All about God .com
I recently visited with some new friends at All about God.com here in Colorado Springs. God is truly using them in a unique way in helping people find relationship with the one true living God. The long and the short of it is they research the Internet search engines and find out key words that people are imputing that may be a key that would lead them on a journey towards the cross. So say Mr X was looking for something on Buda, Angels, Darwin or any number of subjects, they have masterfully created web sites some 260 plus and counting that they write in such a way that the seeker will find their site listed as the top choice in the search engine that gives the seeker the information that they are looking for as well as give them an opportunity to go on a journey that ultimately leads them to the Cross.
I asked them for their story of their journey which you will find if you click the link below. Take some time to visit their site.
13 pages but very much worth the read Download the entire Msword version Download All about God journey
The Power of Purpose
It’s All About God
How Two Men Are Discovering the Multiplying Power of Genuine Reason for Living
A Journalistic Report
3, 343 words
By Peggy Matthews Rose
22431 Silver Spur
Lake Forest, CA 92630
949-433-9732
It’s All About God
How Two Men Are Discovering the Multiplying Power of Genuine Reason for Living
I cry out to God Most High,
to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.
Psalm 57:2 NLT
We drown them out, ignore them, medicate them—even pretend they don’t exist. But sooner or later, we have to face them:
Why am I here?
Why was I born?
Is there a reason for it all?
What’s it all about?
Purpose motivates, directs and energizes. It is hope, a goal, a reason for living. It’s the blood that flows through our veins. Without it, we just exist, like zombies in a bad 1950’s science fiction movie.
We can live for ourselves, or we can live for others. What most discover is that while we can get by for awhile living for “me,” that shallow well runs dry sooner or later. Those who choose to give their lives away find life-transforming power.
For our case in point, we submit the stories of two very different men—one a disillusioned Christian living only for his own pleasures; the other an intellectual atheist, powered by money and success. Both of them were “good” people. But both were living largely for themselves. Genuine purpose surprised them both. What they’re doing with it is now surprising thousands around the world.
It’s All About God
Greg Outlaw
His name was Outlaw—and for years, he’d been living up to it. Now the cold, unfeeling steel of the examining table underneath him underscored the price tag. “Greg,” the doctor said, “you have advanced chronic pancreatitis. There is no cure. All we can do is keep you somewhat comfortable with pain medication, but the truth is—you’re dying.”
The verdict cut with scalpel-like precision, deep into a place he’d almost forgotten existed -- his heart. As quickly as it had appeared, it vanished. In anger, he went out to score more cocaine.
For years, Greg had lived for pleasure and more of it. Living hard and hardly living, he did whatever he could to anesthetize himself against the dark depression that threatened to swallow his soul. No way would he admit this sentence on death row was his fault.
Somewhere in the distant past, there’d been family and church. That was before Dad left. Dad—the church deacon who took them to Sunday school every week and led home Bible studies. Dad was his hero. How could he start drinking and having affairs?
Hadn’t Mom been devoted to God? No good God would have let his family suffer like that. If there was a God, he couldn’t be good. From that moment on, 12-year-old Greg determined he would look out only for Number One. Since Outlaw was his name, it may as well be his game.
Self-destruction became his personal career goal. He did it all, from illegal drugs, to pornography and promiscuity. After thirteen major car accidents, the emergency room staff knew him so well they thought he was a co-worker. His job with a dot com kept him
It’s All About God
sane. Mastering the power of search engine positioning gave him something to focus his energies on, at least. Problem was, the energy was waning and the pain was getting worse.
What else was there to do now but sink even deeper into illegal drug use? Hope—whatever that was—had finally gone. What was the point of living one day longer than he had to in pain?
“My purpose? It was to be so numb in every way that I felt nothing but pleasure. I was a hedonist at heart seeking pleasure to stay medicated. I was using power, materialism, drugs (legal & illegal) and pornography to get through life. I lived for the night to get home and medicate… my purpose was to be so numb in every way that I felt nothing but pleasure.”
Greg Outlaw
One day in 1999, 33-year-old Greg Outlaw woke to find himself knee-deep in a place that seemed full of stagnant water, air too stale to breathe, darkness on every side. Maybe you’ve been there, too. It’s called “the bottom.” We get there just before the end comes.
Something even stronger than the disease that was killing him began to stir inside, and it wouldn’t leave him alone.
Deep inside, at the very core of his being, the faith that lay smoldering all those years gasped for air, struggled to its knees, and fought to stand once again. Soon, it would challenge him not to waste the time he had left.
