Is there no clergyman in this village who can pray? I can do nothing here!

Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
James 5:14

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
JOHN CHRISTOPH BLUMHARDT was born in Stuttgart, July 16, 1805. He began to preach in 1828. He had a strong faith in God—a faith that took absolute hold on the promises of the Word and rested upon them in calm confidence. After a short service as pastor of Iptingen, in 1838 he removed to Mottlingen, a village in the Black Forest of the kingdom of Wurtemberg. The whole place was pervaded with a spirit of vice and superstition. Unbelief was rampant; the vilest uncleanness almost universal, and a sort of spiritism, or practice of the old incantations of the black art, prevailed to an astonishing degree. As the darkest hour is just before the dawn, so the most terrible manifestation of Satan’s power was to precede the coming of the Holy Ghost upon the sinful village.

KATARINA DITTUS.
Gottliebin and Katarina Dittus, two sisters in Mottlingen (Germany), were strangely and un- accountably affected by Satan’s power. For a period of two years Blumhardt had them constantly on his mind, and presented them to God in prayer. But all this time they grew worse, and the attacks became more frequent. To careful observers the symptoms appeared to coincide with those of the demoniacs in the time of Christ. All medical treatment was unavailing, and at last the physician, ap- palled by the manifestations, exclaimed, “Is there no clergyman in this village who can pray? I can do nothing here!” With characteristic modesty Blumhardt wished to retreat, but some of his people said to him, “If you do not want to shake our faith in your preaching, you cannot retreat before the evil one.” After a little time he replied, “You are right; but to be in accord with the Word of God you also must unite with me in supplication, according to James 5: 14.”

Prayer was made and the fulfilment of the promise claimed. But Satan would not give up without a struggle. Katarina’s symptoms became terrible, almost beyond belief. Several strong men were obliged to hold her in a chair, and even their efforts were unavailing to control the frightful convulsions and contortions which racked her body. Through an entire night this continued, Blumhardt praying unceasingly and with rising faith.

An unnatural voice, not her own, would speak from the poor woman’s throat and strive to engage the pastor in argument or conversation; but he steadily prayed on. This voice distinctly proclaimed its Satanic origin, and at intervals gave utterance to a horrible cry of despair and fear, which issued from her mouth, without any intermission, for a quarter of an hour at a time. Again the voice addressed Jesus, demanding that, as he (the voice), was a high minister of Satan, Christ should not compel him to leave this woman in the ordinary way; but that he should cast him out by some wonderful and mighty miracle. Still the pastor prayed, and toward morning the struggle culminated, the demon was vanquished and cried out, with a great and terrible cry, heard by almost the entire village, “Jesus is Victor! Jesus is Victor!”
When the sun arose the afflicted one was whole. During the whole of Blumhardt’s life, the humble, grateful woman, who was afterward happily married, labored with the pastor for the souls and bodies of the hundreds who came to Bad Boll; and now upon her tomb- stone we may read the words that marked her marvellous deliverance, “Jesus ist Sieger’ (Jesus is Victor).

Copied from the book Pastor Blumhardt: Selections from his life and ministry

The Cumulative and Progressive Character of the Good done through a Tract or a Book!
The Rev. Mr. Kincaid, of Burmah, favourably known to many in Madras, at a late meeting of the American Tract Society held up a little tract, which he said cost one cent, but which had been the means of converting the son of a Karen Chief; and he asked who gave that cent? No doubt it was given with many others that were lost. It was the one shot of a thousand which alone took effect. But in the great day of account, its value will be fully known, and all who contribute to the blessing will rejoice together.
A tract or book, thrown into the dead sea of heathenism, may cause a movement which shall spread to its remotest shores. We cannot expect to see as manifest results here as in Christian lands, but the principle is the same. There a Baxter wrote in thoughts that breathe and words that burn — and a spark from his writings, which have lighted multitudes on their way to heaven, fell on the conscience of Doddridge, and urged him, smarting under his sins, to the Saviour. Doddridge, in turn, among other books, wrote the Rise and Progress of Religion, and this was the means of converting Wilberforce as well as thousands of others. Wilberforce wrote his Practical Christianity, so much blessed to many in different parts of the world, and among them to Legh Richmond, whose charming and convincing writings have done and are doing so much in many languages and many climes.
Instance the manner in which these have been scattered. Soon after the first downfall of Napoleon, the Emperor Alexander of Russia visited England. As he was standing one day on one of the towers near Plymouth dock-yard, viewing the shipping, he was accosted very courteously by a gentleman in black, who offered his telescope and pointed out intelligently the various objects worthy of the Emperor's notice. This was Legh Richmond, and he took occasion from the interview to send the Emperor his little tract, the Dairyman's Daughter. The Emperor received it kindly, and after his return home, sent the author a diamond ring in return. The tract was translated into Russian by a pious Princess, who had previously been acquainted with Dr. Pinkerton, and who entered into a correspondence with the author, and obtained from him his other tracts, which she also translated, and scattered far and wide, in that destitute land.
An instance in which Doddridge's Rise and Progress had been made particularly useful. More than forty years ago a clergyman, travelling into the Western part of the State of New York, in America, took with him a few books, among which was the Rise and Progress. In a part of the country then almost a wilderness, with only here and there a rising village, he found at an inn a young woman busy at intervals, as she waited upon him. reading a book; and as he noticed, making' also extracts from it. He inquired what book it was, and learned that it was the Rise and Progress, and that, as it was borrowed and must soon be returned, she was selecting from it such parts as she thought would be particularly useful to her. The clergyman was so much gratified by her earnestness, that he gave her, from those which he had with him, the volume which she seemed to prize so much.
Thirty-seven years after this clergyman was passing through the same section of the country, and came to this place, then a large and flourishing village. As he had taken the name and address of the young woman, to whom he had given the book, he inquired for her, and was directed to an elegant mansion, of which he was told she was the mistress. He called, and introduced himself, mentioning the circumstance of giving the little volume at the inn, and had the happiness of learning that it had been lent, and read extensively in private and in social meetings; that several had in consequence been converted; a religious society, of which there was previously none, had been formed, and a minister settled. All this had apparently, as the moving cause, been effected by a single book.
In heathen countries, too, good may be done, which for a long time is unobserved. Recently in Africa the Rev. Dr. Philip in a tour into the interior had discovered several scattered little settlements of Christians, where it was not known there were any in existence. On inquiry it was found that the seed was springing up after many years. Mr. Read had laboured several years at Lattakoo, and after him the indefatigable Moffat and both had left with the impression that labour there, and in the vicinity, was nearly hopeless. Yet after more than sixteen years, a man who had been under instruction at Lattakoo when a boy, and had left it young, had been brought to consider on his ways, and turn to the Lord, while far away from any missionary and destitute of the means of grace; and he had set himself to convince others of the truth. Thus these little Christian settlements had commenced, in the beginning, unknown to the missionaries.
- Remarks of Rev. M. WINSLOW, A. M., on the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of The Madras Tract and Book Society held in the Davidson Street Chapel on Wednesday Evening, the 7th February 1844.

