Delivered From Marrying a Rapist
Yesterday (Resurrection Sunday/Easter) I kind of got a glimpse into the meaning of "Jesus died in my place," "I died with Him in baptism," and "It is no longer I but Christ who lives in me." Maybe that was my Easter present from God.
For one thing I shared with my brother Michael all the ways Providence delivered me from marrying very much the wrong person many years ago. I hadn't thought about it for awhile but like here are a few examples. OK, are you ready for stranger than fiction? I don't really care if it seems off the wall and you would not have been stupid enough to do this but here it is anyway. I was about ready to marry a convicted rapist. Yes. That's what I said. A rapist. OK. I know this is crazy. You can quit reading now if you want to.
This was in 1988 or 1989. I had been saved approximately 10 years (born again, new creature, regenerated, forgiven, become a Christian, repented, did a 180, life turned around, got right with God, whatever you want to call it...) I met him because some people I knew in South Louisiana (where I had moved to play music with Joe Barry who had become a Christian) went to prison ministry in Angola, La.
I had been divorced and moved back to Kansas. This friend of mine gave my PHONE NUMBER to this guy. Well. I'm trying to make this short. He started calling me and paying me lots of attention and being on the rebound and/or just plain dumb, I fell for this guy. He wanted to marry me sight unseen. At LEAST I had the presence of mind to move down there and meet him in person. Thank GOD.
Long story short the first time I planned to marry him, I walked out the door of my house in Baton Rouge to a DELUGE. No way I could have driven anywhere. Later that day it clears up. I drive up there to meet with him. We make up (he's mad at me because I didn't drive in the deluge).
We agree to go see the warden. Just so happens he has just gone home for the day! It took me a couple more visits before I got the hint that God was trying to keep me from marrying this guy but I finally got it.
Now you may not be as dumb as me or as vulnerable as me or as sinful as me or anything else as me. And you may say those events were just "coincidence." But they don't begin to tell the many ways God has delivered me from terrible things in the past 35 years.
I lived half my life in unrepentant sin and now I have lived half my life in Jesus Christ and I just have to say thank God He came to save me. Thank God He continues to save me. Thank God He is coming back to right every wrong. It is not I who lives but Christ who lives in me. I still carry around this old nature. Wish I didn't but I do and like they say Thank God I'm not who I was. So in Christ's stead I say to you as did the Apostle Paul, "Be reconciled to God" if you haven't already.
I love you and God loves you and thank you for being my friend.
For one thing I shared with my brother Michael all the ways Providence delivered me from marrying very much the wrong person many years ago. I hadn't thought about it for awhile but like here are a few examples. OK, are you ready for stranger than fiction? I don't really care if it seems off the wall and you would not have been stupid enough to do this but here it is anyway. I was about ready to marry a convicted rapist. Yes. That's what I said. A rapist. OK. I know this is crazy. You can quit reading now if you want to.
This was in 1988 or 1989. I had been saved approximately 10 years (born again, new creature, regenerated, forgiven, become a Christian, repented, did a 180, life turned around, got right with God, whatever you want to call it...) I met him because some people I knew in South Louisiana (where I had moved to play music with Joe Barry who had become a Christian) went to prison ministry in Angola, La.
I had been divorced and moved back to Kansas. This friend of mine gave my PHONE NUMBER to this guy. Well. I'm trying to make this short. He started calling me and paying me lots of attention and being on the rebound and/or just plain dumb, I fell for this guy. He wanted to marry me sight unseen. At LEAST I had the presence of mind to move down there and meet him in person. Thank GOD.
Long story short the first time I planned to marry him, I walked out the door of my house in Baton Rouge to a DELUGE. No way I could have driven anywhere. Later that day it clears up. I drive up there to meet with him. We make up (he's mad at me because I didn't drive in the deluge).
We agree to go see the warden. Just so happens he has just gone home for the day! It took me a couple more visits before I got the hint that God was trying to keep me from marrying this guy but I finally got it.
Now you may not be as dumb as me or as vulnerable as me or as sinful as me or anything else as me. And you may say those events were just "coincidence." But they don't begin to tell the many ways God has delivered me from terrible things in the past 35 years.
I lived half my life in unrepentant sin and now I have lived half my life in Jesus Christ and I just have to say thank God He came to save me. Thank God He continues to save me. Thank God He is coming back to right every wrong. It is not I who lives but Christ who lives in me. I still carry around this old nature. Wish I didn't but I do and like they say Thank God I'm not who I was. So in Christ's stead I say to you as did the Apostle Paul, "Be reconciled to God" if you haven't already.
I love you and God loves you and thank you for being my friend.
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