Baptist Rescue Mission - The Lord's Work

This man's name is John. He gladly consented to have his picture taken to help raise awareness of the homeless and their needs. He came to services with us Saturday, ALONG WITH ABOUT TWENTY OTHERS FROM THE SAME AREA. Praise the Lord for a great turnout! We had the privilege to preach the word of God to him, give him a meal, and help him with some phone calls to friends.

John did not make a decision for Christ today, but we pray that he will, and that he will return with us again next week. Jesus himself said in Mt 11:5 ... and the poor have the gospel preached to them. It brings a tear to my eye to think how much Jesus loves John, and how He died for John just as much as He died for me. This is the Lord's will and it is His work.

The photo below is my precious brother in Christ, Mark Stephen Puckett. He is a rich blessing to my life. Although he lives in an apartment near the downtown area, he comes to the Baptist Rescue Mission service every Saturday. He speaks in Scripture verses and answers most comments and questions with a Scripture quote. He greets everyone with an enthusiastic, "Jesus Bless You!" followed by John 3:16. Brother Mark reads Scripture every week prior to the sermon, and does so with enthusiasm and gusto.


He walks all over town and ministers to people in nursing homes, preaches at bus terminals, and passes out his homemade "Scripture Picture Prayer Pages" with gospel tracts inside. I not only have the privilege of fellowshipping with Brother Mark, but I get the honor of taking him home after the service. The ride is always filled with Scripture quotes and the singing of hymns. Before he gets out of the car, we have a time of prayer.

This is a man in whom is the Spirit of the Living God, and I thank the Lord for making him a part of my life. "Thank You God for Mark Stephen Puckett!"

Aurora - The search Goes On

Our search for the homeless lady, Aurora, took a disappointing turn today. In our fourth attempt to make contact since first meeting her, we were met with the surprise that her makeshift home has been boarded up and the former occupants nowhere to be found.

We will keep looking. We plan to be on the streets each Saturday afternoon as strength permits.

Today, we also met several homeless people for the first time, and had five of them accompany us for services at the Baptist Rescue Mission. Praise the Lord for that. They heard a message from the Lord and received a warm meal and free clothing.

I requested permission from these homeless people to take their photograph in hopes of raising awareness of their plight so that perhaps more resources could be made available to the Mission to help meet their needs.

The homeless are from many backgrounds and ethnic groups, and range in age from the elderly to the very young.




It is a special blessing to be able to witness to each one and share with them the free gift of salvation that is in Jesus Christ. We did not have anyone saved today, but we lifted up the Lord and declared HIS name. Many tracts were passed out, and we will return.

They are precious in HIS sight.

Grace and Redemption

I had the great honor of seeing my dear friend Bro. Luther Hernandez this past Friday night at a church conference. I was overwhelmed to see him in the free world.
The only place I was able to see Bro. Hernandez before was a state prison in Huntsville, Texas.

He went to prison in the 1960's for murder, and remained there for 39 years, BUT GOD gloriously saved his precious soul in 1994 and he has been on fire for the LORD ever since.


He is pictured above with his wife of 46 years and then with Doug Fugate, who has ministered in the prisons for many years.

Bro. Leroy is a kind and gentle man - a living testament to the grace and redemption in Jesus Christ. Since his release on 1/22/08, he has been preaching somewhere every Sunday, and soul-winning in between.

Bro. Luther knows what he has been forgiven of, and he knows how precious and wonderful the grace of God really is.
This helps me to reflect on the fact that my sin is so wicked that it put my Saviour on the cross. He didn't just die for Bro. Luther's sin, He died for mine and for yours. Jesus didn't just reach down for Bro. Luther. He even reached down for me.

God used Bro. Luther inside the prison too. He has been a faithful teacher and witness for Christ. He even translated Chaplain Chris Athey's three-year Bible course for inmates into Spanish. While others slept, he would spend late nights in this translation work. This was God's will for him and he knew it. As evidence of how God used him in the translation effort, Bro. Luther's sentence was complete in November of 2007, but inexplicably (miraculously) he continued to be held in prison until January 22nd of 2008, three days after completing the translation of the last course into Spanish.

To God be the glory, great things He hath done. And great our rejoicing in Jesus His Son.

My friend, Bro. Luther Hernandez, knows about the grace and redemption available in Jesus Christ.

Do you?

Searching For the Homeless

We went to find Aurora again today, but to no avail. She was not at home. We snapped a couple of photos to give people an idea of the place she calls home. It is an abandoned warehouse by some railroad tracks. We left her a note to let her know that we are praying for her, along with another invitation to tonight's mission service. God can do anything, and we expect great things from God. Our King James Bible says, "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
We meet the requirements of that passage. We are going forth. We are weeping. We are bearing precious seed. Therefore, we are expecting the fulfillment of that promise.
We will find her. She will be saved. God will be glorified, and we will rejoice.

The good news is that in our search for the homeless, we found a man downtown on the street named Dewayne. He thought he had to work for his salvation, and knew for sure he was headed to Hell. We explained to him that Jesus did the work and we need to believe and call on Him for the free gift.
Dewayne called on Christ and was gloriously and eternally saved at 2:00 PM today!!!
Praise the Lord for his saving work.
Many tracts and Mission flyers were passed out and the gospel was declared on the street corner. Praise God for His goodness and the opportunity to be a part of His great work.
Amen.

Aurora

Doing outreach with the Baptist Rescue Mission in Fort Worth, Texas this past Saturday, we found a young lady named Aurora. She was in the corner of an old, long-abandoned warehouse where she lives. Through her sobs she told her story of how she used to be a nurse until one dark day when six male intruders broke down her family's door and attacked everyone inside. Several of her family members were murdered, while others, including her, were left for dead. Worse yet, she recognized some of her attackers as members of her own extended family, and four of the six have never been caught.

