It was early evening as I was walking through Atlanta Piedmont Park that two male strangers accosted me. They came running up from behind me yelling
“Stop!”
My immediate reaction was they were in badly need of help?
As I stopped walking and turned to face them, I became concerned that they both were wearing scarves around their faces and with hoodies pulled over their heads, so that I could only see the slant of their eyes. And this was years before the pandemic had even started. It was then that one of the two guys demanded that they must have the canvas bag that I was carrying over my shoulder.
I stood there frozen in fear thinking why of all people is this mugging happening to me? They didn’t have any weapons to threaten me with, but they made it very clear that they were not leaving without my bag. I proceeded to tell them that my bag contents would be of no value to them, although it contained my I.D., cell phone, $80 dollars in cash etc. (I’ve been told that even a photo I.D. is valuable for any mugger to steal).
So, as I stood firmly in place, with both arms stretched out in front of me, and with my palms help up in the stop where you are position, and with my bag still over my shoulder, I began shouting
“Help!”
Doing this actually bought me a few seconds of precious time, as the same guy said I was so loud, and for me to shut up! So, I persisted in yelling even louder.
It was only then that I noticed their subtle body movements, much like a cat, they both were ready to pounce. And it was within that very moment that I looked upwards into the sky and I said out loud
“Jesus Help Me!”
It was then that the most amazing thing occurred, they both stopped dead in their tracks and the one guy asked me if I was flat-out praying to Jesus as a Christian would pray, or was that just a common expression of help?
I told them YES, I Am a Christian, and that was indeed a prayer! Expressing need for my bag, and for Jesus to help me to leave there safely, with my bag fully intact. It was even more amazing when that same guy turned to the other one and said,
“This man is a Christian, so I don’t think we should mess with him, it’s best we should just leave him alone”.
It was then that they both turned around and started walking away. They only got just a few feet, when the same guy stopped and turned back around to face me and said sarcastically,
“And that is the only thing that saved you!”
They then both took off running as fast as they could. As I watched them run away, I happened to look down and saw something in the dark lying on the ground in front of me. I reached down to pick up what was a heavy block of wood, like a small two by four, which had been there the entire time, I just didn’t notice it in the dark. I realized I could have used that heavy wood to knock both guys right in the face, possibly doing severe damage.
My next thought then was for me to go running after them and do just that! But I then realized Jesus had saved me, and not only that, He had also saved those two guys as well. How ironic, they didn’t even know it!
This experience has taught me greatly, as I now pray every single day, and to give the True Glory to Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Thanks be to our Lord for always standing for us in every situation we found ourself.
Your instinct was to call upon the name of the Lord. Amazing story!
Thanks to you Emory!
I just recently discovered this website, so I was hoping it would be the perfect place for me to tell my testimony. I also love how you helped by adding the pictures, along with the emphasized text, it gives it that added special touch! Greatly appreciated, blessings to you.
Luke Aspen
I really appreciate your feedback, Luke. Feel free to post again. God bless.
Emory, I found this on ChristianPost.com – Christian News Around the World – dated 2015: Christian Woman Survives After Screaming ‘Jesus’ as Muslim Terrorist Stabbed Her Repeatedly.
Her story definitely gives me even more inspiration, such a brave & powerful faith in Jesus!
Luke, it makes me wonder how many believers around the world have screamed out Jesus name when in trouble and been delivered.
Emory, that’s a great question! There must be many believers out there saved by Jesus when in trouble. I also found this article to share:
The Power of Crying Out – Relying on God in Desperate Times:
Throughout history, believers have cried out to God in times of distress. Sometimes after years of praying, a single cry brings direction or deliverance instantly. Many have wondered why there are such powerful results from simply crying out to God, yet the promise is clear: “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me” (Psalm 50:15).
Characteristics of a Cry:
Crying out to God is an act of DESPERATION & TOTAL CONCENTRATION. It is a fervent expression of faith in God and trust in His goodness and power to act on your behalf. Crying out to God expresses the following traits:
So, I can tell you Emory, when those two attackers were ready to pounce on me, it was at that very moment, as my last-ditch effort, that I did indeed feel the DESPERATION and yet the TOTAL FOCUS of just LET GO, LET JESUS! Truly scary, but it’s an experience which is now fully ingrained in me.
