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| ROCK BOTTOM Pastor Mal Dear Friend, I’m so glad to be able to share a part of my life with you. What you are about to read is simply the truth. My life began in Tylorstown, a little mining village in the Rhondda Valley, way back in 19 55. As a boy I used to play amongst coal trams down the local pit. As a teenager I was kind of troubled and got into serious fights. One day I left home and went live on a mountain near Stanleytown. As the weather grew colder I moved in to a horsebox with a 13:2 grey gelding as my neighbor. Then my world fell apart. The police arrested me and locked me up in Porth Police Station, and tried to get me to confess to a crime I hadn’t done I was merely living in a horsebox, minding my own business. I was being interrogated by the police officers. One of them punched me on the nose and left ear. Now things really got heated, I began to swear and completely lost my temper as I pleaded my innocence, then one of the officers said, “Son, you are going to prison.” It was like a shaft of light shining into my dark night. It was just a lifebelt being thrown to a drowning man. “Prison,” I thought, "cooked breakfast, dinner and tea! Sounds good to me! After all anything is better than a horsebox with wall to wall green axmin manure!”
And so I began to confess to those crimes and I also to any other crime I could think of. It was when I got to the great train robbery that the two officers became suspicious. In my eagerness to go prison, for a bath, I had grossly overdone it they simply threw me out of Porth Police Station and for some strange reason had offered me a cigarette. I was puzzled by their strange behavior; when I denied the crime, they beat me up, when I admitted to it, they let me go.
Well, it was back to my home at the horsebox, only too late as it was now padlocked. The owner told me that because I had got into trouble with the Police I could no longer live there. After all I might nick the horse! Again, I pleaded my innocence, but it was no use, and I was evicted from the horsebox. It was back to the green, green grass of home. As I lay down weary and tired after the day’s events, I looked up into a clear night sky. This night, every star seemed to be shining and glistening in the moonlight. For a few minutes, I forgot about my ordeal as I stared up at the beauty of it all, and thought “How did all this happen, was it through a big explosion?” This was a belief my dad had taught me as a boy. I wondered if there really is a God up there, and then, as if pulled back into reality, I looked around at the mountain I was sleeping on, and thought, “I guess not. Look at the mess my life is in.” I turned over and went to sleep and woke up in the morning, covered in frost.
THE ONLY WAY IS UPWARDS
Once you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way to go is upwards. I phoned up a farmer in Cowbridge who was advertising for a farm laborer; he interviewed me on a pavement and gave me a job. I now had a roof over my head; three cooked meals a day, and worked as hard as an Egyptian slave. I even got paid for it. I was on my way again. However, after about a year working on the farm and few fights as well, I had an argument with the boss’ father in law, I now headed back to the Rhondda like a lost Prodigal. I returned to my parents and made up with them.
I began to visit the local pub frequently and became a pool champion; I had several jobs, and a few girlfriends. I went to live in a flat on a housing estate called Penrhys, and wondered what to do next. Whilst in the bar of the Bridgend Hotel in Pontygwaith, a man came in selling bacon and sausages. The next week I was doing the same. I built up a round and soon I had a mobile shop. After that I got a bigger van with shelves and fridges, and stocked it to the roof. I was like Tesco on wheels. I now had my own car and my life was blooming again.
That was until Arthur Scargill pulled the miners out on strike. My business plummeted over the long haul, as the miner’s wives simply could not pay the bills. The business was coming to a close. I gave my mother a box of groceries, but she insisted on giving me a fiver towards my petrol. “Pass my purse out of the drawer,” she said. As I opened the drawer I found a bookmark with the Ten Commandments. I slowly began to read them:
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
1. You shall have no other gods before Me
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol
3. You shall not misuse the Name of the Lord your God
4. Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it Holy
5. Honor your father and mother
6. You shall not murder
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not bear false testimony against your neighbor
