Wilkerson, David, Sherrill, John and Elizabeth (1963) The Cross And The Switch Blade. Forty-First Printing. USA.

Putting a fleece before the Lord, because Gideon, when he was trying to find God's will for his life, asked that a sign be made with a fleece. He placed a lamb's fleece on the ground and asked Him to send down a dew everywhere but there. In the morning, the ground was soaked with dew, but Gideon's fleece was dry: Go had granted him a sign.
"Lord, I would like to put a fleece before You now. Here we are ready to Your will if we can just find out what it is. Lord, if You want us to stay here in Philipsburg, we ask that You let us know by having the Committee vote for unanimously. And let them decide of their own accord to fix up the parsonage(A church house provided for a person eg pastor) with a decent refrigerator and stove...get rid of those cockroches (in the parsonage).
"We'll fix up the parsonage with a new stove and things and fumigate the place."


"Jesus, I need some help deciding this thing ( to give up his TV and spend his time praying for 2 hours every night, instead of watching TV), so here's what I'm asking of You. I'm going to put an ad for that set in the paper...let a buyer appear right away...within an hour...within half an hour...after the paper get on the streets...with twenty-nine minutes passed the clock... the phone rang..."I'll take it".

Then I learned how to make systematic(done or acting according to a fixed plan or system; methodical) Bible-reading a part of my prayer life...never read the Bible through, inluding all the begats(archaic past of-ancient times)...important to strike a balance between prayer of petition (requests) and prayer of praise.

Wednesday prayer meeting at church...townspeople straggled in late and tended to take seats in the rear, which is a bad sign to a preacher; it means he has a "cold" congregation to speak to.

I kept asking myself why the faces of those boys(in Life magazine pictured on trial for muder) made me choke up...126th Psalm: They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that go forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

When in doubt follow the car ahead. The car ahead, it turned out was going to upper manhatten.

So if these boys were going to change dramatically, the transformation would have to come about in their hearts. I knew I could never bring this about: it would have to be the work of the Holy Spirit. But perhaps I could act as a channel through which the Spirit could reach these boys.

...what would you say is the greatest problem boys have in this city?"
"Lonesomeness."

The Big Meeting...the collection...trust...salvation...change.

...the preachr gave me a Bible and then I went home wondering if the Holy Ghost was really inside me, and how I would know...I didn't feel scared...I had company(even though he was on his own)like the way hed feel if his mother came back...I had four pot sticks(marijuana cigarettes)...ripped them up...blood always made me go crazy...from that day blood never bothered me.

I have only one desire...to burn out for God.

Drugs in New York
12,500 ships and 18,000 airplanes arrive in New York each year, with 265 U.S. Treasury Department, Bureau of Customs men to monitor the latter.

Drug habits can cost users $3-$15 a deck for a single shot.

Pushers(dealers) target schools. Teenagers with the little money they have, get addicted and have to steal to support the habit.

Peer pressure. The force responsbile for starting to take drugs?
"A pusher gets you into his car...he's got some kids from your class in there smokking pot...Marijuana won't hurt you they say...Then they tell you it isn't habit-forming. Which it isn't: but Marijuana leads to habit-forming drugs. The pusher tries to get you to take a smoke and if you hesitate, the other boys start to laugh and call you a "chicken" and in the end you maybe give in and take one of his cigarettes. That's how I got started."

Drug addiction is responsbile for $200,000,000 a year in stolen goods in New York. Narcotics Bureau New York.

Users have to steal $25 of goods a day to support their habit. Many then have to try and become dealers to pay for their habit, contributing to more users.

Why don't they just stop?
Two hours after the effect of the final shot wears off, the user begins withdrawal symptoms...deep cravings which pulls the body from every pore...sweats, chills, shakes and rising body temperature...vomitting, hours of retching...nerves twang with excruciating pain...hallucinations and nightmares more horrible than those suffered by alcoholics...lasts three days...only one in every nine make it.

New York police department describing the effects of continued use of drugs on the body:
Teeth rotted out...appetite lost...stomach and intestines don't function properly...gall bladder becomes inflamed...eyes and skin turn bilios yellow...membranes of the nose turn flaming red...partition seperating nostrils is eaten away...breathing difficult...oxygen in blood decreases...bronchitis and tuberculosis develop...good traits of character disappear and bad ones emerge...sex organs become affected...veins collaspe and livid purplish scars remain...boils abscesses plague the skin...gnawing pain racks the body...nerves snap...vicious twitching develops...imaginary and fantastic fears blight the mind and sometimes complete insanity results...death.

Acts 1:8 Power.
John 14:26 Comforter to stand by you and give strength.
Acts 16:6 Proctection.
Ephesians 2:3-6 No longer bound by the flesh but have spiritual values.
Corinthians 3:3-5 New life.
John 16:13 You will have truth.
Ephesians 2:18 You will have access to the Father.
Romans 15:13 You will have hope.
Corinthians 3:17 Liberty.
Acts 10:44 The Holy Spirit.

"But here tonight I don't think we want to read about it. And we don't want to talk about it. We want to do it!"

Roberto (heroin user healed through Christ)
"I think I'm on top of it, David(Wilkerson). I have a tool I can use; I just come with the other boys and pray."

Teen Challenge Center
Needed $15,000 to pay mortgage. David told folks to pray to God and thank Him for the money before it had been given. It arrived on the very day of payment.



The minute we try to do things by our own power we will fail.

The Holy Spirit is in charge.
We should write it for all to see on the lintels of every doorway we build. But since that might seem like so many words, we will do better: we will write it in our lives. And in all the lives we can reach out to and touch and inspire with the living Spirit of God.

I enjoy real life events and this one really is inspirational. The faith that the author displays is awesome and the impact that the Lord has through this man is just exciting. Some interesting statistics and facts included on the affects of drugs. What is most encouraging is to read of the impact that Christ has on the characters of this book.