| |
| 1. | Laughter―The Big Cover-Up |
| 2. | The Fortune Teller |
| A colporteur with his pack of Bibles, books and tracts was returning home one evening along a city street in the Far East. Suddenly he was accosted by a tall, handsome, young Turk who announced: |
| 3. | Mother’s Prayers Answered |
| "Okay, Jose, within an hour you must board your ship!" |
| 4. | ”Hide Thyself” |
| John Brenz of Wurtenburg was a Christian reformer in the days of Martin Luther. He was hated by the king who finally employed a troop of Spanish cavalry to arrest him. |
| 5. | Standard Oil Job Not Big Enough |
| Years ago a committee representing the Standard Oil Company had an all-night session. The main task was to secure a manager for a new division of operation which the company hoped to open in China. |
| 6. | A Wicked Wretch Released |
| A foreign prince, once traveling through France, visited the arsenal of Toulon, where the galleys were kept. The commandant, as a compliment to his rank, said he was welcome to set free any prisoner whom he should choose. The prince, wishing to make the best use of this privilege spoke |
| 7. | William! |
| Long before the plow of the white man had turned a furrow in the prairie sod, brave laborers for Christ were sowing the seed of the Word of God among the native Indians. One of the early missionaries was a man named Mr. Evans who opened a mission station near |
| 8. | The Gospel Through the Keyhole |
| Lock Heng, a young native of Malaya, was a member of the Penang Flying Club. When war came to the Malay Peninsula, he and other members of the Club, were mobilized in an Auxiliary Flying Corps which operated against the Japanese. |
| 9. | ”Only an Enquirer” |
| Ted was a Russian living in south-east Poland. His wife was a true believer and faithful witness for Christ. But although Ted saw her rejoicing daily in God's "great salvation," he refused to accept it for himself, insisting that he was "only an enquirer." |
| 10. | Is Your Soul Safe? |
| The following tale told during a gospel address, aptly illustrates like a parable, many a soul's anxiety—and God's way to abiding peace. |
| 11. | Preaching―Yet Unsaved |
| The Conversion of John Wesley. |
| 12. | "He Arose and Came" |
| A man might say I resolve to eat, but the resolve would never satisfy his hunger. A man might say, I am resolved to drink, but the resolve to drink would never satisfy the thirst. You may say, I am resolved to seek the Savior, but your resolve |
| 13. | The Lord Cometh |
| In these morally dark days the Second Coming of Christ is merely an uncomfortable rumor to many. Many more have read or heard about it directly from the Bible―perhaps long ago―but only to forget, neglect or refuse to believe it. |
| 14. | He Hid for Half His Life |
| Only to learn he was free! Early in 1978 the Belgrade police discovered a fugitive soldier who had lived in fear in his attic since 1945. |
| 15. | Three Indisputable Facts |
| A young man stood in the open-air and Challenged the crowd with three indisputable facts―facts which relate to every unsaved man and woman in the world: |
| 16. | … ”And That Means You” |
| "I don't believe it!" Not every unbeliever is as bold in his unbelief as was Anthony Harrold―a tough, illiterate old army pensioner who called "a spade a spade." Along with other vices he was a hard drinker. As his ungodly behavior increased, his poor wife became greatly troubled and succeeded |
| 17. | ”O Happy Day!” |
| Philip Doddridge, writer of the well-known hymn, '0 Happy Day!" was born in England in 1702―the youngest of a family of twenty children. He was so small and weak at birth it was thought that he could not possibly live. The nurse wrapped the tiny baby in cotton and laid |
| 18. | Effective Proof |
| "The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple." Psa. 119:130 130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. (Psalm 119:130). |
| 19. | What Came of Missing the Train |
| It was nine A.M. The 8:50 train had been dispatched and the station master was settling down for an hour's quiet. Suddenly a man, with a red hot face and bursting with ill-temper, rushed on to the platform. He stormed against the bus driver whose neglect had made him late, |
| 20. | Scripture Quotation |
| "THE SON OF MAN CAME NOT TO BE MINISTERED UNTO, BUT TO MINISTER, AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE A RANSOM FOR MANY." Matt. 20:28 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28). |
| 21. | An Infidel’s Conversion |
| When Dwight L. Moody was still a young shoe clerk in Chicago, he often went out preaching in his spare time. When holding meetings in an Illinois town, the wife of the district judge asked him to speak to her husband. |
| 22. | ”There Were Ninety and Nine” |
| The well-known gospel song "There Were Ninety and Nine" has been translated and paraphrased in many languages. The author was Elizabeth Clephane. To Ira D. Sankey who composed the music, a friend wrote: "One day I was talking with a woman of the most abandoned sort, who had hardened her |
| 23. | ”Big Bill” |
| His massive frame, and mighty strength had won him the name for miles around; he was |
