“And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.” (Col. 1:21-22 NIV)

Problem/solution

The above passage starts with a problem but ends with an over the top, amazing, almost too good to be true, solution!

• The problem

Sin is the problem! The Bible says that “none are righteous,” (Rom. 3:10); that all of us have “sinned and come short” of God’s standard of righteousness (Rom. 3:23); and, because of our sin, we are hopelessly alienated from Him (Isa. 59:2).

• The solution

The solution to the sin problem is what the Bible calls “the gospel”, which literally means “good news,” and it’s that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sin and to “bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Our promise verse at the top says, “He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.” Now, THAT is why it’s rightfully called the “good news.”

You must receive God’s gift personally

Even though Jesus has done all the work on the cross to reconcile you to God, you must personally believe and receive His wonderful free gift for yourself. The Bible says it this way, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12). Another verse says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9)

Praying “The Sinner’s Prayer”

The “Sinner’s Prayer” is a term that describes the words spoken by a person when he or she has recognized their sin and their need for a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It goes something like this:

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

I prayed a similar prayer as the one above 50 plus years ago and Jesus has truly changed my life. I know he will change yours, too!

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“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 ESV)

Here are a few ways you can distribute gospel tracks

1.     Hand them to people - The most logical and most effective method of distributing gospel tracts is to simply hand them to people; especially to those who you already know and have a positive relationship with. They are usually the most receptive. Always keep some in your pocket and watch and pray for opportunities the Holy Spirit will direct you to. For instance, one day I was in a big hotel attending a business conference, and I got into an elevator to go to a meeting held on an upper floor. Stepping in at the same time was a well dressed businessman with a briefcase. He reached over to push the button for the floor he wanted and then he said to me, “Are you going up?” And I said, “Well yes, I am. In fact, this morning I got up, I am prayed up, and I’m ready to go up. How about you? Are you going up?” He laughed and said, “I can’t say that I am ready to go up. I wish I had your confidence.”  I then reached into my pocket, retrieved a gospel tract and handed it to him with a smile. I said, “This little pamphlet will explain how you can be absolutely sure you will go up!” He laughed, took it from my hand and said, “Thank you, I will read this.” We then reached his floor and got out. After he had left the elevator, I prayed a little prayer for him. I prayed that he would read the tract, that he would be drawn by the Holy Spirit, and that he would  pray to receive Christ. 

2.     Mail them to people – Include them with letters and cards to your family and friends. If you own a business you can put them in with business correspondence such as with invoices, statements and payments. By the way, you get up to one ounce of weight for a first class postage stamp. That amounts to 5 pages of normal weight letter-size pieces of paper and one standard #10 business size envelope. Most business correspondence is only one page so you have all that extra room available to use at no extra charge. The gospel tract you tuck in gets a free ride!

3.     Leave them in places where they may be found. As I travel around the country, I have discovered that most hotel rooms have Gideon Bibles in their drawers and/or other religious books there, such as the Koran. I tuck a tract inside their front covers where they may be discovered later by other travelers. Other good places to leave tracts are along with your generous tips at restaurants and for the hotel room-maid when you check out after your stay. When I travel in my RV I leave them at rest stops and other places I visit along my route, especially where literature is generally left for visitors. 

4.     Include them in shipments – I print and ship “People Can Be Recycled, Too!” Gospel tracts to many automotive recycling companies who include them in every shipment. They, too, get a free ride with every customer order. 

5.     Have them displayed at your business in a prominent location - perhaps at the front counter, or in waiting areas: “Free, take one”. 

Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit

“Because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.” (1 Thess. 1:5 ESV)

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isa. 55:11 KJV)

Yesterday I shared about preaching the Word using gospel tracts. The following story, which has been around a long time and the author is unknown, tells the story of how a child was used in a miraculous way when distributing his last tract. (Warning: Get out some tissue!)

My Last Tract: (Author Unknown)

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at their church, the Pastor and his eleven-year-old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts. This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts (it was very cold outside as well as pouring down with rain). The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, "OK Dad, I'm ready." His Pastor Dad asked, "Ready for what?" "Dad, it's time we gathered our tracts together and go out." Dad responds, "Son, it's very cold outside and it's pouring down with rain." The boy gives his Dad a surprised look, asking, "But Dad, aren't people still going to Hell, even though it's raining?" Dad answers, "Son, I am not going out in this weather." Despondently the boy asks, "Dad, can I go, Please?" His father hesitated for a moment, then said, "Son, you can go. Here are the tracts. Be careful son." "Thanks Dad"!!!  And with that he was off and out into the rain. This eleven-year-old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract.

After two hours of walking in the rain he was soaking bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted. Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door-bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered. He rang it again and again but, still no one answered. He waited but still no answer. Finally this eleven-year-old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him. Again he turned to the door, and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch. He rang again, and this time the door slowly opened. Standing in the doorway was a very sad looking elderly lady. She softly asked, "What can I do for you son?" With radiant eyes and a Smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, "Ma’am, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU, and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE." With that he handed her his last tract, and turned to leave. She called to him as he departed, "Thank you son! And God Bless You!"

Well, the following Sunday morning in Church, Pastor Dad was in the pulpit and, as the service began, he asked, "Does anybody have a testimony, or want to say anything?" Slowly, in the back row of the Church, an elderly lady stood to her feet. As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face as she said, "None of you in this church know me. I've never been here before. You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart as I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live. So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. Standing on that chair, so lonely and broken-hearted, I was about to leap off when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, 'I'll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.' I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly. I thought to myself again, 'Who on earth could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.' I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder. When I opened the door and looked, I could hardly believe my eyes, for there on my front porch was the most radiant and Angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, Oh, I could never describe it to you!!! And the words that came from his mouth caused my heart, that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with cherub-like voice, 'Ma’am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU.' Then he gave me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand. As the little Angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn't be needing them any more. You see, I am now a Happy Child of the KING, and since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here to personally say THANK YOU TO GOD'S LITTLE ANGEL WHO CAME JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME AND, BY SO DOING, SPARED MY SOUL FROM AN ETERNITY IN HELL."

There were now no dry eyes in the church. And as Shouts of Praise and Honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little Angel was seated. He took him in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably. Probably no church has had a more glorious moment. And probably this universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love and honor for his son - EXCEPT for One - this FATHER also allowed His Son to go out into a cold and dark world. He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of Heaven shouted Praises and Honor to THE KING, The FATHER sat HIS BELOVED SON on a Throne far above all Principality and Power . . . and every name that is named . . .

There may be SOMEONE reading this, who is also going through a dark, cold, lonely time in your soul. You may be a Christian, for we are not without our problems ~ or you may not yet know THE KING? Whatever the case, and whatever the problem or situation you find yourself in, and no matter how DARK it may seem, I want you to know that I just came to tell you ~ JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU! He really does! Receive His love right now! ~ Author Unknown.

Therefore…

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13 NIV)

“…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9 ESV)

A prayer for salvation

The following is the prayer Billy Graham used in leading millions to Christ throughout the world. You can make it your prayer. 

“O God, I am a sinner. I’m sorry for my sins. I’m willing to turn from my sins. I receive Christ as savior. I confess Him as Lord. From this moment on I want to follow him and serve Him in the fellowship of His church. In Christ’s Name, Amen”

If you prayed this prayer, tell somebody! And please let me know at [email protected]