Luke, thanks for sharing that post. I found the full article here and it gives examples of people crying out to God out of desperation but also out of faith. Praise God!
Any time the name of Jesus is mentioned, the forces of darkness are subdued. The forces of darkness are afraid of the name of Jesus. Anyone that calls upon the name of Jesus either he/she is a believer or not, the forces of hell are shaken when they hear the name of Jesus. In Acts 19:13-20, we could see the devil bowing when the seven sons of Sceva tried to cast out devil from someone through the name of Jesus.
We as children of God have a powerful name which we can call unto in the time of trouble and needed help shall come for us.
Shalom
I’m a newcomer to this site and I loved reading this posting, as well as so many others, Praise Jesus the Christ! And thanks Emory for finding the full article about The Power of Crying Out for Help. I have copied & pasted it for future reference.
All of this is now making me think more intently about what to do when in a crisis and praying, even shouting out for help. I do know that every time I’ve read or heard about a Christian in some dangerous distress, and with their intense plea for mercy, their prayer was indeed answered – just as it’s stated in the Bible.
On a different note, I’ve been going thru and reading some of the older postings here and the earliest was from 2010. So, I’m most curious Emory, just what year did you begin this blog? You must have posted well over 100 testimonies by now? I love how you personally take the time to add the pictures to each and every testimony, as the saying goes, “a picture’s worth a thousand words”. Such a wonderful website!
Gary, thanks and welcome! This made me think about how I would react in a similar situation. He promised that He hears us so our first thought should be to turn go God. I have to credit Luke with finding that post, though 😉
My wife and I started this site in 2004 and we’ve been inspired to continue by what have people posted over the years. I started adding the pics and developing this style within the past year two. We started with our own and a few others we got permission to publish, then readers started posting miraculously until they grew to a little over 1500. I can’t tell you how many stories, many of them untold or not very publicized, have encouraged me personally.
Hope to hear from you again, God bless you, bro.
So, you now have well over 1500 posted testimonies! I had no idea! That makes me think of the film with Kevin Costner, Field of Dreams – with the famous line, “If you build it, they will come”. And so, Emory, you did build your blog, and they did, indeed come – with now over 1500, and still counting! That’s so amazing, you have quite the Blessed Blog!
But I’m still curious, out of so many testimonies, is it alright to ask if you could please share at least one that stands out with having inspired you the most? Anyway, you have found your own special niche with this website in serving Jesus the Christ. That is what really counts, and is something that will last, and with having Eternal Value!
So just think, in 2024 you will have your 20th year anniversary. And I do plan on being right here to help you commemorate it!
Gary, your comment reminds me that I need to do some organizing so as to surface some of the very moving testimonies from the past. I have a list I’m working on, now. One is from a dear brother, Mani who shares his experience with his “childhood hero.”
I’d be honored if you stick around and celebrate the 20th anniversary and to hear any of your stories that might inspire us!
Emory, thanks for posting Mani’s article, such an inspiring story! After I finished reading it I was most curious as to whatever happened to Mani? His article was originally posted on 12/21/2015, yet as I was going thru all the comments, I found where Mani had posted his own follow-up on 11/6/2021. I’m relieved to know he seems to be ok, but as he mentions, he still needs our prayers. I noticed that he also left his email for further contact, so I do plan on sending him my own personal thoughts and prayers.
His story reminds me of another inspiring testimony of a young Middle Eastern girl, who much like Mani, was also born and raised in a strict religious Muslim home. I read this story well over 10 years ago, so I can’t recall all the details, but I do remember telling it to a church member back then and how it amazed us both:
The Muslim girl was struggling with wanting to learn more about Jesus. Her father, mother and siblings all rebuked her for such ‘infidel talk’. But the young girl only persisted, thus angering her father to the point of him severely beating her. Yet the girl stood steadfast, still praying and moving closer to Jesus. Her father became only more outraged, and giving her further beatings.
