You didn’t choose me, I chose you
I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last,
So that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name
John 15:16
After nine years of running from GOD I now understand what John 15:16 means. God’s purpose for my life, however, wasn’t always clear to me. You see God had spoken to me at a time in my life when I thought I was the stuff. You know, I thought I had it going on. No one or nothing mattered to me but me and it was my way or no way at all. Over the years I continued to ignore the voice in my head and the desires in my heart but they just wouldn’t go away. Because of the life style I was living, however, I said to myself that there is no way I’m going to become a preacher. I could give a multitude of reasons why I felt I wasn’t good enough for God. I remember saying to myself that with all of the hell I’ve raised and all of the trouble I’ve caused, God didn’t want me, but he did. So, I tried going to church, being baptized and all the necessary things that I thought was necessary to become a Christian but the main ingredient was missing…“Commitment”. You know that word that most men fear and even some women run from? I didn’t want to give up those things that I thought was good for me. I didn’t want to give up those things that I thought made me happy. Boy was I wrong. As I continued to do my thing, I began to travel down some roads that were not good for me and I got in situations that I could not get out of on my own. No amount of money could do it either. So, I had enough sense to call on the name of Jesus to get me out. And Jesus was forever faithful but I still didn’t want to “Commit” to the Lord.
As time went on a series of things happened to let me know that it was God who brought me through. The glass shattered all around me and a bullet dropped down beside me, leaving me and my family untouched. I thought this incident happened because I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I now Know that I was at the appointed place at the appointed time because God had to show me that it was not who I was in the community, what lodge I belong to, nor how many cars I had, nor was it how much money I had in the bank, but it was he, God almighty, that protected me. It was at that time I realized that God has a purpose for me. The trials and temptations all came upon me to transform me and make me stronger. Now that I’m here on the other side, in the army of the Lord, I’m happy to say, “Lord I yield, I accept my assignment”. I now ask the question, “how do I bring glory to God”? As Jesus told the Father, “ I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do”. Jesus honored God by fulfilling his purpose on earth. We honor God the same way. When anything in creation fulfills its purpose, it brings glory to God. I will glorify God by worshiping him because worship is our first responsibility to God. I worship God by enjoying him. God wants our worship to be motivated by love, thanksgiving, and delight, not duty. God’s inherent glory is what he possesses because he is God. It is his nature. We cannot add anything to this glory, just as it would be impossible for us to make the sun brighter. But we are commanded to recognize his glory, honor his glory, declare his glory, praise his glory, reflect his glory and live for his glory. Why? Because he deserves it and we owe him every honor we can possibly give. Since he made all things, he deserves all the glory. The bible says, “You are worthy, O lord our God to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything”. In the entire universe, only two of God’s creations fail to bring glory to him: fallen angels (demons) and us (people).
Living the rest of my life for the glory of God will require a change in my priorities, my schedule, my relationships, and everything else. It will sometimes mean choosing a difficult path instead of an easy one. Even Jesus struggled with this. Knowing that he was about to be crucified he cried out, “My soul has become troubled, and what shall I say Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Thy name”.
Jesus stood at a fork in the road. Would he fulfill his purpose and bring glory to God, or would he set back and live a comfortable, self-centered life? I face the same choice. Will I live for my own goals, comfort and pleasures, or will I live the rest of my life for God’s glory, knowing that he has promised eternal rewards. I chose to live for God. He’s called me to teach and help others to recognize the power that’s within all of us. Doing the impossible, using his word.
Sincerely,
Terrance Ezekiel Paulin Sr.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN
As I wrote the topic to this article several different things entered my mind and I paused for a moment. Something strange came over me and I wondered how would my life be if I didn’t have something to believe in. You see I face challenges everyday, some I win and some I have to come back to another day or at least I thought. Then I realized that some of my challenges are not for me to deal with alone. Because I have something that I believe in that can fix anything for me. You see my something that I believe in is strong, kind, loving and lives in me. I have a personal relationship with that something. That something that I have gets me through those long dark and lonely knights, that something pays my bills on time, that something is my doctor, that something is my lawyer, that something is my everything and that something is better to me than I am to myself. I’m happy to know and have that something in my life because without that something, I’m nothing.
As I sit here writing this article I’ve flashed back to a childhood game we use to play. That game was “it’ or some of us called it tag. Anyway, once the game started, the object was to tag someone and tell them they’re it and you would run away from that person. Now that we’ve grown up and we matured, games like that don’t matter anymore. Well I’m here to share with you that I’ve got “IT” and I don’t want to let “IT” go.
