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  2000+ BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS
  by Various
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A collection of over 2,000 sermon illustrations drawn from real life, history,
and experience, organized alphabetically by topic. Each illustration provides a
vivid story or analogy to help illuminate biblical truths for preachers and
teachers.

  Chapters: 137

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS
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    1. Admonition
    2. Age
    3. Attitude
    4. Bible
    5. Christ
    6. Christ: His Deity
    7. Christ: The Foundation
    8. Christ: His Power
    9. Christ: His Rejection
   10. Christ: His Uniqueness
   11. Christ: The Mediator
   12. Christ: The Provider
   13. Christ: The Savior
   14. Christ: Second Coming
   15. Christianity
   16. Christians
   17. Christmas
   18. Church
   19. Commitment
   20. Compassion
   21. Complaining
   22. Compromise
   23. Criticism
   24. Death
   25. Decisions
   26. Discernment
   27. Disciples: Discipline
   28. Disciples: Discipling
   29. Doctrine
   30. Doctrine: Angels
   31. Doctrine: Eternal Security
   32. Doctrine: Faith and Works
   33. Doctrine: Hope
   34. Doctrine: Judgment
   35. Doctrine: Mysteries
   36. Doctrine: Sanctification
   37. Doctrine: The Trinity
   38. Envy
   39. Failure
   40. Faith
   41. Faith: Faithfulness
   42. Family
   43. Family: Children
   44. Family: Father
   45. Family: Mother
   46. Family: Parents
   47. Fear
   48. Fellowship
   49. Fellowship with God
   50. Forgiveness
   51. Gifts
   52. Giving
   53. God
   54. God: Creator
   55. God: Faithfulness
   56. God: Father
   57. God: Forgiving
   58. God: Graciousness
   59. God: Incomprehensible
   60. God: Judge
   61. God: Loving
   62. God: Merciful
   63. God: Omnipotent
   64. God: Omniscient
   65. God: Providence
   66. Grace
   67. Greed
   68. Growth
   69. Heaven
   70. Hell
   71. Holy Spirit
   72. Hope
   73. Humility
   74. Hypocrisy
   75. Inconsistency
   76. Jealousy
   77. Judgment
   78. Judgment of Others
   79. Kindness
   80. Knowledge
   81. Love
   82. Marriage
   83. Meekness
   84. Money
   85. Obedience
   86. Pastors
   87. Peace
   88. Prayer
   89. Preaching
   90. Pride
   91. Priorities
   92. Problems
   93. Purity
   94. Quotes
   95. Repentance
   96. Resurrection
   97. Salvation
   98. Salvation: The Cost
   99. Salvation: Explanation
  100. Salvation: God's Part
  101. Salvation: Invitation
  102. Salvation: The Requirements
  103. Salvation: The Result
  104. Satan
  105. Self
  106. Self: Self-Centered
  107. Self: Self-Controlled
  108. Self: Selfish
  109. Self: Self-Pity
  110. Self: Self-Righteous
  111. Sin
  112. Spiritual
  113. Spiritual: Blindness
  114. Spiritual: Nourishment
  115. Spiritual: Sight
  116. Stewardship
  117. Temptation
  118. Tests and Trials
  119. Thankfulness
  120. The Tongue
  121. Treasure
  122. Trust
  123. Truth
  124. Unbelief
  125. Undiscernment
  126. Unity
  127. Vengeance
  128. Weakness
  129. Will
  130. Wisdom
  131. Witness
  132. Witness: Effective
  133. Witness: Ineffective
  134. Witnessing
  135. Works and Service
  136. Worldliness
  137. Worship

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  CHAPTER 1: ADMONITION
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Admonition

Going Too Fast A number of years ago, a Navy jet fighter plane shot itself down
over the deserts of Nevada while testing a new cannon mounted on its wing. The
plane was flying at supersonic speeds, but the cannon shells were subsonic. What
happened was crucial. The fighter actually ran into the shells it had fired
seconds before. The jet was traveling too fast. Sometimes we travel too fast for
our own spiritual good. God speaks and we are going too fast to hear Him. Don't
be guilty of traveling so fast with your life that you run past the sound of the
Word of God. Be in the center of His will.

See Only Christ You are familiar, no doubt, with one of the most famous
paintings ever done by any artist: The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, that
classic portrayal of Christ and the twelve apostles at the table. Many students
of art history believe that the painting, when first created, was somewhat
different from the version which we now see. There was initially, it is
believed, an exquisite lace border on the tablecloth. When, immediately upon
completion, da Vinci invited a group of art students to view his masterpiece,
they were immensely impressed by the delicate design of that lacework. They
studied it intensely and praised it highly. Upon seeing the reaction of these
young men, the artist took up a brush, dipped it, and made a few long strokes
across the canvas, obliterating the lace. Then, with uncontrollable feeling, he
shouted, "Now, you fools, look at the face of Christ!" The Mind Has No Garbage
Disposal In describing one of the new movies of the day, a critic wrote, "The
plot moves rapidly down the sewer." It would not be so damaging to those who
watch such trash if the mind could be equipped, like your kitchen sink, with a
garbage disposal. Then you could flush away all the filth and be done with it,
but the mind does not work that way. It stores up impressions for a lifetime.
The only way to protect the mind is to expose it to only the best! The Burning
Torch Among ancient Greeks the runner who won the race was not the man who
crossed the line in the shortest time, but the man who crossed it in the least
time with his torch still burning. We are so often so busy with life's
activities that we are in danger of allowing the torch of our spiritual life to
become extinguished. A good woman once said that in the rush and hurry of her
life she felt in danger of being "jostled out of her spirituality." There is a
real danger of being too busy to be good, of running too fast to keep our torch
burning.

Tracing Character to Its Source During a thunder storm that contained high
winds, a giant oak tree was blown down. The tree was thought to be in perfect
health; that is, from outward appearance it seemed to be in good health since it
was almost perfectly shaped and full of green leaves. However, the massive tree
could not withstand the stress of the high wind because of deterioration on the
inside. What started as a tiny corruption at the center of the tree had spread
until that tremendous tree was so weakened that it was toppled by the wind. One
may reach a point where he forsakes God altogether. It is because he (like the
tree) has decayed on the inside. Perhaps the deterioration started with a little
lie or one small drink of beer or forsaking the assembly to go fishing or
camping. Long before our feet carry us where we ought not go, and our hands do
what they ought not do, the desire is in our hearts (Psalms 119:9-11). With pure
hearts we will be able to stand the stress of temptation and the stress of
everyday living.

Extremes Many times we are caught in the trap of running to extremes. God's will
has been revealed and needs to be understood the way God intended it to be. The
Pharisees had this problem. They even had everyday life defined to the point
where it was hard for a person to live. On the Sabbath day, they had problems
with different concepts such as "work." On the Sabbath you were to cease from
work, and the Pharisees decided to define what God intended by this. Here are a
few examples: You could not turn over in bed more than seven times or that was
considered work. If you wanted to borrow something from your neighbor, you could
not put your hand through the threshold of the door to receive it, nor could the
neighbor do that. This would be considered work. If you both met halfway, it was
not considered work. Jesus said in Matthew 15:6, speaking to the Pharisees,
"...And thus you invalidated the Word of God for the sake of your tradition."
For the sake of their definitions which they had made law, their extremes, they
made void the Word of God. We laugh at the Pharisees and wonder how they could
have been so ignorant. But if Jesus were here physically today, what would He
say of us? Let us not run to extremes; let us seek what God intended and do it.
Either extreme of a truth is no longer truth.

Nine Mistakes to Avoid Remorse over yesterday's failure. Anxiety over today's
problems. Worry over tomorrow's uncertainty. Procrastination with one's present
duty. Resentment of another's success. Criticism of a neighbor's imperfections.
Impatience with youth's imperfection. Skepticism of our nation's future.
Unbelief in God's providence.

Committed, Now Complacent There is a tiny harbor town on the ocean shore where
many ships have crashed on the rocks in violent weather. This town became
well-known because of a dedicated rescue team which aided mariners in distress.
The rescue team would rally to the sound of the siren and rush to the scene of
the accident, risking life and limb to save the sailors from drowning. As time
went on, the citizens of that tiny town raised enough money to build a rescue
station close to the shore. While this greatly facilitated the operation, it
softened the dedicated team as well. As time went by they added some of the
comforts and conveniences that other rescue stations had. Through the years the
rescue station became a social club where the town's people gathered to have fun
and relax. Ships would still crash upon the rocks, the alarm would still sound,
but eventually no one responded. They were reluctant to leave their comforts
because their commitment to rescue the miserable mariners was no match for their
complacency. A Successful Shock Treatment A young military officer was traveling
by train from Newark to New York City. He constantly introduced profane language
into his conversation as he conversed with another passenger beside him. His
profanity greatly annoyed a young lady who sat not far away. At last, unable to
tolerate his language further, the offended passenger leaned over and inquired
politely, "Sir, can you converse in a foreign language?" "Yes," was his reply in
a slightly surprised manner, "Then," she continued, "if you wish to swear
anymore, you would greatly oblige me-and, no doubt, the rest of the
passengers-if you would swear in another tongue." Astonished at her suggestion
as well at her audacity, the young officer was speechless momentarily. However,
he finally resumed his conversation; he did not swear again-neither in a
"foreign language" nor in English.

Decision Without Procrastination During the early days of the ministry of Dwight
L. Moody, the great evangelist launched a series of meetings in Chicago with
promise of the largest crowds that he had ever addressed up to that time. He was
speaking of the life of Christ, and on the first Sunday night, October 8, 1871,
he took as his topic the trial before Pilate. As he came to the end of his
message, he turned to Matthew 27:22, "What shall I do then with Jesus, who is
called Christ?" He concluded, "I wish you would take this text home with you and
turn it over in your minds during the week, and next Sabbath we will come to
Calvary and the cross, and we will decide what to do with Jesus of Nazareth." It
may have been an artistic device. But speaking of it in later years, Moody
called that conclusion to his morning's address the greatest mistake of his
life. Even while Mr. Sankey was singing the final hymn:

Today the Savior calls; For refuge fly; The storm of justice falls, And death is
nigh- the fire engines began to sound on the street on their way to their first
contact with the great Chicago fire in which Moody's hall was laid in ashes, and
in which it is estimated that over a thousand persons lost their lives. Moody
never saw that congregation again, and some of those to whom he spoke on that
night doubtlessly died. Is the Church a Zoo? Some church members are as stubborn
as a Missouri mule about doing church work, but as sly as a fox in their own
business deals; as busy as a bee in spreading the latest gossip, but as quiet as
a mouse in spreading the gospel of Christ. Many are as blind as a bat to see the
needs of others, but have eyes of a hawk to see the faults of a few. Some are as
eager as a beaver about a barbecue, but as lazy as a dog about the prayer
meetings. Some will roar like a lion when things do not go just to suit them,
but they are as gentle as a lamb when they need the preacher of the church. Some
are as noisy as a blue jay when calling on the church for advice, but as timid
as a kitten about talking to the lost and as slow as a snail about visiting
absentees and shut-ins. Many are night owls on Saturday nights, but "bed bugs"
Sunday mornings and as scarce as hen's teeth on Wednesday nights. Whose Fault Is
It? A preacher and an atheist barber were once walking through the city slums.
Said the atheist barber to the preacher: "This is why I cannot believe in a God
of love. If God was as kind as you say, He would not permit all this poverty,
disease, and squalor. He would not allow these poor bums to be addicted to dope
and other character-destroying habits. No, I cannot believe in a God who permits
these things." The minister was silent until they met a man who was especially
unkempt and filthy. His hair was hanging down his neck and he had a half-inch of
stubble on his face. Said the minister, "You cannot be a very good barber or you
would not permit a man like that to continue living in this neighborhood without
a haircut or a shave." Indignantly the barber answered: "Why blame me for that
man's condition. I cannot help it that he is like that. He has never come in my
shop; I could fix him up and make him look like a gentleman!" Giving the barber
a penetrating look, the minister said: "Then do not blame God for allowing these
people to continue in their evil ways, when He is constantly inviting them to
come and be saved. The reason these people are slaves to sin and evil habits is
that they refuse the One who died to save and deliver them."

How Much of the Gospels Is Occupied by the Death of Christ? Nearly one-third of
the four Gospels is devoted to accounts of the death of Christ, the incidents
leading up to it and following it. A writer has reminded us that the other
two-thirds of the four Gospels are given up to a preparation for the account of
Christ's death. If the men who gave us the record of Jesus' life thought His
death was an event of such importance as to justify giving it so large a portion
of their attention, is it not possible that we have erred in understanding the
comparative importance of the cross?

Simplicity of Living During the Revolutionary War in America, a few British
officers, the bearers of a flag of truce, were invited by the general of the
Insurgents to stop and dine with him. As a result of this courtesy, they were
ushered into a tent where an officer was roasting some potatoes on a camp stove.
Expecting an elaborate table, the British officers were astonished when the
officer preparing the meal wiped away the ashes from the potatoes, and placed
them on the table as the dinner for the general and his company. When the
British officers returned to their own camp, they contrasted the American
soldiers' fare with their own expensive fare. They justifiably reflected on the
difficulty of their self-indulgent habits and their need of contentment under
all circumstances. The Blind Man and the Lantern A blind man was discovered
sitting at the corner of a city street with a lantern beside him. When he was
asked why the lantern was there since light and darkness were the same to him,
he replied, "I have it so that no one may stumble over me." What a message for
Christians who have the light!

Word Camouflage The footnote in the New International Version at 2 Kings 18:4 is
most interesting. When Hezekiah found the children of Israel worshiping the
brazen serpent made by Moses in the wilderness, he destroyed it. Hezekiah called
the serpent "Nehushtan." The footnote explains the meaning of the word as "a
serpent made of brass." We wonder how such an idol could have existed for so
long. It would seem that it would have been destroyed in one of the reformation
movements of one of the judges or kings. In my opinion, it lasted so long
because it apparently was not recognized as an idol. Perhaps the children of
Israel justified the worship by not calling it an idol. Hezekiah, however, came
and called it what it really was-a brass image of a snake. How often we justify
sin by either ignoring it or calling it a different name! Some call adultery "a
meaningful relationship." We excuse covetousness by calling it "prudence" or
"economy." A life of sensual pleasure is "living with gusto." In answer to a
critic, Abraham Lincoln asked, "How many legs does a cow have?" "Four," was the
reply. "If you call her tail a leg, how many does she have?" "Five," was the
answer. "No," Lincoln said, "just calling a tail a leg does not make it a leg."
Have we made a similar mistake? Do we think that sin is not sin just because we
do not call it by the right name?

It Only Takes a Minute Charles Dickens once wrote: "Reflect upon your present
blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which
all men have some." It only takes a minute to begin reflecting on our present
blessings: the gift of life itself, the warmth of friendships, the riches of
good health, the power of love, the glory of a sunrise, the privilege of prayer,
the joys of music, the satisfactions of work, the treasures of books, the beauty
of art, the miracle of spring, and the grace of God. Be more grateful and you
will become more joyful!

Lincoln Speaks Abraham Lincoln spoke about the legacy the people of his time
were leaving, and he clearly is speaking to us today as well. "We have been the
recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many
years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in number, wealth, and power as no
other nation has ever grown. "But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the
gracious Hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and
strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our
hearts, that all these things were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue
of our own. "Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too
self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too
proud to pray to the God that made us."

Saints in Wrong Places The sins committed by ancient Israel were recorded "for
our admonition" (1 Corinthians 10:6, 1 Corinthians 10:11) that we might not make
the same mistakes. Many great men have failed God because they were found in the
wrong places. In the form of a question, we introduce several of the "wrong
places" where some great servants of God failed. Are you on the slippery path of
DISHONESTY, as was Abraham when he went down to Egypt (see Genesis 12:10-20)?
Since his wife, Sarah, was such a beautiful woman, Abraham feared that the
Egyptians might kill him in order to have her. To prevent this, Abraham deceived
them by telling them she was his sister. It was only a "half-truth" for Sarah
was Abraham's half-sister (Genesis 20:12). We have a modern name for what
Abraham did: "situation ethics," the philosophy which says that one's ethics are
determined by the situation in which he finds himself. According to this
concept, there is no absolute standard of morality, no objective basis for
conduct. Thus, one may lie, cheat, commit immorality, etc., if the situation
"calls for it." However, God has always abhorred the practice of dishonesty
(Deuteronomy 25:13-16), no matter who was involved. Christians are to "provide
things honest in the sight of all men" (Romans 12:17). Are you giving way to
IMPURITY as did David when he walked upon the housetop (2 Sam. 11, 12)? David
yielded to his lower and baser instincts when he saw the beautiful Bathsheba
bathing. The immorality led to further sin-murder! It all began when David was
at the wrong place at the wrong time. The Christian, whose mind should be on
things above (Colossians 3:2), would do well to avoid people, places and
literature which tempt him to yield to unholy passions. Are you sitting under
the juniper tree of DISCOURAGEMENT as did Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-18)? Elijah's
great victory at Mt. Carmel was followed by despondency when he learned that
Jezebel was out to kill him. He sat down under a juniper tree and prayed that
God would let him die. Despondency frequently comes after a mountain-top
experience, doesn't it? When it happens we want to crawl under our "juniper
tree" and let the rest of the world pass us by. Remember, God is still on His
throne and rules the world (cf. Psalms 42:5). Are you sailing on the ship of
DISOBEDIENCE as did Jonah when he fled to Tarshish (Jonah 1:1-17)? Jonah's
prejudice prompted him to disobey God when he was told to preach in Nineveh. Is
it possible that you are "on the way to Tarshish" when you should be "on the way
to Nineveh?" Did you obey the Lord in becoming a Christian, but you have now
boarded the ship of disobedience and are fleeing away from your Redeemer? Saints
in the wrong places! Maybe we can learn something from them and avoid their
mistakes. The Door That Goes Nowhere Have you ever been caught in a revolving
door? It just keeps on going around and you cannot get out. Some people are like
that, they have no direction as to where they are going. You may ask someone,
"Where are you going?" The person will answer, "I don't know." Then how will you
know when you get there? Besides its common use as the entrance to a house or
building, this word is used metaphorically as the entrance to anything. Jesus
said that He is the door, the entrance, into the kingdom (John 10:7-9). The door
of faith is the opportunity of belief offered to the Gentiles in Acts 14:27.
Elsewhere it means opportunity. Paul refers to a great door opening to him in 2
Corinthians 2:13. Revelation 4:1 says, "I looked and a door was opened." Do we
have the ability to see the open doors, and if so, do we go in and avail
ourselves of the opportunities that await us? Jude talks about people who have
no direction, driven about by winds first one way then another. This
accomplishes nothing. Ephesians 4 speaks of being carried about by every wind,
again depicting no direction. Some brethren show no more direction after being a
Christian for thirty or forty years than they did when they first obeyed. This
is the door that goes nowhere. They have gone through the door but stopped, so
in essence it has taken them nowhere. Paul relates to this when he says, "By
reason of time you ought to be teachers, you have that need that someone teach
you again what be the first principles" (Hebrews 5:12).

Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one
of them will fall to the ground without your Father's will (Matthew 10:29 RSV).
We worry too much. We follow the example of our earthly father Adam when he
confessed to God, "I was afraid...and hid" (Genesis 3:10). We have become a
fearful people, even though most of our fears are often unfounded or just plain
silly, because we do not have our eyes on the sparrow. One of the renderings for
the term sparrow in Hebrew referred to small birds, and in Matthew the word
probably refers to a small house sparrow. The birds were well known in Syria;
they were small, tame and found everywhere. Because of their great number they
were sold cheaply; five would go for one and one-half cents. The idea is that if
God cares for something so inexpensive and small, then certainly He will care
for and protect us! Jesus always gives us the assurance, "I am with you always"
(Matthew 28:20). Yet we continue to be afraid: Nuclear war, loss of health,
serious accident, job loss, and a thousand other things. The lesson of 1 John
4:18, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear," should teach
us something: that either we do not love God as we should, or we do not believe
Him when He says that He loves us. Think about the following:

"Worry comes through human interference with the divine plan." "You cannot
change the past, but you ruin a perfectly good present by worrying about the
future." "Why worry when you can pray?" "Worry is interest paid on trouble
before it is due." The story is told of the ship that was trapped in a severe
storm at sea. All were preparing to abandon ship, all except one young lady who
was playing with her dolls. When asked if she were not afraid, she calmly
replied, "No, because my father is the captain." When the storms of life seem to
trap us, let us learn to keep our eyes upon the sparrow and to say, "I am not
afraid because the Captain is my Father!"

Forward through Goals A person without goals in his life is like a ship without
maps and a compass. He will drift aimlessly from day to day hoping to arrive at
the nebulus port of "somewhere." His voyage though life will be left to chance.
Without goals life is uninteresting and without challenge. Goals are decisions
to action. Goals are maps which give the routes to distant ports in life. Goals
help a person know where he is going and how he is going to get there. A goal is
more than a dream; it is a dream being acted upon. It is more than an "Oh, I
wish I could." A goal is a clear statement of "This is what I am going to do."
Goals are not fanciful doubts; they are declarations of faith. 14 Reasons for
Setting Goals Do you have a list of goals that you are working on at this
moment? If you do, congratulations, because it places you in a small group of
achievers. If you do not have goals for your life, let me share some basic
reasons why you need to set goals. Goals will give your life purpose. They help
you to specifically know where you are going. They provide a clear target for
your life. Goals will help you develop a plan of action for reaching your goals.
Goals are exciting because they keep you active. Work is a sure way to success
and happiness. Goals are biblical. Paul said, "I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). Goals
produce results. They are not just exercises in futilities. Goals help keep you
young and interested in life. There is hope and expectation in the future. When
you work on your goals you help to encourage others to do the same. Good goals
help you know where you are at each month. You have planned your journey in
life. You have a map to check each action by. When you set meaningful goals you
are following the pattern of all great leaders who have gone before. They work.
Goals are essential if you are going to accomplish things in life. Whether on
the job, in the home, or in the church, goals are vital to success. Goals get us
involved in the present. The steps to accomplishment must be taken today. Goals
provide a procedure for doing things decently and in order. It eliminates the
"hit-and-miss" approach to life. Goals provide a framework for evaluating our
progress. Nothing will happen until you set some goals for your life. This is
the major advantage of failure: you do not have to do anything to achieve it.

Belief in Action The world is full of nominal Christians-but how many are
Christians in deed? The Bible makes it clear that mere belief is not enough. A
United States Senator recently quoted a very moving, yet indicting poem, "Listen
Christian!" (by Bob Rowland), which reads as follows:

I was hungry, and you formed a humanities club and discussed my hunger. Thank
you. I was imprisoned and you crept off quietly to your chapel in the cellar and
prayed for my release. I was naked and in your mind you debated the morality of
my appearance. I was sick and you knelt and thanked God for your health. I was
homeless and you preached to me about the spiritual shelter of the love of God.
I was lonely and you left me alone to pray for me. Christian, you seem so holy;
so close to God. But I am still very hungry, and lonely, and cold... This
poignant poem is an obvious modification of the words of Jesus Himself as
recorded in Matthew 25:35-36: "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was
thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked
and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came
to me."

Building a Noble Character In a great cathedral in Europe, there is a window
made by an apprentice out of the bits of stained glass that were thrown away as
worthless refuse when the other windows were made; this is the most beautiful
window of all. You can build a noble character for yourself, in spite of all the
hurts and injuries done consciously or unconsciously by others, with the
fragments of the broken hopes, joys and the lost opportunities that lie strewn
about your feet. No matter how badly others have hurt and marred you, they
cannot prevent you from building a beautiful character for yourself; conversely,
others by their best work cannot cause you to build a beautiful character. The
fine character of your father or mother is not yours; you've got to build your
own.

Christian Liberty As in the natural body, so in the mystical body of Christ, the
Church, a large measure of liberty is granted to each member. But this liberty
may not pass the bounds by which another member would be injured or suffer loss.
My liberty to stretch out my arms depends on how close I am to the other fellow.
As Paul says in Galatians 5:13, "For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty;
only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one
another."

Fruit Needs Light Some time ago we noticed that a tree planted at the sunny end
of a house had large and beautiful blossoms. It was a feast to the eyes; but
what an amazing difference in some of the branches trained round the corner of
the house where they got much less sun. The blossoms were starved and drooping,
and there was little promise of fruit. They had the same root and stem in
common, but while one part of the tree was in the full glorious light, the other
branches were in the shade. Our character is affected in the same way by
insufficient enlightenment. The dark places produce unfruitful branches: strange
weaknesses, distortions, immaturities, indirection, failures in practical life
and conduct. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22-23). If we
are to bear all manner of precious fruit, each in its rightful season, we must
trustfully and joyfully lay open our whole soul to the full expanse of God's
light shining in the face of Jesus Christ. No Spiritual Blind Spot Cricketers
talk a great deal about visual imperfection, for sooner or later the bowler
finds the blind spot, the batsman misjudges the ball, and his sport comes to an
end. The devil plays for the blind spot, and if there is such a defect in our
spiritual vision, sooner or later it gets us into trouble. The blind spot in the
natural eye is a necessary, unavoidable, physiological defect of which the
brightest and most skillful athlete cannot rid himself. However, morally and
religiously no part of our nature need be dark, and we may successfully defend
ourselves in every assault. If for any subtle, selfish reason we harbor some
bias of the mind, some prejudice that warps the judgment, some neglect of
charity, some inertia that obstructs conviction, some deviation of aim, some
deflection in action, we lay ourselves open to grievous losses and sorrows. "But
if we walk in the light, as he [God] is in the light, we have fellowship one
with another" (1 John 1:7). If we don't have fellowship with other believers,
there is a dark spot in our spiritual vision. But the Christian whose heart is
full of light enjoys the company of those of like precious faith, "and the blood
of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." It is our privilege to walk
in the full light, to have our whole soul instructed and illuminated.

Faithful in This World The student in the lower grades who is always idly
dreaming of the time when he will be a senior, and thus neglects his present
studies, will never be prepared to take his place with any distinction in his
senior year. If we scholars in the larger school of life are so fascinated by
revelations of the unseen world that we lose interest in the present one, we
will never be prepared for its highest enjoyment. A Good Reason for Politeness
"My boy," said a father to his son, "treat everybody with politeness, even those
who are rude to you; remember, you show courtesy to others, not because they are
gentlemen, but because you are one."

Perils of Conscience It is essential that we should exercise conscience, but let
us not forget that in this matter, as in all others, privilege is linked with
responsibility. Of course, we may attribute unworthy motives to authoritarian
churches that proclaim the right to dictate to the individual what is right and
what is wrong. We may say, as many have said, that they adopt this standpoint
for their own ends to acquire power and control. But that is not a satisfactory
explanation, and it is an unworthy charge. Their action is generally based on
the danger of individual judgment and the peril of the individual conscience,
because this privilege that we all claim does have it perils. It is so perilous,
indeed, that while we pay lip service to its sanctity and sacredness, we are
compelled to curtail its freedom. There is no community that can or dare base
its life upon the freedom of each individual's conscience. It would result in
chaos. Jesus Christ allows us a certain freedom. Freedom is the basis of joy,
but if it oversteps the bounds of moral responsibility it is too perilous.

Conscience Must Be Tested Not every coin that bears the exact stamp is a genuine
coin. Very often, the counterfeit, the base and worthless coin, bears the right
stamp also. It isn't the impression that matters so much as the nature of the
metal. Many an action that bears the impression of a good conscience is
condemned before God as perilous, injurious, and destructive in its issues. The
coin must be tested on the touchstone to discover if it rings true. Conscience
must be tested on the touchstone of Christian principle and the Spirit of the
Master. It is not enough to say, "It seems right to me." We must ask how does
this action, this line of conduct, ring on the touchstone of Christian
principle? Not what we think but what Christ thinks, what the Master thinks,
matters most.

Conscience Like a Pet Dog Speaking of conscience, E. L. Allen said, "Honestly,
what use do we make of our God-given reason? I know what use I make of it. I use
it chiefly to provide reasons for what I want to do without admitting it is for
pursuing some personal ambition. A man may have his conscience so well
disciplined and trained that, instead of blazing a trail before him, it is like
a pet dog which just trots obediently at his heels and never so much as barks!
'If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that
darkness!' "

Shut the Door A man went inside a telephone booth and dialed the number of a
friend. When the connection was made, the friend kept saying, "I can't hear you;
speak louder; I can't hear you." All he cold hear was the roar of traffic in the
background. "Shut the door so I can hear," he said to the caller. In order to
hear God's voice speaking to you, you've got to shut the door to the outside
world so that its enticements won't distract you. Doing this could change your
whole life. Then when you go back into the crowd, you'll not only be able to
listen to what the world has to say, but you'll have something to say to the
world that you've personally heard from God. The Right to Pursue Someone cursed
Benjamin Franklin, charging that the Constitution of the United States was a
farce. "Where is all the success that it guarantees us?" he sneered. Franklin,
smiling, answered, "My friend, the Constitution guarantees only the right to the
pursuit of happiness." Psalms 34:14 tells us to not only seek peace but pursue
it.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 2: AGE
========================================================================

Age

Now Is the Time A pioneer preacher was called to conduct the funeral for a man
who never entered the church building while he lived. As the pallbearers neared
the meetinghouse door, the old preacher stood in the doorway and beckoned
saying: "Gentlemen, I have never taken an undue advantage of any living person,
and I am not going to begin imposing on the dead. If this man were living he
would not enter this building. Put him down right there and let us respect him
enough to finish his earthly pilgrimage as he lived it." The service was
conducted from the doorway, with the casket resting on the church-house lawn.
Perhaps the preacher was a bit "hard," but he certainly had a point. Better
think about dying and eternity while we live.

Attitude Several years ago a man encountered the idea that we should live our
lives in such a way that when we die even the undertaker will be sorry that we
are gone! The saying is that life begins at 40. It really begins when we want it
to begin! At age 71 an agent turned down Jack Benny thinking he was washed up.
Jack found another agent and fulfilled twelve million dollars more in bookings
before he died at the age of 81. Moses was 80 when he received the Law. Aaron
was 83 when he began to perform miracles and plagues in Egypt. Joshua was 85
when he led Israel into the promised land. Will Durant sold a series of
television programs at the ripe young age of 91. Frank Lloyd Wright created the
magnificent Guggenheim Museum at 89. Colonel Sanders was in his 60s when he sold
his first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. A University of Wisconsin study says
that if we are physically well, and keep active as we get older, we can enjoy
people, laugh at ourselves, and get as much out of life at 90 as we could when
we were 40!

What, Not When Some time ago the United Technologies Corporation published in
the Wall Street Journal a full-page message entitled, "It's What You Do, Not
When You Do It." The message contained a listing of many eaglelike people who
soared at various ages in their lives. Ted Williams, at age 42, slammed a home
run in his last official time at bat. Mickey Mantle, age 20, hit 23 home runs
his first full year in the major leagues. Golda Meir was 71 when she became
Prime Minister of Israel. William Pitt II was 24 when he became Prime Minister
of Great Britain. George Bernard Shaw was 94 when one of his plays was first
produced. Mozart was just seven when his first composition was published. Now,
how about this? Benjamin Franklin was a newspaper columnist at 16 and a framer
of the United States Constitution when he was 81. You are never too young or too
old if you have talent. Let us recognize that age has little to do with
ability-and, age has NOTHING to do with dreams and determination and vision.

Reaction It is now believed that a man reaches his peak mentally around the age
of 35 and that this peak is maintained even past 70 years of age. It has also
been proven that the old saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" is
untrue. The learning power at 70 is about the same as it is at 17. As one
authority put it, we do not become old through the passing of years, but rather
by our reactions to the circumstances of life.

Attitude and Opportunity In the central place of every heart there is a
recording chamber. So long as it receives a message of beauty, hope, cheer, and
courage-so long are you young. When the wires are all down and your heart is
covered with the snow of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then, and only then,
are you grown old.

All Times Are His Our times are in His hand Who saith, "A whole I planned. Youth
shows but half; Trust God, See all, nor be afraid!" For age is opportunity, no
less Than youth itself, though in another dress, And as the evening twilight
fades away The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.

Because of the Remnant "He that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap
corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life
everlasting" (Galatians 6:8). One need not look far today to see that most of
society does not want to be bothered with things that are spiritual; they have
no time to look at, or reflect on anything spiritual; rather they seem to be
primarily concerned with the economy and the temporal things of this life. So
much that we used to hold dear-the historical ideals of conduct that were
associated with the Judeo-Christian heritage-seem of little importance. Even our
TV screens portray homosexuality and loose morals as simply another lifestyle
and nothing to be worried about. Paul refers to this at length in the first
chapter of Romans, and we can see that these are the very things that seem to be
creeping into the fabric of society all around us. The only thing that has
probably stopped God's judgment on the human race thus far is the fact that He
still has a remnant; a people that seek to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and be a
light in the midst of increasing darkness. May we ever be on our guard as we
journey onward, in order that the truth of the gospel will continue to influence
the people around us, and ultimately people around the world.

Old but Still Useful "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither"
(Psalms 1:3). An article out of Choice Gleanings reads as follows: "As one
approaches the three-score-and-ten age, thoughts as to future usefulness to the
Lord often occur. Walking through a nearby forest, I spotted a strange sight. An
old, gnarled tree had been broken, but green shoots were still proceeding from
it. It was also supporting a fallen tree. We can still be useful at
three-score-and-ten and beyond."

Old Age Old age is a privilege. You cannot buy it. You cannot sell it. You
cannot earn it. You cannot inherit it. You cannot merit it. So if you are
fortunate enough to have it, for heaven's sake enjoy it; and do not complain
about it. Remember, if you were not old-you would be dead.

Born Old Elderly Christians tend to be thoughtful, kind, patient and loving.
Through years of imitating Christ they have grown more and more into his image.
Physical health may be failing, or the eyesight growing dim, the hearing
failing, but there is no reason to lose heart. Why? "The inner nature is being
renewed every day." And these saints are more lovely than they have ever been.
For those who resent the passing years, an interesting possibility has been
suggested by Charles L. Allen. He writes, "Just suppose the process were
reversed. You would start living at an old age and every day be a little
younger. Now that would be terrible. Every day you would know a little less than
you knew the day before. You would start off with your grandchildren but in a
few years they would all be gone. Your family, instead of growing, would
constantly be diminishing. You would eventually get to the age where you start
to college. You would start off a senior and end up in the first grade. Now,
little first graders are cute with their short pants or little pink dresses, but
I would hate to think I would have to be one again. "Tottering old age has its
drawbacks, but being a tiny baby is a lot worse. If you were getting younger,
you would have to look forward to losing everything and end up by being a
helpless baby with a bottle. Finally, you would just fade away into nothing.
Babies do not have a previous existence, so complete oblivion would be the end."
When it is put like that, it is easy to see the advantage of growing older
rather than shrinking younger. In the spiritual realm, who would want his faith
to grow weaker day by day? Who would want to see his Christ-like qualities
diminish with the passing of time? Who would want to give up the personal
experiences where God has proven His faithfulness time and again in one's own
life? Not me! Experience is a great teacher. We are confident that: They who
wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings
like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:31)

Remembering Just a line to say I'm living, that I'm not among the dead, Though
I'm getting more forgetful and mixed up in the head. I got used to my arthritis,
to my dentures I'm resigned. I can manage my bifocals, but God, I miss my mind.
For sometimes I can't remember when I stand at the foot of the stair, If I must
go up for something or have I just come down from there. And before the fridge
so often my poor mind is filled with doubt. Have I just put the food away or
have I come to take some out? And there are times when it is dark with my night
cap on my head, I don't know if I'm retiring, or just getting out of bed. So, if
it's my turn to write you there's no need getting sore, I may think that I have
written and don't want to be a bore. So, remember that I love you and wish that
you were near, But now it's nearly mail time so I must say goodbye, dear. There
I stand beside the mailbox with a face so very red, Instead of mailing you my
letter, I have opened it instead.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 3: ATTITUDE
========================================================================

Attitude No Root, No Fruit Have you ever wondered why you do what you do? One
former Navy pilot tells how he was living a wilder life than he knew he should
live. He decided his problem was that he was being led astray by his friends in
flight training. So he arranged to finish his work in the program early and be
transferred to another field nearby. Yet, it wasn't long, he said, before he was
back in the same old bars, with the same girls, just with different friends. One
night out-on-the-town he wondered, "Why do I do this?" And he realized, "Because
I like to." Before a person becomes a Christian-I mean a real Christian, not
just someone who says he is-his "want-to" is broken. He is not interested in
God. He is bored by church and by reading his Bible. He cannot "make" himself
"want to" do right and he cannot "make" himself "want not" to do wrong. When a
person is born again, God repairs his "want-to." Even though he still feels the
pull of temptation, he will have a new set of desires. He will love God and want
to talk to God in prayer and see what God has to say to him in His Word, the
Bible. He wants to be around other people who love God; church attendance
becomes meaningful. There is a new desire to obey God. Why do we do what we do?
The answer is simple: we do what we do because of what we are. It's like fruit
trees. Apple trees bear apples, pear trees produce pears, peach trees grow
peaches. The fruit is the natural result of the nature of the tree. I suppose
you could tie apples to a peach tree, but that would not make it an apple tree.
In the same way, adding religious activities to one's schedule doesn't make one
a Christian. Just as the fruit of the tree naturally flows from the nature of
the tree, even so the attitudes, words, and actions of our lives reveal the true
nature of ourselves. Jesus said, "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but
a bad tree bears bad fruit....Therefore, by their fruits you will know them"
(Matthew 7:17, Matthew 7:20). A Choice Each Day Charles Swindoll said: "The
longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to
me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than
education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than
what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance,
giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The
remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will
embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that
people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only
thing we can do is play on the one string that we have, and that is our
attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90
percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our
attitudes." A Time to Laugh In William Barclay's daily devotional Daily
Celebration, appears this little story: "There was a little Indian girl at
school today," announced my son proudly. "Does she speak English?" I asked.
"No," came the quick reply, "but it doesn't matter because she laughs in
English!" Laughter is the universal language. You can laugh in any language and
it will be understood. Keep laughing! If you can laugh at it, you can live with
it. Laughter is to life what salt is to an egg. Laughter is the cheapest luxury
man has. It stirs up the blood, expands the chest, electrifies the nerves,
clears away the cobwebs from the brain, and gives the whole system a cleaning
rehabilitation.

Sight "Wouldn't you hate to wear glasses all the time?" asked a small boy of his
playmate. "No-o-o," the other boy answered slowly, "not if I had the kind
grandma wears. She sees how to fix a lot of things, and she sees lots of nice
things to do on rainy days, and she sees when folks are tired and sorry, and
what will make them feel better, and she always sees what you meant to do even
if you haven't got things just right. I asked her one day how she could see that
way all the time, and she said it was the way she learned to look at things as
she grew older. So it must be her glasses." A Changed Attitude It was Napoleon
Bonaparte who, early in his life, said, "God is on the side of the biggest
artillery." Years later, when he was exiled on an island, he reversed his
opinion, and conceded, "Man proposes, but God disposes." Napoleon learned the
attitude of "If it is the Lord's will" the hard way. May we learn it now.

Future Hope Not only does the Bible contribute to our belief in the best is yet
to be, but the things of our daily lives reveal that this is true, too. It is
this belief that keeps the scientist, inventor, and researcher busy. The best
car hasn't been developed. The final cure hasn't been discovered. The safest
plane hasn't been produced. The best song hasn't been written. The best product
is not on the market. The best church hasn't been grown. The best sales
presentation has not been perfected. The best class hasn't been taught. The best
way hasn't been found. The best...is yet to be. The phrase "The best is yet to
be" is a positive affirmation that gives life direction. It provides hope: there
is more to come in life. It's the spirit of expectancy: good things are going to
happen. It is seen through the eyes that look for opportunities that will be
greater than ever. It is received through proper planning and work. Desire is
the fuel that makes it a reality. THE BEST IS YET TO BE!

Resignation Not everyone is ready to accept the fact that the best is yet to be.
This is true for a number of reasons. Some are content to live in the past. They
delight in the "good old days." Many are content to live mediocre lives. They
are content to drift from day to day. Insecurity hinders many persons from
believing that the best is yet to be. They want to hold on to their position or
things. They will never know the excitement of launching out by faith, or
waiting for the great things of tomorrow. Negative thinking guides the decisions
and attitudes of many people. They choose to accept the premise that the worst
is yet to come. They will get what they wish for if they are not careful. Scores
have no goals for their lives. They don't know where they are going today, much
less tomorrow. A few think they don't have any needs. They are pleased with the
way things are in their lives (cf. Revelation 3:17). There is always room for
improvement in everyone's life. Fear is always a major enemy to progress. It
also hinders a person from becoming excited about the future (cf. 2 Timothy
1:7).

Barriers At a coastal aquarium, a savage barracuda quickly tried to attack the
mackerel but was stopped by the partition. After bumping his nose repeatedly, he
finally quit trying. Later, the partition was removed, but the barracuda would
swim only to the point where the barrier had been and stop. He thought it was
still there! Many people are like this. They move forward until they reach an
imaginary barrier, but then stop because of a self-imposed attitude of
limitation. When Everything Material Is Lost Dr. G. Campbell Morgan tells of a
man whose shop had been burned in the great Chicago fire. He arrived at the
ruins the next morning carrying a table. He set it up amid the charred debris
and above it placed this optimistic sign, "Everything lost except wife,
children, and hope. Business will be resumed as usual tomorrow morning."

Thankfulness When Matthew Henry was robbed, that very night he prayed: "I thank
Thee, first, because I was never robbed before; second, because although they
took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my
all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, and not I who
robbed."

You Find What You Look for! It is said that two kinds of birds fly over the
California deserts: the hummingbird and the vulture. All the vulture can see is
rotting meat because that is all he looks for. He thrives on that diet. But the
hummingbird ignores the carcasses and the smelly flesh of dead animals. Instead,
he looks for the tiny blossoms of the cactus flowers. He buzzes around until he
finds the colorful blooms almost hidden from view by the rocks. Each bird finds
what it is looking for. What are you looking for? Better still-what are you
finding? What you are finding tells what you are really looking for. Your
expectations of life will determine your outcome.

Sacrifice A chaplain was speaking to a soldier on a cot in a hospital. "You have
lost an arm in the great cause," said the chaplain. "No," said the soldier with
a smile. "I didn't lose it-I gave it." In that same way, Jesus did not lose His
life. He gave it purposefully. "He died that we might be forgiven and go at last
to heaven."

Christian Contentment As an elderly Christian lady with arthritis sat by her
front window watching the traffic go by, she said, "I don't know what I'd do
without that traffic to keep me interested." Later on she was moved to a room in
the rear where she could no longer see the traffic from the window. She
conceded, "I like this better. I can watch the sweetest little children next
door playing in the backyard." At last she was moved to the slums of the city.
To a friend she said, "Come and see my beautiful view-my beautiful view of the
sky!"

Adjustment During World War II General Creighton Abrams and his command were
surrounded by the enemy to the east, west, north and south. General Abrams said,
"Gentlemen, for the first time in the history of this campaign, we are now in a
position to attack the enemy in any direction." What has you surrounded, tied
down, fenced in? All of us have limitations in life. Some we will have to bear
with while others the Lord wants us to break through! It will only happen if we
give ourselves an attitude adjustment.

Adventurous Boldness Somebody said that it couldn't be done. But he with a
chuckle replied, "Maybe it couldn't, but he would be one Who wouldn't say so
till he'd tried." So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin On his face.
If he worried he hid it. He started to sing as he tackled the thing That
couldn't be done, and he did it!

Trials and Tribulations Take a piece of wax, a piece of meat, some sand, some
clay, and some shavings, put them on the fire and see how they react. Each of
them is being acted upon by the same agent, yet...the wax melts, the meat fries,
the sand dries up, the clay hardens, the shavings blaze. Just so, under
identical influence of circumstances and environment one man is made better, and
he becomes stronger, and another becomes weaker, while another withers away.
This explains why one hears the Word of God and is made better. Still another
hears the same thing and is made angry. Not so much what is done to us, but what
we do, determines our destiny. Take heed how you hear and act.

Sour Grapes There is a fable concerning a fox who kept leaping up at some
inviting looking grapes. Unable to reach them despite his best efforts, he came
to the conclusion that they did look rather sour. He walked away without pangs
of covetousness. Be as smart as a fox if you want to be happy. Consider the
things that you cannot obtain as "sour grapes."

Getting Along Without It A nurse was showing a patient to his room. "Now," she
said, "we want you to be happy and enjoy yourself while here, so if there is
anything you want that we haven't got, let me know and I'll show you how to get
along without it."

Spiritual Sight The hymnwriter Fanny Crosby gave us more than 6,000 gospel
songs. Although blinded by an illness at the age of six weeks, she never became
bitter. One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, "I think it is great pity
that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon
you." She replied quickly, "Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make
one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?" "Why?" asked the
surprised clergyman. "Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall
ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!" One of Miss Crosby's hymns was
so personal that for years she kept it to herself. Kenneth Osbeck, author of
several books on hymnology, says its revelation to the public came about this
way: "One day at a Bible conference in Northfield, Massachusetts, Miss Crosby
was asked by D. L. Moody to give a personal testimony. At first she hesitated,
then quietly rose and said, 'There is one hymn I have written which has never
been published. I call it my soul's poem. Sometimes when I am troubled, I repeat
it to myself, for it brings comfort to my heart.' She then recited while many
wept, 'Someday the silver cord will break, and I no more as now shall sing; but
oh, the joy when I shall wake within the palace of the King! And I shall see Him
face to face, and tell the story-saved by grace!'" At the age of 95, Fanny
Crosby passed into glory and saw the face of Jesus. That's the sure hope of
every child of God!

Like Pharoah, or Job? What can make the difference in how we face our everyday
trials, even our little ones, is our attitude. We can have the attitude of the
Pharaoh of Egypt, who, when confronted by Moses and the ten plagues from God,
grumbled, and griped, and became stubborn, causing more woes to come upon him.
Or, that of Job, who at the loss of all his possessions, even his own health,
succumbed to the will of God and remained faithful. That type of commitment to
Christ will give us eternal life, happiness and joy. Remember: "I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). "And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). The
Importance of Attitude A Scotsman was an extremely hard worker and expected all
the men under him to be the same. His men would tease him, "Scotty, don't you
know that Rome wasn't built in a day?" "Yes," he would answer. "I know that. But
I wasn't foreman on that job."

Peace Among the students at a college was a young man on crutches. Although not
a handsome fellow, he had a talent for friendliness and optimism, and he earned
many scholastic honors as well as the respect of his classmates. One day a new
student asked him what had caused him to become so badly crippled. "Infantile
paralysis," replied the genial young man. "With a misfortune like that,"
exclaimed the other fellow, "how can you face the world so confidently and so
happily?" "Oh," replied the polio victim, "the disease never touched my heart."
My Future Someone said, "My past is gone; my present is passing; my future is
arriving." The best thing about the future is that it comes upon us by degrees,
a day at a time. We can manage that! Whatever it holds, my future is mine: if it
be fair weather, let me bask in the sun; if it be storms, let me bend with the
wind. The future belongs to those who can make adjustments. "Sanctify yourselves
against tomorrow" (Numbers 11:18).

Zeal The Bible provides a sound basis for enthusiasm. Here is how the Apostle
Paul states it: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and NOT
unto man" (Colossians 3:23); "always abounding in the work of the Lord" (1
Corinthians 15:58); "zealous unto good works" (Titus 2:14); "Your zeal hath
encouraged many" (2 Corinthians 9:2). In Revelation the Apostle John commanded
the Laodiceans to be "zealous, therefore, and repent" (Revelation 2:19). It is
interesting that "zeal" and "zealous" come from a Greek word which means "to
boil; seethe." An enthusiastic person boils inside; it spills over to peak
performance. The wise man stated it in these words, "Whatsoever thy hands
findeth to do, do it with all thy might" (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Some people
verbalize their inability to be enthusiastic. I don't believe there is a person
who hasn't been excited or enthusiastic about something. A raise in salary, an
award, vacation, promotion, birth of a child, opportunity, or some other event
in life creates zeal by its very nature. What we need in the church is
enthusiasm for the mission God has given His people. This guarantees peak
performance.

Roses among Thorns Benjamin Franklin once said, "The sentence which has most
influenced my life is, 'Some persons grumble because God placed thorns among
roses. Why not thank God because He placed roses among thorns?' I first read it
when but a mere lad. Since that day it has occupied a front room in my life and
has given it an optimistic trend." To be meek is to have a disposition to see
the roses among the thorns, rather than to complain about the thorns among the
roses. Which do you see? Your answer will help you to judge whether you possess
that meekness of which our Savior spoke.

Seeing the Beautiful A lady, paying an early morning visit to a neighbor, was
ushered into a rather untidy room for which her hostess profusely apologized,
but her visitor smilingly replied, "I had eyes for nothing but these lovely
roses," pointing to a vase of beauties which occupied a prominent place on the
table. Just as the eye sees what it looks for, so the soul that is itself
beautiful finds all that is best and noblest and most worthy of praise in the
men and women. A Healthy Inner Eye After referring to Himself as the light and
life of men, our Lord goes on to say that, for the apprehension of light, a
corresponding and appropriate organ is required. This organ is the eye. The eye
that receives light for the whole body gives light to the whole body-the light
in which all its activities are carried on-and may therefore be called the lamp
or candle of the body. But the amount of light received and distributed depends
on the power and accuracy of the eye that receives it. The organ may be
diseased. It may prevent the access of the light or pervert it so that we do not
see things as they are, or even in extreme cases do not see them at all. If this
solitary candle is put out, how profound must be the darkness in which we walk!
If it is obscured or distorted, how radical and misleading must be the errors
into which it betrays us. It is of the utmost importance, therefore, that we
should keep the one organ which receives and imparts light-the light of all our
seeing, all our working, all our progress-in a healthy condition. In all this we
have been dealing only with the application of the passage of Luke 11:33-36. For
while speaking of the eye of the body, it is obvious that it was the eye of the
soul that our Lord had in mind. The spiritual part in us has its perceptive
faculty as does the physical part, and it is even more important that the
spiritual candle should be lifted to its due place and kept burning brightly
than that the physical candle should be placed on the lampstand and not hidden
in a cellar or under a bushel basket. If then we turn from the physical to the
spiritual application of the passage, what is it that our Lord is teaching us in
these words? I believe He is saying that a healthy, trained, unprejudiced
understanding is required for the due apprehension and appreciation of spiritual
truth, and that the health and power of the understanding by which we receive
and impart the truth depends mainly on the establishing of right attitudes
toward the hearing and sifting of God's Word as revealed in the Scriptures. A
desire to know and follow the truth at whatever cost is a prerequisite to
"seeing" the truth. A Good Relationship Made the Difference A girl who received
a book from a young man, read it and said, "What a tiresome book!" The young man
said, "Did you notice who wrote it?" She looked at the front page and saw that
her lover was the author. She began to read it again, and at the end she said,
"I never read a greater book." What made the difference? Her relationship to the
writer. Look at God. Is He good or evil? It all depends on whether you are
single in heart or evil in heart. If you look at Jesus, you may see Him either
as a deceiver or as a Savior. What makes the difference? Your attitude, your
eye.

Drive or Drought When you lose hope of doing better, you lose everything that
makes life worth living. A great artist was once asked, "What's the best picture
you've ever painted?" "The next one," he replied confidently. But another artist
was heard to lament, "Too bad I failed," though he was at the very height of his
glory. "Why do you say that?" asked a friend of his in astonishment. "Because
I've lost any hope of improvement," he said. He was right; the person who has
stopped hoping has truly failed. The Discouraged Christian Many times the
Christian wishes for death in the face of difficulties and trials. He is like
the poor man carrying a load of sticks who, when he became tired, sat down on a
bank, and laying his sticks on the ground said, "I am sick and tired of this. I
wish death would come to relieve me." Instantly, Death slipped up and said,
"Here am I; what do you want of me?" "I want you to help me put this bundle of
sticks on my back again," said the astonished pilgrim. We are all prone to think
that our load of sticks is heavier-that our road more difficult and our enemies
more daring than any other Christian's.

Wrong Attitude Many of us Christians are like the little girl who started
fighting with a friend. Her mother who heard about the quarrel talked with her
little girl about it trying to show her she was wrong and her need of asking
God's forgiveness. Accordingly, when the little one kneeled down to pray, she
humbly asked, "O God, please forgive me for getting angry and quarreling with
Charlotte." So far so good. But the wrong disposition was still there, for the
child went on, "And make Charlotte come to me and ask my forgiveness. O Lord,
give her no rest until she is sorry and comes and tells me so!"

Expecting Evil Don't be like the woman who one day felt unusually well. "How are
you, lady?" someone asked. "Today I am quite well, but tomorrow I am sure I am
going to suffer again," she sighed. It is a terrible thing to expect evil that
may never come your way. The expectation of evil kills many more than the evil
itself.




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  CHAPTER 4: BIBLE
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Bible

Tunnel Lights "He hath done all things well" (Mark 7:37). Some Bible verses are
like lanterns. They were made for dark places and dark hours. Did you ever hear
about the little girl in the train? She couldn't understand why the trainman was
going through the car lighting the lamps. She said, "Mother, it is the middle of
the day and the sun is shining, why is he turning on those lights?" The mother
smiled, and said, "Wait a bit and you'll see what the lights are for." In a
moment or two the train plunged into a long, dark tunnel, and then the little
girl saw the wisdom of the lamplighting process. Dear friend, that Bible of
yours contains thousands of verses that seem very ordinary and unnecessary. You
can't see why God has gone to all the trouble of lighting those lamps of truth,
but some day you're going into the tunnel of bereavement, or the tunnel of
temptation, or the tunnel of suffering, and then you will value and appreciate
the verses that appear to be commonplace today.

Get What You Can! Some folks do not read the Bible because, they say, there are
so many things in the Book that they cannot understand. It is said that these
things which cannot be understood trouble them. Of course these are excuses.
What does one do when he sits down to a Southern-fried chicken dinner, and finds
there are bones in the chicken which he is unable to chew? Does he excuse
himself, and say, "I can't chew the bony parts of the chicken, therefore I won't
try to eat any of it?" Hardly. He merely puts the bones to one side and enjoys
the edible part of the chicken. Why not put at least this much effort into Bible
reading? One rescued sinner said, "The fact that I am alive and on my way
somewhere really caused me anxious moments, until I found the answer in the
Bible. When I found it, it prompted me to let the shed blood of Christ cleanse
me from my sins. God saved me and gave me the assurance of it, and I began to
study the Bible, digesting the parts God's Holy Spirit led me to understand, and
setting the rest aside, until He opened my eyes to the Truth therein. As God
showed me the answers, my worship of Him increased naturally. Oh, indispensable
is the Book of books!"

Forgiveness Testimony of a former Soviet prisoner: One time I was put in prison
in Siberia. I was taken to a cell in the middle of the night. There were about
20 prisoners already there. None of them were sleeping, even though it was after
midnight. They were all upset about something. When the door was locked behind
me, immediately they surrounded me and their first question was, "How many men
did you kill?" I said, "Well, I didn't kill anyone. I am a Christian." They
said, "You are lying. In this cell there are only murderers. Everyone here has
killed at least three men. Some of us have killed four or five. So prove you are
a Christian. Let us see your Bible." You can't have a Bible in a Soviet prison.
It would be confiscated. But hidden away in my things I had a miniature Gospel
of Mark that I used to read secretly. I showed it to the prisoners and
immediately they said, "Let us read it." So I did. The next morning I awoke
late, and I found that none of the other prisoners had been sleeping. They were
all sitting in a circle, and one was reading the Gospel of Mark aloud. They had
gotten to the last chapter. They were having a kind of Bible study-trying to
discuss what it all meant. Those men had never heard the gospel before, had
never read a portion of God's Word. But when I awoke, their first questions
showed me that they understood what the gospel meant. Their first question was
this, "Can God forgive us?" That meant that they understood the meaning of the
gospel, what salvation is. I explained that yes, God can forgive you. Jesus
Christ forgave the thief on the cross next to Him. I spent a week in that cell,
and we talked a lot about God, but then I was to be transported to another
prison. They wanted me to give them my Gospel of Mark. I remember one of them
said, "Your God will send you many more Bibles, many more New Testaments. We'll
never have another portion of God's Word in this prison." That Gospel was very
precious to me, but I gave it to those men. And it is still there with them.

Guidance The Word of God corrects us. That is a particularly interesting word.
When flying to Florida, it seemed to me like a pretty straight shot from Chicago
to Fort Lauderdale. But in the cockpit of the airplane is a fine-tuned radar
mechanism. All during the trip, the plane is flown on automatic pilot, which
continually yet imperceptibly corrects the course of the plane to keep it on
track. That's what God's Word does for us. It nudges us to keep us on course. It
keeps affecting the way we think, the way we draw conclusions, and the way we
make our daily life decisions.

Man's Testimony How important is it to read the Bible? Here is the answer of
some of America's historically prominent men: Andrew Jackson said, "That book,
sir, [the Bible] is the rock on which our republic rests." George Washington put
it this way: "It is impossible to righteously govern the world without God and
the Bible...." Charles Dickens stated, "The New Testament is the very best book
that ever was or ever will be known in the world." Horace Greeley asserted, "It
is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a Bible-reading people." Finally
President Woodrow Wilson urged, "I ask every man and woman in this audience that
from this day on we realize that part of the destiny of America lies in their
daily perusal of this Book [the Bible]." Reading the Bible and following its
instructions will enable you to find Christ as your all-sufficient Savior.
Further, regular reading will minimize your anxieties, decrease appetite for
lying, cheating, stealing, immorality, and all manner of sin. You will realize
real peace, joy, and love in your life.

God's Principles Are Nails; His Word Is the Hammer Have you ever watched a
little boy learning to use a hammer? The lad grasps the hammer near the head of
the shaft and is merely able to go "tap, tap, tap," hardly working the nail into
the wood. He has the right tool but no power. Compare the craftsman carpenter as
he holds his hammer down at the bottom of the shaft gaining all the leverage he
can. His arm goes "bam, bam, bam," driving nails home using a few swift hard
strokes without damaging the surface of the wood. He holds the tool to get the
power.

Knowledge The Bible must always be at the heart of our preaching, teaching, and
way of living. If the Scriptures do not guide our lives, we have no guide better
than ourselves. No human document can compare in the least with the Word of God.
Woodrow Wilson is reported to have said, "We have deprived ourselves of the best
there is in the world if we deprive ourselves of a knowledge of the Bible."
There is no comparison: the Bible is the best guide, and the believer's life is
the best guided. Don't be deprived of the Bible's rich blessings. Read it daily.
Study it often.

All Sufficient When I am tired, the Bible is my bed; Or in the dark, the Bible
is my light; When I am hungry, it is vital bread; Or fearful, it is armor for
the fight. When I am sick, 'tis healing medicine; Or lonely, thronging friends I
find therein. If I would work, the Bible is my tool; Or play, it is a harp of
happy sound. If I am arrogant, it is my school. If I am sinking, it is solid
ground. If I am cold, the Bible is my fire; And it is wings, if boldly I aspire.
Should I be lost, the Bible is my guide; Or naked, it is raiment rich and warm.
Am I imprisoned, it is ranges wide; Or tempest-tossed, a shelter from the storm.
Would I adventure, 'tis a gallant sea; Or would I rest, it is a flowery lea.
Does gloom oppress? The Bible is a sun, Or ugliness? It is a garden fair. Am I
athirst? How cool its currents run! Or stifled? What a vivifying air! Since thus
thou givest of thyself to me, How should I give myself great Book to thee!

Just Use Me Most of us resent being "used," but here is something which could
change the world, and it is crying out to be used: Just use me-I am the Bible. I
am God's wonderful library. I am always-and above all-the Truth. To the weary
pilgrim, I am a good strong staff. To the one who sits in gloom, I am a glorious
light. To those who stoop beneath heavy burden, I am sweet rest. To him who has
lost his way, I am a safe guide. To those who have been hurt by sin, I am
healing balm. To the discouraged, I whisper glad messages of hope. To those who
are distressed by the storms of life, I am an anchor. To those who suffer in
lonely solitude, I am a cool, soft hand resting on a fevered brow O, child of
man, to best defend me, just use me! If you have not yet discovered that
wonderful book we call the Bible, it's time you did. In the words of Samuel to
Saul, "Stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the Word of
God" (1 Samuel 9:27). A Tool The best carpenter in the county was asked, "Which
is your best tool?" Instead of pointing to a costly power saw or drill, he
picked up a simple square and said, "This is the best tool; it makes all the
others work." Let us not overlook our best tool; the simple gospel (Romans
1:16). In this verse, Paul gives four reasons why the gospel is our most
effective weapon: First, it is power. The original word is similar to our word
for dynamite. Second, it is of God. Though Rome with her imperial power was
great, the power of God was greater. However sincere the motive, any alteration
or substitution of that power only weakens it. Third, it is unto salvation. In
addition to being a past event and a future hope, salvation is a present
reality. It can turn hate into love, despair into hope, and defeat into triumph.
Fourth, it is for everyone. The saving power of the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ is for all!

Reach REACH!-meaning "to stretch." It implies an inconvenience. It involves
movement. You can't lean back, relax, get comfortable-and then reach, without
giving up some of the comfort (at least for a moment). Reaching involves a
little extra effort to get to something you want. How much extra energy you are
willing to spend depends on how badly you want what you're reaching for. The
more it means to you, the farther you are willing to stretch (even if it hurts).
It's not convenient to "reach" up to God to find the hand He lovingly extends to
us; or to reach out to other people who so desperately need to know someone
cares. It's not even easy to reach within ourselves to find our true feelings
and values. But there is no more important way for us to spend our energy than
to reach for a life that is pure, clean, and faithful to God. It may seem like a
lot of trouble-but it's worth it!

Multitude A Christian traveler was once packing his suitcase when he remarked to
a friend, "Well, I still wish to pack a guidebook, a lamp, a mirror, a
telescope, a book of poems, a number of biographies, a bundle of letters, a hymn
book, a sharp sword, a small library containing 66 volumes...." "But," his
friend interrupted him, "you've only got about six inches left in one side of
your suitcase. How are you ever going to manage to get it all in?" The Christian
smiled and his eyes twinkled, "That will be very easy," he said. "You see, all I
have to do is put my Bible in the suitcase, for it is all the things that I have
mentioned."

Healing Some years ago a woman went to consult a famous New York physician about
her health. She was a woman of nervous temperament. She gave the doctor a list
of her symptoms and answered his questions, only to be astonished at his brief
prescription at the end: "Go home, and read your Bible an hour every day; then
come back to me a month from today." And he bowed her out before she could
protest. At first she was inclined to be angry; then she reflected that the
prescription was not an expensive one. She went home determined to read
conscientiously her neglected Bible. In a month she went back to the doctor's
office a different person, and asked him how he knew that was just what she
needed. For answer the physician turned to his desk. There, worn and marked, lay
an open Bible. "Madam," he said, "If I were to omit my daily reading of this
Book I would lose my greatest source of strength and skill."

Power A physician went to hear D. L. Moody. Although he had not thought of such
a result, he was converted. When asked the reason for his change of heart, he
said, "I went to hear Mr. Moody with no other idea than to have something to
laugh at. I knew he was no scholar, and I felt sure I could find many flaws in
his argument. But I found I could not get at the man. He stood there hiding
behind the Bible and just fired one Bible text after another at me till they
went home to my heart straight as bullets from a rifle. I tell you, Moody's
power is in the way he has his Bible at the tip of his tongue."

Doctrine and Interpretation A New York enthusiast had a good collection of
paintings, one of them being the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which hung over his
writing desk. For a long time he noticed that it persisted in hanging crooked
despite the fact that he straightened it every morning. At last he asked the
housekeeper if she was responsible for its lopsided position each morning that
he came to his office. "Why, yes," she said, "I have to hang it crooked to make
the tower hang straight." Does that sound strange? That is exactly how a lot of
people read the Bible. Many people twist the Word of God in order to justify
their own opinions or actions, or doctrine to make them all appear right. Let us
not twist the Scriptures to suit our own fancy. Let us be sure to hang the
picture right! The Wonder of the Bible The wonder of its formation-the way in
which it grew-one of the mysteries of time. The wonder of its unification-a
library of 66 books, yet one Book. The wonder of its age-the most ancient of all
books. The wonder of its sales-the best-seller of all time, far ahead of any
other book. The wonder of its interest-the only book in the world read by all
classes of people. The wonder of its language-written largely by uneducated men,
yet the best book from a literary standpoint. The wonder of its preservation-the
most hated of all books, yet it continues to exist!

Out of Tune Some years ago, musicians noted that errand boys in a certain part
of London all whistled out of tune as they went about their work. It was talked
about and someone suggested that it was because the bells of Westminster were
slightly out of tune. Something had gone wrong with the chimes and they were
discordant. The boys did not know there was anything wrong with the peals, and
quite unconsciously they had copied their pitch. So we tend to copy the people
with whom we associate; we borrow thoughts from the books we read and the
programs to which we listen, almost without knowing it. God has given us His
Word which is the absolute pitch of life and living. If we learn to sing by it,
we shall easily detect the false in all of the music of the world.

Palm Oil Fred W. Cropp, president of American Bible Society, received a letter
asking a question: "What do you recommend for keeping the leather on the back of
Bibles from getting stiff, cracking and peeling? The reply was, "There is one
oil that is especially good for treatment of leather on Bibles. In fact it will
insure your Bible will stay in good condition. It is not sold, but may be found
in the palm of the human hand."

Familiarize Yourself With Your Weapon-the Bible In spiritual warfare as in
physical warfare, the effectiveness of any weapon is directly proportionate to
the efficiency of the one operating it. For this reason, during a late, great
war, the U.S. Army assigned a new recruit one rifle which he kept throughout his
training. It was called his "piece," and it became a part of him. The recruit
handled the piece continually, disassembling and reassembling it. He cleaned it.
He conducted basic maintenance. He carried it 12 hours a day. When crossing
rivers or streams his head might have gotten wet, but his piece had to stay dry.
Six months later in the heat of battle, the soldier knew every inch of it-every
mechanism. He understood things that could malfunction and how to remedy them.
He could break it down and reassemble it in just seconds, blindfolded. Man and
weapon had become a synchronized and deadly, efficient fighting machine. The
spiritual warrior's proficiency with his basic weapons should be no less
remarkable. But quite sadly, if believers had to rely on their own Bible
familiarity in life and death situations, the majority would helplessly perish.
Who Is on Trial? There is no city in the world, perhaps, where the treasures of
art are more appreciated than Florence, Italy. It is told that an American
visitor to the Pitti Palace, after viewing some of the paintings there, said to
his guide: "Are these the great masterpieces that everyone tells me about? I
don't see much in them to arouse such enthusiasm." "It is not these paintings
that are on trial sir," the guide answered, "but it is you who view them." So it
is with the Word of God. Sometimes we run across scoffers, men who sneer at
divine revelation, who say that they cannot feel much enthusiasm about the
Bible. But the Bible is not on trial. Whether men believe it or not, it is the
Word of God, "which liveth and abideth forever" (1 Peter 1:23).

God's Laser Scientists have discovered a variety of uses for the laser beam. We
once thought it a design of science fiction. Now lasers are used for many
industrial, medical, navigational and communicative purposes. The difference
between lasers and a light from an ordinary bulb is direction. A regular bulb
diffuses light in all directions. A laser sends powerful parallel beams. God's
Word is like a laser. It can pierce into the very heart and soul of everyone on
earth. It can separate the soul from the spirit. It can discern the highest and
lowest thoughts. It can speak to our attitudes and intentions. Are you allowing
God's laser, His Word, to work in you? A Touch of His Presence It is said that
the Eastern shepherd, as he brings his sheep back to the fold each night, stands
at the door and counts each one. As he does so, he puts his hand on the head of
each animal. He makes a habit of touching each one of them. If he were to grow
careless and neglect to habitually touch his sheep, it would soon turn its head
away when it heard his voice! This, of course, could be very serious, for with
such a broken habit would follow the animal's actually ignoring the warning
shout from the shepherd and subsequently could be disastrous for the sheep. If
we are experiencing the Shepherd's touch daily in our lives, then we will
recognize His voice when He warns of impending danger. This will mean
"practicing His presence" daily. It we do not practice His presence then we have
probably been practicing the presence of our enemy. Our Lord awaits the moment
to "touch" our day with His presence.

Come On A little boy who for the first time saw the sign "Common," in Boston at
the entrance of the great park known as Boston Common, called out joyfully, "It
doesn't say, 'Keep Off the Grass'; it says, 'Comm on'!" The New Testament was
written in the common language of the people so that everybody could understand
that the great sign reads, "Come on!" Did the Jews Make a Mistake? A Hyde Park
orator was denouncing the feeble efforts of the Jews to resist the Roman
oppression in the first century of the Christian era, and suggested that if they
had appealed more to the sword and less to the sacred writings, they might have
fared much better. One in the crowd asked, "But where are the Romans today?"
"Nowhere," was the quick answer. "And where are the Jews today?" "Everywhere,"
was the sarcastic but true reply-to the evident appreciation of the hearers.

Reading for Eye Specialist Have you heard about the little fellow in their group
who was working diligently on his ABC Memory Book? He always looked like a
little professor. His mother took him to the eye specialist, who had the young
chap sit on the chair for examination. He placed the card with the letters on
the wall in front of him and said, "Will you read it for me, please?" Sure
enough, the boy did not hesitate for a moment and said distinctly, "A-All we
like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way."

How Men Hate and Fear the Bible Only one book is banned from the government
schools of America, though once it was in every classroom on the teachers' desks
and read daily to the students. Only one book is hated and feared by Communists,
humanists and other atheistic groups. They claim that it is only a book of myths
and legends, but they cannot tolerate it. A religious liberal years ago was
attacking the Bible in his weekly column in a local newspaper. He said that the
Bible was full of errors, contradictions, superstitions, folklore and mythology.
We requested permission from the newspaper to answer him week by week, line by
line. In our answer, we asked him why, if the Bible was only a man-made book of
legends, he could not let it alone. Why the weird bent to discredit it? When
10,000 Bibles were sent from America to the people of Romania, Communist
Director Nicolas Ceausescu accepted them in order to get favored-nation status
from the United States Congress. He then shipped them to a paper mill to be
recycled into toilet paper. They were so poorly recycled that Bible words such
as Esau, Jeremiah and God remained visible (Reader's Digest, July, 1990, p. 84).
The wicked Communist leader eventually met a horrible death as his regime was
toppled by the people he had persecuted. The anvil of God's Word had broken
another little human hammer that beat upon it. The enemies of God's Word will be
judged by the Word which they reject, despise and hate. The redeemed will be
saved by the Word which they accept and love.

You Gotta Look at It! A man was seated on a park bench when a little chap of
about five sat down beside him and started winding what appeared to be a most
prized possession-a watch. "My, what a pretty watch," remarked the man. "Does it
tell you the time?" "No sir," replied the boy; "you gotta look at it." God's
Truth is everywhere, but you must look for it and at it to see it. As People
Grow Wiser, They Talk Less and Say More Recently, 50 of America's leading
citizens selected the Bible as the number one piece of literature. America is
great today because our forebearers believed in this Book, and established the
foundation of our country upon its precepts. Most American presidents have been
ardent students of the Bible. The survival of our nation today, in this hour of
world crisis, will be due to the faith of our citizenry in the Bible, and in the
God of the Bible.

What They Said about the Bible "Make it the first morning business of your life
to understand some part of the Bible clearly, and make it your daily business to
obey it in all that you do understand"-John Ruskin. "I cannot too greatly
emphasize the importance and value of Bible study-more important than ever
before in these days of uncertainties, when men and women are apt to decide
questions from the standpoint of expediency rather than on the eternal
principles laid down by God Himself"-John Wanamaker. "It is impossible to
mentally or socially enslave a Bible reading people. The principles of the Bible
are the groundwork of human freedom"-Horace Greeley. "If I am asked what is the
remedy for deeper sorrows of the human heart, I must point to something which in
the well-known hymn is called "The old, old, story," told of an old, old Book
and taught with the old, old teaching which is the greatest and best guide ever
given to mankind"-William Ewart Gladstone.

Thoughts on America William Arthur Ward wrote these moving words: "I believe in
America. "I believe it became great because of its faith in God, its hope for
independence, and its love for freedom. "I am grateful for America's glorious
past; I am awed by its unbelievable present; I am confident of its limitless
future. "I am not ashamed to take my hat off and to stand at attention when Old
Glory passes by. I do not apologize for the lump in my throat when I repeat the
Pledge of Allegiance. I am not embarrassed by the tears in my eyes when I hear
'The Star Spangled Banner.' "Like millions of Americans, I want a free choice,
not a free handout. I prefer an opportunity to prove my abilities on the job
rather than a license to demonstrate my frustrations in the street. "I am an
old-fashioned American with a new-found determination to do my part to make
democracy work."

Missing the Point Orville and Wilbur Wright were excited. On December 17, 1903,
they had finally succeeded in keeping their homemade airplane in the air for 59
seconds. Immediately they rushed a telegram to their sister in Dayton, Ohio,
telling of this great accomplishment. The telegram read, "First sustained flight
today fifty-nine seconds. Hope to be home by Christmas." Upon receiving the news
the sister was so excited about the success that she rushed to the newspaper
office and gave the telegram to the editor. The next morning the newspaper
headline read, "Popular Local Bicycle Merchants To Be Home For Holidays." One of
the greatest stories of the twentieth century was missed because an editor
missed the point. But who has not made the same mistake in reading the
Scriptures? If one is too casual about it, he might learn some truth but miss
that which is most important. For years Charles Hodge has been saying, "Familiar
Scripture should be read more closely." That advice is well worth heeding, but
all Scripture should be read more closely to let the deep meaning sink into your
heart. The Book of Revelation is probably the least understood book of the
Bible. We have not been able to see the forest for the trees. We become so
entangled with living creatures, seals, horsemen, dragons, numbers, marks and
trumpets that we miss the point. Revelation is a book of imagination. It is
built with symbols and vivid imagery. But behind it all is a great truth. God is
ruling on His throne. He's in control. And Christians do not have to worry in
the midst of persecution and death. We have been given a vision of victory! Read
the Bible. Read it carefully. And don't miss the point. The Anvil Last eve,
someone passed beside a blacksmith's door, and heard the anvil ring the vesper
chime. Then looking in, he saw upon the floor old hammers, worn with beating
years of time. "How many anvils have you had," he asked, "to wear and batter all
these hammers so?" "Just one," said the blacksmith, and then added with
twinkling eye, "The anvil wears the hammers out, you know." Just so, the anvil
of God's Word, for ages skeptic blows have beat upon. Yet though the noise of
falling blows was heard, the anvil is unharmed-the hammer's gone! The Infallible
Chart A ship's mate once challenged a chaplain with the question, "How is it
that you are always talking to my men about Jesus Christ? Did you ever see Him?"
"No, I never did." "Then how can you tell a man to trust in someone you have
never seen? I can't see any sense in that." "Well," replied the chaplain, "when
you head for a place of refuge in a storm, what sense is there in telling your
men to let go the anchor when they cannot see the ground? On what principle do
you trust your ship and your life to ground you have never seen and never can
see?" "Oh," said the mate, "we go by our chart." "Exactly," replied the
chaplain, holding up his Bible, "and I, too, go by a chart, and it is an
infallible one, while yours is not. It tells me of the only sure ground of my
salvation-the atoning work of Christ upon the cross. My faith, like your anchor,
takes hold of this unseen but real ground, and so rides out the storm of life in
peace and safety." A New Heart A certain prisoner, most cunning and brutal, was
singularly repulsive even in comparison with other prisoners. He had been known
for his daring and for the utter absence of all feeling when committing acts of
violence. The chaplain had spoken to him several times but had not succeeded
even in getting an answer. The man was sullenly set against all instruction. At
last he expressed a desire for a certain book, but as it was not in the library
the chaplain pointed to the Bible which was placed in his cell, saying, "Did you
ever read that Book?" He gave no answer but looked at the good man as if he
would kill him. The question was kindly repeated, with the assurance that he
would find it well worth reading. "Mister," said the convict, "you would not ask
me such a question if you knew who I am. What have I to do with a book of that
sort?" The chaplain answered, "I know all about you and that's why I think the
Bible is the book for you." "It would do me no good," he cried. "I am past all
feeling." Doubling up his fist, he struck the iron door of the cell and said,
"My heart is as hard as that iron; there is nothing in any book that will ever
touch me." "Well," said the chaplain, "you want a new heart. Did you ever read
the covenant of grace?" To which the man answered sullenly by inquiring what he
meant by such talk. His friend replied, "Listen to these words: 'A new heart
also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you' " (Ezekiel 36:26).
The words struck the man with amazement. He asked to have the passage found for
him in the Bible. He read the words again and again; and when the chaplain came
back to him the next day, the wild beast was tamed. "Oh, sir," he said, "I never
dreamed of such a promise! I never believed it possible that God would speak in
such a way to men. If He gives me a new heart, it will be a miracle of mercy;
and yet I think He is going to work that miracle upon me, for the very hope of a
new nature is beginning to touch me as I never was touched before."

Misuse of Scripture A man who was fond of having his own way at home made sure
that he got it by constantly reminding his wife that the Bible said she was to
obey her husband. He made this an excuse for passing off on her any tasks he
found too distasteful for himself. She became a virtual slave to his comfort and
that of his relatives. He conveniently overlooked the biblical admonition to
husbands to give "honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel." His feeling
was that God had made him lord and master in his own home and he was exploiting
this prerogative to the fullest. We do not invoke Him and His Word to serve our
own ends.

Converted Convict A convict, dying of a loathsome disease in the Arizona State
Prison at Florence, was given a New Testament one day by a visiting prison
worker. He started to read it and became so convicted of sin that he hurled it
the length of the cell. When the Book landed on the floor, it fell open to the
First Epistle of John. A verse boldly outlined in red caught the angry convict's
eye. He stooped down to look at it, and this is what he read: "The blood of
Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." That message brought him to his
knees, crying out to God for forgiveness, for cleansing, for healing. He became
a new man in Christ Jesus. He started a Bible class for the convicts, and in
time secured an unconditional pardon from the Governor of Arizona. The
governor's pardon freed him from prison, but the pardon the Lord gave brought
him purity of spirit, soul, and body, and through him brought many others into
the Kingdom. The Law of Moses An unbeliever of acute mind sought an acquaintance
with the truth of the Bible and began to read the Book of Genesis. When he had
reached the Ten Commandments, he said to a friend, "I will tell you what I used
to think. I supposed that Moses was the leader of a horde of bandits; that,
having a strong mind, he acquired great influence over superstition, that the
exhibition was supernatural. I have been looking into the nature of that law. I
have been trying to see whether I can add anything to it or take anything from
it, so as to make it better. Sir, I cannot. It is perfect. "The first
commandment directs us to make the Creator the object of our supreme love and
reverence. That is right. If He be our Creator, Preserver, and Supreme
Benefactor, we ought to treat Him and none other as such. The second forbids
idolatry-that certainly is right. The third forbids profanity. The fourth fixes
a time for religious worship. If there be a God, He surely ought to be
worshiped. It is suitable that there should be an outward homage, significant of
our inward regard. If God be worshiped, it is proper that some time should be
set apart for that purpose when all may worship harmoniously and without
interruption. One day in seven is certainly not too much, and I do not know that
it is too little. The fifth defines the peculiar duties arising from family
relations. Injuries to our neighbor are then classified by the moral law. They
are divided into offenses against life, chastity, property, and character; and I
notice that the greatest offense in each class is expressly forbidden. Thus the
greatest injury to life is murder; to chastity, adultery; to property, theft; to
character, perjury. Now, the greater offense must include the less of the same
kind. Murder must include every injury to life; adultery, every injury to
purity; and so of the rest. This moral code is then closed and perfected by a
command forbidding every improper desire in regard to our neighbors. I have been
thinking, where did Moses get the Law? "I have read history. The Egyptians and
the adjacent nations were idolaters; so were the Greeks and Romans; the wisest
and best Greeks or Romans never gave a code of morals like this. Where did Moses
get that law which surpasses the wisdom and philosophy of the most enlightened
ages? He lived at a period comparatively barbarous; but he has given a law in
which the learning and sagacity of all subsequent time can detect no flaw. Where
did he get it? He could not have soared so far above his age as to have devised
it himself. I am satisfied where he obtained it. It came down from heaven. I am
convinced of the truth of the religion of the Bible." The Holy Spirit as Teacher
A young woman who was soundly converted immediately began to read her Bible. One
who disbelieved the Scriptures and took delight in ridiculing them asked her,
"Why do you spend so much time reading a book like that?" "Because it's the Word
of God," replied the girl. "Nonsense! Who told you that?" scornfully asked the
unbeliever. After a moment's silence the girl asked, "Who told you there's a sun
in the sky?" "Nobody," replied the scoffer; "I don't need anybody to tell me.
The sun tells me." "Yes," said the girl in triumph, "and that's the way God
tells me about His Word. I feel His warmth and sense His presence as I read His
wonderful word!"

Dig into the Word The Gospel hidden in mystery should arouse our best and most
active faculties. That is why we are commanded to search the Scripture, not
simply to read it. It is the great repository of all the truths and mysteries of
our faith. It is a rich mine that we ought to dig into and shall never exhaust.
Just as gold and diamonds and most other precious stones and metals lie
concealed in the depths of the earth, so the most valued things of revelation
are concealed by the great Creator and Redeemer from the common view of the
world. Only as this mystery stimulates us to dig into the Word shall we unearth
the treasures that God has there for us. The Truthful Barometer A young farmer
in North Dakota brought home a fancy barometer for which he paid $24.65. In the
following days he watched it avidly as it predicted the weather. On one of the
walls of his home it hung in an honored place. But the day came when for three
days it predicted "storm" while the sky was turquoise and clear. So he took it
off the wall and back to town where he demanded his money back. Returning home,
he and his wife became alarmed when they saw evidence of a storm ten miles out.
When they turned in their yard, their home had blown away. The furniture was up
in the apple trees, and the bathtub three blocks away in a pasture. But the
grandmother had believed the barometer, and when a dark cloud appeared she took
the two small children and went to the shelter in the old storm cellar, long
unused, and they were saved.

God's Eye Salve By the aid of that most perfect scientific instrument, the
ophthalmoscope, with its condensing mirror and myriad of little lenses, the
ophthalmologist can look into a person's eye and not only determine
approximately the necessary strength of glass required to give perfect vision,
but also the existence of tumors pressing on the brain tissue, the condition of
the general nervous system, the presence of disease in various organs, and the
richness of the blood current as they are clearly traced on the sensitive plate
of nature's camera. What the ophthalmoscope is to the ophthalmologist,
revelation from Scripture is to our higher nature-a test and criticism of
supreme value. One of the ways by which we can prevent the darkening of our
spiritual eyesight is to look daily at the Word of God so that the Word may
become the mirror to which we are exposed. "The Word of God is quick, and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). If we wish to see clearly, we
must test and purge our vision. Here is the radical cure for spiritual cataracts
and color blindness. To see truly we must see life in God's light. After the
dust and fog and mirage of a day that we have lived in our town or city, it is a
wonderful restorative to cleanse the eyes with the eye salve of the Word of God.

Glorious Conversion In the spring of a.d. 372, a young man in great distress of
mind flung himself on the ground and burst into tears. The sins of his youth
weighed heavily on his soul. Overhearing a chance conversation from a
neighboring house, he was led to read the thirteenth chapter of Romans, and as a
result was gloriously converted. In the language of Gaussen, "Jesus had
conquered, and the grand career of Augustine, the holiest of the fathers, then
commenced. A passage of God's Word had kindled that glorious luminary, which was
to enlighten the Church for ten centuries ... even to this present day. After
thirty-one years of revolt, combats and misery-faith, life and eternal peace
came to this erring soul; a new day, an eternal day, came upon it."

Sunshine and Dust A young girl after sweeping the room, went to the window shade
and hastily drew it down, saying, "It makes the room so dusty to have the
sunshine coming in." She foolishly imagined that it was the sunshine which made
the dust whereas it only revealed it.

Must You See to Believe? A skeptical young man confronted an old Quaker with the
statement that he did not believe the Bible. The Quaker said, "Dost thou believe
in France?" "Yes, though I have not seen it, I have seen others that have;
besides there is plenty of corroborative evidence that such a country exists."
"Then you will not believe anything you or others have not seen?" "No, to be
sure I won't." "Did you ever see your own brains?" "No." "Ever see anybody that
did?" "No." "Do you then believe you have any?"

Good Advice A young theological student came to Spurgeon to tell him that the
Bible contained some verses which he could not understand and about which he was
very much worried. To this the great English preacher replied, "Young man, allow
me to give you a word of advice. You must expect God to know some things which
you do not understand." Your Book Is Good A Brahmin said to a missionary: "We
are finding you out. You are not as good as your Book. If you were as good as
your Book, you could conquer India for Christ in five years." Scripture reveals
the truth and sheds light on our shortcomings. The Converted Skeptic Two
unbelievers once sat in a railroad train discussing Christ's wonderful life.
Even non-Christians cannot escape thinking of Christ. One said, "I think an
interesting romance could be written about Him." The other replied, "You are
just the man to write it. Set forth the correct view of His life and character.
Tear down the prevailing sentiment as to His divinity and paint Him as He was-a
man among men." The suggestion was acted upon and the romance was written. The
man who made the suggestion was Colonel Ingersoll; the author was General Lew
Wallace, and the book was Ben Hur. In the process of constructing it, General
Wallace found himself facing the unaccountable Man. The more he studied His life
and character, the more profoundly he was convinced that He was more than a man
among men; until at length, like the centurion under the cross, he was
constrained to cry, "Verily, this was the Son of God." That's exactly the
testimony of John the Baptist. He says, "The one coming after me, has been
before me, because he was first compared with me." He was and is God. When that
is accepted, then there is no difficulty in understanding either His character
or His miraculous works.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 5: CHRIST
========================================================================

Christ

Incomparable Carpenter Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for
40 and Jesus for only 3 1/2 years. Yet the influence of Christ's ministry
infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined years of teaching from
these greatest of philosophers. Jesus painted no pictures, yet some of the
finest artists such as Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received
their inspiration from Him. Jesus wrote no poetry, but Dante, Milton and scores
of the world's greatest poets were inspired by Him. Jesus composed no music;
still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach and Mendelssohn reached their highest
perfection of melody in the music they composed in His praise. Every sphere of
human greatness has been enriched by this humble Carpenter of Nazareth. Would
You? Once there was a well-trained carpenter who never asked for union wages;
who never owned a home that he could call his very own; a brilliant young
teacher who never asked for an increase in salary; a great physician who healed
the sick and afflicted and never asked whether they had Medicare or insurance; a
good neighbor who always tried to show His love and was never unfriendly. He
traveled all over the country trying to help somebody everywhere He went; and
often fed large numbers of people when He found them hungry whether they had
money or not. He was so wrapped up in trying to help people that He often wept
over their pitiful condition. Yet, they crucified Him, and some of the very
people He tried to help joined the senseless mob who mocked Him and spit in His
face!

He Gave Up His Place When the government phased out its surplus commodity food
program, one man went early to the last distribution to secure a place in line
before the foodstuffs ran out. A few hours later, he was near the door where the
cheese, butter, dry milk and peanut butter were handed out. He saw a friend
walking by and called him by name. He knew the man. Neither his wife nor he had
any work for some time. They had four children. The man confirmed that his
prospects were poor. The man in line knew the food would run out soon, but he
told the unemployed family man to take his place in the line. The poor man did
so and the other went back to the end of the line. Within a short time the
distribution ended and the one who gave up his place had also given up his food.
This is like Jesus Christ, who drew us into His place, while He stepped in ours,
taking upon Himself all the consequences of our failures.

Wounded for Me During World War I the Prince of Wales visited 36 severely
wounded men in a hospital in the outskirts of London. The Prince and his escorts
went through the main ward and shook hands with most of them. As preparations
were made to leave, the Prince indicated that he had only seen 30 men. "Where
are the other six?" Although he was informed that the six others were extremely
severe cases and in a different section of the ward, the special visitor
demanded to see the others. Five other maimed and bruised men were viewed. "But
where's the last one?" again the Prince inquired. Although the Prince was told
that the grotesqueness of the man's appearance would be unbearable, the Prince
insisted on seeing him. The Prince stood silent for a moment, and then moved
toward the man and stooping down, kissed him! With a breaking voice the Prince
of Wales was heard to say, "Wounded for me." "But He was wounded for our
transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace
was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

Anxieties Like Iron Filings Joel C. Gregory recalls that when he was in junior
high, "we did an experiment with iron filings on a piece of paper. When we
poured the filings on the paper they fell into a disheveled pile. Then we put a
magnet under the paper and, as if by magic, the iron filings lined up... and
followed the magnet's shape and force of direction." All our anxieties are like
so many iron filings poured out on the surface of our lives. Jesus says, "Put My
presence and My kingdom underneath your life, see Me as a habit, and you'll find
that your worries will line up and take My shape." The greater gift is given,
and the lesser ones will be taken care of." That's His promise, and our choice.

Backsliders Do Not Bid Jesus Goodbye Mr. Moody once said, "A rule I have had for
years is to treat the Lord Jesus Christ as a personal friend. When I go away
from home I bid my wife and children goodbye; I bid my friends and acquaintances
goodbye, but I never heard of a poor backslider going down on his knees and
saying, 'I have been near you for ten years; your service has become tedious and
monotonous; I have come to bid you farewell. Goodbye, Lord Jesus Christ.'I never
heard of one doing this. I will tell you how they go: they just run away!"




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 6: CHRIST: HIS DEITY
========================================================================

Christ: His Deity The Seamless Robe There is one item in the account of the
crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that is seldom, if ever,
referred to in any depth, namely, His seamless robe. In John's Gospel it says,
"...the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout" (John 19:23). In
the Bible, garments speak of conduct or of a display of character. A good
example is "be clothed with humility" (1 Peter 5:5). What precious truths about
Jesus can we learn as seen in His seamless robe? Our Lord was flawless and
absolutely beyond reproach in His character. He is "holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens" (Hebrews 7:26). There
is no seam dividing His meekness from His anger, His gentleness from His
firmness. His authority from His winsomeness, or His mercy from His sincerity.
He is uniquely beautiful in His character. The robe is all one piece! We see Him
compassionate, but inflexible; full of truth, yet full of grace; come to save,
yet come for judgment; eating in the upper room, yet sitting at the table with
publicans and sinners. All is done with uniform consistency. Nothing is ever out
of perspective. Power is without pride, knowledge is without superiority, and
authority is without arrogance. Yes, His robe is woven on the loom of eternity.
John last saw that seamless robe in the hands of gamblers near the cross. How he
must have been stirred when he was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and saw Jesus
"clothed with a garment down to the foot" with the name upon it "KING OF KINGS,
AND LORD OF LORDS" (Revelation 1:13, Revelation 19:16). As we, His redeemed, are
"clothed ...with the garments of salvation" and covered "with the robe of
righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10), let us fall at His feet during this time of
resurrection remembrance to worship, praise, and cry out to God for an
experience of "the power of His resurrection" in order that we might be genuine
reflectors of the wondrous character of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Birth of
Christ An artist once drew a picture of a wintry twilight, the trees heavily
laden with snow, and a dreary dark house, lonely and desolate, in the midst of
the storm. It was a sad picture indeed. Then, with a quick stroke of yellow
crayon, he put a light in one window. The effect was magical. The entire scene
was transformed into a vision of comfort and good cheer. The birth of Christ was
just such a light in a dark world. Remember the words of John William Hart: "In
Him was life; and the life was the light of men." That Light is more than enough
to lend comfort and direction to your life!

Christianity and Its Three Great Pillars The Reverend Charles H. Spurgeon once
said, "Christianity rests on three great pillars, the Incarnation, the
Crucifixion, and the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Incarnation alone
could not redeem sinful men. But apart from the Incarnation there could be no
propitiatory sacrifice that would avail to put away sin. God became man in order
to die. We cannot, therefore, make too much of the mystery of the union of the
human and the divine in Him who was both Son of God and Son of Mary. In Him we
have the Daysman for whom the patriarch Job longed, one who can lay His hand
upon both God and man (Job 9:33) because He combines the natures of both in one
glorious Person. Bethlehem, Calvary, and the empty tomb, all alike should stir
our souls and draw our hearts out to God in wonder, love, and praise. Our
Matchless Christ To many, Jesus Christ is only a grand subject for a painting, a
heroic theme for a pen, a beautiful form for a statue, and a thought for a song;
but to those who have heard His voice, who have felt His pardon, who have
received His benediction, He is music, warmth, light, joy, hope and salvation, a
Friend who never forsakes, who lifts us when others try to push us down. We
cannot wear Him out; we pile on Him all our griefs and troubles. He is always
ready to lift us; He addresses us with the same love; He beams upon us with the
same smile; He pities us with the same compassion. There is no name like His. It
is more inspiring than Caesar's, more musical than Beethoven's, more patient
than Lincoln's. The name of Jesus throbs with all life, weeps with all pathos,
groans with all pains, stoops with all love. Its breath is laden with perfume.
Who like Jesus can pity a homeless orphan? Who like Jesus can welcome a prodigal
back home? Who like Jesus can make a drunkard sober? Who like Jesus can
illuminate a cemetery plowed with graves? Who like Jesus can make a queen unto
God out of a lost woman of the street? Who like Jesus can catch the tears of
human sorrow in His bowl? There is no metaphor with which to truly express
Jesus. He is not like the bursting forth of an orchestra; that is too loud and
it may be out of tune. He is not like the sea when lashed into a rage by a
storm; that is too boisterous. He is not like a mountain wreathed in lightning,
canopied with snow; that is too solitary and remote. He is the Lily of the
Valley, the Rose of Sharon, a gale of spices from heaven. The Brightness of His
Glory Jesus Christ, by His constant designation as the Son, must not be
considered as belonging within time and space. Take as an illustration the sun
and its rays. Does the radiance of the sun proceed from the substance of the sun
itself or from some other source? We all know that it proceeds from the
substance itself. Yet, though the radiance proceeds from the sun itself, we
cannot say that it is later in point of time than the existence of that body,
since the sun has never appeared without its rays. It is for this reason, says
Chrysostom, that Paul calls Christ "brightness" (Hebrews 1:3), setting forth
thereby His being and His eternity from God. The fact that Jesus Christ, the
Word, is presented as a separate personality from God the Father does not mean
that He is less eternal, less infinite, and therefore less God and less
responsible for the creation of the world, than God the Father.

Christ, the God-Man A professor of theology once asked his students to get a
sheet of paper and divide it into three columns. In the first column they were
to write every passage where Christ is spoken of as God-Man; in the second
column all the passages where Christ is spoken of as God alone; and in the
third, all the passages where Christ is spoken of as man alone. The papers were
badly balanced. The first and second columns filled right up, but as to the
third column, no one found a passage speaking of Christ as man alone. There just
is no such passage.

Christ, the Mirror of Deity In the Rospigliosi Palace in Rome is Guido Reni's
famous fresco, "The Aurora," a work unequalled in that period for nobility of
line and poetry of color. It is painted on a lofty ceiling, and as you stand on
the pavement and look up at it, your neck stiffens, your head grows dizzy, and
the figures become hazy and indistinct. Therefore the owner of the palace has
placed a broad mirror near the floor. In it the picture is reflected and you can
sit down before it and study the wonderful work in comfort. Jesus Christ does
just that for us when we try to get some notion of God. He is the mirror of
Deity. He is the express image of God's person. The Creator before the Creature
When you say to a child, "Give me a glass," he knows what you are talking about.
The word "glass" is associated in his mind with an object. Philosophers like
Kant tell us that before we have the phenomenon, i.e., that which can be seen or
felt by the senses, we have the noumenon, i.e., that which is conceived of by
intellectual intuition. In other words, the object's image is first formed in
the mind, and then it is produced as an object. We see a table. It is beautiful.
We admire it, but more than that, we accept the fact that behind that object
there was a concept in the mind of someone. Or consider the Empire State
Building. Before it was erected, it took form in the mind of an architect who
transferred his thoughts to paper as a blueprint. Only then could the building
be put up for everybody to see. John tells us that Jesus Christ existed before
the beginning of the world. The Creator was before the creature. A Difficult
Question A Jewish soldier had been attending services where he heard of the
character and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. He went to his rabbi and said,
"Rabbi, the Christians say that the 'Christ' has already come, while we claim He
is yet to come." "Yes," assented the rabbi. "Well," asked the young soldier,
"when our Christ comes, what more than Jesus Christ can we expect?" What,
indeed, since Jesus Christ was fully God?

Glory with the Father To recognize all that lies within another person, you must
possess as much or more. A layman cannot possibly appreciate all the qualities
and recognize all the abilities of a medical doctor. It takes a medical doctor
of equal stature to recognize them. That is why, before a person is permitted to
practice medicine, he is submitted to a professional state examination. In a
similar way, only God the Father could recognize and appreciate all that was in
God the Son. Jesus Christ could not find that recognition while here on earth
among men and will never be fully recognized and appreciated by mortal man.

Immanuel, God with Us Count Zinzendorf, the founder of the Moravians, was
converted in an art gallery in Dusseldorf while contemplating a painting of
Christ on the cross which had the inscription, "I did this for thee. What hast
thou done for me?" This picture had been painted by an artist three hundred
years before. When he had finished his first sketch of the face of the Redeemer,
this artist called in his landlady's little daughter and asked her who she
thought it was. The girl looked at it and said, "It is a good man." The painter
knew that he had failed. He destroyed the first sketch and, after praying for
greater skill, finished a second. Again he called the little girl in and asked
her to tell him whom she thought the face represented. This time the girl said
that she thought it looked like a great sufferer. Again the painter knew that he
had failed, and again he destroyed the sketch he had made. After meditation and
prayer, he made a third sketch. When it was finished, he called the girl in a
third time and asked her who it was. Looking at the portrait, the girl
exclaimed, "It is the Lord!" That alone makes the coming of Christ meaningful to
the world-not that a good man came, not that a wise teacher came, not that a
great sufferer came, but that God came-Immanuel, God with us. The
Incomprehensible Christ In a company of literary gentle-men, Daniel Webster was
asked if he could comprehend how Jesus Christ could be both God and man. "No,
sir," he replied, and added, "I should be ashamed to acknowledge Him as my
Savior if I could comprehend Him. If I could comprehend Him, He could be no
greater than myself. Such is my sense of sin, and consciousness of my inability
to save myself, that I feel I need a superhuman Savior, one so great and
glorious that I cannot comprehend Him."

Jesus Christ Is God "I know men," said Napoleon in exile on the island of St.
Helena to Count Montholon, "I know men, and I tell you that Jesus was not a man!
The religion of Christ is a mystery, which subsists by its own force, and
proceeds from a mind which is not a human mind. We find in it a marked
individuality which originated a train of words and actions unknown before.
Jesus is not a philosopher, for His proofs are miracles, and from the first His
disciples adored Him. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires
but on what foundation did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus
Christ founded an empire upon love, and at this hour millions of men would die
for Him. I die before my time, and my body will be given back to the earth, to
become food for worms. Such is the fate of him who has been called the great
Napoleon. What an abyss between my deep misery and the eternal kingdom of
Christ, which is proclaimed, loved, and adored, and is extending over the whole
earth!" And turning to General Bertrand, the Emperor added, "If you do not
perceive that Jesus Christ was God, I did wrong to appoint you general!"

One with the Father A Chinese Christian woman was preaching Christ to the
scholar of a market town. He heard her courteously and after a little while
said, "Madam, you speak well, but why do you dwell on Jesus Christ? Let Him
alone. Instead of Jesus Christ, tell us about God." Whereupon she replied,
"What, sir, should we know about God if it were not for Jesus Christ?" How true,
and this is precisely the meaning of the second clause of John 1:18.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 7: CHRIST: THE FOUNDATION
========================================================================

Christ: The Foundation The Touchstone A painter of landscape scenes always kept
in front of him on his easel a number of precious stones-emerald, sapphire,
ruby. Asked why, he replied, "To help me keep my colors true. In course of time,
without some constant reference, my eye might lose its perception of color
tones, and the colors I choose may not be right, may not be what they once
were." So it is with us, in the requirements of our ongoing life. Lest we wander
astray, we need occasional exposure to some unchanging and unfading standard.
Unless we are in touch with some constant reference, we can deviate and scarcely
know it. We need some touchstone to test ourselves by, one that is worthy of
what life is, one by which our lifetones can be safely set-the only perfect
unchanging Lord.

Christ, the Cornerstone In Mark 12, Christ calls Himself the measuring stone,
or, as it is translated in our Bibles, the cornerstone. The cornerstone, in the
minds of most Americans, is the stone that tells that a building was erected at
a certain time, when a certain person was mayor, and so on. It is merely an
exaltation of man. But when the Bible refers to a cornerstone, it refers to the
first stone laid for the foundation. The builders would get a stone from the
quarry and chisel it carefully to get as near a right angle as possible. They
would measure the placement of all the other stones against that cornerstone,
that first measuring stone. It was the standard by which all the walls of the
building were determined. When Jesus Christ is called the cornerstone, God is
saying, "I measure everything by Jesus Christ."

How Hard One Strikes Depends on One's Foundation A short man wanted to drive a
nail in a wall to carry a big picture. He stood on a chair, but it was not high
enough. His wife set out a small box and, balancing himself precariously, he
began to give the nail hesitating taps with the hammer. His wife said, "Why
don't you give a brave blow or two, and settle it?" He replied, "How can a man
give a brave blow or two when he is standing on a foundation like this?" That
settles the question of certainty or uncertainty. It depends upon the foundation
upon which the person is standing. The Hebrew prophets never sounded a note of
uncertainty, for God Almighty was their Foundation, and they knew that He stood
behind their "Thus saith the Lord."

Focus on Christ When we seek to win others to Christ, we must never think we
possess any power in ourselves or lead others to believe we do through any air
of superiority or lightness as we proclaim the gospel. We would do well to heed
the advice of Dr. Payson, who said, "Paint Jesus Christ upon your canvas, and
then hold Him up to the people; but hold Him up so that not even your little
finger can be seen."

Nothing But Christ Alexander Maclaren stated: "Paul felt that, if he was to give
the Corinthians what they needed, he must refuse to give them what they wanted,
and while he crossed their wishes he was consulting their necessities.... In the
message of Christ and Him crucified, there lies the satisfaction of all that is
legitimate in those desires that at first sight it seems to thwart. Paul
determined to know nothing but Jesus, and to know everything in Jesus, and Jesus
in everything. Do not begin your building at the second floor windows. Put in
your foundations first and be sure that they are well laid. Let the sacrifice of
Christ in its application to the individual and his sins be ever the basis of
all that you say. Then, when that foundation is laid, exhibit to your heart's
content the application of Christianity and its social aspects. But be sure that
the beginning of them all is the work of Christ for the individual sinful soul,
and the acceptance of that work by personal faith."

Good Foundation Necessary Tourists stand in wondering admiration before some of
the palaces of the old world that have endured for more than a thousand years
without a crack or seam. The Pantheon at Rome stands just as it did well over
two thousand years ago. This would be impossible had not its foundations been
right. The Rialto Bridge that spans the Grand Canal in Venice was erected in
a.d. 1588. It has stood as it now stands for over four centuries, but that
bridge rests on twelve thousand piles driven deeply into the soil. What is true
of buildings is also true of life. God cannot and will not build the Christian
virtues into your life, or fill you with the Holy Spirit for His service, until
the proper foundation of receiving Christ and Him crucified as your Savior and
Lord has been laid.

First Consideration An architect is a master builder. He conceives of a building
in its totality. However, he realizes that his first consideration must be the
ground on which it is to stand; it must have a solid foundation. Of course, no
one can live in a house that consists only of its foundation. A superstructure
is needed. But without a proper foundation the superstructure will not stand.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 8: CHRIST: HIS POWER
========================================================================

Christ: His Power

Christ Comes to Puerto Rico At a meeting where someone attacked missionary work,
a Jewish gentleman asked if he might say a few words. "A few years ago," he
began, "my bank sent me to make some studies of a place in Puerto Rico. It was
the worst, the dirtiest city imaginable. It was a real hell. Two years ago I
went back to that same city-it was entirely new. The change was unbelievable.
The houses, the streets were all so clean. The taverns had gone out of
existence! What had happened, I wondered. Did they elect a new mayor? Was the
place invaded by new educators? No. A Christian missionary had come to work
among them and teach them about Christ. I went and found this missionary and
gave him a generous gift for his work. I saw with my own eyes what Christ can do
in just a short time."

Christ, the Master Builder Agostino d'Antonio, a sculptor of Florence, wrought
diligently but unsuccessfully on a large piece of marble. "I can do nothing with
it," he finally said. Other sculptors tried their hand at it, but they too gave
up the task. The stone lay on a rubbish heap for forty years. Out strolling one
day, Michelangelo saw the stone and its latent possibilities and ordered it
brought to his studio. He began to work upon it, and ultimately his vision and
work were crowned with success. From that seemingly worthless stone he carved
one of the world's masterpieces of sculpture-David! The secret lay in
Michelangelo, not in the stone. Look at life-your own with all its
disappointments, and the lives of others with all that God has accomplished in
them or all that He is able to accomplish. Expect Him to produce a masterpiece
because you know the quality of the work of the Master Builder, Christ.

Held by Christ A minister traveling on a train in Europe was the sole occupant
of a compartment, save for a young man reading a newspaper. The youth was also a
Christian, but so weak was his faith, and so many were his temptations, that he
told the minister he did not think he would be able to stand life a week longer.
The minister took from his pocket a Bible and a penknife and said, "See, I will
make this penknife stand up on the cover of this Bible, in spite of the rocking
of the train." The young man, thinking that this was some conjuring trick,
watched the proceeding with interest, saying, "I am afraid that it will not be
very easy to do that , sir." "But," said the minister, "I am doing it." "Oh, but
you are holding it," retorted his fellow passenger. "Why of course. Did you ever
hear of a penknife standing up on its end without being held up?" "I see," was
the young man's comment. "I see you mean to teach me that I cannot stand unless
Christ holds me. Thank you for reminding me of that." The Source of Life It is
said that Tennyson was walking one day in a beautiful flower garden when a
friend said to him, "Mr. Tennyson, you speak so often of Jesus Christ. Will you
tell me what Christ really means to your life?" Tennyson stooped and pointing to
a beautiful yellow flower said, "What the sun is to the flower, Jesus Christ is
to my soul."

Weakness Becomes Strength In front of the great Cathedral of Amiens stands a
statue of Jesus Christ, and on either side His twelve apostles. Below them are
written their greatest virtues, in contrast to their greatest vices. In Peter's
case, his outstanding quality is his courage, but below it you see a figure of
Peter fleeing from a leopard, representing his cowardice. Then beneath that you
see the same figure sitting on a leopard and riding forth to conquest. The
sculptor wished to teach us that by contact with the Lord Jesus Christ that very
thing which is a man's weakness can be transfigured into his strength; that very
thing from which he fled can become the glorious chariot on which he rides
forward, conquering and to conquer.