| 24. | The Skeptic’s Challenge |
| "There is no answer to prayer; it's all imagination. Don't be carried away. Use your common sense. There is no hereafter. When we are dead we are done for." |
| 25. | The Best of All Times |
| "This really must be the best of all possible times to be alive," read a humorous cynical editorial in the New York Times. Having summed up many modern developments designed for the ease, pleasure and well-being of man, it sarcastically concludes: |
| 26. | ”Freedom From Fear” |
| "Freedom from fear" for all mankind was one of the "Four Freedoms" proclaimed in the Atlantic Charter by the world's great statesmen a generation ago. But none of the signatories has lived to realize the ideal. |
| 27. | What Then? |
| An old Christian once asked a bright intelligent youth what he intended to do on his leaving, School. |
| 28. | Whom Does God Love? |
| A teacher once put the following question to a class of boys: |
| 29. | The Costliness of Salvation |
| When D. L. Moody approached the president of a mining company about his soul's salvation the man listened patiently and courteously, then said: "It's too cheap, I can't believe it is true. You ask me to do nothing but accept Christ in order to obtain salvation. It is too cheap. |
| 30. | Found out and Turned Out |
| One summer afternoon, an English Duchess gave a garden party at her stately mansion near London. Detectives were engaged to safeguard the house and the guests, many of whom wore valuable jewelry. |
| 31. | A Wandering Sheep |
| I was a wandering sheep, |
| 32. | A Remarkable Letter |
| Perhaps a no more remarkable letter was ever written ― certainly none under more extraordinary circumstances ― than the dying message of Jay C. Sterrett, a young cowboy of Alberton. Iowa. |
| 33. | The End of His Days |
| An infidel store-keeper used the pages of his father's Family Bible to wrap parcels for his customers. Half of God's Book had been used for this purpose, when one day tearing out the next leaf, his eye fell upon the words of Dan. 12:13 13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. (Daniel 12:13). |
| 34. | ”Call!” |
| To be at death's door with only enough strength to call on a name―to be heard and delivered because he called―was the experience of a young farmer in Manitoba not long ago. |
| 35. | ”What’s Your Name, Doctor?” |
| "Doctor, please!" It was the pleading call of a fallen soldier as he lay bleeding to death on the battlefield. The passing doctor with the Red Cross on his arm heard the faint call. He stopped, dismounted, attended to the man, gave all possible relief, and then ordered him to |
| 36. | "Liar and Fool" |
| The audience had begun to leave the hall, when a man pressed towards the speaker and exclaimed: "Well! Well! Blake. I am surprised to find a man of your culture carried away by anything so archaic as the Bible. When at some tiny cottage window behind the geraniums we see |
| 37. | Do You Know the Shepherd? |
| Some years ago a godly old lay preacher placed his hand on the head of his kneeling grandson, and prayed that the boy would not stray into the path of wickedness. The boy, then sixteen, had just announced that he planned to be an actor. |
| 38. | The Enemy Pardoned |
| During the American Revolution there lived in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, a faithful gospel preacher named Peter Miller. Nearby lived a man who violently opposed him and openly abused both Miller and his followers. |
| 39. | The Twelfth Hour |
| In one of Dwight L. Moody's meetings, a man once raised his hand. The evangelist went to him and said: |
| 40. | Your Soul Is Immortal |
| This world and all in it must perish. You see change, decay and death all around you. The great Pyramids must some day give way before the march of time. Most of the mighty cities of history are now but dust; and the cities that remain are so changed that |
| 41. | Fame Without Future |
| Most towns have their celebrities. One of the best-known men in Johnson City was Blinky The Clown. For over 35 years at carnivals, fairs and sporting events Blinky, in his gaudy costumes and outrageous trappings, was always a star. |
| 42. | The Wrath to Come |
| During one of George Whitfield's sermons he broke off abruptly from his discourse on "the wrath to come" and burst into a flood of tears and cried: |
| 43. | ”A Wise Fool” |
| A certain lord kept a fool or jester in his house, as great men did in olden times. |
| 44. | ”Him That Cometh” |
| Until I was sixteen I was quite a heathen. I never read the Bible. I could not have told you who Jesus was. I knew there was a God, but nothing more. But one Sunday night I had such a longing to go to a gospel service, I said to |
| 45. | Divine Relationship |
| A long time I wandered in darkness and sin, |
| 46. | "The World Passeth Away” 1 John 2:11 |
| 11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. (1 John 2:11)Contrary to all the signs which indicate continuous progress and development, this present world has been aptly likened to a great ship sinking in the ocean of Time. In the light of Bible truth this analogy is true and gives the weightiest possible importance to God's message of hope |
