Give A Gem by Richard Wurmbrand

The following was written by Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor, who was imprisoned and tortured  for 14 years in a Communist concentration camp because of his faith in Christ.  These accounts show the freedom found in forgiving those that trespass against us.

Give A Gem

Dear brothers and sisters,

"You must be born again" (John 3:7).
Let me tell you about a man who was in prison with me. Demitri was a pastor whose backbone had been beaten with a hammer. When a certain vertebrae was hit, he was paralysed so that he could move only his neck.

You can imagine what a tragedy this was. If he had been in a home or hospital, he would have had a wife, mother, or nurse to take care of him. How would we take care of him? There was no running water to wash him, no linen to change him. He lay there in his human waste. He could not stretch out his hands to drink a cup of water. The others who could walk and work were taken to slave labor during the day. When they came back in the evening, he had to wait for them to help him drink a cup of water. He lay like this in prison for a couple of years. It was hell an earth.

Then in December 1989 Romania had a revolution and the dictator Ceausescu was overturned. Freedom came and Demitri was released from prison to be with his family and friends. No doctor could help him, but now he had loving hands to help him. He still could not move hand or foot.

One day someone knocked at his door. It was the Communist who had crippled him. He said, "Sir, don't believe that I have come to ask forgiveness from you. For what I have done, there is no forgiveness, not on earth or in heaven. You are not the only one I have tortured like this. You cannot forgive me; nobody can forgive me. Not even God! My crime is much too great. I have come only to tell you that I am sorry about what I have done. From you I go to hang myself. That is all.' He turned to leave.

The paralysed Brother Demitri said to him, "Sir, in all these years I have not been so sorry as I am now, that I cannot move my arms. I would like to stretch them out to you and embrace you. For years I have prayed for you every day. I love you with all of my heart. You are forgiven."

Demitri had learned love from Jesus, who called Judas "friend", who prayed for those who crucified Him, and who accepted Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor, and made him an apostle.

Our faith in Jesus means imitating Him. Jesus, as often as He met a sinner, did not reproach him. He took that man's sin upon Himself and suffered on the cross for the sin. I could tell you many stories of others like Demitri.

At one point in prison, I felt very sick. I had tuberculosis, diabetes, heart problems, jaundice, and I don't know how many other kinds of sicknesses. I was near death. There was in that prison a cell reserved only for the dying. I am the only one who has survived that cell. I was in that room for over three years and came out on my feet to tell the story. It is a story not only of suffering, but also of so much beauty.

To my right side was a pastor by the name of Iscu. He had been so badly beaten and tortured that he lay dying. He was so quiet. He knew where he was going. Whenever he opened his mouth, he gave gems. In Hebrew the word TO TELL or TO SAY does not exist. The Hebrew word for SAY or TELL means SAPPHIRE, A GEM. TO SAY in Jewish means TO GIVE A GEM. If you open your mouth, give a gem. There may be times when you are sad or angry. Keep silent and wait for the moment when you can give a gem. Iseu gave gems when he spoke. He spoke about the beauties of heaven and the love of Jesus. His body was still on earth, at my right side, but mentally he was already in heaven.

On my left side was the Communist who had tortured him to the brink of death. The government had arrested their own comrade and tortured him. Now he too was near death. During the night, he would awaken, "Please, pastor, say a prayer for me. I have committed such crimes. I cannot die."

What I witnessed next was a scene from heaven (you need not be in heaven to see heaven). The agonizing pastor called two other prisoners to help him and, leaning an them, he very slowly passed my bed and sat down an the bedside of his torturer. Iscu caressed his torturer on his head. I will never forget the scene.

This was the man who had so beaten Iseu that now he waited for death, and Iseu caressed him. He said, "I have forgiven you with all of my heart and I love you. If I who am only a sinner can love and forgive you, more so can Jesus who is the Son of God and who is love incarnate. Return to Him. He longs for you much more than you long for Him. He wishes to forgive you much more than you wish to be forgiven. You just repent." In that prison setting where there was no place for intimacy, I overheard this torturer confess all of his murders to the tortured one. Then they prayed together and embraced each other.

Slowly, slowly, the pastor was helped to his deathbed. They both died the same night. It was Christmas Eve, but not a Christmas Eve at which you celebrate one who was born 2,000 years ago, far away in Bethlehem. Jesus had been born that very evening in the heart of a criminal.

This is what Jesus can do for you. I hope that I do not speak in vain. When I have a gem, I speak. This is the gem I have for you today. Jesus loves you and waits to be born in your heart.

God bless you,

Richard Wurmbrand

Sources:
I originally read this in the Voice of the Martyrs magazine, but before retyping it I found it at the following website:
http://www.bereanpublishers.com/give-a-gem/

You can find out more about the Voice of the Martyrs at www.persecution.com .

Who Made It?

Sir Isaac Newton lived out his life knowing that it had purpose because it was created by an all-wise God.  This account is how he shared his faith with a skeptical friend.

     Sir Isaac Newton had a friend who, like himself, was a great scientist; but this friend was an unbeliever, and the two men often discussed the Christian faith.

      Newton had a skillful mechanic make a replica of our solar system. In the center was a large gilded ball representing the sun. Revolving around this were smaller balls fixed on the ends of arms of varying lengths, representing the planets in their proper order (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and so forth). These balls were so geared together by cogs and belts as to move in perfect harmony when the crank was turned.

      One day, as Newton sat reading in his study with the mechanism on a large table near him, his friend stepped in. He recognized at a glance what was on the table. Slowly he turned the crank and, with evident admiration, he watched the heavenly bodies moving in their relative speeds in their orbits. Standing off a bit, he exclaimed, "What an exquisite thing this is!" Who made it?"

      Without looking up from his book, Newton answered, "Nobody!"

      Quickly turning to Newton, the unbeliever said, "Evidently you did not understand my question. I asked who made this thing."

     Looking up now, Newton solemnly assured him that nobody had made it but that the aggregation of matter so much admired had just happened to assume the form it was in. But the astonished man replied, getting warmer, "You must think I'm a fool! Of course somebody made it, and he is a genius. I'd like to know who he is."

     Laying his book aside, Newton arose and laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "This thing is but a puny imagination of a much grander system whose laws you know, and I am not able to convince you that this mere toy is without either designer or maker! Now tell me, by what sort of reasoning do you reach such incongruous conclusions?"

      The man was at once convinced and became a firm believer that "the Lord, he is God" (1Kings 18:39).

Sources:

 I retyped this from a pamphlet.  I am uncertain of its source.

Illustrations:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton

http://physics.bgsu.edu/~stoner/A212/

The Story of Usury and Banking, The Temple of the Thirteen Suns

The Story of Debt as Money

Temple of the Thirteen Suns

This story was told by Mr. Robert Hemphill, former credit manager of the Federal
Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Georgia, when he was called to testify at Congressional
hearings on the cause of depressions in America. Who should know better?

Once upon a time, to the Temple of the Thirteen Suns came the rich and powerful chief Oomah
the Third, who said to the goldsmith of the temple, Hansen L. Roschab . . . "I have much gold and
am about to depart for a far country. Wilt keep this gold safely for me against my return a
year hence? I will pay thee well.''

The wily Hansen coughed loudly and covered his countenance with a cloth lest the rich Oomah
the Third observe his joy to have this treasure in his possession. When he was calm and could
look serious he said to Oomah . . . "It is a very great responsibility and risk, but I will undertake
it for a tithe that will be one shekel in every ten.''

Then said Oomah . . . "It is a deal.'' And forthwith his slaves delivered many bags containing in all
a thousand shekels of gold for which Hansen L. Roschab, the goldsmith, gave the chief a
parchment receipt acknowledging this deposit, which contained the writing, "payable to
whomsoever.'' Thereupon the chief departed happily on his journey.

As soon as he was well out of the country, the shrewd Hansen called his confidential scribe
and bade him thus . . . "Go thee now to the merchants whom I will tell thee of and secretly say
to each that thy master hath a little gold for hire upon good security.'' And the servant
departed swiftly.

Soon there came to him a great merchant who said . . . "Hansen, you old crook, I am in a jam for a
few shekels of gold. Wilt lend me?'' And Hansen replied . . . "Money is very tight these days, but
it might be so arranged. What is thy need?'' The merchant answered . . . "Two hundred shekels.''

Then said Hansen . . . "It is much money. What security couldst thou pledge for so great a sum?''

Then the merchant showed Hansen a writing of his possessions of merchandise to the amount of
a thousand shekels. Hansen said . . . "It is not enough. Thou must also pledge thy dwelling and
thy slaves and thy raiment.'' Whereupon the merchant, after much protest, pledged all his
possessions, even to his innermost raiment. (So Hansen loaned him the money.)

Then said he to Hansen . . . "I have no place to store so much gold. Keep it safe for me and give
me a writing that I may deliver to whomsoever I will.'' And Hansen did even so.

