"I, Thomas L. Manning, of San Diego County, California, declare this to be my will, and hereby revoke all wills and codicils that I have previously made. Having realized the futility of life without a relationship with the God who created me and who will one day judge me, I have received Him as my Savior and Lord. I have done this by believing that, by the death on the cross of His only Son, Jesus Christ, He took my sins upon Himself—He paid the penalty for my sin. Believing, too, that as God the Father raised His Son from the dead and took Him back to heaven where He is preparing a place for all who believe, He sent His Holy Spirit into the world to convict, comfort, teach, and empower all who come to Him in faith.
"Realizing that when this, my last will and testament is read, I will have already graduated into His presence, I want to testify to God's constant love and coming judgment this one last time before I return with Him to reign for eternity:
"To my loved ones who need to yield to the God whom they, too, will one day stand before, I pray in Jesus' name, that you not wait another minute to have the weight of sin lifted from your life, that, as a new creature in Christ, you might be free to love and obey the God of eternity, the one in whose presence I now live.
"To my loved ones who know Christ as their Savior and Lord, rejoice with
me in the certainty that I am with Him in whom I have placed my trust and that the Lord will meet your needs in my absence from you, We shall one day be reunited at His feet. Truly, all is well with my soul."
This preamble to my will and trust first appeared in this column in March of 1988. There was such an overwhelming response to our offer to send several other examples to anyone requesting them, I thought it would be good to offer them again.
If you would like a collection of testimonies that you would be free to use or modify to meet your needs, simply write "Will Testimonies" on the enclosed envelope. If you would like our Christian Wills Guide to help you collect the information you will need when seeing an attorney to prepare your will, you may ask for that, too. Both are available at no cost; however, gifts are always appreciated.
As the Lord prompts you to express the additional testimony of your love for Him through remembering His word in your will, you may do so by indicating the full legal name of the ministry and the city and state where located. In the case of ICR, that would be: Institute for Creation Research, Santee, California.
If the Lord leads you to include ICR in your plans, won't you let us know? We would like to thank both Him and you!
