Discernment

Discernment Which Direction?
Years ago my Father was searching for our family roots and had occasion to visit several cemeteries and read inscriptions. There was a tombstone on which was engraved,
"Pause now stranger as you pass by;
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so soon you'll be.
Prepare yourself to follow me!"
Someone had placed a piece of wood next to the tombstone. On it was written,
"To follow you
I'm not content,
Until I know
Which way you went!"
(God says there are two ways to go!)

Man and the World
A small boy filled with all kinds of playful ideas anxiously awaited his father's return from work. An extra-long day at the office, however, had taken its toll, and his father longed for a few minutes of relaxation. Over and over again the boy tugged at his dad's leg with yet another suggestion of something they might do together. Well, finally in total frustration the father ripped from a magazine a picture of the world and tore it into a hundred pieces. "Here," he said handing the child a roll of scotch tape, "go and put the world back together." Ah, peace at last, or so he thought. But, in just a few minutes, he was interrupted again, there before him stood his son-and in hands was a crudely fashioned picture of the world. "Son, that's incredible. How did you do it?" "It was easy," said the boy, "you see on the other side of the picture of the world was the picture of a man, and as soon as I got man straightened out the world came together."
What a profound answer from a child! How true! Get man fixed and the world will be okay.

If Men Had Chosen the Apostles
TO: Jesus, Son of Joseph
Woodcrafters Carpenter Shop
Nazareth 25922
FROM: Jordan Management
Consultants
Jerusalem 26544
Dear Sir:
Thank you for submitting the résumés of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have not taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.
The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully.
As part of our service and for your guidance, we make some general comments, much as an auditor will include some general statements. This is given as a result of staff consultation and comes without any additional fee.
It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have team concept. We recommend that you continue your search for per sons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.
Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alpheaus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.
One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your comptroller and right-hand man. All the other profiles are self-explanatory.
We wish you every success in your new venture.
Sincerely Yours,
Jordan Management Committee

"For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

Watch Your "Cats"
The story is told of an old lady who rented a cottage for the summer. With the cottage was also a dog. The old lady liked a very comfortable armchair better than any other in the house. She always made for it the first thing. But, alas! she nearly always found the chair occupied by the dog. Being afraid of the dog, she never dared bid it harshly to get out of the chair, but instead she would go to the window and call "Cats!" Then the dog would rush to the window and bark, and the old lady would slip quietly into the vacant chair.
One day the dog entered the room and found the old lady in possession of the chair. He strolled over to the window, and looking out, appeared very much excited and set up a tremendous barking. The old lady arose and hastened to the window to see what was the matter, and the dog quietly climbed into the chair.
Deceits practiced on others will sooner or later be repaid against ourselves.
"Bread of a deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel" (Proverbs 20:17). A Child Is Born
In the early days of the nineteenth century, men were following with bated breath the march of Napoleon and waiting with feverish impatience for the latest news of the wars. And all the while, in their own homes, babies were being born.
Just think of some of those babies. In one year, lying midway between Trafagar and Waterloo, there stole into the world a host of well-known men! During that year, 1809, Mr. Gladstone was born at Liverpool; Alfred Tennyson drew his first breath at the Somersby rectory; and Oliver Wendell Holmes made his initial appearance in Massachusetts. On the very self-same day of that self-same year, Abraham Lincoln made his debut in Old Kentucky. Music was enriched by the advent of Frederick Chopin at Warsaw and Felix Mendolssohn at Hamburg.
But, nobody thought of babies. Everybody was thinking of battles. Yet, viewing that age in the truer perspective which the years enable us to command, we may well ask ourselves which of the battles of 1809 mattered more than the babies of 1809. When a wrong wants righting, or a work wants doing, or a truth wants preaching, or a continent wants opening, God sends a baby into the world to do it. This is why, long, long ago, a Babe was born at Bethlehem.
It was at a wayside inn that God began making the world all over again. Momentous things were set in motion at that inn at Bethlehem.

