)
“And
you shall seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your
heart.” (Jeremiah Ch 29 V 13)
“Start by giving Him
the respect due to Him for everything He has given to you without
asking you for anything in return. Marlon, it is highly
improbable for the elements in the sky to have gotten there by chance.
By chance the moon would have fallen out of its place by now, by chance,
the sun would have gotten closer to earth and burned us all to death.
By chance plants
would have stopped giving off oxygen and most of us would have perished
from suffocation. Plants exhale oxygen and inhale carbon dioxide, while
humans inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide.
That can’t be an
exchange that happened by chance. These things were put perfectly
in place by our Heavenly Father who created all things, to sustain
existence.
Marlon, you need to
go to a quite place all by yourself where it’s just you and your
Creator, and tell Him that you are sorry for ignoring Him, and that you
want to get to know Him. Let Him know that you have sinned and
fall short of His glory, but that you would like to get to know
Him.
“Come
unto me all those who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in
heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls.”
(Matthew
Ch 11 Vs 28 & 29)
“I
love them that love me, and those who seek me early shall find me.” (Proverb
Ch 8 V 17)
“Behold,
the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is His ear
heavy that it cannot hear.”
(Isaiah
Ch 59 V 1)
Start reading your Bible, and I
suggest the books of Matthew and St. John. You will get to read
quotations that came directly from the Son of the living God Himself. Oh
how I love those!”
“So I go to this
quite place and do what, close my eyes, bow my head, get on my knees,
what do I do?” He asks.
“I promise you
Marlon, your position is the least of our Heavenly Father’s concern. You
can talk to Him while you’re driving down the road, you can go to Him
while you’re sipping your coffee at your table, or you can talk to Him
while you’re taking a shower.
The important thing
is that you are talking faithfully and sincerely to Him.
When you talk to Him, Speak to Him from your heart don’t forget,
He is the only One with the ability to see into our hearts and
our minds.
Marlon, Jesus Christ
said,
“They that are whole need not a
physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance.” (Luke Ch 5 Vs 31
& 32)
“For God
so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent His Son into the
world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be
saved.”
(St.
John Ch 3 Vs 16 & 17)
I once heard a
Pastor Wommac on television say, “Prayers to God ought to be more about
thanking Him and praising Him, and less about what we want from
Him.” And I completely agree with that.
I agree with the
Pastor for two reasons, one, I truly believe that with all that
God Almighty has blessed us with, we humans ought to spend our days and
nights, serving, thanking and praising Him.
The second reason I
agree with that Pastor is, what position are we in to be asking Him for
anything? Humans get vitamin D from the ray of sunlight, did either of
us have to ask Him to provide the sun for us? No, He freely gave
that to us.
We didn’t have to
call a meeting and tell Him that we were suffocating and so we needed
air. He knew our needs and freely supplied them. So of course, anything
and everything that we need He already knows and certainly don’t
need reminders from us.”
“Therefore
I say to you, worry not about your life, what you shall eat, or what you
shall drink. Worry not about your body, and what you shall put on. Is
not life worth more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at
the fowls of the air, they sow not, neither do they reap or gather into
barns. Yet your Heavenly Father feed them, are you not much better than
they?” (Matthew
Ch 6 Vs. 25 & 26)
If we just think
about our day-to-day interactions with our fellow humans, it gives us a
chance to see God more clearly. How would you feel if you were to get up
everyday and provide for someone, and they never once turn to you
and say thanks?”
“Oh that would be a
very ungrateful person, I think.” He says.
“Exactly. Marlon, I
do believe that we need to tell God thanks for everything, and I’m sure
that God Almighty appreciates our thanks to Him.”
In the book of
Romans it says”:
“Because
that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God had showed
it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the
world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
When they knew God they glorified Him not as God, neither were they
thankful. But became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart
was darkened.” (Romans
Ch. 1 Vs 19 thru 21)
“So Marlon that’s
saying, we have no excuse, we can’t pretend as if we can’t
see the works of our Heavenly Father. Because, even though God
Himself is invisible to us, we can see through the
creation of the world very clearly, that He is.
“Audrey, the more
you talk, the clearer it’s becoming to me.” He whispers.
“That’s excellent
Marlon, and that tells me that you truly would want to get to know and
understand about our Father. Take that sincerety to our Father in
prayer.”
“Start looking out
at the world around you Marlon, observe every little detail, and for
every single one of those details that you know within you could
not have happened simply by chance. Tell God thanks for that
detail, let Him know that you can see His great works.
And when you begin
to observe His greatness, your appreciation for our Heavenly
Father will undoubtedly grow. You will gradually begin to see Him
through His greatness. Not a perception of Him, not an image of
Him, but the greatness and wonders of the invisible Him.
Marlon, as you begin
to learn to appreciate our Heavenly Father, you will grow in confidence
of Him. So you will begin to feel free to approach Him at any time, in
any place.
You will begin to
ask Him questions that you have doubts about, you will start asking Him
for directions before you make decisions, and before you know it, you
will be embarking on a relationship with Him. A relationship in which
you will seek His guidance in all aspects of your life.
Payers to God
Almighty, having faith in God even though you have never seen
Him, confessing your sins to Him, trusting in God, accepting His Son
Jesus Christ as your personal savior, and hoping in His mercies, are
some of the ways to living a truly satisfying life. A life that at
judgment day you will be rewarded for, as opposed to being punished
for.”
“The
Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in Heaven, His eyes
observe, His eyelids try, the children of men. Upon the wicked He shall
rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest. This shall be
the portion of their cup.”
(Psalm
Ch 11 Vs 4 & 16)
“By
mercy and truth iniquity is purged, and by the fear of the Lord, men
depart from evil.”
(Proverb Ch
16 V 6)
“For
whoever does wrong shall receive for the wrong which they have done, and
there is no respect of persons.”
(Colossians
Ch 3 V 25)
“Marlon, life is not
as simple as chanting some words repeatedly, in order to make something
happen, or prevent something from happening. Everything will fall into
place when we make the choice to seek and follow God Almighty’s
laws and commandments.”
“I don’t own a Bible
Audrey, I have never even opened one. I grew up in a household where the
idea of a God never came up. We were taught to love ourselves and
strive to be successful students in order to become successful adults.
So my childhood upbringing was that we have total control over our lives
and destiny, if we just put our minds to it.”
“Um” I groan.
“Audrey, I’ve heard
fellow students and co-workers talk about God, but I always distant
myself from engaging in any conversations that pertained to the subject
of God.”
“Um….so what made
you entertain the conversation this time?” I ask him.
“I guess because you
challenged me on my belief in the secret, and allowed me to give
you my perspective without being judgmental. And I asked you about
your belief, so I felt compelled to be courteous and listen to your
response.” He says with a wide grin.
(I smile also.)
“Audrey,” he
continues, “What if you were to find out that there is really no God, no
being that created anything, and it turns out that this theory of
evolution that is widely speculated, turns out to be the only fact that
exists. What effect would that have on your psychic?”
“Great question
Marlon, I love it. I truly believe it is completely impossible to
disprove the existence of my Father.
In my mind Marlon,
there is just no way the human brain - that which is so distinctly
different than any other specie’s, and intricately designed - could have
evolved from one single atom, as evolutionists theorize.
Something as complex
and astounding as the brain, had to be the design of an extremely
intelligent source, intelligence that is clearly not of this world.”
“Audrey, to me, that
point disproves the existence of a God, because if a God supposedly
created existence, then who created Him, did He just appear out of
nothing, or did He somehow create Himself?”
“For
by Him were all things created that are in Heaven and in earth, visible
and invisible, whether they are thrones or dominions, principalities or
powers. All things were created by Him, and for Him.” (Colossians
Ch 1 V 16)
“Marlon, God in His
infinite greatness, manifested Himself through words, by
speaking things into existence in order that we would be able to
recognize Him and His greatness. God did not need to be created, He
is God, and He is the Creator. Through His works we
can see Him.
We also go over, (Genesis
Ch 1 Vs 1 thru 31)
God Almighty in His
greatness spoke everything into existence.
If one were to take
a good look at all species that exist, of them all, mankind is the only
one with the ability to express words. The power to speak was
given to mankind by God, as a way to differentiate us from all His other
creations, and in so doing, we in turn, mimic Him in His image,
and His greatness, with our natural ability to express words.”
“No Audrey, humans
are not unique when it comes to the ability to speak words, what about
Parrots, they can speak words too?”
“Marlon, have you
ever seen one parrot teaching another parrot to speak words?”
