5306<\/b> Man\u2019s Power Of Choice<\/b><\/p>\n
God has no policeman to pass around and grab us by the neck and say you must read your Bible, or you must go to Church, or you must give to Missions. When God created man, He made man superior to all other creatures. He gave man the power and privilege of CHOICE. Up to now the Lord respects that privilege. He will not force us. With that privilege of Choice, goes the terrible responsibility of abiding by the results or consequences of our choices. <\/p>\n
5307<\/b> Christ Knocking At Door<\/b><\/p>\n
In Holman Hunt\u2019s great picture, called \u201cThe Light of the World\u201d, we see one with patient, gentle face standing at a door which is ivy-covered, as if long closed. He is girthed with the priestly breastplate. He bears in his hand the lamp of truth. He stands and knocks. There is no answer, and he still stands and knocks. His eye tells of love, his face beams with yearning. You look closely, and you perceive that there is no knob or latch on the outside of the door. It can be opened only from within. Do you see the meaning? <\/p>\n
The Spirit of God comes to your heart\u2019s door and knocks. He stands there, while storms gather and break upon his unsheltered head, while the sun declines and night comes on with its chills and its heavy dews. He waits and knocks, but you must open the door yourself. The only latch is inside. <\/p>\n
\u2014J. R. Miller<\/p>\n
5308<\/b> Why Indian Found Peace At Once<\/b><\/p>\n
An Indian and a white man were brought under deep conviction of sin by the same sermon. The Indian was immediately led to rejoice in pardoning mercy. The white man was for a long time in distress, almost to despair. But he was at last brought to a sweet sense of his sins forgiven. Some time after, meeting his red brother, he said to him: \u201cHow is it that I should be so long under conviction, when you found peace at once?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cO brother,\u201d replied the Indian, \u201cme tell you! There comes along a rich prince. He proposes to give you a new coat; you look pretty good, it will do a little longer. He then offers me a new coat. I look at my old blanket; I say, this good-for-nothing, and brother, you try to keep your own righteousness, you won\u2019t give it up; but I, poor Indian, had none, so I glad at once to receive the righteousness of God\u2014the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Scattered Seed<\/i><\/p>\n
5309<\/b> Auction Of Lady Anna<\/b><\/p>\n
A street-preacher was preaching on one of London\u2019s sidewalks when a personal servant of the queen, a woman by the name of Lady Anna, passed by in a gorgeous carriage. She stopped to listen. <\/p>\n
The crowd turned its attention to her. So did the speaker. In a voice loud enough for all to hear, he exclaimed: \u201cBrethren, may I have your attention a moment. I am going to have an auction. I intend to sell that young lady to the highest bidder. I know of three who want to buy her: the World, the Devil, and Christ. <\/p>\n
\u201cWorld, what will you pay for her? Riches, honor, and pleasure? Not enough. She is worth more. Devil, what will you bid? All the possessions and riches of this earth? Not enough! Riches disappear like the night when the morning sun comes up. <\/p>\n
\u201cI hear the voice of the third Buyer, Jesus Christ. What do you bid, Lord Jesus?\u201d \u201cI give her my grace here and eternal glory hereafter, an imperishable, unstained, unchangeable inheritance!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLord, You may have her,\u201d shouted the speaker, \u201cI leave her to You. You are the rightful Owner. May Heaven and earth witness this deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, turning to the surprised and embarrassed young lady, the speaker went on: \u201cWhat do you think of this bargain? Remember, you are eternally the property of the Lord Jesus. He died for you. Can you, will you, dare you, refuse to surrender to Him?\u201d<\/p>\n
To her credit, Lady Anna took the words to heart, and lived worthy of her Master. <\/p>\n
5310<\/b> Saved By His Good Looks<\/b><\/p>\n
Moody Church News reports the experience of an English farmer who told a companion, while walking through his fields one day, \u201cYou know, I was saved by my good looks.\u201d To his surprised friend, he explained further that some time before he had attended a gospel meeting, held in his own barn. This is what happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe preacher gave out as his first text, Isaiah 45:22: \u201cLook unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.\u201d He pictured the cruel cross and Jesus bearing the sin of the world. Sitting there I gazed at the amazing sight and with my inner eyes of the soul I SAW HIM DYING FOR ME.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the preacher turned to a second verse, Heb. 12:2; \u201cLooking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.\u201d He pictured a Risen Savior, able to save to the uttermost all that come unto Him \u2026 able to keep us from stumbling \u2026 able to present us faultless before his throne \u2026 able to empower us to live victoriously. Somehow the sight of the mighty risen Lord Jesus showed me that He could do the job not only for Me, on the cross, but in me day by day. <\/p>\n