A Beautiful and Inspiring Story About the Simplicity of a Child's Faith

Faith That Works Miraculous Change

(The Boy Who Searched for Money in a Fish’s Mouth)

"Everything is possible for one who believes." — Mark 9:23

There was once a poor widow called Mary who had an only son. Even at a young age, the boy realized how hard his mother worked and how much she struggled. To him, the biggest problem his mother faced was the constant lack of money.

The boy regularly attended Sunday School. One particular day, he was feeling very sad. All the children in the Sunday School were collecting a small amount of money for the Christmas celebration. The amount he had to give was small, but even that was something his mother could not afford. He sat through the class with a heavy heart.

That day, the Sunday School teacher explained the incident from Matthew 17, where Jesus tells Peter to go to the sea and cast a hook: "Take the first fish that comes up; and when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money. Take that and give it to them for me and you." After explaining this, they prayed.

When the boy returned home, he couldn't stop thinking about what the teacher had said. He made a firm decision. He began to save the small coins his mother occasionally gave him to buy biscuits. After a month, he had a handful of coins. He ran excitedly to the fish market. He approached a fishmonger and said, "Sir, I want a big fish!" and happily handed over his handful of coins.

The shopkeeper counted the money and said, "Son, if you want a big fish, you need to give much more than this. For the money you’ve given, you can only get a fish head."

After thinking for a moment, the boy replied, "That’s alright, sir. The head is the most important part anyway. Take my money and give me the fish head."

The shopkeeper wrapped a large fish head in an old newspaper and gave it to him. The boy ran home full of joy. "Mom! Mom! Come here! There is a miracle inside this package. Open it and see!" he cried.
His mother curiously opened the package. Seeing a fish head, she asked, "What is this, son?" He replied, "Mom, look inside the fish head!" They searched through the fish head thoroughly, but there was nothing there. Heartbroken, the boy fell onto his bed crying, "Jesus has disappointed me!" When his mother gently questioned him, she learned about what he had heard in Sunday School and why he had bought the fish head.

The mother tried to comfort him, but he continued to weep. Leaving her son to rest, she went to the kitchen to clean up the pieces of the fish head.

She gathered the scraps and went to wrap them in the newspaper the fish had come in. It was then that she glanced at the paper. She was shocked to see her own name printed there. Yes, it was truly her name.
It turned out that she was a distant relative of a wealthy man. The wealthy man’s lawyer had placed an advertisement. The man had no heirs and, before passing away, had written a will stating: "After my death, all my properties should go to this specific woman, my distant relative." Since no one knew where she lived, the lawyer had placed an advertisement in the newspaper saying: "A huge inheritance awaits you; please contact me."

Sadly, she was so poor she couldn't even afford to buy a newspaper. That specific newspaper had eventually reached a scrap shop, then the fishmonger, and finally, God ensured it reached the hands of that very woman by being wrapped around a fish head.

The mother’s heart overflowed with joy. She kissed her son and explained, "My son, just as you believed, a miracle has happened through the fish head!"

If you believe, the Lord will surely do great things in your life as well. "For with God nothing shall be impossible." — Luke 1:37

Food for Thought:
"Faith is the sledgehammer that shatters all our opposing circumstances."
- Taken from the Tamil book "100 Witnesses and the Christian Living" by Brother. Kavivalyam David.

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come . . . They were all filled with the Holy Ghost." - Acts 2:1, 4

Beautiful Reception and Training: I reached the campus. of the Emmanuel Bible College, at No.1, Palm Grove, Birkenhead, in Cheshire, U.K. I was shaken to see the impressive scripture on a board: "Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?" (Acts 19: 2). I was challenged to examine my life. I knew that after conversion one needs to be sanctified and filled with the Spirit. So I determined to be sure about my sanctification.

The Lord's mighty visitation: I remembered the practice of our having a long season of 'waiting on the Lord,' on Saturday nights at the LEF, in India. There in Birkenhead, I found an underground chamber where the heaters were kept, emanating heat to the whole building. I locked myself in that warm chamber, to pray from 9 p.m. (Saturday night) till 6 a.m. (Sunday morning). My British friends discouraged such long seasons of prayer.

