God said to the young Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). Thus God had already chosen his messenger Solomon Weissburger before he knew it. The brother wrote this autobiography at the age of 80 with the aim of pointing out God’s wonderful guidance in his life.
God called him to follow Him as a young man, allowed him to undergo thorough training for spiritual ministry, and then sent him into the vast field of work. His life impressively demonstrates the work of the Holy Spirit as a teacher and guide. With great wisdom, this mentor allowed him to learn the biblical teachings in theory and practice. His path led him into strength but also into great weakness, into responsibility and the simultaneous awareness of complete dependence on God and His will.
God gave him tasks in the years of upheaval of the 20th century in Germany, sent him to icy Siberia, and let him find his final resting place under the hot Brazilian sun in 1968 after a life of sacrifice.
This biography also gives us a small insight into the development of the Church of God in Germany. The brother describes a series of experiences and encounters from the years 1907 to 1936 in Germany. God was able to entrust him with important tasks over many years and to spread the gospel in Germany. The last part then reports on the pioneering work in Brazil under the most difficult conditions. But day after day, God gave him grace, strength, wisdom, and guidance. He was never abandoned by God.
“Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow” (Hebrews 13:7). Let us look at the faithfulness and wisdom of God in a consecrated life, learn from it, and also serve God faithfully in the 21st century.
Introduction
“Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul” (Psalm 66:16).
Out of love for my Savior, and to the glory of His blessed name, I would like to share some of the wonderful leadings of God in my life.
I was born in southern Germany on February 21, 1887. My parents were Jews, raised in that religion from a young age. When I was ten years old, my mother died, and I was placed in a Jewish orphanage. After completing my education, I apprenticed as a businessman.
In 1904, when I was 17 years old, I met Karl Müller. A brother in Christ affiliated with the Church of God, this man from Freudenstadt in the Black Forest was led by God to a house where a young man seeking Biblical truth was living. I remember my first conversation with Brother Müller like it was yesterday. He opened by asking, “What religion do you belong to?” I answered, “I am an Israelite.” Then I asked him the same question.
He replied, “I belong to the Church of God. There are no sinners in the Church, and all members’ names are written down in Heaven.” That was a new concept to me, and it made a deep impression. He asked me to come to his room so that he could use the Old Testament to show me that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. Accepting the invitation, I entered his room to find an Old Testament with Hebrew annotations, translated by Israelites from Hebrew into German. That put rest to my prejudices. He opened it to Isaiah and read aloud some of the well-known prophecies regarding Jesus. He did not say much else, but something wonderful happened within me: My inner eyes were opened, and I clearly saw that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. When I left the room, I was filled with conviction. Jesus could have been talking about me when He said, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17).
For all of eternity, I will be grateful to the Lord for this hour. However, the battle was only beginning. One voice said to me, “I must acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” But another power held my mouth shut. Around four weeks passed like this before I got the strength to give a small testimony. Even then, I qualified the testimony by saying that it would be impossible for me to become a Christian myself. This obstacle seemed insurmountable, and I felt too weak to take up the fight again. When I discussed this with Brother Müller, he said, “The Lord will be with you!” This struck me like words from Heaven, and the Lord grew in my eyes. My soul was filled with power and faith, knowing that I could not fail if God was with me, even if everything else worked against me. I began praying to the Lord and repenting, and He granted forgiveness for my sins. Three or four days after that, we got together again for another discussion.
I told him that, because the Lord had forgiven my sins, I wanted to join the church he had spoken about, where no members were sinners and all had their names recorded in Heaven. That first discussion with him had been engraved in my mind, and I will never forget it. He answered something like, “If you have been born again, you were born into the Church of God. The Lord has already accepted you. You are already a member of the Church of God.” This brought a new ray of light into my soul, and I understood what the Church of God was. Praise be to God!
More than 60 years have passed since the moment I found my eternal home in the Church. In all this time, I have encountered no better option. In fact, I came to realize that there can be nothing better because the true Church of God is the church of the living God. Within a few months, the Holy Spirit was able to give such grace to a 17-year old, sitting in sin and darkness, to be able to recognize this.
It seems to me that there was hardly another person who was as ignorant about Christianity as I was. Despite this ignorance, God granted me a personal conviction deep enough to clearly see that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. God also gave me true salvation, which held firm through the most difficult times of my life, and let me recognize the one true Church of God.
Before, in my old life, I believed it was a sin to speak the name of Jesus. I think that every child of God should have such a personal conviction of Jesus Christ and of biblical truth. Only if we ourselves are firmly convinced of the truth can we properly represent it to others.
If the first Christians had not had such a deep personal conviction that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, it would have been impossible for them to take up the fight, living, suffering, and even dying for this truth! I believe that we need such a personal conviction to stand up for the Kingdom of God during these times of unbelief and confusion. I bought a Bible and with great longing read the New Testament, which confirmed the truths that had been revealed to me.
My relatives soon found out about my conversion. This led to a big fight with my family and the Jewish merchant where I worked. I went through a difficult time that lasted about six months.
I was in a similar situation as other Israelites who became Christians. Most of the time, I was without brothers and sisters in Christ, but the Lord gave me the grace to love Jesus more than my father, mother, brothers, and sisters, earthly things, and my own life. I would like to briefly mention some of these struggles:
One day, my father came to see me. It was an extremely difficult day for me. He had a stick in his hand and threatened not to let me go until I promised to renounce Christianity. But the Lord helped me to stand firm and not give in to my father. Two days later, the businessman spoke to me, probably at my father’s request. He asked me if I had performed the usual Jewish prayers. I replied, “No!” He insisted on it. Because I didn’t follow his orders, he commanded me to leave the store immediately.
Alone, without help, I stood on the street. Where should I stay now? It was impossible for me to go home. And anyone familiar with German conditions knows that you couldn’t get a job as a shopkeeper just like that. At the time, I only had 90 cents in my pocket. In all this, the Lord preserved my soul and kept me in peace. He took care of me. After about an hour, I was brought back by the businessman I just mentioned, and for a while my greatest need was over. I stayed at this store for another year.
Most of the time, I was without the fellowship of God’s children, but I longed for it very much. I resigned from my position, although they did everything they could to keep me. The boss promised me a higher salary, but I paid no attention. When the Lord redeemed my soul, everything earthly took a back seat to the spiritual.
~ to be continued ~
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