wayoflife.org

An Article by David Cloud
Enlarged July 14, 2010 (first published February 10, 2010) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org;)-

Many people have spoiled their Christian lives because of bad decisions made apart from God’s will (e.g., wrong job, wrong friends, wrong marriage partner, mistakes in the pursuit of education, mistakes made in moving to the another place). And it is not only young people who make unwise decisions; many older and even elderly people have committed this grave mistake.

Following are some foundational Bible principles for making wise decisions in God’s will:

1. Don’t trust your own understanding.

See Proverbs 3:5; 28:26; Jeremiah 17:9.

The individual that trusts his own understanding will not follow God’s will. He will make wrong decisions every time. Because of our fallen hearts we do not have the ability to make wise decisions on our own. We must seek God and trust Him explicitly.

As a consequence, we must be diligent Bible students, because it is through the Bible that we know God’s mind (1 Corinthians 2:16), learn God’s will (Psalm 119:105), and obtain faith (Romans 10:17). We must learn how to have an effective daily Bible study. We must be faithful to the preaching and teaching ministry of a strong Bible-believing church. We must take every opportunity to grow in our knowledge of God’s holy Word, so we can know His will and make wise decisions.

2. Trust in the Lord and pray much for wisdom (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Instead of trusting in our own understanding, we must cast ourselves upon the Lord and beseech Him for wisdom and guidance in every major decision. He has promised to lead His people, but we must seek His guidance and not presume upon it. We must “acknowledge him” in all of our ways. It is tempting to think, “Well, the Lord already knows that I need His wisdom and help; surely He will automatically give it.” In fact, God has taught us in His Word to pray specifically and earnestly about all matters. To fail to do so is a recipe for making unwise decisions.

3. Walk in the light (1 John 1:5-10).

To walk in sin is to walk in darkness, and it hinders spiritual living and thinking (1 Peter 2:11).

If a believer is disobedient or sassy to his parents, stubborn or critical or bitter toward authority, not loving one’s wife, not showing honor to one’s husband, gossiping, lying, stealing, loving the evil things of the world, or such things, his prayers are hindered and he will not have wisdom to make good decisions.

To make important decisions in a backslidden spiritual state is a recipe for disaster. Many believers who were far from the Lord in their hearts contracted a marriage or a job or pursued a field of education or developed a friendship that they later came to regret deeply. Beware!

4. Delight in the Lord (Psalm 37:4).

The way to know God’s will is to put Him at the center of one’s affections. The will of God is not found by those who approach the Christian life as a mere list of do’s and don’ts. It is found by those who know Christ personally and delight in Him. When I do this, He puts the right desires in my heart and then fulfills those desires. The worldly or nominal Christian, on the other hand, is filled with desires that are contrary to God’s will and lives in frustration because they are not fulfilled.

5. Do not make any decision that would cause you to disobey the Bible (John 8:31-32).

What is God’s will? How do we know find it? Basically, God’s will is obeying His Word. Jesus described it as to “continue in my Word.” Any decision that causes you to disobey the Bible is contrary to God’s will. There are no exceptions.

This is what it means to live by faith. Living by faith is simply to believe God and obey His Word. See Romans 10:17. It means to learn to make decisions based on the Bible rather than on one’s feelings and human thinking and circumstances, and then to trust God to open the right doors and provide the needs. It is that simple.

Consider some examples of this and how it relates to making wise decisions in God’s will:

The Bible says do not associate with evil or with idolatry (1 Corinthians 15:33; Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 5:11), so living by faith means I will not associate with such things. Thus, it is not God’s will for His people to attend worldly parties, to attend a pagan school, to get a job at a place that would require participation in wickedness (such as selling liquor or wearing immodest clothing or showing wicked movies or playing wicked music or sensual dancing), to participate in pagan religious rituals, to participate in worldly music or fashions, etc. I recall a teenager at one church who got a job working in a movie theater. He was concerned about the unwholesome films and was thinking about quitting, but he was advised not to quit by the church’s worldly youth pastor! The result was severe backsliding. I recall another man who had a job at a restaurant-bar and was responsible to supervise worldly parties that included drinking and dancing. He did not grow very much spiritually or learn how to make wise decisions in his life until he quit that job.

The Bible says do not neglect the church (Hebrews 10:25). It is the house of God (1 Timothy 3:15). Thus, it is wrong to make any decision that would cause you to forsake the assembly, such as moving to a place where there is no good church or taking a job that would keep you out of the services. I recall a young man in our church that was saved out of a druggie lifestyle. He showed promise and was growing in the Lord, and then his father asked him to return to his village. In spite of our counsel against it, he went, and from that point he backslid in his Christian life. We have seen this happen many times.

In fact, one of the chief reasons why people quit church is that they disobey God and get a job that keeps them out of the services and they then backslide. Consider the following two warnings:

“We lose about 20% of the young sometime after the seventh grade, and generally we lose them because they get jobs that make them work on Sundays. Once they get those jobs, it becomes easy for them to justify staying out of services and they generally do.”