Jesus' Authority In a football game, the power of big, strong, muscular men is
ruled by a man with a striped shirt and a whistle. The referee alone has
ultimate authority in the game. He alone has the power to stop the game and even
throw rebellious players off the field. That's the type of authority Jesus
claims for Himself. In spite of Satan's attempts to control the universe and the
affairs of men, Jesus wears the striped shirt and carries the whistle. He
controls the field of play. If we are going to accomplish His mission, we must
operate under His authority. In the Hands of a Champion One man used to play
tennis quite a lot. He wasn't very good, but he was always open to anything that
could help him. One day he was watching a match on TV, and saw a commercial
advertising the Wilson T-2000 metal racquet. It showed Jimmy Connors making a
lot of fancy shots while a hidden narrator said, "If the Wilson T-2000 could win
Wimbledon and Forest Hills, it could certainly handle my little matches." So he
played with one all that summer. And he lost all summer. That racquet didn't do
anything for him. The truth is, the Wilson T-2000 didn't win Wimbledon or Forest
Hills. Jimmy Connors did-using the Wilson T-2000. When the fans walked away from
the match that day, they didn't talk about what a great racquet the Wilson
T-2000 was; they talked about what a great player Jimmy Connors was. And the
prize check was made out to Jimmy Connors and not to you-know-what. Now in
tennis, a racquet is essential-but it isn't the racquet that wins. It's the
champion who wins, using the racquet. In the doing of works and greater works,
Jesus is the champion and we are the racquet in His hands.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 9: CHRIST: HIS REJECTION
========================================================================

Christ: His Rejection The Humble Christ It is related how the need of the West
Indian slaves was presented to the Moravians. The Moravians were told that it
was impossible to reach the slave population because they were so separated from
the ruling classes. Undaunted, two Moravian missionaries offered themselves as
candidates. They said, "We will go and be slaves on the plantations and work and
toil if need be under the lash, to get right beside the poor slaves and instruct
them." They left their homes, went to the West Indies, went to work on the
plantations as slaves and by the side of slaves, to get close to the hearts of
slaves. The slaves heard them, and their hearts were touched, because the
missionaries had humbled themselves to their condition. That was grand; it was
glorious. Yet Christ's example was more glorious, for He stepped down from
heaven to earth to get close to our side. He Himself came beside us that we
might feel the throbbings of His bosom, be encircled in the embrace of His
loving arms, be drawn to Him, and hear Him whisper in our ears, "God is full of
grace and truth."

Light Dispels Darkness No one switches on a flashlight in an area flooded by
direct sunlight. We put on the light in order to dispel darkness. It is the
darkness that makes the light necessary. God from eternity knew that men would
choose darkness rather than light, and therefore He had to bring His light in
Jesus Christ to shine in the midst of darkness. No Mistake in Judgment A young
man who graduated from West Point said that so much tension and anxiety built up
with regard to final examinations that the best scholar in his class fainted at
the first question asked him. He felt that his standing in his chosen profession
was at stake, that his future position depended on the manner in which he
acquitted himself. If the loss or gain of a little worldly distinction could so
move a man, what will be the feeling of the soul when it stands alone at the bar
of God? West Point honors are but for the little moment of time here, but the
results of this final examination are for eternity. There are often mistakes
made in worldly judgment, but there will be no mistakes made at the judgment
seat of Christ. Not Welcome A young nobleman had been absent for such a long
time from his extensive estate and numerous tenants that he was a stranger to
them. Having returned home, he was out hunting and wandered from his party. Lost
and thoroughly drenched by the rain, he sought shelter and relief in the
cottages of some of his tenants, but they did not recognize him as the lord of
the manor and shut their doors in his face. Knocking at the cottage of a poor
widow, he heard the invitation, "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord." She gave
him a suit of dry, though coarse, clothing and spread before him the best food
she could provide. He went away promising to return for his own clothes. The
next day he appeared with his retinue and stopped before the poor widow's door.
She discovered in the young lord her unknown guest. He thanked her for her
kindness shown to a stranger. She gave as a reason for her hospitality the fact
that her own boy was away at sea and might be in need of shelter. When Christ
came, He was surrounded by the world He had made. Yet Christ had nowhere to lay
His head, for "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." The Right
Doctor A young foreign nobleman came across the English Channel to consult the
great English physician, Dr. Forbes Winslow. "Doctor," he said, "I do not know
what is the matter with me. I cannot sleep-I am troubled night and day on
account of my sins." "Oh," said the doctor, "you are seeking the help of the
wrong physician," and instead of his Materia Medica, he took down his Bible and
read from the 53rd chapter of Isaiah: "But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace
was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." He knelt in prayer with the
nobleman, who went back to his home rejoicing in salvation. The Savior's Grief
Evangelist Gypsy Smith said that once, when a group of gypsies were forced to
cross a swollen stream, a great number of men were drowned. One young man made a
desperate attempt to save his mother who kept clinging to him. Several times he
pushed her away, saying, "Let go, Mother, and I can save you." But she would not
heed him and was lost. At the funeral, the son stood by his mother's grave and
said over and over, "How hard I tried to save you, Mother, but you wouldn't let
me!" These are the tragic words that we shall hear Jesus Christ say to many in
eternity one day, "How hard I tried to save you, but you wouldn't let me. Your
will was the great hindrance."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 10: CHRIST: HIS UNIQUENESS
========================================================================

Christ: His Uniqueness A Baby with a Message A six-year-old tiptoed softly up to
the little low crib where one of this world's very latest hopes was lying
throned and swathed in the coverlets that love had sewn for its coming. Big
brother's face was gravely intent, his eyes bright and shining. He stooped far
over and gazed down at that wrinkled, peevish bit of a face. "Now, baby
brother," he whispered into one tiny red ear half hid by the clustering black
hair, "tell me about God before you forget." The brother thought that the tiny
baby had a message from God. There was one Baby who did. He was born in
Bethlehem. But His existence did not begin at the time of His physical birth. He
had a message for us from God the Father. It is found in the old familiar words
of John 3:16. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." A
Birthday Never Forgotten How many people celebrate your birth? When a prince is
born, there is usually a big national celebration. But when a child is born into
a poor family, little or no celebration may take place. Yet, children of humble
origin have often become national heroes whose birthdays continue to be
celebrated long after their deaths. However, there is only one Person whose
birthday is still celebrated nearly 2,000 years after the event-and He was born
in a stable!

Christ-No Social Reformer A Brahmin once said to a Christian missionary in
India, "There are many things which Christianity and Hinduism have in common.
But one thing Christianity has that is not found in Hinduism." "What is that?"
asked the missionary. The Brahmin's answer was, "We do not have a Savior." He
was right. Christianity is different in that Christ did not come as a social or
economic reformer but as a Savior of individuals. God came to earth, not to
change the adverse conditions under which men live but to change the sinful
hearts responsible for such evil in the world. The Light of the World As George
Matheson said, "Christ has illuminated the world, not by what He did, but by
what He was; His life is the Light of Men. We speak of a man's life-work; the
work of Jesus was His life itself.... It is good to be told that the pure in
heart shall see God, but the vision of heaven in a pure man's face outweighs it
all. They tell us that the Easter morning has revealed His glory; rather would I
say that His glory has revealed the Easter morning. It is not resurrection that
has made Christ; it is Christ that has made resurrection. To those who have seen
His beauty, even Olivet can add no certainty; the light of immortality is as
bright on His Cross as on His Crown. 'I am the resurrection' are His own words
about Himself-not 'I teach,' not 'I cause,' not 'I predict,' but 'I am.' "

Napoleon's Perception of Christ It was Napoleon who said, "Everything in Christ
astonishes me. His spirit overawes me, and His will confounds me. His ideas and
His sentiments, the truth which He announces, His manner of convincing are not
explained either by human observation or the nature of things. His birth and the
history of His life; the profundity of His doctrine, which grapples the
mightiest difficulties, and which is of those difficulties the most admirable
solution; His Gospel; His apparition; His empire; His march across the ages and
the realms-everything is for me a prodigy, a mystery insoluble, which plunges me
into a reverie from which I cannot escape-a mystery which is there before my
eyes, a mystery which I can neither deny nor explain. Here I see nothing human.
The nearer I approach, the more carefully I examine. Everything is above me.
Everything remains grand-of a grandeur which overpowers. His religion is a
revelation from an Intelligence which certainly is not that of man."

Only One Door Charles H. Spurgeon made a penetrating observation when he said
there were many rooms in the ark but only one door. Similarly, there is only one
door in the ark of our salvation, and that is Christ. The Only Victor A general
may defeat all his enemies on the battlefield yet be unable to defeat his
critics at home. He may be able to control the men under him and yet be unable
to control himself. He may be victor in the eyes of men, yet defeated in the
estimation of God. And he may congratulate himself that no one has been able to
stand up against him, yet he will go down at last before man's final enemy,
death. Thus, all men's victories are partial in this life. Even the victory over
sin and evil that the regenerated believer has in Christ is at best incomplete.
Only one Man has ever conquered sin and death completely and defeated all His
enemies.

Think about It Do you know for sure what's going to happen to you after you die?
The prospect of that should make you think. It made Peter Waldo anxious for the
first time when, at a party, a friend of his suddenly keeled over and died. He
went home and looked through his library of history books, scientific books, and
philosophical books, trying to find something about death. But they told him
nothing. Finally he turned to the Bible. There he found information that
couldn't be found elsewhere-basic truths that were given by Christ Himself, who
had experienced death and conquered it. He told what it is and what would happen
to the righteous and the unrighteous after death occurs. This is a subject that
vitally concerns everyone. Christ is the only one who ever rose from the dead of
His own volition and by His own power. That's why His revelation about what
happens after death appeared believable to Waldo. Peter Waldo became a noted
Christian reformer, founder of the Waldensian Church of Europe. A Unique Person
An unbeliever once asked a Christian, "If I told you that this child was born
without the intervention of a human father, would you believe it?" After a
little thought the Christian replied, "Yes, if he were able to grow up and live
like Christ." In other words, Christ's sinless life, His death and resurrection
make the virgin birth believable.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 11: CHRIST: THE MEDIATOR
========================================================================

Christ: The Mediator The Advocate A great minister who was noted for his
Christlike spirit as well as for his consecrated ability, dreamed that he had
died and stood at the gate of heaven knocking for admission. He gave his name,
only to be told that his name did not appear upon the books. Finally, at his
earnest entreaty, he was bidden to enter and was told he would have the
privilege of appearing before the Judge of all the earth, and if he could stand
His test he might abide in heaven forever. Standing before the throne, he gave
his name, and the following questions were put to him: "Have you led a righteous
life?" He said, "No." "Have you always been kind and gentle?" Again he replied
in the negative. "Have you always been forgiving to those who have been around
you?" "No, I have miserably failed there." "Have you always been honest and
just?" He answered, "I fear not." As question after question was put to him by
the Judge, his case seemed more and more hopeless. The last question was asked
him, and to that, too, he was obliged to give the same negative reply. Just when
he seemed to be in despair, the brightness about the throne became brighter, and
suddenly he heard a beautiful voice-the most beautiful to which his ears had
ever listened. It was sweeter than a mother's voice; it was more beautiful than
all the music of heaven; it filled all the arches of the skies and thrilled the
soul of this man as he stood before the Judge trembling and about to fall. The
speaker said, "My Father, I know this man. It is true that he was weak in many
ways, but he stood for Me in the world, and I take his place before Thee." Just
as the last words of this sentence were spoken, the dream was over and the man
awoke; he had his lesson, and it is a lesson for us all.

Christ Feels Our Suffering Plato was right when he said that no one has a right
to become a doctor who has always been healthy. Christ suffered, and therefore
He can understand our suffering. He did not deserve to suffer for He was
sinless. But God was glorified through His suffering, which was not really for
Himself but for us, for our sin.

Jesus Christ, the Communicator An unbeliever once asked a preacher why John
called Jesus Christ "the Word." It seemed a strange appellation to him. The
preacher answered, "It seems to me that as our words are the means that permit
us to communicate with others, John used it to show that Jesus Christ is the
only means whereby God chose to communicate with man." Jesus Christ, then, is
God's speech or discourse to man.

Only One Mediator When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes the cynic, he asked
what he could do for Diogenes. The cynic answered that there was only one thing
which Alexander could do for Diogenes, and that was to abstain from standing
between him and the sun. There are many great and mighty people who like to
stand between God and man, but they only obscure man's vision of God. Only Jesus
Christ, God incarnate, can bring God as the regenerating and transforming Spirit
into our experience.

Christ Is Our Mercy Seat In the Tabernacle Holy of Holies, the light of God's
glory was present between the cherubim, telling Israel that God was in her
midst. The mercy seat was the place appointed where God met once a year the
blood of the sacrifice of atonement. The blood of atonement was sprinkled there.
It was not an appeasement. God does not have to be appeased. He is merciful,
compassionate, and full of lovingkindness, but He will not hold man guiltless
without an atonement. When the blood was sprinkled, there was satisfaction. Sin
was covered. The offering for sin was made. The One whose soul was made an
offering for sin is Messiah Jesus. He is the Mercy Seat where the justice of God
and the satisfying sacrifice meet, bringing peace to all who believe.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 12: CHRIST: THE PROVIDER
========================================================================

Christ: The Provider

Christ the Provider Once a great king visited a town to lay the foundation stone
of a new hospital. Thousands of school children greeted him and sang for him.
Soon after the king passed a group of children, a teacher saw a little girl
crying. She asked, "Why are you crying? Did you not see the king?" The little
girl sobbed out, "Yes, teacher, but the king did not see me." How different the
Lord Jesus Christ is from earthly kings. Not only does He give life to each one,
but He is also personally interested in and personally maintains each life.

Depend on the Control Center A beautiful illustration of our dependence on a
solidly established base while we are moving at a distance, is the journey of
Apollo 11 to the moon. A space station in Houston, Texas, was the seat of
command. The three spacemen dared not disregard it as they circled around the
moon and as two of them landed on its surface. Thus Paul tells the Corinthians
that any work they undertake must be based on the firmness, the absoluteness,
the dependability of the Lord Jesus Christ. He arose. He did what He said He was
going to do. He told us that we shall rise. That is our control center. We can
depend on it. We dare not disregard it. It is a matter of life and death. As I
was viewing this feat of man at the time Neil Armstrong was landing on the moon,
I was impressed by the remark made by one news commentator, "These men cannot
remain on the moon. They must follow instructions. They do not have only
themselves to think of but also the entire project." Think of that, Christian,
when you are tempted to act independently of the control center, Christ the
Lord. You have not only yourself to think of, but also Christ and His Kingdom.

He Lives A Japanese nobleman who came to America visited a Sunday school to
study its function. The superintendent asked him to say a few words to those
present. Now this visitor was a Confucianist, and he began by saying that the
teachings of Confucius and Christ are just about the same. There are very few
differences, he said, and therefore he regarded Christians as brothers. When he
had finished, a distinguished merchant, a member of the Sunday school, rose to
his feet. Of course, he recognized the moral teachings of Confucius, he said,
but added the following: "There is, however, a basic and vital difference
between Confucius and the Lord Jesus Christ. Confucius is dead and remains in
his grave until Jesus Christ will raise him. But the tomb of Christ is empty. He
lives and He will not see death again. He is in our midst this hour of our
Sunday school." His Invisible Presence A little girl came home from Sunday
school in much perplexity. "Mama," she said, "our teacher said today that we
must come to Jesus if we want to be saved, but how can we come to Him when we
cannot see Him?" "Did you not ask me to get you a drink of water last night?"
said the mother. "Yes, Mama." "Did you see me when you asked me?" "No, but I
knew that you would hear me and get it for me." "Well, that is just the way to
come to Jesus. We cannot see Him, but we know that He is near and hears every
word we say, and that He will give us what we need." As we try to see Jesus by
faith, He will become real to us. Only through Him can we get a vision of God.

Hope for the World Some years ago several congressmen, who were devout
Christians, were taking a walk one evening. Their conversation drifted to the
subject of religion and the state of the world. They were not enthusiastic about
the outlook and were just about to agree that the whole world was on the
toboggan when they chanced to pass a little chapel. From within came the words
of a familiar hymn: There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Immanuel's
veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains. As
his face lighted up, one said to the others, "As long as people get together and
sing that song, there is hope for the world, after all."

Joy in Christ A certain king instructed his gardener to plant six trees and
place statues beneath them representing prosperity, beauty, victory, strength,
duty, and joy. These trees were to show to the world that the king had tried to
make his reign fruitful. They were also to typify the statues beneath them. The
gardener planted six palm trees. When the king came out to inspect the work and
looked at the statue of joy, he said, "I surely thought you would typify joy
with some flowering tree like the tulip or magnolia. How can the stately palm
symbolize joy?" "Those flowering trees," said the gardener, "get their
nourishment from open sources. They live in pleasant forests or orchards with
hosts of other like trees. But I found this palm tree in a sandy waste. Its
roots had found some hidden spring creeping along far beneath the burning
surface. Then, thought I, highest joy has a foundation unseen of men and a
source they cannot comprehend." Do you realize that if the light of Jesus Christ
is within your heart it can be the only place in which joy is found, and yet it
will be sufficient. You do not need the company of others in order to experience
the joy that the light of Christ brings. A palm tree does not need the company
of other trees to flourish and bring forth fruit. The Position of the Observer
In a great cathedral there is a statue of Christ. As one enters the cathedral
and stands before that statue, he is appalled at the ugliness and repulsiveness
of the sculptor's representation of Christ. He wonders whether that is what
Christ really looked like. He is keenly disappointed. But then, as he comes
closer to the statue, he can see an inscription on it which reads: "Kneel down
and look up." He kneels down and looks up, and lo everything about it is
different. The repulsiveness is replaced by a wonderful attractiveness. The face
of Christ is not ugly any more. What makes the difference? It is the position of
the observer. If he stands up and looks at the statue, there is no beauty to it,
but if he kneels down and looks up, he sees the face of the gentle, loving
Savior.

Jesus Left: His purse to Judas; His clothes to the soldiers; His body to Joseph
of Arimathea; His mother to John; His peace to His disciples; His supper to His
followers; His gospel to the world; His presence with God's children.

"Korban"-Offering The one Hebrew word, Korban, which is most often translated as
"offering," generally speaks of the remarkable fact that access to God is gained
by means of the offering. The word appears almost 70 times in this respect. The
New Testament counterpart, the Greek word prosphero, appears in the book of
Hebrews 19 times, referring to the sacrificial sense. Hebrews 9:14 tells us that
Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice without blemish, and verse 28 says,
"So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." He is the way to God.

"No, But I Do Know Where It's Safe" It was a dark and stormy night when a lady
was on a boat crossing Lake Michigan. The lightning, thunder, and rain made her
very nervous. She saw jagged rocks jutting above the surface of the lake. In
fear, she asked the captain, "Do you know where all the rocks are out there in
the lake?" "No," the captain replied, "I don't, but I do know where it's safe."
As you "sail" through life, you are going to see lots of "rocks" out there. Some
you will know how to avoid, others will come upon you as a surprise. The
important thing to know is "where it's safe." Jesus knows the safe way; follow
Him.

Never Again Never again will I say, "I can't," for "I can do everything through
Him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13). Never again will I admit lack,
for "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ
Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). Never again will I fear, for "God did not give us a
spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7).
Never again will I harbor doubt and lack of faith, for "The Lord is my light and
my salvation-whom shall I fear" (Psalms 27:1). Never again will I allow the
supremacy of Satan over my life, for "the One who is in you is greater than the
one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). Never again will I admit defeat,for "God
always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads
everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him" (2 Corinthians 2:14). Never
again will I lack wisdom, for "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God,
who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him"
(James 1:5). Never again will I be worried and frustrated, "Casting all your
anxiety on Him because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). Never again will I be in
bondage,for "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Why Did God Come Into the World as a Baby? A missionary in India spoke near a
fountain on the subject, "Jesus, the Water of Life." A Muslim interrupted, "Your
religion is like this little stream of water, but Islam is like a great ocean!"
"Yes," said the missionary, "but there is this difference: When men drink ocean
water they die of thirst. When they drink the water of life which Christ gives,
they live forever!" The stream is small, but it can satisfy your thirst. Jesus
Christ came into the world as a little baby that He might show that no one is so
little or so insignificant that the great God will not come to dwell within him.

He Has Raised Up a Horn of Salvation Salvation is the fruition of redemption.
Redemption purchases salvation, salvation realizes redemption and brings it into
our actual experience. Zechariah speaks not so much of salvation as of the "horn
of salvation." This bold figure, perhaps, originated in primitive times when
mighty hunters, like Nimrod, returning from the chase, loved to grace their
tents with the splendid horns of the animals that they had slain: the antlers of
the deer, the tusks of the elephant, and the horn, perhaps, of the mighty
rhinoceros. And so the word "horn" came to be the figure of beauty, power, and
dominion. It has passed into the imagery of inspired prophecy and song, so that
we find the earthly powers described by Daniel and John as horns upon the head
of the beast. And so we find the psalmist speaking of God as his Horn of
Salvation and his High Tower. In speaking, therefore, of Christ as a Horn of
Salvation, Zechariah meant to emphasize the glory and beauty of the Savior, His
supreme and universal dominion and His infinite and divine power. It is
coronation, singing, "Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 13: CHRIST: THE SAVIOR
========================================================================

Christ: The Savior

Christ the Savior A native of interior China wanted to become a Christian but
couldn't understand how Christianity was superior to Confucianism and Buddhism.
One morning he came to the missionary in a happy mood saying, "I dreamed last
night, and now I understand. I dreamed I had fallen into a deep pit where I lay
helpless and despairing. Confucius came and said, 'Let me give you advice, my
friend; if you get out of your trouble, never get in again.' Buddha came and
said, 'If you can climb up to where I can reach you, I will help you.' Then
Christ came. He climbed down into the pit and carried me out." It takes the
Savior of man to do that. Only a Savior would stoop so low as to save a sinful
soul like yours and mine.

Christ the Way On a dark and stormy night, a child was lost in the streets of a
large city. A policeman found him crying in distress, and gathering enough from
his story to locate the home, gave him directions after this manner. "Just go
down this street half a mile, turn and cross the big iron bridge, then turn to
your right and follow the river down a little way, and you'll see where you
are." The poor child, only half comprehending, chilled and bewildered by the
storm, turned about blindly, when another voice spoke in a kindly tone, "Just
come with me." The little hand was clasped in a stronger one, the corner of a
warm coat was thrown over the shoulders of the shivering child, and the way home
was made easy. The first man had told the way; the second man became the way.
This is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ has been for us. From eternity He has
told us that He is the Way. He has to become our Light also, to lead us to the
Way. The Cleansing Blood of Christ A woman came to a minister one day carrying a
container of wet sand. "Do you see what this is, sir?" she asked. "Yes," was the
reply, "it is wet sand." "But do you know what it means?" "I do not know exactly
what you mean by it, woman; what is it?" "Well, sir," she said, "that's me; and
the multitude of the sins that constantly dirty my heart cannot be numbered."
Then she exclaimed, "Oh, wretched creature that I am! How can such a wretch as I
ever be saved and keep clean from the influences of the world?" "Where did you
get the sand?" asked the minister. "At the beach." "Go back, then, to the beach.
Take a spade with you; dig, dig, and raise a great mound; shovel it up as high
as you can, then leave it there. Take your stand by the seashore, and watch the
effect of the waves upon the heap of the sand." "Sir," she exclaimed, "I see
what you mean-the blood, the blood, the blood of Christ, it would wash it all
away and would keep washing any new dark stains away."

God Speaks to Man Have you ever had difficulty in making yourself understood by
a young child? Just try answering some of his questions: "What's the sky made
of? Why did Grandma have to die? Where did God come from?" It can be quite a
problem. The difference between your mental ability and the child's is not as
great as that between the mental ability of God, the Creator, and you, His
creature. What method did He use to communicate with man? Did He send a great
cataclysm of nature to awe us into submission? No, He sent a little Baby to be
born in Bethlehem. Of course, babies are born every day, but this was a very
special Baby. He was God in the flesh.

Help for the Bankrupt! "Deposit this in my name" means "deposit it in my
account." Or "draw this in my name" means "draw this from my account." Isn't
that what would happen if I were to write out a check for you? You would take it
and present it to the bank. You would cash it. But the money would come out of
my account because my name was signed on the check. You would have to believe
that I had money in the bank and the money could become yours; otherwise you
would never have presented the check to be cashed. Thus, through faith in my
name, you would have made my account yours in the amount that I had made
available to you. That's exactly the transaction that takes place between God
and man. He has the resources which we need. He is Life and Light. Especially do
we need these, in a spiritual sense, for our spiritual existence. They are made
available to us in the measure that we need them, because we ourselves are
bankrupt. Our name isn't worth anything at the source of Life and Light, but the
Lord Jesus Christ has available what we need.

Practical Help A traveler passing by and seeing a man fallen into a deep pit
began to wonder aloud how he fell in. The poor man in his utter misery shouted,
"If you are a friend, stop asking how I fell in but help me out!" The Lord Jesus
Christ wants to impart His life to us. We may in our foolishness want a full
explanation from Him as to why He permitted us to fall in the first place, but
John 3:16 tells us that the most important and urgent thing is our salvation
from sin and death.

Christ Lived among Men A missionary visiting a poor hut in a refugee district
was challenged by a suffering woman: "You tell us that you are interested in us
and want to help us. But it's very easy for you to simply come to see us in our
poverty-stricken home. The question is, are you ready to bring your family from
the clean and comfortable home in which they live, in order to live in our
district with all its poverty and suffering and sin? Would you do that in order
to lift us up?" That is exactly what Christ did. "And the Word became flesh, and
dwelt among us" (John 1:16).

Christ Abides With Us When the first missionaries went to St. Thomas, they could
not get near the suffering and degraded slaves until they took part in their
bondage and asked the masters to make them slaves also. Then they were received
with perfect confidence and were able to bring multitudes of the poor suffering
ones to Christ. They trusted them when they saw that they had become identified
with their very own lives and lot. "Praise be to the Lord the God of Israel,
because He has come and has redeemed His people" (Luke 1:68). But He comes
closer. These missionaries could work by the side of the slave, but they could
not come into their hearts.

Important Because Imported The physician was going to operate on a very rich man
who always wanted the best of everything. "I don't think there will be any
problem," said the doctor, "This operation is routine. We can even use a local
anesthetic." "No," shouted the millionaire. "Don't use a local. Get something
imported." That's what Jesus is-"something imported"; or Someone imported. A
hymn puts it like this: "There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate to heaven and let us in." His birth was
miraculous, the only one of its kind in history. It was prophesied in Isaiah
7:14, 700 years before it happened. But even more startling than that is John's
declaration, "The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world." That meant
one thing-that Jesus was born to die. The virgin birth of Jesus gave to us a
divine Redeemer whose life became a ransom for sin. A Jesus born in sin or
subsequently guilty of sin couldn't have atoned for sin. The Lord Jesus Christ
will never be understood by those who don't see Him as the Savior. And Christmas
is an empty thing unless the Christ of Christmas is your Savior. Why not receive
Him as your Savior now?

It Makes All the Difference On a crowded street of one of our large cities, a
young man was snatched from the path of a speeding truck, his life saved by a
venerable-looking man. Still breathless from fright, the youth thanked the one
who saved his life and then was lost in the crowd. Two weeks later in a crowded
courtroom, an anxious young man stood in the prisoner's box to be sentenced for
murder. "Young man, have you anything to say before the sentence of death is
passed upon you?" "Why! Yes! Yes, Judge," the youth responded, "you know me." A
silence moved like a shock wave over the courtroom. "I'm sorry. I cannot place
you." "Yes. Surely you remember. Two weeks ago. At Main and Seventh Streets, you
saved my life. Surely, Judge, you can do something to save me now." A silence
pervaded the courtroom. "Young man, now I do remember you. But that day I was
your savior. Today I am your judge." Today the Lord Jesus Christ wants to be
your Savior. If you refuse Him and His grace, one day He will be your Judge.

Beware! Satan Is Aboard! It Is a Hijack! The human race is aboard a hijacked jet
flying through time. God Himself directed its takeoff from the divine control
tower. The initiator of all evil, whom we call Satan, managed to get a boarding
pass. When cruising height was reached, he produced his weapons, threatened the
pilot, and took control of the jumbo jet and all of its passengers. So it hopped
on uncomfortably through history from airport to airport till it was caught on
the tarmac at Jerusalem, an outpost of the Roman empire, in the reign of
Tiberius Caesar, where the Son of God offered Himself as sole hostage in
exchange for passengers and crew. The further you push the parallel the more
fanciful it seems. But the basic idea of the human race aboard a hijacked jumbo
flying through time is sound enough. The passengers must keep a wary eye on the
hijacker, induce the pilot to take his directions from God's control tower, and
be ready to accept rescue through the sacrifice of the willing Hostage. That is
their only escape route.

Christ, a Threat to Man's Religion When Bishop Hurst was in Poona, India, he
went out to the great temple of Parvati, and there watched the worshipers. He
asked the ancient Brahman priest, who for many years had received the offerings
there, "Are there as many people coming here to pray as formerly?" "No, there
are fewer every year." "How long will this worship last?" was the next query.
"God knows," he sadly replied. "What will bring it to an end?" "Jesus Christ,"
the Brahman answered. Those who promote human religions are indeed afraid of
Christ because He puts an end to human religion by introducing the promise of
heaven. Could Anyone Fill Jesus' Sandals Some years ago, a college student took
a psychology course in which another student tried to argue that Jesus was not
greater than other men. The student stated that he could probably do everything
Jesus had done. As a public service to those who have such lofty aspirations, we
are publishing a partial list of things which you MUST do if you think that you
can do everything that Jesus did. Feed five thousand unexpected guests, and then
have your amount of garbage exceed the amount of food with which you began. Have
a raging storm stilled at your command, and the wind and the waves stop
simultaneously. Become such a threat to a significant portion of the religious
establishment that they demand that you be executed. (You must do this by what
you say. You are not allowed to use demonstrations, riots, card-burnings, or
picket signs, or any form of violence.) Rise from the dead after you have been
executed and pronounced dead. That is enough of the easy things. Now let's look
at some requirements which are more exacting. (By the way, you need not accept
the Bible in order to KNOW that Jesus accomplished these things.) By 1900 years
after your death (from which you rose), you must have accomplished the
following: Every week, millions of people must gather in thousands of places for
the sole purpose of telling about what a good person you were. Thousands of
hospitals and schools must have been built and be operating in your name. The
calendar, used in most of the world, must be dated from the time of your birth.
Men must still consider it worth their time to prove that you were a fake. (If
you really were a fake, you would have been forgotten long before now.) Your
life must be considered to be the standard and ultimate goodness for a large
portion of the world, and even for those who claim no association with the
entity you founded to honor and serve you. MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, YOU MUST HAVE
ACCOMPLISHED ALL THIS IN 3 1/2 YEARS. The Hands of Christ When our Lord was here
on earth, He frequently ministered to man's needs with His hands. He broke the
loaves and the fishes to feed a hungry multitude. He made clay and rubbed it on
the eyes of a blind man to give him sight. He touched an unclean leper in the
act of cleansing him. He said to Thomas, "Behold My hands." One day we, too,
shall behold them. The story is told of a young girl whose mother was very
beautiful-all except her hands, which were shriveled and scarred and hideous.
Although the child was long reluctant to speak about them, the time came when
she asked her mother how her hands became so marred. The mother told her how
their house caught fire when the girl was very little. The mother rushed
upstairs to the room where the girl was sleeping in her crib, and with the help
of the Lord was able to carry the babe downstairs and outside without being
harmed. But in doing so, the mother's hands were terribly burned. This brought
sobs to the child as she said, "O Mother, you know I've always loved
you-especially your face, your smile, your eyes. But better than all, now I love
your hands." The One who left heaven's glory and became flesh for us bears in
His compassionate hands the scars of His sacrifice on our behalf. His hands will
be an eternal reminder of His love. When He Waited the Longest When Leonardo da
Vinci painted The Last Supper on the wall in Milan, Italy convent dining room,
the monks began to have many questions about his ability, and his integrity. The
picture was merely a copy of the dining area in which it was being painted. The
table, the linen, even the dishes used by the monks, were all identical to those
in the picture. Some of the monks thought da Vinci was taking advantage of his
contract to paint this picture. They were resentful of his long periods of
inactivity, when da Vinci would stand for hours without touching his brush to
the wall in front of him. When they asked da Vinci about this apparent
inactivity, he replied, "When I pause the longest, I make my most telling
strokes with my brush." No other event in the life of our Lord has been painted
more often, but none can match the one painted by da Vinci nearly 500 years ago.
In like manner, God paused, the world waited, "But when the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son...." (Galatians 4:4).

What the Artist Cannot Paint An artist can paint the physical hands and feet of
our Lord, but he cannot paint the healing power of those hands and the godly
walk of those feet. He can paint the outward suffering, but not the inward
cause; the cursed tree, but not the curse of the law; the bearing of the cross,
but not the bearing of the sins of His people; the cup of vinegar, but not the
cup of wrath-the derision of His enemies and the forsaking of the Father. Where
is the artist who can paint one hand of Christ nailed to the cross and the other
hand claiming an inheritance of believers? Or who can paint our Lord bruising
the serpent's head, conquering sin, death and the grave? The artist can only
portray blood and water flowing from Christ's side, but he cannot paint what the
eye of faith sees in that blood: salvation and pardon.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 14: CHRIST: SECOND COMING
========================================================================

Christ: Second Coming

Welcome Back A farmer had an old hound dog that he cherished. One day the dog
disappeared, and several weeks passed without his return. In spite of this, the
farmer continued to set out fresh food for the dog every day. Finally, in
curiosity, one of the farmer's neighbors asked why he continued to set out food
for the dog when he obviously was not returning. "He will be back," replied the
farmer. "Because he knows I am here waiting for him. And when he gets here I
want him to know he is welcome back." Today we wait for Christ's return with
great expectancy. We do not know the day nor the hour of His return, but we are
confident that He is coming back. As we wait for Christ's return, we prepare
ourselves each day to meet Him. The Promise of the Second Coming Both the Old
and New Testaments are filled with promises of the second coming of Christ.
Someone has reported that there are 1,845 references in the Old Testament alone
and a total of 17 books that give it prominence. Of the 260 chapters in the
entire New Testament, there are 318 references to Christ's second coming. That
averages one out of every 30 verses. Furthermore, 23 of the 27 New Testament
books refer to this great event. That leaves only four books that do not refer
directly to the Second Coming. Interestingly, three of these four books are
single-chapter letters which were written to specific persons on a particular
subject.

Longing for His Appearance At one time the recording engineer of the author's
radio broadcasts, a very dear saint of God, was almost completely blind.
Whenever I visited him and prayed with him, he always wanted to hold my hand as
I prayed. He told me that did something to him. Physical contact meant special
inspiration and comfort to him. I thought he would not hold my hand when I
prayed with him after the restoration of his eyesight, but he still continued to
do so. I think this is a perfect illustration of the earnest desire of
Christians for the physical appearance of the Lord Jesus. Be Prepared A servant
whose master and mistress were away was uncertain when they would return. A
friend visited her and feeling rather tired went in to rest. When she got up she
saw that the servant had gone to all kinds of trouble to lay the table for tea
as if her master and mistress were coming home that hour. She questioned the
servant whether the master and mistress were coming home that day, but her
friend answered, "I have not heard, but as the time is uncertain, I always have
everything ready each day." What a lesson this is for the Christian-to have
everything ready every day and every hour of the day. The Patient Farmer What
good will it do the farmer to be angry at the plants because they are later in
yielding fruit than he thinks they should be? It won't affect the plants. It is
not in his power to ripen fruits at his pleasure. Therefore, as the farmer
exercises patience and long-suffering waiting for the earth to yield her fruit,
so should we in waiting for the presence of the Lord. Be Ready The Lord wants us
to live all the time as if today would be our last. I believe it was John Wesley
who was asked at one time, "What would you do if you knew that tonight you would
die?" That great preacher of years gone by said, "I would do exactly what I have
scheduled to do." Could you say that?

Looking for Jesus A little girl had been listening while her mother's friends
were speaking about the imminent return of the Lord. After some time she was
missed, so her mother went in search of her. She found her looking out a window
at the top of the house. Asked what she was doing she said, "Oh, Mother, I heard
you say Jesus might come today, and I wanted to be the first to see Him. See, I
washed myself and put on a clean dress."

Await His Coming As that great preacher of the Word, Dr. G. Campbell Morgan,
said, "To me the second coming is the perpetual light on the path which makes
the present bearable. I never lay my head on my pillow without thinking that
maybe before morning breaks, the final morning may have dawned! I never begin my
work without thinking that perhaps He may interrupt my work and begin His own.
This is now His word to all believing souls, till He comes."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 15: CHRISTIANITY
========================================================================

Christianity Which Is Your Choice? If you want your father to take care of you,
that's Paternalism. If you want your mother to take care of you, that's
Maternalism. If you want Uncle Sam to take care of you, that's Socialism. If you
want some dedicated Communists to take over the government and take care of you,
that's Communism (we would say slavery). If you want and are able to take care
of yourself, that's Americanism. If you surrender all to Christ, and want God to
take care of you, that is true Christianity. Of course, you'll be called a
"square" or an "extremist," or a "crackpot," but you will have the best for time
and eternity.

How to Start a Religion Someone said to Bishop Talleyrand, one of the most
astute men who ever lived: "The Christian religion-what is it? It would be easy
to start a religion like that." "Oh, yes," replied Talleyrand. "One would only
have to get crucified and rise again the third day." In Tune Have you at
sometime watched a symphony orchestra as a performance is about to begin? The
musicians sit and stand about, strumming on strings, blowing into horns, beating
on drums. There is a lot of noise, but no music. Then the conductor enters. He
walks to his podium and steps up onto it. His eye sweeps the scene before
him-all the musicians and all their instruments. He lifts his baton, pauses
there for a moment, then he gives the downbeat. Instantly there is music; all
instuments blend into one harmonious whole. Our human spirits are a lot like
symphony orchestras. Within us there may be discordant elements, warring
factions that pull this way or that, and we are out of focus, out of tune-we are
just not together within. As an orchestra needs a master control, so do we. When
we turn the whole focus of our attention to our Lord and acknowledge that He is
in command, our lives will give forth harmonious music.

Back to the Basics It probably wouldn't work, but somebody ought to start a
movement back to the basics. And again, it might be just novel enough to not
only catch on, but to flourish. How long has it been since you walked into a
store without seeing "New" or "Improved" written on every bottle? And
toothpaste? There's a new ingredient added every week. If you don't have FL-7,
Amalgam-58, ammoniate, fluoride, chlorophyll, etc., your teeth are sure to fall
out before you finish reading the label. Regardless of how faithful you have
been in brushing your teeth in the past, that doesn't count if you have missed
out on the latest ingredient. It's a wonder people ever got their clothes clean
in the past. Just think of it! They actually used non-miraculous soap, and often
with "non-purified" water. What a world! Do you recall what happened to Coca
Cola when they wasted multi-millions of dollars bringing out the "New" Coke?
Improvement went too far and irate customers wouldn't drink the new stuff. Coca
Cola almost immediately decided the old drink wasn't so bad after all. This time
they returned to the old formula, but gave it a new name (Classic). What a
world! Given the state of our times, it's hardly any wonder that there are
countless preachers out trying to sell a "new" and "improved" Christianity. Let
us pray that it will have the same success Coca Cola enjoyed.

Today It's "Frozen" Not "Chosen" It has been suggested that the mark on many
church people today is not that they are "chosen" but that they are "frozen."

Finish It The life of a Christian can be described in one of four ways: as a
journey, as a battle, as a pilgrimage, and as a race. Select your own metaphor,
but the necessity to finish is always the same. For if life is a journey, it
must be completed. If life is a battle, it must be finished. If life is a
pilgrimage, it must be concluded. And if it is a race, it must be won.

Christianity-A Religion of Light The religion of the Lord Jesus Christ is a
religion of light. One of the most splendid descriptions of our Heavenly Father
is in the words of John: "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1
John 1:5). James says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17). Note James' descriptive
name for God, "The Father of light." And the Lord Jesus declares that those who
seek to do the will of God are the "children of light" (John 12:36). Our Savior
never said a more splendid thing about Himself than when He uttered that sublime
declaration, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12; John 9:5). Everywhere in
the Scriptures, light is used as an emblem of the righteous character of those
who are the true children of God. Yes, the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ is
a religion of light.

Power of Indwelling Christ A Buddhist monk in Ceylon, who was acquainted with
both Christianity and Buddhism, was once asked what he thought was the great
difference between the two. He replied, "There is much that is good in each of
them, and probably in all religions. But what seems to me to be the greatest
difference is that you Christians know what is right and have power to do it,
while we Buddhists know what is right but have not any such power." This is
true, because no other religion has as its founder God, who became man, and in
becoming man incarnated the grace and the truth of God. When Christ, then,
becomes our life, we will be full of grace and truth. It is not our grace and
truth but His, for He dwells within.

Look at Christ Suppose you were the president of a club. A rich man comes and
applies to you for membership. However, for the most part your club is made up
of poor people and those who belong to the laboring classes. What would you do?
Would you be flattered that a rich man wanted to join and accept him without
question? Of course, it would provide a marvelous opportunity to enrich your
treasury. Unfortunately, some church leaders are also opportunists. Their bad
example leads some men to conclude that Christianity is a religion of
opportunism. But don't look at church leaders; in fact, don't look at any
person-look at Christ. No Practical Use Someone gave a sundial to a group of
people in the jungle. They regarded it as a fetish and wanted to keep it holy,
so they built a house over it to keep it safe. This of course, kept the sun away
from it. They had rendered it useless by trying to protect it. They honored the
sundial, but they made it of no practical use. That's how many people regard
Christianity. It has become something they have enclosed within the beautiful
walls and stained glass windows of cathedrals. But, far worse, they also wall
off their Christianity from their own individual daily lives. They genuflect to
a statue or kiss an icon of a saint, but they fail to follow the teachings of
the people these symbolize.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 16: CHRISTIANS
========================================================================

Christians

What Kind Are You? Some Christians are like wheelbarrows, not good unless
pushed. Some are like canoes, they have to be paddled. Some are like kites, if
you don't keep a string on them, they fly away. Some are like kittens, they are
more contented when petted. Some are like balloons, full of wind and likely to
blow up unless handled carefully. Some are like trailers, no good unless pulled.
Some are like buzzards, they "get wind" of a foul smell and come quickly. Some
are filled with the Holy Spirit, and thank God for these! A Nobleman's Legacy In
a certain mountain village in Europe several centuries ago, a nobleman wondered
what legacy he should leave to his townspeople. Finally, he decided to build a
church for a legacy. The complete plans for the church were kept secret until
its completion. When the people gathered, they marveled at the church's beauty
and its completeness. Following many comments of praise, an astute observer
inquired, "But where are the lamps? How will the church be lighted?" Without
answer, the nobleman pointed to some brackets in the wall; he then gave to each
family a lamp to be carried to the worship service and hung on the wall. "Each
time you are here, the area where you are seated will be lighted," the nobleman
explained. "Each time you are not here, that area will be dark. Whenever you
fail to come to church, some part of God's house will be dark."

Value by Association An American tourist in Paris who purchased an inexpensive
amber necklace in a trinket shop was shocked when he had to pay quite a high
duty on it to clear customs in New York. This aroused his curiosity, so he had
it appraised. After looking at the object under a powerful magnifying glass, the
jeweler said, "I'll give you $25,000 for it." Greatly surprised, the man decided
to have another expert examine it. When he did, he was offered $10,000 more!
"What do you see that's so valuable about this old necklace," asked the
astonished man. "Look through this glass," replied the jeweler. There before his
eyes was an inscription: "From Napoleon Bonaparte to Josephine." The value of
the necklace came from its identification with a famous person. As Christians,
we are in union with one who is far more important than any human being. It is
from this union that the Christian finds his true identity and worth. So in an
age when man is searching for his past and discovering his potentials, the
Christian can rejoice that his true worth comes from God and his identity is
found in Jesus Christ.

It Is Better to Be Late Than Pass by One Who Needs You Charles Harvey, Good
Samaritan of Grand Prairie, Texas, felt a bit nervous as he was driving to an
important job interview. He was fifteen minutes late and in a hurry when he
passed a middle aged woman stranded with a flat tire. "My conscience made me
stop," he said. "I changed her tire and headed to the interview, thinking I
could just forget about getting the job now." But he filled out the job
application anyway, and went to the Personnel Director's office. Did he get the
job? He sure did. The Personnel Director hired him on the spot. She was the
woman whose tire he had just changed.

How Permanent Is What You Build "And the rain descended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was
founded upon a rock" (Matthew 7:25). The permanence of any building depends upon
three things: the materials used, wisdom exercised in its construction, and its
foundation. Inferior materials, though skillfully assembled, cannot stand for
long against the elements of nature. Nor will superior materials, if carelessly
put together, be able to stand. A combination of sound materials and wise
direction in assembling is necessary if the building is to endure, also it is
very important that it be built upon a solid foundation. The same truths apply
to the building of a life. One must choose his materials carefully and work them
into the structure of his life wisely. He must be positive that it is built on a
good foundation. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus challenges each one of us to
build for eternity! Jesus urges men to cast aside such material as selfishness,
hypocrisy, lust, and hatred. These can only lead to failure and ruin. Christ
prescribes the materials that will stand throughout time and eternity. He
stresses humility, meekness, righteousness, mercy, and purity. The quality of
this material has been tested and tried through the centuries. We must heed the
instructions of the Master Architect. Build with Christ-Build for eternity! Are
You God's Wife? Sometimes we lead in ways that we don't realize are bringing
others closer to God. Recently I read an incident that occurred when a man was
working in a shoe store in Nova Scotia. The man said that he noticed a barefoot
little boy outside the baker's shop next door to the shoe store. The boy was
trying to keep warm by standing on a hot air register outside the bakery. The
man watching was uncertain about what to do about the little boy when a
middle-aged lady came by. She spoke to the child and then brought him into the
shoe store where she purchased shoes and socks for him. The child asked the
lady, "Are you God's wife?" She replied, "No, son, I'm just one of His
children." "Well, I knew you must be some kin to Him," he remarked as he thanked
her and left. That unknown lady was a leader for the cause of Christ, and the
little boy and the man watching were able to recognize some Christ-like
qualities in her.

Christians Are to Be Different During World War II a 15-year-old boy managed to
enlist in the Navy and eventually joined the crew of a destroyer escort in the
North Atlantic. After the ship left port, he gave himself away by being so
frightened and homesick. Even though the safety of the ship was at stake, the
youth had to stand his watch. The bo's'n assigned to him the midnight to 4 a.m.
watch on the bow. A lanky cowboy from Texas named Cogswell had the preceding
duty at the dangerous and important post. Fearing the worst, the captain stayed
on the bridge during the "graveyard watch." About 1 a.m. he looked out through
the starlit night to see how the novice sailor was faring. To his amazement, he
recognized the tall frame of Cogswell. The next morning, the skipper asked the
bo's'n, "Did you know Cogswell took the kid's place last night and stood eight
hours straight duty?" "Yes sir, I did," he replied. "Well," replied the captain,
"what do you think about it?" "Sir, I didn't think anything about it. Didn't you
know? Cogswell's a Christian!"

Hammer Christians What we need are more Christians who quietly but effectively
do their jobs like a hammer. A hammer keeps its head; it doesn't fly off the
handle; it keeps pounding away; it finds the point quickly and drives it home;
and perhaps more important, it is the only knocker in the world that
accomplishes anything worthwhile! Consider the hammer, and follow its example in
your daily walk with Christ.

What Do You Offer? Men today want to know, How much does the job pay? What do
you offer? The story is told that when Garibaldi set out to liberate Italy, he
saw some young men standing at a street corner, and he asked them if they would
like to enlist in his cause. "What do you offer?" they said. "Offer?" replied
Garibaldi. "I offer you hardship, hunger, rags, thirst, sleepless nights,
footsores in long marches, privations innumerable, and finally victory in the
noblest cause that ever confronted you." Young Italy did follow him! Our Lord
says, "If any one would come after Me, let him take up his cross and follow Me"
(Mark 8:34).

How Is the Christian Different? The Christian sees through kinder eyes-like
Jesus. He gives from a bigger heart-like God. He speaks with a purer tongue-like
Christ. He serves with more willing hands-like Jesus. He walks with a greater
faith-like his Lord. He loves with agape love-like the Father in heaven. He
thinks with a spiritual mind-like Christ. He sees the needs of others with a
compassionate view-like Jesus. He heals the wounds of others with love-like the
Master. The Christian is different only when Jesus rules his life.

True Riches A tax assessor came one day to a poor minister of the gospel to
determine the amount of taxes he would have to pay. "What do you possess?" he
questioned. "Oh, I am very wealthy," replied the minister. "List your
possessions, please," the assessor instructed. The man of God replied, "First, I
have everlasting life- John 3:16. Second, I have a mansion in Heaven- John 14:2.
Thirdly, I have peace that passeth understanding- Philippians 4:7. Fourth, I
have joy unspeakable- 1 Peter 1:8. Fifth, I have divine love that never faileth-
1 Corinthians 13:8. Sixth, I have a faithful, pious wife- Proverbs 31:10.
Seventh, I have healthy, happy, obedient children- Exodus 20:12. Eighth, I have
true, loyal friends- Proverbs 18:24. Ninth, I have songs in the night- Psalms
42:8. Tenth, I have a crown of life awaiting- James 1:12." The tax collector
closed his book and said, "Truly, you are a very rich man, but your property is
not subject to taxation."

Christians Are Members of the Body of Christ A lady accepted Christ as her
Savior late in life and found in Him such joy that she could not keep still
about it; she was praising God and talking about it all the time. One day a
friend said, "You seem pretty confident about this salvation of yours. I would
not be too sure if I were you; suppose the Lord should let you slip through His
fingers?" "But," said the elderly lady, "I am one of the fingers." A Christian
Should Be: A MIND through which Christ thinks, A VOICE through which Christ
speaks, A HEART through which Christ loves, A HAND through which Christ helps.

Abiding in Christ An English woman illustrated what it means to have Christ
between us and danger. She said she was wakened by a very strange noise of
pecking. When she went to the window, she saw a butterfly flying inside the
window pane in great fright; outside a sparrow was pecking at the pane and
trying to reach the butterfly. The butterfly did not see the glass pane and
expected every minute to be caught; the sparrow did not see the glass and
expected every minute to catch the butterfly. All the while the butterfly was
safe because the glass was between it and the sparrow. So it is with the
Christian who is abiding in Christ. God's presence is between His child and
every danger.

Parable of the Deadly Wound Have you heard the story about Satan's attack upon a
certain Christian? First, he shot a poisonous dart at his heel, but the
Christian was unharmed because he had his feet shod with the preparation of the
gospel of peace. Satan's next attempt was at his loins, but the Christian
repelled this because he had his loins girt about with the truth. Unsuccessfully
the devil tried a shot at his breast, the breastplate of righteousness. The
Christian knocked away another arrow. But the devil, still not discouraged,
slipped around behind the Christian and shot him in the pocketbook, and killed
him dead as a hammer.

More Than a Conqueror Alexander the Great subdued the world about him, but he
was conquered by his own lusts; he died in a drunken stupor. The Christian
conquers his own lusts in order to subdue the world within him. Through Christ,
we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37).

Defeatism Grieves God Christian defeatism grieves God. We must refuse to stand
as mere spectators while the godless dismantle our nation. Believers through
Christ are to be the overcomers, not the overcome. Have we forgotten how those
first century believers, working against even greater odds, "turned the world
upside down"? Have we become so mesmerized by the coming "tribulation" that we
have forgotten Christ's order to "occupy until I return"? Once again Christians
must become the nation's salt, its preservative, and put the reins into the
hands of righteous leaders. No longer can be we mere "hearers" but through God
"doers," if the nation is to survive.

How You Can Be a Peacemaker Carl and Sam were at odds with each other. They
could not even remember the initial cause of friction...but their hostility had
festered through the years. A deeply concerned deacon prayed that God would use
him as a peacemaker. He called on Carl. "What do you think of Sam?" he asked.
"He's the sorriest guy in town!" "But," countered the deacon, "you have to admit
that he's a hard-working man." "No one can deny that," said Carl. "I've never
known a person who worked harder." Next the deacon visited Sam. "Do you know
what Carl said about you?" "No, but I can imagine his lies," he responded
angrily. "This may surprise you," said the deacon, "but he said he's never known
a harder worker." "He said that?" Sam was stunned. "What do you think of Carl?"
asked the deacon. "It is no secret that I have absolutely no use for him." "But
you must admit he's honest in business," said the deacon. "There's no getting
around that," said Sam. "In business he's a man you can trust." Later the deacon
met Carl again. "Do you know what Sam said about you? He claims you're
absolutely trustworthy in business, that you are scrupulously honest." "Well,
how 'bout that," reacted Carl with a smile. Soon the peacemaking deacon noticed
Sam and Carl would cautiously nod in a friendly sort of way. Before long they
were shaking hands, talking, even visiting in each other's homes. Today they are
best of friends. Many people, even church folk, seem to delight in promoting a
fight by carrying news of ill-will. Rip this page from a deacon's peacemaking
notebook. It's a worthy example to follow.

Help Yourself by Helping Others The story is told of two men riding on a sleigh
during a blizzard. Almost frozen and afraid that they would not reach warmth and
safety, they came upon another traveler who had fallen in the snow and was near
death from the terrific cold. One suggested that they stop and help. The other
refused, saying that to stop might keep them from reaching safety. He insisted
on going on. However, the first man decided to stay and help. He set himself to
the task of massaging the man's body to restore circulation. After long hard
work, the man responded and was saved. The traveler's work in helping another
helped keep himself warm and alive. The one who refused to stay and help was
found some distance ahead, frozen to death.

Rejoicing Always A saintly woman who had suffered for weary months from a
painful illness said to her pastor, "I have such a lovely robin that sings
outside my window. In the early mornings as I lie here, he serenades me." Then a
smile brightened her thin features as she added, "I love him because he sings in
the rain." That is the most beautiful thing about a robin. When a storm has
silenced every other songbird, the robin sings on. That is what the Christian
who is with Christ may do. Any one can sing in the sunshine. You and I should
sing on when the sun has gone down, or when clouds pour out their rain, for
Christ is with us. The Need to Remain Useful The great violinist, Nicolo
Paganini, willed his marvelous violin to Genoa-the city of his birth-but only on
condition that the instrument never be played. It was an unfortunate condition,
for it is a peculiarity of wood that as long as it is used and handled, it shows
little wear. As soon as it is discarded, it begins to decay. The exquisite
mellow-toned violin now has become worm-eaten in its beautiful case, valueless
except as a relic. The moldering instrument is a reminder that a life withdrawn
from service to others loses its meaning. How well Jesus' strong emphasis upon
service is illustrated! In order to retain our value and our worth and not
degenerate into a worthless relic, we should serve and remain active. "But
whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. And whosoever will
be chief among you, let him be your servant" (Matthew 20:26-27). A Precious
Stone In a box in a jewelry store there were precious stones, sapphires, and
diamonds; the beryl and the amethyst; and many others. Right in the center,
according to the story, was a common looking pebble, and a man said to the
clerk, "Why do you have that pebble there? If you saw it on the floor you would
pick it up and throw it out the window." The clerk took the stone out of the box
and said, "You do not know the beauty of this stone"; he held it and in two or
three minutes you could not see the stone, but instead, all the colors of the
rainbow, moving in such rapid succession they would almost dazzle you; but when
the stone got cold the colors would vanish. You might place that stone on the
windowsill on the hottest day and it would have no effect on it, but it would
respond to peculiar moisture of the human hand to bring out its beauty. That is
what happens when we lie passively in the hand of God. All the beauty that is in
us shows.

How's Your Interior Decorating? Warren W. Wiersbe relates that one day he was
scanning the shelves in a bookstore in Cincinnati, Ohio, when he discovered a
volume out of place. It was in the "Religion" section, but the title of the book
was The Art of Interior Decorating. He started to remove the book, but then it
dawned on him that the volume was just where it belonged. For, after all, isn't
that what the Christian faith is all about-interior decorating? "I can't think
of a better description of the Christian life than 'interior decorating.'" he
commented. "You see, the Bible emphasizes the fact that each of us has an 'inner
man'-the real person down inside. The body may change and decay and even die,
but the 'real you'down inside will live forever."

Pleasing Christ A desire to please Christ is not something extra for the
Christian. It is basic to Christian sanctity. It is not a dessert, but the main
course-not a sideshow, but the main tent. It is not a motive to which we can
resort to when convenient; it is a controlling force to which we have committed
our lives. We have abandoned everything else. In time, applause and pleas of the
world have a hollow ring. We are marching to a different drumbeat. His smile is
singularly our greatest delight! This is the lifestyle of love. The Cross and
the Crown "The highest joy to the Christian almost always comes through
suffering," said Alexander Maclaren. "No flower can bloom in Paradise which is
not transplanted from Gethsemane. No one can taste of the fruit of the tree of
life, that has not tasted of the fruits of the tree of Calvary. The crown is
after the cross."

Frequent but Not Common Bill Smith. There may be no name more common in the
English language. In a seminary class, one professor related an event that
happened his first day in college. His teacher professed an uncanny command of
the English language. It seemed that he always pulled out the most appropriate
word for the occasion. On this, the first day of school, he was calling the
roll. After recognizing each student he made some pertinent comment about his
name-its history, meaning, or some historically related story. Finally, he came
to Bill Smith. He said with a pause and in a reflective tone, "Bill Smith...that
is a common name." Stirred from within, Bill arose from his seat and said in a
loving but firm tone, "Sir, Bill Smith may be frequent but not common." Who
among us has not lived under the teacher's philosophy? Thinking there is nothing
special about ourselves, we have concluded that we are common, everyday,
ordinary. Let us continually remind ourselves that each one of us is a chosen
person, a royal priest, a member of a holy nation, a person that belongs to God
(1 Peter 2:9).

Tested! The WEATHER Test-Are you a sailboat Christian, making progress in the
Lord only if the winds are favorable and things go your way? Or are you a
tugboat Christian, plowing right ahead according to God's Word even though the
gales are against you? (Revelation 2:10). The WORRY Test-If you trust, you do
not worry; if you worry, you do not trust as you should. Haven't you found that
"He keeps him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him" because he trusts in
God? (Matthew 6:28; Luke 12:27). The WORLDLINESS Test-Do you think as the world
thinks, go where the world goes, act as the world acts? Does your life give
evidence of having your affections set on things above, not on things of the
world? (Romans 12:1). The WALLET Test-What proportion of your income last year
was turned over for the work of the Lord? Was it at least as much as the tithe
which the Jews paid before the grace of God was revealed in Christ? (Leviticus
27:30; Nehemiah 12:44). The WORK Test-How much of your energy is being given to
the work of the Lord, and is it a reasonable portion of what you are expending
in the day-to-day task of making a living? (John 9:4). The SOUL-WINNING Test-Are
you by life and lip presenting Christ so that He is attractive to those who do
not know Him as their Savior and Lord? (Matthew 12:30; Romans 15:5-6).

I Missed Church...But God Understands! Quite often, when people are encouraged
to put aside whatever is preventing them from attending services regularly, they
will say: "Well, I really should be there, but I think God understands!" God has
gone on record in Hebrews 10:25 as saying, "Not forsaking the assembling...." He
does not understand why some of His people willfully hold to habits of forsaking
the assembly! God does understand that we need to meet to praise Him and study
His Word. God understands that others need the encouragement of our presence, we
are a family that He put together. He does understand group fellowship, the
power of people meeting together for mutual strengthening. But do we understand
those things? Many times we do not-and that is why so many allow Satan to bring
one little excuse after another into their lives until they are separated from
our God and His assembly. Let us pray that God will help us to understand the
need, the purpose and the power of attendance to Bible classes and worship
services whenever the doors are open. And let us pray for the courage to do our
part in making the gathering of the saints a time of love, praise, and spiritual
growth! It is a matter of spiritual life and death, really, not only for us, but
also for others whom we are influencing. Think about it!

Trees "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water" (Psalms 1:3).
Who shall be like a tree? The good man, anyone who loves God, and loves his
Bible and loves to do right. The trees can teach us many lessons: Grow straight
and beautiful. Live a life so you will have a good reputation; do not let any
sin make you grow crooked and full of knots and gnarls. Be sound of heart. Some
beautiful trees are rotten-hearted, hollow-hearted. They are dying trees, they
are hypocrites, the lumber man cuts one down and it cannot be used. Be honest,
be true, be sincere, be what you want people to think you are. Be strong. Do not
let any little wind of temptation blow you over. Overcome evil with good.
Sometimes the winds topple even live trees in the forest, but God is better to
His children than trees. "Ye shall not be tempted above that ye are able." Keep
growing. Last winter was cold, last summer was hot, but every live tree grew a
little; it added one more ring to the trunk, a few more twigs to the branches.
Do not let trouble keep you from growing in faith; do not let hard work keep you
from growing in love; keep growing every year. Give help to others. All live
trees are of some use-shade, timber, nuts or fruits. Every Christian can be of
some use in the world. Find your work and do it well. God cares for all. For
every tree there is a place to grow, plenty of air, light and rain. There is
also for you all that you need. God cares for all His children. He never has
forgotten one; He will never fail you nor forsake you. Be contented. No tree
ever worries, fusses, or grumbles. Does it grow in a wilderness? It may yet be a
part of a city palace. Is your life lonely or sad? Some day death will
transplant you into the great city of heaven. The trees look in at your window,
they smile down upon you along the streets. Learn the lessons that they teach,
and you may be like a tree planted by the river of water.

Totality I must have a whole Christ for my salvation; I must have a whole Bible
for my staff; I must have a whole church for my fellowship; I must have a whole
world for my parish.-Augustine

Salt of the Earth In his early remarks during what we call the Sermon on the
Mount, Jesus describes His disciples as "the salt of the earth." Notice this
verse carefully: "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its
saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything,
except to be thrown out and trampled by men" (Matthew 5:13). Jesus takes it for
granted that all understood the uselessness of salt that is incapable of
preserving and flavoring. "Throw it away!" is His advice for useless salt. The
application to Christians is clearly seen. God put us here to preserve and
flavor His world. If we are not doing that, what good are we to Him or others?
In A.D. 252, a killing plague swept through the North African city of Carthage.
The heathens threw the dead in the streets and fled the city in fear for their
lives. Cyprian, leader of the church in Carthage, marshaled the saints and they
began burying the dead and nursing the sick. Their action saved the city and
thrust the church into prominence in the minds of its citizens. Good people are
salting the earth and preserving the creation of God. They are lighting the
world and glorifying the God who made it. I have a question: If we are not
salting this earth and lighting this world, then why are we here?

Things You Will Never Be Sorry For: For telling the truth; For living a pure
life; For your faith in Christ; For acknowledging your sins; For doing your
best; For thinking before judging; For forgiving your enemies; For helping a
fallen brother; For being loyal to the church; For standing by your principles;
For being courteous and kind; For money given to he Lord's cause; For being
honest in business. Be a Doer If you have a gift-bring it. If you have a
song-sing it. If you have a talent-use it. If you have love-diffuse it. If you
have sadness-bear it. If you have gladness-share it. If you have happiness-give
it. If you have religion-live it. If you have a prayer-pray it. A Friend Is... A
push when you're stopped, A guide when you're searching, A song when you're
glad, A word when you're lonely, A smile when you're sad.

What Do You Do for Fun? Several years ago a Christian girl told me about an
incident with a young man who had been asking to date her. He was not a member
of the church, and they just didn't have anything in common. She had turned him
down twice and now she had said "no" to attending a rock concert with him. In a
kind of mock exasperation, the young man asked, "What do you do for fun? You
don't dance, you don't drink, you don't attend rock concerts, what do you do for
fun?" To the young man she replied, "For fun I get up in the morning without
feeling embarrassed, ashamed and guilty about what I did the night before." The
young man had nothing more to say. She was right; it is fun not to feel guilty
for your actions the night before. Come to think of it, there are many things in
life that are fun. For example, that Christian girl is now married to a fine
Christian man. They have a little girl and are building an outstanding Christian
home together. I am thrilled thinking about the fun she is having! She is having
fun every day living without the affliction of deep scars of fornication, drugs
or alcohol, and regrets from her past. It's fun getting ready each afternoon to
receive a husband home from work, knowing that he won't be stopping off at a
local bar for a few drinks with the boys. It is fun knowing that while he is
away from her, his Christian conduct won't allow infidelity or even flirting.
It's fun watching him hold his little girl on his lap with loving, protecting
arms. It's fun knowing that her little girl will never see her father in a
drunken stupor or experimenting with drugs. It's fun living with assurance that
the home will be led by a spiritual leader who will guide each family member
toward heaven. The list of fun things for Christians is endless;what do you do
for fun? Can Man Be Just a Christian? At times it appears that in our "Christian
world" man is converted to a church rather than to Jesus Christ. Loyalty to a
body of believers seems to have priority over allegiance to the Lord Jesus.
Although each religion claims faith in the same Bible, because of certain
doctrines peculiar to various denominations they separate themselves from one
another. Frequently each denomination is divided into a number of sects. Is it
possible for man simply to be a "Christian"? Must he separate himself with some
denominational name as Baptist Christian, Methodist Christian, etc.? God doesn't
divide believers into various denominations-man does. Even with his own church
choice, man is frequently at variance with his brother over some biblical
understanding. Also, world Bible scholars differ in matters pertaining to
Scripture understanding. What authority does one believer have in saying, "I am
right and you are wrong," or "I am more honest than you." Certainly the Bible is
right, but does it necessarily follow that I am the one who has perfect
understanding? Do you ever differ with members of your family over some
conviction? Does it mean that you are no longer a member of that family? If
there can be no unity in diversity, there is simply no possibility of unity, for
we all differ in many things.

Short and Long Term Survival Here is a spiritual insight from Charles A.
Lindbergh: "Short term survival may depend on the knowledge of nuclear
physicists and the performance of supersonic aircraft, but long term survival
depends alone on the character of man. We must remember that it was not the
outer grandeur of the Roman but the inner simplicity of the Christian that lived
on through the ages."

Something Larger "Bad will be the day," said Phillips Brooks, "for every man
when he becomes absolutely contented with the life that he is living, with the
thoughts that he is thinking, with the deeds that he is doing, when there is not
forever beating at the doors of his soul some great desire to do something
larger, which he knows that he was meant and made to do because he is still, in
spite of all, the child of God."




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  CHAPTER 17: CHRISTMAS
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Christmas The Silent Authors of "Silent Night" Only by happy coincidence did the
names of the true authors of the song "Silent Night" come to light-thirty-six
years after they wrote it. The story begins in 1818 in a church in the little
Austrian town of Oberndorf. Shortly before Christmas Eve, a mouse ate a hole in
the leather bellows of the church organ, effectively silencing it. The itinerant
organ mender was not due in town for months, and music was needed for the
Christmas Eve service. In three and one-half hours, Franz Gruber, the organist,
composed music for a poem written by Josef Mohr, a priest. It began "Stille
Nacht, Heilige Nacht" ("Silent Night, Holy Night"). On Christmas Eve, the two
men sang their composition accompanied by a guitar and children's chorus. They
were a great success. The following May, when the organ mender turned up, Gruber
gave him a copy of the song, which the man then circulated in his travels. By
1831, thirteen years later, the Strasser family quartet was billing "Silent
Night" one of their numbers, as a Tyrolean folk song by "authors unknown." Time
went by, and soon the now-popular song was being attributed to several famous
composers. In 1854, the leader of the king's orchestra in Berlin wrote to the
choir director of the Benedictine school in Salzburg, asking for a copy of
"Silent Night" by Michael Haydn, brother of the more famous composer Franz
Joseph Haydn. The choir director asked a student-who just happened to be Felix
Gruber, Franz Gruber's son-to find a copy. And you can guess the rest. A Strange
Birthday Celebration If the following story were not true, it would surely be
unbelievable. It is true, however, as you yourself will agree when you have read
it. There was once a great king. His love for his people knew no limits.
Although the kingdom was very large, the king knew every person by name.
Everything the people of the kingdom had was a gift freely given by the loving
king. So, to show their love and appreciation to the king for all he had done
for them, the people decided to have a great celebration to honor his birthday.
Everyone agreed it was a marvelous idea. Preparations for the celebration were
very elaborate. No expense was spared by the people. They adorned their homes
with lights, decorations, and expensive ornaments. There were parties, dinners,
and celebrations throughout the kingdom. All the people brought gifts for their
friends and family. Many of the gifts which the people gave each other were
quite expensive, involving considerable indebtedness. In fact, the people spent
more on the birthday celebration than they spent at any other time of the year.
Many who were not citizens of the kingdom, and who did not even know the king,
joined in the celebration. Their celebration of the king's birth was marked by
excessive drinking. Since they did not know the king, they invented a
good-natured, fat fellow in a red suit. He laughed a lot, but never said
anything. But that didn't matter because they were too busy celebrating to
listen anyhow. The great day of celebrating his birth finally arrived, and some
of his people did come bringing gifts and thanking him for his goodness to them.
But to his dismay, most of the citizens never came to his house at all on the
day of celebration. And the gifts brought to the king by those few who came were
very meager when compared with the gifts they had given themselves. For the most
part the people said they had been so busy with all the celebrations and
personal plans that they had forgotten about the king. Several said they had
thought of him, but really could not work it into their schedules or budgets to
come see him or bring a gift. A few were known to be quite put out when it was
suggested that going to the king's house or remembering him with a gift was
important. Those people who did come to his house and who brought their loving
gifts were welcomed and blessed by the king. But when they had gone and he was
alone again, the king fell to thinking of the vast numbers of his people who had
forgotten and forsaken him. How could they have forgotten? Had he not loved them
all? How could so many of his beloved people who had found the time and money
for shopping and feasting and partying and decorating and all sorts of
celebrations-how could they possibly be so thoughtless, so ungrateful or
selfish? Did they not know that he, too, had feelings? Was not the purpose of
the birthday celebration originally planned to honor him? When the king was
alone, pondering these questions, he felt the tears well up in his eyes. And in
his loneliness, he wept. One thought brought some hope and consolation. Even
though they had forgotten him, he had not forgotten them.

Immanuel Two missionaries were captured and imprisoned in the same cell but
forbidden to speak to each other. Christmas came. One of the missionaries,
shivering and silent, sat on the floor covered with hay. As he was playing with
bits of hay around him, he thought that he discovered a silent way of
communicating with his friend. He spelled out the word Immanuel. As soon as his
friend saw the word, immediately he lit up with joy. They were captives, but
they both believed that God was with them and that ultimate triumph would be
theirs. This Christmas let us find a variety of ways of showing to others that
God is indeed Immanuel, God with us.

Keep Christ Central in Christmas It is a principle of art that in the
composition of a picture, all the parts shall be so arranged as to lead the eye
inevitably to the central figure or feature. Whatever prevents this is a capital
defect. Accessories are only important as they help this end. When Varelst, the
Dutch painter, made his tulips so glorious that they drew attention away from
the face of James II, in whose portrait he had placed them, he violated this
canon. So did Haydon when, in his picture of Christ's triumphal entry into
Jerusalem, he made the figure of the beast on which the Master rode more
attractive than the person of Christ. So does the theologian or the
metaphysician or the logician, who fascinates by his argument and rhetoric, or
the preacher and liturgist, who stresses his forms of worship and symbols of
religion. It is not the swaddling-clothes of ceremonialism, but the Christ of
the simple gospel story consistently lived, that shall span the continents with
love and make Christmas perpetual in the heart of man.

Christmas Is Costly It cost Mary and Joseph the comforts of home during a long
period of exile in Egypt to protect the little Babe. It cost mothers in and
around Bethlehem the massacre of their babies by the cruel order of Herod. It
cost the shepherds the complacency of their shepherds' life, with the call to
the manger and to tell the good news. It cost the wise men a long journey and
expensive gifts and changed lives. It cost the early apostles and the early
church persecution and sometimes death. It cost missionaries of Christ untold
suffering and privation to spread the good news. It cost Christian martyrs in
all ages their lives for Christ's sake. More than all this, it cost God the
Father His own Son-He sent Him to the earth to save men. It cost Jesus a life of
sacrifice and service, a death cruel and unmatched in history. The Shoemaker's
Dream One of the most beautiful of all Christmas stories was told by the
American poet, Edwin Markham, about a cobbler, a godly man who made shoes in the
old days. One night the cobbler dreamed that the next day Jesus was coming to
visit him. The dream seemed so real that he got up very early the next morning
and hurried to the woods, where he gathered green boughs to decorate his shop
for the arrival of so great a Guest. He waited all morning, but to his
disappointment, his shop remained quiet, except for an old man who limped up to
the door asking to come in for a few minutes of warmth. While the man was
resting, the cobbler noticed that the old fellow's shoes were worn through.
Touched, the cobbler took a new pair from his shelves and saw to it that the
stranger was wearing them as he went on his way. Throughout the afternoon the
cobbler waited, but his only visitor was an elderly woman. He had seen her
struggling under a heavy load of firewood, and he invited her, too, into his
shop to rest. Then he discovered that for two days she had had nothing to eat;
he saw to it that she had a nourishing meal before she went on her way. As night
began to fall, the cobbler heard a child crying outside his door. The child was
lost and afraid. The cobbler went out, soothed the youngster's tears and, with
the little hand in his, took the child home. When he returned, the cobbler was
sad. He was convinced that while he had been away he had missed the visit of his
Lord. Now he lived through the moments as he had imagined them: the knock, the
latch lifted, the radiant face, the offered cup. He would have kissed the hands
where the nails had been, washed the feet where the spikes had entered. Then the
Lord would have sat and talked to him. In his anguish, the cobbler cried out,
"Why is it, Lord, that Your feet delay. Have you forgotten that this was the
day?" Then, soft in the silence a voice he heard: "Lift up your heart for I kept
My word. Three times I came to your friendly door; Three times My shadow was on
your floor. I was the man with the bruised feet. I was the woman you gave food
to eat, I was the child on the homeless street."

Christmas Spells Peace Amid the horrors of World War I, there occurred a unique
truce when for a few hours, enemies behaved like brothers. Christmas Eve in 1914
was all quiet on France's Western Front, from the English Channel to the Swiss
Alps. Trenches came within 50 miles of Paris. The war was only five months old,
and approximately 800,000 men had been wounded or killed. Every soldier wondered
whether or not Christmas Day would bring another round of fighting and killing.
But something happened: British soldiers raised "Merry Christmas" signs above
the trenches, and soon carols were heard from German and British trenches alike.
Christmas dawned with unarmed soldiers leaving their trenches, though officers
of both sides tried unsuccessfully to stop their troops from meeting the enemy
in the middle of no-man's land for songs and conversation. Exchanging small
gifts, they passed Christmas Day peacefully along miles of the front. At one
spot, the British played soccer with the Germans, who won 3-2. In some places,
the spontaneous truce continued the next day as neither side was willing to fire
the first shot. Finally, the war resumed when fresh troops arrived, and the high
command of both armies ordered that further "informal understanding" with the
enemy would be punishable as treason.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing Charles Wesley of England was without doubt one of
the most productive hymn writers and preachers of all time. Yet, strangely
enough, Wesley was able to get only one hymn poem into the Church of England's
Book of Common Prayer, and that one by error! An eighteenth century printer
didn't know that the "established Church" of England frowned with disapproval
upon Wesley's hymns. Since he needed material to fill an empty space in the new
hymnal, he took it upon himself to insert a Christmas poem called, "Hark, How
All the Welkins Rings!" by an Anglican clergyman named Charles Wesley. When the
error was discovered attempts were made to have it removed, but it proved so
popular that it was allowed to remain. It was written in 1738, but is still very
moving today. "Hark the herald angels sing. Glory to the new born King. Peace on
earth, and mercy mild: God and sinners reconciled." At Christmas Is Christ Happy
Over Us? "Mommy," asked Jane, "what makes everybody so happy at Christmas?"
"Well, because it is the Lord Jesus' birthday...and because we love Him...and
because we are happy about His coming to this world." Jane thought a minute and
then said, "Then is the Lord happy about you?" "Oh, little girl, what a question
you have asked!" Is the Lord Jesus happy about us on His birthday? Is he really
happy because He sees within our hearts a deep, true love for Him? Does He see a
satisfying love and not just a seasonal affection stirred up by the festivities
of Christmas? What He wants more than anything else on His birthday is the love
of our hearts. Do You Recognize Christ in Christmas? Not long ago, a professor
of psychology in one of our great universities gave a word suggestion test to
his class of 40 students. He instructed them to write the word "Christmas," and
all the class did so. "Now," said the professor, "right after the word
'Christmas'write the first thought that flashes through your mind regarding that
day." When the papers were turned in, such answers were given as "tree,"
"holly," "mistletoe," "presents," "turkey," "holiday," "carols," and "Santa
Claus," but not one had written, "the birthday of Jesus." As there was no room
for the baby Jesus in the inn, there is no room for Him today in the celebration
of Christmas. Do Not Weep Over What You Do Not Have But Decorate What You Have
One Christmas Eve, as late Christmas shoppers hurried along the street, a
crippled newsboy stood on his crutches offering his papers to the passersby. He
looked happy, and his crutches were decorated with evergreens. One man greeted
him with a cheerful smile, "My boy, you surely have the Christmas spirit." The
boy replied "What's the use of putting on a sour face? Sure, I am poor and lame,
but that's no reason for looking glum. I won't get presents like other boys at
Christmas, but I can have fun, too. So I decorated my crutches just to make them
seem special for Christmas." If we go out to seek joy, it will elude us. If we
go out to impart joy, we will find it. This Christmas, whether you have little
or much, it makes no difference. It is your attitude that counts. A Christmas
Prayer Then let every heart keep Christmas within- Christ's pity for sorrow,
Christ's hatred for sin, Christ's care for the weakest, Christ's courage for
right. Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas tonight! When Christmas Comes Have you
any old grudge you'd like to pay, Any wrong laid up from a bygone day? Gather
them all now, and lay them away When Christmas comes. Hard thoughts are heavy to
carry, my friend, And life is short from beginning to end; Be kind to
yourself-leave nothing to mend- When Christmas comes.

Some Christian Reminders May the Christmas cheer remind you of Him who said, "Be
of good cheer." May the Christmas bell remind you of the glorious proclamation
of His birth. May the Christmas carols remind you of the song the angels sang,
"Glory to God in the highest." May the Christmas season remind you in every way
of Jesus Christ your King.

Open the Gift Package There was a gift for each of us left under the tree of
life 2,000 years ago by Him whose birthday we celebrate today. The gift was
withheld from no man. Some have left the packages unclaimed. Some have accepted
the gift and carry it around, but have failed to remove the wrappings and look
inside to discover the hidden splendor. The packages are all alike: in each is a
scroll on which is written, "All that the Father hath is thine. Take and live!"
The Xmas of Christmas Someone has written that people use Xmas and it means
Xhaustion, Xcuses, Xchanges, Xcesses, Xtravagances, Xasperations, Xhibitions and
worldly Xcitement. How much better to make the Lord the very center of our
Christmas observance. Keep Christ in Christmas!




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  CHAPTER 18: CHURCH
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Church

Forward-Moving Christianity When I think about the kind of offensive strategy
God expects from His church, I think about the San Francisco Forty-niners. They
were the team of the eighties. Their greatness was due to their ability to make
an offensive impact. They controlled the ball, thereby controlling the game.
Their offense was almost always on the field, so other teams rarely had an
opportunity to score. Even if the other teams did score, the Forty-niners almost
always came back and scored again. God doesn't expect Satan to "control the
ball" in his battle against the church. God expects the church to be on the
offensive, executing His game plan. Satan's defense is to be kept on the field
while God's offense scores the touchdowns. When Satan's team does have the ball,
the church ought to be causing fumbles so the right offense gets back on the
field. The church isn't in the game just to keep Satan from scoring. God has
called His people to be forward-moving Christians. The Church's Responsibility
Like many Christians today, the disciples had a faulty view of the future. They
focused on Christ's future kingdom rather than on their responsibility to occupy
enemy territory and represent His kingdom until He returns (Luke 19:31). The
church's responsibility to occupy the world can be compared to what happened in
1983 on the island of Grenada. Due to the rise of Communist insurgency, the U.S.
President ordered troops into Grenada. In just eight hours, the battle was over.
However, many of the Communists would not accept defeat. Rather than surrender,
they sniped at our troops from behind cars, buildings, and trees. So our troops
remained there until the victory was secured and a new government was installed.
When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He was victorious over all
God's enemies. He clearly won the victory. However, Satan and his followers have
not accepted defeat and still try to claim victory. Thus, the victorious Christ
has established His troops-the church-to secure the victory until He returns to
set up His new government. The church is God's occupational force until He comes
again. Rather than focusing on their future rule with Him, therefore, Jesus
wanted the disciples to focus on their impact in the world and be ready to
receive God's power through the Holy Spirit.

Safety Tips Do not ride in an automobile (or get in the way of one), as
automobiles cause 20 percent of all fatal accidents. Do not stay at home; that's
where 17 percent of all accidents occur. Do not walk across the street;
pedestrians are victims of 14 percent of all accidents. Do not travel by air,
rail or water; 16 percent of all accidents are the result of these activities.
Only .001 percent of all fatal accidents occur at church and almost none of
these during worship and Sunday School. Obviously, the safest place to be is in
worship and Bible Study with your family and fellow Christians. I hope to see
YOU in Bible Study and worship this coming Lord's Day! Who Flew the Kite? "I
did," said the sticks. "I did," said the paper. "I did," said the boy. "No, I
did," said the wind. But they all flew the kite together. If the sticks had
broken, the tail caught in a tree, the paper torn or the wind has lulled, the
kite would have come down. Each had a part to play. The application is
inescapable. We each have a work to do. If the work of the Lord is to be a
success, then all parts must be played by every member of the church. We have
the work of visiting, giving, preaching, and countless other jobs to do to make
the church and its work successful. We must all work together and each do what
he can to help. It is a matter of teamwork (1 Corinthians 3:6-9).

Fourteen Ways to Kill a Sunday School Attend only when convenient. When you do
attend, arrive late. Grumble about having to attend. Criticize the officers and
teachers in front of your family and friends. Refuse to accept any
responsibility in the Sunday school. If you ever do accept any, do it grudgingly
and neglect it often. Never study your lesson. Always show your lack of interest
in the lesson. Appear relieved when the class is over. Act as if you have wasted
your time. Refuse to welcome visitors; make them feel that you belong and they
don't. Criticize every new idea that is suggested. Dominate discussions; always
insist that your opinion is right. Regard the teachers of your children as
upstarts and busybodies. Show your distrust or disapproval of teachers when they
call in your home. Never sacrifice for the Sunday school; leave that to somebody
else. The Oldest Company It happened at the noonday luncheon of the local
Rotary. The dishes had been cleared away, and the meeting had been called to
order. After the reception of new members and the introduction of visitors, the
chairman asked who of those present represented the oldest company in the
community. A young man in the back of the room hesitated a moment, then arose
and said: "I believe I do, sir. I am a minister of the gospel. The company I
represent was founded some 1,900 years ago. And I am happy to say that it is
still flourishing." His announcement was greeted with applause, for none of
those present was inclined to contradict him. He did, indeed, represent "the
oldest company" in the community. It was 19 centuries ago that the Founder of
this "company" had said: "Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). How true the intervening
centuries have proved His startling prediction to be! On every continent and on
the islands of the seven seas, from East to West, from North to South, the
company of Christ's redeemed have carried the message of salvation. It was that
"company" that the youn g minister represented-indeed, the oldest, grandest, and
the largest to be represented at the meeting, a "company" that you can belong to
by simple faith in Christ the Savior. We are "fellow" citizens with the saints
and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief Cornerstone (Ephesians
2:19-20).

Fishing and Wishing While some are wishing for the church to somehow grow,
others are preparing themselves to be instruments of God in church growth as
"fishers of men" (Mark 1:17). From My Heart "It is written, 'My House is the
house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers'" (Luke 19:46). The week
preceding Jesus' crucifixion is one of the busiest recorded in Scripture. The
reason would seem to be that Jesus knew His time was drawing near. For this
reason, everything He did was for a purpose-from the riding on the donkey to the
cursing of the fig tree; from the breaking of the bread to the cleansing of the
temple. The Temple of Jerusalem was a major attraction for visitors. The temple
was also, unfortunately, a major place of business. The merchants sanctioned by
the temple abused their business privileges. They also used special temple
currency which was exchanged at unfair rates. However, this was only a small
part of what upset Jesus. The temple was divided into several courtyards. The
outermost courtyard was the one designated for the Gentiles. They could not go
any further into the temple, so that was their place for prayer. Here there was
buying and selling, hordes of people talking, and animals all over the place,
which made it hard to focus on fellowship with their heavenly Father. Not only
that, but God was being robbed, too. Today we face a similar problem in our
churches. They have become social centers where we come to catch up on the
latest gossip or to be seen by the masses. And when we casually approach
worship, we hinder someone else in the process. They are hurt by our gossip or
they can't focus on God because of our distraction. Now let's take it the next
step toward personal application. Is my body the "temple of the Holy Spirit?"
Everything I do with my body, I do it to God's temple. Am I robbing Him or is my
body truly a house of prayer? Dear Jesus, Come examine your temple and cleanse
me of all that distracts me from You. Amen.

Mystery Doesn't Bother Us in the Dining Room Did you ever raise a radish? You
put a small black seed into the black soil, and in a little while you return to
the garden and find the full grown radish. The top is green, the body white and
almost transparent, and the skin a delicate red or pink. What mysterious power
reaches out and gathers from the ground the particles which give it form and
size and flavor? Whose is the invisible brush that transfers to the root,
growing in darkness, the hues of the summer sunset? If we were to refuse to eat
anything until we could understand the mystery of its creation, we would die of
starvation-but mystery, it seems, never bothers us in the dining room; it is
only in the church that it causes us to hesitate.

Remedy for a Prune Face Under a caption in the Detroit Free Press appeared a new
prescription for retaining beauty. It continued with the following: "Ladies, do
you want to stay young? Then join a church choir. Women who sing stay younger
looking. A singer's cheek muscles are so well developed by exercise that her
face will not wrinkle nearly so soon as the non-singer." This is the article we
have been waiting for. Now women and men, if you do not want to look like a
prune, join the choir!

Why Sit Near the Front? There is a tendency to "spread out" and leave vacant
pews in the front of the auditorium. I have come to the conclusion that you will
never be motivated to sit toward the front until you convince yourself of the
value of doing so. Here are some of the reasons for sitting up front that you
might consider. Because it is considerate of other people. People who come in
late, especially visitors, want to be seated as quickly as possible. If they
have to walk to the front of the auditorium to find a seat it is quite
embarrassing. There are fewer distractions during worship. By sitting toward the
front, I avoid a lot of distractions that disrupt my concentration during
worship. I do not see the latecomers filing in, nor the darling baby perched on
mother's shoulder. My mind is clear to marvel at the cross of Christ during the
Lord's Supper and to sing with "understanding!" The singing is more enjoyable.
Sitting up front means that all the voices are pointed in your direction. You
are surrounded by the sound of harmonious voices singing praise to God. I am
stirred to sing more enthusiastically myself. The preaching is better. I am
serious. You miss a lot in the back of the auditorium. The expression on the
face of the speaker (and the song leader) adds depth to the message being
communicated. I feel more a part of the message, as if the speaker were talking
directly to me. It makes a positive statement about my interest and involvement
in what is happening. Question: When you buy a ticket to a concert, theater or a
sporting event, do you ask for the seat farthest away? When visitors see rows of
empty pews at the front, what impression does that make on them as to our
involvement in worship and our excitement about the Lord?

Making Simple Things Hard We are great planners. We like to spend many hours
drawing up complex organization charts, carefully constructed diagrams, and
in-depth plans for building the church. Most of these never come to fruition.
Many are just "pipe dreams." Would you be interested in a simple, yet profound,
plan that will help you build the church? Listen to the simple formula for a
growing church set out by Mack R. Douglas in his book, How To Make A Habit of
Succeeding: 1. Set a Goal. That's logical. You can never know if you've arrived
at the place you wanted to go unless you first had your target pinpointed.
Right? 2. Get a Plan. Planning is drawing a map as to how you are going to reach
your goal. Ever have someone try to tell you how to get to someplace and have
them say, "Get me a piece of paper." He draws you a map that tells you how to
get from where you are to where you want to be. That's what we mean by planning.
3. Go to Work. Somebody always has to foul up a good idea. This is our biggest
stumbling block. We've got lots of goal setters and planners, but are short on
workers. But this is where the "rubber meets the road." No church is going to
grow unless we've got people working! Jesus felt this pain during his ministry,
"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few" (Matthew 9:37). Douglas then
adds this fourth point: "Don't be discouraged by anything or anybody."

Some Don'ts for Church Attenders Don't visit: worship. Don't hurry away: speak
and be spoken to. Don't dodge the preacher: show yourself friendly. Don't dodge
the collection plate: contribute what you are able. Don't sit in the end of the
pew: move over. Don't stare blankly while others sing: join in. Don't wait for
an introduction: introduce yourself. Don't criticize: remember your own
frailties. Don't monopolize your hymn book: be neighborly. Don't stay away from
church because you have company: bring them with you. Don't stay away from
church because the church is not perfect: how lonely you would feel in a perfect
church. Is the Church Costing Too Much? On June 2, 1940, a little girl was born.
She cost money from the moment she was born. As she grew from babyhood to
girlhood, she cost even more. Her dresses and shoes were more expensive as well
as the doctor through all those childhood diseases. She was even more expensive
during her school and teen years. She needed long dresses to go to parties. When
she went to college, it was discovered that all college expenses are not listed
in the catalog. Then after graduation she fell in love and married. She had a
church wedding, and that, too, cost a lot of money. Then, five months after her
marriage she suddenly sickened and within a week she was dead. She has not cost
a penny since the day the parents walked away from her grave. As long as the
church is alive she will cost money, and the more alive a church is, the more
money she will cost. Only a dead church, like a dead child, is no longer
expensive!

What Do You Get Out of Church? Have you heard the story of Jim Smith and Ron
Jones? Jim went to church one Sunday morning. He heard the organist miss a note,
and he winced. He saw a teen talking when everyone else was praying. He felt
certain the usher was watching to see what he put in the offering plate, and it
made him boil. Five times, by actual count, he caught the preacher in
slip-of-the-tongue mistakes. During the invitation, he slipped out the side
door, all the while muttering to himself, "What a waste of time!" Ron went to
church, also. He heard the pianist play an arrangement of "A Mighty Fortress Is
Our God," and he was stirred to worship by the majesty of it. A special missions
offering was received, and he was glad his church was doing what they could for
people around the world. He especially appreciated the sermon that Sunday; it
really spoke to a need in his life. He thought, as he shook the preacher's hand
and left, "How can anyone come here and not feel the presence of the Lord?" Both
men were in the same church the same day. Each found what he was looking for. It
has been said that churches and banks are much alike in one respect: "What one
gets out is, for the most part, dependent upon what one puts in." A Church
Garden Three Rows of Squash Squash indifference. Squash criticism. Squash
gossip. Four Rows of Turnips Turn up for meetings. Turn up with a smile. Turn up
with a visitor. Turn up with a Bible. Five Rows of Lettuce Let us love one
another. Let us welcome strangers. Let us be faithful in duty. Let us truly
worship God. Let us give liberally.

Make Church Your Starting Place A traveler stopped in a small town and asked of
the people, "What is this place noted for?" The reply from the people was, "This
is a very important place. It is the starting place for any place you want to
go. You can start from here and go anywhere you wish." What is so important
about this church? Your home? Your class? You can start from there and go any
place you wish to be. You can go to the town of forgiveness, the mountain of
faith, the island of eternity, the community of friendliness. The church is
important because you can start there and go anywhere you wish.

Flying Together Have you ever wondered why the Canadian geese fly only in the V
formation? For years specialists in aerodynamics wondered the same thing. Two
engineers calibrated in a wind tunnel what happens in such a V formation. Each
goose, in flapping his wings, creates an upward lift for the goose that follows.
When all the geese do their part in the V formation, the whole flock has a 71
percent greater flying range than if each bird flew alone. Each depends upon the
other to get to its destination. Something else-When a goose begins to lag
behind, the others "honk" it back into place. Now, let us learn from God's
animal creation. The church needs to fly in a spiritual V formation, "honking"
one another into steadfastness. And it must be at least 71 percent easier to
live the faithful Christian life flying with the flock as opposed to going it
alone. "Let us consider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works"
(Hebrews 10:24).

Someone Else The church was bowed in grief this week to learn that one of our
most valuable members, Someone Else, passed away. This death creates a vacancy
that will be difficult to fill. Someone Else has been with us for many years.
During all these years, he did far more than a normal person's share of the
work. Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for
inspiration as well as results. Whenever there was a job to do, a class to
teach, or a meeting to attend-one name was on everyone's list: "Let Someone Else
do it." Someone Else was also among the largest givers of the church. Whenever
there was a financial need, everyone just assumed that Someone Else would make
up the difference. This beloved church member was a wonderful person, sometimes
appearing superhuman; but a person can only do so much. Everyone expected too
much of Someone Else. Now Someone Else is gone. Who will pitch in to do the
things that Someone Else has done? If you are asked to take a job in church, we
hope you won't reply, "Let Someone Else do it." Now we need you to pick up where
Someone Else left off.

One by One A young man, walking along the beach at dawn, noticed an old man
ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Catching up
with the man, the youth asked what he was doing. The answer was that the
stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun. "But the beach goes
on for miles, and there are millions of starfish," countered the young man. "How
can your effort make any difference?" The old man looked at the starfish in his
hand, and then threw it to safety in the waves. "It makes a big difference to
this one," he said. The attitude of many, in today's churches, is, "since we
cannot completely deal with the problem, we will not do anything."

Even God Cannot Get Into Some Churches For more than a year a little old
charwoman who lived on the wrong side of the tracks had been trying to join a
fashionable downtown church. The preacher was not eager to have a seedy looking
person in faded, out-of-style clothes sitting in a pew next to his rich members.
When she called for the fifth time to discuss membership, he put her off for the
fifth time. "I tell you what," said he unctuously, "you just go home tonight and
have a talk with God about it. Later you can tell me what He said." The poor
woman went on her way. Weeks moved into months, and the preacher saw no more of
her, and his conscience did hurt a little. Then one day he encountered her
scrubbing floors in an office building, and felt impelled to inquire, "Did you
have your little talk with God, Mrs. Washington?" he asked. "Oh, my, yes," she
said, "I talked with God, as you said." "Ah, and what answer did He give you?
"Well, preacher," she said, pushing back a wisp of stringy hair with a sudsy
hand, "God said for me not to get discouraged, but to keep trying. He said that
He himself had been trying to get into your church for 20 years, with no more
success than I have had."

How Far Is God From Your Church? A stranger who once visited a church where the
service proved to be formal, prayed so loudly, the usher bent over him and
whispered, "You don't have to pray so loud-God is not deaf!" In response, the
stranger whispered softly to himself, "God isn't deaf, but He is a long way from
this place." This Is My Church It is composed of people just like me. It will be
friendly if I am. It will do a great work if I work. It will make generous gifts
to many causes if I am generous. It will bring others into its fellowship if I
bring them. Its seats will be filled if I fill them. It will be a church of
loyalty and love, of faith and service. If I who make it what it is, am filled
with these, Therefore, with God's help, I dedicate myself to the task of being
All these things I want my Church to be.

Dusted or Cleansed He was only a boy of four, so there was nothing unusual about
the fact that he did not like soap and water. One day his mother, endeavoring to
reason with him, said, "But surely you want to be clean, don't you?" "Yes," the
boy replied through his tears, "but can't you just dust me off?" This is amusing
when coming from a boy of four, but pathetic when grownups are content with a
once-a-week spiritual dusting. (And some only let the duster be applied a few
times a year.) The inner filth goes undisturbed in their lives and they seem
content to have it so.

What God Can Do, and Does Someone has estimated that the average member of the
church has heard 6,000 sermons, 8,000 congregational songs and saved zero
sinners! Here is the way the problem stacks up: 200 total membership 20 too old
to work 180 left to work, but... 18 too timid to accept much responsibility 162
left to work, but... 12 work out of town or away for school 150 left to work,
but... 25 work long hours six or seven days a week 125 left to work, but... 20
tied down with children 105 left to work, but... 20 handicapped by poor health,
aches and pains 85 left to work, but... 35 are unfaithful-do not
attend-indifferent 30 left to work, but.. . 20 attend, but refuse to work 10
left to work, but... 8 are very tired and ask to be relieved 2 left to work. You
and I... But I'm too busy with other things, so you do the work. The Church The
church is never a place but always a people; never a fold but always a flock;
never a sacred building, but always a believing assembly. The church is we who
pray, not where we pray. A structure of bricks or marble can no more be a church
than one's clothes of serge or satin can be he. There is in this world nothing
sacred but man, no sanctuary of God but the soul.

Uninvolved Church Members Someone once called a preacher to say he wanted to
place church membership. But, he went on to explain that he did not want to
worship every week, study the Bible, visit the sick, or serve as a leader or
teacher. The minister commended him for his desire to be a member, but told him
the church he sought was located in another section of town. The man took the
directions and hung up. When he arrived at that address, the man came face to
face with the logical result of his own apathetic attitude. There stood an
abandoned church building boarded up and ready for demolition. The Church Is a
Trading Post During the century of westward migration in America, the trading
post was a familiar landmark in every frontier town. To the trading post came
the hunters, trappers, miners, and homesteaders with such things as furs and
gold, and these they traded for things they needed more-food, tools, weapons,
clothing. In a very real way, the church is a kind of trading post. Here some
things may be put down and left, and others may be picked up and taken. We may
bring our cares and fears, our sins and guilt, and we may take forgiveness, joy
and peace. Can a Person Be a Christian Without Joining the Church? Yes, but it
is like a soldier without an army; a student who will not attend school, a
salesman without a customer, a sailor without a ship, a bee without a hive, an
author without a reader, or a baseball player without a team. These situations
might exist, but they would not be very satisfactory.

They Won't Miss Me! Try to imagine how unattractive our church building would be
if bricks in the wall were missing. Not only would it be unattractive, but it
would also be weakening to the rest of the structure. If our building were
missing bricks, we would get busy and correct that situation immediately. Simon
Peter tells us that the Lord's spiritual house (the church) is made up of
"lively stones." But often we observe numerous stones missing from the worship
assembly. The result is a most unattractive and weakened structure. Even as
every brick in our church building is needed, so every living stone in the
spiritual house is needed. How unfortunate when some member has the idea, "I'm
only one; I won't be missed!" The Bible teaches that every person must bear his
own burden. Our daily prayer should be, "Lord, help me always be in my place
carrying my share of the load."

I Am Your Church I am your church. Make of me what you will, I shall reflect you
as clearly as a mirror. If outwardly my appearance is pleasing and inviting, it
is because you made me so. If within my spiritual atmosphere is kindly, yet
earnest; reverent, yet friendly; worshipful, yet sincere; sympathetic, yet
strong; divine, yet humanly expressed; it is but the manifestation of the spirit
of those who constitute my membership. But if you should, by chance, find me a
bit cold and dull, I beg of you not to condemn me, for I show forth the only
kind of life I shall receive from you. I have no life or spirit apart from you.
Of this may you always be assured: I will respond instantly to your every wish
practically expressed, for I am the reflected image of your own soul. Make of me
what you will. A Shining Light In the Alps in Switzerland nestles an obscure
village, with a castle and a church of rough, hewn stone, reached by worn steps
up the mountainside. The peculiar thing about this church is that it has not a
lighting system nor has ever had one. A traveler there heard a church bell
ringing and saw folks coming out of the narrow streets, each bearing a quaint
little bronze lamp filled with oil and having a wick. She approached a worshiper
and said, "Please, I am a stranger here, will you tell me why you carry a lamp
to church?" The woman replied, "Why, yes, I would be happy to. Years ago a duke
lived in that castle. He built the church, endowed it, and asked that each
worshiper bring his own lamp." The traveler replied, "I should think that would
keep folks from attending the evening services." "Oh, no, it works just the
other way. It is called The Church of the Lighted Lamps. Everybody that goes
makes it a little brighter and when anybody is tempted to stay at home or go
somewhere else, he just remembers that the dear old church needs everybody's
lamp, and if your lamp isn't there, there is so much less light." Not Good If
Detached Did you ever notice on a railroad ticket, or on many coupons of various
nature, "Not good if detached?" The coupon was made of the same material as the
rest of the ticket, was printed with the same ink, on the same press, and was
kept in the same office and used by the same company. But it was not good if
detached. Its usefulness, its ability to take you places, was dependent upon its
relation to the rest of the ticket. Of how much worth is a church member
detached from the rest? How much fruit can a branch bear detached from the vine?
How good is your hand when it is detached from your body? A Christian is one who
stays with the rest of the church. He cannot serve apart from it. You may be a
foot, a hand, or an eye of the body of Christ, but you are not worth much to
yourself or to anyone else separated from the church, which is His body. Did you
ever notice just how quickly a banana gets skinned after it leaves the bunch? So
remember: "Forsaking not the assembling of yourselves together...." (Hebrews
10:25).

Gates and Gatekeepers The strongest walls are useless if the gates are weak or
if the gatekeepers are careless or disloyal. The Great Wall of China was
penetrated by enemies at least three times, and each time the guards were
bribed. The church desperately needs strong gates and loyal gatekeepers.

Too Many Cathedrals An elderly woman was being conducted through a great
cathedral in Europe. The guide spoke of its beauty of design, calling attention
to the statues and paintings. The woman was unimpressed. At the conclusion of
the tour she asked the guide, "How many souls have been saved here this year?
How many people have drawn near to God here?" "My dear lady," said the
embarrassed guide, "this is a cathedral, not a chapel." That's the trouble.
Unfortunately we have too many cathedrals and too few chapels where the warmth
of the Spirit of God is felt, conducive to a spiritual life that enhances our
knowledge of God. The Devil's Property A Finnish infidel once bequeathed his
farm to the devil. The will was studied by the courts, and it was decided that
the way to carry out the provisions would be to leave the farm untouched by
human hands. In a few years it was overgrown with brush, the buildings had
tumbled down, and the whole farm presented a scene of desolation and ugliness.
That's the way property looks when Satan owns it. Also churches left desolate
are the result of Satan's work. No Schisms in the Body The word "schism" is a
transliteration from the Greek schisma, which literally means "a tear in a
garment or a crack in a stone." A torn garment is useless; it fails to
accomplish its purpose of covering the body. A cracked stone endangers the whole
structure that rests upon it. Paul writes that no member of the body should
behave in such a way as to render the whole body useless. The way to avoid such
schism is for the members of the body to help each other, since they are capable
of recognizing one another's strengths and weaknesses.

Let the Other Do It There is an incipient danger in thinking, since there are so
many belonging to the Church, "Why not let George do it?" An eastern story tells
of four brothers who decided to have a feast. As wine was rather expensive, they
agreed that each one should bring an equal quantity and add it to the common
stock. One of the brothers thought he might escape making his contribution by
bringing water instead of wine. "It won't be noticed in the common wine jar," he
reasoned. But when, at the feast, the wine was poured out, it turned out not to
be wine at all but plain water. All four brothers had thought alike. Each one
had said, "Let the other do it." The Wolves and the Dogs Have you heard the
fable of the wolves and the dogs? It seems the wolves were afraid of the dogs
for they were many and strong, so they sent out a spy to observe them. On his
return the scout said, "It is true the dogs are many, but there are not many who
can harm us. There are dogs of so many kinds one can hardly count them, and, as
they came marching on, I observed that they were all snapping right and left at
one another. I could see clearly, though they all hate us wolves, each dog hates
every other dog with all his heart." How we need to take to heart the words of
Paul to the Galatians: "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this;
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another,
take heed that ye be not consumed one of another" (Galatians 5:14-15). The
Church Where God Wasn't Welcome There was a dear black saint of God who happened
to enter a fashionable church. After the service he approached the preacher and
told him that he wanted very much to join the church. The pastor knew that his
consent to such a request would certainly not meet with the approval of the
official board of the church and of the congregation. At the same time he did
not want to appear cruel and harsh. So he said to this man, "John, go home and
pray for two weeks for the Lord to guide you definitely whether He wants you to
join this church." Accordingly, humble John took the advice and went home. When
the two weeks were up, he came again to the church, and after the service the
preacher said to him, "John, what was the guidance of God?" "Sir," John replied,
"God told me that He has been trying to get in here for the past fifteen years
and He hasn't succeeded, so I had better give up trying where God cannot find
entrance."

Church Attendance A Christian once said to his minister, "I can worship God and
enter into the Holy of Holies just as easily in my garden as I can in a church
pew." Later on the two men were sitting before a fireplace in which the embers
glowed cheerily. Silently the minister went to the fireplace, took the tongs,
and lifted a single glowing coal from the fire and placed it alone on the
hearth. Soon it became black ash. The church-neglecting Christian said, "Ah, you
need not say a word. I understand what you mean. I cannot worship alone any more
than I can live alone. I'll be in my place at the church next Sunday." The
environment of the church is basic to Christian growth, providing it's the right
kind of church. Ask yourself two questions before joining: Is Christ preeminent
there? Is the Holy Spirit at work?

Ichabod A flourishing church was once reduced to complete ineffectuality. Sunday
school had customarily been held in the afternoon. But the pastor and others in
the church wanted to change it to the morning hour. They knew that the Sunday
school superintendent was strongly opposed to this. Rather than face the matter
openly with him, they met in secret and voted to change the hour. When he
learned of it, his feelings were deeply hurt. Angry words were exchanged. People
in the church began to take sides, and soon a sizable faction moved out.
Bitterness quenched the work of the Spirit, and what was once a deeply spiritual
and soul-winning church became a poorly attended one. Lacking support, the
edifice itself became shabby and unattractive, reflecting outwardly the
destructive result of jealousy that led to strife and divisions. The Decaying
Church The building is not really the Church. God's people are. Yet the Church
today spends more money for buildings than for anything else. When an artist was
asked to paint a picture of a decaying church, to everyone's astonishment,
instead of putting on canvas an old, tottering ruin, the artist painted a
stately edifice of modern grandeur. Through the open portals could be seen the
richly carved pulpit, the magnificent organ, and the beautiful stained glass
windows. To one side was an elaborately designed offering plate for foreign
missions -covered by a cobweb!

Permission to Bury a Baptist Don't be like that bishop of whom I heard. It seems
a Baptist family had a death in the family while their minister was out of town.
They asked a minister of another denomination to conduct the funeral service. He
said he would have to check with the bishop, so he wired him, "Can I bury a
Baptist?" The bishop wired back, "Sure, bury all the Baptists you can!"

