I Am The Thorn In Satan's Side!: You Can't Afford Not to Believe My Testimonies

By Anthony Ragan

I didn't know that I was supposed to be looking for Jesus. Apparently, the Son of God Almighty decided that it was time to introduce himself to a young boy at the tender age of twelve. However, his brain had not even completely developed. In hindsight, he thought God Almighty had set him up because a man of God named Dale Bishop came to his school, offering summer camp, and as he lived in the hood, summer camp was just something . . . what's the word . . . demonically just kept out of reach. He would only see images on TV or in the movies, minibikes, horses, canoes, and campfires, because once he showed up excitedly to sign up to go to camp, the white man had sprung Jesus on them, as if it was some last-minute precondition to go to summer camp. However, unknown to him, some things are just too wonderful for mere men to understand. God himself showed and told him in a dream, in a moment of time, all the ways that he could please him. And it was more than the number of stars! Even grown up, hardened criminals run from God with even the slightest proposal of us being decent and upright, and of course, a child can't handle that spiritual reality. But it was a perfect match made in heaven, because the first moment that Tony heard the story of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection-in hindsight, after so long a time of associating Jesus, the Son of God, with Christmas toys, he hadn't even read the Bible-instantly his entire being was saturated, infused with the knowledge that this Jesus loved him with a love that was so past this understanding, a love that was totally complete. Excitedly, and armed with this incredible knowledge, he set out to tell everyone he knew or saw of this great love that Jesus has for us. But not understanding what he was truly up against, no one wanted to hear it then. A lot of the people don't want to hear it now. But the only thing that's different now is that he doesn't give a damn what they want to hear! But with an undeveloped brain, he freaked out, knowing that he'd never signed up for the moment that Satan had come with God and introduced himself, a being he'd associated with Halloween and candy, and in that moment, everything changed. A supernatural, living fear had gripped his heart, and of course, he stopped talking about Jesus, because people didn't want to hear about him anyway. But the more he ran, the more the powerful and up-and-very-personal-in-your-face supernatural events engulfed his entire being, until he had even become afraid a lot of times to go to sleep. However, after each supernatural encounter, unknown to him, Jesus filled in the blanks for him just to save him and set him free. While others stood around, posturing, looking all self-dignified, trying to feel or search for God in the holy Scriptures, he ran. But after each divine chastisement, he quickly realized that what God Almighty wanted him to do far outweighed what he wanted to do. "Keep my commandments, and live" (Prov. 7:2).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644240205

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I Am The Thorn In Satan's Side!

Anthony Ragan

Copyright © 2018 Anthony Ragan

All rights reserved

First Edition

Page Publishing, Inc

New York, NY

First originally published by Page Publishing, Inc 2018

ISBN 978-1-64424-019-9 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64424-020-5 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Let’s be real. We, especially me, ran from God or whatever wanted me to do everything right and good, but it was definitely without knowledge unless it was convenient for me. I systematically rejected whatever was right or good, but alone, I gained the most incredible supernatural testimonies to back up the title of my book. The fact that God Almighty allows me to live, and when my feet hit the ground, I am more than a little compelled to tell people—somebody, anybody—I meet about my testimonies. I don’t know who said it, but there’s a famous proverb that really tells the whole truth even to this day. That’s what makes it much more than a little intriguing!

It says, and I quote, If you don’t know where the hell you’re going, any road will take you there. I just wanna be up front, because I know that I am not the T. J. Bishops of the world or whoever God’s got to help build his kingdom. Because I know that I have no supporting arguments personally, I am as close to goodness as close as the east is to the west. Because in light of the Holy Scriptures, it’s only by the grace of God that I’m even still here. I can personally vouch for him, that he does preach the Word of God!

But I don’t have a formal education. I had to learn the hard way. The way of a transgressor is hard, but right after I was sentenced, I was classified as a functional illiterate and didn’t have a useful skill to fall back on other than being a thief in the night. I was the despicable kind that would steal your money. After the drama died down a little, I would convincingly humble myself and agree it was a damn shame, then offer my services to help them look for their money. But as I look back, in hindsight, it’s no wonder I winded up warehoused, tucked away somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I did twenty-seven years in prison, and the majority of my time, I served at a maximum security.

Looking back on it, I wouldn’t have wished that part of my life on my worst enemies, to have them endure the house of correction. The kind of hell that men have built on earth—it was like descending into a living hell, a cesspool of pandemonium and pure madness, and cold, vicious murders happened regularly, where a lot of men thought they were forced to live within an up-close-and-personal, tight-knit little community.