One night the Lord spoke to me, "The Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, says the Lord of hosts (Malachi 3: 1b). Then came the Word, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come ...they were all filled with the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2: 1, 4). I could not believe that I was filled with the Holy Spirit.

The next day was the prayer day for the college. I humbly went into the hall where the whole college, staff and students, all British, had gathered. When my turn for prayer came and I opened my mouth in prayer, the Holy Spirit descended on all the people in the hall. They fell down from their seats and cried to the Lord. After some time, the meeting was over, and each one went to his room. I give all the Glory to the Lord Who significantly visited me, with my 'white' seniors around.

Our Principal, Rev. Stanley Banks, was quite impressed and so was the whole college, to see the 'black, Indian boy' blessed by the Lord. They asked if I could lead the college, at the Principal's level. I rejected the offer, as I had still to learn, to grow in the spirit and prepare for the ministry.

- Taken from the book, "The Second Mite," the autobiography of the Rev. Dr. Whitson Paul

(Posted with permission from Daniel Job, coauthor of the book).

Just Tell Jesus!” Rosalind Goforth
The most precious recollections of early childhood are associated with stories told us by my mother, many of which illustrated the power of prayer.
One that made a specially deep impression upon me was about our grandfather, who as a little boy went to visit cousins in the south of England, their home being situated close to a dense forest. One day the children, lured by the beautiful wild flowers, became hopelessly lost in the woods. After trying in vain to find a way out, the eldest, a young girl, called the frightened, crying little ones around her and said: “When mother died, she told us to always tell Jesus if we were in any trouble. Let us kneel down, and ask him to take us home.”
They knelt, and as she prayed one of the little ones opened his eyes, to find a bird so close to his hand that he reached out for it. The bird hopped away, but kept so close to the child as to lead him on. Soon all were joining in the chase after the bird, which flew or hopped in front or just above, and sometimes on the ground almost within reach. Then suddenly it flew into the air and away. The children looked up to find themselves on the edge of the woods and in sight of home.
With such influences bearing upon one at an impressionable age, it is not surprising that I came even as a very little child to just “tell Jesus” when in trouble.
Through the mists of my memory, an incident comes out clearly, which occurred when I was six or seven years of age. While playing one day in the garden, I was seized with what we then called “jumping” toothache. I ran to my mother for comfort, but nothing she could do seemed to ease the pain.
The nerve must have become exposed, for the pain was acute. Suddenly I thought, “Jesus can help me,” and just as I was, with my face pressed against my mother’s breast, I said in my heart:
“Lord Jesus, if you will take away this toothache right now, now, I will be your little girl for three years.”
Before the prayer was well uttered the pain was entirely gone. I believed that Jesus had taken it away; and the result was that for years, when tempted to be naughty, I was afraid to do what I knew was wrong lest, if I broke my side of what I felt to be a compact, the toothache would return. This little incident had a real influence over my early life, gave me a constant sense of the reality of a divine presence, and so helped to prepare me for the public confession of Christ as my Saviour a few years later, at the age of eleven.
From “How I Know God Answers Prayer” by Rosalind Goforth

The doctor was astonished when he examined John Henry Hyde. “The heart is in an awful condition. I have never come across such a bad case as this. It has been shifted out of its natural position on the left side to a place over on the right side. . . . What have you been doing with yourself?” What Hyde had been doing was bowing in long hours of intercession for the church of India and its workers, sometimes pouring out his soul the entire night. His prayer life had earned him the nickname “Praying Hyde.” The Spirit of God was so strong in him people felt they were ushered into God’s presence when he raised a petition to heaven.

Hyde had not intended to become a missionary, but when his older brother, Edmund, died as a student missionary in Montana, John felt he should take his place. He consulted a friend, who urged him to lay the matter before the Father, “and stay until He decided for him.” Next morning the friend felt a hand on his arm. Looking around, he saw Hyde. “It’s settled,” Hyde said.

But he was not yet ready for God’s work. Aboard ship, sailing for India, he opened a letter from an older man who urged him to “seek for the baptism of the Holy Spirit as the great qualification for mission work.” Angrily Hyde crumpled the letter. Obviously, he had yielded his life to the Lord. How dare his friend suggest he lacked the Spirit? After thinking it over, though, he realized his friend was right. He went to his knees and requested Holy Spirit power for the work ahead of him.

In India he never had a home of his own but lived with other missionaries or in a little tent. When his language progress was slow, the mission board threatened to send him back to America, but the Indians interposed, saying that even if he did not speak the language of their lips “he speaks the language of our hearts.” He did eventually learn two Indian languages and preached in both of them.

One day an Indian asked one of Hyde’s coworkers if Christ had indeed freed him from sin. Hyde realized if the man had asked him instead of the coworker, he would have had to answer “no.” He saw that either God must deliver him from his sin or he would have to leave mission work. He could not honestly preach victory over sin unless he experienced that victory. He got the victory and in telling of it brought a number of other Christians to repentance.

In 1908, he asked the Lord for a soul a day. That year he won over four hundred people to Christ. The next year he asked for two souls a day. Again, the Lord answered. Near the end of his nineteen years in India, Hyde asked for four souls a day and the Lord granted his request. If he did not meet his daily target, he could not eat or sleep, but examined himself for fault. He concluded his failures were tied to a lack of praise.