Unity Not Uniformity That divisions exist in the body of Christ is apparent to
everyone. The spirit of exclusive denominationalism is evidence of it.
Denominations need not be schismatic; they need not cause the entire body of
Christ to accomplish less than God intended it. All born-again believers are
members of the same body, with God-created differences. We are not uniform, but
we need not fight each other on that account; we are to care for all the members
of Christ's body equally. Isolationism kills the effectiveness of the body of
Christ. Paul says in Romans 14:1, "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but
not to doubtful disputations." A Sympathetic Body In our physical bodies a
toothache makes the whole body react in sympathy; the cessation of that ache
makes the whole body give a sigh of relief. Why can't it be that way in the
Church? Is it because we're so blind to the close and sympathetic union that
Scripture enjoins between the members, that we allow the folly of selfishness to
take the place of the wisdom of unselfishness? The Church-an Organism Seminary
graduates are needed, and God can use them mightily, but Christ's body is not to
be served only by those who have 20-20 vision, but also by some myopic
Christians who have to wear glasses. Is it any wonder that after two thousand
years the Christian gospel is still unknown to three out of every four people in
the world? It's because the Church has become an organization devoted to
uniformity instead of realizing that it should be an organism, a body that has a
diversity of organs with varied gifts to serve the unified body of Christ. A
lack of committed believers with no college education is just as deadly to the
progress of the Church as a lack of seminary graduates.

Every Member Valuable The eye is placed in the upper area of the head, so that
by virtue of its position it's easy for it to entertain a high opinion of
itself. The human hand drops down at the side of the body, so that it's natural
for the eye to look down upon it in both a literal and figurative sense. But the
hand knows how to speak up and defend its usefulness. Suddenly a fly alights on
the eye. Instantly and instinctively the hand elevates itself and brushes the
fly away, saying, "Who said, Eye, that you don't need me?" The hand goes on to
plow the ground, sow the seed, and reap the harvest. It mills the wheat into
flour and kneads the dough to make bread. Then it turns to the eye and says,
"You, Eye, would have died long ago if it hadn't been for my labor for you.
Without the food I've earned, you'd have become sightless and starved to death.
You can't do without me any more than I can do without you." Paul rightly says,
"The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee" (1 Corinthians
12:21).

Blended for Harmony The body is a delicate instrument which needs to be looked
after with great care. Yet many of us don't value it as we should or take
sufficient care of it. God has made each of us a living musical instrument, so
to speak, capable of showing forth His praise. Each of us is like a harp of a
thousand strings on which the most varied and beautiful music may be played.
Every part of our body is skillfully constructed and admirably adapted to do its
proper work. God has tempered or blended every organ to produce a harmonious
whole. But this instrument is exceedingly liable to go wrong. The least thing
spoils it and makes it unfit for its work. Unless it's properly treated we can't
use it to the best advantage to glorify or show forth the perfect nature of God,
its Architect and Creator. This is also true of the body of Christ, His Church.
We are His members, diverse in our make-up and performance but duty-bound to
blend our differences to produce harmonious music and praise that will attract
the world instead of repelling it. Just as we wouldn't listen very long to an
orchestra whose instruments were out of tune, neither will the world listen to
Christians who sound forth the gospel against a background of divisions and
quarrels.

Harmony in the Church As one member of the human body harmonizes its function
with the other members, we must harmonize our individual functions in the Church
with those of others. There is beauty in variety, even as there is a spiritual
uplift from music that harmonizes a variety of instruments and voices. We must
never get out of tune by harping on the one gift we consider ours. No one of us
can act independently as a member of the body. We have to cooperate with other
members if we are to be of any use to the body of Christ as a whole. The
Church's One Foundation Paul calls himself a wise architect because the
foundation he laid was not different from the one eternally laid. How foolish an
architect would be if he refused to follow the laws of nature and civil
engineering which are actually the laws of God. You, too, are unwise if you
diverge from the Church's one Foundation, "Jesus Christ, and Him crucified,"
laid down by God from the beginning. The Perfect Church I think that I shall
never see A church that's all it ought to be: A church whose members never stray
Beyond the strait and narrow way; A church that has no empty pews, Whose pastor
never has the blues, A church whose deacons always deak, And none is proud, and
all are meek; Where gossips never peddle lies, Or make complaints or criticize;
Where all are always sweet and kind, And all to others' faults are blind. Such
perfect churches there may be, But none of them are known to me. But still,
we'll work, and pray, and plan To make our own the best we can. -Author Unknown
The Lord's Trumpet In the Old Testament, under God's command, trumpets were used
to call the princes and the congregation together, to announce the journeying of
the camps, and as an alarm or notification device. Trumpets were also blown in
the days of Israel's "gladness," "set feasts," and over their sacrifices in the
beginning of their months (Numbers 10:1-6, Numbers 10:10). I believe that it is
in this sense of gladness for the Church of Jesus Christ that this last trumpet
will be blown. Can there be any more joyous event than this, when the dead in
Christ shall be raised incorruptible, and living believers shall be similarly
changed? The Lord's trumpet will call all believers, dead and living, to join
Him in possessing a glorious resurrection body. The Discontented Member Hubert
Brooke comments: "A selfish existence in one, who is in membership with many
others, is a contradiction of terms, and must mean loss to all the rest, and
misery to the idle member." May not this explain the restless discontent of many
who are really united to Christ? They are not subject to the Head; they are not
using His gifts for the common profit; they keep for themselves what is given
for all. In short, they are disobedient and dishonest, and therefore
discontented and missing the joy of the Lord.

Spirit of Christ Makes Us Like-minded An eminent preacher says, "I was walking
in a beautiful grove where the trees were wide apart and the trunks were
straight and rugged. But, as they ascended higher, the branches came closer
together, and still higher the twigs and branches interlaced. I said to myself:
Our churches resemble these trees. The trunks near the earth stand stiffly and
rudely apart; the more nearly they ascend toward heaven, the closer they come
together until they form one beautiful canopy, under which men enjoy both
shelter and happiness. Those who have the Spirit of Christ will be like-minded."

Just Keep Praising the Lord A rural brother, considered a bit old-fashioned,
visited a great city temple. As the eloquent minister drove home some great
truth, the ruralite shouted, "Praise the Lord!" Whereupon an usher touched him
on the arm and whispered, "Be quiet. "You can't 'praise the Lord' in this
church." God pity both preacher and church!

Strength in Unity If the body is ill, the head hurts, the body temperature is
elevated, the heart races, the lungs labor, the skin flushes or cools as needed.
The kidneys work overtime to filter out infection; the brain directs each organ
and each function of the body to cooperate in throwing off the enemy and
restoring the organism to health. This cooperation, this united effort against
outside forces that invade the body, is an illustration of how the separate
members of the Body of Christ ought to unite to work against threatening forces
of evil. Where Is the Piccolo? It is a great discovery to know what we can do
well; doing it well is the only way the whole body of Christ can function. Don't
be like that member of an orchestra who played the piccolo. Amid the thunder of
the organ, and the roll of the drums, the player on the piccolo said to himself,
"In all this din, my little instrument doesn't matter," and he ceased to play.
Suddenly the great conductor threw up his arms, and all was still. "Where is the
piccolo?" he cried. God listens for our share in His orchestra no matter how
small that share may be.

Sad but True An old deacon was once asked about the state of his church. He
replied, "We are in sad straits; the church is slipping back, getting worse all
the time; but, thank the Lord, none of the other churches in our neighborhood is
doing any better."




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  CHAPTER 19: COMMITMENT
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Commitment

Total Commitment The difference in a contribution and total commitment is
usually the difference in failure and success. A chicken and a hog were walking
past a church building one day when they noticed the Sunday morning sermon
posted on the outside bulletin board, "Helping the Poor." They walked a ways
when the chicken suddenly came across with a suggestion. "Say, Brother Hog, why
don't we give all the poor people a nice breakfast of ham and eggs?" The hog
thought a moment and replied, "That's all right for you to say because for you
it is only a contribution, but for me, it's total commitment!" Jesus succeeded
in His mission because He was totally committed to the task before Him. He was
willing to give up everything, even His life, for the cause He believed in. No
one really succeeds in life until he reaches the point that he is willing to lay
down his life. Jesus said, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,
it abideth alone." Disraeli said, "Nothing can resist a will that will stake
even existence for its fulfillment!"

Leaving the Ground There is no such thing as partial commitment. When the pilot
of a giant airliner is speeding down the runway, there is a certain point where
he cannot decide to remain on the ground. When he crosses that line, he is
committed to the air, or the plane crashes disastrously. That pilot cannot
change his mind when the plane is two-thirds of the way down the runway.
Unfortunately, our churches are filled with members who "have never left the
ground." They have been sitting there for years and years gunning their engines.

True Revival We hear much about revival these days, but the heart of revival is
the Lordship of Christ. A mere emotional upheaval, a spurt of religious
excitement, is not revival. When Christians become convicted of rebellion
against the rule of Christ in their lives, confess their sins, renounce self,
take the cross and let Jesus have the first and last word in everything, that is
revival, by whatever name you call it.

Motivated by Conviction Jonathan Edwards inaugurated the great spiritual
awakening in colonial America because he was possessed by a conviction.
"Resolved that all men should live to the glory of God," he wrote in his diary
at the age of nineteen. Then he added, "Resolved, second, that whether others do
this or not, I will." Jonathan Edwards was possessed by a great conviction.
William Booth's marvelous work with the Salvation Army was motivated by a
conviction. He wrote in the autograph album of King Edward VII these words,
"Some men's ambition is art, some men's ambition is fame, some men's ambition is
gold. My ambition is the souls of men." The same truth appears in the lives of
men and women in every field. One of today's most prolific writers is W. Phillip
Keller. His books on faith as seen through the eyes of nature have been
phenomenally successful, particularly A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. In his
autobiography, Keller describes the beginning of his writing career. His desire
to write motivated him to use his space time to produce a book manuscript. He
worked on it for hundreds of hours. He explained, "I would actually write and
rewrite steadily for the next eleven years of my life before a single line was
ever accepted for publication." Why did he do it? Because of a conviction that
drove him. Few have earned universal acclaim like Paderweski, whose name is
synonymous with excellence on the piano. He would often play a bar of music
forty or fifty times before a performance to get it right. After playing before
Queen Victoria, he received this word of praise, "Mr. Paderewski, you are a
genius." Paderewski responded, "That may be, but before I was a genius, I was a
drudge." Why such discipline? Because of the conviction which controlled him.
-Brian L. Harbour

Sure-Footed As a young man in Europe, Donald Grey Barnhouse did considerable
mountain climbing in the Swiss Alps and in the more dangerous and difficult
French Alps. Roped together with other young men, he scaled many a peak; his
snapshot book records moments of difficulty and peril that later made him wish
to restrain others who might venture into similar places. Th e first time he
went out with a young Frenchman, son of a pastor, and a young Swiss bank clerk,
they gave him sound advice. "You have two hands and two feet," they said, "and
that makes four. Always be sure that three out of the four are firmly on the
rock. It is the only rule of safety." This advice is also the rule of spiritual
safety in our Christian life. In one of the Psalms, David told of slipping feet.
He had been looking at men and their circumstances. He saw the righteous
suffering and the wicked flourishing, and he could not understand; he was, in
fact, dismayed. He had looked at men and their doings instead of looking at God.
It is as dangerous to take your eyes from the Lord in spiritual things as it is
to take your feet from the rock in mountain climbing. The Souls of Men David
Brainerd had such an intense compassion for souls, and was so concerned for
their salvation, that he said, "I cared not where or how I lived, or what
hardships I went through, so that I could but gain souls for Christ. While I was
asleep, I dreamed of these things, and when I awoke, the first thing I thought
of was this great work. All my desire was for the conversion of the heathen, and
all my hope was in God." When Will Revival Start? Gypsy Smith was once asked how
to start a revival. He answered, "Go home, lock yourself in your room and kneel
down in the middle of your floor. Draw a chalk mark all around yourself and ask
God to start the revival inside that chalk mark. When he has answered your
prayer, the revival will be on." Why not covenant with God to draw that private
circle?

Baptism Identifies the Believer Jesus says to identify new believers with God
through baptism. Baptism in the Bible is used to mean identification (1
Corinthians 10:1-2; Romans 6:3-4). The relationship between water baptism and
spiritual baptism is similar to the relationship of a wedding to a wedding ring.
The ring doesn't marry you, but it clearly identifies the wearer as one who is
married. The ring identifies one who has made a total, lifelong commitment to
another person. Baptism, then, identifies us with Christ's death on the cross
and His resurrection into new life. This identification is not only with Christ
but also in the name of the Father and Holy Spirit. This is significant because
it shows that our lives are to be totally encompassed by the Triune God.

Just Drifting! The Book of Hebrews declares that "we ought to give the more
earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let
them slip" (Hebrews 2:1). Another way of translating the final phrase of this
verse is, "lest we drift away." Nothing in the world is easier than drifting. No
person drifts upstream, only downstream. It is so easy. All you do is sit back
and relax and let the boat go. You are soon lulled into a lazy stupor, not
caring where you go. You may not even be aware you are drifting until it is too
late and the boat is on the rocks. Satan is very wise. He seldom urges a
Christian to leave the church or to give up his faith in the Lord. Instead he
causes us to relax, rest on the oars, and drift along in the Christian life. All
around us are Christians who have drifted into a state of coldness and
indifference. They have stopped caring about others who need to hear the message
of God's saving grace. Are you drifting? Wake up now! Grab the oars and pull.
Your active concern is needed as we seek to lead others to find Christ and His
will for their lives.

Sacrifice The story of Polycarp, Smyrna's bishop who studied under the Apostle
John, comes to mind. Adamantly committed to the saving lordship of Jesus, which
left no room for bowing to the empire, Polycarp was arrested and sentenced to
death. Actually, he was given a chance to step out of the fire. The Roman
proconsul gave Polycarp the choice of cursing the name of Jesus and worshiping
Caesar to save his skin or continue embracing Jesus to his death. "Swear," said
the proconsul, "and I will set you at liberty. Reproach Christ." Polycarp
replied, "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong.
How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" After the proconsul threatened him
again with the specter of burning at the stake, Polycarp added, "You threaten me
with fire which awaits the wicked in judgment to come and in everlasting
punishment. Why are you waiting? Come, do what you will." As they approached him
and prepared to tie him to the stake to be burned, he shouted, "Leave me as I
am, for He who gives me power to endure the fire, will grant me to remain in the
flames unmoved even without the security you will give by the nails." Loosely
bound, with flames flashing about him, Polycarp prayed, "O Lord God Almighty,
Father of Thy beloved Child, Jesus Christ...I bless Thee that Thou has granted
unto me this day and hour, that I may share, among the number of the martyrs, in
the cup of Thy Christ, for the resurrection to eternal life." And so on February
23, A.D. 155, Polycarp paid the price. Then he went to heaven. The pay off is
worth the price. Then there was Patrick Hamilton who studied under Martin Luther
in Wittenberg. He literally ignited the Reformation in Scotland. As he burned at
the stake in 1527, he said, "As to my confession, I will not deny it for awe of
your fire, for my confession and belief is in Jesus Christ...I will rather be
content that my body burn in this fire for confession of my faith in Christ than
have my soul burn in the fire of hell for denying the same."

Ending and Beginning Revelation 1:8 reads, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
beginning and the ending, saith the Lord." Have you ever given thought to how
many things about us are constantly ending and beginning? For example, today
will end with the beginning of night and night will end with the beginning of
tomorrow. Our Lord is both the beginning and ending of everything! 2 Corinthians
5:17 speaks to us about some endings and beginnings within our own lives:
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passing
away, and all things are becoming new." For the believer, there is a constant
change going on. Life is being re-shaped. It begins in a new-birth experience
and as we grow in the Lord, this new life constantly changes, as we are reshaped
into the image of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

Looking at the Goal The snow covered the ground, and three young boys were
playing in it. A man said to them, "Would you like to try to race, with the
promise of a prize for the winner?" The boys agreed, and the man told them that
his race was to be different. "I will go to the other side of the field," he
said, "and when I give you the signal, you will start to run. The one whose
footsteps are the straightest in the snow will be the winner." As the race
commenced, the first boy began looking at his feet to see if his steps were
straight. The second lad kept looking at his companions to see what they were
doing; but the third boy just ran on with his eyes fixed on the man on the other
side of the field. The third boy was the winner, for his footsteps were straight
in the snow. He had kept his eyes on the goal ahead of him. A long time ago,
another man using similar words taught the same principle. It was Paul who said,
"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward
the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ
Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).

Soaring Like Eagles For thousands of years the eagle has been respected for its
grandeur. When you observe its flight, its great wing span, and the power of its
claws, it is inspiring, to say the least. In Proverbs 30:18-19, Solomon says,
"There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know
not. The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way
of a ship in the mist of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid." The eagle
does not travel in flocks nor do they conduct themselves irresponsibly. Strong
of heart and solitary, they represent qualities we admire. The eagle mates for
life and returns each year to the same nest, making necessary repairs and
additions. He takes his role to provide for his family and protect them from
danger, and teaches the little eaglets to fly. With all this: responsibility,
liberty, beauty, stability, and a lot more admirable traits of the eagle's
makeup and such qualities, we agree with Solomon's view that it is nothing short
of wonderful. The eagle is committed to that which he is destined to do, without
concern for what is below him. I would that we all were committed to our
obligation of teaching and preaching the gospel as the eagle is committed to
soaring in the heavens of God. If we could soar as the eagle without regards to
the little petty issues of this life and do those things Jesus would have us to,
we could have so much rest and contentment in doing those things that are
required. We only have a few years to spend on this little planet, few are the
ones who decide to ignore the average and fight against the pull of the mediocre
magnet. Let's face it. It's tough! As the motto goes, "It's hard to soar like an
eagle when I'm surrounded by so many turkeys." "Teach us to number our days and
recognize how few they are; help us to spread them as we should" (Psalms 90:12).

Proof of Sacrifice When I speak of sacrificial giving, I mean giving that is
measured and motivated by the cross of Christ. It is nothing less than giving at
its best. Perhaps a story from the past will illustrate what I mean. Early in
the nineteenth century the king of Prussia, Frederick William III, found himself
in great trouble. He was carrying on an expensive war; he was endeavoring to
strengthen his country and make a great nation of the Prussian people. But he
did not have enough money to accomplish his plans. He could not disappoint his
people, and to capitulate to the enemy would be unthinkable. After careful
reflection he decided to approach the women of Prussia and ask them to bring
their gold and silver jewelry to be melted down and made into money for their
country. He resolved, moreover, that for each gold or silver ornament he would
give in exchange a bronze or iron decoration as a token of his gratitude. Each
decoration would bear the inscription, "I gave gold for iron, 1813." The
response was overwhelming. And what was even more important was that these women
prized their gifts from the king more highly than their former possessions. The
reason, of course, is clear. The decorations were proof that they had sacrificed
for their king. Indeed, it is a matter of history that it became unfashionable
for women to wear jewelry. So the Order of the Iron Cross was established.
Members of this order wore no ornaments, save a cross of iron for all to see.
The church today needs an army of people who are so committed to the King of
Kings that sacrifice becomes a way of life! Such an army would do exploits for
God. Such an army would hasten the coming and reign of "the King eternal,
immortal, invisible (the) God Who alone is wise" (1 Timothy 1:17).

Living Proof Can a young Marine, body shattered by the weaponry of modern
warfare, rebound and turn personal defeat into personal victory? Lt. Clebe
McClary recounts his courageous story of rebuilding his devastated life. During
his tour of duty in Vietnam he suffered the loss of one eye, his left arm, and
subsequently underwent 33 operations to retain usage of the remainder of his
body. Today Clebe McClary is in the service of the Lord's Army, traveling the
world over, attesting to personal faith in Jesus Christ. His life shows that he
genuinely embodies a personal vow which he took upon entering the Marines: "Any
mission assigned will be accomplished in a superior manner, no matter what the
obstacles."

Singleness of Heart Required It is always fascinating to read of wholehearted
human endeavor-amazing stories of total dedication. For example, the U.S.
Marines conduct a supersecret sniper program in Quantico, Virginia. The school
admits 25 men for an eight-week course of 16-hour days. Very few pass. To
graduate, each goes on a mock mission into a well-defined area where instructors
search for the sniper. If they can find him, they can fail him. To get in range
of the target, a sniper may move forward at a rate of one inch per hour. He may
sit for days absolutely still, despite cold, rain, insect bites, and fear. No
one gets out without singleness of heart ("School for Snipers," U.S. News and
World Report, 21 April 1986, p. 61). We expect that kind of intensity from
Olympic champions, concert pianists, doctoral candidates, and everyone else at
the highest levels of human achievements. Likewise, God expects it when we come
back to Him. God deserves singleness of heart because He is God! Most of us
intend to come back to God-sometime. But we fail because our intention never
becomes intense. To Have and to Hold Commitment. It is a word that we seem to be
hearing a lot about lately. One automobile manufacturer says that they are
"committed to excellence." Professional athletes, business persons, executives,
etc., are all committed to their occupations. Recently, I read a story of
commitment that touched my heart and made me think of commitment in marriage.
Most married people have affirmed a commitment to their spouse that goes
something like this: "...To have and to hold from this day forward, for better
for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to
cherish until death do us part...." Robertson McQuilkan's commitment in marriage
was severely challenged when his wife, Muriel, contracted Alzheimers disease.
Mr. McQuilkan was president of a Bible college and seminary when he was faced
with a mountainous decision. He could not continue as president and take
appropriate care of his wife who at this point could only speak in phrases and
words and was prone to irrational behavior. She was afraid when she was not with
her husband. Even his most trusted and godly friends advised him to put his wife
in an institution for the sake of his ministry. After all, how could he retire
when things were going so well and he was only 57 years old? When the time came,
McQuilkan's decision was firm. It took no great calculation. It was a matter of
integrity. He commented, "Had I not promised, 42 years before 'in sickness and
in health... till death do us part'?" Later he would go on to write of the joys
and blessings he had received as a result of the special time spent with Muriel.
Commitment is a foundation for successful Christian living. The Lord is going to
stand behind His promises-He is committed to what He has said and done. For the
Christian there can be nothing less. Commitment is an absolute necessity. A
photographer tells of a young man who wanted duplicate copies of his
girlfriend's picture. The photographer noticed the following inscription on the
back of the portrait, "My dearest Tom, I love you with all my heart. I love you
more and more each day. I will love you forever and ever. I am yours for all
eternity." Signed, Dianne. "P.S. If we ever break up, I want this picture back."
We who have been saved have professed our love for Christ and for others. We
belong to Christ. There can be no P.S. in our life given to God. We can never
break up with Him. We are His. We belong to Him-forever.

What Is the Lord's Surname for You? "He surnamed ...he surnamed" (Mark 3:16-17).
This is a very suggestive story. To three of His twelve Apostles He gave
surnames. Perhaps He did the same for all. We do not know. The action in regard
to these three is illustrative. Perhaps He even does the same for His own. If
so, one wonders how He is surnaming us. The idea is purely speculative, but it
is speculation on a profitable level, especially in the light of these
revelations. "Simon He surnamed Rock." This Simon was impulsive, restless,
inconsistent, lacking cohesion. Yet He surnamed him Rock. The name was an
indication of his unrealized natural capacities; and of the Lord's ability to
realize them. The sons of Zebedee, James and John, He surnamed Sons of Thunder.
They were men of gentle, filial nature, quiet men, content to abide at home in
the service of their father. Yet He surnamed them Sons of Thunder; men of
authority and power. The principle was the same. In James was the capacity to be
so loyal to a Master and a cause as to die for them. In John was the mystic
power which would make him a seer, and an interpreter of the great things of
life. The Lord was able to bring these things to realization, and to employ them
for His own glory in cooperation with His service. And so again we wonder: what
is He naming us? The consideration is for the hour of lonely communion with Him.
In such an hour we shall discover that His surnaming is ever based upon two
things; first, our capacities as the result of our first birth; and secondly,
His power to realize those capacities. We shall find, moreover, that His power
becomes operative when we are wholly yielded to Him. A Hymn of Marriage The
question is asked, "Is there anything more beautiful in life than a boy and girl
clasping clean hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage?" And the answer is
given, "Yes-there is a more beautiful thing; it is the spectacle of an old man
and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path. Their hands are
gnarled but still clasped; their faces are seamed but still radiant; their
hearts are tired and bowed down but still strong. They have proved the happiness
of marriage and have vindicated it from the jeers of cynics." Is This You? Late
one December, an elementary school principal said to his teachers: "Let's all
write our New Year's Resolutions about how we can be better teachers, and I'll
put them on the staff bulletin board. In that way, we can be mutually supportive
in our efforts to keep those resolutions." The teachers agreed, and when the
resolutions were posted, they all crowded around the bulletin board to read
them. One of the young teachers in the group suddenly went into a fit of anger.
She said, "He didn't put up my resolution. It was one of the first ones in. He
doesn't care about me. That just shows what it's like around here." On and on
she ranted and raved. The principal, who overheard this from his office was
mortified. He hadn't meant to exclude her resolution. Quickly rummaging through
the papers on his desk, he found it and immediately went to the bulletin board
and tacked it up. The resolution read: "I resolve not to let little things upset
me anymore." Resolution, but no commitment!

Steadfastness in View of Suffering Jesus "steadfastly set his face to go to
Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51, Luke 9:53). He had a definite destination, and He knew
what it held for Him. It meant Jerusalem with its sorrow, Gethsemane with its
travail, the judgment hall with its injustice and shame, the cross with its
anguish, and even the hiding of the Father's face. For Jesus there was no royal
road to the throne of Israel. For Him the only path lay by Jerusalem and
Calvary. It was a long and weary road, but Jesus took every step. He was tempted
to turn aside from His goal, to be sure, and He was tempted in His sufferings.
His friends wished to draw Him aside from His sufferings. Peter rebuked Him when
He spoke of them. Satan tried to perplex Him, and His own soul trembled when the
time for His crucifixion came. Yet, He knew that He had reached "the point of no
return," and He proceeded in the midst of the storms of sin and doubt about Him
to go toward the cross where He would be victor once and for all. Those who have
crossed the ocean have been impressed with the way the huge oceanliner keeps its
bow to the sea, and, in spite of wind and wave, holds to its course. No sound is
more reassuring than the steady throb of the huge engine. In looking at Christ's
life, one thing that impresses us is His steadiness. He was never shifting, or
even driven about. The throb of His life was constant and perfect.

Straddling the Fence When I was in grade school, my family visited some friends
who owned a farm in Kentucky. After we were there several days, I jumped at the
chance to ride their horse, Prince. However, having never ridden a horse before,
and realizing the horse was much larger than he looked from a distance, I
proceeded cautiously. Being an intelligent fourth grader, I decided to play it
safe by climbing a wooden fence next to where the horse was standing and mount
him from there. With one foot on the left side of the top fence rail, I threw
the other leg over the horse who was on the right side. Immediately the horse
began to sidle slowly away from the fence. Now I hadn't planned on that, and I
needed to make a hasty decision. You see, I wanted both to ride the horse and to
hold on to the security of the fence. Needless to say, after my legs had
stretched as far as they would go, I fell face down on the ground. You would
think such an experience would teach one a lesson. Yet in the years that
followed, I would still find myself trying to "straddle the fence." And the
results would always be the same as that first experience. Only the fence wasn't
on the farm in Kentucky-it was the fence between commitment to Christ and the
world. And believe me, the falls from this fence hurt a lot more. Save yourself
a lot of pain-don't try to straddle the fence. The Greatest Ability There are
great abilities that people acquire, cultivate and demonstrate. In the service
of God there is one ability that is the greatest ability of all. What is it? Is
it sociability, compatibility, accountability, adaptability, or reliability? The
greatest ability is availability. If we are not available to God, no matter what
other kind of ability we have, it is no good. Ability without availability is a
liability. What does availability mean? It means to place one's self totally,
absolutely, completely at God's disposal for Him to do anything and everything
He wants to do in us, through us, with us, for us, when He chooses. Anything
less than that is putting restrictions on God and writing fine print in your
commitment contract to Jesus Christ.

Allegiance Confirmed When Queen Victoria of England reigned as Empress of India,
the Maharajah of Punjab was a little boy. To show his allegiance, he sent her a
magnificent diamond. It became one of the crown jewels and was safely kept in
the Tower of London. When he became a man, he went to London to pay his respects
to the Queen. The young man asked the Queen if he could see the diamond. The
precious jewel was brought in and presented before the Indian prince. Then,
taking the diamond and kneeling before the Queen, he said with deep emotion,
"Madam, I gave you this jewel when I was too young to know what I was doing. I
want to give it again, in the fullness of my strength, with all my heart, and
affection, and gratitude, now and forever, fully realizing all that I do."

Wanted...Men! There is a story to the effect that a certain society in South
Africa once wrote to David Livingston, "Have you found a good road to where you
are? If so, we want to know how to send other men to join you." Livingston
replied, "If you have men who will come ONLY if they know there is a good road,
I don't want them. I want men who will come even if there is no road at all."
The Go of the Great Commission When our Lord said "go," He did not ask us to sit
down and evaluate what the chances were that we would return. Two Coast
Guardsmen were preparing to engage in a rescue attempt of two fishermen lost in
a storm. Someone shouted out to them: "Don't go out there. You may never get
back." One of the guardsmen replied, "We don't have to get back, but we have to
go."

One-Legged Missionary A one-legged school teacher from Scotland came to J.
Hudson Taylor to offer himself for service in China. "With only one leg, why do
you think of going as a missionary?" asked Taylor. "I do not see those with two
legs going," replied George Scott. He was accepted. When Obstacles Confront Us
The successful man lengthens his stride when he discovers that the signpost has
deceived him; the failure looks for a place to sit down. Thomas Edison did not
sit down and give up when his first efforts to find an effective filament for
the carbon incandescent lamp met with failure. He lengthened his stride! He sent
men to China, Japan, South America, Asia, Jamaica, Ceylon, and Burma in search
of fibers and grasses to be tested in his laboratory. Luther Burbank, the plant
wizard, did not quit when obstacles blocked his way. At one time he personally
conducted more than 6,000 experiments before he found the solution. George
Westinghouse was treated as a mild lunatic by most railroad executives.
"Stopping a train by wind! The man's crazy!" Yet he persevered, and finally sold
the air-brake idea. James Watt built model after model of his steam engine
before he got one that worked efficiently. Every man gets on the wrong road at
times. He comes down hills, rough roads, and dangerous detours. What he does
when he meets these obstacles determines his destiny. The world never hears from
those who look for a place to sit down and quit.

Yes! You Can! As we drove up the steep, winding road in the Cave of the Winds
near Colorado Springs, we came suddenly to a narrow passageway between high rock
walls through which it looked as if the car could not possibly go. But facing us
was a sign which said: "Yes, you can! Millions of others have!" And so, driving
carefully through, we soon came to a wider roadway. So many times we face
seemingly insoluble problems and impossible situations. But we can know that God
is able to open ways before us which are now hidden from our view. We may hear
God's message to us: "Yes, you can! Millions of others have gone this way. Be of
good cheer. Trust in the Lord and go ahead!" Heavenly Father, when we face
difficult times, help us to trust in You to show us the way through. In Jesus'
name. Amen.

Anybody for a Walk? Paul Rogers of Centerville, Tennessee, has done some
calculating of just how far the Apostle Paul walked in his efforts to spread the
gospel. According to Acts, he took three missionary journeys. The second of
these alone amounted to three thousand miles, two thousand of which would have
been on foot. The average daily distance of a traveler of that time was about
twenty miles, with a Roman Inn being located every 20 to 25 miles along the
road. These inns were unbelievably filthy, immoral, and bug-infested. Paul
traveled through snowy mountain passes and spring floods. He walked through
areas famous for harboring robbers and criminals. He braved wild beasts which
imperiled every traveler. The travel recorded in Acts 16 alone would have
covered 740 miles. That of chapter 15 would be 500 miles. And to think he was
walking not for his own health, but for the spiritual well-being of others! A
Stumbling Block A missionary society was deeply impressed by the courageous
devotion of David Livingstone who worked single-handedly for God in Africa. The
society wrote to Livingstone: "Have you found a good road to where you are? If
so, we want to send other men to join you." Livingstone replied, "If you have
men who will come only if there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men
who will come if there is no road at all."

Thy Will at Any Cost In 1925, Betty Stam said: "Lord, I give up my own purposes
and plans, all my own desires, hopes, and ambitions, and accept Thy will for my
life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever. I
hand over to Thy keeping all of my friendships; all the people whom I love are
to take second place in my heart. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Work
out Thy whole will in my life, at any cost, now and forever. To me to live is
Christ. Amen." Nine years later on December 8, 1934, Betty and her husband, John
Stam, calmly and bravely laid down their lives for Christ when they were
martyred by Chinese Communists.

Humble Commitment Sophie, the scrub woman, was a Christian. One of the gentlemen
in the large building where she worked said to her, "Say, Sophie, I understand
that you are a Christian." "Yes, sir, I am a child of the King," was her
immediate reply. "Oh! So you must be a princess, since God is your King." "I
sure am." "Well, if God is your Father, and you are a princess and a child of
the King, do you not think that it is beneath your dignity to be found here in
New York City scrubbing these dirty steps?" Not being daunted Sophie replied,
"There is no humiliation whatsoever. You see, I am not scrubbing these steps for
my boss, Mr. Brown. I am scrubbing them for Jesus Christ, my Savior!"

Dying to Self A wealthy university graduate chose to live frugally in a single
room, cooking his own meals. As a result he was able to give two million dollars
to foreign missions. In explanation of his choice he wrote these words: "Gladly
would I make the floor my bed, a box my chair, and another box my table, rather
than men should perish for want of knowledge of Christ." I am not suggesting
that all Christians are called upon to forfeit the normal comforts of life;
only, when God calls them to a life of sacrifice, they be willing to leave all
and follow Him.

Christian Manliness The history of missions is full of examples of Christian
manliness. We think of Dr. Paul Carlson who served as a medical missionary in
the Congo. He compassionately sought to heal the most loathsome of tropical
diseases as he preached Christ as the only cure for sin. For several years he
worked in the midst of increasing political ferment, preaching and living the
gospel in which he so wholeheartedly believed. Even when he was arrested, he
continued to treat the wounds of the rebels who had captured him. Under sentence
of death, he bore himself heroically and died boosting another missionary over
the wall to safety. The prevailing attitude of missionaries everywhere seems to
be summed up in the words of one mission board secretary who commented, "It
shows merely that we must go back."

Fresh Warriors "Baptized for the dead" (1 Corinthians 15:29) does not mean that
living believers could be baptized in place of those who had died unbaptized.
What Paul was actually seeking to convey here is that only those who were
willing to be identified with the dead in martyrdom for Christ's sake, as well
as with Christ in His death and resurrection, could be described as "those
baptized for the dead." But why does Paul use the words "for the dead?" Let us
examine this phrase carefully. The first word, "for," is huper in Greek, which
basically means "over" or " above." The literal translation of this phrase would
be "baptized over the dead"; that is to say admitted publicly into the visible
Church of Christ, as if the dead bodies of those who were similarly admitted
into the Church before them and had died for Christ were lying beneath their
feet. Metaphorically, it means in the prospect of death and as a continuance of
the testimony of those who have heroically died for the faith. Compare what
happens on a battlefield. It is strewed with the bodies of those who fought and
perished nobly; but the contest is still raging, and fresh combatants are
continually pressing into the action. These, as they come up, may be said to be
initiated into the battle over the bodies of those who have bled and died before
them. Now this world is a spiritual battlefield. The contest between sin and
righteousness, which commenced so soon after the fall, has been waging from
generation to generation. It is waging still, and it will continue till sin and
Satan are overpowered, and death is swallowed up in victory. Many, in bygone
ages engaged in this warfare, have fallen on the battlefield, fighting the good
fight of faith. Fresh combatants, however, at the summons of the great Captain
of our salvation are continually pressing forward to occupy the places of the
slain and bravely maintain the contest. These, by the rite of baptism, were
admitted to the position they now occupy as constituted Christian soldiers. With
reference either to the past or the future-the deaths which have already
occurred or their own death most certainly to occur-it may be said that they are
either "baptized over the dead" or "baptized in the prospect of death." In this
way the meaning of the expression becomes clear.

Courageous Christian Chrysostom, the ancient Church Father, was a beautiful
example of true Christian courage. When he stood before the Roman Emperor, he
was threatened with banishment if he still remained a Christian. Chrysostom
replied, "You cannot, for the world is my Father's house; you cannot banish me."
"But I will slay you," said the Emperor. "No, but you cannot," said the noble
champion of the faith again, "for my life is hid with Christ in God." "I will
take away thy treasures." "No, but you cannot," was the retort; "in the first
place, I have nothing you know anything about. My treasure is in heaven, and my
heart is there." "But I will drive you away from man, and you shall have no
friend left." "No, and that you cannot," once more said the faithful witness,
"for I have a Friend in heaven from whom you shall not separate me. I defy you;
there is nothing you can do to hurt me."

Value of Popularity The gatekeeper at the railroad station demanded that
everybody present his ticket before going through the gate to the train. From
those who could not find their tickets readily there was much grumbling and
swearing. One watching the scene said to the gatekeeper, "You don't seem to be
very popular with the crowd." He cast his eyes upward to the floor above, where
the superintendent's office was, and said, "I don't care anything about being
popular with this crowd; all I care about is to be popular with my superior." A
Willing Sacrifice "How much is your salary?" a Muslem asked a mission school
teacher who had once followed the crescent instead of the cross. "Five dollars a
week," was the answer. "Why, you could get ten times that in a government
school!" "Yes, but I do not teach for money; I teach for God." "Well-are those
all the clothes the missionaries provide? Don't you have a robe also?" The
humble teacher looked down at his cotton shirt and trousers. "No, these are
sufficient," he replied. The Muslem shook his head. "I never thought there was
anything to this Jesus religion," he observed thoughtfully, "but there must be
if a man will give up his robe and his lawful wage for it." Could it be that the
gospel is impeded because we are more concerned about food and clothing than
reaching others with the gospel of the grace of God? This is what Christ meant
when He said, "Woe unto you that are full!"

Willing to Suffer A converted native was to be baptized in a river. The
missionary took a long spear with him into the swift current to steady himself.
Inadvertently he stabbed the foot of the convert beneath the water. The man
neither spoke nor moved. After the ceremony when the accident was discovered,
the convert was asked why he had kept silent. "I thought it was part of the
ceremony," he replied. In a way he was right. Baptism should be an external
expression of willingness to suffer for the Lord Jesus Christ in whose Name the
believer is baptized.

Take This Poor Indian Too An incident is related of a missionary who came into
contact with a proud and powerful Indian chief. The chief, trembling under
conviction of sin, approached the missionary and offered his belt of wampum as
atonement. "No!" said the missionary, "Christ cannot accept a sacrifice like
that." The Indian departed, but soon returned offering his valuable rifle and
the most beautiful skins he had taken in hunting. "No!" was the reply, "Christ
cannot accept those either." Again the Indian went away, only to return with a
conscience more troubled than ever. This time he offered his wigwam, together
with his wife and child-everything for peace and pardon. "No," was the reply
even to this, "Christ cannot accept such a sacrifice." At this the chief seemed
utterly oppressed; but suddenly he somehow sensed the deficiency, for, lifting
up tearful eyes, he cried out, "Here, Lord, take this poor Indian too!" That is
the only condition for fellowship with Christ. A Committed Servant One of the
greatest servants of Christ was Dr. Temple in England. A young clergyman who was
being sent by Dr. Temple to a very difficult parish turned to him and said, "Dr.
Temple, why do you send me there? Don't you know how difficult it is? It'll kill
me if I go there." You know what Dr. Temple's reply was? "Well, you and I do not
mind a little thing like that, do we? If what God has set for us to accomplish
will require our lives, we should be willing to give our lives."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 20: COMPASSION
========================================================================

Compassion

Silent Answers Once a young couple lost their only child, a beautiful
three-year-old daughter, as a result of a freak accident. Unable to justify this
tragedy with their concept of a loving God, they went to their minister for
help. "Why?" they asked. "It was God's will," the preacher told them. The couple
just couldn't accept that the passing of their little daughter could somehow
serve God's will, and they sought out another preacher friend. He quoted yards
of Scripture, trying to give them comfort, but his verses fell on deaf ears.
Finally, the young couple turned to a frail elderly woman in their church.
Surely, she could give them a reason for the child's death, but the old woman
didn't utter a single word. Instead, she tenderly wrapped her arms around the
heartbroken couple's shoulders, and together they cried the hurt away. Sometimes
when theological answers are not easy to the complex misfortunes of life,
perhaps we just need to hush our babblings. Sometimes when answers aren't easy,
our best statement is silent caring. Which Was Neighbor? A certain woman went
down from Washington to Richmond and ran over a spike which punctured her tire
and left her stranded by the side of the road. After raising the hood of her car
and tying a scarf to her radio antenna, she locked the door handles and sat in
the car, praying for the Lord to send help! By chance, there came a limousine
that way with a bumper sticker that read, "Smile, God Loves You!" When the
occupants saw the stranded woman, they passed by in the far lane-without
smiling. And likewise, there came a sports car with a CB radio and a bumper
sticker saying, "Honk If You Love Jesus!" The man who was driving passed by in
the far lane without honking and without using his CB to tell the Highway Patrol
about the woman's dilemma. But a certain working man, as he traveled to his job,
came to the spot where the woman was and, when he saw her raised hood, white
scarf, and flat tire, he had compassion on her. He stopped his old beat-up
pickup-which had no bumper sticker-and crossed the four-lane highway, and
offered to change the tire. The woman opened the door and gave him the key to
the trunk. The man took out the spare tire, jacked up the car, removed the flat
tire, and replaced it with the spare. When he had finished, the woman tried to
pay him. He refused the money, saying, "If my wife were stranded on the highway
with a flat tire, I'd want some Good Samaritan to stop and help her out." He
returned to his bumper-stickerless truck, smiled, honked at her, and went his
way. Which of these three was neighbor unto her who had a flat tire? When
Someone Is Needier Than You In a leper colony clothes arrived for distribution
among these outcasts of life. One little leper boy was asked what he needed
most. He replied, "My hands are still good so I can mend my clothes when they
need it, but there are some lepers who have no fingers, and some whose hands are
so crippled or sore that they cannot use them. When their clothes get holes in
them, they cannot mend them but must see the holes get bigger and bigger. I am
thankful for my good hands, so please give the clothes to those who cannot mend
their own. They are more needy than I." How we need such unselfishness. We
should never complain when we know that there are others who are needier than we
are.

Tell Peter I Am Alive The angel said, "Tell His disciples and Peter," but why
"and Peter?" He was one of the disciples. Why single him out from among all the
rest? Was he any better? No, he was, if anything, a little worse. He had denied
his Lord-three times and with oaths. And he was feeling very bad about it. He
was cast down, heartsick, almost overwhelmed. And Jesus knew it full well, and
it was just like Him to send a special word of comfort to him. It must have
cheered the Apostle beyond words to be told that Christ had mentioned him
especially as one to be given the news of His resurrection.

Little Things That Help Others A plainly dressed woman was noticed picking up
something on a poor slum street where ragged barefooted little children were
accustomed to play. The policeman on the beat noticed the woman's action, and
watched her very suspiciously. Several times he saw her stoop, pick up something
and hide it in her apron. Finally he went up to her, and with a gruff voice
demanded, "What are you carrying off in your apron?" The timid woman did not
answer at first, whereupon the policeman, thinking she must have found something
valuable, threatened her with arrest if she did not show him what she had in her
apron. The woman opened her apron and revealed a handful of broken glass. "What
do you want with that stuff?" asked the policeman. The woman replied, "I just
thought I would pick it up so the glass would not hurt the children's feet."

Evangelism A secretary on the job is engulfed in problems. Her husband left her;
a son is in rebellion; she can barely make ends meet. She cries out for help. We
don't hear. A fellow employee is overwhelmed by the complexity of overcoming his
chronic drinking problem. He longs for a friend. We're deaf to his cries. The
owner of the gas station where we've traded for years has just lost his wife.
His eyes echo his loneliness. We don't see. A wife would love to share with us
the trauma and trivia of her day-just to have a listening ear. Our ears are
closed. And as the "perfect" ending to such a self-centered day, we hurry to the
church building and get our weekly door-knocking assignment as we hasten to
engage a cold prospect in an ambiguous process which we have labeled evangelism.
Does that approach make sense? It seems to me it is time we acknowledged the
fact that a good translation of the Great Commission has it reading: "As you are
going into all the world...." You see, we are in such a hurry to "go!" that we
miss the very ones whom God brings into our path-"as we are going." May God
awaken us to the realization that true evangelism is loving the world the way
God loves it; allowing our hearts to be broken by the things that break God's
heart; acknowledging that there is no dichotomy between "evangelism" and
"benevolence"-that true evangelism begins with Matthew 10:42 : "And if anyone
gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple,
I tell you, he will certainly not lose his reward."

Strange Fruit Woman's Day magazine told of a strange happening on the campus of
Green Acres Elementary School near Santa Cruz, California. One year a tree on
that campus began to bear strange fruit, mostly sandwiches, but sometimes a
cookie, a cupcake, an apple or an orange. It came into being through the efforts
of two teachers, Sophie Farrar and Sandra Enz, who were upset at the quantities
of uneaten sandwiches discarded by the children. They suggested that the
unwrapped sandwiches be placed under what the children began to call the
free-food tree, for students who had come without a lunch or who had lost or
forgotten their lunches. The idea was very popular among the children. Some
youngsters asked their mothers to pack an extra sandwich so they would have one
to put under the free-food tree.

How Long Has It Been Since You... Took the time to go see someone who lives
alone? Wrote a letter to someone who crossed your mind? Read the Bible to
someone too ill to read for themselves? Encouraged someone who was having a hard
time being a Christian? Prayed earnestly for someone who was faltering? Tried to
have a Bible study with someone you knew was lost? Told a teenager that you were
proud of his efforts to live for the Lord? Spent more time on your knees praying
than on the telephone talking? EVERY CHRISTIAN CAN DO SOMETHING TO ENCOURAGE
SOMEONE ELSE!

Make Life a Little Sweeter O let me shed a little light On someone's path I
pray; I'd like to be a messenger Of happiness today! It may be just a phone
call, A smile, or a prayer, Or a long neglected letter Would lift the edge of
care. I want to spread some happiness In what I say or do, Make life a little
sweeter For someone else! Don't you?

He Gave His Coat A young man named John saw some ragged boys and invited them to
Sunday school. One boy said he would go, but he had no coat. John gave him his
coat and went in with him. Years afterward, a teacher of a Bible class told the
story. A man in his class said, "I was that boy, and Dr. John G. Patton, one of
the most famous missionaries of the ages, gave me his coat."

Burdened for the Lost The St. Bernard dogs in the Alps who seek out travelers
lost in a storm take their mission very seriously. One of these dogs returned
late one afternoon, wearied from fighting his way through the drifts. He went to
his kennel, lay down in a corner, and acted thoroughly despondent, despite the
efforts of his master to encourage him. Was he sick? Well, no-not in body, but
in heart. He had failed to find anyone to help and had come back ashamed. It is
such sorrow of heart, resulting in outbursts of tears on behalf of others, that
should characterize the Christian. An Overcoat of Love I've been on both ends of
this experience-the receiving and the giving. I remember when I first came to
the United States from a warm climate. It was cold and I had no overcoat. How
grateful I was to that servant of Christ, Melvin Wampler, who took off his coat
and placed it on my shoulders. He went without so that I could be warm. In a
similar manner I have often endeavored to do this for others. Believe me,
however, there is more joy in giving and going without, than receiving and
possessing.

Helping Your Brother "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of
Christ" (Galatians 6:2). Concerning this passage, an eloquent preacher of the
past wrote: "Many persons are caught with the most superficial contradiction. In
the second verse it says, 'Bear ye one another's burdens'; and in the fifth it
says, 'Every man shall bear his own burden.' As if both of them could not be
true! As if a man carrying a burden for which he is especially responsible might
not have it lightened somewhat by one who walked by his side and helped him! As
if a little child carrying a heavily laden basket-which it was his task and
business to carry, and which he had to take care of-might not be helped by
another child walking by his side and taking hold of the handle. Might it not be
said to one of them, 'This is your burden, and you must see to it'; and to the
other, 'Help him with his burden.' To bear one another's burdens does not mean
to take them from one another's shoulders, but to help each other to carry
them." Be Such a Brother A well-to-do businessman gave a fine car to his
brother. One day when the brother went to the place he'd parked the car, he saw
a ragged boy looking the car over with great interest. Instead of saying, "Get
away from that car, kid," he smiled at the youngster. The boy was the first to
speak. "Is that car yours, Mister?" "Yes, it is," was the reply. "What did it
cost?" was the next question. "Nothing," said the man. The boy looked at him
curiously and said, "You don't look like the kind of guy who would steal a car."
The owner laughed and said, "No, it was a present from my brother." The boy
seemed incredulous. "Do you mean to say he gave it to you as a present, and it
didn't cost you anything?" "That's right." Then the boy said the most surprising
thing of all: "I sure do wish I could be such a brother as yours." One might
have expected him to say, "How I wish I could have such a brother as yours." The
man asked him what he meant, and he explained: "I'll tell you. My youngest
brother had polio and he can't walk to see all the shops in town and enjoy the
toys, at least by seeing them in the windows. How I wish I had a car like this
to take him around. Our father died, and we won't get any presents this
Christmas. But at least I can walk along the streets and enjoy the shop windows;
my brother can't even do this. That's why I'd like to be a brother like your
brother."

More Than Sympathy Queen Victoria was a close friend of Principal and Mrs.
Tullock, of St. Andrews. Prince Albert died and Victoria was left alone. Just at
the same time, Principal Tullock died and Mrs. Tullock was left alone. Quite
unexpectedly, Queen Victoria came to call on Mrs. Tullock when she was resting
on a couch in her room. The Queen stepped forward. "My dear," she said, "don't
rise. I am not coming to you today as a queen to a subject, but as one woman to
another who has lost her husband." She put herself in her friend's place. That
is what God did for us. That is what we should do for others.

Bridge Builders The word "pontiff," used to designate the highest religious
order of the Roman Catholic Church, namely the Pope, has an interesting history.
This was the name which, in the old pagan religion of ancient Rome, was given to
the chief priests. The pontiffs were those who were invested with pontifical
power. The name as it was first applied meant "the makers of bridges." Why it
was used to designate a religious order we hardly know. Perhaps those old Roman
pontiffs were specially employed in consecrating those mighty instruments of
earthly peace and civilization, the great roads and bridges by which the old
Romans tamed and subdued the world. But in a moral and spiritual sense we ought
all to be makers of bridges. Pontiff or no pontiff, minister or no minister,
every Christian who walks in his Master's steps ought to make it his special
business to throw bridges across those moral rents and fissures which divide us
one from the other. Across these various gulfs and chasms let every one lend a
helping hand to build such bridges as best we can. There cannot be a more truly
pontifical work.

He Gave What He Had Martin of Tours was a man in whom faith and works combined
to make him a true Christian. One day he met a beggar who asked for alms. Martin
didn't have any money, but he saw that the beggar was freezing, so he gave him
what he had. He took off his soldier's overcoat, old and faded as it was, cut it
in half, and wrapped half around the beggar. During the night Martin had a
dream. He saw heaven opened, and Christ wearing half an overcoat. One of the
angels asked, "Lord, why are you wearing that shabby old coat?" Christ answered,
"Because my servant gave it to me." It was only a dream, but it illustrates the
truth that Christ taught, that whatever we do for others in His name, He accepts
as a gift to Him.

Hold My Hand A young man was on the border of nervous collapse as he lay on the
operating table. Among the nurses, he noticed one watching him intently. He
thought he knew her and called her to him. "Yes," she said, "We have met
before." Then he whispered, "Would you mind holding my hand?" She gripped it and
he lay calmly waiting for the operation. What a strong thing sentiment is! It
can conquer a man's fears even in the face of life's most serious crises. In
Honor Preferring One Another During a spelling contest in which the prize was a
fine Bible, the contestants were finally reduced to two-Betty, the daughter of a
poor, hard-working widow, and Susan, the daughter of a well-to-do farmer. The
sympathy of the school was with the poor girl. Finally Susan misspelled a word,
and Betty won the coveted prize. Going home, Susan's mother said to her
daughter, "Couldn't you have spelled that word?" "Yes, Mother." "Then why didn't
you do it?" "Well, you know Betty is quite poor, and she doesn't get many
presents. She wanted the Bible very much, and she tried so hard for it that I
thought I'd let her have it." "What made you do that, Susie?" "My Sunday school
lesson, Mother, which said, 'in honor preferring one another.' So I thought I'd
try it, and I'm glad I did." A few days later, Susan received as a birthday
present a beautiful Bible, and on the flyleaf was written the text, "In honor
preferring one another" (Romans 12:10).

Legally Right, Morally Wrong Each of us has certain legal rights in life. It is
our privilege to insist that we enjoy every one of them. But in so doing we may
commit moral wrong which would be injurious, not only to others, but also to
ourselves and thus rob us of that most essential peace of heart. One of the
apartments owned by a Christian landlord is rented by a widow with four
children. Month after month, as a result of the hard work of that poor widow,
the rent is paid. But suddenly she gets sick and is unable to pay the rent. The
landlord has every legal right to call upon the authorities to evict this woman
and her children from the apartment. His act would be legally right but morally
wrong, i.e., right according to the letter, but wrong according to the spirit.
If he shows kindness to this woman and her children and allows them to stay on
in the apartment in spite of the fact they are not able to pay rent, he is
showing the Christian quality of compassion. It is wiser to be willing to allow
our legal rights to be trampled on, rather than by claiming them, to be morally
in the wrong.

Love Your Enemies During one of Mr. McKinley's congressional campaigns he was
followed from place to place by a reporter for a paper of the opposite political
party. The reporter was one of those shrewd, persistent fellows who are always
at work, quick to see an opportunity, and skilled in making the most of it.
While Mr. McKinley was annoyed by the misrepresentation to which he was almost
daily subjected, he could not help admiring the skill and tenacity with which he
was assailed. His admiration, too, was not unmixed with compassion-the reporter
was ill, poorly clad, and had an annoying cough. One night Mr. McKinley took a
closed carriage to a nearby town at which it had been announced he would speak.
The weather was wretchedly raw and cold. He had not gone far when he heard that
cough and knew that the reporter was riding with the driver in the exposed seat.
McKinley called to the driver to stop so he could get out. "Get down off that
seat, young man," he said. The reporter obeyed, thinking the time for the
major's vengeance had come. "Here," said Mr. McKinley, taking off his overcoat,
"You put on this overcoat and get into the carriage." "But Major McKinley," said
the reporter, "I guess you don't know who I am. I have been with you the whole
campaign, giving it to you every time you spoke, and I am going over tonight to
rip you to pieces if I can." "I know," said Mr. McKinley, "but you put on this
coat, and get inside and get warm, so that you can do a good job."

Warmth of Sympathy Henry Ward Beecher, while walking down a street, passed a
newsboy shivering in the cold. Being moved with compassion toward him, the great
preacher bought up all his newspapers, and when he handed over the money to him,
he said, "Surely you are cold?" "I was," replied the lad with a gulp, "till you
passed, sir."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 21: COMPLAINING
========================================================================

Complaining A Chronic Grumbler A lady who was an incurable grumbler complained
about everything and everybody. But, finally, the minister thought he had found
something about which she could make no complaint: the old lady's crop of
potatoes was certainly the finest for miles around. "Ah, for once you must be
pleased," he said with a beaming smile as he met her in the village street.
"Everyone is saying how splendid your potatoes are this year." The old lady
glared at him as she answered, "They are not so bad, but where are the rotten
ones for the pigs?"

Honker or Helper The story was once told of a woman driver whose car stalled in
traffic and she was unable to get it restarted. The fellow who was behind her,
and thus unable to move, thought it necessary to constantly show his impatience
by honking his horn every few seconds. Finally, the woman walked back to his car
and said, "If you will go try to start my car, I'll stay here and honk your horn
for you." So many times in the church this is the case. The one who is not doing
anything to help is also the one who makes the most noise complaining that
nothing is happening. When You Carry Your Cross, You Will Have No Room for a
Chip Lord, You said if I want to follow you, I will need to carry my cross every
day. I want to follow, Lord. But there are days when I'm dragging my cross,
making a trail for everyone to see. There are days when I'm pushing my cross,
making my own path miserable and dusty. There are days when I'm sitting on my
cross, trying to get comfortable and going nowhere. There are days when I'm
giving my cross to somebody else, who already has one of his own. Help me, Lord,
to carry my cross on my shoulder. When it's up there, it leaves no room for a
chip!

Why Me, Lord? My car broke down and it cost $400 to get it fixed...$400 that I
did not have. Why me, Lord? After all, I've been as good as most people. In
fact, I've been better than most. Why are you treating me this way? Why are you
punishing me this way? Then the TV went on the blink, and so did the dishwasher,
and the clothes dryer, and the lawn mower, and even the iron! Why me, Lord?
Besides that, why, at my age, should I still be having financial problems? Why
am I not "set" financially like some others I know? Why have you denied me
opportunities for fame and fortune that you have given to others? Why me, Lord?
When I find myself starting to think like this, it sometimes helps for me to ask
the same questions about other aspects of my life. Lord, what have I done that's
so grand that you should have blessed me with a car, a TV set, a clothes dryer,
a lawn mower, and an iron? Why did you give me all these things anyway? Why me,
Lord? Lord, why did you permit me to be born in America with all its plenty? I
could have been born in poverty-stricken Bangladesh instead of in rich America.
Why me, Lord? Lord, why did you give me the opportunity to have a job when so
many, who are as deserving as I, are without work? Why me, Lord? Lord, why did
you give me good health? Others died at my age of heart attacks or are crippled
by accidents or disease. Why should I escape ill health when other religious
people do not? Why me, Lord? Lord, why have you spared me from the sorrows that
strike so many other families? Others, wonderful people, have lost close
relatives, but I haven't. Why me, Lord? When I think of all the ways the Lord
has blessed me, though I don't deserve it, I wonder how I could possibly
complain about the relatively insignificant things that go wrong in my life from
time to time. If I could only learn to count my blessings! The Sympathetic
Savior Some years ago a man living in Wales had the misfortune of being involved
in a mining accident which necessitated the amputation of his right leg. After a
period in the hospital, he went to a prosthesis maker to be supplied with an
artificial leg. When the appendage had been strapped to the stump, which was all
that remained of the injured leg, the attendant requested that the patient get
up and walk across the floor. Awkwardly, the man struggled to his feet and
staggered across the room. Then, dragging himself painfully back to his chair,
he slumped into it, utterly exhausted and discouraged. "That's not how to do
it," said the attendant. "Watch this!" Then he walked gracefully across the
floor. "Ah," exclaimed the patient, "It's all very easy for you because you
don't have any disability." "Oh, haven't I?" replied the attendant. "Look."
Pulling up the legs of his trousers, he disclosed that he was not wearing just
one artificial limb, but TWO! Too many times we doubt or we get depressed and
discouraged and we are inclined to say, "Jesus, it was easy for you. You were
God and could not sin. You never tasted the abundance of daily temptation, toil,
and frustration. Yet the writer in Hebrews 4:15 tells us "...we do not have a
high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who
has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin." So the next
time you find yourself doubting you can finish the race, look to Jesus, the
author and perfector of our faith. The next time you're depressed about giving
up things for God, look to Jesus who gave up even more. Or the next time you're
discouraged, remember the ultimate sacrifice-Jesus bearing the sins of the world
on the cross as God turned His back, to say "I LOVE YOU" to us. Which Did God
Believe? A large family sat around the table for breakfast one morning. As the
custom was, the father returned thanks, blessing God for the food. Immediately
afterward, however, as was his bad habit, he began to grumble about hard times,
the poor quality of the food he was forced to eat, the way it was cooked, and
much more. His little daughter interrupted him saying, "Father, do you suppose
God heard what you said a little while ago?" "Certainly," replied the father
with the confident air of an instructor. "And did He hear what you said about
the bacon and the coffee?" "Of course," the father replied, but not as
confidently as before. Then his little girl asked him again, "Then, Father,
which did God believe?"

He Grows Men, Not Peaches A young man who was trying to establish himself as a
peach grower had worked hard and invested all his money in a peach orchard. It
blossomed wonderfully but then came a killing frost. He didn't go to church the
next Sunday, nor the next, nor the next. His minister went to see him to
discover the reason. The young fellow exclaimed, "I'm not coming any more. Do
you think I can worship a God who cares for me so little that He would let a
frost kill all my peaches?" The old minister looked at him a few moments in
silence, then said kindly, "God loves you better than He does your peaches. He
knows that while peaches do better without frosts, it is impossible to grow the
best men without frosts. His object is to grow men, not peaches." We are
sometimes so concerned about our material possessions that we fail to realize
that setting our hearts upon them can stunt our spiritual development. God often
has to open our eyes to life's real values by taking from us its lesser ones.

Stop Complaining Robert Hall, the great Baptist preacher, used to be subject to
occasions of great physical pain, in the course of which he would roll on the
ground in sheer agony. When the pain was over, the first words he used to say
were, "I hope I didn't complain." How much more effective our witness for Christ
would be if we didn't complain so much about our trials of faith.

Submit, Do Not Grumble Unfortunately, even among Christians there are those who
are chronic grumblers. A woman of this type grumbled at everything and
everybody. But at last the preacher thought he had found something about which
she could make no complaint-the lady's crop of potatoes was certainly the finest
for miles around. "Ah, for once you must be pleased," he said with a beaming
smile as he met her in the village street. "Everyone is saying how splendid your
potatoes are this year." The lady glared at him as she answered, "They're not so
poor. But where's the bad ones for the pigs?" If the mouth is given to
grumbling, then the heart is lacking in submissiveness to God. The Chronic
Complainer A certain father was a chronic growler. He was sitting with his
family in the presence of a guest in the parlor one day when the question of
food came up. One of the children, a little girl, was telling the guest very
cleverly what food each member of the family liked best. Finally it came to the
father's turn to be described. "And what do I like, Nancy?" he asked laughingly.
"You," said the little girl slowly, "well, you like most anything we haven't
got."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 22: COMPROMISE
========================================================================

Compromise

Choice-Conformed or Transformed "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2). When an individual or a
congregation has the attitude of compromise in regard to spiritual values and
truths, dark days are ahead. All who strive to be Christians feel a certain
amount of pressure from the world. Through the strength that Christ gives, we
can overcome the world and its temptations. A man starting a fish business put
out his sign that read, "Fresh Fish For Sale Today" and invited all to visit his
place of business on opening day. Many came and congratulated him on his new
business, but one suggested that he change his sign. "Why the 'Today'? It is
today." So he removed the "Today". Someone else said, "Why, 'For Sale'?
Everybody knows you have fish for sale-or else why the store?" The words "For
Sale" came off the sign. Another said, "Why the word 'Fresh'? You are a man of
integrity, that guarantees your fish to be fresh." "Fresh" came off the sign.
Only one word was left, "Fish" and one complained about it. "I smelled your fish
two blocks away." The individual or congregation that tries to satisfy everybody
ends up by pleasing nobody. If we start compromising, we will end up serving the
devil. The man should have put up his sign and then stood by it. This is what we
are to do in life. Accept God's will for our lives and stand on His promises.
The Uncertain Soldier Paul Harvey tells the story of the uncertain soldier in
our Civil War who, figuring to play it safe, dressed himself in a blue coat and
gray pants and tiptoed out onto the field of battle. He got shot from both
directions! The Bible is full of examples of individuals who compromised in one
form or another and their ensuing losses. Lot who separated from Abram and moved
as far as Sodom (Genesis 13:12-13; Gen. 19:1-29); Samson who compromised with
Delilah (Judges 16:1-2); and Solomon who loved many foreign women (1 Kings
11:1-4) are but a few examples. What about times when we are tempted to
compromise our faith or beliefs? Will we stay strong or try and wear the blue
and gray? Think about it! "Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength
of His might" (Ephesians 6:10).

Don't Negotiate With Satan A hunter raised his rifle and took careful aim at a
large bear. When about to pull the trigger, the bear spoke in a soft soothing
voice, "Isn't it better to talk than to shoot? What do you want? Let's negotiate
the matter." Lowering his rifle, the hunter replied, "I want a fur coat."
"Good," said the bear, "that is a negotiable question. I only want a full
stomach, so let us negotiate a compromise." They sat down to negotiate and after
a time the bear walked away alone. The negotiations had been successful. The
bear had a full stomach, and the hunter had his fur coat! Satan says to you,
"Let us negotiate." But there are some things that cannot be negotiable. We
cannot compromise the church with the world. Christ and His church deserve our
very best and utmost loyalty.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 23: CRITICISM
========================================================================

Criticism

I Drew My Circle Again When I first became a member of the church, my circle was
very big... for it included all who, like myself, had believed. I was happy in
the thought that my brethren were many. But, having a keen and observant mind, I
soon learned that many of my brethren were erring. I could not tolerate any
people within my circle but those who, like myself, were right on all points of
doctrine and practice. Too, some made mistakes and sinned. What could I do? I
had to do something! I drew my circle again... leaving the publicans and sinners
outside, excluding the Pharisees in all their pride, with myself and the
righteous and humble within. I heard ugly rumors about some brethren. I saw then
that some of them were worldly-minded; their thoughts were constantly on things
of a worldly nature. So duty bound, to save my reputation, I drew my circle
again...leaving those reputable spiritually-minded within. I realized in time
that only my family and myself remained in the circle. I had a good family, but
to my surprise, my family finally disagreed with me. I was always right. A man
must be steadfast. I have never been a factious man! So in strong determination,
I drew my circle again...leaving me quite alone. Are Your Shoes on the Wrong
Feet? One day a little boy complained that his new shoes were hurting his feet.
I looked down at his feet. No wonder they hurt. His shoes were on the wrong
feet! When I changed them he felt better and was soon the liveliest little
fellow in the group. Sometimes our lives seem all sour and stale. We find fault
with everyone around us. We need to stop and take a good look at our feet. If we
were wearing the same shoes the other fellow wears, would we be happy?

Broken Heart I heard a story about a man who invited his neighbor to attend
church with him. On the way home, the neighbor said, "I noticed you have a new
preacher." "Yes," said his friend, "We fired the old one. He was always telling
us unless we repented, we were going to hell." "But," the neighbor replied,
"your new preacher said the very same thing this morning." "True," was the
reply, "but our old preacher acted like he was happy about the situation. When
our new preacher says this, it seems to break his heart."

What About Your Pocket? A serviceman once wrote about a moment of comedy he had
witnessed in the army. It happened during a company inspection at the Redstone
Arsenal in Alabama. The inspection was being conducted by a full colonel.
Everything had gone smoothly until the officer came to a certain soldier, looked
him up and down and snapped, "Button that pocket, trooper!" The soldier, more
than a little rattled, stammered, "Right now, sir?" "Of course, right now!" was
the reply. Whereupon the soldier very carefully reached out and buttoned the
flap on the colonel's shirt pocket. The officer had been quick to note the
youngster's uniform problem, but hadn't noticed his own. For some reason, we
seem to be the same way. The faults of others stick out like a missing tooth,
while our own are often hard to spot. Small specks in other people seem major,
while the planks in our own eye seem excusable (Matthew 7:1-5). Let's quit
dwelling on the faults of others all the time. The church needs builders and
workers-not a wrecking crew. Work on your own faults, then seek to help others
in a spirit of gentleness. That Anonymous Note Dwight Moody was preaching when
someone passed a note to him through the usher. It had only one word: "Fool."
Moody looked at it and said, "I've often received notes that weren't signed.
This is the first time I've received a note that someone forgot to write, but
signed."

If You Are Mad at the Dog, Don't Kick the Cat! A preacher asked a certain man
why he had just ceased to attend the services of the church. The man replied,
"They haven't treated me right over there." The preacher asked, "Then why don't
you go home and beat your wife?" The startled backslider gave the preacher a
look which questioned his sanity. "My wife hasn't done anything against me," he
said. "Well," the preacher said, "has the Lord Jesus done anything against you?"
Being peeved at the brethren and forsaking the Lord is about as logical as being
angry with the dog and kicking the cat. If you don't believe Christ is to judge
your feeling for Him by the way you treat the church, then try Matthew 25:40.

Before You Criticize When you are disposed to criticize a friend, Just remember,
the beginning's not the end; When within this urge you find, These three
questions bring to mind: Is it TRUE? Is it NEEDFUL? Is it KIND?

Don't Find Fault Pray don't find fault with the man who limps Or stumbles along
the road, Unless you have worn the shoes he wears Or struggled beneath his load.
There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt, Though hidden way from view, Or the
burden he bears, placed on your back, Might cause you to stumble, too. Don't
sneer at the man who's down today, Unless you have felt the blow That caused his
fall, or felt the same That only the fallen can know. You may be strong, but
still the blows That were his, if dealt to you In the self-same way the
self-same time, Might cause you to stagger, too. Don't be too harsh with the man
who sins Or pelt him with words or stones, Unless you are sure, yea, doubly
sure, That you have no sins of your own. For you know perhaps, if the tempter's
voice Could whisper as soft to you As it did to him when he went astray, T'would
cause you to falter, too.

Watch Your Criticism Be careful and cautious how you criticize. The man who had
a good opinion of himself and his own virtues and thought he was so much better
than anyone else, stopped in front of a taxidermist's window, in which there was
an owl which had attracted quite a crowd of sightseers. So sure he was far
superior in his knowledge of birds, he remarked, "Well, if I couldn't stuff an
owl better than that, I would quit the business. The head is not right; the pose
of the body is awkward; the feathers are not right; and the feet are not under
it right." Just then the owl turned its head and gave him a quick wink or two.
The crowd roared. They turned to comment to him; but he slunk away as fast as he
could go.

Quick to Criticize A man came up to Moody once and criticized him for the way he
went about winning souls. Moody listened courteously and then asked, "How would
you do it?" The man, taken aback, mumbled that he didn't do it. "Well," said
Moody, "I prefer the way I do it to the way you don't do it."

Aiming Your Cannon An officer on the battlefield aimed his cannon toward what he
thought was the distant enemy. Just before he fired, the commander, looking
through his field glasses, shouted, "Your aim seems perfect, but stop! They are
not the enemy; they are our own people." Did you ever think that when you aim
criticism at God's people so thoughtlessly, you are actually aiming your cannon
at the Lord of your brethren?

Can't Dispute Facts What does the criticism of others do to our inner self? Take
the case of Col. George Washington Goethals. While contending with the manifold
problems of geography and climate in the building of the Panama Canal, he had to
endure the carping criticism of countless busybodies back home who freely
predicted he would never complete his task. But he pressed steadily forward in
his work and said nothing. "Aren't you going to answer your critics?" a
subordinate inquired. "In time," Goethals replied. "How?" The great engineer
smiled. "With the canal," he said. A Mirrored Image The story is told of a man
and an angel who were walking along together. The man was complaining about his
neighbors. "I never saw such a wretched set of people," he said, "as are in this
village. They are mean, greedy, selfish, and careless of the needs of others.
Worst of all, they are forever speaking evil of one another." "Is it really so?"
asked the angel. "It is, indeed," said the man. "Why, only look at this fellow
coming toward us! I know his face, though I cannot remember his name. See his
little shark-like, cruel eyes, darting here and there like a ferret's, and the
lines of hardness about his mouth! The very droop of his shoulders is mean and
cringing, and he slinks along instead of walking." "It is very clever of you to
see all this," said the angel, "but there is one thing that you did not
perceive-that is a mirror we are approaching."

Allow Differences Many years ago in Germany, so the story goes, there lived a
shoemaker who had a habit of speaking harshly of all his neighbors who didn't
think quite as he did about religion. The pastor of the parish in which he lived
heard of this and felt he must give him a lesson. So he went to the shoemaker
one morning and said, "Will you please take my measurements for a pair of
boots?" "With pleasure, sir," answered the shoemaker. "Please take off your
boot." The clergyman did so, and the shoemaker measured his foot from toe to
heel and over the instep, and wrote it all down in his notebook. As he was
writing up his measurements, the pastor said, "My son also needs a pair of
boots." "I'll be glad to make them, too. When can I take his measurements?" "Oh,
that's not necessary," said the pastor. "The lad is only twelve, but you can
make my boots and his from the same last." The shoemaker looked at him with a
puzzled smile and said, "That would never do. They would never fit such a young
boy." "I tell you," insisted the pastor, "to make my son's on the same last."
"No, sir, I can't do it," protested the shoemaker. He began to wonder if the
pastor was losing his wits. "Well, then, shoemaker," said the clergyman, "you
accept the fact that every pair of boots must be made on their own last, if they
are to fit. Yet you think that God wants to form all Christians exactly
according to your own last, of the same measure and growth in spiritual matters
as yourself. That won't do either, you know." The shoemaker got the point and
said, "Thank you for your sermon. I'll try to remember it and judge my neighbors
less harshly in the future." The Spiritual Skeleton An old fable tells of a man
cursed with the power of seeing other human beings, not in the beauty of flesh
and blood, but as skeletons gaunt and grisly. Some saints seem to have taken
upon themselves this curse. Do you feel that you are the only one who is right
with the Lord-that everybody else is a spiritual skeleton because he is not of
the same denominational stripe or has not the same scruples of conscience as
you? Take him or her into your circle of believers as Paul did, as long as they
are calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Unjust Criticism A Texas paper comments on the criticisms concerning a preacher:
"The preacher has a great time. If his hair is grey he is too old; if he is a
young man he hasn't had enough experience. If he has ten children he has too
many; if he has none he is not setting a good example. If his wife sings in the
choir she is presuming; if she doesn't she isn't interested in her husband's
work. If a preacher reads from notes he is a bore; if he speaks extemporaneously
he isn't deep enough. If he stays at home in his study, he does not mix enough
with his people; if he is seen around on the streets, he ought to be home
getting out a good sermon. If he calls at the homes of the wealthy, he is an
aristocrat; if he calls on the poor family, then he is playing to the
grandstand. Whatever he does, someone could have told him to do better." Pity
the poor preacher, and for that matter every leader who has critical followers.
Let us have confidence in our spiritual leaders, not blind confidence, but
confidence that stems from personal persuasion that they are doing the best that
they can under the circumstances.

Misjudged There was a man who seemed stingy to everybody who knew him. He would
be very scrupulous about how he spent even a nickel or a dime, so that he was
greatly ridiculed. Finally it became known that he had an invalid wife and an
invalid child for whom he cared, and they needed the very last penny that he
could save to keep them alive. The criticism of outsiders now turned to
admiration for him. Because we are unable to know everything about a man, we
cannot possibly judge him rightly. A Poor Example A father, who attended church
with his little boy, found fault with everything in the service. As he walked
home, he criticized the minister, the sermon, the choir, and everything in
general. The boy, who had noticed what his father put in the offering plate,
said, "Well, Dad, what can you expect for a quarter?"

Remember Those Dogs A certain unbeliever, a blacksmith, was in the habit when
anyone came into his shop of telling some wrong a Christian brother, deacon or
minister had done, and saying, "That is one of these fine Christians we hear so
much about!" An old gentleman, an eminent Christian, one day went into the shop.
The unbeliever soon began talking about what some Christians had done. The old
deacon stood a few minutes and listened, and then quietly asked the unbeliever
if he had read the story in the Bible about the rich man and Lazarus. "Yes, many
a time; and what of it?" "Well, you remember about the dogs; how they came and
licked the sores of Lazarus? Now," said the deacon, "do you know, you just
remind me of those dogs-content to merely lick the Christian's sores."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 24: DEATH
========================================================================

Death

Death Frees the Soul [A letter written to one's physical body.] 1 Corinthians
15:44. "You and I have been together for a long time in a most intimate and
valuable relationship. Now you have grown old. Your hearing and strength are
failing. Your resistance to cold is diminishing. You cannot climb and run as you
once did. In a word, you are running down. In a short time you will cease to
breathe and your heart will stop beating. When you can go no further, you will
be returned to the substance of which you were made, and I shall continue on in
that life where you are not needed. A Power greater than you and I started us on
this journey together. Now I recognize that you are aware of the fact that your
journey is nearing its end, while my journey has scarcely begun. I know this to
be true, for while you are feeble, I have never been more alive. Our separation,
therefore, cannot be one of sadness, but will be one of joy. You are weary and
want to stop. I am longing to alight from this slowing vehicle and go on without
you. Death will mean that your desire to stop is granted, and my longing is
satisfied."

Death for a Believer Is Sleep in Jesus' Arms A farmer took his little son on a
visit to a distant village. Along the way they came to a swift stream spanned by
a rickety old bridge which frightened the little lad even though it was
daylight. Returning at dusk, the boy recalled the stream and old bridge and
became panicky. How would they cross that turbulent stream in the dark? Noting
his anxiety, the father lifted the boy and carried him in his arms. Before they
reached the bridge, he was fast asleep against his father's shoulder. As the
next morning's sun streamed in his bedroom window, the boy awoke to discover he
was safe at home. At death the believer falls asleep in the Savior's arms to
awaken in His bright land of no night and no fear. When Science Is Silent Said
Dr. Joseph A. Parker: "Some have found fault with me. They say I am
old-fashioned and out of date; I am always quoting the Bible; why not turn to
science this morning? "There is a poor widow here who has lost her only son. She
wants to know if she will see him again. Science shall give the answer, and I
will put the Book away." So he took the Book and put it on the seat behind.
"Will this woman see her son again? Where is he? Does death end all? What has
science to say?" Here a long pause. "We are waiting for an answer, the woman is
anxious." Another long pause. "The woman's heart is breaking. Science must
speak. Nothing to say? Then we must take the Book," and here he reverently
replaced it, and with great deliberation opened it and read: "I shall go to him,
but he shall not return to me ...The dead shall arise ...for this corruptible
must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. O death,
where is thy sting? ...I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God." Then,
closing the Book, and patting it affectionately, he said, "We will stick to the
Book!"

Death Is Not Necessarily Loss A little girl whose baby brother had just died
asked her mother where Baby had gone. "To be with Jesus," replied the mother. A
few days later, talking to a friend, the mother said, "I am so grieved to have
lost my baby." The little girl heard her, and remembering what her mother had
told her, looked up into her face and asked, "Mother, is a thing lost when you
know where it is?" "No, of course not." "Well, then how can Baby be lost when he
has gone to be with Jesus?" Her mother never forgot this. It was the truth.

If You Knew That Your Days Were Numbered A man in Iowa discovered that he had
terminal cancer. For weeks he moped around the house avoiding loved ones,
inwardly cursing God and wondering why this tragedy had happened to him. Then
one day he made a decision: "I am not dead yet, and I am going to live each day
to its fullest the rest of my life." Sometime later, when he was interviewed, he
said he had experienced a more abundant life in the weeks after that decision
than during his prior 42 years-colors seemed more vivid, the laughter of his
children more bright and precious. One suggestion he gave to help others with
terminal illness was, "Consider each day as a gift from God; enjoy it fully."

Called! Held! Kept! Frances Havergal, the songwriter, lived and moved in the
Word of God. His Word was her constant companion. On the last day of her life,
she asked a friend to read to her the second chapter of Isaiah. When the friend
read the sixth verse, "I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will
hold thine hand, and will keep thee," Miss Havergal stopped her. She whispered,
"Called-held-kept. I can go home on that!" And she did go home on that. She
found His promises unfailing.

Sooner or Later Everyone Runs Out of Time Much sooner than you can anticipate,
you will be the silent guest at your own funeral. No doubt there will be
relatives and friends present to mourn for you whom you haven't seen in years.
After the preacher delivers a message in your memory, you will be taken to the
graveyard, given a final farewell and buried. The retirement that you spent your
life working for will be gone forever. Remember the new car that you worried
about scratching? Its new owner just wrecked it! The newlyweds bought your house
and have redecorated the room that you had at last decorated to your liking.
Your personal belongings have been sorted and some discarded. The dog is making
a bed out of your favorite old coat. Other clothes of yours that no one could
wear or did not want have been boxed and given to Goodwill. Your personal
treasures that were valuable only to you-the carefully preserved flower, the
lock of hair, the torn picture, the stained postcard-have been burned as trash.
You attended a number of funerals in your lifetime, but for some reason you just
never expected to be lying in the casket yourself. Sure, someday, but not that
particular day. "Maybe tomorrow," you always thought, "but not today." You
remember telling the Lord each time you thought your time was close, "Not this
time, Lord. Not today. Maybe tomorrow." Sooner or later, everyone runs out of
time. Paul states that everyone has an appointment with death and then the
judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The only time that you can decide whether or not your
death will be a blessing is today while you are alive. Today is the day of
salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Today is the day to do the Lord's work. "Whatever
your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might, for in the grave, where you
are going, there is neither working, nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom"
(Ecclesiastes 9:10). Sooner or later, everyone runs out of time but no one runs
out of eternity. Doesn't it make more sense to spend your time preparing for
that which will not end, rather than squandering your time trying to hold on to
that which will not last? "Careless soul, O heed the warning, For your life will
soon be gone; O how sad to face the judgment Unprepared to meet thy God." Will
you be prepared on the day that you run out of time?

Known But to God Shirley Pope Waite tells this moving story: "'You must visit
the American cemetery,'our bed and breakfast hosts told us. We hadn't known
about this cemetery three miles from Cambridge, site of one of England's most
famous universities. "Upon our arrival, we were surprised to see the American
and British flags at half mast. Special Memorial Day services were scheduled to
honor the war's dead buried there. "Established in 1943 on land donated by the
University of Cambridge, it is the only permanent World War II military cemetery
in the British Isles. The rolling grounds are framed by trees on two sides, and
contain 3,811 headstones in seven curved grave plots. "A large proportion of the
servicemen and women buried there were crew members of British-based American
aircraft. Others died in the invasion of North Africa and France, at sea, or in
training areas within the United Kingdom. "An impressive Wall of the Missing
lies alongside a mall with a pool bordered by roses. The wall records names of
5,125 missing in action, lost, or buried at sea. Four huge statues represent a
soldier, sailor, airman, and coast guardsman in uniform. A mosaic in the chapel
of the memorial building stretches across the ceiling above the altar. It
depicts the archangel trumpeting the resurrection and the last judgment. "As we
walked reverently around the beautiful grounds, we paused at the foot of a
grave. It was one of 24 decorated with red and white carnations tied with a blue
ribbon, and flanked by a tiny American and British flag. The words etched in the
headstone read: "here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to
God." "Tears came to my eyes as we stood in an attitude of worship. Unknown but
to God, these service people were once known intimately by parents, siblings,
friends, perhaps a spouse and children. Young men and women who fought for
freedom and the dignity of humankind! Yet in death-known only to God! "Relatives
and friends may forsake us. We may feel alone in a world that offers many only
poverty, cruelty, and apathy; but God knows each of us intimately. He is a
husband to the widow: "for your Maker is your husband; the Lord of hosts is His
name" (Isaiah 54:5). He is a father to the orphan: "Father of the fatherless
...is God in His holy habitation" (Psalms 68:5). He is Father to us all!
"Unknown except to God! Isn't that the most important relationship of any? Thank
God, we are known to Him not just in life, not just in death, but for eternity!"
The Shadow of Death The first wife of Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, a well known
minister in Philadelphia, died from cancer while still in her thirties. All
three of his children were under 12. Dr. Barnhouse had such victory that he
decided to preach the funeral sermon himself. En route to the funeral they were
overtaken by a large truck which, as it passed them, cast a large shadow over
their car. He asked one of his children, "Would you rather be run over by that
truck or its shadow?" "By the shadow, of course!" replied the 12-year-old
daughter. "A shadow can't hurt you." With that answer Dr. Barnhouse said to his
three motherless children, "Your mother has been overrun not by death, but by
the shadow of death." At the funeral he spoke on Psalm 23, "Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with
me."

Beyond Death A sick man turned to his doctor, who was leaving the room after
paying a visit, and said: "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the
other side." Very quietly the doctor said, "I don't know." "You don't know? You,
a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?!" The doctor was holding
the handle of the door, on the other side of which came sounds of scratching and
whining, and as he opened the door a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him
with eager show of gladness. Turning to his patient, the doctor said, "Did you
ever notice that dog? He has never been in this room before. He did not know
what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the
door opened he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other
side of death, but I do know one thing: I know my Master is there, and that is
enough. And when the door opens, I shall pass through with no fear, but with
gladness."

Praise Out of Tragedy God can bring fresh praise out of both tragedy and glory,
as illustrated by this story about a favorite hymn. Luther Bridgers began
preaching at age 17 while he was a student at Asbury College in Kentucky. He was
a young Methodist minister of unusual zeal and evangelism. In 1910 the future
looked bright for the 26-year-old preacher, who by then had a young wife and
three children. The Bridgers family was visiting Mrs. Bridger's parents at
Harrodsburg, Kentucky. After the family retired for the night, a neighbor
noticed flames coming from the house. He roused Mrs. Bridgers' parents and
Luther, but the rest of the family members were beyond reach. The young pastor
lost his wife and children. In the awful days of sorrow that followed, Luther
remembered that God offered songs of comfort in the night (Psalms 42:8), and
would never forsake him. It was during this period that Luther wrote the words
and music that we sing so many times: "There's within my heart a melody/Jesus
whispers sweet and low/fear not, I am with thee, peace be still; in all of
life's ebb and flow." In the fourth stanza he referred to his own experience:
"Tho sometimes He leads through waters deep/trials fall across the way." In the
darkest night, in the depths of despair, God gave an inward song to Luther
Bridgers that has blessed millions. Out of a pit of grief came a song of
blessing.

Only the Cocoon Arthur Brisbane once pictured a crowd of grieving caterpillars
carrying the corpse of a cocoon to its final resting place. The poor, distressed
caterpillars, clad in black raiment, were weeping, and all the while the
beautiful butterfly fluttered happily above the muck and mire of earth, forever
freed from its earthly shell. Needless to say, Brisbane had the average orthodox
funeral in mind and sought to convey the idea that when our loved ones pass, it
is foolish to remember only the cocoon and concentrate our attention on the
remains, while forgetting the bright butterfly.

Crossing the River of Death Christ crossed the river of death and the grave so
that you and I as believers, whose sins have been forgiven, may not have to
cross that river alone. The story is told of a shepherd who tried to induce his
sheep to cross a swiftly flowing stream. Sheep are naturally afraid of rapidly
running water, and he could not get them to cross. Then picking up a lamb and
stepping with it into the river, he bore it carefully and tenderly to the
opposite shore. When the mother saw her lamb had gone, she forgot her fear and
stepped into the rushing current and was soon safely on the other side. All the
rest of the flock followed her leadership. Thus we follow our leader, Christ,
and those of our loved ones whom He has already carried safely over to the other
shore. The Clock The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power
to tell just when the hands will stop at late or early hour. To lose one's
wealth is sad indeed. To lose one's health is more. To lose one's soul is such a
loss that no man can restore. Thirty-nine people died while you read these
words. Every hour 5,417 go to meet their Maker. You could have been among them.
Sooner or later you will be. Are you ready?

Image of Glory "It is a peculiar thing," said an embalmer as he stood by a
woman's casket, "but it isn't necessary to tell me she was a Christian. I always
know as soon as I see a body; the glory leaves its stamp on the face." The Glory
of Death George Truett once assured the wife of a Texas judge that when death
came she should not be afraid. When the day finally arrived the nurse and doctor
were there. She said, "Tell me frankly, doctor, is this death?" He said, "Yes,
it is death." She turned to her husband and said: "Oh, dear husband, you know
this is the hour for 30 years I have dreaded. This is the hour of all hours I
have shrunk from." Yet later she said, "Husband, don't you see that face? Don't
you hear that music? Christ is here. I have never known such rapture of light
and peace and joy." In that glory she went to be with the Lord. She found that
God's grace was sufficient. God's love was not limited.

Sin There is said to be a church which is very attractive to tourists. The
graveyard of the church is always kept locked, but on a gate is the following
notice, "The key to the graveyard is to be found in the tavern." A great army of
men and women daily find in the taverns or lounges the key that opens the way
for them into the graveyard.

How Do You Face Death? An aged lady left Buffalo by boat for Cleveland to visit
a daughter living there. Soon a dreadful storm arose and many of the passengers,
fearing death, gathered for prayer. Only the aged lady seemed unconcerned about
the tempest as she sat with her hands folded and prayed. After the storm had
subsided, some of the passengers were eager to know the secret of her calmness.
They gathered around her and asked her the reason. "Well, my dear friends," she
replied, "it is like this. I have two daughters. One died and went home to
heaven. The other lives in Cleveland. When the storm arose, I wondered which of
them I might visit first, the one in Cleveland or the one in heaven, and I just
left it to the Lord; for I would be glad to see either."

Unafraid of Death and Judgment? A certain person was driving 70 miles an hour
down one of those long, straight stretches of West Texas highway one hot
afternoon. No other cars were in sight, but up ahead he saw the form of a large
bird bending over and tearing flesh from a run over rabbit. As he got closer, a
huge hawk straightened up defiantly and looked directly into the headlights.
Instead of taking flight as these birds normally do, the giant hawk spread his
wings, almost blocking the road, and challenged the speeding car. Its body made
a "whump" sound as the car hit it, and the proud bird was instantly dead.
Neither the run over rabbit nor its pride were any good to it then. On another
occasion in East Texas, the same man was again driving 70 down a highway when he
saw the small rounded form of a turtle making a slow journey across his path. He
remembered the giant hawk, and thought of what a 4,000 pound car would do to an
eight-ounce turtle. The turtle looked up and saw the car coming. He didn't run;
he didn't dodge out of the way, nor did he challenge the car. He stopped and
pulled all four legs and his head into his shell. The car missed the motionless
turtle that rested confidently in his shell. The proud hawk and the deluded
turtle are like two kinds of people ignoring the speeding advance of death and
judgment: one is proud and defies the claims of Christ on his or her life; the
other pulls into his or her own self-righteous shell.

"Shadow" Illustrated Little boys sometimes do the strangest things for
excitement. To break the monotony of their young lives, two small lads lay down
by the railroad tracks to feel the track vibrations of the oncoming train, as
well as to hear its thunderous sound. After it had passed and only the shadow of
the train had passed over them, they were secure and no harm had been done to
them, even in this seemingly precarious position. Just so, when we pass through
the "valley of the shadow," we only experience the "shadow."

Face to Face Men inspired by the Bible have called death by many names-the
destroyer, the last enemy, the angel who summons our souls, a deep dark river.
But here is Paul's picture of death from the believer's perspective-a man gazing
at first into a metal mirror, seeing only baffling reflections and the fantastic
shapes of half-facts, who suddenly wheels around and then sees things as they
really are. He sees his fellows as they are; he sees the Savior as He is, in all
His beauty-that is death for the Christian. No more peering through the mists of
human ignorance to try to discern the face of the Savior; but clear, immediate,
direct vision-face to face. We shall see Him as He is, and be forever like Him.

Just an Empty Shell Two little birds had a nest in the bushes in the back part
of a garden. Five-year-old Amy found the nest. It had four speckled eggs in it.
One day, after she had been away for some time, she ran into the garden to take
a look at the pretty eggs. To her dismay she found only broken shells. "Oh," she
cried, "the beautiful eggs are all spoiled and broken!" "No, Amy," said her
brother, "they are not spoiled. The best part of them has taken wings and flown
away." So it is with death. The body left behind is only an empty shell, while
the soul, the better part, has taken wings and flown away.

Prepare for Your Finals Every time a certain little boy went to a playmate's
house he found the child's grandmother reading her Bible. Finally his curiosity
got the better of him. "Why do you suppose your grandmother reads the Bible so
much?" he asked. "I'm not sure," said his friend, "but I think it's because
she's cramming for her finals." Your finals may be closer than you think.
There's only one book that can prepare you for them-that's the Bible, the
written Word of God.

Suffering for a Good Cause When the Marquis of Montrose was sentenced to death,
the judge ordered that his head and limbs should be severed from his body and
hanged in the Tolbooth in Endinburgh and in other public towns in the kingdom.
The Marquis heard this sentence with a grim smile of pride and in defiance he
cried, "I wish I had flesh enough to be sent to every city in Christendom, as a
testimony to the cause for which I suffer!"

New Estimate of Death Christ has brought a new attitude toward death. He has
invested it with a beauty, a peacefulness and a glory unknown before. This is
what caused a Greek by the name of Aristeides to marvel, when trying to explain
to one of his friends the reasons for the extraordinary success of Christianity.
In a letter written about a.d. 125, he said: "If any righteous man among the
Christians passes from this world, they rejoice and offer thanks to God, and
they escort his body with songs and thanksgiving as if he were setting out from
one place to another nearby." Those believers who are gone before are not lost,
not separated from us permanently; they are only waiting in another place nearby
for us to join them again.

Burial Causes No Grief Did you ever see a farmer weep as he placed seed in the
ground and covered it with the freshly turned earth? Of course not, for that
sort of burial causes no grief. The farmer knows that the buried seed will
spring up into luxuriant vegetation in due course. Human burial is quite a
different matter. It arouses far deeper emotions because of our attachment to
the precious form laid in the grave. But for Christians this grief is tempered
by the knowledge that those who die in the Lord are safe with Him, and that one
day we will be reunited with them, not only in our spirits but in new and
glorious bodies that will spring from the grave at our Lord's coming. "So also
is the resurrection of the dead," says Paul, referring again to his analogy of
the seed. "It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption" (1
Corinthians 15:42) The Seed-Then the Plant You sow a seed by putting it into the
ground. It must first die, and then it rewards you with a living plant. How does
this take place? Can you or anyone else fully explain this philosophically,
rationally? Do you refuse to eat the fruit of this seed until you know in
minutest detail how it grows into a plant? Hardly. You accept the generating
power of nature. When you sow wheat, you expect the same kind of plant to come
up. But that plant does not contain every particle of matter that was in the
seed. It contains the identity of the seed, but not the entire actual seed as it
was put into the ground. Yet the plant resulting from that seed will produce
seeds corresponding to that original seed, made of different and yet identical
material particles. The plant in reality is that same seed which was placed in
the ground, in different form. So will it be with your resurrection body. It
will be the same body in the sense that it is your own body-yet no longer in the
seed, so to speak, but the plant. When your soul leaves your body at death, that
spiritless body is good for nothing but burial in the ground. There it can die
and return to dust; and through death it will live again by God's power.

Glory Revealed A minister was once called into the room of a dear saint of God
who was suffering much pain. He had often visited her, and in spite of pain,
found her greatly rejoicing. This time, however, he was told that she was in
trouble and wished to see the minister urgently. Wondering what the trouble
could be and how the devil might be tempting her, the minister rushed to her
bedside. She said, "I cannot pray any more. As soon as I begin, my prayers are
all turned into hallelujahs. I would have esteemed it a privilege if God had
permitted me to spend my remaining days in supplications for my friends; but as
soon as I open my mouth, it is all glory, glory, glory!" The minister could not
but congratulate her on being drafted into the employment of the celestial choir
before her time. She lived for two weeks in a gust of praise, and so she died.
On the Way Home At the funeral of a minister, a little child was seen skipping
light-heartedly through the cemetery at dusk. Someone asked, "Aren't you afraid
of this place?" "Oh no," she replied, "I only cross through here to get home."
Death for the Christian is only a "crossing-through to get home." It is not
ultimate and final death. A Joyful Meeting A young woman who lay dying sought to
console her father who was overcome with grief. "Dad," she said, "don't be so
broken up. If I had received an offer of marriage from someone who was all you
could desire for me, and whose station in life was far superior to mine, but who
wanted to take me to live in a remote part of the world, don't you think you
could have borne the separation, knowing all the advantages it would bring to
me? But I am now being promoted to a situation incomparably beyond anything that
could have happened to me in this world. Then why this reluctance to let me go?
Our next meeting will be in far more wonderful circumstances, joyful, and
everlasting." A Re-created Body While it is literally true that our bodies shall
live again, Scripture does not require us to believe that God has to take
exactly the same particles of all the physical substances of which our bodies
are made and put them together again like a jigsaw puzzle. Let's not be like
that woman who blithely stated that she did not believe in the resurrection of
the body, because as the result of an accident she had left one leg in England,
and she fully expected to die in the United States. If you expect the same atoms
to be brought together again, how would you expect this to happen in the case of
a man eaten by cannibals? His flesh would have been digested and become part of
the bodies of those very ones who dined upon him. In the resurrection, would
their bodies be robbed of the necessary particles to reconstitute the man they
had devoured? Do you see to what ridiculous extremes we would be led by an
insistence that God work in accordance with what we believe must happen? Of
course, nothing is impossible with God. I would not find it difficult to believe
that God is able to gather every fragment of bone, flesh, muscle, and sinew that
made up our earthly bodies, to make up our glorified resurrection bodies. Men
might conceive this impossible, but God can do it. The only reason I declare
that it is not going to be so is that God's Word reveals that it will be
otherwise (1 Corinthians 15:37). He, an omnipotent God who created our bodies in
the first place, can recreate them at the resurrection. Is Our Resurrection
Impossible? Will our bodies one day be raised from the dead or not? How can we
know? Impossible, says one group. Before you make such a flat declaration, look
at that unattractive insect upon the blade of grass. In just a few short days
you will find that insect floating in the air, a beautiful gossamer creature
with wings that rival the rainbow. Look at the dry root in the dark, cold
winter. When spring comes, out of that root will blossom forth a profusion of
beautiful blossoms. Look at the egg, an inert and earthbound shape. Yet in it
lies the eagle that can wing and soar above all other birds, or the tiny
hummingbird that remains poised in mid-air before some flower, defying the pull
of gravity. The doctrine of the resurrection is not inconsistent with the
analogies of nature or the experience of our common history.

Plant Corresponds to Seed In 1 Corinthians 15:36-38, we see that a seed must die
in the ground before God causes it to spring up into a plant; that this plant
will be consistent with the nature of the seed planted, yet different in form
and function. To emphasize this difference between the seed and the plant is
similar to the difference between the body that is laid in the grave and the
body that will one day be resurrected, Paul says in verse thirty-seven, "And
that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain,
it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain." The analogy is that of your
dead body to a seed and of your resurrection body to the plant. There is nothing
in Scripture that requires you to believe that the body you put into the ground
is the selfsame body that will rise in the resurrection. Paul says that, with
bodies as with plants, you don't bury that which is to be in the same form that
it will eventually assume. A bare grain of wheat will produce a plant bearing
many grains, but you don't sow the whole plant. You sow a seed and you get a
corresponding plant.

It Is True Death, like its master, Satan, stealthily watches to take its victims
as a thief in the night. Quite often he gives no warning. Be prepared,
therefore, to meet this enemy at any time. Professor J. H. Huxley was a
well-known agnostic. His nurse revealed that in the last moments of his life, as
he lay dying, the great skeptic suddenly looked up as at some sight invisible to
mortal eyes, and, staring a while, whispered, "So it is true."

Alive Forever The famed evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, once remarked in a sermon:
"Some day you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody of East Northfield is
dead. Don't you believe a word of it. At that moment I shall be more alive than
now. I shall have gone up higher, that is all-out of this old clay tenement into
a house that is immortal; a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint,
a body fashioned like unto His glorious body. That which is born of the flesh
may die. That which is born of the spirit will live forever." A Lesson from a
Silver Cup A servant who had received a silver cup from his master accidentally
dropped it into a vat of acid. The servant was dumbfounded when he saw the whole
cup disappear. He immediately went to a fellow servant and told him that the
silver cup was lost forever. "It can't be recovered. You can't even see it." The
master, an educated man, came on the scene. He infused salt water into the acid,
which precipitated the silver from the solution. Then by melting it and
hammering the metal he restored the cup to its original shape. A skeptic who saw
this was so struck by its analogy to the resurrection, which he had rejected as
impossible, that he now believed it most credible. A Body Fit for Heaven What do
we know about the germination of seeds? Keep a grain of wheat in your pocket all
your life and it will never change. But place it in a congenial environment, a
furrow of earth, and it will sprout into a living sheaf of grain. Every kind of
life requires its particular corresponding environment in order to achieve its
full and predestined potential. You would really be just as foolish to expect
your body, as now constituted, to be able to live in the world to come, as a
farmer would be if he expected to produce a harvest of wheat by keeping bare
grains stored in his pocket. A Divine Display of Power "Thou foolish one, that
which thou sowest..." (1 Corinthians 15:36). The Greek verb is speireis, "you
sow all the time." This is a common everyday experience. You accept it because
you see it happening all the time. How true it is that there are many wonders in
the world that you would not have believed by report, if you had not come across
them by experience and observation. Had you lived fifty years ago, would you
have believed that a picture could be taken by Telstar, a photographic
communication satellite in the sky, which would then send back a clear picture
on your television screen? In fact, would you have believed television? In the
air there are only video waves, but on the television screen you see a person,
an actual scene. Everything is wonderful until you are used to it; the
resurrection of the body owes the incredible portion of its marvel to the fact
of your never having observed it. After the resurrection we shall regard it as a
divine display of power as familiar to us as creation and providence are now.
Are You Ready to Die? One day when Luther was a young man, he was walking with a
friend named Alexis. Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck his friend and killed
him instantly. From that moment on a radical change took place in Luther's life.
Your life will also change if you think seriously that one day it will end,
perhaps suddenly and soon. After that you will have to give an account of it to
God. Are you ready for it?

Nature Hints at the Resurrection An illustration of what one may learn from
nature, if he only has eyes to see, is the example of a man who looked into his
tropical aquarium one day and saw on the surface a tiny creature, seemingly half
fish and half snake, not an inch long, writhing in what seemed its death agony.
With convulsive efforts it bent head to tail, now on this side, now on that,
springing in circles with a force truly remarkable in a creature so small. "I
was stretching out my hands to remove it," said the aquarium owner, "so that it
would not sink and die and pollute the tank, when in the twinkling of an eye its
skin split from end to end, and there sprang out a delicate fly with slender
black legs and pale lavender wings. Balancing itself for one instant on its
discarded skin, it preened its gossamer wings and then flew out of an open
window. The impression made upon me was deep and overpowering. I learned that
nature was everywhere hinting at the truth of the resurrection." The Foolish
Question A little boy drove his mother to distraction with questions one day.
Finally she sent him packing off upstairs to bed. Later feeling troubled, she
tiptoed into his room, knelt beside his bed, and told him she was sorry she had
been cross with him, adding, "Now, dear, if you want to ask one more question
before you go to sleep, I'll try to answer it." Quick as a wink the youngster
blurted out, "Mommy, how high is up?" Some theological questioning is just about
as foolish. That's exactly what Paul calls the man who asks these questions
about the resurrection body, "Thou fool." The Greek word here is aphron, which
comes from the negative prefix a, "without," and the noun phren, "mind." You are
a man without sense, without reason, Paul says, if you think there can be an
explanation in detail of all observable facts and the conclusions to be drawn
from them.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 25: DECISIONS
========================================================================

Decisions The Dividing Line Lines are everywhere! There are lines in parking
lots to designate the parking spaces. There are lines drawn at intersections so
that pedestrians know where to cross the street. There are little, but
important, lines drawn on rulers to show units of measure. There are lines drawn
on baseball diamonds, basketball courts, and football fields to help the players
and referees know if the balls, and players, are in or out. Lines can be very
important. They help us know where we stand. We are either on one side of the
line or the other. Exodus 32 tells us that Moses drew a line. Here's why: God's
people had participated in a drunken party and had worshiped a golden calf.
Drunken idolaters! Moses knew that God demands that people love, obey and
worship only Him. In a very courageous move, Moses stepped in front of all those
people and drew a line by saying, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come to
me...." (Exodus 32:26). That day, many crossed the line by standing with Moses
and the Lord. Jesus, too, drew a line when He called those from the multitude to
follow Him. Jesus' words make a very clear line: either you are for Christ or
you are against Him. That same line exists today. We must decide on which side
of that line we will stand. Many choose to stand on both sides of the line. And
for those individuals Jesus replies, "I know thy works, that thou art neither
cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth" (Revelation
3:15-16). There is no middle ground with the Lord. In fact, for those who try,
it makes Him sick to His stomach. Take a stand on God's side.

Dangers of Homogeneous Group Decisions The more members of a group like and
respect one another, the more probable it is they will make a poor decision. A
well-known example of the dangers of this unhealthy group orientation took place
during the John F. Kennedy administration. A faulty decision caused the defeat
of American forces in the invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, embarrassing the
President and the nation. President Kennedy had surrounded himself with a
committee of some of the shrewdest advisors in the country. This group of
experts didn't make a poor decision because of low IQs. They failed because they
wanted to be liked by others in the group. They allowed friendship and loyalty
to overwhelm their decision-making process. Advisors who were tempted to speak
up in opposition to the attack decided against it out of fear of being disliked,
or because they didn't want to waste everyone's time. In a memorandum written
before the committee assembled, Arthur Schlesinger, one of the members of the
Kennedy inner circle, acknowledged that he considered the invasion of Cuba a
mistake. But he kept silent when he participated in the discussion. Robert
Kennedy, the President's brother and the U.S. attorney general, got Schlesinger
in the corner after discovering that he opposed the invasion. Kennedy put it
bluntly, "Arthur, you may be right or you may be wrong, but the president has
made up his mind. Don't push any further." Schlesinger kept quiet. The
environment wasn't right for voicing dissent.

Don't Ignore the Less Experienced America's Supreme Court has an interesting
custom. The newest member of the court speaks his or her mind on a decision
first. Then the next newest speaks. This continues until all of the members have
spoken, and then the Chief Justice speaks last. In that way, no one is held back
by fear of differing with the opinion of a more experienced judge. This wouldn't
be a bad idea for most of our churches or business committees to follow. The
Cost of Indecision Former President Ronald Reagan says he learned the need for
decision-making early in life. An aunt had taken him to a cobbler to have a pair
of shoes made for him. The shoemaker asked young Ronald Reagan, "Do you want a
square toe or a round toe?" Reagan hemmed and hawed. So the cobbler said, "Come
back in a day or two and let me know what you want." A few days later the
shoemaker saw Reagan on the street and asked what he had decided about the
shoes. "I still haven't made up my mind," the boy answered. "Very well," said
the cobbler. When Reagan received the shoes, he was shocked to see that one shoe
had a square toe and the other a round toe. "Looking at those shoes every day
taught me a lesson," said Reagan years later. "If you don't make your own
decisions, somebody else will make them for you!" The sovereign God has made us
people, not puppets. We have His Word to guide us, His love to redeem us, and
His assurance that we are capable of making choices.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 26: 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).




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  CHAPTER 27: DISCIPLES: DISCIPLINE
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Disciples: Discipline

Cleaning Out A certain man's garage is attached to his house. It's a wonderful
convenience in inclement weather, but it's also a terrible temptation because
all winter whenever he doe not know what to do with something, he puts it in the
garage. Usually by March he is so ashamed of his garage that he doesn't want to
open it up to the neighborhood. By contrast, his neighbor keeps his garage
spotlessly clean. He is one of those people who has a place for everything and
keeps everything in its place. He has hangers for his shovel, his hammers, his
screwdrivers, and his rakes. He paints his garage floor, and he actually vacuums
his driveway. About mid-March the contrast finally gets to the first man, and he
finally says, "This Saturday I'm going to tackle the garage." He gets up early
in the morning, opens the door, tears into it, and by 4:00 in the afternoon, he
has thrown half of it away. Then he gets all the rest organized, and feels
absolutely fulfilled. In fact, he leaves his garage door open for three weeks so
that everybody in the neighborhood can see how good it looks! But by that time,
it's starting to look a little tacky again. Biblical happiness is a life without
the junk and clutter that a self-oriented life deposits in our spirits. It is a
sense of well-being, cleanliness, and organization. It is to live an organized
life so that there is the inner sense of well-being that harmony provides.

