Brother Bill Nave: A Powerful Preacher

What makes a powerful preacher?

What makes a powerful preacher? It is all hell and brimstone or is it raising their hands to the sky. Does the pews rattle when he screams, "HALLELUJAH" or do tears feel your eyes when he falls down on the pulpit and cries. Oh lordy, how he can make a grown man cry. Well all these things may help, but their is one thing that is different from all of these "normal" things and that is a man who loves God first, last and all the day long. Who is this man?

His name was Brother Bill Nave and he was the most powerful preacher I have ever known in my life. He did more for Grant's Lick, Kentucky than fried catfish did for the world. He was gentle and he kind and he could make the church shake when he preached damnation and eternity, but he was our friend.

He never condemned you for not being a Christian and he never criticized the people who went astray. He would sit with the people and "chew the fat" as we said back then. My dad was a believer, but he would never go to church till he met Brother Bill Nave. All the other preachers daddy knew preached about the end of the world and how daddy was going to the hellfire for not going to church, but not Brother Bill Nave.

Brother Nave had a hard life. He had a daughter who had polio and she was in the bed 90% of the time. He would pray on her and grieved so with the family over her illness. Back then there was no vaccination like there is now. He was good and he was kind and he had two other children. He went from house to house visiting people and everyone and I mean everyone loved this man.

He was not selfish at all. He lived a very simple life with his wife and his three children and never asked for anything from anybody. We had this very traditional church in the country hills. You know the type with a tall steeple and white wood all along the sides. You had to walk up the steps to get to the front door and there still Bro. Nave greeting everyone. I never saw anyone who loved God more than Bro. Nave.

He would come to our house and eat catfish and fries and talk about fishing. He made my dad laugh and then he would make him cry about the stories he told. He never begged, pleaded or screamed about the Lord, he only showed everyone how wonderful God was. So one day daddy got dressed and he went to church with Bro. Bill Nave. Everyone clapped when daddy walked in the doors and they baptised daddy the next week.

Daddy went to church every Sunday until one Sunday Bro. Bill Nave announced that he would be leaving us. He was offered a better position in a large church up north. So the day Bro. Nave left, we all cried. Daddy continue to go to church for awhile, but the new preacher started criticizing and raising "caine" so daddy went away.

We got a letter from Bro. Bill Nave, his son had been in a car accident and was preparing to die. Bro. Bill Nave prayed and prayed for God to save his son's life and take him in his place. Remarkably the son did recover and we were so happy. A few months later Bro. Nave went to spread the gospel in Jerusalem and he caught leprosy. Bro. Bill only lasted a few months and he died with his family surrounding him.

We all cried and wept, but he told us before he died that he was going to his Lord to keep his promise. He love us, his family and God more than life itself. He did what he felt he must and God loved him so much he called him home. I guess he is about as powerful as Billy Graham. I never met anyone like Bro. Nave again and the world cried when he died, but the Angels greeted him with love. I am sure God was waiting at those pearly gates to walk with him to his resting place. So what makes a powerful preacher? Well you must ask God.

How Does Belief and Religion Intertwine?

I am a Muslim and I have belief in the hereafter. I have faith that God will be merciful to me also. How does the word faith and belief come together in religion in the same line, in the same thought and in the same manner. Belief is faith in the unknown. You cannot see an atom but you know from textbooks they exist. You cannot see God but through faith, you belief that he is.

My sister wrote to me yesterday and we almost came to blows. She told me she could not be Muslims because she heard that Allah or God could not provide salvation as he was a different God than her Christian God. I paused before I answered and I told her, "The word Allah is merely an Arabic word for God." My belief in Islam is that he is the only God and the same God you worship also. So if your God offers you salvation, then so does mine.

It is funny how much people put into their faith in a preacher or a movie star, but not in the thing we cannot see. Sometimes we cannot see the wind, but it is there and it exist and sometimes it manifest itself to everyone and we are so frightened we cry. We beg with everything inside of us for God to free us and save us from the terrible storms approaching. As soon as the storm goes we forget about our promises to God and we go back to our normal ways.

In Islam we live for judgment day. We would always be careful to offend someones heart and we would never want to backbite anyone. Our belief in our Lord is so powerful that when we cry tears of fear of the hellfire, we wipe those tears all over our bodies. This is protection from the hellfire. Our belief in our lord's mercy will save us.

Now I believe in hell and I believe in heaven and I also believe in Angels. Angels are pure and they are everywhere. They roam the earth praying for those who have gone astray and they warn those who are doing bad. God sends angels to perform many things, such as bringing the dead home and to punish those who are bad. I have faith that if God or Allah is angry he would forgive.

Now for those of you who do not have faith or believe in God then I must wonder how you could do that. The blue moon the other day should make all atheist bow down and worship God and they should tremble when the ground shakes and the trees are uprooted and still I must say that everyone has a choice what they believe and where they go.

I am humbled by Allah's mercy and

the many times he saved me. I use to have MS and he cured me. Then the doctor diagnosed me with early onset dementia and again Allah saved me. I am a sinner like you and everyone and not sure why he saved me, but he did. I went to Medina to do worship in Mecca. When I walked in the doors of Medina mosque, I was horribly sick. As I drug myself to pray and to worship my lord, I was sad.

I began to look around the mosque and I saw this huge Angel on the ceiling and he was motioning for me to come. I followed him as I knew he was leading me to my death. He led me to the zam zam water and told me to drink. I drank two glasses of that very holy water and I rose to leave. I started to cry from being in the presence of this marvelous angel and he said to me, "We love you, because you love Allah." I looked shyly at them and said nothing. They told me "Go now Barbara and do not look back. Come back soon, we are waiting for you."

I guess skeptics would laugh at my story of seeing Angels and having them calling me to the sacred water of Mecca to drink. I guess some would laugh because I knew I was going to die, but then I have faith and they do not. The Angels love me, is that not enough reason to have faith in the one I cannot see. Amazing how Allah allowed me to see Angels to help and guide me. I can't see God but I can feel him in my heart, my soul and even next to my breath.

Belief, what is belief? Belief is what Allah has given me, it is the core of my existence and the ultimate glory of my life. I jump for joy at the mention of his name and I become like no one else in his presence. What is belief you say? It is different for each and every one of you, but for me belief is my faith in Allah and the miraculous way he comforts me on this night. For surely my words are from him and he comforts me when I am sad and he loves me when I am bad. Belief is faith and it is in correlation with my lord and my religion.