Yes, God bless them, and He is blessing them. In our requests for prayer in the June “Message” I printed a letter from an unconverted soldier, anxious about his soul. Now I have the joy of printing a letter telling of his salvation. We have sown, God knows, in tears; but God is giving us the “joy of harvest.” This letter was sent to the dear brother who packs the parcels for us in his love to Christ, and who had written to him and put the gospel before him.
The Letter
“Dear Sir, ―It gives me the greatest pleasure to answer your kind letter, which I received quite safely in the trenches, and thank you very much for it. I am pleased to tell you that 1 have at last found Christ. He has been knocking at my heart’s door, now I have opened it and let Him in. I have sought and I have found, glory be to His precious name! Dear sir, what a blessing it is to have the Saviour with you always, guiding you and comforting you. It is such joy to me now in the trenches. I have often prayed to God silently, and, glory to His name, He has answered my prayer; although I was a sinner He did not despise me, He did not cast me aside. I have found it good to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. I do confess I was a sinner, but the Lord called upon me to surrender all and follow Him.... I thank God above that I am alive to-day to tell you this. Dear sir, I have been out here since last August. I have been slightly wounded once, not enough to make me leave my comrades. I have prayed to God every day and night to guard and protect me, to keep the shot and shell from striking me, and I can prove to anyone I may come in contact with that He has answered my prayer, so I will bless and glorify His name.”
This dear fellow had been made anxious through reading a Gospel of St. John and a “Message from God,” sent in a parcel.
In the Trenches
A letter came to me headed “In the Trenches,” from one who says:—
Dear Sir, ― Yesterday I read one of your tracts that you are issuing, and I thought what a glorious work you are doing, so I am sending you on a five franc note. It is all I can send, and I have not an English money order. I send it for you to buy Testaments, or to do as you like for the boys at the Front. I thank God that He has showed me my way out here since I realized my danger on December 18th and I think it is my duty to try to do something in return for Him. I should like, if it would not be too much trouble, for what you buy to be given to a draft of the Devons leaving for the first Battalion, as I am serving in them. Go on, sir, with the great work you are doing, and I am sure it will not be in vain. Men out here are beginning to think as they never thought before — thank God for that — and I am sure that this terrible War will mean a great blessing to thousands of us. I remain a soldier of Christ who found Him out here.”
This is another bit of the joy of harvest. God bless him!
H.M. Torpedo Boat
Another letter reached me from a sailor on the sea. It cheered me, and I want it to cheer you also.
“Dear Sir, — I have received the parcel of tracts safely and will distribute them when opportunity presents itself. I have enclosed £1 so that the precious Word of God may be sent to the soldiers at the Front. I would suggest that the following be sent: ―
The small khaki Testaments
‘How Can I Be Saved?’
‘A Message from God’
The small Testaments are a very handy size for the soldiers.”
This is some more joy of harvest.
An Army Scripture Reader writes: — “God bless you! Your service of love is strengthening our hands very materially.”
From Plymouth a father writes that he has heard from his son somewhere out at the Red Sea or Indian Ocean. In his letter he enclosed a copy of “A Message from God,” and desires that his father and mother and his young wife should join in sending books and Testaments for men in the Service, on the ships, and at the battle-front, “and may God bless His precious Word.”
The Testaments and Tracts have come and are being distributed. More joy of harvest.
A Letter from France
A dear Christian who, ever since her conversion twenty-three years ago, has been an earnest worker for the Lord, writes me from France a few weeks ago. “It is kind of you sending me so regularly the copies of the ‘Message from God,’ which I pass on to the few ‘Tommies’ who are still in N —. There are only about fifty, but we see some of them from time to time. Not being on the spot makes it difficult to do anything in the way of a meeting for them. They belong to the Army Service Corps and R.E. Two of the former hope to be able to come over and see us this afternoon, which they are not often able to do. One has lately decided for Christ. Last week we found four of them, and proposed some hymns. Two had to go off, but the other two, whom we are expecting today, remained; and we had ‘At the Cross, at the Cross, where I first saw the Lord’; then a portion of Scripture, and prayer, and they both seemed pleased, especially the one who had lately decided, who said it had done him good. He seems such a nice young fellow, and I hope the other may be influenced by him to make his choice for Christ. We have given away a number of Gospels and New Testaments among the French, and do pray that the seed sown may bring forth precious fruit to God’s glory. We shall be grateful for your prayers for our meetings.... Many of our men about here have gone to the Front, or are in their depots preparing. Many have been taken, alas and sorrow and sighing is everywhere! How one longs for the Prince of Peace to come, and set up His reign of justice and peace!... A Captain H —, of the R.G. Artillery, who was at the Front, wrote us that he had many opportunities of speaking directly to soldiers, and, in one of his last letters, told us of over two hundred who had decided for Christ, and confessed Him before their comrades. What splendid opportunities ‘out-and-out’ Christians who are up in the Front have, for when men are face to face with death it makes them think.” S.T.
Think of this glorious sheaf of over two hundred precious souls!
A dear Christian at the Front writes to me: — “I am very happy here; I have quite a good band of Christian soldiers now. Last week God saved about twelve more that I know of; six one evening, and all are running splendidly. It is good to see those dear fellows come round me for a talk after prayers, as I always meet them after all is over for the day, and then we gather around the Word, and I seek to solve any little difficulties they may have, by the Word, and they all shake hands and then retire to their huts for the night.... In these days of strife, war, and bloodshed it often makes one wish they could carry all these dear fellows to Jesus in our arms.... Oh! Christ Jesus did conquer on Calvary, hallelujah! He did die for us. The life is in the blood. Oh! precious truth, and He ever liveth to make intercession for us.... What an Honor to preach the gospel, and the beauty of it, it works wonders, able to save, and able to keep to the uttermost. We are just seeing something of this. God is saving precious and never-dying souls. Oh! pray on, we shall meet them on that bright and golden morning.... Oh! praise God, we shall meet them then. He will keep His own, and present them faultless before His Father’s throne with exceeding joy. What a morning that will be! Free from sin, just like our living, loving Lord! Yes, just like Him, no flaw, no wrinkle, just in His image. What joy, what rapture will be His and ours! God richly bless you. I shall never say stop sending, as I have more troops coming in and more going out.”
In this letter we hear the rapture of the harvest song. Its melody cheers one’s heart and makes one long to do more for Christ. I have many more letters I could print, but must leave until another month.
Never was prayer more needed. Never was help more needed to meet the increasing need. Pray and help, dear friends, for Christ’s sake.
“My sins deserve eternal death, But Jesus died for me.”