I have been brought up in Catholic schools, Assembly of God churches, Baptist churches. My mentor in my retail career was an orthodox Jew.

I was at an Assembly of God camp in Steep Falls, Maine in 1954, and at that camp, I heard a Bible message from one of the camp preachers.  It was like God Himself was speaking directly to me....saying, "John, now is the time to either accept what you have heard...that Jesus is my Son...that He died on the cross for YOUR sins, and that He rose from the dead on the third day, and that He ascended into heaven.....just like He said He would, and that only He can save you from a destiny in the Lake of Fire...but you must first ask my Son, Jesus, to forgive you of your sins.  Then, you must be willing to ask Him to become your Lord and your Savior...or are you going to reject what He did for you on the cross?"

Well, I accepted the invitation.  Of the 300 "kids" there in camp with me, perhaps a few dozen made that same request known to God. My brother, Verne, was with me...and a bunch of kids from my church in Brookline, MA.  None of them knelt at their seat to ask Jesus to come into their life and to "save" them from a place called hell...but I did.  Years later, they all did.

Time went by....and I went into the United States Air Force as a young man of 20.  I spent from 1963-1967 in the military, and I had wandered off God's path and purpose for my life.  I never lost my salvation...God says that we cannot ever lose it, but there will always be consequences for disobeying God and for doing things our way.

I was married in 1967...and my wife and I had four children. During those years, I joined a Bible teaching church, but the pastor was what I call "Legalistic". That means that his interpretation of the Bible was taught...but taught wrong.  His ideology led him to teach that we must obey rules...and most of the rules were ones that he made up by twisting Scripture to suit his needs.

None-the-less, I didn't know any better and believed all that I was taught. I call this the "lazy man's approach to God's truths."

I taught 6th graders, and then adults in a Sunday school class situation.  I became a deacon in the church.  I "Tithed" which meant that I was mandated by the preacher...who twisted God's Words, to give one-tenth of all my gross income...and from the gross income of my retail business...which nearly bankrupted the company.

After many years of doing the same thing, I decided to just get angry at God and I left the pathway that He would prefer to have me on, but it was all for a greater plan and purpose that God would have for me.

I became a horrible person...a rebellious "Christian". I ended up in a divorce situation in 1997s...and have not remarried since.  My ex-wife, however, did remarry in 2000 as I recall.

In 2007, at the very TOP OF MY GAME...when all was great.....I asked God to show me what His plan and purpose for my life is. I had tons of money in the bank (I had made literally millions of dollars), and I owned three homes as a single/divorced guy.  If I wanted a Mercedes, I simply bought one.  Life was good, so I did not ask God to show me His plan because I was at the bottom of the barrel or had any illnesses...or needed money.  I simply KNEW  in my heart that all of my "stuff" was vanity, and it didn't mean anything, and that God's plan and purpose for my life would be the best...so I asked Him to show it to me.

He did!  Almost immediately, my finances dried up, I lost one of the three homes, I alienated my former wife...and the children who were all adults, I lost the health of my best friend...my brother, Verne. A month or two later, I lost the relationship that I had...my "soul-mate" for the previous ten years...and for no apparent reason.  God took almost everything and everyone close to me away from me, and this "Boot Camp experience" lasted for about sixteen months. 

God wanted to re-make or mold me into what He wanted me to become so that He could show me His plan and purpose. He taught me patience...which I sorely lacked. He taught me compassion for all others ("Love thy neighbor as you would love yourself"), and He taught me many things during "Boot Camp".

Then, He put me on a mission.  He gave me a singing voice and a desire to reach thousands of people with the gospel songs that i would learn to sing, and He told me to give a gospel message at the end of each song.  He arranged to have my "Missions Field" on YouTube.  His "job" was to provide the guests who would come to hear me sing...and my "job" was to sing country music, oldies...like ELvis tunes, and do at least one gospel song and message, and put it on my YouTube channel on Saturdays, and leave it on the channel until after church on Sunday.  This would be the only "church" that folks who came to my channel would every get...perhaps.

The attendance on the channel grew tremendously.  Within the first six months, the channel had nearly 12,000 guests, and they uploaded my songs nearly 63,000 times!  God was definitely doing His "job".

All of that came about one day as I watched the Bill Gaither people singing on TV...March of 2011....I sat in my TV chair, and thought to myself, "I wish I could sing like those guys, but I can't (could not really carry a tune in a bucket), so I will have to wait until I get to heaven and join the heavenly choir."

God heard that thought.  I always thought my ministry would be writing books. I had written seven books before March of 2011, and four are finished and on my book website at www.RelationshipBooks.com, but God would use that experience as the background for THIS BLOG!  He set up the music thing on YouTube first.  So, now my missions "outreach" is to thousands of people from all over the world. I reach them  though secular music...then salt the channel with gospel. I also have a direct link to this BLOG, and to a "Salvation Page". I always point people to that Salvation link when I do the gospel message following each gospel song.

I have written hundreds of articles for faith-based websites like www.Faithwriters.com, and some of that material is directly linked back to THIS BLOG.

I have learned that a lot of what I had been taught by CLERGY was wrong!  I have learned the answers to most of the questions that I always wanted to ask, but was afraid to...for fear of getting the WRONG ANSWERS.  So, I asked God to show me wisdom when it comes to reading and understanding HIS WORD. He has said, that if we ask for wisdom, He will give it to us liberally...not holding anything back.

It was after my "Boot Camp" experience that I really began to understand Scripture crystal clear. Sure, God had for-ordained me to study and that was the basis for writing several of my books...and for teaching God's TRUTHS in books, blogs or YouTube messages, but sometimes, God would clarify things so crystal clear that I made changes in some of my writings which are all now electronic "e-books". 

So...YOU now get the benefit of my over fifty years of studying God's Word. I trust that you will gain a new and richer understanding of God's principles....many of which theologians and TV preachers and church pulpits still teach WRONG to this day  We will get right into those areas of Biblical TRUTH...not opiniion....TRUTH...based on Bible doctrine taught by God Himself for our benefit...so that we would not be "blown about by every wind of doctrine" that comes our way.

You have no idea of who is right or wrong out there.  Catholics? Protestants? Jews? Mormons? Jehovah Witnesses?  Mormons? Hindus?  They all believe what they were taught by their gurus from a pulpit. Can they all be wrong?  Can they all be right?  Why the huge gaps in belief systems called "religions"? 

Like I have said...YOU are responsible for your own salvation, and God is not going to have your priest, rabbi, cleric, pastor or TV evangelist standing by your side to help you answer His sole question...."Why should I let YOU into my heaven?"

There will be ONE ANSWER. All other answers will condemn your spirit to a place called the "Lake of Fire".

By the time you peruse my BLOG here and there, you will KNOW the answer. Jesus said, "Seek the TRUTH...and the TRUTH shall make you FREE."

My life is the happiest, most content and peaceful life that I have had thus far....and I don't have all the "stuff" I once had. How can this be?  Would you also like to know how to be truly HAPPY? CONTENT?  At peace with God and man? Well, this BLOG will get you there.

John