Bible Tracts, Inc. - Director's Notes

Recent Letters

"As I was walking home from class one day I found a man on the path taking care of his cow. He called me by name and I returned the greeting. He said you don't know me do you. I looked at him and said yes I do. He then said who am I. I said you are the man that had a still and was making beer on our land when I bought it. He smiled and said you are right. He then told me how he had gotten saved and showed me the ring telling me how he had gotten married. I told him that I knew he was saved by the countemance on his face. He just smiled and you could see it again. What a difference the Lord can make as we let Him. Instead of making beer he is now milking cows."

"A couple of weeks back I gave a tract and witnessed to a security man outside the bank. The next time I was in there I asked him if he had read it and he said yes but he hadn't gotten saved yet. He said the bank would not let him off so that he could come to church. Yesterday as I went back to the bank he was there with a smile. I asked him if he had gotten saved and he said yes." missionary from Uganda

IN CHILE— "The LORD knows that Bible Tracts, Inc. is a very big part of His work through us here, as I would say that, conservatively speaking , your tracts have in some way 'participated' in at least 50% of the conversions that we have reported over the past few years (perhaps as many as 75%), and have certainly maintained the zeal of the 'troops' here fueled to keep going out and putting the Word of God out."

missionary from Chile

Years ago a family was confronting the Christmas season while dealing with hard times. The dad was out of work and had been for some time. The mom was working at a minimum wage job. Somehow they managed to put together a happy Christmas day for their children. Parental love and a few decorations can do marvelous things.

The day after Christmas the dad was again out job hunting. Mom was back to work, too. The children, old enough to be left at home alone, began to busy themselves with the chores mom had given them. One of the girls was sorting through the leftover wrapping materials when she found an envelope with the dad's name on it.

That night dad opened his envelope. Inside was a sizeable check! Somehow or another this envelope containing a great gift had slipped by without being noticed or opened.

That is what happens Christmas after Christmas. In the midst of our efforts to "make" Christmas as joyous as we can, we easily miss the most significant gift of all.

Some two thousand years ago the most priceless gift ever was presented to men – a Savior, Christ the Lord. When the angels pronounced the good news to the shepherds, their message was not simply ABOUT a person. That person was the message. "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).

THE NEED—The need of people's hearts calls for a priceless gift. That envelope addressed to the dad was a valuable gift to the entire family due to their need. They were in a hard place financially. All men, women, and children are in a hard place spiritually. All are hopelessly "dead in trespasses and sin" (Ephesians 2:1). That dad may find a job and then provide for his family, but we can do nothing to provide the answer to our sin and guilt before God.

THE GIFT – The amount of God's gift shows it is priceless. No matter how sizeable the amount of the dad's check it would eventually be used up. The gift of God's Son can never be empty. The Lord is always "plenteous in mercy" (Psalm 103:8). There is no end of God's grace and forgiveness.

THE SUFFERING – The depth of Jesus' suffering as He was beaten and then crucified reveals the priceless value of God's gift. The sinless life of Jesus was a life of magnificent beauty. But for His gift of forgiveness to be available to us His body had to be broken. No, no bones were broken as He died, but He was broken so that the precious blood could be spilled out and cleanse us.

THE SUBSTITUTION – The pricelessness of the gift of Jesus is also seen in that He gave His life willingly for sinners. "He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5:21). The pure and undefiled Son of God gave Himself in our place. He paid our sin debt. Why? The rest of the verse just quoted goes on to tell us. It says, "…that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him". Jesus died to make us righteous before God.

If Jesus died to make us righteous then we are NOT righteous without Him. We are sinners. We are all unrighteous in our acts, our words, our thoughts, and definitely in our heart motives. No religiousness or goodness done by us could ever clean us down to the level of our motives.

As you enjoy the Christmas season do not let the gift of Jesus slip past you due to the busyness of seasonal things. Send this gift to someone else who needs Him. The father's envelope was small but it contained the family's greatest gift. Why not put a tract in an envelope and send it out. It may not be valued the day it reaches its destination, but no gospel message sent out can return void. On that we have God's promise.