“We have noticed that many who leave get the idea that if God gives them a job that requires them to work during services, then it is O.K. to miss services. If God gives them a job that requires wearing immodest clothes then it must be O.K. to wear immodest clothes. If God gives them a job that plays rock-n-roll music on the PA then that is O.K. They think they are strong enough to take that and keep coming to church unaffected. Usually though, within six months of getting the job they are missing 50% or more of the services and within a year, they are out of the services completely. As the Singles Director, I have stressed the fact the God has His perfect job for us and Satan has his perfect job for us. However, most of the kids won’t wait upon God to provide that perfect job.”

If a person lives by faith, he will not take a job that causes him to disobey God’s Word by neglecting church.

The Bible says do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). Therefore, it is never God’s will for a believer to marry an unbeliever or to go into business with an unbeliever, or any such thing. I recall a man who was one of the first converts in a new church. He did well and grew, but eventually he went into business with an unbeliever and because of his partner’s crooked ways he ended up in jail and his testimony was corrupted.

The Bible says do not associate with false doctrine (Romans 16:17; 2 John 10-11). This means that it is not God’s will for a believer to attend a Bible study or a church where false doctrine is taught or to read books by or listen to sermons by false teachers or to develop a close relationship with someone who holds to false doctrine. I recall two young men who were in our church that showed much promise and seemed to be growing in the Lord, but they started attending a Bible study led by a false teacher and ended up leaving our church.

Making wise decisions simply means the child of God will not do anything contrary to God’s Word.

If we disobey the Bible, we cannot expect God’s blessing. What many Christians do is to make their own plans and then ask God to bless them, but that is backwards. We must first make certain that our plans are in accordance with God’s will, then we can reasonably ask for and expect God’s blessing.

6. Do not fear man; fear God (Proverbs 29:25).

Jesus warned that we must love Him even more than our dearest relatives. See Luke 14:26. What did Jesus mean when He demanded that we “hate” our nearest and dearest loved ones? We understand this by comparing Scripture with Scripture. Consider a companion passage in Matthew 10:37. When Jesus said we must hate our father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, he was saying that we must not love them more than Him and His will. The Lord requires that we put Him absolutely first in our affections and that we live to please Him above all else. Family relationships are important and God’s Word instructs us to care for our loved ones (1 Timothy 5:8; Colossians 3:18-21). At the same time, the call and work of God takes precedence over any human relationship. Down through the centuries many have resisted the call of God because of family ties. There are powerful forces at work here. I am reminded of the man who led me to Christ. When God called him to preach, his wife gave him an ultimatum that she would leave him if he did not stop preaching. He pleaded with her to stay, but he refused to stop preaching. Eventually she did leave him and took their young son with her. The man was brokenhearted, but he refused to stop obeying God’s command to preach the Word of God. Many, faced with such a choice, have turned their backs on God’s call.

If a person wants to make wise decisions in God’s will he must fear and serve God more than man. If it comes to a choice of obeying and pleasing his friends or relatives and obeying and pleasing God, he must choose God.

It is a great sin to fear relatives and friends more than God. Many unbelievers commit this sin and end up in hell because of it (“the fearful,” Revelation 21:8). Many who are in hell would say they are there because they were afraid of what other people thought. But believers also commit this sin. We must remember that we are bought with a price and are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This is what baptism pictures. The believer dies to the old life and is raised symbolically to a new life in Christ wherein Christ is Lord of all (Romans 6:3-4).

Young people often commit the sin of fearing man. They know that God is calling them to a life of holiness and service, but they don’t want to stand out in the crowd so they draw back from doing God’s will. I had to face this as a new Christian, when I knew that God wanted me to cut my long hair but I was hesitant to do so, knowing that I would no longer look “cool.” Many Christian girls refuse to dress in a modest and feminine manner because they fear man more than God. This is very foolish. Jesus warned that if we are ashamed of Him in this present world, He will be ashamed of us in the next (Mark 8:38).

7. Honor authorities

Another important principle in making wise decisions is to honor God-given authority. The Bible makes much of this. See Romans 13:1; 1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 5:22; 6:1-3; 1 Timothy 5:17; Titus 3:1; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-15.

I have seen many believers make unwise decisions that took them out of God’s will when they failed to honor and obey the authorities that God put over them.

Many young people have committed this error by not honoring their parents, and by this means they have entered unwise marriages, developed unwise friendships, attended the wrong schools, joined the wrong church, moved to the wrong place, and made many other unwise decisions that could have been avoided had they simply honored their parents.

The same error has been committed by wives who have disobeyed and dishonored their husbands. Our mother Eve is the classic example of this!

