CHAPTER FIVE - FRIEND OF SINNERS

Chapter Five
Friend of Sinners



"Many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him
and his disciples....and he said unto them, 'They that be whole
need not a physician, but they that are sick.'"
Matthew 9:10, 12

I wanted to sink beneath the steering wheel. The look on the gas station attendant's face said, "Uh huh, looks like Prentice has got another one." (Meaning another woman) Gulp.

I was driving Prentice's car because I had loaned him our old red Ford pickup. He and his girlfriend Marilyn were moving into the house I had just sold them. This was a big fish, and it seemed like I was catching a little of Satan's heat over it. I wanted to crawl out of sight, but before I could escape the leering eye of the attendant, the Lord spoke softly to my heart.

"I was a friend of sinners. Are you willing to be one too?"

"Oh, Lord," I whispered back. "I'm sorry." A deep sense of the rejection He had experienced came over me, and in that brief moment He pulled the curtain of time back. I could see my precious Lord reaching out to the rejects of the Galilean society in which He lived. "I'll be a friend," I promised.

God had spoken to my heart the day that Alex and Daisy pulled out of town with their U-Haul behind them. He had a new assignment for me. But to be honest...... I was worn out! I had been mother, nurse, counselor and teacher to Alex and Daisy. It had been such a responsibility. They just knew I could do miracles. They called me their "Mother" and expected me to sell their house without any problem. After all ...Moms can do anything, can't they? Praise His Name, I did find a buyer, but I was sure sweating it out for awhile.

Now, here was God telling me that this man Prentice was a 'Big Fish'. He would help me catch him if I was willing to work. Groan. "Okay, Lord. Show me what to do."
I had written a contract on a house for Prentice and needed him to sign a typed copy. Marilyn called just before I was to meet them at their apartment. She said that Prentice was sick. "Oh, does he have the flu?" I asked.

"I think so," she said hesitantly.

"Oh, that's too bad," I sympathized. "Tell you what. I'll just come by, and you can get the contract and take it in to Prentice. Have him sign it and bring it back out to me."

When I arrived at their place, Marilyn came out to my truck and stuck her head through the open window. "You know I just can't lie about this. Prentice is an alcoholic, and he's really on a bad one."

I responded cheerfully with a big smile and said, "Don't feel bad. My husband was an alcoholic, too. He just needs Jesus. Come on and get in the truck, and I'll pray for him." And I did.

"Prentice," she yelled as she walked back into the apartment. "That real estate lady prayed for you."

Sprawled on the couch in a drunken stupor, his words slurred as he said, "Well, I sure need it."



It was after this incident that God gave me my commission to go for this big fish! I was to learn that Prentice had been one of the town's drunks for years. Rumor had it that he was so mean that one time he nearly bit off a policeman's ear when the officer tried to get him into the patrol car. He had been in prison so many times he said he couldn't count them. Marilyn was not his wife, but she loved this man! Between them they had twelve children! Eight of them were Marilyn's and hers were all girls.

Now God has given me a fantastic fishing partner. My husband Charlie was game for this one! God had put a special love in both of our hearts for this couple. We began to visit them in their new home, taking blackberry ice cream, homemade pies and cakes and having them over to our home for dinner on occasion. For six months we befriended them. We began to notice that Prentice was working more and drinking less. Marilyn liked our influence on Prentice and asked us over more and more often. Soon we got to know their kids. What a family! Two of Prentice's older sons seemed drawn to us. They came to visit a lot.

One day, sitting on our porch swing, Tommy, who was the oldest, blurted out, "I really appreciate what y'all are doing for my Dad."

Realizing he was sharing his heart with me, I said, "It's not us, Tommy. It's the Lord."

"I really love my Dad, and I know his drinking is killing him." He took a deep breath and then continued. "I used to be on drugs and even though I don't do them anymore, I know I need to go to church...." he let the words trail off, and we both just sat there swinging.

Finally, I pulled up my courage and looking directly into his eyes said, "Listen, Tommy, you can go to church every day of your life but still wind up in hell." Taking his silence as a green light, I proceeded to go through the whole plan of salvation. When he left that day, I didn't know whether I had run him off for good, but I knew God had his number.

Several days later Charlie and I were just about to sit down for lunch when this burden came over me. "Honey," I said, "we need to pray for Prentice and his boys."

"Why?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. I just know we need to pray."

Bowing our heads we, earnestly interceded in the Spirit. How grateful I was, for this avenue of prayer. We were soon to learn that the Holy Spirit was right on target.

Fifteen minutes later we got a call from Tammy, one of Marilyn's daughters. Tearfully she said, "Please come quick. Tommy and Randy have been in an accident, and they think Tommy's back is broken."

Rushing to the hospital we began to claim the promises. I prayed out loud, "Lord we believe not a bone is broken in Jesus' Name!" As we hurried into the emergency room they were wheeling Tommy out on a stretcher. No broken bones! Both young men had been spared!

Unknown to us, the brothers had decided to come over to our house to ask Charlie to go fishing. They were on a motorcycle. At the very moment we were praying for them, they started passing a car. As they were just to the left of the vehicle, the driver, not seeing them, turned into them. Tommy and Randy were both thrown nearly 70 feet in the air, landing on the asphalt in front of a car wash. Strategically in place, an E.M.T. team was washing their ambulance. My, how God used this incident in the life of this family! The result of Tommy's wreck brought salvation to him.

Several months after this near tragedy, he went to Norvel Hayes Bible College in Tennessee and subsequently to the Philippines as a missionary.

Now a new Christian, Tommy asked us to start a Bible study in his father's home and so with Prentice's permission we did. In the third week of the Bible study, as we were sitting at their kitchen table, Prentice shared an incident in his father's life. Finishing his story he said, "My father knew before he died that he was on the right side of the fence."

As I sensed the Spirit of God working in his heart I asked, "What about you Prentice? What side are you on?"

Taking a deep breath, he skirted around the question and said, "Well Jerri, to be honest I don't know what side I'm on."

Charlie quickly responded with, "You could know tonight, Prentice. Wouldn't you like to be saved?"

With tears in his eyes he said, "Yes, I would, but Charlie, Marilyn and I are just living together." (As if this was news to us!)

"You could take care of that, too," said Charlie. Then looking at Marilyn, who was also teary-eyed by this time, he gently asked, "What about you Marilyn? Wouldn't you like to be saved, too?" She just nodded yes, with a big grin on her face. The rest was a simple trip down the Roman Road of salvation. Bowing their heads and opening their hearts to Jesus, I could almost hear another party starting in heaven.



Boy, did I have to get busy after this scene. I only had a week to bake and decorate a cake and get a wedding set up. As it turned out, it was a fantastic celebration. Eleven of their twelve children were able to attend. By the way, "his" and "hers" now have an "ours" and the "ours" is a BOY!! They named him John Prentice Jr. Didn't I read somewhere that John was a fisherman?

P.S. As an update (Dec. 2010) Prentice went to be home with the Lord a few years ago and Marilyn is still living for the Lord, active in her church and her community.



Prayer for Today

Dear Lord,
Today I want to be a friend of sinners. I want to touch them the way you touched them, Lord – without fear of defilement, without any look of disgust, without judgment and condemnation.

Lord, I want the lost to be drawn to you because of your love and acceptance in me. I want them to feel your love through me. I ask you, Lord, to pour yourself through my life today and by doing this, Lord, I know that sinners will be converted unto you.

In Jesus name,
Amen