09-11-2026 PART 3: The Brother God Used to Change Everything

Section 1

God’s saving work sometimes becomes clearest when we look backward and recognize how many times He intervened before we understood what He was doing. Dr. Dave continues his testimony by recounting a frightening period of heavy drug use, criminal behavior, and reckless indifference toward his own life. After breaking into a house with a friend, stealing several items including a gun, and taking LSD, the two began discussing whether life had any real purpose. Their distorted thinking led them toward suicide, with Dr. Dave placing the loaded gun against his temple. At precisely that moment, an extraordinary interruption involving two cars and school janitors redirected everything. What appeared accidental then can now be recognized differently: God was rescuing someone who had no idea how much purpose still remained ahead.

Section 2

Years of rebellion did not prevent God from arranging the person who could finally communicate the Gospel in a way Dr. Dave would hear. After the family moved to Arizona, his brother Billy became a Christian through the witness of a coworker named Mike Gibson. Billy immediately began persistently sharing Jesus with his brother, enduring rejection day after day until he finally discovered an unexpected bridge: comic books. Using familiar characters to explain God, Satan, and Jesus opened a door that traditional explanations had not. Dr. Dave eventually prayed to receive Christ, although the transformation of his lifestyle was not immediate. Later, while smoking hash, he heard God tell him, “That’s enough.” He surrendered his drugs and asked God to remove a desire he knew he could not conquer himself. The next morning, after approximately six years of drug use, that bondage was broken.

Section 3

Billy’s importance extended far beyond introducing his brother to Christ because their relationship continued developing through decades of faith, mistakes, ministry, music, struggles, and grace. Shortly before Billy learned he was terminally ill, he feared that his failures and angry words toward God had finally taken him too far. Dr. Dave reminded him that God had chosen him knowing everything he would ever say and do, and that nothing in his life had surprised the Lord. That conversation helped Billy release his fear and become ready to face eternity. The relationship had now come full circle: God had once used Billy to bring the Gospel to Dr. Dave, and decades later He used Dr. Dave to reassure Billy of the enduring love and grace of God. God used one brother to help give the other life—and eventually allowed that gift to be returned.