“No Audrey, and why
do you ask that?”
“I ask that in order
to point out to you that the expression of words is not an innate make
up of any other specie besides humans. God creates us with the ability
to speak, that is His way of separating us from all the other species of
His creation, and we are a manifestation of Him in the form of
flesh, by way of our unique ability to speak.”
“Marlon, through the
power of words, our Father created the Heavens, the earth, and
all existence, so our ability to express words is His way
of highlighting that distinction.
“In
the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was
God.” (John Ch 1 V 1)
“And
God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creep upon the earth. And God created man in His own image,
in the image of God created He him, male and female created He them.”
(Genesis
Ch 1 Vs 26 and 27)
Please understand
that God is not obligated to show Himself to anyone, and this is where
our faith in Him comes in. After revealing Himself to us through His
greatness by simply speaking all things into existence, creating the
elements in the sky, placing all manner of beautiful creatures on land
and under the sea, etc, etc. How much more proof of His existence do we
need, and who are we to be requiring more proof of the Almighty God?”
“I hear that.” He
says while nodding his head.
“God created mankind
in His own image, are we so blind that we can’t comprehend such a simple
statement? I really don’t think so, do you Marlon?” I ask him with a
smile.
“Well Audrey, I
really don’t think it’s a matter of whether or not we can fathom that
statement, I think it’s more about whether or not we can believe it.”
“Okay, please tell
me what it is that have you baffled Marlon.”
“The idea of
something or someone being in absolute control of our existence, yet
everything is so out of whack, and in total disarray. And by that I
mean, everyone has such freedom to do whatever they want to, with almost
no worry about consequence. Okay, everyone pretty much do whatever they
want to do, to whomever they want to do it, and clearly get away with
it.”
(For the very first
time in our conversation, I see anger in the stranger sitting next to
me.)
“What was it
Marlon?” I quietly ask him, “Tell me what happened.”
He bows his head,
removes his glasses from his face, and starts sobbing in his hand. I
place my Bible on my recliner to the left of me, walk over to him, and
very gently rub his back with the palm of my hand.
“It’s okay Marlon,
believe me whatever it is, it’s okay.”
“No it’s not okay
Audrey, and it will never be okay.”
(He begins to sob
even harder. I knelt down beside him and cuffed his left bicep in my
hands.)
“Hurt and pain is a
part of us as humans Marlon. Do you know that when the Son of God was
here on earth in the flesh, he cried for a very close friend of His?”
(He did not respond,
he just kept crying, so I kept talking.)
“Yes, a very close
friend of His named Lazarus passed away, and Jesus felt grief in His
heart when He saw Lazarus’ sister Mary crying for him, and He wept too.
(John Ch 11 V 35) (John
Ch 11 Vs 1 thru 52 – entire depiction)
“I’m sorry.” He
says, as he retrieves his handkerchief from his right pocket and begins
wiping his face.
“That’s okay Marlon,
you don’t need to be sorry, it’s quite okay to cry sometimes.”
“Are you always this
calm and in control?” He asks me with a smile.
“No Marlon, I can
assure you of that.” I say with a smile.
“So the Son of God
cried for His friend ahh?” He asks me.
“Yes He did.” I tell
him, as I reclaim my space on my recliner.
“Audrey, I am what
some of you might call an agnostic, growing up I often thought to myself
that there was always a special angel watching over me. How I came to
think that way I really can’t recall. I guess somehow within me, even
though we were never taught about a God, I just always had this ominous
feeling of someone or something, that was.
When I first got
involved with some folks who believe and practice the secret, I took the
opportunity to shake, if you will, this unexplained feeling I’ve had
about a God. I guess I wanted to convince myself that I was just crazy
to feel the way I felt. Do you want to know what’s strange Audrey?”
“Sure Marlon, I’m
all ears.”
(He continues.)
“As much as I tried
my entire life to shake this feeling, it has never left me. I constantly
have had to face circumstances that seem to challenge this feeling. And
by that I mean, whenever I was confronted with a downfall or a tragedy,
to every time I was alone, it seems as though someone would always ask
me, what is your angel going to do now?
I wasn’t hearing
voices, don’t get me wrong I’m not crazy. It’s an internal question that
seems to challenge me as to whether or not I believe that God was with
me.”
“And what was your
answer?” I ask him.
“Yes I’m always with
me, because I’m God.”
“Do you really
believe that Marlon?”
“No, it was just my
way of denying what I was feeling.”
“What made you cry
just now Marlon?”
“My mom was the
closest person to me of anyone else on this earth, I never spent one day
thinking that my mom would die. Well, one evening she was on her way
over to see me, she parked her car in a gas station and went in to get
some of my favorite chocolate hostess cakes, after getting the cakes and
going back to her car, my mom was abducted.
I waited, and waited
and waited, of course, not everyone walked around with a cell phone like
they do today. At about seven o’clock that evening, I called home, and
my dad answered the phone. I asked him if mom was ok, and he immediately
said, “I thought she was with you, she left here more than two hours ago
to come see you.”
I don’t recall what
I said to him or even hanging up the phone, I immediately went into
panic mode. Anyway, shortly after talking with my dad, my phone rings, I
grabbed it thinking it had to be my mom.
(He hangs his head
down shaking it from side to side.)
He continues, “It
was the cops, they told me that the gas station owner had called them
after being told that an unattended car was outside in the parking lot.
The cops arrived and a trace of the plate came up with the name of an
older person with the same last name as mine, so they wanted me to come
down and take a look at the car to see if I recognized it.
Clearly they hadn’t
touched anything in or around the car, as I drew closer to the vehicle I
saw that it was my mom’s, but I was quite certain when I saw two packs
of hostess chocolate cakes laying on the ground, by the driver side door
that was still open after she got out. I completely lost it, because I
realized that something bad must have happened to her when I saw the
cakes on the ground.
Four days later, my
mom’s body was found about five miles away, she was raped and strangled
to death.
(Tears begin to roll down his face
again.)
From that point on, I refused to
answer that question seem to always haunt me in adverse times. I even
refuse to continue hiding behind the idea that I was God, and choose to
relinquish every thought of a God. So when I was first introduced to the
secret, it didn’t take much for me to embrace the philosophy, and from
then on, I took solace in the idea of the secret.”
“Did they ever
capture the person responsible for the crime?”
“No, and they never
will, that’s a very cold case.” He says.
“Do you believe that
the person who harmed your mom will ever have to pay for what they did?”
“No” He answers.
“They will Marlon,
in the book of Deuteronomy chapter five verses six thru twenty one, The
Ten Commandments are outlined, and verse seventeen in that chapter
specifically states that, ‘Thou shall not kill.’
“The
wicked shall not be unpunished.” (Proverb
Ch 11 V 21)
“Audrey, how will I
know if he will ever pay for what he did to my mom?”
“Marlon, you know
what you feel each time you are confronted with a tragedy or a
challenging situation. Now all you have to do is acknowledge that
presence you spoke of earlier for what it is, and accept it.
You then go to your
Father privately and have a conversation with Him, and in that
conversation you let Him know that you acknowledge that you have sinned
and fall short of His glory, ask for His forgiveness and invite Him into
your heart and life.
The Bible, which is
one of our Father’s way of conveying His message and purpose to us, need
to become a part of your daily life. When you read the word of God, you
will gain the ability to understand so many things about God’s laws and
punishments.”
“Marlon, you will
also fully understand that the person who harmed your mom will in fact
someday pay for his sins, unless of course, he takes the opportunity
before he leaves this earth, to come to terms with our Father God, and
asks for his forgiveness.”
“Audrey, I get a
very warm reassuring feeling from talking with you, a feeling I can’t
recall having, at least not since I was with my mom.”
“Wow, I’m honored to
hear that Marlon, and I’m glad to know you feel that way, and I in turn
get a very hopeful feeling from you.”
“The Bible is a very
big book,” he says with a smile, “Can you recommend a particular section
in there that I could start out reading?”
“Definitely Marlon,”
I reach over and pick up my Bible, “One of my most favorite book in the
Bible, is the book of Matthew. The first four books of the New
Testament, Matthew; Mark; Luke and John, give a descriptive account of
Jesus’ life while He was on earth in the flesh, and Matthew happens to
be my favorite of the four.
You will find either
of those books pretty straightforward and very easy to understand. The
reason I recommend the book of Matthew, or any of those four books from
the New Testament, is mainly because there are a lot of direct quotes
from Jesus Christ Himself, and also, the fact that a person is able to
get a very clear understanding about the life and struggles of the Son
of God whilst He was here in the flesh.”
