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My growing up took place on the streets of the Bronx.

Back then my life was simple—school every day, kids’ games in the neighborhood, and hot summers on the New York streets. Although life was not very complicated, I created my own confusion by starting to use alcohol and drugs as a teenager.

The story of my life was not headed for a happy ending. There was an emptiness in my life that needed to be filled, but I did not know how.

I enlisted in the Navy in 1968 and was sent first to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I ended up spending a few days in the military confinement area for being in a restricted area as a result of excessive alcohol abuse.

A short time later, I was sent to Vietnam.

During the war, I continued a life of aimlessness with regular alcohol and drug abuse. But on a cool evening in March 1971 in a Vietnamese village, I received a nearly fatal gunshot wound from friendly fire. I was not expected to live through the operation, but the Lord had other plans for my life. I received an honorable discharge from the Navy in June 1971.

After the war, I returned to life in New York and to increased drug use. Like many of my peers, I dropped out of society and sought to live for myself and my personal pleasures. I was without direction and did not even know it.

Then something changed.

A friend of mine disappeared from our little band of hippies. He was gone for about six months. When he returned, he said something had taken place in his life. He could not quite explain what had happened, but he gave me a Bible and asked me to start reading it.

I left New York shortly afterwards and headed to Florida. I moved into a small home and began working for myself. It seemed like the ideal situation. I worked when I wanted to and played the rest of the time. I had no responsibilities and no ties. Inside, however, there was this emptiness that could not be filled with pleasure or drugs or the “free life.” It was during that time that a middle-aged couple living near my home invited me to an Evangelical church to hear what the Bible said about future events.

I not only heard about the future according to the Bible, but also about my personal future. Things looked very bad for me until, for the first time in my life ...

I heard how much God loved me.

I heard how God had given His Son, Jesus Christ, to die in my place. He died for my sin, my drug abuse, my selfishness and my lifestyle of living apart from Him. The message was not one that described a new religion or a new set of rules, but a relationship with the living God who loved me and died for my sin and shame. This was the message I had longed for without even knowing it. The emptiness and void in my life was filled by the person of Christ Himself.

I accepted Him as my Savior.

It was an exchange. I gave Him my sin and He gave me forgiveness and eternal life.

I was keenly aware of the need of others to hear the Good News of salvation through a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. I wanted to share that news with all who would listen. My family and friends needed to hear that forgiveness and eternal life was a gift to be received, not a reward to be earned by good deeds or religious observances.

That is what this Bronx story is all about.

To speak about the one true God and what His Son, Jesus Christ, has done for mankind. You can make that same exchange. Your sin for His forgiveness and eternal life. He will fill the emptiness and will give you hope for the present and for all eternity.

Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16

If you are reading this and realize that you have not put your complete trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for new life and forgiveness, then I encourage you to pray and ask Him to forgive you right now.

“Dear Lord Jesus, right now I put my trust in you as the Son of God and my only way of forgiveness, because you promised to take my sins away by dying on the cross for me, and rising from the dead, proving that you overcame death and sin. Thank you for your gift of eternal life. Amen.”

Remember no prayer will save you.

Only faith (trust) in Christ will save you from your sins. Prayer expresses our faith in Christ.

It is my heart’s desire that my story from the streets of the Bronx will help your story have an eternally happy ending!

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