Jim Bramlett - Powered by InJesus
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Jim Bramlett
Sep 11, 2004
Dear friends:
Below is a short, interesting message from the late Dr. Bill Bright that blessed me and I believe it will bless you. It demonstrates the simplicity of the gospel and amazing grace. This new Russian Christian described suddenly understood more about grace than many seasoned believers who have come under the burden of their denomination's religious tradition.
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me...."
Jim
_______________________INSIGHTS from Bill Bright
Reflections from the late Founder and President/Chairman Emeritus of
Campus Crusade for Christ InternationalGrace vs. Works
For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people
(Titus 2:11, NLT).Dear friends:
In 1990 I spoke on Red Square in Moscow to tens of thousands of people
on their Easter day. I gave the invitation to receive Christ and about
95 per cent of them then raised their hands indicating that they had
invited Jesus into their lives. My message was broadcast live to an
estimated 160 million.Later that day in Moscow I met an intense, chain-smoking man who was
very much an entrepreneur and whose cosmonaut friend had received Christ
during my invitation while watching on national television. I asked him
where he was on his spiritual journey -- if he was ready to make the
same decision his friend had made earlier.He cut me off very short, blurting, "Look, I'm a busy man, I don't have
time for religion. I work day and night to make money. My
responsibilities are great and I'm just too busy to get involved in
religion."He made it very clear that he was satisfied with his life. As a matter
of fact, he said, "My ticket to Heaven is the fact that I am publishing
millions of pieces of literature, including Bibles and all kinds of
materials like the Four Spiritual Laws."I was suddenly gripped with the truth of Ephesians 2:8-9. I asked him to
read the verses aloud, which he did: "For by grace you are saved by
faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast." As he read, "Not of works, lest any man
should boast," his face lit up, and he said, "Not of works, lest any man
should boast. That's what I'm doing -- I'm boasting about what I'm
doing." It was obvious that the Holy Spirit had touched his mind and
heart.I said, "Would you like to pray that prayer right now and receive
Christ?" And he said, "Yes, I would."We bowed and prayed, and at the conclusion of our prayer, in which he
received Christ, he embraced me and then he embraced me again, and he
kept turning back to Ephesians 2:8-9, saying "Not by works, lest any man
should boast." He would laugh, and he would read it again, and laugh,
as he realized what a great discovery he had made. He had made an
incredible discovery -- for by grace are you saved through faith.Before I left, he must have given me ten hugs because he was so excited.
It was the joy of the Lord, of a man set free.Yours for fulfilling the Great Commission
each year until our Lord returns,Bill Bright
-------
The late Dr. Bill Bright was Founder and President/Chairman Emeritus of
Campus Crusade for Christ, an organization which began as a campus
ministry in 1951 and now has more than 27,000 full-time staff and up to
500,000 trained volunteer staff in 196 countries in areas representing
99.6 percent of the world's population. In the past 50 years, Campus
Crusade for Christ has seen approximately 6 billion exposures to the
gospel worldwide. The film, "JESUS," which Bright conceived and funded
through Campus Crusade for Christ, is the most widely translated and
viewed film of any type ever produced. Since its use began in 1980, the
film has been translated into 839 languages and viewed or listened to by
over 5.7 billion people in 228 countries. Dr. Bright was also the
author of more than fifty books. Dr. Bright recently co-founded Global
Pastors Network to "Touch, Teach and Train" a group of 5 million new
house churches around the world 24/7/365 at
http://www.globalpastorsnetwork.org .
Copyright (c) 2003, Bill Bright. All rights reserved. However, readers
may copy and distribute this message as desired, without restrictions in
number, as long as the content is not altered. Forwarding this e-mail
to friends is encouraged. For many evangelistic and spiritual growth
materials, visit the Campus Crusade for Christ Web site at
http://www.ccci.org. See http://www.campuscrusade.org for Bill Bright's
own materials.(To sign up for Dr. Bright's daily Insights, go to http://www.crosswalk.com/community/newsletters/ )
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