She told how she turned to alcohol to try to forget that awful day, and how she now can't stop drinking because her body is so addicted. She still takes some pride in the fact that she has not yet turned to other drugs, only alcohol. The strength of her sobs revealed her tortured heart. She surely has a big mountain to climb.

O how we long to help those in such pain! Our feeling of helplessness would be overwhelming if not for the Eternal Word of Eternal God. God's Word gives us the solution to the hurts of this world. No matter the heartache, no matter the pain, no matter the problem, whatever your mountain may be, PRAISE GOD JESUS IS STILL THE ANSWER. In telling her of our Mission, she said she knew that God had sent us to her.

The attempt to share the gospel with this precious soul was cut short by the arrival of other homeless who were too much of a distraction at that time. Aurora did not arrive at the mission Saturday night as we had invited her to do, but it doesn't change the fact that there is a solution for her. We now know where to find to her, and we will be relentless in our pursuit to communicate the great love of God and the free gift of salvation to her. A delivery of clothing is planned for next Saturday, so she will feel more comfortable coming to the Mission service. We pray that God will give us wisdom, power, and courage to be a blessing and a help to these precious souls on the streets of Fort Worth.

I love the work of the Baptist Rescue Mission. After all, Jesus Himself came down and rescued me.

Comedian George Carlin dead at age 71

I saw in the headlines that another famous person has passed away - comedian George Carlin.
I remember hearing a few minutes of this man's act on television years ago. I remember that he made fun of Christ, and of all who believe in Him. Now, George Carlin believes in Christ, and he believes every word of the Bible. Now, George Carlin believes that Jesus died for our sins. The only problem is that it's too late for him.
By the testimony of his own lips, I have to believe that George Carlin never accepted Christ as Saviour. Oh how he wishes he would have!
Now, he will spend eternity thinking back on the times he ridiculed believers and made fun of God. Now, he will look back at all the opportunities he had to accept Christ and long for another chance, but that chance won't come for George Carlin. It's too late for him.
Let's not think for a moment that God is happy that George Carlin is in Hell. The Bible says that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
The Son of man came to seek and to save George Carlin. For God so loved George Carlin, that He gave His only begotten Son so that George Carlin could be saved if only he had believed. God's grace was sufficient to save him, and God's mercy was available to forgive him, if only he had believed and accepted Jesus.
Let's remember that God loved George Carlin just as much as he loves us. Let's remember that God's heart is grieved every time someone dies without Christ.
Should not our hearts be grieved as well? George Carlin won't get another chance, but what about that person that was rude when you tried to witness to them? What about that person that threw down the tract and laughed at you? What about that person that slammed the door? If they are still breathing, they have another chance. Will you go back, or will you give up? It's clear that God would have us go back. God is not willing that any should perish. They are the reason that Jesus laid down His life.

Salvation Message for the Precious People of Croatia

I have created a separate blog so that I could post this salvation message permanently:
http://inwhomwehaveredemption-croatia.blogspot.com/

Kada umreš, znaš li 100% sigurno da li ćeš ići u nebo?

Kao što je ljudima određeno jedanput umrijeti, a nakon toga dolazi Sud.
(Poslanica Hebrejima 9,27)

I TI SE MOŽEŠ SPASITI I ZNATI TO!

Ovdje su 4 stvari koje moraš znati prije nego se možeš spasiti:

1. TI SI GREŠNIK.
“Nema pravednoga, ni jednoga...” Poslanica Rimljanima 3,10
“Jer su svi sagriješili i ostali bez slave Božje,” PoslanicaRimljanima 3,23

2. POSTOJI KAZNA ZA TVOJE GRIJEHE.
“Jer je plaća za grijeh smrt, ...” Poslanica Rimljanima 6,23a
“A smrt i pakao bili su bačeni u jezero ognjeno. To je druga smrt.” Otkrivenje 20,14

3. ISUS JE UMRO I PLATIO KAZNU ZA TVOJE GRIJEHE NUDEĆI TI SPASENJE KAO BESPLATAN DAR.
“Ali Bog pokazuje svoju ljubav prema nama tako što je Krist, dok smo još bili grešnici, umro za nas.” Poslanica Rimljanima 5,8
“...a dar Božji je život vječni po Isusu Kristu, Gospodinu našemu.” Poslanica Rimljanima 6,23b

4. MORAŠ PRIHVATITI DAR VJEČNOG ŽIVOTA NA BIBLIJSKI NAČIN.
“Jer ako ustima svojim priznaješ Gospodina Isusa i u srcu svome povjeruješ da ga je Bog uskrsnuo od mrtvih, bit ćeš spašen.” Poslanica Rimljanima 10,9
“Jer: Svaki koji prizove ime Gospodnje, bit će spašen.” Poslanica Rimljanima 10,13

Vjeruj Kristu kao svojem Spasitelju i sada moli ovu jednostavnu molitvu:

“Dragi Gospodine, priznajem da sam grešnik i trebam tvoje spasenje. Vjerujem da je Isus umro na križu i platio za moje grijehe. Oprosti mi moje grijehe, uđi u moje srce i spasi moju dušu.”

Za sigurnost svoga spasenja čitaj Evanđelje po Ivanu 5,24 i 5,11-13

Dragi prijatelju, ako si molio ovu molitvu slobodno nam piši na našu adresu ili se javi telefonom i mi ćemo ti poslati besplatnu literaturu koja će ti pomoći u kršćanskom rastu.

www.Croatia4Christ.com