Who's Leading Whom?
Have you heard about the elderly woman on a busy street corner who was confused and hesitant to cross because of the heavy traffic? Finally a gentleman came up to her and asked if he could cross the street with her.
Gratefully she took his arm, but grew progressively more alarmed as he zigzagged randomly across the street, to the blare of horns and screech of locked brakes.
Finally on the opposite curb, she said angrily, "You almost got us killed! You walk like you're blind." "I am," he replied. "That's why I asked if I could cross with you."
Jesus said of the Pharisees of His day: "They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" (Matthew 15:14). We need to be very careful not to entrust our souls to the guidance of someone who cannot see the clear teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Our eternal destiny is too important to put at such risk.

Wrong Direction
The doubleheader train was bucking a heavy snowstorm as its engines pulled it west. A woman with a baby wanted to leave the train at one of the little stations along the route. She repeatedly called, "Don't forget me!" to the brakeman responsible to call out the stations they approached. Her husband was to meet her.
The train slowed to a stop, and a fellow traveler said, "Here's your station." She hopped from the train into the storm. The train moved on again. Forty-five minutes later, the brakeman came in. "Where's the woman?"
"She got off at the last stop," the traveler said.
"Then she got off to her death," the brakeman responded. "We stopped only because there was something the matter with the engine."
They called for volunteers to go back and search for the woman and child. When they found her, she was covered with ice and snow. The little boy was protected on her breast. She had followed the man's directions, but they were wrong-dead wrong.
Paul declares Christ is the one Mediator between man and God. Peter emphasizes there is no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved. The Lord Jesus is our only Authority. His blood has made atonement for our sin. Only He can tell us how to reach our final destination. Depend on the one who has experienced death and provided redemption for you, the One who will walk with you through the valley of the shadow of death. A Gift for My Neighbor
If my neighbor needed a cup of sugar,
I would give it to him;
But what if he needed a friend?
If my neighbor needed bread,
I would share with him;
But what if he needed love?
If my neighbor needed shoes,
I would provide them for him;
But what if he needed compassion?
If my neighbor needed water,
I would dig him a well;
But what if he needed God?
God grant me the wisdom
To give my neighbor
What he really needs. The Possessed Closet
Frantically a woman pulled her pastor down a dark hall towards a room in the rear of the house.
He understood well what Paul had meant about that "fear and trembling" as he stumbled along behind her. Not that he believed there was a demon in her closet, but he surely wondered what might be there! As they entered the dimly lit room, the pastor noticed a dark object protruding from between the garments hanging in her closet. "There it is!" she gasped. Upon closer examination, the pastor discovered a partially inflated dry-cleaning bag! Thereupon, he "exorcised" the possessed closet, removing the bag and showing it to the dear lady. He was, however, unable to convince the poor woman that she had not seen a demon.
As he looked around the room, he noticed on a night table nearby an open copy of that sordid book, The Exorcist. At the same time, he caught the faint odor of spirits-of the liquid variety, and he then knew the source of the problem. When superstition is combined with beverage alcohol, the outcome is predictably unpredictable! But such experiences are not uncommon for gospel preachers.

Ignoring Dangers
An airliner returned to the terminal because the pilot did not like the sound of the engines. As it taxied a second time for take-off, one nervous passenger inquired if the problem had been solved. "Yes, it has," smiled the stewardess. "We changed pilots."
When the Titanic went down, it was steaming full ahead. There had been a wide variety of warnings, but the danger signals were all ignored. The bands were playing, the passengers were dancing, and everyone was oblivious to disaster. Their collision course with destiny is much like our own. We are having too much fun to be disturbed, and a change of course seems out of the question. The stage and cast are set for distress of incredible proportions.
When the band on the Titanic changed its tune to "Nearer My God to Thee," it was already too late. God help us to strike up the band a bit sooner!

Three Voices
If we listen carefully to those around us, we will learn to distinguish three voices, or influences, which direct the thinking, attitudes and actions of us all. We can hear them at our work, in our homes, and in the quietness of our moments alone.
Fear (the first voice) disguises itself as "being safe," as "practical," "conservative," "cautious," or "reasonable." Look for the motive behind the disguise. Fear is a demanding master, never able to be satisfied. It disdains any voice but its own.
Fantasy (the second voice) disguises itself as "visionary," as "progressive," "imaginative," or "creative." Look for the motive behind the disguise. Fantasy is a demanding master, never able to be satisfied. It, too, disdains any voice but its own.
Both of these voices claim to be spiritual and wise. But both of these voices reveal an obsession with personal agendas. Both demand that all others see things from their perspective. Both deny that God may have a desirable goal beyond their view.
Faith is the third voice. Faith reminds us that this is God's world, that He is always with us, that He works with us and in spite of us, and that He will complete the wonderful work He began in spite of what it may look like to us today! Faith lives based on what God has done and said. And Faith lives in trust that God does break into our situations with power and resources and vision and peace beyond what we can presently imagine!
All three voices will call to you today. Only Faith offers life. May we govern our personal decisions and our decisions on behalf of the church through the voice of Faith.

