Download or read book My Drug Dealer Brought Me to God written by Ryan Allen and published by PYP Academy Press. This book was released on 2021-08-13 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A journey of a self-hating LGBTQ+ addict that was brought to God and divinity through his drug dealer. As the story develops we learn how Ryan has overcome addiction, self mutilation, multiple suicide attempts, mental health struggles, and how he navigates being an LGBTQ+ person of faith. A workbook is found at the end of the book to help one experience their own journey through Ryan's journey to aid in their learning and growth.

Download or read book Guns to God written by Claud Jackson and published by SPCK. This book was released on 2021-08-19 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Claud was just six years old when he first held a gun in his hands. Now, over twenty years later, he is returning to communities just like the one he grew up in, this time holding a Bible. Guns to God is the incredible autobiography of Claud Jackson, a young boy who became a drug dealer and professional criminal before giving his life to God through the Alpha Course and later being called to become a Christian minister. Though exceptional in parts, Claud's journey is remarkably relatable: it is one of being shaped by circumstance and formed through faith, of losing yourself only to be found. Guns to God is an inspiring and thought-provoking Christian autobiography for anyone wanting a stronger understanding of and insight into the struggle against drugs and drug dealing in urban communities in the UK, and the role that the Christian faith has to play. The story of one man's search for belonging, this an incredible and moving testament to the life-changing power of God.

Download or read book Coming Clean written by Jorge L. Valdés and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2008-05-13 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I was a walking bankroll, wearing $150,000 worth of jewelry and carrying as much as $40,000 cash in my pockets. Yet my friends asked: "how are you doing?" I'd sometimes reply, "miserable. I hate every second of my life, and I do not know why." Jorge ValdesAll his dreams for wealth and power came true. Then the nightmare began.As a young man in his twenties with an insatiable thirst for money and power, Jorge Valdes worked his way up inside Colombia's powerful Medellin drug cartel. His key position as head of U.S. Operations brought him into direct contact with presidents, generals, Hollywood celebrities, hired killers and kidnappers. This Cuban immigrant, raised in poverty, was living the high life in more ways than one. His deeds took him from the lap of luxury to the depths of prison and back again.Then an incredible thing happened: Jorge Valdes encountered a person much more powerful than the strongest drug lord, someone who offered something more satisfying than women, drugs, money, prestige and power.Reading more like a fast paced novel of intrigue than a traditional biography, coming clean: the true story of a cocaine drug lord and his unexpected encounter offers an insider's view of the drug industry and the greed that drives it. Told that he would never be anything but a twice convicted drug dealer; today, dr. Jorge l. Valdes, who holds a master degree from Wheaton college and a PhD. In new testament studies from Loyola University in Chicago, is a renowned national speaker who brings a message of hope, forgiveness and the power to change. He has been featured in numerous magazine covers and appeared in many national and international television and radio programs.

Download or read book The Problem of God written by Mark Clark and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2017-08-22 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Problem of God explores answers to the most difficult questions raised against Christianity. A skeptic who became a Christian and then a pastor, author Mark Clark grew up in an atheistic home. After his father's death, he began a skeptical search for truth through the fields of science, philosophy, and history, eventually finding answers in the last place he expected: Christianity. In a winsome, persuasive, and humble voice, The Problem of God responds to the top ten interrogations people bring against God, and Christianity, including: Does God even exist in the first place? What do we do with Christianity's violent history? Is Jesus just another myth? Can the Bible be trusted? Why should we believe in Hell anymore today? Each chapter answers the specific challenge using a mix of theology, philosophy, and science. Filled with compelling stories and anecdotes, The Problem of God presents an organized and easy-to-understand range of apologetics, focused on both convincing the skeptic and informing the Christian. The book concluding with Christianity's most audacious assertion: how should we respond to Jesus' claim that he is God and the only way to salvation.

Download or read book From Drug Dealer to Christian written by Johnny J. Rebeck and published by Author House. This book was released on 2007-07-10 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many times the Lord has moved me to write this book. I’m not sure why, and for a long time ignored the idea. But after I was moved to start a bible discussion at my home, I began to see the many different views of the truth and many different from my own. I couldn’t help but wonder why, were we not all raised on the bible and taught by the same Spirit? I have always thought that all Christians believed as I do, and serve God as I have. For so many years I walked a lone road with God. Not many Christian friends, no church, all I knew is the things that God taught me. Some wonder how I stood so strong and through such hard times with out it. I know that I would not be here today if it had not been for Gods mercy. I only know one life, and that’s to serve him. The passion and the desire for the truth that has always been normal to me are seldom found in many around me. Many things I have seen and herd in this world have troubled my Spirit. God has shown me so many wonderful things in the bible that the worldly mind can not comprehend. The world is built on carnality and a carnal mind can not understand the things of God. The hidden mysteries the bible speaks about are only hidden to them that are blind. God opens the truth to those worthy of it. I only know what the Holy Spirit has thought me. Many of these things I touch on in this book. I don’t ask you to believe anything I say. I only ask that you trust the Holy Spirit and he will teach you.

