WHAT ABOUT THE RATS?
Its been described by those in the publishing industry as a psychological thriller.
It's a multifaceted mystery with a glimpse into the inner workings of a criminal organization. A little peek into the criminal mind.
A young boy is raised in the slums of a large city in Kentucky,
by drug dependent parents. He is a brilliant boy but due to circumstances, no one knows this. As his life unfolds on the pages, you see how he is manipulated by his parents, his teachers and society. He attends a local old mission church, just for the hot meals at first. Then he develops a deep abiding faith in God, which stands him in good stead as he faces one problem after another. He meets other people "of like precious faith" in his adventures, without whose help he could not survive.
The young man has been selected and manipulated into becoming a minister of a large cathedral which was built in the wilderness of eastern Kentucky, for the express purpose of being a base for a crime organization. There are strange things going on at the cathedral, one of which is the few rats which survive in the building. The Bishop is in control of most of these strange happenings but not the mystery of the few rats.
A sample of the suspense in the book:
While he lay there unconscious, something stirred nearby. From the gloom under the stairway three pairs of beady little eyes peered out at Willie. Three creatures began to creep closer and closer to Willie's prostrate body. The black creatures came slowly - slowly - ever closer to the prone and helpless form of the young man. One of the creatures reached out and grasp Willie's ankle and began to pull his prostrate form toward the shadows under the stairway. (End of chapter 8.)
(In chapter 10.)
Willie's prostrate body was being slowly pulled into the shadows under the stairway. He began to moan and he moved a little. Abruptly, the creature pulling him stopped and retreated a few feet. The creatures looked at Willie with unblinking eyes as consciousness slowly began to return to him.
Willie looked around in a dazed manner. Where was he? How did he get here? He was sure that he had been at the foot of the staircase when he passed out. He couldn't understand how he was now ten feet from that position.
As he was pondering the situation, he heard footsteps on the staircase above. He decided that he didn't want anyone to see him in this disheveled condition, so he rolled into the shadows under the stairway in order to be out of sight of the people who were descending toward him. As he moved into the shadows he heard a slight rustling in the darkest area under the stairs but he couldn't cry out or run because if he did, he would be discovered by those who were descending toward him. Willie sat there in silence with his heart pounding in fear. He realized that what ever was in the shadows with him had probably dragged him away from the foot of the stairs. What ever it was might be the undiscovered cause of the injuries which had occurred to some of the churches' guests.
As the footsteps came closer, Willie could hear part of a conversation between two men. One was saying "This has been the worst time that I can remember. The mob from New York is here for a holiday and three of our best animals have escaped. Someone bought the northern property which the Bishop wanted so badly, right out from under his nose and now the new minister is missing."
The other man agreed "Yes and now we have to search the ten miles of corridors in this building. We have to look into innumerable nooks and crannies, trying to find the new minister and also try to find those escaped animals. That's what I am worried about; those things are very cunning and dangerous!" The two men continued down the corridor looking this way and that but hoping to find nothing.
The description of the animals as ‘very cunning and dangerous’ didn't make Willie feel any better about his position there in the shadows, along with what ever had made the noise he had heard.
Willie slowly - - very slowly began to move out of the shadows, hoping he wouldn't arouse the killing instinct of what ever might be in the shadows with him. He moved ever so slowly -- five feet from the stairway -- ten feet --. Willie started to move a little faster now. Twenty five feet -- fifty feet -- one hundred feet. He finally felt safe enough to look around at his surroundings. He began to realize that he was in the very corridor in which his room was located. He was able to see the door to his room ahead and he could see that the old man had left the key right there in the lock. Willie dashed for the door, unlocked and opened the door in one motion and slammed and locked the door from the inside. He stumbled to his bed in the darkness, collapsed and lay there as he trembled from fright and exhaustion.
As he lay there, it happened again. As had been the case lately when Willie had come through some traumatic event he remembered a passage from scripture. This time it was from Psalm 20:4.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."