Good and bad time come to everyone. Some of us have more of one, than the other. However when different situations arise in our live who or where do we find refuge and comfort?
I realized that we all need something to believe in. weather it’s a church, a religion, a family member, friends, social organizations public or private and money. Life is full of changes with some expected and some unexpected.
Living today is hard in this world and you have to wonder how do some people make it from day to day. How do you know that what you believe in is real or not just an old myth that some family member or friend shared with you and you just took it and ran. Or is your something genuine? I ask you the question. What is your something you believe in? Share it with a friend, a family member or a stranger. You never know who may need your something to get them through SOMETHING.
Peace and Blessings
By Terrance E. Paulin
As I sit here writing this article I’ve flashed back to a childhood game we use to play. That game was “it’ or some of us called it tag. Anyway, once the game started, the object was to tag someone and tell them they’re it and you would run away from that person. Now that we’ve grown up and we matured, games like that don’t matter anymore. Well I’m here to share with you that I’ve got “IT” and I don’t want to let “IT” go.
Good and bad time come to everyone. Some of us have more of one, than the other. However when different situations arise in our live who or where do we find refuge and comfort?
I realized that we all need something to believe in. weather it’s a church, a religion, a family member, friends, social organizations public or private and money. Life is full of changes with some expected and some unexpected.
Living today is hard in this world and you have to wonder how do some people make it from day to day. How do you know that what you believe in is real or not just an old myth that some family member or friend shared with you and you just took it and ran. Or is your something genuine? I ask you the question. What is your something you believe in? Share it with a friend, a family member or a stranger. You never know who may need your something to get them through SOMETHING.
Peace and Blessings
By Terrance E. Paulin
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Off Duty, On Call
On a rainy November day my family and I were on one of our family outings. My wife and I drove separate cars and I met her and the children at our favorite family location, Chuck E. Cheese. After spending several hours there with the children we got our things together to go home. It had been raining all day and the children had needed that play time. As we prepared to leave our oldest daughter said she wanted to ride home with me. While my wife took the other children home she called me on the cell phone and asked us to pick up dinner. As we rode down the rainy highway I had no idea that I would be getting a call that would change me in so many ways.
My daughter and I went to a fast food restaurant near where we lived and as we sat in the drive through line I got the call. It was a business associate from Washington, DC, but at the time he was in New York. He asked me did I have a minute because he had an emergency that required my help. I got out of the fast food line and listened intently to hear the details of his emergency. He and his wife were in a hospital in New York City along with her father in ICU. He asked me if I knew of any clergymen in New York who could come to the hospital and pray for his father-in-law who he believed was on his deathbed. He explained that the clergymen at the hospital were either too busy or were just ignoring their request and they didn't know how long his father-in-law had to live. Also, they didn't know if he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. So, I told him to stay by the phone and I would make some calls to see what I could do. I made several calls to family and friends in New York to no avail. No one I called was available. As I continued making calls my daughter asked me what was the problem so I explained to her what was going on. She told me to "call our pastor and ask him what to do or, just ask Jesus because he was in the back seat of our truck sleeping." I looked at her and smiled and told her that we would try to call our pastor first. We got him on the phone and he said he would make some calls to see if he could get someone to help us with this situation.
I called back to the hospital to see how my associate's father-in-law was coming along and asked was he responsive to them. They informed me that he was in a deep sleep but would make movements with his hands every now and then. Time was running out and I had no one to call or to go see him in the hospital. My little five-year old daughter and I began praying for an answer to give to this family. In three or so minutes the spirit came over me and I was bound to help this family at that instance. I told them to take the phone into his room, put it on speaker-phone and see if he could hear me. They did as I asked and the father-in-law responded to his daughter by squeezing her hand. At that time I let go and let God and the Holy Spirit move. I asked him did he believe in God, will he accept God in his heart, did he believe that Jesus Christ rose on the 3rd day and died for our sins? He confirmed all these things by squeezing his daughter's hand. At that point my job was done and the Lord had another one of his children back in his hands.
I got off the phone and talked to my daughter about what had just happened. We then called my wife to tell her the good news. You see, when I got up that morning I had no idea that I was going to be praying for someone on his deathbed. I'm used to praying with my family at home or at church. God has shown me that I need to be ready at all times. If we love Him and have accepted his grace we're always on call. I used to think that we had certain times to be on duty for the Lord and that we would have prior notice but that's not the case. Working and serving the Lord is a twenty-four hour job everyday. I must be ready to do his will whenever the situation calls for divine intervention.