Download or read book Tony Evans Book of Illustrations written by Tony Evans and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Picture this: it’s Saturday afternoon, and you’re putting the finishing touches on tomorrow’s sermon. You’ve been thinking, researching, and praying about this message all week, and thankfully, feel prepared. That is, except for one small detail—you aren’t sure how to begin. For more than 30 years, Tony Evans has been connecting with audiences around the world. Now his tools are available for you. Don’t leave your listeners to connect the dots. Let Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations help you illustrate your point in a way they can’t forget.

Download or read book Breaking Night written by Liz Murray and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2010-09-07 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the vein of The Glass Castle, Breaking Night is the stunning memoir of a young woman who at age fifteen was living on the streets, and who eventually made it into Harvard. Liz Murray was born to loving but drug-addicted parents in the Bronx. In school she was taunted for her dirty clothing and lice-infested hair, eventually skipping so many classes that she was put into a girls' home. At age fifteen, Liz found herself on the streets. She learned to scrape by, foraging for food and riding subways all night to have a warm place to sleep. When Liz's mother died of AIDS, she decided to take control of her own destiny and go back to high school, often completing her assignments in the hallways and subway stations where she slept. Liz squeezed four years of high school into two, while homeless; won a New York Times scholarship; and made it into the Ivy League. Breaking Night is an unforgettable and beautifully written story of one young woman's indomitable spirit to survive and prevail, against all odds.

Download or read book Out of a Far Country written by Christopher Yuan and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2011-05-03 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over 100,000 copies sold! Coming Out, Then Coming Home Christopher Yuan, the son of Chinese immigrants, discovered at an early age that he was different. He was attracted to other boys. As he grew into adulthood, his mother, Angela, hoped to control the situation. Instead, she found that her son and her life were spiraling out of control—and her own personal demons were determined to defeat her. Years of heartbreak, confusion, and prayer followed before the Yuans found a place of complete surrender, which is God’s desire for all families. Their amazing story, told from the perspectives of both mother and son, offers hope for anyone affected by homosexuality. God calls all who are lost to come home to him. Casting a compelling vision for holy sexuality, Out of a Far Country speaks to prodigals, parents of prodigals, and those wanting to minister to the gay community. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” - Luke 15:20 Includes a discussion guide for personal reflection and group use.

Download or read book I Love Jesus But I Want to Die written by Sarah J. Robinson and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

Download or read book Queen Pin written by Jemeker Thompson-Hairston and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2010-06-22 with total page 125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written with the New York Times bestselling author, David Ritz, Jemeker Thompson tells the gripping tale of succeeding financially in the drug game, but then, after a lengthy prison term, turned her life around to inspire others just like her. Jemeker Thompson-Hairston paid a heavy price for her involvement in the drug game. Learning from her sources of a federal investigation, Jemeker went on the run. It was love for her young son that brought her back to Los Angeles, even though she knew she would be arrested. A subsequent 15-year sentence would cost her not only her legitimate business and the fortune she'd amassed through the drug trade, but the most precious thing of all: time with her child. But not all was lost. Fortunately, while Thompson-Hairston was serving out the fifteen-year sentence, one pivotal moment helped her turn her life around, setting her on a path to help and inspire others like her. Now, in Queen Pin, written with New York Times bestselling author David Ritz, she reveals in gripping detail her journey of redemption that readers won't soon forget.