Four blocks in Jackson, a lot of men lost their lives, and it was considered by most of the occupants the devil’s playground, a place where right was wrong and wrong was right

Even though it was hard going through it, the only thing that I regret is that I wasn’t able, at that time, to acknowledge that I was truly being blessed. In hindsight, what I was experiencing, I wasn’t able to see it at first or appreciate the journey. But through perception after the facts, I am, and including you, able to learn from my experiences. I never made a mistake. In fact, I always did exactly what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. We always do. But I thank God for having mercy on me, for allowing me to sit down and soak in the stillness of fifteen to thirty years, a bit long enough to know and feel his presence. Even though I was paying my debt to society, assault with intent to commit murder on the police twice.

But I later found out that the police, to my surprise, are exactly God’s ministers (Rom. 13:1–6). I found out that prison for me was a house of exceptional insight, with strong potential for growth, depending on the type of man you were.

I was always fascinated with writing and had always desired to write a novel someday. I truly admired writers. The concentration of staying focused is a job within itself, from beginning to end, and everybody has a story to tell. There were mitigating circumstances, so to speak, that caused me to start writing in the first place. I’ve written three books (Twisted Minds: From One Extreme to the Next, Dog Food: Cause and Effect, and Dog Food II: When the Smoke Clears).

Each book is highly intense and a real page-turner. Everyone that has read them has finished reading the books in two days or less. I’m definitely trying to get a million-dollar contract for me and for my family. Then come up with a number 1 best-seller. That’s my dream, because I, too, like to just jump right in there and get straight to the point. Because the story of my life has always been, to say the least, more than a little extraordinary. Furthermore, I love reading. Writing is a real passion of mine, to be able to express my thoughts and feelings on paper through a pen, so to speak. Truly, it is amazing, to say the least. In fact, there was someone that I, at that time, really didn’t like or respect, but talking to him through my cell window, I realized he was the one who had brought the subject up that I should write a book. In retrospect, it was just the way he’d said it that started a chain reaction within me. I’ve always loved writing. I have always been a little bit more fascinated with the writers, how they were able to put a story together to the end from its beginning. I know that I am jumping ahead a few chapters into my own story, but it was unquestionably the right moment that he had brought the subject up, that I started writing that night. Things happen for a reason. It’s been said that it’s all in divine order.

The Bible says in Romans 8:28, And we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

That was the night when it all started.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9:11, I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

But with this book in particular that I am writing now, people all the time told me that I should write a book about my life, all without knowing the full story themselves about me. I offhandedly brushed it to the side, like, Yeah, maybe one day. But there was no one like the sergeant, who, almost to the point of begging, told me that I should write a book. I prayed and asked God, Should I write this story of you and what you have repeatedly done for me? But just by writing these words, I admit that I wasn’t paying attention, but right after I went to work, I didn’t forget about it. I just placed it in the back of my mind. There were others times when the ones close to me would offhandedly mention, Yeah, brother, you’ve been through a lot. You should put your thoughts down while you’re still able to remember them.

However, it was my wife who had convinced me without knowing it to write my thoughts down, who, over the years, had heard all the dramatic stories and had always accused me of not listening to her. But I do; I just don’t respond in the custom in which she expects. But the confirmation came to me when one day she, my wife, offhandedly asked in an almost-childlike wonderment, casually, How could so many things happen to just one man? Well, needlessly to say, that did it for me (time and chance), because right then and there, in my heart I knew that I was gonna write this book.

I don’t mean to exalt myself in no way, shape, or form (Prov. 28:21). God is my witness. I’m searching for that legendary, million-dollar best seller, trying to come up with a good story, and I didn’t realize that I am the story. It was as if someone flipped on a light switch. However, I am not coming with my own ideologies, or political correctness, nor will I have respect of person—it’s just a serious waste of time. I probably won’t even like a lot of you if I get to know some of you, and vice versa!

But that’s beside the point. A life of a transgressor is harder than you think. Kicking against the proverbial bricks of life, which are painful consequences. Taking the notorious easier ways in life is much harder than you can imagine. Truly, a worker of iniquity has to get up, shave, shower, get dressed, then go out and hit the streets, running, doing the necessary work in order to receive a return. But just having the intent alone is not good enough, but having the mentality to go out and willingly deceive people, steal, kill, or whatever else and everything else in between, you gotta put the work in, son. If you want a return. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so it is that faith without works is dead also (James 2:14–26).

Nonetheless, I am still learning along my journey the art of psychological guerrilla warfare (Prov. 13). I’ve learned things through mental endurance that no one should have to go through. But I thank God that his protection is and was around me, that he was the one that came to me and I happen to know things from personal, inside experiences. That he stands at the door of our heart and knocks, and if you invite him in, you will be saved. But that is putting the cart before the horse. If God’s protection isn’t around you …