"But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you." Acts 26:16
I was saved, delivered, and filled with the Holy Spirit 44 years ago, and shortly after was called by God to be a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I joined the church, was baptized, became a tither, and began to prosper. Not long after my conversion, I went back into the equipment business and thought to myself, this is my life!
One morning I was praying with a brother in my office when all of a sudden Jesus walked in. I couldn't see Him or hear His voice, but I knew in my spirit what He was saying. He told me to go to a cemetery in Aurora Texas where I used to go when I skipped school. We came to the gates of the old cemetery and the sign was blowing in the wind which said, "I am the resurrection and the life!"
We pulled in and stopped at an old brush arbor and He said to me, "When I called Lazarus out of the tomb, he was wrapped in grave clothes, and in your case, you are wrapped with the worries of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the cares of this life. And then He said to me, "Choose this day whom you will serve!" I said, you Lord and He was gone. When I got back to the office a constable was there to serve me papers on half a million in past debt caused by my drug addiction.
I filed for bankruptcy closed the equipment business and proceeded to minister to people, taking some to Motel Six to get them off of drugs, helped the poor, and preached in prisons and jails until I opened several drug rehabs and walked in my calling. I've made many mistakes, fallen, bankrupt, and divorced but have always gotten up, shaken off the dust, and moved on. Being a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most challenging thing you will ever do but also the most rewarding! If He has called you, take hold of His word and GO!
"I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 'to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.' Acts 26:17,18
Your servant in Christ, Timothy Laughlin
Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