J U S T F O R J E S U S
JFJ Founders TestimonyMy name is James Bertrand, Jr. I was born into a family of cultural Christians. By this I mean, a belief in God was more a tradition than a relationship with HIM. We attended church on holidays. My parents fought all the time. Some of my childhood memories include spaghetti on the walls and huge roaches that made horrible sounds when they flew into the walls. In 1973, my dad bought a running horse named Pass Over. Little did he know that Passover would be a world champion. My family was not listening to God, even though HE was speaking to us through what we were doing. Passover was a Cinderella story. The horse was not from a known sire or mother, but yet made it to the top. I became a jockey and by the time I was 15 years old, I was taking prescription diet pills to keep my weight down. I rode Medley Glass in the 1st race for 1 million dollars to the winner in 1977. I was living in sin though and living a troubled life. By this time I was addicted to diet pills. As my addiction grew worse, I used meth and cocaine. In 1978, I had a head on collision. God was trying to get my attention. By the grace of God I survived when I was hung on a horse during a race. In 1979, I had another head on collision, but I survived one more time without a scratch. My addiction grew worse and I began smoking crack. I had lost all respect for my life.One night in 1987, I tried to commit suicide. With my experience in the equine field, I thought I could inject something that would not dissolve and stop my heart. God had a different plan and intervened. They brought me to the hospital and amputated my arm. Now I really felt hopeless.In the bedside table of that hospital room, I picked up a small, green Gideon New Testament, but I did not stick with it at that time. I had at least ten jail experiences after that and found myself running from probation officers from state to state. I tried to start a new life in Louisiana, but I just could not get away from my addictions. I was without God. I found myself living on the streets... homeless forseveral years. One night in Baton Rouge in the last week in July of 1996, I knew God had been sending angel after angel and person after person. I sat down in the back seat of someones car that was on drugs I was high, but I reached down in the nasty floorboard and came up with a red Gideon New Testament. I opened it to John 10:10. I knew then God was showing me that the devil had been tricking me for years. Four days later I knew the Holy Spirit was trying to get me to quit! I kept over riding the conviction and was thrown in jail for possession and theft of goods. I started having dreams that God was going to use me.It made no sense to me at all..coliseums?? Big churches??? I knew nothing about ministry, but I knew I was in trouble, and God delivered me from that, by grace! I did not know why or how I was getting out .. I was now SOLD OUT ! Then I had started writing a book called The Power of 40 Day Faith. It was driven by the scripture in Acts 1:3. This scripture turned me into a REAL Christian. It pointed to something that would make my faith as the early disciples. It pointed out that Christ, after the cross, walked the earth for 40 days He proved himself through many infallible proofs He spoke to them on the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. Now I knew, for myself, that HE had risen. He did not disappear. I decided I too would have the faith of the apostles. I learned that there was 12 post resurrection appearances...and more. As I began evangelizing in 1999, a man of God came to preach at a humble church in Moss Bluff. I was invited to hear Alan Bullock. At the end of the service,he called me out and prophesied over me that the one-arm I had would be as strong as two and God would use me as a Tree of Life for the Body of Christ. Then it all started with my first All For One crusade where 3000 plus came and hundreds were saved..but in 2002 God would give me the model to bring God back into the system of education...for our students, to worship God while in school under the banner of Just For Jesus. This model would liberate teachers, principals, students and parents. Since then, weve had approximately 14 crusades in Louisiana and Texas.The last one we held was over 8000 in attendance and before the altar call some 200 stood admitting to suicide. Over 2500 stood to receive Christ and this all happens in the daytime, while they are in school, and bussed in by schools ....all of it legal! Please visit our website: www.justforjesus.tv to learn more.
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James, B.C.
(Before Christ)
James Today
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