Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Peace or Worry—It’s Your Choice


Peace or Worry—It’s Your Choice

God has given us all the power of choice. We can choose to have a life filled with peace or we can have a life filled with worry. I can choose to worry or I can choose to pray. God tells me in Philippians 4:6-7  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Throughout the day I have to monitor my thought life. God tells me in Philippians 4:8 “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise”.
Every morning I have a choice to make. I can lie around and worry or I can go for a walk and pray. I choose to walk and pray. I choose to look for beauty and think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. This works for me.
Elvis E. Netterville





Monday, August 27, 2012

Jail Ministry: Prayers from Inmate in the Allen County IN Jail

God was really at work in the hearts and minds on the inmates in my Jail Ministry Substance Abuse Recovery Class tonight. The men are really growing in their faith and prayer lives. I want to share with you some of their prayers. One man prayed "I thank God for what he is doing in my life and the lives of members of my family. I am asking for opportunities to do his work when I am transferred to federal prison.
Another man prayed " I ask God to help all of us change the way we think and act. I ask him to change our thinking from negative thinking to positive thinking.

Please pray for these men--they are our brothers in Christ.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

What Are You Looking Forward To?


What are you looking forward to? How your future looks to you has a tremendous impact on your quality of life-on how you feel about yourself and how you feel about life in general. Have you ever notice how you feel when you are expecting something really good to happen to you? I am not talking about wishing or wishful thinking. I am talking about when you are confident that something good awaits you in the future; how great does that make you feel?

When you look at you future what do you see? Do you see things getting a lot better or do you see the same old things that are going on today in your life just going on and on and on? When it comes to your future are you hopeful or dredging the future? If you are one of God's people, I say to you just hold on-Jesus Christ is coming back. And the God of Hope has given His people reason for tremendous Hope.

Old Testament
Look what He says in the Old Testament in Isaiah 35(Msg)-"Energize the limp hands, strengthen the rubbery knees. Tell fearful souls, "Courage! Take heart! God is here, right here, on his way to put things right and redress all wrongs. He's on his way! He'll save you"

Blind eyes will be opened, deaf ears unstopped, Lame men and women will leap like deer, the voiceless break into song. Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness, streams flow in the desert. Hot sands will become a cool oasis, thirsty ground a splashing fountain. Even lowly jackals will have water to drink, and barren grasslands flourish richly."

God goes on to say: "There will be a highway called the Holy Road. No one rude or rebellious is permitted on this road. It's for God's people exclusively-impossible to get lost on it. Not even fools can get lost on it. No lions on this road, dangerous wild animals-Nothing and no one dangerous or threatening. Only the redeemed will walk on it. The people god has ransomed will come back on this road. They'll sing as they make their way home to Zion, unfading halos of joy encircling their heads, Welcomed home with gifts of joy and gladness as all sorrows and sighs scurry into the night"


New Testament
My brother in Christ, you have every reason to be hopeful! This is not a case of looking at the world through rose colored glasses. These are not fairy tales or make believe. You have God's written promises. You can look forward to the day when God does away with tears and pain and those people and things that cause tears and pain. In fact God says He is going to start all over again and create everything anew. A fresh start for all who love and obey Him.

Revelation 21:1-8 (GW)
1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and earth had disappeared, and the sea was gone.
2 Then I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, dressed like a bride ready for her husband.
3 I heard a loud voice from the throne say, "God lives with humans! God will make his home with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God.
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won't be any more death. There won't be any grief, crying, or pain, because the first things have disappeared."
5 The one sitting on the throne said, "I am making everything new." He said, "Write this: 'These words are faithful and true.'"
6 He said to me, "It has happened! I am the A and the Z, the beginning and the end. I will give a drink from the fountain filled with the water of life to anyone who is thirsty. It won't cost anything.
7 Everyone who wins the victory will inherit these things. I will be their God, and they will be my children.
8 But cowardly, unfaithful, and detestable people, murderers, sexual sinners, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselves in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

So I say to you KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!!  Resist getting down and discouraged. Although the immediate future will contains some difficulties and challenges-even pain and heart ache. But for those us who love and trust the Lord our long term futures are bright and glorious!!
PRAISE GOD!!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

SHOULDN'T SHEPHERDS TAKE CARE OF THE SHEEP?

SHOULDN'T SHEPHERDS TAKE CARE OF THE SHEEP?


Ezekiel 34:1-6 (GW)
1 The LORD spoke his word to me. He said,
2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy to these shepherds. Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty LORD says: How horrible it will be for the shepherds of Israel who have been taking care of only themselves. Shouldn't shepherds take care of the sheep?
You eat the best parts of the sheep, dress in the wool, and butcher the finest sheep. Yet, you don't take care of the sheep.
4 You have not strengthened those that were weak, healed those that were sick, or bandaged those that were injured. You have not brought back those that strayed away or looked for those that were lost. You have ruled them harshly and violently.
5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd. When they were scattered, they became food for every wild animal.
6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered throughout the whole earth.