\u201cThen, before the preacher closed, he gave one more wonderful verse, in Titus 2:13: \u201cLooking for that Blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.\u201d What a thrill it was to hear that this same Jesus actually is coming again for His own blood-bought people. So, I am looking forward to the time when I shall be with Him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The farmer\u2019s friend was impressed. \u201cThat\u2019s wonderful! I now understand how you were saved by your good looks!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Christian Victory<\/i><\/p>\n
5311<\/b> Old News Still Good<\/b><\/p>\n
Sometime ago a traveling evangelist was singing to himself the song, \u201cI\u2019ve Been Redeemed.\u201d A fellow passenger, hearing, joined him in the song. After singing, the evangelist put the question to the stranger, \u201cHave you been redeemed?\u201d \u201cYes, praise the Lord,\u201d was the answer. \u201cMay I ask how long since?\u201d \u201cAbout nineteen hundred years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reply was astonishing and thoughts of insanity were astir in the mind of the evangelist. \u201cNineteen hundred years ago?\u201d \u201cYes, sir, but I\u2019m sorry to say it\u2019s not much more than a year that I have known it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014George Cavanagh<\/p>\n
5312<\/b> Chafer\u2019s Altar Call<\/b><\/p>\n
Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer used an invitation that we like. He deplored emotionalism and obscure invitations that get people to respond without being fully aware of what they are doing. He felt that such invitations might prevent seekers from fully trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. <\/p>\n
His suggestion is that, after the way of salvation has been explained clearly and fully, the audience should engage in a time of silent prayer. During this period of prayer, the evangelist should ask the Christians to pray for the unsaved, and ask the unsaved to turn from their sins and lift their hearts in silent prayer to the Lord Jesus, inviting Him to save them and to come into their lives. Then they should believe that He has done it and should thank Him for doing it. <\/p>\n
Dr. Chafer would then ask those who have believed in Christ and have received Him as Lord and Saviour to come to the front as an act of confession. He believed that this method prevented people from coming to the front in order to be saved by that response and that it led them to come because they had already been saved and wished to make public acknowledgment of their experience. <\/p>\n
\u2014Faris D. Whitesell <\/p>\n
5313<\/b> Moody\u2019s Altar Call<\/b><\/p>\n
There have been many who have criticized the method of Moody in asking men and women after his service to signify publicly their intention to take their stand for Christ. <\/p>\n
A minister on one occasion took the evangelist to task for it. Moody listened to his objection, and said: \u201cI agree with you, brother. I don\u2019t altogether like the method myself, and I am always looking for a better one. What is yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
Considerately taken aback, the clergyman confessed he had no method, and did not invite men and women to make a public profession of their faith in the Saviour. <\/p>\n
\u2014The Reaper<\/i><\/p>\n
5314<\/b> Disarranging The Service? <\/b><\/p>\n
Dr. Len G. Broughton says: \u201cI remember a few years ago, when I had not as much experience as I have now, and when my enthusiasm perhaps was not as well-balanced as it is now, I had been invited to preach in one of the leading churches in one of the great cities. I went into the pulpit conscious that God was with us in a very peculiar sense, and when I finished my sermon the one thing on my mind was the salvation of souls. I did not know whether they had ever had an invitation given there for the confession of Christ, but I did not stop to ask. I stepped down and extended the invitation to any who would accept Jesus then and there to come to the front. <\/p>\n
