blog| Don Tipton's Christian testimony | |
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Hi! My name is Don Tipton, this was a special event in my life, and I'd like to share it with you. I was born, and raised in central Ohio, by my mom, and step dad. I went to a small high school with only about eighty people in the graduating class. I starting playing the guitar when I was about thirteen years old, thanks to my Uncle Howard, who taught me a few chords on the guitar. I got an acoustic guitar for Christmas, that year, and I played for hours at a time, mostly country music at that time, because thats all my parents listened too. When I got into high school, I was introduced to rock and roll music. My best friend, Al, was learning to play the electric guitar, so we decided to start a band, American Destiny, and the rest is history. We played together in several bands in the next few years, and after graduation. We played at high schools, then graduated to the night club scene. I started hanging around with the wrong crowd, and they got me into drinking and, doing drugs, mainly just smoking pot to begin with, but then pills, uppers, downers, and then on to LSD. Don't ever let anyone tell you that pot does not lead to harder drugs, because I know it does from experience. Pot gives you a false sense of security so that you begin to believe, if it didn't hurt me, then other drugs won't hurt me. Wrong!!!!!!! After awhile I met my wife. She had heard from a friend of hers about these guys that played music on acoustic guitars. (That being me and my friend Rick. ) We liked to play and sing easy listening stuff like Jim Croce, Cat Stevens, Loggins & Messina, and some songs that I had written. We were doing this apart from the band I was in. One night she invited Rick and I to come and play our music at her house. She had invited several of her friends to come and listen to us. Well to make a long story short, we started dating, fell in love and got married. She loved me the way I was, long haired pot smoking rock and roller, even though she was not into all that, she was basicly a good little Catholic girl. Not long after we were married, she became pregnant with our first child, a little girl, the first of four girls I might add. Well I knew if I was going to be a father I had to get my act together and straighten up. The band (Magic Mountain) split up after awhile, and I had to get a real job. I was driving a taxi cab from three oclock in the afternoon until three in the morning. I was trying to stop doing drugs, but Id always have my old friends around to make sure I kept doing them. I had quite smoking cigarettes, but every time I turned around, one of my old buddies would pop into the cab, at the cab stand with a joint, or something. Finally I realized the only way I was going to change and be a good role model for my child was to get away from my old friends. ( Sometimes getting away from old worldly friends is the only way to get on with your life. I know it's a difficult decision to make ,but God will bless you with new friends, Godly ones. ) Well my wifes parents had moved to Dayton, Ohio, so I decided the best way to clean up my life was to get a new start somewhere else. Some place where my friends couldnt keep dragging back into my old life style. So we moved to Dayton, actually Fairborne, Ohio. I still remember the night I dumped my last nickle bag of of pot down the toilet, and flushed it, and my old life away, for good! I was determined I was going to be a good father, and role model to my little girl. Little did I know, God was already working on me. I got a job as a security guard in an old closed down cement factory, the graveyard shift. Well having the graveyard shift was really boring, the most excitement Id get was once, and a while Id catch a couple trying to park and make out, and Id have to run them off. I started reading cheap novels to occupy my time. One night I ran out of cheap novels , and I didnt have the money to purchase one. When I arrived at work that night I started checking around the old cement factory, inside some of the foremans offices, and old lockers, to see if I could find something to read. Well, finally I came across an old King James bible in one of the desks. I began to read it, and read it, and read it some more. I was devouring Gods word. Night after night I would read God's word. I never even bought another cheap novel, I just kept reading the bible. I wasn't raised in church so all of this stuff was new to me, and I was drawn to it. I couldn't put it down! I started listening to a Christian program on the radio, called Outreach, from California. One night while I was listening, they offered a free bible, ( The New American Standard ), so I sent off to get it. When it arrived, they had sent a tract along with it. At the back of the tract was the sinners prayer. So right there in the old dirty factory, I spread a piece of newspaper on the floor. I got down on my