Goto: www.amazon.com/mervincollier/e/B008IAKSVK
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Friday, May 8, 2009
A crime novel!
The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all
men every where to repent.
This may not sound like a crime novel - but you will be surprised!
There are several main characters, one of which, is a young man,
'Willie Wilson', who grew up in the slums of a large city.
He has had a rough life and it looks like his life is going
to get even worse! He won't survive without help from some friends.
'Jess Whitson' is a middle aged man, who, along with his wife and
their two boys, move to the mountains to start a new, 'better' life.
But will it be better?
Takes place in the mountains of eastern Kentucky.
A crime family has set up their own 'cathedral', which they
use as a base for their many operations - drugs, sex slavery,
sporting events and much more.
Willie Wilson has been trained and chosen to take over the
officiating at the cathedral services. The Bishop has plans for
Willie but God has other plans for him!
Just who is this despicable 'Mr. Shagnasty'?
What About the Rats?
First two opening paragraphs:
“You little knuckle headed Ediot” Willie’s drunken father shouted “git back here so I can git my hands on you! I'll teach you to wake me up!”
Willie just kept going as fast as his little '5 year old’ legs would carry him. That was young Willie’s life to this point. What could be worse? Just keep reading!
Chapter 10
As soon as Mr. Shagnasty and the Bishop were alone in the corridor, the Bishop asked "How could this happen? Didn't we have a full compliment of guards around the cages?"
"Yes, every guard was in place.” replied the old man “We don't know how or when it happened but at this mornings count, two young males and a young female were missing. They were some of the very ones which were slated to perform in our up coming spectacle, in the arena."
The two men paused as they walked along the corridor as the old man reached his hand into one of the crevices in the limestone wall and pushed a secret lever. A hidden stone door slid smoothly back, revealing a secret tunnel where an electric car was hanging from an overhead track. The pair entered the car as the secret door in the wall slid smoothly shut and they were soon on their way down into the bowels of the mountain.
"What are you going to do Bishop?" asked the old man.
The fat man looked sideways at his companion with eyes that were just slits "I'm going to make those guards wish they'd never been born. I'm not sure about their final punishment - yet. I'll just let them stew for a few days while I think about this problem. Like they say ‘Anticipation is worse than realization’. I may just try to think up something that will prove that saying to be false. By the way, have you turned the dogs loose yet?"
"No Sir.” Replied the old one “Since we have our honored guests here in the valley, I thought we wouldn't want one of our guests to be mauled, accidentally."
"Quite right as usual, Mr. Shagnasty. I don't know what I'd do without you. All these other lackeys who work for me are so incompetent; they seem to be working against me instead of for me. Maybe it's a case of enjoying too much of a good thing."
The car swayed as it careened down the steep passage way, soon coming to a stop at the end of the line. The two men got out of the car and went to a second secret door which opened into the rear of a large cavern where the fighting stock was kept.
The group of offending guards had been lined up in a row and had been standing at attention since the escape had been discovered. They were now waiting for the ax to fall, as soon as the Bishop pronounced their doom.
The Bishop walked between the pens, in order to inspect his remaining prize stock. There were twenty-five shiny black males and fifteen equally shiny black females, all in individual cages. The stock was kept separated so they couldn't fight among themselves or breed. All that would come later at the proper time, when the spectacle was held in the arena.
The Bishop strode back to where the quaking men were lined up. He walked down the row of men, stopping at each man and looking each one straight in the eye for a full minute. When he had finally finished with the last man he turned his back on them and said "Mr. Shagnasty what are we going to do with these incompetent fools?" He paused for dramatic effect. The old man knew that no response was called for, so he wisely held his peace.
The Bishop continued "A thought, Mr. Shagnasty! I have a thought! Let's put them into the cages where our escaped animals were kept. Let them see how they like it from the other side of the fence, so to speak. Maybe after they've been there for a few days they can demonstrate how the stock escaped and show us where they have gone.”
