Matthew 9:32-38
“You did what?” I exclaimed. “I took my hammer and beat the windshield out of my car.” “Why did you do that!” I asked. “I can’t seem to help it, Bro. Woods. Something just seems to come over me when I get mad.”
Cleo could not afford any more misfortune. He drank. He smoked. He couldn’t hold down a job because he couldn’t seem to control his temper. He had led his family one step at a time deeper into the bondage of poverty. At one time he had to sell the chain saw he used to cut wood for their wood stove to pay the electric bill. His house was little more than a shack. Their rent at one time was $25 per month. Sometimes they didn’t have enough money to make this small payment.
I guess that was what brought such a thrill to me when I saw their tears puddle on the altar. This is what caused me to be so excited when I listened to them testifying to the grace of God who had delivered them from that life. On their own they just dug the rut of sin for their life deeper and deeper. But when they called upon God and sought His forgiveness, a dramatic change was effected which dramatically altered the direction of their lives.
Dr. Gayle Woods
Mark 5:1-7
I believe it was 4 a.m. when the phone rang. “Bro. Woods,” the man on the other end said, “Our son needs prayer right now. He wants to get saved. He thinks that he is slipping into hell.”
A short time later I met them at the church. The young man was a member of a street gang. He was on hard drugs. He was rough. But during the night God got hold of him and began to dangle him over the fires of hell. He smelt the stench of the pit. He saw the smoke rising from the lake of fire.
As I read Scripture to him, counseled him and then prayed with him, I saw him go through the throes of agony. His body was overcome with convulsions. He was not able to hold down the bile that was in his stomach. He cried like a baby as he begged God for forgiveness.
Seeing the struggle for his soul I felt anger within. The power of sin that will cause a teenager to be addicted to cigarettes, alcohol, pornography and drugs deserved the heat of my rage. Sin is a powerful influence that will destroy an individual.
The only remedy is that which this young man discovered in those early morning hours. Jesus alone can break the chains of sin’s bondage from our lives. He alone can bring complete deliverance.
Dr. Gayle Woods
