It has stood the test of time.
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God's book, the Bible.
00:00:12.21\00:00:15.71
Still relevant in
today's  complex world.
00:00:17.51\00:00:20.82
It Is Written, sharing
hope  around the globe.
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Thanks for joining me
today  on It is Written.
00:00:37.27\00:00:39.33
I'm John Bradshaw.
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Today, we are going to
focus  on a special verse
00:00:40.30\00:00:42.37
of the Bible.
00:00:42.37\00:00:43.47
In 2 Corinthians Chapter 5 
and verse 17, the Bible says
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that if anybody is in 
Christ, that person becomes
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a new creature.
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Some translations will say
 a new creation and then it
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says this "Old things are
 passed away and all things
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become new." My guest 
for today is a long time
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speaker, best-selling author
 Ron Halverson is proof of
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that fact, that God can
take  the old and make it new,
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that God can take the person
 we were and replace it with
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the person that we 
can be in Jesus Christ.
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Ron Halverson has  a
remarkable, a dramatic
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conversion story
about how  God found him
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and changed his life.
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Ron Halverson, 
thanks for joining me today.
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RH: Glad to be here again.
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JB: Now you hail from New 
York City, the mean streets
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of New York City.
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RH: I come from Brooklyn,
 New York, a little section
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in Brooklyn, New
York,  called Coney Island.
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That's where the 
amusement center is.
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Also the crime center 
and juvenile crime, but that's
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where I was
brought up  and it's a
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wonderful experience.
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JB: And I've heard you say
 before that as a young man,
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you weren't chosen
from  among the good angels.
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You were a bit of a rebel.
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RH: I grew up in a very bad
 neighborhood, poor, poverty.
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My father at the time was
an  alcoholic and when you grow
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up in poverty, in that kind
 of neighborhood, you rebel.
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There is
something  inside of you.
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You're fighting it and I
blame  my parents and blamed
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the teachers and you know, 
they put me in special class
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and I was always in
trouble  and that was going
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to be my life.
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My life was a bad environment.
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The neighborhood itself is 
a jungle, they called it "the
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asphalt jungle." It was.
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You acted like animals
in  the street and I learned
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the law of the
street,  and the future
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didn't look too bright.
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JB: Now we now thank 
the Lord that the future
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turned out pretty well.
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You are here today.
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You have been serving 
the Lord for many years.
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You have lead many people
 to faith in Jesus Christ.
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You have proclaimed 
the Bible around the world.
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It turned okay.
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But getting from
there  to here was quite the
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experience and so I just 
want to say this, as we talk
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today, it is
encouraging  to remember.
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Parents, God can turn
your  sons and daughters around
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sons and daughters
around  to him. Children.
00:03:04.18\00:03:06.18
People without hope.
00:03:06.18\00:03:07.18
Young people.
00:03:07.18\00:03:08.18
There is hope for
you  because God can
00:03:08.18\00:03:11.09
change your life.
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Somebody in this world
 saying "What do I have
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to look forward to?
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What does my life  hold for me?
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What is coming ahead?
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There is something to
look  forward to because when
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Jesus Christ gets into your
 life, He change what you are
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and make you what you 
could never make yourself.
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And Ron, so, as a young 
person, you got involved in
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all kinds of various things
 that parents today would not
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want their kids
getting  involved in.
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RH: The thing was, John,
 was that I didn't believe
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in God.
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JB: Why not?
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RH: I just ... Where
was  God in the ghetto?
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It's easy to see
God  in a cathedral.
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It's easy to talk about
God  when you are brought up
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in a Christian home ...
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JB: You were not
brought up  going to church?
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You know, my parents
didn't  go to church.
00:03:53.90\00:03:56.73
They sent us to Sunday 
School every now and then
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and we were confirmed but
we  didn't really have a family
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experience about God 
and I kind of was rebelling
00:04:04.04\00:04:07.68
against everything so
the  first thing I rebelled
00:04:07.68\00:04:10.51
was against God.
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If there was a God, he
had  a twisted sense of humor.
00:04:11.85\00:04:18.22
I mean, here is the inner city.
00:04:18.22\00:04:19.85
Here's people
suffering  and hurting and dying
00:04:19.85\00:04:21.86
in the streets and I
mean,  that's the reality
00:04:21.86\00:04:23.93
of the inner city.
00:04:23.93\00:04:24.93
That's the reality of the
 ghetto, and I'm growing up
00:04:24.93\00:04:26.96
in there and when they
tried  to talk to me about God,
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I said I don't want
nothing to  do with a God
00:04:29.80\00:04:32.37
that would allow this.
00:04:32.37\00:04:33.37
I got in trouble.
00:04:33.37\00:04:34.37
I mean, I was 
breaking and entering.
00:04:34.37\00:04:36.37
I was hot-wiring, stealing
 my first car when I was 14.
00:04:36.37\00:04:38.44
I was snatching
pocket  books, you know.
00:04:38.44\00:04:40.44
I mean,  I'm
running the streets.
00:04:40.44\00:04:42.44
I'm fighting in the streets.
00:04:42.44\00:04:43.45
I mean, that was
the way  of life.
00:04:43.45\00:04:45.45
My brother and I would
wake  up in the morning and he'd
00:04:45.45\00:04:47.45
say "Let's go look 
for a fight" so we'd go out
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to look for a fight.
00:04:50.49\00:04:51.92
And I was blaming 
everybody but myself.
00:04:51.92\00:04:55.12
I was blaming the  neighborhood.
00:04:55.12\00:04:57.96
I was blaming my parents.
00:04:57.96\00:04:59.39
I was blaming the law.
00:04:59.39\00:05:00.50
But it really was me,
inside  of me, that anger.
00:05:00.50\00:05:04.17
It seethed out in violence.
00:05:04.17\00:05:05.97
JB: You were raised
to  fight, weren't you?
00:05:05.97\00:05:07.97
As a kid you were 
schooled as a boxer.
00:05:07.97\00:05:09.97
RH: My dad  was a
professional fighter
00:05:09.97\00:05:12.77
for nine fights.
00:05:12.77\00:05:14.64
He won 8, he drew 1.
00:05:14.64\00:05:16.71
He was a very tough man.
