Pat,
Actually I never saw the original post you mentioned so no worry lol
Wondered where this thread originated. Glad we do not have to be judge
over such.
Brad
At 11/06/2003 on Thursday, you wrote:
>Brad and Everyone,
>
>Perhaps I was a bit harsh in my message. I do know of people in prison who
>have given their hearts to Jesus, and they do deserve to live.
>
>Several years before I met Vernon, I tried once to lead a prisoner in
>prison to Christ. after several visits to him, almost for a year, He was
>very bitter and I told him how important it was to give his heart to Jesus.
>
>This was Kelley Marshall. Do you all remember reading about him in the
>early 70's? He was first a bank robber, and then while in prison, he
>stabbed a gard 21 times. This was a horrible crime. He was put in a federal
>penetentury, and there, him and another friend, you guys, they drank
>duplicating fluid, and his friend died, and he went blind.
>
>Later, he was taken to the Oregon State Penetentury, and there he met My
>brother, Ron Charpentier who introduced me to him when Ron was in the
>Oregon State Penetentury. I tried to help Kelley, but he became so angry, I
>couldn't handle his anger. He asked me to stop visiting him, so I did. He
>had written me the most horrible letter I had ever received in my life. It
>had words in it that we don't use. One of my co-workers at GTE had to read
>it to me. I prayed for his salvation. I pray that he did find Jesus.
>
>Like I said, I'm not God, and only God can judge and if a person truly
>repents, and gives their heart to Jesus, they do deserve to live.
>
>God Bless all the prisoners that they would give their lives to Jesus and
>lead others to Christ.
>
>Lovingly,
>Pat Ferguson
>
>At 05:12 PM 11/5/03 -0600, you wrote:
> >What can one say to victims of crime but to console them and help them in
> >any way we feel might be of service to them. I remember when I was a
> >younin', one of my cousin's cousins from the other side of the family was
> >shot in the head from a distance after a few words, as kids do with other
> >kids. I guess a racial comment was made and someone decided to go past
> >settling the score. It devastated the family. I look at the evening news
> >and we hear about moms killing their kids, dads killing their families and
> >then themselves, other people doing unspeakable things to other human
> >beings and I scratch my head in wonder of how they can do that and not feel
> >remorse. How can one even bring themselves to doing such horrific crimes?
> >Some is mental desensitizing, some is lack of chemicals or something in the
> >brain, and some is brainwashing or growing up in areas where survival of
> >the fittest goes beyond what you and I might consider to be to be able to
> >start a fire by rubbing two sticks together. I look back at God's directive
> >to David to wipe out entire tribes of people, their animals and everything,
> >and where that use to puzzle me of why God would do that, I now understand
> >a little bit more. I know why perhaps Samuel was so livid with Saul when he
> >did not wipe out all God told him to, but brought back the animals and took
> >captive the king of that tribe. Yet God in turn told Jonah to go to
> >Nineveh, which was known to be quite an atrocious place, and why? To preach
> >to them that they might subject their lives to God. And then we see Paul,
> >not our Chocopaul, but Paul of the New Testament, and had he been killed
> >for the just desserts he had coming, we'd be much poorer a people. I knew
> >of a man, a friend of my friend, who was a murderer, spent time in prison,
> >much time, and was just not a good person. He was abused as a child and
> >took the wrong road to life because of that, but later found himself
> >believing what the preacher was telling him there in prison. He got out of
> >prison believe it or not and started Loving Hearts ministry, and reached
> >those who average folks would be scared to death to preach to. Had he been
> >killed, there would likely be less Christians in the wake of his path in
> >life. Incidentally, this man known as Mad Dog in prison, later known as
> >Bear short for Teddy Bear after he recieved Christ into his heart,
> >and whose given name was Richard Morgan, lost his battle to a brain tumor
> >a few weeks back and is praising the Lord in person as I type I suppose. It
> >looked like he was doing good for a while but finally he asked for prayer
> >to be released from the pain and to go home to God, and he soon then did.
> >He affected many people. Who is in authority to put lights out on
> >someone's life? I know there are situations in which I could see myself
> >doing just that out of revenge, or at least feeling like I ought, but that
> >is not my job, and I'm glad of it. God is soverign and sometimes we just
> >don't understand why things are the way they are. But we've read the book
> >and we know who wins, the best we can do is to get others to come on the
> >winning side.
> >
> >Brad
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