STUDY VIII.

A DEFINITE EXPERIENCE.

Memory Verse: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born
again, he can not see the kingdom of God."--(John iii, 3.)

Scripture for Meditation: John iii, 1-15.


In a prayer-meeting a young lady was asked, "What is the first thing we
must do if we would win others to Christ?" She replied, "_We must live
holy ourselves._" She was right. Just as the telegraph wire must be
insulated, so must the life of him who expects to be the messenger of
God be insulated from the old life of sin before he can hope to carry
the loving messages of the gospel to other souls.

This implies a definite experience of conversion. He who would engage in
this most fascinating of all work must have nothing short of an inner
consciousness of sins forgiven and of the presence of Christ in his
life. He must be able to say, like Andrew and like Philip of old, "I
have found him." He must know what it is to have "a new heart" and to
have peace with God.

William Butler, the veteran missionary and soul-winner, now translated,
wrote the author of these studies a letter, in which he said:

"First and foremost, I thank God for a true conversion. When I got