|
People who found Jesus
SOME who are wandering in the depths of sin
tremble on the brink of accepting pardon through the blood of Christ. Yet the
Bible declares: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and
to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." Isaiah 55:7.
Alexander H. Stephens, governor of Georgia, lay
dying. When it became known that he was near death, leading men of the state
gathered about him, urging him to sign important documents. But he waved them
all aside and asked his secretary to bring to him an old faded paper out of his
desk.
When this was done, it was found to be an appeal
from a humble woman back in the hills for the pardon of her son, who was then in
the state penitentiary. The great men around him urged him to delay signing the
plea for pardon until he had attended to their important matters, but he
replied, "No, I am going to sign this! The great matters will take care of
themselves." So when he had been propped up on his pillow, he took the fervent,
faded appeal and, dipping his pen in the ink, wrote across it "PARDONED."
Underneath it he scrawled his name, "Alexander H. Stephens, Governor" and
dropped back on his pillow dead!
Likewise, the last words of Jesus on the cross
made sure or signed, as it were, with His own blood, the pardon of all who would
trust in Him for pardon and peace when He cried out, "Father, into Thy hands I
commend My spirit." Luke 23: 46. And at this very moment Jesus is the same
pardoning Savior who has promised, "If you shall ask anything in My name, I will
do it." John 14: 14.
Have you been pardoned through Christ? Have you
been set free from all your sins? Have you been given a new life from above? If
not, remember that when He comes, very soon now, it will be too late to be
pardoned; for He will come, as we read, "in flaming fire taking vengeance on
them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."
2 Thessalonians 1:8. And how near Jesus’ coming is today!
Just think: Jesus died for your sins in order to
be able to offer you pardon, whether you accept it or not. Shall He have died in
vain for you? How great is the peace that comes with His pardon, and how quickly
the burden of sin rolls away! =^..^=
AT TIMES a double miracle of saving grace is
performed by the healing of both body and soul. The healing of the physical
malady is first received, and this leads to the healing of the soul. This is how
many were won for Christ in the early days of the gospel. The following incident
illustrates as instance of double healing. It occurred in the lifetime of S. M.
Rugg, a former wealthy mine owner, who had lost his fortune and gone to Alaska
to seek another.
On the way to the goldfields his eyesight began
to fail him. Coming to a deserted cabin, he stopped to rest for a few days and
to give his eyes a chance to recover. But to his surprise they gradually got
worse, and he soon found himself blind. He vividly tells of his utterly hopeless
condition:
"A panorama of my past life went before me. I was
compelled to think, and I also discovered that I was cornered. There seemed to
me to be no way out. I did not believe I would ever see again. I felt that if I
could only die and never be found, it would be a relief. Twice in my life before
I had been given up to die, but this was worse. I wanted to die and could not."
In his loneliness and lost condition he began to
feel his need of God and of a Savior. He remembered his mother’s prayers, how
she used to pray back in the barn where no one could see her. How he wished that
he could believe as she did! He then began to think about praying for himself.
That seemed to be all that was left for him to do, except to starve and die. So
he begged him to pray, asking God to send someone to deliver him. He prayed all
that day and all night until he went to sleep. He felt better, too, while he was
praying. He continued to pray for three days and nights constantly, except when
he would sleep a little. But there was no answer.
Then his eyes were turned upon himself. He knew
he was a sinner, and he tried to think of something else but could not.
Involuntarily he would begin again to pray. His past life passed before him, his
years of unbelief and doubt and sin. He wondered whether that was why God did
not answer him. And at last he felt that all hope was gone.
"Finally," he said, "I began to repent of my past
life. I saw that I had made an awful mistake. My feelings overcame me for a
time.... I said to myself, ‘I will not give up! I will pray again!’ I determined
to ask God to answer, so that I might know that He heard me. If He would do so,
I would believe on Him the rest of my life."
Then came the wonderful turning point in his
experience, as told by himself, a miraculous answer to his prayer:
"My sight came to me in the twinkling of an eye!
I could see as well as ever. It was sudden-so sudden that it surprised me. I was
entirely overcome, and for a time I forgot everything! ‘Oh,’ I exclaimed, ‘God
has heard and answered my prayer! This is the most wonderful thing I have ever
heard of! God must be here!’
"It seemed that I could feel His very presence.
Yes, yes, God was surely there, for He had given me my sight! There is no
mistake about it. I was sure that I was blind, but now I can see. Oh, this is
wonderful! If I had only known about this wonderful God, I would have served Him
all the days of my life!"
Then, as usual when God in ‘ a most outspoken way
answers prayer, he could hardly contain himself for joy. So he says:
"I began to get happy. I shouted as loud as I
could, ‘Glory to God!’ I danced around that old cabin and praised God. I got the
door open, got out, and on top of the hard snow. The sun was shining. The whole
woods seemed to be alive, and everything seemed to be praising God. My spiritual
eyes had been opened. I was looking upon a new world. While nature seemed to
dance, glisten, and sparkle, the blessings in my own soul were more wonderful. I
was filled with the glory of God. Such peace, such ecstasy. And such a
manifestation of God’s presence are simply beyond language to describe. The
impression made upon my mind is indelible. My whole life was changed in a
moment! Old things had passed away; all things had become new."
