The Rich Bootlegger And The Needle.

 The Rich Bootlegger and the Needle is a story about the conversion of a man who found God when he was put in prison, there is an ironic turn of words at the end that makes the story stick.

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In the early days of the twentieth century in the United States, there were laws banning the manufacture and sale of alcohol. Mr. Conway was already a wealthy man but he took up the business of bootlegging, he sold liquor through false businesses. He was trying to increase his wealth and was succeeding in building a small empire of manufacture and distribution of liquor to illegal nightclubs and bars.

Of course, he was caught by the police and was arrested. He was put on trial and found guilty of breaking the law. He ended up in a prison where the prisoners worked at hard labor long hours every day.

One day an old and true friend came to the prison to visit him so he may encourage him. The friend was allowed inside the prison walls and was told he would find Mr. Conway in the work yard. The friend found him sitting in the hot sun on a wooden bench at a rough work table. Mr. Conway was working with a big needle and ball of hemp twine, with dry cracked fingers he pushed the needle through heavy burlap cloth and drew the course twine through to sew burlap bags.

"Well, I see you are sewing," the friend remarked.

Looking up Mr. Conway replied, "No, I am reaping."

He was right for he was reaping what he had sown.

The Bible says, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." Galatians 6:7.
 (c)Adron Dozat 8/27/16

The Parable of The Angel's Cauldron - An Illustration for Mathew 12:36

The Angel's Caldron. a parable of the future.

The old wise pilgrim woman was fond of saying that the Good Lord gives the gift of salvation to whomever He will, but it is we who will determine our rewards; she would tell this story to illustrate her point.

Mr. Elliott died and went to stand before the Eternal Judge of all men's souls.  He was led by the angels to a chamber where many were waiting to receive the rewards for acts done in their earthly lives.  The huge chamber was filled with all kinds of noise.  The noise was coming from the front of the crowd.  Going forward, he was able to see what the noise was.  It seemed that each person was to stand before a large silver cauldron which hung over a white-hot blazing fire; as the man or woman stood before the cauldron, an angel would call from the four winds all the words the person ever said in their earthly lives.

Mr. Elliott watched as a person ahead stood in front of the cauldron.  The Angel called for the words of his life to come and fill the shiny kettle. The air was filled with mutterings and whisperings and sounds as his words filled the cauldron. The fire blazed whiter than fire ever could, and the words frothed and foamed in the pot until they became a gray sludge. The sludge bubbled down until the bottom of the kettle was the essence of all the man said.

The Angel tipped the cauldron over and spilled out the sum of his lifetime of words. The gray sludge splattered onto the ground, and the word "me" stood up to shout over and over "me, me, me," The slimy word became hundreds and thousands. They covered the man and pulled him down a gutter to disappear into a dark drain leading to the lower places of eternity.

The next man stood before the cauldron, and the Angel called forth all the words he spoke in his lifetime. The words rushed from far places and filled the chamber with sighs. They sizzled and frothed in the kettle until they were boiled down to the one word that was the heart and core of all the words he ever spoke. The Angel tipped the huge pot over, and the black sludge poured out onto the ground, and the word "Mine" declared itself. The word repeatedly shouted, "Mine, mine, mine!" soon, thousands of words clung to the man. They forced him down the gutter into the drain.

Next, a woman came to stand before the kettle, and her words were called from the four winds. They came with roaring and filled the cauldron. The boiled sludge was reduced to the truest essential of all she ever said in her life. The Angel tipped over the kettle, and black sludge poured onto the ground. The word that summed up all she ever said was "Hate. hate, Hate." The word Hate became thousands and clung to her and dragged her away to the lower rewards against her will.

A small and frail-looking man stood weakly before the kettle. All the words he spoke in his life were called from the four winds.  As they came from distant places, they brought music with them.   The cauldron barely received the words before they began to send up clouds. The clouds seemed to sing over and over the words of his life. The words said, "Kindness, grace, love, and forgiveness." The angels bowed as the words lifted him upwards to the place of blessing and rewards.

"But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken." Matthew 12:36

(c) Adron 3/13/16

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How He Explained That God's Forgiveness is Paid For

Sometimes we make the simplicity of the Gospel too complicated. Here is a story of how one man simply explained God's forgiveness to his old boss.

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Blake had been concerned for his old boss who had retired.  Mr. Crawford was burdened with the guilt of many wrongdoings and was anxious for God's forgiveness; so Blake paid Mr. Crawford a visit and the conversation quickly turned to the subject of the fear of facing God after living a life of regrets.

"Look," Blake said, "Suppose I go to a shop and buy something for you.  I pay for it and tell you to go to the store pick up desk to get it.  Are you going to take money with you to pay for it?"

"No," said the old man, "You already paid for it."

"Well, do you need to make any promise to pay for it later on?"

"No, it would be mine for free."

Then Blake said, "It is the same way with forgiveness of sins. The Lord Jesus already paid the full price for it.  He took all the pain and punishment that sin deserved.  He paid the whole thing. So all you have to do is take the forgiveness he already paid for."

"Oh," said the old man with tears in his eyes. "I see it now.  This is forgiveness that cost nothing from me.  Christ has bought it and he gives it to me!"
Thank you for visiting my blog.  I hope my stories are an encouragement and helpful.  To find more search the list of favorites in the left sidebar.  Please come back again.

(c)Adron Dozat 1/3/16

The Minister On The Roof, The True Story Of The Climbing Preacher

Many years ago when the cities were in a building boom to make the tallest buildings Adele Maywood was concerned about her husband's soul. John was a steeplejack who worked on scaffolds hundreds of feet above the streets to build the tall buildings, but as a tough hardworking man he had no regard for religion.

Adele asked the minister of her church to come see John and tell him about the Gospel of Jesus, but whenever the pastor came to see John he was at work. "I would dearly love to share Christ with John," he told Adele, "But how can I when he is never home?"

The next day the phone rang in the pastor's office. "This is Adele Maywood, Pastor.  My husband says if you want to speak to him he is working on the steeple of Christ Memorial Presbyterian Church on Second Street. You can meet him there and speak to him."

The minister dropped everything and took the bus to Second Street.  The building was being constructed and the street was a confusion of trucks, laborers, and equipment.  "I've come to speak to John Maywood." He told the foreman.

"Oh, Maywood is on the top." The foreman said as he looked up to the roof far feet above. "If you can wait I'll send someone up to bring him down."

"No, I'll go to him." Then the minister climbed ladder after ladder until he was two hundred feet above the sidewalk. There on the roof, the minister spoke to John about eternity and his soul. In a few minutes, John was brought to the Savior.

The next Sunday John stood next to his wife in church and publicly declared Jesus as his Lord and Savior.  When people asked him about his decision to trust Jesus he said, "The preacher who climbs two hundred feet of ladders to speak to me can get me every time!"

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Thank you for visiting my blog.  I hope my stories are an encouragement and helpful.  To find more search the list of favorites in the left sidebar.  Please come back again.

(c) Adron 11/27/15