Tuesday Durham Street Report!

What an awesome day of ministry today! The weather was fantastic with temps in the 60's!

Chevette Moore with Greg on Holloway Street. I was driving down Holloway and saw Chevette witnessing so I stopped and we ministered together for a while. Chevette has a real heart for the lost. She and her husband (Keith) were once on the streets on crack. Greg is making head way from when I met him three years ago. Praying that he will surrender his life to JESUS!

This is another brother that I have known for a long time. He is an alcoholic. He just did some time then returned right back to the area that he got in trouble at before. (Proverbs 26:11) This guy started singing gospel songs out there today and what a voice! He also started quoting scripture! He believes that he is ok with the Lord??? He is very deceived! One of those deals where he once prayed a prayer???? We ministered the Word to him and I told him that the Bible is clear that no drunkard will inherit the Kingdom of God! (1Corinthians 6:9-10)

I ministered to four different prostitutes today. April is such a sweet girl but just needs direction in her life. I am praying that she will leave the streets and get into rehab. She just did some time in the county jail so she is off heroin right now. She is using alcohol now instead. She needed a coat today so she is wearing one that was donated by the New Hope Church people this past Sunday. This is a Lee jacket that had the tags still on it. She just loved it! Please pray that April surrenders her life to JESUS!

An Awesome Weekend of Ministry!

SATURDAY---Praise God for the weather holding off for us at Rochelle Manor this past Saturday! We teamed up with Bethesda Baptist to minister to and bless the people of this community. I appreciate Pastor Jacob, Pastor JR, Marcia Elliott, Clint McCullen and the rest of the crew at Bethesda Baptist coming out to serve and minister. It was also good to work with the people of Flat Rock Baptist Church in Hendersonville, NC. who came in to team up with Bethesda for this outreach.

We had a very good crowd for the way the weather was looking. We have out 14 color tv's, clothes, bedding, food, toys, etc. We do this of course as a way to share the GOspel and to build relationships with the community. This has been a place of a number of shootings and a couple deaths since I have been here. All of this just opens the door for us to go in whatever the situation and conditions in the future. They never forget when their personal needs are met through ministry!

It is such a blessing to be able to bless the less fortunate little ones!!! Isn't she cute?

It was a blessing to have Pastor Pedro of Iglesia Evangelica "Comunidades de Formacion Cristiana" out there with us to be able to minister to the large Hispanic population that resides there. Pastor Pedro's church is located at 5516 Roxboro Rd. They share the building with Christian Assembly Church.

Angie Ashby greets and holds the canopy up for people to go in and do some shopping.

Pastor Jacob, Pastor JR, and Marcia Elliott looking over the situation.

The youth were passing out sheet sets that were inside a pillow case. They walked throughout the area blessing people with them.

SUNDAY ---- It was a huge blessing for us to be asked by New Hope Church of Durham to be part of their 10 year Anniversary Celebration. Part of the day was their people bringing in coats to donate which all went to us. It was so cold that morning. In the 30's with a wind and mist!! I about froze to death!! I kept thinking about the streets of Chicago and how I was ever able to handle wind chill factors of 40-50 below under expressways??? My blood has definitely thinned out!!!

We stuffed the van full from the front seats all the way back. I would guess that we have a couple hundred coats. Thank you Pastor Benji and the people of New Hope Church of Durham and the surrounding areas.

MONDAY----Three happy guys getting ready to go and eat at McDonald's. I had just got done setting them up with coats. Michael (front) is an extreme alcoholic. He told me today that he really needs to get his life right with Jesus. He has to bring me a signed bulletin from Pastor Fitzpatrick at One Love Ministries to continue getting food from this ministry. Ricky (back left) is supposed to be going in Durham Access to get dried out then will do a bit of time then he wants me to disciple him which I am glad to do. The hispanic gentleman is homeless and lives in the woods. I am going to be hooking him up with another homeless hispanic that is on fire for Jesus at a different camp.

What Place Does Jesus Really Get In Your Life?

Recently I have been feeling conviction in my heart for not really placing JESUS above all other things in my life. Many of us that profess to be Christians will say that HE is first place. How about the old line that so many of us use….”God first, family second and our profession third then everything else falls in after that”. How often we do not tell HIM the truth. What if we really did place him first in our lives? What if HE went ahead of your spouse? What if you gave your spouse the same treatment that you give the Lord? For many that would mean only talking to them on Sunday mornings! For some that would mean not talking to them at all because some do not even have a relationship with him while at church because they are there for the “social club” instead of HIM. The divorce rate would sky rocket because we could not stand to be treated the same that JESUS is! What if we really placed HIM above our jobs or professions? Many would be fired! My BIBLE says that if I seek HIM first that HE will add everything else unto me! I have walked this and personally been able to see that HIS WORD is true!!!