“Can you recommend
where I could go pick up a Bible, or what kind I should get?” He asks
me.
“You may stop in at
any book store, or even order one online. My favorite edition of the
Bible is the King James Version, so that’s the one I would recommend to
you.”
“Let me write that
down, so I won’t forget.”
(He reaches into his
top left shirt pocket for his pen, and I offer him a piece of paper I
had nestled between the pages of my Bible.)
“Audrey, give me the
name of those books in the Bible again, the ones you suggest that I
start with.”
“They are Matthew,”
he writes as I tell him, “Mark, Luke or John, they are the first four
books of the New Testament section in the Bible, and the New Testament
is the second portion of the Bible.”
“The second
portion?” He asks.
“Yes Marlon, the
first part of the Bible is called the Old Testament, and that’s from
Genesis to Malachi, then you have the second section of the Bible that’s
called the New Testament, and it begins at Matthew and ends at
Revelation.”
“So what’s the
difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament?” He
innocently asks me.
“You see Marlon,
everything that happened in the Old Testament, all took place before
Jesus Christ came on earth. And the New Testament is a compilation of
fulfillments of prophets from the Old Testament. The New Testament also
gives us on outline of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ on earth
in the flesh, and also foretells and warns us of the end times.”
“Now I see why you
prefer the New Testament. So do you find the things about the end times
frightening or comforting? Before you answer me Audrey, I will tell you
now that I think I’ll be more interested in reading about the prophecies
of the end times, so please tell me also where I would find the part
that specifically speaks about the end times.” He says with a broad
smile on his face.
“Okay, I see,” I say
with a smile, “To answer your question, I’d say that I find the
prophecies of the end times both frightening and comforting.”
“Really, how could
that be?’ He asks quite surprisingly.”
“I’ll explain that
to you in a second, but first,” I tell him while pointing to his pen and
paper, “You may want to note that the prophecies of the end times can be
found in the book of Revelation, and that’s the very last book of the
Bible.”
“Okay, let me jot
that down, end time prophecies, book of Revelation, last book in the
Bible.” He murmurs to himself while making his notation.
“Okay Ms. Audrey, go
on and explain to me how you find the prophecies about the end times
both frightening and comforting at the same time.”
“Okay, first of
Marlon, the book of Revelation does outline the scenarios that will take
place in the end times. But bear in mind that in the book of Matthew,
Christ also warned of the signs that we should look for when the end is
getting close.”
“Okay, let me hear
that.” He says.
(So with a very
broad smile I begin to read from the book of Matthew.)
And as He sat on Mount Olives,
the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when shall
these things be, and what shall be the sign of your coming, and of the
end of the world?”
And Jesus answered and said unto them, “Take
heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name saying, I
am the Christ, and shall deceive many. And you shall hear of wars, and
rumors of war. See that you be not troubled, for all these things must
come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be famine, and
pestilence, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the
beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up
to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and you shall be hated by all
nations, for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall
betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall
rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall exist
abundantly, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure
unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the Kingdom
shall be preached in all the world as a witness unto all nations, and
then shall the end come.”
(Matthew Ch 24 Vs 3 thru 14)
“Pray
that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.
For then shall there be great
tribulations, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this
time, no, nor ever shall there be.” (Matthew
Ch 24 Vs 20 & 21)
“Wow, interesting
Audrey, I have to admit, very interesting. And the most interesting
thing about what you are sharing here with me, is, the fact that I had
no clue, that things as explicit as these, could be found in the Bible,
wow, I have to get me one.”
“Great Marlon, and
the more you read the Bible and learn from it, is the more attached you
will find yourself getting to it, because you can’t help wanting to
learn more and more.”
“I hear that, and I
believe it, because the more I learnt about physics, the more my love of
it grew, so I can imagine it would be the same in getting to learn and
know about God.”
“Now Marlon, what I
find frightening in the prophecies of the book of Revelations, are the
scenarios outlined, and the comforting aspect is in knowing that after
all the pain and suffering, there will finally be everlasting peace and
happiness.”
“Now you have me all
intrigued, Audrey, I have to admit that I have never been as curious or
interested in hearing about the Bible, and God, as I am right now.”
“That’s wonderful to
know Marlon, just wonderful. I also suggest that you approach your Bible
with an open heart, complete humility, and make sure to say a prayer to
God asking Him for guidance each time, before you start reading.”
(At this time, he
outstretches himself on his recliner with both hands overlapping each
other and laying on his chest. I realize that he needs a moment to
himself, so I simply sit back in my recliner, close my eyes, and say a
prayer in my mind to God, thanking Him for this meeting and the joyous
feeling I’m having.)
Still outstretched
on his recliner, he suddenly asks me, “Audrey, what religion are you
associated with?”
“I am not affiliated
with any religion Marlon.”
“No?” He asks rather
surprisingly.
“No, none.” I affirm
to him.
“So can one believe
in the existence of a God and not be associated with any particular
religion?” He asks, as he sat up on his recliner and hugs his knees.
“You sure can
Marlon.”
“How so?”
“For me it’s a
personal choice, and I make that choice for two reasons. Reason number
one, is based on experiences I’ve had with different religions. One
night my mom took me to a particular church, I won’t name the
denomination because I’d hate to skew your opinion on any particular
denomination.
Anyway, I couldn’t
have been more than ten years old, maybe younger, but certainly not
older. As I stood there, I was bewildered when I saw the ladies throwing
themselves all over the floor, rolling and making weird noises.
And while they were
rolling all over the floor, their underwear was exposed for the entire
congregation to see. Marlon, I remember quite vividly thinking to
myself, this is not what God wants us to be doing.
I cannot forget the
feeling of sadness that came over me, and from that night, I made up
every excuse in the world to tell my mom, so I wouldn’t have to go back
there, and I have never ever been back to another one of those
gatherings.”
“But what about
other churches that don’t engage in those type of behaviors Audrey, I’ve
never been to a church gathering, but I’m sure they all can’t be
the same.”
“You’re right
Marlon, but I, like every other human, get older and begin to experience
the world. Reading, learning, exploring, and I have become even more
despondent about the religious aspect of human existence.
Whenever I read
about so-called pastors and heads of churches who use their positions in
these organizations to their personal advantages, whether it be
financial and/or sexual, I am even more drawn to the words of our
Father, than I am to any building. So my personal decision is to be
affiliated with God, not an organization.
Marlon, as time pass, it seems to
me that some people who are associated with religion, have worsened
their behaviors. It seems to me as though they operate under the guise
of being religious, and so they avail themselves to some sort of
immunity as an entitlement.
How some have leapt
from what I’ve read about in the bible, to the concepts that are
portrayed on a religious basis today? I will never understand, and
frankly, I don’t think I’d want to. Marlon, I’ve learnt some basic
fundamental principles from the bible that even a child can follow.
Love one another;
don’t kill; don’t envy; share; pray; reproduce; have one God; respect
yourself and others; don’t worship idols and material wealth; and many
others. Yet, most of these very basic laws commanded by God, are being
dishonored by some of these very people who profess to be affiliated
with many religious denominations known to mankind.”
“So Audrey, your
knowledge, appreciation, respect and love of God, is based on what
foundation?”
“The foundation of God Himself.
Marlon, all I see among my fellow humans is greed, selfishness, envy,
hate, spite, and hypocrisy, so I have chosen to live my life in this
flesh concentrating on the God who created every existence, including
me. I vow that my soul eternally belongs to Him in this world and the
one thereafter, and with that, I made the decision to have no
affiliation with any particular religious denomination, and I never
will.”
“Fear
them not therefore, for there is nothing covered that shall not be
revealed, and nothing hidden that shall not be known. What I tell you in
the darkness, that you should speak in the light, and what you hear in
the ear, that you should preach on the housetop. And fear them not which
kill the body but are not able to kill
the soul, but rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul
in hell.”
(Matthew
Ch 10 Vs 26 thru 28)
“Ok Audrey, so my
understanding from what you are saying, is that you are more concerned
about your personal relationship with God, than you are about a
particular religious group?”
“Yes, that’s exactly
what I’m saying.”
“So what choice
should I as an outsider make?” He asks rather confusingly.
With a gentle smile
I say to him, “Marlon you are not an outsider, don’t think that,
and even better, please don’t say that.”
“Ok, but I do fell
like an outsider though, I have never been to church, and I’ve never
read the bible. So I can’t relate to how you feel, or how a person who
attends church feels.”
