Gideons Spot

Below is a summary of a brief talk by Ian Lamberton at a Sunday morning service during the "Mission Spot".
Ian is a local (Co. Donegal) representative of The Gideons International and a member of Fahan Presbyterian Church. Click here to see the favourite Bible verses of some members of Fahan Presbyterian.

Suicide:

A prisoner was sitting in a prison cell in England – he felt hopeless and in his despair he decided to end his life. He began to make a noose from the bedclothes and realised that there was a ten-minute window at the change of the guard when there was very little supervision.

On the day that he had planned to take his own life he was sitting waiting for the change of guard when he heard these words “Read the Book”.  The only book there was a New Testament placed by the Gideons.

Thankfully he did begin to read it and as he read the Holy Spirit began to apply the truths of scripture and eventually he committed his life to Jesus.

Now the only Christian influence on that man was that Gideon bible. 

When the Gideons were back in that prison and met up with this man he wanted to introduce them to some other prisoners that he had led to Jesus.  Apparently he stands where the inmates distribute drugs and he gives out Christian literature.  One of the toughest guys in the prison came up to him and said, “Some people become ‘Christians of convenience’ but you are the real thing”.

“Sharper than a double-edged sword”

Hebrews Ch 4 v 12 tells us “The word of God is living and active, sharper than a double-edged sword”.  What a joy it is to be allowed to hand the living word of God into nearly every 1^st year student at second level schools throughout Donegal.  Often we do not hear of the results. 

25 years with no apparent harvest

One branch in England had been placing bibles and testaments for 25 years with no harvest that they were aware of and of course they were praying that they would hear.  A missionary was at home and was in the house of a Gideon and as she was leaving she saw a little stack of New Testaments sitting by his front door.  She lifted one up and said “every soul that is saved through our work as missionaries is as a result of a little New Testament just like this that I received as a 1^st year student at a school in this town.”

A loyalist paramilitary prisoner roll his own cigarettes from Bible pages.

Another story from a prison but this time a little closer to home.  A loyalist paramilitary prisoner was using these pages to roll his own cigarettes.  He said the pages in the Gideon New Testament were perfect for the job.  So he smoked his way through Matthew, Mark and Luke – then he thought “maybe I should read a bit each day before I smoke it, to see what this book is about.”  So he started to read in the Gospel of John and got saved by committing his life to the Lord Jesus.

John ch20 v30 says “Jesus did many miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  But these are written that you may believe the Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

You know this is a powerful book – Read it to be Wise, Believe it to be safe and Practice it to be Holy.