The same error has been committed by church members who have disobeyed and dishonored their leaders. If you get angry and bitter at your leaders, you will not make good decisions. It is not wrong to question them, but it is wrong to have a bad attitude toward them. I have seen many people leave good churches and backslide because they got bitter at the church leaders and refused to repent. We must remember that church leaders are just men, and they are far from perfect. That is not an excuse; it is a fact! Church leaders are not above God’s Word, and if they sin they should be disciplined after a biblical fashion (1 Timothy 5:19-20), but the leaders should always be given the benefit of the doubt. There is a time to leave a church, when it is not committed to God’s Word, but we must be careful to leave in the right way, with the right attitude, and we should always move to a stronger church, not a weaker one.

Authorities must be tested by God’s Word. We don’t give blind obedience to authority figures., because we live in a fallen world, and the highest authority is God. Every authority must therefore be tested by God’s Word. Compare Acts 5:29; 17:11.

Authorities should be given the benefit of the doubt. Most of the time when people disagree with authority figures, they don’t do so on the basis of clear Scripture but on the basis of their own feelings and opinions. If I don’t think an authority figure is right, I must ask myself this question: Do I have clear Scripture showing me that this leader is wrong and that my thinking in this matter is right? In light of the many commandments in Scripture to obey those who have the rule over us, it is dangerous to reject authority figures on the basis of anything other than Scripture rightly divided.

8. Seek wise counsel.

See Proverbs 12:15; 19:20.

One of the important parts of making wise decisions in God’s will is to seek godly counsel. Before making any major decision–such marriage, education, a job, or a move–a person should seek godly counsel.

Seek counsel from wise, mature people (Prov. 24:6). The classic case in Scripture of someone who failed to do this is Solomon’s son Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:1-16). Soon after he ascended the throne, he was confronted by his subjects who beseeched him to treat them compassionately. In making his decision, he first consulted the old men that had counseled his father, and they wisely advised him to heed the people’s request. He then consulted his own peers, and they advised him to treat the people as he wished and to ignore their feelings. He followed this foolish advice and lost the majority of his kingdom.

Seek counsel from near people (Prov. 27:10). Many times people seek counsel from those who are far off rather than those who are near. A lot of strangers have written to me through the years to ask my opinion about situations in their family or church, and I have always thought this to be strange and wrongheaded. People sometimes want to seek counsel from those afar off because they don’t know them and their situation, but it is for this very reason that we should seek counsel from those who are near. For a young person, the first line of counsel should be his or her own parents, particularly if they are believers. The next line of counsel would be one’s church leaders. God gives leaders to the church to watch over His people and to help them, like a shepherd with sheep. Godly church leaders “watch for your souls” (Hebrews 13:17). They think about the church members and pray for them and desire the best for each of them, and God gives them wisdom.

In our church we urge the young people who are thinking about marriage to talk with their parents and then to discuss the matter with their church leaders. If a boy is interested in a certain girl, we urge him not to pursue the matter until he has talked it over with the leaders. They know things that the young people don’t know, and they can give good advice about whether it is wise to pursue a certain relationship. Invariably, those who have ignored this procedure have made a mess of things!

Seek counsel from caring people. It is wise to seek counsel from those who not only know you but who care about you and are interested in your spiritual welfare. A young person, for example, will get better counsel from a spiritual leader who is praying for him rather than from a parent who is not interested in his spiritual well-being and who is uninvolved in his life in this way.

Weigh counsel by God’s Word. As we noted under the previous point on honoring authority figures, we don’t give blind obedience to leaders in this fallen world. We must be Bereans and test everything by God’s Word (Acts 17:11).

God’s will is worth waiting for! Many decisions have consequences that last throughout one’s lifetime, and if an individual gets those decisions wrong, he will not only live to regret it but he will have to bear the consequences until he dies. Marriage is one of these decisions, of course, but there are many others.

9. Look to the future (Hebrews 11:24-27).

Moses made a major decision sometime in his youth “when he was come to years.” He was the adopted son of Pharaoh, who was the wealthiest and most powerful king of his day. Moses could have chosen to cast his lot with the wealthy and powerful, with the pleasure seekers, but instead he cast his lot with the despised, enslaved Jews. He made this wise decision by looking at the future through God’s Word. He looked ahead to the next life and saw that if he followed Christ he would have trouble in this world and riches in Christ’s eternal kingdom, but if he followed Pharaoh he would have “the pleasures of sin for a season” and then an eternity of regret.

Every Christian young person needs to follow Moses’ wise example. He needs to ask himself, “If I make this decision what will happen down the road? What are its eternal consequences? If I marry this person; if I take that job; if I pursue that particular education; if I go to that country; if I go to that party; if I develop that friendship; if I buy that television; if I listen to that music; if I am careless about what I see on the Internet; if I let my heart become captured with the love of the world?

Unbelievers can’t see the future because they walk in darkness and do not believe the Bible. They base their decisions entirely upon what they see with their eyes. They only take into account such things as money, pleasure, and prestige.