00:05:16.71\00:05:19.31
When my mother said "quit 
the ring or else" he didn't
00:05:19.31\00:05:21.38
want to fight my mother, 
I guess, he quit the ring but
00:05:21.38\00:05:24.32
he wanted one of his
boys  to be a fighter.
00:05:24.32\00:05:26.45
Well, my dad put a heavy bag
 in the basement, a light bag
00:05:26.45\00:05:30.43
and we'd be hitting
it  when I was a pee-wee.
00:05:30.43\00:05:32.36
I was in the pee-wee boxing.
00:05:32.36\00:05:34.53
You could hardly put
the  gloves on, they were so
00:05:34.53\00:05:36.56
heavy, but I started there
 and you're just like a fly
00:05:36.56\00:05:39.70
weight, and you are
boxing  and then I'd train five
00:05:39.70\00:05:43.27
nights a week and I wanted
 to be a prize fighter and
00:05:43.27\00:05:46.91
my father
drilled it  in my head.
00:05:46.91\00:05:48.91
I want to be a light
 heavyweight champion
00:05:48.91\00:05:50.91
of the world.
00:05:50.91\00:05:51.91
That was my big goal, was
 to become a prize fighter,
00:05:51.91\00:05:55.72
and I got a lot of my
violence  out a lot of my anger
00:05:55.72\00:05:59.69
out that way.
00:05:59.69\00:06:00.92
But you really didn't 
achieve in my neighborhood
00:06:00.92\00:06:02.92
until you were in the gang.
00:06:02.92\00:06:03.93
There were 200 fighting 
gangs in the 50's and 60's,
00:06:03.93\00:06:07.96
in New York 200 fighting
 gangs and they were well
00:06:07.96\00:06:11.27
organized gangs.
00:06:11.27\00:06:12.30
They had a president, 
vice president, light up man.
00:06:12.30\00:06:14.30
The light up man
took  care of the weapons.
00:06:14.30\00:06:16.91
You had sawed off shotguns,
 Saturday night specials,
00:06:16.91\00:06:19.84
baseball bats, drills
filled  with lead, stiletto
00:06:19.84\00:06:24.31
push-button blades go
 through 3/4 inch piece
00:06:24.31\00:06:27.08
of plywood.
00:06:27.08\00:06:28.15
I was trying to find some
 fight of recognition from
00:06:28.15\00:06:30.92
fighting in the ring 
and fighting in the streets.
00:06:30.92\00:06:33.52
I did not know  of any way out.
00:06:33.52\00:06:36.29
See, my neighborhood, 
it was a bad neighborhood.
00:06:36.29\00:06:37.93
About 70 or 80% of the
kids  had police records
00:06:37.93\00:06:42.40
before 16 or 17.
00:06:42.40\00:06:44.17
Anything that was not 
fastened down, I'd take.
00:06:44.17\00:06:47.70
JB: What might
have  made a difference?
00:06:47.70\00:06:50.11
There was a scarcity
 of good role models.
00:06:50.11\00:06:52.04
Maybe nothing would
have  made a difference, Ron,
00:06:52.04\00:06:54.01
but was there
anything that  might have made
00:06:54.01\00:06:55.84
a difference in the life 
of a wayward kid back them?
00:06:55.84\00:06:58.41
RH: Well with me, I came 
to an experience with Christ
00:06:58.41\00:07:01.65
but showing that there
is  hope for them, hope.
00:07:01.65\00:07:06.39
Everybody needs hope.
00:07:06.39\00:07:07.82
I mean, there's no hope.
00:07:07.82\00:07:09.22
There's no hope when the
 majority of the kids that
00:07:09.22\00:07:12.03
come out of my 
neighborhood go to prison.
00:07:12.03\00:07:14.10
What kind of hope is that?
00:07:14.10\00:07:15.06
Or they drop out of school.
00:07:15.06\00:07:16.73
They are drop outs.
00:07:16.73\00:07:17.87
I couldn't really read or write
 when I was in high school.
00:07:17.87\00:07:21.24
I mean, I could functionally
 get along, you know,
00:07:21.24\00:07:23.84
for a comic book.
00:07:23.84\00:07:24.94
I could see enough pictures.
00:07:24.94\00:07:25.97
I could figure it out.
00:07:25.97\00:07:26.71
But I could not pick up 
a Bible or a book and just
00:07:26.71\00:07:29.21
read it and so what
kind of  future does a person
00:07:29.21\00:07:33.55
like that have?
00:07:33.55\00:07:34.58
He thinks the only future
he  has is he is going to fight
00:07:34.58\00:07:37.55
his way out of the 
neighborhood or they are going
00:07:37.55\00:07:40.52
to carry him dead
out  of the neighborhood.
00:07:40.52\00:07:44.33
That's the mindset you
have  and that was the mindset
00:07:44.33\00:07:47.30
I had as a teenager, and
the  police gave up on me.
00:07:47.30\00:07:51.73
They told me 
"hey", he's no good.
00:07:51.73\00:07:53.90
My principal told my mother
 one day "Your boy's a bum.
00:07:53.90\00:07:57.27
He is no good.
00:07:57.27\00:07:58.77
He will never 
amount to anything.
00:07:58.77\00:08:01.01
They are going to throw
him  away in jail, lock him up,
00:08:01.01\00:08:03.01
throw away the key.
00:08:03.01\00:08:04.28
This kid ..
00:08:04.28\00:08:05.25
no hope." He told my mother.
00:08:05.25\00:08:07.08
My mother cried on her
way  home and that's the
00:08:07.08\00:08:09.75
heartbreak of America, 
what we do to our parents.
00:08:09.75\00:08:12.09
I had a wonderful mother.
00:08:12.09\00:08:12.99
I had a wonderful
father,  but he didn't know God.
00:08:12.99\00:08:17.56
He was an alcoholic, 
but he was a wonderful dad,
00:08:17.56\00:08:19.66
he was a hard working man.
00:08:19.66\00:08:20.96
He never made a lot of money.
00:08:20.96\00:08:22.20
We lived in the
worst  of worst tenements.
00:08:22.20\00:08:25.90
Poverty-stricken.
00:08:25.90\00:08:27.70
But my mama,  she
scrimped and saved.
