Apr 21, 2019At least 207 individuals have been killed, and over 400 others injured, as six, near simultaneous explosions occurred in Sri Lanka. Three churches and three hotels known to house foreign guests were targeted. It is not yet certain who is behind the attacks. Please pray for the families of the deceased. Please pray for healing for the injured. Please pray for peace.
Apr 07, 2019Follow along on a Journey Through Holy Week with The Forgiveness Foundation Christian Ministires! Our Holy Week Jounrey begins Palm Sunday - April 14, 2019!
Apr 14, 2019Jesus rides the donkey into Jerusalem where He is greeted by crowds who had thrown their coats down for Jesus to pass over as others waved Palm branches (Palm Sunday tradition in the church) and proclaiming Hosanna to the Son of David…(Matthew 21:46-11)
Apr 15, 2019Jesus continued to the temple where temple leaders challenged Jesus’ authority. (Matthew 21:23-28)
Apr 16, 2019Immediately upon arriving at the temple Jesus is challenged by the temple leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Jesus rebukes them with parables disclosing that their faith is only a show and in fact their temple service is all for financial gain.
Apr 17, 2019The Bible does not have an account of what Jesus did on day 4 of Holy Week. Jesus had a habit, a habit that He never broke. Jesus’ habit was not fueled by compulsion. It was fueled by love.
Apr 18, 2019It is after sundown, on that evening, that Thursday evening, the 5th day of Holy Week, during the Last Supper, Jesus established the Lord’s Supper, or Communion.
Apr 19, 2019The moment the curtain split in the temple Jesus, not priests, rabbis, or preachers, Jesus became our intercessor with God. Jesus is our direct line, our life line, to God. Our relationship with God is personal.
Apr 20, 2019
Apr 21, 2019HE IS RISEN! JESUS IS RISEN!
Mar 04, 2019We are very excited to share with you our newly designed website! Our look may have changed, but our mission remains the same - sharing God’s word throughout the world. As with any new project, there may be a few wrinkles to work out; please bear with us!
Updated: Wednesday, May 16, 2018 7:55 pm EDT
Texas has carried out the execution of Juan Castillo. Read more about the execution here.
Updated: Monday, May 14, 2018 9:02 pm EDT
The Supreme Court of the United States has rejected a request to halt the execution of Juan Castillo. Juan has also been denied clemency by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Their vote was 6-0 against granting clemency.
Updated: Monday, May 14, 2018 11:44 am EDT
Juan Edward Castillo's execution is scheduled to occur at 6 pm CDT, on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, at the Walls Unit of the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. Thirty-seven-year-old Juan is convicted of the murder of 19-year-old Tommy Garcia, Jr., on December 3, 2003, in San Antonio, Texas. Juan has spent the last 12 years of his life on Texas’ death row.
Juan had previously worked as a cook and a laborer. He was previously convicted of deadly conduct with a firearm. During the trial, witnesses also testified that Juan was a violent man, threatening and beating the mother of his child. Additionally, he had previously shot a man during a road rage incident, boasted about similar crimes, and bragged about committing home invasions and robberies.
In December 2003, Juan Castillo was dating Debra Espinosa. Late on December 2, and during the early morning hours of December 3, 2003, the couple was with Francisco Gonzales, a friend of Castillo, and Gonzales’ girlfriend Teresa Quintero. The four of them created a plan to rob Tommy Garcia, Jr., with whom Espinosa had previously been intimate.
Espinosa was to take Tommy to secluded spot in a residential neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas. Castillo and Gonzales, in masks and armed with guns, would storm the car and rob Tommy. Espinosa would play along, as if she were a victim too. Quintero would serve as the get away driver from Castillo and Gonzales. During the ensuing robbery, Tommy was shot and killed by Castillo, according to the others.
Gonzales was arrested by the police as he fled from the scene, with Espinosa arrested a short time later. Both agreed to testify against Castillo in exchange for a reduced charge and a sentence of forty years in prison. Gonzales and Espinosa testified that Castillo took the lead in planning the robbery. They also testified that he was the person who shot and killed Tommy.
Some of Gonzales’s family members also testified that they heard Castillo confess to the crime and speak of how he hid the evidence. Two of Tommy’s friends testified that they were with him when he received a phone call to meet up with Espinosa. Shortly thereafter, they received a phone call from a hysterical Espinosa, who said that Tommy had been shot. Castillo had also been seen wearing a distinctive necklace that Tommy had been wearing the night he was killed.
Castillo was convicted. During the punishment phase of the trial, Castillo elected to represent himself, a move that was allowed after the court determined Castillo was making a knowing and voluntary decision. His two appointed attorneys remained as stand-by counsel. Castillo was sentenced to death.
Juan Castillo was previously scheduled to be executed on Thursday, September 7, 2017. His execution was delayed at the request of the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office. They requested that Juan’s execution be rescheduled due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey days before. In their request, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office noted that several members of Juan’s legal defense lived and worked in the Houston area, which was hit particularly hard by the hurricane, with torrential rain and flooding. The request was granted and the execution rescheduled for December 14, 2017. The December execution was stayed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in order to all time to investigate false testimony. Ultimately, it was ruled that the testimony of the witness who recanted was not pivotal to the case.
Please pray for peace and healing for the family of Tommy Garcia. Pleas pray for strength for the family of Juan. Please pray that Juan is innocent, lacks the competency to be executed, or should not be executed for any other reason, that evidence will be presented prior to his execution. Please pray that Juan may come to find peace through a personal relationship with the Lord, if he has not already.
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