Catfish And A Testimony

 Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

Text:  2 Timothy 1:8.

My wife and I traveled about an hour southeast to the little town of Patterson, Louisiana.  We had gone their to help with a ministers luncheon.  The fish fry luncheon we hold yearly for the local ministers for fun and fellowship.  It was August and was oppressively hot and humid outside, and the mosquitoes were revengeful! 

My wife had baked some deserts the night before; brownees, pecan miniature pies, and coconut miniature pies. We brought them into the kitchen and she started helping Sister Suzy.  I went outside under the big oak tree with Brother Bass to assist him in frying the catfish.  

Brother Bass was a short white man who was probably in his late sixties in failing health.  He revealed that he had COPD and had trouble breathing. But, in spite of that he kept active.  In the back of his pick-up was a three burner propane rig for frying fish.  He had three frying pans, but the middle burner did not work this morning. But two burners would be enough for ten pounds of catfish.

We set up everything and ended up with a little extra time, so we started to visit a bit.  I mentioned that I was a retired truck driver, and Brother Bass replied that he started out driving trucks in Georgia, where he was born and raised. 

Then he mentioned that he switched to armed robbery and burglarizing houses and business.  I was a bit taken aback by that statement!  He said that he was eventually caught by law enforcement in Florida, where he robbed several place there.  

The authorities in Florida offered to give him a hundred-year sentence if he plead guilty. They said if he was found guilty by trial it would be a hundred and fifteen year sentence.  Brother Bass told them that their wasn't much of a difference between the two sentences, so he chose the trial!

He was put on trial and found guilty of all charges and was placed into the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections for a period of 115 years!  But they did give him the possibility of parole in the future.  So he did have some kind of hope for the future.  

He was sent to a prison in Raymondville, Florida call the "Rock," because it was a maximum security prison that had a death row wing.  It was were all of hard core criminals did their time.  After about five years of good behaviour, he was then transferred to a prison in Madisonville, Florida, which was a medium security prison.  The years slowly dragged on.

In the meantime Brother Bass was given a Bible to read, among all of the other books of the prison library.  He read it and enjoyed it. He asked the prison librarian, a fellow prisoner, if he could keep it permanently. The prison librarian did much care for Christian wanna-bes, so re refused.  

After daily pestering, the librarian finally said that if he could memorize 1 Corinthians 13, then he could keep the Bible permanently.  Brother Bass memorized it and repeated it to the librarian, with a scrawl on his face he blurted out, "Okay, you can keep it!"  

Brother Bass was now a Christian, a baby Christian, but saved in Christ and slowly growing in faith.  A few more years passed and he was informed that he was up for parole!  After an interview was conducted he was rejected with the phrase, "no change!"  Brother Bass was devastated but accepted it as the Lord's will.

The next year he had another parole hearing, this time during the interview, the asked about his Christian life and the positive change in his life.  Brother Bass replied that he didn't want to use his new faith to get himself out of prison.  He informed the interviewer that if the Lord wanted him out of prison, He would make it happen without anyone's help!

A little over six months later Brother Bass was paroled from prison!  He said that the Lord must have softened up the hearts of the parole board to have him released so early.  Brother Bass said that he served only 13 years of the 115 year sentence!

Well, after he finished sharing his interesting story, I looked down at my watch, and noticed that the fish had better get to frying!  We happily double-timed it and got the fish to cooking.  The ministers luncheon went well, and everyone raved about the fish.  Nothing like catfish and a testimony!

William James Roop

Hospice Care and Dying

The Trucking Tango

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Brother Roop teaches the Bible

The Old Man And The Gulls

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

Text:  Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 37.

 THE OLD MAN AND THE GULLS

It is gratitude that prompted an old man to visit an old broken pier on the eastern seacoast of Florida. Every Friday night, until his death in 1973, he would return, walking slowly and slightly stooped with a large bucket of shrimp. The sea gulls would flock to this old man, and he would feed them from his bucket. Many years before, in October 1942, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was on a mission in a B-17 to deliver an important message to General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea. But there was an unexpected detour, which would hurl Captain Eddie into the most harrowing adventure of his life.

Eddie Rickenbacker

Somewhere over the South Pacific the Flying Fortress became lost beyond the reach of radio. Fuel ran dangerously low, so the men ditched their plane in the ocean... For nearly a month Captain Eddie and his companions would fight the water, and the weather, and the scorching sun. They spent many sleepless nights recoiling as giant sharks rammed their rafts. The largest raft was nine by five. The biggest shark...ten feet long.

But of all their enemies at sea, one proved most formidable: starvation. Eight days out, their rations were long gone or destroyed by the salt water. It would take a miracle to sustain them. And a miracle occurred. In Captain Eddie’s own words, "Cherry," that was the B- 17 pilot, Captain William Cherry, "read the service that afternoon, and we finished with a prayer for deliverance and a hymn of praise. There was some talk, but it tapered off in the oppressive heat. With my hat pulled down over my eyes to keep out some of the glare, I dozed off."

Now this is still Captain Rickenbacker talking..."Something landed on my head. I knew that it was a sea gull. I don’t know how I knew, I just knew. Everyone else knew too. No one said a word, but peering out from under my hat brim without moving my head, I could see the expression on their faces. They were staring at that gull. The gull meant food...if I could catch it." And the rest, as they say, is history. Captain Eddie caught the gull. Its flesh was eaten. Its intestines were used for bait to catch fish. The survivors were sustained and their hopes renewed because a lone sea gull, uncharacteristically hundreds of miles from land, offered itself as a sacrifice.