For years Hyde suffered from debilitating headaches. A missionary in India since 1892, he once had to lie outdoors in the shade because of such a headache. Sympathetic women gathered around him, asking what was wrong. He seized the opening to speak to them of Christ and felt his infirmity had been intended that day for just that opportunity.

Following discovery of his heart problem, Hyde left India in March 1911 to get medical attention. In the United States he learned that he also had a malignant tumor of the brain that must be removed at once. He did not long survive the operation. John “Praying” Hyde died on this day, 17 February 1912. His last words were, “Bol! Yisu Masih, Ki Jai!” (Shout the victory of Jesus Christ!) A coworker wrote to Hyde’s sister, “If ever there was a godly man, forgetful of himself and devoted to the Master’s service, your brother was that one.”

—Dan Graves

The Path to Christlikeness

Henry Suso was a man of God who lived in Germany, a few hundred years ago. He was a saintly man and a bachelor. He prayed often that the Lord would make him broken and humble like Jesus Himself was. This was how God answered his prayer

One day Suso heard a knock at his door. When he opened the door, he saw a strange woman standing there with a baby in her arms. He had never seen her before. But she was an evil woman who was wanting to get rid of her newborn baby and decided that the best man to dump it on was Henry Suso. So she told him, in a voice loud enough for everyone in the street to hear, "Here is the fruit of your sin," and left the baby in Suso's arms and walked off!

Suso was stunned. His reputation in the town had been shattered in a moment. He took the baby inside, knelt down and told the Lord, "Lord, you know I'm innocent. What must I do now?” The Lord replied, “Do what I did. Suffer for the sins of others."

Suso accepted the word of the Lord and never justified himself before anyone. He brought up that child as his own. He was content that God knew the truth and he was willing for everyone else to misunderstand him.

Many years later, the woman was convicted of her sin and came back to Suso's house and proclaimed to all the neighbours that Suso was innocent and that she had told a lie.

But what had happened in the intervening years? Henry Suso's prayer had been answered. He had become broken and humble like his Master. God had been able to accomplish a work of sanctification in Suso's life, freeing him from man's opinions so that God's opinion alone mattered to him thereafter.

Are we willing to pay such a price in order to become like Jesus? Or do we still seek the honour of men? God breaks us by allowing us to be misunderstood, misjudged, falsely accused and publicly humiliated. In all such circumstances, we must refuse to see the men who are harassing us. They may be our brothers or our enemies. It doesn't matter who they are. Behind the hand of every Judas Iscariot is our heavenly Father giving us a cup to drink. If we see the Father's hand in such situations, we'll drink the cup joyfully, however bitter and painful it may be. But if we see only Judas, then we'll take out our sword-as Peter did-and cut off people's ears (or their reputations) or whatever. When Judas betrayed Jesus, Jesus could call him, “Friend", because He saw His Father's hand clearly there.

When we are attacked or falsely accused, God wants us to humble ourselves under His mighty hand. It's easy to do that once we see that it is God's hand there, and not man's. If we see the sovereignty of God in all our circumstances, it'll be easy to humble ourselves. And it'll be easy for God to exalt us at the proper time.

The Knotted Handkerchief

"All that she had.””—Luke xxi. 4.

John Eliot was a minister and a missionary, the first missionary to the American Indians.


It was away back in 1646. He met the Indians in the wigwam of Waban, a great man among the Indians, and John Eliot talked to them about the Gospel for three hours—a pretty long sermon—and when he had finished telling them about God’s great love for them, there were tears in many eyes and people tell us that Indians never cry; but that is not true. Indians are much like other people and it is a great pity that early in the history of our country there were not more men like John Eliot, who loved them well enough to
teach them about God, for then they would have been helpers and not hinderers in what we call the path of progress. The Indians were
strong and brave and made wonderful fighters in time of war, but if they had learned to love as they had learned to hate they would
have been equally strong to fight against sin as good soldiers of our Lord Jesus.

John Eliot taught hundreds of Indians to read and pray, and they loved him. It was in the state of Massachusetts that he lived and worked among his Indian people, and there they built a town and called it Noonatoman or “ Rejoicing”’—the name spoke their joy and happiness in hearing and knowing the Gospel.

Indian names are hard, queer names but John Eliot learned their language. Think of saying Noowamantammooonkanunonnash
when you try to tell people you “love” them, for that is the word for “love.” And they “loved” John Eliot. They could not help loving him.
He was kind to them. He called them his “ Praying Indians.”

He was kind to the poor whether they were Indians or white people, for he was the pastor of a little church where white people worshipped, as well as being a missionary to the Indians. One day the little church had paid him his month’s salary and knowing how kind and generous he was to the poor they had tied it up in a handkerchief and tied it as tight as they could. First the two opposite corners were tied in a knot and then the other two corners and then the ends were knotted and knotted, until they were too short to knot. It looked like a home-made baseball for a little boy.

On his way home he visited a family that was very poor. There was nothing in the house and the little children were hungry. The missionary prayed with them, but he was not satisfied to pray and leave. Out from his pocket in his coat-tail he drew his knotted handkerchief to give them a little money. First he tried to untie the knots with his fingers, then with his teeth, then with both his fingers and his teeth but he could not undo them. One wonders why he did not cut the handkerchief with his knife but I guess he did not think of that. Vexed and impatient because he could not untie the knots he gave the poor woman everything, money and handkerchief, knots and all, saying to her, “The dear Lord must have meant it all for you.” No wonder people loved him, and no wonder there were 3,600 praying Indians in his parish before God called him into rest. And this was the motto of his life :-—


"Prayer and Pains
Through Faith in Jesus Christ
Will do anything.”