Download or read book The Harlem Plug written by Harlem Holiday and published by Harlem Westside Publishing. This book was released on 2019-11-29 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "To have once been a criminal is no disgrace. To remain a criminal is the disgrace." MALCOLM X In Harlem's tumultuous history, there are many tragedies. For those growing up in this part of New York City, a young man known simply as Fritz from West 112th Street became an urban legend in Harlem. In the 1970s, Richard "Fritz" Simmons is introduced to the drug trade, by an associate of the Lucchese crime family, one of the five families of La Cosa Nostra (the Mafia). After negotiating a deal with the Medellín Cartel, Fritz becomes New York's Cocaine Consignment King. The lucrative deal unlocks a lavish lifestyle with more money than Fritz's family and Harlem could've imagined. Now, distributing kilos of cocaine on a kingpin level to many well-known Harlem heavyweights, Fritz employs hundreds throughout the five boroughs of New York City and neighboring states. Fritz further extends his generosity in ways few from the community had ever seen. Fritz reigns supreme for over a decade in the drug game, making millions under the radar of the NYPD and he never got busted. Some look at Fritz as the Keyser Soze of the 80s. The most enigmatic drug dealer of that time. ​ HARLEM HOLIDAY brings her readers the inside scoop after almost three decades of silence, speculation, and secrecy. This biography is the in-depth story of Fritz never before told; the tale of how a lowly street hustler rises to orchestrate a one-man syndicate. It's an account of events, as told by Fritz's family and closest friends, and details gathered from newspaper clippings, magazine articles, court transcripts, and social media. Fritz's truth, joy, and despair are fully disclosed, while circumstances surrounding his death still remain a mystery.

Download or read book Unseen written by Sara Hagerty and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2017-08-29 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do we find contentment in God when we feel so hidden? Sara Hagerty unfolds the truths found in the biblical story of Mary of Bethany to discover the scandalous love of God and explore the spiritual richness of being hidden in him. Every heart longs to be seen and understood. Yet most of our lives is unwitnessed. We spend our days working, driving, parenting. We sometimes spend whole seasons feeling unnoticed and unappreciated. In Unseen, Sara Hagerty suggests that this is exactly what God intended. He is the only One who truly knows us. He is the only One who understands the value of the unseen in our lives. When this truth seeps into our souls, we realize that only when we hide ourselves in God can we give ourselves to others in true freedom--and know the joy of a deeper relationship with the God who sees us. Our culture applauds what we can produce, what we can show, what we can upload to social media. Only when we give all of ourselves to God--unedited, abandoned, apparently wasteful in its lack of productivity--can we live out who God created us to be. As Hagerty writes, "Maybe my seemingly unproductive, looking-up-at-Him life produces awe among the angels." Through an eloquent exploration of both personal and biblical story, Hagerty calls us to offer every unseen minute of our lives to God. God is in the secret places of our lives that no one else witnesses. But we've not been relegated to these places. We've been invited. We may be "wasting" ourselves in a hidden corner today: The cubicle on the fourth floor. The hospital bedside of an elderly parent. The laundry room. But these are the places God uses to meet us with a radical love. These are the places that produce the kind of unhinged love in us that gives everything at His feet, whether or not anyone else ever proclaims our name, whether or not anyone else ever sees. God's invitation is not just for a season or a day. It is the question of our lives: "When no one else applauds you, when it makes no sense, when you see no results--will you waste your love on Me?"

Download or read book Street God written by Dimas Salaberrios and published by NavPress. This book was released on 2015-08-20 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: His street name was Daylight. But he was a nightmare. On the streets of New York, darkness and violence reigned. Dimas “Daylight” Salaberrios popped his first pill when he was eleven years old, and just days later, he was selling drugs to his schoolmates. By fifteen, he was facing time at the notorious Rikers Island Prison. It was never safe to turn your back, and Dimas saw only one chance to survive: to become a street god. He would be the richest, most powerful ruler in the hood . . . or die trying. But in one terrifying moment, with a gun pointed at his head, Dimas had to decide: How far would he go? Was he finished taking reckless chances to rule as a god of the streets? Would he dare to entrust his life to the real God—an even riskier path? Because that God would send Dimas back down the darkest streets he’d ever known on a rescue mission after those still in danger. Street God is the true story of one man’s against-all-odds journey from the streets to the altar and back again. A modern-day The Cross and the Switchblade for a new generation, it reveals that we’re never too far gone for God to change us—and shows how a single spark can illuminate even the darkest existence.

