Acts – The Journal Of A New Creation

Fighting Through Pain

Author: Randall Daluz November 27, 2017

Dearly beloved: May GOD’s peace, mercy, love, joy, and healing grace be ever upon you. Pain, it is the most difficult of all our emotions. It is also the most destructive. If left to fester, it leads to hate, anger and sadness. If we do not control it, it makes us depressed and causes us to lash out. As a convict in a supermax prison, I am living in a house of pain. I myself sometimes suffer from it. It is very easy to fall into despair when you are serving a life sentence for crimes you did not commit. Satan loves to kick us when we are down. He often tries to plant doubt in my head. He tells me there is no use in fighting for my freedom or seeking justice. He tells me that I am worthless and hopeless. He tells me that no matter what I do I will die in here. He tells me that nobody cares about a colored ex-drug dealer and alcoholic. He tells me that I am a failure and. a loser who is washed up. He says I am nothing more than a waste of talent and no one will take pity on me or believe in me. I am not going to lie to you. Even as a man of faith, sometimes I want to give up and believe his dirty lies. There are times when my family is not able to visit me for months. During those times I often break down and cry. I sleep all day unable to get out of bed. A lot of you know exactly what I am talking about. Don’t you? Don’t you just want to give up and die sometimes? You see, we may not be in the same boat, but we are all traveling on a turbulent river called life. We can relate on many levels. You know what I do at my lowest points? I pray and read my bible and sometimes I feel instant joy, but other times it takes me a while to come out of my funk. This situation hurts and at times it feels hopeless. (more…)

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Acts

Missed Opportunity

Author: Randall Daluz December 14, 2016

Acts 13:47 “For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

Dearly Beloved: May GOD’s grace, peace, courage, strength and LOVE be ever upon you. This is a very sad time for me. My eldest brother passed away on November 19th. I did not find out until two days ago. He had been estranged from the family. I loved him very much, though I did not show it enough. I deeply regret not getting to know him better. We did not grow up together. He was nearly twenty years older than I. In his youth, my father immigrated to Africa in search of a better life for his brothers and sisters. His parents had both died, leaving him as the eldest sibling, to raise his brothers and sister. It was there in Senegal, Africa where my eldest brother was born. My brother was the spitting image of my father. My father sired a large family in Africa before immigrating to America where myself and my two younger siblings were born. My mother is a Caucasian-American. My father worked very hard and saved his money. Eventually, he earned enough to bring his African born children to America. I remember meeting my older brothers for the first time. I was five years old at the time. I had stared at their pictures before they came. Father told me lots of heart-warming stories about them. They were like rock stars to me. And when the day came where I finally got to meet them, I was so excited. I remember teaching them English and playing with them for hours on end. They were all musical prodigies. They had been performing since they were knee high to a grasshopper. I loved watching them perform. They would practice for shows at my Dad’s house. Those were great times. (more…)

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Acts, Ephesians

I Am Just A Man

Author: Randall Daluz April 19, 2016

Acts 23:11-12 But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

Dearly Beloved,
May the peace, love, joy and grace of our Lord be ever upon you. Times have been rough for me spiritually and emotionally lately. I have been struggling with doubt – not of God, but of man. Those of you who have been following my situation have heard that I have been wrongfully convicted of horrific and tragic crimes. Race was injected into my trial. I was stereotyped and mislabeled. The prosecutors and police tampered with evidence and witnesses. I filed for a mistrial and the courts stalled me for over a year. Now, all of a sudden, they are rushing my appeal. To my knowledge, they only rush an appeal when they intend to deny it. Such usually happens when a person or persons with great political power pulls strings. Now, I’m no martyr; nor am I seeking sympathy by claiming to be a victim. The facts are the facts. What took place during my trial was nothing short of a modern day lynching. Questions like, what color the people are where I am from, had no relevance whatsoever. They were posed solely to prejudice the jury. The suggestion, that a white man wouldn’t need to carry a gun because he is white and around white people, is also clearly and undeniably racist and meant to prejudice the jury. Yet, I was denied a motion for a mistrial and by the looks of it, I may be on the fast track to being railroaded on my appeal. Notice I said, “by the looks of it.” The truth is, I have no way of knowing what the outcome may be. My fears, though based on experience, are not necessarily valid.

