Baptism Wish of Terminal Cancer Patient Granted: She Wants to Get Her 'Heart Right With God'
It's never too late to accept Jesus Christ into one's life—even when one is on the brink of death.
A pastor from Tennessee made sure of this when he recently granted the wish of an elderly patient stricken with terminal cancer who wanted to be baptised at the Saint Thomas River Park Hospital in McMinnville, Tennessee, where she was confined, CBN News reported.
Pastor Jeffrey Kelsey of Campaign Church of God in Rock Island performed the special baptism, a video of which was posted on the church's Facebook page on Jan. 17.
The unidentified woman, according to Kelsey, said she wanted to be baptised to get her "heart right with God."
The pastor said he readily accepted the request conveyed by hospital officials.
In the video, the pastor and a hospital aide are seen placing the woman in a hospital bathtub. "It was a therapy pool they use for therapy patients. They had some nice warm water in it," Kelsey said.
Explaining the video, the pastor said he first quoted John 3:16—"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."
She repeated the verse after him.
Kelsey said he then read to her Romans 10:9-10—"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."
He asked her if she believed, and she replied, "yes."
Kelsey then proceeded to lead her in the sinner's prayer and she began to repeat the words, "getting ahead of me, with tears streaming down her face."
After the baptism rites, a group of nurses surrounded the woman and prayed.
"What a wonderful experience it was, to be called on and then used of God to help lead someone to Jesus!" Kelsey said.
The pastor said he hopes that the woman's show of faith will give hope to others.
"It's never too late to get your heart right with God. It doesn't matter how old you are or what you've done," he said.