- Hugh T. Kerr in his book Children’s Missionary Story-Sermons

The Davies Story

Many of us know the life and ministry of Leonard Ravenhill. He was the one God used powerfully in the revival ministry in many parts of the world in the last century. In one of his books, he mentioned an incident that took in the home of a missionary by name Ivor Davies, Auckland, New Zealand. Davies was asked by his landowner to vacate his rented house within a month.

Keeping His Word
Despite their best efforts to find another house, they could not find any suitable one within the period of 30 days. However, he kept his words to shift the house within one month. On the last day, he called the movers and packers to load his belongings. As the packers were loading, the driver of the van asked Davies where the load was going.

Anxiety Put to Test
Davies did not know what to say, but the men continued to load the van. Before the loading exercise was about to be completed, a person in the neighbourhood offered them a house for immediate use.
A Mustard faith, while facing insurmountable problems could move the mountains and remove the mulberry trees.

I remember a small Sunday School song which I learned many years ago:

Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees
And looks to God alone;
Laughs at impossibilities
And cries: It shall be done!
And cries: It shall be done!
And cries: It shall be done!
Laughs at impossibilities
And cries: It shall be done!
Looks to God alone!

Taken from the book AFTERWARD, containing sermons of Joshua Thomas.

Our God is Holy!

God always wants us to be holy people. Our God is holy, and we have to live holy lives before Him. When we are keeping our bodies which are the temples of God holy, then we have angels of God to help us and protect us when the evil spirit attacks us. Our God is power, and our Christ is Victor and we have the Word that is power. The Gospel is power and His love is power. His Spirit is power.

One sister Ornald, was coming to the Retreats in Germany with crutches. I was at the entrance and I said, “Sister leave your crutches here, and go to the prayer meeting.” So she left her crutches there and walked into the prayer hall. That’s all, she started walking after that.

Bro. Gunter’s mother-in-law was a Catholic lady. She was in bed. She had fallen and broken her leg. The doctors had told her, ‘You cannot walk again; you have to be in bed only. Then we went there for prayer. I said to her, “I have a medicine.” So I said, “In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, you will receive healing.” She exercised faith. And the Lord healed her. Now she attends our Sunday worship. The place of worship is upstairs. These people have become witnesses to the power of God.

One man came to the prayer meeting and in the middle was walking out. God had great plans for him. He had lost his wife in an accident and he was depressed. I called someone and asked him to call him back. I asked him to stay till the meeting was over. The Lord blessed him and lifted him out of depression. He is happy today and all his family is happy and he is also serving the Lord.

One woman came to see me and I asked her, “Where is your husband?” She said, “I divorced him. It is all finished. Now he is not staying with me.” I said, “What can I do for you? You must repent and go to your husband and ask his forgiveness.” When she went to her husband and asked pardon, he came back to live with his family.
I won’t tell any more, but what I could say is, “Christ is Victor.” We should not make Him appear to people as a weak God.

- Taken from the message by Mrs. Daniel (Christ is Victor, January 2026)

The Sailor and his Daughter

In conversation with a respectable middle-aged seaman, at one the prayer-meetings of the Liverpool Seamen's Friend Society, a friend asked, what first induced him to attend to religion. After a pause of some moments, he related the following narrative:-

I have been a sailor from a very early age, and never thought about religion, or the concerns of my soul, until my return from my last voyage. My home, where I have resided eighteen years, is at a village near Workington, in a small cottage, the next to a neat chapel; but the people who go to this chapel being called by the neighbors, methodists, I never would venture inside the door, nor suffer my family to do so, if I could prevent it. I usually sail out of Liver-pool. During the winter the vessel is laid up. At those times I return home for a few weeks to my family. Having a small family, and the times pressing rather hard upon us, during my absence last summer, my wife, endeavoring to save a little, sent my eldest girl, about six years of age, to the Sunday school established at the chapel. My stay, when at home, being generally of short duration, my wife might suppose it would be no difficult matter to keep me in ignorance of the circumstance.

I came from my last voyage before Christmas, and went home. Being late when I arrived, I had not the opportunity of seeing my eldest girl until the following day. At dinner time, when we had sat down, I began to eat what was before me, without ever thinking of my heavenly Father, who provided my daily bread; but, glancing my eye towards this girl, of whom I was dotingly fond, I observed her to look at me with astonishment. After a moment's pause, she asked me, in a solemn and serious manner, "Father, do you never ask a blessing before eating?” Her mother observed me to look hard at her, and hold my knife and fork motionless (it was not anger-it was a rush it was a rush of conviction which struck me like lightning); apprehending some reproof from me, and and wishing to pass it by in a trifling way, she said, "Do you say grace, Nanny." My eyes were still riveted upon the child, for I felt conscious I had never instructed her to pray, nor even set an example, by praying with my family. The child, seeing me waiting for her to begin, put her hands together, and lifting her eyes up to heaven, breathed the sweetest prayer I ever heard. This was too much for me; the knife and fork dropped from my hands, and I gave vent to my feelings in tears. [Here a pause ensued, and he appeared much affected; on recovering himself, he continued.] I inquired who had thus instructed the child. The mother informed me the good people at the chapel next door; and the child never would go to bed, nor rise in the morning, without kneeling down to pray for herself, and her dear father and mother.

Ah! thought I, and I never prayed for myself or my children. I entered the chapel in the evening, for the first time, and continued to attend the means of grace there. The Lord having wakened me to a sense of my danger through the instrumentality of a dear child, I am now seeking him with all my heart, and truly can I say, I am happy in the thought, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save poor sinners, of whom I am chief.