The believer has a light the unbeliever does not have, and he can make wise decisions based on the eternal Word of God.

The believer particularly needs to look at the judgment seat of Christ and make his decisions based on what he will hear on that solemn occasion (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

10. Wait on God (Psalm 27:14).

When endeavoring to make a wise decision in God’s will, it is very important to avoid haste. When we are hasty, it is easy to make the wrong decision. We must wait until we are certain that we know the mind of the Lord, and then He will take care of us.

Joshua and Israel were hasty when they agreed to an alliance with the men of Gibeon; they trusted their eyes and did not seek God’s face in the matter (Joshua 9:14-15).

There are two biblical principles that we need to heed when waiting for the Lord: the principle of abiding peace and the principle of no confusion. We find these two principles in 1 Corinthians 14:33. When there is a lack of peace and when there is confusion, we must be cautious and not rush forward in that particular decision.

The wisdom that is from God is always peaceable (James 3:17). God gives peace always by all means (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

When I am seeking God’s will, I look for this peace. If I have a certain inclination to do something, I want to see if there is growing peace or growing doubt. If something is of God, the peace will grow and the faith will increase, but if it is not His will there will be confusion and doubt and a lack of peace.

We have looked at ten keys in making wise decisions in God’s will, and after salvation nothing is more important in this life than learning how to make such decisions.

Why are you a Christian?

What do you believe about the Bible?

Can you answer these questions with a thought out three or four sentence answer? You may never know when someone will ask you these questions… Are you ready?

- The following is excerpted from “Most Christians Cannot Explain Their Faith,” Christian Post, June 3, 2010.

Josh McDowell is New Evangelical in his philosophy, but he is right about reproving evangelicals for their gross ignorance and inability to defend the faith scripturally, and what he says is widely applicable to fundamentalists, as well.

“The faith of most Christians, even that of many pastors, will not stand up to intellectual scrutiny, according to renowned apologist Josh McDowell. This is a concern because pastors’ inability to present biblical truth comprehensibly and relevantly has led to children from Christian families leaving the church, research has shown. In the United States, the age at which nearly all such children leave church has decreased to 18 years.

… During the past six years, he asked hundreds of Christians and leaders why they see themselves as Christians. Again no one gave him an ‘intelligent’ answer. In the past 17 years, he has asked over 4,000 pastors, leaders and parents why they believe the Bible is true. A mere six ‘came close to giving an intelligent answer,’ McDowell noted. … Ninety-five percent of Christians gave disappointing responses when asked why they believe Jesus is the Son of God. Asked why the Bible is true and historically reliable, Christians replied that it was what they had been taught by their church or parents.

A common response that most Christians gave to both questions was that it is ‘what I believe.’ McDowell responded: ‘That’s voodoo thinking. Where did we ever get that crazy idea that something is true just because we believe it? If that is true, then there will never be heresy. Everybody would be right.’ On one occasion, 13 youth pastors at a large convention were unable to reasonably answer the apologist’s question.

Finally one young person stood up, walked toward him and told him he knew the answer. The young man promptly held up his Bible and said, ‘Because I believe it.’ And to McDowell’s dismay, all the youth pastors applauded him. McDowell said, ‘Young man, do you know the difference between you, me, and the majority of Christians in the world? ‘To you, it is true because you believe it. For me, I believe it because it is true.’

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http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/howtobesaved.html

WHAT ABOUT REPENTANCE?
Does not the Bible say that we must repent? Yes, the Bible plainly says that “God … commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30), and again, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). This was the preaching of John the Baptist, of Jesus, of Peter and of Paul, that men should repent. And certainly repentance is God’s plan of salvation. The trouble here, however, is that men misunderstand what repentance means, and there has grown up an idea that repentance means a period of weeping and mourning over sin, or sorrow for sins. This idea comes from the Douay Version of the Bible which instead of “repent” says “do penance.” So the place of inquiry, where people should be taught the plan of salvation from the Bible, in revival meetings, became “the mourner’s bench” and thousands of people have been taught that God would not hear their prayer nor forgive their sins until they went through a process of sorrow and mourning over their sins!
Do not misunderstand me. God is anxious for you to have a penitent, broken heart over your sins. You have gone away from God. You have trampled under foot the blood of Jesus Christ, wasted years of your life which you can never live over again. You have served your father, the Devil. There is plenty for you to weep over, and I am not surprised if you feel deep shame and sorrow in your heart that you have so mistreated the God who made you and the Saviour who died for you. I am not surprised if you cannot keep back the tears! But what I want you to know is that tears or no tears, however much sorrow you may have in your heart, or not have, those things do not save you.
You ought to be sorry for your sins and ashamed of them. “Godly sorrow worketh repentance” (2 Cor. 7:10)–the right kind of sorrow leads to immediate repentance, but mourning is not itself repentance.
“Could my tears forever flow, Could my zeal no respite know, These for sin cold not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone.”
To repent literally means to have a change of mind or spirit toward God and toward sin. It means to turn from your sins, earnestly, with all your heart, and trust in Jesus Christ to save you. You can see, then, how the man who believes in Christ repents and the man who repents believes in Christ. The jailer repented when he turned from sin to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

God has not promised skies always blue,

Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;

God hath not promised sun without rain,

Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

God hath not promised we shall not know

Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;

He hath not told us we shall not bear

Many a burden, many a care.

