Category Archives: Global News

A Road Trip Leads to a Hotel Bible

Testimony

By Kevin McIntosh
April 8, 2016

On a cold, dreary night in the 1970’s, a young hotel executive was driving to Washington, D.C. With his career taking off and in love with his future bride, one might think there was nothing Shahn Wilburn lacked. However, deep inside his heart, Shahn knew something was missing. On that night, he began to ponder the question, “If I were to die, where would I spend eternity?”

Raised in the rural community of Kimballton, Virginia, Shahn grew up going to church with his parents. He regularly attended Sunday School, adult worship services, and church ice cream socials. Important values like responsibility and working hard were instilled into Shahn by his parents. In the summer of 1966, he started his first job working as a dishwasher at a resort. He continued working summers there while he attended school. Upon graduation from college, he entered a career in hotel management, quickly rising to sales manager of a major hotel property.

Somewhere in all of his ladder climbing, Shahn had let church slip out of the picture. However, between his successful career and lovely fiancé, he began to realize just how blessed his life was. He began to feel obligated to “balance the good fortune” by going back to church. He also began trying to study the Bible.

It was during this season of his life that he found himself questioning what was waiting for him beyond this life. As he drove toward Washington D.C. on a business trip, the question, “If I die, where would I spend eternity?” kept circling in his mind. “The answer was obvious and one I did not relish,” says Shahn. “For the first time in my life, I felt as if my soul was laid bare before a holy God.”

“For the first time in my life, I felt as if my soul was laid bare before a holy God.”

As he approached the nation’s capital, rain was pouring down, and Shahn was pouring out his heart to God. “I remember praying and feeling a tremendous need to be heard by the Lord. After weeping over my sin and talking to God about my life, which at that moment seemed so empty, I sought assurance from God that He was listening.”

Shahn arrived at the hotel. He trusted there would be a Gideon-placed Bible in the drawer of his hotel nightstand. To his surprise, there wasn’t. “In nearly eight hundred hotel rooms, I suspect that was the lone room with the Bible missing.” He called the front desk and notified them his room did not have a Bible. Shortly after, the bell captain arrived at his door with a Gideon Bible in hand.

“There beside my bed, burdened by my sin, I needed to know God as I had never before known him. I opened to the inside page and read John 14:6, which says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

He read other passages that night as well, trying to determine exactly what his responsibility was in attaining his soul’s salvation. After all, he grew up learning anything worthwhile could only be accomplished by hard work. He came to discover that God’s plan of salvation was not based on what Shahn could accomplish, but rather what Jesus had already accomplished on the cross.

“I could not find that I needed to do anything but believe that Jesus died for my sins, was buried, and arose the third day to give eternal life to all who would accept Him.” Shahn dropped to his knees and trusted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. “It seemed as if a weight had lifted from me, and I felt at peace with God.”

“I could not find that I needed to do anything but believe that Jesus died for my sins, was buried, and arose the third day to give eternal life to all who would accept Him.”

When he returned home, he shared his life-changing decision with his parents, friends, and his fiancé, Juanita. In the months to come, he would grow in his walk with the Lord. That spring, the couple married and continued to grow in the Lord.

A career change allowed Shahn to balance work with attending Piedmont Bible College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Then, doors began to open for him to fill in part-time for some pastors.

God’s timing always fits a bigger plan. One of the doors that opened was with a small congregation of less than 20 people at Riverview Baptist Church back in his home county. Soon after Shahn’s first sermon, the pastor retired for health reasons. The congregation needed a pastor and offered the position to Shahn. He accepted.

Now, more than 35 years later, Shahn and Juanita are still serving at Riverview. The church has grown to over 1,100 people, several of whom are Gideons.

“And to think, it began in a hotel room with a Gideon Bible,” says Wilburn.

From Prisoner to Pastor

Testimony

By Pastor John Krainer
April 8, 2016

I was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Both my parents were heavily involved with drugs and alcohol. When I was younger, my mom took us to church, but that soon ended. So did my parents’ marriage.

After they divorced, I stayed with my mom who constantly changed jobs and boyfriends, moving us from home to home. I never felt grounded or secure. I remember being abused and frequently called worthless.