 You know that Captain Eddie made it. And now you also know...that he never forgot. Because every Friday evening, about sunset...on a lonely stretch along the eastern Florida seacoast...you could see an old man walking...white-haired, bushy-eye browed, slightly bent. His bucket filled with shrimp was to feed the gulls...to remember that one that, on a day long past, gave itself without a struggle...like manna in the wilderness.

SOURCE: "The Old Man and the Gulls" from Paul Harvey’s The Rest of the Story.

Scriptures: Exodus 16:11-18

William James Roop

Hospice Care and Dying

The Trucking Tango

Brother Roop teaches the Bible

Books by William Roop

Feed My Sheep

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

This is a personal testimony of the actor Denzel Washington that he gave to the Christian Post writer Chris Fields.

Denzel Washington says God has been telling him to 'feed my sheep,' tells men who are looking for success to 'stay on your knees.'

It has been a rough season — COVID, political fights, racial protests, increased violent crime — and no one is immune.

Not even a superstar celebrity like Denzel Washington.

So, what has he been during these trying times? Praying.

Now he's sharing what he has been praying about, what God is revealing to him, and what he believes others should be doing if they want to find true success and peace.

What did Denzel say?
At "The Better Man Event," a Christian convention for men, in Orlando, Florida, last weekend, Washington spoke to tens of thousands of attendees.

In a conversation at the event with Pastor A.R. Bernard from Brooklyn's Christian Cultural Center, the Christian Post reported, Washington said that he has dedicated himself to spend the rest of his life helping others — and all because God has made it clear to him that it's time to feed God's "sheep."

"At 66, getting ready to be 67, having just buried my mother, I made a promise to her and to God, not just to do good the right way, but to honor my mother and my father by the way I live my life, the rest of my days on this Earth," the Hollywood star told the audience of men. "I'm here to serve, to help, to provide."

Whenever he prays, the Lord has been making it clear what He expects from the actor.

"In every prayer, all I hear is: 'Feed my sheep.' That's what God wants me to do," he said, the Post reported. He added that in order to understand what that means, he has sought counsel with Christian leaders.

Through those discussions, he has learned that because there are "all kinds of sheep" and "the world has changed," men need to understand their role and use the gifts God gave them.

"What is our role as a man?" Washington asked, and then added, "Strength, leadership, power, authority, guidance, patience are God's gift to us as men. We have to cherish that, not abuse it,"

Washington, who has had more personal success in the entertainment industry than nearly any other living actor, offered some advice when it comes to humility and success.

"It [the Bible] says in the last days we'll become lovers of ourselves," he reminded the audience. "The number one photograph now is a selfie. So we all want to lead. We're willing to do anything — ladies and young men — to be influential."

"Fame is a monster," Washington warned, "and we all have these ladders and battles, roads we have to walk in our given lives. Be you famous or whoever's out there listening, we all have our individual challenges. It's cliché, [but] money don't make it better. It doesn't. Fame just magnifies the problems and the opportunities."

For those seeking true success, Washington offered this: "Stay on your knees."

"I hope that the words in my mouth and the meditation of my heart are pleasing in God's sight, but I'm human," he added. "I'm just like you. What I have will not keep me on this Earth for one more day. Share what you know, inspire who you can, seek advice. If you want to talk to one someone, talk to the one that can do something about it. Constantly develop those habits."

If you have any comments about this subject, please tell us in the comments section.  If you enjoyed this testimony by Denzel Washington and want to read more stories like this one, Just click on the follow button so that you can catch them all.

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

Roop-Crappell Ministries

Hospice Care and Dying

The Trucking Tango

Apostolic Theological Seminary

Voices Told Him To Shoot People!

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

Here is an example of a demon-possessed man, filled with one or a multitude of demons causing an incredible evil and wicked act!

An ex-Marine sharpshooter who is accused of killing four people in Florida says “voices” told him to shoot people. The thirty-three year old African-American, Bryan Riley, is accused of fatally shooting four people at a home early in Lakeland, Florida, on a quiet Sunday morning.

He is charged with first degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, shooting into a building, second degree arson, and armed burglary with assault/battery, by the Polk County Sheriff’s office.

According to a police affidavit, Riley shot at deputies who entered the home, which led to him exchanging fire with the suspect. Riley held his first court appearance on Monday, where a judge ordered that he be held without bail.

When Riley surrendered, he was taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound. He allegedly attempted to grab an officer’s gun while being transported. During an interview with police, Riley admitted to shooting several people and said "voices" instructed him to it!  He also acknowledged, that he did not know the people who were killed and wounded in the shootings.

One of the four people killed has been identified as forty-year-old Justice Gleason. Riley also killed a thirty-three-year-old woman and a three-month old infant she was holding!  Riley said he shot the baby because “I’m a sick guy. I want to confess to all of it and be sent to jail,” according to the affidavit.

The infant's sixty-two-year-old grandmother was also shot and killed, as was the family's dog!  An eleven-year-old was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries!

Riley also said the victims begged him to stop as he continued shooting, the affidavit said. He further said he set a nearby pickup truck on fire as an “exit strategy!"

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

Roop-Crappell Ministries

Hospice Care and Life

The Trucking Tango

Apostolic Theological Seminary