Love And Compassion Ministries News Letter

Transcription

1 IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY GHOST Love And Compassion Ministries News Letter Volume 1, Issue 8 December 1, 2006 In The Year of Our LORD This is a monthly publication produced and printed by Love And Compassion Ministries. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this publication! If you wish someone who is in jail or prison to receive a copy, call us for details. Inside this issue: REV. CHARLES HIRST 2 TABLECLOTH 3 MERRY CHRIST- MAS VS. HAPPY HOLIDAYS 4 FUNNIES 5 BEING A CHRIS- TIAN / LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE LETTER FROM PRESIDENT 6 7 PRAYER REQUEST 8 Rev. Charles E. Hirst a Man of God That Loves To Fish! On October 22, 2006, President Ron Willis of Love And Compassion Ministries presented a plaque to Rev. Charles E. Hirst for his continue service to the Lord s Work. The plaque read in part, Love And Compassion Ministries Wishes To Recognize Charles E. Hirst For His Continued Service To The Lord s Work For So Many Years! Poor, Rich, Free, Or Incarcerated You Have Ministered to So Many. The presentation was held at Hiland Park Baptist Church in front of his Sunday School class. Charles and Bonnie were so surprised! A lot of Charles friends were there. By the way, his friends call him Chuck. Chuck and his wife joined Love And Compassion Ministries in 2003 as directors and continue to work with us hand and hand to reach the lost for the Lord! Charles E. Hirst was born on December 22, 1924 in New Philadelphia, Ohio. His family moved to Michigan when he was nine. After finishing high school he joined the Navy to fight the battles in the South Pacific during War War II. After the war, Charles joined the Lazy Boy Furniture Company of which he was one of a very few employees at that time. He married his long-time girl friend, Josephine Souva, in July They built a home, bought a new car and had two fine sons, Don and Doug while living in Monroe, Michigan. Even with all this, Chuck felt that something was still missing in his life. They attended several different Churches off and on, but were not ready to commit to a one at that time. Chuck worked at Lazy Boy Furniture Company for six years until he was given an opportunity to sell fine cookware. That was about the time when a good friend took him and his wife to a Church service that was meeting upstairs over a butcher s shop in Carleton, Michigan. Within that little Church (Carleton Community Church) on hard wooden benches in 1957 Charles heard a preacher teach the Bible from the book of Romans. Chuck says he was convinced that he was a sinner, and needed to ask God to forgive him of all his sins and to come into his heart and save him. Upon the stairs at his home, Chuck accepted the Lord as his savior and from then on he could not help but smile. At that moment Jesus made him a fisher of men. (Matthew 4:19) Within a year the little Church that Chuck and his wife joined started building a sanctuary. Charles was on fire for the Lord. He was invited to do some jail ministry in 1958 at (Continued on page 2)

2 Volume 1, Issue 8 (Continued from page 1) the Monroe County Jail by the Sheriff Charles Bud Harrington. Charles jumped at the opportunity and started winning soles for the Lord. In 1962 he enrolled into the Detroit Bible Collage while he installed carpet to support his family. In 1968 he joined the Detroit City Rescue Mission where he served for twenty years and saw many down and out people come to the Lord! After moving to the Fort Myers, Florida area Chuck s wife Josephine died in 1994 of complication from cancer. Page 2 God has truly blessed Chuck and Bonnie for all the love they have shown to so many. He is still on fire for the Lord and takes all the opportunities that come his way to win a soul for the Lord. If you would like to write Chuck and tell him how much you appreciate him, please do so through this ministry at: Rev. Charles Hirst Love And Compassion Ministries, Inc. P. O. Box Cape Coral, Florida The Lord brought Bonnie into Chuck s life in 1996 and they were married shortly after that. While in Fort Myers, Chuck signed up with the Lee County Jail Ministry teaching a Bible study in several locations within the jail system. Later he was given the task to do all the baptisms. He baptized so many men and women, but before he would do so, he always made sure that they had received the Lord as their Savior and that they understood what they were doing. During this time you could see Chuck talking, reading, and showing inmates, within the jail facilities, a little pamphlet with his picture on the front of it smiling and his testimony within it. Chuck has been able to lead many people to accepting Christ as their Savior and then a number of them going out into the world ministering as pastors and teachers of the Word. Chuck and Bonnie lived in Fort Myers until 2005 when Chuck started losing his eye sight. They moved to a beautiful place on Deer Point Lake, a 5,000-acre lake located 7 miles north of Panama City, Florida. This lake is fed by natural freshwater streams and supplies more than 760 million gallons of fresh water daily to Panama City and the surrounding areas. The lake is so clear you can see the bottom of it. Chuck still loves to fish, but now he spends most of his time catching, shell crackers (sunfish), bluegill, largemouth bass, catfish, and crappie. At the age of eighty-two, this month, most every day you can find him on his private dock or on his boat, fishing behind his home, in God s paradise. May God Bless You Rev. Charles E. Hirst

