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Powerful
Words
92-year-old
Pauline Jacobi had just finished putting her groceries
inside her car at a
Dyersburg (TN) Wal-Mart when a man jumped into her car
through the passenger’s side door.
He told Jacobi that he had a gun and that he
would shoot her if she didn’t give him all of her
money...
“I’m
not going to give you my money,” Jacobi said.
In fact, she told him “no” three times. Then
she continued talking to him. "As quick as you
kill me I'll go to heaven and you'll go to hell,"
Jacobi said she told the man. "'Jesus is in this
car and he goes with me everywhere I go."
How
did the robber respond? "He just looked around
and the tears just began coming down his
eyes."
Jacobi
told him that God could and would forgive him.
She continued to try to reason with him and
teach him for another 10 minutes inside her car. As
tears were rolling down the man's face, Jacobi
voluntarily gave him all of the money that she had
with her, every bit of $10. "When I told him I
was going to give him the money, I said,
'Don't you go spend it on whiskey either,'"
Jacobi said.
The
man who initially intended to take all of her money by
force – even if he had to shoot her -- thanked her
for the money, reached over and kissed her on the
cheek, got out of the car, and walked away. *
The
words of Pauline Jacobi stopped
a robber in his tracks and brought tears to his eyes.
Her words probably saved her life, and may lead
to the salvation of her would-be attacker.
You
and I can identify with the would-be robber more than
we’d care to, for we have all actually committed the
“crime” of SIN (Romans 3:23).
Yet, despite our mistakes, there are some words
– some powerful words – that God, our Creator and
the One we have offended with our sins, wants us to
hear and take to heart.
The words are: “I love you” and “I forgive you.”
Our
forgiveness has been made possible through the atoning
death of Jesus, God’s Son, on the cross, where He
paid the price for our sins (1 John 2:2).
Through Christ, God WILL forgive those who believe
in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance
(Acts 17:30-31), confess
Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized
(immersed) in His name for the forgiveness of sins
(Acts 2:38). He
will continue to forgive those who continue to walk in
the light of His word (1 John 1:7).
The
“GOOD NEWS” (the Gospel) of Jesus Christ is
God’s power to salvation to everyone who responds
with an obedient faith (Romans 1:5, 16).
These are powerful, life-changing
words indeed – words of forgiveness!
YOU
can know this awesome forgiveness if
you will only submit to the Savior.
Won’t
you?
--
David
A. Sargent,
Minister
Church
of Christ at Creekwood
1901
Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
*
Information gleaned from: ”Dyersburg
grandmother witnesses to man trying to rob her,” Reported
by Nick Paranjape of Action 5 News, WMCTV, Memphis, TN -- http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?s=7456846
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