Previous Blog...             AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE               8/20/2023                                                                                       Mylon LeFevre

       Mylon Lefevre’s life story is truly extraordinary. He was born into a Gospel music family in 1944 in Gulfport, Mississippi. His family performed as a Southern Gospel singing group. When Mylon was old enough, he sang and played guitar with the group.
       At the same time, he was sort of a rebel; he was expelled from Christian school as a teenager. So, he joined the army at age 17 and there, wrote his first song, Without Him. As the old expression goes,

“The cream always rises to the top.” The song skyrocketed, earning him $90,000 in just three months.
       That song made it to the ears of Elvis Presley. Elvis recorded the song in 1963 and a year later, 

126 other albums included it on their projects. By age 19, Mylon had written, produced and recorded 

his first solo album, New Found Joy, but it was a bit too contemporary for Southern Gospel audiences. He kept playing, forming a band that would later become the Atlanta Rhythm Section.
       As the years progressed, Mylon gained the respect and friendship of many iconic secular stars. Unfortunately, he was also living the rock-and-roll lifestyle. He became a cocaine and heroin addict and almost died after a near fatal overdose.
      In an interview with Steve Hill at TBN, Mylon described that time, back in the day. He said, “I went to a concert by a band in 1980 called “The Second Chapter of Acts” . . . I was a heroin addict when I went to that concert. . . . Buck Herring, at the end of the concert--he got up and just gave a simple invitation.
       “Now, I didn’t go down front, by the way. I stood in the back and cried. I was in the dark; I didn’t want anybody to see me, but I had been sitting there all night thinking,
       “Man, I’ve been around the world and I’ve sold four million records, and I really thought--when I was a kid---that if I made enough money where I could live where I want to, drive what I want to, and hang out with who I want to, I’d be happy . . .
       “There was nothing (to me) more depressing than to be in England, living in a castle, riding in limousines, and having a Lear jet to take me anywhere I wanted to go . . . and sitting in that castle with one of the Beatles . . . and both of us having to take care of one [another] to get through the night. [And at that concert I thought] Everything I had put my trust in has failed me. And what I found [in that church 

service] was love.
       “. . . That’s what I was looking for and that solved all the problems and it turned my life around.”
  Donnie Swaggert also interviewed Mylon and later shared their discussion on SBN TV. Donnie said all Mylon ever wanted was to become a superstar. So, he put a band together but it wasn’t progressing like he’d wished. After that, he moved to England and his career exploded. He was touring with George Harrison, the Who, Mic Fleetwood, the Stones, Steve Winwood, Little Richard, Eric Clapton, and Billy Joel,
       He was writing prolifically at that time but the drinking and drugs led him into heroin addiction by his mid 20s. Mylon said, here he was, six foot, one, 135 pounds, with bleeding ulcers and coughing up blood. He was dying but he didn’t want to die in England.

       Mylon went back to the states where he landed in hospital. His dad, who had been an “unspiritual” man, performing music as a job (not a ministry) had since straightened out his life. Mylon saw the 

incredible change in him and prayed, “Lord, if you can change my dad, you can change me.”
       At the same time, out of his fear for his survival, Mylon asked God for help. At age 35, he became “born-again” and rededicated his life to Christ, understanding the difference between knowing God 

exists versus accepting and receiving Him as the Lord of your life. He explained to Donnie that he was partying and touring but he was empty and hated himself. He didn’t want to live and mourned over the great disappointment he’d become, but he discovered Jesus loved Him. And now, for the first time, Mylon fully understood the meaning of the words to the song he wrote years ago, Without Him.
       After this dynamic turning point, he enrolled in Bible classes at Atlanta’s Mount Paran Church of God while taking on a job as church janitor there. Through his humble surrender and growth, today, he is a preacher, teacher, and founder of his Atlanta based ministry. He and his wife Christi minister in about 75 churches a year.

References:
https://youtu.be/lfdX8nhKGCw
https://godinamerica2011.blogspot.com/2013/04/testimonies-of-gods-grace-mylon-lefevre.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mylon_LeFevre
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/mylon-lefevre-christian-rock.html
https://mylon.org/

      There’s been a lot of “buzz” lately about an independent film, 

released July 4th of this year called Sound of Freedom. It is based on a true story and was created and produced to expose the evils of sex-trafficking, going on in this country and around the world
  The film depicts the incredible true story of former federal government agent, Tim Ballard, turned vigilante who quits his job and 

embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue hundreds of children from sex traffickers.
       In a CBN interview, Tim Ballard explains, “Nobody was talking about human-trafficking and I was telling people these stories of things I was coming across and no one believed me. And it was like, ‘These are real kids.’
       “And really it was my wife on this . . . she grabbed me by the 

collar and said, ‘I will not let you jeopardize my salvation.’ [the 

actress during this scene said, ‘You quit your job and you go and rescue those kids.’] . . . I really put it into perspective: why are we here on this earth?
       “And then we jumped in and the operation--as the movie depicts--was extremely successful . . . it was actually bigger than Sound of Freedom was able to show.
       The star, Jim Caviezel, (the actor who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ), explains, “It is the fastest growing international crime network that the world has ever seen. It has already passed the 

illegal arms trade and soon it’s going to pass the drug trade.”
       The horrors of what is happening to these children and adults alike can hardly be grasped. The website, Human Trafficking Research states that individuals are exploited “. . . through threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, and/or deception . . . and include the practices of forced labor, debt bondage, domestic servitude, forced marriage, sex trafficking, child sex trafficking, and the recruitment and use of child soldiers . . .”
       There are also reports about people being used for organ harvesting, adrenochrome collection through torturous fear tactics, and medical experimentation. But of course there is push back among the elites who say such ideas are no ore than conspiracy theories. Even so, many are talking about these issues and more of these operations are coming to light each day in spite of the “woke”.
       And just to show how “woke” our society has become, Wikipedia reports that, “Sound of Freedom was completed in 2018 and a distribution deal was made with 20th Century Fox. However, that studio was purchased by the Walt Disney Company, which shelved the film. The filmmakers reportedly spent years trying to get the distribution rights back from Disney and take it to theaters.
       “[Producer] Verástegui approached Angel Studios with the release rights. Angel presented the film to an online group of 100,000 investors in its past projects called the Angel Guild, which gave it a "yes" vote within days. On March 30, 2023, Variety reported that Angel Studios had acquired the worldwide distribution rights . . . On May 12, it received a release date of July 4, 2023.”

Previous Blog...                                  MY DAD, JOE                           10/9/2022                                                                        And the Thief on the Cross

       God loves people and He honors His word. Yes, there are folks who absolutely refuse the gift of salvation. Somehow, they think their way of believing is better. But what could be better than what the Lord and Creator of the universe has to offer?
       People say there aren't any atheists in the fox hole. When death is knocking on one's door, it's the same thing. There is no hope, peace, or assurance outside of Jesus Christ. If you don't yet have a personal relationship with God, I urge you to take care of business before it's too late.
       We will all pass away one day and will have to face God. The only way to be invited in through the pearly gates of heaven is to declare that we have accepted God's Son, Jesus Christ. What say you?