\u201cImmediately a strong, able-bodied man got up and, with tears streaming down his face, came to the front and took my hand; then another man came. Fourteen grown people confessed Christ that morning. As we went out of the church, the wife of one of the officers, who was also a Sunday school teacher, spoke to an officer of the church, and said: \u201cI greatly enjoyed the sermon until the last, but I do not think that a man should disarrange the order of the service for the sake of having a few people come to the front.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first one who came forward was a railroad engineer who was killed in a wreck that Sunday night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014L. G. Broughton<\/p>\n
5315<\/b> Young Girl Couldn\u2019t Wait For Father<\/b><\/p>\n
I was preaching in a distant city some time ago, and one night I made a call at the close of the sermon like this: \u201cI wish all the men and women and boys and girls who wish to be Christians, would walk down to these three front pews, while the people sing, and then when they have thus come forward, I have two or three things to say to them in two or three or four minutes before we pray.\u201d<\/p>\n
Numbers came to those pews, quietly and thoughtfully. Our appeal should always be to men\u2019s judgment and conscience. Christ\u2019s religion does not need any other kind of an appeal. They came, and I noticed in the group, a girl of some fourteen or fifteen years, beautiful, and deeply serious. She kept looking back, oh, so pitifully she kept looking back, and I said: \u201cI think now that we are ready in one moment to pray. I will wait just one moment, to see if somebody else won\u2019t come, before we pray, and sit on these pews with us, thereby saying: \u201cI want to be a Christian.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
This girl would wait no longer, and she went back down the aisle and sat down beside him, where she left him some minutes ago. I waited. It was all rather striking. I waited to see the outcome, not knowing what it meant, but they told me later what it meant. She put her arms about her father\u2019s neck, and one sitting just behind them, heard her say:<\/p>\n
\u201cPapa, you and I told mother we would meet her in the better world, when she left us last year, and I want to keep the promise. I want us to settle it, papa. I went forward that they might pray for me. I thought you would come. I want us to settle it tonight. Oh, papa, I want us to keep our promise to mother, but I could not stay down there without you. Since mother died, we have been together. I have never left you except when I had to, papa. I cannot now go without you. I want you to surrender to Christ tonight, but I cannot go without you, and I have come back to ask you if you won\u2019t surrender to Christ?\u201d<\/p>\n
The big, strong, trembling man\u2014and it turned out that he was one of the judges of one of the high courts of his state\u2014said: \u201cLittle girl, papa will go with you. You are right.\u201d Together they came, and knelt together, and when the prayer was over, she kissed him again and again. <\/p>\n
What if he had not come? Oh, soul, wait not for somebody else, because somebody else may be influenced by you! <\/p>\n
\u2014George W. Truett<\/p>\n
5316<\/b> Who Breaks The Tie? <\/b><\/p>\n
A colored divine was once asked to explain the doctrine of election. Said he, \u201cBrethren, it is this way: The Lord he is always voting for a man, and the Devil he is always voting against him; then the man himself votes, and that breaks the tie!\u201d<\/p>\n
5317<\/b> Nobody Wanted Him In Group<\/b><\/p>\n
An amusing story tells of a group of theologians who were discussing predestination and free will. The argument grew so heated that sides were drawn and the group broke up into two fiercely-prejudiced factions. <\/p>\n
But one theologian, not knowing to which camp he belonged, stood for a moment trying to decide. At last he made up his mind to join in with the predestination crowd. <\/p>\n
When he tried to push his way in, they asked, \u201cWho sent you here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody sent me,\u201d he replied, \u201cI came of my own free will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFree will!\u201d they fairly shouted at him. \u201cYou can\u2019t come in here of your own free will. You belong with the other group.\u201d<\/p>\n
So he turned and went toward the free will group. <\/p>\n
When he tried to join them, someone asked, \u201cWhen did you decide to join us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t decide, I was sent here,\u201d he answered. <\/p>\n
\u201cSent here!\u201d they were horrified. \u201cYou can\u2019t join us unless you choose to by your own free will.\u201d And so he was excluded from both companies. <\/p>\n
\u2014Selected<\/p>\n
5318<\/b> Perseverance Of Who? <\/b><\/p>\n