The Bishop strode back toward the secret door without looking back, the old man following closely at his heels (like a small puppy). Mr. Shagnasty motioned for the replacement guards to carry out the Bishop's orders as the two of them were leaving.
The prisoners were marched off to be put in the cages. They were in a very apprehensive mood but they were relieved at the decision of the Bishop, for the time being. It could have been worse and still might be.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Willie's prostrate body was being slowly pulled into the shadows under the stairway. He began to moan and he moved a little. Abruptly, the creature pulling him stopped and retreated a few feet. The creatures looked at Willie with unblinking eyes as consciousness slowly began to return to him.
Willie looked around in a dazed manner. Where was he? How did he get here? He was sure that he had been at the foot of the staircase when he passed out. He couldn't understand how he was now ten feet from that position.
As he was pondering the situation, he heard footsteps on the staircase above. He decided that he didn't want anyone to see him in this disheveled condition, so he rolled into the shadows under the stairway in order to be out of sight of the people who were descending toward him. As he moved into the shadows he heard a slight rustling in the darkest area under the stairs but he couldn't cry out or run because if he did, he would be discovered by those who were descending toward him. Willie sat there in silence with his heart pounding in fear. He realized that what ever was in the shadows with him had probably dragged him away from the foot of the stairs. What ever it was might be the undiscovered cause of the injuries which had occurred to some of the churches' guests.
As the footsteps came closer, Willie could hear part of a conversation between two men. One was saying "This has been the worst time that I can remember. The mob from New York is here for a holiday and three of our best animals have escaped. Someone bought the northern property which the Bishop wanted so badly, right out from under his nose and now the new minister is missing."
The other man agreed "Yes and now we have to search the ten miles of corridors in this building. We have to look into innumerable nooks and crannies, trying to find the new minister and also try to find those escaped animals. That's what I am worried about; those things are very cunning and dangerous!" The two men continued down the corridor looking this way and that but hoping to find nothing.
The description of the animals as ‘very cunning and dangerous’ didn't make Willie feel any better about his position there in the shadows, along with what ever had made the noise he had heard.
Willie slowly - - very slowly began to move out of the shadows, hoping he wouldn't arouse the killing instinct of what ever might be in the shadows with him. He moved ever so slowly -- five feet from the stairway -- ten feet --. Willie started to move a little faster now. Twenty five feet -- fifty feet -- one hundred feet. He finally felt safe enough to look around at his surroundings. He began to realize that he was in the very corridor in which his room was located. He was able to see the door to his room ahead and he could see that the old man had left the key right there in the lock. Willie dashed for the door, unlocked and opened the door in one motion and slammed and locked the door from the inside. He stumbled to his bed in the darkness, collapsed and lay there as he trembled from fright and exhaustion.
As he lay there, it happened again. As had been the case lately when Willie had come through some traumatic event he remembered a passage from scripture. This time it was from Psalm 20:4.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."
Willie prayed, "Lord, help me to trust you that much." Then a thought hit him from out of the blue! – ‘Get your Bible and study it for yourself.’
Willie got up off his bed with a great deal of effort and some agony. By this time, the effects of the adrenaline had worn off and he found that he hurt in places that he didn't even know existed before. He forced himself over to the desk, lit a candle and rummaged in one of his bags until he found his old Bible which had been given to him by the preacher of the mission church. He had always kept it hidden away all these years, never daring to get it out and read it. His foster parents didn't approve of the Bible and the seminary had other things for him to study.
He opened his Bible and started to read. Somewhere he had heard that a person should start reading the New Testament with the Gospel of Luke, then go on to the book of Acts since Luke wrote both of these books and one logically follows the other.
As Willie was reading and pondering the things the Scriptures said, old memories of the teaching he had received at the mission church started to come back to him in ever stronger waves.
