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Christian…

Listen to  & download the story of how Mark Brown had his life turned around following an encounter with Jesus Christ. Mark went from being involved in criminal activity to being an active and passionate follower of Jesus Christ.

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Psalm 52

(as read by Jenny)

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For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, “David has come to Abimelech’s house.”

52:1 Why do you boast of mischief, mighty man? God’s loving kindness endures continually.

52:2 Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

52:3 You love evil more than good, lying rather than speaking the truth.

Selah.

52:4 You love all devouring words, you deceitful tongue.

52:5 God will likewise destroy you forever. He will take you up, and pluck you out of your tent, and root you out of the land of the living.

Selah.

52:6 The righteous also will see it, and fear, and laugh at him, saying,

52:7 “Behold, this is the man who didn’t make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.”

52:8 But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in God’s house. I trust in God’s loving kindness forever and ever.

52:9 I will give you thanks forever, because you have done it. I will hope in your name, for it is good, in the presence of your saints.

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Psalm 51

(as read by Anne A)

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For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

51:1 Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin.

51:3 For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me.

51:4 Against you, and you only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight; that you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.

51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me.

51:6 Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

51:7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

51:8 Let me hear joy and gladness, That the bones which you have broken may rejoice.

51:9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all of my iniquities.

51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.

51:11 Don’t throw me from your presence, and don’t take your holy Spirit from me.

51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit.

51:13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways. Sinners shall be converted to you.

51:14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation. My tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

51:15 Lord, open my lips. My mouth shall declare your praise.

51:16 For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering.

51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

51:18 Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem.

51:19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar.

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Baptism Testimony.

(Sunday 21^st. June, 2009 at 6:30 pm)

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Hello my name is Richard. I have been asked to record the words of my testimony as I read them out at my Baptism in June 2009. Before I read my testimony at my Baptism, I said a short prayer. I shall start by saying the same prayer now.

Heavenly Father, Almighty God, please hear my prayer. Please give me now the strength, ability, and most of all, the humility, through your Holy Spirit, to say what I want to read out to this congregation, as you would want me to read and say it Lord. Please allow me to keep control of myself, and my emotions, whilst doing so. I stand humbly before you Lord God, and before your beloved Son, Christ Jesus.

Amen.

Before I speak out my Testimony to you, I wish to thank “all of you” for coming here this evening.

I especially wish to thank the fellowship of Poulner Baptist Chapel ( The Church On The Hill ) for all their prayers, kindness and care shown to me over the past months, of what has been, for me, a difficult time.

I praise the Lord for Dave Roberts, for his help and support, and his World Wide connections through ParTake Ministries and his wonderful Web-Site. Because of Dave and his Web-Site, I have received, e-mail prayers from Christians all over the world, which have given me great heart and comfort. So much so, that they have made me cry with joy. I think whenever I re-read them they will always do so.

It is due and down to Dave Roberts, that I am standing here today being Baptised.

I wish to give a special thanks to Jeremy Andrews ” Pastor ” Jeremy from my previous chapel who, through kindness and no small sacrifice to himself, and to his own Church and Fellowship, has come here this evening to Baptise me with Adam. Thank you my Christian friend Jeremy.

As I have said, my name is Richard. I am 62 years of age. For 59 years of my life, I lived with faith ” only in myself “.I was at best a Sceptic, at worst an Atheist. I would go right out of my way to test and very strongly argue against anyone I met, who professed to have a faith, in any sort of God. I needed nothing, but my own free will. All my faith was “only” in myself. In 2002 / 2003 my world fell apart. I was left alone to myself. All my lifelong responsibilities disappeared. I became for 2 years a solitary hermit, living in my house, completely alone. It was during this time, alone, that I started to question, :- What my life was about. What was I here for.  What was the reason for my being, if there even was one. I wanted, and so needed contact with other people. I needed to talk, to be listened to, and to listen to others. We are not meant to be solitary beings we are social creatures. We so need fellowship with others, like we need food.

After over 2 years of self imposed solitary confinement, I was becoming worried about losing my ability to communicate with others. It was back just before Christmas 2005, I received through my door the usual annual programme of all the Churches in my area, listing all their events, over the Christmas period. I decided to systematically visit all of them. Not to seek faith, Oh No‘, I’m a Sceptic, an Atheist. I just want to have communication with others.

I visited most of the local Churches over the coming months, and always found people to speak and listen to, but none of the Churches somehow felt right for me, until I visited ” Verwood Road Evangelical Chapel “, just up the road from where I live, in Three Legged Cross.

Here I felt good, ” well better “. I liked the way they did things. It was not a liberal church. It was more leaning towards, a Brethren sort of fellowship, but not too hard line. There was no pomp or high ceremony, no fancy clothes or precious things to see or worship. These were ordinary people, just like me.

