SHE CUSSED AND SWORE
I preached the Thursday church service at Betz’s Nursing Home this week. Afterwards, I always work my way through the crowd, shaking hands with as many residents as possible before I leave. Although many of these people are a little weak in the memory department, I always treat them with the utmost respect because I think they’ve earned that. Some of them have made this world a better place for the rest of us in days gone by.
This past week a lady was waiting to see me. She used to attend church here and I have befriended her over the years. She was noticeably agitated and worried. She said to me, “I used to be a Christian.” I replied, “Used to be?”
She said, “But I began to swear. I cussed and swore.” And she began to sob.
Not many people believe that swearing will keep a person out of heaven, but she was distraught thinking that her bad language had cause her to lose her salvation. I knew that she was speaking from emotions rather than her head, so logic wasn’t going to change her feelings of condemnation.
So I reminded her of what Jesus did on the cross for her. I asked if she wanted to be forgiven and she immediately grabbed my hand and bowed her head. I led her in a prayer asking the Lord to forgive her bad language and help her to feel forgiven and whole in His presence.
After I said amen, she immediately got a smile on her face and the anxiety left her. Satan had stolen her peace, but God restored it. We can all expect Satan to attempt to steal our peace, but Jesus is our peace (Ephesians 2:14).
Tags: condemnation, forgiveness, sin
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