It got to the point where the father told his daughter if she did not stop her ‘infidel behavior’, he would simply kill her. Telling her that he did love her, but it would be better for her to be put to death, than to see her become a Christian.
Yet the girl still persisted, so the father attempted to murder her by suffocating her with a pillow. As she was gasping for air, and close to death, her father relented, and the young girl was safe for the moment. The next day, as the rest of the family was gone for their home, her father had decided to further punish her by taking away all her clothing, blankets etc., so that she had to remain at home alone and not be able to go outside without anything to wear for protection.
Yet the young girl still persevered, she prayed to Jesus that she would be able to leave her home and run furiously down the street to a nearby neighbor’s Christian home. She specifically prayed that Jesus would ‘cover her naked body’, that no one would see her nude. And she did just that, running swiftly down the street, completely naked, she made it safely to the neighbor’s home.
It was only a few days later, that she saw a neighboring friend, and the neighbor said that he ‘saw’ her running down the street. So, the neighbor wanted to know two things, first, why was she running so fast, and secondly, where did she get that ‘beautiful white dress’ that she was wearing? She proceeded to tell him the story of how she was forced to escape without wearing a stitch.
And Yes, just as she fervently asked Jesus, ‘to keep her covered’…..He Did Just That…..Amazing!
Thanks for posting that story, Gary. It’s so sad to hear that believer suffer like that but I love the ending. Mani has kept in touch and there several conversion stories that people have posted here that are similarly moving. I just reread one recently from Ibrahim, which is quite moving. Also, Hassan posted his conversion story and has kept in touch over the years and helped readers.
Emory, I want you to know, much like Gary has noted, I too, have been going thru and reading so many of your current & past postings. There are some truly inspiring gems!
I do have something else I’d like to add, it’s in regards to having that deeper faith in God when shouting out for help – and also of Forgiveness! This is a most compelling story, from a most remarkable woman from Rwanda. Having cried out to God, with a plea for mercy, backed by a tremendous faith, she was delivered from her own impending doom. The woman is Immaculee Ilibagiza, a Rwandan genocide survivor who gives the full account of her ordeal in her autobiography Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust.
I copied this entire article from Christianity Today: “I Met the Man Who Killed My Entire Family” -How Rwandan genocide survivor Immaculee Ilibagiza found forgiveness.
In many accounts of the Rwandan genocide, the church is cast as complicit in the killings that took one million lives in a country the size of Maryland. Indeed, since 1994, United Nations tribunals have found many church leaders guilty of murdering neighbors or aiding Hutu in hunting down Tutsi and moderate Hutu.
But Immaculee Ilibagiza, a Tutsi, has a Hutu pastor to thank for saving her life.
When Ilibagiza was 23, Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down over the Kigali airport, inciting Hutu–Tutsi violence the country over. In response, Ilibagiza’s father sent her to hide with the pastor, who took in seven other women and hid them in his family’s three-by-four-foot bathroom. They stayed there for 91 days while Hutu militia came by the house daily searching for Tutsi. The bathroom became the setting for Ilibagiza’s test of faith and forgiveness, which began by praying the Lord’s Prayer many times a day.
When I visited Rwanda this summer (with HOPE International, a microfinance nonprofit based in Pennsylvania), I was told to avoid asking two questions: “What tribe do you belong to?” and “What was the genocide like for you?” Rwandans—who have enjoyed a remarkable level of peace and stability under president Paul Kagame—see the topics as unnecessarily divisive. Yet Ilibagiza speaks openly about both so that others may know that forgiveness is possible and can heal both offender and offendee.
Ilibagiza spoke recently at the 2017 Willow Creek Leadership Summit. Afterward, she sat down to share about the process of forgiving the man who killed her entire family.
You grew up in a Catholic family and learned about faith at a young age. You are also Tutsi. Growing up, did you know about the conflict in your country and hear the propaganda against the Tutsi?
When I was a child, I knew, but it was almost hidden. If you spoke about this as a Tutsi, they could kill you; you’re trying to go against the government. It’s not like here in the United States where people talk about how they feel. I didn’t even know what tribe I was in until the fourth grade. We heard there were wars where they killed some family members, but when you haven’t lived through it, you really don’t get it.
