The Personal TouchChapman, J. Wilbur (John Wilbur)
Religion
The Personal Touch
Chapman, J. Wilbur (John Wilbur)
Evangelistic work; Salvation -- Christianity
"It was about eighteen years ago that I was with a group of men in a
back street attending a meeting of anarchists, when the police came
along and broke up the meeting. I made off as fast as I could, but I
did not get away fast enough, for the police officer caught me by the
arm and took me away to prison. While I was there the Salvation Army
came to preach to us. Thank God for that night! It was the first time I
had heard salvation preached, for I come from the stock of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. When I got out of goal I went to the Salvation Army.
There stood on the platform that night two girls. They told me about
Jesus. They spoke of salvation for the drunkard, but that did not
appeal to me; they spoke of salvation for the unbeliever, but that did
not appeal to me; and when they spoke of salvation for the thief,
neither did that appeal to me. Then one night they said salvation is
for the Jew. I said to myself, 'That means me.' I came forward that
night and got rid of my wretchedness and my misery; I came for
salvation, and the Jew got salvation.'
"I moved away from the Bowery, for that was where I spent most of my
time. I have walked down the Bowery many a night with not a place to
lie down in, with not fifteen cents to pay for a bed, and not a shirt
to my back. Thank God, I moved away from the Bowery. I started in
business myself. To-day I have a splendid business connected with
twenty houses on Broadway. Hallelujah! Godlessness, sin, vice, takes a
man off Broadway and puts him on the Bowery; salvation takes a man from
the Bowery and puts him on Broadway."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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