The next day came another merchant, and another, and still another, and to each Hansen
loaned a portion of the gold of chief Oomah the Third, taking from each as security his entire
possessions, including his innermost personal raiment, and gave to each a writing upon a
parchment showing that each had on deposit the gold he had borrowed. And it came to pass that
on the tenth day he had given parchment deposit writings for the whole of the thousand
shekels; but he still had all the gold.

Hansen reflected much upon this curious state of affairs, and said to himself . . . "These birds
know not how much gold I possess. They do not want the actual gold itself. What they really
want is credit, some deposit writing that they may pass from hand to hand as money. I have one
grand idea!''

On the next day came another merchant, and another, and still another, and to each Hansen
showed the great store of gold of Oomah the Third, and to each he pretended to loan a
portion, although he had previously loaned it all to the first ones who came.

And it came to pass that at the end of another ten days Hansen had pretended to loan to many
more merchants and had given writings of deposit for a second thousand shekels, making 2000
shekels in all, although he had only 1000 shekels of Oomah the Third. And still he had all the
gold.

Whereupon Hansen reflected to himself . . . "What a leaden-pipe cinch. I wonder I did not think
of this before. I can collect just as much usury from the phony deposit writings as for the
genuine. Verily, I am a financial wizard.''


Thereupon Hansen caused it to be noised about that he possessed a vast store of gold for hire,
and many more merchants came to borrow, and to each Hansen delivered writings of deposit
and collected generous usury and demanded pledges of all his possessions even unto his
innermost raiment, until he had issued writings of deposit for 10,000 shekels and held
mortgages on substantially the whole city.

Then went Hansen to the wise man of the city and said unto him . . . "Verily I have discovered the
greatest racket of all time. I have learned the magic of making gold out of baloney; and if I can
keep the formula secret for a few years I will collect a fortune that will make Solomon's
treasury look like a second hand store. Tell me how I may keep secret this bonanza of mine for
mine own profit.''

Then said the wise man . . . "Look wise and say little and only upon matters afar off. Obtain the
ear of the town crier. Engage him to spread the impression that money is a mysterious subject
that no one understands but thee alone. Be friendly with the king's councillors and grant
their favors that the king may smile upon thee.''

And Hansen did as he was bid and collected much usury from his phony loan deposits that
circulated as money. He built for himself a mansion, collected works of art, and clothed his
wives and concubines with fine linen and jewels.

When his business had grown to many times its humble beginnings, he took over the entire
temple and by way of a sly joke called it the First National Bank, the same being from an
obscure language and meaning "place of imaginary money.''

And that is the reason that all banks today have great marble pillars and bronze doors, so
that they may resemble outwardly as well as internally the "place of imaginary money'' that
Hansen L. Roschab builded upon the gold of Oomah the Third in the Temple of the Thirteen
Suns.

The End

Robert Hemphill
1960
Published in:
The Technocrat, No. 196, Dec. 1960

The text came from the source listed above.  I have a booklet with some of the illustrations posted here that realated this story.  I am unaware of  who made the drawings.

Below are some verses that relate to this subject that were found in the illustrated booklet:

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Tim. 6:10

"If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury."  Exodus 22:25

"Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee."  Lev. 25:36-37

"Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury." Deut. 23:19-20

  "The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.  He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail."  Deu. 28:43-44

"He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved." Psalm 15:5

"The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender."  Prov. 22:7

"Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him."  Ezek. 18:13

"And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."  Mat. 21:12-13

The Horror of Divorce

The  maxim "The family that prays together, stays together" has the testimony
of past generations that gathered around the family alter.

     This is an anonymously written view of the devestating effects of divorce on children from a woman who had been there as a child. Divorce is yet another trap that appears to give freedom.  This writer makes it clear that there are shackles that get put on children in divorce.

"Please, please don't sign them! O Daddy, don't sign those papers!"  My pleadings must have added greatly to my father's burden, but the pen held firmly in his hand continued to write his name on the final papers. 
Thus was my world destroyed and I with it, for on that day something died in the heart of a child. A child?  In years, yes, but the child pleading in the divorce court that day would never again be a carefree little girl.  For now my mommy and daddy were divorced.  It was a big word and a hateful one. What it meant to grown-ups I did not know, but what it meant to me is a story that can never be fully told. 
Right now it meant that the home we had known existed no longer.  To us children our home was our world, with both mother and daddy essential parts of it.  But that had suddenly crumbled.  Like a violent storm that strikes suddenly and leaves you to pick up the pieces.  So life had suddenly turned our home inside out and upside down.  Much of the shock lay in the fact that the ones destroying it had been our very security and life.
From now on my family must be divided.  I was to choose between my mother and father---- I could not have both, though I loved both and wanted them, both of them, to love me.  Each was necessary to me. How could I turn my back on one and say I wanted the other more?
     I remembered nights when I was sick and how my mother kept vigil---- how she had fed me and tended to my needs,  surely she loved me! When things troubled me I had always gone to her and her explanations had banished childish fears.  I had great faith in my mother.
     Nor could I doubt my father's love or the close place I had in his heart.  Often my brothers sent me to Dad when they wanted some favor, knowing he seldom refused me.  This special place I had with Daddy was perhaps because I was so like him and we understood each other so well.  I had deep respect for my father--- but how could I compare it with what I felt for Mother?  And how could I make a decision that would separate me from either?
     This was the down payment in the price of divorce -- and the children had to pay.   To any parent who still count the cost, I plead the cause of your children!  If you subject them to the agony of choosing between the parents he loves, something wonderful has to die in his heart during the unnatural struggle that choice entails. 
    Years have passed, but I still shutter at the memory of the day I left our home with my mother. Daddy cried like a child and then just stood and stared into space.  I have wondered what went through his mind then.  He had worked so hard to do right by his family and now all he had built was gone.  Was part of his grief due to the fact that missing from the circle of his motherless children was his only daughter?  Was he thinking of what might have been?
     In my mind there is no doubt of what might have been: theirs could have been a successful marriage had they determined to keep the home intact-- had both or even one of them been able to sacrifice personal feelings. 
      As far back as my memory goes I remember my parents quarreling. Like all quarrels, these were born of selfishness and stubbornness, with neither willing to give in to the other.  Foolish advice was: "Separate if you can't get along, it will be better for the children."  (Better to crush six young hearts than for one or two to bear small hurts?  Better the blow should fall on six lives, young and tender, not old enough to know why they must be separated from one another?)
     Bitter protest and tears were vain for divorce courts do not consider human hearts when they collect their dues.  Mother and Dad were to be "free" but we children were not.  I became a slave to despair.  The quarrels?  They ceased, to be sure, but the cries of heartbroken children took their place, and I, for one, longed to hear those quarrels, if only it meant I could have my mother and daddy back!
     This story is my own---- the plea I make is that of my own heart, though my brothers, too, could write their own stories, and neighbors in our small town could add to it.  Perhaps it is just a familiar story; a daddy too busy to do the little things that count so much and having to neglect his six  and eight year old boys.  My little brother longed for his mother, but he compensated for his loss and grief by acts of meanness, so he became a problem child at school.  My teen-aged brothers became involved with the law to the point where they spent a night in jail.  I realized even then that this, too, is a part of the price of divorce that the children have to pay.
     Perhaps a girl needs her mother even more than do boys.  I seemed to be cut the deepest and to suffer the most.  The shock of that day in court was indelibly printed on my memory, but I had only begun to taste of the bitter portion meted out to children who are victims of divorce.
     With Daddy thrust out of my life and my brothers gone, my heart fastened more tenaciously than ever on Mother and words cannot express the shock that was mine when I found her in the arms of another man.  In that instant I knew utter desolation. I had lost my father---- now my mother no longer belonged to me!  Another man, a stranger to me, had taken her and this discovery completely changed and embittered my life.
      Emotions that had been sealed within me now broke forth in endless weeping.  Bitterness enveloped me like a cloud and resentment made it impossible for me to speak peaceably to my mother.  Back of the confused emotions came the resolve that no one else should have her.  She belonged to me and to Daddy!  I became obsessed with the idea that I must win her from the one whom I felt was the cause of my sorrow.
     Artist may paint human suffering but neither artist's brush nor writer's pen can recapture the horror of the moment when a child realizes it had lost the battle for its mother's love.  One day she had been my mother-- the next, she was a stranger whose only feeling seemed to be displeasure at her unreasonable child.  Neighbors pitied and tried to comfort, but their words did not reach me.  I only knew departed hope.  My appeal had failed and no failure had ever involved so much.
     So I tried going back to our old home and living with Daddy.  I think I was in a state of shock as I found my way back there.  A few weeks before I had been in this home: a happy confident child, but as I entered the familiar yard there was no joy in my heart--- no anticipation or eagerness.  Daddy met me at the door and seemed thankful I had returned, but he found to his sorrow that it a not the same little girl who had come back.  Sorrow and grief had caused youth to flee, and with it had gone laughter and joy. 
    He tried, but was not able to save me from the depths of despair to which I sank.  I wept until tears no longer came.  Many pitied but there was no healing or my wounded heart.  When we heard that mother had remarried, great bitterness possessed me.  Grief had so eaten away at my life that I became hard and rebellious.  The faith that my mother had destroyed had caused me to lose confidence in everyone, even my father, and I became full of self-pity, feeling that everyone was against me, even my father.
      I left Daddy and stayed with anyone who would have me.  Later, harsh circumstances forced me to go back to my mother and her new husband.
      I must have been a haunt from the past for them, and I lived with the stinging reality that I was not wanted.  Yet every fiber of my being craved to be loved.  Violent argument-- a war of hate began between me and the intruder.  Strain began to show on my mother's face and in my misery, I found secret consolation in that fact.  My frayed emotions became a physical sickness, for the human system can only be over taxed just so long before something breaks.  Fitful sleep, punctuated by nightmares became my new pattern.  No one wanted to be around me and being alone most of the time, I developed a fear of people.
      I succumbed completely to shattered nerves.
      I wish I could take the hand of every parent even remotely thinking of divorce and lead you back with me into the horrible valley of shadow through which I have come.  If the hurt of an innocent child' heart, the bitter shock to a tender life, the tears of an innocent child's heart, the bitter shock to a tender life, the tears of an unwanted misplaced child could all be called to bear witness in a divorce court, there would be a lot fewer divorces granted in our land.
     Thank God, in my struggles through that darkness I met the Savior and slowly-- very slowly-- began to live again.  Since that time I have married, and at one time it seemed that I would fail as my parents had.  But through sacrifice and love I was able to prove that marriage can be made to last.  Today I am so blessed to have my wonderful husband and a secure loving home setting for my precious children.  It is infinitely worth it to work and pray problems through and make Christ the Head of your home.  My marriage did not succeed overnight, but every effort and sacrifice of feeling or pride on my part proved worthwhile as it brought out qualities in my husband that I had not known existed.  God alone knows the joys I now reap from every battle I fought-- with myself-- instead of with my husband.  I had to learn to give when I would have rather taken, to smile when my heart rebelled, to hold my tongue and let God speak for me-- but my rewards are a truly happy marriage and a secure home.
     If any reading this have at all contemplated divorce, I beg of you, gather your children into your arms, look deeply into their faces, and in pity spare them that which I have had to endure and can never forget.

