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by Walter L. Wilson, M.D. |
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At the
close of an evening service in which I had endeavored to make known God's way
of salvation, clearly and plainly, I went to the door of the church to greet
the friends as they passed out. Standing by the door was a gentleman holding
a lad of about twelve years of age by the hand. It was his son and he was in
tears. |
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The father
approached me, saying, "Doctor, Jimmie would like to be saved. Will you
talk with him?" |
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I knew the
little lad well, and knew that he had been raised in a home where the Bible
was read and where prayer was offered to God daily. I said to the little
fellow: "Would you like the Lord Jesus to save you tonight?" |
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"Yes,
I would," he replied, "but I do not know how to come to Jesus; I
cannot find Him." |
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Taking his
hand, I led him to the front of the church in order to escape the noise of
the friends who were visiting around the door. Up in the choir-loft we could
be alone. There I said to him, "Jimmie, will you kneel with me and thank
the Lord Jesus for everything that you can thank Him for?" |
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"Yes,"
he said, "I will do that." |
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"Very
well, Jimmie, if you will do that, I will tell you some additional things to
be thankful for." |
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We then
knelt together to pray. I prayed first and thanked the Saviour for His
wonderful work at |
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When I had
ceased, little Jimmie prayed, saying, "Lord Jesus, I thank Thee for
coming to this earth to save me. I thank Thee for dying on the cross for my
sins. I thank Thee for coming to be my Saviour." |
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There was
a silence after this. I was bowed at the chair with my eyes closed, and
waited quite a while for Jimmie to continue, but he did not. When the silence
became embarrassing, I looked around to see what Jimmie was doing, and found
he was kneeling upright on his knees and smiling at me. |
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"Why
did you stop praying?" I asked. |
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"Because,"
he said, "I just found out that Jesus really did it." |
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The joy of
the Lord filled his face, the tears had stopped, and his smile told of the
inward peace. |
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While he
was thanking the Saviour, the Spirit revealed the truth of the statements he
had heard from the Scriptures. He had known what the Bible said about Christ
and His work at the cross, but he had not believed that it was for himself.
He had not personally applied it to his own soul. He had not realized that
the Lord Jesus came to save him, as though there was no one else to save. |
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Jimmie was
a new boy. He hurried back to his father with a buoyant step and a radiant
spirit to tell him that Jesus really did it. He is now a grown lad, carrying his
Bible and seeking to live a life pleasing to the One who bought him with His
precious blood. |
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How often
people make the mistake of believing the facts without applying them to their
own hearts! To acknowledge the truth of the Gospel is not sufficient; it must
be applied to the soul and accepted personally in order to have value. The
fact that Christ is a wonderful Saviour is a blessed truth. Each one,
however, must come to Him personally and accept Him as his own personal Lord
and Saviour (John |
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How often
we find in Christian homes a belief of the facts and an orthodox faith in the
Bible without the personal acceptance of Jesus Christ and without a personal
washing in the blood of the Lamb. These are absolutely essential. |
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From The Romance of a Doctor's Visits by
Walter L. Wilson, 1935. |
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