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Hi I'm missionary Selma, today I want to speak to you about the subject of life and death.
Do you know the difference between life and death? You're probably thinking, what a silly
question! However, I challenge you to read the following two excerpts with an open mind.
This first one was written by Rev. Burrell. "The man who does not know God has not begun
to live. He may eat and drink, make merry, accumulate a fortune or wear a crown; but
he has not entered into that better life of high hopes and noble purposes and aspirations
which make us worthy of our Divine birthright. For "this is life eternal, to know God."
To put ourselves into just relations with God is literally a matter of life or death.
All theologies are worth mastering but THEOLOGY is indispensable. We must know God."
The second excerpt is also from The Fundamentals, this article written by Philip Mauro, Attorney-at-Law.
The following is part of his personal testimony: "I came to a saving knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ on May 24th, 1903, being then in my forty-fifth year. I did not at that
time fully understand what had happened to me, and only learned subsequently, through
the study of the Scriptures, that, by the grace of God through faith in His Son Jesus
Christ, I had been quickened Ephesians 2:5, and had passed from death unto life John 5:24.......
....I had become a church-member and communicant at the age of sixteen; had been for many years
thereafter quite a regular attendant on church services, and had heard innumerable sermons;
yet I was as ignorant as any Hottentot concerning God's one and only way of salvation. Such
is the wretched condition of millions of excellent people in this "Christian" land and in this
"enlightened" century. The Gospel is hid from them because "the god of this age" hath blinded
their minds "lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God,
should shine unto them" 2 Corinthians 4:4. Worldly Prosperity Unsatisfying
"Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again" John 4:13. Let me add briefly, as touching
my material circumstances, that in the practice of my chosen profession (law) I was sufficiently
successful to gratify my own ambition and to excite the envy of others; that I was blessed
with excellent physical health; and that my domestic relations were all that could be
desired. Nothing seemed to be lacking that could insure or contribute to happiness and
contentment. But peace of mind and rest of conscience are
not to be found in what the world calls "easy circumstances." Notwithstanding that I had
apparently every reason to be well satisfied with my lot, and every opportunity to enjoy
the good things of this world, my mental condition was anything but satisfactory. It is hard
to picture the state of a mind subject to increasingly frequent and protracted spells
of depression, for which there seemed to be no reason or explanation. Certainly I was
thoroughly discontented, desperately unhappy, and becoming more and more an easy prey to
gloomy thoughts and vague, indefinable apprehensions. No longer could I find mental satisfaction
and diversion in the places and things which once supplied them. My gratifications had
been largely of an intellectual order, and my mind had been much occupied in efforts
to pierce the veil of the material universe, and to discover what, if anything, lay concealed
behind it. This quest had carried me into the domains of science, philosophy, occultism,
theosophy, etc., etc. All this pursuit had yielded nothing more reliable than conjecture,
and had left the inquirer after the truth wearied, baffled and intellectually starved.
Life had no meaning, advantage, purpose or justification; and the powers of the much-vaunted
human intellect seemed unequal to the solution of the simplest mysteries. The prospect before
me was unspeakably dark and forbidding. Where Is the Wise?" (1 Corinthians 1:20)
But some remedy against settled despair must be found. So I followed others in the attempt
to find distraction in the gaieties, amusements and excitements of a godless, pleasure-seeking
world, among whom I was as godless as any. Some good people who were interested in me,
and who had an inkling of my condition, assured me that what I needed was more "diversion"
and "relaxation," and that I was "working too hard," etc. This view of the matter was
urged by church members. No one told me the simple truth; namely, that I needed Christ
and His salvation. O, the innumerable millions who are stumbling through life, vaguely conscious
of a great need, but ignorant of its nature, and having no one to tell them!
I have given this description of my unhappy state at some length in the belief that among
those who may read it, many will recognize it as a description of the main features of
their own condition. To such I can say with the utmost assurance
that there is deliverance for you, full and complete, and that it is not far off, but
it is close by. "The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is, the word
of faith which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and
shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved"
Romans 10:8,9.So completely has that old condition of mental distress and unrest passed away
that I would not now be able to even recall and describe it, but for a record which I
made within six months of my conversion. "..... ....Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose
mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee" Isaiah 26:3. Another marked result
of believing "the witness of God which He hath testified of His Son" 1 John 5:9 has
been the complete deliverance from the spells of mental depression, which were rapidly developing
into a state of settled melancholia, or what is called "nervous prostration," from which
so many are suffering in these times of an high pressure, and concerning the cause of
which they are totally ignorant. The mind cannot be kept in perfect peace that is "stayed"
upon material and perishing things. It is manifestly a satisfactory and sufficient explanation
of peace of mind that it is "stayed" upon the unchangeable God. This deliverance from
mental depression was not immediate, for I did not learn at once to stay my mind on Him;
but the change began immediately and progressed until settled peace became the normal mental
condition."The path of the righteous is as the dawning light, that shineth more and more
unto the perfect day" Proverbs 4:18, R. V. It was a great and wonderful surprise to us
to find that there was such a thing as an assurance of salvation, with immediate and
unmistakable blessings given to believers as an earnest and first-fruits of the inheritance
of the saints. All our previous theological instruction had been to the effect that if
one lived "a good Christian life" (which many deluded souls are trying to do before they
have got it) he might possibly be saved hereafter, but that there was no certainty for anybody
until the "day of judgment." " (The Scriptures in the above testimony with
the Scripture references in blue are from The Protestant Christian Bible.)
Dear Reader, are you a church goer, such as this man was, and as I was earlier in life,
without knowledge and understanding of your need for a Savior? Are you experiencing mental
distress, anxiety, unrest, depression, fear, or any other emotional problems?
If so, Jesus is the Answer, just as He was for this attorney. As this man testified,
having lots of money does not satisfy the soul. Nothing can fill the God-made void inside
each person, except God Himself, in the Person of Jesus Christ, the Divine Son of God.
If you are ready to choose LIFE, by faith in JESUS, you must repent! That means you
realize you are in need of a Savior, and desire to surrender your heart and will to God, allowing
Him to be in control of your life. If you choose to retain control of your life,
thinking that you are wiser than God, then you are actually choosing death, spiritual
death, which will send you to hell when you die.
Proverbs 8:36 NKJV -- But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate
me love death.".. If you desire eternal life with God, you must
be born again. Salvation (being born again) comes only through faith in Jesus.
Missionary Selma March 2014