Freedom Restricted Becomes Power No horse gets anyone anywhere until he's
harnessed, no steam or gas drives anything until it is confined, no Niagara ever
turns anything into light or power until it is tunneled, no life ever does great
things it is until focused, dedicated, and disciplined. The Power of Discipline
USA Today polled 238 players who participated in at least one of the NCAA Final
Four Championship games from 1977 to 1986. The survey indicated that an amazing
number of these athletes have been able to match their achievement on the
basketball court with continued excellence in life. What is their secret? The
pollsters concluded that those who make it in school "seem able to channel the
athletic lessons of discipline and self-sacrifice into their academic lives."

Today... I did not come this far-nor to this place-alone, but in the presence
and power of my God. The circumstances of this moment are not greater than my
God. He knows them better than I do, yet He permits them. And He will overcome
them-within me if I will allow Him. Mine is not to fret as though He does not
know, or care, or cannot overcome. Mine is to walk on knowing that He is here. I
am His by His creation, and His new birth. I am His to do with as He chooses-to
bless or to use up, to serve or to simply endure. The day belongs to my Lord,
and it is the only day I have to serve and glorify Him. And so I shall give all
that I have and am that for this one day He shall be honored.




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  CHAPTER 28: DISCIPLES: DISCIPLING
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Disciples: Discipling

Success Can Be Failure A rehabilitation counselor took early retirement to spend
the rest of his life preaching the gospel. Early in his career he found a young
boy with several birth defects. He arranged financial and medical help. Skilled
surgeons restored the child's facial appearance. Trained therapists taught him
to speak and walk. By his teens, the boy was able to take part in all the
activities of other young people. "What do you think has become of this young
man?" the counselor asked. One guessed he was a great athlete; another, a
skilled surgeon. "No, none of these," the retired counselor said sadly. "The
young man is a prisoner, serving a life sentence for murder. We were able to
restore his physical features and his ability to walk and act, but we failed to
teach him where to walk and how to act. I was successful in helping the boy
physically, but I failed to help him spiritually."

Think About It Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they
become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they
become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny. A Generation of
Mules "The church today is raising a whole generation of mules. They know how to
sweat and to work hard but they don't know how to reproduce themselves." It's
not known who said that, but it is a statement of incredible insight. Mules are
hard workers. They have carried supplies, plowed fields, pulled wagons and
transported people. The only problem is that they are almost always sterile and
thus cannot reproduce. They are hard workers, but they are the end of the line.
They do not produce more like themselves. The church is full of hard workers.
They teach classes, serve the physical needs of others, clean up and mow the
grass, cook, move tables, organize social activities, visit and even write
letters and cards, and do a host of other things. There is just one problem.
They don't "reproduce." They don't teach the gospel to the lost so others can
become hard workers. They are the end of the line. The real job the Lord gave us
is to go into the world and "reproduce ourselves" by making disciples of others
(Matthew 28:18-20). It is a tough lesson to realize that you may have worked
hard and yet still haven't gotten the job done. Let us say it plainly. If we are
not evangelizing, we are not doing the job completely. If we are nothing more
than a generation of mules, we are on the road to extinction. Hup, Mule!
Gee-Haw!!! Who Leads Whom? A worldly kind of person came to the preacher,
defending her practice of attending worldly entertainments. She said, "But,
pastor, I can take Jesus Christ with me wherever I go." The pastor after a few
moments of thought quietly replied, "Indeed, is that so? I didn't know that was
the order of the Bible. Is it for you to lead Jesus to where you want to go or
for Him to lead you where He wants you to be?"




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  CHAPTER 29: DOCTRINE
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Doctrine

Good Advice There is a great line in one of Charles Schulz's Peanuts cartoons.
It is raining "cats and dogs" outside the window when Lucy asks the most
profound question of the day. "Boy, look at it rain. What if it floods the whole
world?" Fully up to the occasion as usual, Linus, the resident theologian,
answers that a worldwide flood is impossible since Genesis 9 promises that God
will never again flood the earth. Obviously relieved, Lucy sighs, "You've taken
a great load off my mind...." Linus's final summation: "sound theology has a way
of doing that!"

Profound Theology The theological student was playing "Stump the Professor." He
asked his instructor, a widely recognized scholar and author, to state in a few
words his most profound theology. The academician thought a moment, then
replied, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." Centuries
earlier a similar scene took place in Jerusalem. A theological "hot shot"
approached a country preacher with the toughest question of the day: "Teacher,
which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" In this case the theologian was
playing "Stump the Bumpkin." After all, how could a backwoods itinerant possibly
answer the question that the finest religious minds in the country couldn't?
That the preacher answered was a surprise; but what he answered was the real
shocker. "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and
with all your mind.'This is the first and greatest commandment...." The answer
Jesus gave in Matthew 22:34-40 was not at all unlike the answer of the modern
theologian. Just as children in Bible class today learn to sing "Jesus Loves Me"
from the earliest age, children in first century Palestine learned to recite
"Love the Lord your God" from infancy. In fact, that was what Deuteronomy 6:4-9
was all about-parents teaching their children to give God all the love they
have. The study of theology is fine if it is kept in perspective. But we must
never allow our research to obscure God's revelation. The most profound
theological truths are these: God loves me and I must love God.

Strength from Depth The iceberg is steadied because the great mass of its bulk
is beneath the surface. So the life of the strong man must go deep. Underneath
the surface lie the great principles that endure-truth and justice and rectitude
and the things that make for wholesome life and character.




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  CHAPTER 30: DOCTRINE: ANGELS
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Doctrine: Angels Our Guardian Angels If an angel from heaven suddenly became
visible to you as you were sitting alone, what would your reaction be? An
ancient saint admonished Christians in these words: "In every area ... in every
corner, pay a respect to your angel. Dare not do before him what you dare not do
before others. Consider with how great respect, awe, and modesty we ought to
behave in the sight of the angels lest we offend their holy eyes and render
ourselves unfit for their company. Woe to us if they who could chase away our
enemy would be offended by our negligence and deprive us of their visit."

Angels in Charge The story is told of a little boy who asked his mother if he
could take his baby sister out to play. She had just begun to walk alone and
could not step over anything that lay in the way. His mother said "Yes, if
you'll be careful not to let her fall." The man who tells the story says, "I
found them at play, very happy, in the field. I said, 'You seem to be very
happy, George. Is this your sister?' 'Yes sir,' he replied. 'Can she walk
alone?' 'Yes sir, on smooth ground.' 'Then how did she walk over those big
stones between here and the house?' 'Well, Mother told me to be careful she
didn't fall, so I put my hands under her arms and lifted her up when she came to
a stone so she wouldn't hit her foot against it.' " "He shall give his angels
charge over thee.... They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy
foot against a stone." God charges His angels to lead and lift His people over
difficulties in the same way.




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  CHAPTER 31: DOCTRINE: ETERNAL SECURITY
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Doctrine: Eternal Security

God's Hold Is Sure There were two brethren who differed on the question of the
believer's safety in Christ. They were discussing the question, and one said to
the other: "I'll tell you, a child of God is safe only so long as he stays in
the lifeboat. He may jump out, and if he jumps out he is lost." To this the
other replied, saying: "You remind me of an incident in my own life. I took my
little son out with me in a boat. I realized, as he did not, the danger of his
falling or even jumping into the water. So I sat with him all the time, and all
the time I held him fast, so he could neither fall out nor jump out of the
boat." "But," said the first speaker, "he could have wriggled out of his coat
and got away in spite of you." "Oh," said the other, "you misunderstood me if
you supposed I was holding his coat; I was holding him."




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  CHAPTER 32: DOCTRINE: FAITH AND WORKS
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Doctrine: Faith and Works The Arms of Faith On a wall in the Vatican, an artist
sought to express the relationship between three spiritual gifts. He represented
Love as standing up attending to the needs of those around her, and Hope as
looking upward with prophetic expectation. Both of them, however, are standing
on another form named Faith who has her arms around the cross to which she
clings for support. The Finished Work A great many people find it extremely
difficult to accept Christ's death on the cross as sufficient ransom for their
sins. They want to do something themselves. "But I can't see it," said a certain
cabinetmaker to a friend who was trying to show him how the death of Christ
completed the work of atonement. At last an inspiration struck his friend, who,
lifting the plane, moved as if to plane the top of a beautifully polished table
that stood near. "Stop!" cried the cabinetmaker. "Don't you see that's finished?
You'll simply ruin it if you use that plane on it," "Why," replied his friend,
"that's just what I have been trying to show you about Christ's work of
redemption. It was finished when He gave His life for you, and if you try to add
to that finished work you can only spoil it. Just accept it as it stands-His
life for yours-and you go free."

Faith Plus Works When a soldier was leaving to fight for his country, a minister
said to him, "I shall pray constantly that you may win." The soldier replied: "I
don't see the necessity of your prayers. If God wants to give us victory, then
He will do it without your prayers. And if it is our luck to lose, do you think
your prayers could prevent this?" The minister thought for a moment and said,
"All right. Take off your helmet. Take off your uniform. Put your rifle away. Go
and rest. It's not necessary for you to fight. Nor is it necessary for the other
soldiers to fight. If God intends to defeat the enemy, He is going to do it
anyway without your arms." The soldier got the point. God helps those who fight,
not those who do nothing. The sower plants the seed. That is our job, to sow the
seed in human hearts. But we must also pray that God will give the increase
which is salvation. Then what a joy to witness the result and to give all the
glory to God!




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  CHAPTER 33: DOCTRINE: HOPE
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Doctrine: Hope

Kind Providence If we think it all through, we shall agree that it is better
that futurity be hidden from our view. What little child would have the heart to
begin the alphabet if, before he did so, his teacher put clearly before him all
the school and college work of which the alphabet is the beginning? The poor
little thing would give up at once. And so it is that Providence, kindly and
gradually bringing things into our lives day by day, wiles us onward, still
keeping hope and heart through the trials and cares of life. Knowledge of the
future would certainly be the death-knell of hope, for why hope if we could
know? Hope is a wonderful element of human happiness which is based on our
ignorance of the future here on earth.




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  CHAPTER 34: DOCTRINE: JUDGMENT
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Doctrine: Judgment The Immutable Law of Sowing and Reaping The farmer who plants
certain seeds knows what to expect. He knows he will reap what he sows. He may
not know exactly how many bushels of corn he'll get to an acre, but he knows it
will all be the result of the seeds he planted. That is an unbreakable law of
nature: we reap what we sow, but we can never know exactly how much the harvest
will be. This also holds true in the spiritual realm. We find immutable laws of
sowing and reaping there also. I know some people try to deny the existence of
such a realm as the Kingdom of God. They are like moles who are ignorant of the
existence of the sunlit world because they are blind.

Future Punishment The doctrine of future punishment is so clearly taught in
God's Word that no one can escape it. It is not that God wants to threaten or
frighten people into being good. As Dr. S. M. Merrill says, "It is the last
resort of God's wisdom and holiness.... In it God takes no delight. Yet the
necessities of good government, the maintenance of order under rightful
authority, and the highest regard for the welfare of the good, require this
ultimate vindication of righteousness at the expense of the incorrigibly
wicked."




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  CHAPTER 35: DOCTRINE: MYSTERIES
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Doctrine: Mysteries

Physical and Spiritual Mysteries The farmer who turns up the ground and sows the
seed seldom pauses to reflect on the mystery of its growth. Even the philosopher
who understands the wonderful process of vegetation is conscious of difficulties
he cannot solve in its several stages toward maturity. The farmer doesn't refuse
to sow the seed because he can't see the actual plant in it. A sperm cell is
almost invisible, yet it contains the full potential for a perfect human
organism. Think of the mystery in such natural phenomena. We accept them because
we can't live without them. God hasn't given us the freedom to reject natural
laws and mysterious phenomena in connection with our physical lives. But He has
chosen to give us the ability to reject His spiritual laws and not immediately
feel the consequences. If we refuse to eat we'll die. There are no two ways
about it. But in the spiritual realm we feel no immediate physical impact of
disobedience to God's laws. There is a spiritual consequence, but those who have
no spiritual sensibility or life don't feel it. It would be just like inflicting
punishment on a corpse; it couldn't feel it. Just so the spiritually dead can't
feel the spiritual consequences of their disobedience. The Great Touches the
Mysterious Parker says: "There is a mystery about religion, but there is ten
thousand times more mystery without it. There is mystery with the Bible, but
there is nothing but mystery without it. There is a mystery of grace; yes, and
there is the mystery of sin. Life is a mystery. All that is great touches the
mysterious. In proportion as a thing rises from vulgarity and the commonplace,
it rises into wondrousness-and the wondrousness is but the first round in the
ladder whose head rests upon the infinite mysteries." No Explanation Take a
hyacinth bulb, for instance. Put it in a glass jar of water and watch it day by
day. The leaves and the buds unfold above. The roots develop below. Then as the
days get warmer it bursts into full and beautiful bloom. Why should the bulb
break out this way into flower, leaf, and root before your eyes? "Why," you
might say, "they always do." Yes, but why? You say it is the law of growth; but
what do you mean by that? You don't explain anything by merely labeling it. You
fail to explain either what it is in itself, or why it should be at work here
under these conditions. You can't deny its existence, yet the moment you try to
penetrate below the surface it eludes you altogether.




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  CHAPTER 36: DOCTRINE: SANCTIFICATION
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Doctrine: Sanctification A Parable From Nature A person who is "sanctified in
Christ" is like the water spider which is a very peculiar insect. We are
peculiar, also, to the environment in which we live. The water spider lives at
the bottom of muddy pools and has the distinctive power of ascending to the
surface of the pool and there surrounding itself with a tiny globule of air.
Thus enveloped it descends to the sludge and ooze at the bottom of the pool and
remains there unsullied by its environment until the air is exhausted. Then it
rises again to the surface and the process is repeated. So those "sanctified in
Christ" find spiritual rejuvenation in daily Bible reading and Christian
fellowship, unsullied and undirtied by the hostile environment around them.

God's Model A shipbuilder steps out into his yard and looks around him. There
are the vast skeletons of ships just commenced; there are others advancing to
completion. But there is nothing in the scene to satisfy. The big hulls are at
present good for nothing. A thousand hammers are tapping in vexatious discord.
The miry ground is strewn with wood and metal. Yet the owner stands content amid
the imperfection. He never thinks of even doubting the process he beholds. In
his mind he carries the ideal of a perfect ship, and he justifies the imperfect
ships by imputing to them that ideal. God is like that great shipbuilder. The
ideal man exists in His mind. He has the blueprint; man is like the ship being
built. When God looks at it He does not despair, because He knows what He can do
with the imperfect man.




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  CHAPTER 37: DOCTRINE: THE TRINITY
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Doctrine: The Trinity

Arithmetic of Heaven A gentleman passing a church with Daniel Webster asked him,
"How can you reconcile the doctrine of the Trinity with reason?" The statesman
replied by asking, "Do you understand the arithmetic of heaven?" The Godhead-A
Family There is ample evidence in the Scriptures that the Godhead is a unity
made up of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We should not
feel that it is an insult to our intelligence to expect us to accept this
revealed truth of Scripture. Let us be as open to the truth as that converted
Indian who gave the following illustration, imperfect though it is, for his
belief in the Trinity: "We go down to the river in winter and we see it covered
with snow; we chop through the ice and we come to the water. Snow is water, ice
is water, water is water; therefore the three are one." In this way, God
demonstrates his triune nature through the natural world.




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  CHAPTER 38: ENVY
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Envy The Crush of Envy An incident is related in Greek history of a wrestler who
was so envious of Theagenes, the prince of wrestlers, that he could not be
consoled in any way. After Theagenes died, a statue of him was erected in a
public place. His envious antagonist went out every night and wrestled with the
statue, until one night he threw it over. The statue fell on him and crushed him
to death. No Time for Envy Many Christians are like that person who, one day,
looked extremely sad. One who knew him well said, "Either some great evil has
happened to him, or some great good to another." It has been very aptly said,
"The man who keeps busy helping the man below him will not have time to envy the
man above him; and there may not be anyone above him." Be Not High-Minded A
story is told of a watch which became dissatisfied with its little sphere in a
lady's pocket. It envied Big Ben, the great tower clock in London. One day, as
it passed over Westminster Bridge with its mistress, the little watch was heard
to say, "I wish I could be up there. I could then serve the multitude." "You
shall have your opportunity, little watch," said a voice. Magically the watch
was drawn up to the tower by a slender thread. When it reached the top, its
mistress said to it, "Where are you, little watch? I cannot see you." Nor could
anybody else. Its elevation became its annihilation. A Wish Granted A little
snail that lived by the ocean noticed with envy the big, beautiful shell in
which the lobster lived. "What a grand palace the lobster carries on his back! I
wish I lived in his place," whined the little snail. "Oh, wouldn't my friends
admire me in that shell!" In time a wonderful thing occurred. The watching,
envious snail beheld the lobster walk right out of his shell to grow up in
another, larger one. When the empty lobster shell lay neglected on the beach the
snail said, "Now I shall have my wish." And he boasted to all his friends that
he was going to take up residence in a grand palace. The birds and the animals
then watched the snail pull himself loose from his own little shell and proudly
crawl into the towering lobster shell. He huffed, puffed, blew, and gasped in an
effort to make himself fit. But with all his efforts he felt very small inside
the grand lobster shell. He grew tired, too. That night he died because the
large, empty shell was so cold. A wise old crow then said to the younger crows,
"You see! That's what comes of envy. What you have is enough. Be yourself and
save yourself from a lot of trouble. How much better to be a little snail in a
comfortable shell than to be a little snail in a big shell and freeze to death!"




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  CHAPTER 39: FAILURE
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Failure

He Succeeded through Failure Christopher Columbus was obsessed with the idea
that he could get to the East by traveling west, but by sailing west he never
did reach India. He failed, but changed the course of history by discovering
America, a great achievement. If you set out to do something great enough, what
you do incidentally may be of more significance than that which is accomplished
on purpose by someone else.

Don't Give Up An elderly lady was once asked by a young man who had grown weary
in the fight, whether he ought to give up the struggle. "I am beaten every
time," he said dolefully. "I feel I must give up." "Did you ever notice," she
replied, smiling into the troubled face before her, "that when the Lord told the
discouraged fishermen to cast their nets again, it was right in the same old
spot where they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing?"

Belief That You Can Do It Does It! When Rear Admiral Du Pont explained to his
superior officer, Farragut, why he had failed to take his ships into Charleston
Harbor, Farragut heard him through to the end and then said, "Admiral, there is
one explanation which you haven't given." "What is that?" asked Du Pont. "This:
you didn't believe that you could do it." That lack of confidence has been the
secret of failures not only in the field of war but also in this greater warfare
of the soul.

Failure Not Final Phillips Brooks became a teacher in Boston Latin School, a
position for which he seemed preeminently qualified. He lasted only a few
months. His headmaster commented that Phillips "had in him no single element of
a successful school teacher" and set Phillips packing with the conclusion that
he had never known a man who failed as a schoolmaster to succeed in any other
occupation. He had failed at the age of 20. Phillips Brooks overcame that
failure, however, to become one of the finest pulpiteers in all of American
history. No failure need be final.

Motivation from Failure Frank Laubach learned to live above his failure. At 45,
missionary Frank Laubach was a theological seminary professor in the
Philippines. He was next in line for president of the seminary. However, the
board selected someone else. Laubach took off for the hills to sulk. He was
angry about the unfairness of life and God's seeming lack of justice. He was a
failure in his own eyes. Was that the end of his story? Not on your life. Frank
developed in his solitude a technique for teaching hundreds of millions of
people throughout the world to read for the first time. He became the father of
the modern literacy movement. A failure, Frank Laubach learned to live above
that failure, and on that new level, he found how to achieve excellence.

Grace Before Greatness A talented, young black girl made her debut at New York's
Town Hall, but she was not ready for it. Consequently, the critics flailed her.
She returned to Philadelphia in disgrace. Part of her early support had come
from a special fund provided by members of her church. This "Fund for Marian
Anderson's Future" had launched her career. Now she returned in failure.
Marian's embarrassment and depression lasted for more than a year. Through that
time, her mother continued to encourage her. Finally, one of the motherly pep
talks sank in. She told her daughter, "Marian, grace must come before
greatness." Motivated by those words, Marian Anderson went on to a distinguished
career during which she also helped many others discouraged by their first
failures.

Don't Be Too Proud to Fail Thomas A. Edison recorded 1,093 patents. Most of
these inventions were impractical or unmarketable. They were failures. But a man
who invented the phonograph, the mimeograph, and the electric light bulb could
afford a lot of failures. He was so inept in business matters that he lost
control of the profitable companies that he founded, and yet in the depths of
the depression, he died with an estate of $2,000,000. Edison was a successful
failure. It is obvious that you learn as you fail. You also grow as you fail,
but you must dare to fail. If you can fail enough, you will learn a lot; but if
you are too proud to fail, then you will not enjoy success.

Stepping-Stones of Failure Abraham Lincoln was considered by many Americans as a
most successful president. It was strange that he was a man marked for failure,
a man suffering from melancholia, who endured long periods of depression
throughout his life. He could barely see out of one eye. He had frequent nervous
attacks, severe headaches, indigestion and nausea. He had a couch placed near
his desk in the White House so he could quickly lie down when one of his spells
came over him. When Lincoln was 10 years old he was kicked in the head by a
horse and experts now believe that the skull was severely fractured, leaving him
with lifelong problems. When he came to deliver the now famous address at
Gettysburg, he was coming down with smallpox. Lincoln failed in business in
1831, was defeated for the legislature in 1832. The next year he suffered
another business defeat and in 1836 had a nervous breakdown. He failed to be
elected speaker in 1838, was defeated for elector in 1840, and for Congress in
1843, as well as in 1848. Lincoln failed to be elected to the Senate in 1855,
and was defeated for the Vice Presidency in 1856 and for the Senate in 1858.
However, being elected President in 1860, he could afford all those failures.
Abraham Lincoln was truly a successful failure. Some people are slow starters
and may discover God's purpose late in life. Moses was 80 years old when he
began his life's work. All that time God was preparing him to do one thing-lead
the Hebrews out of Egypt. It could be that you are living to accomplish only one
great task for God, and that all the rest of your life is merely preparation for
that great heroic responsibility.

Paul-Successful Failure Sometimes we are overwhelmed with failures because we
are so aware of our own, but we fail to notice those of others. The athlete is
not celebrated for the games he has lost; the photographer throws away his poor
pictures; the potter reshapes his marred jars; and the painter displays only his
best portraits. Perhaps then, God has different measurements for failure and
success than we do. Paul the Apostle was not acclaimed during his lifetime. He
was rejected by Jews and held in suspicion by Gentiles. He was stoned, beaten,
imprisoned, mocked by some, and ignored by others. He spent his life starting
little churches that were soon overtaken with problems so big that the members
needed revisiting and letters written to them to straighten out their
difficulties. Paul taught the truth only to discover that some who received it
on one day were turning the next day to some false doctrine. No glory crowned
his life, nor was any success evident when, during his last days, his friends
deserted him as he was held prisoner. In the end, he was shamefully executed.
Yet, looking back on the ministry of Paul, we see that he was indeed a
successful failure. One-half of the books of the New Testament are from his pen,
and he is now hailed as the greatest Christian missionary of all time!

Don't Quit After the First Failure When the great Polish pianist, Ignace
Paderewski, first chose to study the piano, his music teacher told him his hands
were much too small to master the keyboard. When the great Italian tenor, Enrico
Caruso, first applied for instruction, the teacher told him his voice sounded
like the wind whistling through the window. When the great statesman of
Victorian England, Benjamin Disraeli, attempted to speak in Parliament for the
first time, members hissed him into silence and laughed when he said, "Though I
sit down now, the time will come when you will hear of me." Henry Ford forgot to
put a reverse gear in his first car. Albert Einstein failed his university
entrance exams at his first attempt. Thomas Edison spent $2,000,000 on an
invention which proved to be of little value. Very little comes out right the
first time. Failures, repeated failures, are fingerprints on the road to
achievement. Abraham Lincoln's life could demonstrate that the only time you do
not fail is the last time you try something and it works. We can "fail forward"
toward success. Who Has Not Failed? The Apostle Paul failed; Peter failed; every
one of the twelve apostles failed. David, Israel's greatest king, "a man after
God's own heart," failed. Moses, giant among the Israelites, giver of the law,
deliverer of his people, failed. Jacob, father of Israel, failed; Isaac, son of
promise, failed. Abraham, progenitor of Israel, father of the faithful,
prototype of those who are righteous through faith, failed. Even our first
parents, in their human perfection, failed. Who has not failed? It is not
failing that is the problem; it is what one does after he has failed. To take
failure as final is to be a failure. To see in failure the school of the Spirit
is to let failure contribute to one's growth in Christ.

Defeat Does Not Mean Failure Booker T. Washington said, "Success is to be
measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the
obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed." By taking two steps
forward and one step back, we still continually move closer to the goal. A man
who makes no mistakes is one who does nothing. Failure, disappointments, and
setbacks are a part of life. We must learn not to identify with our failures.
There are many, many examples of people who overcame backward steps. Abraham
Lincoln ran for political office seven times and was defeated each time. Bobby
Kennedy failed third grade and could not even take care of his own paper route.
Babe Ruth struck out more times than any other baseball player. Ed Gibson, one
of the astronauts on the Skylab III mission, failed first and fourth grades.
Learn from your mistakes, but identify with your success. Press on, confident in
your own ability to succeed, backed by the power of God. Never forget that
people who accomplish great things believe they can do it. When All Else Fails,
Read the Instructions We are so good at doing things our own way. Then, when
they do not work out, we turn to God and say, "Help! Now what do I do?" We are
so foolish, for if we had read His instructions in the first place, we wouldn't
have had the problem in the second place. "Thy Word have I hid in my heart that
I might not sin against thee." That's a powerful thought!




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  CHAPTER 40: FAITH
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Faith

Attack of the Killer Rabbits A counselor at church camp told of his experience
with a nine-year-old boy who started to cry when they turned out the cabin
lights the first night. "Was he afraid of the dark?" the counselor asked. "No,"
the boy replied; "he just didn't want to be attacked by the 'killer rabbits.'"
Some older kids at home had told him that there were "killer rabbits" who would
come out at night and attack the campers. Jesus was constantly reassuring the
disciples with the words, "Fear not." Their fears betrayed their lack of faith.
When one traces these words and their usage throughout the Bible, it seems that
one of man's constant needs is to be reassured of the presence and comfort of
God almighty. Christians can draw on this presence to find comfort and destroy
their fears. Watch out for "killer rabbits!" They can destroy your peace of mind
at camp and throughout life. A Story of Faith Pete had become lost in the desert
and had been chasing mirages. He thought to himself, I'll follow this last one.
It was a deserted town with a well in the very center. His mouth parched from
the intense heat, he ran to the well with his last ounce of energy. He
vigorously pumped the handle only to find that no water came forth. Then, he
looked up to a note nailed to the post. It instructed its readers to "look
behind the rock where a five-gallon container of water will be found" and warned
against drinking or using it for anything besides priming the pump. Every ounce
was needed, and not even a drop could be spared, the note emphasized. "After
pouring the water down the pump, pump the handle vigorously and all the water
you desire will come forth," the note said. One last instruction was to please
fill the water can and place it behind the rock for the next weary soul who
might happen to come along. How hard it is for people to give up a "sure thing"
for something they cannot see at the time. Pete had a sure thing in the bucket
of water and yet was instructed to pour it "all" down the pump.

Faith and Works An old boatman painted the word "faith" on one oar of his boat
and "works" on the other. He was asked his reason for this. In answer, he
slipped the oar with "faith" into the water and rowed. The boat, of course, made
a very tight circle. Returning to the dock, the boatman then said, "Now, let's
try 'works'without 'faith'and see what happens." The oar marked "works" was put
in place and the boatman began rowing with just the "works" oar. Again the boat
went into a tight circle but in the opposite direction. When the boatman again
returned to the wharf, he interpreted his experiment in these strong and
convincing words, "You see, to make a passage across the lake, one needs both
oars working simultaneously in order to keep the boat in a straight and narrow
way. If one does not have the use of both oars, he makes no progress either
across the lake nor as a Christian.

Why Worry When You Are a Child of a Father Who Sustains the World? Spurgeon
speaks of an evening when he was riding home after a heavy day's work. He felt
weary and depressed, when as suddenly as a lightning flash came this verse, "My
grace is sufficient for thee." He said, "I should think it is, Lord," and he
burst out laughing. It seemed to make unbelief so absurd. "It was as if some
little fish, being very thirsty, was troubled about drinking the river dry, and
the river says, 'Drink away, little fish, my stream is sufficient for thee.'
"Or, it seemed like a little mouse in the granaries of Egypt after seven years
of plenty fearing it might die of famine, and Joseph might say, 'Cheer up,
little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee.' "Again, I imagined a man
away up on yonder mountain saying to himself, 'I fear I shall exhaust all the
oxygen in the atmosphere.'But the earth might say, 'Breathe away, oh man, and
fill thy lungs ever; my atmosphere is sufficient for thee.'" Little faith will
bring our souls to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to us.

How Were People Saved in the Old Testament? Dr. Harry Ironside, for 18 years
pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago, told of visiting a Sunday School class
while on vacation. The teacher asked, "How were people saved in Old Testament
times?" After a pause, one man replied, "By keeping the Law." "That's right,"
said the teacher. But Dr. Ironside interrupted: "My Bible says that by the deeds
of the Law shall no flesh be justified." The teacher was a bit embarrassed, so
he said, "Well, does somebody else have an idea?" Another student replied, "They
were saved by bringing sacrifice to God." "Yes, that's right!" the teacher said
and tried to go on with the lesson. But Dr. Ironside interrupted, "My Bible says
that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin." By this time the
unprepared teacher was sure the visitor knew more about the Bible than he did,
so he said, "Well, you tell us how people were saved in the Old Testament!" And
Dr. Ironside explained that they were saved by faith-the same way people are
saved today! Twenty-one times in Hebrews 11 will you find the same words, "by
faith."

What Does It Mean to Believe? Many years ago now, when John G. Paton first went
out as a pioneer missionary to the new Hebrides Islands, he found that the
natives among whom he began to work had no way of writing their language. He
began to learn it and in time began to work on a translation of the Bible for
them. Soon he discovered that they had no word for "faith." This was serious, of
course, for a person can hardly translate the Bible without it. One day he went
on a hunt with one of the natives. They shot a large deer in the course of the
hunt, and tying its legs together and supporting it on a pole, laboriously
trekked back down the mountain path to Paton's home near the seashore. As they
reached the veranda both men threw the deer down, and the native immediately
flopped into one of the deck chairs that stood on the porch exclaiming, "My, it
is good to stretch yourself out here and rest." Paton immediately jumped to his
feet and recorded the phrase. In his final translation of the New Testament this
was the word used to convey the idea of trust, faith, and belief. "Stretch
yourself out on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).

Cancer Cannot- Cripple love! Corrode faith! Eat away peace! Kill friendship!
Silence courage! Invade the soul! Quench the spirit! Destroy confidence! Reduce
eternal life! Erase the promises of God! Obliterate happy memories! Shatter the
hope of Heaven! Lessen the power of the resurrection! Keep the faithfully
obedient from Heaven! Cancer can only affect the physical body for a time. It
may hasten death, but it is appointed unto man, once to die, anyway (Hebrews
9:27). Therefore, if one is prepared through faith in Christ, and obedience to
Christ's commands, we need not fear death! (John 12:48).

Faith, a Necessity Faith is a daily necessity whether one is getting married,
taking a job, struggling with an illness, or overcoming a handicap. And faith in
God is the cornerstone of all other faiths. As one psychiatrist says, "When I
learn a patient has no faith in God, I dismiss the case. There is nothing to
build on." Do Not Let Hurts Hurt You "Though I say, 'I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my sad countenance and be cheerful'" (Job 9:27 NASB).
Rejections, defeats, and failures that all of us have experienced can create
enough negative feelings to destroy us. Be careful! Often the most painful
wounds are not the scars that are outwardly seen, but the hidden wounds deep in
the heart. Being hidden, they are often the most dangerous. Setbacks in our
lives can take the joy out of living. Our faith is weakened and if we collect
enough hurts it will stop us from wanting to press forward. Even success can
make one the target of criticism. Don't let the hurts hurt you! Look at Job. A
man of the land of Uz, blameless, upright, one who feared God, and one who
turned away from evil. Job had seven sons and three daughters, a beautiful
family. He was considered "the greatest of all the men of the East." He lost it
all in the twinkling of an eye. He lost his health, wealth and family. He hurt.
His wife hurt. His friends hurt. He was knocked down but not out. He had lost
some of the passionate power to grow and some of his enthusiasm had diminished
but he checked his negative thinking and that of his wife and friends and
stated, "I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my sad countenance and be
cheerful." How could he do that after undergoing so much hurt? Along the
shoreline in California it is a common sight to see whales stopping alongside
rocks to scrape off barnacles as they migrate from Alaska to Mexico. In our
lifetime we also will pick up a collection of personal hurts that will attach
themselves like parasites sapping the life out of us. They must be scraped off.
How did Job do it? The same way we can do it-through faith. Faith is the only
thing that can heal the hurts. Job scraped the barnacles off. It was painful! It
hurt! The scars would remain but his life was put back together. Strong belief
in God was the medicine. His wife, his friends could not help him-only God
could!

Fruitless Faucets When Lawrence of Arabia was in Paris after World War I with
some of his Arab friends, he showed them the sights of the city: the Arch of
Triumph, the Louvre, Napoleon's tomb, the Champs Elysees, but none of these
things impressed them. The thing that really interested them the most was the
faucet in the bathtub of the hotel room. They spent much time in turning it on
and off. They found it amazing that one could turn a handle and get all the
water he wanted. Later, when they were ready to leave Paris and return to the
East, Lawrence found them in the bathroom with wrenches trying to disconnect the
faucet. "You see," they said, "it is very dry in Arabia. What we need are
faucets. If we have them, we will have all the water we want." Lawrence had to
explain that the effectiveness of the faucets did not lie in themselves but in
the immense reservoirs of water to which they were attached, and he had to point
out that behind this lay the rain and snowfalls of the Alps. What a tremendous
application to our Christian lives. Like the faucet by itself, so as individual
Christians by ourselves, without Christ we are useless (John 15:5), "...apart
from me you can do nothing." The lives of many Christians are as dry as the
Arabian desert. They have their faucets, but there is no connection to the
Living Water. May we trust God by faith so that our lives may be abundantly
fruitful. Don't be a fruitless faucet.

Operative Faith A Christian farmer was constantly jeered at by a non-Christian
because he would not work on Sunday, went to church, and gave his tithes to the
Lord's work. At the end of a poor harvest season the non-Christian said to him,
"Where is your God? He has certainly failed you, hasn't He?" "Oh, no," the
Christian said, "my God does not close His books at the end of the harvest
season." The Rich Employer Peter Eldersveld tells of a rich Christian who had a
large company of employees, and many of them owed him money. He was constantly
trying to teach them something about Christianity, and one day he hit upon a
plan. He posted a notice for his employees to see that said, "All those who will
come to my office between eleven and twelve o'clock on Thursday morning to
present an honest statement of their debts will have them canceled at once." The
debtors read the notice with a great deal of skepticism, and on Thursday
morning, although they gathered in the street in front of his office, not one of
them went to the door. Instead they gossiped and complained about their
employer, and ridiculed the notice he had posted. They said it didn't make
sense. But finally, at 11:45, one man jumped forward, dashed up the steps into
the office, and presented his statement. "Why are you here?" the rich man asked
him. "Because you promised to cancel the debts of all those who would come as
you instructed," the other replied. "And do you believe the promise?" "Yes, I
do." "Why do you believe it?" persisted the employer. "Because, although it was
too much for me to understand, I know that you are a good man who would not
deceive anyone." The rich man took the bill and marked it "Paid in full," at
which time the poor man, overcome, cried out, "I knew it! I told them so! They
said it couldn't be true, and now I'm going out to show them." "Wait," said his
benefactor, "it's not quite twelve o'clock. The others are not entitled to any
special proof of my sincerity." When the clock struck twelve, the forgiven
debtor ran out waving his receipt in the face of his fellows. With a mad rush
they made for the door, but it was too late. The door was locked.

Cost of the Step of Faith An old, low-caste woman in India was once asked the
cost of a temple being built. She turned to the missionary in surprise and said,
"Why, we do not know! It is for our god. We do not count the cost!" She could
certainly have put many followers of Christ to shame. Before we take the step of
faith we want to know the cost.

Look Over the Wall Two men were discussing worry; one was blaming God because He
didn't let us know what was going to happen. As they walked along, they came to
a pasture where a cow was gazing dreamily over a stone wall. "Do you know why
this cow has her head stretched over the wall?" asked one man. "No," said his
friend. "I'll tell you. It's because she's not able to see through the stone
wall. Imitate her. Quit banging the wall with your head. You won't break the
wall down, but you will break your head. Stand tall, look over, and you'll be
able to see farther on." It's the same lesson the Lord taught when He told
people to look at the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, and consider
who cares for them (Matthew 6:28). They have less cares than we who can think
and reason, but God provides for them, and He will for us, too, if we trust Him.

God Governs the World One night when an ambassador and his valet were obliged to
sleep in the same room in a hotel, the valet noticed his master tossing and
turning in bed. "Sir, what bothers you?" he asked. "Oh, I have so many things on
my mind. The burden of my responsibility is hard to bear." "Forgive me, sir, but
do you think God has been governing the world up till now?" "Of course." "And do
you think He'll manage even after you've left this world?" "Undoubtedly." "Then
don't you think it's possible for you to trust Him to do it even during your
lifetime?" The ambassador got the point and was soon fast asleep.

Working Faith Two gentlemen were crossing the river in a little boat. They began
to argue about faith and works. The man who was rowing them across the river was
a fine, enlightened Christian and on hearing their discussion he turned to them
and said, "I believe I can solve your difficulty. I hold in my hands two oars.
The one I call faith and the other works. Now watch it. I pull the oar of faith
alone. You see, we can only go around and around; we cannot go forward. Now I
pull the oar of works; again we move around and around. Now, see, I pull both of
them together and on we go." Then the Christian ferryman added his conclusion,
"In my opinion, a faith without works is dead, or works without faith will not
suffice" (James 2:26).

Two Parts to the Gospel An old country preacher used to say: "There are two
parts to the Gospel. The first part is believing it, and the second part is
behaving it." The hearer only is the one who is satisfied with just believing
without behaving. That is what James describes as dead faith (James 2:17).

Saving Faith Phillips Brooks defined faith by saying, "Faith means Forsaking
All, I Take Him." Saving faith is leaving the spot where we are now standing and
jumping into the arms of Jesus with full confidence that He is able to bear us
up. It is like trying to swim. Swimming is work as we know. Before we can swim,
we must believe that the water is able to bear us up; saving faith is believing
on the Lord Jesus Christ first and then swimming in the great sea of His love
and everlasting mercy. This is a faith that saves.

God Must Have You-You Must Have God! A soldier being dealt with by a Christian
worker put it very well when he said, "I see it now! God does not expect me to
live His life without first giving me His nature." Faith which implants God's
nature in the heart of man is a saving faith, and the faith which does not is
not saving faith. Even if a man says he believes there is eternal salvation in
Jesus Christ, this declaration will not save him, but going to Jesus Christ and
losing himself in Him saves him. Faith which makes us run into the arms of Jesus
saves; faith that makes us stand still does not save. Our works of faith emanate
from a source of moral standards which we did not set up and which we cannot
pull down, one that is ever above the laws of human fabrication.

Practical Faith A minister tells how in his first parish a banker occasionally
came to his church, and every time he came the minister happened to be preaching
on faith. The banker said to him, "Why don't you preach on something other than
faith? Why don't you preach on something practical?" A few days later there was
a run on his bank, and the minister went down to see what was going on. He found
the people demanding their money; they were alarmed and suspicious, and the
banker was going up and down the line saying to these people, "Everything is all
right. There is nothing wrong with the bank." The minister touched him on the
shoulder and said, "What is the matter?" "Why," he said, "there is nothing
wrong, but these people have lost faith in the bank." The minister replied, "Do
you remember when you told me to preach on something more practical than faith?"
"Oh, yes," he said, "I remember it very well, and I take it all back. After all,
there is nothing so fundamental to the business interests and commercial life as
faith."

Faith and Reason An old writer says, "Faith and reason may be compared to two
travelers: Faith is like a man in full health who can walk twenty or thirty
miles at a time without suffering. Reason is like a child, who can only with
difficulty accomplish three or four miles. On a given day Reason says to Faith,
'O good Faith, let me walk with thee.' Faith replies, 'O Reason, thou canst
never walk with me!' However, to try their paces, they set out together, but
they soon find it hard to keep company. When they come to a deep river, Reason
says, 'I can never ford this,' but Faith wades through it singing. When they
reach a lofty mountain, there is the same exclamation of despair; and in such
cases, Faith, in order not to leave Reason behind, is obliged to carry him on
his back; and, oh, how dependent upon Faith is Reason!" Why has God made faith
the indispensable ingredient in man's approach to Him? Is it not precisely
because man's reason can go only so far? Where reason comes up against an
insurmountable obstacle, faith soars above it and apprehends God and heavenly
mysteries by this divinely given faculty.

Trust Him Fully An old Methodist preacher once offered this prayer in a meeting:
"Lord, help us to trust Thee with our souls." Many voices responded with a
hearty, old-fashioned "Amen!" "Lord, help us to trust Thee with our bodies," he
continued. Again the response was a vociferous "Amen!" Then with still more
warmth he said, "And, Lord, help us to trust Thee with our money." Not an "amen"
was heard in the house, except that of an impoverished old lady.

Lessons in Faith There was a devout Christian mother who was always teaching her
daughter lessons of faith and trust, especially telling her that she need never
be afraid at any time because God was always near. One summer evening she tucked
her little girl in bed after her prayers, put out the light, and went
downstairs. Then an electrical storm came rolling out of the west with vivid
flashes of lightning and a reverberating roar of thunder. Suddenly there was a
simultaneous blinding flash and a deafening crash, and when the echoes died
away, the mother heard the little girl calling desperately, "Mama! Mama! Come
and get me." The mother found her trembling, little girl in tears. After she had
soothed her somewhat, she thought it might be an opportune time to teach a
spiritual lesson, and said, "My little girl, has Mother not taught you many
times that you need never be afraid, that God is always near, and nothing can
harm you?" The little one put her arms around her mother's neck and said, "Yes,
Mama. I know that God is always near, but when the lightning and the thunder are
so awful, I want someone near me that's got skin on him."

One Day at a Time Did you ever try to lift all the burdens of life at once? It
is hard to bear yesterday's, today's, and sometimes tomorrow's burdens and
temptations in one day. A doctor was once asked by a patient who had met with a
serious accident, "Doctor, how long shall I have to lie here?" The answer, "Only
a day at a time," taught the patient a precious lesson. It is the same lesson
that you and I need-the day's portion in its day. Let us be faithful for one
short day, and the long years will take care of themselves. That Is Faith A
skeptical physician said to his Christian patient, "I could never understand
saving faith. I believe in God and I suppose I believe in Jesus Christ-I am not
conscious of any doubts. I believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and I
believe in the Bible, yet I am not saved, I do not feel God near me. What is the
matter with me?" "Well," said the patient, "a week ago I believed in you as a
very skillful physician. I believed that if I put myself in your hands I would
recover from my illness. In other words, I trusted you. For a week now I have
been taking some mysterious stuff out of a bottle. I don't know what it is; I
don't understand it, but I am trusting in you. Now, whenever a person turns to
the Lord Jesus Christ and says, 'Lord Jesus, Christianity seems to me to be full
of mysteries. I do not understand them, but I believe Thou art trustworthy and I
trust Thee; I commit myself to Thee,' that is faith. A very simple thing, isn't
it?" The faith of the patient did not heal him; it was the remedy that healed
him; but in faith he took the remedy.

Faith Tested by Trials Have you ever seen a blacksmith work with a piece of
iron? He holds it in the fire to soften it and make it pliable. That is exactly
why God permits the testing of your faith by temptations and trials. He wants
you to acquire patience, to acquire pliability. If you and I are constantly out
of the fire of affliction, we become stiff and useless. God wants to reshape us
according to His image, for in the fall of Adam we lost our divine shape, our
divine image. A Test of Belief Two boys stood at the edge of a frozen pond. One
of them said to the other, "Billy, I believe it will bear our weight." "Do you?"
asked the other. "Yes." "Then get on it." "No," said he, "I don't want to."
"Then," said the other, "you don't believe it will bear you."

High in the King's Estimate A poor but devout Frenchman came to his spiritual
advisor and said with a sorrowing heart: "I profess faith in God, but at times,
against my will, I'm overwhelmed with doubts as I try to live a Christian life
in this world. Surely, God must be displeased with me as I struggle to overcome
them." The clergyman answered with much kindness, "The King of France has two
castles in different areas and sends a commander to each of them. The castle of
Mantleberry stands in a place remote from danger, far inland; but the castle of
La Rochelle is on the coast, where it is liable to continued sieges. Now which
of the two commanders, do you think, stands highest in the estimate of the
King-the commander of La Rochelle, or he of Mantleberry?" "Doubtless," said the
poor man, "the King values him the most who has the hardest task, and braves the
greatest dangers." "You are right," replied his advisor, "And now apply this
matter to your case and mine."

Faith and Works A bishop once told of two men, one of whom asked the other for a
contribution for his church. The reply was that the church was always wanting
money. The other friend said, "When my lad was a boy, he was costly; he always
wanted boots and shoes, socks and clothes, and wore them out fast, and the older
and stronger he grew the more money had to be spent on him. My son died and now
does not cost me anything." A faith that descends from God is manifested toward
men in acts of love and generous giving.

Proven Faith A grocer was down in the cellar of his shop when he noticed his
small son standing at the edge of the open trap door. He called up, "Here I am,
Sonny, jump down." But the boy hesitated. "I can't, Daddy; I can't see you." Up
came the answer, "No, but I can see you; trust me and jump, and I will catch
you." At this point, the boy jumped because he trusted his father.

Count The Promises Two little girls were counting their pennies. One said, "I
have five pennies." The other said, "I have ten." "No," said the first little
girl, "You have just five cents, the same as I." "But," the second child quickly
replied, "my father said when he comes home tonight he would give me five cents,
and so I have ten cents." Trustfully, she counted what her father had promised.
That's exactly how a Christian can be poor in the estimation of the world and at
the same time be rich. He counts as his whatever his Heavenly Father has.

Faith and Obedience Ralph Erskine, that eminent Scotch divine of the seventeenth
century, put the relation of faith and works in a most revealing way when he
wrote, "True faith is never alone, but still joined with Gospel-obedience: 'As
ye have received, so walk.' He that would separate faith from obedience
endeavors to walk with one foot, which is impossible. Faith and works, faith and
holiness, are the two feet by which a man walks in Christ; when the Spirit of
Christ promotes the one, He promotes the other also. If a man should try to go
upon one foot, he could not walk but only hop, which would be impossible for him
to continue long. Neither can obedience be consistent without faith, and such
consistency will be the measure of the Gospel-walk."

Spiritual Enamel A preacher once visited a coal-mining district and noticed how
very dingy the town appeared. The coal dust seemed to blacken the buildings,
trees, shrubs, everything. But, as he was walking with the foreman, he noticed a
beautiful white flower. Its petals were as pure as if it were blooming in a
daisy field. "What care the owner of this plant must give it," said the
preacher, "to keep it so free from dust and dirt!" "See here," said the foreman,
and taking up a handful of coal dust, he threw it over the flower. It
immediately fell off and left the flower as stainless as before. "It has an
enamel coating." This reminds me of being clothed in the righteousness of God by
faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22). The Last Request A wounded soldier said to
his comrades who were carrying him, "Put me down. Don't bother to carry me
farther. I am dying." They did as he requested and returned to the scene of
battle. A few minutes later, an officer saw the man weltering in his blood and
said to him, "Can I do anything for you?" "Nothing, thank you." "Shall I get you
a little water?" "No, thank you. I am dying." "Isn't there anything I can do for
you?" persisted the kind-hearted officer. "Shall I write to your friends?" "I
have no friends that you can write to. But there is one thing for which I would
be much obliged. In my pack you will find a Testament. Will you open it at the
14th chapter of John, and near the end of the chapter, you will find a verse
that begins with 'Peace'. Will you read it to me?" The officer did so and read
the words, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world
giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid" (John 14:27). "Thank you, sir," said the dying man. "I have that peace;
I am going to that Savior-God is with me-I want no more," and he was gone.

Understand with Your Heart W. J. Dawson gives his testimony as follows: "Well do
I remember how like a flash of light that verse of Romans 10:10 illumined my
soul one day, when all was at its darkest for me. And then I saw what it all
meant: that God did not ask me to believe with my intellect at all, but to trust
Him with my heart. From that hour the world has brightened in me, for I know now
that I have found God. Often and often now I cannot believe with the intellect,
but I can with the heart." Does Your Faith Show? Dr. J. M. Buckley, a Methodist
preacher, was once asked to conduct what they used to call in those days an
"experience meeting" at a church in the South. That was a meeting similar to a
testimony meeting such as we sometimes have today. A woman arose and bore
witness to the preciousness of her religion as light bringer and comfort giver.
"That's good, sister!" commented Dr. Buckley. "But now about the practical side,
the positive side. Does your religion make you strive to prepare your husband a
good dinner? Does it make you look after him in every way?" Just then Dr.
Buckley felt a yank at this coat tails by the host preacher, who whispered
ardently, "Press those questions, doctor; press those questions. That's my
wife!" Does our faith show by what we do for others?

Faith Healing by Works When I become sick, I go to a certain doctor because I
have faith in him and in his ability to make me well. What is the goal of
placing my faith in the doctor?-my getting well. But is that faith enough?-no. I
must also do all the things which the doctor asks me to do, take all the
medicine, whether it is sweet or bitter. Just faith, abstract faith, will not
reach its goal without my doing the things which the man in whom I place my
faith asks me to do. As a result of that obedience I can reach the goal of my
faith.

Two Kinds of People Charles Haddon Spurgeon, that famous preacher of London, was
a man with many responsibilities. He was going home after a difficult day, and
his problems were so many that he was discouraged. While in this state of mind,
however, he was reminded of a verse from the Word of God, "My grace is
sufficient for thee." He looked up to God and said, "I believe it is sufficient
for today, dear Lord." And then he burst into laughter. He understood how
ridiculous it was to worry. He began to think: "I'm like a fish that is very
thirsty, who's beginning to worry lest it exhaust the water of the river. The
big river answers, 'Drink, my little fish, all you want, there will be plenty
for you.' " Again, Spurgeon said, "I thought that I was like a little mouse in
the great big grain stores of Egypt after the seven year of abundance of
harvest, and I was so fearful lest I would die of starvation. At that time
Joseph appeared and said to me, 'Don't worry, little mouse, the wheat stores are
sufficient for you.' And again I thought that I was someone on top of a mountain
talking to himself and saying, 'I'm afraid I'm going to exhaust all the oxygen
there is in the atmosphere.' But I heard the atmosphere saying to me, 'Do not be
afraid, little man, you breathe all you want. Fill your lungs; there is enough
oxygen for everybody.' " There are two kinds of people who are candidates for
heaven. Those who have little faith and those who have much faith. Little faith
will take our souls to heaven, but much faith will bring heaven to us. The
important thing is for us to begin living in heaven now. In order for us to
accomplish this we must stop the sighs produced by the various "ifs" of life and
begin to face life as it is.




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  CHAPTER 41: FAITH: FAITHFULNESS
========================================================================

Faith: Faithfulness

Don't Give Up!! Dag Hammarskjold once wrote: "When the morning's freshness has
been replaced by the weariness of midday, when the leg muscles quiver under the
strain, the climb seems endless, and suddenly nothing will go quite as you
wish-it is then that you must not hesitate." He was unwilling to give up; he
refused to quit! The successful life prescribed by Christ requires faithfulness
until death: a hand on the plow with no looking back, steadfast perseverance;
racing hard for the tape, fighting the good fight of faith. The devil loves it
when we simply relax our efforts. He has a good day if we become discouraged.
There are temptations to overcome, disappointments to handle, personal sins that
beset us, burdens that depress us. And Satan is standing by urging that we quit
trying. But wait; Christ is present. "Consider Him who has endured such
hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose
heart" (Hebrews 12:3). Someone once asked James J. Corbett, at that time
heavyweight champion of the world, what was the most important thing a man must
do to become a champion. He replied, "Fight one more round." The Duke of
Wellington said that the British soldiers at the Battle of Waterloo were not any
braver than Napoleon's soldiers-but they were brave for five minutes longer.
That is about it for the Christian. A secret for success is: "fight just one
more round. Be brave for five more minutes." It is the difference between defeat
and victory.

Divine Spectacle During an interview with Mr. Lincoln long after he had been
inaugurated President, a friend asked him if he loved Jesus. The President
buried his face in his handkerchief and wept and sobbed. He then said amid his
tears, "When I left home to take the chair of the State I was not then a
Christian. When my son died-the severest trial of my life-I was not a Christian.
But when I went to Gettysburg, and looked upon the graves of our dead who had
fallen in the defense of their country, I then and there committed myself to
Christ. I do love Jesus. The spectacle of that crucified One which is before my
eyes is more than sublime-it is Divine." A gentleman having an appointment to
meet President Lincoln at five o'clock in the morning went a quarter of an hour
before the time appointed. While waiting for the appointed time he heard in the
next room a voice as if in grave conversation, and asked an attendant standing
by, "Who is talking in the next room? "It is the President, sir," replied the
attendant. "Is anybody with him?" the gentleman inquired. "No; he is reading the
Bible." "Is that his habit so early in the morning?" "Yes, sir, he spends every
morning from four o'clock to five in reading the Scriptures and praying."

What Is Faithfulness? A shepherd once came to the city of Edinburgh from the
country. He had his small obedient dog with him. While there, the man died and
was buried. That little dog lay upon its master's grave-not for a day, a week,
or a month, but for 12 years. Every day at one o'clock a gun was fired in the
castle of Edinburgh. When the gun was fired the dog would run to the local baker
who gave it food and water. Then back to the grave it would go. This continued
till the dog died 12 years later. That was faithfulness! A man threw a goose,
which had been run over and crushed by a car, into an oil drum. For seven years
the gander, that goose's mate, never went more than ten feet away from that oil
drum. That was faithfulness! George Mueller prayed for 52 years for a certain
man to come to Christ. A pastor visited an elderly man 21 times before being
admitted, but then he befriended the man and led him to Christ. That was
faithfulness! A Welsh postman had the British Empire Medal conferred upon him by
Queen Elizabeth; he had not missed a day's service in 43 years. Paul Dhrlick,
the chemist, performed 605 unsuccessful experiments; the 606th was a success!
Thomas Edison made 18,000 experiments before he perfected the arc light. After
experiencing 50 failures on another project he said, "I have found 50 ways it
cannot be done!" That was faithfulness! During the Korean War a man buried
himself in the muck and mud of a pig sty (except for his nose and mouth so he
could breathe) for eight days and nights rather than betray his buddies and
surrender to the enemy. That was faithfulness! Are you not glad that Jesus was
faithful in dying for us and that He now lives and is faithful to care for us?
God grant us grace to be faithful!




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 42: FAMILY
========================================================================

Family

House or Home A cute little girl was sitting on top of a pile of luggage in a
hotel lobby. Her parents were at the desk registering for their room. A
sympathetic lady asked the little girl if they were visiting relatives in the
city. "Oh, no," the girl replied. "We're going to live at this hotel until we
find a house. My Daddy has a new job and we had to sell our house and move." The
lady said, "Oh, it's too bad you don't have a home." To which the girl replied,
"Oh we have a home-it's just that we don't have a house to put it in." Your
Family Devotions Are Important Twelve convincing reasons for having family
devotions: It unifies the family and sweetens home life. It cultivates the
Christian graces and relieves tension and misunderstanding that sometimes
threaten the fellowship of the home. It aids our boys and girls in becoming
Christians, and helps them to develop ideals that guide them in vital Christian
living. It yields spiritual resources for daily tasks and assists us in
cultivating dependence upon God. It strengthens us in the face of adversities
and disappointments and enables us to trust Christ implicitly in all of life's
circumstances. It makes us conscious during the day of the abiding presence of
our Savior and Frie nd. It bears a Christian witness to the guests in our home.
It undergirds the Christian teaching of the Sunday School and the ministry of
the church. It affords opportunity for the Christian family to pray for and to
sharpen its concern for non-Christian families. It helps us to give a right
place to spiritual values and saves us from an undue concern for the temporal
things of life. It encourages us to put Christianity into practice in our homes.
It honors God and provides an excellent outlet for the expression of our
gratitude for the abundance of daily mercies and blessings which come from Him.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 43: FAMILY: CHILDREN
========================================================================

Family: Children

She Took the Children A little boy after reading Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress,"
asked his mother which of the characters she liked best. She replied,
"Christian, of course; he is the hero of the story." The child responded,
"Mother, I like Christiana best, because when Christian set out on his
pilgrimage he went alone, but when Christiana started she took the children with
her."

Hall of Fame When he entered baseball's Hall of Fame, ex-slugger Harmon
Killebrew recalled, "My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.
Mother would come out and say, 'You're tearing up the grass.' "'We're not
raising grass,'Dad would reply, 'We're raising boys!'"

How Is Your Influence? Max Jukes lived in New York. He did not believe in Christ
or in Christian training. He refused to take his children to church, even when
they asked to go. He has had 1,026 descendants-300 were sent to prison for an
average term of 13 years each; 190 were public prostitutes; 680 were admitted
alcoholics. His family thus far, has cost the state in excess of $420,000. They
have made no contribution to society that is of any benefit. Jonathan Edwards
lived in the same state, at the same time as Jukes. He loved the Lord and saw
that his children were in church every Sunday, as he served the Lord to the best
of his ability. He has had 929 descendants-of these, 430 were ministers; 86
became university presidents; 75 authored good books; five were elected to the
United States Congress and two to the Senate. One was Vice-President of this
nation. His family never cost the state one cent but has contributed
immeasurably to the life of plenty in this land today. How is your influence and
what legacy will you leave with your children, grandchildren, and
great-grandchildren?

Early Childhood: An Enemy Stronghold Is Satan actually interested in the
childhood years? After all, children from birth to six could not be any real
threat to him and his forces of darkness. Or could they? Scripture tells us that
Timothy, while still young enough to have to be fed, dressed and carried, knew
the Holy Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15). He had an experiential knowledge of them;
they meant something to him. Samuel's heart was already submissive at weaning
when taken to the temple to serve God (1 Sam. 1). John the Baptist leaped in the
womb at the presence of Jesus in Mary's womb. It has been said, "Give me a child
the first six years of his life and you can do what you will with him
thereafter." It is during that short period that the bulk of a child's
personality, character, habits and intellectual makeup is established. The
battle lines in the warfare for our children's souls are clear. God says, "All
your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your
children" (Isaiah 54:13, NKJV). "By the year 2000 we will, I hope," says Women's
Lib advocate and Ms. magazine editor Gloria Steinem, "raise our children to
believe in human potential, not God." Already born with an
"I-want-what-I-want-when-I-want-it" nature, preschoolers are ripe to fall prey
to a love for the world and all that is in it (1 John 2:15-16). Satan's snares
are everywhere. The Saturday morning cartoon lineup is just one classic example.
Constant scenes of violence and moral decadence purposefully desensitize
impressionable minds. Hidden behind many of the seemingly cute and innocent
cartoons are occult symbolisms. "Magic" lures them to eventually practice
witchcraft. Youngsters, bombarded with appeals to materialism, plead, "Buy that
for me, Daddy!" They can then vicariously "act out" cartoons and movies through
similar toys. Another please-meism snare are story books which convey that all
of life is meant to be "fun, fun, fun." This attitude is further exemplified in
shows like "Sesame Street" which teach that entertainment and education are
inseparable. (Entertainment is Satan's counterfeit for joy.) Then there are
Satan's whispers in parents' minds: "Play is a child's work. Let kids be kids!
Their natures are innocent; they should be free to explore. Curriculum should be
fun, according to the interests of each child and his experience." Bit by bit,
preschoolers can thus be taken captive because what they think upon, they will
become (Proverbs 23:7). What can concerned parents do to prevent this from
happening? We must stay alert to Satan's tactics and teach our children how to
put on the whole armor of God to withstand his attacks (Ephesians 6:10-12). This
means actively, constantly and purposefully teaching them the love, discipline
and understanding of God's Word. No time of day is exempt from this
responsibility (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Therefore, providing a God-centered,
God-purposed education is also essential. In other words, every day should be
consistent with Philippians 4:8. The ultimate objective should be to rear our
children to view the world as a spiritual battleground-not a playground! For
then they will be truly equipped for every good work, thinking and living as
mature Christians (2 Timothy 3:17). A Child's Ten Commandments to Parents My
hands are small; please don't expect perfection whenever I make a bed, draw a
picture, or throw a ball. My legs are short; please slow down so that I can keep
up with you. My eyes have not seen the world as yours have; please let me
explore safely: don't restrict me unnecessarily. Housework will always be there.
I'm only little for such a short time-please take this time to explain things to
me about this wonderful world, and do so willingly. My feelings are tender;
please be sensitive to my needs; don't nag me all day long. (You wouldn't want
to be nagged for your inquisitiveness.) Treat me as you would like to be
treated. I am a special gift from God; please treasure me as God intended you to
do, holding me accountable for my actions, giving me guidelines to live by, and
disciplining me in a loving manner. I need your encouragement, but not your
praise, to grow. Please go easy on the criticism; remember, you can criticize
the things I do without criticizing me. Please give me the freedom to make
decisions concerning myself. Permit me to fail; so that I can learn from my
mistakes. Then someday I'll be prepared to make the kind of decisions life
requires of me. Please don't do things over for me. Somehow that makes me feel
that my efforts didn't quite measure up to your expectations. I know it's hard,
but please don't try to compare me with my brother or my sister. Please don't be
afraid to leave for the weekend together. Kids need vacations from parents, just
as parents need vacations from kids. Besides, it's a great way to show us kids
that your marriage is very special. Please take me to Sunday school and church
regularly, setting a good example for me to follow. I enjoy learning more about
God.

Let the Children Instruct Us! Many of us come to worship expecting to be
entertained. If the song leader is not great, if the preacher is not polished,
and if the Scripture readers and prayer leaders are just common, they are
disappointed, and often times seek a new congregation. As children participate
in family devotionals, they always show great interest. The song leading is
rarely great, but they are familiar with the songs so they sing with great
enthusiasm. As they pray, and are led in prayer, it is with a keen interest in
all that has happened that day, and with a Bible story, even if it is the
twelfth time they have heard it. Why all this interest? Why are they not as
"fickle" as those we mentioned above. The answer is obvious, RELATIONSHIP!
Children are participating in a family event, therefore, they are interested.
This is Mom and Dad stuff! Brothers and sisters are involved! This is who they
are, therefore it is vital and important to them. They appreciate every little
thing that is being done. We need to let the children instruct us. We have
allowed the thinking and philosophy of a spoiled world influence our thinking in
the church, AND IT IS NOT GOOD! When we gather together, there is a lot of
family stuff going on. Our Father is to be worshiped, our brothers are leading,
our sisters are singing, there is a lot of our relationship going into that
special time. What is wrong is that we have forgotten who we are, so the unique
privilege is lost on us. We have come as one who expects to be entertained, not
as a family member who expects to participate and appreciate. It is just that
simple. If we will remember the relationship, we can better appreciate worship,
even when it is not all that polished! Let the children speak!

Teenagers, the TV and the Garden A teenager was lounging on the floor watching
TV when the phone rang. "Hello, son," said the voice. "Where is your mother?"
"She is out working in the garden." "What?" barked the father. "Your mother is
not as young and strong as she used to be. Why are you not helping her?" "I
can't," was the reply. "Grandma is using the other hoe."

Preparing Kids for Life We want to send our children into the world with solid
gold values that cannot be destroyed. A wise Dutch grandmother helped us think
about it in this way: When our kids go off to camp, we don't just shove them
empty-handed out the door with a cheery admonition to "have a great time!" We
send them off prepared by packing a suitcase filled with all the things they'll
need to survive and enjoy the experience. And if we're not sure what they'll
need, we compare notes with other parents and check with the camp counselors.
Since we won't be with them, we want to know they're leaving us with everything
they need firmly in hand for the whole time they are away. This defines
parenting in a nutshell-but instead of Camp Muskeeta-bite-a as their
destination, we're packing up our kids to head for Life. During the 18 or 20
years they'll live under our roofs, our task is to equip them with all they'll
need to go on as God's people through the rest of their lives, without us
constantly at their side. That means without our dollars, our direction, our
discipline, or our devotion to God. In packing for Life, forgetting to instill
an essential godly quality can have devastating consequences. Not knowing how to
handle money can lead to financial ruin. Not being able to establish a loving
relationship can bring them to divorce. Not discovering God for themselves can
leave them spiritually empty and lost.

Overboard With Praise It's possible. Dr. Ralph Minear, of the pediatrics
department at Harvard Medical School, thinks we modern parents have gone
overboard with most everything else. In his book Kids Who Have Too Much, he
warns, "A social epidemic is endangering the physical and emotional health of
our country's children. 'Affluenza,'the Rich Kids Syndrome, attacks not only the
children of the wealthy but also those of middle-class and low-income families.
Parents are pressuring their children into becoming over-achievers, while giving
them excessive amounts of freedom, money, food, information and protection." But
is there a way to affirm our children without overdosing them on overblown
accolades? Here are five "don'ts" to guide us: Don't praise the kids for
routinely taking care of the everyday necessities of life. Don't praise the kids
in extravagant terms for average achievements. You don't have to provide
opportunities for your kids to do everything. Don't console the kids when what
they need is challenge. Don't take responsibility for things that aren't a
parent's responsibility.

Turning Over Responsibilities When our children are small, we carry enormous
responsibility for them. But as they grow, we must turn over to them, one by
one, responsibilities that are rightly theirs. They may not carry them as well
as we did, and they may even fail sometimes. But if they are to be our heirs,
they're going to inherit adult responsibilities as well as adult privileges. How
much more acceptable it is for them if we allow them to inherit those
responsibilities a little at a time, not dumping them on them all at once when
they are out of our house for good! And how comforting if we strengthen them to
carry those responsibilities, cheering them on with encouragement that's based
in reality.

Passing the Baton A thought that strikes deeply is this: Many times a relay race
is lost in passing the baton. We don't want to fail to pass the baton of hard
work and money-sense to our children simply because our life circumstances
aren't forcing us to do so. Our children may well see a day when money doesn't
come as easily as it does now. Their ability to sweat and scrimp may make the
difference between surviving or sinking. And even if that doesn't happen, we
believe knowing the joy of working hard and living simply will free them to live
a happier and more God-honoring life.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 44: FAMILY: FATHER
========================================================================

Family: Father

What Kind of Father Are You? Some people say any man can be a father; it is a
job that takes little talent. However, the rate for failure in fatherhood is
actually higher than in any other occupation. Fathers have a colossal full-time
job that most people underestimate. It is the most important task a man can
tackle. Despite vast changes in America's social fabric in recent years, one
thread of tradition shows no sign of unraveling: sons and daughters who follow
in their father's footsteps. A nationwide survey was taken recently to determine
how much time fathers were spending with their children. The results were
astounding. Fathers with children between the ages of 2 and 12 were spending 12
minutes a day with their children. Twelve-minute dads contribute greatly to
12-year-old delinquents. But not all dads are 12-minute dads. A busload of dads
and sons left a church parking lot for an overnight camping trip. The dads
represented various vocations, but they all had one thing in common: they did
not want to be 12-minute dads. You cannot substitute a popsicle for Pop himself,
though both may have their places. Whether it be a car or a candy bar, a fishing
rod or a hot rod, you cannot substitute these "presents" for the "presence."
America is standing at a crossroads of history; our very survival as a nation
may depend on the presence or absence of masculine leadership in millions of
homes; leadership in the form of loving authority; leadership in the form of
financial management; leadership in the form of spiritual training and
leadership in maintaining good marital relationships.

Two Views of Fishing Sometimes there are effects of our influence that we may
never know. G. Brook Adams kept a diary from his boyhood. One special day when
he was eight years old, he wrote in his diary, "Went fishing with my father; the
most glorious day of my life." Throughout the next 40 years of his life he never
forgot that day he went fishing with his father, he made repeated references to
it in his diary, commenting on the influence of that day on his life. Brook's
father was an important man; he was Charles Francis Adams, the U.S. ambassador
to Great Britain under the Lincoln administration. Interestingly, he too made a
note in his diary about the fishing trip. He wrote simply, "Went fishing with my
son; a day wasted." Of course the day was not wasted; its value may well have
proved to make it one of the most well-spent days in his life. No one can
measure the influence of a man on his children, and that is all the more reason
to take the job and its responsibilities seriously. Someone has written, "last
night my little boy confessed to me some childish wrong; and kneeling at my
knee, he prayed with tears, 'O Lord, make me a man like Daddy-wise and strong. I
know you can.'Then while he slept, I knelt beside his bed, confessed my sins and
prayed with low-bowed head, 'O God, make me a child like my child here; pure,
guileless, trusting thee with faith sincere.'" What kind of a father are you?

Too Many Orphanages One family has opened its heart and its home to a number of
Cambodian refugees, taking them right in with their natural sons and daughters
and sharing all they have. It makes a crowded house, yet these orphans from a
distant land are happy. But there are many other orphans around these days. Some
homes have become "orphanages," not because the father is dead, but because he
is too busy pursuing his own dreams and providing physical and material needs.
This group of "spiritual" orphans is growing by leaps and bounds. No one wants
children to grow up and follow a bad example. There is no greater tragedy than
to lose the respect of one's own children. It will haunt one in a lonely old
age. Good fathers are wanted-and needed.

Father's Day Fathers and mothers have the greatest opportunity as teachers of
anyone in the world. You see, that boy or girl in the home has the chance to see
if Father and Mother really believe and practice what they teach. A father who
says he believes in Sunday school, and then does not go himself, is teaching by
his actions that he really does not feel it very important. A father who teaches
love and tolerance to all and yet maintains a critical attitude in the home
toward his brothers and sisters in the church is doing a wrong to his children
which never in this world can be undone. It is pure poison to the mind of the
child, and will most certainly be a stumbling block in the way of the child
becoming a Christian. A father who says he believes the Bible to be the greatest
Book, to be God's Word to us, but leaves it on the shelf to gather dust while he
spends hours with the newspaper, magazines, radio and television is in reality
saying, "Children, the Bible is not too important. You should read it if you
have any extra time." Which one of you had not heard a little boy step proudly
forward among his playmates and declare, "I KNOW that's so because my Daddy said
so!" He has confidence in you, dear Dad, and the things which he sees you put
first in your life are going to stand out as mighty important to him, too. Is
your prayer: "Lord, fit me to be loved and imitated by my children"? A
Preoccupied Father One day a small boy was taking a walk with his father. When
they passed an unusual looking truck, he said, "What is that, Daddy?" "I don't
know," his father said. Then they came to a large, old-fashioned warehouse,
"What's in there, Daddy?" the little boy asked. "I don't know," his father
replied. After they had walked on a short way in silence, the little boy turned
to his father and said, "Daddy, do you mind my asking you so many questions?"
"Of course not," commented his father proudly. "How else are you going to learn
anything?"

God the Father, in Luke 15 In Luke 15 Christ related to the people one of the
most poignant stories in all literature, that of the prodigal son. Nearly
everyone can relate to one of the characters, the prodigal son, the elder
brother, or the father. Each of the characters teaches important lessons for
Christians to learn. In verses Luke 15:20-24 we learn some things about the
father that Christian fathers need to imitate as they try to raise their
children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He was patient-Although the
son had been gone a long time (long enough for a famine to ravage the land), the
father was still looking. He "saw him a great way off." His eyes never tired of
looking for his wayward son. Fathers, how patient are you with your children
when they falter on life's pathway? He was loving-When he saw his son coming, he
ran to him. He could not wait for his son to come to him. He immediately hugged
and kissed his son. The father did not even ask for an explanation of where he
had been or what he had been doing. He did not give him a lecture on "you should
have known better," or "I hope you have learned your lesson." Fathers, how
loving are you toward your children when they make mistakes? He was forgiving-We
know he was forgiving because his actions demonstrated it. So anxious was he to
forgive his son that he did not let him finish his plea. (In Luke 15:18-19 the
son plans to ask his father to make him a servant. But the father cuts him off
before he gets that far, Luke 15:21-22). The father restored his wayward son to
his original place and treated him with the highest honor. Fathers, how
forgiving are you of your children when they do wrong? He had his priorities in
the right place-The most important thing was not that his son had sinned, not
that he had taken advantage of his father, not that he had caused his father
untold grief; the most important thing was that his son was alive and had come
home. The Relationship We Really Need A little boy sat frustrated and near
tears. He was trying to build a toy wagon, but he just could not get the wheels
to go on. His dad came along, took the wagon and the four wheels and, in no time
at all, had it rolling smoothly along. The boy was grateful for the loving and
helpful touch his father added to his life. Though he is no longer a child, he
still remembers his father's help that day. It has been said that any man can be
a father but that it takes a special kind of man to be a Dad! The ideal father
does more than simply have a part in the procreation of the child, he helps to
mold the child throughout his growing years through generous amounts of love,
guidance, correction, forgiveness and praise. Fortunate are those who have had a
father with whom they had such a personal relationship. Whether or not this has
been the case for you, this much is for certain: we can all experience the
ultimate father-child relationship when we experience God as our heavenly
Father.

Please, Daddy, Let's Go A little boy with shiny eyes, His little face aglow.
Said, "It is time for Sunday School. Please, Daddy, let's go!" "Oh no," said
Daddy, "Not today. I have worked hard all week; And I must have a day of rest, I
am going to the creek. For there I can relax and rest, And fishing's fine they
say; So run along, don't bother me, We will go to church some other day." Months
and years have passed away But Daddy hears that plea no more "Please, let's go
to Sunday School!" Those childhood days are o'er. Now that daddy's growing old,
When life is almost through, He does find time to go to church, But, what does
his son do? He says, "Old Man, you're kidding! I have caroused around all night,
A-popping pills, and smoking pot- You should have seen me fight!" The daddy
lifts a trembling hand To brush away the tears, He seems to hear the pleading
voice, Distinctly through the years. He sees his small son's wistful face
Upturned, with eyes aglow, Saying, "It's time for Sunday School, Please,
Daddy-won't you go?" A Father's Prayer Build me a son, O Lord, who will be
strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he
is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and
gentle in victory. Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone
should be; a son who will realize that to know Thee and know himself is the
foundation stone of knowledge. Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and
comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenges. Here let
him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who
fall. Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son
who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn
to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet
never forget the past. And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough
of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself
too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity
of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.
Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, "I have not lived in vain." The Kind
of Dad I Would Buy If I went shopping for a man to be my dad, here is what I'd
buy: one who would always stop to answer a little boy's "why?" One who would
always speak kindly to a little girl or boy, one who would give a bit of
sunshine and joy. I would pick a dad who followed the Bible's Golden Rule, and
one who went regularly to church and Bible school. I would buy the very finest
Dad to place in our family tree-and then I'd try to live like him, so he would
be proud of me.

Advice to Fathers About Their Children: Always trust them to God's care. Bring
them to church. Challenge them to high goals. Delight in their achievements.
Exalt the Lord in their presence. Frown on evil. Give them love. Hear their
problems. Ignore not their childish fears. Joyfully accept their apologies. Keep
their confidence. Live a good example before them. Make them your friends. Never
ignore their endless questions. Open your home to their visits. Pray for them by
name. Quicken your interest in their spirituality. Remember their needs. Show
them the way of salvation. Teach them to work. Understand they are still young.
Verify your statements. Wean them from bad company. Expect them to obey. Yearn
for God's best for them. Zealously guide them in biblical truth.

One Neat Dad Did you ever notice in the TV family The Waltons how the father was
always available; or in Little House on The Prairie, how Laura's dad was always
there for the tight squeezes? Contrast these situations with the modern dad who
is gone from morning to night. Things have certainly changed since the 1930s and
the earlier house on the prairie days, maybe too much. Years ago, Dr. Charlie
Shedd held a contest called "One Neat Dad." He asked contestants to send in
letters recommending their dad for this great honor. Here's a list of the ten
most appreciated qualities for "One Neat Dad." He takes time for me. He listens
to me. He plays with me. He invites me to go places with him. He lets me help
him. He treats my mother well. He lets me say what I think. He is nice to my
friends. He only punishes me when I deserve it. He is not afraid to admit when
he is wrong. Qualities one to five are versions of the single word, "time!"
Spell it-listen, spell it-play, spell it-help me, spell it-jump in the pickup
...it all comes out in the same four letters, T-I-M-E. Time was the most
appreciated trait of "One Neat Dad"!

Father's Lap A prominent Philadelphia Christian businessman's wife felt he was
not spending enough time with his six-year-old daughter. He decided to make up
for that failing all at once. He had his limousine driver take him to her
school, where she was picked up and deposited next to him in the backseat. They
took off for New York City where he had made reservations for dinner in an
expensive French restaurant and had tickets to a Broadway show. After an
exhausting evening, they were driven home. In the morning, the little girl's
mother could hardly wait to find out how the evening had gone. "How did you like
it?" The little girl thought a moment. "It was okay, I guess, but I would rather
have eaten at McDonald's. And I did not really understand the show. But the best
part was when we were riding home in that great big car and I put my head down
on Daddy's lap and fell asleep." In Daddy's Shoes I watched him playing around
my door, My neighbor's little boy of four. I wondered why a child would choose
To wear his dad's old worn-out shoes. I saw him try with all his might To make
the laces snug and tight. I smiled to see him walk, and then He'd only step
right out again. I heard him say his voice so glad, "I want to be just like my
Dad." I hope his Dad his steps would choose Safe for his son to wear his shoes.
And then a shout and cry of joy, A "Hello, Dad!" and a "Hi-yu, boy!" They walked
along in measured stride Each face aglow with love and pride. "What have you
done today, my lad?" "I tried to wear your old shoes, Dad, They are big but when
I am a man I'll wear your shoes. I know I can." They stopped and stood there
hand in hand He saw his son's tracks in the sand, His words-a prayer-came back
to me, "Lord, let my steps lead him to Thee."

I'll Be Like You To get his goodnight kiss he stood Beside my chair one night
And raised an eager face to me, A face with love alight. And as I gathered in my
arms The son God gave to me, I thanked the lad for being good, And hoped he'd
always be. His little arms crept round my neck And then I heard him say Four
simple words I can't forget Four words that made me pray. They turned a mirror
in my soul, On secrets no one knew. They startled me; I hear them yet, He said,
"I'll be like you."

Let Your Children Know What You Value A woman in Alabama told us about being
with her husband at his father's deathbed. As the end approached, the father
suddenly sat upright with a look of terror on his face. "What's happening to me,
son?" he cried, grasping for the younger man, and then he sank back into the
pillows. The woman's husband was so visibly shaken, he staggered out into the
hall. Joining him, the wife said softly, "This must be so terrible for you to
have seen your Dad dying this way." "That's not what got to me," her husband
choked out, "It's that this is the first time in my life he ever called me
'son'." Jesus didn't wait until the cross to let His disciples know how much He
valued them. When He first met Nathaniel He said, "Behold an Israelite indeed,
in whom there is no guile." And after a year or so with Simon, He said, "Blessed
art thou, Simon, Bar-Jonah." The gospels radiate with His affirmations toward
these and the rest of His disciples.

Daddy's Example He couldn't see much reason To go to Bible school; And yet he
didn't argue With Daddy's Sunday rule. But still he often wondered- If Daddy's
words were true, Since Bible study's needed, Why Dad did not go too? One day
when he was angry, His Daddy overheard Him say in tones emphatic, A string of
ugly words. The boy was quickly summoned, By an indignant shout; And as the lad
stood trembling, His Daddy cursed him out. And then a new adventure, The boy
embarked upon; He tried a little smoking, Which led to more than one. His Daddy
whipped and lectured: 'Twas quite a stern attack, And then the son gave answer:
"I got them from your pack!" We need no application, The truth shines bright as
day; We teach much more by doing, Much less by what we say. Do naught but what
you truly Desire your child to do; He may not always hear well, But he is
watching you! The God-Image in Fathers It has been said a child is not likely to
find a Father in God unless he finds something of God in his father. A Bible
school teacher asked her class to draw a picture of God for her. A little boy
finished first and said, "I drew a picture of my daddy because I don't know what
God looks like, but I know what my dad looks like." (What a great responsibility
we fathers have). It is so important for us to be the kind of parents that will
make our children want to honor their father and mother (Ephesians 6:1-4).

Fathers Are Wonderful People! I wish you could meet my Dad; He's really quite a
guy! I wouldn't trade with anyone, And here's the reason why: Whenever I have
problems, Doubts, or questions, too, We talk them all over, Dad and I, And find
what's best to do. He helps me practice baseball, And gives me useful tips; And
even lets me go along When he takes fishing trips! Then, too, my Dad's a
Christian; We often kneel and pray; He helps me live as Jesus taught. Yes, sir,
my Dad's O.K.

Just Like His Dad "Well, what are you going to be, my boy, When you have reached
manhood's years: A doctor, a lawyer, or orator great, Moving throngs to laughter
and tears?" But he shook his head, as he gave reply In a serious way he had: "I
don't think I'd care to be any of them: I Want to Be Like My Dad!" He wants to
be like his dad! You Men, Did you ever think as you pause, That the boy who
watches your every move Is building a set of laws? He's molding a life you're
the model for, And whether it's good or bad Depends on the kind of example set
To the boy who'd Be Like His Dad. Would you have him go everywhere you go? Have
him do just the things you do? And see everything that your eyes behold, And woo
all the gods you woo? When you see the worship that smiles in the eyes Of your
lovable little lad Could you rest content if he gets his wish And grows to Be
Like His Dad? It's a joy that none but yourself can fill It's a charge you must
answer for; It's a duty to show him the road to tread Ere he reaches his
manhood's door. It's a debt you owe for the greatest joy On this old earth to be
had; This pleasure of having a boy to raise Who wants to Be Like His Dad!

People Are Important Joseph M. Stowell gives this illustration: "I thoroughly
enjoy working in my yard. I've got my own system of fertilizing my lawn, cutting
it, and caring for it. One year, when my son Joe was in his early teens, I spent
all spring getting the yard to look just the way I wanted. We had a basketball
hoop at the end of our driveway, and on several occasions Joe came along and
said, 'Dad, let's play basketball.'My response was always, 'Joe, not right now.
I'm busy working in the yard.'Or, 'I've got to trim this edge here.'Or, 'I've
got to do the fertilizing now.' Later that summer, I visited a hospital on
several successive nights to comfort a family whose boy-about Joe's age-was
dying. One evening as I drove home, it struck me that I had a boy just like
that, that it was a great gift from God to have a healthy young son, and that I
had permitted things-a lawn-to eclipse the value of time with him. I drove down
our street and saw my beautiful, green, wonderfully manicured lawn. I drove into
the driveway, saw the basketball hoop, and thought, I don't care what I have to
do tonight; one thing I'm going to do right now is play basketball with my son.
So I threw open the door and yelled, 'Hey, Joe! Let's play basketball!'And he
said, 'Not right now, Dad-I'm busy.'I was convicted, and I wondered, How could I
ever have let things eclipse the importance of my son? When you think about the
truth about people, beware the treachery of the seduction of things."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 45: FAMILY: MOTHER
========================================================================

Family: Mother

Please, Mommy, Remember Remember...that I am a gift from God, the richest of all
blessings. Do not attempt to mold me in your image, my daddy's, my brother's, or
our neighbor's. I am an individual and should be permitted to be myself.
Remember...not to crush my spirit when I fail. Don't compare me with others who
outshine me. Remember...that anger and hostility are natural emotions. Help me
to find outlets for these normal feelings-in play or physical exercise-or else
they may be turned inward and may become much deeper and much more serious.
Remember...to discipline me with firmness and reason. Do not let your anger
throw you off balance. If I know you are fair, you will not lose my respect or
my love. Remember...that each child needs two parents. When you side with me
against Daddy, I have feelings of guilt, confusion and insecurity.
Remember...not to hand me everything my little heart desires. Otherwise I will
never know the thrill of earning, the joy of deserving. Remember...not to make
threats in anger, or impossible promises when you are in a generous mood. To me
your word means everything. When I can't believe in you and Dad, I have
difficulty believing in anything. Remember...that there is dignity in hard work,
whether it is performed with calloused hands that shovel coal or skilled fingers
that manipulate surgical instruments. Let me know that a useful life is a
blessed one, and that a life of ease and pleasure-seeking is empty and
meaningless. Remember...not to try to protect me from every small blow and
disappointment. Adversity strengthens character and makes us compassionate.
Trouble is the great equalizer; let me learn it. Remember...to teach me to love
God and our fellow men. And, Mommy, please don't send me to worship service and
Bible school-take me there.

Mothers: Our Greatest Teachers "Do not forsake the law of your mother" (Proverbs
1:8). The law of your mother-unwritten, but indelibly stamped upon your mind!
It's the law of love, of kindness, of selflessness, of giving! Motherhood-just
think of its blessings, joys, sorrows, challenges and triumphs. There's no
greater ecstasy than holding her newborn, and no greater anguish than the broken
heart a child may cause. A mother's love is the nearest thing on earth to God's
love. The wisdom of God is exhibited in motherhood. We are not the by-product of
some impersonal biological process. We were not made on an assembly line by the
combination of chemicals. Our mothers nurtured us and formed an intimate
relationship with us before we were born. She jeopardized her life for us. The
greatest lessons we have ever learned have come from loving, caring, sacrificing
mothers who were always available to us. A woman's greatest, most fulfilling and
far-reaching role is expressed in motherhood. LET US THANK GOD FOR CHRISTIAN
MOTHERS! Let us be sensitive and grateful, not only on Mother's Day-but everyday
for our mothers and the mother of our children. My Child I do not ask that you
repay The hours of toil and pain. The sacrifice of youth and strength Shall not
have been in vain. I do not ask for gratitude, But only this, my child; That you
shall live your life so well, My gifts be not defiled. The nights I watched
beside your crib; The years of love and care will amply be repaid; If once I see
you standing there, An upright and honest soul, On whom success has smiled, That
I may say with humble pride, That's my child!

Mother-A Definition A little girl's definition of "mother": "A mother is a
person who takes care of her kids and gets their meals and if she is not there
when you get home from school you wouldn't know how to get your meals and you
wouldn't feel like eating them anyhow."

Appreciation to Mother One father was such an undemonstrative man that the
children used to worry, for he never seemed to show their mother proper
appreciation for her gaiety and the many ways she made their shabby old house a
real home. But one afternoon she stopped at a neighbor's house to help with a
sick child and delayed getting back. The father arrived home from work as usual
and walked into the living room, which the eight children were filling with
lively commotion. The father stood in the doorway frowning, as he was surveying
the scene. "Where is everybody?" he demanded. Those children never again worried
that their mother was not appreciated.

Now or ? The man stopped at the flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to
his mother who lived 200 miles away. As he got out of his car he noticed a girl
sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied: "I
wanted to buy a red rose for my mother, but I only have 75 cents and a rose
costs $2.00. The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I will buy you a rose
for your mother." He placed his FTD order of flowers to his mother and bought a
rose for the girl. As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride. She
responded, "Yes, please, if you could. Take me to my mother," and she directed
him to a cemetery where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave. The man
returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire order, picked up the flowers and
drove the 200 miles to his mother's home.

Mothers Are Not Birds My son found a bird's nest. It was empty. After just one
season, the mother bird was finished with it. Next year she will build another.
But I am glad human mothers are not like birds. Did you know that if someone
handles eggs in a wild bird's nest the bird may stop sitting on them? And, that
if a mother bird has a defective chick she will shove it out of the nest and not
allow it to grow up? Thank God our mothers care for us, regardless of the many
problems we have. They take care of us when we are hurt or sick. Like God, they
love us even when we do wrong things. A mother bird keeps busy feeding her young
and protecting them. That is all she does, though. Think of how often our
mothers have to be nurses, teachers, housekeepers, cooks, chauffeurs,
counselors, and friends. With all we ask it is a wonder they don't push us out
of the nest. Baby birds are out of the nest in one season. The mother becomes
free from caring for them. Our mothers are forever. They continue to do things
for us even when we get older. They never stop caring for us. They pray for us.
They become grandmothers and care for our children. Mothers are a treasure. Take
a moment to meditate on all that your mother has done for you. Be sure to honor
and thank the mother God gave you. A Mother's Beatitude Blessed is the mother
who understands her child, for she shall inherit a kingdom of memories. Blessed
is the mother who knows how to comfort, for she shall possess a child's
devotion. Blessed is the mother who guides by the path of righteousness, for she
shall be proud of her offspring. Blessed is the mother who is never shocked, for
she shall receive confidences. Blessed is the mother who teaches respect, for
she shall be respected. Blessed is the mother who emphasizes the good and
minimizes the bad, for in like manner the child shall make evaluations. Blessed
is the mother who treats her child as she would be treated, for her home shall
be filled with happiness. Blessed is the mother who answers simply the startling
questions, for she shall always be trusted. Blessed is the mother who has
character strong enough to withstand the thoughtless remarks and resentments of
the growing child, for again, in due time, she shall be honored.

Staying With the Baggage A few years ago a lovely Christian mother gave her
pastor criticism he deserved. He had preached a strong sermon on personal
evangelism pointing out every Christian's obligation to reach out and win others
to the Lord. In the conclusion of the sermon he tried to obliterate every excuse
that anyone might have for failure to lead others to Christ. The sermon needed
to be preached, of course, as it still does. Only apparently he had been guilty
of some unfair emphasis. After the sermon he was invited home with a lovely
Christian family. The husband was completing his resident work as a medical
doctor, and had little spare time, but still he spent time in the church's
personal work program. The wife beautifully cared for their three lovely
children. All of them were very young-one still an infant in arms-and required a
lot of time. During the meal the wife asked the pastor if he remembered the
Scripture, "For as his share is who goes down into battle, so shall his share be
who stays by the baggage" (1 Samuel 30:24). He confessed his ignorance, and she
gave the context of King David insisting that the home guard be rewarded equally
with those who had the more obviously essential role of fighting in the front
line. And then she shared a wonderful truth which is so easily forgotten. She
mentioned that she felt that taking care of children, patiently teaching them
the ways of God and His great values, looking for moments of readiness to
deflect them gently when they get on the wrong track was "staying with the
baggage." She went on to point out that she often felt guilty for not doing more
of the "church" work than she did. But she felt her greatest ministry was being
a dedicated Christian mother. My friend, all you need to say after listening to
a needed reprimand like that is one word-Amen.

What Mothers Ought To Teach Their Children At a banquet, the mother of George
Washington was sitting beside a distinguished French officer. Turning to
Washington's mother, the officer asked, "How have you managed to rear such a
splendid son?" She replied, "I taught him to obey." Too many people have a
strong "will" and a weak "won't."

Mother's Share Professor William James, Harvard's famous psychologist and the
author of that well-known book, The Varieties of Religious Experience, said: "A
teacher asked a boy this question on fractions: 'Suppose that your mother baked
an apple pie, and there were seven of you-your parents and five children. What
part of the pie would you get?' 'A sixth, ma'am,' the boy answered. 'But there
are seven of you,' said the teacher. 'Don't you know anything about fractions?'
'Yes, teacher,' replied the boy, 'I know all about fractions, but I know all
about Mother, too. Mother would say she did not want any pie!' " The Obedient
Son A distinguished French officer asked Washington's mother how she managed to
rear such a splendid son. She replied, "I taught him to obey." A Mansion Near
the Throne! Ian MacLaren, that great preacher of the Word of God, once visited a
home and found an old Scotch woman standing in her kitchen, weeping. She wiped
her eyes with the corner of her apron, and when the minister asked her what was
the matter, she confessed, "I have done so little. I am so miserable and
unhappy." "Why?" asked MacLaren. "Because I have done so little for Jesus. When
I was just a wee girl, the Lord spoke to my heart, and I did want so much to
live for Him." "Well, haven't you?" asked the minister. "Yes, I have lived for
Him, but I have done so little. I want to be of some use in His service." "What
have you done?" "Nothing. I have washed dishes, cooked three meals a day, taken
care of the children, mopped the floor, and mended the clothes. That is all I
have done all my life, and I wanted to do somthing for Jesus." The preacher,
sitting back in the armchair, looked at her and smiled. "Where are your boys?"
he inquired. She had four sons and had named them after Bible personalities.
"Oh, my boys? You know where Mark is. You ordained him yourself before he went
to China. Why are you asking? He is there preaching for the Lord." "Where is
Luke?" questioned the minister. "Luke? He went out from your own church. Didn't
you send him out? I had a letter from him the other day." Then she became happy
and excited as she continued. "A revival has broken out on the mission station,
and he said they were having a wonderful time in the service of the Lord!"
"Where is Matthew?" "He is with his brother in China. Isn't it fine that the two
boys can be working together? I am so happy about that. John came to me the
other night-he is my baby and is only nineteen, but he is a great boy. He said,
'Mother, I have been praying and, tonight in my room, the Lord spoke to my heart
about going to help my brother in Africa! But don't you cry, Mother. The Lord
told me I was to stay here and look after you until you go home to glory.' " The
minister looked at her: "And you say your life has been wasted in mopping
floors, darning socks, washing dishes, and doing the trivial tasks. I'd like to
have your mansion when we are called home! It will be very near the throne." A
Mother Rebuked Are all your thoughts for this life and none for eternity? A
young lady of twenty, a child of rich parents, was trained by her mother in all
the arts of fashionable life. The daughter was happy amid the flatteries of her
admirers, and the mother's pride was satisfied. Soon sickness came, and the
minister was called in. He talked of death, judgment, and eternity, and the
young lady trembled. In her dying hour, she called for her fine clothes. They
were brought; looking up to her mother, she said, "These have ruined me. You
never told me I must die. You taught me that my life in this world was to be
happy and to enjoy the vanities of life. What could you mean? You knew I must
die and go to judgment. You never told me to read the Bible or go to church
unless to make a display of some new clothing. Mother, you have ruined me." A
few moments later, she died. The Disappointed Mother A widow whose children had
left her one by one to go to the "new country" (as she called it) heard each of
them promise to save money and to send for her "very soon." Time passed; the
children married and had children, but no mention came of sending for the old
mother. She longed to see them, but thinking they lacked the means, she saved up
enough money herself to pay them a surprise visit. But, her reception was the
reverse of what she had fondly anticipated. Her children, who had prospered,
seemed annoyed at their mother's coming, criticized her old-fashioned dress and
speech, and had no room for her. The disappointed woman came back and entered a
home for the aged, where she proved a blessing to all about her, shedding on
those around her the love that her own children had rejected. No bitterness
remained in the heart of the aged saint. "It seems to me that I knew what our
Lord suffered," she told a friend, "when He came to His own dear people and they
gave Him the cold shoulder. Just think! He came unto His own and His own
received Him not! I can understand how that wounded His loving heart." Yet she
could praise God for the experience since it drew her closer to her Savior and
made her more compassionate toward others.

Christ in a College Dorm A university student who had filled his wall with
indecent pictures received an unexpected visit from his mother. She never said a
word about them or gave any indication she had noticed them. But before she left
she hung a picture of Christ in the middle of the other pictures. When she
visited him again, the only picture hanging on the wall was Christ's. God had
radically changed her son's heart.

Mystery of Love A young man who was tired of the monotony and the restrictions
of home decided to leave, to go to a place where he could wander and be free. He
got fed up with that, however, as he realized it was not what he had dreamed it
would be. He decided to write to his mother and tell her that he was going to
take the train back home. He told her that if she still wanted him, she should
hang a white handkerchief on top of the tree in their yard which could easily be
seen before the train stopped at the little home-town station. How amazed the
wandering young man was when he found that his mother had used every available
handkerchief to hang on the various branches of the tree. He could not
understand how his mother could continue to love him. It was a mystery to him
that his mother's love had increased instead of diminished. It is so with the
love of God for the wandering child.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 46: FAMILY: PARENTS
========================================================================

Family: Parents

Deficiency A mother made an appointment with her young child's pediatrician. She
said she had noticed that he had eaten dirt on several occasions. To the doctor,
she said, "I've always heard that if a child eats dirt, there is some
deficiency. Do you think his dirt-eating indicates a lack of something?" The
doctor replied, "Yes-very definitely. A lack of supervision!"

Teach Your Child Integrity In ancient China, the people desired security from
the barbaric hordes to the north, so they built the great Chinese wall. It was
so high they knew no one could climb over it and so thick that nothing could
break it down. They settled back to enjoy their security. During the first 100
years of the wall's existence, China was invaded three times. Not once did the
barbaric hordes break down the wall or climb over the top. Each time they bribed
a gatekeeper and then marched right through the gates. The Chinese were so busy
relying upon the walls of stone that they forgot to teach integrity to their
children. A Dollar for Your Child "Bring them up in the training and instruction
of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). His name was Rusty, and he was barely 11 years
old. He still had the look of a little boy. He was homeless, not old enough to
be hardened, but certainly old enough to be frightened. His mother lived in
town, but she didn't want him. Rusty lived in the alley behind the shop of one
of our church members. He slept in a cardboard box. In an effort to get legal
custody transferred to a Christian foster home, a little group met in an
attorney's office: Rusty, Rusty's mother, the social worker, the attorney, and a
pastor. They were severing all legal ties between Rusty and his mother ...and
she did not care. The attorney carefully explained to Rusty's mother what was
happening. He wanted to make sure that she understood that, in effect, she was
losing all rights to her boy. Everyone was on the verge of tears-all except
Rusty's mom. Then came the question. The attorney worded it carefully, "Mrs.
Brown, do you understand that when you sign this form, you are signing over all
legal custody to the designated children's home?" She nodded her head in the
affirmative. "Mrs. Brown, do you have any questions?" She had only one. "Do I
get any money for this?" she asked. Everyone seemed dazed by this sledgehammer
query. There was a long pause. Finally, 11-year-old Rusty pulled out his pocket
book, extracted a dollar he had earned sweeping floors, and gave it to his
mother. And she took it! In less obvious ways, all over America, there are
parents who are trading their parental responsibilities for the almighty dollar.
Kids shouldn't have to grow up by themselves. Let me paraphrase: "What does it
profit a man if he gains the whole world ...and loses his own children?"

What Do You Want Your Child To Be? President Theodore Roosevelt had four sons.
He was very proud when the first three sons announced their intention to join
the military. But when his fourth son also decided to join the Army, the old
Roughrider balked. "Not all my boys," he said to his wife. But she replied,
"Ted, if you raised them as eagles you cannot expect them to fly like sparrows."
Every parent should have a dream for his or her children. Isaiah put it this
way: "And all your sons will be taught of the Lord; and the well being of your
sons will be great" (Isaiah 54:13). Three things to consider: You announce what
you want your child to be by what you teach him. It is not the church's
responsibility to teach your children. It is yours as a mother and father. One
man had been in a non-Sunday School congregation. When asked why, he said, "We
did not object to classes. What we were afraid of was that parents would quit
teaching at home." Was he right? You announce what you want your child to be by
the example you set. It is amazing how some parents put the ball games, camping
trips, and fishing trips above attending worship, and then are amazed that their
children leave the church. Someone wrote, "What you are thunders so loudly that
I cannot hear what you say." You announce what you want your child to be by the
plans you make for him. Your children know if something is really important to
you. Have you been saying from the time they started school, "Now make good
grades so that someday you can go to college." They know how important that is
to you. Have you encouraged them to be a preacher, a missionary, Bible school
teacher, elder, etc.? By your plans, you have told them what you think is
important. Will Your Children Go to Heaven? One congregation found that where
both parents were faithful to the Lord, including active interest in the local
congregation's programs, 93 percent of the kids remained faithful. On the other
hand, if only one of the parents was faithful, that figure dropped to 73
percent. Where the parents were only what we would call reasonably active in the
Lord's work, only 53 percent of the young people maintained their faith. Now
here comes the shocker: In those cases where both parents attended only
infrequently, the percentage of their children who remained faithful to the Lord
dropped to 6 percent. Want your children to go to heaven? Then make certain you
are leading them.

Parents Blunder When... They give a child everything he wants. They laugh at a
child when he does or says something wrong. They avoid the words "no" and
"wrong." They pick up after their children instead of giving them the
responsibility of doing it. They take the side of their children against
neighbors, teachers, and other responsible adults. They make every decision for
their children. They bail them out of every situation instead of letting them
face the consequences of their mistakes. They are over-protective, and do not
allow their children to do normal and healthy things. They let their children
talk back to them. They criticize others openly in front of their children.

Parents Provoke Their Children When... They are over-protective. They show
favoritism toward one of their children. They compare the accomplishments or
abilities of their children. They push achievement, aims, and goals, and in so
doing, put un-due pressure on their children. They do not reward or encourage
their children. They fail to allow childishness; that is, they do not understand
that a child is a child, and not an adult. They neglect their children's needs:
spiritually, socially, intellectually and physically. They nag their children.
They abuse them with hateful, ugly, and bitter words. They punish them cruelly,
or when the punishment is too harsh or severe for the mistake that was made.

Quality Time I cringe every time I hear parents say that their schedules are
really full, so they make a great effort to spend "quality time" with their
children. Think what this idea would look like if transferred to another area of
life. What if a great basketball player decided, "I am pretty good now. I think
I will just spend 15 minutes practicing my shooting today. It may not be very
long, but it will be quality time." That approach would soon have him warming a
bench. There is no quality time without investing a large quantity of time.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 47: FEAR
========================================================================

Fear

Facing Fear As a child it was fun to watch the movies about the swamp monster
that ate an entire city, or the space alien that tried to conquer New York or
Tokyo. These movies were fun because you could be afraid for an hour or so, and
then it was all over. The monster was killed; the aliens were fought off. It is
not fun to be afraid in the "real" sense. Fear is that emotion that is so well
known. It is produced by a sense of danger, impending calamity or some dire
emergency, or even by walking into a dentist's office. It is a powerful emotion
that can damage both the physical body and the personality. Fear can even block
the thought processes. John Madden, of CBS Sports crisscrosses the country many
times each fall in a customized bus because he is afraid of flying. A few years
ago, one first-round draft choice in the NBA quickly ended his career with an
unconditional release by his team because of his paralyzing fear of flying.
Several years ago, a televised circus act with Bengal tigers was broadcast live.
The tiger trainer went into the cage with several tigers to do a routine
performance. The door was locked behind him. The spotlights highlighted the
cage, the television cameras moved in close, and the audience watched in
suspense as the trainer put the tigers through their act. However, in the middle
of the performance, the lights went out! For 20 or 30 seconds the trainer was
locked in a dark cage with Bengal tigers, a whip and a chair. The tigers could
see the trainer, but he could not see them! After the event was over, in an
interview, the trainer was asked how he felt about his situation in the cage. He
first admitted to the chilling fear of the situation, but he pointed out that
the tigers did not know that he could not see them. He said, "I just kept
cracking my whip and talking to them until the lights came on. They never knew I
could not see them as well as they could see me." This story says something
about many fears. Face them and go on doing the best you can. As a child you may
have had a fear of the dark. As an adult you may fear failure or rejection, the
future, some potential health crisis, or of your death or the death of a loved
one. The Bible has the answer for our fears. John wrote: "There is no fear in
love; but perfect love casts out fear...." (1 John 4:18). Christ's love is the
perfect defense against the physical and mental effects of fear. Paul said it
this way; "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians
4:13). The phrase "fear not" is found at least 365 times in various forms
throughout the Bible. The Hebrews writer says, "that we may confidently say,
'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid....'" One writer said it this way:
"The greatness of our fears shows us the littleness of our faith." We need to
pray about our fears and our faith, and turn to the Lord for help to face our
fears. The Fear of Risk Henry Fairlie of the Washington Post, writing in the
Tulsa World, states that the "fear of risk is killing the American Spirit." He
points out our over-reaction to Three Mile Island and the engine on one DC-10.
He believes that the nation that won't build a dam because of a small snail
darter, or that will delay a carriage to the stars because it might fall like
Skylab is in deep trouble. He asked, "Was the Mayflower seaworthy?" He contends
that a group of Americans today would not have the heart to cross the Rockies as
our forefathers did years ago. It would be too risky! There is a lesson here for
the church of our Lord. Many good works go wanting for fear of the risk
involved. Some Christians will not become soul winners because of the risk of
being hurt. Others have never given liberally to God because of fear of poverty.
Elders refuse to become involved in domestic and world evangelism because they
might not succeed. Another won't defend truth for the same reason. No doubt but
what the "fear of risk" has killed many good programs in the church. There is no
"fear of risk" for Christ. He knew that He came into the world to die for all.
He asked his followers to deny themselves daily and take up their crosses and
walk! There will always be some perils, but think of the risk if we don't! The
Known or the Unknown Several generations ago, during one of the most turbulent
of the desert wars in the Middle East, a spy was captured and sentenced to death
by a general of the Persian army. The general, a man of intelligence and
compassion, had adopted a strange and unusual custom in such cases. He permitted
the condemned person to make a choice. The prisoner could either face a firing
squad or pass through the Black Door. As the moment of the execution drew near,
the general ordered the spy to be brought before him for a short, final
interview, the primary purpose of which was to receive the answer of the doomed
man to the query: "What shall it be-the firing squad or the Black Door?" This
was not an easy decision, and the prisoner hesitated, but soon made it known
that he much preferred the firing squad to the unknown horrors that might await
him behind the ominous and mysterious door. Not long thereafter, a volley of
shots in the courtyard announced that the grim sentence had been fulfilled. The
general, staring at his boots, turned to his aide and said, "You see how it is
with men; they will always prefer the known to the unknown. It is characteristic
of people to be afraid of the undefined. Yet I gave him his choice." "What lies
beyond the Black Door?" asked the aide. "Freedom," replied the general, "and
I've known only a few brave enough to take it." The story illustrates the
situation many people face each day-a choice between the known and the unknown.
Few have the courage to come alive, to stop being engulfed in a sea of
mediocrity-humbled and dulled by failure to recognize their own potential. They
lack the fortitude to stop living their lives in a mentally-chloroformed
condition in that ignoble mass of humanity... the uncommitted. The choice is
yours (Philippians 4:13). "By grace ye are saved through faith" (Ephesians
4:28). "We live by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). From Whom Are You
Running? Christian Clippings (Sept. 1993, pp. 14f) had this poignant example of
a common human response: "Sometime ago, newspapers carried the story of a young
fellow named William, who was a fugitive from the police. The teenager had run
away with his girlfriend because the parents had been trying to break them up.
What William didn't know was that an ailment he had been seeing the doctor about
was diagnosed, just after his disappearance, as cancer. "Now, here was William,
doing his best to elude the police, lest he lose his love, while they were doing
their best to find him, lest he lose his life. He thought they were after him to
punish him; they were really after him to save him. William is representative of
every man, whose guilt tells him God is after him to straightjacket him in this
life and torture him forever."