Over the next 10 months I visited V.R.C. ” on and off ” at first, maybe once or twice a month and found that I liked it more and more, so I went more and more. By October 2006, I found that I was wanting to go not only every Sunday but twice on Sundays.

It was at this time that I seriously decided to the best of my ability, to very fully investigate just what this Christianity was really all about. How could so many intelligent, thinking people, believe in it? For the next 6 months, I lived in the single minded state of total study of the Christian faith. I devoted all of my time to the study of the Bible and many, many books, both for and against the Christian faith.

I prayed and prayed so very hard to God to give me a definite sign - a proof that God was out there and not something made-up in my own mind. I was in heartfelt tears, many, many times, asking for some proof, a miracle even, a certain sign, anything, but no sign or proof came. I was God’s for the taking, but both He, and my heart, wasn’t ready.

In late March 2007, something happened to turn me completely off Christianity. I went from very serious ” single minded seeking ” with all my heart and soul, TO - ” This Christianity is certainly not for me “.

It is not ” at all ” important what ” event ” occurred to cause this absolute turn around. It is only important to understand that it was very strongly driven by ” My Own Self Pride “. God knew that it had to be, for Him to use it, to turn this 60 year old Atheist into a Christian. It was during my very powerful, and emotional efforts, to try and take a wrong, and turn it into a right, No matter what the cost, that my eyes were turned back into myself. To see, or to start to see, that all I hated and despised in others, was also, very present in myself. I was no better, than all those that I felt the very strong need to ” bring to rights ” in my life. It was at this moment in time, of now seeing, just what ” I Am “, that my life changed forever.

I was born on Easter Friday, Good Friday, the 4^th. April.

In 2007, Three days after my 60^th. Birthday, at exactly 12:32 p.m. lunch-time on Easter Saturday, the 7^th. April, I at last discovered, that I was nothing, undeserving of my life, A Sinner that so needed the forgiveness of God. This opened my heart to God, and at that very moment, He Came In. It was at this time, that I understood, for the very first time, the Amazing events of Easter, and that Jesus died for me, that I may have life, and live life, to the full.

The next day, Easter Sunday, 2007, I took my first communion with my God.

I would now like to say, that I am not a writer, I agree with ” Winnie The Pooh Bear “, when he said.:- “Yes’ I know all my letters, but my spelling is wobbly. It’s good spelling, but it wobbles, and my letters get into the wrong places!”

I’m not a poet either. I’m a practical man, an engineer. In the early hours of Easter Monday morning, 2007, at 1:30 a.m. whilst I was sat in my back porch thinking ” in a daze ” about what had happened to me on Easter Saturday, I picked up a pen and without thinking, wrote out the following poem. It is un-referenced, original and un-edited. It is just as it came down to me, 37 hours after finding my faith. This poem is called :-

The Fellowship - ( Revealed )

I don’t know where I’m going,

I don’t know where I’ve been,

I don’t know what’s in store for me,

But God has hold, to let me see.

For he will surely show my way,

My guide, to lead, to change each day.

To give me life, I’ve never seen,

To serve, to try, to make life clean,

To hold me close, to let me go,

To understand, To love me so.

My God is One, with saviour Christ,

He gave for me, The Total Price.

My heart is found, the Ghost within,

Salvation sealed, Forgiven Sin.

My past remains, but all washed clean,

My future comes, like it’s never been.

I cannot say the words I feel,

Of things that are, to me so real.

My sad, sad past, is gone, my futures clean,

For with my eyes, new life I’ve seen.

This gift of love, that has been given,

Shall remain with me, right through to Heaven.

The Fellowship - ( Revealed )

Easter Monday, 9^th. April, 2007. @ 1:30 a.m.

Written & Composed by Richard, - With God’s Help…..

I believe that this poem was written with God’s help. There is nothing good that can come out of me, from my own self, Self. Any good that may come from me, comes through me, from God. So please just Praise the Lord. ( Thank you.)

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Psalm 49

(as read by Anne A)

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For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah.

49:1 Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,

49:2 both low and high, rich and poor together.

49:3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom. My heart shall utter understanding.

49:4 I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will open my riddle on the harp.

49:5 Why should I fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels surrounds me?

49:6 Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches—

49:7 none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him.

49:8 For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough,

49:9 That he should live on forever, that he should not see corruption.

49:10 For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless perish, and leave their wealth to others.

49:11 Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves.

49:12 But man, despite his riches, doesn’t endure. He is like the animals that perish.

49:13 This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings.

Selah.

49:14 They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their beauty shall decay in Sheol, far from their mansion.

49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.

Selah.

49:16 Don’t be afraid when a man is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased.

49:17 For when he dies he shall carry nothing away. His glory shall not descend after him.

49:18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul— and men praise you when you do well for yourself—

49:19 he shall go to the generation of his fathers. They shall never see the light.

49:20 A man who has riches without understanding, is like the animals that perish.

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