(CHRIST IS VICTOR, Dec 2025)

PROVIDENCE

"I saw a young man and asked him what work he was doing for his Savior.

'What has He done for me that I must do something for Him?' he said.

'Has He not shed His blood, given His Life for you?' I said.

'Stay,' said he, 'was that only for me? He gave His Life for all. What has He done for me in particular that I should serve Him?'

After some months he became seriously ill and was on his death-bed. Then he was in the spirit and saw a vision. His room was covered with pictures portraying different events in his life.

In one he is seen falling down as a child from a balcony up stairs. As he is falling down, a Man receives him in His arms and lets him down gently; on His hands are the scars of nails.

In another picture he slips from a rock and thinks he would certainly die. Then, too, a Man rescued him. On His hands he sees scars.

In another picture he steps on a snake but One holds the snake so that it does not bite him. On His hands are also scars.

Then when in the privacy of a room he is sinning. He appears before him and, showing him His wounds, plead with him not to sin.

As he saw all these pictures, He came and stood near him and said: 'Though I have done all this for you, you thought that I had not done anything for you. You are going to die now. If you die you are sure to enter eternal hell. But this time also I shall save you from death. Go and proclaim to every one the great things which the Lord has done for you.' So when he got well he became a servant of God.

When I saw him again he told me, with great anguish : ' In my ignorance I thought that God had done nothing for me. When on different occasions I escaped calamities my parents and I thought that they were due either to good luck or chance. But now I know that it is the Savior who has promised to be with us to the end of the world who is with me every day of my life and protects me from all dangers.' "

- Sadhu Sundar Singh

Taken from the book "The Message of Sadhu Sundar Singh" by B. H. Streeter and A. J. Appasamy

Birds in the Snow!

An atheist was invited by his wife to attend church with her. He frankly told her that he did not believe the Bible teaching that God became a man. “It doesn't make sense to me,” he said.

Soon after his family drove away to church, snow began to fall and a few minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound, then other thudding sounds, against his living-room window. When he went to the front door, he found a flock of cold birds huddled miserably in the snow. They had tried to find shelter from the snow, and were trying to fly through his window.

He decided he must help the poor little creatures - and then he wondered how he could help them. Then he thought of the barn, where it was warm, so he tramped through the snow to the barn, opened the door and turned the light on. But the birds didn't come in. “Food will bring them in,” he thought. So he went back into the house, got some crumbs and sprin­kled them on the snow to make a trail to the barn. But to his dismay the birds ignored the crumbs and continued to flop around in the snow. He then tried shooting them into the barn by walking around and waving his arms. They scattered in every direction - except into the warm, lighted barn.
“They find me a strange and terri­fying creature,” he said to himself. “And I cannot think of any way to let them know they can trust me. If only I could be a bird myself for a few minutes, perhaps I could lead them to safety…”

At that moment the church bells began to peal out a Christmas carol. After listening for a few moments, he sank to his knees in the snow and whispered a prayer, “Now I do under­stand. Now I see why YOU had to come as YOU did.”

In Old Testament times God ap­peared to people in various ways - to Abraham through heavenly messengers, to Moses out of the burning bush. They were afraid because of God's awesomeness. But centuries later the angel of the Lord appeared to sheph­erds and announced, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

Yes. God became a man so that we would not be afraid to draw near to God. Christ's birth brought the infinite God within reach of finite man. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt am­ong us” (John 1:14).

Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out!
Numbers 32:23

A Careless Young Man!

I heard about a young man who was from a Christian family and was very active in the praise and worship service in the church. His parents sent him to study in an engineering college in another city. Once, he was coming home for vacation on a bus. While travelling, a charming young lady sat next to him. She smiled at him, and he also smiled back. Slowly, the conversation started; later, they began to touch each other. As they became engaged in an intimate conversation, the lady pleaded with him to stay overnight in a hotel. He did not have the courage to say "NO" to the temptation. Both got off the bus and took a room in a hotel. That night, he fell into the sin of fornication.

When he woke up in the night, he found that the lady was missing. She had left a note on the table, stating, “Young man, I was given a gift by another young man-the gift of AIDS. Now, I am infected and want to give the same gift to as many young men like you to fulfill my revenge!" Oh, he was devastated! He did not know what to do! Had he heeded the admonition of the Word of God, he would not have faced this tragic embarrassing situation. The effect afterward us terrible!

- Joshua Thomas inhis book "Afterard"

Live Worthy of the Gospel

In many of our Christian homes children do not know God. You are always exposed to danger when you do not know God.

When men do not know God and are given high position in the church they become wicked. One may go to theological College. It is of no use. Conversion is the first step.

You must control flesh and tongue. Your eyes must be sanctified. Your itching ears which want to hear bad things of others must be sanctified. Your quaralling nature must be subdued.

It is better to die than to become adulterous in the house of God. The choir members bring so much sin into the church. It is better to be removed than to continue there when their thoughts are wicked.

Be careful how you use your money. A place of worship is wonderful. Keep it pure. When you come, come with prayer. Come for a revelation of God. When you hear a message, go home and pray over what you heard.

You can agree to be a clerk or a policeman but not a pastor.Only holy people are fit to preach. Every message must be given by God.

(Only a certain points of the original message mentioned here)

N. Daniel, Christ is Victor, November 2021

Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out!
Numbers 32:23

A Careless Young Man!

