We are absolutely convinced this picture is the only right way to begin a marriage.
GOD IS THE FOUNDER OF THIS FAMILY
Established January 7, 1979
Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
With these words all of creation began. Nothing exists without God!
Everything truly good that ever had a beginning can be traced back to God! (James 1:17) All that we are or ever will be, that is of any profit at all, can be attributed to His work in our lives, his daily provisions for our needs and his never failing love for us! For us to believe otherwise would be to live in ignorance or denial of spiritual reality.
Mankind has taken a beautiful, pure and holy world entrusted to them and filled it with every vice, evil, suffering, turmoil and wretchedness that exists on this planet. It began with Adam and Eve who were blessed with purity and had no sin in them. God didn't want their obedience to him to be obedience compelled by force, so he gave them a free will so they could choose between loving Him or rejecting his rule and commandments and doing their own thing. They both chose disobedience, and mankind has followed their example ever since. The daily proofs of evidence of man's disregard for God and his commandments is abundantly clear to anyone who can think rationally, critically and objectively.
Among the things that God established with Adam and Eve was the marriage bond between the husband and his wife. (Genesis 2:24) Sadly this has been abused in every generation to the point that the divorce rate has escalated to a ridiculous degree and now our generation has determined that it is time to redefine what marriage is. This redefinition satisfies the secular mindset, feeds into the lust of wicked men and women, and bears little resemblance to God's intended plan and intended purpose established from the beginning of creation and time.
But God also knew that there would always be those who would choose to follow his laws in regard to marriage, for he knows all things from the foundation of the earth and throughout all eternity past, present and future. He knew that Rick and Beverly would marry, put Christ at the center of their marriage, and raise seven children to love and serve Him. This is the story of that marriage from the beginning, through college and to the year 2022. At the time of this writing Rick and Beverly have been together over 43 years, have raised seven very special children and have become grandparents to fifteen beautiful grandchildren. They are living in the town of Rick's birth where life is relatively peaceful, and Rick is ministering as the Lord gives him opportunity both publicly and on the internet. The children are now adults and visit dad and mom and vice-versa. The family has a strong bond of love, and there is constant interaction between all the children either online or locally or over the phone because of the love connection God has established in them. Rick and Beverly have been blessed above measure. They're thankful that God is still sending people by that they can minister to from time to time, but now it is time to meet and minister to some new people in the hope that they will be able to bring more souls into a right relationship with God through Jesus their Savior. Currently this ministry is done online for the most part as Rick waits on the Lord to send him out into the field of the world to minister for God's glory, honor and praise..
The format of this bio is designed to tell their individual stories and then continues with meeting in Bible college and their lives from then on. It spans a time period beginning on September 27, 1942 to 2022 for now. There is much here that would benefit anyone who reads it because it covers so many facets of life experiences.
There is joy and sorrow, pain and healing, sickness and health, and all that accompanies day to day living under a vast array of different circumstances. It is a story of children, the joys and pressures of serving in ministry, worldly living, drugs and alcohol, a suicide attempt, a great God, confrontations with and casting out demons, miracles of healing and more. It is the earnest prayer of Rick and Beverly that what is written here would touch the lives of all who read their story in a way that will lift them up and bring them closer to loving their God and giving their hearts and lives to serve Him. We're certain that there is no genuine peace or contentment in life apart from Jesus!
Who I Am
I am a Christian! There are a lot of erroneous views concerning what a real Christian is, and to be blunt, I am tired of people who aren't Christians but insist on defining me through their personal observations of self-acclaimed Christians who hardly fit the mold the Bible demands. These people accept gross misconceptions of true Christianity based on their total lack of knowledge of what true Christianity is all about. It is similar to space aliens looking over our society, and explaining it from their other worldly point of view. The absurdity of it would be plain to anyone who lives on this planet. To clarify what I mean I will explain what a Biblical Christian really is according to my understanding of the Bible and my personal experience.