| 47. | Resting on the Word |
| Abenezer Erskine, the devoted Scottish preacher, who died in 1754, was visited on his death-bed by a friend who asked him: |
| 48. | “His Life for Me!” |
| One of the survivors of the Norge sea disaster was a young girl who, when asked by a news reporter how she escaped, replied: "My brother and myself were going to visit our uncle in America. When the ship began to sink, he pulled me upstairs to where the lifeboats |
| 49. | Healed by His Stripes" |
| A poor man was dying. Several times the clergyman had been to see him, and had read prayers for the sick, and told him what a great sinner he was. But the clergyman did not know of God's love to sinners, therefore all he said only made the poor man |
| 50. | A Personal Matter |
| "Christianity," said Martin Luther, "is a |
| 51. | Ring out the Old! |
| It was New Year's Eve. A large number of loafers and drinkers were crowded into the bar-room of The Wilson House to celebrate. Liquor flowed freely and everyone was loud and boisterous. |
| 52. | ”Everybody’s Doing It” |
| Just as they reached a bridge which spanned a river running into a rocky ravine, something alarmed the whole flock. |
| 53. | A Genuine Gold Coin for a Penny |
| Captain Barclay, an eccentric Englishman, once bet another gentleman 500 British pounds that he could not sell 20 British sovereigns within an hour on London Bridge at a penny each. The sovereigns were actually worth 240 pennies each. |
| 54. | ”Nothing” |
| A young man who thought a good deal of himself once came up to an old Christian in some anxiety of mind to know how he could be saved. |
| 55. | ”Except Ye Repent” |
| LUKE 13:3 3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3) |
| 56. | ”Must I Quit All These?” |
| Cardinal Mazarin was one of those shrewd and clever men, who from a comparatively humble origin have risen to high rank and influence. |
| 57. | ”Under His Wings” |
| In the wake of a disastrous prairie fire which destroyed several homesteads, a relief party set out to see what help they could give. |
| 58. | Life in a Look |
| Not life as the reward of weary toil ― not the result of agonizing efforts ― not the purchase of money, or of prayers ― but Life, eternal life, as the result of one believing look to the Lord Jesus Christ. How wondrous is the gift of God! |
| 59. | ”You, Me, or Anybody Else” |
| Following an open-air gospel meeting in Hyde Park, a man in farm laborer's attire asked if he might speak. Permission being granted he addressed the crowd with these words: "I'm but a poor laboring man, so you'll excuse my simple way and let me tell you how the Lord saved |
| 60. | ”His Eyes Were as a Flame of Fire” |
| REVELATION 1:14 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; (Revelation 1:14) |
| 61. | A Lost Sheep Found |
| "Who are you?" |
| 62. | How Far? |
| "As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." Psa. 103:12 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12). |
| 63. | Are You Sure? |
| Are you sure you are on the right way? Do you know where you must go for the pardon of your sins? Do you know where forgiveness is to be found? There is a way both sure and plain, and into that way I desire to guide you. |
| 64. | Choos Now |
| "Some day," you say, "I will seek the Lord; |
| 65. | Almost |
| Near to the door, and the door stood wide, |
| 66. | "Main Street" and What It Means to Me |
| Christopher Knapp, author of "Who Wrote Our Hymns", also wrote the following account of his own joyous conversion to God. His story was first published in tract form some years ago under the title of, "Main Street And What It Means to Me." |
| 67. | The Infidel Farmer |
| An infidel farmer in Illinois wrote to the editor of a state newspaper as follows: "I have a field of corn which I plowed on Sunday. I planted it also on Sunday. I did all the cultivating it received on Sunday. And on Sunday I hauled it to the barn. |
| 68. | In Black and White |
| While visiting one of the large hospitals the following conversation took place between a Christian worker and one of the patients: "Well, my friend, I believe you have been quite a sick man. I suppose you hope soon to be able to go back to your home." |
| 69. | Lord Curzon and the King of Terrors |
| An incident, said to be without precedent in the history of journalism, was published relative to the deathbed of the British Statesman, Lord Curzon, who was British Foreign Secretary for 5 years following World War I. |
| 70. | The Fruitless Search |
| Thomas Hardy was perhaps the greatest English novelist of his generation. He is best known as the author of "Under the Greenwood Tree," but many other novels came from his pen in addition to poetry of considerable quality. |
| 71. | What Will You Say? |
| Thomas Hoopoo attended a mission school for Indians. After some time he went with a Christian friend to New Brunswick to a preacher's house to stay. |
| 72. | The Best Thing in the World |
| "My dear friend, can you tell me what is the best thing in this world?" said a servant of Christ, as he placed his hand lovingly on the shoulder of another man standing beside him. |