During the night while Willie was studying, he could sometimes hear something passing by his door. Sometimes he could hear voices but other times only muffled scraping could be heard. Willie supposed they were still looking for him but this room was the last place the Bishop's men would think to look. It was locked!
Willie was left alone to his studies for the rest of the day and all that night. He didn't stop studying except for an occasional drink of water or to go to the bathroom. The room didn't have electric lights but at least it had candles and the crude bathroom with water which seeped through a crack in the wall all the time.
Willie read about the life of Jesus while He was here on earth. He read about the miracles which Jesus had done to prove that He WAS the Son of God as He said He was. He read about the Jewish religious leaders who didn't believe Jesus because they were expecting (and hoping for) an earthly king instead of a spiritual Savior. ‘God sent His Son to His people and they received Him not!’ He read of the crucifixion and death of Jesus, a death which was predicted (by God's profits) hundreds of years before this event actually occurred. As the song says – ‘There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel’s veins and sinners plunged beneath that flood, loose all their guilty stains!’
He read of the burial of Jesus and that after three days, Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God.
Willie understood that all these things had to happen for the benefit of all mankind so that through Jesus and his sacrifice, people who believed, trusted and obeyed Jesus, could be made acceptable to God.
When Willie studied the book of Acts, he learned about the history of the early church. How that the followers of Jesus were timid and fearful after the crucifixion of Jesus but after the resurrection they were bold and unafraid. They told the Gospel story to everyone, everywhere they went. Many were killed because of their faith in the Lord but because they were eye witnesses to the facts, they would not deny their faith in order to escape death. They knew they would eventually die physically anyway but if they were true to Jesus they would live forever with him in Heaven.
Willie learned about Saul, a devout Jew of the Pharisee sect, who went from town to town in order to find Christians and throw them in jail because of what they believed and taught. Willie read that Jesus miraculously appeared to Saul, when Saul was on the way to Damascus to take more Christians prisoner. Because of this miraculous encounter, Saul believed in Jesus. Saul was blinded by this encounter and was taken on to the town of Damascus by his companions.
Many of the Christians in Damascus had heard about Saul and were afraid of him. In a dream, God told a man named Ananias that Saul had accepted Jesus and that Ananias was to go to Saul and talk to him about the Lord. Ananias baptized Saul after teaching him about the Lord. Saul went into Arabia for a while to study and meditate, then he began to preach everywhere he went, that Jesus was the Son of God.
Saul's name was changed to Paul.
Willie read about the missionary trips of Paul and of the many churches which he helped to start throughout the Roman Empire. Willie also read about Peter and many others who were also led by God's Holy Spirit and with the Holy Spirit’s help, had established many Christian Churches every where they went.
Paul wrote many of the books in the New Testament, in which he testifies to the truth of the facts which were written by Luke in the book of Acts.
Willie read the letters which were written by Paul to the various churches, which were beginning to stray from the truth of the Gospel. Some of the members of these churches were trying to incorporate pagan religious ideas with the truth of the Gospel and were there-by distorting the truth and straying from the faith. Others, who were Jewish, were trying to cling to their Jewish traditions. These traditions hindered the freedom that everyone is to have in Christ and everyone would be in bondage to the Jewish Law once again. This bondage to the law would nullify the grace of God that we have through the sacrifice of Jesus. After many hours of study, Willie's mind was made up. He was not going to preach the ‘canned’ sermons which the Bishop expected. He was going to preach the Gospel of Jesus the Christ to the Church of the Most Holy Named Saint and let the chips fall where they may.
Willie knew that he couldn't preach as well as Peter had done, as recorded in the book of Acts, but he could feel the Holy Spirit working within him and he now realized how he was able to remember the scriptures that had filled the void each time he was in great distress. Willie prayed for greater understanding of what he had read and for the strength to stand up to the ordeal which lay ahead of him. He dropped off to sleep about daybreak. The Holy Spirit was on guard over him and no one bothered to look for Willie in his room.