knees, and I asked Jesus to come into my life, and you know what? He did, and after that all I could do was eat, sleep and drink Jesus. Studying His word and sharing Him with anyone who would listen. I went to bed thinking about Jesus, and I got up thinking about Jesus. I ate, slept, and drank Jesus, 24- 7. So one night after some old friends (Jack & Karolyn) had come to visit us for the weekend, and we spent the whole evening talking about Jesus, (because as it turned out while God was working on me, He'd also been working on them), they knew us from our days in Chillicothe, Ohio, but had since moved to Michigan were Jack's dad was the Pastor of a Lutheran Church. That night after we went to bed, my wife whispered to me, I don't know what you all got, but if it gives you this much joy, and peace, and excitment, I want it too. So we knelt beside our bed, and prayed, and she received Christ as her Savior that night. It was great! As our friends left that Sunday, they jokingly said, If we find you a job in Michigan (the Detroit area), will you move up there with us? We said sure why not, never dreaming it would really happen. Little did we know what God had planned for us. A few weeks later they called, and said, we found you a job here, hanging drywall with a man from our church. Will you come? Well after some deep consideration, and prayer we said, Yes. We packed up our little girl, and our stuff, and moved to Michigan, by this time my wife was pregnant with our second child. The first night we got there, it was a Sunday, our friends wanted us to come to their Sunday night church service. It was held at a local college, and Jack's Dad, who had been a Lutheran minister in the area there, had gotten baptized in the Holy Spirit, and was promptly asked to resign as Pastor of the Lutheran church were he had been for a couple of years. His name is, Pastor Deater, one of the most Godly men I have ever known, and it was my pleasure to be taught the Word of God by him for almost twenty years. He taught as to just be. Just be, you say? What does that mean? Well, it means to just be what God has already said you are in His Word, overcomers, more than conquerors, healed by His stripes, having everything you need for life, and Godliness, dead to sin, and alive to God through Christ Jesus, in other words just walk in what God has already declared you to be in His Word, and through the death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. I'd like to take this time to personally thank Pastor Deater for all he has done for us over the years, his teaching, his faithfullness to God, his being a vessel to meet the spiritual, and physical needs of God's people. Be assured of this! Your reward in Heaven will be great. Thank You, Pastor Deater! We love you, and miss you! Well, he was starting a charismatic church called, Macomb Christian Community Center. They were meeting at the college that night, so we went. When the music started playing,(My friend Jack was in the worship band), and we began worshiping, and praising God, both myself, and my wife just looked at each other, and knew we were where we were supposed to be. God had brought us here for a purpose, we were home. For a number of years, until he retired, we sat at the feet of Pastor Deater, and were taught the Word of God . I joined the worship team, and grew up there, and so did our children. The drywall job didn't last very long, so then I got a job working for a propane company shortly after we arrived in Michigan, and I spent twenty years there. This whole time God was blessing me with songs. My friend, Jack, and I played in two different Christian bands while I lived there. One was called "The Promise Land Band", and the other was called "Compassion". We played all original material that either I wrote, or a few songs were written by Jack. I enjoyed it very much, and hopefully we touched some lives with our music. After Pastor Deater retired, we decided to move to Nashville, Tn., and try, and get some of the music the Lord had given me, recorded. So after much prayer, we decided to step out in faith, and move to Nashville. I was able to transfer to Nashville, thru my work at the propane company, because they had a location here. So we left all our friends (including our best friends, sorry Jess & Pat, we love you, and miss you), and some of our family, and we took the leap of faith. We've been here a number of years now. We go to a little church called, The Father's House Church, in LaVergne ,Tn. Our Pastor is: Dr. Bobby Howard, and we love going there, it is now our new spiritual home. I am busy with my music, and my first CD, "HOLY FIRE!" , has just been released. So pray for us at, Don Tipton Ministries, that God will bless us, and open doors for us, and He will also bless Sweet Pea Productions which is a part of our ministry. Please feel free to E mail us at dontipministries@dontipton.com , with prayer requests. Do you have a testimony to share with us about how you came to faith in Christ, or something God has done in your life? Of course it goes without saying that it has to be true, and it had to have happened to you! Please share it with us. Well goodbye for now, His Servant, Don Tipton, www.dontipton.com |
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| I Have Some News for you, it's called the good news, and it might just change your life! | |
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Special Message:from Don Tipton To all who have ears to hear. If you've never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior, please take the time to read this important message. It's about an important event that happened two thousand years ago, but can change your life today. Take the time to ask Jesus into your life today,do it now, what have you got to lose besides your fear of death, and all that sin that has weighed you down for so long! Tomorrow might be to late. The bible says our lives are but a mist, a vapor, here today, and gone tomorrow. None of us know when we will take our last breath, only God knows that, but there is good news, God has made a way for us to have eternal life thru His Son, Jesus Christ, who came to this earth as a man, and bore our sins in His body on the cross. He was crucified & buried, but there is more good news: He arose on the third day from the dead & is now seated at the Father's right hand, and He will come again in glory to judge the living, and the dead. My Friend, you can know this same Jesus, for He is alive and well, and conquered the gates of hell. He went down into hell, and took the keys of death, and the grave from the Satan, and then He arose from the grave. The day He arose from the grave Mary went to the grave side to mourn, and she was met by an angel, who asked her one of the greatest questions ever asked: "Why do you look for the living among the dead. " Why did he say that to a grieving Mary? Glory! I said Glorrrrryyyyy! I shout GLORY! I'll tell you why, because Jesus was no longer dead, He is alive! He is still alive today! And the bible says," The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, and He shall give life to your mortal body! This same Holy Spirit, will not only give you life, He will give you resurrection life!!!!! Think about that for a minute. Jesus was dead laying on a slab of cold hard rock in a tomb that was sealed with a giant stone, and while His lifeless body lay there, all the power of God come rushing into that lifeless body, and death, the same death that claimed every man from Adam on down, could not hold Him in it's grasp, and all those zillions of volts of Holy Ghost electricity, The same Holy Spirit that was hovering over the dark void of this earth, when God said, "Let there be light," and there was light! That same Holy Spirit came rushing into Jesus's lifeless body, and death could not hold Him! He arose, and He is alive! That same Spirit wants to dwell in you, and will dwell in you if you only ask Jesus to come into your life, and He will bring His light, the light of His Eternal Spirit! Death could not hold Him, and there's no reason for you to fear death ever again, because death can not hold you either, if you believe in this same Jesus that rose from the dead! Oh, your physical body will die, but death can not hold you, just like it could not hold Jesus, because He took back the keys of hell, and the grave, and death can not hold you, if you believe in Jesus. Jesus said, "Because I live you shall live also." If you believe in Jesus you have passed from death unto life, and though this mortal body will one day pass away, you will live forever, if you believe in Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God, notice I said, Living God, and that's what you will be too, thru Him, alive unto God, and dead to yourself. The Bible says, " God has set before you, life, and death, blessing, and cursing. Choose you this day Life! Your mortal body will die, but your spirit, which is the real you, will live forever. The bible also tells us that, No man can come to the Father (GOD) unless he comes thru the Son. (Jesus Christ). It also tells us that, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whomsoever believes in Him will not perish, but have ever lasting life. John 3:16 It also tells us that if you believe in your heart, and confess with your mouth, that Jesus Christ is Lord, then you will have eternal life. Please take this oppurtunity to receive Christ as your Lord & Savior, or maybe you have asked Jesus into your life at some point but you haven't been serving him like you know you should, you've put yourself & your desires ahead of what God wants for you. You know He only wants what's best for you. Look in your heart you know what's wrong, you need to repent, and turn back to the One True Living God who loves you , and only wants what is best for you. Flee that sin that you've allowed to take hold of your life. Turn back to God, ask for His