00:08:27.70\00:08:30.34
My mother,  she
didn't know what to do.
00:08:30.34\00:08:32.34
She says to me,
"Ronny,  I don't know what
00:08:32.34\00:08:36.14
to do with you?
00:08:36.14\00:08:37.15
What can I do?"
00:08:37.15\00:08:38.15
And I didn't know.
00:08:38.15\00:08:39.15
I would have told her,
"mom,  you can't help me,
00:08:39.15\00:08:41.15
only God could help
me",  but who knows that?
00:08:41.15\00:08:43.15
JB: Something you 
said is interesting.
00:08:43.15\00:08:45.15
There was no hope.
00:08:45.15\00:08:46.15
There was no hope.
00:08:46.15\00:08:47.16
Evidently, there was hope 
because today Ron Halverson
00:08:47.16\00:08:49.16
is a changed man  and
has been for a long time.
00:08:49.16\00:08:51.46
How does a person get from 
there, lost and without hope,
00:08:51.46\00:08:55.80
to sharing the hope 
that we have in Jesus Christ
00:08:55.80\00:08:59.87
with people all around the world
 we'll find out in a minute.
00:08:59.87\00:09:02.37
[Music]  In
Matthew 4:4, the word
00:09:03.91\00:09:06.24
of God says, It is written,
 man shall not live by bread
00:09:06.24\00:09:09.94
alone but by every word 
that proceeds from the mouth
00:09:09.94\00:09:13.25
of God.
00:09:13.25\00:09:14.45
Every Word is a one-minute 
Bible-based daily devotional
00:09:14.45\00:09:16.48
presented by Pastor 
John Bradshaw and designed
00:09:16.48\00:09:20.09
especially for
busy people  like you.
00:09:20.09\00:09:22.59
Look for Every Word  on
selected networks or watch it
00:09:22.59\00:09:25.99
on-line everyday on our 
website, itiswritten.com.
00:09:25.99\00:09:29.90
Receive a daily
spiritual  boost.
00:09:29.90\00:09:32.27
Watch Every Word.
00:09:32.27\00:09:33.37
You'll be glad you did.
00:09:33.37\00:09:35.77
Here's a sample.
00:09:35.77\00:09:37.51
Thanks for joining me.
00:09:45.75\00:09:46.75
Every now and then my
 daughter will show me
00:09:46.75\00:09:48.82
a feature on my phone that I 
knew nothing about and I'll say,
00:09:48.82\00:09:52.02
"well, that's really
helpful,  I did not know that."
00:09:52.02\00:09:55.52
It can be like that
with  God's blessings.
00:09:55.52\00:09:58.13
There might be things we
are  missing out on because we
00:09:58.13\00:10:00.30
simply do not know about them.
00:10:00.30\00:10:02.06
You know, the Bible says
 in Exodus 20:8, "Remember
00:10:02.06\00:10:04.90
the Sabbath Day 
to keep it holy."
00:10:04.90\00:10:06.90
God carved a day 
out of the rock of time
00:10:06.90\00:10:09.67
and set it aside for us
 to spend time especially
00:10:09.67\00:10:12.44
with him.
00:10:12.44\00:10:13.44
If you are missing it,  you
are missing a real blessing.
00:10:13.44\00:10:16.44
I wonder how many people 
are losing a blessing because
00:10:16.44\00:10:18.95
they are not
remembering  the Sabbath day.
00:10:18.95\00:10:20.92
Just letting the hours
pass  by without taking them
00:10:20.92\00:10:23.22
to spend with God.
00:10:23.22\00:10:25.09
Don't make that mistake.
00:10:25.09\00:10:26.59
Let the Sabbath be the blessing
 that God wants it to be
00:10:26.59\00:10:30.09
in your life.
00:10:30.09\00:10:31.86
I am John Bradshaw
 for It Is Written.
00:10:31.86\00:10:34.26
Let's live today by Every Word.
00:10:34.26\00:10:37.30
[Music]  Eyes for India is
00:10:39.03\00:10:42.74
giving sight to the blind
and  you can be a part of this
00:10:42.74\00:10:45.31
amazing work that God is  doing.
00:10:45.31\00:10:48.01
Fifteen million blind people
 live in India, more than any
00:10:48.01\00:10:50.78
other country in the world.
00:10:50.78\00:10:52.85
And many of the blind in 
India could see again if only
00:10:52.85\00:10:56.28
they could have
simple  cataract surgery.
00:10:56.28\00:10:59.19
It Is Written is
making that  happen.
00:10:59.19\00:11:02.09
Would you
support Eyes for  India?
00:11:02.09\00:11:05.69
For just $75 you will be 
giving the gift of sight to
00:11:05.69\00:11:09.00
someone who
desperately wants  to see.
00:11:09.00\00:11:12.07
Here's all you need to do.
00:11:12.07\00:11:13.40
Call 1.800.253.3000 to donate
 and support Eyes for India.
00:11:13.40\00:11:20.28
Or you can write to It
Is  Written, Box O, Thousand
00:11:20.28\00:11:23.78
Oaks, California, 91359.
00:11:23.78\00:11:27.15
You'll also find
Eyes for  India on-line at
00:11:27.15\00:11:29.88
itiswritten.com
00:11:29.88\00:11:31.99
Thanks for joining  me
today on It Is Written.
00:11:33.29\00:11:34.96
I4m John Bradshaw.
00:11:34.96\00:11:35.76
Today, the Ron Halverson story.
00:11:35.76\00:11:38.09
He has been called
 from gangs to God.
00:11:38.09\00:11:42.00
Ron, this was no
 laughing matter.
00:11:42.00\00:11:44.17
You were a lost boy, 
in trouble, making trouble.
00:11:44.17\00:11:46.43
You said a moment ago
there  was no hope and when you
00:11:46.43\00:11:50.64
have no hope, the future
is  bleak, no matter which
00:11:50.64\00:11:53.07
way you stack it.
00:11:53.07\00:11:54.11
Somehow, the light 
started to shine in.
00:11:54.11\00:11:56.34
RH: Well, this is the
amazing  thing and this is why
00:11:56.34\00:11:58.81
I love my work.
00:11:58.81\00:11:59.95
I work in  the
inner cities a lot.