Don't Treat Garbage as Treasure
It is easy for us to accumulate trash and then get so accustomed to it that we think it is treasure! Mother cleans out the basement while father is at work; but as soon as he arrives home, he moves "selected junk" back into the basement. In spite of flea markets and garage sales, we end up with more stuff than we started with.
Wise is the leader who knows rubbish when he sees it and who has the courage to cart it away. Like Israel at Passover, every ministry needs a regular housecleaning that will leave it purer and better. Perhaps we have collected organizational rubbish that is getting in the way of progress. Or it may be doctrinal rubbish that is grieving the Holy Spirit and hindering His power. Maybe the whole ministry needs trimming because we have too many people, too many committees, too many activities, and we cannot find the foundation. Carting away the rubbish is not a popular job or an easy one, but it is an important one. The Majority May Not Be Right
A danger exists in assuming that the majority is right. The majority, when against the Word of God, results in tragedy. Remember the people of Israel responding to the twelve spies. By far the vast majority sided with the ten spies. Only two from the entire nation sided with God. And only those two entered the land and received the blessings.

Beware Friendly Snakes
There is an old tale about a peasant who, while hoeing in his field during the spring thaw, came across a snake. He raised his hoe to kill it, but the snake begged for mercy. "I am too frozen to do you any harm," it cried. The farmer, full of compassion, picked up the half-dead serpent and put it into his tunic, against his chest. As he began to work, the snake got warmer and warmer. Suddenly, the snake bit the peasant. The peasant frantically reached into his tunic and pulled out the snake, throwing it to the ground.
"Why?" asked the man, "I befriended you. I trusted you."
"True!" hissed the snake as it slithered away, "but do not blame me. You knew I was a snake when you picked me up."
Many people today take sin into their own bosoms and go about their business. Someday when these things have passed away and they are faced with eternity, they will cry out against sin and accuse it. But it will be too late for some! Sin will reply, "You knew I was sin! You knew that I was but for a season. Do not blame me!"

How Do You Make Decisions?
In Spain there is a very old proverb which says, "All laws go the way that kings desire." Behind this is an interesting story. About the beginning of the twelfth century there was a debate about whether the country's churches were to use Gothic or Roman prayer books in their services. The question eventually came before Alfonso VI, who was king at the time. Alfonso decided to leave the matter to chance, so he threw a copy of both prayer books into a fire declaring that the one that survived the ordeal should be chosen. However, when the Gothic missal survived the blaze, the king immediately threw it back into the fire and chose the Roman liturgies. Thus was the matter decided, and the proverb became popular throughout the country. A Brother in Heaven
"How many brothers have you?" said someone to a little boy. The child stated the number, adding, "and one in heaven." "No, my son," interposed his mother. "You have no brother in heaven."
"Yes, I have," said the boy. "Didn't you tell me that God was my Father, and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Then He must be my Brother in heaven."