Source: Adapted from the August 2013 edition of The Evangelist of Truth magazine.

The Evangelist of Truth
5830 Alexander Hill Road
Washington, Indiana 47501

The Miller, His Son, and Their Ass - From Aesop's Fables

      A Miller and his Son were driving their Ass to a neighbouring fair to sell him.  They had not gone far when they met with a troop of girls returning from the town, talking and laughing, "Look there!"cried one of them, "did you ever see such fools, to be trudging along the road on foot, when they might be riding!"  The old Man, hearing this, quietly bade his Son get on the Ass, and walked along merrily by the side of him.  Presently they came up to a group of old men in earnest debate. "There! said one of them, "it proves what I was a-saying.  What respect is shown to old age in these days? Do you see that idle young rogue riding, while his old father has to walk? --Get down you scapegrace!  and let the old Man rest his weary limbs."  Upon this the father made his Son dismount, and got up himself.  In this manner they had not proceeded far when they met a company of women and children.  "Why, you lazy old fellow!" cried several tongues at once, "how can you ride upon the beast, while that poor little lad there can hardly keep pace by the side of you."  The good-natured Miller stood corrected, and immediately took up his Son behind him.  They had now almost reached the town. "Pray, honest friend," said a townsman, "is that Ass your own?"  "Yes," says the old Man. "O! One would not have thought so," said the other, "by the way you load him. Why, you two fellows are better able to carry the poor beast than he you!"  "Anything to please you," said the old Man; "we can but try."  So, alighting with his Son, they tied the Ass's legs together, and by the help of a pole endeavoured to carry him on their shoulders over a bridge that led to the town.  This was so entertaining a sight that the people ran out in crowds to laugh at it; till the Ass, not liking the noise nor his situation, kicked asunder the cords that bound him, and, tumbling off the pole, fell into the river.  Upon this the old Man, vexed and ashamed, made the the best of his way home again --convinced that by endeavouring to please everybody he had pleased nobody, and lost his Ass into the bargain.


Source: Aesop's Fables: A New Version, Chiefly from Original Sources by the Rev. Thomas James, M. A.   Published in 1851

Check out the subject of  people pleasing in the Bible: Galations 1:10 and 1 Thes. 2:3

How Guns Relate to Freedom

Here my brother and sister are enjoying some shooting practice 

 

    Gun control is another issue that is a heart issue.  Using government coercion is the wrong route for "gun control."  I believe this is reflected in the Scripture that says, (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."  People will control their guns properly and shoot the right things when their hearts are right.  There is an old Latin saying that goes:  Minatur innocentibus qui parcit nocentibus.

