Heathen Hearts Yearning for Christ
By Frederick Lee
China Desires an Inspired Bible
THE work at all our stations is going forward as never before, and the prospect for a good harvest of souls is bright. The Lord is going before us, opening doors faster than we can possibly enter. When we were visiting one of our outstations recently, two men came about thirty-five miles to attend our meeting. They came especially to learn more about our truth, and to appeal for some one to come to their place and teach them, as already there was a company meeting every Sabbath. We have since sent one of our workers there to inquire into this, and he reports a company of about twenty-five earnest country folk who have expressed their desire to take a stand for the Lord. Their only knowledge of the truth was what our colporteur had told them when passing through their villages selling the Chinese Signs of the Times. Some then began to keep the Sabbath. There is another call from this same territory. We have received two letters from the pastor of a local independent church. He and several church-members express a desire to keep the Sabbath, and to learn more of the truth. We have just sent a colporteur into that territory to stay and study with them for a few weeks. We pray the Lord to call out from among the many a few who will earnestly take a stand for the truth. Two other letters have been received from a pastor of a church in the southeast of this province, where no work has been done except by our colporteurs. He, with many of his church-members, desires us to send some one to teach them more of the truth. These people appear to be in earnest. TAUGHT IN MISSION TO DOUBT THE BIBLE
In another place there is an opening which we feel is of the Lord. Last summer two young men who were studying in the Wesleyan mission Bible school came to our chapel to inquire about our belief. At first there seemed no way to reach them, for that which is the great argument for our truth, the Bible, they had been taught to doubt. The faith of these young men had been undermined. Another boy from this same school said to our evangelist, "If what you say about the Bible is true, then what we are taught is no better than the teachings of Buddha." Here he certainly struck the truth concerning a lot of teaching that is given to the Chinese church in the name of Christianity. WANT A BIBLE BETTER THAN BOOKS OF CONFUCIUS
But the two young men I have mentioned saw the beauty of the truth, and stepped out. After I had given a Bible reading the other day, one of them said, "I have never heard anything like it before." The topic presented was the inspiration of the Scriptures. The Chinese want an inspired Bible. It appeals to them, and the honest in heart will accept. But if the Bible is not inspired, they would rather keep to their own books of Confucius. These two boys, after studying with us a while, with their wives, left the school and returned to their homes. Now at the home of one is a company of about twenty-five meeting every Sabbath. The Lord is going before us, raising up workers for His truth. We are happy to have a part still in this last message in China.
FREDERICK LEE.