For the "Rest of the Story",
"Goto: www.amazon.com/mervincollier/e/B008IAKSVK/"
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men every where to repent.
This may not sound like a crime novel - but you will be surprised!
There are several main characters, one of which, is a young man,
'Willie Wilson', who grew up in the slums of a large city.
He has had a rough life and it looks like his life is going
to get even worse! He won't survive without help from some friends.
'Jess Whitson' is a middle aged man, who, along with his wife and
their two boys, move to the mountains to start a new, 'better' life.
But will it be better?
Takes place in the mountains of eastern Kentucky.
A crime family has set up their own 'cathedral', which they
use as a base for their many operations - drugs, sex slavery,
sporting events and much more.
Willie Wilson has been trained and chosen to take over the
officiating at the cathedral services. The Bishop has plans for
Willie but God has other plans for him!
Just who is this despicable 'Mr. Shagnasty'?
What About the Rats?
First two opening paragraphs:
“You little knuckle headed Ediot” Willie’s drunken father shouted “git back here so I can git my hands on you! I'll teach you to wake me up!”
Willie just kept going as fast as his little '5 year old’ legs would carry him. That was young Willie’s life to this point. What could be worse? Just keep reading!
Chapter 10
As soon as Mr. Shagnasty and the Bishop were alone in the corridor, the Bishop asked "How could this happen? Didn't we have a full compliment of guards around the cages?"
"Yes, every guard was in place.” replied the old man “We don't know how or when it happened but at this mornings count, two young males and a young female were missing. They were some of the very ones which were slated to perform in our up coming spectacle, in the arena."
The two men paused as they walked along the corridor as the old man reached his hand into one of the crevices in the limestone wall and pushed a secret lever. A hidden stone door slid smoothly back, revealing a secret tunnel where an electric car was hanging from an overhead track. The pair entered the car as the secret door in the wall slid smoothly shut and they were soon on their way down into the bowels of the mountain.
"What are you going to do Bishop?" asked the old man.
The fat man looked sideways at his companion with eyes that were just slits "I'm going to make those guards wish they'd never been born. I'm not sure about their final punishment - yet. I'll just let them stew for a few days while I think about this problem. Like they say ‘Anticipation is worse than realization’. I may just try to think up something that will prove that saying to be false. By the way, have you turned the dogs loose yet?"
"No Sir.” Replied the old one “Since we have our honored guests here in the valley, I thought we wouldn't want one of our guests to be mauled, accidentally."
"Quite right as usual, Mr. Shagnasty. I don't know what I'd do without you. All these other lackeys who work for me are so incompetent; they seem to be working against me instead of for me. Maybe it's a case of enjoying too much of a good thing."
The car swayed as it careened down the steep passage way, soon coming to a stop at the end of the line. The two men got out of the car and went to a second secret door which opened into the rear of a large cavern where the fighting stock was kept.
The group of offending guards had been lined up in a row and had been standing at attention since the escape had been discovered. They were now waiting for the ax to fall, as soon as the Bishop pronounced their doom.
The Bishop walked between the pens, in order to inspect his remaining prize stock. There were twenty-five shiny black males and fifteen equally shiny black females, all in individual cages. The stock was kept separated so they couldn't fight among themselves or breed. All that would come later at the proper time, when the spectacle was held in the arena.
The Bishop strode back to where the quaking men were lined up. He walked down the row of men, stopping at each man and looking each one straight in the eye for a full minute. When he had finally finished with the last man he turned his back on them and said "Mr. Shagnasty what are we going to do with these incompetent fools?" He paused for dramatic effect. The old man knew that no response was called for, so he wisely held his peace.
The Bishop continued "A thought, Mr. Shagnasty! I have a thought! Let's put them into the cages where our escaped animals were kept. Let them see how they like it from the other side of the fence, so to speak. Maybe after they've been there for a few days they can demonstrate how the stock escaped and show us where they have gone.”
