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My Story: 

My name is Brooks Barrington Courtney, President of MorningStar Innovations and the inventor of the EZ-Level Cabinet Leveling System. I was raised in a wonderful loving home with a Mom who believed in God but I never bought into the idea of "an old man with a white beard sitting on a throne". Worse... I saw absolutely no evidence of a "loving God" in this mixed up sad world. IF... God existed, I figured He must not care about this planet much and He surely didn't care about me!

The evolutionary theory of "Kill Or Be Killed" seems to rule! Bad people have all the fun. Good people die young... and millions of people are starving to death... While thousands of church goers are singing in their pews about "how faithful God is"!

About 18 years ago my secretary Anita (a new hire at the time) started telling me about Jesus Christ. Basically she said that "if" I wanted to go to heaven, I had to accept Jesus as my "lord and savior". I didn't believe it... but she was persistent and so I said the "sinner's prayer". Funny thing is, I actually said: "Dear Lord Jesus... I don't think it's true... but IF you really are GOD and IF you're the Savior of the world... then please be my Lord and Savior". Nothing happened. (just as I thought). 

Eyes Opened: 

I had no idea "why" at the time... but for some reason I went and bought a Bible. (Actually they required a bit too much reading... so I bought the Bible on tape instead). I started listening in my car and within a few hours something happened. That old book (tape) knew everything about me! It was as if the author wrote it for me!

The more I listened... the more the author blew my mind. I soon found it difficult to put it down and ended up buying an actual Bible... taking a month off from work, reading, studying and asking a LOT of questions to anyone and everyone I could find!

I will NEVER forget the day I finished "Revelation" (last book in the Bible). It was like everything was suddenly in slow motion. I got up and staggered into the bathroom... fell to my knees and wept! It was though God had reached into time... into this world and embraced me!! There is NO WAY TO DESCRIBE IT. I was HORRIFIED at the things I had done in my life... yet I was stunned and overjoyed at the very real presence of Almighty God... holding me!!! I could literally FEEL HIS LOVE!!! I could barely breathe. I wept and laughed and prayed for over an hour.

It was as though the world had been turned upside down. Everything I believed to be true was false and after all these years it turns out... God was real! My eyes... had been opened! 

Getting to know Him: 

My journey had begun... I studied the scriptures day and night. I was filled with a deep desire to get to know this God! I studied Hebrew and Greek, I went to seminars, I called pastors in the middle of the night, and the more I learned... the more I began to fall in love with God! Hey!... Who said that??? OMG... It was me! This was life changing! Remember my "life questions and complaints"? Wow... How did I not know! All these years! The simple answers are in His book! Why didn't someone tell me? But I'm getting ahead of myself... so let me explain. First, we have to go to the "source"... the Bible. Let's look at a couple of cool facts:

The "Bible" simply means "one book made of many". It was written over a period of 1500 years... by 40 different men. Most of these men never meet and in fact lived in three different countries, speaking 3 different languages. Some wrote in times of war... some in times of peace... and some in times of captivity. Many were considered uneducated servants while others were royalty, prophets and even warriors. Yet every book and every topic match perfectly! In fact each book in the Bible tends to complete one another in a way that only God could have orchestrated!

For example... When all of those "books" were brought together and assembled into what we now know as the Bible... The History of the world "past,present and future" came into focus! Almost 1/3rd of the Bible is prophetic, but the really cool part is that God chose to scatter those pieces throughout the Bible... again showing mankind that God is in charge and that He alone authored the scriptures.

Page after page God tells man EXACTLY what is going to happen... WHEN it's going to happen and HOW it's going to happen. (And it always does)! Even today the prophecies are still being fulfilled!
The Bible covers ALL topics concerning Mankind: Health, happiness, life, death, politics, race, the origin of species, mathematics, science, astrology, marriage, sex (yea... it's in there), raising children, Etc. Simply put: If it matters... it's in the Bible!

