Our Pastor, Bill, could see that we needed something more in the entryway of our church building. He thought: "A tract would fill the gap. What concerns people today? Stress and worry are everywhere, I will ask John to write a tract telling those stressed people that Jesus will help".
This is not God’s desire for humankind; He wants us to be "free" (Galatians 5:1) and "joy filled" (1 Peter 1:8) in a loving relationship with the God of all Creation who we are now able to call "Abba Father" (Romans 8:15). We are praying that these tracts will awaken peoples' desire to grow beyond their present oppression and into the "abundant life" Jesus offers (John 10:10).
This (updated) tract is now available, with instructions, to be downloaded, printed, cut and folded, then given away. You may download PDF copies of from our new website:
www.sd-alliance.church/tracts
We are happy to say that we place a small stack of these tracts on the entry-way coffee table and people take them. We keep having to print off more. Praise Jesus that His love, salvation and hope is helping emotionally burdened and suffering people, even today.
The tract comprises six panels, can be read in a few minutes, and will fit in a shirt pocket. Be blessed in Jesus. Amen.
Are you
troubled by
Anxiety? Depression? Stress?
You are not
alone .. Jesus can help you find rest. |
Front panel – the invitation
Jesus - our willing
helper
Many people discover that Jesus helps them find rest. This may sound
impossible or weird, but it is true. It is spiritual. The spiritual world is
real. Jesus and Father God rule that world with love; they also rule our
world here on Earth. For me, my spirit has come alive and I have found peace
and hope since I welcomed Jesus into my life.
Once I knew and accepted that Jesus loves me and cares for me, He
brought me into His family, forever. I saw big changes in me, changes on my
insides and on my outside too. I am now eternally safe here. You too are
welcome to join us because our God cares for you. Our centre is our heart,
this is where we want to find rest. 1 |
2nd panel – page 1
Everyone Has Trouble - Jesus Gives Rest
There is always
trouble and pain in the world for everyone. Christians know this too. Jesus
gives us a new soft heart which is resilient in all our troubles, we develop
a new view of everything, centred on love and faith, a new perspective or
worldview.
Only when we
are in the will of God can we know complete rest. Jesus is always in our
Father's will and He is always at rest. He says we can share our burdens with
Him and learn from Him: "for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will
find rest for your souls" (Bible, Matthew 11:29).
We can learn to
be at rest. For me it has been a journey over many years, but happily, always
moving forward. 2 |
3rd panel – page 2
Jesus Sets Us Free - He
Gives New Life
Jesus saves us from death and sin, He gave His life for us; His death
paid for all our wrongdoing, meanness, wickedness and pride, our sin. When we
sincerely repent of our sin Jesus forgives us, sets us free and defeats death
in us. This brings our spiritual change and our new life.
We learn to look to Jesus. He gave us the Bible which tells His story
and the whole story of humankind, and also teaches us how to live and get
along with one another.
We can be encouraged that we are not alone. Together with Jesus we can
experience life in fullness and beauty despite our difficulties.
3 |
4th panel – page 3
Healing Our Heart - Building Resilience
We can think about our heart and care for it. No worldly success will
satisfy our heart, but Jesus can; we find this in His people, in other
like-minded Christians. We can have a full heart and know joy.
"My soul, wait in silence for God alone, for my hope is from
him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. I will not be
shaken" (Bible, Psalm 62:5-6).
Bless you. Bless all of us. Amen.
By John G © Southern Districts
Alliance Church, Western Australia. Quotes are
from World English Bible. You may download a PDF of this
tract from: www.SD-Alliance.church/tracts
to give away.
4 |
5th panel page 4
How to become Christian?
Ask God.
So many testimonies of coming into relationship with Jesus and Father
God begin with desperation, The person is at, or beyond, their own strength,
or has become terribly convicted of their wrong-doing, their sin. They cry
out: "God if you are there, show Yourself to me", or, "Help me
please Jesus". Soon after, they see a deep change in them-self and their
life. This is spiritual. The person sees and knows that the God of all
Creation is with them and is helping. Jesus has responded with love to their
cry. People always smile as they speak of these moments.
"You shall seek me, and find me, when you search for me with
all your heart" (Bible: Jeremiah 29:13, God of Heaven speaking). 5 |
6th and final panel – The “other” invitation, "How to become a Christian".
Postscript: The Making Of A Tract
I have found that tract writing is not for the faint hearted. There are so many needs and constraints. Fortunately, friends were happy to help. O, and my friend Jesus was a lovely and constant inspiration and contributor.
The specific "tract" needs I sought to meet were many - it needed to:
1 - be simple yet attractive - people decide to take one, or not, in an instant
2 - address a real felt need in people
3 - offer real hope
4 - be non threatening - not "churchy"
5 - reveal Jesus
6 – fully reflect Jesus’ New Covenant
7 - address salvation
8 - address sin in all of us
9 - address the reality of the spiritual world
10 - address trouble and also truth
11 - address worldview
12 - address the reality of the need of change in us
13 - contain meaningful Bible truths
14 - show how to become a Christian
15 - use clear language
16 - be physically small and quick to read
17 - be easily printed on regular sized paper anywhere in the world
18 - be free, no cost to the Christian giving them, or the person receiving.
Some of these needs were pointed out by friends after I thought the job was done, so I went back and made room for the new thought/concept/element to be included. In the finite 6-small-panel space, that meant deleting something, or being more concise by using fewer or "better" words. Challenging.
Because tracts are public documents, I felt it needed copyright. Our local church were happy to hold copyright and to host the tract. (www.PsalmsOfJohn.com is not set up for downloads).
The Bible verses needed attribution. I love the World English Bible; it comes free with free PC Bible software I have used for decades: e-Sword. (For a birthday I asked family members to pay for other translations too). WEB is a fine translation, and requires the simplest of attributions; space was at such a premium, my decision was easy (after careful research).
For the sake of simplicity I chose to use an A4 page, halved lengthwise, folded into three. When I first tried this, friends had trouble following the path through the document. So we played with different layouts and concluded that what is now presented is simple and clear to most people. This was frustrating and fun at the same time.
The "chunks" of text had to be discrete "panel sized chunks". I would often play with a couple of sentences for an hour or more, changing words and phrases to get what-needed-to-be-said into the panel nicely. Challenging.
Some tracts have a space where the Christian or local church can put their details. I chose not to do this, mainly because I believe that Holy Spirit will guide new believers to the local church of His choice. I have heard many testimonies of people who found a church and walked in, full of doubt and skepticism, only to be met by Jesus Himself, in His people there. Their testimony shows Jesus' love and readiness to welcome and grow His people.
This was a labour of love. Already people are reading these thoughts and Bible verses. I pray that our lovely Jesus will reveal Himself and draw them to Himself. Such blessing. Praise Jesus. Amen.
Favourite Bible Verses
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14).
"And so you will bear testimony to me” (Luke 21:13).
"For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus" (Revelation 19:10b).
Bless us all. "Come Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20). Amen.
Note 1:
"Over A Billion People Living With Mental Health Conditions" - World Health Organization
"Mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression are highly prevalent in all countries and communities, affecting people of all ages and income levels. They represent the second biggest reason for long-term disability, contributing to loss of healthy life. They drive up health-care costs for affected people and families while inflicting substantial economic losses on a global scale". (Emphasis added).
https://www.who.int/news/item/02-09-2025-over-a-billion-people-living-with-mental-health-conditions-services-require-urgent-scale-up (15 March 2026).
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