Dear Ones in Christ,

Over the last 2 years or so, I got just a little taste of what the prophet Jeremiah faced. The more I read of Jeremiah the more I'm looking forward to meeting that amazing man.

Last week I got a letter from my dear friend Bill Eubanks. He's a missionary in Africa, who passes out untold thousands of Chick tracts to precious little orphans as well as adults. He tells me one of our tracts in Africa is treated like a $20 bill - they keep asking for more and more! But Bill is also showing The Light of the World video in Swahili with wonderful results. He really made my day when he wrote, "The film is a blockbuster ... God really blessed you and the ministry. You were absolutely correct in leaving the film exactly as God told you."

Beloved, there is sometimes a price to pay for not bending to pressure. When our film was nearing completion and it was being viewed by friends and fellow Christians, a cry started to rise, to delete the six controversial minutes of the film! That was the section that tells Muslims, Catholics, Hindus and Buddhists that they must forsake all other gods and place their faith in Jesus Christ alone, nothing else. That cry of opposition from people I love and respect - hit me like a knife.

More time was spent on that film asking for God's help and guidance than on anything we've ever produced. When it was finished it was placed before God. Was it exactly the way He wanted it? The reply was "Yes." No changes. Some said, "It's anointed... The best gospel presentation yet." Others: "Souls will be saved, Jack ... but you must drop those six minutes because they offend everybody: the Catholics, the Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists. Just drop that sequence and we'll have a winner."

I hate offending people. It's so hard for me to say "No!" Again I asked God if I should drop the last part. Same answer. One Christian organization after another said it's "too hot," "too offensive," "people could be hurt showing it on the foreign fields." That sort of pressure wears you out.

One night I felt under the weather and it kept getting worse. My flu turned into pneumonia, my blood sugar dropped to 20 (I am diabetic)... I was going into a coma. My wife called 911 and while they were on the way, I had a heart attack. A day or so later I had to undergo a triple bypass. But the Lord was with me. While I was trying to recuperate from the surgery, my condition didn't stop my dear friends from confronting me with the ever increasing demand to drop those six critical minutes ...

So I went before the Lord and asked Him, "Father, if I had changed the ending of the film, would you have taken me home when I had the heart attack?" The reply was a very strong "Yes." Our Evangelical Christian brothers and many others, who are so desperate to win the pope's acceptance and call Roman Catholics our brothers and sisters, see our film as a great offense and refuse to show it. Their biggest worry is about offending someone. Thank God Jesus didn't have that problem!

But praise God, the video is doing a wonderful job in the foreign fields. Those six minutes tell it exactly as it is. If we don't tell the precious Catholics, Muslims and others that they are lost, who will? But my pressure was nothing compared to what dear old Jeremiah faced. It'll be a pleasure to shake his hand.

Your brother in Christ,

Jack T. Chick, President
Chick Publications, Inc.