“Marlon, you are first and
foremost a child of God, nothing more, and nothing less. It would be
highly hypocritical of me or anyone, to view you as an outsider, simply
based on the fact that you have never read a bible or attended a church
gathering. And frankly, anyone who perceives his or herself as greater
or better than another person, for any reason whatsoever, is a
hypocritical fool.
“These
six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination unto him; A
proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. An heart
that devise wicked imagination, feet that are swift in running to
mischief, a false witness who speaks lies, and those who sew discord
among brethren.” (Proverb
Ch 6 Vs 16 thru 19)
Now having said that, your choices
are primarily yours, I would suggest that you do it all. This is your
life Marlon, and your only opportunity to get to know our Father.”
“Beware
of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are
ravening wolves.”
(Matthew Ch 7
V 15)
“So, you’ve never been in a church
setting before, go, check it out! Marlon, if you truly want to know our
Heavenly Father, go out there and explore, read, and learn for yourself,
my main suggestion to you, is, that you use the words of our Father as
your guide.”
“Thy word
is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm Ch
119 – NUN – 105)
“For the
word of the Lord is right, and all His works are done in truth.” (Psalm
Ch 33 V 4)
“My church experiences have not
been good, but you may end up loving it! I never made my decision
based on anyone else’s experience Marlon, and neither should you.”
“I truly love and appreciate your
honesty Audrey, I really do. Some people would be trying to influence me
with their feeling of disappointment with the church, so I respect your
honesty.”
“Oh you’re welcome Marlon. We meet
today as strangers, and if we should allow this meeting to develop into
a friendship, you will get only sincerity from me, I endeavor everyday,
to genuinely love my brother as myself.”
“Lying
lips are an abomination to the Lord but they that deal truly are His
delight.”
(Proverb Ch 12 V 22)
“Alright Audrey, so
your negative experiences with different denominations were one of the
reasons you decided to remain unaffiliated, what’s your second reason?”
My second reason is,
whenever I read the words of our Father, at no time is He ever
classified as being anything other than God. So I made the
personal choice to not in any way label myself as anything but a
child of God. Now I criticize no one for their personal stance either,
again, it’s all about choice.”
After a brief
silence, he turns and asks me, “Can I ask you a personal question
Audrey?”
“Sure Marlon.”
“Have you ever been
married?”
“I am in my second
and last marriage.” I respond.
“Why do you call it
your last?” He asks.
With a chuckle I
say to him, “Oh Marlon, at the rate at which we as mankind are going, I
doubt that I’ll have enough time for a third, our Father will be back
here real soon.”
“I have been married
once, and certainly will never be again.” He says with a chuckle. “So
what do you think about marriage, do you enjoy it?” He asks me.
“Certainly” I tell
him.
“Do you agree that
marriage was made for a man and a woman?” He asks.
“Yes, I do.” I reply
“Earlier you said
that God gives us the freedom of choice, so what if a person choose to
be with someone of the same sex, and even decide to marry that person?”
He asks me.
“And
the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone, I will
make him an help meet for him.”
(Genesis
Ch 2 V 18)
“And
the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam. And He took one rib
of his ribs then closed up his flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had
taken from Adam, he used to make a woman, and brought her unto Adam. And
Adam said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall
be called woman, because she was taken out of a man. Therefore, a man
should leave his mother and father, and cleave unto his wife, and they
shall be one flesh.”
(Genesis Ch
2 Vs 21 thru 24)
“Marlon, when our
Father created us, he gave us the inalienable right to freedom of
choice. Again, if He wanted things that He could move around like
markers on a chest board, He would have created robots, but in His
fairness, He gave us the freedom to choose.
A person can do
whatever they choose to, and live the life they choose to. However, that
person just have to be aware of the fact that at the end of that life
choice, s/he will have to give account to God Almighty.”
“Watch
therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of man
shall come.”
(Matthew Ch 25 V 13)
“Okay, I think
that’s fair enough.” He says with a smile.
“Audrey, I’m a little hungry, how
about we walk over to the food shack and get something to eat?”
“Sure, I’m kinda
hungry myself.”
So we both walk over
to the shack, sit down, make our order, then start eating.
“Audrey, if you
could select the ideal world, what would that world be like?” He asks
me, while sipping on his drink.
“Marlon, imagine a
world where each person think about the need of another person. A world
where the word selfishness is no longer used, or even known by mankind.
This is something that can easily be attained by us if we simply make
the choice to do so.
Humans choose to be
greedy, it’s about self-satisfaction and desires. Think about this
Marlon, A person certainly isn’t hungry anymore after having one plate
of food at the buffet, yet we’ll go back for refills. Consider the rich,
no matter how much s/he may have, they are always conspiring to gain
more, enough is simply never enough for mankind.
It is not impossible
for an individual to take a total stranger in that buffet with them.
There are a lot of people who we see on the street everyday, and we know
they are hungry and have nothing to eat.”
“How great it would
be Marlon, if those of us who can afford that buffet would take one
hungry stranger in with us, what a wonderful difference that would make
in the world, and how many Angels would we cause to rejoice in Heaven?
“He
who oppress the poor reproaches his maker. But he who honors Him, have
mercy on the poor.”
(Proverb Ch
14 V 31)
Selfishness leads to
greed in the human nature, and they’re fueled by desires, so if we make
the choice to diminish self-loathing, they both will undoubtedly
subside.
Marlon, stop for a
moment and think about how many houses there are that are empty and just
sitting there everyday; houses that are owned by people who has more
than one; even some buildings that are empty and fully furnished?
Now think about the
humans who are sleeping on the street, and ask yourself the question, is
this how God our Father would want it to be? My ideal world would be one
in which we all live our lives loving one another as God expects us to.
“Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
(Leviticus Ch 19 V 18)
“A
new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have
loved you. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you
have love one to another.”
(St.
John Ch 13 Vs 34 & 35)
“Do you have any
children Audrey?”
“Yes, I have one
daughter, do you?”
“No, none.” He
answers.
“Are you a strict
mother, being as spiritual as you are, do you demand that your daughter
lead a spiritual life?”
“I don’t believe in
demanding anyone to do anything. God Almighty our Father and Creator,
never compels any of us, He gave us the freedom of choice, so I find it
condescending and presumptuous of anyone to force another person into
anything.”
“Okay,” he says “let
me ask you the question another way, do you require your daughter
to be spiritual?”
“Marlon when I became a mother, I
asked my Father God to lead the way for me to introduce Him to my
daughter. I was really unsure as to how I would approach her with the
subject of spirituality, in a world where so many different ideologies
prevail. Especially with the knowledge of evolution being a part of
school curriculums.
As usual, like I’ve
told you before, whatever you ask our Father in Heaven, believing, you
will receive, you just have to trust in Him. God Almighty answered my
prayer unequivocally, as my daughter was the one who approached me
with the subject.”
“Get out!” He says
quite surprisingly.
“I kid you not
Marlon,” I respond with a smile, “my daughter went to school one day,
and one of the subject matter was on evolution. Now growing up and
hearing her grandmother and myself talk openly about God and the things
He does, and our reaction to things that would happen in our lives, she
was obviously confused when she heard at school that day that people and
the world weren’t created by a God.
So she came to me
and asked me, “Mommy, what do you think about evolution?”
“How old was she
then Audrey?” He asks me.
“Ahh, she must have
been around nine or ten years old, as it wasn’t too long after she came
to live here in the states.”
“Okay, so what was
your answer?”
“I first asked her
if she was taught about evolution at school that day, and she told me
yes. Then I asked her what she was taught. She then told me that her
teacher told them that people were monkeys, and after a period of time
they evolved into human beings.
I remember that day
quite vividly, I was standing by the stove in the kitchen when the
conversation began, and she turned away from me and went into the
refrigerator for something to drink, at that precise moment, I looked up
to the ceiling and with a broad smile, I told my Father, “Thank you.”
Here was the moment
I’d hoped would happen, yet I was fearful of being the instigator, it
came right in my kitchen and I didn’t have to initiate the conversation,
my daughter freely did. What a God I serve?!
So she poured
herself some of her favorite drink, Sunny Delight orange juice, and sat
down at the table. I covered my pot, turned the flame to low, and sat at
the table with her.”
“It’s on now you’re
thinking.” He says with a broad grin.
“Oh yeah” I respond
with an equally broad grin.
