Our country celebrated its independence in 1776. �That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;� They knew how important it was to put God first. They put God in everything we do from swearing on the bible when you�re supposed to tell the truth to putting God on our money and every were else. We are a country made to serve God, making sure God was taught in our schools.
We�ve fought for God in several wars since our country was founded making our country the greatest country in the world. We have taken God away from our land at a slow pace. God will take our country from us if we don�t go bake to respecting God in everything we do, just like he took Israel�s land away from them. Since Adam took the first bite of that apple or whatever fruit that was. The devil has been hot after us since. We are made in God�s image every soul has the ability for greatness and our founding fathers knew that and put God in everything. They knew that our nation was capable of great wickedness so they drafted The Constitution.
When we had the Great War it brought us back to serving God. Many brave men and women went to fight wickedness. When WW I and WW II came along it united our nation and brought us back to God. We knew then that Gods people (the Jews) were threatened and were being persecuted in the worst way. We have fought for our nation and now for other nations that are being treated badly by cruel tyrants. Since my generation has been here on earth we have let the devil take over more and more at a slow pace. The time we have been here on earth we have grown very wicked and soon our Christ Jesus will come down and with a great shout call us all home. What hour we don�t know but it will happen.
God�s people have had several great leaders. Like King David for example who was sent to rule over His people from the age of a teenager. God would like peace but were such a sinful people we have had to fight wars all throughout history. Before he created us he had to form the world into a livable place for man. The only reason time means anything to us is because we are here for a short time. To God time means nothing God is eternal.
God knows we would wonder how we got here He has always made Himself known. There were scrolls and tablets around that told us why we are here. The Kings of England were all taught from the different scrolls and at that time it was only the kings that were taught. When King James come along it struck him that everyone needs to know God's word, so he put together some of the holiest men in that time to pray over and put together the Holy Bible out of Arabic, Hebrew and Greek, into one language that everyone could understand.
Thus came the King James Bible, and we started to serve God again. Throughout history we have left following after God and started to follow our own lusts and God will have to bring us back to Him. We can achieve greatness in the lord but we have to bring our country back to God and recognize the importance of everyone knowing what God has to say to us. Generation after generation goes by and we tend to forget about God.
My dad�s mom had cancer so she told him at a young age he was going to have to be a man because she was not going to be around very long. My Dad from that point on became a man and took care of all his family and as he grew older he felt a need to help others in the same situation. He has been working hard all his life caring for others and his family and I have never been in need of anything. I am very grateful to my dad he is someone to be proud of. When I was young I had asthma real bad it almost killed me several times but dad told me to keep the faith.
At that time I didn't understand what keeping the faith was, but I knew what it generally meant and I tried hard and I lived. Later on I was growing out of it. My parents sent me to church with a nice lady named �Closene�, who knew that we needed to be there. I didn't know very much about church in fact at a later date after I had went to her church I started going to a different church and right across from the church was a restaurant that served some of the best hamburgers and after Sunday School I went across to the restaurant and bought a hamburger with my offering money,
I learned of God at that age I believe I was in 4th grade, 1974. I then moved to highland high school around 77 or 78. I don't remember going to church that much after that, but I Knew of God. I didn't have salvation at that time. I was becoming a very healthy young man and I walked every were. I had grown out of the worst part of my asthma and was doing everything a young man could do.
I walked every were I went and it became easy for me to walk for miles. I enjoyed finally being healthy. That summer of 1979 was the greatest summer I had as a kid. Every day me and my dog would walk down to the river in Cherokee Village AR and throw a truck inner tube in and float down about an hour to a swimming whole right downtown Cherokee village and I swam for a while and got out and walked home.
When I was that age I started drinking and doing drugs, I started selling drugs at school not very long after that. When I drank I drank until I passed out. It got to where I would do any kind of drug except shooting up. I told myself that I wouldn�t do that because I would be hooked, all the while I was hooked I just didn't realize it. I got to where I would take anything if someone said it was a great high. In the meantime I was kicked out of school for selling drugs.
