RolingerHome

My Story is a story of God's mercy to a liar! God's word says in Revelation 21:8, "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Of heaven it says "nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." Revelation 21:27

What I am about to share with you is the story of a liar heading to hell who was gloriously saved by the Lord Jesus Christ and given a home in heaven!

I grew up in a lovely Christian home. For a number of years I lived on the camp grounds of Lake Geneva Youth Camp, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin as my dad was the director there. What a great place to grow up! At the age of five I learned about personal sin, and my life changed. That's right, only five years old! One of my favorite times as a child was the family time we had after supper. We would eat together, and at the end of the meal my dad would tell us a Bible story or share a story that had a Bible truth in it. On the night of February 1, 1960, the story he shared has become one of my favorites. The story was about a little boy named Pablo.

Pablo lived in a small village in South America. His family was very poor. For a living, Pablo sold hats. He would stack his hats on his head at the beginning of the day; and if he could sell all nine hats, it was a very good day! Pablo had never heard about the Lord Jesus. He had a very bad habit of telling lies which his mother and father didn't seem to mind. If he could get away with it, everything was all right, they told him.

One day a missionary named Mr. Johnson came to the village. It was not possible to drive a car or a bicycle up the steep mountain trails, so Mr. Johnson had to get a donkey. Pablo sold his little donkey to the missionary, but Mr. Johnson couldn't get the donkey to move one single step! You see, Pablo was the only one who could get the donkey to move by whispering something into the donkey's long silky ear. Mr. Johnson asked Pablo if he would travel all over with him so that the donkey would move. Pablo liked to travel with Mr. Johnson, and while he did he heard many stories about the love of Jesus. Mr. Johnson soon learned that Pablo told many lies. He knew that Jesus could help him stop lying, but so far, he just hadn't been able to make Pablo see why it was wrong to lie and how Jesus could help him.

One day the missionary was going on a trip by himself. He called to Pablo and said, "Pablo, I am going away for a few days. I have a little present for you and I want you to use it. It is a hammer and some nails. Do you see my hitching post there?" "Yes I see it," said Pablo. "Well, I want you to do something for me. Every time you tell a lie, I want you to pound a nail into the hitching post." Pablo thought it was very silly, but he did want the hammer and nails, so he promised he would.

The next day, Pablo was walking down the road swinging his new hammer. Along came his friend, Pancho. "Where did you get the hammer, Pablo?" "From Mr. Johnson, the missionary." "That's a nice one. Did he give you anything else?" "Oh sure, he gave me a cool tie and some shoes with some silver nails." Oh, oh, he was already telling lies and would have to pound some nails in the hitching post. "Where are they? Can I see them?" asked Pancho. Pablo thought for a minute. Where did Americans keep their valuables? Oh, yes, in the bank. "They are down in the bank, and I can't get them out now." Pablo answered. There was one more lie. He went back home and walked around the post. No, he would not pound in the nails today. He would wait until tomorrow. The next day Pablo came out and decided he had better pound in the nails since he had promised Mr. Johnson he would. Wham! In went a nail for the lie about the tie. Wham! In went a nail for the shoe lie. Wham! There was the one about the bank. Along came Pancho again. "What are you doing?" "Oh, pounding some nails to hang my hats on," answered Pablo. Wham! In went another nail for that lie. He told so many more lies before Mr. Johnson got back, that the post was full of nails. What was he going to tell Mr. Johnson? That was the question!. Pablo was so used to telling lies he just couldn't stop. He dreaded seeing Mr. Johnson come back.

When Mr. Johnson came back, of course, the first thing he looked at was the hitching post full of nails. He told Pablo that he was glad that he obeyed him and pounded in a nail for every lie he had told. But he wanted more. "Pablo, I want you to do two more things for me. First pull out all the nails." It was a difficult job because Pablo had pounded the nails in so deep. Finally they were all out and lying on the ground. "Now just one more thing. I want you to take out all the scars that the nails have made. They look bad. Get rid of them." Pablo stared at Mr. Johnson. Did he have rocks in his head? "Mr. Johnson, it is impossible for me to remove the scars!' "Yes I know it is Pablo. The scars will always be there. And so it is when you tell lies. The scars are always there, and people will not believe you when you tell the truth." The missionary pulled out his Bible and showed it to Pablo. "Pablo, this book says that the lie you are telling are sin. It says, too, that you are not only doing wrong by telling lies but in many other ways. You have disobeyed your parents, you have stolen, you have cheated and all that is sin. You can't enter heaven with sin. The wonderful news is that the Lord Jesus died for your sin. God always has to punish sin, so He gave His Son to be punished in your place so that you could go to heaven. He still has the nail scars in His hands that YOU put there. Those scars will always be there because He loved you enough to die for you."

Pablo finally saw that he was a sinner. His lies were sin. That minute he believed that the Lord Jesus died for him and he was saved.

When my dad was done telling the story, he looked at me and said, "Nancy, do you ever tell lies?" I dropped my head because I didn't want anyone to think I was a liar, and shook my head, "No!" Everyone in my family knew I was a liar. Two weeks earlier I didn't come home from school on the bus like I normally did. My dad went into town searching for me and found I had missed the bus and my teacher was walking me home. The problem was, I didn't live within walking distance and my teacher was walking me home without her coat in January in Wisconsin because I said I lived nearby! She had walked six blocks when my father discovered us. Apparently there were other stories I had told that weren't true. On the way home my dad talked to me about the stories I was telling. He told me they were lies. In fact one night as he tucked me into bed, he told me there were no liars in heaven. Now in front of my whole family he asked if I told lies! He went to my brother Lowell and asked if he told lies. He said, "Yes, ask Nancy!" My brothers teased me because of my lies. He then asked my brother Carey if he told lies and he said, "Yes, ask Nancy!"

I suddenly realized that I was a liar! In fact there were three things that I learned that night that changed my life. The first thing I learned was that I was a sinner! The Bible says we are all sinners. Have you ever realized this about yourself? Romans 3:23 says "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." I was crying because it was an awful thought. I knew that sinners went to hell, and I knew that hell was an awful place.

My dad finished our family time by praying and everyone went to do their thing after we were done, except me. I was still crying! The thought of my sin had gripped me. My dad took me in the living room. He said I just wouldn't quit crying. We talked about what lying was. I knew that Jesus died for sinners. The second thing I learned that day was that Jesus died for ME! I was the sinner that He died for! Like Pablo, it was my sin that killed the Lord Jesus. Jesus had gone to the cross to take my sin and my punishment! Do you know Jesus died for YOU!

The third thing I learned was that it wasn't enough to just know about what the Lord Jesus did. I must receive Him for myself. I don't remember what I said, but my dad tells me I said, "Could I tell the Lord Jesus I'm sorry?" We got down on our knees together, and I said "I'm sorry I told lies. Jesus I want to be saved." A little time went by and my dad wondered what I would say next. "Thank you Lord Jesus for saving me." That minute I passed out of death into life! That is what the Bible says in John 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life."

My life has never been the same! I began at a very young age to read my Bible, and I learned very early in life that there can be sweet fellowship with God! He has taken me on a journey that has been an adventure of faith, never knowing what is around the corner but walking there with Him. One day my life's journey will end and I will finally be at home with Him! I look forward to that day because He is my life! Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." This is all because of the cross!

The question that comes to my mind is, what about you? I told my story to a group of children and asked a little girl if she could say "I am a sinner." Her face got all red. She wasn't sure she wanted to say that! Have you recognized that you are a sinner and received what Christ offers you, forgiveness and eternal life? Perhaps you are you still in your sin. You can receive Him now. John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name."