A person who suspected that a minister of his acquaintance was not truly a Calvinist went to him and said, \u201cSir, I am told that you are against the perseverance of the saint.\u201d \u201cNot I, indeed,\u201d answered he, \u201cit is the perseverance of sinners that I oppose.\u201d<\/p>\n
5319<\/b> Tract With Long Title<\/b><\/p>\n
Looking through a large library the other day, I came upon an old collection of tracts, printed some two hundred years ago, and one of them, written by an Oxford professor, bore the wonderful title:<\/p>\n
\u201cMoral reflections upon the number of elect, proving plainly that not one in a hundred thousand, probably not one in a million, from Adam to our time, shall be saved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014John Hunter<\/p>\n
5320<\/b> \u201cBenefit Of Clergy\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
Psalm 51:1\u20134 saved more than 800,000 people from execution between 1350 and 1841. Any criminal under sentence of death could plead the \u201cbenefit of clergy\u201d by reading the four verses. If he was unable to read, he was out-of-luck. <\/p>\n
5321<\/b> The Worst Bad Bargain<\/b><\/p>\n
A Sunday school teacher asked if any scholar recollected an instance in Scripture of anyone making a bad bargain. <\/p>\n
\u201cI do,\u201d replied a boy, \u201cEsau made a bad bargain when he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage.\u201d<\/p>\n
A second said, \u201cJudas made a bad bargain when he sold his Lord for thirty pieces of silver.\u201d<\/p>\n
A third replied, \u201cAnanias and Saphira made a bad bargain when they sold their land and then told Peter a falsehood about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
A fourth observed. \u201cOur Lord tells us that he makes a bad bargain who, to gain the whole world, loses his own soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Children\u2019s Friend<\/i><\/p>\n
5322<\/b> So Ridiculous<\/b><\/p>\n
Blessed with a keen sense of humor, Charles G. Finney had a constant struggle to confine it to proper occasions. <\/p>\n
Once he was asked by one of his students why he never preached on the text which compares the wicked to those who forsake the fountain of living waters and hew broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jer. 2:13). He replied that the picture was so ridiculous and that the folly of a man\u2019s forsaking a living fountain and spending his time and energy trying to get water by working a creaking, leaky pump in an empty cistern was so great, that he did not dare trust himself before an audience with it. <\/p>\n
\u2014Esther M. Tahmazian<\/p>\n
5323<\/b> Nothing To Lose<\/b><\/p>\n
Blaise Pascal, one of the acknowledged masters of calculus in the 16th century, was asked why he believed in eternal salvation or eternal life. His remarks were as follows: \u201cLet\u2019s assume that I am wrong and there is no life hereafter\u2014then I have lost nothing. On the other hand, let\u2019s assume that I am right and there is life hereafter, then I have gained everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
5324<\/b> \u201cBrother Of Hudson Taylor\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
There were two sons in the Taylor family in England. The older one set out to make a name for the family and turned his attention toward Parliament and prestige. But Hudson Taylor, the younger, chose to give his life to Christ; so he turned his face toward China and obscurity. Hudson Taylor is known and honored on every continent as a faithful missionary and as the founder of the China Inland Mission. But when you look in the encyclopedia to see what the other son has done, you find these words, \u201cThe brother of Hudson Taylor.\u201d Men may have their names inscribed on marble monuments for feats of fame; someday these monuments will fall in fragments. \u201cBut he that doeth the will of God abideth forever\u201d (I John 2:17). <\/p>\n
\u2014Sunday School Times<\/i><\/p>\n
5325<\/b> Livingstone And Classmate<\/b><\/p>\n
In the home of Mr. And Mrs. Oxley, Liverpool, Brother Oxley told us that the funeral procession of David Livingstone was one of the greatest London has ever seen. He said, \u201cIn the great throng a shabbily-dressed bum fought his way through the crowd to see the funeral procession go by. He was rebuked by the crowd, but he cried out, \u201cI have a right to see David Livingstone; I know him better than any of you. We were in Sunday school together. He decided for Christ; I decided against Him.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Sunday School Times<\/i><\/p>\n
5326<\/b> What If Wesley Were Adopted<\/b><\/p>\n
In 1721, a wealthy Irishman offered to adopt Charles Wesley and make him his legal heir. The 13-year-old boy refused the offer, choosing to continue his way through school under very difficult circumstances. <\/p>\n