I began smoking and drinking at age 11, and I continued abusing substances through grade school. I was kicked out of high school my sophomore year and left home at the age of 16. I spent the nights anywhere other than my mom’s place. I ended up living in some very bad places, among the worst kind of people.

By my 21st birthday, I was in Denver, Colorado. My life was reaching the pinnacle of addiction, depression, and violence. I despised myself and any person who appeared to have a better life than I did. Consumed by so much hate and self-loathing, I would often get in fights just to feel something other than my own existence. I tried killing myself on several occasions—always ending in failed attempts. I was out of control.

At a party one night, I shot a full clip of ammunition into the car of someone I thought had stolen from me. I was duly arrested and prosecuted for two counts of attempted murder.

There I was—21 and facing up to 72 years in prison. I had no friends, no family, and no hope. However, there in my jail cell, I saw a Gideon-placed Bible. I had never read a Bible before. As I opened it up to the book of Matthew, I learned about Jesus and His love.

There I was—21 and facing up to 72 years in prison. I had no friends, no family, and no hope.

Matthew Chapter 5, verse 4 says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” I had never felt comfort, peace, or true love in my life. So I prayed for the first time and asked God to let me taste these things before my life was over.

In that moment, I felt the Father’s arms wrap me up and His love burned so hot through me I began to weep from my very soul. I was forever changed in one instant. I vowed to follow God and His love and to give my life to Him no matter what the rest of my life would bring.

I was incarcerated for nine months. During that time, I went to addictions classes, continued my education, and earned my GED. I awaited my sentencing without an attorney. I only had Jesus. By the grace of God, I was sentenced to four years of probation and released the very next day. I was a free man.

I was forever changed in one instant. I vowed to follow God and His love and to give my life to Him no matter what the rest of my life would bring.

After my release, I completed a year-long intensive program to aid my progress in resolving my addictions. I continued to feed my soul with the knowledge of Christ.

Today, I am a licensed pastor in Colorado with Teen Challenge, and I am newly married. In just a few short years, my life has been transformed from one of pain and suffering to a life of joy and service to the King. I daily thank God and His unrelenting love to call out my name in that jail cell and speak truth to me through His Word.

Edited by The Gideons International

A Welcome Comfort for Hotel Guests

Hotel/Motel
Alt

By Kevin McIntosh
April 8, 2016
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28

Each year, Gideons place over a million copies of God’s Word in hotels throughout the world. Bibles are delivered to hotels by Gideons, who also assist in placing the Scriptures in the guest rooms. There is no charge to the hotels, as the Scriptures are funded through donations to The Gideons International. Some hotel guests find such comfort from the Bible, they pack it up with them as they leave. If having that copy of God’s Word helps someone continue on their journey with Christ, then Gideons rejoice.

A single copy of God’s Word in a hotel room has the potential to touch up to 2,300 lives during its six-year life span. Over the years, we have received many testimonies from individuals who have encountered these Bibles and whose lives have been forever changed as a result.

Alt

The Door of My Heart

I was 24 when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He had been referred to Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas. My dad was the one person in my life who believed in me. He was my encourager. As I watched this illness steal his joy for life, I began to suffer from anxiety attacks.

When I returned to the motel room one night, I was emotionally drained and full of fear and anxiety. Then, I remembered that a group of people leave Bibles in motel rooms, and I wondered if they did so all the way out in Temple, Texas. I looked in the desk drawer, and sure enough, there it was – The Holy Bible, donated by The Gideons.

I read the 23rd Psalm from the Bible. Before the night was over, I had accepted Christ as my Savior, and I began to feel a strength that I knew was not from me. For the very first time in my life, I understood what it was like to have the “peace that passes all understanding.” I was like a beggar who had found bread.

For the very first time in my life, I understood what it was like to have the “peace that passes all understanding.” I was like a beggar who had found bread.

I remembered someone saying you could hide the Word of God in your heart and use it anytime, so I memorized the 23rd Psalm that night and called on God through that verse in the days that followed.

Over the next several years, I lost my dad and survived a divorce. Today, I am married to a wonderful Christian man, I work at Scott & White Memorial Hospital, and I serve as a pastor.

It’s amazing how a God so holy could reach so low and touch my world, but He had a plan for my life. Many people played an important part in showing me that plan – friends, family, my dad – and a group called The Gideons, who left a Bible in a motel room in Temple, Texas.

