Tuesday, September 10, 2013


Several years ago I received a late night call. A desperate voice on the other end asked me to come immediately to his home. I walked in to find a tear stained face, overcome with shame and grief. This man was a dear friend. I was helping him to find his place in the ministry. But tonight there was nothing but shame and despair.
As I sat down, he began to share a tale of perversion and sin. That
night, it all came to a head. He felt he was over the edge. His secret sin had finally carried him to a point of destruction. After honestly confessing his sin to me, I asked him if he had confessed and asked God for forgiveness. I shared a few words of encouragement and got up to leave. In utter amazement he asked, “Aren’t you going to cast something out of me or deal with me?” The words sprang out of my heart, “You didn’t sin against me, you
sinned against God. If you’ve settled it with Him, it’s settled with me. I don’t discern a need for deliverance, but if you feel tempted, you take authority over it.”
As I drove home I asked the Lord, “Did I say enough? Did I say the
right things?” The Lord spoke back and said, “Because you showed him mercy, he was able to receive my mercy. Because you showed him love and acceptance, he was able to receive my love and acceptance.”
Some years later, after I had gone through some personal destruction, I saw this man in a minister’s conference. I went to talk with him. We talked briefly about the problems I had experienced. He gave me nothing but mercy and forgiveness. Then he said, “That night you came to my house, you saved my life.” The way I related to him gave him confidence about the mercy of God.
Dr Jim Richards (Excerpt from "The Gospel Of Peace")