Jesus Wins.
This is NOT an original E.C. Henry quote, but rather was one that I heard a person that I highly respect chose to answer his phone at one time.
NEVER doubt the affect your words can have on another person. Even in brief interactions with other people you'd be suprised what they choose to remember you for.
For Darren Brock, how I choose to remember him is the guy who answered his phone, "Jesus wins."
Darren Brock was a guy I knew from my days in high school. He was one grade level higher than me, and his brother actually was in my grade level. The Darren I knew in school seamed troubled, even when I was in school it seamed to me that other people said that too. I never knew what that trouble was, still don't.
Flash forward to my post-fishing boat life, I nearly committed suicide, then gave my heart to Jesus. THEN I re-meet Darren Brock now as a fellow Christian. I never got Daren's testimony of how he came to Christ, but after I got saved and started attending some church functions Darren talked to me a lot. He was a carpet layer, that was his trade. It's what he did for a living. But what I remember the most about Darren was what a bold speaker he was. Dude wasn't afraid to say anything. He had a confidence unlike any Christian I'd ever met before. Darren Brock was a modern-day David, and now as Christian there wasn't any Goliath he was afraid of.
It's been over 20 years now since I had regular talkings with Darren Brock, but on one occassion we were talking (I can't remember exactly if it was Darren or his brother Tony) but one of those Brock brother told me about a time that they were listening Iron Maiden's song "The Number of the Beast" and he looked under his bed and saw a demon! That freaked him out so bad he ran out of the room.
But what really stood out to me about Darren Brock and what I respected the most was the fact that he was a working Joe, and could still be a fine, upstanding Christian. That always struck a chord and earned a lot of street cred. with me: could you be successful in a job AND yet still be successful in your faith?
The other thing that really stood out to me was someting Darren said about when things get real stressfull at his house (where he was starting over with a new wife and seveal kids) Darren said sometimes he would pick up the phone and start the conversation by saying, "Jesus wins."
How cool of a way is that to BEGIN a dialog on the phone!?
Like I said, it's amazing what some of your take-home message from some people is. For me, I remember Darren Brock as the guy who would pick up his phone and start by saying, "Jesus wins."
And He does. I think I loose sight of that a lot. But even before the day begins, Jesus wins. And it brings my heart great joy to share in what Jesus has already accomplished. Now I'm not going to go into the Christian message. It's in the four gospels, and a lot has been said about that already. But what I am going to focus on is the underlying truth of it all, and that is Jesus wins no matter what comes next.
I love the Lord. Once I gave my heart to Jesus a lot of things changed for me. Sure now I have a lot different ambtions than I did when I first got saved. After I got "saved" back in 1990 I was coming off a carnal year living on-and-off a fisher processor boat in Alaska. After I got saved I needed to have a new focus, get back into school, and get back on the college track so I could get a good job. That led me to go to a tech. school where I studied to become an electronics technician. I graduated from the that. Had a hard time finding work. Did a few electronic assembly jobs, then FINALLY got a good paying job--but I had to go to Boise, Idaho to get it. Later that job started to wind down so I moved back to the state of Washington and the last major electronic job I had. Then after that ended and tech. work was drying up I started doing warehouse jobs, pick-and-pack kind of stuff. It's taken me about 15 years and now I'm finally at a good place. And you have NO IDEA some of truly bad places I've been, and dark experiences I've been through.
I'm not sure why I'm telling you all this now. Maybe it's because a part of me is writer with big, lofty dreams. Dreams that for the most part haven't come true. BUT I'm learning that I gotta be who I am, whether or not that's accepted or not. Dream of Taylor Swift as I might, at the beginning of the day to the end of the day, I belong to Christ.
Jesus wins!
More importantly, Jesus wins my heart. That commitment I made to him when I got saved is still the most important one of all. I'm here for a short period of time. Jesus is here forever! He trumps eveything I want, everything I desire. Sometimes you just hafta be willing to humble your heart and admit where you belong. Whether my Hollywood dreams come true or not, I belong to Christ. Jesus wins.
I don't know if you've ever said that yourself--and meant it! But I think it's so cool because it takes all the onus of us and puts where it belongs, on Jesus. When you think about all He achieved and what He was willing to subject Himself to, by coming here to Earth to die for our sins, IF you believe it humbles and empowers you.
I highly encouarge you to read the bible. It's just so full of who God is. Sometimes I just read the bible to marvel over God's character. I LOVE the Old Testament especially. I LOVE where you get the insight of where, when and under what circumstances God speaks. It seams to me like most times God is recorded of speaking is under times of distress; when Israel had gone astry and changes where needed.
But I want hear God speak when He's happy. You ever thought about that? What it would be like to God speak at a time of awards. A time when He speaks about the things that please Him. In my heart of heart I want to live for God. I want to bring God pleasure. I want Him to be happy that He made me. I'm going to be real honest with, I feel like I'm living on borrowed time. Heck, back in 1990 had I made a different descion, of which I was very close to make I'll have you know, I could very well have blown my head of with a 30-30 gunhshot to the head. That was and still is my hunting rifle, and it nearly became the impliment of my end back in 1990. But...
Jesus wins! I'm still here, by His grace. Darren Brock may have been the first to say it in my life experience, but he won't be the last. I believed it then, and I believe it now:
Jesus wins!
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