I was 23 when the genocide started. When I was 18 or 19, we started to hear that things were bad. There was a radio created by the leaders of the country. For two years, the hosts acted like they were drunk. Then I was sure something terrible was about to happen. They would tell people, “One day we are going to kill them. The Tutsi aren’t human beings.” They would laugh at us—“They have tails and horns.” But no one was stopping them. I remember thinking, Rwanda is normally a country where people love each other, where people are polite and manners are something you really put ahead, you can’t find people who even use bad words. But now people are acting drunk.
How do you get up in the morning and start to kill someone? How do you kill another human being? It was bewildering.
Your father knew a minister who was Hutu, and he sheltered you and seven other women in the bathroom of his house during the genocide. What was going through your mind and heart when you were hiding?
First, I’m so thankful my parents prayed and taught us prayer. Throughout the whole genocide I prayed. Before, nothing was so bad in my life that I wondered if God was there. There were two stages of prayer. I started praying, but I would forget what I was saying because of the anxiety: “Our Father who art in heaven . . . I’m dying; they’re coming!” Then the time when I realized God was there for sure, I started to pray loud inside myself, because it was the only thing I had.
What else was going through my mind? “Look, we’re done; they’re going to kill us.” The Hutu were hunting us so we were scared to death and had anger. I remember just wishing not being born inside Rwanda.
A part of me was thinking, I’m going to get revenge. Revenge for me was going to be throwing bombs all over the country, and I knew that doing that, I had to train my body and go on and fight. And I thought that was going to make me a hero—I didn’t think of revenge as wrong. But it did hurt. It physically hurt me. I had a headache and a stomachache, and my blood was running out of anger. It became obsessive. Anger and hatred become obsessive. Like a sickness literally, and it came for me. I was tired.
You were taught to pray the rosary as a child. How did this help you grasp forgiveness?
Within the 20 minutes of praying the rosary, you pray the Lord’s Prayer six times. I thank God for that. It focused me on prayer for 20 minutes. With the rosary, I had to think about the words, even when I didn’t want to pray them. But the Lord’s Prayer was given by Jesus; I couldn’t find a reason to argue with it. And then I tried to say it from my heart. And if I said it from my heart, it means that I would forgive, and I didn’t want to forgive.
I remember asking God, “I can’t forgive; what do I do now?” Something in me said, “Pray with all your heart, mean every word you say. If you do this, the bad voice will not find you.” And that’s how I started to pray. Forgive? I thought. No I can’t say that. I thought I would remove that from the prayer.
But after that, I recognized that Jesus gave the prayer, that he is God and I am human. I make mistakes, but he doesn’t make mistakes. And then I had to go to my knees and beg God, “Help me. I don’t know how, I need you, and I can’t say you are wrong here.” And that was the beginning of forgiving.
One day I thought about Jesus on the cross, still asking him to help me. Every single day in the bathroom, we were waiting for Hutu to kill us. Every day they would come stop by the window and then go. Every day they came it was like dying and being resurrected again.
There was a moment of understanding that came like a flash of light. Part of the rosary, you think about Jesus dying on the cross and when he says, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” It was like he was saying, “They don’t get it.”
Did you struggle with anger after this moment?
No, it was gone. It was like a new day. I could lift up from the bathroom. I was feeling so light and happy, and everything was so beautiful. I felt like my body was flying. That obsessive anger and bitterness was replaced with joy. And I was aware that even if I die, I know heaven is real too, and even if my family had died, they are going to be in a better place than I am. And even if I stay here, thank God it’s not forever. It’s going to be a short time. I realized it doesn’t mean that I’m going to forgive about what happened. It just means, why do I have to do what I don’t like? I don’t like what they have done, but I don’t want to do what they have done. I was hating back exactly as they were doing to me. I realized I was becoming worse than them.
I still get tempted today about anger, if a friend betrays me. I want them to feel the pain that they are causing me. But when I feel that anger that takes away my peace, I beg God to help me. I know for sure that forgiveness is possible.
