Gospel Jewels

    The night came for the preaching.  So did the preacher.  And so did the people of the island.  Some came to hear the Word of God; but most came to see what Big Bill would do.  He was expected to make trouble and it would be a stout hearted preacher that would withstand him.
    The meeting began.  The preacher was reading his text from the Bible when the door opened and in stalked Big Bill, loaded for trouble.

    The first words he heard were the preacher's text:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  (John 3:16)
     Big Bill stopped and listened.  The preacher repeated the verse, very slowly and clearly, and then read it for the third time.  By the power of God, the words took hold of Big Bill's heart.

    Never before had he heard such words.  The strong man was utterly disarmed by the verse and he went quietly to a seat near the front of the room.
    No one listened to that gospel message with more concern than Big Bill.  At the close, the preacher went over to him and shook his hand - the hand of the man that had come determined "not to allow any religion or preaching on the island."
    To his great joy, the preacher learned that Big Bill, as he sat in his seat, had given  himself to Jesus and received Him into his heart.  O the power of the Word of God!
 
"There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents."  (Luke 15:10)
 
"This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent."
(John 17:3) 

    One day as he was cooking his dinner, he noticed a ship some distance away and hurried to the shore, earnestly praying that this time they might see and come to his relief.  He waved frantically, but they went by, until at last the little ship was almost lost to sight.  Then turning to plod his way back to his little hut he was astonished to see that it had burst into flames.
    He had left some embers, and the wind had set the place on fire.  Everything was burned, and then when at last he stood there utterly distressed, not knowing where he would be able to gather sufficient material to build another shelter, to his amazement he saw that the vessel was headed right for the island.

    As they neared the shore they sent a little boat for him and took him on board. He asked, "Did you see my signal?"  "Your signal!" they said; "Yes, we saw your smoke, and so we came to rescue you."  God had answered his prayer, but not at all in the way he expected it, and so, some day when we get home to heaven, we shall see that may of the prayers we thought God had not heard were answered in His own wonderful way.
 
"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."
 (Isaiah 65:24)  

    The answer was always the same too. "Honey, We'd love to give you a dog like Lassie, but she is a Collie.  Collies need to be outdoors where they can run in a great big yard.  Our yard is way too small and a 'Lassie dog' would always be running away.
    "But I'll teach the 'Lassie dog' to stay by me all of the time so she won't get lost or hurt!" he persisted.

    After a few months of continually saying 'no' Dad and Mom decided that they would take Tommy to the local dog pound and pick out a 'mutt' that would be a good house dog even though it wouldn't be a 'Lassie dog'.  Tommy was excited and satisfied.
    At the pound his parents explained to the old man who ran the shelter that they were looking for a quiet, loyal, easy to care for house dog for Tommy.
    He smiled: "Why I've got the perfect dog for your boy.  Come on back and meet 'Fire'".

    It was a real shock to look at 'Fire'.  She was an ugly, almost hairless dog with obvious burn scars.
    "What happened to this poor dog?"  Tommy's parents exclaimed.
    "Why don't you folks remember the dog that laid on top of the little girl caught in the forest fire up on Pine Mountain?  She saved the little girl but almost lost her life. This is that dog.  No one wants her because she's so ugly.  I keep her because I just can't bring myself to put her to sleep after saving that child's life".

    Tommy had been listening and his eyes were full of tears.  "I want her!  Can we take her back with us?"
    So 'Fire' came 'home'.  And she fit in perfectly never leaving Tommy's side and never leaving the yard.
    Over the next few months 'Fire's' hair began to grow back and watching it, Tommy's parents became very curious about this strange 'mutt'.  Finally Dad called the Dog Pound; "Just what kind of a 'mutt' is 'Fire'?"  "Sir", the old man laughed softly, 'Fire  isn't a 'Mutt'.  Her daddy and momma' are both show dogs.  'Fire is a pure-bred Collie."    
 
"When we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him."  (Isaiah 53:2)
 
"He is altogether lovely.  This is My Beloved."
(Song of Solomon 5:16)  
 

    In a few minutes they had brought that bowl of milk, and two guards walked with him, one on either side, and the procession started to move.  On and on they went, for perhaps a mile or more, into the presence of the rajah.  And that young prince walked along, holding the bowl of milk.  It seemed as though he would never finish without spilling some of it, but he completed the ordeal safely.  Finally he stood before the rajah, "Well, Sir Prince, what kind of faces did the people make?"  He looked up and said, "Your majesty, I did not see the faces of the people.  I saw only my life, which I held in my hands, and I knew one false step would make me lose my life."

    Dear grandchildren, don't let the sneers and laughter of those around you keep you from looking to Jesus.  He is the Saviour of those who put their trust in Him.  He died on the cross of Calvary to save sinners.  A mother once told her son, "Remember, they may laugh you into hell, but they can never laugh you out of it."  Christ is the only approval worth having.

            It was wartime, but most of the passengers, seemingly confidant that the great swift ship could escape and outrun any enemy submarine, were having lunch.  As they neared the coast of Ireland, suddenly, without warning two torpedoes, fired from a German submarine, crashed into her starboard side, and in a very sort time the huge ship sank with a frightful loss of 1400 lives.

            Harold Boulton, a young Englishman, was one of those who were saved.  When he heard that the ship had been struck by torpedoes, he quickly put on a life belt, jumped into the ocean, and started swimming away from the ship.  From the water he saw the Lusitania sink.  Later Harold was saved by some fishermen who pulled him out of the water and took him to England.  He wrote: