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He is an NFL quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. After playing college football at Virginia Tech, he was drafted first overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL Draft. He became the first African-American quarterback to be selected first overall in an NFL Draft. In six seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, he gained wide popularity for his performance on the field, and led the Falcons to the playoffs twice. He ranks first among quarterbacks in career rushing yards. He has been selected to the Pro Bowl four times. He won the Ed Block Courage Award in 2009 and the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award in 2010.
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While growing up in a Virginia public housing project that was consumed with constant violence, poverty, and low finances, he often dreamed of playing sports. His father taught him and his brother the fundamentals of football and he often says that sports kept him off the streets during those difficult years. He excelled in football in high school, college, and in the NFL. In 2007, he was charged with funding and participating in an illegal dog fighting operation and was sentenced to 23 months in prison and three years probation. He was released from prison in 2009.
He became a Christian in high school in Virginia and began reading his Bible, but the more success he achieved on the football field, the less he thought he needed God. He said, "I was so self-centered, I forgot about the Lord." However, after going to jail for dogfighting, he realized how much he needed the Lord back in his life. He said of that time, ""I got back to my roots. The only thing I could do in prison was fall back on God. I wanted to do things right, that I didn't do the first time." In the final months of his prison term, Tony Dungy stepped into his life and helped him put his life back together and restore his walk with God. He says, "I thought the transition [from prison to the NFL] would be easy, but it was hard for me. I did things I never thought I would do, like studying and working by myself. I stayed close to my faith, constant in prayer and close to Tony's calls and texts." He goes further to say, "I am determined to leave my life in God's hands and leave the results up to Him. The main thing is I don't want to disappoint God...God has blessed with a second chance and that is something I will value forever. I don't want to let Him down." His name is Michael Vick.
This is the "Chief of Sinners," Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International, and just as Michael Vick gave his life to Christ, may I encourage you to do the same. Here is how:
First, please understand that you are a sinner and that you have broken God's laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Please understand that because of your sins, you deserve punishment in hell. Romans 6:23 says "the wages of sin is death..." This is both physical death and spiritual death in hell.
But here is the good news. John 3:16 reads, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
The phrase "For God so loved the world" means that if you are in this world, God loves you no matter what you have done.
The next phrase, "that He gave His only begotten Son" refers to Jesus Christ. He is God's son who suffered, bled, and died on the cross for your sins and for mine, and He was buried and rose again.
Our next phrase is "that whosoever believeth in Him". The word "whosoever" means anybody at anytime. The phrase "believeth in Him" means to trust in Him, to depend upon Him, to rely on Him, or to have faith in Him for your salvation.
Our next phrase, "should not perish", refers to eternal punishment in a place called hell.
And, lastly, the phrase "but have everlasting life" means to live eternally in Heaven with God.
The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour!
Remember, friend, Believe by faith. Share the faith. and Keep the faith!
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in twenty-three foreign countries. He is the author of sixteen books. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry which publishes a monthly magazine called The Torch Leader. He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts, The Prayer Motivator Devotional and the Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel's Report and the Second Coming Watch Update. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor's degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, and a Master's degree in Religion from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica for twenty-five years. God has blessed their union with seven children. Find out more at www.danielwhyte3.com. Follow Daniel Whyte III on Twitter @danielwhyteiii.