No one searched or looked for them.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Letter of Encouragement To An Allen County Jail Inmate 6-7-12

Allen County Jail
715 South Calhoun
Cell Block 6C
Fort Wayne, IN 46802

Dear Johnnie:
I hope you find this essay I wrote with you in mind encouraging.

What Are You Looking Forward To?
What are you looking forward to? How your future looks to you has a tremendous impact on your quality of life-on how you feel about yourself and how you feel about life in general. Have you ever notice how you feel when you are expecting something really good to happen to you? I am not talking about wishing or wishful thinking. I am talking about when you are confident that something good awaits you in the future; how great does that make you feel?

When you look at you future what do you see? Do you see things getting a lot better or do you see the same old things that are going on today in your life just going on and on and on? When it comes to your future are you hopeful or dredging the future? If you are one of God's people, I say to you just hold on-Jesus Christ is coming back. And the God of Hope has given His people reason for tremendous Hope.
Old Testament
Look what He says in the Old Testament in Isaiah 35(Msg)-"Energize the limp hands, strengthen the rubbery knees. Tell fearful souls, "Courage! Take heart! God is here, right here, on his way to put things right and redress all wrongs. He's on his way! He'll save you"

Blind eyes will be opened, deaf ears unstopped, Lame men and women will leap like deer, the voiceless break into song. Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness, streams flow in the desert. Hot sands will become a cool oasis, thirsty ground a splashing fountain. Even lowly jackals will have water to drink, and barren grasslands flourish richly."

God goes on to say: "There will be a highway called the Holy Road. No one rude or rebellious is permitted on this road. It's for God's people exclusively-impossible to get lost on it. Not even fools can get lost on it. No lions on this road, dangerous wild animals-Nothing and no one dangerous or threatening. Only the redeemed will walk on it. The people god has ransomed will come back on this road. They'll sing as they make their way home to Zion, unfading halos of joy encircling their heads, Welcomed home with gifts of joy and gladness as all sorrows and sighs scurry into the night"
New Testament
My brother in Christ, you have every reason to be hopeful! This is not a case of looking at the world through rose colored glasses. These are not fairy tales or make believe. You have God's written promises. You can look forward to the day when God does away with tears and pain and those people and things that cause tears and pain. In fact God says He is going to start all over again and create everything anew. A fresh start for all who love and obey Him.

Revelation 21:1-8 (GW)
1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and earth had disappeared, and the sea was gone.
2 Then I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, dressed like a bride ready for her husband.
3 I heard a loud voice from the throne say, "God lives with humans! God will make his home with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God.
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won't be any more death. There won't be any grief, crying, or pain, because the first things have disappeared."
5 The one sitting on the throne said, "I am making everything new." He said, "Write this: 'These words are faithful and true.'"
6 He said to me, "It has happened! I am the A and the Z, the beginning and the end. I will give a drink from the fountain filled with the water of life to anyone who is thirsty. It won't cost anything.
7 Everyone who wins the victory will inherit these things. I will be their God, and they will be my children.
8 But cowardly, unfaithful, and detestable people, murderers, sexual sinners, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselves in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

So I say to you KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!! Resist getting down and discouraged. Although the immediate future will contains some difficulties and challenges-even pain and heart ache. But for those us who love and trust the Lord our long term futures are bright and glorious!!

PRAISE GOD!!

Yours in Christ,

Elvis E. Netterville


Sunday, June 3, 2012

Youth Basketball Coach Dead - Shooting death declared homicide

The Fort Wayne Inner-City Youth Basketball community lost a good man to gun violence Saturday morning. Greg was dedicated to his three sons and the youth in our community. Over the years Greg coached and refereed many basketball games in Christian Urban Ministries basketball programs. I will always remember Greg for his intense love of basketball as a teaching tool for teaching youngsters about life. I will miss you Coach. God bless you.

Shooting death declared homicide victim identified

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs....

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Encouragement Letter From Elvis Netterville To An Inmate

Jail Ministry: Below is a letter of encouragement I recently sent to an inmate in my substance abuse recovery class in the Allen County Jail.


Michael
Allen County Jail
715 South Calhoun
Cell Block 6D
Fort Wayne, IN 46802

Dear Mike:
One of my favorite men in the Bible is Joshua. I like Joshua because I like his manly attitude. God told Joshua what his attitude should be and he tells you and I what our attitude should be. God says in Joshua 1:9 (GW)
9 “I have commanded you, ‘Be strong and courageous! Don't tremble or be terrified, because the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.'”

God talks a lot about our attitudes. He talks about them a lot because our attitudes are important. Our attitudes will play a big part in how well or poorly we travel through this earthly life. Our success or failure in life will be in large part a reflection of our attitudes. We all recognize the important of a good attitude—but how does a person maintain a good attitude in those times when life gets really hard? How does a man keep a good attitude when he is incarcerated?

God is saying no matter how tough the situation you are facing—you are not facing them alone. You do not have to overcome them with your own smarts and strength. God is telling you and I don’t be afraid “…..the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.'”

My prayer for you is that you will continue to trust God and stay Strong and Courageous!