I often sit and wonder what my purpose is here on earth. Am I doing what I was sent here to do? So many questions, so few answers. As I continue to live each day, I pray that I may be of some help to someone and my work is not in vein. Life is short and I try to live each day to the fullest.
I want to share this last thought with you because I may never get the opportunity again. Take time to know God. He's there for you. Maybe one day when it's your turn to meet him no one will have to pray for you. Your work will have already been done. I could talk about this until the end of time, however, the question remains, are you on duty or on call?
Terrance Paulin
Always a Ready Writer
My daughter and I went to a fast food restaurant near where we lived and as we sat in the drive through line I got the call. It was a business associate from Washington, DC, but at the time he was in New York. He asked me did I have a minute because he had an emergency that required my help. I got out of the fast food line and listened intently to hear the details of his emergency. He and his wife were in a hospital in New York City along with her father in ICU. He asked me if I knew of any clergymen in New York who could come to the hospital and pray for his father-in-law who he believed was on his deathbed. He explained that the clergymen at the hospital were either too busy or were just ignoring their request and they didn't know how long his father-in-law had to live. Also, they didn't know if he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. So, I told him to stay by the phone and I would make some calls to see what I could do. I made several calls to family and friends in New York to no avail. No one I called was available. As I continued making calls my daughter asked me what was the problem so I explained to her what was going on. She told me to "call our pastor and ask him what to do or, just ask Jesus because he was in the back seat of our truck sleeping." I looked at her and smiled and told her that we would try to call our pastor first. We got him on the phone and he said he would make some calls to see if he could get someone to help us with this situation.
I called back to the hospital to see how my associate's father-in-law was coming along and asked was he responsive to them. They informed me that he was in a deep sleep but would make movements with his hands every now and then. Time was running out and I had no one to call or to go see him in the hospital. My little five-year old daughter and I began praying for an answer to give to this family. In three or so minutes the spirit came over me and I was bound to help this family at that instance. I told them to take the phone into his room, put it on speaker-phone and see if he could hear me. They did as I asked and the father-in-law responded to his daughter by squeezing her hand. At that time I let go and let God and the Holy Spirit move. I asked him did he believe in God, will he accept God in his heart, did he believe that Jesus Christ rose on the 3rd day and died for our sins? He confirmed all these things by squeezing his daughter's hand. At that point my job was done and the Lord had another one of his children back in his hands.
I got off the phone and talked to my daughter about what had just happened. We then called my wife to tell her the good news. You see, when I got up that morning I had no idea that I was going to be praying for someone on his deathbed. I'm used to praying with my family at home or at church. God has shown me that I need to be ready at all times. If we love Him and have accepted his grace we're always on call. I used to think that we had certain times to be on duty for the Lord and that we would have prior notice but that's not the case. Working and serving the Lord is a twenty-four hour job everyday. I must be ready to do his will whenever the situation calls for divine intervention.
I often sit and wonder what my purpose is here on earth. Am I doing what I was sent here to do? So many questions, so few answers. As I continue to live each day, I pray that I may be of some help to someone and my work is not in vein. Life is short and I try to live each day to the fullest.
I want to share this last thought with you because I may never get the opportunity again. Take time to know God. He's there for you. Maybe one day when it's your turn to meet him no one will have to pray for you. Your work will have already been done. I could talk about this until the end of time, however, the question remains, are you on duty or on call?
Terrance Paulin
Always a Ready Writer
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Welcome
Hello to everyone,
Today is a day that the Lord had made, I shall rejoice and be glad in it. I just wanted to take a minute to say hello and welcome you to my blog. The word for today is," We can do all things through Christ Jesus". God wants good things for all of us and has given us his word to live by that will empower us to change any situation we're dealing with. His word is power and he's given us the word to use in our lives as well as others. So, I encourage you to study his word and learn how to engage the power we've been given to change your lives for the better. May he keep you in perfect peace. Until next time I am Always a Ready Writer for the Lord. Amen
Terrance Paulin
Today is a day that the Lord had made, I shall rejoice and be glad in it. I just wanted to take a minute to say hello and welcome you to my blog. The word for today is," We can do all things through Christ Jesus". God wants good things for all of us and has given us his word to live by that will empower us to change any situation we're dealing with. His word is power and he's given us the word to use in our lives as well as others. So, I encourage you to study his word and learn how to engage the power we've been given to change your lives for the better. May he keep you in perfect peace. Until next time I am Always a Ready Writer for the Lord. Amen
Terrance Paulin
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