The Bible and Life

Friday, November 22, 2024

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

Friday, November 15, 2024

Derek Prince (Prayer Intercessor)

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

Here is an article about a great preacher from Jesus Saves TV.

Text: James 5:16.

Derek Prince

Derek Prince (1915-2003) was born in Bangalore, India, into a British military family. He was educated as a scholar of classical languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Aramaic) at Eton College

and Cambridge University in England and later at Hebrew University, Israel. As a student, he was a philosopher and self-proclaimed atheist. He held a fellowship (equivalent to a resident

professorship) in Ancient and Modern Philosophy at King's College, Cambridge.

While in the British Medical Corps during World War II, Prince began to study the Bible as a philosophical work. Converted through a powerful encounter with Jesus Christ, he was baptized in the Holy Spirit a few days later. This life-changing experience altered the whole course of his life, which he thereafter devoted to studying and teaching the Bible as the Word of God.

Discharged from the army in Jerusalem in 1945, he married Lydia Christensen, founder of a children's home there. Upon their marriage, he immediately became father to Lydia's eight adopted

daughters—six Jewish, one Palestinian Arab, one English. Together the family saw the rebirth of the state of Israel in 1948. In the late 1950s, Derek and Lydia adopted another daughter while he was serving as principal of a college in Kenya.

Derek Prince's headstone

In 1963 the Princes immigrated to the United States and pastored a church in Seattle. Stirred by the tragedy of John F. Kennedy's assassination, he began to teach Americans how to intercede for their nation. In 1973 he became one of the founders of Intercessors for America. Lydia Prince died in 1975, and in 1978 Derek married Ruth Baker (a single mother to three adopted children). He met his second wife, like his first, while she was serving the Lord in Jerusalem. Ruth died in December 1998 in Jerusalem where they had lived since 1981.

Until a few years before his own death in 2003 at the age of 88, Prince persisted in the ministry God had called him to as he traveled the world, imparting God's revealed truth.

William James Roop

Friday, November 8, 2024

Giving To Others

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

Here is a well-known story from an unknown source that I wanted to share.

Text: 2 Corinthians 9:7.

Thomas Edison and Henry Ford

THE WORLD'S FIRST BILLIONAIRE

John D. Rockefeller (July 8, 1839–May 23, 1937), the founder of Standard Oil, was once the richest man in the world. He was the world’s first billionaire.

"He amassed a net worth of at least $1 billion in 1916. When Rockefeller died in 1937, his net worth was estimated to be approximately $340 billion in today's dollars."

By the age of 25, he had one of the largest oil refineries in the United States. He was 31 when he became the world's largest oil refiner. At 38, he controlled 90% of the oil refined in the United States. At fifty, John was America's richest man. As a young man, every action, attitude, and connection was crafted to establish his wealth.

But at the age of 53, he fell unwell. His entire body became wracked with pain, and he lost all his hair. In total anguish, the world's lone millionaire could buy anything he wanted but could only eat soup and crackers.

Ford Model-T

According to an associate, "He couldn't sleep, wouldn't smile, and nothing in life meant anything to him". His personal, highly trained physicians indicated that he would die within the year. That year passed painfully slowly. As he approached death, he awoke one morning with the faint understanding that he would not be able to bring any of his fortune with him to the next world.

The man who could dominate the commercial world suddenly realised he had no control over his personal life. He informed his solicitors, accountants, and management that he intended to devote his assets to hospitals, research, and charity work. John D. Rockefeller started his foundation.

The Rockefeller Foundation financed Howard Florey and his colleague Norman Heatley's penicillin research in 1941. But arguably the most astounding aspect of Rockefeller's narrative is that when he began to give back a fraction of all he had gained, his body's chemistry changed dramatically, and he recovered.

He was expected to die at the age of 53, but he survived to reach 98 years old. Rockefeller learnt gratitude and returned the great bulk of his money. This made him whole. It's one thing to be healed. It is another to become fit. He was a devout Baptist who attended the Euclid Avenue Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.

John Rockefeller

Before he died, he wrote in his diary: "God taught me that everything belongs to Him, and I am merely a conduit to carry out His will. My life has been one long, happy holiday since then; full of work and play, I let go of my worries along the road, and God was wonderful to me every day.

William James Roop

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Friday, November 1, 2024

Helping Others

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

Here is a story by an unknown author about the importance of helping others.

Text: 2 Corinthians 9:7.

Thomas Edison

In 1896, Thomas Edison, the great inventor of the electric bulb, was working on a car design when he learned that a young man in his company had created an experimental car. Edison met this young man, Henry Ford, at a company party in New York and was thoroughly impressed by his gasoline-powered car idea.

Edison, who had been considering electricity as a power source, enthusiastically encouraged Ford, saying, "Young man, that's the thing! You have it! I think you are on to something! I encourage you to continue your pursuits!"

Encouraged by the respected inventor, Henry Ford continued his work, eventually inventing a car that made him wealthy.

On December 9, 1914, Edison's laboratory and factory were destroyed by fire. At 67 years old, the damage was too extensive for insurance to cover. Before the ashes were cold, Henry Ford handed Edison a check for $750,000 ($23 million today) with a note saying Edison could have more if needed.

In 1916, Ford relocated his home next to Edison's. When Edison was later confined to a wheelchair, Ford also got a wheelchair so they could race each other. Thomas Edison made Henry Ford believe in himself, creating a friendship for life.

Thomas Edison & Henry Ford

LESSON:

Don't ever be jealous of others' success. If you can't win a race, help the person in front of you break the record. Your candle doesn't lose its light by lighting another. Let us follow this example of supporting and uplifting each other!

William James Roop

Friday, October 25, 2024

Never Judge A Book By Its Cover

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

Here is a well-known story from an unknown author.

Text: John 7:24.

A couple, the woman in modest attire and her husband in a simple suit, arrived unannounced at Harvard University's principal office after disembarking from a train at Boston Station. The receptionist, judging them hastily, initially dismissed their purpose.

"We would like to meet with the principal," the man requested quietly.

"He's occupied all day," the secretary curtly replied.

"We'll wait," the woman asserted.

Hours passed with the couple patiently seated, prompting the secretary to reluctantly inform the director of their persistence.

"Perhaps if you meet with them briefly, they'll leave on their own," she suggested.

Grudgingly, the director acquiesced. Upon their entrance, he scrutinized them with a stern gaze.

The woman spoke softly:

"Our son studied here and cherished this place. Sadly, he passed away unexpectedly a year ago. We wish to establish a memorial in his honor."

The director, visibly annoyed, retorted, "We can't erect memorials for every student who dies. It would turn this place into a cemetery."

"No, not a memorial or statue," the woman interjected hastily. "We wish to build a new building for Harvard."

The director scoffed, noting their modest attire, "Do you have any idea how much that would cost? Our buildings are valued at over seven million dollars."

The woman paused briefly before calmly saying to her husband, "Is building a university that inexpensive? Perhaps we should start our own."

With a nod of agreement, they left without further discussion. The director was left bewildered as the couple departed.

In Palo Alto, California, they indeed founded a university in memory of their son – Stanford University.

William James Roop