What was your experience of meeting the man who killed your family?
I went there because people used to tell me, “I can’t forgive that quickly. I can’t feel peace about them. They are monsters.” Other people were still angry and were crying and wanted them to help them. They would say, “Why are you not obsessed like us? Why are you not angry? Why are you peaceful?” They thought my forgiveness was just a mechanism of surviving.
I went to prison because I was scared that my anger would come back and that my forgiveness wasn’t real. The head of the jail was a friend of my father’s. He brought the man out. I broke down in tears out of compassion for him. This was a man who used to have children, a beautiful family, and a great job. I would go with his family to eat. He was a friend of our family’s, never an enemy. And he was a Hutu. In these killings, for whatever evil was in him, whatever jealousy or hate he had inside. . . .
He came in, his hair was upside down, he was in a bad state, and I just cried. I’m so glad I never saw my father this way. And I felt that Jesus said, “This is what I told you. They don’t know what they do.” How can anyone want to be here? If you knew what you did, you wouldn’t have ended up here. But in the same way all of us don’t know what we do when we hurt people, when we are being unfair—it will come back. I told him I forgive him. My heart was yearning to tell him that I wanted to free him from thinking that I was angry with him.
The community tribunals in Rwanda have held people accountable and allowed others to extend forgiveness. How have they affected the country’s trajectory?
I’m really proud. We just had elections that went peacefully. Our president was elected by a vote of 98 percent. In Rwanda, nobody wants to see what we saw. If things are working, we want them to keep going. To want to fight about the president? Our schools have 20 times more students, there’s peace, women are everywhere in the government—nobody wants things to change. When the government is good, it can influence the whole country.
Emory, the book Left to Tell came out in 2006. I did read it, and that was 6 years prior to my becoming a Christian. Over the years I have seen Immaculee speak on various TV programs, she is one hugh inspiration for sure! I simply can’t say how affecting she really is when you hear her speak about her life.
In the book, she recounts the very moment when the Hutu invade the pastor’s home, with Immaculee & the other 6 women hiding in the small bathroom, she could hear one Hutu man say, “Where is Immaculee? we must find her. We did find her mother today, and we killed her like a cockroach, so we must find Immaculee too, we will also kill her like the cockroach she is!”
Immaculee also wrote a sequel for Left to Tell, which is entitled Led by Faith. Both have been a great source of inspiration for me, with trying to abide more faithfully in Christ!
Luke, that is an amazing story and a story of how transformational the power of God’s forgiveness is. You heard it before you were a Christian and it must have stayed in your heart those six years.
I’m perplexed at the way she describes the killer as a friend of the family and someone they’d go out to eat with. The fact that so many people could turn on their neighbors in violence is shocking.
Yes Emory, I agree it is perplexing in the way that the killer of Immaculee’s family, was also a former friend. But that friend was also a Hutu, not a Tutsi. And that is what became the big racial divide in the Rwandan genocide – tribal difference. Even with friends turning on one another! You may have seen years back the film Hotel Rwanda? Although it was a well-made film, it still did not capture exactly WHY all the horrible violence and bloodshed. With thousands upon thousands of dead bodies – rotting corpses, with the most foul stench, stacked several feet high, stretching for miles, with starving dogs eating from the rotting remains.
I recently read that Immaculee’s book Left to Tell is now in the process of becoming a Hollywood film. Her film version aims to show a clearer understanding of why the genocide got started in the first place, which Hotel Rwanda failed to explain.
Also, when Immaculee was in the 4th grade, her teacher pointedly asked her what tribe was she from, Hutu or Tutsi? Immaculee didn’t have a clue as to what the teacher was asking. The teacher became angry, berating her, telling Immaculee to get up from her seat, to go home, and to find out exactly what tribe she was from. And she would not be welcomed back into the classroom until she had done just that! Again, it was all about the tribal difference in Rwanda, and it being deeply instilled in a young child.
