A Brush With Death Awakens Ray Comfort to the Plight of the Lost

I was in Israel, traveling by bus on the mountainous road from Jericho to Jerusalem. From my seat at the front right, I was enjoying a view of the mountain across the valley, deep in thought about the story Jesus told of the Good Samaritan. As we approached a sharp left turn, to get around the corner our driver swung the bus as far to the right as possible and then made the turn.

This had the effect of suddenly hanging me over the edge of a 3,000-foot cliff. I was so deep in thought that I wasn’t even aware we were turning. All I knew was that I was a dead man! I cannot express the horror of that instant. I was certain I was about to die a terrible death.

Just as suddenly as I went over the cliff edge, the bus turned the corner and we were merrily driving along the roadway. No one on the bus knew what I had just been through. I was dead, and suddenly I was alive again. I cannot express the appreciation I had for the fact that I wasn’t going to die. Tears of gratitude filled my eyes.

“I cannot express the unspeakable gratitude I have for the gift of everlasting life. But what I cannot put into words, I put into works.”

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At the age of 22 I had the revelation that I was part of the ultimate statistic: ten out of ten die. I was going to die and there was nothing I could do about it. It was just a matter of time. I cannot express the horror of that revelation.

Then, suddenly, on the night of my conversion, my life radically turned a corner and I was sent on the straight and narrow. Jesus Christ, my precious Lord and Savior, saved me from the valley of the shadow of death. He saved me from being damned in hell. I cannot express the unspeakable gratitude I have for the gift of everlasting life. But what I cannot put into words, I put into works. I delight to do the will of God—to obey the Great Commission. There is an unending fire of gratitude burning in my soul for the cross of Calvary.

If you lack zeal for the lost, it may be that you have never seen that your own sin makes you worthy of death and damnation. We have been justly hung over the valley of the shadow of death, with no hope outside of the mercy of God. This is why it is so beneficial to go through the Ten Commandments. Study their spiritual nature, and then plead with God for an understanding of what you look like to Him in light of that Law.

Order The Evidence Study Bible today.