God’s Power Principle For Today: “Do not fear for I am with you: do not be dismayed, for I am your
God. I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isa. 41:10).
Hey Gang, as I reread this verse, for the umpteenth time, it
brought to memory a story told by an old-salt evangelist many years ago at the
Christian Retreat Center in Florida. He
had been a very successful business executive, even an important cog in the early
development of NASA. However, he allowed
alcohol to totally destroy his marriage and nearly his life. But, when at the lowest point in his life,
having lost his bride, his family and his business, God reached down, as He did
with Saul on the Damascus Road, and said, “I’ll take that one”.
He told the story of a time when he was invited to visit and
preach at the worst of the worst prisons in Georgia. An invitation that he readily accepted. When he arrived he was ushered into the cell
block that held the least dangerous prisoners and from there worked his way in to
the most restricted areas.
As he was preparing to leave he asked if there were any
prisoner that he had missed. The warden
warned, "Yes, one area, but you do not want to go there". We cannot insure your protection, but he
would not take no for an answer. After signing a waiver saying he would not
hold the prison responsible, if anything should happen to him, they opened the
cell block door and let him enter.
While ministering to a group of prisoners, one, who had a
reputation for being the worst of the worse, came up behind him with a sheave, and
threatened to kill him. Hill’s response,
“You can’t. You can only kill this shell
that houses me. If you push that thing
into me, I am immediately leaving to go and be with my heavenly Father, so go
for it.”
To make the longer story short, not only did the con drop
the sheave but also dropped to his knees and asked God to forgive him. The con later related, “As the evangelist
talked, the words planted by a saintly grandmother many years before began to
surface in his mind and heart. He not
only went through a miraculous transformation but became a strong witness in
the cell block until he was released.
Soooo, friends and neighbors, it is not likely you will run
into the worst con in the cell block today, but I suspect you can take it to
the bank that you will cross paths with someone that is hurting deep inside’ someone
who needs a friend to let them know there is a Savior, Christ the Lord, who
stands at the door of their heart seeking entry. There is no greater joy in the world than to
witness the transformation of a person, who has no hope, to a Kings Kid.
Blessings,
Gramps
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