This week the angels are cheering (and so are we) as two homeless men ministered to by ACTS surrendered their lives to Jesus. Praise God!
Fifteen years ago a homeless person living on the streets of Philadelphia came to saving faith in Jesus Christ through Fellowship Bible Study. His younger brother, also an addict, continued in his lifestyle of addiction and for years ignored our help and stopped attending our Bible studies. We could not force him to enter a Christian program, so all we could do was pray and wait.
Last week, this man, the addicted younger brother, came to my office—just to say “hi.” What I saw was amazing: his eyes were clear, his skin was healthy, he had gained twenty or so pounds and looked great. He also wore eyeglasses that were not cracked or broken. His appearance was the exact opposite of the walking dead man I had seen the year before. Most importantly, he had committed to following Christ in his life.
The week before I received an email from a formerly homeless man who became a believer three years ago, joined the church, and subsequently “fell off the edge of the earth” and had not been seen by anyone. In his email he sounded repentant and requested to speak with me.
We met for a couple of hours during which time he shared candidly his tale of woe and desire to return to Tenth and Fellowship Bible Study. What he wanted most, however, was to recover the personal relationship with Christ that he had thrown away. All of this was very difficult for him as he felt that God would punish him for his actions and that Tenth would not welcome him back. What a wonderful time we had discussing the parable of the prodigal son!
A week later he also had a blessed time worshiping with us and studying the word with his friends at Fellowship Bible Study. All he can do now is praise the Lord.