“Marlon, it is safe
to conclude that my daughter was indeed listening to the conversations
her grandmother and I would have, over all those years when we would
talk about God Almighty, and our Savior Jesus Christ, because my
daughter’s personal feelings and beliefs were steadfast and solid, in
the existence of a God, versus the theory of evolution.
She told me that she
believes in a God because she doesn’t see the possibility of monkeys
turning into humans, and if an evolution took place, how come there are
still monkeys around, only some monkeys evolved? If there was no God,
she also wants to know, where did everything else in the universe that
man did not make, come from?
Ever since that day,
my daughter and I have praised and worshiped God Almighty and His Son
Jesus Christ, without a doubt. I take absolutely no credit for my
daughter’s spirituality, I give God the glory!”
“Audrey, I would
love to get to know and trust God like you do, and I mean that
sincerely.”
“Marlon, God Almighty is the King
of kings, He is the Lord of lords, He is the conquering lion of the
tribe of Judah, He is alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. He is
the God of Abraham, the God of Moses, the God of Isaac, the God of
David, the God of Jacob, He is your God, He is my God, and He is God of
the world.”
“For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government
shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called wonderful,
counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”
(Isaiah
Ch 9 V 6)
“Which
in His time He shall show, who is the blessed and only potentate, the
King of kings and Lord of lords,” (1st
Timothy Ch 6 V 15)
“God Almighty is
most importantly, your God, and you have every access to your God
that you want. You don’t have to know and trust Him like anyone else
does, you just have to know Him and trust Him.”
At this point, tears
roll down both of us faces. I know that what we both felt at that moment
in time, neither of us will ever be able to describe nor forget.
After wiping the
tears from our faces, we continue.
“Have you ever been
deceived by anyone Audrey?”
“Oh yeah, what I
have found with fellow humans, both family and friends, is that one
can’t trust anyone. I have had people pretend to be with me and for
me, for many, many years, and it turned out that they only had ulterior
motives. Those deceits have caused me heartache, but I take solace in
the fact that one of our Father’s instructions is for us to trust in
Him, versus mankind.”
“Audrey, how about
trusting in only yourself? This is what I’ve done pretty much my
entire life.”
“Trust
in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
(Proverbs Ch 3 V 5)
“Marlon, we need to
trust in the Lord our God with all our heart, we need to depend on Him
for guidance, strength, wisdom and understanding, in every aspect of our
daily lives. We don’t have the ability to see tomorrow so how possible
is it for us to depend on ourselves? God holds the key to our tomorrow,
so He is the one we need to rely on.”
“Audrey, you spoke earlier about
one of God’s expectation of us, and that’s being our brother’s keeper.
Do you believe that we, mankind are in fact living up to that
expectation?”
“Absolutely not,
somehow, somewhere, I really don’t know exactly when, mankind has
convinced each other that competition amongst each other is the way to
live. We are sadly living in a world today where sharing and caring is
minimized, and the very few among us who has and owns virtually the
majority of wealth, are being magnified and glorified.
“Put
them in fear O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be just men.”
(Psalm Ch 9 V 20)
In my opinion
Marlon, world poverty is purposely allowed on the majority, in order
that a few can be compensated, and in essence, made richer.
“You really think
that Audrey?” He asks.
“Certainly, mankind has proven
that they have the capability to destroy the world by way of nuclear
bombs, do you think it is impossible for them to spread the food supply
on a global level? Of course not, the selfishness and greed of mankind
has led to a general ‘every man for himself’ concept, which is entirely
wrong.”
“Love
one another as I have loved you, by this shall all men know that you are
my disciples, if you have love one to another.” (St.
John Ch 13 Vs 34 & 35)
“Audrey, if you had the power to
change the world, what would you change, and how would you do it?”
“Wow Marlon, there are so many
things that go against the will of our Father that I hate to see and
would love to change. Let me start by addressing the issue of
brotherhood. We were created in part, to be our brother’s keeper, and
also to worship and adore our Creator.
Our Creator, God, requires us to
care for each other, to share with each other, and above all, love one
another. I would change the unfairness that exists where so few have so
much, and so many have so little, or none at all.
Everything that the world has, I
would share equally among everyone, by setting up certain locations all
over the world, a place that everyone had access to everything that they
needed.
For example, the idea of a few
families going to bed fully satisfied, and a majority going hungry,
could not be, as everyone would have access to exactly the same things
that they all needed. Not only some people would be living in a home,
while others lived on the streets, but everyone would have to be living
in a home.
I would have the world set up in a
way where we humans would turn to each other for existence to prevail.
And by that I mean, a trained dentist would be able to go see a trained
podiatrist whenever that person needed to, without having to trade money
for these services, and this would apply to all our human exchanges.
Marlon, we have essentially carved
out a world existence that stifles the majority of our fellow humans,
and this is in complete contrast to God’s plan.”
“I hear you there, but I think it
would be almost impossible to get the haves to give up and share what
they have with the have-nots, don’t you Audrey?”
“The
sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but
the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep.” (Ecclesiastes
Ch 5 V 12)
“Maybe Marlon, but before we give
in to our selfishness, I would implore my fellow humans to pay attention
to this interaction that took place with Jesus Christ and a certain
young man.”
“One came
and said unto Him, ‘Good master,
what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?’
Jesus said unto him, ‘Why
call me good? There is none good but one, and that’s God. If you want to
enter into eternal life, keep the commandments.’
He then asks Jesus ‘Which?’ ‘You
must not commit murder; you must not commit adultery; you must not
steal; you must not bear false witness; honor you mother and your
father; and love your neighbor as yourself”
The young man says to Jesus, “All
these things I’ve kept from my youth, so what do I lack?”
Jesus said to him, “Go
and sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you shall have
treasure in Heaven. And come and follow me.’ When the
young man heard the last part, he went away sorrowful for he had great
possessions. Jesus then said to His disciples.
‘Verily I say unto you, a rich man shall
hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Again I say unto you, it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man
to enter into the Kingdom of God.’” (Matthew
Ch 19 Vs 16 thru 24)
“What?” He says surprisingly, “Let
me write that one down, I’ve got to read that one when I get my
bible. Audrey, my understanding of what you are saying here, is that if
we follow the commandments of God, and do His will, at the end of our
earthly existence, we will be compensated with an everlasting and
wonderful life with God, right?’ He asks me.
“Right” I respond.
“Okay Audrey, so far I have lived
my life believing and living a certain ideology that is not religious or
Godly, however you may want to phrase it. I have been sitting and
talking with you for hours now, not even a full day, and what you have
shared with me thus far seem to be pretty straightforward. If you
believe in God, you commit your life to His way and keep His
commandments. Why then is this philosophy so hard for mankind to adhere
to?”
“Simple answer Marlon, pretty
simple, sin.”
“Sin?” He asks.
“Yeah sin.”
“People choose sin over committing
to God?”
“Yeah, everyday.”
“You don’t think it’s more
complicated than that Audrey?’
“Absolutely not, casual sex,
killing, stealing, lying, greed, selfishness, infidelity, disobedience
to parents, are all things that give us personal gratification, and
separate us from moral obligations, yet, these are what we choose over
adhering to our Father’s laws”.
Marlon, what I want you to take
away from that interaction with Christ and the rich man, is not so much
about the fact that he is rich, but all about his refusal to
let go of his possessions and follow Christ. What our Father expects
of us, is for us to be willing at any moment to sacrifice anyone and
anything in order to do His will.”
“For the
love of money is the root of all evil, for while some craved after it,
they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows. But thou O man of God, flee these things, and follow after
righteousness, Godliness, faith, love, and meekness.” (First
Timothy Ch 6 Vs 10 & 11)
“O you
sons of men, how long will you turn my glory into shame? How long will
you love vanity and seek after temporary possessions?” (Psalm
Ch 4 V 2)
“Marlon, doesn’t it blow your
mind, the rate at which people kill their loved ones in order to be
compensated with money?”
“Yeah I find it very shocking, and
it happens way more often than we know.” He says.
“Unbelievable.” I remark while
shaking my head.
“So how about you Audrey, would
you give away all your money, or would you only be willing to share it?”
“I have absolutely no love for
money, I appreciate its purpose here on earth, but it means absolutely
nothing to me, I could be without a dime tomorrow, and I’d be just fine.
I think that humans allow money to control them to such an extent, that
they have lost cognitive abilities.
Think about this Marlon, money, in
whatever form, is lifeless, can’t move on its own, can’t think, can’t
feel, yet, mankind has given it the power to control them. They place
money in a position that puts it above all other being which have life
within them. All I can say is, may God have mercy on their souls.
