Finding Him

Over the years I’ve found God in the strangest places Places most people never thought of looking for Him I’ve found Him among people that most have forgotten People hurt by those who are happy to ignore them I found God on a sidewalk listening to a homeless man’s hurt Ministering to a man because other preachers didn’t want to His situation wasn’t much different from the rest of us All he wanted was somebody to listen to what he’d been through I found God in the voice of an addict as he testified Much of his testimony written in the lines on his face He told of how many had given up and written him off as dead But then a brother in Christ had shared some of our Lord’s grace I found God in a Hollywood actor’s heart Even after living a life of sin and debauchery He remembered where his life and blessings came from He listed God as his hero in his biography I found God in a rock singer’s words and music His lifestyle lead him to the grips of death and back again God’s grace lit a spark in his heart he had to share But many ‘Christians’ still only remember his sins I found God in the heart of a girl who had a past A young woman shamed by her tarnished history But she found grace while at her lowest of lows Now she shares Jesus and raises a family I found God in a fellow preacher’s heart But you say isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be But you haven’t seen the things that I have seen Preachers fueled not by love but by greed I found God up in the starry sky at night All of His creation on display for us all to see He created the wonders of the universe But He still took time to a man like me I found God while down on my knees in prayer Begging Him to please help me let go of all this hate I felt His hands on my shoulders and heard His voice As He saved my soul and assured me of my new fate I found God just in time to change my life The day I realized He had always been all around He saved my life and set my new course He gave me a new life to live a life unbound

The Remnant

A little over a week ago, I wrote a blog entitled 'Sick Day'. In it I spoke of my discouragement with the United Methodist Church and had basically decided to leave. In the time since then, much has happened. My friends returned from General Conference with news that all of the agendas being pushed by the ultra-liberal groups within the denomination had been shot down. Our church's laws in our Book of Discipline would not be changed to something contrary to the bible. It was due mainly to our brethren from Africa standing firm on biblical teachings that this happened. Though not everything went as we had hoped, enough happened to give many of us renewed hope in the UMC and a renewed vigor to continue to fight for our beliefs. I have decided to continue to fight the good fight. Even though some within our denomination view us as crazy and some even accuse us of being hatemongers, we will continue to stand our ground and stand for the Holy Bible being God's inspired Word.We simply believe that the bible is the truth. It means that what God calls sin in His Word is still sin to this day. It doesn't mean we hate anyone. We simply will not back down from our beliefs. Aside from this, the outpouring of love from my church family melted my heart. They understood my reasons for feeling the way I do, but truly did not want me to leave. Some of what they said broke my heart. I had to remind them that is was nothing of their doing that made me feel like leaving, but my discontent at the governing body of the denomination itself. That feeling continues, but I know that more good can be done from the inside, than looking in from the outside. So, my friends, I will not be leaving my home church. I will continue to stand for my beliefs. I will continue to be a part of the remnant. God bless you my friends, Pete.

Walking On The Edge

Why would a minister call his blog 'The Edge of Darkness'? Well, as a minister it is my calling to reach out to the lost, those souls who don't know God. Many people of the world have never had God witnessed to them or have never been witnessed to in a manner that connected with them. In many cases, they've been approached so aggressively that it actually drove them away from God instead of bringing them closer. They weren't shown 'the light', which is God through His Son Jesus the Christ and therefore have never recieved the Holy Spirit so that they may experience the spiritual rebirth needed in order to start walking in God's ways. So, in order to reach out to the lost and open their eyes to the deceptions of the world, you must walk along 'The Edge of Darkness'. God bless you my friends. Pete 5/5/12

Streams

For some reason I have streams on my mind tonight Like the ones I remember playing in as a kid Wandering down seemingly endless pathways Like paths we could have taken, but never did Streams that can flow so strongly at times But dry and fade away in times of drought Just as our life has it's own unique flow That dries and fades in times of doubt The streams can carry reviving waters to the fields Turning what was dead and brown back to vibrant colors Our lives can carry such love and joy through us When it shines, we're a light to countless others The streams carry precious water out to great rivers They become part of a larger body a greater whole We too are part of something greater than ourselves When we take part in life and join with other souls The stream that once struggled on it's lonely winding path Fighting such a treacherous world to make it a little farther Now it is part of a great river moving across the land Until it rests by fields of green in the still waters Just as the stream had to fight against the world by itself We too face many tribulations when we choose to walk alone But we can join our souls to something greater when we believe We can claim an inner peace, a peace we've never known We can allow our life's stream to continue to flow alone Or we can choose to join our souls to something so much greater We can allow our lifespring to fadeaway in the passage of time Or we can choose to spend eternity with our creator