The Difference in Me Is Christ

By Johnny M. Dodds

This book was written for the sole purpose to encourage others to realize that no matter what condition a person gets in that God can change it and make you a respected person, give you a good family, and one of you may even he called to pastor or preach. This book also is to inspire others who work for God to be motivated from the experiences that have in God. Hopefully, to motivate the sinner to serve God the Christian to have a greater desire toward helping others to come to Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 3, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477244456

Johnny M. Dodds

I was raised in a family of 17 children; my dad was a pen costal preacher. I was the only one they figured would not be a preacher much less a pastor. The first part of my life was raised in church, the second part was deep in sin, the third part severing GOD, I now Pastor Harvest outreach full gospel church in Ft. Worth Texas for 27 yrs, I have three children, JOHNNY EARL DODDS, CARRIE REBECCA DODDS, RUSSELL., N NATHAN DODDS and 8 grandchildren.

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© 2012 by Johnny M. Dodds. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/15/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4259-8402-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-4445-6 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007906561

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE PERSONAL

CHAPTER TWO MY FIRST TIME WITNESSING

CHAPTER THREE FIRST CHURCH

CHAPTER FOUR GOD CALLED ME TO PASTOR

CHAPTER FIVE REVIVALS

CHAPTER SIX HOSPITALS

CHAPTER SEVEN HOW GOD PROTECTED ME

CHAPTER EIGHT PREACHING IN THE COUNTY JAIL

CHAPTER NINE HEALING AND THE THINGS I SAW GOD DO

CHAPTER TEN DEMON POSSESSED

CHAPTER ELEVEN POEMS

AMAZED

FATHER

BUTTERFLY

CHAPTER TWELVE SONGS

COLD HARD FACTS

I’LL BE THERE

FRIEND OF MINE

SONG HOLD TO GOD’S UNCHANGING LOVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN BUMPER STICKERS

CHAPTER FOURTEEN KAYLIEGH’S POEMS

PUPPY

HUSKY

BLOODHOUND

INTRODUCTION

I was raised in one of the most unstable times in American history. Great changes were being made in the United States back then. Our President was killed. Martin Luther King, Jr. was also killed, and racial problems were out of control. Many lost their lives needlessly.

Young people rebelled against their parents and left home. Drug abuse spun out of control. Moral values degraded. Clearly our country had major problems.

You can see by this scenario the difficult decisions I was forced to make due to circumstances, some beyond my control and some not. However, by the Grace of God he changed my life and made me the Spirit-filled person I am today.

I had a horrible reputation by those who knew me. I was self-centered. The world revolved around me, and if it didn’t I rebelled. I would fight at the drop of a hat. As I look back, I see all the shameful things I did and wonder how I ever survived to adulthood. The only answer is that it must have been God. He accepted me at my wretched worst and miraculously changed me. That rambunctious sinner of a person inside me gave way to the sweetness, the peace and joy, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit who led me down a new path.

The Lord took my old self and sculpted me into a new creature destined not only to preach the Word of God, but to pastor his flocks. Without the Holy Spirit’s Divine transformation of me, I could not have pastored, because a major requirement of pastoring is to have a good heart. My heart was as cold as ice and tougher than rock before the Lord molded me into his wonderful image.

Then he blessed me with Carol, my wonderful wife. And we bore godly children, brought up to honor the Lord: Johnny Earl Dodds, Carrie Rebecca Dodds, and Russell Nathan. In turn, our children gave us beautiful grandchildren: Johnny Allen Dodds, Nichole Dodds, Dustine Dodds, Melissa Dodds, Dylan Dodds, Thristian Dodds, Kayleigh Pope, Austin Pope, and Matthew Markarwich.

As you read this, I want you to understand the mission of this book. That no matter where you stand in life, regardless how messed up you might be with nowhere to turn, there is a way to victory.

Remember this:

IF GOD DID THIS FOR ME, HE CAN DO IT FOR YOU.

CHAPTER ONE

PERSONAL

God had a plan mapped out for me from the very day I was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 12, 1949. I did not realize I would be following God’s path until I had traipsed down every bumpy road I could find, determined to self-destruct. But God knew my roadmap before I had ever taken my first baby step.

The Lord foresaw that I would accept him when the time came in my life for his calling me to service, otherwise he would not have kept his protecting hand on me through all my dastardly rebellions. Just because God calls you dose not mean that you have to accept. God’s calling does not give you any more salvation than anyone else. He gives us choices, and it is ultimately up to us if we take advantage of his blessings or not.

I was different from my sixteen brothers and sisters because God worked on making me his servant before I ever guessed that such a thing could happen to me. For starters, when I was only thirteen days old my parents allowed me to be raised by Bud and Laura Ferguson. Two and one-half years later when my parents joined a church, the Holy Spirit acted upon them to come and take me back into their household and raise me as the child of theirs that I was.

When I was four years old, we moved to Hugo, Oklahoma, in the southeastern part of the state. I was not there long enough to remember much about it. By the time I entered first grade we were living in Sedar Springs, Oklahoma. By the second grade I was living in Sawyer. Before I graduated from elementary school, and junior high school, we had also moved to Ft. Towson, and then to Swink before we finally settled down in Valliant, Oklahoma. We had moved so much it had been difficult for me, as a kid, to establish roots long enough to make lasting friendships. It was hard to always be the new kid in school.

The only thing constant in my life was that no matter where we lived, I always spent my summers in Ft. Worth, Texas, visiting Bud and Laura Ferguson.

At age sixteen when I went to visit Laura, I finally made up my mind that I was going to stay in Ft. Worth and not return home to Oklahoma. Dad was very upset with me. He refused to let me stay with the Fergusons in Ft. Worth, until I promised him that I would stay in school and graduate, which I did.

I loved Dad with all my heart. I cannot imagine the hardships of raising seventeen children. Seventeen! To this day I cannot see how he managed such a large family, other than God was there with him through every family crisis. Dad did the best he could do, but as only one child out of seventeen, I was responsible for making many of my own decisions, even though some of them were not too well advised.

Even with