THE DOG STARTED THE FAMILY ALTAR
by Jack Hyles
A few years ago during the Christmas season I went to a home on a Friday afternoon. The husband was there alone. He was so pleased to see me and pleaded with me to come back in the evening as he and his wife were having domestic problems. That evening I did return and led them both to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
It was a beautiful sight. We knelt at the sofa beside a beautiful Christmas tree, and each of them was sweetly converted. I knelt between them. Our heads were bowed, our eyes were closed, and we were praying, when suddenly I felt a cold, moist something on my cheek. It felt like a piece of liver, though I must confess I have never had a piece of liver on my cheek! I opened my eyes and found it was a Cocker Spaniel dog.
Being afraid he would interrupt the soul-winning experience and be used of Satan to keep the people from Christ, I grabbed the dog around the neck, stuck his nose in a pillow on the sofa, and held him firmly. (All of this time the couple was praying and being saved.) The dog squirmed for a while. I squeezed his neck harder. Then he became motionless. I thought to myself, “Brother, I guess I have won two souls and killed a dog!”
I was afraid I had choked him to death. What a joy it was when all of us got off our knees to know that not only had the couple been saved but the dog was still alive. I guess he had decided he enjoyed kneeling with us; in fact, after we got up, he remained in the kneeling position with his nose between his paws.
A year later during the Christmas season I related this story from the pulpit. The couple came to the platform after the service and told me this amusing yet wonderful story:
The night after they were saved, at the same time, the dog came to the same sofa and got in the same position as if he were praying. He continued to do this every night until the couple decided that they had better do the same thing; hence, they started a family altar.
The man then informed me that for one year they had been having devotions, and every night the dog had joined them.
Probably by now you are snickering or laughing, but I wonder if that dog had more Christianity than some of our readers.
taken from Jack Hyles’ Favorite Soul Winning Tales
I personally like the one where the lady thought she was saved because Jack donated his blood to her. And that’s one of his “soul-winning” tales?
Reading through a few of Hyles’ tales reminds me (in an opposite way) of “A Pastor’s Sketches – Conversation’s with Anxious Souls Concerning the Way of Salvation” by Ichabod Spencer. These were written in the 1850s but have been reprinted and are available in paperback (2 volumes).
Hyles and Spencer were both pastors of large churches (Spencer pastored in Brooklyn, NY) but the way Spencer dealt with lost souls was totally opposite to that of Hyles. His accounts show a man totally relying on the Holy Spirit to work in the heart of an unbeliever. After speaking to a person Spencer would often just leave them alone and allow God to work. You don’t find the cute puppy stories, repeat-after-me salvations, and self-glorification you do with “Jack Hyles’ Favorite Soul Winning Experiences”, which I believe, if Spencer had read them he would have wept.
@TomK, LOL. My dog does his ‘happy howl’ when I come home from work. He also does it when the kids feed him. A dog can be trained to do just about anything. Maybe I can train him to do bedtime prayers with us.
Stan, that sounds like an interesting book. I’ve never heard of it before, but I think it would be more enjoyable to read than these silly Hyles fairytales.
What a sweet story! Pass the insulin and the strychnine….the insulin is for me, the strychnine is for any family that would allow a Jesus nut to kill a dog to prevent satanic influence.
@Stan: What pulblisher could I find this or what book store could I get this set?
@JimE, perhaps you are too young to have watched the B&W Lassie series, but Lassie faithfully prayed right alongside Timmy every night at bedtime!
Didn’t Son Of Sam say that the dog told him to do it? Just sayin…
@phil: I’m not Stan, but it looks like Amazon carries it:
http://www.amazon.com/PASTORS-SKETCHES-Conversations-Concerning-Salvation/dp/1599250853/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1282972173&sr=8-1-fkmr0
Didn’t he write a book entitled “The World’s Ten greatest Soul Winners and How I Won the Other Nine”? Then there was his classic “Humility and How I Attained It”.
@ Amanda – thanks, that’s it.
If I may, Spencer would have never published these accounts if it wasn’t for the constant urging of his friends (no self-glorification), and in the preface he says he “has not given to them an item of coloring” (i.e. no puppy tales).
When I read one of his accounts I made note of it as it made such an impression on me because you would have never heard Hyles or any of his type say such a thing. Spencer says about one of his visits during a time of (true) revival at his church…
“…I called on five different individuals, one after another, in the course of a single hour, and in each case I was sorry I had called at all; for in each case, after a very few minutes of conversation, I was fully persuaded that God’s truth was deeply felt, and that anything I could say would tend to diminish the impressions which the Holy Spirit was making on their hearts. I aimed to say just enough not to have them think I did not care for them; and got away as soon as I could, for fear of doing an injury. Every one of these individuals afterwards dated her religious hope from the same day. No man can preach so powerfully as the Holy Spirit. It is vastly important to know when to stop.”
@Amanda: Thanks for the link.
Thank you for this blessed story.
It’s fair to say that it has inspired me.
Or will do shortly.
Sweet mother of gid! We got a visit from the blessed Revd Drayton Parslow! 🙂
My absolute favorite faux naive fundamentalist blog ever!
@ Revd Drayton Parslow We are very pleased to have you visit our group therapy!
I think Jack Hyles made sh*t up
I love, love, love the illustration at the top of today’s story.
My late dog was a Christian, but I’m pretty sure my cat is a Zoroastrian. He’s always hanging around in front of the fire.
“If you preachers would start winning souls everywhere you go, you wouldn’t have to get a book of illustrations to preach from next Sunday. Dr. Jack Hyles”
This quote was posted on Facebook this morning by Mrs. Fundy Missionary who posts quotes every day that show up on my homepage. Most are like this. I responded once disagreeing with another quote from Pope Jack and I thought she’d fall apart on me. “Oh, but Dr Hyles won thousands to the Lord! I know some think his preaching was a little aggressive (she meant me) but he really loved souls!”
Wah!
Here’s the scary part: they are in the States right now getting their support level up and hope to return to the field by the end of the year. I’m in that field. My husband wants to go back to church with them when they return! I’ve been quite happy at the base chapel hearing two excellent chaplains and being part of the praise team. I don’t want this bondage again! These are very nice folks and not the dictator type. But I dread the KJVO stuff and this soul-winning/knock on doors mindset. And I really don’t like Hyles. I’m doomed! Help!!!