Now, you would think that after all that God has done for me, after the miracles I witnessed and prayers He has answered, that my faith would be bulletproof. Paul actually witnessed and spoke to Christ, yet he continued to question the Lord. Why, he doubted whether or not he would even live moment to moment. The Lord constantly had to remind Paul that He was with him, that Paul had a purpose to fulfill and his time to die had not yet come. (more…)

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2 Corinthians, Acts, Philippians

Sharing Is Caring

Author: Randall Daluz December 25, 2015

Acts 20:35 “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Seasons Greetings, my beautiful brothers and sisters. May the grace of God be upon you. Amen. I pray that all of you are well during this joyous time of year. This is the time of year when some Christians celebrate the birth of Christ our Lord. Of course, it is unknown when Jesus was born. Some speculate that it was in October. Jesus never commanded us to celebrate His birth, only His death and resurrection. Christmas trees, Santa Claus and mistletoe are all pagan traditions which were left over from the Roman empire. I find it trivial to debate such things. To me, Christmas should be celebrated every day, to some degree or another. Most definitely, we should praise Jesus for His sacrifice infinitely. His birth, life and death forever changed all of creation. Where we once had nothing, we now have hope. Thank you, Jesus! (more…)

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Acts, Mark

From The Ashes

Author: Randall Daluz May 1, 2015

John 2:19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

Randall_Daluz_OurGodByChrisTomlin_videostill

“Our God” by Chris Tomlin (with lyrics)

If you have been watching the news lately, you have been bombarded with images of chaos in Baltimore. It is no doubt disturbing, but where we see tragedy, the Lord sees opportunity. Man’s garbage is the Lord’s treasure. Where we see loss, the Lord sees potential gain. In many parts of the world, farmers who are clearing new land, set it on fire. They burn everything. You see the ashes are a natural fertilizer. From those ashes will spawn beautiful healthy crops. That’s amazing isn’t it? I love the way that God works. Hallelujah! In the wake of destruction, new life is wrought. Praise God! Let us not focus on the negative destruction. Instead, let us focus on renewal. (more…)

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Acts, John, Philippians

Twenty-One Martyrs For Christ

Author: Randall Daluz February 18, 2015

“Stoning of Saint Stephen” by Filippo Lauri, c. 1651. Saul in the extreme right (click to enlarge)

Acts 7:59-60 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Twenty-one Egyptian men were recently beheaded for believing in Jesus Christ. Twenty-one brothers in Christ were murdered for our Lord. I tell you, I am overjoyed for them. For what better way can one die than for the name of Jesus? We should count these blessed men as heroes, for they are true martyrs for Christ Jesus. Hallelujah! Praise God! Amen! My heart weeps for their families, for I know what it is to suffer the loss of loved ones to senseless violence. My prayer is that they realize how special those twenty-one men are. I pray they feel joy at the thought of those twenty-one beautiful souls frolicking with Jesus in heaven. Theirs is a place of endearment in the heart of the Lord for there is no greater tribute than to lay down one’s life in the name of Jesus. I would like you to take a moment to honor these twenty-one brothers. Pray for their families and praise God for their sacrifice. I want the enemies of Christ to know that you cannot kill a Christian, for our souls are eternal. True believers in Christ shall never die. The devil has convinced you that there is victory in the death of Christians. He has lied to you. Oh, there is victory alright; but it belongs to Jesus, not you. (more…)

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Acts, Matthew

Deborah Jacobs

Author: Randall Daluz September 29, 2014

This interview is a very special one for me. It was an honor to interview one of my mentors. I have met a lot of good Christians during my journey. All of them have been very encouraging to me. I have known Deborah for over a year now. We met at the Kennebec County Jail in Augusta. As with all people I encounter, I was very skeptical of her at first. She did not recognize me at first and I did not tell her why I was in jail. It had been a year since I had turned myself in. So, many people in Augusta did not realize who I was. Eventually, Deborah and I built a great rapport and forged a real friendship. The more I got to know her, the more I realized what an amazing person she truly is. The Lord is truly working through her. You can see his hand in everything she does and yet she is so humble. She and some other volunteers have helped me to realize that there are truly good and wonderful people in this world. I cannot stress how important it is to an inmate (or any sinner for that matter) to see that there are truly good and kind people who love them because God loves them.

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Interviews

Acts, Ephesians, Matthew

A Soldier Of Light

Author: Randall Daluz September 12, 2014

Acts 16:30-31 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (NKJV)

As Christians, it is our duty to be a light to those who live in darkness. We are called to be witnesses; to testify about our Lord and His salvation. It is an honor to be chosen to do so. How precious is a child to it’s father? We can’t even imagine what one soul is worth to our Father in Heaven. There is no way to measure His love for us. When we are given a chance to help save one of the lost ones, we must rise to the occasion and do what we have been called to do. (more…)

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Acts

What God has cleansed…

Author: Randall Daluz September 4, 2014

Acts 11:9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’ (NKJV)

I love this verse. Often times I have thought of myself as unclean because of my past. I once spoke to a minister about it and he showed me this verse. I immediately realized that it was talking about me and everyone who is saved. (more…)

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Acts

Tag Archive: Acts

Acts 16:30-31 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (NKJV)