Marlon, while Christ was in
Jerusalem, an incident took place between Him and the scribes. They
asked Him,
“Is it lawful for us to give
tribute unto Caesar, or no?” Jesus asked them, “Why
do you tempt me?” Then He said, “Show
me a penny, whose image and subscription is on it?”
They answered and said, “Caesar’s.”
Jesus then said to them, “Give unto Caesar the
things which are for Caesar, and unto God the things which are God’s.” (St.
Luke Ch 20 Vs 22 thru 25)
“It’s all about the choices we
make Marlon, all about our choices.”
“So you think money separate some
people from God?” He asks me.
“No, I know that some
people allow money to separate them from God, tragic.” I hang my
head down in sorrow.
“What’s your take on divorce
Audrey? Now go easy, seeing I had one myself.”
“Personally, I don’t believe in
anyone being miserable with another person for any reason whatsoever. If
two people can’t find love, respect and happiness together, neither of
them deserves to be in that marriage. Keep in mind though, these people
ought to first make every attempt at fixing the problems, one of which
should be praying to God Almighty about it.”
“Marriage
is honorable in all and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and
adulterers God will judge.”
(Hebrews
Ch 13 V 4)
“And what if they don’t believe in
God, Audrey? We know that there are in fact some people who don’t.”
“Well, in that case, I would
strongly suggest that they read a copy of this conversation between you
and I.”
“You are too funny.” He says with
a chuckle.
“Marlon.”
“Yes Ms. Audrey” He says with a
wide grin on his face.
“We all get to a point in life
when it seems like there is no way out of a situation, you know that
right?”
“Well, I wouldn’t think that about
people such as yourself, as you seem to know where to find all the
answers.”
“No, we don’t have the answers
Marlon, that’s God’s position and there is simply no comparison to Him.”
“So tell me, at what point have
you found yourself in a ‘no way out’ position?” He asks, while gesturing
the quotation signs with his fingers.
“Oh I’ve had many of those Marlon.
Being unemployed, unable to pay the bills or put food on my table for my
child and I. Facing eviction and not knowing where we’d be going. Yeah,
I’ve had many of those.”
“Wow, and what was the outcome of
those circumstances?”
“That was for me to find out
Marlon?”
“The outcome was for you to
find out?” He asks, with a puzzled look on his face.
“Oh yeah, but not just for me
to find out though, it’s what we all need to find out when facing
unbearable circumstances.”
“I’m listening Audrey, go on.”
“Christ is constant Marlon, He
never changes.”
“Jesus
Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.”
(Hebrews
Ch 13 V 8)
“And because He is the same
always, we can rest assured that no matter what the situation may be,
His arms are always outstretched to us. We just need to find the
strength to pull ourselves up and place our hands in His. Once we’re
able to do that, He will safely guide us through it all. So what we need
to find out Marlon, is where our faith truly resides.
“Trust
in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.” (Isaiah
Ch 26 V 4)
Do we really know God and trust
Him, or are we just saying it with our lips? Do we really know God and
trust Him, or do we only brag about Him when things are good with us? Do
we really know God and trust Him, or do we only see Him as the one to
blame when ciaos knocks on our door? Do we really know God and trust
Him, or do we only seek Him out when things are bad with us? Do we
really know God and trust Him, so we are able to praise Him, honor Him,
and glorify Him in both our good times and bad?”
“Audrey, are you saying that even
while you were facing those tragedies in life, you were still praising
God at those times, you never ask Him why you and got mad with Him?’
“Marlon, if we could humble
ourselves enough and acknowledge that tomorrow is but a mystery to us,
if we recognize that the love we have for ourselves is nothing in
comparison to the love God has for us, then when times get rough, our
humility and appreciation for God will serve as reminders that there is
nothing He will allow us to go through on our own, as He is always with
us in spirit.”
“For
though I am absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit,
rejoicing and observing your order, and the unwavering of your faith in
Christ.”
(Colossians Ch 2 V 5)
“For
since the beginning of the world, men have not heard, nor perceived by
their ear, neither has their eyes seen, O God, beside thee, what you
have prepared for them, and what’s waiting for them.”
(Isaiah
Ch 64 V 4)
“Marlon, may I share one of my
poems with you?”
“Oh, you write poems too? Sure, go
right ahead.”
“It’s titled 'Test Of Faith':
When life seems rough; and the going gets tough
And you feel to give up; don’t have any fear God will be there
God is right there just open you eyes and look and you’ll see
Go down on your knees and ask Him please to set you free
If you don’t believe in God then you have to realize
That your sins will always be there right before your very eyes
God has to test all mankind’s faith
Because He has to know if we believe in Him
So we have to prove our faith in Him
By going through all thick and thin
God will never leave us He is always by our side
Don’t forget that for our sins His only Son He sacrificed
When you find that you are tested just be strong and carry on
Keep your eyes and your mind on God and He will give you your reward.”
© 1997 Audrey C.
“That was a very good piece Ms.
Audrey, I could see that hanging from my bedroom wall. So do you have
brothers and sisters, or are you an only child?”
“Oh yeah, I am the last of seven
children, there was one girl who was the first, five boys followed her,
and I was the last child.”
“Do you care to share your
upbringing with them to me? Audrey, if I’m getting too personal just let
me know.”
“Oh no, it’s okay, I’m more than
willing to share as long as you have the time to listen.”
“I sure do,” he says, “I certainly
am enjoying our conversations, so please go right ahead.”
“Wow, I must admit that the topic
that pertains those people are sensitive, so I won’t go into too much
details, okay?’
“That’s fine Audrey, and if you
don’t want to talk about them at all, that’s fine too, we can talk about
whatever else you fell comfortable discussing.”
“Fair enough Marlon, I will not
dignify these people’s behavior by mentioning them by name, but, there
was a certain time in my life when things got down and out, and I was
unable to maintain a roof over our heads, that is, my mom, my daughter
and myself.
So word was sent to one of my
so-called brothers about our situation. The man had the nerve to send a
message back to my mom, telling her that he was not going to help her,
if she needed help, she should go to another so-called brother of ours –
whom he mentioned by name – for help, because he was the one she gave
cornflakes to, and not him.”
“What, someone sends that kind of
message to their mother who is asking for help?”
“Yes sir. And what I would say to
that person is, you go and raise five males and some females in the
ghetto on your own. Make sure that none of them ever go to jail, make
sure that they all attend school, and make sure none of them die due to
carelessness or starvation. Then come back and complain about the job my
mom did, and criticize her for being smart enough to provide an
existence for herself, all her children, and strangers kids as well.”
“I hear that, and I agree with you
Audrey, your mom and others like her are generally slapped in the face
by their very children, instead of the children commending them for
their frugality and bravery.”
“And another thing about that
Marlon, I told my mom then, when the message was relayed to her, that
the fact that one brother got cornflakes and I didn’t, should have
placed that brother in an advanced or advantageous position compared to
me. Though he got cornflakes and I didn’t, we both still have the same
body parts, we both can read at the same level, and we are both still
the same sexes we were at birth, nothing changed.”
“Cornflakes certainly didn’t give
him an additional hand or feet, it didn’t make him the Prime Minister of
Jamaica, and me a dunce, he is still just a normal male, I’m a normal
female, and cornflakes certainly didn’t turn him into some bionic being.
So what difference did it make that he got cornflakes and I didn’t?”
With a broad smile on his face, he
says, “Audrey, you are something else, you know that right?”
“No I’m not, I’m just another
person, me, that’s all.”
“Audrey, I must admit that I
haven’t fostered too many relationships with strangers, and my family is
not that close with each other. When we became adults, everyone pretty
much went on with their lives and their own families. Shoot, I’m sure
it’s been almost five years since I spoke with any of my siblings.”
“Wow, Marlon, there was another
incident involving my mom that took place several years before her
passing, that I found both disappointing and shocking. There was someone
who my mom considered a dear friend for a very long time.
At one point in this person’s
life, my mom provided the person, their spouse and kids with shelter and
food. Years later, while my mom was here with me in the States, she
slipped, fell and broke her arm at home. I called this person and the
person came over to see my mom, when the person arrived at our place, I
was outside in the yard and the person went into the house. Within a few
minutes the person came whisking pass me, and left.
I went straight inside to find out
from mom what had happened, and she told me that she said to this
person, “When I could help others I did, and now my child needs a little
help with me, and no one is willing to do it.”
