Pastor Jessie Byrd
Pastor of
Trinity Baptist Church
Doyline, LA
"No Fence is too High"
Teenager
When I was 16 years old, I
attended a Baptist Church in Shreveport, LA. I had listened to many
sermons about Jesus and salvation. Desiring membership in that
church, I walked the aisle when the invitation was given. I spoke to
the pastor and said all the right things to gain membership. I even
knelt at the altar and prayed a prayer with the pastor. The next
Sunday evening the church administered Baptism to me. When all was
said and done, I was just as lost as I had been before I made the
"profession of faith." All of my actions during that time were only
to gain entry into the membership of that church.
Top
Nothing Changed
Eventually I stopped attending
church services. I stopped reading my Bible and went right back to
doing all the tings I used to do. Drinking became my favorite
pastime. The things of God meant nothing to me. My life was headed
for destruction and I could not care less. I became a full-fledged
alcoholic! My precious wife pleaded with me to stop ruining my life,
but I refused to listen.
In 1982, my wife and I were
blessed with the birth of our first child. She was a beautiful
little gift from God, whom we named Josephine. When she was three
years old, she would sit at the kitchen table and imitate my sin of
drinking and smoking. She would fill a pop bottle with water and
hold a pencil in her hand and pretend to smoke it. Still, I refused
to change my lifestyle.
Top
You Can't Lock
God Out
My wife worked in the cafeteria at
Calvary Baptist Church in Shreveport. She began attending services
there on Sunday mornings, and eventually gave her life to Christ.
She was to be baptized following her profession of faith and wanted
our daughter and myself to attend her baptism. I refused to darken
the door of any church because of my sinful ways, and so I kept our
daughter at home the night of my wife's baptism and I proceeded to
get drunk.
My wife asked the church to pray
for me. Members of Calvary attempted to visit with me in our home,
but I refused to invite them in. As a matter of fact, I put up a
chain-link fence around the yard with a 12' wide double gate as
close to the street as I could get it. I knew that the visitation
night for Calvary was Monday; so every Monday evening after work, I
made sure those gates were securely locked. The church members told
my wife about their efforts to visit me, and how the gates were
always locked. My wife continued to pray and asked the church to
keep praying, too.
To make a long story short, I
forgot to lock the gates one Monday evening and a very dear friend
of mine, who just happened to be a member of Calvary Baptist Church,
came to visit. I knew he was there to talk about Jesus and I did not
want to hear anything he had to say. After all, I knew all I needed
to know about Jesus, or so I thought! My friend shared his testimony
with me and invited me to accept Christ as my personal Saviour. I
knelt down and prayed a prayer with him in the hopes that this
"Jesus freak" would soon leave.
Top
A Seed Was Planted
My friend left that night thinking
I had given my life to Christ. But, once again, I had only made a
"profession" and had never given my heart to Jesus. But, glory to
God; my friend planted a seed in my heart! I began to read the Bible
every morning before I went to work. I opened the Bible to the Book
of Revelation and began to read in Chapter 9 about those locusts
with stings in the tails like scorpions! What a frightful thing! The
Word of God literally sacred the "HELL" right out of me!! I thought
a lot about the life I had been living and realized that if I kept
on the way I was going, I would be spending eternity in what the
Bible calls "The Lake of Fire!"
Top
I
Received God's Greatest Gift
Finally, on August 12, 1988, I
read my Bible that morning as usual, but something was different. It
seemed more real to me than every before. On my way to work, God's
Holy Spirit spoke to me and I was convicted of my sins. I asked
Jesus to come into my heart and
save me. This time I meant business
with God! This time I earnestly sought God's forgiveness for my
sins, and I was
saved by His grace.
Top
No Fence Is Too
High
I had put up a fence to keep God
out, but NO FENCE IS TOO HIGH for God! I am so thankful that He
allowed my friend to come through that gate and speak to me about
Jesus! I am thankful that He has
saved my soul! If God can
save a
wretched sinner like me, He can
save any one - EVEN YOU!!
Top
The Story
Does Not End Here
On January 15, 1989, God called me
into the Gospel ministry! In 1991, God blessed us with another
child, a boy we named William Jessie Byrd. I was called into a full
time pastorate at Trinity Baptist Church in Doyline, Louisiana, on
October 20, 1996, where I have had the privilege of pastoring the
most wonderful congregation this side of Heaven. All of the praise
and glory, and honor belong to my Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ! If
you would like to receive Christ as your personal Saviour, simply
admit to Him that you are a sinner. Then, by faith, ask Him to
forgive you for your sins and commit your way to Him. Repent of your
sins (in other words, admit that your way is wrong and turn to the
way of Christ). Live your life in obedience to God and to His Word,
the Bible.
Top
Remember - ONLY
JESUS CAN SAVE YOU!!
"Jesus Saith unto him, I am the way, the truth,
and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" John 14.6
You cannot get to Heaven by
performing good works.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest
any man should boast" Ephesians 2:8-9
Ask Jesus to
save you NOW, and He
will!
Jessie Byrd, Pastor
Trinity Baptist Church
243 Watson St
Doyline, LA 71023
318-745-3472
Top
G. Steven Andres
Psalms 45:17
Missionary Evangelist
Copyright - 1996 to 2010 |