I heard about a young man who was from a Christian family and was very active in the praise and worship service in the church. His parents sent him to study in an engineering college in another city. Once, he was coming home for vacation on a bus. While travelling, a charming young lady sat next to him. She smiled at him, and he also smiled back. Slowly, the conversation started; later, they began to touch each other. As they became engaged in an intimate conversation, the lady pleaded with him to stay overnight in a hotel. He did not have the courage to say "NO" to the temptation. Both got off the bus and took a room in a hotel. That night, he fell into the sin of fornication.

When he woke up in the night, he found that the lady was missing. She had left a note on the table, stating, “Young man, I was given a gift by another young man-the gift of AIDS. Now, I am infected and want to give the same gift to as many young men like you to fulfill my revenge!" Oh, he was devastated! He did not know what to do! Had he heeded the admonition of the Word of God, he would not have faced this tragic embarrassing situation. The effect afterward us terrible!
- Joshua Thomas

THE LOVE OF BROTHERS, CONTRASTED WITH INHUMANITY.

In the reign of Queen Anne, a soldier, belonging to a marking regiment, which was quartered in the city of Worcester, was taken up for desertion and being tried by a court martial, was sentenced to be shot. The colonel and lieutenant colonel being at the time in London, the command of the regiment descended in course to the Major, a most cruel and inhuman man. The day on which the deserter was to be executed being arrived, the regiment, as is usual on these occasions, was drawn out to see the execution. It is the custom on these occasions, for the several corporals to cast lots for this disagreeable office; and when every one expected to see the lots cast as usual, they were surprised to find that the Major had given orders that the prisoner should die by the hands of his own brother, who was only a private man in the same company, and who, when the cruel order arrived, was taking his leave of his unhappy brother, and with tears fast flowing that expressed the anguish of his soul, was hanging for the last time about his neck. On his knees did the poor fellow beg that he might not have a hand in his brother's death and the poor prisoner, forgetting for a moment his petitions to Heaven, begged to die by any hands but those of a brother. The unrelenting officer, however, could by no means be prevailed on to revoke his cruel sentence, though entreated by every inferior officer in the regiment but on the contrary, he swore, that he, and he only, should be the executioner, if it were only for example's sake, and to make justice appear more terrible. When much time had been wasted in fruitless endeavors to soften the rigor of this inhuman sentence, the prisoner prepared to die, and the brother to be the executioner. The Major, strict to the maxims of cruelty, stands close to see that the piece is well loaded, which being done, he directs that the third motion of his cane shall be the signal to fire. Accordingly, at the third motion, the major (instead of the prisoner) received the bullet through his own head, and fell lifeless to the ground. The man had no sooner discharged his piece, than throwing it on the ground, he exclaimed, "He that gives no mercy, no mercy let him receive. Now I submit! I had rather die this hour for that man's death, than live an hundred years and take away the life of my brother." No person seemed to be sorry for this unexpected piece of justice on the inhuman major, and the man being ordered into custody, many gentlemen present, who had been witnesses of the whole affair, joined to entreat the officers to defer the execution of the other brother till the Queen's pleasure should be known. The request being complied with, the city chamber, that very night, drew up a very feeling and pathetic address to her Majesty, setting forth the unparallelled cruelty of the deceased officer, and humbly entreated her Majesty's pardon for both the brothers. The brothers were pardoned, and discharged from the army.
- Sails Magazine.

Taken from "The Evangelical Lutheran Intelligencer, March 1830"

And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. Psalm 30:6

"In my prosperity." When all his (David's) foes were quiet, and his rebellious son dead and buried, then was the time of peril. Many a vessel founders in a calm. No temptation is so bad as tranquility. "I said, I shall never be moved." Ah! David, you said more than was wise to say, or even to think, for God has founded the world upon the floods, to show us what a poor, mutable, movable, inconstant world it is. Unhappy he who builds upon it! He builds himself a dungeon for his hopes. Instead of conceiving that we shall never be moved, we ought to remember that we shall very soon be moved altogether.

Nothing is abiding beneath the moon. Because I happen to be prosperous to-day, I must not fancy that I shall be in my high estate to-morrow. As in a wheel, the uppermost spokes descend to the bottom in due course, so is it with mortal conditions. There is a constant revolution ; many who are in the dust to-day shall be highly elevated to-morrow; while those who are now aloft shall soon grind the earth.

Prosperity had evidently turned the Psalmist's head, or he would not have been so self-confident. He stood by grace, and yet forgot himself, and so met with a fall. Reader, is there not much of the same proud stuff in all our hearts? let us beware lest the fumes of intoxicating success get into our brains and make fools of us also.

- C. H. Spurgeon in the book The Treasury of David

“Enemies Turned Into Friends”

Love your enemies bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (Matt. 5:44)

“The woman I have in mind had a tremendous negative influence in one of my churches. She was a master at trouble-making. She could agitate a whispering campaign and manufacture a false rumor any time the unholy impulse seized her. From the outset she had shown no goodwill toward me. And I found it well-nigh impossible to Love her. It was like trying to Love Satan’s most talented daughter. She never failed to join the opposition whenever any administrative matters came up. She was a confirmed pessimist, according to her own proudly given testimony.

“Sometimes, after a service, I would say to her, ‘My, what a wonderful congregation we had this morning,’ and she would reply, ‘Yes, but what about the 200 who didn’t come?’ One day I suddenly realized that I was pretty well under this woman’s control. My ideal of Christian Love was at stake. For I had unwittingly gotten into the habit of reacting negatively against her, and Christian Love commanded me to respond to God for her. Right at this point I made a decision. I would come out from under her control and put myself under God’s control. For her evil I would return good. For her lack of Love I would give Love. I would practice holy affection toward her at all times. And I would do it secretly. It was nearing the end of December. So I decided that during January I would make her my special Love and prayer project.”

