Month: April 2016

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It Won’t Sink–Color Tract

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I was captain of a smuggling boat. At dawn, we discovered a coast guard boat in the distance. The coast guard was still a long way off, and we soon saw her turning toward us. We couldn’t possibly get away.
We all knew what would happen if we were caught. Not only would the boat and cargo be confiscated, but we would all be sent to prison. There was dead silence while we stared at each other in dismay. The coast guard was coming up fast behind us. Suddenly I thought of a way out. Hastily we rigged a screen at the stern to hide our deck. Then I set the men in a line to hand up the cargo and pitch it overboard.

Panic!
We worked fast; nothing was heard but the splash of the cargo dropping into the sea. The hold was emptying fast. We’d soon be finished. I saw the ship’s boy was exhausted, so I sent him to see if the coast guard was very far off. In a minute he came rushing back gasping, “It won’t sink!”
I ran to the stern of the ship. The sun was just rising behind us, and there, in that long line of light, were the packages of cargo bobbing up and down in our wake. The first package in the line had just reached the oncoming coast guard boat. Helplessly, we stood and stared. The proof of our guilt was spread out for all to see. In our ears rang “It won’t sink.”
In prison, from time to time, I would resolve to correct my ways. But resolving is one thing; doing is another. As soon as we were free, I went back to smuggling.

More Cargo Overboard
A few years later, I went out in a boat at night. It was New Year’s Eve, and in spite of myself, I began to review my life. I saw myself, as a child, saying my prayers. I heard my mother tell me of One who came down from heaven to bring life to the world. The more I thought, the more horrified I was. God had created me, and I had lived and was still living as though there was neither God nor eternity.
I got on my knees and prayed that God would help me. I would be another man. I wouldn’t touch a drop of liquor. I made many more resolutions about what I would do and what I wouldn’t, and I began to feel very good about myself. On further reflection I saw that there were a lot more things I ought to clean up. I must throw overboard everything that didn’t belong. My life was to be completely changed. My resolutions were getting more serious, my heart grew lighter, and I was happy in the thought that I had become a new man.
Having made this decision, it seemed as if everything was in perfect order. I was ready to go back to land, when suddenly the moon broke through the clouds and shone across the water to my boat. The memory of that morning when, chased by the coast guard, I had cast the cargo into the sea, came over me with overwhelming power. I heard the cry, “It won’t sink!”
How blind I was! I had tried to lighten the ship by casting the cargo overboard, and there it was all floating behind me like an accusing line stretching up to the throne of God. All that I had done, said or thought was there before God, and “it wouldn’t sink!” Fool that I was, I thought I could drown all my wickedness, without a thought of the holiness of God. If I had been able from that moment on to do only what was good, it would not have changed the evil done in the past. What good was it to be forming good resolutions for the future, when the past couldn’t be hidden? Tears filled my eyes. I was hopelessly lost.

Salvation
Then I remembered something. Hadn’t I been told about Jesus, the Saviour of sinners? Hadn’t He died on the cross for me? And if I turned to Him now, wouldn’t His precious blood wash away my many sins? Wasn’t there grace and mercy even for me?
All at once everything was clear. Yes, the Lord Jesus had died for me. He had borne the punishment of all my sins. If I accepted that, they would all be cast into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19). “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17) came to my mind. I was filled with joy! Entirely relieved of my burden, I turned my boat toward shore — a new man. I had gone out a lost sinner, but I was coming back redeemed by the Lord.
Be assured of this: “God requireth that which is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsak­eth them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

 

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The Debt Is Paid–Large Print Tract

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The Debt Is Paid
Many really desire to know Jesus as their Saviour, but find it hard to realize that the work is finished without any help from themselves. This true story illustrates how a poor woman learned this important lesson.
Betty was poor, very poor. She was sick, and confined to her bed as well. But Betty carried an even heavier burden. She was filled with doubts and fears about her soul’s salvation. She had heard over and over again that Christ had died on the cross, and that He had borne the punishment for her.
She believed, but still, her mind was dark and sad when she thought of the future. She felt a distance between her and a holy God. Mrs. Pax, a kind friend, often visited her. Again and again, she tried to explain the simple plan of salvation, showing that when Christ died on the cross, He finished the work, paid the debt in full, and, “being justified by faith, we have peace with God.” But no matter how simply the truth was presented to her, she found no relief.
One day as Mrs. Pax entered, she found Betty in great distress. She had pulled the sheet over her head, and was sobbing violently, as if her heart would break; the bed shook under her.
“Dear Betty,” said Mrs. Pax, “what’s happened to make you so unhappy?”
“Oh, Mrs. Pax, I can’t pay my rent, and the landlord is going to take my bed from under me. I will die! I will die!”
Her distress was so great and all that her friend could say seemed useless. She didn’t have a cent, and the debt had to be paid, or her bed taken.
Just at this moment they heard a violent knock on the door. This brought on a fresh outbreak of grief.
“There they are! There they are!” she cried.
Deeply touched at her sorrow, Mrs. Pax descended the stairs softly, and found the two men at the door, expecting to take the furniture.
“Well,” she said, after they had explained their errand, “you know this woman can’t pay her rent.”
“Of course, ma’am, but we can’t help that. If she doesn’t have the money we must take the furniture.”
“But it’s terribly cruel; she’s dying!”
“Ma’am, that’s not our business; we must have the money or the furniture.”
“Well, tell me, how much it is.”
The men told her, and taking the money from her purse, she said: “Give me the change and a receipt.”
They did, and Mrs. Pax put the receipt between the pages of her Bible, and went upstairs to reassure Betty that the debt was settled, not realizing that God was going to use this act of kindness for a far greater blessing to the troubled soul of this poor woman.
She found her in despair, expecting at any moment to be pulled out of bed, and laid on the floor. Her friend sat down by her, saying quickly, “Betty, don’t worry!”
“But, I must worry. I will die!”
“But the debt is paid, Betty.” The poor woman threw the sheet off her face, and looked round in wonder. What had she heard? She could not believe her ears.
Mrs. Pax repeated again those comforting words, “I assure you, Betty, you don’t need to worry any more. The debt is paid,” and opening her Bible, she showed her the receipt, saying, “Here, Betty, this is the receipt. Read it for yourself and be convinced!”
The poor old woman slowly read it. Suddenly, a very happy expression came into her face, and the sadness was gone. Her expression was bright, as if the cloud was lifted. She raised her hands and cried, “I understand! I understand! Jesus has paid my debt of sin.”
And, now, do you understand? Do you know Him of whom the Bible says, “Thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins”? Do you think He needs any of your help? Didn’t He say, “Come unto Me”?
“We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7). Do not think your works can help you. The words of Jesus on the cross were, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