00:11:59.95\00:12:01.28
I work in the big cities.
00:12:01.28\00:12:02.18
I work for a lot
 of these people.
00:12:02.18\00:12:04.42
God is there.
00:12:04.42\00:12:07.82
The incarnation is God is here.
00:12:07.82\00:12:09.89
God is waiting to touch
a  life, but at that time
00:12:09.89\00:12:12.79
I was hopelessly lost.
00:12:12.79\00:12:13.83
I said I didn4t
want  to know about God,
00:12:13.83\00:12:16.23
I don4t believe in God.
00:12:16.23\00:12:17.50
You know, anything  I could do.
00:12:17.50\00:12:19.50
I4d curse God, but
God  wasn4t done with me.
00:12:19.50\00:12:22.14
God didn4t give up on me.
00:12:22.14\00:12:24.17
What happened was the 
miracle that happened was
00:12:24.17\00:12:26.27
another kid found God.
00:12:26.27\00:12:28.28
Another kid in the 
neighborhood, one kid, a 15
00:12:29.84\00:12:32.85
year-old kid
finds God  and his life
00:12:32.85\00:12:36.12
is drastically changed.
00:12:36.12\00:12:37.42
I mean, this kid, he is 
coming down the street with
00:12:37.42\00:12:39.62
a Bible in his hand.
00:12:39.62\00:12:40.86
I mean, he hardly knows 
anything about the Bible.
00:12:40.86\00:12:43.76
If you think you can only be
 saved if you know everything
00:12:43.76\00:12:45.66
about the Bible, then only 
the intelligent will be saved,
00:12:45.66\00:12:48.20
only the
theologian  will be saved.
00:12:48.20\00:12:50.90
Thank God that4s not true.
00:12:50.90\00:12:52.50
JB: That4s right.
00:12:52.50\00:12:53.17
That4s a mistake they
made  in Jesus' day, that only
00:12:53.17\00:12:54.34
the educated class.
00:12:54.34\00:12:55.57
RH: And this kid, he
don't  know much, he can't find
00:12:55.57\00:13:00.61
much in the Bible, but
he's  so full of God he wants to
00:13:00.61\00:13:05.11
share it, so here we
are  standing on the street
00:13:05.11\00:13:08.62
corner, black leather
jackets,  skull, blood dripping
00:13:08.62\00:13:10.72
over the skull, 
every gang flew its color
00:13:10.72\00:13:13.46
and there you are, 
switchblade in your pocket,
00:13:13.46\00:13:15.76
you know, looking cool.
00:13:15.76\00:13:16.86
And this kid comes up.
00:13:16.86\00:13:18.46
I knew he's a friend of mine.
00:13:18.46\00:13:20.03
We're from the third
grade,  and he is smiling,
00:13:20.03\00:13:23.50
and nobody smiles  in
my neighborhood, and I said
00:13:23.50\00:13:25.63
what's wrong with you?
00:13:25.63\00:13:26.43
And he says, "Ah, I found
 Jesus Christ in my heart."
00:13:26.43\00:13:28.74
"Jesus?
00:13:28.74\00:13:32.91
Religion is old people, Jim.
00:13:32.91\00:13:34.48
I mean, when you have one
 foot in the casket and the
00:13:34.48\00:13:37.01
other on a banana peel, hey, 
that's when you get religion."
00:13:37.01\00:13:39.35
JB: You get religious there.
00:13:39.35\00:13:40.68
RH: And I kid him.
00:13:40.68\00:13:41.35
I said, "Man, I wanna
live  it up", forgetting
00:13:41.35\00:13:43.75
I have to live it down.
00:13:43.75\00:13:45.05
And Jim, every time you
see  him, smile on his face,
00:13:45.05\00:13:47.26
and talking about God,
 but you know, we began
00:13:47.26\00:13:50.09
to see a change.
00:13:50.09\00:13:52.06
The kids didn't
curse  around him so much.
00:13:52.06\00:13:54.36
They didn't plan
their  escapades so much.
00:13:54.36\00:13:57.00
I mean, they
kind of  admired him.
00:13:57.00\00:14:00.00
When they got in trouble,
 who was the first person
00:14:00.00\00:14:01.77
they called? Jim.
00:14:01.77\00:14:03.54
And he'd come smiling.
00:14:03.54\00:14:04.57
But he always kept after
me  because I was his friend,
00:14:04.57\00:14:08.61
but I am now 
in William E. Grady
00:14:08.61\00:14:11.25
Vocational High School, 
I am in a school that wrote
00:14:11.25\00:14:14.22
the Blackboard Jungle.
00:14:14.22\00:14:15.52
JB: Oh, that's that school?
00:14:15.52\00:14:16.08
RH: Yeah.
00:14:16.08\00:14:16.62
And you know, juvenile crime.
00:14:16.62\00:14:18.52
On ever corner, 
there's a policeman station.
00:14:18.52\00:14:21.69
I mean this is where you
run  up the downstair case
00:14:21.69\00:14:23.56
and find someone 
who's stomach is slit open.
00:14:23.56\00:14:25.89
I'm in the middle of rumbles,
 where kids get blown away.
00:14:25.89\00:14:28.66
One of my best friends 
I recruited in the gang,
00:14:28.66\00:14:31.93
he was blown away, his
head  blown off his shoulders
00:14:31.93\00:14:34.40
and died in a
pool of blood  at 16.
00:14:34.40\00:14:36.34
I mean, try to live
with  that your whole life.
00:14:36.34\00:14:39.21
And here's this kid, Jimmy.
00:14:39.21\00:14:41.41
He goes off to this academy,
 a Christian school, way out
00:14:41.41\00:14:44.21
in Queens, two hours
each  way on the train.
00:14:44.21\00:14:47.02
We thought he was crazy.
00:14:47.02\00:14:48.45
But when we got in
trouble,  hey man ..
00:14:48.45\00:14:52.15
"Jimmy" ... and he came, 
and he ministered to them.
00:14:52.15\00:14:55.66
I'm playing hookey and
I'm  going down the street
00:14:55.66\00:15:00.46
and a friend of mine,
 coming the other way,
00:15:00.46\00:15:02.23
Richard, he is
coming  to school and I said
00:15:02.23\00:15:04.57
"Where are you going"  and
he says "school" and I said
00:15:04.57\00:15:06.53
"you don't want 
to go to school".
