ccm Cross 0260 Carter Temple Jonesboro, Arkansas

ccm Cross 0260
Wednesday May 6, 2020

Carter Temple AME Church
Jonesboro, Arkansas
ccm Cross 0260

GPS/DMS 35° 50′ 32.2692” N 90° 42′ 15.4044” W

Additional Photos After Testimony

5126 cdd Living The Dream
Cyber Daily Devotion
Volume 21 Number 113

Today’s Author: Pastor Bill

Scripture: Numbers 12:6
Then He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream” NKJV

22 years ago, they started. The first one was just an ordinary dream. I was preaching to my congregation. But it never happened, it was just a dream. A few days later there I was in my dream singing before my congregation. But it was a song I never sang before. The next dream I was dancing.

It took a few more dreams before I realized the Lord was speaking to me in dreams.

Hello, my name in Pastor Elijah Agnew with the Carter Temple AME Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas. And this is my Cross testimony of how the Lord has impacted my life and encourages me weekly.

I grew up in North Little Rock, Arkansas, the fourth child of my momma and the third child of my daddy. All in all, we were 22 children. My dad worked as the shipping manager for the International Paper Company and mom was working overtime with all the children.

Out of all these kids I was chosen to live with my grandparents. So ultimately, I was an only child. During the summers I would return to my family but when school was beginning, I was back with my grandparents.

All of us were involved in church. 16 kids in the Baptist church. And I was attending the local Methodist church; Except on the 2nd and 4th Sundays when I would go to the Baptist Church with my grandparents.

My grandfather was a sharecropper, so he worked the land and paid our rent by sharing the crops we grew. It was a challenging life as my grandfather kept me very busy to make sure I stayed off the streets and out of trouble. Over time I learned the hand of the Lord was on me.

After high school I joined the US Army. It was the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis and I was stationed in Germany.

Three years I was part of the 2nd Battalion 34 Howitzer Division. Upon discharge I was returning home when I was involved in a car accident. The impact tore my forehead right off my head. Three months later after recovery I was told I was a walking miracle. The doctors only knew of two other such injuries and both of those patients died. The second miracle was my recovery. The doctors fully expected I would be a vegetable. The Lord had other plans.

I avoided becoming a pastor by doing everything in the church but preach. After accepting my calling, I learned to rely on the Lord to show me what I should be communicating to the congregation. He continues to direct my message, even unto today.

My journey from the car accident into ministry was sprinkled with a college education and Seminary training. Today my wife Emma is active with me in ministry and we have five children.

Our second son was a test for any Christian minister. He was given an awesome talent in music and he turned his back on the church. His name is Steve and he pressed into developing his musical skills and recordings. Then tragedy struck as his equipment was so valuable thieves wanted it. They broke into his house and shot him in the head and stole all he was working with.

Three months later Steve left the hospital in better health than he entered. He had long battled with severe arthritis, TMJ and acid reflex as a young man. All three were cured through the gunshot to the head. The Lord has a plan for Steve and everyday he is walking it out. His favorite Bible scripture is the entire 23rd Psalm: The Lord is my Shepherd…

Pastor Elijah enjoys the ministry of helps most. When someone is in need spiritually, financially or physically he brings prayer and assistance as needed.

The Cross to Pastor Elijah is just the beginning. All the prophets in the Old Testament were subject to the laws of nature — Jesus on the other hand created those laws and was fully able to overcome them. The Cross is the beginning of our salvation as we embrace the love of Jesus Christ.

This Cross planted is a symbol that will remind passersby that God himself gave His life for us on that Cross.

Prayer: Father thank you for how creatively and ingeniously You continue to express your love for Your people through special ways and opportunities. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!