Corrie ten Boom, Her Story (continued)
19. Hi, Brother!
LET ME TELL you about a prisoner I met some years ago in Bermuda. I had spoken to a big group in the prison, and a black guard asked me, "Will you go with me to some cells where there are people who really need your advice?" I went into that part of the prison where the men were kept who were not even allowed to attend meetings.
I saw two men ina cell. One of them had a round, red tag on his back. "Has that man tried to run away?" | asked the guard. "Yes," he replied. "How do you know that?" "Because of the red tag on the back of his uniform. I have been in three prisons, and we were also forced te wear red tags on our uniforms, if we tried to run away."
"This man is a murderer, and he was sentenced to whippings. He was so afraid of the whippings that he tried to run away. Poor fellow, he has had a double portion."
When I saw him sitting there on the floor, the expression on his face reminded me of a wounded animal, and my heart went out to him. I prayed, "Lord, help me to find a way to his heart." I went to him with my Bible in my hand and asked him, "Say, fellow, have you had a whipping?" mesa "Was it bad?" sees "Did they take you to the hospital afterwards?" "No, it was not that serious."
JESUS IS VICTOR 415
He stood up and came to the barred door, probably thinking to himself, "That woman is sure asking me strange questions!"
Then I asked, "Did they treat your wounds?"
"Yes, they did. They rubbed them."
"Is there hatred in your heart?" "Hatred? My whole heart and my whole life are full of hatred."
"T can understand that."
"Ha! Yous ~ Then I told him how I had felt when they whipped my sister, because she was too frail and weak to shovel sand. How hatred had come into my heart!
But I said, "Fellow, a miracle happened then. Jesus brought into my heart God's love through the Holy Spirit, and I had no hatred. I could forgive.
"And when you receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour, He will fill your heart— not with hatred but with love. How do you do it? You just come to Him and say, 'Lord Jesus, will You be my Saviour?' The Lord is willing to be that. Then you must ask Him to come into your heart. And He will come, because it is written in the Bible, and the Bible is true. Jesus said: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him....
Revelation 3:20 "Fellow, when the Lord Jesus comes into your heart, there is love in your heart. The worst may happen in your life, but the best remains."
I prayed with that man, and then he prayed. I believe I had never heard such a strange prayer. The man had never prayed before, but one of the things he did was thank Jesus that He had died for him on the cross.
Have you ever thanked Jesus for that?
I shook hands with the man. Then he said, "Have you another five minutes?"
"Sure. Why?" "On the other side of the corridor, in the third cell, is a man in great darkness.
Please, tell him also of Jesus."
I went to the man in the third cell. I told him about Jesus, and how I prayed for him! When you speak about Jesus, you can always pray at the same time. You can have the vertical and the horizontal connection at the same moment.
The man in the third cell said his yes to Jesus. I mean a real yes—a decision.
I had to leave the prison then, but I first passed the cell of the murderer. "Say, fellow, that was good that you sent me to the third cell. He also has accepted Jesus
Christ as his Saviour and Lord."
The man looked around me and shouted across the corridor, "Hi, brother!" A babe in Christ, a few minutes old, and he already had a burden for souls. How old are you?
When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun! All these new things are from God who brought us back to himself through what Christ Jesus did. And God has given us the privilege of urging everyone to come into his favor and be reconciled to him. For God was in Christ, restoring the world to himself, no longer counting men's sins against them but blotting them out. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are Christ's ambassadors. God is using us to speak to you: we beg you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, receive the love he offers you—be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:17-20 LB