It means: "He threatens the innocent who spares the guilty."  Many leaders are now threatening the innocent by not allowing the innocent to protect themselves from the guilty.

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." 

 -The Second Amendment of the Constitution

 

    Our founders saw the right to keep firearms a very important right to make it number two of the Amendments to the Constitution.  Those that don't like this amendment have taken several different angles to get around it.  These maneuvers are not unique to the gun-control lobbyist. 

 

1.Twist the meaning of the authority. 

2. Make the authority to appear outdated.

3.  Ignore the authority.

 

  One way the original meaning is twisted is to say that it was talking about making sure the military is properly armed.  Anyone who knows history knows that this is not what the founders meant as the amendment was a safeguard to make sure the government remained a servant, and not a  tyrannical force.  Then there is the idea that the Constitution is outdated.  They believe that because we have police forces and freedom that we don't need to be ready to protect ourselves.  They don't recognize how swiftly things can change, and that to keep freedom we must have the means to protect it and eternal vigilance. I think of the words of the prophet when he said people were saying, "Peace, peace; when there is no peace."  Because the Constitution has been twisted and made to appear irrelevant it also has been ignored.  Today we see a number of unlawful laws being made that ignore the authority of the Constitution.

 

I can't help but think about how people treat the Constitution in a similar way to how the Bible is treated.  I believe the Bible gives us the means to live in the soundest freedom available to man.  It's meanings are twisted by those that don't want to know its true meaning.  Those that love freedom must be able to know what words mean and use the true meaning of words when they use them.  One advantage to using a KJV Bible is that it was published when the English language was at its zenith and it has been acknowledged that it has had an influence on our language ever since it was published (just take a look at some of Webster's old dictionaries). John Milton said, "When the language in common use in any country becomes irregular and depraved, it is followed by their degradation.  For what do terms used without skill and meaning, which are at once corrupt and misapplied, denote but a people listless, supine, and ripe for servitude." It seems that those that change the meanings of these documents think that everything is evolving and a higher race of people will bring in a better day.  They can't see that by twisting meanings they bring bondage on themselves and their posterity.  There will be a better day when the guns and swords will be made into garden implements, but not till Christ is known as the true authority.  In the meantime, man has an evil nature that requires us  to take the necessary means to protect the innocent.  We also know that when the command to not steal was given in the Bible it ordained private property and with it the means of keeping it. Jesus said, "But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up" (Matthew 24:43).

 

Ancient Israel went through a tragic day from sword-control.  The purpose of the sword-control was people control. The Israelites were made captive by the Philistines.  If they had swords it would have given them the means to go free and there would be no more free lunch for the Philistines.  The people were being used.  They were not even allowed to sharpen there own garden tools.  They went to the Philistines to have their tools sharpened.  Among the Israelites there were only two men that had swords, Saul, the king, and his son Jonathon.  It makes me think of Stalin and how he took guns away the farmers in Ukraine.  When he took the farms from the farmers to make collectivist farms the farmers caused uprisings, but not successfully as they only had farm tools to defend themselves.  A similar story is of the government of Turkey and how they confiscated guns from the Armenians before killing many of them through forced labor, starvation and execution until three quarters of the Armenians in Turkey where dead.  The stage was set to take away their ability to protect themselves from a government that sought to destroy them.

 

There will be the day that the swords and guns will become pruning shears and ground tillers. The idea of peace is noble, but it will not be accomplished without the Prince of Peace. The reason men must still guard their homes and country is that there are people that are evil and purpose evil against others.  Eden is gone and will not come back with our own short-sighted wisdom, but for those that ask the Creator for wisdom it is granted.

 

On the Web:

http://www.garynorth.com/public/10647.cfm

This is an interesting take on the issue of gun control.  The author believes our national inheritance and rich history in freedom are strong safeguards against gun confiscation.  He comes at this issue from a different angle from I have.  If you have insights on this issue that might be good to cover further, please let me know.

Charlie Coulson, The Drummer Boy

The following story is a first hand account from the Civil War period by a Jewish surgeon in the United States Army, Dr. Max Lewis Rossvally, about his conversion to Christ.  It was through the testimony of a drummer-boy, Charlie Coulson, whose heart was free that caused the Jewish doctor to recognize the freedom he could find in Christ so his heart and life could be unshackled. I retyped this from the reproduction of a Civil War period Bible tract:

 

 

A True Story in the American War

 

      Two or three times in my life God in His mercy touched my heart, and twice before my conversion.  I was under deep conviction.