Download or read book Saved Sanctified and Married to a Drug Dealer written by Jenine May and published by . This book was released on 2017-05-20 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Federal prosecutors describe him as a cold-hearted killer, a man so vile he had his half-brother killed to seize control of a Detroit drug gang. John Bass, 34 of Detroit was convicted Monday of killing Armenty Shelton in a drug-related murder and of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. If sentenced to death, he could be the 1st man in eastern Michigan to receive the death penalty since 1938. Back on the scene in the city of Detroit in the early-1990s, Butch Jones, the convicted ringleader of the uber-notorious YBI gang, joined forces with John "The Bread Man" Bass, a much-feared crime lord who had emerged when Butch was off serving his time in prison. - gansterreport I was the one! If anyone John would marry, it was me and so he did. It was hard to believe the father of my three children, the man I was wholeheartedly in love with was capable of so many terrible things. I knew he had insecurities, I knew he cared too much about what other people thought of him and I knew that he found his identity in selling drugs but I had no idea how deep his issues were. He was two different people! He desperately tried to be the man I wanted him to be but his battle with inner demons got the better of him. I knew my fight was not with him but spiritual darkness. I suffered emotional, physical and sexual abuse. I did not support his choice to sell drugs although I stayed with him which pretty much condoned it. I always encouraged him that he was brilliant and he could sell anything why not get into another line of business. I was willing to move away to another state if it would help him find his true self. He was not my enemy, Satan was. Satan desperately wanted to break my spirit, kill my destiny and frustrate my purpose. But God had a different plan. It was only my relationship with God that protected me and strengthened me through the entire experience. In the end, I had nothing let to give. I had suffered to much and the love I had was forgotten. My life was turned upside down when John was incarcerated. He was the bread winner and I was a college student. I had to drop out of college and take responsibility for three children, a mortgage, a house, a car note, insurance and other bills. I have struggled and struggled financial ever since but God has been an excellent provider. I have since forgiven John. I only hope that he will allow God to do what he wants in his life and hope that God gives him another chance to live a life of victory rather than defeat!

Download or read book Blown Away written by Pastor Mick Fleming and published by SPCK. This book was released on 2022-09-15 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘It’s impossible to visit Church on the Street and not be deeply moved by the work the organisation does for those in need. It is an extraordinary place . . .’ HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES, from the Foreword ‘The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wanted to visit Pastor Mick to offer support and understand more about the work that takes place in Church on the Street.’ ED THOMAS, BBC NEWS An autobiography that is fast-paced, stirring and a powerful testament to the love of God, Blown Away tells the story of Pastor Mick Fleming. No conventional clergyman, Pastor Mick led a life of crime and addiction before being called by God to become a Christian minister. Brutally raped as a child, he was about to confide in his parents when the dreadful news came that his sister had died of a sudden heart-attack. Mick didn’t cry again for 30 years, masking his pain with drink and drugs and working as notorious underworld fixer - until the day a revelation of faith unravelled his world, and he found himself utterly ‘blown away’. Here he relates his incredible journey from hardened criminal to discovering who he truly is in Christ; from helping to destroy lives through drug dealing, to helping others and saving lives through selflessly serving those in poverty. Laying bare his struggles in full for the first time, including a failed attempt at suicide, Pastor Mick tells how sharing his pain has helped others who are suffering. Since that first call that set him on the road to becoming a Christian minister he has seen miracles happen – including being able not only to forgive, but to help, the man who ruined his life. Blown Away is a thought-provoking and inspiring Christian autobiography that offers insight into the violent underworld of crime, addiction and substance abuse in the UK and reveals the extraordinary power of faith, forgiveness and redemption. Pastor Mick’s story will move and inspire you on your own faith journey, and offer hope to those struggling with addiction, grief and suffering. Told with raw honesty and full of warmth and humanity, Blown Away is an amazing example of how God can help those even in the darkest places.

Download or read book Finding God When You Need Him Most written by Chip Ingram and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2007-02-01 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this encouraging book, Chip Ingram reveals how readers can meet God in the midst of their most difficult circumstances. Chip's candid discussion, personal stories, and solid guidance will allow readers to move from "knowing about God" to profoundly experiencing his presence and power in their lives. Whether they're struggling with rocky relationships, unexpected crises, depression, or injustice, Finding God When You Need Him Most will remind readers that the Lord is faithful to hear their heart's cry and will be there for them, time and again.

Download or read book Deacon King Kong Oprah s Book Club written by James McBride and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-03-03 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction Winner of the Gotham Book Prize One of Barack Obama's "Favorite Books of the Year" Oprah's Book Club Pick Named one of the Top Ten Books of the Year by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly and TIME Magazine A Washington Post Notable Novel From the author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, and the bestselling modern classic The Color of Water, comes one of the most celebrated novels of the year. In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and, in front of everybody, shoots the project’s drug dealer at point-blank range. The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong, James McBride’s funny, moving novel and his first since his National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird. In Deacon King Kong, McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood’s Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself. As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters—caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York—overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion. Bringing to these pages both his masterly storytelling skills and his abiding faith in humanity, James McBride has written a novel every bit as involving as The Good Lord Bird and as emotionally honest as The Color of Water. Told with insight and wit, Deacon King Kong demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.