Monday, July 7, 2014

I KNOW WHY GOD CALLS US HIS CHILDREN, PART 2: "BAR MITZVAH"

Praise the Lord everybody!! God alone is worthy of all glory, honor and praise. I pray everyone is enjoying God's blessing. He is truly blessing my wife and I. He is healing our bodies and strengthening our faith. I'm beginning to lose the weight I gained during the months I was bed ridden, I'm exercising and last week I went out for the first time in six months. I saw my doctor and had blood test and physical. I am waiting on test results please keep me in prayer.

In my last post (I know why God calls us His children) I told the testimony of how I first heard of God and from God. How I turned away from Him and went my own way thinking I knew what was best for me. As I said in my last post I was running again toward the edge of my "roof" chasing what I thought was important to me but this time instead of "commanding" me to "stop" God allowed me to fall off the edge and face the consequences of my disobedience. It was time for me to come of age.

The Jewish people have a ceremony called a Bar Mitzvah when a male child reaches the age of religious accountability. Before this the child is not obligated to follow the Commandments even though they are encouraged to do so so that they will be prepared when they have reached the appropriate age. before that they can not be involved in leading or being a part of a religious ceremony.

I started doing drugs because of my disobedience, I refused to come when God called me. I felt this hole in my soul and instead of filling it with God I chose to seek love in all the wrong places, bars, even though I did not smoke or drink and sought after woman and sex. To the world and my family it looked like I had it all, education, great career and money. Something was missing though and I could not figure it out. Soon I was drinking and hanging with the wrong crowd.

Over a two year period I went from appearing to have it all to having nothing but a title, R.N., a title that I thought would fix everything. I lost my apartment, my job and the respect of family and friends. I slept on park benches and in the Staten Island ferry terminal. I knew nothing about the streets, I came from a stable lower middle class family with both my parents and three siblings, we ate dinner every night together while my father would entertain us with funny stories about his job. I had a stay at home mom who was strict and made sure we went to school and did our home work, she even tried to get us to establish a relationship with Jesus even though she barely knew Him herself.

Still Here I was, in the street, homeless and still I did not call on God for help, I thought that at any moment I would be able to pull MYSELF together if I just put my mind to it. Like a rebellious child I chose to go down my way rather than admit I needed help from my Father. God allowed me to stew in my own juices as I made a wreck of my life. I had reached the age of accountability and a day of reckoning was coming, I was either going to be my father in Heaven's child or a child of the devil.

No longer could I skip through life oblivious to the the spiritual warfare going on around me I was being drafted by both sides. The word of God says in Proverbs 22:6   6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it
I Thank God for a mother who loved us enough to drag us to Church on Sundays when we were young because one day in the midst my self inflicted trial and tribulation I remembered the Lord and I cried out to Him. That day the Lord heard me and brought to my remembrance all the things He had done for me that in the past I had taken credit for. He broke my heart and my will and I cried for what seemed like a month.

During that time God sent true believers my way who prayed with me and blessed me with Bibles and words of testimony. I opened up God's word for what felt like the first time and suddenly the same book I had found unreadable as a child now I could not put it down. God then opened the door for me to be discipled at Timothy House, a ministry of Times Square Church in New York where I was set apart and cleansed through prayer and His word for full time ministry. It was a blessing I will be forever grateful for. That was twenty years ago and I have been pressing toward the mark ever since. Has my walk been perfect? No, I have made mistakes, bad choices and I have paid dearly for them but God has been faithful in that if we confess our sin and repent He will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness and I will continue to serve Him until He calls me Home.

Abba Father I am not worthy to be called your child but you have overlooked my shortcomings and saw my needs. You have given me eyes to see and provided me with a vision, provided me with ears to hear and an obedient spirit. when I was a child I thought as a child but when I came of age you helped me put away childish things and I thank you. Lord continue to mold me and shape me into the image of your son Jesus and I will be careful to give you all the glory, honor and praise, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.  It's "Bar Mitzvah" time for the body of Christ!!
          God Bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall




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