February 27, 2012

Friend of The Forgiveness Foundation

Re: March 2012 Newsletter

Dear Friend,

The upheaval in Afghanistan over the United States’ military forces mistakenly burning the Quran is saddening. Nowhere in the Gospels will Jesus be found desecrating the Books of Worship of another faith. The closest thing to such is Jesus removing the money changers from the temple, His Father’s house. The Bible states he threw the money changers out of the temple – He did not kill them. Tolerance is a greatly misused word today. Tolerance requires us to allow a person of different faith to worship his god. Tolerance does not mean that we give up our beliefs, accept a universal god, nor does it stop a person of any faith from advocating their faith. Tolerance is a word that implies peaceful co-existence. It does not imply nor mean acceptance of the ways of another. As saddening as it was to learn of the United States’ military forces mistakenly burning the Quran in Afghanistan – it is deeply troubling to learn of the violent reaction of some Muslim people. 

As Christians we need to pray for all people who practice violence to seek peaceful resolutions to their problems. We also need to remember Jesus’ instructions on sharing our faith in Him, “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. (16) Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:15-16 (NIV) As Christians, our mission is to share the Gospel in word and in deed. It is not to force someone to believe something they do not believe. It cannot be done. The consequence of unbelief is in the Lord’s hands and not ours. Our instruction is simple; share the Gospel (Good News) The most important thing you do in your life is to share the Gospel with someone. Have you shared the Gospel with someone recently?

The Forgiveness Foundation 14 Days of Prayer: The Forgiveness Foundation’s (TFF’s) 14 days of special prayer is coming to a close. This does not mean it is time to stop praying. Our wish at TFF is that you continue to pray for this ministry and for the men and women on death row in the United States. It is our prayer that you continue to send your prayer requests to us at, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and allow us to pray for you. It is TFF’s prayer that your prayer life has grown to greater Biblical understanding of prayer during these 14 days of special prayer. God likes to hear from each one of us.

Each month we ask you to pray for the men and women who are scheduled to be executed that particular month. There are 3,151 men and women on death row some of which are innocent of the crime for which they have been convicted. I encourage you to pray for all the men and women who are on death row. Pray for their salvation. Pray for peace if they are saved. Pray for the truth to come forward regarding the innocent men and women on death row. Can you imagine anything worse than being in prison, waiting to be executed, for a murder you did not commit?

John Spirko has been fighting his case, claiming his innocence for murdering a United States’ postal employee, since being sentenced to die by the State of Ohio in 1982.  John will be 66 years old on June 13^th.  On December 21^st he will have spent 30 years in an Ohio prison for a murder that it appears unlikely he committed.  Two years ago, John’s sentence was commuted from death to life without the possibility of parole because of former Governors Taft and Strickland of Ohio granted him more stays of execution than any prisoner in the State of Ohio had ever been granted. Why? Neither former Governor Taft nor former Governor Strickland, after reviewing John’s file, were convinced that John had committed the murder for which he is convicted. Former Governor Strickland commuted John’s sentence to life without possibility of parole. These actions removed John from death row at the Ohio State Prison to the general population at Toledo Correctional Institution. Contrary to the thinking of most Americans, it is much easier to put an innocent man in prison than to get an innocent man out. Please pray for John who struggles with understanding how a loving God can allow this to happen to him. Please pray for salvation and for God to reveal the truth about John’s case.

Eight men are scheduled to be executed during the month of March:

Please pray for Michael, Keith, Robert, Dustin, Timothy, Briley, Jesse, and Tommy. Pray for salvation if unsaved, peace if saved, and if any of these men are innocent that it be discovered before they are executed. Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ died for the forgiveness of Michael, Keith, Robert, Dustin, Timothy, Briley, Jesse, and Tommy’s sins at Calvary. All that remains is for them to accept Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior to receive the free gift of salvation and eternal life. Please pray earnestly for these men, keeping in mind that in God’s eyes, murder is a sin and in the eyes of Nebraska, Texas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Arizona, South Dakota, and Alabama, murder is a crime that, in these cases, is punishable by death. At Calvary, over 2,000 years ago, Jesus accepted the punishment for the sin of the murders these men committed and now they need to accept the salvation and forgiveness Jesus desires to give them. 

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV) Do you want to share the Gospel with men and women on death row? Do you want to share the Gospel with men, women, and young people all over the world? In closing, I encourage you to help us with your prayer and financial support.  If you are unable to help us financially, I encourage you to pray for God’s provision for TFF. If you are able to make a gift to our ministry, you can make it online at, www.theforgivenessfoundation.org, click onto the PayPal logo and follow the instructions. If you prefer, you may mail your gift to The Forgiveness Foundation, 100 2^nd Street NW, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902.

Do you have a prayer need? We want to pray for you! Email your prayer request to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

                                                                            Godspeace!

                                                                            Rodney Rexrode, The Forgiveness Foundation