Headed Toward the Sun (Son) Alexander the Great was regent of Macedonia at the
age of 16, a victorious general at 18, king at 20-and then he died a drunkard
before he was 33, having conquered the then-known world. His father was Philip
of Macedon, also a military genius, who invented the famous "Greek phalanx."
While Alexander was still in his early teens, Philonicus the Thessalonian
offered to sell Alexander's father, Philip, his horse, Bucephalus, a trained,
but vicious horse. Philip took his son along to see the horse go through his
paces, but the stallion proved so unmanageable that none of the men could even
mount him. Alexander noticed that he seemed to be afraid of his own shadow, so
he quieted the horse by turning his head toward the sun! Then Alexander mounted
the horse, and let him run freely for a while. Soon, by keeping him headed
toward the sun, he got him under control. Millions today are "afraid of their
own shadow," the "shadow" of their evil deeds, the haunting "shadow" of their
own guilty conscience and the "shadow" of hundreds of fears and failures. But
let some faithful Christian point them to Christ, and their shadows immediately
fall behind them, for Christ is "the Light of the world" (John 8:12), and all
who follow HIM "shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
The closer one walks to Him the more light he has; and the farther one gets from
Christ, the deeper are the shadows. And he who is so foolish as to walk away
from Christ, in unbelief, walks ever deeper into the shadows that will
eventually plunge him into the eternal darkness.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 48: FELLOWSHIP
========================================================================

Fellowship

Access It is common for homeowners to have many locks in their houses, each with
different keys, but to have one master key which opens all. So the Lord has many
treasuries and secrets all shut up from carnal minds with locks which they
cannot open; but he who walks in fellowship with Jesus possesses the master key
which will admit him to all the blessings of the covenant; yea, to the very
heart of God. Through the Well-beloved we have access to God, to heaven, to
every secret of the Lord.

Bad Company Have you ever heard anyone say, "Birds of a feather flock together"?
Have you ever stopped and really asked yourself what it means? Let me tell you a
story which will help you to understand. One spring a great many crows began to
pull up a farmer's young corn. The farmer loaded his shotgun and went out to
frighten them away. Bang! The farmer fired at the crows, and hurried out into
the field to see how many he had hit. To his surprise he found that, besides
killing three crows, he had wounded Polly, his pet parrot! You can imagine how
excited his children were when he came home with Polly in his hands. "O Daddy,"
they cried, "who was so cruel as to hurt poor Polly! Where was she?" Before the
farmer could explain, Polly began to say, "Bad Company! Bad Company!" "That is
certainly the truth, Polly!" laughed the man. Then he explained to his children
that Polly had evidently seen the crows in the field and had left the house (she
was allowed out of her cage a great deal of the time) and had gone to join the
other birds. She had been among the crows when the farmer fired on them. "You
see, Polly was keeping bad company, children," the man said. "And bad company is
always dangerous. In the Bible we read, 'Enter not into the path of the wicked,
and go not in the way of evil men'" (Proverbs 4:13).

Seek God Daily Ben Jochai was teaching a group of students about the miracle of
the manna when Israel was on the way from Egypt to the Promised Land. One of the
students asked, "Why didn't the Lord God furnish enough manna for Israel at one
time to last the entire year?" The teacher said, "I will answer you with a
parable. Once there was a rich man who had a son to whom he promised an annual
allowance. Every year on the same day, he would give his son the entire amount.
After a while, it happened that the only time the father saw his son was on the
day of the year when he was to receive his allowance. So the father changed his
plan and only gave the son enough for the day. Then the next day the son would
return for the allowance for the day. From then on, the father saw his son every
day." This is the way God dealt with Israel. It is the way God deals with us.

Friendship Friend! What a precious word. Most of us concur wholeheartedly with
William Shakespeare who said: Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel. One of the privileges of
friendship is being able to speak frankly. Little by little, and day by day, we
become accustomed to saying what we think we ought to say instead of what we
really think. How comfortable and how pleasant it is to speak freely without
having to be on guard. As the Arabian says, "A friend is one to whom we may pour
out the contents of our hearts, chaff and grain together, knowing that the
gentlest of hands will sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of
kindness blow the rest away!" Another privilege of friendship is that of being
understood. Perhaps it was this quality which caused George Eliot to write:
"Animals are such agreeable friends. They ask no questions; they pass no
criticisms." Understanding is to be expected of friends. Total agreement and
acceptance? Not necessarily! As one anonymous writer has said, "The strength and
sweetness of friendship depends on sincerity tempered by sympathy." A third
privilege of friendship is the privilege of silence. If one is but a mere
acquaintance we feel that we must talk. So we turn to such exciting subjects as
the weather, our ailments, and our latest surgery. But what a joy it is to have
a friend that will even understand your silence and not say, "My friend is not
my friend anymore because he is not talking." Friends have mutual interests.
They enjoy doing the same kinds of things, and talking about their shared
interests. That's why there is such great camaraderie between fishermen,
woodworkers, gardeners, authors, etc. Friends are mutually devoted to each
other. When you are in trouble, it is not merely your friend's duty but his
privilege to stand by. If he is in trouble, you count it a privilege to help.
Friendship is this... and a whole lot more. But it causes one to ask, "Are God
and I friends?" Does Anybody Ask About Your Arthritis? Mamie made frequent trips
to the branch post office. One day she confronted a long line of people who were
waiting for service from the postal clerks. Mamie only needed stamps, so a
helpful observer asked, "Why don't you use the stamp machine? You can get all
the stamps you need and you won't have to wait in line." Mamie said, "I know,
but the machine can't ask me about my arthritis." We live in a world that has
become extremely impersonal. You can take care of numerous business transactions
without dealing directly with people. When you do talk with people, most of them
aren't going to ask you about your arthritis. They want you to state your
business and get out of the way for the next customer. We can get our lunch from
a machine if we choose to. We can take our own blood pressure at the drug store.
It's been a long time since many of us have had a conversation with a real, live
telephone operator. When you live in that kind of context, it's hard to find
anybody who is the least bit curious about your arthritis, your gout, your bad
cough or anything else that ails you. People still need human contact. Solitary
confinement is still the most severe punishment that a prisoner can receive. As
Christians we need to be sensitive to the need that people have to be touched
and cared for. "For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to
himself alone" (Romans 14:7).




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 49: FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
========================================================================

Fellowship with God

I Want You If you really know God as your loving heavenly Father, you consider
companionship with Him your greatest treasure. I've heard of a father who had to
be away from home about seven months. On his return he took his family to a
shopping center. Handing some money to his little girl, he said, "Lydia, take
this money and buy anything you want." The child's eyes filled with tears as she
clung more tightly to his hand. "What's the matter, Honey?" he asked. "I don't
want money, Daddy," she said. "I want you!" Not Good if Detached Man often loses
much of his worth when he is detached from the world of persons and things about
him. There are some forms of life that can live in relative isolation. A sponge,
for instance, fastens itself to the bottom of the sea and completes its life
cycle there. A lichen grows on the side of a rock and, while it spreads around
slightly, never moves from its original location. But man isn't made to be like
that. His power and usefulness come, not in isolation, but through union and
cooperation with others. No life can be truly valuable in God's sight that isn't
attached to Jesus Christ. We need Him, just as every member of our body needs to
be attached to it, if it's going to be of any value. We also need fellowship
with other believers who are attached to Christ. A soldier fighting a battle
alone, or a single man working with pick and shovel trying to dig a Panama
Canal, would scarcely be more effectual than a Christian trying to establish
God's Kingdom all by himself. There are people in every community who are
essentially Christian in spirit who have nothing to do with the Church. "Not
good if detached" is the label we might put upon their lives.

Fellowship with the Father A happy Christian met an Irish peddler one day and
said to him, "It's a grand thing to be saved." "Aye," said the peddler, "It is.
But I think something is equally as good as that." "What can you possibly think
is equal to salvation?" "The companionship of the Man who has saved me," was the
reply. When we know that, we can rejoice with John and say "Truly our fellowship
is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3).




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 50: FORGIVENESS
========================================================================

Forgiveness

Reconciliation Seen from the Pulpit In a large prayer meeting about seven years
ago, the pastor was urging everyone present to put away every hindrance to an
immediate personal transaction with God, by which the soul might find instant
forgiveness. He saw a man leave his pew in a hurried, excited state, and go into
the inquiry room. Quietly, an usher called two or three others to follow the
man. Shortly, the man, as well as the others returned quietly to their seats. At
the close of the service, the pastor inquired into the reasons for the
commotion. He was told there had been a quarrel sometime before the service; the
man, hearing God's Word, wanted to find peace with God; he realized he could not
have it until he was first reconciled to his offending brethren. Consequently,
he had sent for them to come into the inquiry room. When the man asked them for
forgiveness, they freely forgave and were as glad as he to have fellowship
again. The Forgiveness Flower One day when Stan Mooneyham was walking along a
trail in East Africa with some friends, he became aware of a delightful odor
that filled the air. He looked up in the trees and around at the bushes in an
effort to discover where it was coming from. Then his friends told him to look
down at the small blue flower growing along the path. Each time they crushed the
tiny blossoms under their feet, more of its sweet perfume was released into the
air. Then his friends said, "We call it the forgiveness flower." This
forgiveness flower does not wait until we ask forgiveness for crushing it. It
does not release its fragrance in measured doses or hold us to a reciprocal
arrangement. It does not ask for an apology; it merely lives up to its name and
forgives-freely, fully, richly. What a touching example of outrageous
forgiveness! The Buried Hatchet Garth Brooks has a song which says "We buried
the hatchet, but left the handle sticking out." One great obstacle of stumbling
is non-forgiveness. The hatchet might seem to be buried, but people continue to
grab hold of the handle when they want to use it against another. Jesus said if
a brother repents, forgive him-that is, bury the hatchet and its handle. How
many times, you might ask? As often as the brother repents, we are to forgive.
Don't grab hold of buried hatchet handles, for they become stumbling blocks to
forgiveness.

Forgiveness Needs Momentum Corrie ten Boom likenened forgiveness to letting go
of a bell rope. If you have ever seen a country church with a bell in the
steeple, you will remember that to get the bell ringing you have to tug awhile.
Once it has begun to ring, you merely maintain the momentum. As long as you keep
pulling, the bell keeps ringing. Miss ten Boom said forgiveness is letting go of
the rope. It is just that simple. But when you do so, the bell keeps ringing.
Momentum is still at work. However, if you keep your hands off the rope, the
bell will begin to slow and eventually stop. It is like that with forgiveness.
When you decided to forgive, the old feelings of unforgiveness may continue to
assert themselves. After all, they have lots of momentum. But if you affirm your
decision to forgive, that unforgiving spirit will begin to slow and will
eventually be still. Forgiveness is not something you feel, it is something you
do. It is letting go of the rope of retribution.

Soft on Enemies One of President Abraham Lincoln's associates scolded him rather
severely for being soft on his enemies. "Why do you insist on trying to make
friends of them?" he chided. "You should be trying to destroy them." To which
Lincoln replied gently, "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make them my
friends?" In speaking of those who were his enemies during the Civil War,
Lincoln is reported to have said, "Insane as it may seem, I hold malice toward
none of them. I have neither the time nor the energy in this life to hold that
kind of resentment." The Berry Spoon "I'll never forgive him. I told him I would
never forgive him." The attractive elderly lady spoke softly, but with resolve,
to the night nurse. Her expression was troubled as she turned away, focusing her
eyes on the drape closing in her nursing home bed. The conversation had traveled
from the temporal to the eternal and now a deep hurt had surfaced. She told of
how her brother had approached her hospital bed, accusing her of taking more
than her share of family heirlooms following their mother's death. He spoke of
various items, ending with "the berry spoon." He said, "I want the berry spoon."
For the 40 years since the parent's death he had hidden his feelings, and now
they erupted. She was both hurt and angered by his accusation and vowed never to
forgive him. "It's my spoon. It was given to me," she defended herself. "He's
wrong and I won't forgive him." A berry spoon. In the bed lay a woman given two
months to live-60 days-and she would face eternity and never see her brother
again in this life. Her mind and spirit were in anguish, and her only remaining
family tie was broken over a spoon. How many berry spoons are there in our
lives? How many things, as insignificant as a spoon, in light of eternity,
separate us from full communion with God? How much lack of forgiveness keeps us
from fellowship with others? "For if you forgive men when they sin against you,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their
sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15).

There's Forgiveness Don't struggle alone, in fear and distress As if there's no
hope, just your ugliness. Our Lord offers grace, not judgment deserving, He
longs for your love and your soon returning. THERE'S FORGIVENESS. It's tough
cutting through the darkness of sin Striving for answers, His favor to win. He
stands with His arms outstretched and extended To hold and restore you, just
mercy intended. THERE'S FORGIVENESS. Why search other places your answers to
find To fill the vast void and touch the divine. Lay down your excuses and learn
to confess Your sins and your shame to His holiness. THERE'S FORGIVENESS.
There's healing and fellowship waiting for you The moment you turn, His face to
pursue. You are the temple, His place for abiding, The only thing missing is
your mind deciding. THERE'S FORGIVENESS. Don't wait for a feeling or mystical
lark, Just bow down in quietness, open your heart. Be honest, and tell Him no
secret to keep From there He restores you to fellowship sweet. THERE'S
FORGIVENESS. His promise is certain, "I will forgive," Cleansing and freedom,
it's yours to live. From no other source full joy will you find. He is your
victory, your peace so sublime. THERE'S FORGIVENESS. To humble yourself, before
Him in prayer, Is your first step, in unloading your care. There look Him
squarely, straight in the face And tell Him all of the ways you disgrace.
There's forgiveness. Refreshment and fullness He will restore The moment you
sincerely open the door. He is the life you thought you could win, By going your
way and living in sin. There's forgiveness. There's no one beyond the reach of
His arm To pick up and pardon, to rescue from harm. Return to the Master of your
faith's beginning. Give Him your all, and you'll find yourself winning. THERE'S
FORGIVENESS. What wonderful love eternity holds, For those who are willing to be
in the fold. The Savior is waiting, Oh come to Him now, At His nail-scarred
feet, in humility bow. THERE'S FORGIVENESS. Our Sins Are Like the Clouds You
have seen a cloud drifting across the pure blue of the sky, and as you watch it,
it breaks up and disappears forever. You will never see that cloud again. So God
deals with your sins. You believe in His Son as your Lord and Savior. Then He
blots out your transgressions just as He sweeps the cloud from your sight
forever. The Bible abounds in these assurances of utter removal of the penalty
of sin from the child of God. The Meaning of Forgiveness "How sharper than a
serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child," says William Shakespeare's
King Lear. Well, then, how about a thankless jailbird? If you want an answer to
that one, ask District Judge Phillip Killien of Seattle. Recently, a young man
appeared before Judge Killien on charges of car theft. The judge saw no reason
to keep him locked up while he awaited court action. He released him on his own
recognizance. A short time later, Killien's own car disappeared. Police quickly
found the stolen car, and the one who stole it. Then, Judge Killien was in court
in a new role, not as a judge, but as a witness, against the same young man he
had released, who stood accused of stealing the magistrate's wheels. A Japanese
proverb reminds us that forgiving the unrepentant is like drawing pictures on
the water. Ignoring sin may gain the sinner's temporary gratitude, but makes no
lasting impression. A forgiven car thief is still a car thief if no change of
character takes place. How about you? Do you seek to escape justice or to be
justified by God's grace and Christ's mercy? God offers you liberty, not
license, in the cleansing blood of Christ. Do You Charge to Forgive? A sign in a
convenience store read, "Check Cashing Policy: To err is human. To forgive,
$10." It's a funny way to recognize the fact that we make mistakes, but it's
also evidence of the way many people think about forgiveness. To forgive is to
accept within yourself the consequences of the sins of others. It means to
accept the pain, the problems and the burden that comes when someone sins
against you. Forgiveness is neither an easy nor a frequent gift. This is what
God has done for us: "...knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible
things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition
from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19 NKJV). What did God give for your
forgiveness? It wasn't money or anything of wealth or value in worldly terms. He
gave His Son. Jesus took upon Himself the burden of our sins.

Distinctly Forgotten Following the Civil War, Robert E. Lee was visiting in
Kentucky where one lady showed him the remains of what had been an enormous, old
tree. This tree stood directly in front of her house. She bitterly cried to
General Lee of how its limbs and trunk had been shattered by Federal artillery
fire. Having poured out her anguish she looked to the old soldier for a
condemnation of the North. Following a brief silence, Lee responded, "Cut it
down, my dear madam, and forget it." It is better to forgive the injustices of
the past than to allow them to take root and add bitterness to your future.
Memory is a marvelous thing, particularly when it brings us wisdom or joy;
however, forgetfulness is equally marvelous for it allows others to succeed
where once failure reigned. Forgiveness does not always mean that we trust the
individual. In his weakness this does neither him nor you any favors.
Forgiveness is the measure of putting yourself on his side, not seeking revenge
but success. It is the opening of opportunity's doors, to say "try again, I will
not shut you out." This requires setting aside or forgetting the emotions which
might halt forgiveness. Clara Barton, Red Cross founder, was asked if she
remembered an especially cruel thing done to her years before. When she seemed
not to recall it, a friend asked, "Don't you remember?" "No," said Miss Barton,
"I distinctly remember forgetting it." God has forgiven us, is it now time that
we forgive others so that we can get on to a bright future. Is some cruelty
holding you back? Forgive and Live.

Practicing Forgiveness It is said of Samuel Johnson, the great English writer
and lexicographer, that "the way to get a favor from him was to do him an
injury." Evidently it was characteristic of him to forgive his enemies and pray
for them. Emerson said of Lincoln: "His heart was as great as the world, but
there was no room in it to hold the memory of a wrong." Spurgeon advised,
"Cultivate forbearance until your heart yields a fine crop of it. Pray for a
short memory as to all unkindness." That is how the truly wise man acts.

Good Forgetters Two little boys had quarreled. But the next morning Johnny took
his cap and headed for Bobby's house again. Surprised, an older member of the
family said teasingly, "What! Going to play with him again? I thought you
quarreled only last evening and were never going to have anything more to do
with each other. Funny memory you have." Johnny looked a little sheepish, dug
his toe into the carpet for a moment, then flashed a satisfied smile as he
hurried away. "Oh! Bobby and me's good forgetters!" No Condemnation A man was
viciously attacked by another who sought to kill him. The face of the injured
man was badly scarred for the rest of his life. He cherished no enmity, however,
against the person who made the attack and later sought to have him pardoned.
The announcement was made to the prisoner. As he read the pardon he said, "I
want something more than pardon, sir; I want friendship." "What kind of
friendship do you want?" asked the warden. "I can do without anyone else's
friendship except that of the man I injured." The man with the scarred face came
to see the prisoner, the tears in his eyes assuring the assailant of both his
pardon and friendship.

Trampled Flowers A girl was asked what forgiveness is. She gave the following
beautiful answer: "It is the odor the flowers give off when they are trampled
upon." For the merciful Christian, this odor reaches far, far away, even up to
the judgment seat of Christ; the Christian need not be afraid when he gets
there.

Willing to Forgive This incident occurred between John Wesley and Joseph
Bradford. Bradford was for some years the traveling companion of Mr. Wesley for
whom he would have sacrificed health and even life, but to whom his will would
never bend. "Joseph," said Mr. Wesley one day, "take these letters to the post
office." Bradford replied, "I will take them after your preaching, sir." Wesley
again said, "Take them now, Joseph." Bradford turned to Mr. Wesley and said, "I
wish to hear you preach, sir; and there will be sufficient time for the post
office after the service." Wesley was not at all pleased and said, "I insist
upon your going now, Joseph." Bradford rather angrily replied, "I will not go at
present." "You will not!" "No, sir." "Then you and I must part," said Wesley.
"Very well, sir," was Mr. Bradford's quick response. The good men slept over it.
Both were early risers. At four o'clock the next morning, Wesley said to
Bradford, "Joseph, have you considered what I said-that we must part?" "Yes,
sir," was the reply. "And must we part?" "Please yourself, sir," Then Wesley
said, "Will you ask my pardon, Joseph?" "No, sir," came the quick reply from
Bradford. "You will not?" "No, sir," Bradford said again. "Then," answered
Wesley, "I will ask yours, Joseph." That is what a Christian should do-be
willing to ask forgiveness instead of expecting others to ask forgiveness of
him.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 51: GIFTS
========================================================================

Gifts Where Are God's Best Gifts? Earthly t hrones are generally built with
steps up to them; the remarkable thing about the thrones of the eternal kingdom
is that the steps are all down to them. We must descend if we would reign, stoop
if we would rise. Some think that God put His best gifts on a high shelf for
them to reach up to them. It does not take long, however, for a Christian to
realize that the best gifts are in the lower shelves, that the babes may get
them also. A Lesson from the Gulls Some time ago in Reader's Digest there was a
short article about a group of sea gulls that was starving to death in St.
Augustine. They were not starving because of a food shortage but because they
had forgotten how to fish. For years they had depended on the shrimp fleet
operating out of the harbor to toss them scraps from the nets. When the shrimp
fleet moved to Key West, they began to starve. They had lost their natural
ability to fish because they had not been using it. This is a rule of nature. If
you do not use what you have, it will be taken from you. This is the lesson in
the parable of the talents. The servant who did not use the one talent had it
taken from him.

Different Gifts, Different Strengths A concert violinist had a brother who was a
bricklayer. One day a woman gushed to the bricklayer, "It must be wonderful to
be in a family with such a famous violinist." Then, not wanting to insult the
bricklayer, she said, "Of course we don't all have the same talents, and even in
a family, some just seem to have more talent than others." The bricklayer said,
"You're telling me! That violinist brother of mine doesn't know a thing about
laying bricks. And if he couldn't make some money playing that fiddle of his, he
couldn't hire a guy with know-how like mine to build a house. If he had to build
a house himself he'd be ruined." If you want to build a house, you don't want a
violinist. And if you're going to lead an orchestra, you don't want a
bricklayer. No two of us are exactly alike. None of us has every gift and
ability. Our responsibility is to exercise the gifts we have, not the ones we
wish we had. And when it comes to making decisions about your own life and the
direction it should take, focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. Know
yourself. Know what you do well, and then go with your strengths and shore up
your weaknesses. The Christmas Gift Is Too Much In ancient history we are told
that Caesar had a friend to whom he once gave a munificent present. But when he
offered it, the friend said: "This is too much for me to receive." To which the
emperor replied: "But it is not too much for me to give." After all our
sinfulness and rebellion, God's gift of pardon through Christ does seem too much
for us to receive; but the riches of divine mercy are so great that it is not
too much for Him to give. When God forgives, there is not one sin left
unforgiven. Christmas was indeed too great a gift for man, but it was not so for
God.

What If God Sent Us Bills? The scene was a familiar one. The young couple were
going over their monthly bills. In it were ones from the drug store, department
store, oil company, etc. Trying to find something humorous to say in the
situation, the man quipped, "Isn't it a good thing that God doesn't send bills?"
That is good, isn't it? But what if He just decided to bill us for this
wonderful body He has given us? The Psalmist said, "I will praise thee; for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalms 139:14). Shakespeare said, "What a piece
of work is man!" Think about what God has made: THE EARS: A piano has 88 keys,
but each of your ears has a keyboard with 1500 keys. They are so finely tuned
that you can hear the blood running through your vessels. The outside of your
ear can catch up to 73,700 vibrations per second. THE EYES: They are both
microscopes and telescopes. They can gaze into the heavens and see a star
millions of miles away, or inspect the smallest insect. THE FEET: Did you know
that each foot has 26 bones, none of which is wider than your thumb? But it is
so "manufactured" (arched) with its ligaments, tendons, muscles and joints that
a 300-pound man can put all his weight on these tiny bones. THE HEART: Its size
is about like your fist, but pumps (beats) 4,320 times an hour. In a year that
would mean 40 million beats. A drop of blood can make a round trip in your
circulatory system in only 22 seconds. What if God sent you a bill for this
marvelous body we live in? But God doesn't send us bills. He just loves us and
takes care of us. Can we do any less than to return His love? We show Him our
love by obedience to His Word and by faithful stewardship of that which He has
entrusted to us.

Give Your All God's gift is always enough for any individual to accomplish
something. If we compare it with what others have, we will find that there are
two kinds of people-those who have never done anything with their gifts and
those who have fully utilized theirs. You and I must say, "I may not accomplish
as much as they have, but I'm going to give it all I've got!" We're never going
to get anywhere unless we use the gifts God has given us. The One Talent Hide
not thy talent in the earth, However small it be; Its faithful use, its utmost
worth, God will require of thee. His own, which He hath lent on trust, He asks
of thee again; Little or much, the claim is just, And thine excuses vain. Go,
then, and strive to do thy part, Though humble it may be; The ready hand, the
willing heart, Are all heaven asks of thee. - William Cutler

Use or Lose The Lord has given to each one of us at least one gift, and probably
many more than that. The most important thing in life is to find what gifts we
have; secondly, to recognize that they are from God; thirdly, to be faithful and
dependable in using them. Anything that is not used doesn't develop. A pianist
said, "You know, I must practice every day. If I don't practice one day I know
the difference. If I don't practice two days, those who hear me know the
difference."

Spiritual Gifts Paul compares the possessors of spiritual gifts to members of
the human body because as the members of our body are none of our doing or
deserving, neither are the spiritual gifts we possess. They are God's gifts
entrusted to us for a purpose. If that purpose isn't fulfilled, His gifts are
wasted. What's the use of having an eye or a hand that doesn't serve the entire
body? A test of the genuineness of any gift is whether it benefits the body of
Christ as a whole, or only the possessor. Does it tend to unite the body or to
divide it? Does it make members who are different from us feel estranged or
fellow members with us of one and the same body? A "Call" to Preach An elder of
the church was talking to a young mechanic who thought he had a call to give up
his shop and go into the ministry. "I feel," said the young enthusiast, "that I
have had a call to preach." The elder, knowing his deficiencies as a speaker,
shrewdly asked, "Have you noticed whether people seem to have a call to hear
you?" Before you subject others to the sound of your voice, make sure that
preaching comes naturally to you and that you have a call from God to exercise
this ability. Paul knew he was "sent" to preach.

God Shall Supply C. H. Spurgeon once said, "God is satisfied with Himself, and
sufficient to His own happiness. Therefore, surely, there is enough in Him to
fill the creature. That which fills an ocean will fill a bucket; that which will
fill a gallon will fill a pint; those revenues which will defray an emperor's
expenses are enough for a beggar or poor man." Didn't Paul say, "My God shall
supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus"
(Philippians 4:19)? And He sees fit to bestow these riches on us as an inherent
gift. Thus all believers possess Christ, but not every one has all His gifts,
for He gives them as it pleases Him. His pleasure is according to His knowledge.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 52: GIVING
========================================================================

Giving

Three Kicks in Every Dollar William Allen White, a famous newspaper editor in
Emporia, Kansas, once gave a 50 acre tract of land to the city for a park. At
the dedication, he made the strange statement that there are "Three kicks in
every dollar." He explained, "One kick is when you make it-and how I love to
make a dollar! One is when you save it-and I have the Yankee lust for saving.
The third kick is when you give it away-and the biggest kick of all is the last
one." It seems Mr. White discovered on his own what Jesus taught 20 centuries
earlier: "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). Do you
believe that? Want a big kick? Make a lot of money! Want an even bigger kick?
Give your money to a worthy cause. There is a "kick" in seeing needy people
helped. There is a "kick" in seeing your money carry the good news everywhere.
There is a "kick" in seeing your church touch the spiritual needs of the
unsaved. You, too, can get three "kicks" out of every dollar.

Let Me Give I don't know how long I have to live But while I do, Lord, let me
give Some comfort to someone in need By smile or nod-kind word or deed. And let
me do what e'er I can To ease things for my fellowman. I only want to do my
part, To "lift" a tired and weary heart. To change folks frowns to smiles again
So I will not have lived in vain. I do not care how long I live If I can
give-and give-and give!

"And Then Some" A successful businessman was once asked the secret of his
success. His reply summed up success in three words: "and then some." He learned
early in life that the difference between average people and the truly
successful could be summed up in those three words. Top people did what was
expected "and then some!" Jesus taught the "and then some" principle. In the
Sermon on the Mount he said: "And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with
him two" (Matthew 5:41). "And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do
more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?" (Matthew 5:47).

Church Is Cheaper A woman took her two small boys and a daughter to see Peter
Pan at the matinee one Saturday afternoon. The tickets were two dollars and
fifty cents each. The young daughter watched as the mother pushed ten one dollar
bills under the window and received four tickets. The next day the same mother
and daughter were at church. When the collection was taken the child saw her
mother open her purse, take out a quarter, and put it in the plate as it passed
them. The little girl looked up at her mother and in a clear stage whisper which
everyone around could hear said, "Mother, church is a lot cheaper than a movie,
isn't it?" A Parable of Life Life is like another parable from another land. A
blind Indian beggar sat beside a road, fingering the rice in his little bowl.
Wearing only a loin cloth, he sat in poverty beside a road that stretched into
nowhere both ways. The scarce travelers occasionally gave him a little rice. One
day he heard the thunder of a chariot in the distance. It was the grand
entourage of the maharajah. This was a moment that had never come before. Surely
the great one would stop and give him baskets of rice. Indeed, the golden
chariot of the maharajah stopped before the poor beggar. The great one stepped
down and the beggar fell before him. Then the sky seemed to fall in. "Give me
your rice," said the great one. A fearful, hateful, scowl masked the face of the
beggar. He reached into his bowl and thrust one grain of rice toward the
maharajah. "Is that all?" said the great one. The beggar spat on the ground,
cursed, and threw him one more grain of rice. The great one turned, entered his
chariot, and was gone. The beggar-angry, empty, and crushed-fingered the
remaining rice he had hoarded in his bowl. He felt something hard, different
from the rice. He pulled it out. It was one grain of gold. He poured out his
rice, caring nothing for it now. He found one other grain of gold. Had he
trusted the great one, he could have had a grain of gold for every grain of
rice.

Why Be a Volunteer? It's not for money, It's not for fame, It's not for any
personal gain. It's just for love of fellowman. It's just to lend a helping
hand. It's just to give a tithe of self. That's something you can't buy with
wealth. It's not medals won with pride. It's for that feeling deep inside. It's
that reward sown in your heart. It's that feeling that you've been a part Of
helping others far and near That makes you be a volunteer!

I Am Glad I Am a Teacher How many times have I heard a fellow Christian say,
"Oh, you mean you teach a class of little kids? Oh, you poor thing. You are a
glutton for punishment." My mental reaction to such a statement is, "YOU poor
thing. If you have never tried it, you don't know the wealth of blessing your
are missing." Poor thing, indeed! There are few moments so precious as seeing
the dancing eyes of a little child as he sees the big fish (made up of a bleach
bottle) literally swallow up Jonah (a puppet), and then to see relief come and
his whole body relax and settle against his chair when he sees that "God took
care of Jonah and He will take care of me, too, if I obey Him." Or, the excited
voice of a little one tugging at Mother or Daddy to "come to see the 10 lepers
that Jesus made well." Me a poor thing? When I hear from three rows back the
loud whisper, "Mommy, that's my teacher." Or when I receive the most moving,
most enjoyable, most blessing-filled hour of the week, no, I wouldn't trade all
that for a comfortable chair in a quiet adult classroom. Who knows, that Bible
class I teach may lead someone to heaven who otherwise might not have known the
way. Sorry friend, that poor thing isn't me! The Fate of a Poem-Saved by a
Downdraft! Frances Ridley Havergal wrote one of her most famous poems while she
was in Dusseldorf, Germany. She had gone to Germany to do some specialized
study. While there, she saw a copy of Sternburg's great painting: The
Crucifixion. The title above the picture was, "All this I did for thee; what
hast thou done for Me?" Inspired by the probing question, she wrote her famous
poem, "I Gave My Life for Thee." But she was not happy with the poem at the
time, so she threw it into the fire. But there came a strong downdraft which
blew the paper out of the fire and onto the hearth. Feeling that this might have
been providential, Miss Havergal took the slightly scorched paper, folded it,
and sent it to her father in England. He composed a tune to match the words and
had it published. However, the tune we now use with this superb poem was written
years later by P. P. Bliss, an associate of D. L. Moody. The tune he wrote is
now the one we use with this great song: "I Gave My Life for Thee, What Hast
Thou Done for Me?"

Influence Drop a pebble in the water And its ripples reach out far; And the
sunbeam dancing on them May reflect them to a star. Give a smile to someone
passing Thereby making his morning glad; It may greet you in the evening When
your own heart may be sad. Do a simple deed of kindness; Though its end you may
not see, It may reach like widening ripples, Down a long eternity.

Leftovers When you invite special guests to your home, do you warm up the
leftovers in the refrigerator and serve them on paper plates in front of the
television? Of course not. Most of us prepare a special meal, use our best
dishes and arrange our schedules so that we can spend quality time with our
guests. In other words, we offer them our very best. How many of us invite the
Lord Jesus into our life and then serve Him "leftovers"? We give Him time
"leftover" from our work, our families or our recreation. We give Him talents
"leftover" from our social organizations, our sports activities or our hobbies.
We give Him money "leftover" after we pay our bills and our taxes and put some
money aside for our vacation. "Out of all the gifts you receive you shall set
aside the contributions to the Lord; and the gift which you hallow must be taken
from the choicest of them" (Numbers 18:29). Have I given to the Lord who died
for me the choicest, or have I given Him "leftovers"? Do You Know What Sacrifice
Means? Two wealthy Christians, a lawyer and a merchant, joined a party that was
going around the world. Before they started, their minister earnestly asked them
to observe and remember any unusual and interesting things that they might see
in the missionary countries through which the party was to travel. The men
promised-carelessly, perhaps-to do so. One day in Korea, they saw in a field by
the side of the road a boy pulling a crude plow, while an old man held the
handles and directed it. The lawyer was amused, and took a snapshot of the
scene. "That's a curious picture! I suppose they are very poor," he said to the
missionary who was interpreter and guide to the party. "Yes," was the quiet
reply. "That is the family of Chi Noui. When the church was being built they
were eager to give something to it, but they had no money so they sold their
only ox and gave the money to the church. This spring they are pulling the plow
themselves." The lawyer and the businessman by his side were silent for some
moments. Then the businessman said, "That must have been a real sacrifice."
"They did not call it that," said the missionary. "They thought it was fortunate
they had an ox to sell."

Maintain Purpose in Life Mr. Brown ran a sanatorium for rich women who had
nothing much to do. They had been idle so long together that their nerves got
the best of them. They fancied all sorts of things wrong with themselves as they
grumbled about their aches and pains. Brown and his wife were getting rich
listening to them and babying them. Then one of the women made a few repairs on
her old clothes which she gave to the needy. Another woman took notice then did
the same. Soon most of them were repairing old clothes. Then one delivered her
repaired clothes and came back excited about how the poor folk received them.
Then all the women repaired clothes and delivered them to the poor families. The
result? Mr. Brown and his wife found their sanitorium empty. The women had found
purpose in life. The sanatorium was no longer needed.

I Dare You to Do It Again A little church was having a homecoming service to
which ex-members, who had moved away, were invited. One of the former members
had become a millionaire. When asked to speak, the wealthy man recounted his
childhood experience. He had earned his first silver dollar which he had decided
to keep forever. "But when a visiting missionary preached about the urgent need
for funds in his mission work, and the offering basket was passed, a great
struggle took place within me. As a result," the wealthy man said, "I put my
treasured silver dollar in the basket. I am convinced that the reason God has
blessed me richly is that when I was a boy I gave God everything I possessed."
The congregation was spellbound by the multi-millionaire's tremendous statement
until an elderly little man seated in the front row rose and said, "Brother, I
dare you to do it again."

Tell Me Why The movies say, "I'll entertain you, but you must buy a ticket
first." The restaurant asks, "Eat here but you have to pay the bill." The
insurance company offers to insure you, "But the premiums must be met." The ball
club says, "You'll see a good game, but you must have the price of admission."
The golf course says, "Play here but first pay the green fees." The lake ranger
says the fish are biting, "But you have to buy a license." Then the Lord says,
"In My church you will find spiritual food, fellowship, assurance of eternal
life, consolation in time of trouble, spiritual blessings beyond measure and
opportunities to do good to others and there is no specific charge. Pay as you
are willing." And everybody tries to get by as cheaply as possible! Can you tell
me why? A Tithing Testimony Many years ago a lad of 16 was obliged to leave home
because his father was too poor to support him any longer. So he trudged away
with all worldly possessions in a bundle dangling from his hand, resolving as he
journeyed to set up in business as a soapmaker in New York. When the country boy
arrived in the big city, he found it hard to get work. Remembering the last
words of his mother and also the godly advice given him by the captain of a
canal boat, the youth dedicated his life to God, determining to return to his
Maker an honest tithe of every dollar he earned. So, when his first dollar came
in, the young man sacredly dedicated ten cents of it to the Lord. This he
continued to do. And the dollars rolled in! Soon this young man became partner
in a soap business; and when his partner died a few years later, he became sole
owner of the concern. The prosperous businessman now instructed his bookkeeper
to open an account with the Lord and to credit to it one tenth of all his
income. The business grew miraculously. The honest proprietor now dedicated
two-tenths of his earnings; and then three-tenths, four-tenths; and finally,
five-tenths. It seemed as if his sales increased in exact proportion to his
generosity, so that soon his brand of soap became a household word throughout
the world. The late William Colgate was this man whom God so singly prospered in
return for his faithfulness to his Maker.

It Is More Blessed to Give One day, Mr. L., a businessman living in a southern
city, knocked at the office door of the Salvation Army. The Army captain
answered and was very surprised to receive a gift of $100 from Mr. L. That was
big money at that time and was much appreciated by this charity organization. As
Mr. L. started to walk down the sidewalk, he heard steps behind him. It was the
Army captain hastening to catch up with him. "Our baby is sick," he said, "would
it be all right to use some of this money to buy milk for it?" "Go ahead and use
all you need for your child," Mr. L. replied. A number of years later, Mr. L.
was running for a high government office and was to make a speech in the city
where the Army captain worked. The large auditorium was filled to capacity with
interested listeners, and the Army captain was one of them. When Mr. L. finished
his speech, the Army captain stood up and asked permission to speak. He told the
incident how Mr. L. had given $100 and about his sick child receiving the needed
milk. There was a thundering applause from the audience-and a decided victory
for Mr. L. in his campaigning! "Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt
find it after many days" (Ecclesiastes 11:1).

What Is Tithing? Mathematically it is a tenth. "...and of all that thou shalt
give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee" (Genesis 28:11). Scripturally it
is a law. "Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase" (Deuteronomy 14:22). Morally
it is a debt. "...Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings" (Malachi
3:8). Economically it is an investment. "But lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven" (Matthew 6:20). "Give, and it shall be given unto you" (Luke 6:38).
Spiritually it is a blessing. "I will open the windows of heaven and pour you
out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi
3:10).

Inasmuch In Edwin Markham's lovely poem, "The Shoes of Happiness," Conrad, the
old cobbler, dreamed one night that the Master would come to be his guest. When
the dawn was yet young, he arose and decorated his little shop with bright and
gay flowers and waited. When the Master would come, he would wash the feet where
the spikes had been and would kiss the hands that the nails had punctured. But
the Master did not come. A beggar came, and Conrad gave him a pair of shoes. An
old woman came bent from the weight of a heavy burden. He lifted the load off
her back and refreshed her with food. And finally, just before the day was about
to fade away into darkness, a little child came. Her eyes were wet with tears,
and in pity Conrad led her back to her mother. But the divine guest never came:
Then soft in the silence a voice he heard "Lift up your heart, for I kept My
word. Three times I came to your friendly door; Three times my shadow was on
your floor. I was the beggar with bruised feet, I was the woman you gave to eat,
I was the child in the homeless street." "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one
of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me" (Matthew 25:40).

Giving to God Years ago it was the custom for the people to bring their gifts to
the front of the church. A well-known preacher was making an appeal to the
people to give for a good cause. Many came to present their offerings of love.
Among them was a little crippled girl who hobbled along at the end of the line.
Pulling a ring from her finger, she placed it on the table and made her way back
up the aisle. After the service an usher was sent to bring her to the preacher's
study. The preacher said, "My dear, I saw what you did. It was beautiful. But
the response of the people has been so generous that we have enough to take care
of the need. We don't feel right about keeping your treasured ring, so we have
decided to give it back to you." To his surprise the little girl vigorously
shook her head in refusal. "You don't understand," she said. "I didn't give my
ring to you, I gave it to God!" Lovely. "Each one must do as he has made up his
mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2
Corinthians 9:7).

Success Henry Ford once said, "Success is not rare. It is common. Very few miss
a measure of it. It is not a matter of luck or of contesting, for certainly no
success can come from preventing the success of another. It is a matter of
adjusting one's efforts to overcome obstacles, and adjusting one's abilities to
give the service needed by others. There is no other possible success. Most
people think of it in terms of getting; success, however, begins in terms of
giving."

Hard Work Appreciated! A traveler had heard so much of the wonderful chimes of
St. Nicholas in Amsterdam, that one day he went up into the tower of the church
to hear them. There he found a man hard at work before an immense keyboard,
thumping and pounding the keys. The traveler was almost deafened by the harsh
discordant clangor of the bells above his head, and hurried away wondering why
people talked so much of the beautiful chimes of St. Nicholas. The next day at
the same hour he was in a distant part of the city sightseeing, when suddenly
the air was filled with the mellow music of marvelously clear and full-toned
bells. "We hear the chimes of St. Nicholas," said the guide in answer to his
question, and the man wondered no longer why travelers spoke enthusiastically of
their melody. But he thought of the man in the tower, and wondered if he ever
knew how beautiful his hard work became in the distance.

Unexpected Rewards Three deer hunters from the city stopped at a humble farm
dwelling and asked permission to stay there during deer season. The farmer and
his wife graciously received them, and though crippled with arthritis, the
farmer showed them some good deer haunts. Tired and hungry after an exciting day
in the woods, they did justice to the piping hot meal that awaited them. When
each hunter had his deer, they made ready to leave. "Now, what do we owe you?"
they asked. "Not a penny!" exclaimed the farm couple. Then they went on to say,
"We have enjoyed your stay here. Come again!" A few weeks later, two trucks
drove into the farmyard. An electrician explained to them that he was sent to
wire their buildings; the plumber in the other truck assured the surprised
couple that they would soon have plenty of hot water in a sparkling bathroom and
at the kitchen sink. The three deer hunters had shown their appreciation this
way for having had the privilege of staying there during the hunting season. The
grateful recipients learned that their heavenly Father had a way to reward them
for giving of their time and means. You can't outgive God!

Think of Another's Circumstance "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do
good unto all" (Galatians 6:10). "Auntie, you are putting some of your choicest
rose bushes away in the backyard!" "Yes," answered Auntie, "and I am going to
put some geraniums and pinks and other lovely flowers which will bloom all
summer out there, too. I know they seem to be out of sight, but there is a woman
who sits and sews day after day, week in and week out, at the upstairs windows
in the dingy house opposite, and I'm fixing that corner for her."

Heaven Notices a Penny It was Christmas time, and the bell tinkled. Many people
had passed by the Salvation Army kettle on the busy corner. Then a small boy-six
perhaps-looked into the kettle and asked, "Mister, what is that money for?" The
tall man ringing the bell leaned over and quietly replied, "It is for girls and
boys like you. But they are children that need food and clothing and toys for
Christmas. The money will buy those things. Do you see?" The tiny lad with face
aglow plunged his hand deep into his pocket. Then, reenacting the Miracle of
Christmas, he placed his gift-a penny-in the kettle with the rest. "Only a
penny?" you say. But it was a gift straight from a little boy's heart. If it did
not go unnoticed on the busy street corner, surely it did not go unnoticed in
heaven.

Rockefeller's Testimony "Yes, I tithe," said John D. Rockefeller, Sr., "and I
would like to tell you how it all came about. I had to begin work as a small boy
to help support my mother. My first wages amounted to $1.50 per week. The first
week after I went to work, I took the $1.50 home to my mother, and she held the
money in her lap and explained to me that she would be happy if I would give a
tenth to the Lord. "I did, and from that week until this day I have tithed every
dollar God has entrusted to me. And I want to say, if I had not tithed the first
dollar I made I would not have tithed the first million dollars I made. Train
the children to tithe, and they will grow up to be faithful stewards of the
Lord."

He Gives Songs in the Night C. H. Spurgeon once heard that in a certain part of
England one could hear nightingales sing more beautifully than anywhere else. He
journeyed there to hear for himself. He secured a room in the inn and was told,
"As it begins to get dark, look out on the thorn bush. You will see the
nightingale. You will hear his song." But toward evening it turned cold and
started to rain. Spurgeon despaired. Suddenly, he heard the beautiful, thrilling
song of the nightingale, clear and sweet. He looked out the window. There
perched in the thorn bush, with a cold rain pelting down, the little bird was
lifting its voice in a truly beautiful song. He said, "It was so sweet and so
beautiful that I do not expect to hear anything so thrilling until I hear the
angels sing." Then he mused. "The God of the nightingale is the God whom I
serve. In spite of darkness, cold, rain, or thorns-He can also give me songs in
the night." When Longing for Quiet, Think of Jesus Five girls took advantage of
their graduation and went together on a vacation. It was a lovely break from the
constant crowds with whom they had to mix. "I dearly love my work," said one of
them, "but sometimes it seems to me I would give anything to get away from
people awhile. I never have a quiet moment to myself. There is always someone
who wants to see me. Do the rest of you ever feel that way?" "Oh, yes," said
one; and, "Yes," sighed another, "I feel as though I would like to go off to a
desert island where I would not see a soul." Then a girl by the name of Mary
spoke. "I know just how you feel. I have felt the same way. But when it seems to
me I cannot stand it any longer I think of how the throngs followed Jesus, yet
He never turned away. He must have been very weary at times, but He was never
impatient with the crowd. That thought has helped me so often." A Better Kind of
Indian Giver An Indian one day asked Bishop Whipple to give him two one-dollar
bills for a two-dollar note. When asked why, the Indian replied, "One dollar for
me to give to Jesus, and one dollar for my wife to give." The Bishop asked him
if it was all the money he had. He said, "Yes." The Bishop was about to tell him
it was too much, when an Indian clergyman who was standing by whispered, "It
might be too much for a white man to give, but not too much for an Indian who
has this year heard for the first time of the love of Jesus."

Serious Commitment A lovely story is told of the saintly Frances Ridley Havergal
who wrote the lines we so often sing without due seriousness and commitment:
Take my silver and my gold, Not a mite would I withhold. It is a matter of
record that this hymn was autobiographical. Frances Ridley Havergal did what she
sang. In her writings is this personal testimony: "'Take my silver and my
gold'now means shipping off all my ornaments-including a jewel cabinet which is
really fit for a countess-to the Church Missionary Society. I don't think I need
to tell you I never packed a box with such pleasure." This was giving with
hilarity!

Timing Counts Timing counts, too, so our obedience must be prompt. A businessman
went to a missionary society with $280 toward sending a new recruit overseas. He
was told that he was too late. They had just canceled her passage for lack of
the money. In tears he then confessed, "God told me to give it some days ago,
but I delayed."

Reward of Giving When we stand before the judgment seat of Christ to render an
account of our stewardship, we will fervently regret giving so little, since it
is inescapably true that what we spend we lose; what we keep will be left to
others; what we give away will remain forever ours.

Make a Better Day Little things make a better day: Being grateful for another
morning by being cheerful on the outside even though you might be in physical
pain on the inside. Writing a little note of encouragement, congratulations,
appreciation, sympathy or condolence to someone needing a little uplift. A visit
to a sick friend-but don't stay too long. A telephone call to a lonesome friend.
Give a gift to someone. Have a kind and warm greeting for a little child or an
elderly person. Stop and enjoy the flowers. Get some little thing done that you
have been putting off. Admit a mistake to yourself and resolve not to make it
again. Show kindness to animals. Move close to your family. Explore the
satisfaction of courtesy. Be able to go to sleep at the end of the day with the
feeling that you have been a more considerate person today than you were
yesterday. All these add to the sweetness and smoothness of life. They bring us
to pleasant communion with others, nurture friendships, and prevent the
interference of those petty sophistications and elaborate etiquettes that keep
us apart from others. Though small, they create a beneficent radiation which
enriches us and contributes to our own ennoblement. They enhance a tender
inclination for the pleasantness that comes with the satisfaction of having done
good. They strengthen the soul. They make a good day because they make us better
persons. A Love Thing A Christmas candle is a love thing; It makes no noise at
all, But softly gives itself away; While quite unselfish, it grows small.

More Than a Tithe On his tenth birthday, a sensitive boy received 10 shiny
silver dollars from a thoughtful uncle. The child was very appreciative. He
immediately sat down on the floor and spread the coins before him. Then he began
to plan how to use the money. He set aside the first dollar saying, "This one is
for Jesus." He then went on to decide what to do with the second, and so on
until he came to the last dollar. "This one is for Jesus," he said. The boy's
mother interrupted, "But I thought you gave the first dollar to Jesus." "I did,"
the boy replied. "The first one really belongs to Him, but this one is a gift to
Him from me."

Repaying When we think of reciprocating, too many of us think in terms of
repaying our benefactor. Perhaps recalling an occasion in the life of D. L.
Moody will give us a different perspective. Once, when Mr. Moody was in New
York, he was helped tremendously by R. K. Remington. As he was leaving on the
train, Mr. Moody grasped his friend by the hand and said, "If you ever come to
Chicago, call on me and I will try to return your kindness." Mr. Remington
replied, "Don't wait for me; do it to the first man that comes along."

God's Bigger Shovel A farmer was known for his generous giving, but his friends
could not understand how he could give so much away and yet remain so
prosperous. One day a spokesman for his friends said, "We can't understand you.
You give far more than the rest of us and yet you always seem to have more to
give." "Oh, that is easy to explain," the farmer said. "I keep shoveling into
God's bin and God keeps shoveling into mine, but God has the bigger shovel!"
Here was a man whose ethics of giving were controlled by the power of an
indwelling Lord.

Lincoln, a Boy and an Orange "I was eight years old when my father took me with
him to Washington," said a man who was later prominent in national life. "It was
during the darkest hours of the Civil War. "We were walking on the street when a
tall, thin man with very long legs, loose clothes and a frowning, wrinkled face,
came striding toward us. His eyes were fixed on the pavement. His lips were
moving. I remember thinking how cross he looked and what long strides he took,
making his coattails flop about his legs. "But I was more interested in watching
a ragged little urchin between us, standing on the curb, his big eyes fixed on a
pile of oranges in a vendor's cart. The vendor's back was turned while he made
change for a customer. "The tall man passed the boy at the same time we did. He
stopped suddenly, plunged a hand into his pocket, bought a big orange, gave it
to the boy, and went on. "The boy was grinning and had already set his teeth in
the orange, much to my envy, when my father asked him whether he knew who gave
it to him. He shook his head, his teeth going deeper into the orange. "'That was
President Lincoln, lad,'my father said, 'Hurry and thank him.' "The boy ran,
caught the flopping coat, and as the stern face turned sharply, he called,
'Thank you, Mr. President Lincoln!' "Suddenly the face was transformed as I have
never seen a face since then. A beautiful smile covered it, making it what has
ever since seemed to me one of the handsomest faces I have ever seen. A voice
which thrills me yet said: 'You're welcome, boy. You wanted to steal it while
the man wasn't looking, didn't you? But you wouldn't because it wasn't honest.
That's the right way. I wish some men I know were like you.'" A Coat for Christ
"He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath
meat, let him do likewise." It was a wild, wintry night. The temperature had
dived to a polar position. Winds rose in shrieking crescendos and lashed the
country with lethal blasts. But the Czar's interests must be protected. A
Russian soldier must patrol between two sentry boxes even on such a night.
Poorly clad, the miserable man marched from one post to the other, shivering and
chilled. Then it began to snow. Before long the hills which surrounded that
frozen, forsaken place were covered with snow. The sentry was wrapped in the
vicious embrace of a fierce, freezing blizzard. Then a poor peasant happened to
pass nearby on his way home. Answering the soldier's challenge, he identified
himself and secured permission to proceed. But the peasant pitied the sentry.
"You are cold and must patrol all night," he said kindly. "I am only a short
distance from my cottage. Here, wear my coat tonight. You can return it to me in
the morning." The soldier gladly accepted the proffered wrap. But even the heavy
borrowed coat could not keep out the cold which seeped through the sentry like
poison. No wrap seemed warm enough on that night to fend off the icy fingers of
death. The next morning his comrades discovered the soldier frozen in the field.
The peasant never recovered his coat. But he did see it again. A long time
afterwards, when the peasant himself lay on his deathbed, he dreamed that Jesus
appeared to him. "You are wearing my coat, Lord," the dying man said,
recognizing the wrap he had loaned to the sentry. "Yes," answered Jesus. "This
is the coat you loaned to me that frightful night when I was on duty and you
passed by." "But Lord," objected the peasant, "You were not that soldier!" "No,"
replied Jesus in the dream. "But inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the
least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto me. I was naked and ye clothed
me!"

Thankfulness Comes From the Heart A young girl sat at the counter of an ice
cream store. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" she asked. "Fifty cents," the
waitress said with hardly a glance at the child. The girl opened her fist and
looked at her coins. She asked, "How much is a dish of just plain ice cream?"
Annoyed, the waitress snapped, "Thirty-five cents!" The girl counted out 35
cents and handed it to the waitress. "I'll take the plain ice cream." The
waitress took the money without a word and brought the ice cream. After the
small customer had eaten and left, the waitress, cleaning up, suddenly flushed
with shame. There, placed neatly beside the dish were two nickels and five
pennies-her tip. The Uncommitted Christian Two close friends, a Jew and a
Christian, often discussed their religions. Finally they decided to visit each
other's place of worship. They went to the synagogue first. The time for the
offering came and the Jew took a check out of his pocket and placed it in the
offering plate. The Christian was very inquisitive so he moved about until he
could see the amount of the check. It was for $27.50. He immediately turned to
his Jewish friend and said, "Abe, is this your weekly or your monthly offering?"
Abe turned to his Christian friend and said, "Why, don't you know I am an
orthodox Jew and the Old Testament tells me that I should give one tenth of all
that I make to the Lord? I thought you Christians did exactly the same thing."
"Oh, no," the Christian replied. "Don't you know that we have been emancipated
from the law and we are now under grace. We are free people; we are not bound by
this law or any other." "And what do you do when it comes to your offerings to
the church?" "Oh, Abe, that is simple. At the end of the week, we just give what
is left over." "Really?" Abraham answered with surprise, "You almost persuade me
to become a Christian."

Gain by Giving On a farm in New York state is a pond and a little brook. When I
last saw them, it was in the rainy season, and both were full to the brim with
clean, pure water. It is in the dry season the difference in their natures shows
up. The stream, constantly flowing to water the banks all along its course,
still keeps pure and sparkling; it continues to draw from the underground
springs at its source and to give freely as it goes along. The pond, neither
receiving nor giving, hoards its precious moisture only to have its waters
become foul and stagnant. It is the same lesson our Lord was trying to teach His
disciples: We gain by giving and lose by keeping. After sharing the mercy of God
and thus maintaining and increasing our own purity, we receive the peace of God
in such abundance that it overflows to all around us.

Willing to Give All I Don't Have A new convert declared his determination to
give all that he had for the Master. He said, "Pastor, if I had fifty pigs, I'd
give twenty-five of them to the Lord." "That's very nice," said the pastor. "If
you had thirty would you give fifteen to the Lord?" "Of course I would," said
the new Christian. "If you had ten would you give five of them?" asked the
pastor again. "You know I would," he answered. Then the pastor said, "If you had
two, would you give one to the Lord?" "Now Pastor, don't ask me that. You know I
have only two pigs." A "Nickel" Heart "Ah!" said a woman who in her poverty had
done much for Christ and who had a great sum willed to her, "I cannot do as much
as I used to do." "But how is that?" someone asked. Said she, "When I had a
nickel purse I had a silver heart, but now I have a silver purse and I have only
a nickel heart." A Drop in the Bucket Let's not refuse to give the little we
have; God will multiply it. I remember an elderly man who was giving very
little, but it was truly sacrificial. He had a younger friend who was always
making fun of him. "Such need in the world, and yet you think that with your few
dollars you will make a difference! Old friend, what you give is only a drop in
the bucket." But the old man with rejoicing in his face turned to his friend and
said, "Yes, all that God expects of me is my drop and He will see to the filling
of the bucket."




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  CHAPTER 53: GOD
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God Where Was God? When a father received word that his son, a brilliant lad,
had been killed in a railway accident, he turned to his pastor and cried in
desperation, "Tell me, sir, where was God when my son was killed?" And in that
tense and terrible moment guidance was given to the counseling pastor. "My
friend," said he, "God was just where He was when His own Son was killed!"

How Can I Love God Whom I Have Not Seen? Unseen, yet loved. A kind mother had
one day been talking with her little girl about the duty of loving God. The
child replied, "Mother, I have never seen God; how can I love Him?" The mother
made no answer then. A few days after, she received a package from a friend who
lived a great way off; and in the package was a beautiful picture-book for the
little girl. The child took the book and was for some time entirely engrossed in
looking at the pictures, but soon she exclaimed, "Oh, mother! How I do love the
good lady that sent me this book!" "But you never saw her, my dear," said the
mother. "No," answered the child; "but I love her because she sent me this
beautiful present." "My child," said the mother, "you told me the other day that
you could not love God because you have never seen Him. And yet you love this
kind lady whom you have never seen, because she has given you a present. Now you
have all around you the presents which God has given you. Why can't you love Him
for His presents?" A Close-Up or an Overall View? We are not able to comprehend
the big beautiful picture that God is creating in our lives. Reinhold Messner
was a skilled mountain climber who was recognized as the best in the world. He
was one of two men who first climbed Mount Everest without using bottled oxygen.
Messner then decided that doing it with a partner was not good enough, so he
went back and did it alone. He was asked, as most mountain climbers are, "Why do
you do it?" He replied, "Because at the top all the lines converge." Even though
we may not always have the "view from the top," it is a great encouragement to
know that God does! He is sovereign! He has said, "I am the Lord. I do not
change!" (Malachi 3:6). Because He sees the "overall picture," He is worthy of
our trust!

We Can't Do without Him There comes a time in the lives of believers and
unbelievers alike when God seems expendable. Noting that things are going along
quite well, man, including Christian man, feels quite willing to go it alone.
Man, no matter how powerful, can be humbled by the weather-by the falling snow,
as Napoleon discovered when he invaded Russia, or by the lack of rain or excess
of it, or by an unusually bitter winter. Whenever natural catastrophe struck,
the spiritual leaders of our Pilgrim forebears used the pulpits of New England
to remind the people that God was at work behind every catastrophe, and that He
still spoke not only by the still, small voice but also by the thunder, the
snow, the hail, the absence of rain, and if necessary even by death. The Pharaoh
was given sign after sign by God, and one after the other the signs were
ignored. It was not until the tenth sign came that the Pharaoh let God's people
go. Have we, too, hardened our hearts against God's message?

Watermelon Seed William Jennings Bryan got more than refreshment from a piece of
watermelon: "I was eating a piece of watermelon some months ago when I was
struck with its beauty. I took some of the seeds and dried them and weighed
them, and found that it would require some 5,000 seeds to weigh a pound; and
then I applied mathematics to that 40-pound melon. "One of these seeds, put into
the ground, when warmed by the sun and moistened by the rain, takes off its coat
and goes to work; it gathers from somewhere two hundred thousand times its own
weight, and forcing this raw material through a tiny stem, constructs a
watermelon. It ornaments the outside with a covering of green; inside the green
it puts a layer of white, and within the white a core of red, and all through
the red it scatters seeds, each one capable of continuing the work of
reproduction. "Who drew the plan by which that little seed works? Where does it
get its tremendous strength? Where does it find its coloring matter? How does it
collect its flavoring extract? How does it develop a watermelon? "Until you can
explain a watermelon, do not be too sure that you can set limits to the power of
the Almighty and say just what He would do or how He would do it."

Amen! The rabbis of the Talmud teach that "Amen" is an acrostic from the first
letters of the three words, El Melech Ne'eman, meaning the Lord is trustworthy.
"Amen" appears the first time in Numbers 5:22. The Lexicon states that it is an
adverb of confirmation meaning truly, verily, certainly, and so be it. The Name
of God The Hashem ("the Name"-referring to God) for the Jew is the epitome of
Holiness. That is why the devout Jew, when writing, spells God as G-D or Lord as
L-rd, and why he pronounces the name Jehovah by the word Adonsi, or by Hashem
and adds the words, "blessed be He." That is why the sefer scribe, the one
copying the Torah Scroll, will take a new quill pen to write the name of God,
and a new mix of ink. Before he writes that name, he must say, "I intend to
write the name of God." If he does not, the page of the scroll is unfit and must
be discarded. Likewise, if he is interrupted while writing the name or if he
makes a mistake, the page is unfit. The very name of God in the Old Testament
Scriptures is the revelation of God.

Incomprehensible There is a great deal about God that we cannot understand. Who
can understand the Trinity? John Wesley very appropriately said, "Bring me a
worm that can comprehend a man, and then I will show you a man that can
comprehend the Triune God!"

Cast and Carried Henry Moorhouse, when engaged in a work that seemed to call
upon him for a more than usual exercise of faith, received what seems like a
most tender answer from God. His little daughter, who was a paralytic, was
sitting in her chair as he entered the house with a package in his hand for his
wife. Going up to her and kissing her, he asked, "Where is Mother?" "Mother is
upstairs." "Well, I have a package for her." "Let me carry the package to
Mother." "Why, Minnie, dear, how can you carry the package? You cannot carry
yourself." With a smile on her face, Minnie said, "Oh, no, Papa; but you give me
the package, and I will carry the package, and you will carry me." Taking her up
in his arms, he carried her upstairs-little Minnie and the package, too. And
then it came to him that this was just his position in the work in which he was
engaged. He was carrying his burden, but was not God carrying him? "Cast"
(Psalms 55:22). "Carry" (Isaiah 46:4).

Answer to Agnostics Some people pride themselves on being agnostics. That is,
they say that religious teachings are very well for those who care to be so
stupid that they want to believe in God and heaven, something they cannot see.
The agnostics, however, pride themselves on believing only those things which
they can prove and understand. This reminds me of a story. "I will not believe
anything that I do not understand," said a man in a hotel one day. "Neither will
I," said another. "Nor will I," said a third. "Gentlemen," said one who sat
close by, "on my ride this morning I saw some geese in a field eating grass. Do
you believe that?" "Certainly," said one of the three listeners. "I saw the pigs
eating grass. Do you believe that?" "Of course," said the three. "I also saw
sheep and cows eating grass. Do you believe that?" "Of course," was again the
reply. "Well, the grass turned to feathers on the backs of the geese, to
bristles on the backs of the swine, to white wool on the sheep, and to hair on
the cow; do you believe that, gentlemen?" "Certainly," they replied. "But do you
understand it?"

He Raised His Son Pliny the Elder was a Roman writer who lived during the same
time period as Jesus. He told a story of the setting of an obelisk, which when
erect would stand 99 feet tall. Twenty-thousand workers were chosen to pull on
the ropes and activate the hoisting apparatus. There was great responsibility
and risk in the operation. Just one error could cause the obelisk to fall,
ruining years of work. The King demanded one act which insured the complete
attention and best direction of the engineer. He ordered the engineer's own son
to be strapped to the apex of the obelisk, so that his heart as well as his head
would be given to the task. One day on Calvary, God's only begotten Son was
raised before a sinful, jeering crowd, as the Father watched intently from
heaven. The heart and mind of God were directed toward Jesus on the day our Lord
was raised. There, above the heads of mankind, Jesus hung in death so that we
might know eternal life. Remember Jesus' words: "I, when I am lifted up from the
earth, will draw all men to Myself" (John 12:32). Jesus was raised for you and
me!

He Removes Kings and Raises Up Kings Daniel said it long ago. It is God who
"removes kings and raises up kings." (Daniel 2:21). This was the way Daniel
stated the truth that God is the One who controls and rules the world. Regarding
Jesus, John said that He is now "King of kings and Lord of lords." Yet it still
surprises us when faced with the reality of God's control. We don't like what we
cannot easily explain. If we cannot say exactly how God does something, we are
at a loss. It's time we accept the vantage point of many Bible writers when they
could not explain, but they could declare the power of God. November 9, 1989
stands as a testimony to the rule of God. That's the day the Berlin Wall fell.
No one saw it coming; no political leader, no social scientist, no church leader
saw what was happening. It shocked the world. No one can explain how it came
about. Then nation after nation of Eastern Europe eliminated Communism as
master. Is it answered prayer? Yes! Is it God's work? Yes! He now gives the
church an open door. Do we believe He can get us through the door? A Father's
Love Would you like to marry someone whom your parents chose for you? Dr. Joyce
Hardin in her book, Three Steps Behind, recounts a conversation with a Korean
young lady. Dr. Hardin expressed surprise at the custom of arranged marriages
and questioned how a woman could ever marry a person whom her father picked out.
The Korean replied that her father loved her and knew her better than she knew
herself. She was convinced that her father would never do anything to harm her
and would make only the best choice for her. Besides, she added, she had the
right to reject his choice, but doubted that she would. Are we willing to trust
God as much as some trust their parents? If we are willing to completely
surrender ourselves to Him we can believe that He will give us what is the very
best for us (Romans 8:28). What more comfort could we ask than to believe that
even when we do not understand life's happenings, we can know that our Father
loves us? Which God Are You Banking On? One day a brother was in a strange part
of town and in somewhat of a rush. He needed to get some money from his bank, so
he obtained directions to one of its branches-one he had never been to before.
The brother followed the advice, and sure enough there was a bank right across
the street from the big store he was told to seek. He rushed in and handed over
his book and other forms to the smiling teller. "I'm sorry, sir. I can't accept
this," she said. "Why not? I am sure it is all in order. I wrote it out very
carefully," he countered. "I am sure you did, but this is not our bank. The one
you want is across the street." Shamefaced, he retreated to the other bank, the
right one, which was also across the street from the big store, only on the
other side. In a similar way, how many people rush to a god, any god, seeking
comfort, solace or salvation, only to find that it is not the God, our heavenly
Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit? One may rectify going to the
wrong bank, but one cannot recover from banking on the wrong god. When Life
Caves In John Newton signed on with a slave ship leaving from Africa with its
"cargo." He was an experienced sailor and navigator, but his cursing and
blaspheming turned hardened sailors' ears red. Soon the ship was caught in a
horrible storm and was taking in water. The crew had to pump 24 hours a day to
stay afloat. But the constant wind rocked the boat so dangerously that the
sailors had to tie themselves to the deck to keep from being swept overboard. At
one point, several of the crew tried to throw Newton overboard. They figured
that God was punishing him like Jonah of the Old Testament. The captain declared
that the only way the ship would make it in to safe harbor was by God's power.
He commanded everyone-including Newton-to pray. "God, if You're true," Newton
prayed earnestly, "make good your Word. Cleanse my vile heart." After four weeks
of storms and constant brushes with death, the ship limped into an Irish port.
John Newton, former "free thinker," former slave trader and atheist, declared
his faith in Jesus. He became a well-known preacher and writer. In fact, we
chiefly know him as the author of the hymn "Amazing Grace."

God Gave a Son One time during World War II, a mother and her small son were
walking down a street in the evening. The little boy noticed the little flags in
the windows with stars on them and asked what they were. His mother explained
that the people in those homes had given a son in the war. He saw two and even
three in some windows. He suddenly noticed the first evening star and said,
"Mommy, God must have given a son, too."

What the World Cannot Steal From the Christian A missionary returned to the
little village which had been destroyed by the enemies of the gospel. He found
the people weeping over the ashes which were previously their thatched roofs.
One of the natives said to him, "They even burned my Bible and my hymn book!"
And then in the ruins he saw a little white paper not totally burned. He picked
it up and read it. The only thing that remained was "Joy to the World, the Lord
is come." He stopped for a moment and then he said, "That's enough for me."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 54: GOD: CREATOR
========================================================================

God: Creator

Tracks of God "Father," said Thomas, looking up from his studies. "How do you
know there is a God?" "Why do you ask that question? Do you doubt the existence
of God?" asked the father. "Well, I heard one of the professors say that we
could not be sure that there is a God. Is there any way really to know?" "Well,
my boy. Do you remember the other day that you were laughing about Robinson
Crusoe's dismay at discovering that there were other persons on the island
beside himself? How did he discover them? Did he see them? No, he discovered one
track of a bare foot in the sand, and he knew that it could not be his own. He
knew that only a human being could have made it, and he knew that whoever made
it could not be far off, for the tide had not yet reached it. All those things
he knew to be true, although he had not seen a human being within miles of the
island. And the knowledge was all gained from a mark in the sand. "If one print
of a bare foot in the sand is absolute proof of the existence and presence of a
human being, what are we to suppose when we see the prints of the Master's shoe,
as Bunyan calls it, covering the whole wide world? We see on mountain and valley
the print of the fingers of God. We see a million plants and flowers and trees
that only God could make grow. We see all the rivers and the springs of the
world fed from invisible specks of atmospheric moisture. What do all those
things mean-those millions upon millions of footprints on the clay of the world?
They mean God living, present, ruling, and loving! They mean God and nothing
else!"

God's Existence Imagine a family of mice who live all their lives in a large
piano. To them in their piano-world came the music of the instrument, filling
all the dark spaces with sound and harmony. At first the mice were impressed by
it. They drew comfort and wonder from the thought that there was Someone who
made the mu sic-invisible to them-yet close to them. They loved to think of the
Great Player whom they could not see. Then one day a daring young mouse climbed
up part of the piano and returned very thoughtful. He had found out how the
music was made. Wires were the secret; tightly stretched wires of graduated
lengths which trembled and vibrated. They must revise all their old beliefs:
none but the most conservative could any longer believe in the Unseen Player.
Later, another explorer carried the explanation further. Hammers were now the
secret, numbers of hammers dancing and leaping on the wires. This was a more
complicated theory, but it all went to show that they lived in a purely
mechanical and mathematical world. The Unseen Player came to be thought of as a
myth. But the Pianist continued to play.

Teaching Existence of God-Garden-Creator A Scotch philosopher wanted to teach
his five-year-old son about God. He went into his garden alone and with his
finger traced out the lad's name. He planted cress and mustard seed in the
outline. About 10 days later the lad came running to his father crying, "My name
is coming up in the garden." His father said, "Nonsense! It can't be!" They went
to the garden, and his father said, "Oh, that must just have happened." "No,
no," said the boy, "somebody must have planted it." So the lad learned his first
lesson about the Creator.

Properly Equipped An example from the animal world shows how God makes provision
for stability in the most difficult circumstances. In bold defiance of gravity,
the mountain goats that live from the Northwest United States through Canada
into Alaska demonstrate incredible stability in the most difficult of terrains.
They leap surefootedly from ledge to ledge and scamper around steep, rugged
mountainsides with the utmost confidence. Unusually flexible, the two toes of
the goat's hoof can spread apart wider than the hoof is long to distribute the
animal's grip. Or they can draw together to grasp a knob of rock. The goat also
has a rough, pliable traction pad on the bottom of each toe which makes them
skid-resistant on ice. Dewclaws projecting from the rear of the ankles provide
additional traction on steep, downhill routes. Just as God makes provision in
the animal world for creatures to stand with stability in the most difficult
terrain, He will surely make provision for His redeemed children to stand in the
most difficult spiritual circumstances. He can and will stabilize you in the
midst of insuperable difficulty.

It Is All Part of a Plan A medical student had a hard time accepting that the
whole world and even Christ's birth was part of a plan. One day this lady
medical student said, "I was working on an arm and hand, studying the perfect
mechanical arrangements of the muscles and tendons-how the sheaths of certain
muscles are split to let tendons of certain muscles through, so that the hand
may be delicate and small and yet powerful. I was all alone in the laboratory
when the overwhelming belief came. A thing like this is not just chance, but a
part of a plan, a plan so big that only God could have conceived it. "Religion
had been to me a matter of form, a thing without conviction. Now everything was
an evidence of God-the tendons of the hand, the patterns of the little
butterfly's wings-all was part of a purpose." The Psalmist wrote, "I am
fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works" (Psalms 139:14). But,
has there ever been a better plan for the salvation of man than for Jesus coming
into the world to save sinners? It was not a matter of chance, it was all
planned and executed at the right time.

How Great Thou Art! A few years ago, Joseph M. Stowell and his wife had the joy
of teaching the Word of God in Hawaii. It was February, which happens to be when
the humpback whales arrive. Humpback whales are about 40 feet long at maturity
and weigh about one ton per foot. They carry a thousand pounds of barnacles, and
when they jump, or "breach," they extend themselves totally in the air, and then
free-fall back into the ocean. You can see the splash five miles away. During
the Stowell's stay, they went out on a whale-watching boat. As they watched the
whales jump and play almost within reach, the guide told them that the whales
come down from Alaska every year to calve in the warm Hawaiian waters. Year
after year, each family comes back to the very same place around the island.
When the calves are born (they weight about five tons), they are born breech-or
tail first. If they were born head first, these air-breathing mammals would
drown during the birth process. As a baby whale is born, another humpback whale
comes alongside and pushes it up to the surface to help the baby take his first
breath of air. The guide also said that the humpback whale sings a "song" that
can be heard more than 50 miles away under water. Every one of these whales
sings the same song. Each year, the song changes slightly, and every humpback
whale in the world will sing that year's song. Amazing! Incredible! What a
display of the wonderful creative power of our God!

Design in Creation The seal of the Designer is stamped upon all His created
works, and it is a seal that cannot be obliterated. Design in creation is
indelible like the watermark in paper. Scripture infers that the hand of the
Designer is to be seen in all His works. "He is the Rock, His work is perfect:
for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and
right is He" (Deuteronomy 32:4). "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of
His hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the
earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a
balance" (Isaiah 40:12)? According to the latter verse, the waters, the heaven
above, and the dust of the earth (matter, or the chemical elements) are
measured. God has infinitely measured all the works of His hands. Number is the
underlying principle of nature. There are no created works without the numbers
inherent in them. God has measured the waters. The Word of God was not given to
teach science primarily, but some of its statements anticipate scientific
discoveries, and wherever the Scripture statements touch upon science they are
accurate. Every drop of water in the universe is a mathematical equation.
Science tells us that water is the combination of two gases, hydrogen and
oxygen. Two parts of hydrogen to one of oxygen meet to form water. It is
measured. It is not an accident. It does not just happen so. Our universe is an
orderly universe, and every drop of water reveals the hand of the Designer.

Seeing God in Nature A Christian was invited to admire a great skyscraper. After
looking at its majestic height, he called his host's attention to a little
flower that he had on his lapel, saying, "True, this building speaks of man's
achievement, but this flower with its life speaks of God's creation. I can see
God more clearly in the flower than in the skyscraper." A Doctor's Testimony
Here is the testimony of a medical doctor: "In an anatomy room, a dead body
meant nothing to me. I could not visualize the man or woman it might have been.
Life left few records on the immobile face. For weeks I worked, and each day the
wonder grew. Then one day I was working on an arm and hand, studying the perfect
mechanical arrangements of the muscles and tendons, how the sheaths of certain
muscles are split to let tendons of other muscles through, so that the hand may
be delicate, small and yet powerful. I was all alone in the laboratory when the
overwhelming belief came: a thing like this is not just chance but a part of a
plan, a plan so big that only God could have conceived it. Religion had been to
me a matter of form, a thing without conviction, but now everything was an
evidence of God-the tendons of the hand, the patterns of the little butterfly's
wings-all are a part of God's wonderful design."

God Gives Life A city missionary visited a poor old woman in an attic room who
had scarcely enough money for her bare existence. He observed a strawberry plant
growing in a broken teapot on the windowsill, and on a subsequent visit remarked
how it continued to grow and with what care it was watched and tended. "Your
plant flourishes nicely; you will soon have strawberries on it." "Oh, sir, it is
not for the sake of the fruit that I prize it. It is a great comfort to have
that plant living, for I know it can only live by the power of God. As I see it
live and grow day by day, it tells me God is near." This lonely Christian wanted
something to remind her constantly that life in its continuance and growth was a
direct result of God's activity.

Consider the Heavens One evening when Napoleon was returning to France from the
expedition to Egypt, a group of French officers entered into a discussion
concerning the existence of God. They were on the deck of the vessel that bore
them over the Mediterranean Sea. Thoroughly imbued with the skeptical and
atheistical spirit of the times, they were unanimous in their denial of God. It
was decided to ask the opinion of Napoleon, who was standing alone wrapped in
silent thought. On hearing the question, "Is there a God?" he raised his hand
and pointing to the starry firmament simply responded, "Gentlemen, who made all
that?" The Wonderful Recreation John Ruskin was walking along the streets of
London one rainy day when he noticed the great quantities of mud at his feet.
The thought occurred to him that it would be interesting to have the mud
analyzed to find out exactly what inorganic elements were in it. This was
accordingly done, and it was found that London mud consisted of sand, clay,
soot, and water. He was struck by the fact that these are the very substances
from which our precious jewels and gems are formed. From the sand come the onyx,
agate, beryl, jasper, amethyst; from the clay come the sapphire, ruby, emerald,
topaz; and from the soot, the diamond. London mud composed of precious jewels!
Man cannot transform the mud into those glittering points of light, but God
transforms and recreates the mud-poor, sinful, wayward humanity-into redeemed
souls who sing a new song and carry with them glad tidings of great joy!

Follow the Architect's Plan Beecher, that great preacher, once said, "If the
architect of a house had one plan and the contractor had another, what conflicts
would there be! How many walls would have to come down, how many doors and
windows would need to be altered before the two could harmonize! Of the building
of life, God is the architect, and man is the contractor. God has one plan, and
man has another. Is it strange that there are clashings and collisions?" How
much better if the contractor follows the Architect's plan. How wonderful for
man to accept God's will for his life without any questioning whatsoever. Who
Made You? "Who made you?" someone once asked a little girl. She replied, "God
made me that much," indicating with her two hands the ordinary size of a newborn
infant, "and I growed the rest myself." The little girl said this in her
simplicity. Profound thinking must surely lead us to the same conclusion-that
God made us for He made all things. But we may be tempted to think that we have
done a great deal ourselves, not acknowledging even God's providential care.

God, the Creator A businessman once gave the reasons why he knew there was a
God. He had been earnestly considering the wonders of the stars and planets,
their system and order. Then he said, "It takes a girl in our factory about two
days to learn to put the seventeen parts of a meat chopper together. Some may
believe that these millions of worlds, each with its separate orbit, all
balanced so wonderfully in space-that they just happened; that by a billion
years of tumbling about they finally arranged themselves. I am merely a plain
manufacturer of cutlery. But this I do know, that you can shake the seventeen
parts of a meat chopper around in a washtub for the next seventeen billion years
and you'll never make a meat chopper." Not Mere Chance To think is to grow in
awareness. Think as you look at a flower, a sunset or gaze at the starry sky.
Someone has said that the unbelieving astronomer is mad. "What do you see?" a
friend asked a famous botanist who was scrutinizing a flower. "I see God," was
the reverent answer. A Scottish doctor wrote with his finger in the garden soil
the letters of his little son's name, sowed cress in the furrows, and smoothed
the ground. Ten days later, his son ran to him in astonishment and said that his
name was growing in the garden and insisted on his father seeing it. "Is it not
a mere chance?" asked the father. "No, someone must have arranged it that way."
"Look at yourself," said the doctor. "Consider your hands, finger, legs, feet;
did you come here by chance?" "No, something must have made me." "And who is
that something?" As he did not know, the father told him the name of the great
God who had made him and all the world. He never forgot that lesson.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 55: GOD: FAITHFULNESS
========================================================================

God: Faithfulness Our Father Is Faithful to Deliver Called by God to full-time
Christian service, the man resigned a lucrative job, left a specialized career
of 20 years, and took his family over 2,000 miles to a strange city to enter
seminary. He was able to obtain only part-time employment in his profession and
his annual salary was barely one-third of what he had earned before God called
him. The costs of being in seminary and of keeping his two children in Christian
elementary school became heavier and heavier. When things got too tight he
stayed out a semester, but his children went to school. Finally, his wife, who
had not worked since the first child was born, took a full-time job. All the
while the man's prayer was to share with God his heart's desire that he be given
work in Christian service that would make ends meet while he went to school and
served his Lord Jesus Christ. Though he enjoyed many opportunities to preach and
to minister without pay, full-time Christian work eluded him. He began to seek
full-time employment at secular jobs, but he knew in his heart if he landed one
that probably would be the end of seminary. One day a series of unpredictable
circumstances arose whereby in less than two weeks, without any effort on his
part, the man was in a full-time job utilizing his specific talents, in
full-time Christian service, and with an employer that insisted that he continue
in seminary. God faithfully prepares hearts in times of trial and temptation.
And when His time is right, He delivers.

Never Disappointed A pastor who visited an old man suffering from painful
rheumatism found him with his Bible open in front of him. The minister noticed
that the word "proved" was written repeatedly in the margin. He turned over a
few pages and found, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble." "Proved." And so it went on through the Book. Next to John 1:12 he had
written "Proved." He had received Christ by believing and had indeed become a
child of God. He had proved that promise of God's Word. Millions of other
born-again believers could write "proved" next to this verse. There isn't a
single one who has put this promise of God to the test and been disappointed.

God's Noble Reserve The fact remains that God does keep many secrets, and it
seems to me that there are some secrets that every good government ought to keep
to itself for the good of its citizens. Responsibility demands a certain amount
of reserve. God is certainly responsible and He exercises authority. But He
keeps secrets. These are both for His glory and the glory of those who have
become His children through faith in Christ. This is not understood by
unbelievers, even as some unrealistic citizens do not concede the necessity of a
certain amount of secrecy on the part of their government. Sometimes men
cultivate the habit of concealment so that they may circumvent opposition and
accomplish their own crafty aims more adroitly. This reflects an attitude of
contempt for others. But God's reserve is always noble. It is always in favor of
man. And the mystery of mysteries is that it is both for His glory and the
believer's glory.

Confidence in God All curiosity implies more or less skepticism and mental
uneasiness. If our faith were unlimited, we should not seek to have so many
questions answered. Imagine a physician whose fidelity and skill have inspired
such confidence that, when he is called in, no one ever dreams of asking what
treatment he is adopting or of cautiously checking his diagnosis; or a commander
to whom his chief gives a free hand, not being asked to divulge his plan of
campaign. The man is not yet born who commands that kind of unlimited
confidence. But God demands and deserves this matchless honor. He ordains not a
few of the mysteries that confront us so that we may have occasions for
glorifying Him by our unquestioning trust in His wisdom and goodwill.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 56: GOD: FATHER
========================================================================

God: Father When God Is Our Father A missionary was teaching a Hindu woman the
Lord's Prayer. When he got to the end of the first clause, "Our Father which art
in heaven," she stopped him. "If God is our Father," she said, "that is enough.
There is nothing now to fear." All questioning about God ceases when He becomes
our Father.

Father Is There Many years ago a little boy lay on his small bed, having just
retired for the night. Before going to sleep, he moved in the direction of the
large bed on which his father lay, and said, "Father, are you there?" "Yes, my
son," was the answer. The little boy turned over and went to sleep, without a
thought of harm. Tonight the little boy is an old man of seventy, and every
night before going to sleep, he looks up into the face of the heavenly Father,
and says, "Father, are you there?" And the answer comes back, clear and strong,
"Yes, my son."

God's Correction of Us "Happy is the man whom God correcteth" (Job 5:17). Happy,
because the correction is designed to bring him into paths of blessedness and
peace. Happy, because there is no unnecessary severity in it. Happy, because the
chastisement is not so much against us, as against our most cruel enemies-our
sins. Happy, because we have abundant words of consolation. Happy, because whom
the Lord loveth He chasteneth. Happy, because our light affliction is but for a
moment.

Why Dad Slept in the Attic A minister's son was caught skipping school for three
days. His father reprimanded him and prayed for him and though the boy wept and
was truly contrite, he was still punished. "Son, one of the facts of life is
that where there is sin, there is suffering," the father said. "You have been
living a lie for three days, so for 72 hours I am banning you to the attic, with
a bed and three meals a day, but you must stay up there and make amends," he
charged. The boy did as he was told. When supper was served, the minister prayed
with his wife, but he was restless and could not eat. When it was time to go to
bed he knew he would have no rest. "Honey, I am going upstairs to sleep with our
boy," he told his wife. He found his son wide awake and he hugged him and lay
down beside him. Each night, the father took the place of punishment with his
child. How like our own God, who despite our transgressions loves us enough to
send His Son to be with us, and to die for us.

Seeing and Believing A blind girl, whose eyes had been opened by a surgical
operation, delighted in the sight of her father who had a noble appearance and
presence. His every look and motion were watched by his daughter with the
keenest delight. For the first time his constant tenderness and care seemed real
to her. If he caressed her or even looked upon her kindly, it brought tears of
gladness to her eyes. "To think," she said, holding his hand closely in her own,
"that I have had you for a father all these years, and never really knew you.

Father Revealed by His Son Let's suppose an artist sent you a picture of himself
that he had painted. The picture would tell you something about him, give you a
glimpse of his knowledge and ability. However, if he sent you a long descriptive
letter explaining his innermost thoughts and feelings, you would begin to feel
you really knew him. And finally, if he decided to send to you his son who
possessed the same features as he and was like him in ability and character,
this would reveal the father to you much better. "The only begotten son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" (John 1:18).




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 57: GOD: FORGIVING
========================================================================

God: Forgiving

Death and Taxes It's a flip saying, but true: death and taxes are the two things
we can count on. But there is a difference: we know on what day the taxes fall
due; we can't predict the day of death. We can put money aside to take care of
taxes; but what provision can we make in anticipation of death? If we die before
our taxes are paid, they'll not be forgiven. The government will take them out
of our estate. If we die as unrepentant sinners, our sins will not be forgiven
after death. We'll have to pay the penalty for them hereafter. But there is a
difference: God has made a way of escape for us. He has already paid the penalty
for our sins-yours and mine. All He asks is that you accept what He has done for
you in a true spirit of repentance and faith. The Open Door The story is told of
a girl who turned her back on her widowed mother who had worked so hard to bring
her up, and left home without telling her mother where she was going. Night
after night the mother waited for the girl, but she did not come back. In her
perplexity and sorrow the mother went to her pastor to ask his help. He
suggested that she have some pictures taken of herself and bring them to him,
which she did. Then he asked her what message she wanted to send her lost girl.
In tears the mother said, "All I want to tell her is 'Come back.' " "Write that
on each picture," said the minister, and then he proceeded to send these
pictures to places of amusement in other large towns which he felt the daughter
was most likely to frequent. He requested that the picture be posted on the
bulletin board where it could be easily seen. One night, the daughter came to
one of these places and was attracted by something familiar about the picture on
the bulletin board. Little did she imagine that it could be her mother's
picture. She came closer to it, and there it was-her own mother, looking much
older than when she had left. Then she saw what was written on it, "Come back,"
and knew it was addressed to her. She could not proceed with her plans for that
night. With a heart burning with remorse, she went back to her room, packed her
clothes, and took the first train home. Arriving in the early hours of the
morning, she was surprised to find the door of the little apartment open; in she
went. There was her mother in tears, not sleeping, but sitting up, praying for
her prodigal daughter. She threw her arms around her, and the first thing she
asked when she could speak was, "Mother, why did you leave the door open?" "Oh,
Louise, the door has never been closed since the day you left. I left it open
all the time expecting your return. I didn't want you to find it shut when you
came back."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 58: GOD: GRACIOUSNESS
========================================================================

God: Graciousness

Beggar and Giver Sir Walter Raleigh was continuously submitting requests to
Queen Elizabeth on behalf of convicts. Once the Queen said to him: "Sir Walter,
when will you stop being a beggar?" "When Your Majesty ceases to be a giver,"
was the wise answer. Oh, how wonderful to know that God is the inexhaustible
source of blessing!

Give Thyself First Socrates had a trusted servant who, seeing others giving
presents to his master, came to him one day and said, "Because I have nothing
else to give you, Master, I here give you myself." Socrates saw the earnestness
of the servant and said, "Do so." After bestowing upon him gifts, and advancing
him to the head of his servants, he called him one day and said, "I now give you
back to yourself better than when I received you." God bestows rich spiritual
gifts on the one who gives his life to Him. The King with the Open Hand There is
a legend told of an ancient kingdom whose sovereign had just died, and whose
ambassadors were sent to choose a successor from twin infants. They found the
little fellows fast asleep, and looking at them carefully, agreed that it was
difficult to decide, until they happened to notice one curious small difference
between them. As they lay, one infant had his tiny fists closed tight; the other
slept with his little hands wide open. Instantly they made their selection of
the latter. The legend very properly concludes with the record that, as he grew
up in his station, he came to be known as the King with the Open Hand. We could
say the same thing of our God. His hand is always open to give.

God's Nature A little girl and her mother were reading the New Testament one
morning when they came to John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life." Stopping for a moment in the reading the mother asked,
"Don't you think it is wonderful?" The child, looking surprised, replied in the
negative. The mother, somewhat astonished, repeated the question, to which the
little daughter replied, "Why, no, Mommy, it would be wonderful if it were
anybody else, but it is just like God." The little girl was absolutely right. It
is God's nature to give freely of His grace and of His mercy.

More to Follow A rich man and a poor man were both members of a certain
congregation. The rich man desired to do an act of benevolence, so he sent a sum
of money to a friend, asking him to give it to the poor man as he thought best.
The friend sent him only twenty-five dollars and said in the note: "This is
yours. Use it wisely. There is more to follow." After a while he sent another
twenty-five dollars and said, "More to follow." Again and again, he sent money
to the poor man, always with the cheering words, "More to follow." So it is with
the wonderful grace of God. There is always more to follow. We shall never be
able to exhaust it.

Heaven Is a Part of My Garden A philosopher was asked by a friend to show him
the splendid garden of which he was always boasting. He led him to a bare rocky
space behind his house. "Where is your garden?" the friend asked. "Look up,"
said the philosopher; "heaven is a part of my garden." Every good gift in the
garden really comes from above; should God command the clouds to send no rain,
the earth would soon be like iron. Heaven shields, broods over, and enriches
every fruitful plot of ground. Turn, then, your whole being fully toward the
sunshine of God's grace, and pray that the garden of your soul may always be as
ready to receive heavenly blessing as is the garden around your dwelling. When,
by God's enablement, you become a planter, remember that the seed is God-made,
and when you become a waterer, remember that the water is also God-made.

God's Offer of Grace Picture a table set with delicious food. Hungry people are
gathered around it. God has prepared the food. It is free. If there are some who
sit at this table and do not taste the food, it is their own fault. To be in the
midst of plenty and to go hungry is certainly unreasonable behavior. Yet that is
what is happening all the time. God's bounty is not taken advantage of. God
provides spiritual food, but He will not force it on anyone. Man must reach out
and partake of it.

Bursting Boilers It was in a large prayer meeting that a rather pompous man
arose and said, "Brethren, I am on board the old ship Zion, and I am sailing
heavenward, and I am going at the rate of sixteen knots; I shall soon sail up
the harbor of the blessed." Then another man with more arrogance rose and said,
"I, too, am on board the old ship Zion, and I am sailing heavenward at the rate
of thirty knots; I shall soon sail up the harbor of the blessed," and he sat
down. Then another man with even more arrogance got up and said, "I, too,
brethren, am on board the old ship Zion. It is a steamship with a terrific
horsepower, and on this steamship I shall soon sail up the harbor of the
blessed," and he sat down. Then a plain Christian woman rose and said, "Well,
brethren, I have been going to heaven seventy years, and I have been going
afoot; I suppose from the looks of things that I shall have to go afoot the rest
of the way. If some of you people that are going by steam don't look out, you'll
burst your boilers." As a dear saint of God said, let us make our boasting as
follows: "I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I wish to be, I am not what
I hope to be; but by the grace of God I am not what I was." Never leave the
grace of God out.

God's Grace A convict, who has just finished his term of penal servitude, wishes
to lead an honest life. He comes to a man who has a large jewelry establishment
and who requires a night watchman. He is engaged to watch this building through
the quiet hours of the night when he has everything under his care and every
opportunity to rob his employer. On the first evening, he meets one of his old
companions, who questions him, "What are you doing here?" "I'm the night
watchman." "Over this jeweler's shop?" "Yes." "Does he know what you are?" "No,
keep quiet; if he knew, I should be dismissed." "Suppose I let it out that you
are a returned convict!" "Oh, please don't; it would be my last day here, and I
wish to be honest." "Well, you have to give me some money to keep quiet." "Very
well, but don't let anyone know." Thus the poor man would live in fear, lest it
should come to the ears of his employer what his previous character had been.
Let us suppose, however, that instead of the employer's engaging the man in
ignorance of his character, he went to the convict's cell and said, "Now I know
you-what you are, what you've done, every robbery you've committed, but I am
about to give you a chance of becoming honest. I'll trust you as my night
watchman over my valuable goods." The man is faithful at his post. He meets an
old companion who threatens to inform his employer about his past. He asks,
"What will you tell about me?" "That you were the ringleader of thieves." "Yes,
but my master knows all that; he knows me better than I know myself." Of course,
this silences his companion forever. Jesus Christ is the only Master who is
"full of grace and truth." Jesus Christ is gracious to you and me because He
knows the truth about us, that we deserve nothing but hell. But through His
grace heaven can be our share, if we personally and by faith appropriate His
grace. An Example of Plenty A poor woman who had had a hard struggle to make
ends meet, and knew what it meant to have very little food, was taken on an
outing to the seaside. She was delighted with the scene. As she looked out over
the vast expanse of waters, tears filled her eyes and she exclaimed, "Thank God
for a sight of something there is enough of!" That is how it is with the soul
when it gets its first vision of the infinite fullness of God's grace in Christ.
His grace is quite enough for the soul's every need. The First Step to Heaven
Sometimes I go to the store to buy cheese. Almost invariably I ask for a taste
before I make my purchase, and the grocer very cheerfully gives it to me. Why is
he willing to do this? Because he knows that his cheese is of superior quality.
God does not hesitate to have us taste His grace. He is sure we shall want more
once we have had a sampling of it. Now would it not be stupid of me to stand
before the grocer's counter and, without sampling his cheese say to him, "No, I
don't think I'll take any of your cheese. It is not good." I would have no right
to pronounce an opinion about something of which I have no personal knowledge.
The valid challenge of the grocer is "Taste and see." We have often done that.
We did not want to eat, but we finally decided to take a taste, and then we
wanted to keep on eating. Oh, that initial step, that initial experience is so
important! The first step is most of the way to heaven. Our Gracious Savior
God's attention is attracted by our weakness. A mother responds in exactly the
same way. She loves all her children, but if she has one who is weak and sickly,
while the others are healthy and strong, her care and attention are lavished
upon the one who has most need of her protection, most claim upon her love. Her
other children are able to take care of themselves, but the little delicate one,
whose life hangs almost by a thread, appeals by his very weakness to her
strongest instincts of maternal love. So it is with our gracious Savior. He
loves us, oh, so tenderly because of our very weakness. Not a Rascal by God's
Grace A good Scotsman called to see Rowland Hill, that eminent English clergyman
who did so much for the betterment of his countrymen. Without saying a word, he
sat still for some five minutes looking into Rowland Hill's face. At last Mr.
Hill asked him what held his attention. Said the Scotsman, "I was looking at the
lines of your face." "Well, what do you make out of them?" "Why," said he, "that
if the grace of God hadn't been in you, you would have been the biggest rascal
living!" Do We Question the Blessings? A young girl in an institution for the
handicapped was approached by a well-meaning but tactless woman who wrote on her
slate, "My dear, why are you deaf and dumb?" Tears came into the girl's eyes.
Then, after a pause, taking the pencil and slate she wrote, "Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight." She could very well have asked in turn,
"Why do you hear and speak?" Isn't it strange that we ask all our questions
about life's sufferings and not about its blessings? Do we take it for granted
we deserve them?

Sufficiency of God's Grace A man stood up in a meeting and facing the preacher
who had spoken about the sufficiency of God's grace, said: "You can talk like
that about Christ-that He is dear to you, that He helps you-but if your wife
were dead as my wife is, and you had some babies crying for their mother who
would never come back, you could not say what you are saying." A little later
the preacher lost his wife in an accident. After others had conducted the
funeral service, he stood by the casket, looked down into the face of the silent
wife and mother and said, "The other day when I was preaching, a man said I
could not say Christ was sufficient if my wife were dead and my children were
crying for their mother. If that man is here, I want to tell him that Christ is
sufficient. My heart is broken, my heart is crushed, my heart is bleeding, but
there is a song in my heart, and Christ put it there. And if that man is here, I
tell him though my wife is gone and my children are motherless, Christ comforts
me today." That man was there, and down the aisle he came and stood beside the
casket and said, "Truly, if Christ can help in a time like this, I surrender to
Him." Not Rejected Once a large and beautiful block of marble was brought from
the Greek island of Paros. Out of this marble it was planned to chisel a statue
of the great Napoleon. The famous sculptor, Canova, surveyed it with critical
eyes before commencing work upon it and discovered a slight red mark traversing
the block. To the unskilled it was an insignificant matter, but Canova said, "I
cannot work upon this; it has a flaw. It is not perfectly pure and white. I will
not lay my chisel upon it." Therefore he rejected it. Think what imperfections
the omniscient eye of God detects in the purest of human characters. Yet, He
does not reject us on this account. How humbling, indeed, is this thought!

I Am What I Am Two or three years before the death of that eminent servant of
Christ, the Rev. John Newton, an aged friend and brother in the ministry called
on him at breakfast. Family prayer followed, and the portion of Scripture for
the day was read to him. In it occurred the verse, "By the grace of God, I am
what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10). After the reading of this text, he uttered
this affective soliloquy: "I am not what I ought to be-ah! how imperfect and
deficient! I am not what I wish to be. I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave
to what is good. I am not what I hope to be. Soon, soon, shall I put off
mortality, and, with mortality, all sin and imperfection. Yet though I am not
what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly
say I am not what I once was-a slave to sin and Satan; I can heartily join with
the apostle and acknowledge, 'By the grace of God, I am what I am.' "




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 59: GOD: INCOMPREHENSIBLE
========================================================================

God: Incomprehensible

Answer to a Hard Question "Mother, who made God?" "That's a hard question,
Jimmy. Why don't you go out and play for awhile?" answered the puzzled mother.
When Jimmy insisted on an answer, the mother was inspired to take off her ring
and hand it to her little boy, saying to him, "Here, Jimmy, show me the
beginning and the end. God is the same way, Son. He has no beginning and no
end." Were You There? An amusing radio comedian of many years ago, known as the
Baron Munchausen, used to spin wild and improbable tales. When anyone challenged
him he would ask, "Vas you dere, Sharlie?" God was there before there was any
beginning; He was there when His only begotten Son came into the world, for He
entered into human flesh through Him. He was there on the cross, for in Christ
He suffered, bled and died for you and me. To anyone who questions this, you can
retort, "Were you there? God was, and I prefer to take His Word for it." The
Great "I Am" Bishop Beveridge gave a wonderful illustration of one of the names
by which God has chosen to call Himself, "I AM": "He does not say, I am their
light, their guide, their strength, or tower, but only 'I AM.' He sets, as it
were, His hands to a blank, that His people may write under it what they pleased
that is good for them. As if He should say: Are they weak? I am strength. Are
they poor? I am riches. Are they in trouble? I am comfort. Are they sick? I am
health. Are they dying? I am life. Have they nothing? I am all things. I am
wisdom and power. I am justice and mercy. I am grace and goodness. I am glory,
beauty, holiness, eminency, super-eminency, perfection, all-sufficiency,
eternity. Jehovah, I am. Whatever is amiable in itself, or desirable unto them,
that I am. Whatsoever is pure and holy, whatsoever is great or pleasant,
whatsoever is good or needful to make men happy, that I am."

Don't Reject the Medicine The mysteries of God are like a bottle that contains
medicine. It is the medicine that cures you, not the bottle. Without even
questioning it, you accept the fact that the medicine could not be presented to
you without its container. You do not reject the medicine simply because you do
not understand the composition of the bottle. The Infinite God The late Dr.
Clarence Edward Macartney, while a theological student, visited the home of a
skeptic. The skeptic's argument was as follows: "If a man tells me that he has a
horse which can trot a mile in three minutes, I tell him to bring out the horse
and prove it. If you tell me that there is a God, I ask you to produce God and
prove His existence." Macartney replied, "No Christian claims to know God, nor
would want to know Him in that way. By that kind of searching we cannot know the
Almighty to perfection. The Christian believer does not say, 'I know God,' or 'I
see God,' or 'I think there is a God,' but 'I believe in God.' "

One God A little boy, on being asked "How many Gods are there?" replied, "One."
"How do you know that?" "Because there is only room for one, for He fills heaven
and earth." He was right. How, then, can puny little man expect to see Him in
all His majesty and glory? The Glory of the Creator "You teach," said the
Emperor Trajan to Rabbi Joshua, "that your God is everywhere, and boast that He
resides among your nation; I should like to see Him." "God's presence is indeed
everywhere," replied Joshua, "but He cannot be seen. No mortal eye can behold
His glory." The Emperor insisted. "Well," said Joshua "suppose we try to look
first at one of His ambassadors." The Emperor consented. The Rabbi took him into
the open air at noonday and bade him look at the sun in its blazing splendor. "I
cannot," said Trajan. "The light dazzles me." "You are unable," said Joshua, "to
endure the light of one of His creatures, and can you expect to behold the
resplendent glory of the Creator? Would not the brightness of His glory
annihilate you?" This same thought is expressed in the Bible in 1 Timothy 6:16,
"Who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; whom no man hath
seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power eternal. Amen." (Author's
translation.) The Great God We have discovered new worlds in the splitting of
the atom. Democritus, the ancient Greek physical philosopher who coined the word
"atom," would never have believed it. With our telescopes we find a system in
every star, but with our microscopes we find a world in every atom. There surely
must be more things that we don't know than those things we do. It is logical,
then, to concede that we cannot know the God of the universe in His full
essence. The Great-a Mystery Why does Paul call all that God bestows upon us
"mysteries"? Not because they are myths, but because they are facts that we can
neither understand nor explain. As Joseph Parker points out: "We know how easy
it is to reduce everything to the mystery of darkness and to suppose that,
because we can't see, therefore all things that are declared to be in existence
cannot possibly be where they are said to be. When night comes down upon us, and
the sea is covered, and the great rocks around our coast are all hidden, what
would you think of a man who said, 'There is no sea; there are no rocks; there
are no mountains. I deny it; I swear there is no sea!... Why, if there was an
ocean, should I not see it? If there were rocks, would I not behold them?' He
forgets that he is surrounded by conditions that have obscured from his vision
the facts which he so emphatically denies. It should not surprise us that God's
actions and providences are mysteries to us. It is natural; it could not be
otherwise." "The great must always be a mystery to the little," continues
Parker. "The arch must always be a mystery to the column; God must always be a
mystery to His creatures. If I could understand all, I should be all. Only the
whole can comprehend the whole. Only God can understand God."

Blind Men and the Elephant Six blind men approached an elephant. Each man put
out his hand to touch some part of the elephant's anatomy and thought he had
grasped the whole. To one the elephant was like a tree, to another like a wall,
to a third like a fan, to a fourth like a snake, to a fifth like a spear, and to
a sixth like a rope-depending on whether they had touched his leg, his side, his
ear, his trunk, his tusk, or his tail. The poem in which this fable is contained
concludes that all of them were right, though each of them was wrong. It takes a
synthesis of all aspects of God and His creation to get a complete picture of
Him-and none of us is so gifted as to be able to comprehend this, though we make
some progress as we open our hearts and minds to the various facets of truth we
encounter on our heavenward journey. Where Is God? A youngster returning from
Sunday school sat by a man in a bus. The man, apparently an unbeliever, seeing
her Sunday school paper, decided to make fun of the child and said to her, "Tell
me where God is and I'll give you an apple." The little girl thoughtfully turned
to her fellow passenger and said in return. "Sir, if you tell me a place where
God isn't, I'll give you a basket of apples."

Manifestations of the Light "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all" (1
John 1:5). Light is a synonym of all that is beautiful and glorious in the
universe of God, whether in the material or in the spiritual realm. Perhaps the
most magnificent declaration ever uttered is that recorded in the book of
Genesis by Moses: "God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (Genesis
1:3). Light is the most perfect emblem of purity we can imagine. We cannot
conceive of the possibility of its defilement. Light is the source of beauty; we
could have no concept of beauty without it. The colors of the rainbow, the
endlessly varied and pleasing pictures portrayed before us in the flowers, the
ever-changing shades in sky or forest, the delicate tints in the plumage of the
bird, the flush of health on the human cheek, the glory of the sunrise, the
splendor of the sunset-all these and ten thousand other manifestations of beauty
are creatures of the light.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 60: GOD: JUDGE
========================================================================

God: Judge

Take God at His Word Getting children to eat what is good for them can be quite
a problem. Convincing them that you mean business takes more strength of
character than some parents possess. Yet the mother who lets her child indulge
his preference for sweets, instead of such body-building foods as milk, meat,
and vegetables, does not really love him as much as the mother who does her best
to see that he gets a balanced diet. The parents who give in to a child on
matters that affect his future health and character are not loving. They are
merely encouraging him to go on getting his way in all future contests of will.
They are laying the foundation for trouble for the rest of his life. So it is
with God. Unless people believe that He means what He says, they will run to all
kinds of excesses, and ruin their lives for time and eternity. Although the
Bible consistently proclaims that unbelief and sin, if unrepented of in this
life, will result in eternal loss, too many people refuse to take God at His
Word. They choose to believe He is too soft-hearted ever to condemn anyone to
eternal punishment.