It’s All About God
Randall Niles
A cool California breeze ruffled his auburn hair and rippled the loose sleeves of his Hawaiian shirt as he cruised down Interstate 5 in his BMW convertible. It had been the usual pressure-cooker of a day, but he’d handled himself well…in control every step of the way. It was Friday and Randall Niles, attorney at law, was headed home for the weekend.
Gridlock gave him a little time to think, so he turned his mind to how good his life was. He was well on his way up the ladder of personal achievement and success, and that’s what it was all about.
Right?
After all, he was one of the good guys, keeping up his end of the social contract. He was a living American success story, complete with a beautiful wife, 2.5 gorgeous children, a spacious Southern California home and all the material success he could want. It was good to be in control.
Right in the middle of his self-satisfied attitude about life, Randall’s thoughts drifted to his mom, Nancy, who was battling breast cancer. Mom was a survivor and this was just one more punch to roll with. For now things were tough, but she’d be fine. He was sure of it.
He remembered with a smile how she would take him to church every week when he was growing up. Even though Randall knew better than to believe in God, if it made Mom feel better, then it was alright with him. Whenever anyone asked him about
It’s All About God
religion, his standard answer was, “It’s fine for those who need a crutch to limp through a difficult life—as long as they don’t limp in my direction.”
He squirmed in his leather seat just a little to realize that his mom was now one of those people who needed the crutch—and the limping was getting dangerously close to home.
“I based my daily conduct on a “social contract” view of the world Those of us with resources and opportunities somehow had a social obligation to ‘give back’ to our community. This was a rational view of the world, and I didn’t need any kind of supernatural notion of “absolute truth” or morality to adhere to these common sense principles. My ultimate purpose in life was to give more to the “system” than I took… I believed in leaving a legacy of resources and influence for my family (and maybe a few others along the way)…”
Randall Niles
A few days later, Randall sat in the doctor’s office with his mom. Somewhat detached, he only gradually became aware of the conversation between Mom and her doctor. What were they saying? Surely the doctor didn’t mean what Randall thought he was hearing. It sounded like they were discussing quality of life options …those words doctors only use when a case is basically hopeless. As the reality sunk in, Randall felt his stomach drop to his knees.
What could he do? Surely there had to be something. What a great frustration to realize that not even his success or all his money could solve his mother’s problem. Randall thought about how Mom had always wanted him to go back to church. Insincere as it seemed, it was something he could do to make Mom smile. Well, for mom he could play along with this fairy tale. For her sake, he would pray. And maybe go to that church his wife Deb liked.
It’s All About God
How was he to know the man speaking at Saddleback Church that weekend was a former atheist? Lee Strobel had once challenged himself to examine the evidence for faith and for Christ. Months of research and interviews led him to the conclusion that he’d been wrong. The only logical thing to do was embrace God and Christ
This guy is like me, Randall thought. He’s talking about the things I believe, but he’s also talking about how wrong those ideas are. And he’s making sense! What am I supposed to do with this? The questions he’d stopped asking years ago were back. The only thing he could do was look for the answers. Randall Niles, who’d always lived every moment intensely, dug in, full steam ahead. He took his skeptical mind to Saddleback’s classes on evidence for creation and began to check out this Jesus whom Lee Strobel had come to embrace.
Examining the Evidence
Out of cocaine and steeped in desperation, Greg called the brother-in-law who’d been trying to get him back to church. Sure, he said, he’d finally go to that Celebrate Recovery class. Greg Outlaw was ready to surrender.
Over the next year, kept alive by intravenous feedings and ever-increasing doses of morphine, Greg read the Bible three times from cover-to-cover. Though each trip to the hospital looked like it might be the last, Greg told God if he could see fit to give him a second chance, he would live for his glory. “But how can I bring glory to God like this?” he thought, as his life ebbed slowly away. He was about to find out.
It’s All About God
Challenged to attend a class on evidence for creation, Greg accepted—and was astounded by what he heard. Fact upon fact made it clear to him that the evolution theory he’d accepted all these years could not possibly be true.
If evolution wasn’t true, Greg reasoned, and we were not here by cosmic accident, that left no other possible conclusion—we were created by a God who had a grand design—a purpose for each life. This was exciting stuff! By the end of the first two hours, Greg offered his skills in search engine positioning to the ministry’s website. Maybe God could use a guy like Greg, even if his hours were numbered.
