From Gangster To Believer in Jesus Christ, The Tommie Scott Story

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

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   This testimony is of Tommie Scott, who wrote a book called The Tommie Scott Story. Tommy was a gangster in L.A. where he grew up without his father in the tough neighborhoods so many young people fall victim to. His father was one of the first Crips in that city where gang violence is so prevalent. His story is one of many young black men, except for one difference – Tommy found Jesus and was saved from this gangster life.

   I'm not going to pretend I can understand what young people are going through in the inner cities, as I was born in Oregon and have lived in peaceful places all my life. I didn't have to worry about joining a gang, and facing the harsh realities many young people have to in America's inner cities, and around the world. Yet, I'm edified by this man's story of victory and filled with joy knowing how Jesus is such a wonderful loving God. 

   These types of testimonies can't be refuted by the atheist, they can't be ridiculed with intellectual reasoning. With people like Tommie and for many of us in our different troubles, Jesus was the only way we could turn our lives around. The fruit of the change is what is proof, you shall know them by their fruit.

   Tommie was a full-blown gangster from Jr. High School age and lived the harsh life as a gangster up until his mid-twenties. He was in and out of jail, was a partaker in killings, and watched his own friends get killed. Addicted to drugs, abusive to his wife, and suicidal in the end, Tommie found himself in jail at the end of his rope.

   An urge to join a Bible study in the jail led him to leave the table where he played dominoes with his rough gangster friends, and get in line for Bible study. Even though this made him look soft, he didn't care, for some reason he wanted to hear what they had to say. Before he was imprisoned this last time, he found himself driving around with his pistol, looking for someone to rob. He drove by a church and saw some elders out front, and wondered if he should talk to them, or if he should go rob someone. This is how unstable his mind was at the end of his gangster career.

   During this Bible study in the jail, Tommie heard the gospel preached, he heard that God can forgive even the worst sinner as he did Paul. This touched Tommie, and he received Jesus after the meeting as it was his appointed time. Immediately he went from a suicidal anti-social crazy man, known as "hit-man" on the streets, to a born-again believer in Jesus Christ full of peace and joy! He went out of the Bible study and began to tell skin heads, blacks, and anyone who would listen about Jesus Christ. Before long he had started a Bible study and had read the Bible through in a matter of a few months.

   His court date came quickly and Tommie went with a “song” in his heart. He apologized to everyone in the court and said he was guilty. His sentence was looking to be 10 years, for a crime he committed three years earlier, but the judge gave him one year instead. After serving less than a week of this sentence Tommie was released on house arrest. The power of God was already working for him.

   Tommie Scott hasn't looked back and is now leading his family as a man of God. He has an outreach with at-risk youth, to bring them to the Lord Jesus Christ. He has a good career with computers and has even written a recent book about his testimony. His outreach to gangsters and everyone else is centered on the prisons and the at-risk youth in his community.

   It's been five years since Tommy Scott gave his life to Jesus Christ. The fruits of his life show prove that we have a powerful God who loves each of us more than we can imagine. The joy Tommie shows telling his testimony is powerful evidence that Jesus Christ is real, and that no matter how much you have in life, you have nothing without Jesus. Whether your a gangster at the top of your game, or a professor at the University, you have nothing if you don't have Jesus.

   

Tommie Scott is now a soldier of Christ, living his life strongly for the Lord every day. This shows us Christians that no matter how bad off someone seems, if they can be touched by the love of God, they can become just as strong for the Lord Jesus, as they were for Satan. Praise Jesus for Tommie's testimony, and I pray God gives him favor and protection, for him, his family, and his ministry in Jesus Christ's mighty name. 

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