God the Judge Returning home from school one day, my little boy came to me with
the evidence of what he had had for lunch smeared all over his mouth. I told him
to go wash his face and come back to show me the results. He returned in a
hurry, saying, "I am all clean now, Daddy." "Are you?" I asked. "Sure. I washed
just like you told me to." From his point of view he was clean, but from where I
stood he still looked dirty. It is not what we think of ourselves that counts,
but what God our Creator thinks of us.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 61: GOD: LOVING
========================================================================

God: Loving

"Love Without End, Amen" "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal
life" (John 3:16 NASB). Country singer George Strait sings a song entitled,
"Love without End, Amen." It tells the story of a young boy coming home from
school after having a fight and expecting punishment from his dad. Fully
expecting the wrath of his father, the son waited, expecting the worst. However,
the father said, "Let me tell you a secret about a father's love ...Daddies
don't just love their children every now and then ...it's a love without end.
Amen." The young lad grew up and passed this secret on to his children. One day
he dreamed that he died and went to heaven. He was concerned, as he waited to go
in, because he realized there must be some mistake for if they knew half the
things he's done they would never let him in. It was then that he heard his
father's words again, "Let me tell you a secret about a father's love ...Daddies
don't just love their children every now and then ...it's a love without end.
Amen." Isn't it comforting to know that we have a Father like this? It is no
secret, concerning our Father's love: God doesn't just love His children every
now and then; indeed, it is a "love without end, Amen." -Bill Thrasher

God Cares Joel C. Gregory writes: "I've always been fascinated with
hummingbirds, so fragile, tiny, and beautiful. There are actually 320 kinds of
hummingbirds. The Encyclopedia Britannica tells us that the tiniest among them
is the Bee Hummingbird. It is 2 1/8 inches long, and half of that is tail
feathers and beak. It only weighs five grams, just about the same weight as
several aspirins would be in your hand. And yet that bird can hover, it can go
up and down, sideways, and in and out with the most amazing grace and
flexibility. It flaps its wings ninety times a second. And that little bird
somehow knows that when it begins to get cold, for its own health, it's best to
leave far Northern Canada and migrate across the United States and the Gulf of
Mexico, all the way to the Panama Canal Zone. And it knows when to turn around
and go back. Just an accident? If you think so, you're the type who believes
there could be an explosion in a printing plant and unabridged dictionaries
would fall from the sky! Jesus points to the birds and says, 'Look at God's
concern for that small creature-and learn.' "God cares. Even for little
hummingbirds. And that means He cares for us." The Mystery of God's Love One
day, as a minister sat in the office of his church to meet anyone who might have
spiritual difficulties, only one person came. "What is your difficulty?" asked
the minister. The man answered, "My difficulty is the ninth chapter of Romans,
where it says, 'Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.' " "Yes," said the
minister, "there is great difficulty in that verse; but which part of the verse
is difficult for you?" "The latter part, of course," said the man. "I cannot
understand why God should hate Esau." The minister replied, "The verse has often
been difficult, but my difficulty has always been with the first part of the
verse. I never could understand how God could love that wily, deceitful,
supplanting scoundrel Jacob."

God Is Love A preacher tells us how one of his children said to the youngest,
"You must be good or Father won't love you." He called the child to him and
said, gravely and tenderly, "That is not true, my boy." "But you won't love us
if we are not good, will you?" asked the child. "Yes, I shall love you always;
when you are good, I shall love you with a love that makes me glad; when you are
not good, I shall love you with a love that hurts me." That's exactly what the
love of God is toward us. He was not obliged to love us because we were either
bad or good, but He did love us because of what He is-Love-and for that reason
He came. His coming was neither forced nor deserved.

Loving Encouragement "Your child will walk again," said a wise physician to a
polio victim's parents, "if you keep up a regular course of exercise that I will
prescribe for him, and if you do not wait on him more than necessary, but insist
that he try to help himself." At first the exercises were painful, and the child
cried out. But though the parents' hearts were full of pity, their concern for
his future would not let them give in. They continued hour after hour, day after
day, month after month, kindly but firmly encouraging their little boy to
exercise his partly paralyzed legs, and to follow as nearly as possible the
routine of a normal child. Now a young man, this once crippled youngster walks
without the trace of a limp. Is this not an illustration of the way that God
loves us, and the way we are to love and help others?

God So Loved! Ancient Greek poetry tells of a warrior, the hero of Troy, dressed
in all his military armor, stretching out his arms to embrace his little son
before going into battle. His child was frightened as he looked at the helmet
and full military dress, and instead of falling into his father's arms he
screamed in terror. However, under all the battle array was hidden a heart of
fatherly love. The warrior threw off his armor, gathered his little boy in his
arms, and held him tightly against his chest where he could hear the beating of
his father's heart, as if saying, "I love you, I love you." That's how God
revealed Himself at Bethlehem. There He does not instill fear but attracts with
His love.

Loving Chastisement The newspapers once carried the story of a father and mother
who, finding that their little girl had taken and eaten something from the
cupboard, began to shake and slap the child. When the child became drowsy, they
did not let up, but continued their shaking and slapping for four hours. What
cruel punishment for such a little offense! No, it was compelled by love. The
child had swallowed ten sleeping tablets, and the doctor said the only hope of
saving the child's life was in keeping her awake. We do not always understand
the path through which God leads us, but we may be certain His chastisement is
always born of love. God does not choose to stop the harshness of the winds, but
He rather directs us through them.

Daddy, Are You There? A little girl and her father were returning from the
funeral of their dearly loved mother and wife. Some kind neighbors invited them
to spend a few days with them so they wouldn't be alone in the house with all
its sad memories. However, the father decided it would be better to go home.
That night the father placed the little girl's bed next to his, but neither
could fall asleep. Finally the child said, "Daddy, it's dark, I can't see you.
But you're there, aren't you?" "Yes, dear, Daddy's here right next to you. Go to
sleep." The little one finally dropped off to sleep. In the darkness and the
depth of sorrow, the father in tears said aloud, "O Heavenly Father, it's so
dark, and my heart is overflowing with sorrow. But You're there, aren't You?"
And immediately there came to him a passage from the prophet Isaiah: "Fear thou
not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen
thee; yea, I will help thee; I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness" (Isaiah 41:10). Our Loving God God reminds us of an ancient king
sitting with his council, deliberating on high affairs of state involving the
destiny of nations. Suddenly he hears the sorrowful cry of his little child who
has fallen down and been frightened. He rises and runs to his relief, assuages
his sorrows and relieves his fears. This was not an unkingly act. It was rather
a natural one. Our Loving Guide Many things must be hidden from a child, and the
more sensitive he is the stricter the concealment. We are so timid and
unschooled that God has to often place the shadow of His hand across our vision,
just as the Alpine guide will blindfold a nervous traveler so that he may guide
him unharmed across some terrifying chasm. Many of God's mysteries are things
that He has hidden from us to the glory of His pity and gentleness. He has to
guide us over a great many of the perilous places of life.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 62: GOD: MERCIFUL
========================================================================

God: Merciful

God Knows What's Best! In Greek mythology, Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, fell
in love with Tithonus, a mortal youth. Zeus, the king of the gods, gave her the
privilege of choosing a gift for her mortal lover. Aurora asked that Tithonus
live forever; however, she forgot to ask that Tithonus remain forever young;
consequently, Tithonus grew progressively older; in fact, he could never die.
The gift became a curse. The God of the Bible is not like a mythological god. He
never forgets anything that is not considered before He answers our prayers. He
does not grant us a request which ultimately will become a burden. He is never a
deceiver. Therefore, we must accept His answers as the best for us.

God Makes No Mistakes Oppressed by the noonday heat, a tired farmer sat under a
walnut tree to rest. Relaxing, he looked at his pumpkin vines and said to
himself, "How strange it is that God puts such big heavy pumpkins on a frail
vine that has so little strength it has to trail on the ground!" And then
looking up into the cool branches of the tree above him, he added, "How strange
it is that God puts small walnuts on such a big tree with branches so strong
they could hold a man!" Just then a breeze dislodged a walnut from the tree. The
tired farmer wondered no more, as he rubbed his head ruefully and said, "It is a
good thing there wasn't a pumpkin up there instead of a walnut." Hopefully, when
the breezes of life blow, you will remember that God, Who is great and wise,
makes no mistakes. He deserves our praise under any circumstance. The Just God A
certain man misappropriated a sum of money, never believing that his good
Christian friend would take steps to have him punished for embezzlement. Now
that he is in jail he knows he depended too much on the kindness and mercy of
this Christian, instead of reckoning with his justice. There is great danger in
misunderstanding God's essential character. He is a God of justice as well as of
love. He will inflict punishment where punishment is due. There is mercy
available through Jesus Christ, but that mercy becomes effective only to those
who appropriate it, who accept it. Be Merciful J. H. Evans said, "I believe that
God often permits me to be chastened by my sin, because I do not make use of my
mercies." We often lose our mercies by loving them too well, as the ball of snow
is melted by the heat of the hand that holds it, or a rose is spoiled by
pressing it too tightly. Theophilus Gale very well said, "Whatsoever I
thankfully receive, as a token of God's love to me, I part with contentedly as a
token of my love to Him."

Peaches or Pumpkins The members of the Ladies' Society had all been complaining
that the dry season would ruin the crops. But there was one lady who was not
complaining. They asked her if the drought had not hurt her fruit or garden. She
said, "Yes, but I'll tell you what cured me of worrying. I used to fret over
everything, and one spring when I sat down to have a good cry because an
untimely frost during peach blossoming threatened to ruin our splendid prospect
for fruit, my Aunt Martha came in and reminded me that she had lived eighty
years, and the world's crop of provisions had never failed yet. 'If we don't
have peaches, we'll have punkins,' said she. And I have noticed since then that,
in spite of all the frosts and droughts, I've never suffered from lack of food,
and I don't believe you have, either." They all smiled rather sheepishly, and
the president said thoughtfully, "That's true. 'Peaches or punkins.' I'll try to
remember that." We, too, should try to remember that everything continues to
exist because of God's providential care in spite of us and our sinfulness.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 63: GOD: OMNIPOTENT
========================================================================

God: Omnipotent

Omnipotence Questioned A Bible class teacher was examining her pupils after a
series of lessons on God's omnipotence. She asked, "Is there anything God cannot
do?" There was silence. Finally, one lad held up his hand. The teacher,
disappointed that the lesson's point had been missed, asked resignedly, "Well,
just what is it that God cannot do?" "Well," replied the boy, "He can't please
everybody."

Let the Fire Fall Years ago, before we became conscious of ecology, tourists at
Yosemite Park were treated to a nightly display that never failed to please the
huge crowds that gathered to witness this demonstration. High over the valley
floor, the park rangers would set a number of logs on fire and wait downstream
near one of those marvelous precipitous waterfalls that grace that magnificent
valley. When the hour of darkness had finally arrived, the sonorous voice of a
park ranger would ring out from the valley floor: "Let the fire fall!" Then the
moment would come which all had waited so patiently to witness; a hail of sparks
and flames would appear as the waters carried the burning logs over the brink of
the falls and down the steep descent of several hundred feet to the valley floor
and the waiting stream. The crowd loved it. The fire fell along with the water.
It appeared to happen as if it were solely at the command of one man with a
booming and demanding voice-as if he had some special contact with heaven
itself. If that is how it appeared to these campers in Yosemite Park, how must
if have appeared to those somewhat skeptical Israelite fence-sitters who refused
to adopt whole-heartedly Yahweh or Baal as their God? For just as surely as the
park ranger called, "Let the fire fall," so this rustic from the backwoods area
of Israel called to the living God. He did not rig his demonstration-this was
the real thing. It was so real it was terrifying. Anything that would eat up
rocks, dust, water, animals, and all has got to be some sort of supernatural
display. Accordingly, God gives us three "demonstrations" of His power in 1
Kings 18. He demontrates His power through his messenger Elijah in verses 1-20;
in His actions by sending fire to burn the sacrifice (verses 21-40); and in His
answers to prayer when he relieves the drought in verses 41-46. Where God Ain't
He was just a little lad, And on the week's first day, Was wandering home from
Sunday School, And dawdling along the way. He scuffed his shoes into the grass;
He found a caterpillar; He found a fluffy milkweed pod, And flew out all the
filler. A bird's nest in a tree o'head So wisely placed and high, Was just
another wonder That caught his eager eye. A neighbor watched his zigzag course,
And hailed him from the lawn; Asked him where he'd been that day, And what was
going on. "Oh, I've been to Sunday School. (He carefully turned a sod And found
a snail beneath it); I've learned a lot about God." "M'm'm, a very fine way,"
the neighbor said, "For a boy to spend his time; If you'll tell me where God is,
I'll give you a brand new dime." Quick as a flash his answer came! Nor were his
accents faint- "I'll give you a dollar, Mister, If you tell me where God ain't."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 64: GOD: OMNISCIENT
========================================================================

God: Omniscient The Far-Seeing Eye As the astronomer Mitchell was one day
observing the setting sun through a large telescope and gradually lowering the
instrument to keep in view the great body of light slowly sinking in the western
sky, there came within his line of vision the top of a distant hill, upon which
grew a number of apple trees. In one of these trees were two boys, apparently
stealing the apples. One was getting the fruit, while the other appeared to be
keeping watch, to make sure that they were not seen. However, seven miles away,
Professor Mitchell had his telescope trained on them and was watching their
every movement as though he were on the hilltop. "All things are naked and
opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:13). Where Are
You Going? We are on our way somewhere-and not just out to lunch after church or
to a party next Thursday. A small boy, with his father, was in an elevator going
up in the Empire State Building in New York. As they flashed by the 66nd floor,
the lad, in considerable anxiety, seized his father's hand, and in an awestruck
whisper, said, "Does God know we are coming?" This is an amusing story; but, the
serious answer is: Yes, God knows we are coming!

God Meets Each Individual Need God has His own way of speaking to every soul. He
starts with something known. We have all heard about Helen Keller, who became
blind, deaf, and mute as a child. What could be the use of such a life? She was
a prisoner of darkness, deprived of the outside light. However, behind the
darkness and silence there was a unique intelligence waiting to be kindled by a
spark from without. Her dedicated teacher was the one who led her out into the
larger world and enabled her to communicate by the sense of touch. But how could
Helen Keller communicate with God, or God with her? Her teacher decided to try
to tell her the story of God's revelation in Jesus Christ. Using the language of
touch, she did her best. At the end the child responded, "Oh, I knew He must
exist, but I didn't know His name!" God had revealed Himself to her in a very
special way. He can do this for every human being who is willing to listen. He
has some way in which He can reach us according to our individual need and
ability to comprehend.

Mature Understanding Bill comes to the alley where for years he has parked his
car, only to find a ticket on it. He fumes and fusses because there was no sign
prohibiting parking in that area. Nevertheless he pays his fine and resolves
never to park his car there again. Still, he can't understand the why of it.
Some days later, however, he has his answer. During a windstorm a mammoth oak
had fallen right across the place where he had been parking his car. Had it been
in its accustomed place, it would have been smashed. Thanks to the ticket that
cost him three dollars it was not there. Of course, it pleases God sometimes
never to explain to us the reasons for many of His actions in our lives. But
Paul maintains that the more mature we become as Christians the more God will
reveal to us.

You Can't Distract God I remember that when I was in high school we had a
mathematics teacher who loved to talk. If our lesson was difficult and we wanted
to avoid tackling it, one of the students would adroitly put a question to the
teacher to get him started. Good-bye to the lesson for that day! We often try to
treat God in a similar manner, thinking to distract Him from His subject. When
He tells us we must repent in order to be saved from sin, we resort to a
philosophical argument as to what constitutes sin. Be careful. God is not an
easily distracted professor of mathematics. He knows all our tricks.

Under God's Watchful Eye Let us not be like the two little boys on the hilltop,
one of whom was up a tree stealing apples and the other watching to make sure
they were safe from observation. They were blissfully unaware that someone
watched them through a telescope several miles away, noting each motion and even
the guilty expression of their faces as plainly as if he had been in the tree
with them. How absurd for the boys to conclude that observation ended with their
own vision, and that safety was the result of what they could distinguish! In
this universe, which is but the result of God's handiwork, we are no more
intelligent than these two little boys, if we conclude that God cannot observe
us, since we cannot see Him with our own two eyes.

God's Way A little boy asked, "Why is it that when I open a marigold it dies,
but if God does it, it's so beautiful?" Before anyone could answer him, he said,
"I know! It's because God always works from the inside." That's God's wise way
of working with men-from the inside. The Exact Meaning A Christian businessman
who had suffered heavy losses was tempted to doubt the goodness of God. "Why did
He allow these reverses to come to me?" he questioned. One night as he sat
dejected and discouraged before the fireplace, his six-year-old son came and sat
in his lap. Over the mantle hung a motto that read, "God's works are perfect."
"Daddy, what does perfect mean?" asked the boy. Before the father could reply he
continued, "Does it mean that God never makes a mistake?" The thought was just
what the father needed. Hugging his son to him he said, "Yes, Johnny, that's
just what it means!" Our Omniscient God Dr. Robert E. Speer tells the story of
an old sculptor who was cutting a figure that was to stand in a niche in the
wall so that its back would never be seen, yet he was working with the same
painstaking care on the back as on the front. Someone asked, "Why are you
working on the back of that figure? No one will see it." "Ah," replied the
sculptor, "God will always be looking upon it." "I am not sure," continues Dr.
Speer, "that it is not on the obscurities of our lives that God looks, far more
than on what we regard as our real life, upon which men look. What He looks at,
after all, is what is back of the life." That is the heart.

Intelligent Architect Existing things are not the result of chance. No one ever
saw a rude heap of bricks dumped from a cart onto the ground arrange themselves
into the walls, rooms, and chimneys of a house. The dust filings on a
brassfounder's table have never been known to form themselves into the wheels
and mechanism of a watch. The types loosely flung from the founder's mold never
yet fell into the form of a poem, such as Homer, or Dante, or Milton would have
constructed. Only an illogical person could believe that nature's magnificent
temple was built without an architect, her flowers of glorious beauty were
colored without a painter, and her intricate, complicated, but perfect machinery
constructed without an intelligent mind. That man gave the atheist a crushing
answer, who told him that the very feather with which he penned the words,
"There is no God," refuted the audacious lie. It takes logic to come to the
conclusion that there must have been a lógos, an intelligence behind what we
see.

God Knew What He Was Doing For a number of years our family had supported an
orphan girl in Greece. We finally brought her to the United States to live in
our home. One day I took her with me to a church, and while there she gave her
testimony. Among other things she said: "God permitted me to become an orphan.
Evil men killed my father. My mother died of cancer. But God knew what He was
doing. As a result of being left an orphan, I entered a Christian orphanage
where I found Christ. If I had not become an orphan, I might never have come to
know Jesus Christ."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 65: GOD: PROVIDENCE
========================================================================

God: Providence

Comforted by God's Promises A preacher going to a country church one Sunday
morning was overtaken by a deacon who remarked, "What a bitter cold morning,
sir. I am sorry the weather is so wintry." "Oh," replied the minister, "I was
just thanking God for keeping His Word." The man stared at him and asked, "What
do you mean?" "Well, over 3,000 years ago God promised that cold and heat should
not cease, so I am strengthened by this weather to emphasize the sureness of His
promises." A Fasting Father Takes a Meal Siamese Bettas are called "fighting
fish" because the males will fight each other to the death. Usually, if only one
of the species is kept in a fish tank, it gets along well with the other fish.
Yet in reproduction, it is the male that makes the nest. Using its saliva and
air, the male builds a nest of tiny bubbles, each smaller than a BB-shot. When
the nest is about the diameter of a coffee cup, the male mates with the female
and the eggs fall. The male gathers the eggs and places each one in an air
bubble. After mating and during the gestation period, the male remains under the
bubble nest, not eating. He carefully catches each developing egg when a bubble
breaks and places it in a new bubble. He continues this effort around the clock
under a forced fast for about two weeks. When the young hatch out, they usually
are too small to be seen by the naked eye, but the male fighting fish cares for
them until they begin to leave the nest and adhere to the sides of the breeding
tank looking like little shards of broken glass. Suddenly the time of parenting
is over. It is as though an alarm goes off inside the fish, as it turns from
minister to marauder. If the breeder is not alert, he may lose all the young to
the hungry father, who then eats up the very ones he so diligently cared for.
How fortunate is man that God has designed parents so that though the young may
become independent and venture in life on their own, unlike these fish, ours are
not short-term parents, but lifetime parents, even as God is our eternal parent.

Wonder of God's Providence The year was 1772. One of those almost impenetrable
fogs had settled down over the city of London. In a dismal flat in the heart of
the crowded East End, a man stood gazing into the fireplace. Then suddenly,
overcome by emotions of discouragement, gripped by fears that he could not name,
he threw his cloak about him and walked resolutely toward the door. He turned
the key and walked out into the night. Carefully he groped his way across the
pavement and felt for the iron horse's head and the ring of the hitching post.
Then, guided by the curbstone, he made his way to the nearest corner, where he
knew a horse-drawn cab was always waiting. He opened its door and ordered the
driver, "To the Thames, sir!" For in his deep depression there seemed no way out
but to jump from the bridge. It should have taken 15 minutes, but after an hour
and a half of negotiating the dark and foggy streets they realized they were
hopelessly lost. In desperation, he decided to walk and paid the driver his
fare. But as he alighted, his arm struck a familiar object. It was the iron
horse's head of the hitching post that to him was so familiar. After an hour and
a half of fitful wandering he had alighted in front of his own home. So
impressed was he that he climbed the stairs to his flat, lighted the lamp, and
knelt to ask God to forgive him for what he had thought to do. And then, there
in that same room that had so lately overcome him with its gloom, he wrote these
immortal words that were long a favorite hymn: God moves in a mysterious way His
wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the
storm. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds ye so much dread Are
big with mercy, and shall break In blessings on your head. His purposes will
ripen fast, Unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet
will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain. Yes, it was William
Cowper who learned that night something of the wonder of God's providence.

Lord of the Impossible Research into the migratory habits of quail in the Middle
East makes the miracle of the Lord's provision all the more exciting. Each
autumn, the birds fly from central Europe to Turkey. There they prepare for a
crossing of the Mediterranean. The flight across the ocean is done in a single
flight at a very high speed. Any bird that falters falls into the sea. When the
birds approach the land, they drop down in altitude but maintain their high
speed. As soon as they are over the coastland they land exhausted and completely
drained. They lie motionless for hours while they regain their strength. For
years Bedouins who lived near the coast harvested the easy prey. Recently a law
was passed and enforced which prohibited quail trapping. The amazing thing about
the biblical account of the provision of the quail is that the birds must have
kept flying until they reached the wilderness of Sinai. How did the quail know
to fly on farther after their already exhausting flight? Only the Lord who
created them could have pressed them on.

New Every Morning In the Philippines, there is a lovely flower, the hibiscus,
whose blossoms range from white, yellow, orange to deep red. They seem to grow
everywhere, throughout the days of the year. They color the countryside with
great splashes of color and beauty. The blossoms have many shapes and textures.
One of the unique aspects of this flower is that it blooms every morning;
however, the bloom lasts only one day. That means that a bouquet only lasts one
day. So it with God's steadfast love which comes with freshness to us every
morning. Just as He provided fresh manna each morning for the children of Israel
in their wilderness journey, so He provides for us, each day, renewed mercies
and faithfulness. But, we must gather fresh manna each day.

Heaven's Grocery Store As I was walking down life's highway a long time ago, One
day I saw a sign that read "Heaven's Grocery Store." As I got a little closer,
the door came open wide And when I later found myself, I was standing there
inside. I saw a host of angels that were standing everywhere. One handed me a
basket and said, "My child, now shop with care." Everything a Christian needed
was in that grocery store; And all you couldn't carry, you could come back next
day for more. First I got some PATIENCE, and LOVE was in the same row. Further
down was UNDERSTANDING, which you need wherever you go. I got a box or two of
WISDOM, and a bag or two of FAITH. I just could not miss the HOLY GHOST 'cause
it was all over the place. I stopped to get some STRENGTH and COURAGE to help me
run this race. By then my basket was getting full, but I remembered I needed
GRACE. I did not forget SALVATION, for salvation there was free, So I tried to
get enough of that to save both you and me. Then I started up to the counter, to
pay my grocery bill. For now I thought I had everything to do my Master's will.
At the end of the aisle I saw PRAYER and I just had to put that in, For I knew
when I stepped outside, I would run right into sin. PEACE and JOY were
plentiful. They were on the very last shelf. SONGS and PRAISES were stacked
nearby, so I just helped myself. Then I said to the angel, "Now, how much do I
owe?" He just smiled and said to me, "Just take them wherever you go." Again, I
smiled at him and said, "How much do I really owe?" He smiled again and said,
"My child, Jesus paid your bill a long time ago."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 66: GRACE
========================================================================

Grace A Very Beautiful Hand John Wesley and a preacher of his acquaintance were
once invited to lunch with a gentleman after the service. Wesley's preacher
friend was a man of very blunt speech. This well-meaning man, while talking with
their host's beautiful daughter, who had been profoundly impressed by Wesley's
preaching, noticed that she wore a number of rings. During a pause in the meal
he took hold of the young lady's hand and raising it, called Wesley's attention
to the sparkling gems. "What do you think of this, sir," he asked, "for a
Methodist hand?" The girl turned crimson. The question was extremely awkward for
Wesley whose aversion to all display of jewelry was well known. With a quiet,
benevolent smile he looked up and simply said, "The hand is very beautiful." He
had not denied the implied rebuke but had taken the sting out of it. The young
lady appeared at evening worship without her jewels and became a firm and
dedicated Christian. A Gracious Reproof John Wesley once had for a
fellow-passenger in a coach an officer who was intelligent and agreeable in
conversation; but there was one serious drawback-his profanity. When they
changed vehicles, Wesley took the officer aside, and after expressing the
pleasure he had enjoyed in his company, said he had a great favor to ask him.
The young officer replied, "I will take great pleasure in obliging you for I am
sure you will not make an unreasonable request." "Then," said Wesley, "as we
have to travel together some distance I beg that, if I should so forget myself
and swear, you will kindly reprove me." The officer immediately saw the motive,
felt the force of the request and smiling said, "None but Mr. Wesley could have
conceived a reproof in such a manner." It worked like a charm.

Grace in Temptation A Korean Christian showed that he had grasped the meaning of
the injury caused by anger when he got up in prayer meeting and said, "I heard
the missionary say that every burst of anger pierced the heart of Jesus. So I
hung a picture of the Lord Jesus on my wall, and every time I lost my temper, I
put a thorn on that picture. The picture was soon covered with thorns. A great
love welled up in me that He should suffer because of my temper; now He gives me
grace in temptation. I say, 'Not I, but Christ within me,' and His sweetness
comes instead of my bad temper."

Honesty-Not Pride A United States President asked a certain general a question
about another officer. Overhearing his reply which praised the officer, a friend
approached him afterwards and said, "General, do you know that the man of whom
you spoke is one of your most bitter enemies and misses no opportunity to malign
you?" "Yes," replied the officer, "but the President asked my opinion of him; he
did not ask for his opinion of me." The Imperfect Saints We should be lenient in
our judgment of those who accomplish so much in the vineyard of God. They are
men of like infirmities and weaknesses as ourselves. Let us remember they are
not perfect. Are we then to reject their message because of their imperfections?
No. In a pipe which conveys water into a house, there may be a flaw that will
sometimes permit rust or earth to mix with the water. Shall we, therefore,
reject the water itself, and say, if we may not have it just as it comes out of
the fountain or source, we will not have it at all? What if we live far from the
fountain itself and can have no water but what is conveyed in pipes subject to
such defects?

Love Catches a Thief A Quaker had a bundle of hides stolen from his warehouse.
He wondered what steps he should take to prevent a repetition of such an act.
Instead of putting the machinery of the law in motion, he placed the following
ad in the newspapers: "Whoever stole a quantity of hides on the 5th of this
month is hereby informed that the owner has a sincere wish to be his friend. If
poverty tempted him to take this step, the owner will keep the whole transaction
secret and will gladly help him to obtain money by means more likely to bring
him peace of mind." A few nights later, when the family was about to retire to
rest, a man knocked at the door of the Quaker's house, carrying with him a
bundle of skins. "I have brought them back," he said. "It is the first time I
ever stole anything, and I have felt very bad about it." "Let it be the last,
friend." said the Quaker. "The secret still lies between ourselves." He spoke to
the man faithfully and affectionately about the folly of dishonesty and of the
claims of the gospel. He also took him into his employment, and the man became a
changed character, living an exemplary life from then on.

Love Your Enemies A story is told of Peter Miller, a plain Baptist preacher
living in Ephrata, Pennsylvania in the days of the Revolutionary War. Near his
church lived a man who maligned the pastor to the last degree. The man became
involved in treason and was arrested and sentenced to be hanged. The preacher
started out on foot and walked the all seventy miles to Philadelphia to plead
for the man's life. Washington heard his plea, but he said, "No, your plea for
your friend cannot be granted." "My friend!" said the preacher. "He is the worst
enemy I have." "What!" said Washington, "you have walked nearly seventy miles to
save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in a different light. I will
grant the pardon."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 67: GREED
========================================================================

Greed

Common Characteristic One day, in Springfield, a neighbor of Lincoln's was drawn
to his door by the sound of crying children. He saw Lincoln passing by with his
two sons both crying lustily. "What is the matter with the boys?" asked the man.
"The same that is the matter with the whole world!" answered Lincoln. "I have
three walnuts, and each boy wants two."

Six Feet of Earth Leo Tolstoy, the famous Russian writer, had a deep insight
into human nature. In one of his books he speaks of a Russian peasant who was
told that he could have all the land he could measure by walking in one day,
from sunrise to sunset. The agreement stipulated that by sundown he must be back
at his starting point. The man envisioned great holdings. Early in the morning
he began walking; but as he realized that every foot of land on which he stepped
belonged to him, he began to run at a feverish pace. The agreement stipulated
that by sundown he must have returned to his starting point. His greed was so
great, however, that more than half his time had elapsed before he turned back.
He had to run at top speed to beat the setting sun. It was a real struggle. If
he were not at the appointed place, he would lose all. He finally made it. But
even as his foot touched the starting point, he fell dead from exhaustion. All
that he gained in the end was sufficient land for his dead body-six feet of
earth. That was his final inheritance.

Never Enough It's a strange thing that some people can never have enough of the
world; but no matter how little of the Lord they have, they seem to feel it is
enough. When I was a lad an old gentleman took some trouble to teach me a little
knowledge of the world. With this in view, I remember, he once asked me when is
a man rich enough? I replied, "When he has a million dollars." He said, "No."
"Two million?" "No." "Ten million?" "No"; "A hundred million?" which I thought
would settle the question. He still continued to say, "No." I gave up and
confessed I could not tell and asked him to tell me. He gravely said, "When he
has a little more than he already has, and that is never."

Overabundance Can Destroy A philosopher said: "I was walking in a garden when I
saw a tree whose branches were so loaded with fruit that they bowed down to the
earth. Some of them broke under the heavy weight. 'Poor tree!' I thought.
'Here's one who was destroyed by the overabundance of his success.' " He
continued his walk and saw a shepherd at whose feet lay a dead sheep. A wild dog
had killed it. All the other sheep had run into the fold and were safe. They had
managed to get through a hole in the fence. But the sheep that was killed
couldn't get through because it was too fat, and the dog jumped on it. And the
philosopher thought, "Another life destroyed by an overabundance of blessings."
The philosopher went on until he met a man hobbling along on two wooden legs
with the aid of two canes. "Tell me, sir, how did you lose your legs?" asked the
philosopher. "I'll tell you. In my youth I served in the army. Some of my fellow
soldiers and I attacked the enemy and put them to flight. Then we began helping
ourselves to the loot. My comrades just grabbed a few things and left quickly.
But I wanted to take as much as I could carry. Meanwhile the enemy overtook us.
My friends escaped, but I was so heavily loaded down I couldn't run fast, and I
was wounded. I escaped with my life, but I lost my legs." "Indeed," said the
philosopher, "success, riches and greed can all equally destroy."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 68: GROWTH
========================================================================

Growth No Short-Cuts When James A. Garfield was president of Hiram College, a
man brought his son for entrance as a student, for whom he wished a shorter
course than the regular. "The boy can never take all that in," said the father.
"He wants to get through quicker. Can you arrange it for him?" Mr. Garfield, a
minister-educator said, "Oh, yes. He can take a short course; it all depends on
what you want to make of him. When God wants to make an oak, He takes a hundred
years, but he takes only two months to make a squash." Many want instant
spirituality-like instant coffee or potatoes! It doesn't come that way! There
are no short courses! No short-cuts! No gimmicks! It takes time to grow! Growth
is a sequence-an orderly arrangement! "For when for the time ye ought to be
teachers, ye have need that one teach you again" was God's indictment of the
Hebrew Christians (Hebrews 5:12-14).

Perfection If the world were controlled by perfectionists, there would be no
place for those who can never quite measure up to their standards. On the other
hand, if the world were under the domination of people who wake up in a new
world every day, we would probably suffocate in the accumulation of our own
garbage within a week. Fortunately "practically perfect" people like Mary
Poppins manage to get mixed up with the Dick Van Dykes of the world. A husband
who is so organized that he can predict with a fair degree of accuracy when his
next shoestring is going to break, inevitably gets paired with a wife who hasn't
the foggiest notion what she's going to prepare for dinner at 3 o'clock in the
afternoon. A wife, with such an obsession for cleanliness that she jumps out of
bed at 1 o'clock in the morning because she suddenly remembers that she forgot
to mop up a blob of spilled orange juice from the kitchen floor, marries a clod
who comes in from a hunting trip and tracks mud all over the floor she just
cleaned. So goes the struggle between perfection and the spirit of tolerance.
There is a certain amount of tension in every serious thinking Christian's mind
concerning the biblical call to perfection. In one compartment of the brain,
there's a tug to live up to all the standards of Christ, but then on the other
hand, our attempts to measure up to those standards are always flawed. The New
Testament clearly articulates the need to "perfect holiness out of reverence for
God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). Perfection does not usually mean sinlessness in the
Scripture. It usually means something like maturity or completeness. Even that
can be illusive. Paul admitted that he had not "been made perfect" (Philippians
3:12). Yet he did not attempt to excuse himself from pursuing the goal of
perfection. He said, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus
took hold of me." The person who excuses himself from serious effort because
nobody's perfect, is just playing a game and he is not even playing according to
the rules. While it is self-righteous and hypocritical to claim that one has
already conquered the flesh at any point in this life, we play a deadly game of
self-vindication when we ignore the pursuit of perfection.

How to See Growth in Christ Dr. Bonar once said that he could tell when a
Christian was growing. In proportion to his growth in grace he would elevate his
Maker, talk less of what he himself was doing, and become smaller and smaller in
his own esteem, until, like the morning star, he faded way before the rising
sun. A Christian Mandate Do all the good you can By all the means you can In all
the ways you can In all the places you can To all the people you can As long as
ever you can. Are You Pushed or Pushing? How long would you keep an automobile
that had to be pushed everywhere it went? How much would it be worth to you? How
much pleasure would you find in it? You might keep an automobile that just had
to be pushed occasionally, but you would not have one for long that just could
not be depended on, that would not go whenever you wanted it to go. The Lord is
no more pleased with one of His servants that continually has to be pushed than
you would be with an automobile that continually has to be pushed. God wants men
of initiative and fervency of spirit. Paul taught us to be diligent, not
slothful; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord (Romans 12:11). A man who has to
be pushed continually in order to keep him in service and attending worship is
not devoted to the cause. It is understandable that a newborn babe in Christ, a
young convert, might need to be pushed or encouraged, but if one who has been a
Christian for many years must still be pushed, he is not growing spiritually as
he should. He is not spiritually mature. Do you have to be pushed?

Manhood Men and boys: THE WORLD NEEDS MEN ...who cannot be bought; ...whose word
is their bond; ...who put character above wealth; ...who are larger than their
vocations; ...who do not hesitate to take chances; ...who will not lose their
identity in a crowd; ...who will be as honest in small things as in great
things; ...who will make no compromise with wrong; ...whose ambitions are not
confined to their own selfish desires; ...who will not say they do it "because
everybody else does it;" ...who are true to their friends through good report
and evil report, in adversity as well as in prosperity; ...who do not believe
that shrewdness and cunning are the best qualities for winning success; ...who
are not ashamed to stand for the truth when it is unpopular; ...who can say "no"
with emphasis, although the rest of the world says "yes." God, make me this kind
of man.

Longfellow's Prescription for a Long, Happy Life The famous poet H. W.
Longfellow was once asked how he managed a long and a happy life. Pointing to an
apple tree, the writer remarked: "The secret of the apple tree is that it grows
a little new wood each year. That's what I try to do." No matter what age you
are, it is important to continue to grow spiritually each day, each month, each
year. Such spiritual growth requires constant Bible study. Why not start growing
a little new wood now, by reading at least one chapter from the Bible each day?
You will be blessed for it (Psa. 119).

Like an Eagle The eagle is one of the largest and most powerful birds in the
world. Some eagles weigh as much as 12 or 13 pounds and have a wingspan of about
seven feet. The nests of eagles are called eyries. They are built mainly of
sticks and are often lined with fresh green leaves while they are being used.
Once a year, the female lays one or two eggs, and they are carefully tended,
sometimes even by the male eagle, until they hatch, in about 40 days. Both
parents then guard the nest and take food to the young. At about 11 or 12 weeks,
a curious thing happens. If the eaglets have not ventured forth on their own,
the parent eagle "stirs" or rocks the nest, tipping the eaglets out! The young
eaglets flap about in panic, still novices at this flying business. The parent
eagle hovers watchfully, waiting for the critical moment. With wings spread
wide, the eagle then swoops down underneath those babies and delivers them back
to the security of the eyrie. Ours is a God of powerful gentleness. Ours is a
God whose timing is perfect. Like the parent eagle, He is sensitive to our
needs. He knows when the nest has become too comfortable and needs a little
stirring. He, too, watches carefully, and, as with spread wings, catches us up,
bringing us to Himself. But He wants us to learn from our fluttering and
flopping. He wants us to leave behind our panic and to learn to wait on Him.
Then, with our eyes on our parent eagle, we will begin to know what it means to
soar on eagle's wings!

You Become What You Are Max Beerbohm wrote a story entitled, "The Happy
Hypocrite." The title sounds like a paradox, doesn't it? The story was about a
character whose face personified evil. The man was faced with a dilemma: the
woman he loved refused to marry him because he didn't look saintly. To solve the
problem, the suitor put on a mask with a kind face. The young woman married him
despite the face underneath the mask. Her husband proved to be an attentive,
unselfish husband. One day in a moment of rage, an enemy abruptly tore off her
husband's mask before his wife's eyes. Instead of a cruel, grotesque face, the
man had become what he had lived for many years. Kindness, not evil, radiated
from his face! The Bible urges us to "keep the faith" because someday we will
look like Him in whom we believe (1 John 3:2).

Building Factories An engineer who was responsible for building great factories
said that all such construction is now planned with the machines that are to be
housed in the factory in mind. The walls and floors of the buildings are
constructed so that a machine can be built into the very foundation and
structure of the building, rather than set in as an afterthought. This is the
way the Lord builds believers into Christ. We are built upon the foundation of
the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, and
in Him all the building is fitly framed together, so that it "groweth unto an
holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2:20-21). That is surpassing even the modern
engineers. They can frame their building and foundation and machines together
"fitly," but they cannot make the building "grow." The true believers are fused
in Christ and grow in Him together with Him and together with one another.

Look Up A house painter was at work atop a tall ladder that leaned against the
second-story gable of a house. A small boy playing about the yard discovered the
ladder, and as is natural for small boys, he began to climb it. His mother,
checking on her child, was shocked to find that he was more than half way to the
top of the ladder. As the woman stifled a scream of panic, the man at the top
looked down, saw the child, and instantly perceived the danger. Signaling the
mother to be silent, he calmly said to the child, "Look up, sonny, look up here
to me, and keep climbing." Rung by rung, he coaxed the child ever higher: "Come
on now, keep looking up, keep coming." At last, the child safe in his arms, the
painter carried him safely to the ground. Well, each of us is somewhere on a
ladder. If we look down, we may be terrified. God is saying, "Look up to me;
keep looking up, and you will never be dismayed or undone by whatever is down
there." So let's look up, up to where our safety lies; let's look up, and take
heart, and keep climbing.

Soar on Wings Like Eagles "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men
stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They
will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk
and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:30-31 NIV). An eagle knows when the storm is
approaching long before it breaks. It will fly to some high spot and wait for
the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will
pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, it is
soaring above it. The eagle doesn't escape the storm, it simply uses the storm
to lift it higher. It rides on the winds that bring the storm. Isaiah compares
people to eagles. He says, in the words of God, that we are blessed with that
gift from God that enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring
sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives. We can soar above
the storm. Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weight us down, it is
the way we handle them. No Progress If we plant a tree, it begins to grow; if we
set a post, it begins to decay. There was an old farmer who, in the prayer
meetings of his church in describing his Christian experience, always said:
"Well, I'm not making much progress, but I'm established." One spring when the
farmer was setting out some logs, his wagon sank in the mud in a soft place in
the road, and he could not get out. As he sat on top of the logs viewing the
situation, a neighbor who had never accepted the principle of the old farmer's
religious experience came along and greeted him: "Well, Brother Jones, I see you
are not making much progress, but you're established." No Substitute A devout
Frenchman was right when he said, "Beware of a religion which substitutes itself
for everything-that makes monks. Seek a religion which penetrates
everything-that makes Christians." Chlorophyll is essential to green trees. As
it is acted upon by the sun, it purifies the dirty air, absorbing the carbon
dioxide that poisons us. Just so, the action of the Holy Spirit is essential to
the believer, to purify his spiritual life.

Needy Children Some people have the idea that once the relationship is
established between God and man, nothing more is needed. This is a mistake. When
a child is born it has the general nature and characteristics of its parents,
but does it not continue to need their loving care? It could not live without
it. So it is with us and God. He gives us of His nature, His fullness; we become
His children, but we need Him constantly and uninterruptedly if we are to go on
living spiritually. Our lives as Christians cannot be maintained at all unless
it is He who maintains them. This is unlike our earthly parent-child
relationship in one sense, however. In our relationship with God we never
outgrow our need to be dependent on Him. And though, in the New Testament,
Christian maturity is enjoined on all believers, this process of spiritual
growth never brings us to a point where we may become independent of God. We are
given to understand that our relationship to Him is always that of children. Woe
unto anyone who ceases to be a child of God in his own estimation and thinks he
has grown up sufficiently to be independent of God! The Young Christian "The
young Christian is still carnal," says Andrew Murray. "Regeneration is a birth:
the center and root of the personality, the spirit, has been renewed and taken
possession of by the Spirit of God. But time is needed for its power from that
center to extend through all the circumference of his being. The kingdom of God
is like unto a seed; the life in Christ is a growth, and it would be against the
laws of nature and grace alike if we expected from the babe in Christ the
strength that can only be found in the young men, or the rich experience of the
fathers."

Strive for Spiritual Maturity Dr. Shelton, a former president of the National
Bible Institute in New York City, used to recount with a twinkle in his eye the
story of the first time he took his little daughter to a restaurant. She began
prattling in her high, clear childish voice to the amusement of the other diners
and the embarrassment of her father. "Hush, Marjorie," he said, "people are
looking at you." "But Daddy," she protested, "Marjorie must speak!" May it not
be that immature Christians by their foolish talk and thoughtless behavior cause
those around them to laugh at Christians in general and bring embarrassment to
their heavenly Father? Let us consciously strive for spiritual maturity so that
with Paul we may say, "When I became a man, I put away childish things" (1
Corinthians 13:11).

Responsible for Growth God made you essentially what you are. Don't find fault
with Him because you are different from others. Discover what you are and grow
in the pattern He has designed for you. We are responsible for growing, but not
for the essential element of our being. A little girl expressed it beautifully
when she said, "Mother made me this much"- indicating the smallness of a
baby-"and I growed that much" -showing how tall she had become. How tall have
you grown in your Christian life? A Spiritual Photograph Spurgeon says: "We have
the likenesses of our boys taken on every birthday ... so that we see them at a
glance from their babyhood to their youth. Suppose such photographic memorials
of our own spiritual life had been taken and preserved; would there be a regular
advance, as in these boys, or would we still have been exhibited in the
perambulator? Have not some grown awhile, and then suddenly dwarfed? Have not
others gone back to childhood? Here is a wide field for reflection."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 69: HEAVEN
========================================================================

Heaven Not Gone to Heaven A little girl was walking in the cemetery with her
aunt. She was examining the various gravestones when suddenly she cried out,
"Oh, auntie, look here! Here is the tomb of some poor person who has not gone to
heaven." "Not gone to heaven?" replied the astonished aunt, looking at the
elaborate monument with weeping angels sculptured in marble. "Why, what do you
mean?" "Well, auntie," said the child, "the lady or gentleman in the grave
cannot have gone to heaven, or the angels would not be crying!" Where Is Heaven?
One Sunday morning a faithful Sunday school teacher was teaching her class of
boys about heaven. She asked the question, "Where is heaven?" And one happy boy
replied, "It's in our home since my daddy became a Christian." No Place Like
Home How can we forget some of the final lines in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy
keeps saying, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home." Most of
us feel the same way. Man has always felt a fondness for that dwelling called
home. Adam and Eve were grieved when they were cast out of the garden of
Eden-their home. Noah and his family listened as the waters covered their
homeland. Moses left his homeland to follow the will of God for his life. Jesus
found that a prophet was not without honor, except at home. The prodigal son
knew that even as a servant, home was better than the pigpen. We rejoice today
as we round the corner to "our home." Whether it be a cardboard box in an alley,
or a fine air-conditioned bastion of comfort in the stifling heat, we are glad
to get home. As temporary as the structures on earth are, our home in heaven
will be permanent. God challenges us to live daily in preparation for that great
eternal home that He is preparing for His children. It will be untouched by the
elements of nature, unscarred by strife, pure, clean, and holy, and yes-IT WILL
LAST FOR ETERNITY! Do you feel as good about the home God is preparing for you
as the one that may be gone tomorrow? If we anticipate that home with joy, how
wonderfully we will live our lives today! May God bless us unto that end. The
Light John Henry Jowett, prominent preacher of two or three generations ago,
served as pastor of distinguished churches both in England and America. He used
to tell of a stormy evening when he was entertained in the home of an English
countryman. Sometime after nightfall, the hour came for him to leave, to catch
his train back to the city. As he arose to go, his farmer host walked with him
to the front gate. There the farmer gave him a lighted lantern, pointed to a
light in the distance, and said, "Yonder light is Saddleworth Station; make for
that. The lantern will keep you from falling into the ditch; but keep your eye
on the glimmer in the distance." In the daily walk of our life, sometimes in
darkness or storm, we have to give a lot of attention to staying out of the
ditch. We need to use the light, God's Word, to keep from falling in. But there
is something more. If we look carefully, in the distance we can see a glimmer.
This is important; for the glimmer is the high goal, the object of the long
quest, the Light that directs the course of our journey to heaven. Friend, may
you go from here today with a light for your next footsteps. But this alone is
not enough: Never take your eyes off the glimmer that is in the distance.

Only One Way A person may go to heaven- without wealth without beauty without
learning without fame without culture without friends But no one can go to
heaven without Christ.

"I Know Where He Is Going" Matthew Henry wrote a famous Bible Commentary. As a
poor and unknown young man he wished to marry a girl whose father was wealthy
and who did not approve of the marriage. The father argued that, although he was
a good scholar and an excellent preacher, "they did not even know where he came
from." The daughter had a ready answer. "But father," she said, "we know where
he is going, and I want to go with him." The father acquiesced. A Beautiful
Christmas Evening It was Christmas Eve. Six-year-old Mary Lou was walking down a
dark city street with her father on their way to the children's service. Her
active little mind was filled with the wonders of the event she and her
classmates were about to celebrate-the coming of the Christ Child from heaven to
earth, to be born a tiny infant in a lowly stable. Above them was the velvety
blue-black canopy of heaven, Swiss-dotted (as it seemed to her) with an infinite
variety of brilliant lights twinkling down to earth. Her eyes were fixed on the
shimmering tapestry above as she and her father walked, silently but
thoughtfully, toward the lighted church at the end of the block. Suddenly she
looked up at her father and, with that rare insight peculiar to a six-year-old,
observed: "Daddy, I was just thinking-if the wrong side of heaven is so
beautiful, how wonderful the right side must be!"

Good Morning Up There The late Harry Rimmer penned the following letter to
Charles E. Fuller of the Old Fashioned Revival Hour, shortly before his death.
"Next Sunday you are to talk about heaven. I am interested in that land because
I have held a clear title to a bit of property there for over 50 years. I did
not buy it. It was given to me without money and without price; but the Donor
purchased it for me at a tremendous sacrifice. "I am not holding it for
speculation. It is not a vacant lot. For more than half a century I have been
sending materials, out of which the greatest Architect of the universe has been
building a home for me, which will never need remodeling or repairs because it
will suit me perfectly, individually, and will never grow old. "Termites can
never undermine its foundation for it rests upon the Rock of Ages. Fire cannot
destroy it. Floods cannot wash it away. No lock or bolts will ever be placed
upon the doors, for no vicious person can ever enter that land, where my
dwelling stands, now almost completed and almost ready for me to enter in and
abide in peace eternally, without fear of being rejected. "There is a valley of
deep shadow between this place where I live, and that to which I shall journey
in a very short time. I cannot reach my home in that city without passing
through that valley. But I am not afraid because the best Friend I ever had went
through the same valley long, long ago and drove away all its gloom. He stuck
with me through thick and thin since we first became acquainted 55 years ago,
and I hold His promise in printed form, never to forsake me or leave me alone.
He will be with me as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and I
shall not lose my way because He is with me. "I hope to hear your sermon on
heaven next Sunday, but I have no assurance I shall be able to do so. My ticket
to heaven has no date marked for the journey, no return coupon and no permit for
baggage. Yes, I am ready to go, and I may not be here while you are talking next
Sunday evening, but I will meet you there some day."

Prepare for Eternity In the days the eastern emperors were crowned at
Constantinople, it is said to have been a custom to set before his majesty a
certain number of marble slabs, one of which he was to choose to be his
tombstone. It was considered good for him to remember his funeral at his
coronation. Life is time, and the purpose of time is to prepare for eternity. A
Greek philosopher, Anaxagoras, was asked why he thought he was born. His answer
was, "That I may meditate upon heaven." The Afterlife To the uninformed eye, a
caterpillar turns into a completely different creature when it becomes a
butterfly. If a child had never been instructed that one emerged from the other,
he would not recognize them as being related. But the scientist knows that when
a caterpillar changes into a chrysalis, the whole of its body material undergoes
a complete transformation except for a central and essential nerve that controls
its entire system. This is retained. Then why shouldn't our spirits have greater
powers in the next life? Why should they not be able to repeat our likeness in a
celestial and sanctified form, so that we shall be as easily recognized by other
spirits in the next world as we are by other bodies in this world?

Occupants of Heaven Someone has very well said: "At three things I shall wonder
in heaven: first, that I shall not find many there of whom I was certain;
second, that I shall find many there whom I was sure I wouldn't find; but
lastly, and most wonderful of all, that I am actually there myself." But I Am a
Christian A pious person who was perplexed by denominational differences had a
dream. He thought that he had died and arrived at the gates of heaven. When he
applied to the watchmen to admit him within the sacred walls, they inquired,
"Whom do you want?" He replied that he belonged to the Independents and wished
to join them in that place. "There are no such people here!" was the answer he
received. "Well," said he, "I have had some connection with the Baptists; may I
join them?" "We don't know any by that name," replied the heavenly watchmen. It
was in vain that he asked for Episcopalians; they had never heard of them. There
were not even any Wesleyans, Catholics, Greek Orthodox, or Presbyterians there.
He was just going away in despair when, as a last resort, he said, "But I am a
Christian." At this term the gates of bliss flew open, and he was received as a
welcome guest. Being a Christian is the only thing that really matters in the
sight of God. We may call ourselves by any other name, but, when we come to God,
what counts is whether or not we are truly born-again Christians. No Glass
Between! There was a little boy who came from an extremely poor family. He
received no gifts at Christmas time, but he often looked into the store windows
at the exciting things other little boys could have but he could not. One day he
was run over by a car and taken to a hospital. One of the nurses brought him
some toys-a troop of soldiers. As he touched them, he said, "There isn't any
glass between!" There is a glass separating us now from the things that many of
our fellowmen enjoy in this life, even great honor and respect in the house of
God, but the day will come when there will be no glass.

Eternal Joy Charles H. Spurgeon once wisely observed, "If a man might have a
cottage on a hundred years' lease, he would prize it much more than the
possession of a palace for a day." Of course he would, and this is what adds so
much preciousness to the joys of heaven, for they are eternal.

Seeing Heaven One Sunday, a minister preached a sermon about heaven. Next
morning, as he was going to town, he met one of his wealthy members. This man
stopped the preacher and said, "Pastor, you preached a good sermon on heaven,
but you didn't tell me where heaven is." "Ah," said the preacher, "I am glad of
the opportunity this morning. I have just returned from the hilltop up there. In
that cottage there is a member of our church. She is a widow with two little
children. She is sick in one bed and her two children are sick in the other bed.
She doesn't have anything in the house-no coal, no bread, no meat, and no milk.
If you buy a few groceries and go there yourself and say, 'My sister, I have
brought these provisions in the name of the Lord Jesus,' ask for a Bible, read
the Twenty-third Psalm, and then go down on your knees and pray-if you don't see
heaven before you get through, I'll pay the bill." The next morning the man
said, "Pastor, I saw heaven and spent fifteen minutes there. There's no bill for
you to pay." The Christlike Heart There is one additional factor that will
enable us to know Christ "as he is," and that is "we shall be like him" (1 John
3:2). Being like Him will make us sensitive to all that we have missed in our
relationship with Him on earth. You may have had a close friend for years, yet
never truly known him, just because you are radically different from him. But
someone who has a real affinity of nature with him will be able to see in him
what you have never seen; he is like him and sees him as he is. You must have
the Christlike heart to see the Savior; and in heaven our hearts will be
perfectly tuned to His.

Land of the Living A man who was dying called upon his secretary to write a
letter to a friend. "I continue to be in the land of the living," his secretary
wrote in her desire to help him. But he corrected her. Instead, he instructed
her to write, "I am still found in the land of the dying, but soon I shall be
found in the land of the living."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 70: HELL
========================================================================

Hell A Place Too Much Like Hell A young lawyer, an atheist, boasted that he was
going west to locate some place where there were no churches, no Sunday schools,
and no Bibles. Before the year was over, he wrote to a classmate, a young
minister, begging him to come out and start a church. "Be sure to bring plenty
of Bibles," he urged. "I have become convinced that a place without Christians,
Sunday schools, churches, or Bibles is too much like hell for any living man to
stay in."

Unpopular Subject "Oh, you preachers make me sick!" a fellow said to a
witnessing Christian on the train one day. The Christian assured him he was not
a preacher. "I don't care what you are. You Christians are always talking about
a man going to hell because Adam sinned." "No," the Christian said, "you need
not go to hell because Adam sinned. You will go to hell because you refuse the
remedy provided for Adam's sin. Don't keep complaining about something that has
absolutely been taken care of. If you go to hell, you will go over the broken
body of Jesus Christ, who died to keep you out."

Hell a Possibility When a Brooklyn traffic officer handed a young woman a
ticket, she told him, according to the press report, "You can go to hell." When
she appeared in court, the magistrate dismissed the officer's complaint about
her language, saying, "It wasn't a command or a wish, but a real statement of
fact, for going to hell is a possibility." How terrible it is, however, that
multitudes today have forgotten this possibility. A humorous magazine, poking
fun at "advanced theology," remarked, "Nowadays most of the churches and
preachers are so advanced that it takes considerable ingenuity to get into
hell." The Reality of Hell A dying girl said to her father, "Father, why didn't
you tell me there was such a place?" "What place?" "A hell!" "Jenny," he said,
"there is no such place. God is merciful. There will be no future suffering."
She said, "I know better! I'm slipping into eternity this moment. I am lost! Why
did you not tell me there was such a place?" We do not want to be accused one
day of not having told others, for that will be a witness against us. Where Is
Hell? A companion of a newly converted Christian said to him one day, "Can you
tell me where hell is?" After a moment's hesitation the young Christian said,
"Yes, it's at the end of a Christless life."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 71: HOLY SPIRIT
========================================================================

Holy Spirit

Guidance Available Along our highways, well placed at appropriate locations, are
official signs which give us direction and warn us of danger. Most of these are
the reflector type; that is, they are designed to reflect the light of auto
headlamps. In darkness, they are invisible to anyone who travels without a
light. But when our auto headlights are flashed upon these signs, they reflect
back to us their message of guidance or caution. Their night-time aid to us
depends upon the light we bring to them. They have no meaning for unlighted
lamps. God would like to guide us through the days and through the years of this
life. His signs are out there-in all the appropriate places. But whether we see
them will depend upon the light with which we approach them. The Ungoofer In The
Reader's Digest sometime ago a lady reported a rather interesting experience.
She telephoned her bank in an attempt to correct an error which the bank had
made. Her call was transferred from one person to another, from office to
office, and there was much talk, but no help. At last, the eighth person proved
to be calmly and sympathetically helpful. He was genuinely pleasant thoroughly
efficient, even friendly. The business finished, the lady said, "You're great!
What is your position in the bank?" He answered, "I'm the ungoofer." The
ungoofer! Most of us need one now and again. And we have one. That lady had a
lot of trouble getting through to the bank's ungoofer; but, my friend, you and I
have no difficulty at all in getting through to ours, if we really try. Keep in
touch with the One who forgives, untangles, heals-ungoofs. If there are tangles
and snarls, messes and mix-ups, tell Him about them-and trust Him. The Strange
Providences of God The following incident is taken from an experience of Charles
H. Spurgeon with an atheist. There was an atheist in the vicinity of Mr.
Spurgeon's home and he was very ugly to anyone who believed the Bible. Mr.
Spurgeon asked the Lord to direct him in what he should read for morning
devotions. Then he seemed strongly impressed to read the book of Joel in its
entirety. When he came to Joel 3, he read the third verse: "And sold the girl
for wine." Whereupon, Mr. Spurgeon checked his concordance to see how many times
the word "girl" occurred in the Bible. To his great surprise, he found the word
only occurred once. A little later he thought he would take a walk. About a
block and a half away he looked up and there was the atheist's house. He went up
and knocked. The atheist growled, "Well, what do you want?" "I would like to
read the Bible to you," Spurgeon replied. "The atheist began his usual abuse,
then suddenly stopped and said, "Will you tell me how often the word 'girl' is
in the Bible?" Mr. Spurgeon answered, "Once." The atheist then said, "Tell me
where it is found and I will let you in." Spurgeon replied, "Joel 3:3." The
atheist then said, "Tell me before I let you in, how did you know it?" Mr.
Spurgeon answered, "I haven't known it two hours. In my morning devotions I read
the book of Joel." Then Mr. Spurgeon stepped in, and in half an hour the atheist
was on his knees asking God to forgive his sins. The Hand or the Glove? I have a
glove here in my hand. The glove cannot do anything by itself, but when my hand
is in it, the glove can do many things. True, it is not the glove, but my hand
in the glove that acts. The Christian is a glove. It is the Holy Spirit in us,
the hand, who does the work. We have to make room for the hand so that every
finger in the glove is filled.

Energized by the Holy Spirit Seneca, the Roman historian and philosopher, said,
"No one is free who is a slave to the body." In 1 Corinthians 6:19 Paul
specifically refers to the body of the believer as the temple of the Holy
Spirit. "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which
is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" Yet in 1 Corinthians
3:16 he says, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of
God dwelleth in you?" Is there a contradiction here between the body as the
temple, and the whole person as the temple? No, both are correct. Our spirit
pervades our body, and it is through the works of the body that the spirit, the
real person, is shown. This is why the stress is on the body, because that is
what people can readily discern, while the spirit is invisible. Paul knew that
the body is the last area of man to be brought entirely under the Spirit's
influence and power, just as the twigs and leaves are the last parts of a plant
to be energized by the sap. Thus the bodily temple presents to us the complete
picture of the fully consecrated man.

Enthusiasm-the Unquenchable Fire John Henry Jowett has beautifully expressed
what characterizes the life of power. "Another element in a forceful character
is heat, the fire of an unquenchable enthusiasm.... The Acts of the Apostles is
a burning book. There is no cold or lukewarm patch from end to end. The
disciples had been baptized with fire, with the holy, glowing enthusiasm caught
from the altar of God. They had this central fire from which every other purpose
and faculty in the life gets its strength. This fire in the apostles' souls was
like a furnace-fire in a great liner, which drives her through the tempests and
through the envious and engulfing deep. Nothing could stop these men. Nothing
could hinder their going. 'We cannot but speak the things that we have seen and
heard. We must obey God rather than men.' This strong imperative rings
throughout all their doings and all their speech. They have heat, and they have
light, because they were baptized by the power of the Holy Ghost." The Spirit as
the Receiver There must be a correspondence between the receiver and the
transmitter. When we listen to a radio broadcast, there are many sound waves all
around us, but the only way for us to become aware of them is to have an
appropriate receiver able to catch them and make them audible. We would never
know that anyone was talking to us from a distance if we expected our watch to
pick up the sound waves. There is only one way in which man can know God, and
that is through man's own spirit. God is a Spirit and can be known only by a
spirit. We must not expect to feel Him with our fingers, or see Him with our
physical eyes. It cannot be done. Yet that which can be perceived only by the
spirit of man is just as real as that which can be perceived by his physical
senses.

Christ in You Benjamin West, the great painter, speaking of Gilbert Stuart, a
brother artist famed for his beautiful coloring, used to say to his pupils,
"It's no use to steal Stuart's colors; if you want to paint as he does, you must
steal his eyes." When we are baffled in our efforts to live as Christ lived, the
record of His life, however wonderful it is, will not enable us to be like Him.
What we need is His heart, His nature. Only divinity within us can recognize
divinity without. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot know Him as God. The Work
of the Holy Spirit Mr. Spurgeon once preached what in his judgment was one of
his poorest sermons. He stammered and floundered and felt that his message was a
complete failure. He was greatly humiliated and when he got home, he fell on his
knees and said, "Lord God, Thou canst do something with nothing. Bless that poor
sermon." All through the week he uttered that prayer. He woke up in the night
and prayed about it. He determined the next Sunday he would redeem himself by
preaching a great sermon. Sure enough, his sermon the next Sunday went off
beautifully. At the close, the people crowded him and covered him with praise.
Spurgeon went home pleased with himself and that night he slept like a baby, but
he said to himself, "I'll watch the results of those two sermons." What were
they? From the one that had seemed a failure he was able to trace forty-one
conversions. From the magnificent sermon he was unable to discover even a single
soul that had been saved. Spurgeon's explanation was that the Spirit of God used
the one and did not use the other.

Give the Lord Control In his observations on 1 Corinthians 2:1, J. Stuart Holden
gives a beautiful illustration. He says, "I have around my home a garden. In
that garden and its possibilities I have the mind of nature. For instance, I
know what soil and what seed should produce this, that, and all the other kinds
of flowers and fruit; I see set forth in the seedsmen's catalogues the wonderful
things that the garden should bring forth.... But mark you, the flowers and the
fruit are only produced by labor, by obedience to the laws of nature. When the
garden has been made beautiful and fruitful, it has been made so only by
intelligent cooperation with nature. Similarly, we Christians have the mind of
Christ. We know full well what a Christian life should be." The fruits of the
Spirit are only made evident in our lives as we wholeheartedly cooperate with
the Lord in full submission and obedience to Him by letting His Spirit have full
control of us-body, soul and spirit.




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  CHAPTER 72: HOPE
========================================================================

Hope

Saved by Hope A mother, the instant that she knows she is with child, lives her
every moment in anticipation of her deliverance from the burden that is within
her. After a time she cannot take a step, make a move, think a thought that is
disassociated from the coming of her child. In America, people are supposed to
ignore the obvious fact that a woman is with child. In France the case is quite
the contrary. If a man is introduced to a woman who is an expectant mother, it
is the height of politeness for him to congratulate her. "Je vous felicite de
votre esperance." "I congratulate you on your hope," is a common phrase among
the cultured. Just as a woman becomes pregnant in anticipation of bearing a
child, so a believer becomes saved in anticipation of being fully like the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is unto this state of hope that we are saved.

Hearts Can Fool The Wild West of yesteryear was full of illusions on distant
horizons. One of George Custer's young officers was sure he saw a party of
Indians a mile away. As the soldier charged, the Indians looked plainer each
moment. But arriving at the point, there were no Indians at all-only some
buffalo carcasses. Other travelers saw ships skimming across the desert sand in
full sail, railroad tracks elevated on pilings, or water birds with brilliant
plumage. All of these illusions occur when light rays pass through the
atmosphere bent and distorted. But no optical illusions in nature exceed the
illusions that can be left by our own hearts. By diagnosis, the human spiritual
heart is "beyond cure." Unaided by God, the response of each of us toward
knowing his or her heart must be despair: "Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). No
one can fathom the secrets or pierce the darkness of his or her own heart. This
is especially true at the point of the question about whom we trust-here again,
our hearts can fool. But there is hope. It rests in this: God knows your heart
(Jeremiah 17:10). He sifts, searches, explores, and probes the human heart. He
tests and examines human emotions. This is our hope. When we get to know God, we
get to know our own heart. You do not know your heart by looking into it
yourself. You know your heart by getting to know God through our Lord Jesus
Christ.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 73: HUMILITY
========================================================================

Humility The Higher the Bamboo Grows, the Lower It Bends A government official
who came into President Lincoln's office was startled to find the chief
executive shining his shoes. "Sir," he gasped, "surely you do not polish your
own shoes!" "Of course," replied the humble President. "Whose do you polish?"
The greatness of a man is evidenced by his humility. In the words of an old
Filipino saying, "The higher the bamboo grows, the lower it bends." All of this
is illustrated in the life of Jesus. "Jesus did not come to be served but to
serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). The highest
title God ever allows in His church is "servant." Am I willing to serve people
as Jesus did? I know, I cannot die for people to save them as Jesus did, but I
can "die to self" to enable me to tell people that Jesus died for their sins,
and thus serve them in the greatest way possible. When I humble myself, then God
will give me the grace to grow into maturity where, I like the tall bamboo, can
lower myself to serve those of "low esteem." Notice, "Do not be proud, but be
willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited" (Romans
12:16). How tall are you spiritually? Tall and flexible enough to serve people
in all kinds of situations? A Somebody with God Joel C. Gregory writes: "How
many times have we had to reach the end of our own resources before we
remembered to trust in God, the one steadfast resource of our lives? We're all
in need of a spiritual exodus day by day. When our faith causes difficulties,
our first response is to fall back on our familiar resources-people, things,
self -and only when these do not help can we truly lean only upon God for our
needs. "I like what Dwight l. Moody said about Moses in this connection. Moody,
not a very erudite man, had an unusual insight into Scripture. He said that
Moses spent forty years in the king's palace thinking that he was somebody; then
he lived forty years in the wilderness finding out that without God he was a
nobody; finally he spent forty more years discovering how a nobody with God can
be a somebody. "And he was right. When Moses and the people found out they were
nobodies without the resource of God, that's when the exodus began."

Brokenness God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop,
broken clouds to produce rain, broken grain to give bread and broken bread to
give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is
the broken Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever. His
Last Prayer Nicolaus Copernicus was a famed astronomer born in Poland on
February 19, 1473. He was a mathematician whose accomplishments changed men's
ideas of the universe. Also he was a well-known writer. Although highly educated
in astronomical science, he was much more-he was a child of God who had learned
to know and trust his Savior, Jesus Christ. When he was critically ill with his
final illness, his book, On Resolutions of the Celestial Bodies, just off the
press, was laid in his arms. At the close of his life, he did not think of
himself as an astronomer or scientist, but as a sinner who needed the
forgiveness of his Savior. He asked that the following epitaph be written on his
gravestone: "Lord, I do not ask the kindness Thou didst show to Peter. I do not
dare ask the grace Thou didst grant to Paul; but, Lord, the mercy Thou didst
show to the dying robber, that mercy show to me. That earnestly I pray."

Humility Never Parades Some years ago I saw what is called a sensitive plant. I
happened to breathe on it, and suddenly it drooped its head. I touched it, and
it withered away. Humility is as sensitive as that-it cannot safely be brought
out on exhibition. A man who is flattering himself that he is humble and is
walking close to the Master is self-deceived. Humility consists not in thinking
merely of ourselves, but in not thinking of ourselves at all. Moses did not
realize that his face shone. If humility speaks of itself, it is gone.

More Weight The branch that bears the most fruit bows lowest to the ground while
the branch with little or no fruit stands most upright. So it is with humility
and conceit. Humility carries with it the weight of wisdom while conceit has the
light-headedness of pride.

Giving God the Glory A woman doctor on the mission field restored to health the
greatly loved child of a native. In gratitude he knelt at her feet and not only
thanked her but worshiped her as a god. She remonstrated, saying that she was a
mortal like himself and worship belonged only to God. He replied that no one but
a god could have saved the child's life. "Whom would you thank and praise," the
missionary replied, "for a princely gift sent by the hand of a messenger-the
servant or his generous master, the giver? I am but God's servant by whose hand
he has been pleased to send you this great gift of healing." May a like humility
and faithfulness possess us as we use our gifts, small or great, in the service
of our Lord and among those in the sphere where He has placed us.

Mock Humility If the Christian wants to receive any benefit as he looks in the
mirror of the Word of God, he must approach it with humility. A man can
counterfeit hope and all the other graces, but it is very difficult to
counterfeit humility. One soon detects mock humility.

Plain Earthenware Bottles Some years ago, a party of Americans were leaving
Cairo, Egypt, on a journey across the desert and bought vessels in which to
carry water. Each one chose the kind of vessel that pleased him. One found jars
of brass whose fine designs attracted him. Another purchased porcelain vessels
of rare beauty. A third, however, took some plain earthenware bottles. The way
across the desert was long and wearisome. The heat was intense. Every drop of
water was of value. The brass vessels heated; the water became impure, unfit to
drink. The costly porcelain jars cracked in the heat and the water was lost. But
the plain earthenware bottles kept the water pure and fresh to the journey's
end. The Blessing of Humility When you are in the process of humbling yourself,
the Lord will load you with blessings. God wants you to be like the stalk of
wheat that is full of beautiful grains. The more it is loaded the lower it
stoops down. Thus, my dear friend, your real riches will be manifested by your
humility. The Humble Monk A subtle temptation that comes to the new believer in
Christ is to become proud of his position. He finds it all too easy to take the
lead and to assign to Christ a position of lesser importance. Thomas Aquinas was
a true saint of God, whose crown of glory never faded because he never polished
it himself. One day when he was walking in the cloisters of a monastery in
Bologna where he was lecturing, a monk came hurrying up to him and told him to
come with him on an errand to the city. The monk had been ordered by his
superior to bring with him the first brother monk he saw; not knowing Thomas by
sight, he told him to come. The great teacher never said a word but followed the
monk as well as he could, though a bit slowly, for he was rather lame. "Hurry
up, can't you?" the monk said impatiently, and Thomas did his best. After a
while, the monk noticed that all the people in the street were looking at his
companion, and many of them were saluting him with great respect. Presently one
of them asked, "Isn't that the great teacher, Thomas Aquinas, who is with you?"
The monk was horror-stricken! He had disturbed one of the most important men in
the city and then treated him with scant courtesy. With tears in his eyes he
begged the master's pardon.

What Hath God Wrought The inventor of the telegraph, Professor Samuel F. B.
Morse, was asked by a friend, "Professor Morse, when you were making your
experiments in your rooms at the university, did you ever come to a standstill,
not knowing what to do next?" "Oh, yes, more than once." "At such times what did
you do next?" "Whenever I could not see my way clearly, I prayed for more
light." "And the light generally came?" "Yes. And may I tell you that, when
flattering honors came to me from the invention which bears my name, I never
felt I deserved them. I had made a valuable application of electricity, not
because I was superior to other men, but solely because God, who meant it for
mankind, must reveal it to someone, and was pleased to reveal it to me." The
first message sent by the inventor of the Morse code was, "What hath God
wrought!"

How to Be Fruitful A government official in India who was engaged in irrigation
work came to the owner of a field and offered to make it fruitful, to which the
owner answered, "You needn't attempt to do anything with my field; it is barren
and will produce nothing." The official replied, "I can make your field richly
fruitful if only it lies low enough." He meant that a lowland would be much
easier to irrigate than higher ground. If you and I are willing to accept God's
estimate of us as revealed in Scripture-as fallible, weak, and unfruitful apart
from His enabling grace in Christ-He can fill us with the living water that will
bring forth fruit. One of the last messages of a great philanthropist was, "Tell
my younger brethren that they may be too big for God to use them, but they
cannot be too small." An Outstanding Memory I had the opportunity of conversing
with Mrs. May Moody Whittle, D. L. Moody's daughter-in-law. I asked her what was
her outstanding memory in the life of Dwight L. Moody. Do you know what she
said? "He could tell his children that he was wrong and ask them to forgive
him." She went on to tell me that one day the children let the horses out of the
stable and it took him a long time to get them back. He really told them off.
Finally, at night when the children were in bed, Mr. Moody went up and
apologized to them for having spoken as he did. This trait is what his children
esteemed more than anything else in their father. The Holy Shadow It is said
that long ago there lived a saint so good that the angels came down to see how a
mortal could be so godly. He went about his daily work diffusing virtue as a
star diffuses light, as a flower emits perfume, without being aware of it. Two
words told the story of his days-he gave; he forgave. Yet these words never fell
from lips; they were only expressed by his smile, in his forbearance and
charity. The angels asked God that the gift of miracles might be given to this
good man. The answer was, "Yes; ask him what he wishes." So the angels spoke to
him about it. Would he choose that the touch of his hand should heal the sick?
He said, no, that he would rather God should do that. Would he have power to
convert souls? He answered, no, that it was the Holy Spirit's work. What, then,
did he desire? He said, "That God may give me His grace." When pressed further
to give the particular power he would have, he replied, "That I may do a great
deal of good without ever knowing it." Then it was decided that every time the
saint's shadow should fall behind or on either side, so that he could not see
it, it should have the power to cure disease, soothe pain, and comfort sorrow.
Thus it came to pass that, falling thus out of his sight, his shadow made
withered plants grow again, and fading flowers sweet, gave health to pale
children and joy to unhappy mothers. But the saint was never aware of the
blessings that flowed from him. And the people, respecting his humility, even
forgot his name and spoke of him as the Holy Shadow. How different this dear
saint was from some of the present-day leaders in our religious circles whose
names almost overshadow the name of Him whom they preach.

Praise Detested One of the things St. Chrysostom detested was the applause and
flattery of those to whom he preached. He said: "To me it is nothing when I am
applauded and well spoken of. There is only one thing I ask of you-to prove your
approval of me through your works. That is how you can speak well of me, and
that is what is going to do you good. This, to me, is the greatest honor. I
prefer it to a material crown. I do not desire applause and being well spoken
of. I have one request to make-for you to listen to me in quiet attentiveness
and to put my advice into practice. This is not a theater. You don't sit here in
order to admire actors and to applaud them. This is a place where you must learn
the things of God." God greatly honored Chrysostom in the sowing of the seed of
His Word because he was a humble man.

Take No Credit "Look, Daddy, I wrote my name all by myself!" cried a little boy
proudly waving a paper. His mother had held his hand and helped him form the
letters for several days, and now this wavering scrawl is suddenly his own
accomplishment. We smile at this, but do we not often behave in similar fashion?
When by God's grace we give our hearts to Jesus Christ, and His love comes to
dwell within us, how can we take credit to self for His working in and through
us? Paul's question, "What hast thou that thou didst not receive?" (1
Corinthians 4:7) should restore us to a proper sense of humility before God and
our fellowmen.

Ego Reduction! The naturalist William Beebe told of an exercise in humility
practiced during visits he made to Theodore Roosevelt at Sagamore Hill. Often,
after an evening's talk, the two men would stroll over the wide-spreading lawn
and look up into the night sky. They would see who could first find the pale bit
of light near the upper lefthand corner of the Great Square of Pegasus. Then
either Beebe or Roosevelt would exclaim, "That is the spiral galaxy of
Andromeda! It is as large as our Milky Way. It is one of a hundred million
galaxies. It is two and a half million light-years away. It consists of one
hundred billion suns, many of them larger than our own sun!" After a moment of
awesome silence, Roosevelt would grin and say, "Now I think we are small enough.
Let's go to bed!"

Stoop Down to Reach God's Highest Gifts F.B. Meyer once said: "I used to think
that God's gifts were on shelves one above the other, and that the taller we
grew in Christian character the easier we could reach them. I now find that
God's gifts are on shelves one beneath the other. It is not a question of
growing taller but of stooping lower; that we have to go down, always down, to
get His best gifts."

Dying to Self The great artist Michelangelo fastened a little lantern to his
headpiece so that his shadow wouldn't fall on the marble on which he was
working. When self becomes obtrusive, it casts a shadow on all we do. This is
true even in prayer.

I Don't Know the Way A mother once sent her son on an errand to a place he'd
never been. He was a little fellow, but he didn't want to show he was afraid.
That's human nature. The younger we are, the more we hate to lose face. Humility
often comes with age. As this youngster got ready to leave the house, he stopped
at the door, turned to his mother, and said, "It's so far, and I don't know the
way. I'm not afraid, you know, but could you come along with me for a little bit
of the way?" The mother understood how disturbed the little one was. "Of
course," she said. "Mother will come with you all the way." The little fellow
put his hand in hers and went out in full confidence that everything would be
all right.

Humble Enough to Be Used When someone asked St. Francis of Assisi why and how he
could accomplish so much, he replied: "This may be why. The Lord looked down
from heaven upon the earth and said, 'Where can I find the weakest, the
littlest, the meanest man on the face of the earth?' Then He saw me and said,
"Now I've found him, and I will work through him. He won't be proud of it. He'll
see that I'm only using him because of his littleness and insignificance.'" From
Heaven Comes All On March 27, 1808, a grand performance of the Creation took
place in Vienna, and the composer himself, Franz Joseph Haydn, who was
seventy-six, was able to be in attendance. He was so old and feeble that he had
to be wheeled into the theater in a chair. His presence aroused intense
enthusiasm among the audience which could no longer be suppressed as the chorus
and orchestra burst with full power into the passage, "And there was light."
Amid the tumult of the enraptured audience the old composer was seen striving to
raise himself. Once on his feet, he mustered up all his strength, and in reply
to the applause of the audience, cried out as loudly as he was able, "No, no!
Not from me, but," pointing to heaven, "from thence-from heaven above-comes
all!" He then fell back on his chair, faint and exhausted, and had to be carried
out of the room. What a humble acknowledgment for a great musician to make.

Give Him the Reins In the horse and buggy days, a man was driving with his wife
along a dangerous road. At a very narrow place the wife became frightened and
seized the rein nearest to her. Her husband quietly passed her the other rein
and let go. Then more frightened than ever she said, "Oh, don't you let go!" He
answered, "Two people cannot drive one and the same horse; either I must drive
or you must." Then she gave him the reins and he drove safely past the danger.

All Equal It is related that once when the Duke of Wellington remained to take
communion at his parish church, a very poor old man went up the opposite aisle,
and reaching the communion table, knelt down close by the side of the Duke.
Someone came and touched the poor man on the shoulder, and whispered to him to
move farther away, or to rise and wait until the Duke had received the bread and
wine. But the eagle eye and the quick ear of the great commander caught the
meaning of that touch and that whisper. He clasped the old man's hand and held
it to prevent his rising; and in a reverential undertone but most distinctly,
said, "Do not move; we are all equal here." The Converted Hindu "I am by birth,"
said a converted Hindu, "of an insignificant and contemptible caste; so low,
that if a Brahmin should chance to touch me, he must go and bathe in the Ganges
to purify himself. Yet God has been pleased to call me, not merely to the
knowledge of the gospel, but to the high office of teaching it to others." Then
addressing a number of his countrymen, "My friends, do you know the reason of
God's conduct? It is this: If God had selected one of you learned Brahmins and
made you the preacher, when you were successful in making converts, people would
say it was the amazing learning of the Brahmin, and his great weight of
character, that were the cause. But now, when anyone is convinced by my
instrumentality, no one thinks of ascribing any of the praise to me; God gets
all the glory."

God's Theater The open-air theater in ancient Corinth attracted great crowds of
people. The people who played in the theater were often quite famous. In our day
we call them stars. Popularity and theater performances are almost synonymous.
Paul told the Corinthians that God's theater is larger than theirs-that it
extends under the vault of heaven. But the apostles were not leading the lives
of popular theatrical stars. Their lives were not rich or famous. They were last
on the social and economic ladder. Yet they performed with an audience larger
than those who were swimming in pleasure. They had an audience above as well as
an audience before them. Angels from above watched them, and men from every walk
of life.

Mary Magnified the Lord On one occasion an orchestra presented Handel's
"Messiah" so beautifully that the applause was thunderous, and everyone turned
toward the composer. Handel stood up and with his finger pointing upward,
silently indicated that the glory should be given to God rather than to himself.
This is exactly what the Virgin Mary did as she talked to Elizabeth. It is as if
she were saying, "Don't praise me, but magnify the Lord who is my Savior."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 74: HYPOCRISY
========================================================================

Hypocrisy

Thus Saith Our Lord Ye call Me Master and obey Me not, Ye call Me Light and see
Me not, Ye call Me Way and walk Me not, Ye call Me Life and desire Me not, Ye
call Me wise and follow Me not, Ye call Me fair and love Me not, Ye call Me rich
and ask Me not, Ye call Me eternal and seek Me not, Ye call Me gracious and
trust Me not, Ye call Me noble and serve Me not, Ye call Me just and fear Me
not, If I condemn you, blame Me not.

We Are Social Hypocrites The famous Robert Redford was walking one day through a
hotel lobby. A woman saw him and followed him to the elevator. "Are you the real
Robert Redford?" she asked him with great excitement. As the doors of the
elevator closed, he replied, "Only when I am alone!"

Front Yard Christians A small boy had a little wagon that was a new possession
and the delight of his heart, but when he brought it out to the front walk one
morning he was told that he must play with it at the back of the house. "This is
Sunday," added the father by way of explanation. The boy obeyed, but he
questioned wonderingly as he trudged away, "Isn't it Sunday in the backyard,
too?" A Soldier's Wish By profession I am a soldier and take pride in that fact,
but I am prouder to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the
father never destroys. The one has the potentialities of death; the other
embodies creation and life. And, while the hordes of death are mighty, the
battalions of life are mightier still. It is my hope that my son, when I am
gone, will remember me not from the battle, but in the home, repeating with him
our simple daily prayer, "Our Father Who art in Heaven...." -General Douglas
MacArthur

Hypocritical Excuse The man who says he is kept away from religion by hypocrites
is not influenced by them anywhere else. Business is full of them, but if he
sees a chance at making money he does not stop for that. Society is crowded with
them, and yet he never thinks of becoming a hermit. Married life is full of
them, but that does not make him remain a bachelor. Hell is full of them, and
yet he does not do a thing to keep himself from going there. He wants to have
you think that he is trying to avoid the society of hypocrites, and yet he takes
not a single step toward heaven, the only place where no hypocrites can go!

Acting Saved An interesting phenomenon is occurring in our society. There is a
high interest in salvation but a low interest in Christian living. Recent
studies show that church attendance on any given Sunday morning across this
great land is at an all time high. There are more men, women, and children
filling church pews on Sundays than at any time in our history. However, the
same studies show that moral standards are at an all time low. Some of these
same church-goers are divorcing mates, aborting babies, cheating on spouses,
drinking liquor, gambling paychecks, and abusing children at an unbelievably
high rate. What's the problem here? In a recent class, the teacher may have
given us a good hint as to what is happening. He stated, "More people today want
to 'Get Saved,'than want to 'Act Saved.'" He referred to this conflict as
"Justification versus Sanctification." A Critical Eye A certain hog farm er
refused to have anything to do with the church because all he ever saw was a
bunch of hypocrites who belonged to it. He always named two or three. One day
the pastor of the church came by to buy a hog from him. After looking over the
farmer's entire swine herd, the pastor pointed to a scrawny, sickly, ugly little
runt and said, "I want that one." The farmer remonstrated vigorously, "Why,
Preacher, you don't want that one. He's the scrawniest runt I ever saw. Look,
here are some fine hogs over here." "That's all right," said the preacher, "I
want that one." After the purchase was completed, the pastor said, "Now I am
going to haul this pig all over the country and tell everyone that this is the
kind of hog you raise!" "Hey, Preacher, that's not fair," the farmer protested.
"I raise fine hogs. An occasional runt doesn't ruin my whole stock." "I am only
following your example of condemning a whole church because of the stunted
spirituality of a few of its members," explained the pastor. The farmer got the
point!

Deceptive Packaging Through its laws, our country declares it a crime to lie
about the contents in a box of cereal. These laws demand that the outside of the
package tell the truth about what is on the inside. Deceptive packaging is
illegal. "Truth in advertising" regulations are another way to protect the
public. A good example of this is the warning on a pack of cigarettes: "Smoking
causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and may complicate pregnancy."
Unfortunately, there are no such laws about people. We require no one to tell
what really lies behind the packaging-the clothes, facial expressions,
mannerisms, speech patterns, or affected behavior. No one is forced to tell you
what he or she is really feeling, thinking, or planning to do. Our deceptive
packaging-the way we appear to others-is an accepted, even an expected part of
our way of life. We have become experts in this type of trickery. Before we are
going to get the help we need, we need to confess this sin of hypocrisy. Only
then can we go on the path of discovering and knowing our real selves.

Strange People People who talk about prayer but never pray. People who say
tithing is right but never tithe. People who want to belong to the church but
never attend. People who say the Bible is God's Word to man but never read it.

Thou Art the Man Some years ago in Chicago, after a traffic accident, a
policeman awakened parents to report the death of their only daughter. He
indicated that an empty bottle of liquor was found in the wrecked car. When the
father heard this, he went into a rage and said, "When I find the man who sold
liquor to these kids, I'll kill him." Later, upon seeking a bracer from his own
liquor stocks he found a note in his daughter's handwriting which read, "Dad, we
are taking along some of your good liquor. I know you won't mind." Compare this
father's reaction to David's in 2 Samuel 12:1-7.

Know Your Destination The town of Pisa, Italy, is famous, of course, for its
leaning tower. Not so well known, but far more significant, is a painting on the
wall of a cemetery there. The artist has depicted the last judgment, with
Christ, the Virgin Mary, the Twelve Disciples, and a number of angels. In this
painting, groups of people are coming out of their graves, some going to the
right and others to the left of the scene. But there appears to be some
confusion. Some who thought they belonged on the right and destined for heaven,
are being shifted back to the left, destined for hell-and vice versa. What was
the basis for their judgment? Christ said, "Not every one that saith unto me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will
of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). The Italian artist was inspired
by his vivid imagination and the prophetic words of the 5th chapter of Matthew.

Test of Salvation One of the best ways to test the genuineness of our salvation
is to find out whether the old nature within us responds when it is called by an
outside voice. A French woman was being sought by the police. As soon as she
descended from the train, a policeman approached her and asked her who she was
and from where she was coming. She gave him false information and started
walking away. Then the voice of the policeman was heard behind her: "Rosine."
That was her real name. She immediately turned. Are you responding to the
hypocritical name of a Christian in church and in the world by your real name?
The Bark on the Inside A child was walking along a street when a large dog came
out of a yard barking. She stood terrified. Soon a stranger came by and said to
her, "Come on, little girl, the dog has stopped barking." "Yes," she said, "but
the bark is still on the inside." She saw in the eyes of the dog an unfriendly
spirit. The False Christian "Look, Mommy, this potato is so big and nice, isn't
it?" Then the mother peeled it and cut it in half. How surprised was the little
girl when she saw it all black and hollow in the middle. "Oh, Mommy," she said,
"this potato is not a real Christian, is it?"

Deceit A woman, enlarging on her husband's inconsistencies, said, "At a
theologically liberal meeting he's a liberal and at a conservative meeting he's
a conservative." Someone asked, "What is he at home?" She replied with emphasis,
"He's a real demon!" The Bat's Reward Aesop, probably the most renowned writer
of myths, speaks in one of his fables about a time when the beasts and the fowls
were engaged in war. The bat tried to belong to both parties. When the birds
were victorious, he would wing around telling everyone that he was a bird; when
the beasts won a fight, he would walk around assuring everyone that he was a
beast. Soon his hypocrisy was discovered, and he was rejected by both the beasts
and the birds. He had to hide himself, and now he can appear openly, only by
night. You cannot hold on to the world with one hand and to the Lord with the
other. If you do, you will enjoy neither the world nor the Lord. A house divided
against itself cannot stand, was the verdict of the Master (Mark 2:25). The
Condemning Evidence There was a very well-thought-of deacon who was a zealous
advocate of the cause of temperance. One day he employed a carpenter to make
some alterations in his living room. As the worker was tearing things down, he
came upon a very nicely concealed closet. He was shocked when he saw a jug and
tumblers in the hidden closet. The carpenter, with wonder-stricken countenance,
ran to the proprietor with the announcement of the discovery. As soon as the
deacon heard of it, he said, "H'm! Well, I declare, that is curious. Sure
enough, it must be that Captain Brown left those things here when he occupied
the premises thirty years ago." "Ah, perhaps he did," answered the carpenter;
"but say, deacon, that ice in the pitcher must have been well frozen to have
remained solid all this time."

Sour and Sweet Apples Spurgeon used to illustrate hypocrisy with the following
story: An American gentleman said to a friend, "I wish you would come down to my
garden and taste my apples." He asked him about a dozen times, but the friend
did not come. At last the fruit grower said, "I suppose you think my apples are
good for nothing, so you won't come and try them." "Well, to tell the truth,"
said his friend, "I have tasted them. As I went along the road I picked one up
that fell over the wall, and I never tasted anything so sour in all my life. I
do not particularly wish to have any more of your fruit." "Oh," said the owner
of the garden, "I thought that would happen. Those apples around the outside are
for the special benefit of the boys. I selected the sourest kinds to plant all
around the orchard so the boys might give them up as not worth stealing. If you
will come inside, you will find that we grow a different quality there, sweet as
honey."

Violating the Gospel We are so eager to defend the cause of Christ that
sometimes in our defense of it we violate the very gospel we defend. We are like
the man who wrote a famous tract entitled, Come to Jesus. Soon after the writing
of that tract, which was mightily used of God, he engaged in a theological
dispute in which he wrote to an opponent's publication an invective article
bristling with sarcasm, and sharp and cutting as a razor. Reading it to a
friend, he asked, "What do you think of it?" "It is a masterpiece of
invectiveness," was the reply. "You fairly flay him alive. What have you decided
to call it?" "I have not thought of a title. Can you suggest one?" "Well," said
his friend, "how about calling it, Go to the Devil, by the author of Come to
Jesus?"




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 75: INCONSISTENCY
========================================================================

Inconsistency A Christian Off and On Gypsy Smith once asked a man in an
after-meeting, "Are you a Christian?" "Yes." "How long?" "Twenty-eight years, on
and off." "More off than on, I guess," replied the evangelist.

Erring Christians In the Greek, the verb to "err" is planomai. This is the word
from which we get the English word "planet." These heavenly bodies are called
planets because they seem to wander ("err") in the sky. There are not only
planets in the solar system, but also erring ones in the Christian church.

Authority Questioned A medical doctor, sitting in the company of friends,
quickly cut in on a lay person who was talking about a particular disease with
an air of authority. "Only a specialist who has devoted his life to medical
science is entitled to speak with authority," he declared. He was right. Before
long, however, the conversation turned to a religious question. Without a
moment's hesitation the doctor became equally dogmatic. When it was politely
pointed out to him that he had not made a study of the Bible and was not
religiously inclined, he confidently voiced the assumption that all people are
equally entitled to an opinion on questions of religious truth and experience.
According to him, the person who hardly gives five minutes' serious attention to
the claims of the Spirit is entitled to rank equally with those to whom the
reverential fear of God is a daily study and passion.

Hot And Cold Aesop's fables contain many helpful moral lessons for us. One of
them is about a man and a satyr who, having struck up an acquaintance, sat down
together to eat. The day being wintry and cold, the man put his fingers to his
mouth and blew upon them. "What's that for, my friend?" asked the satyr. "My
hands are so cold," said the man, "I do it to warm them." In a little while some
hot food was placed before them, and the man, raising the dish to his mouth,
again blew upon it. "And what's the meaning of that, now?" asked the satyr.
"Oh," replied the man, "my porridge is so hot, I do it to cool it." "Then," said
the satyr, "from this moment I renounce your friendship, for I will have nothing
to do with one who blows hot and cold with the same mouth."

Double-minded Christians The worst pronouncements Christ ever made were not
against the out-and-out sinner and unbeliever but against the hypocrite. We can
see this for ourselves in the twenty-third chapter of Matthew. Both God and your
fellowmen can tell the difference between the real and the counterfeit, the real
and the imitation. These people are like an old apple tree which stood at the
fence line by the roadside. Its branches spread both into the field and out over
the highway. There was always a contention as to whether the fruit of this tree
belonged to the farmer or to the public. An unwritten law said it belonged to
the first one to club it down. Every boy, big and little, watched to see when
the apples were beginning to turn red, and then the battle was on. The owner
never got a ripe apple from that old tree. The tree on the side of the highway
always had lodged in its branches a lot of broom handles, sticks, and old wagon
spokes. That tree got more clubbing than a whole orchard. It presents a true
picture of the professing "Christian" who hangs on both sides of the fence and
thus receives clubs from every direction.

Christian Living Henry Drummond, that great Scottish professor, told how the
Infidel Club was started in Glasgow. Some men were standing at the corner of a
street when a very prosperous looking man went past. One of the men said, "That
is the founder of the Infidel Club in Glasgow." "What do you mean by that?" said
another of the men. "Why, that man is an elder of the church." "Elder or no
elder," replied the man, "he is the founder of Glasgow's Infidel Club." Then he
told how the man's inconsistent life had been bearing for years a false witness
to Christ. So false, in fact, that it had undermined the faith of several young
men who joined together to form the Infidel Club.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 76: JEALOUSY
========================================================================

Jealousy

Kill the Spirit of Jealousy D. L. Moody told of two merchants between whom there
was great rivalry and bitter feeling. One of them was converted. He went to his
minister and said, "I'm still jealous of that man, and I don't know how to
overcome it." "Well," said the minister, "if a man comes into your store to buy
goods, and you cannot supply him, just send him over to your neighbor." He said
he wouldn't like to do that. "Well," said the minister, "you do it and you will
kill jealousy." Sure enough, when he began sending customers over to his rival
for goods he himself could not supply, the rival began to send customers over to
this man's store, and the breach was healed.

Earthly Wisdom Those who study bees tell us when a honeybee drives its barbed
stinger into flesh, it becomes so firmly imbedded that the only way the bee can
escape is to leave the stinger behind. This, however, is sure to cause the death
of the bee. It receives such a wound that it cannot possibly recover. So it is
with us. Sometimes we sting others because they are a little better than we are.
Being jealous of them, we not only leave the sting in those who happen to
disagree with us, but the act brings about spiritual harm to ourselves. If our
zeal embitters others, it will multiply bitterness within our own hearts. Thus,
when others feel the bitterness of our zeal, they will surely come to the
conclusion that we do not possess Jesus Christ who descended from heaven to give
us new life.

Overcoming Jealousy Dr. F. B. Meyer told the following experience to a few
personal friends: "It was easy," he said, "to pray for the success of Campbell
Morgan when he was in America, but when he came back to England and took a
church near to mine, it was somewhat different. The old Adam in me was inclined
to jealousy, but I got my heel upon his head, and whether I felt right toward my
friend or not, I determined to act right. "My church gave a reception for him,
and I acknowledged if it was not necessary for me to preach Sunday evenings, I
would dearly love to go and hear him myself. Well, that made me feel right
toward him. Just see how the dear Lord helped me out of my difficulty. There was
Charles Spurgeon preaching wonderfully on the other side of me. He and Mr.
Morgan were so popular and drew such crowds that our church caught the overflow,
and we had all we could accommodate."

Beware of Jealousy Mrs. Wesley was extremely jealous of her husband. His work
set him in the position of friend and counselor to many women. Among his helpers
and in the institutions that were springing up under his care, women were
employed, and each one was for his insanely jealous wife an object of deadly
suspicion. Wesley on his part was apt to be tolerant, in a masculine and
broad-minded way, of the facts and relationships of some women, which other
women, even the best, would hardly forgive. Sally Ryan, for example, the
housekeeper at one of his orphanages, was a woman with a past. She was at this
time only thirty-three, but she had three husbands living and was separated from
them all. Wesley was in constant correspondence with her, a fact which kindled
his wife to fury. She stole Wesley's correspondence to satisfy her doubts. She
would travel one hundred miles to see who his companions were at a particular
stage of his preaching tour. Her fury threw her sometimes into paroxysms of mad
violence and sometimes into acts of almost incredible treachery. She not only
stole her husband's letters to satisfy her doubts, but she tampered with them so
as to give them an evil sense and put them into the hands of his enemies to be
published. Beware of jealousy. It can make the light of God in your heart so
dark you see only evil, never good, in everyone. The Squawking Canary In a home
where a lady had two canary cages, one on either side of a window, a visitor
made some comment about the birds. Whereupon the hostess remarked that one of
the canaries was exceedingly jealous. She then proved her statement. Going to
the cage of the bird that was not jealous, she began petting it, calling it
pretty names and chatting with it. The reaction of the other canary was
remarkable. Its feathers ruffled up, it fluttered all about the cage and made
angry squawks of protest. There was no question about its jealous nature. Man,
too, displays a jealous nature by his actions.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 77: JUDGMENT
========================================================================

Judgment

What Kind of People Are in Your Town? "Judge not, that ye be not judged"
(Matthew 7:1). There was once a wise old man sitting at the gate of an ancient
city. A young traveler stopped before entering the city and asked the old man,
"What kind of people live in this town?" The wise man answered with a question,
"What kind of people were in the town you just came from?" "Oh, they were liars
and cheats and thugs and drunks, terrible people," the young traveler replied.
The old man shook his head, "The people in this town are the same way." Later
another stranger paused to ask the same question, and again the wise man
questioned his questioner, "What kind of people did you just leave?" The second
traveler answered, "Oh, I left a fine town. The people were good and kind and
honest and hardworking." The wise man smiled and said, "The people in this town
are the same way." People who are kind and forgiving toward others usually
experience tolerance from others themselves; those who are harsh, censorious and
critical toward others find that others exhibit much the same disposition toward
them. Of course, when our Lord warned, "Judge not," He was not talking about
exposing the sins of the ungodly-we must do that. Neither was He talking about
withdrawing from the immoral, or restoring erring Christians, or resolving civil
disputes, or "knowing a tree by its fruits." He was forbidding illegitimate
judgments that stem from a self-righteous, haughty, puffed-up, hypocritical
spirit (Matthew 7:15; Luke 6:37-38; Romans 2:1-3). He was forbidding judgments
based on inadequate information (John 7:21-24). He was forbidding judgments in
which the person assumes the position of God, trying and sentencing brethren in
regard to eternal salvation (Joshua 4:11-12; Romans 14:3-4, Romans 14:10, Romans
14:13; 1 Corinthians 4:5). What kind of people live in your town?

Judging Others A certain preacher had a method of dealing with those people who
were critical of others. He kept a complaint book in his desk. When a church
member would come to tell him of another's faults he would say, "Well, here is
my complaint book. I'll write down what you say, and you can sign your name to
it. Then I'll go and take it up with our brother." Invariably the critic would
stammer, backtrack, and insist that nothing be written or signed. In his 40-year
ministry that preacher opened his complaint book hundreds of times-but never
made a single entry. How about it? Are you willing to write out and sign the
ugly things you have said about others? If not, perhaps it would be best to
leave judgment where it belongs-with God. A New Window on the World Ruth E.
Knowlton tells this on herself: "Years ago I lived in an apartment building in a
large city. The building next door was only a few feet away from mine, and I
could look across the alley into the apartment on the same floor as mine. There
was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her as she
sat by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading. "After several months had
gone by, I began to notice that her windows were dirty. Everything was
indistinct through her smudged windows. I would say to myself, 'I wonder why
that woman doesn't wash her windows? They look dreadful!' "One bright morning I
decided to do my spring housecleaning and thoroughly cleaned my apartment,
including washing the windows on the inside. "Late in the afternoon when I was
finished, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a
surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible.
Her windows were clean! "Then it dawned on me. I have been criticizing her dirty
windows, but all the time I was observing them through my own dirty ones!"

Preparation for Judgment Did you hear about the boy who failed all his college
work? He wired his mother: "Failed everything; Prepare Papa." His mother wired
back, "Papa prepared; Prepare yourself." This is the message a lot of us need in
view of the coming judgment. God is prepared. We need to prepare ourselves! The
Other Man Perhaps he sometimes slipped a bit- Well, so have you. Perhaps some
things he ought to quit- Well, so should you. Perhaps he may have faltered- Why,
all men do, and so have I. You must admit, unless you lie, That so have you.
Perhaps if we would stop and think, Both I and you, When painting someone black
as ink, As some folks do; Perhaps if we would recollect, Perfection we would not
expect, But just a man halfway correct, Like me and you.

Try the Side That Will Shine There is a kind of crystal called Labrador Spar. At
first sight, it is dull and without luster; but if it is turned round and round,
it will suddenly come into a position where the light strikes it in a certain
way, and it will sparkle with flashing beauty. People are like that. They may
seem to be unlovely, but that is because we do not know the whole person.
Everyone has something good in him or her.

Old Ben Putnitoff Ben Putnitoff was a member of the Lord's church. Morally, he
was a good man. He did not lie, curse, drink, beat his wife, or smoke. He paid
his income tax, came to Bible class and worship services, paid his bills and
gave a "few bucks" to the Lord. He was never opposed to anything that was good.
One day old Ben Putnitoff died and stood before the Righteous Judge. The Judge
said, "Ben, you are charged with trying to close the church. Are you guilty or
not guilty?" "Not guilty," pleaded Ben Putnitoff. "I didn't do a thing!" "Guilty
as charged," the Judge ruled. And then He continued, "Ben, you have confessed to
the most effective way ever devised of closing the church. You 'did not do a
thing.'You did not visit the sick. You did not encourage the weak. You did not
feed the hungry. You did not reach out to the lost with the gospel." "But,
Judge," Ben pleaded, "I intended to do all of those things, but I was too busy
making a living and enjoying myself. I have just been putting it off."

Jumping to Conclusions A man sitting at his window one evening casually called
to his wife, "There goes that woman Charlie Smith is so terribly in love with."
His wife in the kitchen dropped the plate she was drying, ran through the door,
knocking over a lamp, looked out the window. "Where, where?" she cried. "There,"
he said, "that woman in the gabardine suit on the corner." "You idiot," she
hissed, "That is his wife." "Yes, of course," he replied.

Snap Judgment When Gilbert Frankau was producing a play, he sent to a theatrical
agency for a young man to play the leading part. After the screen test, Gilbert
Frankau telephoned his agent. "This man," he said, "will never do. He cannot
act, and he never will be able to act, and you had better advise him to look for
some other profession before he starves. By the way, tell me his name again so
that I can cross him off my list." The actor's name was Ronald Colman, who
became one of the most famous actors the screen has ever known. The Disliked
Dislike A psychologist asked a group of college students to jot down, in 30
seconds, the initials of the people they disliked. Some of the students taking
the test could think of only one person. Others listed as many as 14. But the
interesting fact that came out of the research was this: Those who disliked the
largest number of people were themselves the most widely disliked.

Experience: A Good Teacher There is an old story of a man in West Virginia who
had a reputation for being wise and for giving sound advice. A young person went
to him one day and asked, "Uncle Jed, how come you have such good judgment?"
"Well, I have good judgment because I have had a lot of experience," he replied.
And the boy said, "Yes, but how did you get all that experience?" "Well," the
man mused, "I got it by making a lot of bad judgments." If people have traveled
the road before us and can tell us what that road looks like, then we are wise
to listen to what they have to say.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 78: JUDGMENT OF OTHERS
========================================================================

Judgment of Others A Judgmental Character A man said once to Mr. Dawson, "I like
your sermons very much, but the aftermeetings I dislike. When the prayer meeting
begins, I always go up into the gallery and look down, and I am disgusted."
"Well," said Mr. Dawson, "the reason is, if you go on the top of your neighbor's
house and look down his chimney to examine his fire, of course you get only
smoke in your eyes."

One Talent-Bury It Some people are like the man who said he was afraid he was
going to be of no use in the world because he had only one talent. "Oh, that
need not discourage you," said his pastor. "What is your talent?" "The talent of
judging others, of criticism." "Well, I advise you," said his pastor, "to do
with it what the man of one talent did with his, bury it. Criticism may be
useful when mixed with other talents, but those whose only activity is to
criticize the workers might as well be buried, talent and all."

Negative Judging Let us not be like that man who is always quick to judge his
fellowmen: If he is poor, he is a bad manager. If he is rich, he is dishonest.
If he needs credit, he can't get it. If he is prosperous, everyone wants a favor
from him. If he's in politics, it's for pie. If he is out of politics, you can't
place him, and he's no good for his country. If he doesn't give to charity, he's
stingy. If he does, it's for show. If he is actively religious, he is a
hypocrite. If he takes no interest in religion, he's a hardened sinner. If he
shows affection, he's a soft specimen. If he seems to care for no one, he's
cold-blooded. If he dies young, there was a great future ahead of him. If he
lives to an old age, he has missed his calling.

Judging Others Many people sit in judgment on everybody. They seem to delight in
imputing unworthy motives to others, and in this respect perhaps they are
judging others by themselves. When they see someone working for the Lord,
they'll say, "Oh, yes, George is a real saint, but he gets paid for what he
does, you know." The inference is that if he weren't paid he'd not be so zealous
for the Lord. It may be that the financial compensation for his work had
something to do with his decision to engage in it; but it may not have been his
main motive by any means. It's all too human to exaggerate the secondary motives
of others. We seem to derive some sort of satisfaction in pointing out the flaws
in their characters. It seems that the only way some people can build themselves
up in their own eyes is by tearing others down.

Exercise Patience The builders and decorators of a great cathedral made the
mistake of admitting visitors while the work was in progress. They heard nothing
but criticism. Finally they had to close the doors and admit no one but workmen.
When it was all finished, the exquisiteness of the structure was universally
acclaimed. The previous judgments had been premature. When we are tempted to
judge people, let's recognize that just as in our own case success comes
gradually as a rule, so it does to others. Let us not dishonor God by
attributing ugliness to Him in any of His works in nature or humanity. He is not
through yet. God is in the process of perfecting much that we see now as
unfinished and imperfect. Don't judge Him prematurely for permitting the
sickness, accident, deformity, and seeming injustice of this world. Wait.
Exercise patience. He is still at work.

Overcoming Temptation A man in a responsible position, entrusted with large sums
of money, was tempted one day to put some of the cash into his own account. He
knew that it would be a long time before his theft could be discovered. He
resisted the temptation but felt that he must tell somebody the anguish of mind
through which he had passed. He went, therefore, to the man who had occupied the
position before him, told him all about the temptation, and how he had almost
fallen. To his surprise, the man did not reprove him but put his hand on his
shoulder in a fatherly sort of way. "I know exactly how you felt," he said
quietly. "I went through it all myself when I occupied your position." It was,
of course, humiliating for both of these men to admit the temptation of the
heart, although it did not result in a crime. Realizing that whatever victories
we score, we do so merely by the grace of God, how hesitant we should be to
criticize others who may have allowed sins of the thought and will to
materialize a little more than we have ourselves. Let us not, therefore, speak
evil of our brethren, even in our minds, even to ourselves.