But God hath promised strength for the day,

Rest for the laborer, light for the way,

Grace for the trials, help from above,

Unfailing sympathy, undying love. – Annie Johnson Flint

We must always remember that God is a God of love, but He is also a God of Judgment and Righteousness. He is a God of Love, but He is also a God of Holiness and Truth. He is a God of Love, but He is also a God of Wrath and Justice.

Zephaniah 1:7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.

What does that mean: Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD? It means, “Be quiet! Hush!” When the child of God will be in His Presence the first thing we will do is fall down onto our faces before Him in worship. We are not going to dance or sing around Him, we are going to humble ourselves before Him. There is a distinct lack of respect for who God is and what He has done through His Son, Jesus Christ. People fail to recognize Him as the LORD of LORDS, and the King of Kings, and instead want to view God as a TV sitcom dad: lovable and goofy. People do not realize who God is, because they have not been taught who God is. Why has that happen? Because the Bible is not being taught like it use to be taught.

This is an incredible testimony, Please take the time to read it.

From The Synagogue to The Saviour

May 5, 2010 (Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org;)

The following is abbreviated from “Charlie Coulson: The Drummer Boy” by Doctor Max L. Rossvally (1828-1892).

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_____________________________

During the American Civil War, I was a surgeon in the Army. Following the battle at Gettysburg, there were hundreds of wounded soldiers needing immediate medical attention. Many were wounded so severely that a leg or an arm, or sometimes both, needed to be amputated.

One of the wounded was a boy, who had only been in the service for three months. Being too young to be a soldier, he enlisted as a drummer. My steward tried to give him chloroform before the amputation, but he turned his head away and refused it. He was told it was my order. He said, “Let me talk with the doctor.”

“Young man, why do you refuse the chloroform? When I found you on the battlefield, you were so far gone that I almost didn’t bother to pick you up. But when you opened those large blue eyes, it occurred to me that you had a mother somewhere who might be thinking of you at that very moment. I didn’t want you to die, so I had you brought here. You have lost so much blood that in you’re weak condition you might not live through this operation. You’d better let me give you the chloroform.”

He laid his hand on mine, looked me in the face and said, “Doctor, one Sunday afternoon in Sunday School, when I was nine and a half years old, I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I learned to trust Him then, I know I can trust Him now. He is my strength. He will support me while you cut away my arm and leg.”

“Won’t you at least take some brandy?” I begged.

Again, he looked at me and said, “Doctor, when I was about five years old, my mother knelt by my side with her arms around my neck and said: ‘Charlie, I am now praying to the Lord Jesus that you will never know the taste of strong drink. Your father died a drunkard, and I’ve asked God to use you to warn young people against the dangers of drinking.’  I am now seventeen years old and I have never had anything stronger than tea or coffee. I am in all probability going to die and go into the presence of my God. Would you send me there, smelling of brandy?”

I will never forget the look he gave me. At that time I hated Jesus, but I respected that boy’s loyalty to his Saviour. When I saw how he loved and trusted Him to the very end, something deeply touched my heart. Despite the urgency of the moment and all the misery around, I did for that boy what I had never done for any other soldier. I asked him if he wanted to see a chaplain.

“Oh, yes, sir!” was his answer.

When the chaplain came, he recognized the young drummer from his tent prayer meetings. Taking his hand, he said, “Charlie, I’m so sorry to see you in this sad condition.”

“Oh, I’m all right, sir,” he answered. “The doctor offered me chloroform, but I declined it. Then he wanted to give me brandy, which I didn’t want either. So now, when my Saviour calls me, I can go to Him in my right mind.”

“You might not die, Charlie,” said the chaplain, “but if the Lord should call you home, is there anything I can do for you after you’re gone?”

“Chaplain, here’s my little Bible. My mother’s address is inside. Send it to her and write a letter for me. Tell her that since I left home, I have never let a single day pass–no matter if we were on the march or on the battlefield,–without reading a portion of God’s Word, and daily praying that He would bless her.”

“Is there anything else I can do for you, my lad?” asked the chaplain.

“Yes, please write a letter to the Sunday School Superintendent of the Sands Street Church in Brooklyn, New York. Tell him that his many prayers and moral counsel I have never forgotten. His lessons have helped and comforted me through all the dangers. And now, in my dying hour, I ask my Saviour to bless and strengthen my dear old teacher. That is all.”

