February 1943
49
faced such groups Sunday after Sun day and sometimes two and three times in one Sunday morning. I never haye the same audience- twice. The men are being shifted constantly through a Naval Training Station, and I know that'that one service is prob ably the only opportunity I shall have to reach those particular men, I must present Jesus Christ, in that one mes sage, so winsomely that men will want Him. It is a tremendous challenge. How Work Is Done In each service w,e explain the way of salvation carefully. Thank God/ we are free to preach what we Want to. The true minister of the gospel will spend much time in prayer and preparation, seeking God’s message directly from Him, for only thait kind of message can do an effective work in one hearing. We cannot know always what takes place in the hearts of .the men who listen, since we can not make a public appeal. . But this is not the limitation it might seem to be. There are many who have come to feel, erroneously, that the act of going forward in a service is what saves a man. Here we just present the claims of Christ, urging each man to make his own decision alone with Christ.- The Sunday services offer immeas urable opportunities to present the gospel at least once to many men. Personal interviews make it possible to seek to bring the men, individually, to a definite decision. During the week our time' is taken up entirely with such interviews with the men Who come and go. Sometimes a man will come, of his own accord, seeking spiritual help, or perhaps help in a matter not related to a spiritual need. He comes because he can approach the Chaplain more easily than some one else. Quite'often these interviews are a result of letters from relatives of the boys, asking about their wel fare. Many of these boys to whom we have had the opportunity to speak personally have accepted Christ. What Brings Men to the Chaplain Sometimes broken hearts over bro ken homes have brought‘ men to us for personal interviews. Oh, the trag edy of broken homes! Men who have been married, some, of them ten or fifteen years, have come to me in great distress. In not a few instances, after a few months of separation, wives have written wanting a divorce. When the men come to us, this Is our opportunity to point them to Christ who has said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” I have seen such men, broken before God in their need, find peace in Him who “healeth the broken in heart.” And it has made
all the difference in the world in rela'- tion to their individual personal prob lem. They have One who is ever with them. Two brothers came in to see me one day. One was in tears. They had been with each other all their lives and they had hoped to stay together in the service. But one was up for sea draft and the other was not. There was nothing we could do to change that, of course, But we could point them to Him “that sticketh closer than a brother.” Before they left the office the whole, aspect of their case had been changed for them. They knew that when they were separated, both could have Him, and they were sat isfied. A strapping fellow, about thirty- three years old, came in one day ask ing for. my signature on some insur ance papers that had to be signed by a commissioned officer. That was all he wanted." After signing the papers, I asked him whether he had any in surance for the next life. “No, Chaplain, I guess I haven’t,” he answered ruefully. We talked togeth er. And he made sure of his future in surance, that afternoon, in a decision for Christ, I then learned that he had a Christian wife who had been pray ing for him for years. A Christian wife . —answered prayer—and now a Chris tian home. This is America’s true de* i fense. S M KBSi - , : , " ■ J" i; One young lad, about seventeen, knowing that he was leaving for sea duty in a few days, came requesting baptism before.he left. On question ing him as to his faith and assurance, I found that he never had accepted Christ as his Saviour—that he never had known the way of salvation. But his heart was ready and he opened it that afternoon to Christ in a humble surrender to Him.' Then he was ready for baptism. It is amazing how God leads many times. One day I had been waiting for some, time to see a senior officer concerning a personal matter, when a civilian' came in. Though he saw me waiting, he walked right in with out any introduction and I was left in the outer office. I was tired and, suddenly for no apparent reason, I became restless. I left the room and went to my own office. A young man was waiting there; he just wanted to visit for a few minutes with a Baptist Chaplain. But before he left the office, he had obtained something infinitely precious, the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in his heart, God had a purpose in squeezing me out of that other office and back to my own! Opportunities such as these abound for the Navy Chaplains. How they
AMER ICA ’S BOOK The.Bible is America’s Book. No nation on earth owes more to the Bible than does.,the United States. For a century preceding the political birth of our nation,, our colonial forefathers were de veloping a c ommo nwe a l t h around three institutions — the home, the school, the. church— and in all theBible was supreme. —BIBLE SOCIETY RECORD. need prayer that they may be kept spiritually aggressive in dealing with men! There are many difficulties. All whom we would-win are not willing to come—all are not reached as read ily as the ones mentioned. Many spiritual battles must be fought. Prayer for the Men Great as is the Chaplains’ need for prayer, perhaps the men in service need it even more, especially those men who know the Lord as their Saviour. It is easy to neglect Bible reading and prayer and to feel utter ly alone in a company. Many of the men have come from fine Christian homes. Some of these have been lead ers in young people’s s o c i e t i e s and they have b e e n actively en gaged in other forms of church work, back home. Now, with nothing of that nature to take their time .and thought, there is a gap in their Chris- - tian experience, a yearning for spirit-; ual fellowship, and, in many cases, bittèr disappointment. Wè have found that when a man' has come out with â clear testimony, showing his colors for the Lord, other men have rallied around.' In several instancesva little group of believers, has been formed, and lasting Chris tian friendships have been made as men have .met for fellowship in off- duty hours. It is a blessing to have a bluejacket come into the office with his face beaming as he testifies that Christ does satisfy; that He keeps him through every circumstance; that He gives grace and courage to speak to other'men about the Lord. In personal interviews and •con tacts with the men, the Chaplains can reach but a bare fraction of the total men in camp. Therefore it, is imper ative that men in the barracks, who know the Lord, be faithful in their witness in being “Unofficial Chap lains’ Assistants.” Therefore, “continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utter ance, to speak the mystery of Christ.”
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