A Man Rejected

My name is Bob Hyer. I am a Pastor/Evangelist and retired NYC Police officer. I was like most people in the world today, lost and without a purpose. But that all changed on January 22, 2012 when I received Jesus Christ into my life as my Savior. My Childhood I was born in June 1967 in the Bronx NYC. I was raised in Brooklyn’s Bushwick section in the late 60’s and 70’s—it was a drug-infested and high-crime area. My mother and I lived in a 5th floor walk up. My mother was a single mom and worked hard to raise me. I never met my father. The area was rough to grow up in, but even harder without a male figure in the home. When I was about twelve years old, my mother came home and told me my dad had just died of a heart attack. I really had no feelings or remorse because I had never met or spoken to him. When I was about fifteen, I interrupted a few burglaries in my apartment and actually caught the perpetrators. This put me on the path to become a NYC police officer, which I did on July 28, 1987 at the age of twenty. MY TIME AS A COP After graduation, I was sent to the lower east side know as Alphabet city, the crack capital of NYC in the 80’s. I saw people overdosing and literally dying on the streets. I saw babies born who were hooked on crack and heroin—what a birth into an ugly and dark world! After six months of training, I was sent in July 1988 to Mid-Town South, which is Times Square. I was on footpost for the first year in front of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. At the age of twenty one, I was introduced to the dark and evil world of pornography and prostitution. Not too many people know, but Times Square can be a dark and demonic place. At first, I thought it was all normal, especially coming from where I grew up. But then there were things I have never heard or saw before. I saw young boys who worked as prostitutes and young girls who were hooked on drugs. There were crack dealers on every block and adult porn movie theaters all over Times Square (probably over two dozen in a five block area). These theaters served in many functions—selling every type of drug imaginable and serving as a place for prostitution. It seemed like the whole world came to Times Square just to commit unspeakable crimes. On a nightly basis, there were overdosing deaths, murders, and rapes. I’ve learned that drugs affect every age, race, and color in this world. Eventually, I did go on to work in Harlem and finish up in Transit Police. The NYC subways had their own dark horrors of death. To help escape all of this death and darkness, I drank alcohol as a coping mechanism. To me, the bar scene became the only way I could deal with death, so I drank because no one else could understand. Being surrounded by so much darkness also made me question that if there was a God, how could He allow so much death and abuse? In my early 30’s, I had a crushing blow when I found out my father was still alive and I was the result of an affair. How did I handle this? I reached out for my old friend—a bottle. I tried to reach out to my father, but he rejected me on his deathbed. Hearing him say “I don’t have a son” hurt so deep that I couldn’t even explain the pain. I kept my friend (the bottle) close to me, but it cost me a lot—divorce, getting in trouble on the job, etc. I did my twenty and got out. I remarried and got a good job, but the booze was still a big part of our lives. My wife, Lucy, had the call to go back to church and God—but not me! On one Sunday, I did try it just to please her and so she wouldn’t have to go alone. My life completely changed on that day. A New Life Begins Well, I went one Sunday and the Holy Spirit hit me like a truck. I got saved on January 22, 2012 and I was baptized on March 18, 2012. Jesus says in John 3:3, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” After putting my faith in Jesus, I stopped drinking. No human or religion brought me freedom from alcohol—only the help of Jesus did. Just through praying to Jesus, He freed me from the dark world of alcohol! Freedom in Christ Because of that freedom, I no longer have anger towards my father—just love. That’s the freedom of Jesus! Since then, I have become a Pastor and Chaplain for the Billy Graham Rapid response team. But the most amazing thing my wife, Lucy, and I have is a street ministry called God Servants. Twice a month, we physically and spiritually feed people. And guess where—only God can work this way—at the Port Authority Bus Terminal! Yes, the very same place I walked a foot post thirty years ago is now the place where we feed people with food and the Gospel of Christ. What an amazing God we serve! In Conclusion This is not just an interesting human story—this is a life-changing event. You see, there are two possible ends to my story and yours—it’s either Heaven or Hell. Unless we change course, each of us is on the road to Hell. But there is good news my friends. You see, God loves you so much that He became a man. God sent His Son, Jesus, to deliver us from sin and the grave. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” My friends, we can’t buy our way into heaven. Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” To be forgiven, we must recognize and repent of our sins, putting our trust in what Jesus has done for us. Forgiveness is not automatic! Hey it took a relationship with Jesus for me to forgive my earthly father—let’s make things right with God! Confess your sinfulness and accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on your behalf! Thank you for reading this. May God bless you! I love you all like Christ loved us. —Pastor Bob Hyer