Mr. Rugg was greatly used by God as he gave the
story of his experience to thousands, his burning desire being to lead others to
enter into the same blessed experience of being born again into the kingdom of
Christ. He continues: "I want the whole world to know that God will meet a needy
man, that God will convince him of sin, that God will fill his soul and change
him in the twinkling of an eye, that God’s Word is true, that there is a
supernatural birth. To get into this world, we must be born into it. To get into
the other and better world, we must be ‘born again.’
How determined God makes the hearts of those who
are seeking God’s blessing and salvation, leading them to say when they are
tempted to give up, "I will not give up! I will pray again!" It was this that
turned the tide in Mr. Rugg’s experience and brought to him his wonderful
blessing of healing and made him a new man in Christ. So to every soul longing
for such blessings, Rugg appeals:
"Oh, that the world might taste and see the
riches of His grace! The riches of earth, such as gold, silver, and precious
stones, are but for a time-a little while-then they fade away. But the riches of
heaven that God pours into the soul will last forever. The more of these
heavenly riches you compass here, the richer you will be over yonder. Friend, do
not wait until you are old. Accept this free gift today. ‘Today if you will hear
His voice, harden not your hearts.’ Hebrews 3:7, 8. I was sixty-four years old
when God met me in that lonely cabin. I had but one chance in ten thousand. How
narrow was my escape! How fearful to contemplate! Hear the plea of one who
knows. Do not delay!"
MANY will be saved because they cry out to God
for the help they need and for His salvation. They may be coarse in manner,
unlearned in mind, and simple in speech; but if they cry out to God with all the
earnestness they have, with whatever words they can use, they can be fully
assured that God will abundantly answer.
The prophet says, “Take with you words, and turn
to the Lord: say unto Him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously.”
If they do so, the Lord promises: “I will heal their backsliding, I will love
them freely: for Mine anger is turned away.” Hosea 14:2,4.
The commander of a war vessel in the British Navy
loved to order a sail drill in rough weather. It was a day of rough weather off
the coast of Cyprus. “Clear the decks for action!” rang out his command. “Stand
by! Bear out on the yardarm!”
But as his order was being executed, something
happened to the captain of the fore-tops out on the yardarm. He lost his grip
and fell with a sickening thud to the deck-dead.
Nevertheless the same drill was ordered on the
following day. But the new captain of the fore-tops also bungled and likewise
fell to the deck dead. Both men were buried at sea that afternoon. On the next
day the drill was again ordered.
The new captain of the fore-tops was Billy Hicks,
one of the best seamen in the British Navy. He was a cheery fellow, who in the
past had been given to drink. But as he had been sober for a long time, he
received the promotion. Yet the superstitious sailors thought, “Two men out-the
third had to go.” But he didn’t. The new captain did his work with skill and
came down with laughter.
But there was a great secret concerning his
escape and victory, for some days later an officer from another vessel came on
board and asked if there was a man named Hicks in the crew. When told that there
was, he said to the commander, “We were thirty miles out at sea the other night,
when I saw a light flashed on the dark clouds. I told our signalman to take down
the code. This is what he gave me:
“God, this is Billy Hicks. I am not afraid of no
man nor devil. I ain’t afraid of no Davy Jones’s locker, neither. I don’t ask
for no favors, but just one. This is it: When I strike the fore-tops tomorrow,
let me do it with what is clean; and, God, dear God, from this ‘ere day give me
the feeling I used to have long ago when I knelt at my mother’s knee and said,
“Our Father.” Good night, dear God!”
Billy Hicks’ way of praying to God may seem
coarse, but it was the most direct and certain that he knew. And what a
wonderful success it was, for he was not only saved from death in his difficult
task, but also saved from wicked living from that day forward.
Over and over again men have prayed to God for
light and help in an honest effort to be enlightened and saved. God always
answers an honest doubter who pleads for light and salvation. Some do not know
how to pray, but they need not be troubled over that. There is no set form of
prayer. All that is necessary is to ask for the help you need, just as you would
ask it from a friend, or as a child would ask it from a father or mother. It is
really a simple matter, and the more simple the prayer, the better.
Billy Hicks’ way of praying was quite a strange
one, but it exactly suited his experience and need. That is all that is
necessary.
Have you prayed to God for the help you need in
order to serve Him? Do not delay! How fast time is now passing in these closing
days of the world! God’s salvation is the greatest blessing you can ever have.
It is worth every effort to gain it. Jesus is eager to give you forgiveness and
power to live a holy life.
So if you have not made prayer a daily habit,
will you not start? If you do, you can be sure that your experience will be a
really happy one. Heaven is full of joy, and God delights in making even His
children on earth happy in heart even in the trials of life. And then you can
look forward to a whole eternity of happiness at last in the heavenly mansions
prepared for you to enjoy as long as the ages of eternity roll. =^..^=
|
WHAT'S
NEW?