Learning How to Choose
A father who had three sons wanted to teach them a lesson in discretion. He gave each of them an apple that had some part of it rotten.
The first ate his apple, rotten and all. The second threw all of his away because some of it was rotten. The third picked out the rotten part and ate the good part.
No one is perfect in this world. Shall we reject all of them because they have some imperfection? The thing that we need the most is the spirit of discretion in choosing that which is good in everybody. The Bones of the Missing Link
A number of years ago, a farmer in Louisiana plowed up some large bones. On reporting his find, a little "two by four" scientist drove out to the farm and pronounced the bones as that of the missing link. Scientists of all kinds began flocking in to that section of the state. Each declared that this undoubtedly linked man back to the lower animals. The newspapers carried this story far and wide.
A few days later an old countryman with a blade of alfalfa dropping out of one corner of his mouth stopped in at the office of the newspaper and said, "What's all this I hear about this prehistoric monster? About 30 years ago I owned that farm where those bones were found. Barnum & Bailey's big circus elephant died when they showed here in town and I permitted them to bury him on my land." And thus the missing link is still missing, the lower animals still produce lower animals, and all forms of life still beget life after their own kind, and we still believe that Jesus Christ is the Creator of this universe and all things therein. The Right Perspective
A landscape artist does not always stand at an arm's length from his canvas. He must not limit his attention to the isolated details of what he is doing. Occasionally he steps back to view his work from a distance. He needs to see how his thousands of small brushstrokes fit together to produce an overall result.
Likewise, our perspective on life is much improved if sometime we can step back and see it whole. We can become so occupied with its daily brushstrokes that we have no real perception of the whole scene we are painting on the canvas of the ongoing years. Our attentions can be so consumed by the requirements of daily living that we have little awareness of the dimensions and directions of life itself.
Step back from the canvas a little, and try to see the picture whole. Look beyond the varied episodes of our daily doings and see the glory of it all. Look beyond the brushstrokes to see the art which the brushstrokes have made-and are making.
"But we all... beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Correcting Faulty Lighting
Perhaps you have sometime visited the Lincoln Memorial in our nation's capital. In this white marble structure millions of people have stood and looked upon the overpowering statue of Lincoln by sculptor Daniel C. French. When the statue was unveiled in 1922, it was discovered that the facial features of Lincoln were grossly distorted by faulty lighting. Corrections were later made so that viewers may now see that face as it really is.
Lighting is so important in seeing a thing clearly. If we view life solely in the light of competition and conflict, we are not seeing all of it. If we look upon all other persons strictly in the light of some mean thing somebody once did to us, we are not seeing them as they are. Grotesque caricatures can be made when distortion lights are used. We can color what we see by the light in which we choose to see it.
We should seek to see all things in all the light there is-the illumination of the Spirit and the word of Scripture.

Creatures of Custom
As a boy in the Middle West, I used to amuse myself by holding a stick across a gateway that the sheep had to pass through. After the first few sheep had jumped over the stick, I took it away; but all the other sheep leaped through the gateway over an imaginary barrier. The only reason for their jumping was that those in front had jumped. The sheep is not the only animal with that tendency. Almost all of us are prone to do what others are doing, to believe what others are believing, to follow, without question, the testimony of prominent men. The Circus or the Parade?
A little boy living in the country had never seen a traveling circus, and one was coming to his town on Saturday.
Saturday morning came. He asked his father for some money. His dad reached in his overalls and pulled out a dollar bill-the most money the boy had ever seen at one time.
Off the little wide-eyed fellow went. As he approached the town, he saw people lining the streets. Peering through the line at one point, he got his first glimpse of the parade. There were animals in cages and marching bands. Finally, a clown was seen bringing up the rear of the parade. The little boy was so excited that when the clown passed, he reached in his pocket and handed him the precious dollar bill. Thinking he had seen the circus when he had only seen the parade, the little boy turned around and went home.
The tragedy of most of our lives isn't that we aspire too high and fail. It's rather that we settle for too little. We could have a greater influence, and yet, because of fear or ignorance, shame, or inertia, we take the precious dollar of our lives and settle for the parade instead of the real thing. To What Are You Listening?
A naturalist, walking with his friend through the busy streets of a great city, stopped suddenly and asked, "Do you hear a cricket?"
"Of course not," laughed his friend. "You could never hear a cricket with all this roar of traffic." "But I hear a cricket," persisted the naturalist, and turning over a stone, he uncovered the insect. "Did you actually hear the cricket chirping above the noise of the street?" asked his friend in astonishment.
"Certainly," said the naturalist. "I spend my time listening to nature, whether I am in the forest, the field, or the town. Everyone hears what he listens for." Taking a coin from his pocket, he dropped it on the pavement, and each passer-by put his hand in his pocket to see if he was the one who had dropped it. They were listening for coins.
What a lesson! If we are listening for the truth-for that which is stimulating, elevating, inspiring, we will hear it, even above the noise and bustle of this busy world, above the din of lies, tattling or gossip so commonly heard by many. And if our ears are attuned to scandal, backbiting and false reports, we will hear that, regardless of how loudly the principles of love, justice and truth may be proclaimed in our direction.