Meanwhile, Greg found himself in an unusual situation—actually questioning the ethics of decisions being made at his workplace. What would God think? he wondered. Now was not a great time to give up his job, what with medical expenses and the need to make sure his wife would be OK after he was gone. But he felt there was no other choice. By now, what he was learning gave him confidence God would take care of him if he did what was right. He quit his job. That left only one question for God to answer: now what?
As he pondered and prayed, Greg noticed something amazing. The pain that had been his constant companion, that had him tossing back 300 mg of morphine a day …just went away. Was it a fluke? There was only one way to find out. Over the next three weeks, he weaned himself off the pain killing drug.
It’s All About God
God knew what it would take for me to come back. I had to lose my money, my wife (crumbling in suicidal depression at the news of my condition and our business), my dotcom business, and my life. Once everything—and I mean everything—was taken from me, there was nothing else. Even the rage faded into tears—there was only surrender. I was finally flat-out on my back and looking up. I could not fall or lose anymore. When I looked up, there was Jesus waiting on me to come back into HIS loving arms.
Greg Outlaw
While everyone who knew him was scratching their heads in amazement, Greg was in church, listening to a message that would change his life even more. Pastor Rick Warren challenged his listeners to become 21st century Noah’s—to bring others along before the flood waters got too high! Greg’s heart, the one he’d only recently rediscovered, was shouting, “Yes, Lord!” At long last, Greg Outlaw had a real life and a purpose.
Sitting in the same evidence class with Greg that night was skeptic Randall Niles. Somewhere in the midst of all the lectures he was hearing and books he was absorbing, and even in the ordinary moments of life—it was happening. He was discovering the truth of C.S. Lewis’ words: “A young man who wishes to remain a strong atheist cannot be too careful of his reading.” Now, Randall’s inner eyes saw 20/20 for the first time in his life.
The evolution he’d believed in for so many years was not only illogical, it wasn’t possible! There was evidence for design and for a creator—overwhelming evidence. What was he going to do about it?
It’s All About God
For starters, when the altar call was given at her church that Mother’s Day, Randall accompanied his mom to the front. Though her battle with breast cancer was nearing its end, Nancy got to see her lifelong prayers answered.
Once I discovered God and His purpose for my life, I was no longer the leader, but the follower. … As I do, he liberates me to serve with the same gifts he gave me to begin with, but now I understand they’re from Him (and for Him), and not somehow a product of my hard work and self-tuned mind…. He has a purpose for my life in ministry; it’s up to me to hold on to that purpose—that legacy—and fulfill it with passion until the day I die…. I now recognize how dumb that was. I could have been enjoying a relationship with him all along. If you are having a hard time with doubts, I challenge you to ask God to help you believe, and He will!
Randall Niles
They hadn’t known each other before that night, and neither man had any idea a unique vision was about to be born.
Evidence on the Internet
As the pain subsided, Greg’s health began to return. If God could bring hope and healing into his life, wasn’t that a God to tell the world about? But how?
Before attending the class, Randall had no idea any of this evidence for creation existed. There must be lots of other people in the same boat, he thought. There had to be a powerful way to deliver this content to those people. After the class, Greg and Randall gathered with others who shared their passion. They talked and prayed about what to do and how to get this message out.
Greg talked about his abilities to position pages for optimum delivery on the Internet. Then Randall explained his company’s project—making optical devices that
It’s All About God
enabled telecom lasers to work, sending massive amounts of information in bits of light over fiber throughout the world. That’s when the flame under the burner turned up a notch. Greg and Randall looked at each other and knew God had something cooking. Whatever he was up to, they had to deliver it in a new, dramatic way.
Drama, they decided, wasn’t in developing another book or tape series, but in putting their talents together to create a multi-level network of websites presenting evidence for creation on the Internet. They recognized something many others in ministry did not—that the world is full of people with questions they will never even ask their best friend—but they will ask Google or Yahoo, or another search engine.
Before long, Greg’s delivery mechanism plus Randall’s content strategy came together to produce a vision both of them knew was from God. After closeting themselves away long enough to produce the first 50 sites, Greg, Randall and a handful of like-minded associates launched phase one of www.AllAboutGOD.com in the spring of 2002. Evidence for creation, presented in a way that made sense and didn’t put people off, was finally available.
Then they began to arrive—the e-mails. Some were grateful, some asked for prayer, some were suspicious, others accusatory—but most expressed thanks to them for being there. Greg and Randall were astounded. It was working! They were connecting with the world in a big, dramatic way. The same power that had drawn each of them out of their self-seeking cocoons was at work in the hearts of people all over the world. This was about more than evidence—it was about passing on what God had given them to a world hungry to know.
