I'll Buy My Own Soda Pop

By Johnny Lawhead

I'll Buy My Own Soda Pop by Johnny Lawhead

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 26, 2024
• ISBN: 9798886441819

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

About the Author

cover.jpg

I'll Buy My Own Soda Pop

Johnny Lawhead

ISBN 979-8-88644-180-2 (Paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88644-181-9 (Digital)

Copyright © 2023 Johnny Lawhead

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

The purpose of this book: it is my testimonial of my life before I was a Christian. This book is the story of my life, and all the glory and praise go to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without his grace and his love and his miracle protecting hand, I would not be writing this book. This book will make you laugh, make you cry, but it will reveal to you the power and the grace of God. It will increase your faith and encourage you to serve a loving God. I'll Buy My Own Soda Pop is a true story about my life. At the age of seven, I told my parents that I was going to be a minister. For the next eight years of my life, you would say that is not going to happen. Growing up on the South Side of Columbus, Ohio, was not easy. But I made it only by the protecting hand of God Almighty.

If God has called you, he will bring you to a place of repentance and salvation. The only unanswered question that I have to the Lord is, why would you call me to preach the Gospel? The only thing I can come up with is God does not see us in the same way that we see ourselves. He sees us through the loving compassionate grace of his Son, Jesus Christ. In telling my story, my purpose and reason are not to discredit or offend anyone that is in this book. Many that I write about in this book have passed away. Some are still alive. If you are one of those that are still alive, please do not be offended. That is not my purpose or reason. I am just simply telling the truth in love.

One of the positives that came from me growing up on the South Side of Columbus, Ohio, is the boldness that he created in my spirit, heart, and life. I want to thank God for that boldness. Because toughness is not a bad thing, it has helped me, even through my Christian life. But the thing that helped me more than anything is learning, knowing, and growing in God's love.

For the last forty-five-plus years, I have served the Lord. I have failed him many times. God has never failed me. Out of all the things that I have learned about Christianity and the Bible in my life, I have learned that the Almighty God of the earth and the universe summed up in one word is this: love!

Chapter 1

It was December 1975. I was a new Christian for two weeks. My friend, Ernie Gilbert, was dropping me off from church on a Sunday night. For the last two weeks of my life, I went to church every opportunity I had. I accepted Christ as my Savior on December 8, 1975, in my bedroom, when I simply just got down on my knees and cried out to Jesus. In my life before that, I was simply a South Side hood. But this cold Sunday night, something was about to happen that would even change my life more than my salvation.

After my conversion, Ernie Gilbert was one of my friends that I knew went to church. So I went to his apartment, knocked on his door, and asked his brother if he was home. Ernie wasn't there at the time, so I asked his brother to tell him that I wanted to go to church. Ernie Gilbert was floored, surprised in unbelief that I would ask him to take me to church.

So after going to church several times for two weeks, this Sunday night was about to change my life forever. After Ernie dropped me off, it was close to Christmas. My dad was home in the living room, watching television. My dad did not understand what was going on in my life. It's simple, I got saved. So that night, he started asking questions that ended up in a big argument with my dad. So out of the discouragement, I went upstairs to my bedroom, the same bedroom where I received Christ two weeks before that. I shut the door, took out my Bible, and just started reading it for hours.

It must've been about two or three o'clock in the morning at this point. The Holy Spirit impressed me to pray. I got down on my knees and began to pray. I had prayed so long and so hard, by the time I was finished, the sun began to rise, and that is when the Holy Spirit, in a very supernatural way, entered that little bedroom.

At that time, I had been a new Christian. I did not know what was happening, but I knew it was very supernatural. I have never felt God like that before in my life or after. But I knew that the power of God had entered that little bedroom, and I began to experience the power of the Holy Spirit as I'd never felt in my entire life. It was so supernatural it's hard to describe, explain, or write what really happened that