George Tune

Thank God, I never shall forget when the Lord touched me. I will never forget that time as long as I live. For many years of my life I claimed to be a Christian, but today my heart is filled with gratitude and thanks to God for the privilege of being among His people who know how to pray. All my life I prayed, but I never got in touch with Heaven. When I came among these people they said, “These people pray and God answers their prayers.” I said, “It is a strange thing to me; I have prayed all my life and never got in touch with Heaven.” A brother told me, “Maybe you never prayed right before.” I am glad I learned how to pray right. I said, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” In one moment of time He spoke peace to my soul. I wasn’t at the altar; I had come out into the aisle. The message had gone forth, “Ye must be born again.” I raised my hand for prayer. Behind that hand was a heavy heart. I had claimed to be a Christian, but I never had a change of heart in my life, but that night when I stepped out in that aisle, God spoke peace to my soul.

I had left my baseball team a hundred miles away. I was manager of the baseball team and left just for a week or two, but I got to the camp meeting and stayed the whole camp meeting through. I can take you to the very spot where I stepped out in the aisle. God saved my soul in one moment of time. As I went down to the altar one of the brothers said, “Do you think God can do the work?” I said, “The work is already done.” I felt a glow come over my soul. The Blood of Jesus Christ cleansed me from sin.

The next day I walked the streets of Portland, I will never forget, right down there by the old Burnside Theater. I used to love to go into that place. When the music started up, instead of wanting to go in there, I said, “Let’s get on the street car and go back to the campground.” We went back, and I got down on my knees and the tears rolled down my face. For the first time in my life I could say that I had the old-time religion.

Twenty years have rolled by and I have never had to apologize for being a Christian. I love this Gospel with all my heart. God has been good to me. He has kept me under the Blood, and I can live without sin every day. I am not shut up in a bandbox. On Monday morning I expect to go back to the old mill again, not with a Monday morning grouch, but with the old-time religion.

George Tune was the pastor of the Apostolic Faith Church in Chehalis, Washington, from 1931 to 1946. He died on September 2, 1948 at the age of seventy-six.