3 Volume 1, Issue 8 Page 3 The Tablecloth The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc, and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On December 19th a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do, but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way, he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in front wall. He bought it and headed back to the Church. By this time it had started to snow! An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it! The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet.. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria. The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were wellto-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week, but he was captured, sent to prison and she never saw him or her home again. The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she insisted the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor then drove her home. That was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job. What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare. The pastor wondered why he wasn t leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago, when they lived in Austria, before the war, and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between. The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door, and saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine. True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid Who says God does not work in mysterious ways...

4 Volume 1, Issue 8 Page 4 Merry Christmas from all of us at Love And Compassion Ministries. We pray that you will have all the joy that is found in the true meaning of Christmas. Rejoice and celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ! May the miracle of Christmas fill your heart with joy and peace. Share God s goodness with someone that needs Christ this season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May God Bless You and Yours! "Life is not measured by the number of breathes we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away." Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays The first time I heard that people and businesses were to express the Christmas season by wishing you a HAPPY HOLIDAY instead of MERRY CHRISTMAS. I became very passionate, actually livid would describe my feelings better, but I am learning that what I once considered being angry is actually me being very passionate about certain things, especially when it comes to God and the things of God. As I began to reflect on this new faze of saying HAPPY HOLIDAYS. I realized that Holiday is actually Holy Day. So I went to the dictionary to make sure my thinking was correct. Yes, there, it says that a Holiday is a religious feast day; a holy day. It also says it s a day free from work that one may spend at leisure, especially a day on which custom or the law dictates a halting of general business activity to commemorate or celebrate a particular event. When I look at God s Word we are told to rest on the seventh day for it is HOLY. A day God set aside to rest from all his labor and we are to do the same. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating that we take Christ out of Christmas by going along with this Merry Christmas vs Happy Holidays craze. I have said that I will go to my grave expressing Merry Christmas. What I am saying is that what the enemy (Satan) has meant for evil. We, as children of God must realize that God can and will turn it to His good. So when you hear Happy Holiday, just smile and don't be offended by this for we know, other than Easter, that it is really the most Holy of Days. Christmas is the celebrated birthday of our Lord and Savior. Let us rejoice on this special Holy Day (Holiday) and all the Holy days of the year and remember if He had not come. Oh, where would we be. Praise His Holy Name. Lowe In His Service

5 Volume 1, Issue 8 Page 5 Your gift is tax deductible. Please send your gifts to: Please consider giving to this ministry this month. Your donations are appreciated and help us to help others. Love And Compassion Ministries P.O. Box Cape Coral, Florida Thank You

6 Volume 1, Issue 8 Page 6 Being a Christian Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff-- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see. Gold Wrapping Paper The story goes that some time ago, a mother punished her 5 year old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and she became even more upset when the child used the gold paper to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her mother the next morning and said, "This is for you, Momma." The mother was embarrassed by her earlier over reaction, but her anger flared again when she opened the box and found it was empty. She spoke to her daughter in a harsh manner. "Don't you know, young lady, when you give someone a present there's supposed to be something inside the package? She had tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Momma, it's not empty! I blew kisses into it until it was full." The mother was crushed. She fell on her knees and put her arms around her little girl, and she begged her forgiveness for her thoughtless anger. An accident took the life of the child only a short time later, and it is told that the mother kept that gold box by her bed for all the years of her life. Whenever she was discouraged or faced difficult problems she would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there. In a very real sense, each of us, as human beings, have been given a Golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and GOD. There is no more precious possession that anyone could hold. Friends are like angels who lift us to our feet, when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly. HOW TO LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE AT CHRISTMAS AND ALWAYS Work with joy. Pray with love. Dream from your heart. Share what you have. Live simply. Love deeply. Thank God always. Merry Christmas May God Bless You All!