forgiveness, and like the prodical son, He will greet you with open arms, and clothe you with His robe of righteousness, you too take this time to pray this prayer with me! Just say; Dear Jesus, I come before you now, knowing that I am a sinner. I ask you to forgive me of all my sins, and cleanse me from all unrighteousness, and clothe me with your forgiveness, and your robe of rightousness. I repent of all my past failures, and short comings. I know I've missed the mark, but please come into my heart, and my life right now, and fill me with your Holy Spirit, and baptize me in that same Holy Spirit. Teach me to live for you from this day forward. Give me a hunger for your word & a desire to serve you all the days of my life. AMEN!!!! If you've just prayed that prayer then I'd like to welcome you to the family of God! Drop us an Email at dontipministries@dontipton.com , and tell us about your decision to follow Christ, we'd love to hear from you, and pray for you, and please tell others about us, so we may share the good news of the gospel with them also. We are at www.dontipton.com . Thank you for allowing us to serve you. I urge you to now find someone & tell them about the decision you just made, for with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Please find a bible believing, Spirit filled church, and attend regularly, and spent time in prayer, and fellowship with God, read the bible daily. There are some links on my web site to aid you in your study of God's Word, and your daily walk with Christ! Just go to http://www.dontipton.com, and follow the links to bible studies, dailey devotions, and more. Don't forget to go to http://www.96decibels.com, were you can download all my songs for a free trial period. Go to www.96decibels.com, then click on the letter D, then click on page 35, then click on Don Tipton's songs, download all of them you want, listen to them for three times for free, and on the fourth time you'll be asked to purchase the song for a very reasonable price of $.89 cents, then the song will be yours for you to keep, and burn to a CD, or put in your mp3 player, or just keep on your computer. Remember every song you buy helps further this ministry, and the gospel of Christ. Thank you,and May God richly Bless you now & forever! His Servant, Don Tipton What do we believe? WE BELIEVE IN: The infallible, inspired Word of God as our rule of faith and conduct: one sovereign God expressed in three persons: Father, Son. and Holy Spirit. The virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that he was born both God, and man. Redemption and regeneration through faith in the work of Christ in His death, burial,and resurrection: the Baptisim of the Holy Spirit as the believer's endowment of power for service: (Acts 2: 1-4). The emminent return of the Lord: the resurrection of the just and the unjust: the Church universal as being all who believe in Jesus Christ: the local church as being a body of believers who have been converted to Christ and who have united themselves under recognized, delegated authority, and who assemble together to worship and are organized to carry out the Great Commision by the leading of the Holy Spirit "And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." 2 Timothy 2:2 Loving, Mending, Training, Sending May God Bless you, and Keep you, and make His Face Shine upon you, until we speak again. Sincerely, His Servant, Don Tipton www.dontipton.com |
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| Here are some Reviews by other Artists | |
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Reviews for Don Tipton Reviewed LEXZ 10/14/2005 REVIEWCREW You deliver a strong message with a gentleness that will not turn away the doubters, and if even one heeds the message ... Good instrumentation, good lyrics, and very good vocals. Now, go and post about a hundred more songs like this! Song title: We Are The Children Band Name: Don Tipton Genre: Religious, Gospel Reviewed 2blueiis 10/14/2005 let your conversation be filled with grace. sounds like you have applied this to your song as well. good clear vocals, and nice acoustic, all you need for a fine song. Loren Song title: Here I Am Lord Band Name: Don Tipton Genre: Religious, Gospel Reviewed shawn mckendry 10/14/2005 REVIEWCREW I can't relate to the message of this song, however the actual music is solid. You have a good voice, and the acoustic playing is good. Very consisten overall. Good job! Song title: We Are The Children Band Name: Don Tipton Genre: Religious, Gospel Reviewed dreamer 10/14/2005 strong message delivered with conviction. Good vox and production. another good solid tune. A good listen! Song title: We Are The Children Band Name: Don Tipton Genre: Religious, Gospel Reviewed dreamer 10/14/2005 Good lyrics and strong vocals. Solid melody and good production. A very good tune. Song title: Here I Am Lord Band Name: Don Tipton Genre: Religious, Gospel |
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