And for those who still doubt the validity of Gods authorship, another recent discovery provides incredible, non-refutable proof... (The Bible Code). Its a huge study but the short version is that God has woven the history of the world throughout the Old Testament in "code". Although the code is very simple to see, it requires a computer due to the fact that it spans the ENTIRE Old Testament to work! That means that each and every "book, paragraph, letter and even spelling" has to be exactly perfect and in place or the entire code would collapse! Not one single letter could be missing! 

In the Bible God tells us: 

1) God created the world perfectly and then... He created a family in His own image...(mankind).

2) There was no pain, sickness or death.

3) Dominion (management) of the world was given to us along with a choice. (true love requires a choice to love)

4) ...And there was only one rule: Don't eat the bad fruit!...(my paraphrase)

5) Now God has an enemy. His name was Lucifer... and the Bible tells us that he wanted to knock God off and assume the throne... and God only had one weakness. US!

6) Knowing that mankind had the freedom to choose... and knowing that the LAW states that "any soul that sins dies"... Lucifer hatched a plan! Get us to break the law and God would either have to throw all of us into hell or relinquish His throne.

7) And... We fell for it! I mean ALL OF US!

8) So... if you ever wondered why the world seems so cruel sometimes... you might want to remember who's been calling a lot of the shots... and why!

9) From the moment that man sinned... Lucifer has held the "keys to hell and death" and has held it over man's head ever since!

God's plan of redemption: 

In what has been described as the most incredible act of love anyone has ever known... God birthed Himself into this world as one of us! He lived a sinless life... and died in our place!

HE... paid the penalty for my sins! There is no longer a death warrant against me! Lucifer's hold on me has been broken forever!!!

Scripture tells us that "Jesus descended into the depths of the earth and took back the keys to hell and death"!

Now... here's the deal. If you ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior... and ask Him to help you change... He will. Simple as that. At that very moment Lucifer's "legal hold" over you is broken. You are immediately adopted by God Himself as a son or a daughter! Forgiven!

So what does God ask in return? Well... Love Him... Get to know Him through His word... Start loving on other people... and TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THE GOOD NEWS! (The Gospel)!

God's Benefit Package: 

You know... growing up I always thought that "following God was for priests and nuns". TV makes it seem very boring and legalistic!

SAY WHAT ?????????????

Ya know... Being adopted into God's family is about a whole lot more than just getting into Heaven! Jesus said
"I've come to give you LIFE and LIFE IN ABUNDANCE!"... and He meant it!
He set me free from death and hell...
He gave me a new heart...
He gives me "secret council" and direction (which REALLY HELPS)!
He leads me in much better paths that I ever found...
He heals me
He protects me in times of trouble...
He gives me PEACE! Peace like I've never known!

What about all the RULES?
Wow... Rules?

Yup... There are rules. Get Over It! EVERYTHING GOOD HAS RULES!

You want a good job? There are rules to follow!
You want good friends? There are rules to follow!
You want lots of money? There are rules to follow!
You want a cool car or house? There are rules to follow!

But... Unlike a lot of stupid "Man-Made" rules... GOD's rules actually make sense. 

Like... Love God and Love one another...
Don't Lie... or Cheat... or Steal... or Kill!
Be faithful to your wife (or husband)!
Wait till you'r married to have sex! (ok... This one took me a while to understand,  but He's right!... If we TRUST HIM... and wait for Him... and pray for HIS choice... He will give you the desires of your heart!)Trust me on this one... I know!!!
Oh Yeah... GIVING MONEY... Giving to God is awesome! Not only do you get to take part in God's awesome plan of redemption... but the more you give... the more He gives you back! In Love and Peace (and yes... money)... and all those other benefits I listed above!

A Continued Journey 

Please bare with me as I continue to put down my thoughts. This is a work in progress. God Bless you all! If you have any questions about God please feel free to call me anytime at 800-726-5550



Here is a link to my home church:Pastor Randy (the one in the video) has spent hours teaching me the ways of God, and I owe him everything! He's more than my Pastor... he's my best friend!
New Life Assembly of God, Venice Florida.