<TITLE>08. Par 25-27</TITLE>L-25 That's the way a person that's been redeemed and understands it, you get emotionally. You can't help it when you're... The story was told that he could have--he could live because the perfect lamb died in his place, the little fellow could rejoice, under a... That's the way I felt the day that the story come to my heart. I... Knowing that I was a sinner, I couldn't even find a church that made an altar call. I went from one to the other. No one made an altar call; no one invited. They was all talking about flowers, and the new bridge that went across the river. And I--I wasn't interested in that. You read that in newspaper. I wanted to hear the Bible, the Word.
You know how I first got saved? I might stop here to tell you. The first thing, I got me a pencil and paper, and went out, and was going to write a letter to Jesus. I'd been a woodsman all my life, game warden for years, lived in the woods, trapped and hunted all my life. And I knowed that He was the God of the forest, 'cause I could see Him out there, His nature, the way He made it. I was going to write me a letter and tack up on a tree in the woods, that when He come by, He could read it. I didn't know how to get saved.
So we're very poor, and dad had been out in the country (It was during the time of depression.), and had a little sack full of potatoes that somebody'd give him, poured them out in a box in the pantry, and laid the sack down. I went and got the sack, and went out to a little old shed, water, wet, knelt down there; I said, "Now, what am I going to do? I never said a prayer in my life, never heard one as far as I know. So how am I going to talk to Him?"

L-26 I said, "Well, I--I heard people say that they talked to Him, and they tell me He was a man, so if He was a man, He ought to understand as a man." So I said, "Mister Jesus, I wished You'd come here just a minute; I want to talk to You, tell You how bad I've been." That's sounds kindly funny, but I was picking on my fingernail. I said, "Mister Jesus, I've been an awful bad person. I--I want to talk to You. Now, if You'll listen to me, will You answer me, and say, 'I hear you'?" I listened; nobody answered me. I thought, "My." I said, "Maybe I didn't say it right. I'll try it again."
I said, "Mister Jesus, would You come here just a moment, kind Sir?" I said, "I've done some horrible things, and I--I--I want to talk it over with You. I--I promise You, if You'd let me live, I--I would, I--I'd serve You; and I--I want to kindly talk things over with You." I listened; I said, "Would You answer me, Sir. So I don't want to be talking to the wind." I said, "I--I want You to answer me." And I said, "Will You do it?" And I listened, nobody'd talk to me.
Well, I said, "I'm just a... I've heard other people say, 'God talked to me.'" But my poor kiddish heart, I didn't understand. I said, "Well, I'm so mean, He won't even talk to me. I haven't even got a chance now." And I started bawling like a baby. Then He talked to me. Amen. See? You have to get right, first. The redemption...

L-27 Oh. When I rose up from there, I walked in on clouds, I felt like. I didn't know how to shout. So you know how I relieved myself like that? There's a big levee run behind the place; we lived a little old poor shanty like there. And mama... I got real nervous, and I was looking at--at the Bible, and she said, "What's the mat..." I--I picked up my song book, and she said, "What's the matter with you?"
I said, "I--I don't know, mama."
And I got outside and got up on the railroad track, and run down the railroad track jumping way up in the air, real high. I didn't know what to do. I just felt real good, and so that's the only thing I knowed to do. You believe in re--getting that way? Sure, I love it. That's what's the matter today. We got away from that heartfelt religion.


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