 

     During the American war, I was a surgeon in the United States army; and after the battle of Gettysburg, there were many hundred wounded soldiers in my hospital, amongst whom were twenty-eight who had been wounded so severely that they required my services at once, - some whose legs had to be amputated; some their arms; and others both their arm and leg.  One of the latter was a boy who had been but three months in the service; and being too young for a soldier, had enlisted as a drummer.  When my assistant surgeon and one of my stewards wished to administer chloroform previous to amputation, he turned his head aside and positively refused to receive it.  When the steward told him that it was the doctor's orders, he said, "Send the doctor to me."  When I came to his bedside, I said, "Young man, why do you refuse chloroform?  When I found you on the battle-field, you were so far gone that I thought it hardly worth while to pick you up; but when you opened those large blue eyes, I thought you had a mother somewhere who might at that moment be thinking of her boy.  I did not want you to die on the field, so ordered you to be brought here; but you have now lost so much blood that you are too weak to endure an operation without chloroform, therefore you had better let me  give you some."  He laid his hand on mine, and looking me in the face, said, --

    "Doctor, one Sunday afternoon in the Sabbath-school, when I was nine and a half years old, I gave my heart to Christ.  I learned to trust Him then; I have been trusting Him ever since, and I can trust Him now; He is my strength and my stimulant; He will support me while you amputate my arm and leg."

    I then asked him if he would allow me to give him a little brandy, but this he also refused.

 

     The look that boy gave me I shall never forget.  At that time I hated Jesus, but I respected that boy's loyalty to his Saviour, and when I saw how he loved and trusted Him to the last, there was something that touched my heart, and I did for that boy what I had never done for any other soldier -- I asked him if he wished to see his chaplain.

 

    "Oh, yes, sir!" was the answer,

     When Chaplain R------ came, he at once knew the boy from having often met him at the tent prayer-meeting; and taking his hand said, --

    "Well, Charlie, I am sorry to see you in this sad condition."

 

      "Oh, I am all right, sir," he answered.  "The doctor offered me chloroform, but I declined it; then he wished to give me brandy, which I also declined; and now, if my Saviour calls me, I can go to Him in my right mind."

 

     "You may not die, Charlie," said the chaplain; "but if the Lord should call you away, is there any thing I can do for you after you are gone?"

 

     Chaplain, please put your hand under my pillow and take my little Bible.  In it you will find my mother's address; please send it to her, and write a letter, and tell here that since the day I left home I have never let a day pass without reading a portion of God's Word, and daily praying that God would bless my dear mother, -- no matter whether on the march, on the battle-field, or in the hospital."

 

      Is there any thing else that I can do for you my lad?" asked the chaplain.

    

     "Yes; please write a letter to the superintendent of the Sands Street Sunday School, Brooklyn, N.Y.; and tell him  that the kind words, many prayers, and good advice he gave me I have never forgotten; thy have followed me through all the dangers of battle, and now, in my dying hour, I ask my dear Saviour to bless my dear old superintendent: that is all."

 

     Turning toward me, he said, "Now, doctor, I am ready; and I promise you that I will not even groan while you take off my arm and leg, if you will not give me chloroform."

 

    I promised, but I had not the courage to take the knife in my hand to perform the operation without first going into the next room and taking a little stimulant to nerve myself to perform my duty.

 

     While cutting through the flesh, Charlie Coulson never groaned, but when I took the saw to separate the bone, the lad took the corner of his pillow in his moth, and all that I could hear him utter was, "Oh, Jesus, blessed Jesus, stand by me now."  He kept his promise, and never groaned.

 

     That night I could not sleep, for whichever way I turned I saw those soft blue eyes, and when I closed mine,the words, "Blessed Jesus, stand by me now!" kept ringing in my ears.  Between twelve and one o'clock I left my bed and visited the hospital, a thing I had never done before unless specially called; but such was my desire to see that boy.

 

     Upon my arrival there, I was informed by the night-steward that sixteen of the hopeless cases had died and carried to the dead-house.

 

     "How is Charlie Coulson?  is he among the dead?" I asked.

 

     "No sir,"  answered the steward; "he is sleeping as sweetly as a babe."