My parents sent me to a Christian school; it didn�t last long before I quit that. My dad was working in the oil field then so he moved us to elk city OK. I went into tenth grade there and before long I picked up my old habits. I started selling drugs again and started doing drugs again. After a while I started stealing things. By the way never give up on your kids they will come around. I felt like the cops were closing in they had already arrested me for breaking in a school. I felt like it wouldn�t be long and I would be in jail.
In the mean time my dad had made a lot of money in the oil field and lost a bundle up into the hundreds of thousands. I never had need of money. The drugs were taking over my life and I didn't care. When you�re taking drugs you have an �I don�t care� attitude. I didn�t care at that time whether I lived or died. I wasn�t depressed I just didn�t care. Before I left I got to know every bad element around Elk City OK. I was selling to the bikers, school kids, and everywhere in between. I have seen allot of bad stuff and it got to where I couldn�t talk without using the f word in every sentence.
I felt like my Dad got me away from there just before the police were going to pick me up. I moved back to the area where I grew up, at least were I spent the most years as a kid. We moved to Memphis not long after that and I was old enough then to wise up and go to work. I hadn�t left my past alone totally but I was a ways away from it. I got a job and started working hard for my money. I wanted to be just like my dad and work every minute I could, we was there around three years.
I would drive back to hardy every weekend and bring drugs and a whole chest full of alcohol to party with. Then later on my friends started noticing I was having seizers and my cousin told my mom and dad about it. My dad wondered if they had laced my pot with something. My Dad took me to the hospital to find out what was going on. After a cat scan that nearly killed me because I was allergic to the iodine dye in it I was admitted into the hospital. My neurosurgeon at the time gave me the bad news, he told me I was going to die in 6 months and faster if I keep doing drugs and alcohol.
At first I was devastated then I thought oh well. I�m sure my parents were more devastated than I was. The doctor told me I had an AVM �arteriovenous malformation �a bunch of abnormal veins in my head. He said it was a birth defect I just figured it was the drugs but it wasn�t so there I am going to die in 6 months and the first thing that came to mind was to bring a load of drugs and alcohol to my friends and let them party. The best thing that ever happened to me was when I got there. We were going to party at a house I hadn't been to before but I didn�t mind. When we got there I told everyone I was going to die in 6 months so party down.
That night after we had been partying for a while I noticed there was someone sitting in the kitchen by themselves I don�t think he was partying with us but it was his house though. He asked me to come in there where he was. He wanted to talk to me. He asked if I believed in God I told him yes then he asked if I believed in Jesus Christ I said I did. He then asked me if I wanted Jesus Christ to save me, I said yes. He said I can call the preacher and a couple of deacons out and they could pray with me. It was about one or two in the morning and I told him I don�t want to bother them that late. He told me it was no problem at all.
I was so excited to be saved I didn't think about the party that was going on around me. So he called them and they came out. They moved the party outside and they came in and prayed with me and I accepted Christ in my life. They asked me if I wanted to come to church that Sunday and tell everyone I had accepted Christ in my life. I said yes of course I was so excited. I didn�t feel that doom I had felt when they told me I had 6 months I knew I would live forever, I was so happy.
My ultimate goal in life Because Christ has been so good to me is to serve Christ. I want to win every soul I can to Christ. I think if we will do that we will be building the kingdom constantly. God created man and He loves you and wants the best for you.
Have faith in what your praying and you will be saved. Come and tell a Christian church that you have asked for salvation and they will help you grow in Christ. Come to Sunday school you will find it to be a great reward. Here is a sample prayer, If you�re not saved ask God for salvation in Jesus Christ�s Name.
�God I know that I have sinned against you and am deserving of punishment. But Jesus Christ took the punishment that I deserve, so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven."
"Jesus Christ, with your help I place my trust in you for salvation, and I ask that you will forgive me of my sins. I thank you for your wonderful grace and forgiveness.�
Beautiful story Hawkins, and may the blessings of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ continue to be yours adn with you according to the FAITH AND POWER THAT WORKS WITHIN YOU!:applause::glow::angel::yay::hearts:
