Dr. Johnson's Testimony

ESCAPE FROM A DESERTER’S DEATH-PENALTY

This is the story of a soldier's dismal failure; and yet, the story of the utmost grace of a Savior.

I wonder if this true information surprises you, as it did me. I am an academic ‘Radiologist’ interested mainly in promoting my specialty - 'my calling' as I called it. Many years ago, at the age of sixteen, I came to the understanding that my physical-birth into a Christian family did not automatically make me into a Christian! It was a shock to come to the knowledge that to be called a Christian, every person had to come to the Cross and get to know Jesus as his or her personal Savior and become a disciple under the personal supervision of Jesus! Christianity is not a religion one can belong to, but a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus who came to save sinners and personally paid for each sinner who comes to Him for forgiveness with His own blood, as He gave up His mortal life. He broke the power of death over the souls who seek Him, by arising from death , to offer those forgiven an eternal life. Christianity is a personal relationship with Jesus and a ‘follow-ship’ of Jesus. When I realized that Christ loved me so much that He suffered and died for me, I was convicted that I was a miserable sinner. When I repented and confessed my sins; through His infinite mercy and grace, I was received by the Lord Jesus and was enlisted in God's army. I was proud and happy to belong to such an elite company. There are no civilians on earth. There are two armies at war. One is God’s and the other Satan’s.

ENLISTED IN THE ARMY

Having been born in a Christian family with my great-great grand father blessed to become an evangelist and a pioneer Tamil-Christian poet, I presumed that I was pedigree stuff!
When I saw many others who I thought were less capable, were used by God, more often and more effectively, I sulked. The fact was that I was not willing to undergo the total submission and discipline the others had placed themselves in. My attitude soon led me to lack of discipline, lack of humility and to disobedience. In the army, this would actually amount to indiscipline.
I thought I already had enough stuff in me to make me a leader, not just a follower! I would say to myself that 'It is better to be the head than to be the tail'.

Don't let your personal gain

Be made on other’s pain

In an army this attitude causes degradation of cohesive teamwork! My pride made me loose sight of the truth, that, to be a Christian, one has to follow Christ and not lead! I did not want to accept that my captain Jesus had a servant's heart, and that was to be my discipline and training.
I slacked off from reading the Bible, from worship, and started avoiding meeting the evangelical Christians. (This would amount to desertion in any army! But my captain did not press charges against me, but kept speaking-up for me even when I abandoned my post and joined the enemy troop.) It was a tragedy that I did not return the love my Captain showed for me.

If what I have I don't share,

It is because, I don’t care

As I mentioned earlier, there are only two armies in the world. If you do not belong to God's army, You will automatically be drafted into the devil's army. There are no civilians. So, by default, I was drawn into the enemy territory and made a captive and put to work by the enemy. Satan the enemy sergeant tightened his trap for me even more by opening up his alternatives in which I indulged. Very soon I realized that the enemy regulations were much tighter. I was put into chains and shackles, with no freedom of choice. (as I enjoyed when I was in God's army). This left me with depression and a sense of doom and damnation. The sergeant-devil then came out with scriptures showing me that there was no more hope for me to return to my previous troop of God's army and that I would be better off if I joined him and served him by attacking God’s army and hurt my Previous Captain in any way possible.

I took-up sports and athletics to replace prayer and bible reading. I won the college individual championship at the Christian Medical College and later won the college blues of the Madras Medical College. I was thinking of serious sports and athletics future when a motor vehicle accident and a broken spine made me understand that such was not to be my future.

I was a poor student academically. To my surprise I was invited to be on the faculty at the Christian Medical College in the radiology department. To be in academics it was necessary to get higher degrees. I was offered the Colombo-plan scholarship to do the British Radiology Faculty's fellowship training and examination in London at the Royal College of Hammersmith Hospital. On my return, I was made the chief of the radio -diagnostic section in the prestigious Christian Medical College Medical School and Hospital. I became busy in teaching, research and upgrading the department, and, making a name for my ‘self’. I neglected God and my home, seeking academic honors.

BIG DREAM

BIG SCREAM

I have deliberately inserted some of the academic degrees I obtained - behind my name. It is not intended to tell others that I am a scholar, - but that I have been only a well educated fool, and a waster. I spent most of my life, my time, my money and my efforts to get what can be called as academic "certificate of authenticity"! I find that the alphabets that represent the degrees I collected, are ‘behind me’ in more then one sense and have no lasting value.

DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD

Two great statesmen in Britain, and personal life long friends of kings were beheaded by their friendly kings. One a them had commented before loosing his head that if he had given half the time to God which he gave the king, his head wouldn't have been parted from the body.

When to others in love you are attached

From yourself demand you are detached

We tend to loose our heads over sports, athletics, wealth career, bank balances and academic achievements. None of these will matter, nor go with us into the future. Anyone with wisdom, or even basic sense would and should be planning for the future, which, - is the really the meaningful education.

For 30 years I carried on, not caring whether the floods were one inch above my head, or one mile. I made my work my god, and, that, I understand now, is no substitute. I was made an examiner in many universities in India and in other countries, I was invited to give lectures and participate in National and International conferences. Popularity and position dragged me into an abyss of self indulgence. I will not list or describe the depth of degradation the devil can take one into as he did me. This- booklet is not an advertisement for the devil. This writing is to emphasize that there is hope even for a notorious deserter. For it is God's promise. When I thought that there was no more hope for me, my old Captain, the Lord Jesus, and His partner the Holy Spirit came, breaking through all barriers and rescued me, despite my chains and shackles and carried me [as I was not even strong enough to crawl, leave alone walk] back to my old barracks in God’s army.

The enemy sergeant (the accuser) the devil filed charges against me, that according to the military law, I should be court-martialed and executed or turned over to him. He quoted the scriptural-law of "corrupted graft of wine has to be burned down!".

If you trust in God

Then you rest in God

However, it is a fact that the branch (me) which God grafted (into Himself the Tree) not only did not bear good fruits, but also bore poisonous fruits. Rightly so, Satan the enemy sergeant demanded that the rules be followed (for my desertion) and that the erring branch be cut down and burnt in his hell. I suffered three severe heart attacks. But even as the devil was dancing around me in the flames of hell, God pulled me out, an almost burnt-out branch, a charred dirty piece of charcoal, to pen His message of hope and His never changing love and promises to those who have trusted in Him. Satan presumed that he plucked me off from God's hand! But that is not possible. For I am a witness and an example to God's unfathomable power and immense grace. Because of my spiritual scars which have crippled me, he has given me now a secretarial post. I write too slowly and make a lot of spelling mistakes, but He is very patient and kind and puts up with me! What a Master to serve!

Miscalculation of Mammon

God, He grafted me to the eternal vine
When through grace He entered this heart of mine
He called me ‘son’ through His love Divine
And delighted as the graft’s tendrils with the Vine twine. Rom.11:17

But the graft went sour, and sour grapes on it hung
So, it had to be properly pruned and cut
The trimmed off branches into flames were flung
Satan rejoiced that from God’s hands me he plucked out. Rom.11:20-22.

The Master, the Maker, from the ashes He took,
The charred branch, and to His purpose made use,
As He on His canvas, for all to take a look
Did outline the fact that His love is too profuse,
To cast-out any who in their lives, God did choose. Rom.11:23

Again the Devil, on his plans to cut God to his own puny size,
Found that he cannot ever God’s plans fathom-out ,
Nor pluck-out a wandering lamb of God as his own prize,
Nor can he at any time, against God, win or luck-out. Rom.11:29. Zec.3:2-4.

The clerical job given to me is, to:
(1) Write out His message, (using me, the burnt-out, still a dirty piece of coal as a chalk) to other victims and even active soldiers.
(2) Shade-out (blot-out the wrong notions of lose of hope of other similar AWOLS - absent from army without leave) backsliders, and to let them know that there is hope in all situations, however bad it may be.
(3) To warn about the pending 'fire-treatment' to other erring branches using this "still smoking. branch, plucked out of hell" as a torch. (God uses even utterly hopeless subjects and dark situations.)

Disbled right - handed Soilder , now a left handed Stenographer

So, for no other earthly reason, but because of heavenly grace and mercy beyond human or devil's understanding, God pulled me out of not only an untimely death but out of the uttermost bottom of hell, so that I can tell others that even in such sin-sink-holes, that "to God, there is no hopeless situation"
I have often wondered why Moses was ordered to lift up the brass serpent in the desert to the dying Israelites so that they could live. They were not to worship it, the serpent, or to put their hope on a man made snake-idol or icon. They were to see and acknowledge their reason for dying is, that they were being bitten to death by the serpent's bite called ‘Sin’. To avoid death, they had to confess their sins (grumbling, ingratitude, seeking the idols of Egypt, etc. ) to repent, in order to be healed and to survive. I am sharing this message [of healing from the serpent-bite and having survived ] with others, to hear, heed, and see the need. All I can say to you is "Don't look at the messenger, but look at the one who has sent you this message, for your healing and eternal life".

WHY NOT END YOUR HOPELESSNESS
FOR IN GOD YOU HAVE HOPE, ENDLESS

MY SAVIOR'S SACRED BLOOD DID FLOW TO DRENCH
ALL THE HELL'S FIRES, AROUND ME, TO QUENCH

When you, my reader, really commit your life to God, repent of your sin, confess them, and ask Him to come into your heart and life, He will do so even though He knows how unsteady you may be in the future. Your job right now is to invite Him into your heart, not only as a Resident, but as the all powerful President. Then, God takes it upon Himself, as His job, to protect you and provide for you. The devil may use your pride, selfishness etc. to shoot you in your foot to keep you from marching in God's army, giving you plenty of lame excuses to waste your valuable, irreplaceable time. The devil finds that he cannot steal your eternal life from God's hand, he will try his best to steal the time which God has given to you on this earth to serve Him and fulfill the purpose for which you had been created. (The devil brought death into the world, and therefore he can steal your time on earth from you). The devil will try to deliver death to your time when he finds that you escaped eternal death by receiving the Lord Jesus into your heart. One needs to fear death of time more than ones' inevitable mortal death.

The devil steals our prime-time

To use it as his crime-time

Yes, the serpent bit the sole of my foot and convinced me that he got my soul (for a whole 30 years). I told myself it was too late, and that my recurrent sin was, too much. The devil would not allow me to think any further, [escalating my rnegalomaniac attitude,] making me believe that ‘MY’ sins were too much, even for God to understand and forgive. This thinking I now realize is not due to humility or any thing laudable but an arrogant and subtle pride that makes me feel that, good or bad, I am still the greatest, even above God the Maker and the Creator.

If your spiritual life is ailing

It is because your faith is failing

The devil knows that God does not approve of pride and he goads everyone on, in that or in very many kinds of paths of pride. The devil's effort in making me to double-cross God, brought, me to [double-back to] the -Cross again, and by sheer grace, mercy, and His faithfulness', God reopened my eyes to see- truth and to acknowledge my proper -priorities. Now, when God brings in situations where He wants to use me to help others by pointing to Him or pass-on to them His message, I still catch myself giving lame excuses that "I am not worthy etc." The Lord gently reminds me that "a soldier is only expected to obey and not expected to analyze or offer alternate solutions". The health of my soul, or, the other excuses (I may cook-up) are equivalent to insubordination in the battlefield situation. (We live our daily life in a battlefield of spiritual warfare).

When Satan shows you ways to win a match

You be aware that to him, ‘you’ are the catch

I once in desperation cried 'God please listen only to my cry, please don't look at who is crying.' Now I realize it was only the echo from heaven, and God didn't want me to see me through my own self; for He hears and looks at me through the one by whom I was enlisted, Lord Jesus, God's son and my captain who rescued me and vouches for me eternally. He is the One who enlisted me as well as others like me. He gave His life for me, still loves me, and is not ready to abandon me to the enemy, however far distance the enemy may have kidnapped and taken me.

When for wrong things you get a burning desire,

You are getting setup for eternal fire

The army recruitment slogan says "be-all you can be". But this is possible only in God's army.
What more can I say? Yes, ‘the pension benefits are just out of this world and extended for ever into eternity!’ What better plans for your present and future can you think of? The answer of course is none. So Join God's army – today, right now.

When to God you are fully yielded

From Satan, you are fully shielded

To Join God's army simply pray the following prayer:
“Dear God, our Father, my sins have driven me far away from you, and made me become your enemy. I have hurt and grieved you by my sins, and I repent and turn to You. Please forgive me and make me a new creature in You. I desire to enlist in your army with all of my heart.1 take You Lord Jesus as the Captain of my life and let You lead me. Thank You for dying on the Cross for me. Thank you for rising again for me to hear my prayer. I pray this prayer from my repentant heart. Make my heart the humble abode of You and the Holy-Spirit. Please accept me as I come, Just as I am without one plea or excuse.
In Jesus Christ's name I pray Amen."

Even an end can become a start

When prayer comes from the heart

This is the true life story of the author. If you need to write to the author he will be more than happy to help you in your decision to live for the Lord Jesus.

Email: johnops5l@yahoo.com
A.C. JOHNSON,
M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.R, FA.M.S