Prior to my mom breaking her arm,
I did approach this person’s child about getting a car from him, but I
only had a portion of the money, and though this person knew that I
wanted the car for a specific purpose, nothing was done by this
individual to encourage the child to give me the car regardless of the
fact that I didn’t have all the money at once. So this is what my mom
was referring to, and the person got upset about it. I call it guilt.”
“Audrey, do you always look at
things the way you do now, so even though some people in this world are
so cruel, cold and conniving, you are able to rationalize it in your
mind and not be hurt by it?”
“Be hurt by it? No Marlon, I think
that’s mankind’s biggest problem, we are too driven and directed by our
egos, and so we are easily offended by the dumbest of things. I can’t
allow any of what my fellow men do to offend me, because, then I would
probably avoid any type of interaction with anyone, in which case, I
wouldn’t have met you.
You see, while we’re busy taking
offence to every little thing, we are missing out on much greater
opportunities and possibilities without even knowing it. In the book of
Matthew, at one point I can recall Christ saying,
“Woe
unto the world because of offences, for offences will always be
committed, but woe to that man to whom the offence comes.” (Matthew
Ch 18 V 7)
Marlon, we, as humans, must try
our hardest not to waste our thoughts and energy negatively, as there
are so much more for us to do one to another, in order to eradicate
poverty and hunger from amongst us. We are all humans created by one
God, and residing on one planet, yet we are so divided.
The question is Marlon, how did we
get this way?”
“Audrey, I think we got this way
because of all the conflicting theories that are out there. One person
believes this, and another person adamantly believes something entirely
different, so that makes it almost impossible for us to find common
ground. What do you think?”
“I think we got this way based on
our choices Marlon. I rather view things on the simplest of levels, I
don’t know, maybe I’m wrong to do that, but it gives me the opportunity
to see more clearly. For example, I think just as we are able to make
choices that hurt others, it’s the same way we can come up with
decisions that help others.”
“The
fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have
done abominable works, and there is none who does good.” (Psalm
Ch 14 V 1)
“Marlon, just think of the one
main thing that has repeatedly created conflict, discourse, anger,
violence, and pain among us, hate. So all we have to do is reverse the
mechanism of our mindset, and we’ll end up with complete opposite
results, it’s that simple.”
“Hatred
stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.”
(Proverb
Ch 10 V 12)
“So in your opinion Audrey, we are
so divided as humans because we have too much hate within us, you don’t
think the many different beliefs is the source of this division?”
“No Marlon, I don’t, but tell me
why you think our different religious beliefs does.”
“Audrey I think our differences in
opinions, especially, and particularly about God, has been a constant
source of division among men. Let’s go back to your reference to Osama
Bin Laden, that kind of mass killings have occurred many times in our
world’s history, and the reason always seem to center around religion,
where one side sees themselves as the supporter of God, and view the
other side as His opposition. You really don’t think that the main
reason we are so divided is due to our differences in religion?”
“No Marlon I don’t. The
differences in our religious concepts has nothing to do with the reason
mankind are so divided. We make those choices that divide us, and those
decisions are mainly generated by our cultivated hatred.
There are humans who you can’t
convince to appreciate another human, based solely on the fact that the
other person’s skin color is different than theirs, hate. There are
humans who will hunt and kill another human based on the choice that
person makes with regards to their sex life, hate.
There are humans who will rob and
kill anyone, in order to take what they have, hate. There are
humans who will kill another person because they refer to God by a
different name, hate, of course coupled with stupidity.”
(We both laugh over that last
part.)
“My point is Marlon, if we humans
would stop and consciously decide to completely eradicate hate from our
minds, by acknowledging that the only judge
is God, and accept and love fellow humans as such, there would be
peace among men.
“But Audrey, in the same breath,
you point out what’s right and what’s wrong for people to do. Now, if
you are going to look at others and say that they are wrong for doing
certain things, and those actions may prevent them from experiencing
everlasting life, aren’t you doing the same thing that the haters are
doing, judging?”
“Absolutely not Marlon, when I
encourage you or anyone else to get to know our Father in Heaven, and in
so doing you learn about His expectations of you as His child, I’m
leaving you or that person to make that decision as to whether or not
you care to adhere to His laws and commandments.
My general advise to you or anyone
is, it is imperative for each of us to get to know our Father, seek His
ways, and abide by His laws and commandments, so when this life here
ends, your compensation for the hereafter will be an eternal existence
with Him.
If you or anyone then makes the
choice to live in contrast with His principles, just know that there
will be a time when it will be required of you to give account. However,
I’m not prepared, neither do I have the right, to bring harm to another
person because of their choices, for I am not God.”
“Point clearly taken ma’am.” He
says with a smile.
“Strive
not with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.” (Proverb
Ch 3 V 30)
“Stop for a moment and imagine the
world on pause – just like you would pause your TV or DVD player if you
had to take a bathroom break – now what would happen in that pause is
that collectively, everyone in the world would instantly have one
identical thought.”
“Now at the press of the play
button, every single one of us will start accepting and loving the
person standing next to us, as we love ourselves.
Regardless of color, regardless of
size, regardless of sexual orientation, regardless of religion,
regardless of handicap or shortcomings, regardless of social status,
regardless of just about anything.
Marlon, life as we know it, would
be changed to a wonderful, caring and fulfilling world. Wouldn’t it be
great if mankind could do this in reality?”
“That certainly would be an
achievement, as there would be no more reason for us to fight and kill
each other. Audrey you got a lot going on in that head of yours. I like
the way you think though, I really do.”
“Some crazy people got a lot going
on in their heads too,” I tell him with a warm smile. “But I’ll take
that as a compliment, thank you Marlon.”
With a smile just as warm, he
says, “Your welcome Ms. Audrey.”
“Do you have pets Marlon?”
“Pets?’ He repeats questionably,
“No, I don’t have pets, I can hardly take care of myself, much more a
pet.” He says with a chuckle, “Do you have pets?” He then asks me.
“Not presently, I had one in my
life a few years ago though, I originally got him for my daughter, his
name was Sampson, I use to call him my grand-baby.”
“Wow you look so sad Audrey, what
type of dog was it, and how did you loose him?”
“He was a Yorkshire Terrier. One
of those times when I hit rock bottom Marlon, I was in a tumultuous
relationship, so at that time I reached out to the sheriff department,
and they secretly assisted me to get out. They recommended that my
daughter and I go to a place they call ‘underground shelter’ for women
who wanted to escape from their situation.”
“Wow, you lived in a shelter
Audrey?”
(I nod my head in confirmation.)
“Marlon, after being at this
shelter for about two weeks, we had to leave because the drive was too
far for me to take my daughter back and forth to school. So one of the
employees who had befriended us while we were there, offered to take him
home and take care of him, until I got our lives back together.
When we drove away and left him
with the person that night, I think I called about three times just to
check if he was ok. Parting with him is still one of the hardest things
I’ve ever done in my life.”
“It’s ok Audrey, you look so very
sad. Do you want to stop talking about it?”
“Oh no it’s ok Marlon, I just miss
him so much, even today. Anyway, two weeks after we left him, we went
back to get him, somehow, when I saw all the other pets that were in the
house, a feeling of guilt came over me, and I told myself that it would
be selfish of me to take him away from all that company, and take him
home to be with just me and my daughter.
So I took my daughter aside and
conferred with her about my feelings, and even though he was hers, the
fact that I was so much more attached to him, she told me
that it was up to me, and that I could do whatever I felt comfortable
doing.
We stayed at this house for quite
some time, and I foolishly carried though my decision, despite certain
things that I saw, that should have prevented me from leaving him.”
“Things you saw, like what?” He
asks.
“They had two big dogs, and one of
them had an open sore on his back, as a pet owner, you know that any pet
in that condition, is likely not getting proper care. I also noticed
that she gave Sampson a piece of cheese that should have been much
smaller in size, in proportion to what I would normally have
given him. And I still made the unforgettable mistake of leaving him.”
“Seven months later, I decided to
go back and get him, and when I call no one would answer the home phone,
and she wasn’t answering her cell phone either. One last time I called
her cell phone, and the recording said that it had been disconnected.
After that, whenever I called the
house phone, if her son happened to answer it, the moment he realized it
was me he would just hang up the phone. Marlon, I was heartbroken, to
say the least. I started calling her job, and begging the people in
charge to let her give me back my grand-baby, but to no avail.”
“So Audrey, during all this time,
were you communicating with these people?”