00:15:06.53\00:15:07.30
We'd play hookey, you
know,  all the time, but he just
00:15:07.30\00:15:09.20
got out of reform
school  and so he had to go
00:15:09.20\00:15:10.71
to school or else 
they would send him
00:15:10.71\00:15:11.81
away until he was 21.
00:15:11.81\00:15:13.17
And he said "No, I gotta go."
00:15:13.17\00:15:14.18
And I said "No." He
said  "No, they know where we
00:15:14.18\00:15:15.98
go." We'd go down
 to the boardwalk,
00:15:15.98\00:15:17.68
we'd go down to the pool
hall,  and then I thought
00:15:17.68\00:15:20.58
about this kid, out in  a
christian school in Queens.
00:15:20.58\00:15:24.19
I said "Hey man, 
let's go out there.
00:15:24.19\00:15:28.02
Who is going to look for you
 and me in a Christian school"
00:15:28.02\00:15:30.03
and that was
the week  that began
00:15:30.03\00:15:32.03
to change my life.
00:15:32.03\00:15:33.03
We snuck onto the train.
00:15:33.03\00:15:34.03
We never paid 
to get on the train.
00:15:34.03\00:15:36.03
It's an elevated
train  in lower Brooklyn.
00:15:36.03\00:15:38.03
We climb up, cross the tracks,
 don't want to get electrocuted,
00:15:38.03\00:15:40.04
jump between
trains  and save 15 cents.
00:15:40.04\00:15:42.80
So, I come out to this
school,  a Christian school.
00:15:42.80\00:15:45.97
JB: And you go to this 
Christian school because
00:15:45.97\00:15:48.51
you are on the run.
00:15:48.51\00:15:49.51
You are not going
there  for any good reasons.
00:15:49.51\00:15:51.51
RH: Oh yeah, no, yeah, 
and I figure we'd go out there,
00:15:51.51\00:15:54.35
and I'm not going to be
out  in the street, so I walk
00:15:54.35\00:15:58.12
into the school 
and it's quiet, man.
00:15:58.12\00:16:00.12
I'm used to guys
 fighting it out.
00:16:00.12\00:16:02.12
I see kids
overdose  on the roof,
00:16:02.12\00:16:04.13
they strip them  of
their clothes to sell,
00:16:04.13\00:16:06.13
friends throw
their body  off the roof.
00:16:06.13\00:16:08.13
I mean, yeah, 
this is a bad place.
00:16:08.13\00:16:10.13
I turn to my friend
Rich  and I say "Man,
00:16:10.13\00:16:12.13
this can't be a school."
00:16:12.13\00:16:13.13
This has got to be a morgue.
00:16:13.13\00:16:14.14
I mean, there ain't  a
dead body you see here.
00:16:14.14\00:16:16.14
Not a live people, and
just  then, a woman teacher came
00:16:16.14\00:16:19.47
down and she says
 "Can I help you?"
00:16:19.47\00:16:21.98
She was kind of frightened.
00:16:21.98\00:16:22.98
You can picture it.
00:16:22.98\00:16:23.98
I mean you know, here
I am,  I look the part,
00:16:23.98\00:16:27.28
I look the part  of
a criminal and I was.
00:16:27.28\00:16:30.05
She says "Can I help you?"
00:16:30.05\00:16:31.05
And I say "I'm
looking for  Jimmy Landis.
00:16:31.05\00:16:33.05
Does he go to school here?"
00:16:33.05\00:16:34.06
And she says 
"He's up in chapel".
00:16:34.06\00:16:36.06
I didn't know
what  a chapel was.
00:16:36.06\00:16:38.06
I never been in a
chapel  all my life.
00:16:38.06\00:16:40.06
I said "Chapel?" She said 
"Well, yes, it's like assembly
00:16:40.06\00:16:42.26
in public school.
00:16:42.26\00:16:43.26
Do you want to go up?"
00:16:43.26\00:16:44.47
I said "Yeah"  I
don't want to go out.
00:16:44.47\00:16:46.47
But anyway, so my friend
 and I, Richard, just out
00:16:46.47\00:16:48.47
of reform school, we go up, 
get to the door, I put my hand
00:16:48.47\00:16:52.51
on the door knob and just
then,  she said "Oh, by the way
00:16:52.51\00:16:55.48
it's week of prayer."
00:16:55.48\00:16:56.48
I break out laughing, man.
00:16:56.48\00:16:57.91
"A week of prayer?" I say
 "I can't pray 30 seconds,
00:16:57.91\00:17:00.72
how do they pray 
for a whole week?"
00:17:00.72\00:17:02.72
And that was my introduction.
00:17:02.72\00:17:04.95
I walked in this chapel.
00:17:04.95\00:17:06.69
The week of prayer 
preacher was up front.
00:17:06.69\00:17:10.19
Sat in my seat, the last
two  seats with my friend and I,
00:17:10.19\00:17:13.50
in the back row.
00:17:13.50\00:17:14.83
Jimmy turned
around,  he saw me and he
00:17:14.83\00:17:18.63
couldn't believe it.
00:17:18.63\00:17:19.83
I mean, he could not believe
 it and he came running back
00:17:19.83\00:17:22.80
and sat with us.
00:17:22.80\00:17:24.11
I was looking around.
00:17:24.11\00:17:25.11
I didn't listen.
00:17:25.11\00:17:26.17
You don't want to listen.
00:17:26.17\00:17:27.18
That's why people
don't go  to church.
00:17:27.18\00:17:29.18
They are afraid
God  might grab them.
00:17:29.18\00:17:31.18
They don't go to meetings
 because they are afraid
00:17:31.18\00:17:33.18
"Hey, I might listen."
Well,  I wasn't going to listen.
00:17:33.18\00:17:35.18
I'm looking, checking 
the chicks out, you know,
00:17:35.18\00:17:37.55
and doing everything else.
00:17:37.55\00:17:38.55
Next day, played
hookey  with my friend
00:17:38.55\00:17:40.56
and went out to the 
Greater New York Academy,
00:17:40.56\00:17:42.49
walk in, black
leather jackets,  skull blood,
00:17:42.49\00:17:44.93
hate in my heart.