The Bishop strode back toward the secret door without looking back, the old man following closely at his heels (like a small puppy). Mr. Shagnasty motioned for the replacement guards to carry out the Bishop's orders as the two of them were leaving.
The prisoners were marched off to be put in the cages. They were in a very apprehensive mood but they were relieved at the decision of the Bishop, for the time being. It could have been worse and still might be.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Willie's prostrate body was being slowly pulled into the shadows under the stairway. He began to moan and he moved a little. Abruptly, the creature pulling him stopped and retreated a few feet. The creatures looked at Willie with unblinking eyes as consciousness slowly began to return to him.
Willie looked around in a dazed manner. Where was he? How did he get here? He was sure that he had been at the foot of the staircase when he passed out. He couldn't understand how he was now ten feet from that position.
As he was pondering the situation, he heard footsteps on the staircase above. He decided that he didn't want anyone to see him in this disheveled condition, so he rolled into the shadows under the stairway in order to be out of sight of the people who were descending toward him. As he moved into the shadows he heard a slight rustling in the darkest area under the stairs but he couldn't cry out or run because if he did, he would be discovered by those who were descending toward him. Willie sat there in silence with his heart pounding in fear. He realized that what ever was in the shadows with him had probably dragged him away from the foot of the stairs. What ever it was might be the undiscovered cause of the injuries which had occurred to some of the churches' guests.
As the footsteps came closer, Willie could hear part of a conversation between two men. One was saying "This has been the worst time that I can remember. The mob from New York is here for a holiday and three of our best animals have escaped. Someone bought the northern property which the Bishop wanted so badly, right out from under his nose and now the new minister is missing."
The other man agreed "Yes and now we have to search the ten miles of corridors in this building. We have to look into innumerable nooks and crannies, trying to find the new minister and also try to find those escaped animals. That's what I am worried about; those things are very cunning and dangerous!" The two men continued down the corridor looking this way and that but hoping to find nothing.
The description of the animals as ‘very cunning and dangerous’ didn't make Willie feel any better about his position there in the shadows, along with what ever had made the noise he had heard.
Willie slowly - - very slowly began to move out of the shadows, hoping he wouldn't arouse the killing instinct of what ever might be in the shadows with him. He moved ever so slowly -- five feet from the stairway -- ten feet --. Willie started to move a little faster now. Twenty five feet -- fifty feet -- one hundred feet. He finally felt safe enough to look around at his surroundings. He began to realize that he was in the very corridor in which his room was located. He was able to see the door to his room ahead and he could see that the old man had left the key right there in the lock. Willie dashed for the door, unlocked and opened the door in one motion and slammed and locked the door from the inside. He stumbled to his bed in the darkness, collapsed and lay there as he trembled from fright and exhaustion.
As he lay there, it happened again. As had been the case lately when Willie had come through some traumatic event he remembered a passage from scripture. This time it was from Psalm 20:4.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."
Willie prayed, "Lord, help me to trust you that much." Then a thought hit him from out of the blue! – ‘Get your Bible and study it for yourself.’
Willie got up off his bed with a great deal of effort and some agony. By this time, the effects of the adrenaline had worn off and he found that he hurt in places that he didn't even know existed before. He forced himself over to the desk, lit a candle and rummaged in one of his bags until he found his old Bible which had been given to him by the preacher of the mission church. He had always kept it hidden away all these years, never daring to get it out and read it. His foster parents didn't approve of the Bible and the seminary had other things for him to study.
He opened his Bible and started to read. Somewhere he had heard that a person should start reading the New Testament with the Gospel of Luke, then go on to the book of Acts since Luke wrote both of these books and one logically follows the other.
As Willie was reading and pondering the things the Scriptures said, old memories of the teaching he had received at the mission church started to come back to him in ever stronger waves.
During the night while Willie was studying, he could sometimes hear something passing by his door. Sometimes he could hear voices but other times only muffled scraping could be heard. Willie supposed they were still looking for him but this room was the last place the Bishop's men would think to look. It was locked!
