February 16, 2001

Screams in the Night
By Staff Writer Sharon Barrett

Too young, too stupid, and far too trusting. A country girl trying to live in the big city. No way was I prepared for what was about to happen to me. No self defense classes. Just a simple country girl fresh out of a broken marriage I thought would last for life. And men were the last thing on my mind. I was not looking for dates, or a husband, or any kind of relationship.

I was working nights besides days trying to survive. At night I worked in a bar room serving drinks. The Day Club was a clean place and the girls were safe that worked there. The boss put up with no one touching his girls. There were four of us girls with nearly the same names which the boss loved, great for publicity, there was Sharon, then Sheri, Keri, Shirley. It was fun, honest clean work. As I said before the boss made sure we were safe and treated right by the customers.

One night I had to work past the time the last bus went towards home. From the bus stop I only had to walk one block and I was in my apartment. It was clean up night and my turn to stay. I had forgotten, so I was too broke to take a taxi home. This meant a long long walk for me through the streets of Chelsea, Mass. When I had finished cleaning, it was around 2:15 in the morning. I put my sweater on thankful that it was summer, and the night was just a little cool, and the sky was clear. It would make for a good walk home.

As I was walking from Chelsea towards East Boston, I was in a section that was all oil tanks. No houses close by. Not a safe place to be. Cars had gone by and no one even so much as yelled hey beautiful, or a nasty comment. So I was feeling pretty secure.

When all of a sudden this four-door car pulled up to the side of the curb. It was moving along with me. I kept walking, not wanting to take any chances whatsoever. The man in the passengers side rolled down his window and started talking to me, offering me a ride. When I refused, he tried to sweet talk me into the car. I continued walking, looking straight ahead and saying nothing to him. Suddenly the car came to a stop the passenger jumped out and grabbed me. I began screaming, kicking, biting, then the driver jumped out and before to long one man had me by the legs, and another by the upper body. They were trying to force me into the back seat of the car. I tried to fight my way free, but they were too strong. I refused to give up. I made it difficult for them to get me into the back seat.

I screamed out "God help me, please help me. Oh, God help." Suddenly a car pulled up behind them. The car stopped, the driver yelled something, the two men dropped me onto the side walk, the passenger jumped in the car, and the driver headed for the other side of the car. I was bruised, and scared half to death. Before I could even pick myself up, the car and the men in it were gone. Shaking and in tears, I was grateful when the man offered to help.

The man who stopped to help me was a policeman, just now off duty and heading home after a long day at work. He was very kind, asking if I was OK, then offering me a ride home, which I took. He walked me to the door, made sure I was safe inside.

Once the officer left I went into the bedroom, sat on the side of the bed and thanked God for saving my life. He had been there for me even before I new him. God answered my pleas for help. I could have been raped, murdered, and become another statistic on a sheet of paper, and another Jane Doe at the morgue. Praise The Lord I am here today to tell my story, to share with others how God can and always does win! Even when we can't pray, God answers screams in the night.

Freedom from Sin in Your Life
By Iona R Hoeppner

I recently got an e-mail from someone tormented by recurring regrets over past sins and feeling unworthy of fellowship with Christ. This is a problem common to all of us at times because satan (The Accuser) finds it the most effective weapon against believers. After all, it seems so pious to continue to lament our sins, doesn't it?

We've all been there. Maybe the sins are ones we've repented of, then fell back into...

As for the sin in your life... Jesus dealt with that on the cross! All you need do now is give it to Him. Over simplified? Not even! It IS as simple as that, and here's more...

PAST SINS
They're gone! Forever forgiven. Forever forgotten. By the Lord, that is. Sadly, we tend to let the enemy dredge them back up and wave them in our faces. Tell that lord of the flies to get out of here! Past sins are no more! When your mind wanders to them, say "stop!" Then just thank Jesus for erasing them. Tell Him how free He has made you and how much you love Him. It'll take practice and repetition, but in time, those old sins will be forever gone for you just as they are for HIM.

PRESENT SINS
Ah, we all still have some, don't we? Paul suffered with this problem, too. For the good things he wanted to do, he did not do; the bad things he didn't want to do, he did. One by one, our sins of the flesh march into our lives. They plague us and bring forth a broken heart as we come yet again to Christ and must say, "please forgive."

We repent, meaning we are not just sorry for that sin, but are determined not to do it again. Then it happens... we commit that same sin again! How can we go to Him then? We promised not to do this thing again and we have failed! We're devastated by guilt and are reluctant to approach our God. But, dear ones, that's the very thing we must do. Do not delay in asking forgiveness.

Jesus instructed us to forgive without end... not seven times, but seventy times seven. Throughout scripture, seven is the number of fullness or completion. We must always forgive. Does He do less?! Of course not! Keep coming to the throne of grace, keep asking for forgiveness, keep praying for help in overcoming the sin in your life. And remember through it all, we are dead to sin, scripture says it's so!

ONGOING SIN
Here's a toughie! When we have an ongoing sin... like someone living with a boyfriend out of wedlock, for example, we must repent and turn away from the sin before forgiveness can happen. We cannot say, "Lord, forgive this sin, but understand that I will keep on doing it." That's willful sin and we've made it a part of our life, refusing to let go of it.

Then there are addictions to drugs, alcohol, sexual perversions, etc. If we do not make efforts and ask the Lord to rid us of these, we'll keep on walking in darkness and fall prey to satan's leading us into more darkness.

It is vital to rid our homes and lives of open doorways for satan. Quit reading horoscopes, get rid of ouija boards, get rid of porno (soft or hard) materials, quit watching unwholesome television programs or videos... Instead we must fill our lives with wholesome activities to glorify and magnify God; we must fill our minds with praiseworthy thoughts and push away from negativity.

I have a friend who was once a drug addict. She came to the Lord, but "slipped" several times before He finally rid her life of the craving for illegal drugs. Each time she fell in the mud, she came, brokenhearted back to Jesus and was forgiven. Her repentance was sincere, His forgiveness complete. Now, she's totally free. That's different than one who continues to expose herself to the temptation and does not repent in her heart.

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Author: Iona Hoeppner
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Revised: April 20, 2006.