00:17:44.93\00:17:45.93
I hate it.
00:17:45.93\00:17:46.93
Man, I had such anger.
00:17:46.93\00:17:48.30
I'd hit you, run your face
down  a brick wall and walk away
00:17:48.30\00:17:50.97
and not feel nothing.
00:17:50.97\00:17:51.97
but things were going to
change  because happenstance,
00:17:51.97\00:17:58.51
things change,  let me tell you.
00:17:58.51\00:18:00.51
That night, we were
going  to have a block party.
00:18:00.51\00:18:02.71
We used to have block parties
 and the guys would put ash
00:18:02.71\00:18:05.78
barrels across the
corners  so the cars couldn't
00:18:05.78\00:18:07.38
come through, and then we'd 
get the ghetto blaster going,
00:18:07.38\00:18:09.72
and you know,  we'd
have a dance, and each
00:18:09.72\00:18:11.72
member was supposed to
bring  something to the party,
00:18:11.72\00:18:14.62
and the president 
would give you a slip of paper
00:18:14.62\00:18:17.09
and you know, 
you'd get that stuff,
00:18:17.09\00:18:19.09
and since I had no
money,  I'd break and enter.
00:18:19.09\00:18:21.16
I was to get all that
stuff  that is not good for you
00:18:21.16\00:18:23.50
right now, but when we get 
to heaven, we'll be alright,
00:18:23.50\00:18:25.73
you know, eclairs, 
and lemon meringue pies.
00:18:25.73\00:18:27.90
Yeah, that's the kind
of  tree I'm gonna have,
00:18:27.90\00:18:30.14
everybody else can have a 
pineapple tree but I'm going
00:18:30.14\00:18:33.48
to have an eclair tree,
 but anyway, so I go down
00:18:33.48\00:18:35.71
to Brighton
Breach,  and at Second,
00:18:35.71\00:18:37.71
on Neptune
Avenue,  there's a bakery.
00:18:37.71\00:18:39.71
I wait until it
closes,  I break in the back,
00:18:39.71\00:18:41.82
I get in. I go for
those  little white boxes
00:18:41.82\00:18:44.22
they have in the bakery, 
you know, I'm filling them up
00:18:44.22\00:18:46.22
with all these cream puffs.
00:18:46.22\00:18:47.82
We're going  to
have a great party.
00:18:47.82\00:18:49.82
You know, that was my job.
00:18:49.82\00:18:50.83
I was supposed to get
 all the sweet things.
00:18:50.83\00:18:53.16
So, I say "why go
out  the back window?
00:18:53.16\00:18:55.16
I'll go out the front door."
00:18:55.16\00:18:56.16
And I go out the front
door  and about six blocks up,
00:18:56.16\00:18:58.63
a patrol car, 
the 60th Precinct,
00:18:58.63\00:19:00.64
comes around the 
corner and here I am with ...
00:19:00.64\00:19:04.74
you know, everybody is a 
theologian, I mean "get rid
00:19:04.74\00:19:07.64
of your sin", get out of here.
00:19:07.64\00:19:09.91
I drop the cream puffs
 and try to get traction
00:19:09.91\00:19:12.48
with cream puffs
 in your sneakers,
00:19:12.48\00:19:14.48
but anyway, I took off.
00:19:14.48\00:19:15.92
And usually in your 
neighborhood, you knew
00:19:15.92\00:19:17.95
the alley ways.
00:19:17.95\00:19:18.95
But I was in Brighton
Beach,  that was the next
00:19:18.95\00:19:22.72
neighborhood over.
00:19:22.72\00:19:23.73
Here I am, I'm running 
and I duck down this alley
00:19:23.73\00:19:25.73
when I figure, I get to
the end  and I'll jump over
00:19:25.73\00:19:27.73
the fence and
I'll be gone,  man.
00:19:27.73\00:19:29.73
They won't find me.
00:19:29.73\00:19:30.73
I come to the end,  and
it's a back of a building,
00:19:30.73\00:19:32.73
it's a dead-end alley.
00:19:32.73\00:19:34.60
So now, being a theologian,
 I'm gonna think, what amI
00:19:34.60\00:19:36.67
going to tell these guys 
and I look up and there was
00:19:36.67\00:19:39.47
a fire escape  and
I pulled the ladder
00:19:39.47\00:19:42.98
down and I ran up.
00:19:42.98\00:19:44.31
I got to the roof just
then  they came in - "stop
00:19:44.31\00:19:46.41
or I'll shoot".
00:19:46.41\00:19:47.42
I was moving so fast
I'd  outrun the bullet
00:19:47.42\00:19:49.42
and here I am,  run
across the building,
00:19:49.42\00:19:51.42
jump over the next
building,  and I'm gone.
00:19:51.42\00:19:53.42
Next day, I'm out to
that  school with my friend,
00:19:53.42\00:19:55.42
Richard.
00:19:55.42\00:19:56.42
And this preacher says that
 this Jesus touched lame legs
00:19:56.42\00:19:59.86
and men walked,
and I  thought "Wow!"
00:19:59.86\00:20:03.10
Now I'm listening.
00:20:03.10\00:20:04.43
He touched blind eyes 
and men saw the light of day.
00:20:04.43\00:20:07.77
He touched the little
baby's  dead heart and beat
00:20:07.77\00:20:09.97
it into life and handed 
it back to its mother again.
00:20:09.97\00:20:12.74
I thought "Wow, man,
 what kind of power in
00:20:12.74\00:20:16.14
those hands?" First time in my
 life ... I mean, I heard that
00:20:16.14\00:20:21.02
before, catechism.
00:20:21.02\00:20:22.02
I heard that stuff,
but it  never dawned on me
00:20:22.02\00:20:25.52
that it's real.
00:20:25.52\00:20:26.65
I mean, that's
like  Three Little Pigs
00:20:26.65\00:20:29.29
... you know, 
Humpty Dumpty sat on the
00:20:29.29\00:20:32.29
wall ... but REAL?