This turned out to be one of the most momentous decisions of life. The boy who was adopted in place of Charles became the grandfather of the Duke Wellington who defeated Napoleon. The young Wesley achieved immortal fame through his hymns as \u201cThe Prince of Hymn Writers.\u201d<\/p>\n
5327<\/b> John Calvin Or His Brother<\/b><\/p>\n
At Noyon there were born in a family two brothers, John and Charles. John from his earliest days was studious, thoughtful, and reverent. At the early age of twenty-seven he wrote one of the world\u2019s greatest books, The Institutes of the Christian Religion<\/i>. When he died at Geneva in 1564 he bequeathed to the world the great principles of democracy and religious freedom. <\/p>\n
The other brother, Charles, pursued a course of profligacy and dissipation and lived a life as worthless and infamous as his brother\u2019s life was noble and glorious. How do you explain the difference between those men? Not in heredity, not in environment, the same home, the same early influences. The difference is to be explained in choice. <\/p>\n
\u2014C. E. Macartney<\/p>\n
5328<\/b> Edmund Burke Or His Brother<\/b><\/p>\n
Soon after the great Edmund Burke had been making one of his powerful speeches in the British Parliament, his brother Richard was found sitting in silent reverie; and when asked by a friend what he was thinking about, he replied:<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been wondering how Ed has contrived to monopolize all the talent in our family. But then I remember that when the rest of us were doing nothing, or were at play, he was always at work.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the force of this anecdote is increased by the fact that Richard always was considered, by those who knew him best, to be superior in natural talents to his brother; yet the one rose to greatness, whereas the other lived and died in obscurity. <\/p>\n
\u2014Selected<\/p>\n
5329<\/b> Swiss Shepherd\u2019s Lone Vote<\/b><\/p>\n
When the Reformation penetrated into Switzerland, the Government of Neufshatel, wishing to allow liberty of conscience to all their subjects, invited each parish to vote for or against the adoption of the new worship; and in all the parishes except two the majority of suffrages declared in favour of the Protestant communion. <\/p>\n
The inhabitants of the small village of Creissier had also assembled; and forming an even number, there happened to be an equality of votes for and against the change of religion. A shepherd being absent, tending the flocks on the hills, they summoned him to appear and decide this important question; when, having no liking to innovation, he gave his voice in favour of the existing form of worship. And this parish remained Catholic, and is so at this day, in the heart of the Protestant cantons. <\/p>\n
\u2014I. D\u2019Israeli<\/p>\n
5330<\/b> Conqueror Pizarro\u2019s Choice<\/b><\/p>\n
Historian William H. Prescott\u2019s account of an incident in the career of General Francisco Pizarro, Spanish invader of Peru: At a moment of crisis Pizarro drew his sword and traced a line with it on the sand from East to West. Then, turning toward the South, \u201cFriends and comrades,\u201d he said, \u201con that side are toil, hunger, nakedness, the drenching storm, desertion, and death; on this side ease and pleasure. There lies Peru with its riches; here, Panama and its poverty. Choose, each man, what best becomes a brave Castilian. For my part, I go to the South.\u201d<\/p>\n
5331<\/b> Judge Paid Fine as Parting Gesture<\/b><\/p>\n
According to a newspaper item, a man in Waltham Forest, England, fined for being drunk and disorderly, was delightfully surprised when the penalty was paid by the magistrate. Sidney Lockhart, retiring after 14 years on the bench, met the bill as a parting gesture. <\/p>\n
5332<\/b> Trainman Snatches Child From Death<\/b><\/p>\n
An engineer on a locomotive going across the Western prairie day after day saw a little child come out in front of a cabin and wave to him; so he got in the habit of waving back to the little child, and it was the day\u2019s joy to him to see this little one come out in front of the cabin-door and wave to him while he answered back. <\/p>\n
One day the train was belated, and it arrived at the dusk of the evening. As the engineer stood at his post, he saw by the headlight the little girl on the track, wondering why the train did not come, looking for the train, knowing nothing of her peril. A great horror seized the engineer. He reversed the engine. He gave it in charge of the other man, and then he climbed over the engine, and came down on the cow-catcher. <\/p>\n