Submitted by Phyllis Davis, Pastor, First United Methodist Church of Evant, Texas

The Difference Between Life and Death

Some stories are from those who checked into a room when they felt all hope was lost, only to discover the peace and joy that comes from reading the Good News.

At the age of 45, I lost my job and began drinking heavily. Eventually, my drinking problem and my overall demeanor became so terrible that my wife of 27 years left me, and my children stopped speaking to me. I lost our home, both our cars, and essentially all our possessions. I was a homeless man left to wander the streets. I ate out of garbage cans. I drank anything with alcohol in it. I was truly a lost soul.

I stayed that way for three long years until I finally decided to check into a Samaritan Shelter. While there, I learned where I could buy drugs. One night, when I decided I had suffered all I could stand, I bought a large amount of heroin. My intention was to inject the entire amount at once in an effort to kill myself. With the money I had left, I checked into a hotel. As I sat on the bed with the drugs next to me, I opened the nightstand drawer in hopes of finding a notepad on which to scribble a few last words. Instead, I found a Bible.

As I sat on the bed with the drugs next to me, I opened the nightstand drawer in hopes of finding a notepad on which to scribble a few last words. Instead, I found a Bible.

I turned to John 3, a Scripture reference I remembered from many years ago when I attended church. When I came across John 3:16, I set the Bible down and prayed, “God, if you came to save the world, please save me.” At once, I felt as if a light was shining on me, and I knew that I was not only loved, but my life meant something to God. I flushed the drugs down the toilet, and I gave my life to God.

Today, I am employed at a convenience store as a clerk. I live in a small apartment, and I have reconnected with my wife and family. Together we attend of small country church outside of town.

Thank you, Gideons, for providing that Bible. For me, it was the difference between life and death.

Anonymous email received 2/1/2016

A Blessed Effort

Others have told us they were overjoyed to find a Bible waiting for them in the hotel nightstand while far away from home.

Dear Sir:

It is 9 a.m., and I have been up for over 24 hours. I just walked into my hotel room after completing five beverage services and two meal services on my way from Miami to London, and my first thought when I walked into my room was, “Is there a Gideon Bible in my bedside drawer?”

I have been a flight attendant for almost 40 years. In each city where I spend the night, I have always counted on having the Gideon Bible in my hotel room and have not been disappointed.

I do not know if you have ever thought about the thousands of flight attendants you have ministered to in all these hotel rooms for all these years since aviation began. Having God’s Word in each room is an amazing miracle and I, for one, cannot say, “thank you” enough.

I know of no other organization in the world that fulfills Matthew 28:19-20 better than The Gideons. God has blessed your efforts, and they have been such an inspiration to me. You have blessed countless flight attendants who have many “homes” away from home and can always count on His Word to be there.

Submitted by Melony, from Miami, Florida

We thank God, as well as our members and donors, for making it possible to reach the hearts of so many through the placement of His Word. On behalf of the many hotel guests whose lives have been touched by these Scriptures, we offer a special thank you to hotel owners and managers for allowing Gideons to place God’s Word in their hotels.

Room for Love

Guest Contributor

Room for Love


Alt

By Rev. Hugh Palmer
April 8, 2016
Bible message delivered by Reverend Hugh Palmer at the 2015 International Convention in San Jose.

The most familiar words in all the letters to the Corinthians lie in 1 Corinthians 13. In an effort to remind ourselves of the impact of these truths, consider these verses and themes Paul writes about to the church in Corinth.

Love can be such a sloppy, sentimental word these days. Fortunately, in verses 4-7, Paul solves the problem by describing love in a very practical way, focusing on the behavioral descriptors rather than emotional. He tells us what love looks like.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endure all things.

Years ago, I was given a wonderful illustration of this passage while visiting a British public school’s religion class. The headmaster shared how he had been taught 1 Corinthians 13 by comparing love to the perfect description of a gentleman. Now, a gentleman is not just a man. He is a well-bred, well-mannered man. The headmaster said, “Just replace the word love with a gentleman.” So, looking at verse 4, I begin to understand what he meant. A gentleman is patient and kind. A gentleman doesn’t envy or boast; a gentleman is not arrogant or rude. By verse 13, you realize the lesson is over: so now faith, hope, and a gentleman abide; but the greatest of these of a gentleman.