One of the best authorities has assured us that Love never fails. I began to Love her. It was a sort of long-distance method, a kind of absent treatment, and many times a day I would pray for her. Too, I would think of as many good things about her as I could. I put myself under firm discipline, checking my negative reactions instantly, and putting some¬ thing positive in their place. I banked on Paul’s words of advice: ‘Whatsoever things are good, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” So it was that the month slipped away.

“In this process something mighty good was happening to me. How the actual living of Christian Love takes hold to change personality and character! How steadily the practice turns the theory into facts, living attitudes, and new habits of thought and conduct! I found myself Loving this erstwhile enemy in a way I had never felt the holy glow before. What began as a mere intellectual effort at Love was now the feeling: the imitation had become the reality. Just to think of her now set my heart to burning. My enemy was turning me into a Christian, as a dam turns a river into power. For my Love was like a river flowing, devoid of all self-effort. It was strangely beautiful and bewilderingly simple to see the immeasurable good in her. She was my friend in exile, a child of God, even as I, and she was equally Loved by Jesus.”

“Love never fails. Before the month was over she, too, was changed. “The woman began first to shake hands with people, to smile upon them, and to greet them warmly at our services. The people were surprised at the change in her and commented on it. After a Sunday service I said to her, ‘What a shame it started raining as people were getting ready for church, for it has cut our attendance in half.’ She replied, ‘We should thank God for all those who did come.’ Within six weeks she had become a living testimony in our church, influencing others redemptively by her Christian example. People would say: ‘What has come over her? Her very presence makes me feel clean inside.’ Yes, by the cleansing power of God’s Love, she became a walking influence for good. It seemed that she had fallen in Love with Jesus all over again.” - as narrated by Rev. Roalnd J. Brown

Cords of Love

Naturalist S. L. Bastian told of a certain kind of spider that builds its nest in the branch of a small tree or bush. In this delicate enclosure the baby spiders are hatched. If the nest is disturbed in any way, the little spiders will all rush out in fright. At once the mother goes to their side. She is alerted to their potential danger in a most unique manner. Each of the young ones has a thin silky strand attached to it, and all of these threads are joined to the body of the mother. When the babies are threatened by an enemy, they naturally scurry off, giving their lines a sharp tug. This is instantly felt by the adult spider. Within seconds she pulls them back to the nest where they are protected from harm.

That reminds me of something I once read about Mary Slessor, missionary hero to Calabar (Nigeria). She would often rescue babies who were in danger and dying, and often the infants filled her home by the dozens. How to care for them through the night became a problem, especially when one of them stirred and cried. Mary learned to tie a string to each little hammock, lay in bed at night, and pull the strings as each baby needed soothing.

The prophet Hosea says that we are linked to God with cords of love, cords that cannot be broken. The gentle cords of His eternal love bind all our hearts and hurts to Him.

Christ is Victor September 2005

Proving the Living God!
Opposed by a powerful Communist regime, Watchman Nee inspired millions of Chinese Christians. Though he was arrested in 1952 and died in prison in 1972, his 'little flock’ movement spawned thousands of house churches in China. His books have proved to be a great blessing to millions of Christians all over the world.
Shortly after his conversion, when he was just seventeen, Nee and six other enthusiastic young Christians sailed to a small island and a fishing village called Mei-hwa, in an effort to convert the entire island for Christ The young evangelists worked hard but saw no converts.
Every year on January 11, a great festival was held to honour the local god. The villagers proudly told the Christian evangelists that it had not rained on the annual festival for 286 years. When he heard this, one of Watch-man Nee’s associates, Kuo-ching Lee, impulsively challenged the villagers: “I promise you, our God, who is the true God, will make it rain on January 11.”
The crowd laughed at him. Yet they agreed to listen to these young men if it did rain on that date.
When Watchman Nee heard what Kuo-ching had done, he was bothered. In fact, he was planning to rebuke his associate but instead decided to pray about it. “Father, have we gone too far? Should we leave this village now before your name is disgraced?” Then he remembered a phrase from the Old Testament book of 2 Kings: “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” He recalled the contest that Elijah had with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, and he thought that maybe God intended to do something similar in the little village of Mei-hwa.
Instead of rebuking Kuo-ching, Watchman Nee instructed his associates to tell everyone in the village about the challenge. The God of Elijah would send rain on January 11. The entire village soon got the message; excitement spread throughout the area.
But when Watchman Nee woke up on January 11, it didn’t look good for the Christians. The sun was shining brightly in a cloudless sky. At breakfast, Watchman Nee and his companions prayed, “Father, please accept our prayer as a gentle reminder.” Before Nee had finished praying, a few drops of rain began falling on the tiled roof. Soon it was a downpour!
When the storm stopped, the area priest announced he had made a big mistake about the date. The celebration was to have taken place this year on January 14, not on January 11.
In the next three days, the seven Christians continued not only praying but also spreading the message of Christ, and within those three days, thirty villagers became Christians.
The weather on January 14 was almost a duplicate of the weather on the eleventh. Once again a huge storm struck Mei-hwa in the morning hours. In the following weeks, a church was established on the island, and the grip of the pagan religion was broken.
For Watchman Nee, Kuo-ching Lee, and the others, it was dramatic proof that the God who lived in Elijah's time is still the same today.
"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Jer. 33:3
CHRIST IS VICTOR, AUGUST 2023