Matthew 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.

WHAT IF we would give JESUS the same time as we give to our favorite NFL team? WHAT IF we would spend the same three hours in God’s Word that we spend watching that game???

WHAT IF we would have our children spend the same amount of time studying God’s Word that they spend playing video games of watching the television???

WHAT IF adults would spend the same time in the Word as they watch the television???

WHAT IF we were as loyal to JESUS as we are to our boss at work???

WHAT IF JESUS was as important as the children’s sporting event???

WHAT IF we would take the one thing in our life that occupies the most time and give JESUS that same amount of time??? Many would say that would not be possible because they could not get everything done in “their life” and that is where the problem really is. We can not really place HIM first because the world has moved in and controlled our lives.

1John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

God’s plan never was for us to get so caught up in the world’s ways that we would become so ineffective for HIM! If we truly are “in Christ” we should separate ourselves. People should see us as much different. So many that profess to be a Christian blend right into the world so no one can tell any difference.

Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

We could go on and on with the things that take our time away from truly living for and serving JESUS. The bottom line is that many out there know how to play out the role of the “typical American so called Christian”. Why are so many foreign countries sending missionaries to our country today? They know how messed up that those who profess to be Christians in this country are! They know that most that profess to be Christians in this country are not going to share “their faith” with others! Many seem to think that they are saved and going to heaven and that is enough. What will it really be like for them when they have to stand before a RIGHTEOUS GOD and give account for the way they lived “their life”??? Can one stand before a RIGHTEOUS GOD and hear the words “well done good and faithful servant” without having other souls connected to them???

Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls. ---- wouldn’t this mean that he who does not win souls is unwise???

Matthew 4:19 And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." ---- if HE wanted them to be “fishers of men” don’t you think that HE would expect the same from us??? I have friends ask me about going fishing and I tell them that I go fishing every day! When the story swings to fishing for souls the fishing conversation usually doesn’t last much longer.

We seem to have that way of speaking the “Christianese” language that we know so well. Everything will sound really good that comes from our mouth’s especially on Sunday mornings. WHAT IF we really lived out the songs that we sing to the Lord? Think about this….if we sing those songs and do not live them out what does that make us out to be??? Take time to really think about the words that you sing to the Lord. Are you really singing them to the Lord or are you just singing??? What if we really lived out the words that we speak? What if we truly "walked it" instead of just "talking it"???

Before the critics start sending me rebuking comments I want to say that in many cases there is nothing wrong with doing different things in this world. What is wrong is when we give more devotion to things of this world that we do to JESUS! We must give balance to the life that we live with the heavy side going to HIM! I know that I must give the ONE that died on the cross for me what is due to HIM! I was stirred at 5:00 a.m. this morning with all of this heavy on my heart. My flesh wanted to stay in bed. I am tired of my flesh having its own way! I am tired of not being the best that I can be for the Lord! I am tired of giving the devil pleasure by conforming to different things in this world. Dying on the cross was the most HE could do for me….living for HIM is the least that I can do!!!

Galatians 1:10 Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant.

Durham Streets Update!

DURHAM -- Durham police is investigating its third homicide since the start of the new year. This news has the community raising their voice to put an end to violent crime.“That's my blood, that's my baby, that was my child,” said Angel Harris.

A family is mourning after a drive-by shooting in Durham Sunday night left two people dead on Dawkins Street.

“I was upstairs and next thing you know by the time I came down here a whole bunch of shooting came through the door,” said John Lewis, a friend to the victims.

Police were called to the scene just after 9 p.m., but by the time they arrived on scene, it was too late. Timothy McGhee was found dead inside, and Paul Noel Jr. died after he was taken to a nearby hospital.

Durham police say this incident marks the second and third homicide since the start of the new year. It's a statistic that has the community raising their voice to put an end to the violence.

“The crime needs to stop. You all need to come together. There's a crisis out here right now,” Harris said.

However, as loved ones are left cleaning a scene they hope to forget, a neighborhood remains in shock and a family is left looking for answers.

“I know there's someone out here that knows some information, so if you do please let them know. Please let the Crime Stoppers know,” said Harris.