 

     When I came to the bed where he lay, one of the nurses informed me that about nine o'clock, two members of the Y.M.C.A. came through the hospital to read and sing a hymn.  Thy were accompanied by Chaplain R-----, who knelt by Charlie Coulson's bed and offered up a fervent ad soul-stirring prayer, after which they sang, while still upon their knees, the sweetest of all hymns, "Jesus lover of my soul," in which Charlie joined.  I could not understand how that boy, who had undergone such excruciating pain, could sing.

 

      Five day after I had amputated that dear boy's arm and leg he sent for me, and it was from him on that day I heard the first gospel-sermon.

 

    "Doctor", he said, "my time has come: I do not expect to see another sunrise; but thank God, I am ready to go; and before I die I desire to thank you with all my heart for your kindness to me.  Doctor, you are a Jew, you do not believe in Jesus; will you please stand here and see me die trusting my Saviour to the last moment of my life?"

 

     "I tried to stay, but I could not, for I had not the courage to stand by and see a Christian boy die rejoicing in the love of that Jesus whom I had been taught to hate, so I hurriedly let the room.

 

     About twenty minutes later, a steward, who found me sitting in my private office covering my face with my hand, said, "Doctor, Charlie Coulson wishes to see you."

 

     "I have just seen him," I answered, "and I cannot see him again."

 

      "But, Doctor, he says he must see you once more before he dies."

 

     I now made up my mind to see him, say an endearing word, and let him die; but I was determined that no word of his should influence me in the least so far as his Jesus was concerned.

 

     When I entered the hospital, I saw he was sinking fast, so I sat down by his bed.  Asking me to take his hand he said,--

 

    "Doctor, I love you because you are a Jew; the best friend I have found in this world was a Jew."

 

   I asked him who that was.

 

     He answered, "Jesus Christ, to whom I want to introduce you before I die; and will you promise me, doctor, that what I am about to say you will never forget?"

 

     I promised; and he said, "Five days ago while you amputated my and and leg, I prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ to convert your soul."

 

      These word went deep into my heart.  I could not understand how, when I was causing him the most intense pain, he could forget all about himself, and think of nothing but his Saviour and my unconverted soul.  All I could say to him was, "Well, my dear boy, you will soon be all right:" with these words I left him, and twelve minutes later he fell asleep, "safe in the arms of Jesus."

 

     Hundreds of soldiers died in my hospital during the war, but I only followed one to the grave, and that one was Charlie Coulson, the drummer-boy, and I rode three miles to see him buried.  I had him dressed in a new uniform, and placed in an officer's coffin, with a United States flag over it.

 

     That dear boy's dying words made an impression upon me.  I was rich at the time, so far as money is concerned, but I would have given every penny I possessed if I could have felt toward Christ as Charlie did; but that feeling cannot be bought with money.  Atlas!  I soon forgot all about my Christian soldier's little sermon, but I could not forget the boy himself, I now know that at that time I was under deep conviction of sin, but I fought against Christ with all the hatred of an orthodox Jew for nearly ten years, until finally, the dear boy's prayer was answered, and God converted my soul.

 

     About eighteen months after my conversion, I attended a prayer-meeting one evening in the city of Brooklyn.  It was one of those meetings when Christians testify to the loving-kindness of their Saviour.  After several of them had spoken, and elderly lady arose and said,--

     "Dear friend, this may be the last time that it is my privilege to testify for Christ.  My family-physician told me yesterday that my right lung is very nearly gone, and my left lung is very much affected; so, at the best, I have but a short time to be with you; but I belong to Jesus, and I have a boy with Jesus in heaven.  He was a  soldier in the war.  He was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg, and fell into the hands of a Jewish doctor, who amputated his arm and leg, but he died five days after the operation.  The chaplain of the regiment wrote me a letter, and sent me my boy's Bible.  In that letter I was informed that my Charlie, in his dying hour, sent for that Jewish doctor, and said to him, "Doctor, before I die, I wish to tell you that five days ago, while you amputated my arm and leg, I prayed the Lord Jesus Christ to convert your soul.'"

 

      When I heard this lady's testimony, I could sit still no longer.  I left my seat, crossed the room, and taking her hand, said, "God bless you, my dear sister!  your boy's prayer has been heard and answered.  I am the Jewish doctor for whom your Charlie prayed, and his Saviour is now my Saviour."

Other Resources:
http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/helpseek/coulson.htm
This is a longer version of this same story.
There is a booklet entitled "From Synagogue to the Saviour"  that carries even more details.
There is also a documentary video called "Rossvally" that relates this story. 
If this story is a blessing to you and you want to share it with others please contact me.  If you want large numbers of this tract, it is available from Re-enactors Missions for Jesus Christ.