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How Can I Be Saved?–Color Tract

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The Bible will tell you. Take the illustration Jesus Christ used with Nicodemus; you couldn’t have a better one. Jesus took him to the answer:

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).

Now, there’s the answer. How can I be saved? By looking to Christ; just by looking. You might say the whole plan of salvation is in two words—giving and receiving. God gives; I receive.

A Dying Soldier

I remember, after a terrible battle, I was in the army helping the soldiers. I had just laid down, past midnight, to get a little rest, when a man came and told me that a wounded soldier wanted to see me. I went to the dying man.

“I need you to help me to die,” he said.

“I would help you to die if I could,” I said. “I would take you on my shoulders and carry you into the kingdom of God if I could, but I can’t. I can tell you about One that can.”

So I told him about Christ who was willing to save him and how Christ left heaven and came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost. I just quoted promise after promise, but all was dark, and it almost seemed as if the shades of eternal death surrounded him. I could not leave him, and at last I thought of the third chapter of John,
and I said to him:

“Look here, I’m going to read to you a conversation that Christ had with a man that went to Him when he was in your state of mind.” I just read that conversation to the dying man, and he lay there with his eyes riveted on me, and every word seemed to be entering his heart, which was open to receive the truth. When I came to the verse where it says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life,” the dying man cried, “Stop, sir. Is that there?”

“Yes, it’s all here.”

Complete Peace

Then he said, “Won’t you please read it to me again?” I read it the second time. The dying man brought his hands together, and he said, “Bless God for that. Won’t you please read it to me again?”

I read through the whole chapter, but long before the end of it he had closed his eyes. He seemed to lose all interest in the rest of the chapter, and when I got through it his arms were folded on his chest; he had a sweet smile on his face, and remorse and despair had vanished. His lips were quivering, and I leaned over him and heard him faintly whisper, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” He opened his eyes and fixed his calm look on me, and he said, “Oh, that’s enough; that’s all I want!” He rested his dying head on the truth of these two verses, and in a few hours, he was in the presence of his Saviour.

May God help every lost one to “behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

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If I Die Tonight, Where Will I Spend Eternity?–Color Tract

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If … I … die … tonight! Can it be possible that at some moment I must die? That this living, breathing, throbbing body of mine must at some hour cease to be alive? That time will still roll on, others be born to work and play, the sun and stars still shine, but I shall not be here? And if I die tonight, where will I spend eternity?

A divine, unchanging voice replies: “These shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:46).

Everlasting punishment for me? Can it be possible that I’ve been intensely busy with the cares, debts, money-making and fun surrounding me and have left God out? Oh, how blind I’ve been! I’ve given my youth, my talents, my thoughts and my ambitions for things that are only passing, and I’ve neglected the most important thing of all — my soul’s salvation!

But if I’d taken the time to find God, to love and serve Him — what then? “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

And I’ve neither heard nor believed! Oh, wretched being that I am! If I were to die tonight, I would spend my eternity in hell. God’s voice confirms my fears. “Be not afraid of them that kill the body. … Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea … fear Him” (Luke 12:4‑5). It makes me think of two different deaths.

Two Contrasting Deaths

After a life spent pleasing himself, Sir Francis Newport, the noted English atheist, lay dying. He exclaimed, “That there is a God, I know, because I continually feel the effect of His wrath. That there is a hell, I am equally certain. Oh that I were to lie a thousand years upon the fire that never is quenched to purchase the favor of God and be reunited to Him! But it is a fruitless wish — millions of years will bring me no nearer to the end of my torments than one poor hour! Oh, eternity, eternity! WHO CAN DISCOVER THE ABYSS OF ETERNITY? OH, THE INSUFFERABLE PANGS OF HELL!” and he died.

By contrast, after a life of service to God, Dwight L. Moody, the evangelist, lay dying. Slowly he said, “Earth recedes; heaven opens before me. It is beautiful. It is like a trance. If this is death, it is sweet. There is no valley here. God is calling me, and I must go.” And he died.

I wish that I had lived for God! Wasted years — I wish I could relive them now. Is there no escape for me? Must I be lost forever? Am I too late to find my God? God’s Son answers, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

Come to Jesus

Come to Jesus. He is waiting, His loving arms outstretched, His heart overflowing in love and pity — waiting, knocking, patiently standing at the door of your heart. Open to Him before He leaves forever. Will you do so, right where you are? Will you pause in your hurry, for just one brief moment, and quietly surrender right where you are standing? God grant you will — for you may pass into eternity tonight!

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).

“The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

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