And yes Emory, you’re also right that Immaculee’s story did stay (deep) in my heart for those 6 years before my becoming a Christian. I would tell other people about the book, every chance I could. So, you might be wondering, why did it take me 6 years? I would post that here as a comment, but I realize it really belongs as another testimony share. So may I do that later? – not right now. As I recollect about sharing a confusing time in my life, and that pivotal moment that led me to accepting Christ.
I remember hearing about the genocide in the news and the two tribes and how terrible it was. I haven’t seen Hotel Rwanda yet, would like to see Immaculee’s film.
I and I’m sure others here would love to hear the story of how you came to accept Christ. Please do send it through when you get a chance!
I felt moved by Luke’s testimony, coming so close to being robbed in the park. I currently live in Atlanta, right across from Piedmont Park. This past summer Atlanta residents felt shell-shocked when a young gal and her pet dog were in that park, and both were brutally stabbed to death.
Emory. I know that you live in Marietta, Ga., so you too, must be aware of that heinous murder.
My feeling is if that gal were a Christian and crying out for help in the name of Jesus, surely her life would have been spared. I’m comparing that situation to Luke walking in that very same park with his backpack, being threatened by thieves…to the Dutch woman on a bus being stabbed by a terrorist…to the Rwandan genocide woman fearing for her life by hiding in a bathroom. They all three knew as a plea for mercy to invoke the name of Jesus. Hence all three were delivered.
Emory, as your comment to Luke was, “Your instinct was to call upon the name of the Lord”. Yes indeed, and amen to that, Praise Jesus Christ!
Lee, the person you said was brutally stabbed to death could be a Christian but just that mercy could not speak for the person at that time. For the fact that we receive the mercy of God, we must appreciate God for counting us among those He chose to show His mercy to because it is not of him that runneth nor of him that willeth but of God that showeth mercy.
Lee, welcome to the site and thanks for your comment. I’ve lived in Georgia all my life and am familiar with the crime issues – I can’t recall that I heard about the incident you mentioned about the girl and her dog. That’s horrible. I haven’t been to Piedmont Park in years. The best thing one can do is be armed with the name of Jesus.
I didn’t realize it but this scripture from Romans Paul is actually quoting from Joel:
“By grace are ye saved thru faith; that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2: 8, 9). KJV
Hello Emory,
I’m glad you linked Luke’s two testimonies together. I like knowing how someone like him did not believe in Jesus, then turned to Him. And then later, called out His Name for help. Yes!
Please let me share this story I read years ago: There was a 75-year-old Grandmother who drove to the grocery store alone. As she pulled into the store parking lot, she was unaware that a young man in his 20’s was watching her. She proceeded to get out of the car and went inside for her groceries. The young guy was keeping watch outside, waiting to carjack her when she returned. He was thinking, she’s an old woman, and by herself, so taking her car would be like taking candy from a baby. Just an easy grab n’ go.
Well that young guy got quite the surprise when she returned. She opened the car trunk to put a few bags inside, then she opened the driver’s side door and sat down. As she did that, the man opened the passenger door and got in with her. He told her that she had to get out, that he was taking the car. The woman just calmly looked him in the face. and without batting an eye, told him that she was not leaving, and that in the name of Jesus he was the one to get out!
The man told her that he was not joking, that she had to leave. But she then repeated, in the name of Jesus, and that she was not joking either, she was staying right there. She then proceeded just talking to him, asking him why he was even doing such a thing? He told her that his life was tough, he needed money, he needed a car etc. She responded by telling him, that yes life is tough, everyone has their own problems they have to deal with. And that carjacking was clearly not the answer. And that also in the eyes of Jesus, what he was doing was very wrong.
With that in mind, he sat very quietly for a while, not saying a word. And then, with a tear in his eye, he leaned over and very gently planted a kiss on the woman’s forehead. He told her yes, he was wrong, and that he was very sorry. He then said that he would leave her alone, and with that, he opened the car door and left.
Now isn’t that something?! We as Christians must build a strong relationship with Christ. And no matter what may happen, let us remember that HE is always in control.
Thanks for sharing that story, Barbara. It kind of makes one wonder that if people really heard the Word and turned to Jesus, crime wouldn’t be an issue.