It’s All About God
For Greg, from the beginning of this vision, he was sure God wanted him in it fulltime. It had taken time to convince his wife, Candy, but seeing what God was doing in Greg’s life helped. She, more than anyone, knew how close to death he had come. With her own eyes, she’d seen God pull him back to life. Before long, they had garnered support from others who shared their goals and were living in day-to-day reliance on God’s provision. A life of living for pleasure had become a daily walk of faith.
In Randall’s case, it would take something equally dramatic to convince him to “give up his day job.” By the time Nancy lost her battle with breast cancer, Randall had been working with All About God Ministries for several months and was deep into the vision, but was practicing law part-time.
One month after Nancy died, Randall felt compelled to go through her papers, almost as if someone were directing his actions. What he found over the next 48 hours reduced him to tears—Randall, the strong, confident attorney, understood that his mom had literally given her life for his sake. For years, Nancy had faithfully written letters to God, ardently praying for Randall. Now those letters were showing him the depth of both his mom’s love and God’s as well. If God loved him that much, then he owed it to God to trust Him with his life. Believing God was asking him for two years without worry, planning or financial trepidation, he gave it.
Today, those two years are up, and Randall Niles, operations director, is waiting for God’s next chapter. With Greg Outlaw as executive director, All About GOD Ministries has grown to host over 300 sites (about one-fourth of their ultimate vision), each one powerfully positioned to meet web surfers right at their desktops. They’re
It’s All About God
reaching an average of 125,000-150,000 unique visitors every month and about 500 are making new or recommitted declarations of faith in God. That’s a greater reach than most of today’s mega churches and crusades.
Two hearts with a common beat—that’s all it took for God to start a blaze burning on the web that is moving today with unquenchable speed.
“I look back now and think of all the stupid decisions I made for years. I could have chosen to live for God’s glory from the beginning. Why did I have to nearly lose my life in order to finally find it? I hope it doesn’t take a problem that serious to get your attention.
You may feel you don’t have anything to offer. Well if God can use an alcoholic, drug addicted, self-centered, and angry man like I’ve been, …for his glory, he can use anyone! God gets glory by using the most unlikely people! I hope you’ll let him use you! Living for God’s glory is the only way to really live.”
Greg Outlaw:
Greg Outlaw lost everything before he was willing to look for God in his life. Randall Niles had to lose his mom before he would begin to understand the depth of God’s love for him. What will it take for you to stop chasing your own dreams and take hold of the purpose you were created for? You can’t out dream God, no matter how hard you try. Just ask Greg and Randall—and the thousands who have come to Christ through the web sites of AllAboutGOD.com.
Dear Tribal Generation Station,
I would like to invite you to SUBSCRIBE to the BosNewsLife news agency.
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Read about people authorities do not want you to know about: persecuted Christians, Jews in need. Receive hard hitting stories to make informed decisions.
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Posted by: BosNewsLife | February 16, 2005 at 09:08 AM
Dear Tribal Generation Station,
I would like to invite you to SUBSCRIBE to the BosNewsLife news agency.
BosNewsLife, the first independent news agency is now opening its doors to a world of stories and perspectives not covered by other wire services. It is designed for compassionate professionals from all walks of life and decision makers wanting to make a difference in this fast changing world.
Read about people authorities do not want you to know about: persecuted Christians, Jews in need. Receive hard hitting stories to make informed decisions.
And before you leave on a business, mission or journalistic assignment, check our unparalleled information system with news links to over 270 countries and territories. As many people travel often on short notice, our website is packed with to-the-point, easy to download, profiles and news stories on virtually all countries and territories of the world.
BosNewsLife's Disputed Territories is a developing new feature you can ill effort to miss. Exchange rates, maps, profiles, and other traveling tools, will help to make your journey successful.
The internet address is: http://www.bosnewslife.com
The WAP address is: http://bosnewslife.com/mobile
The RSS address is: http://bosnewslife.com/world_xml.aspx
Join the BosNewsLife family for $1.95 a month. Subscribe now for a year and get two months free!
Best regards,
Stefan J. Bos
Founder
Posted by: BosNewsLife | February 16, 2005 at 09:09 AM
just started reborning and just hooked on as much info as poss; thank you.
I am from Mozambique and also now teach English, give true I wrote the following sentence: "Punk and blasphemy are seen original flat psychobilly caliber skinheads."
Thanks for the help 8-), Marta.
Posted by: Marta | September 05, 2009 at 06:22 AM