00:20:32.29\00:20:33.80
He talked about this 
miraculous Christ and loving
00:20:33.80\00:20:36.80
Christ and boy, a thought 
came to my mind but I pushed
00:20:36.80\00:20:39.57
it out fast.
00:20:39.57\00:20:41.24
Boy, God...could
he  be like that?
00:20:41.24\00:20:45.51
Could he be like that?
00:20:45.51\00:20:46.51
That night I needed money.
00:20:46.51\00:20:51.11
The easiest way to get
money  then was to snatch
00:20:51.11\00:20:54.12
a pocket book.
00:20:54.12\00:20:55.12
A little old lady
would  come and I'd grab the
00:20:55.12\00:20:57.62
pocket book,  pull
it and if they yelled
00:20:57.62\00:20:59.62
or screamed, I'd hit
them,  knock them to the ground.
00:20:59.62\00:21:01.62
That's what sin does to you.
00:21:01.62\00:21:02.62
And so I run out and grabbed
 a pocket book, I'm pulling
00:21:02.62\00:21:04.63
and this woman, she starts
 screaming, and I go to hit
00:21:04.63\00:21:08.30
her and all of a
sudden,  I started to cry.
00:21:08.30\00:21:11.93
Big boys don't cry.
00:21:11.93\00:21:13.44
My daddy taught me that.
00:21:13.44\00:21:14.60
I mean, tough kids don't cry.
00:21:14.60\00:21:17.94
But I was crying.
00:21:17.94\00:21:18.94
I didn't know what it was.
00:21:18.94\00:21:20.11
I let go of the pocket
book  and I started running.
00:21:20.11\00:21:22.34
I ran down alley ways,  up
over fences, I fell between
00:21:22.34\00:21:26.18
some ash barrels and
almost  all night I stayed
00:21:26.18\00:21:28.62
there crying.
00:21:28.62\00:21:29.62
And there was
something  in my heart.
00:21:29.62\00:21:31.62
It was pounding in my heart.
00:21:31.62\00:21:33.12
I was scared because  I
didn't know what it was.
00:21:33.12\00:21:35.79
And why didn't I hit her?
00:21:35.79\00:21:38.23
Why couldn't I?
00:21:38.23\00:21:39.23
What was it that changed
so  drastically, dramatically?
00:21:39.23\00:21:42.86
The next day I played hookey
 and went out to that school
00:21:42.86\00:21:46.63
with my friend Richard, 
and now I'm starting to say
00:21:46.63\00:21:50.14
"I gotta listen to this."
00:21:50.14\00:21:52.74
I mean,  I can't
explain last night.
00:21:52.74\00:21:54.74
I can't explain 
this miracle man.
00:21:54.74\00:21:57.65
You know what I discovered
 John, and I want those that
00:21:57.65\00:22:01.55
are watching this program
to  discover, parents that have
00:22:01.55\00:22:03.72
lost their children, their
kids  may be in gangs, it may
00:22:03.72\00:22:06.82
seem hopeless.
00:22:06.82\00:22:07.82
Listen, God made a round world.
00:22:07.82\00:22:10.13
That's not a
physical  scientific reason.
00:22:10.13\00:22:13.33
Because the further you go
 away from home, the closer
00:22:13.33\00:22:18.10
you come to home.
00:22:18.10\00:22:19.60
You see, that's the
story  of this planet.
00:22:19.60\00:22:21.80
That's the story of God.
00:22:21.80\00:22:23.24
That's the story of his love.
00:22:23.24\00:22:24.74
He was caring about  a
gang banger, an angry kid.
00:22:24.74\00:22:31.25
I heard about this Jesus 
and how they didn't love him,
00:22:31.25\00:22:34.25
they wanted to
crucify him  and kill him.
00:22:34.25\00:22:36.89
I thought man, 
you kill bad guys.
00:22:36.89\00:22:39.92
Or good guys that get 
in the way of bad guys.
00:22:39.92\00:22:42.69
That night,  I was
supposed to steal a car.
00:22:42.69\00:22:45.09
We already looked at it.
00:22:45.09\00:22:46.80
We knew where it
was,  what it was,
00:22:46.80\00:22:49.66
what we were going to do.
00:22:49.66\00:22:50.67
And we went out, but
there  was a knock on the door
00:22:50.67\00:22:53.94
and standing at that
door  was that Christian boy,
00:22:53.94\00:22:56.20
Jimmy, with a Bible.
00:22:56.20\00:22:59.04
And he said this.
00:22:59.04\00:23:00.04
I'd never forget
it,  50 years later.
00:23:00.04\00:23:03.61
"I come to study the Bible
 with you." I said "What?".
00:23:03.61\00:23:07.35
He said "I come to study, 
I want to study the Bible."
00:23:07.35\00:23:09.68
And all those people 
said to me, Aw, you chicken.
00:23:09.68\00:23:13.59
They went out that night.
00:23:13.59\00:23:14.59
They were caught and arrested.
00:23:14.59\00:23:16.42
I would have been in prison, 
maybe, or dead for all I know,
00:23:16.42\00:23:18.93
because most of my
friends  are dead or in prison.
00:23:18.93\00:23:21.63
But for the grace of God ...
00:23:21.63\00:23:23.60
and that night, 
I studied the Bible.
00:23:23.60\00:23:26.23
I couldn't read
it  but I studied it.
00:23:26.23\00:23:29.24
Next day I went
out  and heard about
00:23:29.24\00:23:31.24
this crucified Christ, 
hanging between two thieves,
00:23:31.24\00:23:34.74
and I thought, "Wow!
00:23:34.74\00:23:36.81
Could that Christ who died 
for two thieves in Jerusalem
00:23:36.81\00:23:41.18
die for a thief in Brooklyn 
streets and for the first time
00:23:41.18\00:23:49.29
in my life, the
first time,  I found hope.
00:23:49.29\00:23:52.49
And that day,  I
gave my heart to God.
00:23:52.49\00:23:54.70
I turned to my friend Richard,
 and I said "Richard, come on."
00:23:54.70\00:23:57.73
Tears were in his face.
00:23:57.73\00:23:59.13
He was touched 
by the Spirit of God.
00:23:59.13\00:24:01.14
And he said this, he
said  "Ron, it costs to much
00:24:01.14\00:24:04.81
to be a Christian."
