fbpx
×

Log into your account

We have changed software providers for our subscription database. Old login credentials will no longer work. Please click the "Register" link below to create a new account. If you do not know your new account number you can contact [email protected]
11th-hour salvation places judge in heaven
David Ettinger, Baptist Press
March 17, 2010
6 MIN READ TIME

11th-hour salvation places judge in heaven

11th-hour salvation places judge in heaven
David Ettinger, Baptist Press
March 17, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s a

salvation story of epic 11th-hour proportions. Its cast includes a respected

judge, a wife desperate to see her husband come to faith in Jesus Christ and a

Southern Baptist pastor who spoke the right words at just right time.

Bob Wattles of Orlando, Fla., was a longtime Orange County circuit judge who

won both praise and criticism for his rulings but was always respected for

acting according to his deeply held principles. At age 62, Wattles made his

greatest decision of all, giving his life to Christ just eight weeks before

losing his battle with cancer on Sunday, Jan. 24.

So, how did his end-of-life miracle come about? First, some background into the

judge’s spiritual condition.

“Bob grew up in a Christian family, but I don’t know if he ever established a

personal relationship with Christ,” said Patricia Strowbridge, Wattles’ wife of

nearly 15 years. “As he grew older and because of the requirements of his job,

I think whatever bit of relationship he had really got squashed down to the

point that he drifted so far away that he was unable to surrender any part of

his life to Christ.”

Her husband’s choice not to accept Christ weighed heavily on Strowbridge.

“This was a heartache to me for many, many years,” she said. “At the very end

of his life, I didn’t know where his relationship was with the Lord, and this

was very troubling to me because I felt that, with cancer winning the battle,

my children would look at me and ask, ‘Is Dad in heaven?’ I would never be able

to lie to my children; if they saw doubt in my eyes, it would break their

heart. I prayed so hard that he would find a way of surrender to Jesus Christ.”

Bob Wattles

As Wattles’ cancer continued to spread, Strowbridge knew she needed outside

help. She called on Randall James, a pastor at First Baptist Church in Orlando

and chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee. James

also is a former chief-of-staff for four Orlando mayors and had known Judge

Wattles for about 16 years.

“Patricia called me because she knew I had been treated for cancer for the past

23 years,” James said. “She asked me if I would speak to her husband and I told

her I would be honored to.”

While James wanted to encourage Wattles not to give up his fight against cancer

or succumb to self-pity, he knew that the judge had a far bigger need.

“During our very first conversation, I posed the question, ‘Do you know for

sure that if you died tonight you would be in heaven?’” James recalled. “The

answer was something to the effect of, ‘I hope so.’”

James knew what he had to do next.

“I told him, ‘You can have the same assurance that your wife and I have that we

will one day be in heaven. It requires a relationship with Jesus Christ.”

James then shared with Wattles what he calls the “ABCs of evangelism.”

“I said to the judge, ‘A, admit you are a sinner; B, believe that Jesus died on

the cross and that His blood paid your sin debt; and C, confess Jesus Christ as

Lord.’ I told the judge we don’t have to do anything to earn our salvation, but

that Jesus made it as simple as possible. We don’t have to write a check, join

the church or even be baptized; we only have to accept Jesus into our hearts.”

With that, James extended an invitation.

“I said to the judge, ‘Because accepting Christ is so simple, what do you have

to lose, brother?’ I then prayed the prayer of salvation and asked him if he

had accepted Jesus into his heart and he said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Welcome to the

Kingdom of Christ.’”

That conversation took place at a prayer and healing service at First Baptist

Orlando last November and the timing could not have been better.

“When Randall said to my husband, ‘… what do you have to lose, brother?’ a

complete change came over him and he said, ‘You’re right, and accepted Jesus

into his heart,’” Strowbridge said.

“Right after that, his condition began to

grow even worse.”

Just six days before Wattles went home to be with the Lord, Strowbridge invited

James to the house to speak with the judge once more.

“When Pastor Randall left that evening, he gave me a hug and said, ‘Your

husband is well with the Lord,’” Strowbridge recounted. “That gave me a lot of

encouragement because Pastor James was the last person my husband had a coherent,

lucid conversation with. When he woke up the next day, he could no longer speak

intelligibly [because the cancer had entered his brain]. By the weekend, he had

lost all coherence.”

For James, that final visit with Wattles was a sweet time of fellowship between

two children of God.

“We reconfirmed his salvation and talked about heaven,” James said. “We chatted

about a few other things, then I got down on my knees at his bedside. He …

reached out his hands and I took hold of them.”

It was a familiar sight to James.

“His fingers were completely swollen, and I knew why. They were swollen from

the chemotherapy and the steroid that helps build strength following chemo

treatments. So I took his two swollen hands, prayed with him and gave him a

kiss on the cheek and walked out.”

Six days later, Wattles lost his battle with cancer.

“I am so glad that his pain and suffering is over,” James said. “He is at peace

with Jesus.”

On Thursday, Jan. 28, James had the opportunity of giving the message at Judge

Wattles’ funeral at First Baptist, which was attended by nearly 1,000 people,

including about 60 Orange County judges. James was bold in sharing the plan of

salvation.

“We are all just visitors and aliens on this earth,” James said. “If we want to

have eternal life with God the Father, we must turn from our sins and confess

our faith in Jesus Christ. This is how we can be sure that we will spend

eternity in heaven. I know that this is where Bob is right now and that he

wants everyone in this room to be where he is now.

“In fact, Bob is more alive now than ever.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Ettinger is a staff writer and editor at First Baptist Church

in Orlando, Fla.)