To know why Paul writes as he does, we must go back to Corith and look at the Corinthians for whom the letter is written. The descriptors of love Paul includes is simply a list of the characteristics they lack.

Love is patient with people; puts up with hurts without retaliating. Patience is a quality you needed to survive in Corinth.

Love is kind. Love does not envy. It isn’t jealous of others’ success or gifts. Paul had to write and say, “But there is jealousy amongst you, which is why there are factions and groupings amongst you.”

Love doesn’t boast. Paul reproved the Corinthians for boasting among themselves. They were divided and full of themselves versus unified as the body of Christ and full of Him.

Love is not arrogant; however, the Corinthians were. Five times Paul warned them they were puffed up. They had an exaggerated self-perception. They overrated themselves and it let to attention-seeking behavior. Knowledge puffs up. But love, he writes to them, builds up.

Love is not rude. The Corinthians were in danger of this. He already had to write and warn them not to lead a woman on and arouse her affections and then refuse to marry, which would have been improper behavior under some false idea of love.

Love doesn’t insist on its own way. Yet, the Corinthians did just that. Their one way was really all that mattered to them. That is not love. Love is prepared to give up for the sake of others, even what we think we are entitled to.

Love is not irritable, not touchy. You know those people with the smooth smile on the surface but they’re like a volcano waiting to erupt underneath? It is almost impossible to relate to them, because you are walking on eggshells all the time. This is not a picture of Biblical love.

Love keeps no record of wrongs. Yet, don’t we all do this in one way or another? I say I forgive you one day but the next day I’m reminding you about what I forgave you for. We carry our personal score cards of injuries received, and it creeps into our language in words like always and never. You always do that. You never do this.

Love doesn’t rejoice at wrongdoing; yet, our culture often does, doesn’t it? Often the media rejoices in finding some new wrongdoing to put in front of us, and we rejoice at reading it. Do you enjoy the endless discussions of what is wrong with people, or church, or institutions? Love doesn’t rejoice in wrongdoing; it rejoices with the truth because love is moral.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. This part of the chapter reminds me of a couple I knew well. Terry was an alcoholic and many times I had taken empty bottles of alcohol off him. I got a phone call late one night from his wife. He had been drinking again and I went to see them. When everyone had calmed down and she walked me to the door, I could see the tears in her eyes and the sense of frustration in her face as she said to me, “Hugh, I can’t trust him. I feel awful about it.” I said to her, “You can’t trust him at the moment, it is not loving to trust him.”

You’ve been let down by someone and the skeptics say, “Well you won’t make that mistake again, will you?” or, “Never trust a man. Never trust a woman.” But love does. We need to understand that in the Greek and Roman world of the day and the prevailing culture, love was not a public virtue. Philanthropy, yes; but not love.

Paul encourages the Corinthians to love always, in spite of past hurts; to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things. One thing I’ve observed is God doesn’t use the most gifted people, but He uses the people who love other people without putting up walls.

When we say, “I love you,” we often mean, “I find you lovely.” Well, God loves the unlovable. Spiritual gifts from tongues to healing can be, and have been, duplicated by pagans. This quality of love cannot be replicated. It is what makes God’s church. It gives the glimpse of His character and His glory. Paul’s last arrow flies in the final paragraph as he writes in verses 8-13 that loves is as diamonds are, forever. But, gifts are not.

Destined to Love

Tom Wright, a New Testament scholar and Anglican bishop from England, spoke on these verses, “The point of this paragraph is the Church must be working in the present on things that will last into God’s future.” Faith, hope, and love will do this. Prophecy, tongues, and knowledge, so high prized in Corinth, will not. They’re merely signposts to the future. When you arrive, you no longer need signposts. Love, however, it not just a signpost. It is a foretaste of the ultimate reality. Love is not merely the Christian duty. It is the Christian destiny.

Paul is looking to Christ’s return and he is saying to these triumphant Corinthians the best is yet to come. He urged them to live for the coming of that day. So now faith, hope, and love abide. Having exposed the limitations of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge, Paul turns to what is left on the table – faith, hope, and love. Each of them links us to the eternal kingdom in a way no other gifts are able to.

