For Your Glory Lord

By Dr. David Mercer

This is a story of the authors journey from his teenage years, when tried to live as a Christian but fell from grace, to his journey through university, hippie communes, and the overland hippie trail in the 1970s. It reveals the hand of God upon the author even when he had forgotten God. The author, in the 1980s, was born again, and this traces his travels to USAHawaii and CaliforniaMexico, Fiji, and back to Australia as a man who again tried to live according to the principles of the Christian Bible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Sep 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984500571

Book preview

For Your Glory Lord

The Lord watches over me!

Dr David Mercer

Copyright © 2018 by Dr David Mercer.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2018907858

ISBN:                  Hardcover                            978-1-9845-0059-5

                            Softcover                              978-1-9845-0058-8

                            eBook                                   978-1-9845-0057-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

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

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 07/18/2018

Xlibris

1-800-455-039

www.Xlibris.com.au

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Contents

For your Glory Lord

The Overland hippy trail to India.

Back in Australia

Born again!

Surfing USA

Marriage from heaven

Christian schools and rejection

Queensland and another rejection by Christian schools

Surviving outside the Christian institutions

Rejection in Christian Church

More rejection

Soul searching

A new beginning

Prostate cancer

Another trial to build character — heart operation

Christian schools and students with disabilities.

Business or faith?

Conclusion to years of rejection by Christian schools

My Refuge and My Fortress

For your Glory Lord

Giving my life to Jesus in 1980 at a little wooden church hall, was not a difficult decision. I had already been saved in 1964 in another little church where I lived during my school years. I was just 16 years old. The last time I went past that little church it displayed a large banner saying: Life begins with Jesus. Its lawn was not mowed, but it was still standing as a monument to Jesus. Another day the message board had a relevant message saying: Send God a knee mail. The church sits on a busy road and is near a railway crossing. As a boy at high school we walked past, or rode our bikes past every day.

Being saved in 1960’s was very simple. It was an uncomplicated process, without the deep need to meditate on God’s word, or prophesy. In fact, the word of God was written in old King James text, with thee and art and believeth and thy or thou. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven… I still pray in this language over 50 years later. Reading my little Old King James bible gives me a glimpse of Gods’ word as it was looked upon as sacred, and as a it contains power. There are coloured photos of Jesus stilling a storm and other miracles. It contains map of the Holy land.

I went to church regularly and remember our Minister from Wales. One Sunday morning while sitting on my own in the church I heard him preaching Where do you want to spend eternity? and saying that if I gave my life to Jesus I would have eternal life. I went down the front of the little church and accepted Jesus. I was saved. I had been to Sunday school in my home country of Ireland and was taught to memorise the word. I had also read stories of missionaries in Africa.

I admired other teenagers in their cool teenage clothes. One of the young guys had a pastel, mauve, mohair jumper. I was given a copy of my salvation on a card which I put into my bible. I was asked to read the bible on Sundays and it was a real joy to be up on the platform reading from the word of God. I remember the youth club where lots of physical education and fun games took place. One of the leaders was to become an icon in Australian sport and attended the little youth club. This young person represented Australia at three Olympic Games as a runner and won silver medals. The same person and I lived in the same street. Her dad was a bicycle mechanic who fixed our bikes many times in his corner store. I recall her house which was a small weather board house that had nearly all the paint peeled away. It was grey and small. The young leader later received medals from the Queens for her sporting greatness. It was such a blessing to have been mentored by such a famous athlete. This was a great foundation for my young years. In church today I am probably looked upon as aged and deaf because of my hearing aids, and yet I now play saxophone and flute on the platform instead of doing a reading of the Word.

Going to school in Ireland was tough because of the freezing, cold snow. There was one teacher who would give us the cane, which had black masking tape attached to the end. I remember my warm leather jacket with its fur collar and the snow outside. We went to a small primary school. I still have the certificates presented to me for being first in attendance, having missed no school days at all. It was presented to dad for his effort in getting me to school all year despite the snow and the lack of steady work.

As a boy we were part of a Sunday school. It was run by the Brethren Church. I still