He is a former wide receiver who played for seven seasons in the National Football League from 2003 to 2010. He played college football for Syracuse University. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He also played for the Baltimore Ravens. In 2005, he earned a Pro Bowl selection as a special teams player.
He is best known for the miraculous Helmet Catch in 2008 which helped the New York Giants defeat the previously undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII (42). He is currently the Director of Player Development for the New York Giants. He retired from football in 2010.
In 2006, along with his wife, he started Next In Line, a project that counsels teenagers in his hometown. In 2011, he became an advocate against legalization of same-sex marriage in New York.
He says of his journey to faith in Jesus Christ: “The environment where I grew up was ‘anything goes.’ My mother was a Christian but she never pressed it upon us, and I was not interested in hearing about it. I started drinking at age 13. During college I was getting drunk every weekend and blacking out from too much alcohol, not knowing what happened. Basically, I was a functional alcoholic. I also began using and selling marijuana.
“When I began playing in the NFL I had a lot more money, which made things worse, as the addictions were easy to satisfy. After my first season, I was pulled over and arrested for possession of marijuana. At the time, I was dating my girlfriend — now my wife — and she was pregnant with our second child. I cried out to Christ from the jail cell and confessed that I needed him to forgive me and change me.
“On March 14, 2004, I walked back into my church to get my life right. I saw a woman at church who was so happy, but I didn’t know why. I discovered that she had also been forgiven by Jesus Christ. She had true freedom and peace with God. I wanted that too and gave my life to God.
“Now I’m all about getting to know God more intimately and allowing my life to be a testimony that he still lives today. I can’t separate any portion of my life from Christ because He is living in me.
“I now have a life with endless possibilities. God allows me to live a life of freedom, hope and joy. I had fallen victim to the surroundings that our society is engulfed in — money, pleasure, fame — that’s what I sought after and football was my pinnacle. But now I strive to know God and His attributes so I can show them to others. God continues to blow my mind by giving me an opportunity to know Him.”
His name is David Tyree.
This is the “Chief of Sinners,” Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International, reminding you of what the Bible says, that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” like you and me. Just as David Tyree gave his life to Christ, may I encourage you to do the same. Here is how:
1. Accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:20: “For there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good, and sinneth not.” Romans 3:23 reads: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” In fact, I am the chief of sinners, so don’t think that you’re alone.
2. Accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
3. Accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The Bible says in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
4. Accept the fact that you cannot do anything to save yourself! The Bible states in Ephesians 2: 8, 9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
5. Accept the fact that God loves you more than you love yourself, and that He wants to save you from hell. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16, “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.”
6. With these facts in mind, please repent of your sins, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and pray and ask Him to come into your heart and save you this very moment. The Bible states in the book of Romans 10:9, 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! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
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 over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. 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.
He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, 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, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree.
He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.
BCNN1 WP 