Raymond Arthur Waugh, Sr. A Journey in Writing
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Tract For A Pack
Ray Waugh, Sr.

"For just as the pouring rain descends, and the snow, from the heavens and does not return to that place, unless it actually saturates the earth and makes it produce and sprout, and seed is actually given to the sower and bread to the eater, so my word that goes forth from my mouth will prove to be. It will not return to me without results, but it will certainly do that in which I have delighted, and it will have certain success in that for which I have sent it." Isa. 55:10-11

Last Sunday evening, Brother Don Pearson asked that I bring a devotional for today. He could not have known what had happened to me that afternoon. I had stopped to get some gas. As I was getting ready to sign-off on my credit card, I noticed two very well-dressed young men who were in conversation with the little lady behind the counter. They were making arrangements with her for what they called "lesson #2" on the following Friday evening at 6:30. I saw "elder" on one of their nametags, so I knew that they were Mormons or Latter Day Saints. At that moment, I realized that I did not have any tracts to share with them or with her.

I went on to the house and went through some of my tracts. I chose three and returned to the Service Station. The little lady was still on duty. I shared the tracts with her, and we had a couple of words before other customers came in. She thanked me and began looking at the tracts.

This experience dramatized for me my neglect of a practice in which I have indulged for many years. In 1959 when I was smoking about 4 packs of English Oval Cigarettes a day, and they were costing me $4.00, I had another experience. At work, on the last Saturday in June, 1959, I looked at the last two cigarettes in my pack and said to myself, "You stupid fool! You have blown $3.00, and all you have to show for it is smoke." I closed my pack, took it home, put it on the mantle and did not touch it again.

A few weeks later, in a men’s meeting at Stonewall Baptist Church, I explained to the brethren that "I had changed my pack for a tract," and that I had gained the victory over my cigarettes. For many years, when I would sometimes automatically reach for a cigarette, I would find a tract, instead. Often, at that very moment, there would be an opportunity to share it! Until very recently, I continued this practice. Though I have continued to carry tracts when I travel, for a few years I have neglected sharing tracts with the people here in Midland. This past Sunday, our Lord dramatized for me the need to begin carrying tracts once more.

What are some of the advantages of carrying and giving tracts?

1. A tract can be studied in secret
2. A tract gets undivided attention in quiet moments
3. A tract reaches across barriers and racial boundaries
4. A tract goes where a missionary cannot go
5. A tract lives after spoken words are forgotten
6. A tract is the most economical way of carrying out the Great Commission
7. A tract never needs to rest
8. A tract never gets sick
9. A tract speaks to the people without an accent
10. A tract repeats its message until it is understood
11. A tract can be better than the spoken word
12. A tract may make more impact than the spoken word

There are tracts that deal with just about every subject that has ever crossed any of our mortal minds. On these boards, I have some samples of tracts that I have collected and used across many years. They are only samples of some that are available. If we could distribute tracts that have the name of Calvary Baptist Church and your name, if you so desire, this would be another outreach for our Church.

In the meantime, I have four or five tracts in the envelopes that I am sharing with you. If we have the name of Calvary Baptist Church on our tracts, the sharing could result in someone finding a place of fellowship and a place of service. As for me, thanks to my experience this past Sunday, it is quite probable that I shall attempt to carry tracts so long as our Lord provides. Though I may not have the habit of reaching for a pack anymore, I can still reach for a pack and find a tract that may be of some benefit to others.

Last updated Friday, October 17, 2008