Judgment of Brethren Many critical Christians are like that Persian youth who
was very meticulous about his religious duties. He would rise up in the middle
of the night to watch, pray, and read the Koran. One night as he was engaged in
these exercises his father, a man of practical virtue, awoke while his son was
reading. "Behold," the religious youth said to his father, "thy other children
are lost in irreligious slumber, while I alone wake to praise God." "Son of my
soul," the wise father answered, "it is better to sleep than to awake to notice
the faults of thy brothers!" If the knowledge of the sins of others arouses in
us the spirit of censoriousness and criticism, confession has not accomplished
its intended and hoped-for purpose.

Prejudice Is Evil Those who speak evil of others are usually too quick to draw
conclusions. If they see a man coming out of a bar, they immediately decide he
must have been drinking. They lack the charitable nature that would let them
consider that he may very well have gone in to distribute Christian tracts in a
place where they were desperately needed, or he may have gone in to try to
persuade a weaker brother to leave the place and go home. The Lord's Admonition
At the conclusion of the Civil War, when hatred and vindictiveness were rampant
in the land, President Lincoln sought to stem the tide of judgment and reprisal.
When Senator Sumner of Massachesetts pressed him to have Jefferson Davis
summarily hanged, Lincoln twice repeated our Lord's admonition, "Judge not, that
ye be not judged" (Matthew 7:1). Though he had vanquished Davis as an enemy,
Lincoln refused to condemn him as a man. He chose to leave that final judgment
to his Creator. No Cross Examination Allowed There was a juvenile court judge
who had a very unusual experience during the course of one of his trials. An
elderly man who owned a watermelon patch had caught a boy stealing his melons
and had him arrested. When the time came for the trial, the man made his
complaint to the court, after which the judge turned to the boy and said, "Son,
what do you have to say for yourself?" The boy looked up at the judge with
questioning eyes and answered, "Judge, did you ever steal a watermelon when you
were a kid?" The judge was somewhat startled at the turn of events, dropped his
head into his hand for a few moments of thought, and finally responded, "No
cross-examination of the court allowed. The case is dismissed."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 79: KINDNESS
========================================================================

Kindness That Marcy Boy! At 14 years of age, the "bad boy" of a little
Massachusetts town, was so powerful in his influence for evil that no one was
found able to teach the district school which he attended; it seemed "pretty
poor soil." Everyone said the student in question was "bad clear through,"
"hopeless," and "bound to go to ruin." One day a new teacher came who said he
was not afraid to try. The school friends were quick to tell him all the stories
of "the Marcy boy." All advised that he be forbidden to enter the school.
However, he was allowed to enter. The teacher analyzed the "hopeless soil," and
began at once to enrich it with kindness, justice, goodwill and confidence, and
at the right time, dropped in seeds of ambition, hope and self-respect. The seed
took root, developed, grew and began to bear fruit. The promising young student
dropped his bad habits, studied day and night, went to college, and graduated
with honors. He studied law, answered the call for men in 1812, became associate
justice of the Supreme Court, United States senator, governor of New York, and
finally Secretary of State. His name was William L. Marcy. He served faithfully
in every situation. All of this happened because a good teacher saw in a child
the image of God! A Lesson From a Terrapin One brother said that during his
childhood in the country, he once found a terrapin. When he started to examine
it, the terrapin pulled in its head and closed its shell like a vice. This
displeased the boy, and he picked up something and tried to pry it open. His
uncle saw all this and said: "No, that is not the way! You may kill it, but you
will not get it open." The uncle took the terrapin into the house and set it on
the hearth. It was not but a few minutes until it began to get warm. Then the
terrapin pushed out its head, then its feet, and began crawling. "Terrapins are
like that," the uncle said, "and people, too. You cannot force them into
anything. But if you first warm them up with some real kindness, more than
likely they will do what you want them to do."

Taking Risks Norman L. Bales shares this lesson from life: "'Whoever claims to
live in Him must walk as Jesus did' (1 John 1:6). For Jesus, the walk with the
Father sometimes meant encountering misunderstanding, criticism and danger. "In
Acts 16, Paul and Silas risked their safety by casting out an evil spirit. For
their trouble they ended up in jail. But then the jailer risked his security by
washing their wounds. Discretion is sometimes the better part of valor, but
discretion can be an excuse for cowardice. One day I walked down a Davenport
street minding my own business when I saw two groups of angry girls emerge from
a restaurant. Anger escalated into violence-hair pulling, slaps, blows. I did
what the priest and Levite in Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan did. I
crossed the street and passed by on the other side. If I had to do it over, I
still do not think I would have intervened, but at the very least I could have
called the police. "But then there is the case of Steve Palermo. Steve was an
umpire in the American League. One particular day he called a Texas Rangers game
and left to eat dinner at a local restaurant. Hoodlums attempted a robbery and
assaulted some of the waitresses. Palermo and an SMU football player offered
assistance, but the umpire caught a bullet in the back which traumatized his
spinal cord, and even now he has to rely on leg braces and canes to walk. He may
never umpire again. That is a high price to pay for an act of kindness, but
compassionate people like Palermo run risks. "Our contemporaries would like to
live in a risk-free world. It does not exist. Followers of Jesus must learn to
swim against the tide of 'risk phobia.'We walk in the footsteps of the One who
said, 'I lay down My life for the sheep.'"

Never Too Busy to Be Kind While Lincoln was a poor young lawyer in Springfield,
he was going to his office one morning when he saw a little girl crying at the
door of one of the houses. Lincoln stopped to see what was the matter. She
sobbed out her story. She was going to visit a little friend of hers in another
town. It was to be her first ride on the train, and the expressman had not come
for the trunk. Mr. Lincoln lifted the trunk onto his shoulders and started off,
calling to the little girl to "come along." They just caught the train. No
wonder the little girl never forgot him! A great, brave, noble man he was-never
too busy to be kind.

Business as Usual A young man left his employer, a lumber merchant, and began
business in competition with him. For a while he prospered greatly and got many
orders that would have gone to the firm he had left. But just when his business
seemed to be most flourishing, and he had more orders than he could supply, a
huge fire in his yard destroyed all his lumber. The day after the fire he saw
his old employer coming toward his office. He said later, "I could have hated
him, for I thought he was coming to gloat over my misfortune. But he came to me
as a friend in need and said, 'I know you have agreed to supply lumber to your
customers by certain dates, and this unfortunate fire makes it impossible for
you to do it. My lumber yard is at your disposal. You can have what you need and
pay me at your own convenience. Your business may go on as usual.' " The young
man was overwhelmed by this embodiment of the Golden Rule; the rivalry and
hatred that he had felt gave place to love.

Oil of Kindness There was an old man who carried a little can of oil with him
everywhere he went. If he passed through a door that squeaked, he poured a
little oil on the hinges. If a gate was hard to open, he oiled the latch. So he
went through life lubricating all the hard places and making it easier for those
who came after him. People called him eccentric, queer, cranky, odd, and other
degrading names. But the old man went steadily on, refilling his can of oil when
it became empty and oiling the hard places he found. He did not wait until he
found a creaky door or a rusty hinge and then go home to get his oil; he carried
it with him. There are many lives that creak and grate harshly day by day. They
need lubricating with the oil of kindness, gentleness, or thoughtfulness. That
can of oil is predominantly one that characterizes the Christian religion. The
task of using it belongs to those who claim to be Christians. As the old man
kept his oil with him, so we need to keep our Christian kindness handy. It does
no good if left at home or in the church.

Kindness Alexander Maclaren says, "Kindness does not require us to be blind to
facts or to live in fancies, but it does require us to cherish a habit of
goodwill, ready to show pity if sorrow appears, and slow to turn away even if
hostility appears." A Grateful Friend A gentleman had found a shelter for a
ragged, homeless boy and was walking down the street with him. He was stopped by
another gentleman who, after a short conversation, said, "You are surely not
walking through the streets with that dirty boy?" "Why not?" said the gentleman.
"He is my friend." Overhearing the first remark the lad was slinking away, but
the answer made him the life-long, devoted follower of his new-found friend. God
calls us His friends. Can we ever express enough gratitude and honor to Him?

One Hurts-All Hurt A man passing a small group of children noticed they were all
crying noisily. He stopped one lad and asked, "What's the trouble? Why are you
all crying?" Between sobs the boy answered, "We all have a pain in Billy's
stomach." That's real sympathy for the one who is suffering. Paul possessed such
sympathy for the Christian brethren who should have been spiritual but were
actually carnal. He still calls them brethren. His desire is not to condemn but
to lift them up. This is the spirit of the third chapter of First Corinthians.

Spirit of Kindness "I once lived in the country," said a preacher, "next to a
very excellent man who, nevertheless, had his weaknesses. I recollect an
occasion on which he became angry and manifested his displeasure in a striking
manner. Wanting a place to hang up a trowel in my yard, I drove a nail into the
fence between his yard and mine. It went through on the other side. One day I
heard a racket in my yard and looking to see what was the reason, I found my
trowel ringing over the pavement. My neighbor with his hammer had hit the nail
and sent the trowel and everything else flying. My first feeling was to fire the
trowel over at him and give him a piece of my mind, but my second thought was,
'Well, that's the way he is, but he is a very good fellow, a quiet neighbor so I
won't say anything about it.' I was going to be satisfied; but then I decided I
had better say something to him. I stepped in and said, 'I ask your pardon, sir.
It was thoughtless my driving that nail through the fence, and I am glad you
reminded me of it.' He shook hands with me and said, 'Well, well, let us not say
anything more about that.' The result showed the wisdom of treating the matter
in a spirit of simple kindness. It was evidently the course of conduct that was
best for him."

Kindness Rewarded Two boys who were working their way through Leland Stanford
University found themselves almost without funds. One of them conceived the idea
of engaging the great Polish pianist, Paderewski, for a piano recital, and
devoting the profits to their board and tuition. The pianist's manager asked for
a guarantee of $2,000. The boys proceeded to stage the concert, but the proceeds
totaled only $1,600. The boys sought the great artist and told him of their
efforts. They gave him the entire $1,600 and a promissory note for the $400,
explaining that they would earn the balance and pay it off at the earliest
possible moment. "No, boys, that won't do," said Paderewski. Then, tearing up
the note, he returned the money to them, saying, "Now take out of the $1,600 all
of your expenses, and keep ten percent of the balance for each of you for your
work, and let me have the rest." The years rolled by. The war came, and
Paderewski was striving with might and main to feed the starving thousands in
his beloved Poland. There was only one man in the world who could help
Paderewski. Thousands of tons of food began to come into Poland for
distribution. After the starving people were fed, Paderewski journeyed to Paris
to thank Herbert Hoover for the relief sent them. "That's quite all right, Mr.
Paderewski," was Mr. Hoover's reply. "Besides, you don't remember how you helped
me once when I was a student working my way through Leland Stanford, and I was
in a hole." Remember the words of the Master, "With what measure ye mete, it
shall be measured to you again" (Matthew 7:2).




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 80: KNOWLEDGE
========================================================================

Knowledge

Knowing God Holds the Future The ancient Chinese had a unique mechanism for
presenting their plays. They would present a play on a two-level stage. On the
upper stage, the resolution of the drama was acted out as the story unfolded
below. So as tension and mystery were building on the first level, the audience
watching the resolution of the plot would yell to the people on the first level,
"Hang in there! Don't give up! If you only knew!" What inspired that hope? It
was the knowledge of what was happening on the second level. Joseph M. Stowell
recalls this special event: "I will never forget the 1980 Olympics hockey match
between the U.S. team-composed of small, young, amateur players-and the Soviets.
During the final period, I was literally on the edge of my seat. I felt all the
agony and anxiety of the contest as I watched it on television-and then suddenly
we scored to go ahead late in the game! Can we hang on? I was tense, nervous,
and traumatized. Our team went on to win, and at last I was ecstatic. "Later
that night, the network broadcast a replay of the game, so I invited some
friends over to watch it. I watched the same game again, but was I on the edge
of my seat? Of course not. I sat back, propped up my feet, had a bowl of
popcorn, and leisurely sipped a cola. I was watching the very same game-but what
I knew about the outcome made a radical difference in my attitude and actions."

Danger of a Little Learning An astronomer who was on his way to give a lecture
discovered that his seatmate on the airplane was a preacher. Early in the
conversation he assured the clergyman that he knew everything about religion he
needed to know. The preacher expressed delight and asked where the scientist had
studied religion and how much he had read the Bible. "Oh, no," the astronomer
replied, "I've never studied theology, and I don't read the Bible, but I know
the Golden Rule, and I figure that's enough religion for me." "Well, on that
basis," declared the preacher, "I guess I know all about astronomy." The
scientist scoffed and asked the pastor what he knew about the cosmos, to which
the man of the cloth replied gravely, "Twinkle, twinkle little star; how I
wonder what you are."

Stages of Life The twenties are the molding years when the young person forms
those habits that will direct his career. Then he finishes his school work,
stands before the altar, establishes a home, and looks the world in the face.
The thirties are the years of discouragement. It is a hard and trying time. It
is a time of battle without the dreams and poetry of youth. The forties are the
years of vision, when a man finds himself, finishes his castles in the air, and
knows the value of his dreams. In the fifties life comes to ripening. These
should be the years of jubilee, and a man should do his best work then. At
sixty, a man has committed enough mistakes to make him wise beyond his years. He
should live better and do better work than in any other decade in his life. No
man has a right to retire in the sixties; the world has a need for his wisdom.
And in the seventies, some of the best work in the world has been done. It is
the time when talent, experience, and insight combine to make a worthy and
memorable life. Psalms 90:10 says, "The days of our years are threescore and
ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is there
strength, labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." Can the
Finite Understand the Infinite? The story is told of a blind tortoise which
lived in a well. Another tortoise, a native of the ocean, in its inland travels
happened to tumble into this well. The blind one asked of his new comrade whence
he came. "From the sea," was the response. Hearing of the sea, the tortoise swam
round a little circle and asked, "Is the water of the ocean as large as this?"
"Larger," replied he of the sea. The first tortoise then swam round two-thirds
of the well and asked if the sea was as big as that. "Much larger than that,"
said the sea tortoise. "Well, then," asked the blind tortoise, "is the sea as
large as this whole well?" "Larger," said the sea tortoise. "If that is so,"
said the other, "how big then is the sea?" The sea tortoise replied, "You only
know about the water in your well. Your capability of understanding is small. As
to the ocean, though you spent many years in it, you would never be able to
explore the half of it, nor to reach the limit, and it is utterly impossible to
compare it with this well of yours." The tortoise replied, "It is impossible
there can be a larger body of water than this well; you are simply praising your
native place in boastful words." This is only a Mongolian myth, but one that can
teach man a great deal concerning his prejudiced view of his own knowledge. If
man knows so little of the natural surroundings of his life, how much less must
he know about the Infinite Creator of all things. The Infinite God The finite
can neither see nor comprehend the Infinite. The Infinite has to reveal Himself.
Henry Ward Beecher said: "When Columbus drew near to the eastern coast of this
continent, he could see that there were mountains, but do you believe he knew
what minerals were in them? Do you suppose he knew all the trees, all the
shrubs, all the vines, all the herbs there? He knew something about the outlying
islands of this great continent, but he did not understand the details that went
to make it up. I can understand there is such a being as God, but when it is
said that He is infinite, I am so finite that my comprehension ends right there.
I cannot understand infiniteness. All things in the natural world symbolize God,
yet none of them speak of Him but in broken and imperfect words. High above all
He sits, sublimer than mountains, nobler than lords, truer than parents, more
loving than lovers. His feet tread the lowest places of the earth, but His head
is above all glory; everywhere He is supreme." The Depths of God At one time,
that thoughtful man who became St. Augustine was greatly disturbed because he
could not understand the essence of God. "I admit there is a God," he mused,
"but how can I know of what He consists?" Christ had come down to earth with the
claim that He was God. By His resurrection, which He Himself predicted, He
proved that claim. He revealed that God is a Trinity: God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But how could a mind as developed as that of
Augustine accept this? One day as he was walking by the sea, he saw a small boy
who, with the help of a shell, was emptying water from the ocean into a hole he
had dug in the sand. "What are you doing, son?" asked Augustine. He was
impressed by the naive answer, "I'm going to empty all the sea into this hole."
Augustine smiled. An inner voice, however, was saying to him, "You are trying to
do the same thing by thinking you can understand the depths of God with your
limited mind." Our Limited Knowledge A woman who had recently returned from a
trip to Europe was asked if she had seen the Rhine in Germany. "Oh, yes," she
gushed, "and the view from the top was magnificent!" In the same manner, some
Christians claim to know more than they actually do or even more than it is
possible for a believer to know, especially about heaven and the life to come.
They fail to recognize how imperfect our knowledge is in this life, even of
revealed truth. Then they wonder at the rejection of Christianity by so many
thoughtful people who try to arrive at the truth of God by their unaided
intellect and hence fail miserably to discover a Christ who is so far beyond
their mind's grasp.

Just a Handful of Peanuts George Washington Carver was not only one of America's
greatest agriculturists and scientists, he was also the pioneer of the
synthetics industry which has revolutionized life in this country and around the
world. When he was old and bent with years, he shared with a group of students
one day the story of his single most crucial undertaking-unlocking the mysteries
of the simple peanut. He first cried out, "Oh, Mr. Creator, why did You make
this universe?" "Then," he told the students who were listening intently, "the
Creator answered me. 'You want to know too much for that little mind of yours,'
He said, 'Ask me something more your size.' So I said, 'Dear Mr. Creator, tell
me what man was made for.' Again He spoke to me, and He said, 'Little man, you
are still asking for more than you can handle. Cut down the extent of your
request and improve the intent.' And then I asked my last question. 'Mr.
Creator, Why did You make the peanut?' 'That's better!' the Lord said, and He
gave me a handful of peanuts and went with me back to the laboratory and
together, we got down to work." The results of that conversation with God are
history. God wanted Dr. Carver to realize that his knowledge was only partial,
and that his mind was not great enough to unravel all the mysteries of the
universe, or even of man. He showed him that such a simple thing as a lowly
peanut had enough potential within it to keep his brilliant mind well-occupied
for a lifetime. The Prize of Folly One of Aesop's fables tells of a lottery that
Jupiter held for the gods. It happened that the best prize, "wisdom," fell to
his daughter Minerva, upon which a general murmur arose that the wheel had been
rigged. In order to punish and silence the protesters, Jupiter awarded them the
prize of "folly" instead of "wisdom," and they went away perfectly contented.
And from that time, it is said, the greatest fools have looked upon themselves
as the wisest men.

Finite Mind Can a man born blind conceive in his mind all of the varieties and
properties of color merely by hearing of them? How foolish it would be for a
blind man to conclude that because he cannot see colors they do not exist. He
simply lacks the capacity for seeing them. It would be equally foolish for us to
reject the existence, the reality, of that which is mysterious to us, but which
has been revealed to us by God. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, "But God
hath revealed them [the elements of mystery in the gospel] unto us by his
Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For
what man knoweth the things of man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even
so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God."

Near-sighted A forester near Hamburg, Germany, found an unusual bird's nest. It
was a tiny tin can in which a full-grown cuckoo was imprisoned. Apparently the
can had been used by some smaller bird for a nest, and the cuckoo egg had been
left there in accordance with the custom of the cuckoo of leaving eggs in other
birds' nests. When the eggs hatched, the foster parents discovered that they had
a stranger in their home-a cuckoo. When flying-time came, all were able to leave
the nest but the cuckoo who was too large to get through the opening in the can.
So the foster parents continued to feed the imprisoned bird who, for lack of
exercise, had become so fat that it filled the entire can. Its misery was ended
only when the forester opened the can and let the bird out. Many men never fly,
spiritually speaking, because they are never able to break the bonds that hold
them to the narrow restrictions of the single viewpoint of truth they have
chosen. God will break the bonds of the man of faith who deliberately opens his
heart and mind to "the whole counsel of God" as found in His Word from Genesis
to Revelation.

Limited Perception When Paul says, "For now we see through a glass, darkly" in 1
Corinthians 13:12, he is not speaking of seeing through a dirty windowpane but
of looking into a shadowy mirror such as those manufactured in Bible times in
Corinth. All our attempts to look at truth as we see it reflected in creation,
in history, in our own consciousness, and even in the Bible, can give us only a
dim and imperfect idea of God and of heavenly realities because of human
finiteness and sin. Our perception of realities may be more or less the truth as
far as our perception goes, but this is always dim and imperfect.

Obedience-Gateway to Knowledge It is difficult to tell which is more important,
the proclamation of the grace of God or submission to the Lord Jesus Christ,
since the two are so interrelated. Anne Sullivan, who tutored young Helen Keller
who was deaf, dumb, and blind, said, "I saw clearly that it was useless to try
to teach her language or anything else until she learned to obey me. I have
thought about it a great deal, and the more I think, the more certain I am that
obedience is the gateway through which knowledge, yes, and love, too, enter the
mind of a child."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 81: LOVE
========================================================================

Love

He Did It Without Regret United States Senator Jake Garn of Utah did something
most of us admire-and perhaps should consider doing ourselves. He donated one of
his organs to save a life. A recent survey says 73 percent of Americans approve
organ donation. But only about 20 percent actually sign donor cards and make
arrangements for our corneas, kidneys, or other organs to be used when we die.
In Senator Garn's case, however, he did not wait until his death to donate his
left kidney. His 27-year-old daughter, Susan Garn Horne, suffered from
progressive kidney failure due to diabetes. Her condition deteriorated, and
doctors determined that she needed a kidney transplant immediately. Jake Garn
and his two sons were all found to be compatible donors. The senator insisted
that he should be the one to give the kidney. "Her mother carried her for nine
months," he said, "and I am honored to give her part of me." So, on September
10, 1986, in a Washington, D.C. hospital, a six-hour surgical procedure was
performed to remove one of his kidneys and to implant it into his daughter. The
radio news broadcast a story on Garns, and in it was a comment from the doctor
who put the donated kidney into Susan's body. At a press briefing at Georgetown
University Hospital, the doctor said, "The senator is awake, has a bit of a grin
on his face. He seems very self-satisfied, and happy and peaceful." The senator
had to be in pain at that moment. The incision through which his kidney was
removed goes from his back to his front ribs. There were tubes in him, needles
yet to come, and several weeks of recuperation lying ahead. But he was smiling!
That grin on Jake Garn's face could have meant only one thing: no regrets. Love
makes it possible for a person to do the most difficult and dreaded of things
without looking back. Think for a moment about what Jesus did to save you. He
left the worship of angels to be born in a stable. He accepted the limitations
of human form, suffered indignities of the greatest magnitude, and shed His
lifeblood to purchase your redemption. The most astounding thing about all He
did is that there is not a word in the Bible which indicates that the Son of God
regretted doing it. On the day of His ascension back to the Father, there may
have been a bit of a grin on His face. His only regret would come if you refused
His gift of life.

Love and Actions "I love Thee, I love Thee and that Thou doest know; But how
much I love Thee, my actions will show."

Puncture-Proof Heart Some of these newfangled inventions are great-especially
the puncture-proof tire. If you are driving along with ordinary tires and a nail
goes through one of them, whis-s-s, you lose all the air. But a puncture-proof
tire is different-if a nail goes through, there is some stuff inside that runs
around and stops the hole and the air stays in. The heart of a Christian is like
that puncture-proof tire. An ordinary heart may be filled with love, but when
someone does something to puncture that heart, all the love runs out and hatred
and hard feelings take its place. But a puncture-proof heart is different. It is
filled with the Spirit of Christ and when someone, through their words or deeds
punctures that heart, immediately the hole is stopped up tight and the love
stays in."

Love One Another Joseph M. Stowell shares this memory: "When my parents moved to
southern Florida, they sorted through some of the family treasures and divided
them among the children. My dad brought me a little box and said, 'Joe, I want
you to have this.'When I opened the box and pulled back the cotton, there was an
old pocket watch-one of those round ones that usually hangs from a fancy gold
chain with a watch fob on it. "I have a few antique clocks, so I was somewhat
aware of the value of old timepieces. That watch did not have a famous maker's
name on it, or a brass or gold or sterling case; it did not have a fancy gold
chain or watch fob. In fact, it really was a common old watch with a leather
thong tied to it. As a watch, it was not something of great worth. "But my dad
said, 'This was the first watch I ever owned. My dad gave me this watch.'I
remembered that he and I used to fish the St. Joe River every summer, floating
down the river and fly fishing in the evening. This was the watch he used to
pull out every once in a while to see what time it was. "You know, if my dad had
taken that watch to an antique store, they would have told him it was worth
little, if anything. But all the money in the world could not buy that watch
from me. That watch is precious to my father, and since it is precious to him,
it is precious to me. "That is what people are like. That is why God in essence
said, 'Love Me? Love people!'"

Service Over Showing Off There is a story told about Sam Rayburn who was Speaker
for the House of Representatives longer than any other man. One of his friends
lost a teenage daughter and early the next morning Rayburn knocked on his door.
"I just came by to see what I could do to help." The father replied that there
was nothing to do. "Well," Rayburn said, "have you had your coffee this
morning?" The man replied that they had not taken time for breakfast. While
Rayburn was working in the kitchen, the man came in and said, "Mr. Speaker, I
thought you were supposed to be having breakfast at the White House this
morning." "Well, I was, but I called the President and told him I had a friend
who was in trouble and I could not come." What a different world this would be
if we would learn to become more and more unselfish.

What Is Adoption? A small girl recently gave her definition of the word
"adoption." "It is when you love someone and you ask them to come and live with
you." Simplicity is still the best way to say a thing, is it not? God loves us
too, and He wants to adopt us as sons and daughters-how about it? Would you come
and live with Him?

Love for People Then there's the man who said, "Lord, maybe Charlie Brown is
right when he says he loves mankind, but it is people he cannot stand. You see,
I love people in general more than I do individually. "Lord, it is like the joke
about the father who yelled at his kids when they walked in the wet cement of
his sidewalk; he can love them in the abstract, but never in the concrete.
"Maybe I need to see a little more of You in them. And maybe I need to see a
little more of You in me."

Love Your Enemies An Armenian nurse had been held captive along with her brother
by the Turks. Her brother was slain by a Turkish soldier before her eyes.
Somehow she escaped and later became a nurse in a military hospital. One day she
was stunned to find that the same man who had killed her brother had been
captured and brought wounded to the hospital where she worked. Something within
her cried out "Vengeance." But a stronger voice called for her to love. She
nursed the man back to health. Finally, the recuperating soldier asked her, "Why
didn't you let me die?" Her answer was, "I am a follower of Him who said, 'Love
your enemies, do good to them which hate you'" (Luke 6:27). Impressed with her
answer, the young soldier replied, "I never heard such words before. Tell me
more. I want this kind of religion."

Orders to Go When someone asked a missionary if he liked his work in Africa, he
replied: "Do I like this work? No, my wife and I do not like dirt. We have
reasonably refined sensibilities. We do not like crawling into huts through
goats' refuse. We do not like association with ignorant, filthy, brutish people.
But is a man to do nothing for Christ he does not like? If not, then God pity
him. Liking or disliking has nothing to do with it. We have orders to 'go'and we
go. Love constrains us" (2 Corinthians 5:14).

Love Needed Some years ago, Dr. Karl Menninger, noted doctor and psychologist,
was seeking the cause of many of his patients' ills. One day he called in his
clinical staff and proceeded to unfold a plan for developing, in his clinic, an
atmosphere of creative love. All patients were to be given large quantities of
love; no unloving attitudes were to be displayed in the presence of the
patients, and all nurses and doctors were to go about their work in and out of
the various rooms with a loving attitude. At the end of six months, the time
spent by patients in the institution was cut in half.

Lesson in Love As a group of college students toured the slums of a city, one of
the girls, seeing a little girl playing in the dirt, asked a guide, "Why doesn't
her mother clean her up?" "Madam," he replied, "that girl's mother probably
loves her, but she doesn't hate dirt. You hate dirt, but you don't love her
enough to go down there and clean her up. Until hate for dirt and love for that
child are in the same person, that little girl is likely to remain as she is."
Until hate for sin and love for the sinner gets in a person, he will do little
about the plight of the lost.

Love That Sacrifices During World War II, an enemy submarine approached a fleet
of ships in the North Atlantic. The captain of one vessel spotted the white mark
of a torpedo coming directly at his ship. His transport was loaded with
literally hundreds and hundreds of young soldiers on the way to the European
front. He realized they would not have time to maneuver to avoid the torpedo. He
grabbed the loudspeaker and cried out, "Boys, this is it!" Nearby, though, a
little escorting destroyer also observed the torpedo. The captain ordered, "Full
speed ahead." His ship steamed into the path of the torpedo. The destroyer was
blown up; it sank very quickly. Every man on it was lost. The captain of the
troop transport ship sadly commented, "The skipper of that destroyer was my best
friend." Now one verse in the Bible has an even deeper meaning for that captain:
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friend" (John 15:13). A Good Teacher and a Great Teacher "Teacher, I will follow
you wherever you go" (Matthew 8:19). A number of years ago a Johns Hopkins
University professor asked his graduate students to locate 200 boys, ages 12-16
and research their family backgrounds. The assignment was then to predict their
future. The students were sent to the slum area of the city to find the boys.
The conclusion reached by the graduate students was that 90 percent of those
researched would spend time in jail. The final chapter of this study would not
completed until 25 years later. When the 200 original students were sought
after, some 25 years later, John Hopkins sent the researchers into the slum area
again. Some of the group still remained in the slums, others had moved away, a
few had died. In all they were able to locate 180 of the original 200. What they
found amazed them. Only four had ever been to jail (remember the prediction had
been 90 percent of 200)! What caused this figure to be so low when all
indications pointed to a larger number? When the researchers began to ask this
question they found that they were getting the same answer, "Well, there was
this teacher...." Pressed further, the researchers found that the teacher in all
cases was one and the same. The boys had all been influenced by the same
teacher. The graduate students traced down the teacher, now living in a
retirement home, and inquired about her remarkable influence over a group of
boys who were headed for a life of crime. She really could not think of any
reason why she would have this kind of influence. She did mention that "I truly
loved my students."

Pleasing Christ A love desire to please Christ is not something extra for the
Christian. It is basic to Christian sanctity. It is not a dessert, but the main
course-not a sideshow, but the main tent. It is not a motive to which we can
resort to when convenient; it is a controlling force to which we have committed
our lives. We have abandoned everything else. In time, applause and pleas of the
world have a hollow ring. We are marching to a different drumbeat. His smile is
singularly our greatest delight! This is the lifestyle of love.

God Is Love A certain farmer had an unusual weathervane on his barn. Inscribed
on the arrow were these words: "God is love." A passerby turned in at the gate
and asked the farmer, "What do you mean by that? Do you think God's love is
changeable; that it veers about as that arrow turns in the winds?" "Oh, no,"
replied the farmer, "I mean that whichever way the wind blows, God is still
love." The Time to Trust When nothing whereon to lean remains, When strongholds
crumble to dust; When nothing is sure but that God still reigns, That is just
the time to trust.

He Never Stops Loving Us The minister was retiring, and had delivered his last
sermon from the pulpit where he had preached many years. One of the faithful
members stopped as she went out the door and asked, "Do you know what is the
most important thing you said in all these years?" "What was that?" the minister
inquired, so he might learn of one way he had helped someone. "You told us we
cannot do anything to get God to stop loving us!" was the quiet reply. The most
important thing that you can learn in life is that God never stops loving you!
-Peter lied about being one of the disciples, but God loved him (Matthew 26:70).
-The mothers and their small children were a problem for the disciples, but God
loved them (Matthew 19:14). -The woman refused to give Jesus a drink of water
from the well, but God loved her (John 4:9). No matter what your life has been
like, He still loves you! How much do you love God? No Greater Love From the
days before ready access to vaccines comes this story: The doctor looked down at
the little girl in the hospital bed. He knew that her only hope was to receive
blood from someone who had recovered from the same disease. Quickly the doctor
found the anxious family, and knelt beside a small boy. "Johnny," he said, "your
sister needs your kind of blood to make her well. Would you be willing to give
your blood so that she can live?" Johnny's eyes grew big. The doctor watched
them well with fear, but the little boy hesitated only long enough to swallow
the lump in his throat. "Sure, Doctor, I will do it," he replied. After the
needed amount of blood was taken from Johnny's small arm, he remained quiet for
a few minutes as he had been instructed. Then he stood up, and asked softly:
"Well, Doctor, when do I die?" Only then did the doctor realize the extent of
the child's sacrifice. Johnny had offered his life to save his sister, Jesus
declared that there is no greater love. Greater love than this no man has, that
a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). A Kind Teacher F. W.
Farrar tells how, when Dwight L. Moody was an ignorant, ragged, shoeless boy in
the streets of Chicago, he found his way to a Sunday school by one of those
unseen providences that men call chance. He was shy and sensitive and very
nervous lest the other boys would laugh at him because he could not find the
places in the Bible. The teacher observed his embarrassment, and with gentle,
silent tact saved him from his shame by finding the places for him. But for that
little nameless act of love and sympathy, a career of memorable beneficence
might have been lost to the world.

Warmth of Love Have you ever seen a tailor place a piece of absorbent paper over
a spot of grease and press down on it with a hot iron? Why does he do it? The
heat melts the grease, and the paper absorbs it. Real love absorbs the spots in
the lives of others, making them feel the warmth of our own hearts for them. The
Christian Grocer A Christian grocer was in financial difficulties because his
customers thought they could run up their bills indefinitely. They felt that
such a saintly man would never press them for payment or take them to court.
Their ready excuse was, "We don't have money to pay our bills." "How can I pay
my creditors, if the people I have trusted do not pay me?" puzzled the grocer.
What should a Christian do in such a case-believe all things and all men and go
bankrupt? A novel idea came to him. He posted the following notice on the
bulletin board in front of his store: "On this bulletin board, thirty days from
now, will appear the names of all persons who have been indebted to me for one
year or more and who, after repeated requests, have refused to pay! Some have
told me that they are unable to pay, but they are able to build homes, drive
cars, and have other things that I could have if I had the money due me. I hope
I don't have to put any names on the board, but I won't be put off any longer!"
Results followed immediately. Many paid their old accounts, while others
promised to do so on the next payday. This grocer's action was wholly consistent
with Christian love. He refused to believe the falsehoods of others and by so
doing didn't allow them to continue in deceit and dishonesty. Love believes all
things that encourages honesty and virtue in others. Love does not believe lies
but endeavors to correct them.

Parental Love A young man who had committed a crime was sent to prison without
his parents knowing about it. When he finally wrote and told them where he was,
they hastened to the distant city to see him. Sullen and stony-faced, he greeted
them in the visiting room. Braced for their recriminations and anger, he was
completely unprepared for their loving concern. "I thought you would never
forgive me-that you would disown me!" he cried. "Why should we do that?" asked
his father. "You're our son, and we only want to help you." The fact that their
love toward him had not changed was the beginning of that young man's
redemption.

Blind to the Truth A wife whose husband had embezzled thousands of dollars
simply would not believe it of him. She loved her husband. So did a close
friend, but this friend had to appear in court for the truth's sake and witness
against him. The man was pronounced guilty by two courts and sentenced to a jail
term, but his wife still refused to believe the truth. Was her kind of love of
any help to his sinful and eternal condition? No, it only encouraged him to
persist in perpetuating a lie. Real love is not blind to the truth. It does not
reject truth for fear that it will not survive the blow. It accepts truth as the
basis of the redemptive work of love. No Burden An American missionary who was
walking down the streets of a Chinese city was greatly interested in the
children, many of whom were carrying smaller children upon their backs and
managing at the same time to play their games. "It is too bad," the American
sympathetically said to one little fellow, "that you have to carry such a heavy
burden!" "He is no burden," came the quick reply; "He is my brother." "Well, you
are chivalrous to say so!" said the man, and he gave the boy some money. When
the missionary returned home he said to his family, "A little Chinese boy has
taught me the fullest meaning of the words, 'Bear ye one another's burdens, and
so fulfill the law of Christ.' " He recounted his interview and added, "If a
little Chinese boy can carry and care for his brother and refuse to consider him
a burden, surely we ought not to think it a burden to carry our brother, the
weak and the needy ones, who look to us for help. Let us rejoice as we carry
one, and say, by our actions, 'He is no burden; he is my brother.' " An Act of
Love Let us imitate the barber who one week noticed that there was a good
increase in his business. When he tried to find out why, he discovered that his
competitor, another barber in the village, was ill. When the week ended, he took
all that he had made above his average earnings and carried it to his competitor
with his Christian love and sympathy.

They Killed My Brother I vividly remember an incident that took place at our
Greek Keswick in Macedonia one year. The Lord had just opened the door for a
special ministry among the Turks. After I announced it, a devout Christian woman
came up to me, placed some Greek currency in my hand, and said, "I want this
used to win Turks to Christ. They killed my brother, but I want to be the first
to contribute to their cause." There will be a special reward for that woman at
the day of judgment for believers.

Encouraging Friends One winter in Chicago, a young man of dissipated habits was
happily converted to God. His life was so radically changed that not a soul who
knew him doubted the depth and genuineness of God's work of grace in his heart.
He lived like a Christian for many months. One stormy evening in November, after
business hours, he was on his way home when he was delayed by an open
drawbridge. A large, brilliantly lighted bar stood right at hand. He had often
frequented such places before his conversion, but never since that time. This
evening, however, as he waited for the bridge to turn and let him through, he
stepped into the bar for no other reason than to get out of the pelting sleet.
Suddenly, all the familiar temptations closed around him, and almost before he
was aware of his danger, he had ordered a drink. One drink led to another, and
before he left the place he was partially intoxicated. Before he reached home he
despaired of his salvation. "My family, my friends, the church, will all know
about it," he groaned within himself. "No one will have any confidence in me. I
am disgraced, lost." But two young men from his church who had seen him leave
the bar came up to him and said, "Charlie, don't go home tonight. Come with us
and we'll take care of you. We promise that no one in the world shall ever hear
from us a word of what happened tonight." They encouraged him, saying that God
would forgive and restore him. Next morning he was himself again. They knelt
together in earnest prayer, and when he rose from his knees it was with the glad
assurance of pardon and God's favor restored. This young man never again yielded
to such a temptation and went on to become a successful minister of the gospel.
The Valuable Picture When a certain wealthy man died, his will could not be
found. Since his wife and only son had preceded him in death, his possessions
were sold at auction. Everything was disposed of except a picture of the son.
Nobody seemed to want it until an elderly woman approached and pleaded with the
auctioneer to let her have it for the few dollars in her possession. When he
gave her the picture, she hugged it to her heart, for she had been the son's
nurse in his infancy and boyhood days. Attached to the back of the painting she
discovered an envelope addressed to an attorney. Taking it to him, she was
astonished to hear him exclaim, "Woman, you have a fortune! This is the man's
will, and in it he has left a large sum of money to anyone who loved his son
enough to buy the picture."

Christian Love That great blind preacher, George Matheson, adequately grasped
the idea of Paul when he wrote: "Christian love is the only kind of love in
which there is no rivalry, no jealousy. There is jealousy among the lovers of
art; there is jealousy among the lovers of song; there is jealousy among the
lovers of beauty. The glory of natural love is its monopoly, its power to say,
'It is mine.' But the glory of Christian love is its refusal of monopoly. The
spiritual artist-the man who paints Christ in his soul-wants no solitary niche
in the temple of fame. He would not like to hear anyone say, 'He is the first of
his profession; there is not one that can hold a candle to him.' He would be
very sad to be thus distinguished in his profession of Christ, marked out as a
solitary figure. The gladdest moment to him will always be the moment when the
cry is heard, 'Thy brother is coming up the ladder also; thy brother will share
the inheritance with thee.' "

Love Demonstrated A class of little girls was learning to spell. They spelled a
number of small words, such as "pig," "cat," "dog," "cow," and amused themselves
by imitating the sounds that these animals make. Then little Mary was asked to
spell "love." She didn't stop to give the letters, but ran and threw her arms
around the teacher's neck and kissed her on the cheek. "We spell 'love' that way
at our house," she said. The girls laughed, but the teacher said, "That is a
beautiful way; but do you know another way to spell 'love'?" "Oh, yes," cried
Mary, "I spell love this way," and she began to put the books in order on her
teacher's desk. "I spell love by helping everybody when they need me."

Punishment Necessary A young man speeding along a highway crashed into an
oncoming car, and the resultant chain reaction caused the death and crippling of
several innocent victims. Yet the judge, after only five minutes deliberation,
let him go free. The ensuing public uproar caused a re-opening of the case and a
conviction-although ultimately the sentence was suspended. The public outrage in
this case, and in similar instances where justice is flouted, shows that men
have a built-in recognition of the fact that, where wrongdoing goes unpunished,
the law-abiding are threatened and the innocent victimized. Parental love cannot
allow disobedience to go unchecked or let continued rejection of authority go
unpunished. To do so would be to encourage anarchy and to discourage those who
are trying to do what is right. The doctrine of love that the Lord Jesus Christ
preached was no wishy-washy affair of permissiveness, of "anything goes," but
was balanced by stern warnings about sinning against God and man.

Love in Deed and Truth A young man spent an entire evening telling a girl how
much he loved her. He said that he could not live without her; that he would go
to the ends of the earth for her; yes, go through fire for her, or die for her.
However, on leaving, he said, "I'll see you tomorrow night if it doesn't rain."
How often we say we love God yet deny it by our actions. Christ will give His
crown of life only to those who love Him in deed and in truth. Be Merciful J. H.
Evans said, "I believe that God often permits me to be chastened by my sin,
because I do not make use of my mercies." We often lose our mercies by loving
them too well, as the ball of snow is melted by the heat of the hand that holds
it, or a rose is spoiled by pressing it too tightly. Theophilus Gale very well
said, "Whatsoever I thankfully receive, as a token of God's love to me, I part
with contentedly as a token of my love to Him."




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  CHAPTER 82: MARRIAGE
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Marriage

Those Sweet Short Years There is no greater blessing on earth than a good
marriage. A young couple was visiting with an older couple celebrating their
50th wedding anniversary. "Fifty years!" the young husband exclaimed, "That is a
long time to be married to one person." The old gentleman looked over at his
wife with love in his eyes and said, "It would have been a lot longer without
her." In Christian marriage, two people grow more and more one with every
passing year. They are "fellow heirs of the grace of life" and they are more
than happy to share. Each is helping the other on the way to eternity. Someone
asked, "Is there anything more beautiful than a boy and girl clasping clean
hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage?" The answer is "Yes, there is a
more beautiful thing: it is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman
finishing their journey on that path. Their hands are gnarled, but still
clasped; their faces are seamed but still radiant; their hearts are tired and
bowed down but still strong. They have proved the happiness of marriage and
vindicated it from the jeers of cynics."

How to Preserve a Husband Be careful in your selection. Once selected, give your
entire thoughts to preparation for domestic use. Some wives insist upon keeping
them in a pickle, others are constantly getting them into hot water. This makes
them sour, hard, and sometimes bitter. Even poor varieties may be made sweet,
tender and good, by garnishing them with kisses, wrapping them in a blanket of
love, keeping them warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion, and serving
with peaches and cream. Thus prepared they will keep for years!!

Tell Her So Amid the cares of married life, In spite of toil and business
strife, If you value your sweet wife, Tell her so! There was a time you thought
it bliss To get the favor of a kiss; A dozen now won't come amiss- Tell her so!
Do not act as if she has passed her prime, As though to please her were a crime-
If e'er you loved her, now is the time; Tell her so! Never let her heart grow
cold; Richer beauties will unfold. She is worth her weight in gold; Tell her so!

Please Talk to Me Pastor Charles Curtis stresses the importance of really
communicating: "My husband does not talk to me," is the complaint of 80 percent
of American wives. It has been claimed that "One hundred percent of the people
seeking professional help for their marriages have problems of communication."
In our world, the power to send and receive messages reaches around the globe
(even out into space), and this information is available in seconds! Yet,
husbands and wives are unable to successfully communicate across the breakfast
table. "Please talk to me" is the request and basic need in many homes.
Communication is a rich source of blessing. What a joy it is to talk and listen!
Recently, I had a sore throat and was to preach that night. In order to save my
throat, I wrote notes and did not speak for the entire day. It was maddening and
frustrating. "A word spoken in season, how good is it" (Proverbs 15:23)! "A word
fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver" (Proverbs 25:11). The
lack of communication multiplies our problems as it destroys bridges over which
we need to travel. An old farmer had trouble guiding his mule, but said nothing.
When asked why he didn't speak to the mule, he responded, "That old mule kicked
me five years ago and I ain't spoke to him since." Marriage offers
companionship, and this is impossible without communication. People can be
lonely in a crowd or in a marriage. Lines of communication should be carefully
built and maintained in the home. "People are lonely because they build walls
instead of bridges" (Joseph E. Newton). Communication is more than just
speaking. How well do we listen? The Scripture admonished us: "Wherefore, my
beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath"
(James 1:19). While a senator, Lyndon Johnson had this sign in his office: "You
ain't learning nothing when you're doing all the talking." Listening is
essential to communication. Parents often fail to really hear what their
children may be saying. Teenages run away from home "because it is the only way
they know how to cope with a family that has forgotten how to listen" (Fred
Gross). Listening has a way of saying-"To me, you are an important person. I
appreciate you, I accept you, I love you, and I want to hear what you have to
say." It is only by listening that we can correctly respond.

Nine Suggestions for an Ailing Marriage Never consider divorce an option. It is
not a solution to your problem. Divorce is not an acceptable alternative because
God says it is not. Do not compare your mate or your marriage to others. There
is not another person on earth like you. Your mate is also unique. This means
that your marriage is unique. Let God make it what He wants it to be. He will
make it perfect! Forgive your mate. You are to forgive as Christ has forgiven
you. You are a sinner. He or she is a sinner. You are not perfect-so be willing
to forgive one another. And do it right away before any bitterness can build up.
Stop all criticism. Love does not criticize and find fault. Therefore, if you
are critical of your mate, you do not have a heart of love. Stop all criticism.
Instead, try a little praise. It works like magic! Start communicating with your
mate. Communication is completely broken down in many homes and marriages. Start
listening to what your mate is saying as well as to what he or she is not
saying. Break down the barriers by being vulnerable. Try saying, "Honey, what is
the biggest fault I have?" Then say, "Would you please help me, by the grace of
God, to gain victory over that fault?" Refuse any relationship outside your
marriage in which affection is sought or given. This substitute could even be a
relative, a friend, or a neighbor. Do not seek to make someone else a substitute
for what you are not getting in your marriage. You will never solve your problem
doing this. Trust your mate. Trust your spouse, even if he or she is wrong -you
are right in trusting. A marriage must be based on trust. It cannot survive
without it. Do something every day to please your mate-something that you know
will bring your partner joy and happiness. This is not asking much-to do one
thing-but it pays big dividends. Thank God every day for the 25 best qualities
in your mate. Write them down. Concentrate on them and the positive will soon
outshine the negative.

Marital Turmoil Some people think that courtship is when a man spoons, and
marriage is when he must fork over. It is tragic to realize that in the church
of Christ there are constant marital difficulties. Christian mates ought to be
among the happiest of people on the face of the planet! Why should a man and
woman who profess to be in love with the Lord continue in misery because of a
rocky marital relationship? The closer husbands and wives walk with Christ the
easier their lives together will become. But show me a husband and wife who are
unfaithful to the Bridegroom, Jesus, and I will show you a couple in deep
trouble. Will a Christian wife nag and complain and bemoan everything or will
she be a radiant help-meet for the man with whom she chose to live out her life?
Will a husband come home and sequester himself behind the evening newspaper if
he really wants to demonstrate Christian love? Once a housewife asked her
husband if he minded escorting her out to the garbage can. He asked why she
would make such a silly request. She replied, "I just want to be able to tell
the neighbors that we go out together once in a while." Marriage is a
give-and-take proposition, and a wise couple soon realizes that each must give
more than was thought during courtship. Too many mates fritter their lives away
and burden others by supposing they have insurmountable problems within their
marriages. But Paul reminds us: "Wives, submit to you husbands, as is fitting in
the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them" (Colossians
3:18-19). Unselfish love is the key to successful Christian marriages.

Divorce Although one in every two married couples ends up divorced, certain
categories of marriages have a much higher success rate. A national survey
revealed that when two criteria are present-the couple attends church, and they
pray together at home-there was only one divorce in one thousand marriages!

How Husbands Can Emotionally Meet Their Wives' Needs When did you last tell your
wife, "I love you?" When did she last hear those words that are music to her
ears-"I really do need you"? Have you recently told her, "Honey, I think you are
a really good mother for our children?" The vast majority of wives are starving
for verbal affirmation from their husbands. And most men are so thoughtless and
insensitive that they will not give their wives what the wives desperately want
and deserve. We husbands gladly encourage our wives to buy food and grudgingly
encourage them to buy clothes, but most who come to counseling just cannot dig
deeply enough to give complimentary words. So, marriages are unfulfilling, wives
feel unappreciated, and many marriages wither and die. Husbands, speak up! God
expects you, as the head, to do more than provide financially for your wife. He
wants you to also provide for her emotional well-being. Whisper it, write it, or
shout it-just get those words of affirmation to the ears of your wife.

What Glues Husband and Wife Together? Dr. Joseph Henry said that during the
Second World War, two physics graduate students heard their professor say that
someday a method would be devised for polishing glass that would replace steel
as the flattest surface known to man. When this was done, he said, a revolution
in technology would take place. After graduation, these two young physicists
formed a partnership and set out to prove their professor's theory. They
established a laboratory and went to work. Several years later, after a very
complicated process, they had a great breakthrough. They produced such a flat
surface that it could be used to measure objects within two-millionths of an
inch-a great improvement over anything previously developed. When Dr. Henry
visited their plant, one of the owners said to him, "See these two squares of
glass? They have been put through this new process, and I want to show you
something." Then he simply placed the two pieces together, handed them to Dr.
Henry, and said, "Now take them apart." After he pulled, pushed, twisted, turned
and exerted all of his strength, Dr. Henry still could not budge them. The young
physicist explained, "Two surfaces are held together by a certain number of
points of contact, but ordinarily there are so few they easily come apart. The
points on these two pieces of glass, however, have been ground down until they
are almost completely flat surfaces. They are held together by so many points of
contact that it is almost impossible to get them apart." If you let God rub down
the rough edges in you and your spouse, nothing will be able to tear you apart.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 83: MEEKNESS
========================================================================

Meekness

President Lincoln and the Dying Boy During the hard days of the Civil War,
President Lincoln made frequent visits to the hospitals that were always
overcrowded with the suffering. On one occasion he stopped to speak to one of
the patients, a mere boy of 16, who had been mortally wounded and was nearing
death. President Lincoln, taking the thin, white hand, said, "My poor boy, what
can I do for you?" With a beseeching look the fellow turned his eyes to the
homely, kindly face and asked, "Will you write to my mother for me?" "That I
will," answered the President, and calling for a pen, ink and paper, he seated
himself and wrote a long letter. When it was finished, the President rose,
saying, "I will mail this as soon as I get back to my office. Now is there
anything else I can do for you?" In some way the boy had come to know it was the
President, and so, looking at him in the most appealing sort of way, he asked,
"Will you stay with me till it is all over? I will not be long, and I want to
hold onto your hand." That was too much for the great-hearted President to
resist. The tears came to his eyes, and he sat down by him and took hold of his
hand. The fellow did not move or speak a word. This was some time before four
o'clock, and it was long after six before the end came. A Superior's Superior
Attitude Bruce Barton told of an incident in the life of Abraham Lincoln which
illustrates a winning spirit. Lincoln, in search of firsthand information on the
progress of the Civil War, sought out his general, George B. McClellan.
McClellan was not at home when the President and a cabinet member arrived, so
Lincoln waited an hour. At last the general returned, but instead of greeting
Lincoln, he went upstairs and retired for the evening, sending a servant to
explain that he was too tired to see the President. Lincoln's companion exploded
in rage, but the President laid his hand gently on the man's shoulder: "There,
there, do not take it so hard. I will hold McClellan's horse if he will only
bring us victories." In his words we hear echoes of Paul's comment: "...I will
not be enslaved to anything" (1 Corinthians 6:12).

Learn from the Goats Two goats met one another upon a narrow plank set up across
a river, so that they could not pass by without one thrusting the other off. If
they were human beings they would argue who had the right to survive. But the
goats figured it all out, how one could help the other and, at the same time,
help itself. One lay down, and let the other leap over it.

Soft Answers to Rough Questions A missionary in Jamaica was once questioning
some little boys on the meaning of Matthew 5:5 and asked, "Who are the meek?" A
boy answered, "Those who give soft answers to rough questions." We shall do well
to remember this child's definition. The one who has wisdom in his head and
heart does not need to shout at others. Wisdom speaks softly and persuasively,
instead of impelling and forcing. Through the use of our tongues people will
know whether we are wise or not. As that great theologian, Charles Hodge, said,
"The doctrines of grace humble a man without degrading him and exalt him without
inflating him." The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth Men cannot understand how
meekness is going to inherit the earth. Men believe in physical strength. They
believe in arms and armies. They believe in craft and cunning. They believe in
energy, will, and perseverance. They believe in things. They believe in matter.
They believe in influencing their fellowmen, working upon them by threats, by
pain, by fear. There are few men who believe that a humble man is being used in
the strongest possible manner. They cannot credit that his humility shows that
he is governed by his highest nature. They cannot conceive that an attitude of
meekness is in perfect accord with the divine nature, which is dwelling in that
meek one as a result of his new birth in Christ. In saying that the meek shall
inherit the earth, our Lord declares this is the potential accomplishment of the
man who is indwelt by Christ, by the Spirit of God within man. The Fruit of
Meekness A Brahmin compared the Christian missionary to the mango tree. All its
branches hang with fruit. It is then assailed with stones and clubs by
passersby. How does it respond-by dropping fruit at every blow at the feet of
those who assail it. At the close of the season, it stands scarred and battered,
its leaves torn off, its branches broken. But the next year it bears more fruit
than the previous year. That is what our meekness should do in the world-not try
to conserve its self-esteem but bear fruit, fruit that descends low at the
attack of cruel words and actions. Christian meekness cannot be exercised in
isolation. It must be manifested within the framework of society, a society that
hates the Lord Jesus Christ, openly or subtly, and all who stand for Him. A
Sense of God's Goodness One night during an evangelistic meeting, a paralytic
was wheeled down the aisle and placed near the platform. In the preliminary part
of the service, the song leader caught sight of him and asked, "What is your
favorite hymn?" He immediately answered, "Count Your Blessings!" There was no
wail of complaint from the handicapped man, just a vivid sense of the goodness
of God. Our submissiveness to God spells satisfaction for our lot on earth. This
is the lesson of this Beatitude, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit
the earth." This paralytic is surely heir to a greater part of earth than many a
millionaire. Meekness, in this sense, is a power-the power to feel satisfaction
with what God gives, the power not to merely endure it but to enjoy it to the
fullest and to use it for His purpose. A Room Nobody Wants When Sammy Morris, a
Kru boy from Africa, came to America to be trained for Christian service, he
presented himself for matriculation at Taylor University. He revealed a spirit
all too rare among Christians. When the President of the University asked him
what room he wanted, Sammy replied, "If there is a room nobody wants, give that
to me." Of this incident the President later wrote: "I turned away, for my eyes
were full of tears. I was asking myself whether I was willing to take what
nobody else wanted. In my experience as a teacher, I have had occasion to assign
rooms to more than a thousand students. Most of them were noble, Christian young
ladies and gentlemen; but Sammy Morris was the only one of them who ever said,
'If there is a room that nobody wants, give that to me.' "

Meekness of Wisdom A preacher once received a letter with a pathetic story of a
muddled and disordered life which ended: "It just beats me. A doctor of
philosophy and unable to solve my own troubles!" It takes more than a friend of
wisdom to help us in our troubles; it takes Wisdom personified, the Lord Jesus
Himself. When everything goes wrong and troubles abound and the Christian can
still go about his duties in life without revolting against God, against Wisdom,
then he is possessed with this wonderful meekness of wisdom. Meekness of wisdom
is accepting Wisdom's dealings with us without a murmur and without a sigh. It
is that temper of spirit which at all times says, "Yes, Lord, Thou knowest
best."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 84: MONEY
========================================================================

Money

Blessings of Poverty It was Andrew Carnegie who said, "Comrades, I was born in
poverty and would not exchange its sacred memories with the richest
millionaire's son who ever breathed. What does he know about mother or father?
These are mere names to him. Give me the life of the boy whose mother is nurse,
seamstress, washerwoman, cook, teacher, angel, and saint, all in one, and whose
father is guide, exemplar, and friend-no servants to come between. These are the
boys who are born to the best fortune. Some men think that poverty is a dreadful
burden and that wealth leads to happiness. What do they know about it? They know
only one side; they imagine the other. I have lived both, and I know there is
very little in wealth that can add to human happiness beyond the small comforts
of life. Millionaires who laugh are rare. My experience is that wealth is apt to
take the smiles away."

Silver Makes the Difference One day a wealthy old miser visited a rabbi who took
him by the hand and led him to a window. "Look out there," he said, pointing to
the street. "What do you see?" "I see men and women and little children,"
answered the rich man. Again the rabbi took him by the hand and led him to the
mirror and said, "What do you see now?" "Now I see myself," the rich man
replied. Then the rabbi said, "Behold, in the window there is glass, but the
glass of the mirror is covered with silver, and no sooner is the silver added
then you fail to see others but see only yourself." If you see self and all the
respect and honor others ought to give you, you are on dangerous ground. You
won't be able to see others if self is in the image you hold in front of you.

Wealth without Happiness The historian, Gibbon, tells us that Abdulrahman, of
the Muslim Caliphs of Spain, built for his pleasure the city, palace, and
gardens of Zehra, beautifying them with the costliest marbles, sculptures, gold,
and pearls. He had sixty-three hundred persons-wives, concubines, and eunuchs-at
his service. His guard had belts and scimitars studded with gold. At his death,
the following authentic memorial was found: "I have now reigned above fifty
years in victory and peace.... Riches, honors, power, pleasure-the days of pure
and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot: they amount to fourteen."

Rich Yet Poor An Arab, losing his way in the desert, was in danger of dying from
hunger. At last he found one of the cisterns out of which the camels drink and a
little leather bag near it. "God be thanked!" exclaimed he. "Ah, here are some
dates or nuts; let me refresh myself." He opened the bag, but only to turn away
in disappointment. Alas, they were only pearls, and what good were they to a man
who was dying of hunger? Was this man rich or poor? He was rich yet poor.

Money Defined A London newspaper offered a prize for the best definition of
money. It was awarded to a young man whose definition was, "Money is an article
which may be used as a universal passport to everywhere except heaven and as a
universal provider of everything except happiness."

Riches Like Nuts In our constant struggle to acquire things for the preservation
of life we wear out life itself. Wise is he who said: "Worldly riches are like
nuts: many clothes are torn in getting them, many a tooth broken in cracking
them, and never a belly filled with eating them." Jesus gives us very excellent
advice which we shall do well to heed, "Don't wear yourselves out for things
which perish so easily."

Burden of Riches A businessman once overtook a black man trudging through the
snow, humming to himself. He talked with him and found that he was very poor.
Finally he asked him if he didn't think he'd be happier if he were rich. "No,
Boss, all the rich men I work for never laugh." That Which Makes a Deathbed
Terrible A minister once visited a notable rich man. He was shown all the
gardens, the beautiful estate, the statutes, pictures, etc. The rich man was
very anxious to see what ideas all these things would arouse in the mind of the
minister. He confidently expected a faltering compliment. Instead the preacher
said, "Ah, David, David, these are the things which make a deathbed terrible."

Poverty of Riches Once there were rich parents who left their children
constantly in the care of servants. But, like the flower of the grass, riches
passed by. The parents could not afford servants which necessitated their taking
care of the children. One evening when the father had returned home after a busy
and frustrating day at work, his little girl climbed upon his knee and twining
her arms around his neck said: "Daddy, don't get rich again. You did not come
into the nursery when you were rich, but now we can be with you and get on your
knee and kiss you. Don't get rich again, Daddy." The Pride of Riches The moth
looks like such a harmless creature. In its pearly white color it hovers about
without sound at twilight, or in our dark rooms and especially in our closets
where our woolen clothes are kept. It is not impertinent like the robust flies
of the summer. It does not have the sting of a mosquito. It does not sound in
our ears the shrill notes of the cricket. It does not nibble and gnaw like the
mouse and rat, nor, as roaches do, indecently overrun our food. It is most fair,
silent, and apparently harmless. Yet every housewife springs after it with
electric haste. It is a dreaded pest, not for what it is but for what it does.
Once a garment is moth-eaten, it is almost impossible to repair it. How true
this is in the case of the proud rich. Once one begins to suffer the sickness of
pride of riches, the cure is very difficult. Let us beware, for, once the moths
have done their work upon us, there is hardly any hope. Let us remember, also,
that the moth does its work secretly, without our realizing it; so does the
pride of riches. We may be proud of the things we wear and possess without ever
realizing it. How stealthily the moths work; pride of the soul even more so.

Quest for Happiness The Persians tell a story about an unhappy king. In an
attempt to find the answer to his dissatisfaction, he consulted his astrologers
who told him he could find happiness by wearing the coat of a perfectly happy
man. Immediately the king set out on his quest. He knocked at the doors of the
very rich, for it seemed logical to find happiness there, but in vain. He
visited the institutions of higher learning, thinking the erudite must be happy
in their wisdom. That, too, proved a dead end. Finally he stumbled across a
common laborer singing at his work who confessed he was perfectly happy. "Sell
me your coat," cried the king. "I'll give you a bag of gold for it." But the
laborer only laughed and said, "I'd gladly give it to you, Sir, but I have no
coat." This is only a legend of course, but it illustrates a profound truth.
Achieving riches is not synonymous with achieving happiness. That doesn't mean
the rich have to become poor in order to be happy. The ranks of the happy
include both poor and rich as well as those in between. King Solomon had the
right idea when he prayed, "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with
food convenient for me: lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord?
or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain" (Proverbs
30:8-9). Paul said it even more succinctly when he wrote to Timothy, "Godliness
with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6).

Futility of Riches "You are to be more envied than anyone I know," said a young
man to a millionaire. "Why so?" responded the millionaire. "I am not aware of
any cause for which I should be envied." "What, sir!" exclaimed the young man in
surprise. "Why, you are a millionaire! Think of the thousands your income brings
every month!" "Well, what of that?" replied the millionaire. "All I get out of
it is my food and clothes, and I can't eat more than one man's allowance and
wear more than one suit of clothes at a time. Even you can do as much as I can,
can't you?" "Yes, but think of the hundreds of fine houses you own, and the
rentals they bring you." "What good does that do me?" replied the rich man. "I
can only live in one house at a time. As for the money I receive for rents, why,
I can't eat or wear it; I can only use it to buy other houses for other people
to live in; they are the beneficiaries, not I." Then, finally, after a little
more discussion, the millionaire turned to the young man and said: "I can tell
you that the less you desire in this life, the happier you will be. All my
wealth can't buy a single day more of life, cannot buy back my youth, cannot
procure power to keep off the hour of death. Then what will happen? In a few
short years at most I must lie down in the grave and leave it all forever. Young
man, you have no cause to envy me."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 85: OBEDIENCE
========================================================================

Obedience

Man's Great Power When J. Wilbur Chapman was in London, he had an opportunity to
meet General Booth, who at that time was past 80 years of age. Dr. Chapman
listened reverently as the old general spoke of the trials and the conflicts and
the victories he had experienced. The American evangelist then asked the general
if he would disclose his secret for success. "He hesitated a second," Dr.
Chapman said, "and I saw the tears come into his eyes and steal down his
cheeks," and then he said, "I will tell you the secret. God has had all there
was of me. There have been men with greater brains than I, men with greater
opportunities; but from the day I got the poor of London on my heart, and a
vision of what Jesus Christ could do with the poor of London, I made up my mind
that He would have all of William Booth there was. And if there is anything of
power in the Salvation Army today, it is because God has all the adoration of my
heart, all the power of my will, and all the influence of my life." Dr. Chapman
said he went away from that meeting with General Booth knowing "that the
greatness of a man's power is the measure of his surrender." A New Four-Letter
Word C. S. Johnson shares this family lesson: "My son, Michael, was four years
old the night I found him sobbing uncontrollably in the hallway. Concerned, I
knelt next to him and drew him close. "'What's the matter, sweetheart? Are you
hurt?'He shook his head and turned to me, but I was unprepared for his response.
"'Daddy said a bad word to me!'he sobbed. I almost laughed out loud. I had known
my husband 12 years and had rarely heard him raise his voice. But Michael had
heard him say something, and I was curious enough to want to know what it was.
"'Honey, what bad word did Daddy say?'And seeing a chance for sympathy, my
sensitive four-year-old stopped crying and blurted out-'Obey!' "I never think of
that incident now without asking my Heavenly Father to keep me from believing,
as my son did, that 'obey'is a bad word." Do As You Are Told and Survive More
than 90 people conducted an all-night search for an eight-year-old boy named
Dominic. While on a skiing trip with his father, this little boy apparently had
ridden a new lift and skied off the run without realizing it. They hoped to find
Dominic somewhere on the snowy mountain slope before it was too late. As each
hour passed, the search party and the boy's family became more and more
concerned. By dawn they still had found no trace of him. Two helicopters joined
the search, and within fifteen minutes had spotted ski tracks. A ground team
followed the tracks which changed to small footprints. The footprints lead to a
tree where they found the boy at last. "He's in super shape," the area search
and rescue coordinator announced to the anxious family and press. "In fact, he's
in better shape than we are right now." A hospital spokesman said the boy was in
fine condition and was not even admitted. The rescuer explained why the boy did
so well despite spending a night in the freezing elements: His father had enough
forethought to warn him what to do if he became lost, and his son had enough
trust to do exactly what his father said. Dominic protected himself from
possible frostbite and hypothermia by snuggling up to a tree and covering
himself with branches. As a young child, he never would have thought of doing
this on his own. He was simply obeying his wise and loving father.

Legalism or Love? Ancil Jenkins shares this illustration: "'Fasten your seat
belt,'I said to my wife, Elaine, the other day. 'It is the law, you know.'As she
fastened her seat belt, I thought, 'Dummy, that is not the reason you want her
buckled up. You want her protected from the harm of any accident you might drive
her into.'How shallow would be my concern if I was more in fear of paying a fine
than in her being seriously hurt! "How much this can describe our approach to
our obedience to God! Almost all we do is from mixed motives. Yet which motive
is overriding? Do we obey because we fear God's wrath and judgment? Do we feel
He will break our leg or burn down our house if we disobey? Do we feel that
Christianity is just a set of rules to be obeyed and our satisfaction comes from
doing a good job of keeping rules? "The result of such an attitude will only
breed fear and guilt. Fear comes from any failure to obey, and there will be
such failure. Guilt comes from many sources, such as finding there was a law you
had been failing to obey. Any failure at perfect obedience can lead to regarding
some laws as more important than others. All this can lead to a disregard of
others who do not keep laws as well as we do (Luke 18:1). It can lead us to
giving more attention to the minute details and neglecting the major virtues God
desires us to have (Matthew 23:23). We become ridiculous gnat strainers and
camel swallowers (Matthew 23:24). "We should obey God because we love Him. We
obey because He has done so much for us and we have done so little for Him. We
obey because love is never content to accept but must always give. Jesus said,
'If you love Me, you will do what I command' (John 14:15). We then come to
realize that our disobedience not only breaks the laws of God, it also breaks
the heart of God. How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and
grieved Him in the desert! (Psalms 78:40). "Such obedience is far fuller,
richer, and freer than can ever come from a legal motivation. Imagine a woman
who is a nurse and a mother. She may work at a hospital all day caring for the
sick. When she has worked eight hours, she goes home. Upon arriving home, she
finds her child is seriously ill. She will then give her child the same care she
gives the hospital patients. However, when she has cared for her child for eight
hours, she will not quit. She gives care no one can buy. The difference is the
motivation. "What is your major motivation? Seek to know God better, and you
will find yourself obeying out of love. It will become 'richer, fuller,
deeper'and will become 'sweeter as the years go by.'"

Full Obedience Mary Murray tells this on herself: "My dear mother must have
chuckled at the little girl who obeyed 'halfway.'Mom loved to have her house
just right. On Saturday, when she asked me to dust the furniture frames and the
delicate glassware, I stared in awe at the task before me. I dusted as fast as I
could, going 'around'the glassware; not picking them up and missing spots here
and there on the furniture. Sometimes I would have to redust after
'inspection.'She was teaching me to 'obey right'the first time and to use
self-discipline."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 86: PASTORS
========================================================================

Pastors A Different Viewpoint A young pastor of a little church complained to
the "Prince of Preachers," Charles H. Spurgeon, about the smallness of his
church and its few members. Spurgeon asked him, "How many members do you have?"
"Fifty," replied the young pastor. "Ah," exclaimed Spurgeon, "that is more than
you will want to account for on the day of judgment."

Minister's Ulcers Nearly every businessman complains of at least one ulcer.
Think how many ulcers the poor businessman would have if he worked under the
same circumstances as the average minister! "Just suppose, Mr. Businessman, that
you were the overseer of 100 workers. Suppose only about 50 percent of them ever
showed up for work at a given time, and only 25 percent could be relied upon.
Suppose that every time a simple flash of lightning appeared in the sky, large
numbers of young workers pulled the covers over their heads and failed to report
for duty. "Suppose your workers only worked when they felt like it and yet you
must be very sweet and never fire one of them. To get them back to work you must
beg them, plead with them, pat them on the back, and use every means under the
sun to persuade them without offending them. And suppose you were in competition
with a notorious rascal, the devil, who had no scruples and is far more clever
than you are and uses such attractive things as fishing rods, guns, soft
pillows, televisions and a thousand other things to attract your customers. "How
many ulcers would you have?" The Pastor as the Tool Man You see them driving
around most urban areas and even venturing out in small town USA. Their
destinations are automotive garages and any other place of business that uses
tools. Most of the vehicles are large vans or panel trucks and carry such logos
as "Snap-On Tools," or "Matco." What if it were the job of these drivers to rush
from place to place tightening, untightening and doing all the actual mechanical
repairing of the vehicles? Imagine the mechanics in these shops calling on the
tool man every time they needed a bolt tightened or a screw adjusted, sitting
around waiting for them to arrive and do the work. It is a comical scene based
on the ridiculous; hundreds of mechanics waiting for the help of few exhausted
and distraught tool men. The truth of the matter is, these tool men in their
vans only provide the tools. It is the mechanics who do the work. Sometimes we
in the local church can actually get caught up in a similar comedy of errors. A
church can look to their pastor as the one whom they hire to do their ministry
for them. A pastor can also be at fault for allowing himself to be like the
misguided tool man trying to do it all himself. The truth of the matter is, in
God's economy of work in the local church it is the individual people in the
congregation who are called by God to do the bulk of the ministry. The pastor's
job is to equip them for their ministry.

What Does a Preacher Do With His Time? The preacher is a teacher, though he has
to solicit his own class. He heals without pills or knife. He is a lawyer, a
social worker, an editor, a philosopher, a salesman, a handy decorative piece
for public functions, an entertainer, a chairman of the building fund and a
first-class janitor. People come to him and he goes to the people. He rejoices
when they rejoice and weeps when they weep. He visits the sick, marries the
young, buries the dead, prepares and delivers speeches to every organization
under the sun, and tries to stay sweet when he is abused for not calling on
certain people. He helps plan the program of the church and meets with every
group he can, which may mean that some nights he must attend two and three
meetings. When he lies down at night, he is burdened and prays for certain
"sheep," their weaknesses, their problems, and their absence from the service.
And, oh yes, in his spare time, he prepares and delivers several sermons, Bible
lessons, radio programs, class messages, etc. And when Monday comes and some
chap roars, "What an easy job you preachers have!" he tries to smile and keep
sweet. Have you ever heard the above question asked? Or the remark made
thoughtlessly, "What an easy task the pastor has! He speaks about 20 minutes
twice on Sunday and once on Wednesday with the rest of the week all his own!"
However, with all these aggravations, many would rather be divinely called
ministers of the gospel than be anything else. Where His Sermons Went Coming to
the close of many years of faithful ministry, an aged pastor tied his sermon
notes in a bundle and wrote on it: "Where has the influence of all the sermons I
have preached gone?" One who had been under his ministry for years and who had
grown in Christlikeness and in the knowledge of God's Word, gave the following
heartfelt appraisal of his sermons: "Where are last year's sunrays? They have
gone into fruits and grains and vegetables to feed mankind. Where are last
year's raindrops? Forgotten, of course, but they did their gracious and
refreshing work. Your sermons, preached over the years, have gone into my life
and into the lives of others, to make me and them better, nobler, and more
Christlike. They have deepened our love for God's Word, given us a vision of and
love for unsaved ones, and have challenged us to go on in the Christian life!"

Preacher's Notes Preachers fall into four categories: Those who do not use any
notes, so the audience has no idea how long they will speak. Those who lay each
page of their sermon down in front of them as they read it. These honest ones
enable the audience to keep track of how much more is to come. Those who cheat
by putting each sheet of notes under the others in their hand. And, worst of
all, those who put down each sheet of notes as they read them and then horrify
the audience by picking up the whole batch and reading off the other side.

Harvest Time The youth minister was passing through the prison garment factory.
"Sewing?" he said to a prisoner who was at work. "No, preacher," replied the
prisoner gloomily, "reaping!"

You Asked for It A preacher had been talking to a children's Bible class about
kindness. He paused and asked, "If I should see a man beating a donkey and
stopped him, what virtue would I be showing?" A little voice responded with the
unexpected answer, "Brotherly love."

Ezra: A Model For Preachers "For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of
the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments" (Ezra
7:10). Ezra sought the law of the Lord. Newer versions translate "study" instead
of "seek," and study is, of course, the way we seek it. We do not go to the
priest, or seer, or to the witch of Endor; nor do we inquire of the Urim and
Thummin. God's will is not found by contemplating our navels or getting in touch
with our inner impulses. "When they say to you, 'Seek them that have familiar
spirits, and seek wizards that peep and mutter'; should not a people seek their
God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the
testimony! If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is not
light in them! (Isaiah 8:19-20). The preacher must study. Study takes time.
Euclid told Ptolemy, King of Egypt, "There is no royal road to geometry"; so
there is no mystic shortcut to a knowledge of the will of God. When we really
know what God has revealed to man, we know something helpful and worthwhile to
teach. When we teach what is helpful and valuable, people will come to hear and
learn. They will not come again and again for empty platitudes or recycled
outlines. Not even hogs will keep coming back to an empty trough. Study. Seek
the Word of the Lord. Ezra did the law of the Lord. Unlike the scribes of Jesus'
day, who said but did not (Matthew 23:2), Ezra practiced what he studied.
Studying the Bible is not just an academic exercise. We must not be forgetful
hearers, but doers, in order to be blessed (James 1:23-25). We may pride
ourselves on knowing the truth, but Jesus did not say "This know and thou shalt
live." He said, "This do and thou shalt live" (Luke 10:28). Ezra taught the
Lord's statutes and judgment in Israel. So must we. "It is written in the
prophets, 'And they shall all be taught of God.'Every man therefore that has
heard, and has learned of the Father, comes to me" (John 6:45). What we have
learned we are to teach to others, so that they can teach others also (2 Timothy
2:2). We are to teach to convert and then we are to teach the converted (Matthew
28:19-20). A preacher is a teacher who pleads with his students to do what they
have been taught. Ezra set his heart to seek, to do, and to teach the law of the
Lord. No one accidentally becomes a faithful servant of God. We will only be
good students, faithful workers, and effective teachers to the extent we decide
to be, and deliberately lay aside things that hinder us. Let Ezra be our model.
Let us be models like Ezra.

It Is Your Move I gave you life; but cannot live it for you. I can teach you
things; but I cannot make you learn. I can give you directions; but I cannot
always be there to lead you. I can take you to church; but I cannot make you
believe. I can teach you right from wrong; but I cannot always decide for you. I
can teach you to be a friend; but I cannot make you one. I can advise you about
friends; but I cannot choose them for you. I can teach you about sex; but I
cannot keep you pure. I can tell you the facts of life; but I cannot build your
reputation. I can tell you about "strong drink" but I cannot say no for you. I
can warn you about drugs; but I cannot prevent you from using them. I can tell
you about lofty goals; but I cannot achieve them for you. I can warn you about
sin; but I cannot make your morals. I can love you as a child; but I cannot
place you in God's family. I can pray for you; but I cannot make you walk with
God. I can teach you about Jesus; but I cannot make Him your Savior. I can teach
you to obey; but I cannot make Jesus your Lord. I can tell you how to live; but
I cannot give you eternal life. So Is the Devil The early Methodist evangelist,
George Whitefield, was one of America's most effective preachers, who won
thousands to Christ. He was vigorously opposed by Charles Chauncy, pastor of
Boston's famous First Church. Rev. Chauncy objected to the idea of instantaneous
conversions and to the emotional excitement caused by Whitefield's ministry. In
1744, on Whitefield's second visit to Boston, the two met. Rev. Chauncy said,
"So you have returned, have you?" "Yes," replied the evangelist, "in the service
of the Lord." "I am sorry to hear it," Rev. Chauncy said bluntly. "So is the
devil," retorted Whitefield. The devil hates any preacher who fearlessly and
effectively sounds the gospel trumpet.

Preacher's Predicament A man had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital.
He could receive little company and was not to be excited. While in the
hospital, a rich uncle died and left him a million dollars. His family wondered
how to break the news to him with the least amount of excitement. It was decided
to ask the preacher if he would go and break the news quietly to the man. The
preacher went, and gradually led up to the question. The preacher asked the
patient what he would do if he inherited a million dollars. He said, "I think I
would give half of it to the church." The preacher dropped dead. The Doc
Prescribed, but the Patient Died It was only a cold in her head when Mrs. Mosby
came to Doc Bradley. The doctor poured out some medicine from his store and told
her how often to take it. A few days later he was called to her home, for in
those days doctors made housecalls. The cold had settled in her chest. More
medicine was prescribed, but the woman died. She could have survived, and it
hurt the doctor to know he had prescribed, but the patient did not survive. A
short time after the funeral, the doctor happened to meet Mrs. Mosby's sister
and by accident learned that the sick woman had not taken a drop of his
medicine, but instead poured it down the sink. The doctor then realized he was
not responsible, for the patient had not followed orders. Obviously the preacher
is responsible to prescribe the right medicine. Too many in the church pews
listen but do not take the gospel medicine. Only those who listen and follow
what is prescribed can expect to find spiritual health.

Five Ways to Get Rid of Your Pastor Sit up front, smile and say "amen" every
time he says something good. He will preach himself to death. Pat him on the
back and tell him what good work he is doing in the church and community. He
will work himself to death. Increase your offering in the church. Then he will
suffer from shock. Tell him you have decided to join the visitation group and
win souls for the Lord. He will probably suffer a heart attack. Get the whole
church to band together and pray for him. He will get so efficient that some
other church will hear about him and give him a call. That will take him off
your hands. A Question for the Preacher When the Rev. George Pentecost had
finished a discourse in the city of Edinburgh, Horatius Bonar put his hand upon
his shoulder and said, "You love to preach to men, don't you?" and Dr. Pentecost
answered, "Yes." Then Mr. Bonar said, "Do you love the men you preach to?" The
Lord's Servant One day as G. Campbell Morgan prayed, the Lord seemed to say to
him, "Which do you want to be-a servant of mine or a great preacher?" Morgan
replied, "May I not be both, Lord?" A spiritual struggle ensued as he thought,
God may want me to be an unknown minister in an obscure place. Then Morgan
submissively prayed, "O Lord, my greatest wish is to be a servant of Thine!" The
Lord responded by making him one of the greatest preachers of his time.

Near the Gates of Heaven A certain person listening to Bramwell speak asked
another in the audience how it was that Bramwell had something that was new to
tell every time he preached. "Why," said he, "you see, Brother Bramwell lives so
near the gates of heaven that he hears a great many things that we don't get
near enough to hear anything about." Is this true of you and me or are we near
enough to hear God when He speaks?

Blot Him Out! Dr. J.H. Jowett, speaking of the time when he was in Northfield,
says, "I went out early one morning to conduct a camp meeting away off in the
woods. The camp dwellers were two or three hundred men from the Water Street
Mission in New York. At the beginning of the service, prayer was offered for me,
and the supplication opened with these inspired words: 'O Lord, we thank Thee
for our brother. Now blot him out.' Then the prayer continued: 'Reveal Thy glory
to us in such blazing splendor that he shall be forgotten.'"

Skeptic Converted A minister preached a sermon one evening and went home utterly
discouraged. He felt that he was a failure in the ministry, though at the same
time he was greatly burdened for the lost. Some time past midnight his doorbell
rang, and the leader of the choir, who was known as a bit of a skeptic, came to
him saying, "Doctor, I am in agony concerning my soul. Your sermon tonight has
convicted me of my sin, and I must have help or I shall die." In a very short
time he was rejoicing in Christ. When asked what it was in the sermon that had
impressed him, he said, "It was not so much what you said as the way you said
it. I could see by the look in your eye and by the very pathos in your voice
that you were longing for men to be saved, and I could not resist your message."

Failing at His Job A young preacher fresh from seminary went to the front as a
chaplain. He announced to the soldiers that he would let them choose whether
they wanted him to preach a sermon or tell them funny stories. A tall,
blunt-speaking fellow arose and said, "If you have come three thousand miles to
talk to a bunch of soldiers, some of whom are going into eternity within three
days, and you don't know whether to preach to them or tell them funny stories, I
suspect you had just better go ahead and tell something funny."

Sleepy Preachers "How can I get crowds to attend my services?" asked a young
preacher of John Wesley. Replied Wesley, "Get on fire and people will come out
to see you burn." It is pathetic that we have so many sleepy preachers and
noiseless sermons. Henry Ward Beecher used to say, "If a man sleeps under my
preaching, I do not send a boy to wake him up, but I feel that a boy had better
come and wake me up." We need resounding preaching and testifying so everybody
can hear and some by the grace of God may heed. The Humble Preacher Dr.
Westfield, the Bishop of Bristol in the reign of Charles I, was so excellent a
preacher that he was called "a born orator." Yet he was so conscious of his own
insufficiency that he never ascended the pulpit without trembling, even when he
had been fifty years a preacher. Preaching once before the King at Oxford, he
fainted away. His Majesty awaited his recovery, and then heard a sermon that
powerfully moved him. The more conscious a preacher is of his own weakness, the
more powerful and effective may be the message that he preaches.

Serve and Please Only One A young man had just become pastor of a large church.
At a reception given him by his people, one of the gossips, a woman with a
dangerous tongue, came up and said, "I do not understand how you dared attempt
the task of pleasing seven hundred people." Quick as a flash the Lord gave him
the answer. He replied, "I did not come to this city to please seven hundred
people. I have to please only One; and if I please Him, all will be well."

Importance of Messenger A tight-fisted Christian, annoyed by the appeals of his
preacher for funds, burst out one day, "Pastor, doesn't the Bible declare that
the water of life is free, that grace is without money?" "Yes," replied the
preacher, "but it takes pipes to channel the water to the people, and pipes cost
money."

Each His Own Way Two ministers, given to arguing about their respective faiths,
were in a very heated discussion. "That's all right," said one calmly. "We'll
just agree to disagree. After all, we're both doing the Lord's work-you in your
way and I in His." Too many of us are tempted to feel and act that way. This
type of behavior often is a manifestation of the attitude that we know in full,
that we prophesy in full-that we are superior even to the Apostle Paul, although
we may not say that in so many words.

Increasing by Decreasing A minister who had to move to an obscure country parish
in England because of ill health never gained acceptance among the villagers
whom he sought to serve. Being unable to do much work, he procured a preacher
from Wales who attracted large congregations. His family was a little jealous of
this unexpected preference, but he rebuked them. "Take me to hear him," he said.
"God honors him, and I will honor him. Have you ever studied that text, 'He must
increase, but I must decrease'? 'A man can receive nothing except it be given
him from heaven.' " How many preachers would be able to accept a more popular
man in their pulpit in that spirit?

Delivered from Fear of Man Bishop Latimer once preached a sermon before King
Henry VIII that greatly offended his royal auditor by its plainness. The King
ordered him to preach again the next Sunday and to make public apology for his
offense. The Bishop ascended the pulpit and read his text, and thus began his
sermon: "Hugh Latimer, dost thou know before whom thou art this day to speak? To
the high and mighty Monarch, the King's most excellent Majesty, who can take
away thy life if thou offendest. Therefore take heed that thou speakest not a
word that may displease. But then, consider well, Hugh! Dost thou not know from
whom thou comest-upon whose message thou art sent? Even by the great and mighty
God, who is all-present and beholdeth all thy ways, and who is able to cast thy
soul into hell! Therefore take care that thou deliverest thy message
faithfully." And so beginning, he preached over again, but with increased
energy, the self-same sermon he had preached the week before. The fear of God
delivered him from the fear of man.

One of the Rarities One day a very learned preacher was met by an illiterate
preacher who despised education. "Sir, you have been to college, I suppose?"
"Yes, sir," was the reply. "I am thankful," replied the illiterate preacher,
"that the Lord opened my mouth without any learning." "A similar event,"
answered the learned clergyman, "took place in Balaam's time, when his ass
spoke; but such things are of rare occurrence in the present day. Maybe you are
one of the rarities."

Preachers Consider! What Woodrow Wilson said about preachers is worthy of the
careful consideration of every one of us: "When I hear some of the things which
young men say to men by way of putting the arguments to themselves for going
into the ministry, I think they are talking of another profession. Their motive
is to do something. I know you do not have to be anything in particular to be a
lawyer. You do not have to be anything in particular, except a kind-hearted man,
perhaps, to be a physician, nor undergo any strong spiritual change in order to
be a merchant. The only profession which consists in being something is the
ministry of our Lord and Savior-and it does not consist of anything else. That
conception of the ministry which rubs all the marks off and mixes him in the
crowd so that you cannot pick him out, is a process of eliminating the ministry
itself." The Proper Attitude A church was in need of a pastor. A candidate came
who preached on hell. The next Sunday another candidate came whose sermon was
also on hell, and his fundamental teaching was the same as that of the first
one.When the members of the church were called upon to vote, they voted for the
second candidate. When they were asked why, the answer was, "The first one spoke
as if he were glad that people were going to hell, while the second seemed sorry
for it." The Divine Commission An examining committee of ministers once met to
determine the qualifications of Billy Sunday for ordination as a gospel
minister. Among other questions fired at the world-famous baseball player was a
request that he identify a well-known church father and name some of his
writings. Billy was stumped. After fumbling around for a moment, he looked up
with a twinkle in his eye and said, "I never heard of him. He was never on my
team." The learned theologians deliberated together, but found it hard to make a
decision. Finally, one of them moved that Billy Sunday be recommended for
ordination, adding, "He has already won more souls for Christ than the whole
shebang of us put together." The secret-he was sent by God. A Spiritual Lesson A
preacher was watching an old man trout-fishing, briskly pulling them in one
after the other. "You manage it cleverly, old friend," said the preacher. "I
passed a good many fishermen below who don't seem to be catching anything." The
old man lifted himself up and stuck his rod in the ground. "Well, you see, sir,"
he said, "there are three rules for trout fishing: first, keep yourself out of
sight; the second is, keep yourself farther out of sight; and the third is, keep
yourself still farther out of sight. Then you'll do it."

Feed, Don't Beat the Sheep We preachers desperately need the advice which an
aged minister gave a young man who was just entering upon his life work as a
shepherd of God's flock. "My son," he said, "feed the sheep; do not beat them.
If a sheep is well fed, he can endure and will submit to some harsh treatment,
but to starve and beat him at the same time is likely to prove fatal."




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  CHAPTER 87: PEACE
========================================================================

Peace

Peace in the Storm A story is told by William Gilbert of how Dante, wandering
one day over the mountains of Lunigiana, eventually drew near to a lone,
secluded monastery. It was at a time when his mind was wracked with internal
conflict and was seeking refuge from the strife. So he loudly knocked at the
monastery gate. It was opened by a monk, who in a single glance at the sad, pale
face, read its pathetic message of misery and sorrow. "What do you seek here?"
said he. With a gesture of despair, the poet replied, "Peace." It was the same
old craving followed by the same old search. But neither the solitary places,
nor the anchorite's cell ever brought true peace to the afflicted heart. Peace
comes not from without but from within. We can have it in the winter of age or
the spring of youth; in the lowly cottage or the stately mansion; in distressing
pain or in buoyant health. The secret of it is in comradeship with Christ. You
can have peace in the midst of the storm, if you have Christ. He is the shelter
from the tempest, the soul's haven of rest. If we have learned to value His
friendship, we have mastered the secret of the "peace which passeth all
understanding."

Patience Pays "My dear boy," said a father, "take a word of advice from an old
man who loves peace. An insult is like mud; it will brush off much better when
it is dry. Wait a little till you both are cool; then the broken relationship
will be easily mended. If you go now, it will be only to quarrel." That is good
advice for you and for me-patience will induce peace.

It Takes Two to Quarrel I don't know if you are old enough to remember the organ
grinder who used to go around in the streets with a little monkey to collect
pennies. One such entertainer had an especially clever monkey. On one occasion,
when a big dog broke away from some children with whom it had been playing and
made a dash for the monkey, the bystanders were surprised to see that the monkey
did not seem in the least afraid. He stood perfectly still in evident curiosity,
waiting for the dog to come up to him. This disconcerted the dog, for it would
have much preferred to chase something that would run and not stand its ground.
As soon as the dog reached the monkey, the funny little scarlet-coated creature
courteously doffed its cap. Instantly there was a laugh from the audience. The
dog was nonplused. Its head drooped and its tail dropped between its legs. It
looked like a whipped cur and not at all like the fine dog it really was. It
turned and ran back home, and the laughing children could not persuade it to
return. As for the monkey, he wanted no disagreement, and he knew instinctively
that it took two to make a quarrel. You can often avoid strife by being the one
who refuses to fight with a brother in Christ, even if he is somewhat different
from you or belongs to another group.

Divine Peace Oilcloth and linoleum may both look bright and shiny, but under the
stress of daily wear the cheap oilcloth soon wears out, while the inlaid
linoleum gives good service for many years. The stresses of life soon show up
the shoddy material of which human peace is made, but stress only brings out
more brilliantly the divine peace that Christ brings to the heart.

How to Live in Harmony Christ's basic law for harmonious co-existence with
others is found in Luke 6:31: "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also
to them likewise." Matthew states it this way: "All things whatsoever ye would
that men should do to you, do ye even to them: for this is the law and the
prophets" (Matthew 7:12). It is said that the Roman Emperor Severus was so
enchanted by this law when he heard it for the first time that he appointed a
reader to repeat it aloud every time someone came before him for judgment. He
also ordered it to be written in large letters in the most frequented rooms of
the palace and in many public buildings. Though an idolater, the Emperor honored
Christ as the One who had told them how to live justly, and he was even disposed
to include Christ among the gods.

True Peace Two painters were asked to paint a picture illustrating peace. The
first painted a beautiful evening scene in the foreground of which was a lake,
its surface absolutely calm and unruffled. Trees surrounded it, meadows
stretched away to the distant cattle gently browsing; a little cottage, the
setting sun-all spoke of perfect rest. The second painter drew a wild, stormy
scene. Heavy black clouds hung overhead; in the center of the picture an immense
waterfall poured forth huge volumes of water covered with foam. One could almost
hear its unceasing roar, yet perhaps the first thing to strike the eye was a
small bird, perched in a cleft of a huge rock, absolutely sheltered from all
danger, pouring forth its sweet notes of joy. It is the second painter who could
describe the peace that passeth all understanding which is the Lord Jesus
Christ, the wisdom of God in the heart of the redeemed. One can only have peace
with himself if he has peace with God.

Shut the Door and Pray A missionary in West Africa visited a sick church member.
Since the sick man's wife was also present, he asked them several questions, one
being, if they lived in peace together. The man answered, "Sometimes I say a
word my wife doesn't like, or my wife talks or does what I don't like; but when
we start to quarrel, we shake hands, shut the door, and go to prayer. So peace
is restored again." This is a very good formula for us to follow, since we are
surely apt to do or say something that others in our Christian community don't
like, or others are apt to say or do something that we do not like.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 88: PRAYER
========================================================================

Prayer

Prayer Brings Revival James Duncan, preaching with great unction and power, was
asked what was the secret of such powerful preaching. "The secret," he said, was
"thirteen hours of consecutive prayer." When asked the secret of his spiritual
power, Charles Spurgeon said: "Knee work! Knee work!" Livingston of Shotts, on
two different occasions, preached with such power that in each service 500 were
converted. Both sermons were preceded by a night of prayer. Charles Finney,
after spending a day in the woods in prayer and fasting, preached that night to
a phenomenally irreligious congregation. The sermon was accompanied by such
divine power that the whole congregation, except one man, fell prostrate upon
the floor, and voiced their agony under conviction of sin, in such loud outcries
that the preacher was forced to stop. Of "Uncle" John Vassar, the Tract Society
colporteur, his pastor said: "He absolutely prayed day and night-prayed about
everything, prayed for almost everything, prayed with almost everybody he met.
"He prayed when he went out and when he came in. He prayed before every
religious service, and then prayed all the way through it. I have occupied the
same room with him night after night and rarely went to sleep without hearing
him in prayer, or awoke without finding him in prayer."

Prayer of a Husband and a Wife Keep us, O Lord, from pettiness. Let us be
thoughtful in word and deed. Help us to put away pretense and face each other in
deep trust without fear or self-pity. Help us to guard against fault-finding,
and be quick to discover the best in each other and in every situation. Guard us
from ill temper and hasty judgment; encourage us to take time for all things, to
grow calm, serene and gentle. Help us to be generous with kind words and
compliments. Teach us never to ignore, never to hurt, never to take each other
for granted. Engrave charity and compassion on our hearts.

God Uses His People to Answer Our Prayers During the World's Fair in Chicago
many years ago, Mr. Dwight Moody was carrying on a campaign which cost a great
many thousands of dollars. A little group met one day to plan and assist and
pray with Mr. Moody about the work. As they sat down to eat, Mr. Moody said, "We
need $7,000 today for the work. I have already received $1,000, but before we
eat I propose that we pray and ask God for the other $6,000." So with simple
childlike faith, Mr. Moody presented this problem to the Father. About an hour
later after the little group had finished their luncheon and completed their
plans for the day, a boy came in with a telegram in his hand. Mr. Moody read it
and handed it to Reuben Torrey to read aloud. This was what it said: "Mr. Moody,
your friends in North Field had a feeling that you needed money in Chicago. We
have just taken up a collection and there is $6,000 in the basket." North Field
is nearly a thousand miles from Chicago. That morning, as a service was coming
to a close in North Field, someone proposed that they take a collection for Mr.
Moody's work in Chicago. God lives! The believers know He is alive by their
intimate experience of Him. The Weariness of Prayer "He ... continued all night
in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12). We never read that Joshua's hand was weary with
wielding the sword, but Moses' hand was weary with holding the rod. The more
spiritual the duty, the more apt we are to tire of it. We could stand and preach
all day; but we could not pray all day. We could go forth to seek the sick all
day, but we could not be in our closets all day nearly as easily. To spend a
night with God in prayer would be far more difficult than to spend a night with
man in preaching. Oh! take care, take care, that thou dost not cease thy
prayers!

How They Prayed for Missions George Whitefield, the famous English evangelist,
said, "O Lord, give me souls, or take my soul!" Henry Martin, a missionary,
cried as he knelt on India's coral strands, "Here let me burn out for God."
David Brainerd, missionary to the North American Indians in the early 18th
century, prayed, "Lord, to Thee I dedicate myself, oh accept of me, and let me
be Thine forever. Lord, I desire nothing else, I desire nothing more." The last
words in his diary written several days before he died were, "Oh come, Lord
Jesus, come quickly. Amen." Thomas à Kempis, 1379-1471, said, "Give what Thou
wilt, and how much Thou wilt, and when Thou wilt. Set me where Thou wilt and
deal with me in all things as Thou wilt." Dwight L. Moody implored, "Use me
then, my Savior, for whatever purpose and in whatever way Thou mayest require.
Here is my poor heart, an empty vessel, fill it with Thy grace." Martin Luther
prayed thus on the night preceding his appearance before the Diet of Worms: "Do
Thou, my God, stand by me against all the world's wisdom and reason. Oh, do it,
Thou must do it. Stand by me, Thou true, eternal God!" "Praying Hyde," a
missionary in India, pleaded, "Father, give me these souls, or I die." Mrs.
Comstock, a missionary in India, uttered this prayer of parting when she sent
her children home: "Lord Jesus, I do this for Thee." How do you pray for
Missions?

Amen! A layman who was widely known for his use of the term "amen," was asked on
one occasion why he used it. "Just what does 'amen'mean?" asked a friend. The
sincere brother replied, "In most cases it means just this to me: 'Yes, Lord, I
am with it, and I will stand my share of the expenses.'" "What do you mean when
you say 'amen'at the end of your prayers?" he was asked. "When I say 'amen'at
the end of a prayer I mean just this: 'God, I am working with you that this may
be true, but I am willing to receive any one of your three replies: yes, no, or
wait.'"

How Much Does a Prayer Weigh? There is a story of a man who tried to weigh a
prayer. He owned a little grocery store. It was the week before Christmas,
shortly after World War I. A tired-looking woman came into the store and asked
for enough food to make a Christmas dinner for the children. The grocer asked
her how much she could spend. "My husband did not come back; he was killed in
the War. And I have nothing to offer but a little prayer," she answered. The
storekeeper was not very sentimental nor religious, so he said, half mockingly,
"Write it on paper, and I will weigh it." To his surprise, the woman took a
piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to the man, saying, "I wrote it
during the night while watching over my sick baby." The grocer took the piece of
paper before he could recover from his surprise and, because other customers
were watching and had heard his remarks, he placed the unread prayer on the
weight side of the old-fashioned scales. Then he began to pile food on the other
side; but to his amazement, the scale would not go down. He became angry and
flustered and finally said, "Well, that's all the scale will hold. Here's a bag;
you will have to put it in yourself, I am busy." With trembling hands the woman
filled the bag, and through moist eyes expressed her gratitude and departed.
After that the store was empty of customers, the grocer examined the scales.
Yes, they were broken and they had become broken just in time for God to answer
the prayer of the woman. But as the years passed, the grocer often wondered
about the incident. Why did the woman come at just the right time? Why had she
already written the prayer in such a way as to confuse the grocer so that he did
not examine the scales? The grocer is an old man now, but the weight of the
paper still lingers with him. He never saw the woman again, nor had he seen her
before that day. Yet he remembers her more than any of his customers. And he
treasures the slip of paper upon which the woman's prayer had been
written-simple words, but from a heart of faith, "Please, Lord, give us this day
our daily bread."

Prayer for a New Year Lord, I confess before You that: I have had longings and
nudges from You which I did not translate into action. I have made decisions
without consulting You, then have blamed You when things went wrong. I have said
that I trusted You, yet have not turned my affairs over to You. I have been
greedy for present delights and pleasures, unwilling to wait for those joys
which time and discipline alone can give. I have often sought the easy way and
have consistently drawn back from the road that is hard. I have been fond of
giving myself to dreams of which I am going to do sometime, yet have been so
slow in getting started to do them. Forgive me for all the intentions that were
born and somehow never lived. And now I claim Your promise to change me. Do for
me what I cannot do for myself. Lead me into a new tomorrow with a new spirit.
Cleanse my heart; create within me new attitudes and new ideas, as only You can.
Amen. But for Those Prayers, We Should Have Failed A clergyman from New York,
during a call on President Lincoln at the White House said: "I have not come to
ask any favors of you, Mr. President; I have only come to say that the loyal
people of the North are sustaining you and will continue to do so. We are giving
you all that we have, the lives of our sons as well as our confidence and our
prayers. You must know that no boy's father or mother ever kneels in prayer
these days without asking God to give you strength and wisdom." His eyes
brimming with tears, Mr. Lincoln replied: "But for those prayers, I should have
faltered and perhaps failed long ago. Tell every father and mother you know to
keep on praying, and I will keep on fighting, for I know God is on our side." As
the clergyman started to leave the room, Mr. Lincoln held him by the hands and
said: "I suppose I may consider this as sort of a pastoral call?" "Yes," replied
the clergyman. "Out in our country," replied Lincoln, "when a parson makes a
pastoral call, it was always the custom for the folks to ask him to lead in
prayer, and I should like to ask you to pray with me today. Pray that I may have
the strength and the wisdom." The two men knelt side by side, and the clergyman
offered the most fervent plea to Almighty God that ever fell from his lips. As
they arose, the President clasped his visitor's hand and remarked in a satisfied
sort of way: "I feel better."

Replace Fretting with Trust Psalms 37:1 begins, "Do not fret," and those words
are repeated later in the chapter. The dictionary defines "fret" as "to eat way,
gnaw, gall, vex, worry, agitate, wear away." Whenever H. Norman Wright hears
this word, he is reminded of the scene he sees each year when he hikes along the
Snake River in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Colonies of beavers
live along the riverbanks, and often he sees trees that are at various stages of
being gnawed to the ground by them. Some trees have slight rings around their
trunks where the beavers have just started to chew on them. Other trees have
several inches of bark eaten away, and some have already fallen to the ground
because the beavers have gnawed through the trunks. Worry has the same effect on
us. It will gradually eat away at us until it destroys us. In addition to
telling us not to fret, Psalm 37 gives us positive substitutes for worry. First,
it says, "Trust [lean on, rely on, and be confident] in the Lord" (Psalms 37:3
AMP). Trust is a matter of not attempting to live an independent life or to cope
with difficulties alone. It means going to a greater source for strength.
Second, verse four says, "Delight yourself also in the Lord" (AMP). To delight
means to rejoice in God and what He has done for us. Let God supply the joy for
your life. Third, verse five says, "Commit your way to the Lord" (AMP).
Commitment is a definite act of the will, and it involves releasing your worries
and anxieties to the Lord. And fourth, we are to "rest in the Lord; wait for
Him" (Psalms 37:7 AMP). This means to submit in silence to what He ordains but
to be ready and expectant for what He is going to do in your life. Stop worrying
and start praying (Philippians 4:6-9; Psalms 34:1-4). The passage in Philippians
can be divided into three basic stages. We are given a premise: Stop worrying.
We are given a practice: Start praying. And we are given a promise: Peace. The
promise is there and available, but we must follow the first two steps in order
for the third to occur. We must stop worrying and start praying if we are to
begin receiving God's peace. The results of prayer as a substitute for worry can
be vividly seen in a crisis in David's life that prompted him to write Psalm 34.
(See 1 Samuel 21:10; 1 Samuel 22:2). David had escaped death at the hands of the
Philistines by pretending to be insane. He then fled to the cave of Adullam
along with four hundred men who were described as distressed, discontented, and
in debt. In the midst of all this, David wrote a psalm of praise that begins, "I
will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth"
(Psalms 34:1 RSV). He did not say he would praise the Lord sometimes, but at all
times, even when his enemies were after him.

Amazing Prayer God, Creator of all, invites us, mere creatures, to pray, and He
assures us He will hear. He is holy, separate from sinners and undefiled, and we
are rebellious and sinful, but as a Father, He invites us to ask favors and
promises help. "Ask and it shall be given to you...for everyone that asketh
receiveth ...If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to
them that ask him" (Matthew 7:7-11). Amazing! Prayer changes things. The Bible
says, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James
5:16). Prayer for the sick is not a substitute for medicine, prayer for daily
bread is not a substitute for work, and prayer for the lost is no substitute for
the gospel, but those things are no substitute for prayer either. Because
Christians pray, some are well who would still be sick, some alive who would be
dead (James 4:15), souls are saved that would be lost (Romans 10:1), doors of
opportunity are open that would still be closed (Colossians 4:3), some are wiser
than they were (James 1:5). "More things are wrought by prayer than this world
dreams of." And many more things yet would be wrought by it, if we prayed more:
"You have not, because you ask not" (James 4:2). How amazing! God commands us to
pray. "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). "Continue in prayer, and
watch in the same with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2). "Be anxious for nothing,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your
requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6). The greatest of all privileges
is not only allowed, but is even enjoined upon us. To let us pray would be
marvelous, but He commands us. Amazing indeed! God urges us to be persistent in
prayer. If at first we do not get what we ask for, we are to keep asking. If
God, who hears all things, appears deaf to our cries, we are to cry longer.
Jesus told a parable about an unjust and uncaring judge, who finally ruled in
favor of a poor widow simply because she wore him out with her persistent pleas.
He told that parable, He said, to teach us that we "ought always to pray and not
give up" (Luke 18:1). God is not unjust and uncaring, like that judge; but we
are to be persistent, like that widow. God never wearies of our asking, even
when it appears He is not hearing. Astoundingly amazing! We are invited to pray
and God has promised to hear. Great things happen because of prayer. We are
commanded to pray by the One who loves us, and reminded that we show Him our
love by keeping His commandments. We can "come boldly unto the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews
4:16). Yet, believing all of that, many of us pray so little! That is most
amazing of all!

God Said "No" to David The reign of David was the end of an era in Judah. David
was 30 years of age when he became king and he reigned 40 years. His shoes were
so big that none who came after him could ever fill them. As great as Solomon
was, he never attained the stature of his father David, spiritually speaking. In
Acts 13:36, Paul tells us that David served his own generation by the will of
God. David's dream was to build a house for the Lord. In 1 Samuel 7:1-3, David
experienced a peaceful interlude, a calm, quiet period in his life, which for
him was really unique. He was a courageous warrior, usually involved in battle
with one or another of the surrounding nations. At this point, while sitting
quietly, he looked around at his own beautiful palace and compared it to the
tent that housed the ark of God. The comparison sorrowed David. He wanted to
build a beautiful, permanent home for the holy vessels of the Tabernacle. His
motive was pure and admirable because he wanted it for God's glory, not his own.
He expressed this desire to Nathan the prophet, who encouraged him. But God had
a different plan. The Lord spoke to Nathan and told him to tell David that it
was not His will for David to build His house, but He promised to make David's
dream come true through Solomon, his son. God refused David's request, reminding
him that he was a soldier, a man of war, but not a builder. How often we have
wished for talents other than those God gave us. Many times, God's "NO" is just
a redirection of His plan for us according to His will. When we pray each day
for divine guidance and direction, we need feel no guilt when our plans do not
work out. We can have confidence that God's way is best and we can leave the
results in His hand. When God says "NO," He has a better way, and our best
reaction is submissive cooperation. God has put each of us here for a purpose,
however humble. Not many are called to fulfill such a great purpose as David, or
to build temples. God's intended purpose for you may not be as great as your
dreams, or it may be greater than you ever imagined. How sad that so many never
become aware of that purpose which is the only way to true happiness and
satisfaction.