I Would Rather Have You
A little girl had been told many times by a childless old couple that if she would come and live with them, they would get her everything she wanted-a pony and cart, a piano, and the like. One day when the couple had been particularly urgent, her father said, "Don't you think you had better go with them?" The little girl looked at him in alarm and cried, "Why, Daddy, don't you want me?" "Yes," he replied, "but I can't give you very much, and they will give you everything nice." "But I wouldn't have you!" she said as she snuggled up to him. Where Art Thou?
In speaking on the text, "Adam, where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9) a preacher said, "I make three divisions to this text. First: Every man's got to be somewhere. Second: Some men are where they ought not to be. Third: They that are where they ought not to be are going to find themselves where they do not want to be." If we want to find out what sin is by experience, we shall find ourselves where we do not want to be; but if we seek to discern it by a sanctified, God-honoring reflection, then we shall never taste to find out, because we shall know the results beforehand. Remember Adam? He found himself where he did not want to be after he had tasted of the forbidden fruit. Oh, for wisdom to know the forbidden trees!

Plea for Mercy
Plutarch tells us that the Rhodians appealed to the Romans for help, and one suggested that they should plead the good things which they had done for Rome. This was a plea difficult to make strong enough, very apt to be disputed, and not likely to influence so great a people as the Romans, who would not readily consider themselves to be debtors to such a puny state as Rhodes. The Rhodians, however, were wiser than their counselor and took up another line of argument which was abundantly successful. They pleaded the favors which in former times the Romans had bestowed upon them, and urged these as the reason the great nation should not cast off a needy people for whom they had already done so much. When Entertaining, Know the Angel
So many are like the traveler who came tired and exhausted to the door of a Christian and asked to stay overnight. When the Christian showed some unwillingness, the traveler started quoting Scripture and telling the Christian not to forget that he might have the opportunity of entertaining an angel unawares. "Yes," said the Christian, "but I don't believe that an angel from heaven would smell of liquor." The Lord's Will
A little boy about eight or nine, who liked to have his own way, was told by his father, "Philip, you ought not to want your own way." He dropped his head as if he had been given a big problem to solve. After thinking a while he said, "Father, if I choose the will of the Lord and go His way because I want to, don't I still have my own way?"

Spiritual Warfare
Every time you look at your wallet or your paycheck, humanly speaking, the temptation arises, "How can this improve my way of life? How much more can I buy with it? Can I buy a better home, perhaps, or use it to live a cut above the common standard?" It is part of our Adamic nature to want more pleasure, more comfort, more things. During World War II, posters everywhere queried the driver, "Is this trip necessary?" We are in a spiritual warfare, and we should analyze every purchase with the question, "Is this expenditure necessary?" Our Lord says, "Look at the material substances of life and say, 'How can this be used in order to influence people for Christ?' " The Discerning Artist
A poet and an artist each examined a painting by Poussin representing the healing of the two blind men of Jericho. The artist asked, "What seems to you the most remarkable thing in this painting?" The poet replied, "Everything in the painting is excellently given-the form of Christ, the grouping of the individuals, the expression in the faces of the leading character, everything." The artist seemed to find the most significant touch elsewhere. Pointing to the steps of a house in the corner of the picture, he said, "Do you see that discarded cane lying there?" "Yes, but what does that signify?" "Why, my friend, on those steps the blind man sat with the cane in his hand. But when he heard Christ had come, he was so sure that he would be healed that he let his cane lie there, since he would need it no more, and hastened to the Lord as if he could already see."

More Discerning?
In South America there is a tribe of Indians that interprets the past and future quite differently from us. We look at the past as being behind us and the future as lying ahead of us. We may laugh at this tribe as being less advanced than we, but they place the past in the future, and the future in the past. Instinctively they are more discerning than we. Look at their logic: what they've experienced and lived through they place before them to teach them. The sufferings of the past become the lessons of the future. We've known this, but often we haven't practiced it. They look at the future as lying behind them because it is entirely unknown; it's something that follows rather than precedes them.

Trifles Make Perfection
A friend once saw Michelangelo at work on one of his statues. Some time later he saw the statue and seeing so little done said, "Have you been doing nothing since I saw you last?" "By no means," replied the sculptor. "I have retouched this part and polished that; I have softened this feature and brought out that muscle; I have given more expression to this lip, and more energy to this limb." "Well, well," said the friend, "all these are trifles." "It may be so," replied Michelangelo, "but recollect that trifles make perfection, and that perfection is no trifle."