Turning towards me, he said, “Now, doctor, I’m ready, and I promise I will not scream while you take off my arm and leg.”

I didn’t have the courage to take the knife in my hand, without first taking a quick gulp of brandy to nerve myself to perform my sad duty.

While cutting through the flesh, Charlie Colson didn’t even groan. But when I took the saw to separate the bone the lad, through clenched teeth, uttered, “O Jesus, blessed Jesus, stand by me now!”

He kept his promise. He never screamed.

I couldn’t sleep that night. Despite the constant moans and weeping of the wounded, all I could see was Charlie’s soft blue eyes. Even his words, “Blessed Jesus, stand by me now,” kept ringing in my ears.  Between twelve and one o’clock, a strong urge came over me to see that boy again. When I got there, I was told that sixteen of the badly wounded had died. “Was Charlie Colson one of them?” I asked. “No, sir,” answered the steward, “he’s sleeping as sweetly as a babe.”

When I came to his side, one of the civilian nurses informed me that at about nine o’clock, two members of the U.S. Christian Commission, accompanied by the chaplain, came to read Scripture and sing hymns. She said that the chaplain knelt by Charlie and offered up a passionate prayer. Then they and Charlie sang the sweetest of all hymns, “Jesus, Lover Of My Soul.” I couldn’t understand how this young lad, who suffered such horrible pain, could sing.

Five days after his amputation, Charlie sent for me. “Doctor,” he said, “my time has come. I don’t expect to see another sunrise. But thank God, I have no fear and I’m ready to go. I want to thank you with all my heart for your kindness to me. I know you are Jewish, and that you don’t believe in Jesus, but I want you to stay with me, and see me die trusting my Saviour to the last moment of my life.”

I tried to stay, but I could not. I didn’t have the courage to stand by and watch a true Christian die, rejoicing in the love of Jesus whom I had been taught to deny. So, I hurriedly left.

About twenty minutes later an anxious steward found me and said, “Doctor, Drummer Colson wants to see you again.” “I’ve just seen him,” I answered, “I can’t see him again.” “But, Doctor, he says he must see you before he dies.”

So, I made up my mind to see him, say a few kind words, and let die. However, I was determined that no talk about his Jesus was going to influence me.

His condition had worsened. Asking me to take his hand, he said, “Doctor, I love you because you are Jewish; the best friend I have found in this world was also Jewish.”

I asked him who that was, and he answered, “Jesus the Christ, and I want to introduce you to Him before I die. Will you promise me, Doctor, that what I am about to say to you, you will never forget?”

I promised, and he said, “Five days ago, while you operated on me, I prayed to the Lord to save you.”

His words pierced deep into my heart. I couldn’t understand how, when I was causing him the most intense pain, he could forget all about himself and think only of his Saviour and my spiritual need. All  I could say at the moment was, “Well, my dear boy, you will soon be all right.”

I started to leave, hearing him sing softly, “I’m going home to die no more.”

Twelve minutes later he fell asleep, “safe in the arms of Jesus.”

During the war thousands of soldiers died in our hospitals, but I only attended one burial, that was for Charlie Colson the Union drummer boy. I ordered that he’d be dressed in a new uniform and like the burial for an officer, arranged that his coffin be covered with the flag he nobly served.

His dying words made a deep impression upon me. I remembered thinking how gladly I would have given all I possessed, if I could have felt towards Jesus as he did. But with the continuation of the cruel war and my company with worldly officers, I gradually forgot his prayer and my promise.

After the war and for nearly ten years, I fought against believing in Christ. But God continued to bring faithful and godly people into my life that spoke of Jesus’ love. Finally, the drummer boy’s prayer was answered and I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour and Messiah. It did come at a high cost. My family, in-laws and dear mother rejected me. Psalm 27:10, was a great comfort, “When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.”

It was eighteen months after my salvation that the Lord had a special blessing for me. One evening while traveling through Brooklyn, I felt led to attend a prayer meeting in a small local church. It was a meeting when believers testify to the loving-kindness of the Lord. After several had spoken, an elderly lady stood up and said,

“Dear friends, this may be the last time I have a chance to publicly share how good the Lord has been to me. My doctor told me yesterday that my right lung is nearly gone, and my left lung is failing fast, so at best, I only have a short time to be with you. But what is left of me belongs to Jesus. It’s a great joy to know that I shall soon meet my boy with Jesus in heaven. My son was not only a soldier for his country, but also a soldier for Christ. He was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg, and was cared for by a Jewish doctor, who amputated his arm and leg. He died five days after the operation. The chaplain of the regiment wrote me a letter, and sent me my boy’s Bible. I was told that in his dying hour, my Charlie sent for that Jewish doctor, and said to him, `Doctor, before I die I wish to tell you that five days ago, while you operated on me, I prayed to the Lord to save you.”
As I heard this lady speak, I just couldn’t sit still! I left my seat, ran across the room, took her hand and said, “God bless you, my dear sister. Your son’s prayer has been heard and answered! I am the Jewish doctor that your Charlie prayed for, and his Saviour is now my Saviour!