He said afterwards that it seemed as though it were going at lightning speed, faster and faster, though it was really slowing up. And with almost supernatural clutch he caught the child by the hair and lifted her up. When the train stopped, and the passengers gathered around to see what was the matter, there the old engineer lay, fainted dead away, the little child alive and in his swarthy arms. <\/p>\n
\u2014Talmage<\/p>\n
5333<\/b> Leo Chooses Both<\/b><\/p>\n
Pope Alexander VII asking the celebrated Greek, Leo Allatius, why he did not enter into orders, answered, \u201cBecause I desire to have it in my power to marry if I chose.\u201d The pope adding, \u201cAnd why do you not marry?\u201d Leo replied, \u201cBecause I desire to have it in my power to enter into orders if I chose.\u201d<\/p>\n
5334<\/b> King\u2019s Amnesty Had Exceptions<\/b><\/p>\n
George III issued a proclamation of amnesty during our Revolutionary War to all those in rebellion except John Hancock and a few kindred spirits. God\u2019s amnesty makes no exception. Whosoever will may come and be saved on the condition of repentance and faith. <\/p>\n
\u2014J. H. Bomberger<\/p>\n
5335<\/b> He Pointed To Capitol<\/b><\/p>\n
There is a passage in Roman history which records the death of Manlius. At night, and on the Capital, fighting hand-to-hand, he had repelled the Gauls and saved the city when all seemed lost. Afterward he was accused, but the Capitol towered in sight of the Forum where he was tried, and as he was about to be condemned he stretched out his hands and pointed, weeping, to that arena of his triumph. At this the people burst into tears, and the judges could not pronounce sentence. <\/p>\n
\u2014Preacher\u2019s Lantern<\/i><\/p>\n
5336<\/b> Games\u2019 Turning Point<\/b><\/p>\n
A flock of press representatives accosted Stanford football coach Jack Curtice after his Tribesmen had been defeathered by UCLA. \u201cCoach,\u201d the inevitable question came, \u201cwhat was the game\u2019s turning point?\u201d<\/p>\n
Without a moment\u2019s hesitation, Curtice replied, \u201cAfter they played the National Anthem.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Riverside, Calif., Press<\/p>\n
5337<\/b> Japanese Word \u201cMokusatsu\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
A Harper\u2019s<\/i> magazine researcher has disclosed evidence that a mistake in translation of a message may have triggered the decision to bomb Hiroshima. <\/p>\n
The word mokusatsu<\/i> was used by the Japanese government in replying to the U.S. surrender demand. It was translated \u201cignore\u201d instead of the correct meaning, \u201cwithholding comment until a decision has been made.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the researcher, the Allies decided to drop the atomic bomb, believing that the Japanese had chosen to ignore the surrender ultimatum. They did not know that the Japanese high command was still considering the surrender demand. <\/p>\n
Advice may be well-meant, but if it is wrong, the effects can be disastrous. <\/p>\n
\u2014James C. Hefley<\/p>\n
5338<\/b> Chocolate Or Vanilla<\/b><\/p>\n
A mother took her three children to the ice cream store and the ice cream man asked, \u201cChocolate or vanilla?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy don\u2019t you have more flavours?\u201d the mother replied. \u201cI get so tired of these two.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLady,\u201d the ice-cream man said, \u201cIf you knew how much time it takes them to make up their minds between chocolate and vanilla, you\u2019d never have other flavor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Selected<\/p>\n
5339<\/b> City Of Aachen\u2019s Decision<\/b><\/p>\n
Aachen had been surrounded by the American forces. Hitler had sent orders to the Nazi commander to stand and die in the city\u2019s defense. But the American commander gave the city an opportunity to surrender before destroying it. <\/p>\n
Lt. General Courtney H. Hodges sent an ultimatum to the Nazi commander and to the mayor of this city of 165,000 souls. Then thousands of leaflets were dropped to the troops and citizens of Aachen to surrender and thus prevent needless bloodshed. <\/p>\n
\u201cAachen is encircled,\u201d read the leaflets, \u201cAmerican troops surround the city. The German command cannot relieve you. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople of Aachen! The time has come for honorable surrender. We Americans do not wage war on innocent civilians. But if the leaders insist on further sacrifice, we have no course but to destroy your city. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no time to lose. On our airfields, bombers are waiting for final orders to take off. Our artillery surrounding the city is ready to fire. People of Aachen, act quickly. Tomorrow may be too late. There is only one choice, immediate surrender or complete destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the Germans did not surrender. Great destruction ensued! <\/p>\n
