My Testimony -- God's Message

The Beginnings
The following is a personal testimony, a brief historical record of events in technology and moments with God among His people in times and various places. Information Technology is only one piece of a larger tapestry that God is weaving in this world according to His Will and Purpose. This is in honor of Bishop W.W. and Sister Edith Thomas whose vision is the foundation of the message, God is a good God, He loves you and He wants to bless you!

In November 1971, Intel Corp. announced the invention of the microprocessor. The world did not realize at the time, but the microprocessor was the beginning of the Information Age as we know it today. God was soveriegnly setting the stage for his purpose.

In a moment on Lake Ida in 1976, Bishop W.W. Thomas said yes to God and later discovered that his wife, Sister Edith Thomas had also heard from the Lord. Purpose and destiny met in a moment when Bishop Woodrow and Sister Edith said yes to God's calling to start a church in Margate, FL to reach the world with life. In 1976, the key technology that is the fabric of the internet today was invented by Vint Cerf called TCP/IP addressing or IPV4. Also that year, Dr. Robert Metcalfe invented ethernet which enabled data to move very fast and was a crucial part of Local Area Networks.In my life in 1976 things were about to change drastically. My life and family were devastated when my dad died in a small plane crash in South Carolina. Later that year I was diagnosed with cancer and given a low chance of survival even with chemo and radiation. God did not cause the calamity in my life in 1976, but He was about to fundamentally intervene. God uses people places and things for his purposes. I believe that nothing happens by chance or accident and the fact that Bishop and Sister Edith said yes to God opened up doors for God to move as He pleased. Many things happened in 1976. It was a pivotal year of new beginnings. It was a turning point toward purpose and destiny in my life whether I realized it or not as a nine year old boy who dreamed of the future.

In January 1977, God touched my mother while I was in the hospital in Rome, GA. The course was set, God's will and purpose was being written. I believe because of Bishop W.W. Thomas's act of obedience at Lake Ida in South Florida that the door was opened for God to intervene for His purpose. Not by mistake or accident.

The year of the Bible, 1983, was another pivotal year. It was the year that Sister Edith prophecied over Abundant Life Christian Centre things that God was about to do in the church. In my life, it was the year that I said 'Yes' to God and gave my life to Christ in Albany, GA while watching Oral Roberts on his TV program on a Sunday morning in December. At age 16 the search for meaning that produced two book manuscripts and 4 years of computer work and research found significance in the moment that I gave my life to Christ. In technology, it was the year two key components of the internet were put into place in the network that was to become the internet. Technology was giving birth to things that would affect the world on a fundamental level. The year 1983 was a year of birthings on many levels.

In 1989 in the quiet labs of CERN (Geneva) Tim Berners-Lee and a team invented the concept of the World Wide Web protocol. The world was unaware of the new invention or the impact that it would make. In a moment in God's presence in 1989 in Lakeland, FL, just one month before the 'Iron Curtain' fell in Berlin, Germany, God said in my heart to reach the world with life through a worldwide network. I saw missionaries, pastors and ministers around the world using this network to get the Gospel to the world. I saw God raising up a man of God to whom He was equipping to carry a needed message of hope and life to the world and to other ministers of the Gospel. God said that I would be working to support that man of God with that message. God said that the ministry would be to use what He had given me to supply and support what He was doing to get the Gospel to the World. There were many aspects to the vision and many other things that are yet to be manifested as of this writing. As of today, what the Lord made clear in the vision has happened. I was a college student and there was no accessible 'worldwide network' at that time to do what God had said. In 1992, what God said became a reality when the public gateways to the Internet were established with the stroke of a pen. Following God in obedience led a path to what God was doing at Abundant Life Christian Centre.

In 1997 Abundant Life Christian Centre was in position for transition. There was no significant technology infrastructure, no TV ministry and no outreach on the internet. We had some things in our hand and we began to celebrate what we had and glorify God! Step by step God established things in our midst. The miracle out of Margate is the message that God is a good God, He loves you and He wants to bless you! A message that God gave Bishop Woodrow W. and Sister Edith Thomas in 1976 with the promise that it would go around the world. It was about to happen! Reaching our world with life.

At the end of 1999, the eldership of the church followed the leading of the Lord to move online to reach our world with life over the internet and on TV! God opened many doors for ministry on TV and certain worldwide. Today the message reaches millions of people with life! People in every part of the world are hearing that God is good, He loves and He wants to bless each person. The miracle out of Margate! Like seeds being dispersed, many places have this message from God in their heart thanks to Bishop and God's Sovereign, Holy, Passion for people in this world.

Many ministries have also made the discovery of the tool of Information Technology and the Internet that God has raised up at this time for His purpose. I was destined to help fulfill the vision that God gave to Bishop Woody. I fulfilled that vision and am now a part of the thousands and even millions that will now carry that message!

