A man in Alabama who struggled with addiction for 30 years credits God for helping him through his struggles and is now sharing that good news.
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, one man is taking to the streets to share a message of hope. Jeff McDowell, who successfully overcame a 30 year addiction, now spends three days a week at the corner of 15th Street and McFarland Boulevard, where he holds up a sign that reads "God loves you." He said that he is dedicating his life to share a message of hope after God helped him overcome his addiction.
"Every time I come out here and hold that sign is to give people of Tuscaloosa or maybe somebody passing through, give them some hope and some encouragement," McDowell told WBRC. "With gas prices and the chaos going on with the world, it's already written in Scripture what it's going to be like, but these people need some hope."
Alabama Man Takes to the Streets to Give People Hope
McDowell said that he is meant to do what he does now, sharing his message of hope, because it's not a coincidence especially with the economic hardship and political unrest in the U.S. today and comparing it with the word of God, Faithpot reported. The Alabama man said that he has gotten mixed reactions to him being on the sidewalk and telling people that God loves them.
McDowell said that he has gotten a few "honks" and some unpleasant responses. Despite some discouragement, the Alabama man believes that it is his mission to be there and share his message of hope with others. As Scripture said in John 15:9, "As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you: continue you in My love."
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Alabama Community Grapples with Recent Shooting
Alabama could use some hope from God, especially after the recent shooting at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills on Thursday, which resulted in the deaths of an 84 year old man, 84 year old woman, and a 76 year old woman, the New York Post reported. On Sunday, the Alabama church resumed service "in the wake of unfathomable loss and grief in the hope of Christ's Resurrection."
The shooter was identified as Robert Findlay Smith, a federally licensed gun dealer who was charged with capital murder on Friday. Authorities have not disclosed the motive behind the mass shooting at the Alabama church. On Thursday evening, Smith attended the church luncheon and refused when someone offered him a plate of food. That was when he pulled out a handgun and opened fire. Jim Musgrove, a church member in his 70s, hit Smith with a chair and pinned him on the ground to wrestle away his gun. Musgrove then took the gun and hit Smith on the head with it.
The Thursday attack at the Alabama church comes after several high-profile mass shootings across the U.S., including the one in Buffalo, New York, where 10 Black people were murdered at a grocery store in a racially motivated attack. In Uvalde, Texas, 19 children and two teachers were killed at an elementary school.
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