“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Come home, come home, come home,
Ye who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling us,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
(Softly and Tenderly lyrics)
Yvonne Rivadeneyra never planned on becoming a prostitute but a cycle of abuse forced her down a path of self destruction. (source. CBN.com)
Heavy metal rocker Kirk Martin made a pact with the devil, in which he asked for women, drugs, fame and the ability to crush whomever got in his way. Kirk loved the fact that he had gain absolute power over the people that admired and worship him.
Soon after he had made his pact with the devil, he was offer a record deal. But then the day before he was about to sign, he met a mysterious stranger. This stranger would mention and point out Kirk’s deepest secret, that nobody else knew about him. This encounter with this stranger would start his journey, which lead to him seeking out the one true God.
Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Luke 13:23-24
Read and watch the testimony of James.
My conversion from a practising Catholic to a Bible Believing Christian is primarily down to the change that I witnessed in my father’s life. One day I heard him listening to an old time American preacher. I remember saying to him: “Why are you listening to this? You’re a Catholic and we’re good people.” He responded by saying to me: “It isn’t enough for me now. I need something else. And I am not a good person.” Now, I must say that for a person who went to church every day, was on most church committees and had even penned a book about our church (which sold very well), this amazed me. This was to be a major turning point for my father and little did I know, for me too.
During this period, I was a singer with my own big band orchestra. We were at the level of semi-professional (I even worked with a trombonist who played with Frank Sinatra) and I absolutely worshipped this musical world that I was a part ofAll my energy and spare time after work went into making music my future. I would record 3 CDs and spend a small fortune producing these to float around to prospective agents. However, with the drastic change in my father’s life, I couldn’t ignore it and we would spend hours talking about the Bible, morals and the Catholic church. It took me 3 years to fully realise that I too needed to be Born Again.
I can remember very well, my father giving me a copy of an old 1880 King James Bible, which I still have. I read this and found its content totally amazing. All the years of being in the Catholic Church, with its many rituals and its repetitiveness, and yet the Bible was so fresh. Later I would seek out other translations and versions, but the King James has and will remain my Bible.
As band leader it was my responsibility to not only hire and fire musicians but also to find adequate venues to rehearse the orchestra, sometimes twice weekly. On numerous occasions I was able to secure two different church halls. I distinctly remember one being a Methodist church and one of the elders of that church, for a period of perhaps 18 months or so, never once witnessed to me or my musicians.
All I recall him stressing was that “no smoking or alcohol was permitted on the premises.” Also intriguing was how our keyboard player was their Sunday organist and he too never shared the Gospel with me or the 17 other guys. One can be “religious” yet not saved. Needless to say, when I got saved, Gospel tracts were sent to both parties and other “religious” people I had long known, prior to my new birth.
In 1950’s America, the equality of man envisioned by the Declaration of Independence was far from a reality. People of color — blacks, Hispanics, Asians — were discriminated against in many ways, both overt and covert. The 1950’s were a turbulent time in America, when racial barriers began to come down due to Supreme Court decisions, like Brown v. Board of Education; and due to an increase in the activism of blacks, fighting for equal rights.
Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist minister, was a driving force in the push for racial equality in the 1950’s and the 1960’s. In 1963, King and his staff focused on Birmingham, Alabama. They marched and protested non-violently, raising the ire of local officials who sicced water cannon and police dogs on the marchers, whose ranks included teenagers and children. The bad publicity and break-down of business forced the white leaders of Birmingham to concede to some anti-segregation demands.
Thrust into the national spotlight in Birmingham, where he was arrested and jailed, King helped organize a massive march on Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963. His partners in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom included other religious leaders, labor leaders, and black organizers. The assembled masses marched down the Washington Mall from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, heard songs from Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, and heard speeches by actor Charlton Heston, NAACP president Roy Wilkins, and future U.S. Representative from Georgia John Lewis.
King’s appearance was the last of the event; the closing speech was carried live on major television networks. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, King evoked the name of Lincoln in his “I Have a Dream” speech, which is credited with mobilizing supporters of desegregation and prompted the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The next year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
“We are sad to lose the presence of our pastor, shepherd, father and brother. We are thankful, however, for his life, love and influence on the individuals and ministries he inspired for the last 30 years.” (statement of church leaders of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma)
I have not met Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty in person but he was such an inspiration and “a man of influence” to me as I continue my journey with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He and his wife Sharon host a TV program “Victory in Jesus” aired at Daystar Television. I used to tune in to their program almost everyday as I was enjoying my cup of coffee and preparing myself to go to work. He preached the Word of God with zeal. He was very passionate, honest, and practical. His preachings focused mostly in the areas faith, health and prosperity. It was an awesome experience to witness their ministry. He has touched the lives of a lot of people in Tulsa and in various countries around the world. Thank you Pastor Billy Joe! Certainly, heaven is gloriously rejoicing for your arrival!
Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty was 57. He was pastor of 17,000-large Victory Christian Center and also founded Victory Christian School, Victory Bible Institute, and Victory World Missions Training Center, and the Tulsa Dream Center.
