My calling?

 Praise the LORD!!!

   Having been blessed with the day off, the LORD has me going about HIS work for me. This morning a memory from the past came to heart. One that for years, I had discounted as just being something produced by a drug induced state. This was given to me years before I ever gave my life to CHRIST, back in the days when my life was about living for self and my own personal gratifications. A female friend of mine told me that she'd had dreams about me. Dreams that were very life like and quite intense, especially considering the drastic difference between the man in her dreams and the one she was giving them too.

   Now the man in her dreams was a Man of GOD and one a bit different than most. He was speaking out against all those of the church, that were leading people astray. She said he was like Moses leading GOD's chosen out of Egypt. Now here we were, getting stoned and living lives totally outside of anything even close to a biblical lifestyle, so you can see why I just blew it off as nothing I'd every think about doing. It just wasn't what I was looking for in life!

   Now this was given to me in the late seventies, around '78' or '79.' I just continued to live life as I had been, never thinking about this dream or altering my lifestyle in the least. Now remember, I'd accepted CHRIST as my SAVIOR in '71,' but hadn't chosen to follow HIM as my LORD. Strange too, is the fact that though having never read the Bible, more than a chapter or two, I somehow managed to inadvertently lead several people to CHRIST during this time:))) Now let's fast forward to '95,' when I totally gave my life to JESUS. Here I am, in prison for the commission of a felony, my part in an armed bank robbery. Totally broken, because I'm almost forty and I'm looking at what would be a thirty five year prison sentence and losing contact with everything I held dear. Now, I've no man leading me at this point, only a small testimonial book, called "From Prison to Praise(Merlin Carothers.) I'm then blessed to find a Bible to read, which only hours before there wasn't one! I begin cross referencing all the verses in the testimonial and then reading the Bible as if my very soul depended on it. Three days after my arrest, I gave my life totally to the LORD and to the exact extent, didn't realize at the time:)))

   I suddenly have this tremendous desire to read everything I can get my hands on, that had a Biblical focus. In prison you can find books offered by many religions, some of those being false and I even picked those up. But when I began to read them, there was this inner warning to put them down. I knew nothing about the HOLY SPIRIT at this time, but I still laid these books down. Now, I had no idea why this was happening or WHO it was that was working inside me to do so, I just did it. Now, I plainly know that this was the workings of the HOLY SPIRIT, forming and shaping me into a vessel of GOD's own making!!! I'll not go into all the details of the process that continued to take place within my life, for they're already recorded online in my book, "Out of the LIGHT" at the ministry's web site. I will state, that I began to have a hunger for the WORD and a lifestyle totally different than any I ever thought possible.

   As I began to mature, I was led to read books from almost every religious group out there. Seventh Day Adventist, Mormon, Jehovah Witness's and more. This was limited though, by the vast numbers of Christian Bible studies that I was taking on. At one time this numbered eight at once, but soon was limited to only three at any one time. This all on top of a continual reading of the Bible, in all it's versions. You would think that with all this reading, I'd have a vast list of memorized verses, but due to all my years of drug abuse, I can count these on my two hands. What there is though, is the WORD deeply implanted into my heart. Not to be recalled as I will, but as the LORD has need of me too!

   I've no visions of grandeur, where I think I'm some great prophet, apostle or man of GOD, but I do realize that GOD has had a calling upon my life since before birth and I'm going to allow HIM full control in all that I do. Sometimes, what I say will not be accepted by others, which is not my goal. I do only as led by the HOLY SPIRIT and I know that there will be those that my comments will be for and they'll effect their hearts in the manor the LORD wills for them too. Nothing in this world happens by chance, all is allowed by GOD to bring about HIS perfect will for mankind. Our crossing paths, or your reading this, all have HIS purpose behind them. What has happened has been the hand of GOD at work within our lives and will bring about HIS perfect will for us and those around us. You may not accept what you read now, but a seed has been planted and if it is GOD's will for your life, it'll begin to sprout and eventually bear fruit. I love all of GOD's created beings, even the worst of the worst, and pray that a seed is planted even in their hearts (no matter how hardened.)  Whether one accepts my words, doesn't matter to me, for I seek only to be obedient to HIS leading within me. I know the Bible well enough to know what is true and what is false and I'll always stand for that which is true and against that which is false.




Prayer request can be sent to: prayers@vineofchrist.org 

GOD bless and good day,

Rev. Marshall Barth

Vine of CHRIST Ministries