Out of Death

by Heather Tietz

Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

John 5:24

Nicky Cruz passed out of death into life. In 1958, Nicky and several members of his Mau-Mau street gang walked into a New York City police department. They laid down their weapons. They laid down their pursuit of blood, revenge, and power. They laid out their guilt and took hold of life.

Nicky grew up in Puerto Rico, as the son of a witch and a Satanic Priest. He was one of eighteen children, most of whom were half-siblings from his father’s infidelity. He was physically abused and often awoke battered and bleeding. His parents sent their “troublemaker” son to New York. There the Mau-Mau gang became his new family, and his hard heart drove him to real crime.

One day a fearless pastor named David Wilkerson introduced Nicky to something he’d not seen before: love. In a room of 2000 gang members, Nicky, his friends, and enemies alike, heard about Jesus, His offer of forgiveness, and His desire to better their lives. Nicky’s hard heart changed. He heard. He believed. He actively turned to God, giving up his life of death, and with it, God’s judgment on him. God has been using Nicky’s life ever since to bring thousands to Jesus.

God doesn’t weigh our sins. We are all as guilty before Jesus. Someone near you needs love. Be fearless. Tell them. Show them. God loves them, and so do you.

Prayer: Lord, use me to share wonderful Jesus with others who did not know how much His love can give them happiness. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.