[willowbrook] Fwd: Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more

[Doug Taylor]

---------- Forwarded message ----------

     "My name is Maria," she said.  Luis recognized her last name as
that of a large family of wealth and influence.  "I am the secretary
of the Communist Party here in Ecuador.  I am a Marxist-Leninist, and
I am a materialist.  I don't believe in God."

     With that she took off on another nonstop tirade against all
preachers and priests, the church, the Bible, and anything else she
could think of that rivaled her beliefs.
. . .

     Luis let her talk without interruption.  He kept praying, When
will she reveal her vulnerability?  When will the opening come?  Three
hours after she began, the opportunity finally arrived.

     "Listen, Palau," Maria said, "supposing there is a God—and I'm
not saying there is, because I don't believe in the Bible, and I don't
believe there's a God—but just supposing there is.  Just for the sake
of chatting about it, if there is a God—which there isn't—do you think
He would receive a woman like me?"

     So this poor, frightened, little woman with the big façade has a
chink in her armor, after all! Luis thought.  He recalled what he had
studied years before in Dr. R. A. Torrey's book How to Work for
Christ: When dealing with a professed atheist, take one verse from the
Bible and stay with it, repeating it as many times as necessary until
it sticks.

     Which verse suits her? Luis wondered.  As he prayed, the Lord
reminded him of one of his favorite verses, Hebrews 10:17: " 'Their
sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more'" (nkjv).

     He said, "Look, Maria, don't worry about what I think; look at
what God thinks."  He opened to the verse and turned the Bible so she
could see it.

     "But I don't believe in the Bi—"

     "You've already told me that," he said.  "But we're just
supposing there's a God, right?  Let's just suppose this is His Word. 
He says, 'Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no
more.'"

     She waited, as if there had to be more.  Luis said nothing.  "But
listen; I've been an adulteress, married three times, and in bed with
a lot of different men."

     Luis repeated, " 'Their sins and their lawless deeds I will
remember no more.'"

     "But I haven't told you half my story."  I stabbed a comrade who
later committed suicide."

     " 'Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.'"

     "I've led student riots where people were killed!"

     " 'Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.'"

     "I egged on my friends and then hid while they were out dying for
the cause."

     " 'Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.'"

     Seventeen times Luis responded to Maria's objections and
confessions with that one Bible verse.  It was past lunchtime.  Tired
and weak, Luis finally said, "Would you like Christ to forgive all
that you've told me about, and all the rest that I don't even know?"

     Maria was quiet.  Finally she spoke softly, "If He could forgive
me and change me, it would be the greatest miracle in the world." 
Luis led her in a simple prayer of commitment.  By the end, she was
crying.

=============

Taken from Luis Palau: Evangelist to the World (Heroes of the Faith series)

Copyright (c) 2000 by Ellen Bascuti

--
  Doug Taylor
  256.880.0704 (h)
  256.881.9933 x350 (w)
  mailto:dvtaylor at gmail.com

  Love God.
  Love others.
  Any questions?