“Oh yeah, please, I sometimes
could not sleep because I missed him so much. We all talked constantly
on the phone. There was a red flag that I was blind to, and that is, as
time went by, this person had only one story about him to tell us all
the times, he is always chasing the ferret and the ferret chasing him,
nothing more.
And with pets, especially one as
smart as Sampson, in one day, you will have three or four different
scenarios that he was involved with, that you could share with someone.
Yorkies are very intelligent, curious and energetic dogs, so they always
seem to be doing something. All those times that person was repeating
the one story to us, he most likely was not even there, and must
have been sold within a month of him being there.”
“Why do you think the person sold
him, you don’t think he probably got sick or something like that?’
“No, in retrospect, it was all a
scam, based on my encounter with the rest of the staff, including
higher-ups, when I reached out to them for help, I think it’s something
they all do. I think they prey on vulnerable people with expensive pets,
con you out of your pet, then they turn around and make a quick three or
four hundred dollars selling them.”
“Really, in what’s supposed to be
a protective shelter?”
“Yep. Marlon before I even got
there, when I first spoke with the person on the phone, at which time I
had to disclose the number of adults, children, whether or not pets were
involved, and all that, after that phone call ended, another employee at
the site called my phone, to say that she heard that I had a Yorkie, and
wanted to know if he was neutered?’
“You’re kidding me.” He says.
“I kid you not.”
“So Yorkies are expensive dogs I
would imagine.” He says.
“Yes they are, I paid one thousand
dollars for Sampson, and an additional five hundred for the breeder’s
air fair and his air fair, for her to fly and bring him to us.”
“In that case I think you’re right
Audrey, sounds to me as though that’s an easy way for them to get their
hands on an expensive commodity, that they can turn around and sell for
a couple hundred dollars. If it doesn’t cost you a dime to get
something, and you can turn around and sell it, you have a 100 % profit
margin, and that’s good business, undercover robbery, but a profitable
business nonetheless.
And Audrey, can you even imagine
how many people have probably lost their expensive pets at the hands of
those people?”
“I can most certainly imagine, I
was one who lost. I will never ever forget Sampson, I had a bond
with him, that I did not know existed between humans and pets.” I could
not hold back my tears.
“It’s ok Audrey.” He says, as
he now comes over and comforts me. “How did your daughter take
loosing Sampson”
“Oh she’s a trooper, she just
think about getting another one, me on the other hand, will never do it
again. I love Sampson too hard, and I don’t think that’s good for me.”
“Well Audrey, based on our
conversations, I think you’ll be just fine.” He says with a smile, he
then goes back on his recliner.
“So what made you leave Jamaica
Audrey, and do you miss it?”
“I left Jamaica because I had big
dreams. It was 1995, and I was half way through the creation a bible
game. I started checking around in my hometown about the cost to have it
patented, and after getting the first quote, I thought to myself, ‘it’s
got to be cheaper to do this in the States.’
So in February of 1996, three
months after I arrived in the states, after spending my nights working
on the game and baby-sitting during the day, I finally completed the
game. I saw an ad that claimed to help people with new inventions on t
v, and I went in to check it out.
Well Marlon, long story short, I
came to the realization that obtaining a patent is expensive, whether
you’re in Jamaica or the states.”
“Ouch, I’m very curious Audrey, a
bible game, what’s the concept of this game?”
“Seeing that I have yet to obtain
any type of protection on this inspiration I got from God, I can’t share
that as yet, I’m sorry.” I tell him with puppy eyes.
“Oh yeah you’re right, it’s ok, I
understand. So do you think that it’s a part of God’s plan for your
life, or do you think that the fact that it has not happened after all
this time, it’s just not what He wants?”
“It’s really great to get that
question from you, is it God’s plan for my life? Uum, Marlon, God is all
perfect and all knowing, so I doubt that He would have blessed me with
the inspiration if He had no purpose for it.”
“So you still believe that some
day you will be able to share that game with me and the rest of the
world?” He asks with a smile.
“Oh yeah, what seems like an
eternity to us, is but a moment in our Father’s eyes.”
“For a
thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as
a watch in the night.”
(Psalm Ch
90 V 4)
“This much I can tell you about
the game Marlon, it is very entertaining, it’s very competitive, it’s
very educational, it’s very good for young adults, and it’s a game that
both parents and children will enjoy immensely.”
“Cool, I sure wish you good luck
with it Audrey, and I hope you get it out so I may be able to actually
see it. And hopefully between now and you getting it out, I would have
learnt enough about our Father, so I will be able to partake in
that game.” He says this with one of the biggest smiles one could
imagine.
With a smile equally as big, and
excitement in my voice, I tell him, “Our Father, yes Marlon you
said it right this time.
(We laugh together.)
Marlon, let me share this poetic
piece from the bible with you, so you can make a note of it. I like it
very much because it’s telling us a whole lot.”
“Okay Audrey, let me get my pen
and that piece of paper here, alright go ahead now.”
“Okay, I’m going to read it first,
then you can make a note of where you’ll be able to find it in your
bible.”
“The
Ant are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.
The Conies are but a feeble folk, yet they make their houses in the
rocks. The Locusts have no kings, yet the all go forth by bands.
The
Spider takes hold with her hands, and are in kings’ palaces.” (Proverb
Ch 30 Vs 25 thru 28)
“Wow! Audrey, I take that to mean
that we humans compared to those little creatures, should have no excuse
whatsoever. So if a person complain that they can’t do something, I’ll
know what to read to them.”
With a huge grin I tell him,
“Wonderful! Marlon will be reading from the bible to someone who should
dare to make an excuse, awesome, I love it, you go boy!”
With a big grin he tells me, “Oh
Audrey, when I grow up I want to be just like you.”
“Audrey, do you remember earlier
in our conversation you mentioned that somewhere in the bible, Jesus
told the disciples about what would happen in the end times?”
“Yeah, that piece was from the
book of Matthew, when Christ went onto the Mount of Olives, what about
it?”
“Okay, share with me some more
about things concerning the end of times, I’m very curious to hear more
about that aspect of the bible.”
“Sure. There are things that will
happen in this life before the return of our Heavenly Father, let’s go
over a few.
“They
shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall
be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah
Ch 11 V 9)
“Even the
youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall
mount up with wings as Eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they
shall walk and never faint.” (Isaiah Ch
40 Vs 30 & 31)
“A man’s
enemy shall be they of his own household.” (Matthew
Ch 10 V 36)
Now Marlon, we need to prepare
ourselves for our Heavenly Father’s return, and be mindful of
ourselves.”
“When the
Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him,
then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory. And before Him shall be
gathered all nations, and He shall separate them one from another, as a
shepherd divide his sheep from the goats. And He
shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then
shall the King say onto them on His right hand,
‘Come ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me meat, I was
thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in,
naked and you clothed me, I was
sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came unto me.’ Then
shall the righteous answer Him saying, ‘When
did we see you hungry and fed you, or thirsty and gave you drink, or
when did we see you a stranger and took you in, or naked and clothed
you, or when did we see you sick or in prison and came unto you?’ And the
King shall answer and say unto them, ‘Verily
I say unto you, inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of
these my brethren, you have done it unto me.’ Then
shall He say also unto them on the left hand,
‘Depart from me, ye cursed into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no meat, I was
a stranger and you didn’t take me in, naked, and you did not clothe me,
sick, and in prison and you didn’t visit me.’ Then they
shall answer Him, saying, ‘Lord,
when did we see you hungry or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick,
or in prison, and did not minister unto you?’ Then
shall He answer them, saying, ‘Verily
I say unto you, inasmuch as you did it not, to one of the least of
these, you did it not to me.’ And these
shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life
eternal. (Matthew
Ch 25 Vs 31 thru 41)
“I here that, so Audrey I guess a
big portion of our existence is dependent on us helping one another in
some way or other?” He asks me.
“Definitely Marlon, because He
sees and knows everything that we do.”
“And
Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, ‘All power is given unto me in
Heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.
And, look, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
(Matthew Ch 28 Vs 18 - 20)
“And
I heard a great voice out of Heaven saying. Behold, the tabernacle of
God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His
people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. And God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more
death, nor sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be anymore pain, for
the former things are passed away.” (Revelation
Ch 21 Vs 3 & 4)
(At this point, we end our
conversation.)
“Audrey, it was a superb pleasure
meeting you, and I hope to see you again, someday.)
“It was a blessing meeting you
Marlon, may God be with you always, and we will meet again.”
“By thee have I been held up from the womb.
Thou art He who took me out of my mother’s bowels.
My praise shall be continually of thee.” (Psalm Ch 71 V 6)