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| "As a new Christian, there were many things I needed to learn. My understanding of the enemies tactics and weapons was about to increase. As the heavy steel door slammed noisily behind me, I was approached by the welcoming committee. Seems like prisoners always wanted to know one thing, "What are you in here for?" Well...I started telling my story and did not get very far before being interrupted. "HEY!!, come over here, you gotta hear this one!" The committee grew in size and I was asked to started over again. This time I got a little farther into my story before I heard, "Wait a minute!" Are you trying to tell us, you had a job and a good set of false identification. You were living with a woman planning to be married. The police hadn't caught you in ten years. And you surrendered to serve a 25 to 40 years prison sentence and all the other charges they now have! To me it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to do. Yes, I answered, I have become a Christian and now I want to please God with my life. Another prisoner looked me in the face with udder disbelief and said "You ain't got a lick of sense in your head!!! You will never get out of prison alive!"" - an excerpt from the Ken Burton Story. |
| . I was saved through my mother’s unending prayers and a dear pastor’s truthful preaching. Through God’s grace, I became a husband, father of five, home group leader, deacon, preacher, and even started being groomed to be a pastor; however, eight words changed my life. While the pastor and missionary team were away, I was to preach that Sunday. I went to pray at the church and my heart was so moved by God that I closed myself up in the nursery and started praying fervently for the mission team. Then, all of the sudden, the Lord spoke to me and said, “Do not set your heart on this place.” I had no idea what He meant. When the pastor returned from his mission trip, I shared the word with him. He never said good or evil to me, and yet, from that day on, our relationship changed. It went from a father and son love to an employee and his employer agreement. I know that sounds harsh, but I began to hear from my dear brothers that he thought I was following the devil. Eight simple words - nothing rude about the church nor harsh towards him - and I was following the devil. My wife and I decided to move to the town where our church was located, find a job there, and tell as many people as we could about Jesus. This brought about the harshest rebuke I have ever received, even to this day. I was told, “You either work with us, or you work by yourself.” To ease his conscious, he said he would bless us if we chose the latter, but he could no longer work with us. This crushed me to no end. At times I welcomed death, hoping it would take me, but the Lord was merciful and over the years showed me how He takes pleasure in crushing those He loves. - T.K. Nadajja |