Priest at a Buddhist funeral

     The night was hot and sultry, with only an occasional soft breeze across the rokan, while the raucous chirr-chirr of the cicada was like a ceaseless chant of death.    Mr. Suzuki apparently lay dying upon his couch.   His body had been racked with fever, and his age of 68 was against him.   Ichiro, the eldest son, had been called to his father's side.

     "I have not been a good man," said Mr. Suzuki.   "I have done many things that were wrong in building the wealth of our family, but I have laid aside a large amount of savings against this day.   I want you to take that money and go up to the Omiya, to the priests there.   For that sum of money they are sure to have a plan to get me through to the land of pleasures."

     "Yes, it is so," replied Ichiro.   "I will do it, father," he said reassuringly, but in his heart he knew it was not so.   His father had not been in charge of the business for several years, and times had changed.   They had recently met with severe financial losses, and Ichiro knew that most of the savings his father spoke of had now been used up.    But he would do his best with what he had on hand.

     The next afternoon Ichiro appeared at the Omiya, where he was welcomed.   The old and wealthy family of Suzuki was well known, and he was quickly admitted to the head priest, where he stated his problem.   His father was dying, and he felt sure the priests there could get him immediate access into the presence of honorable Hotoke in the land of pleasures.

     The priest thought awhile, then said, "Yes, I can do it."   "How?" asked Ichiro.

     "You see this strip of paper upon which I write the name of the newly dead to be attached to the stake at the grave.   Now, if I wrote your father's name there, honorable Hotoke would search his records and find many sins against your father's name, so there would be no hope for him.   But if, instead of your father's name, I wrote a new name, a name against which no sins were recorded, and placed it on the stake at your father's grave, honorable Hotoke would check his records and find nothing, and your father would immediately be let into the land of pleasure."

     "My father is dying!" exclaimed Ichiro.   "Here is four man of money.   Please write for him a new name that he may enter that beautiful land."

     The priest looked at the money in disdain.   "Only four man of money from a Suzuki!   I cannot accept so paltry a sum."   In anger he turned and left the room.

     Ichiro was in despair.   A great burden was upon him.   As the eldest son his father's business and his father's welfare had all become his responsibility, and he was failing.   Hopelessly and aimlessly he walked along the streets trying to think of a solution.   As he walked evening came on, and he heard strange and joyful singing from a nearby building.   "The happy Sound Church" was the name over the door.   Rather than go home he slipped inside to listen.

     Before long a man stood up on the platform and read from a Holy Book, "Salvation cannot be received from anyone else," he read, "for there is no other name under heaven given unto men that is worth trusting for salvation."

     The speaker began by telling how that we all had been given names, but everyone of us knew we were sinners, that our names were not worth trusting for salvation.   But there was a man born once, whose name was given by God.   He read, "You shall give him the name, Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins."

     "This man was God's Son, yet he lived as a man in this world and never committed one sin.   Not one sin was ever recorded against his name.   So his name is the only name worth trusting for salvation."

     "Moreover it was the will of God that this Jesus, His Son, should suffer and die on the cross for man's sins, not for his sins, as he didn't have any, but for all of sinful mankind, to pay for their sins, the righteous dying for the unrighteous, to drain out all of his righteous blood as the price of our salvation."

     "So," he concluded, "we have Jesus, the name of the only sinless man that ever lived.   We have Jesus, the Son of God, of more value in God's eyes than all of mankind.    We have Jesus, who died, was buried, rose again the third day and entered heaven taking with him his own blood, the price of our pardon.   There he stands before God, and in his name, all who believe in his name have their sins forgiven.   There in heaven the blood of Jesus cleanses the record of all their sins.   Nothing is recorded against anyone who believes in his name."

     "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.   Here is the name," he said.   "Jesus Christ is the name you can trust, and it's all free.   It's all paid for by the blood of Jesus!"

     Ichiro heard this message with astonishment.   He thought of all the people he knew.   All had committed sins, even the best of them.   He thought of the name of the man the priest would have written down in his father's place.   That name would have been the name of a sinner like all the rest, and it would have been no good.

