TESTIMONIES OF FAITH

RELATED INDEX TOPICS: Jesus & Salvation, Mark 16:15

         1. "I, William Shakespeare, of Stratford-upon-Avon, in the county of Warrick, gentleman in perfect health & memory. God be praised, do make & ordain this my last will & testament in manner & form following, that is to say, first, I commend my soul into the hands of God, my Creator, hoping & assuredly believing, through the only merits of Jesus Christ, my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting, and my body to the Earth whereof it is made."

         2. I marvel that whereas the ambitious dreams of myself, Caesar, & Alexander should have vanished into thin air, a Judean peasant--Jesus--should be able to stretch His hands across the centuries & control the destinies of men & nations.--Napoleon

         3. We are told that in one of his speeches to the soldiers of the first World War, General Pershing said: "I have known Jesus Christ now for 47 years, & I could not face life without Him. It is no small thing to know that all the past is forgiven, that help is available from God every day." Then continued the stalwart general: "I commend such a Saviour to you."

         4. In my youth, science was more important to me than either man or God. I worshipped science. Its advance had surpassed man's wildest dreams. It took many years for me to discover that science, with all its brilliance, lights only a middle chapter of Creation.
         I saw the aircraft I love destroying the civilisation I expected it to save. Now I understand that spiritual truth is more essential to a nation than the mortar in its cities' walls. For when the actions of a people are undergirded by spiritual truths, there is safety. When spiritual truths are rejected, it is only a matter of time before civilisation will collapse.
         We must understand spiritual truths & apply them to our modern life. We must draw strength from the almost forgotten virtues of simplicity, humility, contemplation & prayer. It requires a dedication beyond science, beyond self, but the rewards are great & it is our only hope.--Charles Lindbergh

         5. I go out to preach with two propositions in mind. First, every person ought to give his life to Christ. Second, whether or not anyone else gives Him his life, I will give Him mine.--Jonathan Edwards

         6. If I may die as I have seen some die, I court the grand occasion. I would not wish to escape death by some by-road if I may sing as they sang.--C.H. Spurgeon

         7. I have lived, seen God's hand through a lifetime, & all was for best.--Robert Browning

         8. Robert Lewis of Fredrickburg, Virginia, was Washington's private secretary. During the first part of the presidency, he said that he accidently witnessed Washington's private devotions, both morning & evening. He saw him in a kneeling posture, with an open Bible before him; & he said that he believed such was his daily practice. His custom was to go to his library at four o'clock in the morning for devotions.

         9. Charlemagne gave instructions that when he died he should be buried seated in the royal posture of a ruling monarch on a throne. Then he directed that the Gospels should be laid on his knees, his sword beside him, the imperial crown on his head, & the royal mantle on his shoulders. And thus his body remained for 180 years.
         About 1,000 A.C. the tomb was opened by the Emperor Otho. They found the skeleton of Charlemagne, dissolved & dismembered into various hideous postures. The skull was still wearing the crown. And the bony finger of the skeleton was pointing to the verse of Scripture, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mat.16:26)
         The various relics were collected & used in the coronation of the emperors of Germany to signify their greatness & succession from Charlemagne.

         10. "I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them & that is faith in Jesus Christ. If they had that & I had not given them one shilling, they would have been rich: and if they had not that, & I had given them all the world, they would be poor indeed."--Patrick Henry

         11. My prisons shall be my grave before I will budge a jot, for I owe my conscience to no mortal man. Right is right, even if everyone is against it; & wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.--William Penn

         12. I will not glory because I am righteous, but because I am redeemed; not because I am clear of sin, but because my sins are forgiven.--Ambrose

         13. When Christ calls me Home I shall go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from school.--Adoniram Judson

         14. In the year 1847, a doctor from Edinburgh, Sir James Simpson, discovered that chloroform could be used as an anaesthetic to render people insensible to the pain of surgery. From his early experiments, Dr. Simpson made it possible for people to go through the most dangerous operations without fear of pain & suffering. Some people even claim that his was one of the most significant discoveries of modern medicine.
         Some years later, while lecturing at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Simpson was asked by one of his students, "What do you consider to be the most valuable discovery of your lifetime?"
         To the surprise of his students, who had expected him to refer to chloroform, Dr. Simpson replied, "My MOST VALUABLE discovery was when I discovered myself a sinner & that Jesus Christ was my Saviour."

         15. The most important thought I ever had was that of my individual responsibility to God.--Daniel Webster

         16. The need of the World is to listen to God.--Albert Einstein

         17. There is but one question of the hour: How to bring the Truth of God's Word into vital contact with the minds & hearts of all classes of people.--William Gladstone.

         18. Christ is the most unique Person in History. No man can write a history of the human race without giving first & foremost place to the penniless Teacher of Nazareth.--H.G. Wells

         19. Most joyfully will I confirm with my blood that truth which I have written & preached.--Jan Hus

         20. It is better for me to be a martyr than a monarch.--Ignatius

         21. It is a small matter to die once for Christ, if it might be, I could wish I might die a thousand deaths for Him.--Lewis Paschalis

         22. The New Testament is the best Book the World has ever known or will know.--Charles Dickens

         23. I account the Scriptures of God the most sublime philosophy.--Isaac Newton

         24. Statesmanship & diplomacy have failed. The only remedy is Jesus Christ. It is either Christ or Chaos.--David Lloyd George

         25. I am packed, sealed & waiting for the post.--John Newton

         26. William Lyon Phelps (called the most beloved professor in America--of Yale University)--"I thoroughly believe in university education for both men & women, but I believe a knowledge of the Bible without a college course is more valuable than a college course without the Bible.

         27. Jean Jacques Rousseau--"The majesty of the Scriptures strikes me with admiration, as the purity of the Gospel has its influence on my heart. Pursue the works of our philosophers with all their pomp of diction, how mean, how contemptible are they, compared with the Scriptures."

         28. Napoleon Bonaparte--"The Bible contains a complete series of facts & of historical men, to explain time & eternity, such as no other religion has to offer. ... What happiness that Book procures for those who believe it! What marvels those admire there who reflect upon it!"

         29. Goethe (the universal & most highly cultivated of poets)--"I consider the Gospels to be thoroughly genuine; for in them there is the effective reflection of a sublimity which emanated from the Person of Christ: And this is as Divine as ever the Divine appeared on Earth."

         30. It will surprise you & touch your heart when you see it--the epitaph on the gravestone of George Washington. As you approach the grave, you may imagine that it will take a big stone to mark properly the resting place of this tremendous man. And on that stone you will expect many striking truths concerning this giant of history. He was the Commanding General of the Continental Armies, the First President of the United States, & the Father of his Country. But you will likely be a little awed when at last you look down upon the small, plain stone that marks his grave. On that stone is engraved the name George Washington, the date of his birth & the date of his death. And at the bottom of the stone are these words:
         "Jesus said, I am the Resurrection & the Life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25).