The Bible declares that the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. It’s able to cut between soul and spirit. It’s able to be the discerner of the thoughts and the intents of a man’s heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

This story comes from Northeastern India and it’s about this little Voice Magazine.

Voice Magazine is put out by the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship. This little magazine has three or four or five stories of men whose lives have been impacted and changed by Christ. In the back of it, it has scriptural steps of salvation and how to give your life to Christ.

Distributing Donated Christian Magazines in India

This [testimony] comes from one of our distributors, like I said, in the northeastern part of India. They were there and they were distributing our literature from place to place—just handing it out—and it became time for dinner.

So this man saw a restaurant, stopped, went in, ate his food, and there, after he got finished eating, he said, “Well, I think I’ll just leave the proprietor of the place this little magazine.” So he left a Voice Magazine on the table, went and paid his bill, and left. The guy came to clean the table, and he saw this magazine. He though, “Oh, my goodness. This man has left his magazine.”

In many third-world countries, especially in these poorer regions, a magazine with so many colors on it is just not seen. If they have printing, they have red, green, or yellow paper with black ink. But they don’t have 17 colors or whatever except for in the big cities.

So this guy thought to himself, “This must really be important,” and he ran out to try to find our distributor—ran from place to place, but he was gone. Lots of people in India, so it wasn’t easy to find him.

He came back in, took the magazine, and he put it up on a shelf. He set it there and he said, “Surely he’ll be back. This is very important and so I’ll put it up here and I’ll wait for him to come back and then I’ll give it to him.”

From a Shelf to Salvation

Well, of course, the distributor wasn’t going to come back because he left it for him there, you know? And so after three or four days, the guy felt this tug—this pull in his heart—to take it home and read it. Didn’t know what it was exactly, but we know it was the Holy Spirit.

And so after three or four days this guy that ran the restaurant picked it up, took it home, read it, and for the first time in his life, he read about Jesus Christ. When he got to the back, he found the keys there on how to give your life to Christ. He prayed the sinner’s prayer, and he asked Jesus Christ to forgive him of his sins. Come and live inside of him. Clean him. Wash him.

The Full Impact of One Old Magazine

Here’s the rest of the story: After six or seven months, our distributor gets more literature from Love Packages and so he’s back in that area giving some things out.

He remembers, “I got good food over at this restaurant last time I was here. I’ll go over there and I’ll eat again. It’s time to eat.” So he went over to the restaurant and as soon as he sat down at the table, this man that owned the shop ran over to him and brought this magazine to him. And it’s all dilapidated now; it’s just falling to pieces.

He says, “I am so sorry. I meant to find you. I ran out to get you. This is your magazine. I’m so sorry it’s in this condition.”

[The distributor] said, “No, no. That’s okay. I left it here for you to read.”

“Oh, really?”

He said, “Yeah. I left it here because I wanted you to know about Christ.”

“Let me tell you what happened. I read all the stories. I gave my life to Jesus Christ when I got to the end of the book.” And they both rejoiced. Hallelujah. That’s a good reward.

And the man, the restaurant guy, sat down beside him and says, “You don’t understand. That’s not the whole story. Let me tell you the rest of the story.” He said, “After I read it, I gave it to my wife and she read it, and she gave her life to Jesus Christ. Then we gave it to my son and my daughter, and they gave their lives to Jesus Christ. Then I gave it to my grandmother and grandfather on both sides, and they gave their lives to Jesus Christ. Then we gave it to our aunts and uncles on both sides, and they gave their lives to Jesus Christ.”

In the six or seven months from the time when he first got there, to the second time he came, 45 people in that man’s family had given their lives to Jesus Christ.

Just one piece of literature.

What About the Old Bibles and Magazines on Your Shelves?

Now, maybe you’ve got some things just sitting around your house, a daily devotional, a Christian book. What could be the impact?

Well, I don’t know, but God’s word says it, “would never return to him void, but it would accomplish that thing that he purposed in his own heart” (Isaiah 55:11)

So collect those things and send him into Love Packages. We’ll put them in the hands of people that are hungry for the gospel all over the earth.