________________________

“Having been frequently asked whether all the details of this story are strictly true, I take this opportunity of stating that every incident occurred exactly as related.” Max L. Rossvally

Known facts

* Rossvally became a worldwide Evangelist.
* His wife, daughter and son eventually became believers.
* He started a Hebrew Christian Association in NYC.
* He is buried in Lawnswood Cemetery in Leeds, England.
* His story has been translated into many languages.

Shortly after his conversion to God, Dr. Rossvally resigned his commission in the United States Army and opened a Mission for the conversion of his Jewish brethren. He met with much opposition at first, but persevered, and finally had the joy of seeing quite a number –rich and poor, old and young Jews and Jewesses–exclaim, with one of old: “We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, THE CHRIST” (John 1:41).

He afterwards made a prolonged evangelistic tour, and visited many cities in Europe, America, Canada, Germany, and many other lands, preaching the glad tidings of a free and full salvation in his forceful way to large audiences, his ministry being owned of God in leading not a few–Gentiles as well as Jews–out of darkness into light and from the power of Satan unto God.
A few years of happy service, a few months of severe suffering, and M. L. Rossvally was called to the higher service of heaven in October, 1892.

“He being dead yet speaketh,” for several millions of “Charlie Coulson, the Drummer Boy,” and some of his other tracts, have been scattered over America, Britain, India, Australia and New Zealand, France, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and other lands, leading many to “know Him whom to know is life everlasting.”

Surely this true and touching narrative of real life in our own day re-affirms the words of the most noted Jewish convert–Saul of Tarsus–who said: “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16).

Notice it is not the Gospel of Christianity or Judaism, the gospel of any church, creed, or party, but the Gospel of Christ, the Gospel concerning the peerless Person of THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, Who died for our sins according to the Scriptures … was buried, and … rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name: that at the Name of JESUS every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

The great question for each of us to consider is, Have I, like the drummer boy and the doctor, as an individual, realized my lost condition as “dead in trespasses and in sins” (Eph. 2:1) and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my own personal Saviour? And do I know that “God for Christ’s sake has pardoned my sins?” If not, why not, like Jew and Gentile recorded herein, put the matter to the test? “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), and you will be able to say, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

“For 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).

“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).

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

http://www.123greetings.com/love/you_are_special/heaven_will_not_be_a_heaven.html

The text of the card reads:

If I am in Hell and you are in Heaven,

I’ll always look up and be proud of you!

But if I were in Heaven and you were in Hell,

I’ll  beg God to send me to Hell as Heaven won’t be a Heaven without you!

I Love U!

WHAT A HORRIBLE MESSAGE THIS CARD SAYS!!!

Number One: Hell is not place I would wish upon anybody! Everyone that does not know Jesus Christ as their Saviour will end up in Hell — not for a short time; not for an unknown amount of years until your sins have been burned off; but they will be there for an eternity!

Revelation 20:10-15 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever  (11)  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  (12)  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  (13)  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  (14)  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  (15)  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Note that in verse 10 that the torment will be for ever and ever. There is no purgatory and there is no escape. Read Luke 16 and the true story of Lazarus and the Rich man — that rich man is still in Hell today.

Number Two: Those lost souls in Hell will not be looking up into Heaven and “be proud” of anyone! They will weep and wail and gnash their teeth in anguish and torment.

Matthew 13:49-50 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,  (50)  And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

These lost souls will be in eternal torment and will not be looking up to Heaven. During the Tribulation unrepentant men will have the judgments of God upon them and they will still refuse to repent!

Rev 16:9-11 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.  (10)  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,  (11)  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

If they were not willing to repent and come to Christ while they still had a chance, they certainly will not speak kindly while in Hell.

Number Four: Nobody who has come to Jesus Christ for salvation and repented of their sins will desire to go to Hell. Furthermore, Heaven is not Heaven because of my friends or relatives. Heaven is Heaven because of Jesus Christ. There is no other reason to desire to be in Heaven than to see Him and be with Him and worship Him. Yes, it will be nice to see friends and relatives — but it will be immensely better to see Jesus Christ.

This card shows the world’s view of Heaven and Hell and it is a very distorted vision of them both. If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, please humble yourself and come to Him today. Please read the “One Needful Thing” page on this website.

Mark 16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Not Growing Old

They say that I am growing old;
I’ve heard them tell it times untold,
In language plain and bold–
But I’m not growing old.

This frail shell in which I dwell
Is growing old, I know full well–
But I am not the shell.

What if my hair is turning gray?
Gray hairs are honorable, they say.
What if my eyesight’s growing dim?
I still can see to follow Him
Who sacrificed His life for me
Upon the cross of Calvary.

