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Themes Reality RELIGIOUS BUT NOT REAL His father, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers were preachers. John Wesley was surrounded with religion. He was born on June 28,1703. His parents, Samuel and Susannah Wesley had 19 children. John was the 15th child. Susannah made sure the children ate only three meals each day. No snacks! When John turned five, Susannah taught him the alphabet in one day. Then, she taught him how to read using the Bible. Samuel and Susannah were Christians. Every day, they had Scripture readings from the Psalms and the New Testament. The older children had to read with the younger ones. Susannah spent one hour per week with each child evaluating their "spiritual progress" and knowledge of the Bible. John's hour came every Thursday. John was a smart boy. At age 101/2, his parents sent him away to The Charterhouse School in London, England. At school, John read the Bible every day and spent time in prayer. He wrote in his journal, "I hope to be saved by not being as bad as others, reading the Bible, praying, and saying my prayers." In 1720, John entered Oxford University. John trained himself to get up each morning at four o'clock for prayer and Bible study. John worked hard to live godly and keep his religion of rules. One evening, he saw a man with a tattered coat. John urged the man to go home and get another coat. The man said he thanked God for the one coat he had. Even more, he thanked God for salvation. John was stunned. He had never known such confidence. In 1735, John sailed to America "to convert the heathen Indians who knew nothing of God." However, in his journal he wrote that he hoped this would lead to the "saving of my own soul." As the boat sailed, a terrible storm came up. John feared he was going to die, while some Germans nearby, calmly sang a hymn. Afterwards, John asked how they could be so calm. They told him they were saved and knew they were going to Heaven. One German man asked, "Do you KNOW Jesus Christ?" "Well, I know He is the Savior of the World," John replied. "Do you KNOW He has saved you?" the man asked again. John was devastated. He mumbled an answer but realized He had religion but He did not have Christ. One year later, John returned to England. In America, he had learned that he was a sinner for "all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God" (Romans 3:23). In England, he continued to preach about salvation but knew he was not saved himself. Finally, he decided he would seek salvation until he found it. Every day for two years, John Wesley searched and prayed for salvation. Finally, on May 24, 1738, John spent the morning searching the Bible. At night, he went to a meeting. A man preached about the power of God to change your heart and life. At 9:15, John Wesley said, "I trusted Christ alone for salvation." Religion never saved anybody. The Bible says, "The Father sent the Son to be THE SAVIOR of the world" (1 John 4:14). Do you have religion? Or, do you have Christ as your Savior? When did you trust Him?
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Glen Moore
