78-year-old Tona Herndon of Bethany, Oklahoma, was still grieving after the loss
of her husband of 60 years. She was visiting her husband’s grave two weeks after
he died when she became the subject of a crime. As she was getting back into her
car at the cemetery, a man surprised her and violently snatched her purse from
her arm.
In her purse were all of her credit cards, her personal information, and $700
cash.
Police say this man tried to use one of her credit cards at a nearby
Neighborhood Wal-Mart. A surveillance camera caught him leaving the store. This
enabled the police to apprehend the robber. The incident and the mug shot of the
robber were later reported on television news.
15-year-old Christian Lunsford was watching the news and instantly recognized
the robber’s picture. It was his father. His parents were divorced when he was
2-years-old. Christian told CBS News that his father was mostly absent all of
his life and in-and-out of jail over half a dozen times. The last time Christian
heard from his father was a few weeks prior to seeing his mug shot on TV. His
father had given him $250 so that he could go on a trip with his high school
marching band.
Having seen and heard about his father’s latest crime, Christian resolved to do
something for the grieving widow whom his dad had robbed. He arranged a meeting
with her in a church parking lot. When they met, he apologized to the woman for
his father’s actions. “It needed to be done,” Christian Lunsford told CBS News.
“She needed an apology from somebody. If I didn't apologize, who would?”
Christian told Herndon about the money that his father had given him for the
band trip, and pulling it out of his wallet, he gave it to her as partial
payment for his father’s crime.
“I thought that was so, so precious,” Herndon said. “Any 15-year-old boy who has
that much conscience is extraordinary.”
Herndon told Steve Hartman of CBS News that she accepted the money back and that
it was hers to do with what she wanted. After receiving the money from his
hands,
Herndon said to Christian, “I want you to go on your band trip.” And she gave
the money back to him. *
Due to our sin, YOU and I owe a tremendous debt. We do not have enough resources
to “pay” the debt for even one of our sins.
But Someone has paid our debt for us.....
God loves us so much that He gave His Son (John 3:16) to pay the debt for our
sins. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
The blood of Jesus removes the debt of those who will: place their faith and
trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), repent of their sin (2 Corinthians 7:9-10),
confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) in the
name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). The blood of Jesus
continues to keep one’s record clean as he continues to live for the One who
made His redemption possible (1 John 1:7).
When we accept God’s forgiveness on His terms, we are able to sing “a new song”
(words by Ellis J. Crum):
“He paid a debt he did not owe
I owed a debt I could not pay
I needed someone, to wash my sins away
And NOW I sing a brand new song, ‘Amazing Grace.’
Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.”
Won’t YOU allow the blood of Christ to cover the debt of YOUR sin by submitting
YOUR life to Him in trusting obedience?
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.