10. You shall not covet.
At first I began to count how many I had broken; 1,2,3,4,5,6, 7,... Then I thought, “I wonder if I’ll get a consolation prize if I break them all?” But then, a quick jerk back into reality, as I thought, “What if God really exists? What if my dad is wrong? What if we didn’t come from monkeys, and what if heaven and hell really exist?” My next thought was: I’d be going to hell for sure! Then I thought, “I don’t want to go to hell, I want to go to heaven.” But then my dad told me there were no hell and no heaven! He must be right. But then again, he also told me that a 20 stone man, with a great white beard came down the chimney on Christmas Eve. I was so disappointed when he blocked up the chimney and called me stupid for believing in Father Christmas. I thought, “Well, if he was wrong about Santa, he might be wrong about God!” It was a sobering thought. However, I dismissed the thought that we came from monkeys.The next week I visited my mum’s again, only this time I opened the drawer to find a little black book that belonged to my Grandma. It was a New Testament and my mother said that I could have it, so I took it home, and read it over the next few months.
THE LIGHT BEGAN TO DAWN
I read about the most incredible person in the universe. A man called Jesus. I read about His words, His works and His wonders. He said, “No one can come to the Father, except through Me.. .I am the way the truth and the life.” He also said, “I am the the door.“ What strange statements I thought, I had been told that Jesus was a conman who did miracles to trick people? Now I was discovering the opposite. No one loved like He did. He was like a love magnet and I was slowly and gradually being drawn. I read the parables and teachings and was literally amazed. But then I read that, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get enter the kingdom of God.”
I shut the book and decided that day that I definitely believed we came from monkeys. After all, I’ve been poor, and now I wanted to become rich. For six months that little black New Testament lay under my pillow unread. Then by chance, or so it seemed, I read a book where the author explained this parable. Rich people are always looking outwards, to their riches and possessions — if their interests are going up in value, then they are happy. But if they plummet, they get depressed. The author then said that some of those people then quit, or even commit suicide. “But the kingdom of God is within you.” In a flash of light I saw that you don’t find God “outwardly” but in your heart.
Now I was like a bloodhound at the scent, and I wasn’t about to give up.
SEEK AND YOU SHALL FIND
The Bible says, “You shall seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” Well, I was seeking for the truth. Does Heaven and Hell really exist? I asked Jehovah’s Witnesses but I never found one that knew Him. Then there were all those horror stories about the parents who refused to give blood to save their own children’s lives. I thought that their God must be a monster that had no resemblance to Jesus. He came to save lives, not to destroy them! Only warped religious doctrines could drive people to such extremes! I spoke to Spiritualists who said, “There is no hell, only an afterlife. Jesus, however, spoke about a rich man who went to hell, but Lazarus went to heaven. Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus hung himself, and the Bible says that he fell headlong into hell. I thought that if Jesus is the truth and He spoke the truth, then there must be a hell. And if so, then there must also be a heaven. My future father in law gave me a book about Hare Krishna I called on Hare, but got no response. I read a Catholic prayer Mary; she was silent. I was confused. Who is right? It was back to the Bible and Jesus. The more I read of Him, the more I realised
that He is the Way, The Truth and The Life. (John 14:6)
A BREAKTHROUGH
Jesus told a parable about a lost son. He was far from home just as I was far away from God. But he came to his senses and said, “I will arise and go to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. Please make me one of your hired servants.” Please read (Luke 15)
Step by step he made way to the father. Instead of being scolded, his father ran towards him, threw his arms around his son, and kisses him. He then gave him a ring, (a sign of reconciliation.)
And put the best robe upon him. His father treated this wayward son like divine royalty. He then welcomed him into his house and they ate the fatted calf for dinner. Suddenly, in this parable, I could see myself. I am the prodigal son, and so are you. We have been living far away from our heavenly Father’s heart, grieving Him with our doubts, unbelief and sins. Yet He awaits our return to Him, with all of His broken heart. Oh, how we prodigals miss out because of our unbelief and hardness of heart.
THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
Now I was getting near to the ultimate Truth: “Jesus”. However, things now took a different turn. After Judas betrayed Jesus, he was arrested, beaten and whipped, though He had done nothing wrong.” I knew what it felt like to be arrested for a crime I didn’t commit. I protested, but Jesus remained silent; like a lamb before the slaughter. He went to the cross alone and was found guilty of crimes that He didn’t commit. Pilate tried to find a way to let Him go, but the blood-hungry crowd shouted for Him to be crucified. The son of God went through hours of agony as he was crucified, and slowly and painfully died. He cried out to God, “Father. . . Forgive them! For they know not what they do!” A roman soldier heard it and said, “Surely He is the Son of God.” A spear pierced His side, into His loving and compassionate heart and Jesus, the friend of sinners, died. His mother watched on as the light of her life was extinguished, her own heart pierced with grief. Jesus body was taken down and put in a tomb. That was the end of Him.. . Or was it? Three days later Jesus rose again!
Not even Death and Hell could hold Him. He rose triumphant, conquering man’s last enemy, “the grave”. He now had the Keys of Death and Hell and showed Himself to His disciples and followers. Thomas doubted and said, “Unless I see in His hand, the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and also put my hand into His side, “Reach your finger here, and look at my hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving.” Thomas replied, “My Lordand My God!” Jesus said, “Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:25-29
After all, we all walk by faith and not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 so that was that. Now I thought, “Well, I guess I believe in Jesus. He surely is the Son of God.” That was until...
DIVINE ENCOUNTER
I was driving my car home one evening, thinking about Jesus, when I heard His voice for the first time. He simply said, “YOU KNOW ABOUT ME BUT YOU DON’T KNOW ME.” I was literally cut to the heart. His Words cut like a sharp two-edged sword. I drove home, got on my knees and cried out, “But Lord, I want to know you!” My room began to fill with an incredible light, whilst my heart seemed black like a piece of Welsh coal. I began to weep. The warm tears began to drip to the floor. I didn’t know what to say, so I mouthed the only words I could think of, “Lord, I’m sorry! Please forgive me!” Suddenly the blackness disappeared out of my heart and the light and joy of salvation came into my heart. I rose to my feet like a brand new person, totally clean and
forgiven. The Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come.” Read: 2 Corinthians 5:17. I had now crossed over from death to eternal life. I was so happy and joyful. Jesus was no longer just a person in the Bible, but He was now living in my heart. No longer did I only know about Him, but now I KNOW Him personally!
Someone asked me, “What’s the difference between going to heaven or hell?” I replied that it’s simply knowing or believing in Jesus. (Listen to what John, the beloved disciple of Jesus. Writers)
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God; so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 56:13 and.. John 17:3 “now this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”
ME AND MY HOUSEHOLD
The bible says...
“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you and your household shall be saved.” Acts 16:31
I laid claim to this verse and began to cry out to God, “Lord, please save my family!” I heard His voice again, “I don’t want you to come to heaven and your family go to hell, 1 want you all in heaven.” I began to pray daily for my family, especially for my Mum and Dad.
I stopped chasing the girls instantly, and married my sweetheart, Carole, whom I had courted for years. She came with me to a meeting and heard man from Bristol speak about the joy of knowing Jesus. She responded and asked Jesus into her own heart. Now the two of us knew Jesus. “Oh, what a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief to bear. What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer.” About six months and several discussions later, my brother David started going to the chapel I was not attending. I explained to him that, “Faith without works is dead.” James 2:17
Two weeks later, he to, came to know Jesus, and had crossed over from death to life.
A few years later my Mum came to know Jesus, then, fifteen years later, my Dad!
He fell out of bed, and was concussed. Fearing the end, the hospital called the family in. I prayed and asked the Lord to bring around, and give me one last chance to persuade him.
He finally came round and began swearing, and all the family went back home. I stayed behind and tried to explain to him that if he died that night, like Judas Iscariot, he would go straight to hell.
He replied, “There is no heaven and no hell! We come from monkeys.” I went off to pray and met a friend called Ian Willis, who was also a Christian and attended the same church in Treorchy as me. We prayed together for my Dad, (and his son who was also taken in with a mystery illness.)
Again and again, I witnessed to my Dad. He resisted me all the way until I told him about the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus. One hardened his heart to the very end. He was swearing at Jesus, but Jesus simply remained quiet. The other one cried out and said, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”
I said to my Dad, “You see, there is a heaven after all!”