Durham police have not named any suspects in the case. They're asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (919) 683-1200.

A group of us from Durham Ministers In Prayer went out to this crime scene this past Tuesday to pray. It is very sad to see a neighborhood so messed up due to most likely gang and drug activity.

This was the house next door to where the double murder occurred. It is full of bullet holes. I had stopped down the street after all the other ministers had left to talk to a senior citizen. He spoke of the neighborhood being out of control and how the gangs had taken over.

This is the front door of where the murders occurred. As you can see all the bullet holes in the door and in the door casing. What a way to live??? After I had finished talking with the senior I had walked back to my van and came across a couple family members. Another family member came out and I spoke with them. I ministered to them about the importance of having the Lord in their lives and truly living for Him. I gave this some food then prayed with them. I will be returning to walk this neighborhood at different times of the day and night in attempt to reach some of those that are causing the problems.

Last night I received a call from a homicide detective with the Durham Police Department. She asked me if I knew anything about pennies with crosses in them being in front of the crime scene. I said that I did and that I was the one that had tossed a bunch of them in front of the house. She said that the detectives have been discovering them at crime scenes and they were not sure if it was gang related or church related. She then asked me what the reason for putting them there was and I told her that it was to hopefully make people think. It is always an open door for me to run across people in the different neighborhoods and for them to find out that it was me that put them there. I run across people with them on chains around their necks, on their shoe laces and in their wallets. The pennies are an excellent witnessing tool!I started a new type of ministry today to the skateboarders. Chris Hull who is a good brother in the Lord has had it on his heart to minister to these youth. We are going to do an outreach to them soon. Some of them were using some pretty foul language prior to me walking up to them with some snacks and I was able to minister to them. I will continue to stop by that location and build relationships.What a blessing it was to have Katherine Evans make these homemade cookies for me to pass out to people on the streets. Just like the smiles on the cookies they bring smiles to the people's faces! This couple is in a mess! Someone stopped and gave them my name to get some help. April is pregnant and is sick with a bad head cold. Blake and her were panhandling for money to be able to get a room. They called and asked if I could give them money for a room and I told them that I could not but I would help them with food. Someone else stopped and gave them money for the room just before I arrived. I talked to them about their situation and the importance of having a true relationship with the Lord. I believe they are going from church to church right now just to see what kind of help they can get. I told them that they need to help themselves by getting jobs so that they can have some self worth. There are so many in the Guess Road area living the same way as this couple. Tomorrow they will begin another day of hoping that they will have a roof over their heads tomorrow night. It comes to a time when people like this need to make a decision to help themselves and quit living this type of life. They are both very nice but what they need to do is turn their lives over to Jesus and quit living in sin then He will direct their steps! Easy to tell them but so hard it seems for them to take hold of it. I will continue to help them as long as they are taking steps to help themselves.

TV's For Sale....Money To Be Used For Getting Soul Winners To New Orleans!

Next month we will again hit the streets of New Orleans witnessing for JESUS!!! Flight costs are up this year and we are trying to raise some money to help some of those that have a desire to go and attempt to win the lost. Today, Scott McClintock took me to the Econolodge in Butner where the owner was upgrading televisions and all of his bedding. The van and Scott's truck were loaded! I will be selling the tv's and using the bedding for the less fortunate and the homeless.

I think that some of the tv's are 19" and some are 21". Anyone that makes a donation can have one. I will be placing them on Craig's List also for $40 a piece.

I have 14 right now on the bus and will be getting more on Monday. I will also be picking up more bedding too! This sets us up real good for the big outreach coming up on the 21st.

If you are interested in helping get our team to New Orleans you can send a tax deductible check made out to Bull City Outreach to 5114 Huxey Glen Ct. Durham, NC. 27703 or you can go to our website www.bullcityoutreach.com and then click on the donate button to use PayPal.

It is also not too late if you are interested in going and being part of the team. Some may ask why we are going to New Orleans when there is so much to be done here? The reason is that going to a big event like this and being around another 350-400 other soul winners gets a person fired up. Eileen and I started going in 1998. The Lord knows that we need more people on the streets of Durham doing His work! Last year the flights were $180 and this year they are $300. We also like to be able to help with a donation to Pastor Troy's camp.

I would love to have you go but if you can't please prayerfully consider helping someone else go. If you can not do either then please lift the team up during the time of February 15th through the 21st. Thank you & God Bless!