What should I care if time’s old plow
Has left its furrows on my brow?
Another house, not made with hand,
Awaits me in the Glory Land.

What though I falter in my walk?
What though my tongue refuse to talk?
I still can tread the narrow way,
I still can watch and praise and pray.

My hearing may not be as keen
As in the past it may have been,
Still, I can hear my Saviour say,
In whispers soft, “This is the way.”

The outward man, do what I can
To lengthen out this life’s short span,
Shall perish, and return to dust,
As everything in nature must.

The inward man, the Scriptures say,
Is growing stronger every day.
Then how can I be growing old
When safe within my Saviour’s fold?

Ere long my soul shall fly away
And leave this tenement of clay;
This robe of flesh I’ll drop, and rise
To seize the “everlasting prize.”
I’ll meet you on the streets of gold,
And prove that I’m not growing old.

–John E. Roberts

http://www.mwtb.org/pages/display.php?id=500140

How can we be effective as Christians in a world that has gone crazy?

11 points to ponder!

1.  Look outside yourself and circumstances for a moment.  There is more in the world than this – much more.  1 Cor 2:9

2.  Why did God breathe into man causing humans to have a soul? Why did God create you and your neighbor? Answer: Love – An exercise of God’s free will. To love means to share.  Eph. 1:4-6

3.  “Pros” (with) God.  The Word was with God (John 1:1). “Pros” is the Greek word translated “with.”  Pros means face-to-face, complete union, or intercourse with God.  From eternity past God the Son, God the Father, God the Holy Spirit were in union.  Until, the cross.  “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me” (Matt. 27:46)? This was the first and only time in all eternity that God the Father broke fellowship with God the Son.  Why?  Because sin separates fellowship with God (Isa. 59:2). Jesus became sin, paying the penalty for sin, thus breaking fellowship with the Father, so that those who would trust in the shed blood of Christ could have fellowship with the Father through the Son (2 Cor. 5:20,21). Jesus broke fellowship, becoming sin, so that we might have fellowship with God.  Amazing!

4.  You have purpose – your neighbor has purpose. Eph. 2:10

5.  You have always been in God’s mind – this is a mystery. Eph. 1:4

6. You have been given a certain number of days on earth. Ps. 90:12

7.  God created: He is still creating. He is not finished creating you. Esther 4:14; Jer. 1:5-10

8.  You have worth – your neighbor has worth. Gen. 1:26

9.  If Christians can understand this, we would understand that each person from conception till death has significance. Gen. 2:7

10.  As a result we would do everything in our power to tell the message of God’s love to the world. Acts 1:8

11.  We would live differently, we would talk differently, we would go out of our safe, sub-cultural boxes and embrace humanity with the love of Christ communicating in practical ways, as well as in profound ways – we would be different.  We would be effective. Micah 6:8; Luke 14:23

Because of Calvary we go.  May this upcoming season of remembering the death, burial and resurrection of Christ move us to action putting feet to our words.

Time is short, life is precious and Jesus is coming soon!

By Dr Jeffrey Johnson

http://www.israeltodayministries.org/

“Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?”

An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it during the past few years.  It has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil.  It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments.  The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them.

From speaking out as the Puritans did, the church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day.  Then she tolerated them in her borders.  Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the church.  If it is a Christian work, why did not Christ speak of it?  ”Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).  That is clear enough So it would have been if He had added, “and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel.”  No such words, however, are to be found.  It did not seem to occur to him.

Then again, “He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers .., for the work of the ministry” (Eph. 4:11-12). Where do entertainers come in?  The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them.  Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused?  The concert has no martyr roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all his apostles.  What was the attitude of the church to the world? Ye are the salt” (Matt. 5:13), not the sugar candy—something the world will spit out not swallow.  Short and sharp was the utterance, “Let the dead bury their dead” (Matt. 8:22) He was in awful earnestness.

Had Christ introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into his mission, he would have been more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of His teaching.  I do not hear him say, “Run after these people Peter and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and attractive with little preaching.  We will have a pleasant evening for the people.  Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it.  Be quick Peter, we must get the people somehow.”  Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them.

In vain will the Epistles be searched to find any trace of this gospel of amusement!  Their message is, “Come out, keep out, keep clean out!”  Anything approaching fooling is conspicuous by its absence.  They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon.

After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the church had a prayer meeting but they did not pray, “Lord grant unto thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are.”  If they ceased not from preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel.  They turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6).  That is the only difference!  Lord, clear the church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her, and bring us back to apostolic methods.

Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to effect the end desired.  It works havoc among young converts.  Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the church met them halfway, speak and testify. Let the heavy laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment has been God’s link in the chain of the conversion, stand up!  There are none to answer.  The mission of amusement produces no converts.  The need of the hour for today’s ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root.  The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
(2 Timothy 4:1-4)

John 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jona, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
John 21:16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jona, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
John 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jona, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

http://soundthetrumpet.ca/media/?id=4390