In great deal of heart searching my Dad said, “Are you sure?” I told him that I was absolutely certain. (Faith is being certain!) He simply looked up towards the ceiling and cried, “Lord!” The look of anguish in his eyes soon disappeared and a peace came to his soul. He turned to me and said, “Jesus is my Saviour.” Tears filled my eyes as he began to sing, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. We hugged each other and prayed. An hour ago he was trying to fight the man in the next bed. Now the man was baffled and asked me what had happened to my Dad. I told him that he simply accepted Jesus into his heart, and that had made all the difference.
The man was astonished at the change. My Dad now seemed at peace with himself and with others, despite his fall and ailing health. He soon went off to sleep. I went home, only to be called back to the hospital with my brother David to find that my Dad had died in his sleep. I drove home in a daze. Again I heard God’s voice saying, “I saved your father from the flames of hell in a nick of time.” My tears turned to joy as I now realized my Dad was in Paradise with Jesus. Oh, what a joy to see you and your household being saved! A while later I say my daughters come to know Jesus for themselves along with some other members of my family. I prayed for them daily, and still do.
I’ve come to realize when God gives us a promise, He keeps it! But we must do our part, and that’s to believe those promises and pray them into being and never give up! All God’s promises are yes and Amen in Christ Jesus. Oh what a wonderful Saviour Jesus is. Only He died such a death for us. Jesus loves us to death and back. He is risen, He is alive and He is your friend. No matter what you have done, we all have broken the Ten Commandments, and if we broke one, then we’ve broken them all. There is no consolation prize, only judgement. However, our faithful friend, Jesus, has taken all our judgement upon Himself so that through Him and His shed blood, we can be redeemed, set free and born again into a new life. Amazing Grace says that when we’ve been there ten thousand years, we have only just begun! Friend, eternal life is only found in Jesus Christ. Everyone who comes to know Him personally is given eternal life. The bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16
CALLUPON HIM NOW
The bible says...
“NOW IS THE TIME OF GODS FAVOUR, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION”
Call upon Him now. Now is your day of Salvation. You need to know Him, for He is the ONLY Saviour of the world. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to man by which he can be saved. Acts 4:12. Remember: The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 6:23 Why not get on your knees right now and call upon Jesus to save you. Everyone, including you, who call upon Him, shall be saved - this is His promise. Don’t be like the thief who hardened his heart to the very end. Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart, but soften your heart and call upon Jesus and be saved. Here is a prayer to help you:
“Dear Lord Jesus, I’m sorry for my sins. Lord, please forgive me; cleanse me of all sin by your precious blood. I give you my heart and life, come in and am my Saviour and my Lord. I believe in my heart that you died and rose again. I confess with my mouth; Jesus is Lord. Jesus is MY Lord. Thank You for saving me. Amen.”
Remember, “Whoever calls on the Name of the Lord (Jesus), shall be saved.” Romans 10:13
WHAT TO DO NOW
1. Begin at once to read through the Bible. Read the New Testament through a few times before reading the Old Testament.
2. Go along to a Local Bible believing, baptizing, Holy Spirit filled church a soon as possible.
3. Avoid dead traditional churches, but find a lively one, and be regular in your attendance.
4. Enquire about water baptism as soon as possible, for this is essential to your continued walk with Jesus. He says that whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved. But
whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16
5. Begin to pray everyday. God hears your prayers and said, “if you as ANYTHING in My Name I will do it.” John 14:14
6. Write to me and let me know of your decision and I will send you some helpful literature to get you started, or restarted, in the Christian Faith. Remember, Jesus is your Lord. He’s not ashamed of you - no matter who you are. You shouldn’t be ashamed of Him in this sad and skeptical world. Jesus said that if we deny Him before men, then He will deny us before His Father in heaven, but if we acknowledge Hun in front of men, then He will acknowledge us before His Father in heaven.
7. Pray daily for your family and friends, to come to know Jesus.Don’t give up on them. For, “We shall reap a harvest in due season if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
8.Ask Jesus to fill you with the Holy Spirit and be a witness for Him wherever you work, live or play. Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me... to the end of the earth.”
These seven steps will help you along the way. Much love now and always.
By Pastor Mal Holland
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