| 73. | How Charles Boblitz Was Saved |
| A well-known building contractor named Charles Boblitz lay dying in the University Hospital in Baltimore. A man for whom Boblitz had built a home asked A. S. Loizeaux to visit him. Of this visit, Mr. Loizeaux wrote the following touching account: I had learned from the surgeon that there was |
| 74. | Roosevelt's Mistake |
| During the Spanish war Theodore Roosevelt was greatly concerned when a number of his men became ill. |
| 75. | The Royal Hunt |
| The princely Elector of his day once invited Dr. Martin Luther to participate in a royal hunting expedition. Luther would far rather have roamed the harvest fields with his family, but he thought it not well to refuse the royal invitation. |
| 76. | Salvation Is for the Lost! |
| George Whitefield, the famed evangelist who is said to have preached 18,000 sermons to 10 million people had a brother who lived a careless, ungodly life. This brother, when finally aroused to the danger of losing his immortal soul, was overcome with melancholy and despair. |
| 77. | Fear of Death or Hope of Glory? |
| "Death is the absolute terror," wrote a leading Toronto Globe and Mail commentator, shocked by the tragic death of a famed NHL hockey player. |
| 78. | Time Enough Yet |
| A bright boy heard and was deeply impressed by the text: |
| 79. | Shall You Be There? |
| We're waiting for Jesus! ― His promise is plain, |
| 80. | Almost Lost |
| There was a warm discussion in the hotel barroom that evening; several guests were engaged in it. One man present, however, listened in silence though evidently deeply interested. |
| 81. | What Price Ransom? |
| In old times large sums in gold were paid to ransom those taken in battle. |
| 82. | Be Prepared! |
| Bobby Leach was the second person to brave Niagara Falls and live. He performed his death-defying stunt when he was 49 years old ― sealed in a barrel. |
| 83. | "And Jesus Said" |
| "I remember a case in Ireland," related J. N. Darby, "where a Testament had been torn up and the pages thrown to the winds. A poor man found one of the leaves on which he read: " 'And Jesus said:' again, 'and Jesus answered and said:' and so on. The |
| 84. | Converted by His Own Story |
| A hometown newspaper reporter where D. L. Moody was preaching, ridiculed some of his stories. He admitted that they were interesting and that Moody had a charming way of telling them; but he felt they were untrue and only told to work in the feelings of the people. |
| 85. | Hid With Christ in God |
| Charles Haddon Spurgeon once told of some Christians who had been teaching a feebleminded youth all they could; but it was weary work. He was a little slow, and after long teaching, and especially teaching him the great doctrine of faith, one of teachers began to question him: |
| 86. | No Relies |
| The Buddhist has a glorious temple in which they keep a tooth of Buddha. The Mohammedan has a coffin in which is enclosed the dust of their "prophet." The Christian has a living Savior. Is He yours? |
| 87. | Taking or Giving Which? |
| Following a gospel address, a lady approached the preacher and said, "Sir, you are always saying 'Take, take!' Is there any place in the Bible where it says 'Take,' or is it only a word you use? I have been looking in the Bible but cannot find it." |
| 88. | All Grace―All Glory |
| "Do you think you will get better?" was a question asked of a young man lying very ill in a hospital. |
| 89. | Trust |
| While two young naturalists, named Tom and Robert, were vacationing at a lakeside inn, they spotted a raven's nest on a ledge far down the face of a sheer rock precipice. |
| 90. | Be Not Deceived! |
| "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary |
| 91. | The Great Clock |
| While preaching one Sunday morning, William Haslam, the London City evangelist, was led (he knew not why) to digress and speak about the endless miseries of hell. With profound solemnity he visualized a great clock there with a dial, but no hands to mark the progress of time. It had |
| 92. | God’s Glittering Sword |
| Today, war relics are prized by museums and private collectors. Although never expected to be used again, many such articles bring fabulous prices. |
| 93. | "I Have Sold My Soul” |
| In Martin Luther's house was a servant who in a fit of anger left without giving the family any notice. Afterward she fell into bad company, and into immorality and became dangerously ill. In this condition she requested that Luther might visit her. Taking a seat at her bedside Martin |
| 94. | A Crushing Reply |
| A native chief in the New Hebrides Islands was before his conversion a cannibal. Years later as a happy Christian he was one day reading his Bible when a French trader hailed him. The trader exclaimed: |
| 95. | "What Will the Harvest Be?" |
| "I enlisted in the army and was soon appointed a first lieutenant. I was not yet eighteen and had never been away from home influences. I had never tasted liquor and did not know one card from another. My regiment was principally officered by young men, but many of them |