Willie was left alone to his studies for the rest of the day and all that night. He didn't stop studying except for an occasional drink of water or to go to the bathroom. The room didn't have electric lights but at least it had candles and the crude bathroom with water which seeped through a crack in the wall all the time.
Willie read about the life of Jesus while He was here on earth. He read about the miracles which Jesus had done to prove that He WAS the Son of God as He said He was. He read about the Jewish religious leaders who didn't believe Jesus because they were expecting (and hoping for) an earthly king instead of a spiritual Savior. ‘God sent His Son to His people and they received Him not!’ He read of the crucifixion and death of Jesus, a death which was predicted (by God's profits) hundreds of years before this event actually occurred. As the song says – ‘There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel’s veins and sinners plunged beneath that flood, loose all their guilty stains!’
He read of the burial of Jesus and that after three days, Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God.
Willie understood that all these things had to happen for the benefit of all mankind so that through Jesus and his sacrifice, people who believed, trusted and obeyed Jesus, could be made acceptable to God.
When Willie studied the book of Acts, he learned about the history of the early church. How that the followers of Jesus were timid and fearful after the crucifixion of Jesus but after the resurrection they were bold and unafraid. They told the Gospel story to everyone, everywhere they went. Many were killed because of their faith in the Lord but because they were eye witnesses to the facts, they would not deny their faith in order to escape death. They knew they would eventually die physically anyway but if they were true to Jesus they would live forever with him in Heaven.
Willie learned about Saul, a devout Jew of the Pharisee sect, who went from town to town in order to find Christians and throw them in jail because of what they believed and taught. Willie read that Jesus miraculously appeared to Saul, when Saul was on the way to Damascus to take more Christians prisoner. Because of this miraculous encounter, Saul believed in Jesus. Saul was blinded by this encounter and was taken on to the town of Damascus by his companions.
Many of the Christians in Damascus had heard about Saul and were afraid of him. In a dream, God told a man named Ananias that Saul had accepted Jesus and that Ananias was to go to Saul and talk to him about the Lord. Ananias baptized Saul after teaching him about the Lord. Saul went into Arabia for a while to study and meditate, then he began to preach everywhere he went, that Jesus was the Son of God.
Saul's name was changed to Paul.
Willie read about the missionary trips of Paul and of the many churches which he helped to start throughout the Roman Empire. Willie also read about Peter and many others who were also led by God's Holy Spirit and with the Holy Spirit’s help, had established many Christian Churches every where they went.
Paul wrote many of the books in the New Testament, in which he testifies to the truth of the facts which were written by Luke in the book of Acts.
Willie read the letters which were written by Paul to the various churches, which were beginning to stray from the truth of the Gospel. Some of the members of these churches were trying to incorporate pagan religious ideas with the truth of the Gospel and were there-by distorting the truth and straying from the faith. Others, who were Jewish, were trying to cling to their Jewish traditions. These traditions hindered the freedom that everyone is to have in Christ and everyone would be in bondage to the Jewish Law once again. This bondage to the law would nullify the grace of God that we have through the sacrifice of Jesus. After many hours of study, Willie's mind was made up. He was not going to preach the ‘canned’ sermons which the Bishop expected. He was going to preach the Gospel of Jesus the Christ to the Church of the Most Holy Named Saint and let the chips fall where they may.
Willie knew that he couldn't preach as well as Peter had done, as recorded in the book of Acts, but he could feel the Holy Spirit working within him and he now realized how he was able to remember the scriptures that had filled the void each time he was in great distress. Willie prayed for greater understanding of what he had read and for the strength to stand up to the ordeal which lay ahead of him. He dropped off to sleep about daybreak. The Holy Spirit was on guard over him and no one bothered to look for Willie in his room.
For the "Rest of the Story",
"Goto: www.amazon.com/mervincollier/e/B008IAKSVK/"
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