Death Isn't the End
Cicero, a Roman orator and politician who lived before Christ, said: "I am persuaded that my friends who have departed this life have not ceased to exist. In reality only their present condition can be called life. I adopt this faith not only because logic demands it but also because my respect for the most noble and distinguished philosophers bids me do so. I consider this world a place for nature but never foreordained to be my home forever. My departure from this world I never deem as an expulsion from my dwelling place but rather as the departure from my hotel." Even a pre-Christian era Roman knew that death doesn't end all.

Recognize Authority
If you recognize the responsibilities of your position and your exact relationship to the one who is above you, you will be wise. It is not always the ruler of a country who is the most intelligent man in that country. Nor is the principal of a school smarter than the teachers under him. The same holds true of students and teachers. Many times teachers are so wrong in their philosophy of life. Recognize realities even while you recognize the deficiencies of others, for the Scriptures teach us that those who are over us are placed there by God for some purpose. Our Spiritual State Versus Temporal State
A beggar on the street sits asking for alms. Along comes a person who throws a quarter into the outstretched hand, and as he does, he is thinking, "You deserve what you are going through, but I'll help you anyway." Then comes another man who has no more to give than the first one, but says, "God certainly loves you, and your need gives me the opportunity of being a giver. I am not any better than you are, but I recognize it is more blessed to give than to receive. God's favor upon you may be as great as it is upon me. Our spiritual state cannot be measured by our temporal state of affairs."

Don't Abuse Power
There was a king whose officers, in the midst of battle, decided to go and take food that was desperately needed from some homes in the area. When they came back with it, the king asked, "Did you pay them for what you took?" They said, "No, the king doesn't have to pay." He said, "Go back and pay them for everything that you took." A king who arbitrarily takes things from people is hated, but a ruler who pays for everything he needs and that people are willing to give up, is the one who is loved. Anyone who uses his power to take away, is abusing his power.

Healthy Fear
A young soldier of evident breeding and culture had one peculiarity. He would never drink alcoholic beverages with the others. One day the major asked him to take a message to the express agent in town. "Where shall I find him, sir?" he asked. "Just go into Casey's saloon and sit down. He'll show up in the course of the afternoon." The soldier drew back and said, "Beg pardon, sir, but can't I meet him some place else?" "Why, what's the matter with Casey's? Are you afraid to go there?" "Yes, sir, because drink was what made me enlist and leave my family in the first place. I was drunk and didn't know what I was doing." "You may go," said the major curtly. "I'll find a more accommodating and less cowardly man."
From then on this soldier carried a reputation for cowardice because he was realistic enough to avoid danger he knew he was too weak to face. However, the opinion of the battery changed one day when he was one of the seven chosen to fire a cannon salute to a visiting general. One bag of powder failed to discharge, and the sergeant ordered it pulled out. As it fell to the ground, the men were horrified to see that one corner of it ignited. For a breathless moment no one moved. Then this soldier flung himself upon it and with his bare hands smothered the deadly spark. From then on he was the hero of the company. You may depend upon it; the man who is afraid of doing wrong will be brave enough when the occasion calls for it.

Natural Laws
The laws of nature are the expression of the will of God. God works within the world order in a living way. We may say that the world has two levels: a higher and a lower, a permanent and a temporary, a spiritual and a material. Man belongs to both orders, and he is subject to the laws of both. The same chemical elements that are in him are also in the material world around him. Therefore, he is subject to the operation of material forces such as gravitation, lightning, earthquakes, and such phenomena. In the administration of these natural laws there is absolute impartiality. The sun is completely impartial concerning whom it shines on, and the rain on whom it falls. Nature plays no favorites. Who Owns the World?
World ownership, as Frederick F. Shannon observes, is a matter of spiritual capacity. The true owner of the world is the soul capable of appreciating it. Individual response to the eternal love and wisdom is owning it. As an illustration, consider a magnificent organ. Who owns it-the person who made it or the one who paid for it? The organist himself? In reality the person who holds an indisputable title-deed to that organ is the man most capable of enjoying the music. As Shannon says, "God leases the universe to all who can pay for it by the invisible coin of appreciation. Deity hangs a sign in the window of every star, on the leaf of every tree, on the face of every flower, on the peaks of history, on the souls of immortal men and women-and that sign reads: "For Rent! The only rental fee is the capacity to enjoy."