Our Ultimate Ministry

It’s not the nature of the God who redeemed us to provide this new creation world for us. We’ve found our value not in our gifts, not in our position, status, or service, but in this love. In all the plans, achievements, challenges, and opportunities, have you got love sorted? Or is your ministry still too important to you to have time for love? Have all the knocks and bruises of ministry left your protective wall too high to love? Are you so full of the now you’ve lost sight of the goal?

Simply love.

The Power of A New Testament

Testimony

By KEVIN MCINTOSH
September 30, 2016

Last week, Gideons conducted the 2016 Botswana International Scripture Blitz. Early counts place the total number of Scriptures distributed at around 70,000 copies of God’s Word. The blitz team members witnessed more than 700 people pray to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Alt
Keletso proudly displays her New Testament.

One of the people to receive a New Testament from Gideons last week was a teacher named Keletso. The head teacher and deputy head teachers at the school received full Bibles, but due to the greater investment required of The Gideons to provide Bibles, the rest of the faculty and students were given New Testaments. Keletso expressed disappointment about not receiving one of the Bibles. “I need a full Bible, too, because I need to be saved,” she told Dave Lacy, a Gideon from Tennessee.

Keletso’s comment revealed what she really needed was someone to share the Gospel with her. “The Holy Spirit let me know this was my opportunity,” says Dave. “So I told Keletso, ‘You don’t need a full Bible to get saved. You can be saved today, and this New Testament you hold in your hand can show you how.’”

With one of the deputy head teachers and another teacher standing by, Dave led Keletso through the plan of salvation. After reading through those Scripture passages, Dave said, “Today, Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart. Only you can open the door of your life to Jesus. Would you like to do that today?” Keletso and the two other faculty members standing nearby acknowledged they were ready to receive Jesus. “We prayed together as they confessed their sins and received the eternal gift of salvation by confessing Jesus as their Lord and Savior,” says Dave.

After prayer, Keletso read this verse,

“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” – Romans 10:13

After she read the verse, Dave reminded Keletso she could now be certain of her salvation. “The Scripture says you ‘will be saved,’ not ‘might be saved.’”

Keletso was overjoyed. “When you gave me this book I was not happy because I did not think it was that powerful,” she said. “Now I am happy because I can see it is really a powerful book.”

At The Stairs

Testimony


Alt

By KEVIN MCINTOSH
October 19, 2016
Alt
A Gideon distributes Scriptures at the National University of Mexico during the 2016 International Scripture Blitz.

During a recent International Scripture Blitz, Gideons were distributing Scriptures at the National University of Mexico.

“As we were distributing New Testaments, a man came down the steps wearing a Dallas Cowboys shirt,” says Fred Jenkins, a Gideon from North Carolina, who was taking part in the week long blitz in Mexico City. “Dallas Cowboys. Bravo!,” Fred said to the man.

Fred asked the man if he would like a copy of God’s Word. He politely declined. However, after the crowd thinned out a little bit, the man returned and said to Fred, “Can I ask you a personal question? Why do you do this?”

Fred replied that he was a member of The Gideons International and that Gideons distribute Scriptures to reach the lost with the Gospel. Then the man said, “No, no, that’s not what I’m interested in. Why do you do this?”

Fred thought a moment and replied, “I do it because I love the Lord Jesus Christ, and He has asked us to do this.”

The man said, “I’ll be right back.”

Fred thought he’d never see the man again. However, a little while later he returned, this time with a young lady, his daughter, Sam. The man told Fred he was dropping Sam off at college, and had been trying to explain to her the most important thing in life. He said his daughter believed money, cars, and a good job were the most important things.

Her father, a Christian, wanted her to know Jesus Christ was the most important thing. He then asked Fred, “Will you tell my daughter about Jesus?”

Opening the New Testament to the back cover, Fred shared the plan of salvation. As he walked Sam through the verses, the Holy Spirit began to move on the young lady’s heart, revealing to her the preciousness of Jesus’ sacrifice so that by faith, she could receive eternal life. And in the moments to follow, Sam accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior.

Both Sam and her dad then hugged Fred. As they departed, her dad said, “Now I can leave my child here at school, because I know she’s going to heaven and we’ll be together through eternity.”