00:24:04.81\00:24:05.81
JB: That's what he said?
00:24:05.81\00:24:06.81
RH: And he spent his
life  in prison for murder
00:24:06.81\00:24:09.94
and I went on
preaching  the gospel and I have
00:24:09.94\00:24:12.41
been on every
continent  in the world.
00:24:12.41\00:24:14.78
Hey, it cost too much
 not to be a Christian.
00:24:14.78\00:24:16.79
I discovered that.
00:24:16.79\00:24:18.29
And here is this illiterate.
00:24:18.29\00:24:19.69
What is going to
happen  now with me?
00:24:19.69\00:24:21.69
The moment I found God,
 I wanted to tell people.
00:24:21.69\00:24:23.69
JB: Is that right?
00:24:23.69\00:24:24.69
RH: I told people.
00:24:24.69\00:24:25.69
I preached on street corners.
00:24:25.69\00:24:27.06
I held an evangelistic
meeting,  17 years old, we held
00:24:27.06\00:24:30.37
an evangelistic meeting 
in a bookie joint in Brooklyn,
00:24:30.37\00:24:33.90
Jimmy and I.
00:24:33.90\00:24:35.34
First person I seen
baptized  was my mother.
00:24:35.34\00:24:38.84
And I have held an evangelistic
 meeting ever since,
00:24:38.84\00:24:42.71
every year of my
life,  until the day I die.
00:24:42.71\00:24:46.28
I told my wife, I said
 "Honey, if I die before
00:24:46.28\00:24:48.28
the Lord comes,  put
a pulpit in my casket
00:24:48.28\00:24:50.55
because I'll come up 
preaching." And that was
00:24:50.55\00:24:52.82
just from one boy, one
teenager  who loved God.
00:24:52.82\00:24:57.06
Imagine what we could do if
 all the teenagers that claim
00:24:57.06\00:25:00.03
to love God would
 share their faith?
00:25:00.03\00:25:01.73
We had struggles...
00:25:01.73\00:25:07.27
I want to tell people,
 God didn't promise you
00:25:07.27\00:25:09.60
a rose garden.
00:25:09.60\00:25:10.61
He didn't promise 
you a ... it's tough.
00:25:10.61\00:25:12.94
I mean there were times
 that I fell, times that
00:25:12.94\00:25:16.08
I was miserable, I
mean,  miserably fallen.
00:25:16.08\00:25:19.08
But the
difference  is getting up.
00:25:19.08\00:25:20.35
Taking that step.
00:25:20.35\00:25:21.05
JB: Christianity continues
 to be a growth, doesn't it?
00:25:21.05\00:25:22.15
RH: Yeah.
00:25:22.15\00:25:22.75
It's a lifetime.
00:25:22.75\00:25:24.02
And when you fall
short,  He hasn't.
00:25:24.02\00:25:28.72
That's the gospel.
00:25:28.72\00:25:29.59
That's the good news.
00:25:29.59\00:25:30.93
JB: Someone  is
struggling today.
00:25:30.93\00:25:32.49
Your message  to that person is?
00:25:32.49\00:25:34.93
RH: Reach out for God.
00:25:34.93\00:25:35.56
He is a fingertip away.
00:25:35.56\00:25:40.17
Don't get good  enough for God.
00:25:40.17\00:25:42.57
God is good enough for you.
00:25:42.57\00:25:44.24
Just say "Hey, help me" 
and let him help you and if
00:25:44.24\00:25:48.28
you are sincere to open 
your heart, he will help you.
00:25:48.28\00:25:51.71
You will be surprised 
what he can do with you.
00:25:51.71\00:25:54.38
Today, our free
book offer  is for one
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of my very favorite books.
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Steps to Christ.
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Just what you need  in
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your address in North America.
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our website itiswritten.com.
00:26:42.13\00:26:43.13
It Is Written is a faith-based
 ministry made possible
00:26:43.13\00:26:48.00
by viewers like you.
00:26:48.00\00:26:49.07
Thank you for your letters 
and for your continued support.
00:26:49.07\00:26:53.81
Ron, thank you 
for sharing today.
00:26:53.81\00:26:55.81
You know a lot of lives
are  going to be touched,
00:26:55.81\00:26:57.81
have been touched 
through your ministry
00:26:57.81\00:26:59.81
RH: Well, it's great 
to be here and to share.
00:26:59.81\00:27:01.82
JB: A lot of people have a
 lot of hope because of what
00:27:01.82\00:27:03.82
God did for you, God is doing
 in lives right now and will
00:27:03.82\00:27:06.99
continue to do in lives
until  Jesus comes back.
00:27:06.99\00:27:09.16
RH: That's right.
00:27:09.16\00:27:10.16
JB: Let's pray
together  right now.
00:27:10.16\00:27:12.16
Our Father, we thank you 
knowing that you treat us as
00:27:12.16\00:27:15.36
the father
treated  the prodigal son.
00:27:15.36\00:27:17.37
You run to meet us
and grab  us and greet us.
00:27:17.37\00:27:20.54
Thank you for meeting us 
where we are and helping us
00:27:20.54\00:27:22.77
to know that there is
hope  through Jesus Christ
00:27:22.77\00:27:26.07
and help us, Lord, to know
that  beyond the despair that we
00:27:26.07\00:27:29.38
experience in our lives, 
there is hope for us because
00:27:29.38\00:27:33.28
Jesus died to set us free.
00:27:33.28\00:27:36.79
Bless us, please,
in Jesus'  name, Amen.
00:27:36.79\00:27:46.83
Ron, thanks.
00:27:46.83\00:27:47.83
Thanks very much 
for joining me today.
00:27:47.83\00:27:49.83
I appreciate it greatly.
00:27:49.83\00:27:50.83
RH: You're welcome.
00:27:50.83\00:27:51.83
JB: And thank you 
for joining me today.
00:27:51.83\00:27:53.84
I look forward to seeing
you  next time and until then,
00:27:53.84\00:27:55.84
please remember It Is Written,
 man shall not live by bread
00:27:55.84\00:27:58.41
alone but by every
word  that proceeds from
00:27:58.41\00:28:02.14
the mouth of God.
00:28:02.14\00:28:04.15