5340<\/b> Westcott Refuses Fortune<\/b><\/p>\n
Clint Westcott had been sought after for ten years when two California newspapermen succeeded in locating him. He was now a bearded, ragged old man, sleeping \u201cout\u201d with others like himself, existing on what they could \u201cbeg, borrow and steal.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Westcott\u2019s early days he had worked hard. He built a garage, but later when things got tough, one day he walked off and had never been heard from. <\/p>\n
A foreclosure on his property followed, and at a sale his assets brought over $15,000. This was banked to his credit and with interest it had grown to about $20,000. <\/p>\n
A state-appointed attorney requested the newspapermen to deliver a copy of his bank credit and inform him of his fortune. <\/p>\n
Off they went to the den where they talked with \u201cOne-eyed Jack,\u201d \u201cBig Swede,\u201d \u201cLacey\u201d and Westcott, known as \u201cWhiskers.\u201d<\/p>\n
On hearing the news, poor Westcott tried to impress the newsmen that he was having a happy life. \u201cHah,\u201d said he, \u201cI\u2019m rich\u201d and to prove it he pulled out and counted 44 cents. \u201cOne of these days I\u2019ll get out of the bottom, but I\u2019m not ready now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, Clint,\u201d said a newsman, \u201cYou\u2019ve been resting for 15 years. Why not make the break now? Here\u2019s your chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, I know,\u201d Clint said nervously. <\/p>\n
\u201cHere, Clint, is the letter. Open it and read what you should do.\u201d He continued to sternly refuse saying, \u201cI don\u2019t want any part of it, I can\u2019t, I\u2019m not ready for it.\u201d Finally the newsmen left with the good news unaccepted and refused. The foregoing story is true. <\/p>\n
\u2014The Bible Friend<\/i><\/p>\n
5341<\/b> Why Wilson Was Hanged<\/b><\/p>\n
In 1829 George Wilson, in Pennsylvania, was sentenced to be hanged by a United States Court for robbing the mail and for murder. President Andrew Jackson pardoned him, but this was refused, and Wilson insisted that it was not a pardon unless he accepted it. That was a point of law never before raised, and the President called the Supreme Court to decide. <\/p>\n
Chief Justice John Marshall gave the following decision: \u201cA pardon is a paper, the value of which depends upon its acceptance by the person implicated. It is hardly to be supposed that one under sentence of death would refuse to accept a pardon, but if it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged!\u201d And he was hanged. <\/p>\n
Provisionally the gospel of Christ which is the power of God unto salvation is for every one irrespective of what he may be or what he may have done. Potentially, it is only to \u201cevery one that believeth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Sunday School Times <\/i><\/p>\n
5342<\/b> Rescue Of The \u201cSqualas\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
The submarine Squalas<\/i> and its crew lay helpless at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, two hundred and forty feet below the surface. The crew sent up smoke flares, hoping that their location would become known. The submarine Sculpin<\/i> did not locate them. A ten-ton diving bell was lowered several times, bringing to safety the thirty-three surviving members of the crew of the ill-fated Squalas<\/i>. <\/p>\n
Not one of the thirty-three men said to their rescuers, \u201cI will think it over,\u201d or \u201cI will wait for a more convenient season,\u201d or \u201cI am in good condition as I am,\u201d or \u201cThere is too much to give up,\u201d or \u201cI don\u2019t understand it until tomorrow.\u201d All instantly and gratefully accepted the means of escape from death. <\/p>\n
\u2014Robert G. Lee<\/p>\n
5343<\/b> Dabrowski\u2019s Legal Rescue<\/b><\/p>\n
It was the Saturday before the August Bank Holiday when the Polish S.S. Dabrowski<\/i> berthed by London Bridge, and English stevedores moving the cargo found the Polish stowaway, Antoni Klimowicz. Fainting with hunger and thirst, he just managed to cry, \u201cTell the English police!\u201d when the Captain and the political Commissar seized him, and locked him in a cabin. <\/p>\n
Saturday, Sunday, and Bank Holiday Monday, the London newspapers bore sensational headlines, \u201cCan Klimowicz be saved?\u201d It appeared there were diplomatic difficulties. The Polish Captain refused to surrender him. Thousands of Polish refugees swelled a fund to engage the best lawyers. <\/p>\n
But on Monday, the captive stowaway felt the ship casting off, and soon, to his dismay, he saw the Thames growing wider and wider as the ship went down towards the sea. Soon the friendly shores of Britain would disappear, and then it would be the open sea\u2014and what beyond? Imprisonment, perhaps worse! <\/p>\n