1 - The beginning of a Christian's life is when that person admits they are a sinner in need of a Savior. This is not some mental gymnastic, but a deep understanding of wickedness that's inherent in all mankind. The reality of their sinfulness brings a person before the throne of God in meekness and humility knowing they are unworthy to receive the least of all blessings from the hand of God because of their vile condition. It is then that real repentance becomes possible. To come in any other way than "Just as I am without one plea, but that the blood of Christ was shed for me" is far outside the realm of spiritual reality. We are bringing our sins to God through Christ and exchanging them for forgiveness and eternal life. I personally believe that God gets the raw end of the deal in this transaction.
2 -.The next step is an act of faith. Faith is possible for two solid reasons that I can think of. First because Romans 1:19-20 makes it clear that God has put the knowledge of Himself in every man. That coupled with the fact that the Bible also tells us that God has given to every man "the measure of faith" fulfills the two things necessary to salvation. The faith necessary to believe, and the proof of God that has been deposited in all mankind from birth. Because of this the Bible declares without apology "The fool has said in his heart; there is no God." - Psalms 14:1 Toss in the fact that even the smallest child has a conscience that lets him or her know beyond any doubt that they are doing wrong - without any instruction, and we have all we need to think right and get right with God. The Bible talks of some who reject God's word and his salvation as those whose conscience is seared as with a hot iron. 1 Timothy 4:2
3 -.When the person comes before God soiled with their sin and with a broken, and contrite and repentant heart by faith, God reveals Himself to them and a miracle takes place. A cleansing occurs that transcends the puny intellect of the greatest, most revered intellectual being to ever exist on planet earth. A sinful person who previously cared nothing about what God thought and who lived without regard to God in any aspect of his life is suddenly forgiven of every sin he or she has ever committed, and that person knows that forgiveness intimately deep in the innermost recesses of his or her soul. The foul mouth learns to praise its Creator, the one who despised others loves them and genuinely cares for their welfare and their eternal future. The person who was apathetic about God suddenly becomes, in the eyes of the lost, a zealot. Old evil habits are broken, old haunts become distasteful, music changes from worldly to heavenly. The church becomes desirable as a place to fellowship with like-minded individuals, broken homes reunite in love and harmony, life is bright and beautiful and has purpose, meaning and direction, morals become vitally important, and loving and serving God is the hearts fervent desire, and so Christians live to serve God from a thankful heart.
4. The Bible is no longer just another book to a true Christian. It is water to his very soul to refresh and nourish him. He cannot get enough of God's Word in his heart, and studies and meditates on it always. The Holy Spirit begins to teach him those things that he is able to deal with as a new Christian. Then he grows in faith as the truths revealed to him become deeper and deeper, and yet he knows that if he lived a million lifetimes he would never fully and completely understand all there is to know about them. Enjoying time in God's presence brings closeness to God which then becomes increasingly more fulfilling as time goes by. It is in knowing God and daily interaction with God personally that the true Christian draws his strength to deal with all the issues of life. It is in God's holy presence that there is found fullness of joy. It is in God's presence that there is peace that passes all understanding. All the languages in the world, lined end to end in all the most amazing combinations of words available, could not adequately express the excitement of one second spent in the presence of God. In fact, I believe that one second in the presence of God is greater than a trillion lifetimes anywhere else. I speak this from my own experience. When God comes into the room with His glory and power and utterly fills the soul of a man or woman or child it's blessing beyond measure! When his voice is in a message it brings conviction, and calls us to repentance and to receive God's great love and mercy. No earthly orator comes close to the beauty of the voice of God speaking to our hearts! No earthly voice ever matches the call of God to us.
This then is what I believe, not because I read it somewhere, not because I heard it in a church sermon, or because I heard someone tell it from their own personal experience, nor yet because I read some testimony or testimonies from books. It is what I believe because God took this one time drug pusher and drug user from a prison cell in February 1974 and transformed his life in such a way that it will never be the same again. It is the peace and true satisfaction that all men wish for but few find because they are looking for it in all the wrong places. It is to know joy beyond measure and everlasting hope in the hearts of all who truly know it.
Please leave bias and subjective thinking at the door before you read this story and read it for what it is - a true history of two lives, joined together and blessed beyond measure through the loving care and tender mercies of our God.
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