Bishop Woody went home to be with the Lord in August of 2006.
All that God showed him came to pass in his lifetime. The message that God gave him is now in all of the heart of those who came to Margate during that moment in history. The message is now being dispersed around the globe just like God said that it would. Bishop was my mentor and my Father in the Lord. I thank God everyday that I had the priviledge and the honor to hold up this great man of God's arms and help him see God's vision for him come to pass.

Man cannot control the Spirit of God. God's spirit rests on all of those who call on Him and receive Him. No man could have orchestrated the events that took place described here. God sovereignly did His work. For all of those people that would say YES to God can participate in the blessing that flows. Living from a proper perspective which results in rightly ordered faith which is always expressed through truthful, genuine love for people and especially for those in the family of God! God is Good. He loves you and He wants to bless you! You can be some earthly good if you see the world from God's perspective. Your choice. His perspective.

The Current and Future Role of Technology:
Technology will continue to increase in importance. The Internet will no longer be primarily about words or documents, but will be the major delivery platform for phones, television, radio, movies and music and new media. As it moves off the desktop to inexpensive hand held wireless devices used in countries that have limited communications infrastructure, the Internet is rapidly becoming the dominant window into world culture. It will be accessible without wires, without keyboards and without electricity. It is transitioning from a computer technology to a messaging concept.
Never before in human existence have we had the ability to reach the entire world so quickly with a focused message. God has provided the ways and means for this - the Internet moment in human history.

This is the time when we will see the greatest harvest of people really knowing God and what it means to be a part of His family. God's family spans the globe. He is using people from all parts of the world to share this good news. The internet is now the great equalizer tool that God is using for His purposes. Give God the praise!

Knowledge and Insight Without Love

1 Corinthians 8:1-"...knowledge puffs up, love builds up"
The pursuit of knowledge and insight, while good and noble, are destructive if the path is without God's kind of love.Knowledge makes one haughty, arrogant, accusatory, vile, paranoid and lends to vain imaginations and evil thoughts about other people, looking down on people as inferior. Knowledge alone destroys. Paul was saying here the pursuit of knowledge apart from love is insight without perspective.Like a loaded gun shot aimlessly, so is knowledge and insight obtained with any root but God's kind of love.You see Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 for us to 'seek first the Kingdom of God (God's will and purpose) and His righteousness (right order, right perspective) and all of these things will be added'. Knowledge and insight are things.Jesus didn't say seek things. He said seek Him and the things will be added BY HIM! Why, because through Him all things arrive, are viewed, are used according to His will and purpose, right order and right perspective, according to HIS KINGDOM...not our thought, nor our vision, nor our feelings or vain view of life. His way, not our way. Our way leads to mistrusting people, paranoia, fear, isolation, vain imaginations, pride, haughtiness, arrogance, ambition, greed and every evil work. Knowledge alone only destroys. Paul was not talking to those who did not know a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, he was talking to christians, to church leaders, to us all.

I had a friend who got caught up in the pursuit of insight outside of God's kind of love. Suddenly my friend found that they were not seeing the people, the friends and loved ones like God sees them. They began to isolate themself and destroy relationships in their life all in the name of pursuit of knowledge and insight. Their pursuit without love brought only more trouble.

You see God's kind of love does not segment or isolate. God's kind of love in us is expressed because of our faith (which pleases God) and is only expressed as truthful, genuine love for people (God's priority, God's treasure) and especially for those in the family of God.
John said that if you don't love, unconditionally like God loves, those that you see, then how can you love God who don't see with natural eyes. You see, wisdom is only the principle thing when it follows the first commandment and Jesus instruction to us. There will be no other God (or pursuit) other than God, seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness. We call it living life in perspective. Our movement of pursuit has to flow with first thought and first fruit through that perspective. God's priority is 'for God so loved the World'. He gave it all. God loves people. People are His treasure. This is why John ties our love for people with our love for God. Faith is only expressed as God nature expressed. God is love. You know that your faith is living and alive when you are operating in God's definition of love, not a man's definition of love.Man's definition of love is manipulative, exclusionary, controlling, isolating leading to pride, destroyed relationships, evil thinking, evil speaking and evil acting. Man's kind of love is from a corrupt nature and can only breed corruption because of the seed from which it exists.Friend, if you find yourself in a place where either people are standing back from you, there is a reason. A life operated without love is a life with no orientation or right order. Perspective only comes from a first fruit relationship with God which leads to vision, purpose and destiny all in the context of God's kind of love. Faith can only be expressed through us when we demonstrate genuine love for people and especially for those in the family of God.Knowledge and insight without love boils down to foolishness because it is not obtain in God's right order.Such things may have some benefit for the moment, but have no impact in eternity.

Proverbs 24:4 can only be a reality in this life when obtained through proper perspective. Vision cannot happen without proper perspective. Nothing that we can carry to heaven and present to the Lord Jesus Christ happens without proper perspective which leads to expression of truthful, genuine love for all people and especially for those in the family of God already!

Here's to your life of proper perspective leading to genuine love for all people of which you will need precious and pleasant riches.

Love ya!
In Christ,
Brother Ben