God Can Get Your Attention - UBM [David Eells]

This is a testimony of how a good friend of mine (Alonzo "Lonnie" Waters from New Castle, PA) was drawn to the Lord. I initially met Lonnie at the Pittsburgh Art Institute. The first time I met him I remember going to his apartment after class and making fun of him for having a Bible on his night stand. Although he never read it or lived it, he had a respect for God and quickly defended the Bible. It is not the sort of thing you usually see in a hardened drug dealer's apartment. We were good friends for several years and we made hip-hop music together in the world. The time came when the Lord began to draw me to Him and He called me out of that lifestyle of drugs and partying (how miraculous that process is!) and I told Lonnie I couldn't continue with him and do music because I was giving my life to Jesus. Lonnie and his friends were upset that I would no longer be making music for them and it would be years before I would talk to him again. Several years later, Lonnie was pursuing his rap career and traveling down to Washington, D.C. to do a music video. After partying for two days straight, Lonnie and his brother were traveling in a van on the highway while doing drugs, smoking marijuana, etc., and they fell asleep while driving in broad daylight without wearing their seatbelts.

Lonnie heard a loud sound (like the sound of the warning strips on the side of the road) suddenly and was wide awake, sober and in an immense black place. It was so dark and so black that you could not see your hand in front of your face. Fear gripped him as he began to panic because he realized that he was fully alive and in an inescapable darkness. He knew that he was in trouble and hell was imminent. So, he desperately cried out with a loud voice the name of JESUS. It seemed like an eternity in the blackness, but it was probably for the space of 15 earthly seconds. As he cried out that name, he began to come to in his body and was able to see light again and he began to feel the glass hitting his face and he had no idea what had just taken place. Those who witnessed it said the van flipped four or five times while going 70 miles an hour on the highway. The other motorists stopped and helped them, saying, "There is no way anyone could be alive after that".They were totally shocked to see them walk away with minor injuries. No seatbelts were used, yet no one was thrown from the van. The engine was in the front seat and the roof of the van was squeezed like a steeple.

God used this event to get Lonnie's attention. He surrendered to the Lord and wanted nothing more but to please the Lord and live for him from then on. Today, eight years later, only by the Grace of God, Lonnie is serving the Lord fervently with unfeigned love, with signs following. Needless to say, after the surrender of his life to Jesus, he tracked me down and expressed his exuberance and faith in our Lord. He fully understood what the Lord had done in my life years before. What a wonderful testimony of God's grace and mercy toward those who oppose him. Let this be an encouragement for us to utilize our time in this life wisely. God's Grace is great and the days are evil.

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