And yet, salvation was near. The greatest legal mind in the land\u2014that of Lord Goddard, the Lord Chief Justice, had been searching for a way to be just and the justifier of the man who had appealed for mercy. It was discovered that on a previous visit Antoni Klimowicz, as a sailor, had attempted to smuggle something, and the police had refrained from prosecuting. So he could be lawfully brought to a British court-of-law to answer for his misdeed. <\/p>\n
Four hundred policemen raced down the Thames, and boarded the Polish ship. The cabin door was broken down. Did the poor stowaway protest that he was innocent of the charge of smuggling? Did he go about to establish his own righteousness? No, he gladly submitted to justice. <\/p>\n
\u201cGuilty! Fined one farthing!\u201d Ten thousand refugees in Britain would willingly have paid his fine ten thousand times. Antoni Klimowicz walked out of the court\u2014back to bondage? No! For what his own fulfilling of the law could never do, mercy had done\u2014giving him liberty and a new life in Britain. He was free. <\/p>\n
Shortly afterwards he invited to tea the two London stevedores who carried his desperate plea to the authorities. How much we owe to the One Who heard our cry as sinners and Who never turns away anyone who seeks refuge with Him! Perhaps Antoni Klimowicz learned of that Saviour\u2019s love from the Polish New Testament, which he gratefully received from the writer. <\/p>\n
\u2014Stuart K. Hine<\/p>\n
5344<\/b> Not Even The Queen Could Save<\/b><\/p>\n
Queen Victoria was once crossing the English Channel in the royal yacht, when her kindly eye spied a tiny bird following the yacht with fluttering wings, attracted by the brightness of the silken standard that floated in the dazzling sunshine at the masthead. The queen turned to the princess and pointed to it. It was weak and weary, and darted down to the waves, trying to find a resting place, but it was a feeble creature of the woods and fields. With a faint cry it rose from the waves, soared up to the masthead, and tried to rest upon the dazzling flag which had drawn it from the land\u2014away from safety, shelter and home. <\/p>\n
The heart of the queen was full of pity, and she commanded her sailors to save the weary bird. They sprang to do her bidding and used every art and device to capture the little thing in vain. All their efforts to rescue the bird only terrified it more. At last it fell upon the deck at the feet of the queen\u2014dead! Her Majesty stooped and picked it up and held it tenderly in her hand. Victoria, queen and empress, had willed to spare the life of the bird, but even she was not able. <\/p>\n
There are those who love you who would willingly save you if they could; they are willing but they are not able. They can only pray for you and point you to Jesus, who is not only a King but a Saviour as well. <\/p>\n
\u2014O. P. Boys and Girls<\/p>\n
5345<\/b> Ringo The Duck Didn\u2019t Understand<\/b><\/p>\n
Poor Ringo the duck! Grubbing for food on the bottom of Grenadier Pond, in Toronto\u2019s High Park, the duck got a pull-ring from a beverage can clamped around her beak. As a result the duck could not feed properly and faced starvation when the pond froze over. Concerned people saw her plight, and set in motion various attempts to capture the bird and remove the ring. <\/p>\n
First, a cannon which fires a large net was set up on the shores of the pond. But no success! <\/p>\n
Then a skindiver tried to scare Ringo out from the bullrushes. Again, no success! <\/p>\n
The Toronto Humane Society tried to allure Ringo with bread and corn, but that only drew seagulls from miles around. <\/p>\n
Finally, Canada\u2019s champion duck caller was called in, but although he got the attention of nearly every duck in the pond, Ringo did not respond. <\/p>\n
All for the sake of a duck! Ringo simply did not understand that all these attempts were not designed to frighten her, but to free her from her plight. <\/p>\n
5346<\/b> Epigram On Salvation (Choice)<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 When you have to make a choice and don\u2019t make it, that is in itself a choice. <\/p>\n
\u2014William James<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
5306 Man\u2019s Power Of Choice God has no policeman to pass around and grab us by the neck and say you must read your Bible, or you must go to Church, or you must give to Missions. When God created man, He made man superior to all other creatures. He gave man the power and … Continue reading “SALVATION\u2014THE CHOICE”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5261\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}