7 Volume 1, Issue 8 Page 7 December 1, 2006 Love And Compassion Ministries In The Name of The FATHER, The SON, and The HOLY GHOST May God bless you all during this holiday season with peace, love, and a brighter future. May we all reach out to someone and touch them in a way where they will feel the love and compassion from our Savior as The Holy Spirit ministers, directs, and guides us! For more than two years while working at building docks and installing / servicing boat lifts, I worked as a volunteer within the jail and prison system. One day while servicing several lifts, standing at the end of a dock on Boca Grande, God spoke to my heart. He told me to quit doing dock and boat lift work and do ministry work full time. I told Him (like He didn t know) I have a mortgage to pay, a car note, lots of bills, a wife, and a son. He said, have you ever gone without food, roof over your head, or your bills paid? I had to say no! But, I started explaining how scared I was to stop doing something that brought in money, to go into ministry at that time in my life. He said that He would always be there for me. So I went home and told my wife and son about God s calling on my life. They agreed that this was what we needed to do. That was the start of Love And Compassion Ministries, now more than nine years old. You know, without support we cannot do the work that has been given us. I know that God has touched people s hearts to give, but they will never give to this ministry, because they feel that I should paint houses, do construction work, or other things to bring money into this ministry. If God wished me to work a job to support my family and do ministry work on the side, then He would have let me continue to do the dock and boat lift business. When Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee and saw Peter and Andrew, He did not say, follow Me and I will make you fishers of men part time. True ministry work is a twenty-four hour a day job, seven days a week. Jesus disciples ate with Him, slept with Him, walked with Him, and did everything together. Everyday is a new day in the Lord. With God by my side, I have learned so much, but yet I know so little. I Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. 18. For the scripture say, You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain, and The laborer is worthy of his wages. I John 3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18. My little children, let us not love in word, or in tongue; but in deed and in truth. God has called me into this ministry to serve Him full time. I pray you will take this time to reflect on the choices that you have made. Giving to Love And Compassion Ministries is an avenue that will bring you the joy of helping others and sharing your gifts with those who need them most. I am pressing on. What are you going to do? Please don t use love as a word this season. Make it become a deed or action. Help us to reach the lost of this world with Love And Compassion. Give! In the Presence of our LORD, Ron Willis Ron Willis, President Love and Compassion Ministries, Inc.

8 Love And Compassion Ministries, Inc. Stamp 1401 Viscaya Parkway Suite 3 Cape Coral, Florida Phone: Fax: GODLCM@AOL.COM We re on the Web! Love And Compassion Ministries Board of Directors Wesley Gurley Shirley Gurley Betty Curry Bill Curry Charles Hirst Bonice Hirst Lyle D. Smith Doug Magart Karen Magart Mark Decker Kathy Decker Ronald Willis If you would like to be a part of our exciting prayer team, please send us your address and we will send you updates of people who need our prayers. The LORD is near to all who call upon HIM, to all who call upon HIM in truth. Psalm 145:18 NKJ It is a great privilege that we have, as sons and daughters of the KING, to be able to come into HIS presence with our needs, our hurts, and our cares. We know that we can leave them at HIS feet because HE cares for us and will always answer us in our time of need. Prayer requests are very important to us! We always need people who are caring and willing to personally pray for others needs. As we pray for their physical, moral, and spiritual needs, we must understand that because of JESUS CHRIST'S love for all of us, we are able to do this. CHRIST is the answer to every human's needs. As members of the Body of CHRIST, we have the privilege and responsibility to pray for our Churches, our missionaries, public officials, other ministries, and each other. It is so exciting to see prayers being answered. May we always give CHRIST the Glory!