Your Brother in Christ

Elvis Netterville

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Forgiveness is Hard

In my Jail Ministry today our topic of discussion was forgiveness. I talked about how hard it is to forgive someone who has really hurt us or done us wrong. We feel we have a rigth to "pay back". But God always soils my "pay back" plans when He reminds me in Lev 19:18 "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord". Or reminds me in Pr 20:22 "Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!" Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you."

Sometimes I wish would grant me a waiver on this forgiveness business but He does not. I MUST FORGIVE OTHERS IF I WANT HIS FORGIVENESS.

Monday, March 5, 2012

What Is Your Life's Foundation--Bedrock Or Sand?

Tonight in my jail ministry we talked about the importance of building a life in jail and after jail on the solid foundation of obeying the Lord.
Luke 6:46-49 (GW)  Jesus Christ teaching his disciples said:

46 “Why do you call me Lord but don't do what I tell you?
47 “I will show you what everyone who comes to me, hears what I say, and obeys it is like.
48 He is like a person who dug down to bedrock to lay the foundation of his home. When a flood came, the floodwaters pushed against that house. But the house couldn't be washed away because it had a good foundation.
49 The person who hears {what I say} but doesn't obey it is like someone who built a house on the ground without any foundation. The floodwaters pushed against it, and that house quickly collapsed and was destroyed.”

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Dr. Ernest Everett Just African American Biologist

Dr. Ernest Everett Just African American Biologist on February 2, 1915 received the Spingarn Medal for his pioneering research in fertilzation and cell division

Dr. Ernest Everett Just was born on August 14, 1883 in Charleston, SC. His grandfather, Charles Just was a prominent and successful member of Charleston's free black community before the Civil War. His father, Charles Frazier Just, died of alcoholism when Just was four years old. His mother, Mary Matthews Just, went to work in the phosphate mines on James Island, also founding a town, "Maryville." At 16, Just received a teaching degree from South Carolina College and Mary Just sent him to Kimball Academy in Meriden, NH. The school burned down and his mother died while Just was away. After her funeral, he never returned to South Carolina again.


Just first became enthralled with biology at Dartmouth University. In 1907, he graduated magna cum laude, winning virtually every prize there was to win, as well as honors in sociology, history, botany and zoology; he was the only black man in his graduating class of 287. When Just graduated from Dartmouth, he was immediately offered a job as an English teacher at Howard University. Two years later, he accepted an appointment as an instructor in biology, and eventually devoted all of his time to teaching biology. In 1912, he established and became the head of Howard's Department of Zoology.

While at Howard, Just was approached by Edgar A. Love, Oscar J. Cooper, and Frank Coleman about starting a fraternity on Howard's campus. Fearful of the political threat a secret organization of young blacks might pose to Howard's white administration, the university's faculty and administration opposed the whole idea. Just worked at mediating the controversy. And on 15 December 1911, the Alpha chapter of Omega Psi Phi was organized at Howard University.

Because of the difficulty black scientist at that time had obtaining appointments, Just's first inquiries into the possibility of conducting basic research were not initially encouraged. Eventually Frank Lillie, Director of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Wood's Hole, MA, noticed his determination, brought him to the MBL to study and act as a lab assistant. Just became fascinated with problems of fertilization and development. In 1912, he published his first paper in the Biological Bulletin. In 1915, the NAACP awarded Just the first Springarn Medal. After many delays and obstacles, he obtained his PhD, in 1916, summa cum laude, from the University of Chicago.

Though he experienced a fairly warm reception at the MBL, he found his opportunities in the US quite limited; there was no way to obtain an appointment at a "white" university, and few traditionally "black" universities had, resources or inclination to support pure research in the sciences. He had better luck in Europe, where he worked in Italy, France, and Germany. He published over 50 papers between 1912 and 1937. His ideas about embryonic development and fertilization were radical, innovative, and (for his time) unusually philosophical. In 1939, he published his magnum opus, The Biology of the Cell Surface a beautifully written and oddly accessible treatise on cell development and fertilization which also extrapolated his ideas into the realms of evolution, medicine, philosophy and even religion.

His complex scientific life was mirrored by an equally complex personal life. He was married to Ethel Highwarden in 1912, and they had three children; Margaret, Mary and Highwarden. Ethel was refined, sophisticated, well educated and extremely intelligent, but their marriage was difficult. He was often preoccupied with work worries when at home in Washington, D.C., and, though a black scientist might be accepted at Wood's Hole, Ethel and the children were decidedly unwelcome. While in Europe, he had two affairs with German women, and these affairs (a black man with white women) as much as the radical nature of his science, shocked the American scientific world.

Just found it more and more difficult to find funding for his research as he began to think more independently. He chafed at his duties at Howard, and longed for a life of pure research. He was able to work in Europe for a short time, but at the advent of World War II, had to flee with his new wife, Hedwig Schnetzler. He returned with her and their daughter, Elizabeth, to the States. Once back in the US, though quite ill, he continued to try and find support.

Dr. Just died of pancreatic cancer in October of 1941, at the age of 53.