Practical Christianity
Christianity must be practical. Two children were afraid they would be late for school. One said, "Let's kneel down and pray to God that He may help us not to be late." The other child offered a more practical solution: "No, let's run and pray at the same time."

He Knows the Shepherd
At a reception, a famous actor was asked to give a recitation. An old preacher suggested the Twenty-third Psalm. He did it with great oratorical skill and sat down to prolonged applause. Then he turned to the old preacher and asked him to recite the Psalm also. In a weak and trembling voice, the kindly man uttered the same simple verses. But no one applauded this time. People began surreptitiously to wipe away their tears. The actor rose again, "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "I communicated with your ears and your eyes. I know the words. But my old friend here communicated with your hearts. He knows the Shepherd." Do you know Him?

Character or Reputation
A busybody is often interested in telling only half the truth. It's true that Christ kept company with publicans and sinners, not because He loved and practiced their sin but so that He could influence and win them. A defamatory article about a Christian appeared in a newspaper. It was really terrible. "You must sue him," a friend said. "No," was the answer. "I shall try to set him straight. I'm afraid if I sue him I shall do something that is improper. I learned early in life, and from long experience, that man's character can only be harmed by himself. The first step for me to win my detractor is to overcome my own passion for vengeance." Reputation is what other people think and say of you, but character is what you yourself decide it shall be. If you belong to Christ, then your decision is to be like Him-and by His grace you can be. The Good Employer
A business man, who had a thousand workers in his employ, was once asked by a preacher, "How are you getting on with your men?" "Oh," he said, "I have no trouble." And that was at a time when there was great trouble in the labor market. "But haven't you had any strikes?" "Oh, no," he said, "I never had any trouble." "What plan do you pursue?" "All my men," he said, "know every year how matters stand. Every little while I call them together and say, 'Now, boys, last year I made so much-this year I made less; so you see I can't pay you as much as I did last year. Now, I want to know what you think I ought to have as a percentage out of this establishment, and what wages I ought to give you. You know I put all my energy into this business, risked everything and put all my fortune into it. What do you really think I ought to have and you ought to have?' By the time we come out of that consultation, we are unanimous; there has never been an exception. When we prosper, we all prosper together; when we suffer, we all suffer together; my men and I share all our problems together."

Nothing to Lose
An unbeliever once approached a consistent born-again believer and began to ridicule him. "Listen to me, my friend," said the Christian. "On my instrument I have two chords-joy of faith in Christ and hope of eternal joy in heaven. You have only one-hope of joy in this life."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Let me explain. I want to be on the safe side. Suppose that after death there is really nothing, and both of us are destined to disappear into nothingness. Who do you think is getting more satisfaction out of life right now-you with your empty philosophy or I with my faith in Jesus Christ? I think that I really have it over you as far as enjoyment is concerned. So that if you are right, I should lose nothing by having committed myself to faith in Christ. But if I am right, what will become of you? My fellowship with Christ assures me of joy in this life and eternal bliss in case there is life after death. I have nothing to lose. But you? If it turns out I'm right, you will be lost in the future. And on top of it all, you will find that you didn't enjoy the peace of heart and the joy of being on the side of right in this life, as I did." Not Presumptions, but Certainties
The name of Michael Faraday is known to scientists and students everywhere. He was a British physical scientist whose discoveries contributed much to our knowledge of electricity. The modern world has deified science-physical science. But we must never forget that all scientific investigation is based upon the premise that for every effect there must be a cause, and that the universe is governed by laws. All experiments are based on the laws we are continually discovering, and only a pseudo-scientist would claim that we have reached the end of our discoveries. Where would we be if we had no faith in the trustworthiness of physical laws? We would never entrust ourselves to an airplane.
When Faraday was dying someone asked him, "Mr. Faraday, what are your presumptions, your hypotheses now?" "I do not entrust my head to presumptions at this moment, but to certainties," he replied. " 'For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I committed unto him against that day' " (2 Timothy 1:12).