     But here was a way more wonderful than anything he had ever heard of before, a NAME THAT COULD BE TRUSTED.   O how wonderful was the joy in his heart as for himself he trusted in the name of Jesus.   He went home rejoicing to tell his father of the name that could certainly take him through to the heavenly country.   His father was incredulous, but was impressed by his son's newfound joy.   He agreed to a visit by the speaker from the Happy Sound Church, and before long he, too, was rejoicing in a faith of his own in Jesus Christ.

     So Mr Suzuki recovered from his illness to live another ten years witnessing for Christ and to see many of his family saved.

     Friends, Mr Suzuki is not so different from many of the people you know today.   They are trusting in their works for salvation, and when they fail their world can be shattered.    They may be just waiting to hear about the Name that can be trusted.   Won't you tell them about Jesus.

     The revival meeting at Bible Missionary Baptist Church of Portland, Oregon resulted in two, Gary and Alice Wonder giving their testimonies before the church and requesting to be baptized.    Praise the Lord for his glorious work!

     Friday, the last day of the revival meeting, had been set aside for the ordination of Joseph Blalock to the ministry of the gospel.   There were five ministers and a deacon on the council one of those ministers is the editor of this paper.   Brother Joe is going as a missionary of Bible Missionary Baptist Church to start a church in Skamokawa, Washington.   Please keep him and this ministry in your prayers.

     At the same time as the ordination meeting many were working frantically to get the Crystal Springs Bible Camp ready for winter and to hold camp meetings next year.   Please pray for this important work.   We all need Crystal Springs Bible Camp.   Many have been saved there and many have met the man or woman God has provided them there at camp.   This Camp is a great help to Christian families.

     I continue to see that this web site is visited by people in countries where it is illegal to preach the gospel.   These countries have christians, churches, and sometimes missionaries that do just that, preach the gospel.   I want them to know that the readers of "Baptist Landmarks" are praying for them.   It is a privilege to be able to reach beyond the iron and bamboo curtain with the precious gospel of our Savior.

     The second Friday of each month Mountain View Baptist Church of Kelso, Washington has a fellowship meeting at six-thirty in the evening.   They usually have lots of special music, testimonies, and two guest preachers.   It is always a great blessing and if you are in the area I urge you to attend.   You will get a blessing.

     If your church has a special meeting and would like to have it mentioned in "NEWS OF THE DAY", please E-Mail the information to: edit@BaptistLandmarks.org

     A mother stepped into the doctor's office carrying a bright beautiful baby a year old.   Seating herself near the physician she said, "Doctor, I want you to help me out of my trouble.    My baby is only one year old, and I have conceived again, and I do not want to have children so close together."

     "What do you expect me to do?" asked the physician.   "Oh, anything to get rid of it for me," she replied.   After thinking seriously for a moment the doctor said, "I think I can suggest a better method of helping you out.   If you object to having two children so close together, the best way would be to kill the one on your lap.   That would be less dangerous to you than to try to kill the one that is still inside you.

     At this the doctor picked up a knife and told the mother to turn her head away.   The woman jumped from the chair and screamed, "MURDERER !"

     A few words of explanation from the doctor soon convinced the mother that his offer to murder her baby was no different than her request for the destruction of the unborn child.   In either case it would have been murder.   The only difference would be in the age of the victim.

     Surely no one can read this true story and not agree with this doctor.

Reprinted from the "Bible Baptist Reminder".

Letters To The Editor

     Still there have been no letters to the editor.   Folks if you want to respond to something you have read in "Baptist Landmarks" please E-Mail your response to edit@BaptistLandmarks.org   Your response will be printed here.

     I would like to have a cartoon in each issue if possible.   If there is someone reading this paper who can draw cartoons that will cause us to laugh at the foolish things we sometimes do and cause us to think of how we could better serve our Savior, please E-Mail me and let me know.

          I got a precious gift today,
               A piece of childish art,
          Made by two loving little hands,
               That went straight to my heart.
          A splash of green and yellow
               Supposed to be a tree.
          A crudely printed "I love You"
               Meant all the world to me.

by Peggy Opal Snyder of La Mont, MO

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