Prayer: A Habit Worth Dying For Nathan Hale, a great American patriot during the
Revolutionary War, was captured and hung by British soldiers. His now famous
final words were, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my
country." He was willing to die for his nation and its freedom. During the final
days of World War II, it was apparent that the Japanese were fighting a losing
battle. Yet many of their pilots, dubbed "kamikaze," willingly flew suicide
missions. There was great honor in dying for a cause. The pilots were willing to
die for glory. Not long ago, a mother in Philadelphia went back into a burning
building to rescue her children who were trapped inside. After saving two, she
died in the flames trying to save the other two. The mother was willing to die
for her children. In the ancient empire of Persia, a law was passed making it a
crime punishable by death to pray to anyone but the emperor. One aged government
official refused to obey the edict. It was his habit to pray three times daily
to the one true God. As a result, he was cast into a den of lions. Even though
God saved Daniel, Daniel was still willing to die rather than give up his habit
of prayer (Daniel 6:3-11). How important is prayer to you? Is it a habit worth
dying for? Or, would someone need to pass a law demanding daily prayer or a trip
to the lions' den to get you into the habit of prayer? People are willing to die
for that which is of great importance to them. Prayer should be that important!
It is our link to God. Without the lifeline of prayer, we grow spiritually weak.
Do not neglect the privilege that God has given to us as His children to pray.
Does Christianity Mean Easy Lives? Do not pray for easy lives: pray to be
stronger people! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers
equal to your task. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you
shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, the richness of life
which has come to you by the grace of God. Do Not Give Up A lady in the church
who invited her neighbor to go to services with her kept count of the times the
neighbor refused. It came to 49. She pleasantly mentioned the count to her
friend as she issued her fiftieth invitation at the time of a special meeting.
At first the friend declined again but later called and said she would go. "If
you are interested enough in me to ask me 50 times to go, I will go with you and
see what it is like." She went out and liked what she saw. She returned and she
was converted-all because someone did not give up too soon. Not a Guest A little
girl of five was saying grace at the table. She prayed as she had heard others
pray, "Come, Lord Jesus, be our Guest." Then turning suddenly to her mother, she
said, "But, Mother, I do not want Jesus to be our Guest!" "Why dear?" asked the
horrified mother. To which the little one replied, "Well, a guest is one who
comes here sometimes. I want Jesus here all the time!"

Pray Believing Little Johnnie was saying his bedtime prayers a week before his
birthday. In a loud voice he listed all the things he wanted. "Do not pray so
loudly," his mother instructed. "The Lord is not hard of hearing!" "Maybe He
isn't," admitted Johnnie, "but Grandma is." A lot of our prayers may be like
Johnnie's. We ask God, yet make other provisions. There is something good about
the axiom, "Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything
depended on you." But, in one sense, it reveals our spirit of independence. It
conveys the notion: "I will have to do it all myself, anyway!" We must admit the
essentiality of dialogue with God. And our requests must come from righteous
lips, for "he hears the prayer of the righteous" (Proverbs 15:29). Prayers are
like skyhooks-if we get enough fastened in up there we will have something to
hang on to when the world is jerked out from under us. Yes! Pray believing! Then
God will answer your prayer. He may answer, "No!" He may answer, "Later!" He may
answer, "Maybe!" Or he many answer, "Yes!" But let us understand one universal
truth. The Father in heaven is eager to hear and answer in positive ways those
of us who are his faithful children. "Almighty Father, accept our prayers of
faith as confessions of our utter dependence upon your love and generous mercy.
In Jesus' name. Amen."

I Traveled on My Knees Last night I took a journey to a land across the sea, I
did not go by boat or plane, I traveled on my knees. I saw many people there in
deep sin, and I did not want to send my prayers in. But Jesus said I should go
and see, how many I could win. I said, "Jesus, I cannot go and work with such as
these." He answered quickly, "Yes, you can by traveling on your knees." He said,
"You pray, I will meet the need. You call and I will hear." So I knelt in prayer
and felt at ease as I traveled on my knees. I said, "Yes, Lord. I know I can do
the job, and my desire is to please. I will heed Your call," and I traveled on
my knees. The Old Barn An artist painted a picture of an old dilapidated barn.
The barbed wire fence by the side of it was rusty and falling down. The door
leaned drunkenly on hinges eroded by time and weather. It was a sad sight. Some
might call it "picturesque," but it was only a sad reminder of how temporary the
things of life really are. Those who built it will not pass this way again. The
things which were important to them are now only memories. The days of work and
worry around this barn are long past. Life does not wait, and in its passing,
"things" are left to rust and decay. God has given us the means to correct this
mistake of human weakness if we would only recognize it. He has given us
"Sunday" in which to gather with those who share the dream of eternity with us;
a time for reminding one another of things which do not ever swing on rusty
hinges nor erode with time. He has offered us a constant audience with Him in
prayer-a moment-by-moment opportunity to leave the temporary for the eternal.
Write out your prayers sometimes and see how much of the time you spend thanking
God for and praying for the doors which hang on rusty hinges and how little time
praising Him for the doors which open to things which "moth and rust" cannot
corrupt.

How Moody Won the Children Dwight L. Moody was passing along the streets of
Chicago when he spied two little girls playing out in front of an underground
saloon. His heart was instantly moved with compassion for the children, and he
walked straightway into the cellar. The barkeeper, thinking that he wanted a
drink, said, "What will you have?" "Those children for my Sunday school,"
replied Moody. "Children for your Sunday school! Do you know where you are? An
infidel club meets here every Thursday night." But the tactful soul winner knew
it was not a time for retreat, so, resting his elbows on the bar, he looked into
the face of this father and pleaded with him earnestly in behalf of the little
girls. Finally, the man's heart was touched and he said, "I will tell you what I
will do, parson. If you will come down here next Thursday night and meet the
boys in a joint discussion, and you win, you shall have the children; but if
not, it is all off." "Agreed," exclaimed Moody. "I will be here." Taking his
departure, he looked up a little crippled newsboy whom he knew, who could pray
effectually and said to him, "Tommy, I want you next Thursday night." When the
hour arrived, Tommy and the evangelist entered the saloon. It was full. The men
were sitting on whiskey barrels, on beer kegs and on the counter, while others
were at the windows in expectation of a debate. Moody opened the meeting by
saying: "Gentlemen, it is our custom to open our meetings with prayer. Tommy,
jump on that barrel and pray," whereupon Tommy perched himself on the barrel,
turned his little face up toward heaven, and how he did pray! As the tears stole
down his cheeks, the more tenderhearted beat a retreat; and finally those more
rock-like, subdued by the pathos and spiritual power of the occasion, slowly
retired, until there were none left except the barkeeper, Moody and the praying
boy. "That will do, Tommy," exclaimed the evangelist. "I claim the children,"
said he, turning to the father. "They are yours according to contract," replied
the father, "but it is a queer way to fight." "It is the way I win my battles,"
said Moody. He had instructed the little boy not to cease praying until he had
prayed them all out. It was a piece of strategy full of tactfulness. The
reality, the venturesomeness, and the tact of such a man is worth emulating. Can
You Wait? Having to wait for someone or something is difficult. What we want, we
want now. Our fast food must be just that-fast. Instant pudding, instant rice,
and instant results are part of our way of life. One individual prayed for
patience and told the Lord that he wanted it "Right away!" However, we know so
agonizingly well that the Lord does not work on our time table. Having to wait
upon the Lord (Psalms 27:14; Psalms 37:34) can be painful at times! The
principle of the Lord working as He wills requires faith. He is never late! His
promises are sure. May we have the faith and patience to wait! The Lord will
work out His plan, His way and in His time.

Revelation I knelt to pray when day was done, and prayed, "O Lord, bless
everyone; Lift from each saddened heart the pain, and let the sick be well
again." And then I awoke another day, and carelessly went on my way. The whole
day long I did not try to wipe the tear from any eye; I did not try to share the
load of anybody on the road; I did not even go to see the sick man just next
door to me. But once again, when day was done, I prayed, "O Lord, bless
everyone...." But as I prayed, into my ear there came a voice that whispered
clear, "Pause just now, before you pray; Whom have you tried to bless today?
God's sweetest blessings always go to hands that serve Him here below." And then
I hid my face and cried, "Forgive me, God, for I have lied. Let me but see
another day, and I will live the way I pray." When Is It Time to Pray? Have you
ever had anyone come to you and say, "Tell me...how do you know when it is time
to pray?" I mean our stomachs growl when it is time to eat. Our eyes start
closing when it is time to sleep. When our feelings get hurt, it is time for
tears, With a new birth it is time to care. People will often tell us, quite so,
When it is time to come, or stay, or go. But how do you know when it is time to
pray? Does an alarm go off next to your bed? Or is there a clanging inside your
head? Do your eyes start blinking, a horn start blowing? Or do you listen for a
rooster crowing? Just what is your way of knowing when it is time to pray? With
me... I find it is time to pray At the beginning and ending of each day. And
when I am sick and feeling bad, Or scared, or lonely, or lost, or sad. When the
bills blow in like sand I seek a touch of the Master's hand. When I need
patience, hope and peace And an abiding love that will not cease. When I am
thankful for all there is That now is mine, and yet is His. Gladness, sadness,
joy and grief We share in prayer. And it is my belief That whenever my heart has
something to say That is how I know when it's time to pray. This New Year
Everybody Can Do Something A preacher asked a hard-working servant girl what she
was doing for the Lord. She explained that she had very little time to be
involved in "church work." "But," she added, "I always take the newspaper to my
bedroom each night." Surprised, the preacher asked what possible good that could
do. "Well," she explained, "I turn to the column of births. I pray that each of
the newborns will be led to the Savior at an early age and become a great
blessing to the world. Next, I check the column of weddings and pray that the
couples will always remain true to each other and build their homes on Christ.
Then I go over the death notices and mention the bereaved families by name to
God, asking that, in their sorrow they will turn to the Lord."

Success in Prayer Prayer pulls the rope below and the great bell rings above in
the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly; others
give but an occasional pluck at the rope; but he who wins with heaven is the man
who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously, with all his might. The Power
of the Bended Knee Have you ever watched how a bird sleeps on its perch and
never falls off? How does it manage to do this? The secret is the tendons of the
bird's legs. They are so constructed that when the leg is bent at the knee, the
claws contract and grip like a steel trap. The claws refuse to let go until the
knees are unbent again. The bended knee gives the bird the ability to hold on to
his perch so tightly. Is this not also the secret of the holding power of the
Christian? Daniel found this to be true. Surrounded by a pagan environment,
tempted to compromise with evil, urged to weaken his grip on God, he refused to
let go. He held firm when others faltered because he was a man of prayer. He
knew the power of the bended knee. From sleeping birds we can learn the secret
of holding things which are most precious to us-honesty, purity, thoughtfulness,
honor, character. That secret is the knee bent in prayer, seeking to get a
firmer grip on those values which make life worth living. When we hold firmly to
God in prayer, we can rest assured He will hold tightly to us.

Just Stopped by for a Visit When I was a boy, we had a neighbor lady who
frequently came to the back door of our home. She never wasted any time coming
to the point. Her words were always the same: "I just want to borrow
(something)." The problem was she never came at any other time. My mother
graciously let her have what she wanted, then she would be gone. I know my
mother never appreciated her as much as the other neighbors, but she never
complained. I often think of this lady when I hear some people pray. Some people
never call on God until they want something. God is loving, and He probably
gives them what they ask of Him. But would not it be a lot better if they would
call on God at other times? We had another neighbor who came frequently, and
never asked for anything. She always started her conversation by saying, "Just
stopped by for a visit." I think God would like us to do that, "Just stop by for
a visit." The next time you pray, why not do it-just for a visit? A Much Needed
Prayer Make deaf my ears to slander that is told: Silence my tongue to aught
that is unkind; Let only thoughts that bless dwell in my mind. Let me so kindly
be, so full of cheer, That all I meet may feel Thy presence here. O clothe me in
Thy beauty, this I pray, Let me reveal Thee, Lord, through all the day. The Lord
Sent It Years ago an old lady had no money to buy food. She prayed, "Dear Lord,
please send me a side of bacon and a sack of corn meal." Over and over again she
prayed the same prayer aloud. One of the town's unscrupulous citizens decided to
play a trick on her. He dropped a side of bacon and a sack of corn meal down her
chimney. It landed in front of her as she knelt in prayer. Jumping to her feet,
she exclaimed, "Oh Lord! You have answered my prayer!" Then she went all over
town telling everyone the good news. This was too much for the scoundrel who
dropped the food down her chimney. He ridiculed her publicly and told her that
God did not answer her prayer; he did. The old lady replied, "Well, the devil
may have brought it, but it was the Lord who sent it!" God answers prayers in
many ways.

Sometime-Somewhere A young woman, a great lover of flowers, had set out a rare
vine at the base of a stone wall. It grew vigorously, but it did not seem to
bloom. Day after day she cultivated it and tried every possible way to coax it
to bloom. One morning, as she examined the vine disappointedly, her invalid
neighbor called to her and said. "You cannot imagine how much I have been
enjoying the blooms of that vine you planted." The owner followed her neighbor's
gaze and on the other side of the wall was a mass of blooms. The vine had crept
through the crevices and produced flowers on the other side. How often we think
our efforts are thrown away because we do not see fruit! We need to learn that
in God's service our prayers, our toil, our crosses are never in vain. They will
bear fruit and hearts will receive blessings and joy, sometimes, somewhere.

Answer to Prayer Requires Preparation! A rather lazy student noticed that a
fellow student always recited her lessons well, so he said to her, "How is it
that you always say your lesson so perfectly?" She replied, "I always pray that
I may say my lessons well." "Do you?" said the boy somewhat surprised. "Well,
then, I will pray, too." However, the next morning he could not even repeat a
word of his assigned lesson. Perplexed, he ran to his friend and reproached her
as deceitful. "I prayed," said he, "but I could not say a single word of my
lesson." "Perhaps," rejoined the other, "you didn't study hard enough!" "I
didn't study at all," answered the boy. "I thought I didn't have to study after
praying about it."

Good Retreat In the Korean conflict, which was never officially termed a "war,"
the Eighth United States Army and the North Korean Communists ravaged the city
of Seoul three times. It was a battle of wits as well as of arms because the
American soldiers were thousands of miles from the source of their ammunition
supply. At the outset of the conflict, they had to be ready to fight, to dig in
and hide, or to retreat, if ordered. The very word "retreat" has always had a
shameful connotation on the battlefield, so the generals and colonels chose to
call it "a strategic withdrawal." Sometimes, when the battle against sin and
Satan becomes hot in the Christian's life, discretion is the better part of
valor, and a hasty retreat to the place of prayer is not only indicated but
wise.

Prayer Limited There was a sexton in a church who was very devoted to the
pastor. A new pastor came, and someone asked the sexton what he thought of the
new preacher. "Well," said the sexton, "I like him pretty well, but when it
comes to praying, the former preacher asked the Lord for things the new preacher
doesn't even know the Lord's got." Our immaturity and finite nature many times
do not permit us to see what God has for us, blessings which are far better than
those we want for ourselves.

Kill the Spider A Christian who attended prayer meeting faithfully always
confessed the same things during testimony time. His prayer was seldom varied:
"O Lord, since we last gathered together, the cobwebs have come between us and
Thee. Clear away the cobwebs, that we may again see Thy face." One day a brother
called out, "O Lord God, kill the spider!"

Action Needed We are reminded of the little girl who told a friend who was
visiting her father that her brothers set traps to catch birds. He asked her
what she did. She replied, "I prayed that the traps might not catch the birds."
"Anything else?" "Yes," she said, "I prayed that God would keep the birds out of
the traps." "Anything else?" "Yes, then I went and kicked the traps all to
pieces." That little girl was bright enough to understand that life needed
action as well as prayers.

They Stayed On A small party of missionaries were invited to go to Tibet at a
time when missionary activity was forbidden there. They were told their task was
to help stem the tide of a plague that was raging out of control. When the
plague was over, the government asked the missionaries to leave. But these
servants of Christ felt a responsibility to minister to the souls of the
Tibetans as well as to their bodies. The authorities threatened to kill them,
but the fear of death did not deter them from their purpose. They stayed on. One
night the Tibetans encircled their house with flaming torches. They began
dancing around in a wide circle, ever diminishing in size seeking to achieve
their aim of setting the place ablaze. The missionaries fell to their knees in
prayer, and became so intent as the wild chanting came closer that they never
realized it had ceased. When they arose, the mob had dispersed, and they were
allowed to remain. Years later, one of their converts told them that he had been
in the circle, and they had every intention of burning the missionaries to death
in their house. However, as they approached the dwelling, there stood before the
door a figure in white apparel holding a flaming sword. They fled in fright. And
thus the door was opened for the gospel in Tibet, because God honored the faith
of those who were willing to die at any time for their Lord.

Answer to Prayer A man prayed fervently every morning at family worship for the
poor in the community, but he was never known to give anything to the poor. One
morning at the conclusion of family worship, after the usual prayer had been
offered for the poor and destitute, his little son said, "Father, I wish I had
your corncrib." "Why, my son?" asked the father. "Why, because then I would
answer your prayer myself."

Use the Battering Rams When St. Paul's Cathedral in England was being demolished
to make room for a new edifice, thirty men operated a battering ram for one
whole day on a certain part of the wall. Not seeing any immediate effect, they
thought this a colossal waste of time, but they were told nonetheless to
continue. On the second day, the wall began to tremble at the top and fell in a
few hours. If our prayers and repentances do not appear to overcome our inner
corruption, we must still continue to use these battering rams, for through
faith in Christ the power of evil shall be overthrown.

God Our King It is related of Alexander the Great that on one occasion a
courtier asked him for some financial aid. The great leader told him to go to
his treasurer and ask for whatever he wanted. A little later, the treasurer
appeared and told Alexander the man had asked for a large sum and that he
hesitated to pay out so much. "Give him what he asks for," replied the great
conqueror. "He has treated me like a king in his asking, and I shall be like a
king in my giving." Oh, for the realization of the greatness of the God to whom
we come in prayer! From such a God we can only beg humbly; we cannot demand
anything.

Prayer Answered One day a lady was giving her little nephew some lessons. He was
generally a good, attentive child, but on this occasion he could not fix his
mind on his work. Suddenly he said, "Auntie, may I kneel down and ask God to
help me find my marble?" His aunt gave her consent, and the little boy knelt by
his chair, closed his eyes, and prayed silently. Next day, almost afraid of
asking the question lest the child had not found his toy and so might lose his
simple faith, the lady said to him, "Well, dear, have you found your marble?"
"No, Auntie," was the reply, "but God made me not want to." That is the way God
many times answers our prayers and thus rids us of division within ourselves.

Ask for Rain, Carry Umbrella Dr. Guthrie, that great Scotch preacher, prayed in
the morning service for rain. As he went to church in the afternoon, little
Mary, his daughter, said, "Here is the umbrella, Papa." "What do we need it
for?" he asked. "You prayed for rain this morning, and don't you expect God will
send it?" They carried the umbrella, and when they came home they were glad to
take shelter under it from the drenching storm.

Belief in Prayer A little boy came to the preacher and asked him to have the
folks in prayer meeting pray that the Lord might cause his sister to read the
Bible. The preacher made the request known, but as soon as someone began to pray
about it, little Johnny got up and left. Everyone thought him very rude, and the
next day the preacher scolded him for it. But Johnny said, "Sir, I wanted to go
and see my sister read the Bible for the first time."

Needs or Wants A parent does not give a child everything that he asks for. If my
little boy came to me and told me just before supper that he wanted a lollipop,
should I give it to him? Of course not. Then, if he turns to me and says, "But
Daddy, I need it," he can say it as many times as he wishes. He is not going to
get a lollipop just before supper. The expression of a need does not always
represent a true need. Many times we act more inconsiderately before our
Heavenly Father than our children act before us. We give utterance to our wants
as if they were real needs. Let us watch this tendency. God is never fooled. He
knows a real need from a want.

Praying in His Name A little child who had just learned the alphabet kept
repeating time after time the letters of the alphabet in an attitude of prayer.
A missionary approached her and asked what she was saying. The little girl's
answer was, "I am praying." "But why do you repeat the alphabet?" "I felt that I
should pray, and because I did not know how to pray, I repeated the letters of
the alphabet, knowing that the great Lord would fit the letters together to make
words out of them" The little girl was only expressing something that we do
unconsciously every time we close our prayer "In the name of the Lord." We
invoke the totality of His revelation to us, all His attributes and all His
omnipotence. We call upon Him as our Priest, our Mediator, our Prophet, our
Redeemer, our Savior, our All in all.

Pray for Each Other A minister was praying at the bedside of a dying woman.
"Wait a moment," she said, as he started to rise from his knees. "I want to pray
for you." Very tenderly she prayed with her hands upon his head. "For ten years,
ever since you became my pastor, I have offered that prayer for you every
morning and night," she told him. The minister went away with tears in his eyes
and a strange warmth in his heart. He had known that this woman was
sweet-spirited and true, but he had never guessed that he had a place in her
prayers day and night. "I wonder how many of my six hundred members pray for
me," he asked himself. Let us remember others in our prayers even as we want
others to remember us.

Effectual Prayer A lady lay in bed suffering violent head pains. While thus
suffering she said to a friend who was watching by her side, "If only I could
get ten minutes' sleep, I should feel better." The friend said nothing but
offered up a silent prayer to God to grant the ten minutes' sleep. True, the
petition was feeble, and the faith feeble, but the Lord, who is very tender, did
not despise either the feebleness of the faith or the smallness of the subject
of the request. The patient presently slept and described her sleep as most
delicious. Specific prayer availeth much. We must narrow down our prayers if we
want God to give us that which we need. Our children feel free to come to us and
ask us for even the most insignificant things. The only hope of their getting
that which they want is by asking, and asking specifically.

Jesus, Have Mercy One time the plane in which I was traveling was caught in a
violent storm. All the passengers, including myself, were getting sick. To take
my mind off what was happening, I opened my New Testament to Luke 17:12-19,
which deals with Christ's encounter with the ten lepers. When I couldn't finish
reading the passage because the plane was being blown about like a bird in the
wind, I had reached verse thirteen. The lepers standing afar off had cried out,
"Jesus, Master, have mercy on us."

Happy Prayer Time During the Welsh revival a minister was approached by a humble
saint in his church and was asked this question. "Can you guess what is the
happiest time I have in religion?" The minister thought he could easily answer
and so he said, "Why, we are all as happy as we can be during these revival
days, and at our prayer meetings night after night." The old man seemed somewhat
surprised. "Well," he said, "That is true, but I was not thinking about that.
Try again." "Then," said the minister, "it must be when you are at prayer." "You
are getting near it now," said the old man, "but it is not exactly when I pray.
It is when I am done praying, and God and I are just chatting." If we knew that
a great dignitary would accept us if we went to him, would we not go? If he
invited us to stay with him and be on intimate terms with him, would we not
stay? How much more wonderful it is when we think that the dignitary is God
Himself. He will be our eternal Companion, if we go to Him through Jesus Christ.

Forty Martyrs of Sebaste St. Basil was a great man of God, one of the greatest
of the Church Fathers. One of his noble orations is dedicated to the memory of
forty martyrs of Sebaste who were ordered by the officers of Licinius, in the
year a.d. 320, to offer sacrifices to heathen idols. These were soldiers who had
proven to be excellent in every respect. But Licinius the emperor issued a
decree that they must renounce Christ or else their lives would be in danger.
Those who refused to give up Christ were submitted to indescribable brutalities
and tortures. "The torturers were called forth. The first was ready and the
sword was sharpened.... Then some of the persecuted Christians fled, others
succumbed, others wavered, and some before even being submitted to the tortures,
were afraid because of their threatenings. Some, when facing the tortures,
became faint. Others entered the battle, but were not able to persevere to the
end in suffering the pains, and in the middle of the martyrdom they renounced
Christ. "However, the invincible and gallant soldiers of Christ proceeded
visibly to the middle, at the time when the judge was showing the decree of the
king and was asking them to submit to it. Without being afraid of anything which
they saw, nor losing their heads as a result of the threatenings, they confessed
that they were Christians. "These Christians soldiers were offered money and
honors in order to induce them to join the ranks of the heathen. To earthly
honors they would not yield. Then came threats of indescribable tortures. What
an answer these Christian soldiers gave: 'Do you have blessings of equal value
to those you endeavor to deprive us of, to give us? We hate your gift because it
will mean our loss. We do not accept honor which is the mother of dishonesty.
You offer us money which remains here, glory which fades away.... We have
despised the whole world. Those things which we see in the world do not have for
us the value of the heavenly things which we hope and long for.... We are afraid
of only one punishment, the punishment of hell. We are here ready to be tortured
... for you to twist our bodies and to burn them.' "The judge was infuriated by
the courage of these brave Christians, and so he devised a slow and most painful
way of putting them to death. It was very cold. He waited for the night when the
wind was violent and the air freezing. He ordered these soldiers to be thrown
naked on a frozen lake in the center of the town to die from freezing. There is
no more atrocious and painful death than that. These Christian soldiers did not
have to be forced to take off their clothes. They took them off themselves and
marched on to the frozen lake. As each went, he said, 'We are not merely putting
off our clothes, but we are putting off "the old man, which is corrupt according
to the deceitful lusts" ' (Ephesians 4:22). All together they shouted, 'The
winter is bitter, but heaven is sweet; the freezing painful, but sweet the rest.
Let us persevere a little longer and we shall be warmed in the bosom of the
Patriarch [meaning Christ]. Let us exchange all of eternity for the pains of one
night. Let the leg be burned so that it may ever dance with the angels.... How
many soldiers have died in battle remaining faithful to a mortal king, and we,
for the sake of remaining faithful to the true king, shall we not sacrifice this
life?... We are going to die anyway; let us die so that we may live.' Their
prayer was unanimous and ascended with one voice, 'Forty have we entered this
ordeal, may all forty of us receive the crown of martyrdom. Oh, Despot, grant
that not one of our number may yield.... You honored this number because you
fasted forty days.' "In spite of this earnest prayer, one of their number did
not persevere and gave in to the offers of the heathen persecutors. Great sorrow
came upon the others because only thirty-nine remained in the arena of death.
Their plea became even more vigorous to their Heavenly Father. Forty entered the
ordeal and forty wanted to see the face of the Lord. The deserter came to the
warm place prepared by the emperor's executioners. But going from the extreme
cold to the warm place, and plunging himself into warm water, he died instantly.
The guard, a heathen who was watching all the developments and saw angels
ministering to these saints of God, on hearing their prayers, decided to answer
them. He took off his clothes and declared with a loud voice, 'I am a Christian,
too,' and jumped naked on the frozen lake joining the thirty-nine to complete
their number to forty. Thus their prayer was answered, forty entered the ordeal
of martyrdom and forty saw the face of Jesus Christ. Now, whose memory was
cursed and whose was blessed? We call the saints who persevered unto death
blessed, indeed."

Praying for Others Unfortunately, countless Christians become selfish in their
prayers. They pray for themselves and their families and care little about
others. The moon is a lavish giver that owes all her beauty to her habit of
giving. Suppose the moon should swallow up and keep to herself all the years of
light which the sun gives her and should refuse to share them with us; what
would the effect be? She would stop shining. The moment she stopped shining, she
would lose all her beauty. All the beauty and the brilliancy of a diamond are
caused by its reflecting, or giving away, the light which it receives. It is the
same way with the moon. If it should stop shining, or giving away the light it
gets from the sun it would hang up in the sky like a great, black, ugly-looking
ball. All its brightness and beauty would be gone. Which would we rather be, as
we pray: a black ugly ball in God's sky, or a shining light, constantly giving
of the light we so abundantly receive?

Power of Prayer A man dreamed, while traveling, that he came to a little church.
On the roof was a devil fast asleep. He went along farther and came to a log
cabin which was surrounded by devils all wide awake. He asked one of them what
it meant. Said the devil, "I will tell you. The fact is that the whole church is
asleep, and one devil can take care of all the people; but here are a man and a
woman who commune with God in prayer, and they have more power than the whole
church."

Don't Play God If the President of the United States invited us to visit him,
and we tried to assume the prerogatives of the Presidency ourselves, he'd soon
put us out. Yet, this is how some of us act toward God. He has told us to ask,
but our asking often demonstrates an attitude of irresponsibility on our part.
We ask Him to overrule His natural laws, to act as our servant who must accede
to our command. We must never play God when we pray.

Seek and Find Carey, the great missionary to India, found his Savior in a
cobbler's workshop at Kackleton. Mary Slessor discovered the riches of Christ in
a factory in Dundee; Livingstone found them at his loom in Blantire; and John
Bunyan in the streets of Bedford, while he carried on his work as an itinerant
mender of household utensils, a tinker. Yes, and God's richest treasure, His
only begotten Son, was found by simple shepherds, not in a gilded cradle in a
palace of splendor and wealth, but in the manger of a Bethlehem stable. You and
I might find that same Savior while carrying on our daily duties in the
workshop, office or home. "Seek," said Jesus, "and ye shall find."

Selfish Prayer "I have prayed long for the conversion of my husband," said a
woman, "but he's as far off from conversion as ever." "Why do you want your
husband converted?" she was asked. "Oh," she replied, "it would be so nice. How
different the house would be." "You are forgetting," was the rebuke, "the good
of your husband and the glory of God. You appear to be thinking mainly of
yourself. Pray for his conversion simply for the glory of God and your husband's
need of a Savior."




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  CHAPTER 89: PREACHING
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Preaching

Thanks for the Help A preacher was suddenly called out of town and he asked the
new youth minister to conduct services on Sunday. When he returned, he asked his
wife how the young man had done. "Not so well," she reported. "It was the
poorest sermon I had ever heard-nothing to it at all." Meeting the youth
minister later, the preacher asked him how he had managed. "Pretty good, I
guess," replied the young man. "As I did not have time to prepare anything
myself, I just used one of your sermons."

Only a Boy The old Scots minister climbed wearily into the pulpit. Bowed and
dejected, he had just faced the harsh criticism of one of his deacons. "Sir,
there is something radically wrong with your ministry. Only one person has been
saved this year, and he is only a boy." The words stung him, for he, too, felt
heartbroken that so few had responded to the Gospel; yet still he trusted God
for the results. The service concluded, but the weary man of God lingered on in
the church, wondering if there was any point continuing in the ministry. A young
lad saw him and waited behind. Please, sir... ." "Yes, Robert?" "Do you think if
I worked hard for my education that I could ever become a preacher?" "God bless
you, my boy," replied the old man with tears in his eyes. "Yes, I think you will
become a preacher!" It was years later that an elderly missionary came back to
London from Africa. He had pushed back the boundaries of geographical knowledge
and brought savage chiefs under the influence of the Gospel of Peace, given
tribes the Bible in their own tongues; but most of all, he had followed the Lord
with all of his heart. Robert Moffat-"only a boy," won to Christ by a tired old
man-had become a soul winner! On one visit to England, Robert told of the need
of Africa. Among those who heard him that day was a young Scottish medical
student who had given his life to God for missionary service. Robert Moffat's
words pierced his heart: "There is a vast plain to the north where I have
sometimes seen, in the morning sun, the smoke of a thousand villages where no
missionary has ever been." Filled with the vision of what God wanted him to do,
the student asked Mr. Moffat, "Would I do for Africa?" The direction of David
Livingstone's life had been changed. Who can tell what impact was made through
the ministry of the first old Scotsman? "Only a boy" it seemed-yet far-off
generations and tribes knew the effect of it! You never know what God is doing
and can do through your witness. Do not be discouraged. But trust and pray on!

Accentuate the Positive In revival services, a young evangelist preached the
severity of God's judgment on many of societies' ills. In the spirit of love,
the older and wiser pastor approached him after a service and instead of
showering compliments on him, said simply, "Young man, don't kick the darkness,
turn on the light."

Simplicity Preaching Some preachers have the instincts of aviators-they announce
a text, taxi for a short distance, then take off from the earth and disappear
into the clouds. After that, only the din of exploding gasoline is heard,
signifying that they are flying high, very high, above the heads of their
hearers. In other words, a sermon, rightly presented, should not be a meteor,
but a sun. Its true test is "Can it make anything grow?" George Fox, seeking
spiritual guidance, walked seven miles to talk to a clergyman who had the
reputation for being helpful. "But I found him but like an empty hollow cask,"
he reported sadly. The problem with our preaching is that too often people come
seeking the Water of Life, only to find an empty cask. But sometimes they find
water-when the preacher with simplicity and authority proclaims Jesus Christ.
Feed your people with the Bread of Life; cause them to drink deeply of the Water
of Life. Be careful not to confuse simple, easy communication with superficial
study and shallow preaching. You can dig deep, but you do not have to come up
dry. Use your professional tools at home, but take the inspired Word alone into
the pulpit. With God's help, your sermons can be profoundly simple and simply
profound.

Empty Speaker A minister visited a rural family for supper, and they ate just
before church. The minister explained that he couldn't eat very much and preach
a good message. After supper the wife asked the husband to go on to the service
with the minister while she washed dishes. When the husband returned, she asked
him how the preaching was. "Oh, to tell the truth," was his reply, "he may as
well et."

Cutting Hearts Years ago in Atlanta, Georgia, some workmen were laying a
sidewalk of stones. One Monday morning a preacher passed by. He watched these
busy men with interest for a long time. How impressed he was that a workman
could take a tool, strike a stone, and cut it as if it were warm butter. The man
cutting stones kept moving along on his knees cutting more stones and putting
them in place. Shortly the preacher interrupted: "Say, I wish I could cut the
hearts of men with my sermons the way you are cutting those stones with that
instrument." The man laying the sidewalk looked up and said, "Did you ever try
it like I am doing it-on your knees?"

Preaching That Transforms There was a butcher who ran a little shop on the edge
of London. He decided one Sunday that he would go into town and hear the great
preacher, Charles Spurgeon. His wife chose not to go with him. So the butcher
went to town, went to church, and returned home. That afternoon his wife began
to question him about the service. "What songs did they sing?" He said, "I do
not remember." "Well, what was his text?" Again he said, "I do not remember."
Somewhat exasperated, his wife wanted to know: "What good did it do for you to
go to church this morning?" The butcher was quiet for a moment. And then he
said, "What good? I will tell you what good. You know those scales out in the
shop that really weigh just 14 ounces to the pound? Well, before we open for
business in the morning, I am going to correct those scales to where they weight
a full 16 ounces to the pound."

We Cannot Leave the Cross Out "I have a friend in Scotland," said James Denney,
"who is a fishing-tackle maker and an enthusiastic fisherman. He told me once of
losing his bait in a mysterious way without catching anything." The explanation
was that by some accident the barb had been broken from the hook. This is
exactly what happens when people preach the love of God to men, but leave out of
their gospel the essential truth that it is Christ on the cross in whom the love
is revealed. In other words, the condemnation of our sins in Christ upon His
cross is the barb on the hook.

How to Study and Preach A visitor to the manse was visiting with an old man who
lived there with the family after Robert McCheyne's death. "Tell me, how did
McCheyne study and preach?" the visitor inquired. The old man took the visitor
into Mr. McCheyne's study and said: "Sit down. Now put your hands over your
face, and let the tears fall; that is the way my master studied." Then the old
man asked the visitor to follow him into the church and up the platform to the
pulpit. "Lean over; lean way over, and stretch your hands toward the
congregation," continued the old friend of McCheyne's, "and now let the tears
fall. That is the way my master preached!"

They Will Do It Every Time The preacher had just concluded a hot and scathing
sermon on the sin of swearing. He had stated several times that he knew that one
of his hearers was guilty. The service ended. The worshipers one by one filed
out the door. The first to go was a woman never suspected of using foul
language. With a red and angry face she exclaimed, "I will never darken this
door again." Before the astonished preacher could recover from this blast,
another said, "Well, brother, if I had known you were near last week, I would
have been more careful of my language." A third said, "I think that you might at
least have come to me privately about it, rather than telling it to the whole
church." A fourth remarked angrily, "I was never so embarrassed in all of my
life." Then came the real culprit-the one at whom the preacher had aimed all his
remarks. With a bland and innocent smile he grasped the hand of the preacher and
said, "Brother, that was what I call a real sermon. You certainly did put it on
them today!"

Coffee After the Sermon A church that loved good fellowship always served coffee
after the sermon. The pastor asked a little boy if he knew why they served the
coffee. "I think," said the boy, "it is to get the people wide awake before they
drive home." The Archbishop and the Actor Said an archbishop to the manager of
the acting group, "Tell me, how is it that you actors hold the attention of your
audience so vividly that you cause them to think of things imaginary as if they
were real, while we of the church speak of things that are real but our
congregations take them as imaginary?" The reason is plain," answered the actor.
"We actors speak of things imaginary as if they were real; while too many in the
pulpit speak of things real as if they were imaginary." It was said of one
famous old preacher, "He showed us the fires of hell, and then he swept our
souls up to the gates of heaven." When you talk about Christ, you have to
believe in the transforming power of the gospel if you expect to convince anyone
of its power to save.

Practice What You Preach A fountain pen salesman persuaded a merchant to order
five hundred pens. He was writing the order in his notebook when suddenly the
merchant exclaimed, "Hold on! I'm cancelling that order!" and turned to wait on
a customer. The salesman left the store in angry perplexity. Later, the
merchant's bookkeeper asked, "Why did you cancel that pen order?" "Why?"
responded the man. "Because he talked pens to me for a half-hour, using a number
of forcible arguments, and then booked my order with a lead pencil."

Applied Religion On a certain occasion Gladstone said: "One thing I have against
the clergy ... I think they are not severe enough on congregations. They do not
sufficiently lay upon the souls and consciences of their hearts and bring up
their whole lives and actions to the bar of conscience. The class of sermons
which I think are most needed are of the class which once offended Lord
Melbourne. He was seen coming from church in the country in great anger. Finding
a friend, he exclaimed, 'It is too bad; I have always been a supporter of the
church, and I have always upheld the clergy, but it is really too bad to have to
listen to a sermon like that we have heard this morning. Why, the preacher
actually insisted upon applying religion to a man's private life!' But that is
the kind of preaching which I like best, the kind of preaching which men need
most, but it is also the kind of which they get the least."

Preach the Gospel A young minister in a college town was embarrassed by the
thought of criticism from his cultured congregation. He sought counsel from his
father, a wise old minister, saying, "Dad, I am handicapped in my ministry in
the pulpit I am now serving. If I cite anything from geology, there is Prof. A,
teacher of this science, right before me. If I use an illustration from Roman
mythology, there is Prof. B ready to trip me up for any little inaccuracy. If I
mention something in English literature that pleases me, I am cowered by the
presence of the learned man that teaches that branch. What shall I do?" The
sagacious old man replied, "Do not be discouraged; preach the gospel. They
probably know very little of that."

Dignity in Simplicity John Wesley's preaching was marked by his constant use of
the plainest, simplest words our language affords. Writing to one whose style
was very high-sounding he said, "When I had been a member of the university
about ten years I wrote and talked much as you do now, but when I talked to
plain people, I observed that they gaped and stared. This quickly obliged me to
alter my style and adopt the language of those I spoke to; and yet there is a
dignity in this simplicity which is not disagreeable to those of the highest
rank." Another preacher said, "If you preach so that the simplest person in the
audience can understand you, the most educated is also sure to get the message."
The Simple Message A minister felt that the words he spoke from Sunday to Sunday
were not bearing the fruit they should. One Saturday morning after he had
finished writing his sermon, the thought occurred to him, "Perhaps I shoot too
high. I will go down and see if Betty can understand it." Betty was a trusted
kitchen helper. He went to the kitchen and called her to come and hear his
sermon. She hesitated but came when he insisted. After he had read a few
sentences he asked, "Do you understand that?" "No," she replied. He repeated the
idea in simpler language and then asked her if she saw it. "I see it a little,"
she said. Again he simplified it. She saw it more clearly and showed deep
interest but said to him, "Plane it down a little more." And once again he
simplified it. Then she exclaimed with ecstasy, "Now I see it! Now I understand
it!" He returned to his study and rewrote his sermon in the simple style that
Betty could understand. On Sunday morning he went to church in fear and
trembling lest his people should be contemptuous of his sermon but he fully
resolved to try the experiment. To his surprise, he found he received better
attention than ever before, and there were tears in the eyes of many of his
congregation. From that time on, he changed his style of language and had no
further cause to feel that his work was unsuccessful. Clarity of thought and
expression do not rob our testimony of its depth and significance. A witness for
Christ need never fear oversimplification. The Old Time Gospel A critic told a
renowned evangelist, "Your preaching has put Christianity back one hundred
years." The evangelist replied, "That's not back far enough. We must go back to
the cross of Christ and to the 'faith which was once delivered to the saints.' "

Preach to Broken Hearts That forthright English clergyman, Dr. R. W. Dale, made
this response to a young preacher who insisted that ministers must preach
relevantly, to the times. "Young man, don't preach to the times. Go and preach
to broken hearts and you will preach relevantly."

Lesson in Homiletics At the close of a service, a preacher was stopped by a
gentleman who, after conceding that the sermon possessed certain commendable
features, added, "But it had one noticeable defect!" The startled minister, on
inquiring what this defect was, received the following reply: "I am a Jew. I
have only recently been born again. Up to that time I attended the synagogue.
But there was really nothing in your sermon that I could not have heard in the
synagogue, nothing that a Jewish rabbi might not have preached." "That," said
the preacher in later years, "was the greatest lesson in homiletics I was ever
taught."

Watch Your Choice of Words Once that great Puritan preacher, Thomas Manton, had
to speak before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London. He chose a subject in
which he had an opportunity of displaying his learning and judgment. He was
heard with admiration by the intelligent part of his audience, but as he was
returning from dinner with the Lord Mayor, a poor man pulled him by the sleeve
and asked if he were the gentleman that preached the sermon. He replied that he
was. "Sir," said the man, "I came with the hopes of getting some good to my
soul, but I was greatly disappointed, for I could not get a great deal of what
you said; you were quite above my understanding." "Friend," said Dr. Manton, "if
I have not given you a sermon, you have given me one. By the grace of God, I
will not play the fool in such a manner again."

Correcting Not Conforming Someone told G. Campbell Morgan that the preacher must
catch the spirit of the age. Immediately this great preacher answered, "God
forgive the preacher who does that. The preacher's business is to correct the
spirit of the age." May we add that a witness for Christ must endeavor
thoroughly to understand the spirit of the age-without conforming to it-in order
to know what to correct.

Lifting Christ before Men James Inglis was a graduate of Edinburgh University,
learned and eloquent. He became the most popular preacher in Detroit, Michigan.
Eager listeners filled his church to overflowing. One day, when he was preparing
sermons for the following Sunday, it seemed as though a voice said to him,
"James Inglis, whom are you preaching?" Startled, he answered, "I am preaching
good theology." "I did not ask what you are preaching, but whom you are
preaching." Inglis answered, "I am preaching the gospel." Again the voice said,
"I did not ask you what you are preaching; I asked whom you are preaching."
Silent, with bowed head, the preacher sat for a long time. Then rousing himself
he cried, "O my God, I am preaching James Inglis, but henceforth I will preach
Christ and Him crucified." Inglis went to a chest of drawers in his study, took
his eloquent sermons from the files and burned them one by one. From that day he
turned his back upon popularity and gave himself wholly to God's service by
lifting Christ before men. God honored his consecration by giving him
ever-widening influence. A Sermon Lived A minister preached a powerful sermon on
the surrendered life. As he made an appeal to his hearers to make the surrender,
a woman sitting near another woman said, "That is excellent preaching, but I
wonder if such a life is possible?" The other woman smiled back at her and said,
"Well, I know the preacher lives such a life because I happen to be his wife." A
Preacher's First Concern Two young men broke into a photo studio one Sunday
night. They murdered the aged owner and robbed the cash drawer. Headlines of the
crime appeared on the front page of Monday morning's papers. The two youths had
been apprehended and charged with murder. Because their names seemed familiar to
the secretary of a local church, she looked them up in the visitor's book. Sure
enough, they had attended the church on Sunday morning and that night they
committed murder! The pastor's subject that morning had been "An Educated
Ministry." Only God knows what the end result might have been if the minister
had preached on Christ's power to save and to change sinful hearts.

Getting along Famously Many people today treat religion as a matter of
convenience. They have to belong somewhere to be considered respectable. A
clergyman once met an old schoolmate of whose activities he had long been
ignorant, and finding him a judge of good standing congratulated him upon his
success in life. As they were parting, the clergyman said to him, "And best of
all, Judge, I find you are a member of our church." "Well," said the judge,
"that's more a matter of chance than anything else. You see, when I was getting
established in my profession, my wife and I thought we ought to join a church-it
was the respectable thing to do. So, after mature deliberation, we settled down
with a certain denomination and got on very well for a time; but they kept
harping on faith, till we pretty soon discovered that they required more faith
than we had; so it became necessary to make a change. We turned the matter over
considerably and at last, for various reasons, made up our minds to join another
denomination. Here we found the demand was work, work incessantly; and it was
presently apparent that they demanded more work than we were able to perform. It
was with great reluctance that we concluded that we must change again, and we
cast about with much caution, that this move might be final. At last we decided
to connect ourselves with your church, sir, and have gotten along famously ever
since without either faith or works." A Sermon without the Gospel The story is
told of three people who went into a church. The first was a business man who
had failed and was contemplating suicide. The second was a prodigal youth, deep
in sin, who was planning a robbery. The third was a young woman who was tempted
to depart from the path of virtue. The service started. The choir arose and sang
an anthem about building the walls of Zion. The minister addressed an eloquent
prayer to the Lord and then preached on the theme, "Is Mars Inhabited?"
Afterward, the businessman committed suicide, the boy stole and landed in jail,
and the young woman began a life of moral shame. What might have happened if
only the gospel of personal salvation in Christ had been preached! The Sermon's
Omission Years ago it was the custom in a certain theological college for the
student who had preached a sermon in class to go into the principal's office
next morning for a quiet talk about his work. On one such occasion, the revered
and saintly old principal said to the young man before him, "It was a good
sermon you gave yesterday; the truth you dealt with was well-arranged and well
presented. But your sermon had one omission, a grave one. There was no word in
it for a poor sinner like me."

Preach It Again A minister, on taking a new church, was highly complimented on
his first sermon. A number of people told him it was just what the congregation
needed. The next Sunday he preached well again, but the congregation was greatly
puzzled because he preached the same sermon as before. The third Sunday, when
the same sermon was preached again, the session waited on the preacher for an
explanation. He said, "Why, yes it is the same sermon. You told me the first
Sunday how much you needed just that, and I watched all week for some change in
your lives, but there was none, so I preached it again. I watched all next week;
still no change; and I don't see any yet. Don't you think I'd better prepare to
preach it again next Sunday?" Not Deep-But Muddy "Isn't Rev. So-and-so a deep
preacher?" asked a friend. "Well," replied the other smiling. "I'll tell you a
story. When I was a boy I was amusing myself with some other boys in a pool.
Some of them were going farther out than I was disposed to go, and I was
frightened. To a man who was passing by I called out, 'Is the pool deep?' 'No,
son,' he replied, 'it's only muddy.' "

Invitation-Important A layman visited a great city church in Ohio during a
business trip. After the service he congratulated the minister on his service
and sermon. "But," said the manufacturer, "if you were my salesman, I'd
discharge you. You got my attention by your appearance, voice, and manner; your
prayer, reading, and logical discourse aroused my interest; you warmed my heart
with a desire for what you preached; then you stopped without asking me to do
something about it. In business, the important thing is to get people to sign on
the dotted line." Should Sermons Offend? "I always write my sermons," said one
preacher to another, "and then carefully revise them, so that if anything is
written that might offend any of my hearers, I may at once erase it." The older
preacher friend replied, "Do you mean that forcible statements, either of your
own or from Scripture, concerning sin, the cross, and the judgment to come, are
either toned down or avoided?" "Yes," replied the young novice clergyman. "If I
think they will offend anyone, I do so."

Dictionary Sermon A woman who went to hear a visiting preacher took along her
Bible so that she might refer to any Scripture passages he happened to mention.
On coming away from the service she said to a friend, "I should have left my
Bible home today and brought my dictionary. The doctor does not deal in
Scripture but in such learned words and phrases that you need the help of an
interpreter to render them intelligible."

Flying on One Wing Dr. Andrew Bonar told a story of a plain man in one of the
Scottish Presbyterian country churches who had learned the precious doctrine of
Christ's promised return for His own. He had spent a Sunday in Edinburgh to play
the part of a sermon taster. When he returned to his village, the people asked
him how he liked the Edinburgh preachers. His reply was, "They all fly on one
wing. They all preach the first coming of Christ, but they do not preach His
second coming."

Man Can't Live on Flowers It's fruit that you want when you present the gospel.
Someone who had heard a moving sermon was asked by a friend what he remembered
of it. "Truly," he said, "I remember nothing at all, but I am a different man as
a result of it." Contrast that with what another man answered when he was asked
what he thought of a sermon that had produced a great sensation among the
congregation. His reply may hold an important lesson for some of us. "Very fine,
sir; but a man cannot live upon flowers."

Unfinished Sermon "Is the sermon done?" asked one member of the congregation of
another. "No, the preacher is done, but the sermon has to be worked out in our
lives," replied the practical listener. No Rain! An Indian had attended services
one Sunday morning. The sermon which contained very little in the way of
spiritual food had been rather loud in spots. The Indian, a good Christian, was
not impressed. When asked how he liked the sermon, he said, "High wind, big
thunder, no rain."

Love Them All? A brilliant, liberal preacher pleasing his congregation with
flowery phrases as he talked on the importance of breadth of view and the danger
of bigoted opinions, was bidding farewell to them as he was about to leave for a
new parish. A young man approached him and said, "Pastor, I am sorry we are
losing you. Before you came, I did not care for God, man, or the devil, but
through your delightful sermons I have learned to love them all!" Unfortunately,
that is the kind of messengers many churches have.

Keep It Simple Vincent Ferrier, an eloquent preacher of the fifteenth century,
was called to preach before a high dignitary of state. He took care to prepare
his sermon according to the rules of oratory, but it was a notable failure. Next
day he preached in his usual style, without pretentiousness, and electrified his
hearers. The dignitary, who had heard him on both occasions, asked him how he
could account for so great a difference in his sermons. He answered, "Yesterday
Vincent Ferrier preached; today Jesus Christ."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 90: PRIDE
========================================================================

Pride

We're Number 1? When personalized license plates were introduced in Illinois,
the Department of Motor Vehicles received over 1,000 requests for the number
"1". The state official whose job it was to approve requests said, "I am not
about to assign it to someone and disappoint a thousand people." What was his
solution? He assigned the number to himself. A little boy and a little girl were
riding a mechanical horse in a shopping mall. The little boy, who was riding in
front, turned to the little girl and said, "If one of us would get off, there
would be more room for me." Nowhere is man's creativity more apparent than in
his ability to discover new and original ways to commit the original sin. It all
began in the Garden of Eden when the devil convinced Adam and Eve that he had
found a way for them to move God over and become "Number 1." And the beat goes
on-and we keep looking for ways to succeed where Adam and Eve failed. We look
for ways to be first on everyone else's priority list. We look for ways to be
first in line. We look for ways to be first at the checkout counter. We look for
ways to be the first ones getting out of the parking lot. We look for ways to
win in the game of "first come, first served." But these are mere symptoms of
the real transgression. In the case of Christians, our creativity as original
sinners is revealed most clearly when we look for ways to be known as disciples
of Christ without following His example. "We are Number 1! We are Number 1!" All
well and good, perhaps, to hear the chant ringing out from football fans, but
when we hear it ringing out from our hearts, it is all pride and imagination.
Remember, therefore, "He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their
hearts" (Luke 1:51).

Legalism The cross of Christ is the only real corrective for legalism. In
Matthew 5, James rescues the law from the legalists. We human beings have
discovered several ways to reject God's law. We can defy the law, taking the
antinomian stance, "I am my own person, I do not need law." Or, like the scribes
and the Pharisees, we can reduce the law to hundreds of rules we can keep. For
example, the rabbis "fenced" the Sabbath commandment with 39 categories of
possible violation. Each category was then broken down into specific rules. They
debated whether one could wear a wooden leg or a brooch on the Sabbath. Would
this be "carrying objects" on the Sabbath? Legalism begins with reverence for
God's law and ends in making the law trivial and absurd. The legalist runs the
risk of at least three sins. First, he loses sight of the Lawgiver in reducing
the law to rules. Second, he reduces God's great claims upon us to manageable
rules he can keep. He then loses sight of the holiness of God and the sinfulness
of man. (An old African proverb asks, "How do you eat an elephant?" Answer: "One
bite at a time.") Third, having lost sight of the holy God and his own
sinfulness, the legalist becomes self-righteous and judgmental of others. In
Matthew 5, Jesus restates the law as the Word of the holy God. He is not
fighting the liberals; he is taking the legalists to task for reducing the law
to bite-sized chunks. "The holy law of the holy God cannot be watered down so
easily as you think," he says. "Anyone who reduces the great claims of the law
is least in the kingdom. For example, you do not kill. Do you hate? You are
proud because you do not commit adultery? Do you lust? You give your wives a
legal paper of divorce; what about your commitment to live with them until death
do you part? You stay inside the law in your business dealings, but is your word
your bond? You live by 'an eye for an eye,'but do you love your enemies and pray
for them? You must not reduce God's great claims upon you to a list of rules you
can keep." In view of Jesus' teaching about the holiness of God and this law,
what do we see in the cross of Christ? The cross was the sin of sins. But why?
Because the Jews and Romans broke the law, "Thou shalt not kill?" Yes, but is
that all? Was there not also a law which said that blasphemers must die
(Leviticus 24:16), and did not many in Israel sincerely see Jesus as a
blasphemer? What happened that day outside the walls of Jerusalem was not only
the breaking of God's law, it was also the rejection of the holy and loving God
who gave the law, the prophets, and even His own Son. The sin was not just the
breaking of the law, but the breaking of the Lawgiver's heart. Jesus was
crucified by the most conscientious legalists in town. As we stand before the
cross we see a love so wide, so deep, so high that all human beings come within
its reach. In the cross, God reaches out once again to those who refuse to
acknowledge His law and to those legalists who trivialize His law and declare
themselves righteous. All our human pride and pretension is shattered on the
rock called Golgotha. The cross is the only real correction for legalism.

False Measurements A little boy came running to his mother, shouting, "Mother, I
am nine feet tall." His mother responded, "Don't talk such nonsense." "But," he
said, "I really am nine feet tall. I measured myself." "Well, how did you
measure yourself?" asked his mother. "I took off my shoe and measured myself
with that. It is the same size as my foot, and I really am nine feet." With a
smile the mother replied, "Now I understand, my son, but I have to tell you that
your measure was not the right one. We do not measure ourselves by the size of
our own feet, but we must use a 12-inch ruler." A lot of people are like the
little boy. They are proud of something about which there is really no glory.
Would You Hesitate to Ask? I heard the other day about a roomful of doctors
eating together. One doctor got up from the table, left the room, and in minutes
he was dead. A morsel of food had lodged in his windpipe, and so he choked to
death. The tragedy of this incident is heightened by the fact that probably any
one of those doctors could have performed the Heimlich Maneuver or, if need be,
a tracheotomy to restore his breathing. But they did not know anything was
wrong-he did not tell them. He just got up and left. And so he died. Have you
been keeping a problem to yourself that is about to get you down? Why not share
it with at least one of your fellow Christians? Do not let false pride keep you
from saying, "I need help." We all do. The Futility of Pride "When pride cometh,
then cometh shame: But with the lowly is wisdom" (Proverbs 11:2). "Only by pride
cometh contentions" (Proverbs 13:10). In the book of Proverbs, pride is used in
two senses. (1) The good sense. In this sense, it is admirable and necessary. It
is associated with self-respect and personal dignity. However, we must always
avoid self-contempt. "I am a nobody" is not a way to gain respect from others.
Acts 2:47 shows us that it is alright to have respect from other people. This
kind of pride is acceptable. (2) The bad sense is associated with arrogance,
self-esteem, self-importance, and all such similar vices. Webster defines it
this way: The quality or state of being proud: as inordinate self-esteem:
conceit. Let us keep pride as God wants it. The chin and head up, not our nose.
The pride of life is a channel by which Satan tempts man to sin (1 John
2:15-17). In John 13 we find the disciples would not wash one another's feet
because it would show they were inferior and forfeit their position in the
kingdom. Christ deflated their egos and pride by washing their feet, showing
that He was the greatest of all and serves all. We see a lot of people in the
church today fighting for the top, but very few reach for towels. There are many
today that pride destroys. It kept Felix from obeying the gospel (Acts 24:25).
It also cost Ananias and Sapphira their lives. Matthew 5:3 says, "Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." We must be willing to
assume the role of beggar to enter the kingdom of heaven. Pride will cause us
not to admit wrong or have compassion on our fellow man. It will cause us to
live beyond our means (Romans 13:8). Pride leads to rebellion (Psalms 10:4);
also apostasy (1 Timothy 3:6). "He who stands on a pedestal has no place but to
step off"-a Chinese proverb. Who Is King of the Jungle-the Lion or the Elephant?
A big, mean lion met a monkey in the jungle. The lion pounced on the poor monkey
and said, "Who is king of the jungle?" The frightened monkey replied, "You are,
O mighty lion." So the lion let him go. The next animal the lion met was a
zebra. He pounced on it and roared, "Who is king of the jungle?" "You are, O
mighty lion." So the lion let him go. The lion next met an elephant and asked
the same question. The elephant grabbed the lion, twirled him around the threw
him 50 feet. The lion picked himself up and huffed, "Just because you don't know
the answer is no reason to get so rough."

Allow God to Play His Music in Your Life He was an old organist of the
celebrated Freiburg Cathedral, but now that his fingers had lost their skill, he
was made custodian of the great organ. One day a visitor came to the cathedral
and asked to play the organ, but the custodian refused. "No one but myself and
the present organist has ever touched the keys," the custodian objected. But the
visitor pleaded until he was given permission to play a few notes. He slipped
into the seat and touched first one note and then another. Then, running his
fingers over the keys, he filled the whole cathedral with such beautiful music
that the organist was entranced. When the visitor finished, the old custodian
came to him and asked his name. And the visitor replied, "My name is Felix
Mendelssohn." And until the end of his life, the old organist would exclaim over
and over, "To think I almost missed hearing Mendelssohn play on my organ!" How
many souls have been the losers for not letting the Master touch their hearts
with heavenly music! No Errands, Please! A beggar sat at the gate of the rich
man's home from whose bountiful hand he had received constant gifts. One day the
rich man wanted to send a message as quickly as possible. Since his servants
were all busy, he found the beggar and asked him to make the delivery for him.
Lifting himself up with pride, the beggar answered his benefactor with these
astonishing words, "I solicit alms, sir, but I do not run errands." How many
people treat their heavenly Father in this manner! If it were not for Him we
would not have the many blessings which come from His hands. Then, when He wants
us to go on an errand, or to carry a message of Jesus' love to wayward men, we
say, "No, Lord; I solicit your blessings, but I do not run errands."

Big Is Not So Important Napoleon Bonaparte was a very small man. While in
training, he was often chided about his stature. One young officer especially
delighted in "pulling rank" on the "Little Corporal," as he was called by the
other men of his company. Said the arrogant one, "I am a bigger man than you any
day." "Not bigger," replied Napoleon, "just taller." History was to prove how
right he was! A Sucker or a Worker? One day a peasant drove his sturdy ox
through the village on the way to work the fields. A flea sat on the ox's nose.
At the end of the day, the ox and peasant trudged back through the village, the
fields now plowed, and the flea still perched on the ox's nose. The peasant and
the ox trudged by the villages in silence. The flea, however, bowed grandly to
every side, proclaiming "We've been plowing."

Alter Your Direction A newly commissioned Navy captain took great pride in his
first assignment to be in command of a battleship. One stormy night the captain
saw a light moving steadily in their direction. He ordered the signalman to send
the following message: "Change your course ten degrees to the south." The reply
came back: "Change your course ten degrees to the north." The captain was
determined not to give way to another vessel, and so he sent a counter message.
"Alter your direction ten degrees. I am the captain." The answer flashed back
promptly: "Alter your direction. I am the lighthouse." There are times when all
of us have to identify with the captain; times when we allow self-will to set us
off on a collision course. "I have my rights," we say, determined to have our
own way. But God, whose Word is like a lighthouse with a penetrating and
unchangeable beacon, reveals a rocky shore ahead and finally we do as the
captain surely did. We obey. Our prayer for ourselves, and for the church should
be as Jesus prayed, "Not my will, but Thine be done."

Self-Proclaimed Expert It is said that Billie Burke, the Hollywood actress, was
enjoying a transatlantic ocean voyage when she noticed a man at the next table
was suffering from a bad cold. "Uncomfortable?" she asked sympathetically. The
man nodded. "I'll tell you what to do for it," she offered. "Go back to your
stateroom and drink a lot of orange juice. Take five aspirin tablets. Cover
yourself with all the blankets you can find. Sweat the cold out. I know what I'm
talking about. I'm Billie Burke of Hollywood." The man smiled warmly and said,
"Thanks. I'm Dr. Mayo of the Mayo Clinic!"

Pride Goeth before a Fall The Emperor Justinian built the Church of St. Sophia,
that gem of human architecture. He collected marble and treasures from all over
the world to make it beautiful. At last the moment for dedication arrived. The
words uttered by Justinian seemed full of humility as he said that all had been
done for the glory of God. But as he allowed his eyes to drink in the beauty of
the building, he could hardly contain himself. Someone heard him whisper,
"Solomon, I have surpassed thee." That Isn't Sin Paul is telling the Corinthians
that he who adds to the Scriptures is likely to be a proud and arrogant person,
one who looks down upon others because they lack his abilities. He is in the
same class as the young girl who went to her priest and confessed her sin of
vanity. "What makes you think that?" asked the priest. "Because every morning,
when I look into the mirror," she replied, "I think how beautiful I am." "Don't
worry" said the priest, "that isn't sin; that's just a mistake." How true it is
that those who are the proudest in their assumption of the right to think and
act above what is written are the most mistaken. They need to humbly accept what
God says of them in His Word.

I Did It All Myself A young woman who won a coveted award smiled when her mother
said, "I was praying you would get it." "Well, thank you," she replied, "but I
earned this by my own hard work." Some people feel so sure of their
self-sufficiency that they resent any implication that they owe God a word of
thanks for the good things that come their way. Such an attitude could be
justified only if a person were able to say, "I brought myself into the world, I
endowed myself with all my talents and abilities, I raised myself, taught myself
all I know, and control my present and future." A Bag Tied in the Middle A New
Zealand preacher described a Pharisee as being like a bag tied in the middle.
Anything put into the top will not reach the bottom. The Pharisee opens his
mouth wide when he prays, but his heart is tightly shut. With his lips he asks
for things that his heart does not really desire. If God were to give him the
spiritual blessings he asks for, it would only be a waste of good gifts, for
they could not get to the bottom of the bag. His pride would choke them off, and
they would never touch his heart.

Need of Squeaky Shoes Whether we want to recognize it or not, many of us are
like the Christian who went to the village merchant to purchase a pair of shoes.
He was outfitted with a suitable pair and went away happy. Some weeks later he
brought the shoes back. "Didn't they fit? Weren't they good?" asked the
merchant. "Yes." "Then why are you returning them?" "Because they don't have a
squeak." It appeared the man wanted a pair of shoes that would squeak as he
walked up the aisle of the church. He wanted something that would draw attention
to himself. The Wise Philosopher It only takes a fifty-cent piece held close to
your eye to blind you to the sight of the sun. Alexander the Great, full of
pride over his recent triumphs, once came upon that wise philosopher Diogenes
who was basking in the glory of the noonday sun. The powerful Alexander
condescended to speak to the philosopher, asking if there was anything he could
do for Diogenes. "Yes," was the reply. "Alexander can step aside from between me
and the sunshine." Diogenes was wise in this respect. Alexander was great in
conquest, but he was a fool to think he was more important to Diogenes than the
sun.

Spiritual Pride Too many of us are like the gourd that wound itself around a
lofty palm tree, and in a few weeks climbed to the very top. "How old are you?"
asked the gourd. "About one hundred years," said the palm. "About one hundred
years, and no taller! Look, I have grown as tall as you in fewer days than you
count years." "I know that well," replied the palm. "Every summer of my life a
gourd has climbed up around me as proud as you are, and as short-lived as you
will be." The Proud Banker A very richly dressed man stepped into a streetcar
and with a haughty air sat down beside an old man who was poorly clad. When the
conductor collected the fares he said to him in a loud voice, "Let me off at my
bank." Evidently knowing him, the conductor assured him he would do so. Then he
reached for the fare of the poorly clothed man next to him. He evidently was
just as well known to the conductor as the banker, and so he said, "Please let
me off at my peanut-stand, will you, Mister?" "Yes, George," was the distinct
but kindly reply. The proud man didn't smile, but all the other passengers
seemed suddenly possessed with unusual cheerfulness. This rich man had a right
and a duty to dress in keeping with his station; he was not sinful because he
owned a bank; but it was definitely wrong for him to seek to impress others with
his importance. Instead he earned their ridicule.

Man Is Full of Himself A householder left a patch of land completely unattended.
On returning from a journey he found it full of stones, old bottles, and other
rubbish. Though he had never attempted to garden before, he took a spade and
began to dig up the ground and clear away the debris. Then he sowed a few seeds.
With tremendous excitement he watched his garden patch. When at last he saw
little shoots pushing up through the ground he was almost in ecstasy. Gradually
the plants grew and at last the flowers appeared. To him it looked beautiful.
One day his pastor stopped by. He couldn't get the pastor excited about his
garden. Finally the pastor said, "Yes, it is wonderful what Almighty God does
with a patch of ground like that." "Oh, it is," said the man, "but I wish you
had seen this place when the Almighty had it all to Himself!" Unfortunately, the
man failed to acknowledge that it was man's fault the patch of ground was such
an eyesore in the first place. But it's true that God does not choose to make a
garden without a gardener.The beauties of nature may occasionally surpass man's
best efforts. A field of wild flowers in bloom shows the quality God has put
into nature. But in most instances God commits the raw elements to man and lets
him bring beauty, order, and usefulness out of them. The Showpiece A woman came
into a milliner's store and wanted to have the trimming on her new hat changed,
saying it had been placed on the wrong side. "But," said the saleslady, "the
trimming is on the left side. That is where it ought to be." "It doesn't make
any difference where it ought to be; it's got to be on the church side." "Church
side!" gasped the astonished girl. "Yes, I sit next to the wall. I want it on
the other side so the whole congregation can see it."

Praise of Self If we stopped to listen to God's and others' opinions of us, it
would have a sobering effect, and we would surely be less critical of others. We
would not be like Rabbi Simeon who said, "The world is not worth thirty
righteous persons such as our father Abraham. If there were only twenty
righteous persons in the world, I and my son should be of the number. If there
were only ten, I and my son should be of them, if there were only five, I and my
son should be of the five. If there were but two, I and my son would be those
two, and if there were but one, myself should be that one." Praise of self
results in criticism of others. The Superior Dress All of us readily admit that
Christianity advocates justice, equality, and opportunity for all. When it comes
to practicing it, do we really mean what we preach, or are we like the little
Sunday school girl who was observed by her teacher trying to move as far away as
possible from the little girl next to her? They were both poor children, neatly
but plainly dressed. The teacher said, "What is the matter? Why don't you sit
still?" "Oh," she replied, "I have a silk dress, and she has a cotton one, and I
don't want her to sit by me."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 91: PRIORITIES
========================================================================

Priorities

How Much of the Lord's Time Have You Stolen? There was a story in a Rochester,
Texas church bulletin about a young man who was working in a large department
store, being told by his employer that he would be required to work on Sunday.
It so happened that the hours assigned to him would have prevented his attending
any of the worship services to which he had been accustomed to attending since
childhood. The young man informed his employer that he would not be able to
continue his work under these conditions, and his employer told him he would
have to go. A few days later, the young man answered an ad in the paper from a
bank which had advertised a vacancy for a teller. In checking the young man's
previous employers, the bank president contacted the department store head and
inquired as to the boy's record and whether he could recommend him. The store
manager replied, "Why, yes, I will be glad to recommend him. He will make you a
good man. I just fired him a few days ago." "Fired him?" the bank president
exclaimed. "Why would you recommend a man whom you just recently dismissed from
your service?" The store manager explained the circumstances under which the boy
was released, and remarked, "I know he will make you a good man for your bank,
because if he will not steal the Lord's time, he will not steal your money."

Dearer Than Life In the forests of Northern Europe lives the ermine, a small
animal known best for its snow-white fur. Instinctively, this animal protects
its glossy coat of fur with great care lest it become soiled. Hunters often
capitalize on this trait. Instead of setting a mechanical trap to catch the
ermine, they find its home in a cleft of a rock or a hollow tree and daub the
entrance and the interior with tar. Then their dogs start the chase, and the
frightened ermine flees toward its home. But finding it covered with dirt, he
spurns his place of safety. Rather than soil his white fur, he courageously
faces the yelping dogs who hold him at bay until the hunters capture him. To the
ermine, purity is dearer than life! The Lord wants us to be a people who will
keep ourselves "unspotted from the world."

Help! My Hair Is All Gone! How do we get it all done? There are so many things
to do. Housework, homework, away-from-home-work, schoolwork and church work all
demand our attention. We have got to bring home the bacon, put it on the table,
get the kids to the ballgame, get everything done around the house, spend time
together as a family and find time for the Lord all on the same day. This
probably does not even begin to describe your busy schedule. In a world full of
things that need to be done, where do we go to get some sense of what to do
first? How do we determine our priorities? Most of us just jump right in and
overload ourselves. As a result we begin to get very nervous. We say to
ourselves, "Well, I will just have to try harder. After all, other people seem
to be able to manage all this, so I should be able to do it too." The tension
which results from this overload seems to correspond directly with the amount of
hair on our heads. The more we overload ourselves, the more we pull out our hair
in frustration. Finally we realize that we just cannot do it all. With this
realization comes two choices: We can go crazy trying to keep up with the
unhealthy pace we have set and be grouchy, mean, unsatisfied, unfulfilled and
unhappy. Or, we can prioritize our lives to decide which activities are the most
important and thus be happier, more fulfilled and much more satisfied with the
direction we have taken. Jesus told His disciples to be "wise as serpents"
(Matthew 10:16). How can we become wise? How do we go about the process of
organizing and prioritizing our lives? Here are some suggestions that will help
us get started. Pray. This is the single most important thing that we do. We
need guidance from the Lord, and He has promised to give it to us if we will
only ask Him for it. We need to be as specific as we can, not for God's sake,
but because it will help us to focus on exactly what we need to do and be asking
for (James 1:5). Seek wise counsel. Since we cannot know all that we need to
know on every subject, we need to be searching for counsel from people we know
who are wise. Plan. Without an organized plan, even the noblest of ideas will
fizzle out. Prioritize. Once you have set your goals, decide which parts of your
plan need your attention first. You may find that you need to streamline your
objectives-maybe even cut something out (Matthew 6:33). Acts Now that you have
prayerfully and thoughtfully designed your plan, take action. Watch as some of
your worries seem to disappear and your hair begins to grow back.

Follow Me-Now! "And another also said, 'Lord, I will follow Thee; but let me
first go bid them farewell which are at home at my house.'And Jesus said to him,
'No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the
kingdom of God'" (Luke 9:61-62). "I will follow You, Lord, but first let me see
if my parents approve." "I will follow You, Lord, but first let me go to a few
more parties. And as soon as I get that out of my system, I will settle down."
"I will follow You, Lord, but first let me get married. As soon as I establish a
home, I will follow you." "We will follow You, Lord, but first let us raise our
children. They are so small now, and it is difficult to carry them along while
following You." "We will follow You, Lord, but first let us get our children
through high school. We have to work six days a week to pay the bills, and the
children are so busy with school activities that there just is not time to
follow You." "I would like to follow You now, Lord, but I must first see if my
husband will come, too. I do not want to follow You alone." "I will follow You,
Lord, but first let me retire. Then I will have time to follow you." "I would
like to follow You, Lord, but it is too late now. I have not done it all these
years, and You cannot teach an old dog new tricks." Death comes at last, and the
day of salvation is over. One is separated from God eternally because one put
off following Christ until it was too late.

Too High a Cost Dale Carnegie tells of a visit to Yellowstone Park in earlier
days when tourists could watch the rangers feed the grizzly bears. One night the
ranger brought garbage to attract the huge creatures, which, it is said, can
whip any animal in the West except perhaps the buffalo and the Kodiak bear. But
Carnegie noticed that while eating, the bears would growl and send other little
animals scurrying, but they would allow one little creature to eat with them-the
skunk! Though it was obvious that the grizzlies resented the skunk for its
brazen impudence and would have loved to have their revenge, they didn't. And
you can guess why. The cost of getting even was just too high!

Choice Between Sight or Memory A man's sight left him. He sought the counsel of
a trusted medical friend who prescribed a medicine for him. The man took the
medicine regularly for four days, and his sight returned to him, but he could no
longer remember anything. His friend suggested a remedy for that, too. After a
few days his memory came back to him, but he went blind again. This continued
for sometime. Eventually his friend said, "It looks like you have to decide
which you want-your sight or your memory." The man thought for a moment and then
said, "I believe I would prefer my sight. I would rather see where I am going
than remember where I have been!" Where are you going?

Sir Walter Scott's Diary The last words found in Sir Walter Scott's diary were:
"Tomorrow we shall...." But there was no tomorrow for him. He died with good
intentions to accomplish a certain goal-a goal that was neither stated in his
diary nor accomplished by him. Every person has goals and dreams that he or she
longs for, plans for, and even begins to reach for-yet there are many people who
fall short of their goals simply because of limited time or opportunity. And
that is why it is always important to get busy and do the right thing
immediately. Never delay that which needs to be done today. Settling accounts
with the Lord should never be put on a back burner, neither for salvation, for
commitment, nor for service.

Living in Constant Crises Have you ever thought about an ambulance? An ambulance
tears around town with its siren blaring. It is always going to a crisis or
leaving a crisis. It is built for emergencies. Many people live the same way.
They run their lives with a siren going. Every day is desperate, and every
moment is a crisis, or preparation for one. Such as harried existence leaves no
room for smelling roses or enjoying sunsets. Even worse, it leaves no time for
sharing friendships and building love. Finally, what if some of the things you
are tearing around to do did not get done? Suppose you substituted a quiet walk
around the block or time off to call on a friend or time out to read a book?
Suppose you wrote an encouraging note to someone who really needed it? Would
your world fall apart? Or would it perhaps get back into perspective? So "Seek
first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to
you as well" (Matthew 6:33).

Too Busy Too busy to read the Bible, too busy to wait and pray Too busy to speak
out kindly to someone by the way! To busy to care and struggle, to think of the
life to come Too busy building mansions, to plan for the heavenly home. Too busy
to help a brother who faces the winter blast. Too busy to share his burden, when
self in the balance is cast. Too busy for all that is holy on earth beneath the
sky; Too busy to serve the Master, but not too busy to die.

Take Time Take time to think-it is the source of power. Take time to play-it is
the secret of perpetual youth. Take time to be friendly-it is the road to
happiness. Take time to love-it is a God-given privilege. Take time to pray-it
is the greatest power on earth. Take time to give-life is too short to be
selfish.

Feed Poor Boys, Sir! "I am the bread of life" John 6:35. Terry Bell relates a
memorable experience: The year was 1969. It was my first "real" mission trip. I
was in a little village in South India and terribly homesick. I was 20 years old
and starving for a "good ole" American cheeseburger. I had not had one in 2 1/2
months. The land around me was semi-jungle, semi-bush. Tarzan would have felt
right at home, but I did not. One boring afternoon I whiled away the hours by
playing with the monkeys that forever enlivened our premises. Standing out on
the balcony, I teased the little primate creeps by giving them doughballs made
from a loaf of bread I was holding. A hairy hand (or is it a paw?) would reach
over the edge of the roof, I would place a morsel in it, and like lightning, it
was retracted to the squealing and grunting delight of his monkey-minded
buddies. What a great game! Suddenly I realized that on the street below my
balcony a crowd had gathered. They were not nearly as entertained by this
"monkeying around" as I was. One thin-faced, sickly looking boy looked up at me
with bulging eyes. In broken English, he said, "Master, feed poor boys, not
monkeys." It was like a stab in the heart. In the street below were orphans,
beggars, lepers...the off-scourings of humankind. Mothers and fathers who had
starving children. Children who watched malnourished parents die. Parents who
would watch their hungry children watching them die, knowing they left them to a
miserable life on the streets. And there I was, playing games with the bread
that for them was so precious. I was cut to the heart. Every day this scene is
reenacted in thousands of padded-pew churches, whose priorities are playing
games with monkeys. A Christian First The mother watched as her four-year-old
daughter played while taking her bath. The little girl sang songs that she had
heard and the mother was fascinated by her ability to remember the words and the
tunes of the songs. As she watched and listened to her daughter she began to
think to herself, "I wonder what she will be when she grows up?" And as most of
us as proud parents would do, she began to think about all the things that she
could be. "She could be a singer, an actress, a teacher...." After thinking
about all the marvelous things her daughter might grow up to be she decided to
ask her daughter what she wanted to be when she grew up. The little girl's
response was, "A Christian first." The young mother said she was deeply humbled
by the child's response. While she had been thinking in terms of a career, the
little girl pointed out that first she wanted to be a Christian.

Charles Finney's Talk Some years ago, a young graduate reported to a law office
for training or apprenticeship. The senior lawyer who hired him quickly
indoctrinated him in the office routine. Then the young lawyer sat at his desk
and carried on this conversation with himself. "What are you going to do when
you finish your apprenticeship?" "Hang out my shingle and practice law, of
course!" "What then?" "Why, make a lot of money!" "What then?" "When I get rich
I shall retire." "What then?" "Well, I will die." "What then?" His whole body
trembling, Charles G. Finney rushed out of the office and ran to a park some few
hundred yards distant. He remained there in prayer, vowing that he would not
return to his office or to his room until he had settled his life's work. He saw
himself as he was-selfish, ambitious, sinful. And he gave himself to the Lord
for Him to use. Leaving the park, Finney stepped forth, in faith in God, to a
life of usefulness rarely paralleled in the last two centuries.

What You Can and Cannot Control You cannot control the length of you life-but
you can control its width and depth. You cannot control the contour of your
face-but you can control its expression. You cannot control the weather -but you
can control the atmosphere of your mind. Why worry about things you cannot
control when you can keep yourself busy controlling the things that depend on
you?

Christian, Think Before You Drink Dr. Clarence McCartney told the following
story: A young man met with the church board and was received into membership;
however, on his way out, he was asked what his business was. When the board
understood that he was in the liquor business, the decision of the board was
revoked, causing the young man to fly into a rage. The liquor business was that
of his father and his grandfather as well. He wished hereafter to have nothing
to do with any pastor or church. He had been "insulted." Two months elapsed. The
young man reappeared again with this explanation: "I followed your suggestion to
visit the clients of my business. I followed our wagon to saloons, the rich
man's clubs, the poor man's hovels, to destitute homes, and I saw the
destruction that the liquor business I was engaged in caused. As a result, I
have severed connections with my destructive business. I have confessed my sin
to God, and I now desire to be received into membership in the church."

Palace on Earth-Shack in Heaven A very rich lady dreamed she died and was taken
to heaven. She was given an angel to escort her to her new home. She dreamed the
angel took her past many exquisite mansions. Passing one of the most elegant,
the angel said, "And this is the mansion of your servant who died last year."
Since this was a fine home, the lady became really excited about the anticipated
size of her new home. Soon they rounded a turn and came upon a small shack.
"Here is your new home," the angel said. "Is this all?" she said. "I was of a
very wealthy family on earth," she said. "Well," the angel explained, "this is
all you sent up." She awoke abruptly and resolved to make a drastic change in
the priorities of her life.

How Much Time For God? Said the preacher to the inactive member, "I am sorry to
see that you have quit the church." Said the inactive member, indignantly, "But,
I have not quit." The minister replied, "you do not attend worship or study. You
do not give of your money. And you do not participate in fellowship or work. You
do not offer to be of assistance in helping others. What is it you would do, if
you quit, that you have not already done? The Years of Our Lives Someone has
figured that in the average life span of 70 years, we will spend our time this
way: Eight years in amusements Six years at the dinner table Five years in
transportation Four years in conversation Three years sick or convalescing Less
than one year for God-that is if a person attends a 90-minute service every
Sunday and prays every day for 10 minutes. The Law of Small Potatoes Many years
ago, Chinese farmers theorized that they could eat their big potatoes and keep
the small potatoes for seed. Consequently, they ate the big potatoes and planted
the small potatoes. As a result of this practice for many years, the Chinese
farmers made the startling discovery: nature had reduced all their potatoes to
the size of marbles. A new understanding of the law of life came to these
farmers. They learned through bitter experience that they could not have the
best things of life for themselves and use the leftovers for seed. The law of
life decreed that the harvest would reflect the planting. In another sense,
planting small potatoes is still a common practice. We take the big things of
life for ourselves and plant the leftovers. We expect that by some crazy twist
of spiritual laws, our selfishness will be rewarded with unselfishness. But we
cannot eat the big potatoes and have them, too! What size potatoes have you been
planting spiritually? "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatever a man
sows, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). The Story of a Fool One day
there was a little task God wanted me to do. I said, "Lord, You'll have to wait,
I've got no time for You. I have this little child to raise And prices are so
high; Besides we've found a house and lot We thought we'd like to buy." So I
took on some extra work, No church-I was too tired. But I got up on Monday
morning, I had to-or get fired! And so I went along for years With never a
thought of God; Until one day my little child Was laid beneath the sod. The
lovely home we'd bought for her Seemed empty now-so bare. In anguish then I
turned to God And cried, "It isn't fair. That you should take my little one And
cause my wife these tears; When we have been so happy here These few, short,
busy years." 'Twas then I heard the voice of God Come ringing in my ear- "I
called upon you once but then My cry you would not hear. Now in your grief you
cry for Me, 'Why must this sad thing be?' Your little child became your god, She
took the place of Me." Oh my dear friend, find time for God In everything you do
If not, you'll find that one day He Shall have no time for you!

Choice Made the Difference Dr. Pierce Harris, a former pastor of the First
Methodist Church of Atlanta, Georgia, preached to some prisoners. One of the
prisoners got up and introduced him to the others with these words: "Several
years ago, two boys lived in a town in north Georgia. They went to the same
school, played together and attended the same Sunday school. One dropped out of
Sunday school and said that it was 'sissy stuff.' The other boy kept on going.
One rejected Christ; the other accepted Him. The boy who rejected Christ is
making this introduction today. The boy who accepted Christ is the honored
preacher who will speak to us today!" Choice made the difference.

Christian Grammar The Bishop of Cambridge once taught a class. He said, "We have
all learned to say in school: 'First Person-I; Second Person-You; Third
Person-He.' But that is wrong in Christian grammar, so wrong that, to put it
right, one has to turn it upside down. The Christian grammar is: 'First
Person-He; Second Person-You; Third Person-I,' and 'He' means God, the First
Person in the first place. Then 'You' means one's fellowman, and 'I' myself
comes last."

Remove the Cup Leonardo da Vinci once took a friend of his to see his
masterpiece of the "Last Supper." The friend's first comment was, "The most
striking thing in the picture is the cup." The artist immediately took his brush
and wiped out the cup, saying, "Nothing in my painting shall attract more
attention than the face of my Master."

Love of Money A father was in the basement of his daughter's house trying to fix
something for her when the blow torch exploded and he was badly burned. As if
that was not enough, the daughter is suing her father for damages to get all the
money that she can out of him. This is a perfect illustration of what happens
when you put money, material things, first in your life.

Seeking God A prominent American who was visiting Argentina was asked by the
president of the republic, "Why has South America gotten on so poorly and North
America so well? What do you think is the reason?" The visitor replied, "I think
the reason is the fact that the Spaniards came to South America seeking gold,
while the Pilgrim Fathers came to North America seeking God."

Tigers or Souls Two men returning from India got into conversation. One was a
sportsman and the other a missionary. "I've been in India for twenty-five years,
and I never saw one of the natives converted as you Christians claim," said the
sportsman. "That's queer," said the missionary. "Did you ever see a tiger?"
"Hundreds of them," was the reply, "and I've shot dozens of them." "Well, I've
been in India for many years," said the missionary, "but I've never seen a
tiger. But under the power of the gospel of Christ I've seen hundreds of the
natives of India turn to the Savior." You see, one was looking for tigers, the
other was looking for souls.

Worldly Standard The story is told of a Persian prince who, dressed as a poor
man, went to a feast. He was pushed about, could not get to the table, and soon
had to withdraw. He went home, dressed himself in his best cloth-of-gold robe
and jewelled slippers, and returned to the feast. The guests made room for him,
and the host rushing up cried, "Welcome, my lord! What will your lordship please
to eat?" The prince stuck out his jewelled foot and said in a mocking tone,
"Welcome, my lord slipper!" Then fingering his golden robe, "Welcome, my lord
robe! What will your lordship please to eat?" Turning to his surprised host he
said, "You ought to ask my lordly clothes what they would like to eat since the
welcome was solely to them."

Man, You're a Fool A student of ancient Greek in an English university surprised
his teacher by his rapid grasp of the subject. When asked if someone were
helping him, he mentioned his uncle. The professor said he'd like to meet him,
and a date was set. The teacher was astounded with the uncle's knowledge of
Greek. "What work do you do?" he asked. "I'm an itinerant preacher. I preach
God's Word." Dismayed that such a gifted man should waste his time preaching,
the professor blurted out, "Man, you're a fool!" The wise preacher retorted, "In
which world, Professor?"

Man's Greatest Possession Man's greatest possession is an unhindered
relationship with God. I think of two friends who were passing a large tract of
land that belonged to one of them. "What do you think this land and the
buildings cost me?" asked the landowner. "I don't know what they cost you in
money," replied his friend, "but I think I know what they cost you otherwise."
"What?" "They cost you your soul," was the sorrowful reply.

Ready to Endure Misjudged by a fellow missionary, David Livingstone gave up his
house and garden at Mabotsa, with all the toil and money they had cost him,
rather than have any scandal before the heathen. He began in a new place the
laborious building of a house and school, and gathered the people around him.
His colleague was so struck with his generosity that he said if he had known his
intention, he never would have spoken a word against him. Parting with his
garden cost Livingstone a great pang. "I like a garden," he wrote, "but Paradise
will make amends for all our privations here." Paul says, "I endure all things
for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in
Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:10).

Right Priorities The time to begin to do the things that are important in your
life is the very moment you become a believer in Jesus Christ. Your first
thought should be, "This life on earth is not forever; therefore the things that
count for eternity will have priority in my life." Don't be like someone who
greatly distinguished himself in worldly achievements. In his last moments, he
exclaimed, "I have provided in the course of my life for everything except
death; and now, alas! I am to die, although entirely unprepared." How or when
one dies is not important. The important thing is to prepare for the unavoidable
happening while you are alive.

Safe on the Lord's Side President Lincoln was once told by an associate, "I am
very anxious that the Lord should be on our side." "Oh," said Mr. Lincoln, "that
does not give me the least trouble in the world, sir. The only question is
whether we are on the Lord's side. If we are on the Lord's side, we are
perfectly safe."

Look for Lasting Qualities A husband volunteered to accompany his wife on a
shopping expedition to purchase dress goods for herself and the children. "This
is pretty material," said the husband, indicating a colorful print. The wife
fingered it briefly and said, "Too flimsy. It won't wear well." "Then how about
this?" persisted the man, pointing to another bolt of cloth. "Strong enough,"
said the wife, "but will it wash?" The husband in his inexperience was allowing
himself to be influenced by eye appeal. The wife was looking for more lasting
qualities.

Satisfied with Second Best Robert Browning tells of a famous musician who, under
financial pressure and the influence of popular demand, lowered his standards
and produced some inferior works that brought in ready cash and a measure of
success. One evening as he stood on the platform enjoying the applause of the
audience, he happened to glance at a private box and see the master, Rossini.
His eyes fell and his color rose. The mob applauded, but he knew that the master
condemned the cheap and unworthy work.

Wrong Choices Are Destructive You may have read about the war of Troy, but do
you know how it was supposed to have started? It was the judgment and choice of
Paris that were responsible for it. Beautiful Thetis was getting married to
Pileas, the King of the Myrmidons. During their wedding ceremony, says the
legend, the golden apple of dispute was given to the most beautiful woman. There
were three that sought the prize: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. According to the
command of Zeus, Paris, the shepherd of Troy, had to choose which of these three
was the most beautiful. Hera represented power, Athena wisdom, and Aphrodite
pleasure. Paris chose Aphrodite, the goddess of pleasure, and because of this
the war of Troy was declared with all its resultant suffering and unhappiness.
Because Paris chose pleasure, he brought destruction upon himself and others.
This is what many of us choose also, and we suffer alienation from God.

Lunch or Appetite? A poor man had his meager lunch stolen by one of his fellow
workers. Hungry after the lunch hour, he sang and praised the Lord, and the
workers made fun of him. They said, "My goodness, your very lunch has been
stolen from you and you're praising God. What for? You're stupid!" "Oh, no," he
said, "I'm not stupid. They may have stolen my lunch, but they couldn't steal my
appetite from me." The Christian's Choice There's much truth in saying that
every man is the architect of his own fate. Your choices affect your destiny.
Out of a rough block of stone one man may make a beautiful statue, another,
gravel. Both products are good and useful under certain conditions. But a statue
can be immoral in conception, and gravel can be the grudging and punitive work
of a criminal condemned to a rockpile. The point is, whether you are a gifted
artist or a competent gravel maker, you can choose whether to use your abilities
worthily or unworthily. In building a Christian life you have the same choice.

Just an Expensive Casket A young man asked his minister to officiate at his
brother's funeral. "Let me see," said the minister. "Your brother was thirty-two
years old?" "Yes." "He worked hard for twenty years, didn't he?" "Yes." "Well,
what did he get out of it?" "He left eighty acres of fine land, money in the
bank, and thousands of dollars in insurance." "Yes, that's what you get out of
it; but what did he get out of it?" "Oh, we are going to buy him an expensive
oak casket!"

Take Alarm Thomas Guthrie used to say: "If you find yourself loving any pleasure
better than your prayers, any book better than the Bible, any house better than
the house of God, any table better than the Lord's table, any person better than
Christ, any indulgence better than the hope of heaven-take alarm."

Feed the Hungry "Why do you insist upon having the largest piece of pie, Harry?"
asked a mother reprovingly. "Isn't your big brother entitled to it?" "No, Mama,
not the way it looks to me," replied Harry. "He was eating pie three years
before I was born." Preacher, feed the new Christians who are hungry for the
Word, a double portion of it.




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  CHAPTER 92: PROBLEMS
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Problems From Problem to Profit About 100 years ago there was a candlestick
maker who often stopped at a market and bought a fish for his evening meal. It
was wrapped in ordinary paper which became soggy, and the passengers on the
street car always complained about the odor. One morning he dipped the paper in
molten wax. That day he wrapped his fish in the treated paper. It did not become
soggy, and there was no odor. That is how waxed paper was born. Got a problem?
Do not curse it. Look for a cure.

Faith, Hope, Love One of the most memorable sermons was preached by the late
Emil Brunner at the Fraumunster Kirche in Zurich, Switzerland. It was based on
the phrase, "faith, hope, and love." The points were these: Every man has a
past, a present, and a future. Every man has a problem in his past, a problem in
his present, and a problem in his future. The problem in our past is sin, but
God has an answer to that problem. The answer is faith-faith in the death and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The problem in our future is death, but
God has an answer to that problem also. The answer to that problem is hope-hope
in Christ's return based on the fact of His historical resurrection and His
promises. The problem in our present is hate, and God's answer to that problem
is love. It is the love of Christ lived out in the lives of those who trust Him.
This Too Shall Pass "What is your favorite Scripture?" someone once asked an
elderly woman. "My favorite Scripture is, '...and it came to pass...." When
asked why she chose this one she said, "Because it does not say, '...it came to
stay...." Everything is temporary. What will not be changed by the passing of
time will be changed by the end of time. The biblical principle is that we are
to look beyond any problem, suffering, and confusion of this time and look to
the future reward. Paul said, "I consider that our present sufferings are not
worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). We
can live with present problems because of their temporal nature. Why bother to
fuss, fume and stew over something that will be gone sooner or later? Instead,
concentrate all your energy on what you can influence, and attempt to make a
better life for yourself and those in your circle of influence.

Don't Let Hurts Hurt You Rejections, defeats, and failures that all of us have
experienced can create enough negative feelings to destroy us. Be careful! Often
the most painful wounds are not the scars that are outwardly seen, but the
hidden wounds deep in the heart. Being hidden, they are often the most
dangerous. Setbacks in our lives can take the joy out of living. Our faith is
weakened, and if we collect enough hurts it will stop us from wanting to press
forward. Even success can make one the target of criticism. Do not let the hurts
hurt you! Look at Job. A man of the land of Uz, blameless, upright, one who
feared God, and one who turned away from evil. Job had seven sons and three
daughters, a beautiful family. He was considered "the greatest of all the men of
the east." He lost it all in the twinkling of an eye. He lost his health,
wealth, and family. He hurt. His wife hurt. His friends hurt. He was knocked
down but not out. He had lost some of the passionate power to grow and some of
his enthusiasm had diminished, but he checked his negative thinking and that of
his wife and friends and stated, "I will forget my complaint, I will leave off
my sad countenance and be cheerful." How could he after undergoing so much hurt?
Along the shoreline in California it is a common sight to see whales stopping
alongside rocks as they migrate from Alaska to Mexico to scrape off barnacles.
In our lifetime we also will pick up a collection of personal barnacles that
will attach themselves like parasites sapping the life out of us. They must be
scraped off. How did Job do it? The same way we can do it-through faith. Faith
is the only thing that can heal the hurts. Job scraped the barnacles off. It was
painful! The scars would remain but his life was put back together. Strong
belief in God was the medicine. His wife and his friends could not do it-only
God could! Job said, "I know that you [God] can do all things; no plan of yours
can be thwarted" (Job 42:2). Paul told the Corinthians, "...God will not let you
be tempted beyond what you can bear...he will also provide a way out so that you
can stand up under it" (1 Corinthians 10:13). The Lord blessed the latter days
of Job (Job 42:12) with great material blessings, and it was said of his new
daughters that "in all the land no women were found so fair...." Job lived 140
years after the hurts and saw sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, and
great-great-grandsons. You can also forget your hurts, leave off your sad
countenance, and be cheerful if you turn to God for your strength to do so.

I Am Not Discouraged! A man stopped to watch a ball game between two young
teams. As he walked toward the bleachers, he asked one of the players, "What is
the score?" The young fellow replied, "We are behind 18 to nothing." "Well,"
said the man, "I must say you don't look discouraged." "Discouraged?" the player
said with a puzzled look. "Why should we be discouraged? We haven't had our turn
to bat yet." The army of Israel faced a giant, but a young man named David
thought, "I have not had my turn," and he won! The twelve disciples saw 5,000
hungry people and said, "Send the crowds away, so they can buy some food." But
Jesus thought, "I have not had my turn yet!" The angry mob had Pilate seal the
tomb where Jesus was buried, but God knew, "I have not had my turn yet!" The
church is ready to "go to bat" and, like others, who have placed their trust in
God, we will win! Remember these words of Jesus: "I will build My church, and
the gates of Hades will not overcome it" (Matthew 16:18). When Our Blemishes
Become Assets The story is told of a friend by the name of Webb Young. Webb
Young grew beautiful apples, and he advertised them to a very select clientele
as "perfect." One year just before time to harvest his apples, a heavy hail
storm came. It did not harm the apples, but it left unsightly brown spots on
them. He felt hopelessly defeated. He could not afford to send his apples out
with those brown spots on them. A lesser man would have given up, but he kept
thinking until he came up with a saving idea. He harvested the apples and packed
them in boxes, as he normally did. Then in each box he placed a card which
stated that these apples were grown in high altitude and that the chill of the
mountain made the apples firm. He also explained that in these high altitudes
they often have hail storms. Then he said that if one will look closely at the
apples, hail marks upon them can be observed. It is a matter of record that the
next year the overwhelming majority of his orders were for "hail-marked" apples.
For Webb Young and his apples-the blemishes became assets.

Trouble Tree The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just
finished up a rough first day on the job. A flat tire had made him lose an hour
of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup refused to start.
While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in
to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a
small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. Then, opening the
door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in
smiles, and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.
Afterwards he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the
best of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier. "Oh, that is my
'trouble tree,'" he replied. "I know I cannot help having troubles on the job,
but one thing is for sure-troubles do not belong in the house with my wife and
the children. So I just hang 'em on the tree every night when I come home; then
in the morning, I pick them up again. "Funny thing is," he said smilingly, "when
I come out in the morning to pick them up, there are not as many as I remember
hanging up the night before." The Big and the Small Souls The great soul prays,
"Lord, make me as big as my problem." The little soul prays, "Lord, let me off
easy." The giant soul asks, "Lord, give me strength sufficient for a hard day,"
while the small soul begs, "Lord, let me have a lighter load." The busy soul
prays, "Lord, stand with me until I finish my task," while the weak soul says,
"I got tired and quit."

Songs in the Night Elihu, in the Book of Job, asked, "Where is God who giveth
songs in the night?" David in the 42nd Psalm, answered, "In the night His songs
shall be with me." The strongest argument of the atheist has to do with the
problem of human suffering. Epicurus, who lived 342-270 B.C., presented three
concepts about God and human suffering: (1) If God wishes to prevent evil and
cannot, He is not all powerful; (2) If God can prevent evil and will not, He is
not good; (3) If God has the power and will to eliminate evil, why is there evil
in the world? The fallacy is his belief that no good can be served by God's
allowing evil or suffering. Everyone will pass through dark valleys sooner or
later. All will become ill. Some will become permanently ill. It is an illusion
that this side of heaven all diseases will be wiped out. For all of us there
will be periods of suffering, bereavement, discouragement, danger and
difficulty. There are those who give up their fidelity to God because they do
not believe God is fair. They ask, "What have I done to deserve this?" "Why are
children born retarded or born dead?" "Why is there cancer?" "Why me?" How will
we answer these and similar questions? How will we learn to sing songs at night?
By having faith in the sovereignty of God. The world is not being ruled by a
chance but by a God who is in control. Even a sparrow cannot fall without His
notice. So, He cares about us. Nothing can happen that does not concern God.
Jesus sang in the darkest night of His life on earth. The Apostle John sang
songs of joy and praise while in exile on the island of Patmos. At midnight,
David arose to give thanks to God (Psalms 119:62). Paul said, "When I am weak,
then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10). Our lives will become stronger and our
spirituality deeper when we learn to sing at midnight.

Why Not? Why Not-give a friend a tract? Why Not-help an older couple with their
groceries? Why Not-share with a neighbor in need? Why Not-talk to a friend about
his soul? Why Not-help a friend with a personal problem? Why Not-have a Bible
study with a friend in your home? Why Not-visit with the newcomer in your
community? Why Not-invite your children's friends to Bible study? Why Not-show
hospitality in your home? Why Not-give encouragement to a new brother? Why
Not-give support to those who are having trouble in their marriage? Why
Not-encourage someone to take a Bible correspondence course? Why Not-show
concern to those who have lost a loved one? Why Not-show to others that
Christianity is worth sharing anytime, anywhere? Why Not-invite the checkout
person at the grocery to worship service? Why Not-give a smile to someone today?
Let them know that you are happy as a Christian? Why Not-be nice to people even
when you do not feel like it? Why Not-let God work His purposes in your life?
Why Not-start loving your neighbors as yourself?

Mules, Wells, and Learning How to Live There is a story about an old farmer
whose mule fell into a well. After many unsuccessful attempts to haul the mule
out of the hole, the farmer decided it was hopeless. With sadness, he instructed
his boys to fill up several truckloads of dirt and just bury the old mule right
in the well. Dutifully, the boys backed up the truck filled with dirt, and
shovel by shovel, they began to fill the well and bury the mule. The mule didn't
take kindly to this action. The first shovel of dirt hit him square on the head,
got in his eyes and mouth, and made him sneeze. Every shovel full after that hit
him somewhere, causing the old mule to stomp around in the bottom of the well.
Several truckloads of dirt later, the mule was still stomping and packing dirt
firmly underneath his feet. Little by little, that mule was lifting itself out
of the hole. Sure enough, about mid-afternoon that mule simply stepped out of
the well and snorted at the whole business. There are different ways people have
of dealing with problems life throws at them. Some are constant complainers.
They do not handle setbacks and upsets very well. Some of them cannot even
handle normal events. Others are defeated at the slightest difficulty. Quite a
few get confused, turned around and seem not to know what to do. Then there are
a few who are unconquerable. They are like the mule. Problems can hit them
square on the head, but they just stomp around enough until they actually use
the problem to rise above it. Look at the great heroes of the Bible. They were
men and women who could match the occasion. Moses was that kind of man. Surely
Joseph, who rose from the bottom of a pit to a leader of Egypt, was that kind of
man. Could David have been anything other than the kind of man who rose above
his faults and problems? Esther was surely the kind of woman who did not let
problems paralyze her. On and on we could go, but you see the point. How was all
this done? The reason such people could rise out of the "wells" of life is
because they all had a great faith in God. It is a childish attitude that says,
"If God loved me, He would take away all these problems." Not so! The opposite
is really true. If God loves you, He will reveal Himself to you through His Word
and give you opportunity to let your faith lift you up. God wants us to learn
how to do it. He wants us to work at it. When you realize that and accept it, it
will give you a power to deal with living you never had before. May We Always
Have: Enough happiness to keep us sweet; Enough sorrow to keep us human; Enough
faith to give us courage; Enough wealth to meet our needs; Enough trials to keep
us strong; Enough failure to keep us humble; Enough friends to give us comfort;
Enough determination to make each day a good one.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 93: PURITY
========================================================================

Purity

Kept Pure A woman from Berne, Switzerland, tells us this story of her country's
flower, the edelweiss. The very name of this plant is a story in itself.
Edelweiss is a compound word which in the German means "noble and white." It is
a small perennial herb of the aster family whose pure white blossom must be
sought after, since it nestles in the highest snowy crags of the Alps. It is so
absolutely white that it blends perfectly with its environment, losing its
identifying characteristics completely in its surroundings. Even when picked and
pressed in paper for preservation, it remains free from discoloration for many
years. If we would be like the edelweiss, we must keep ourselves pure and noble,
striving to attain the heights with God. Then, as He keeps us pure in heart and
motive, He will enable us to accept with humility the loss of our own status in
the scope of His larger landscape. A Pure Heart A girl in Sunday school had read
the Beatitudes in Matthew. She was asked which of the things mentioned she would
most like to have. She said, "A pure heart." When asked why she preferred that,
she said, "If my heart were pure, I believe I would have all the other virtues
mentioned in this chapter." The Healthy Eye What our Savior wanted to teach by
the analogy of the eye and the lamp is that everything we see depends on the
condition of the lamp. If the lamp is dim, we won't see very clearly. If our eye
is dim, diseased, the whole body will be darkened. Similarly, if the lamp is
burning brightly, we see things as they are. We recognize the books upon the
table and the photographs upon the wall. But if the lamp is flickering or smoky,
everything is distorted or obscured; so it is with the eye. If we are
color-blind, we cannot see the glorious redness of the rose. If we are
nearsighted, we cannot see the friend who is signaling to us from a little
distance. If we suffer from impending cataracts, we cannot clearly distinguish a
friend sitting next to us. Still, the rose is red, though we cannot see it in
our color blindness. Still, the friend is waving to us or seated by our side.
There is nothing the matter with reality. The trouble is that we are seeing
badly. Now the Lord tells us that the eye can be either single (healthy), or it
can be evil. As the eye brings good or evil impressions to the body so the heart
of man is that organ by which the spiritual self is enlightened. The heart can
be single or evil.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 94: QUOTES
========================================================================

Quotes

Reason for a Mirror Socrates, that great father of philosophy, advised young men
to carry a mirror. If they were good looking, they should remind themselves that
an ugly life was out of keeping with good looks. If their appearance was not
attractive, they were told to remember that handsome actions offset ugly looks.

Humble before God Moody used to say, "You can always tell when a man is a great
way from God-he is always talking about himself, how good he is. But the moment
he sees God by the eye of faith, he is down on his knees, and like Job, he
cries, 'Behold, I am vile.' " This is not an easy realization to come to-to see
that while you may be morally clean you are vile in your own self-righteousness.
A Great Man One of the finest descriptions of a magnanimous man is Emerson's
brief characterization of Abraham Lincoln: "His heart was as great as the world,
but there was no room in it to hold the memory of a wrong."

Secret of Peace Helen Keller wrote, "If we trust, if we relinquish our will and
yield to the Divine will, then we find that we are afloat on a buoyant sea of
peace and under us are the everlasting arms."

John's Message Jerome, the Church historian, relates of the Apostle John that
when he became old he used to go among the churches and assemblies everywhere
repeating the words, "Little children, love one another." His disciples, wearied
by the constant repetition, asked him why he always said this. "Because," he
replied, "it is the Lord's commandment; and if it only be fulfilled, it is
enough."

Rich or Poor? As Beecher said, "No man can tell whether he is rich or poor by
turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich or poor
according to what he is, not according to what he has." Not One Grain Too Many
The words of Henry Ward Beecher come to mind in times of trial: "No physician
ever weighed out medicine to his patients with half so much care and exactness
as God weighs out to us every trial. Not one grain too much does He ever permit
to be put on the scale."

Never Choose Sin These are the words of Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, who
died at the beginning of the twelfth century: "If I should see the shame of sin
on the one hand, and the pain of hell on the other, and must of necessity choose
one, I would rather be thrust into hell without sin than go into heaven with
sin."

Two Good Answers Someone asked Augustine where God was before the heavens were
created. Augustine replied, "He was in Himself." He is indeed that only
self-contained Being; for He is the only Infinite One. And when Luther was asked
the same question, he answered, "He was creating hell for idle, proud, and
inquisitive spirits like you."

Indwelt by Christ Martin Luther said, "If anyone knocks at the door of my breast
and says, 'Who lives there?rsquo; my answer is, 'Jesus Christ lives here, not
Martin Luther.' "




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 95: REPENTANCE
========================================================================

Repentance

First Step Toward New Life Quite a few years ago, Governor Neff of the State of
Texas received an invitation to speak at one of the penitentiaries in that
state. He spoke to the assembled prisoners, and afterward said that he would be
around for a while to listen to anything any of the convicts might wish to tell
him. He would take as much time as they wanted, and anything they would tell him
would be kept in confidence. The convicts began to come, one at a time. One
after another told him a story of how they had been unjustly sentenced, were
innocent, and wished to get out. Finally one man came through who said to him,
"Governor Neff, I do not want to take much of your time. I only want to say that
I really did what they convicted me of. But I have been here a number of years.
I believe I have paid my debt to society, and that, if I were to be released, I
would be able to live an upright life and show myself worthy of your mercy."
This was the man whom Governor Neff pardoned. The Power of Repentance
Christopher D. Green writes: "You could say that it was part of the environment
surrounding our house. It was an unwritten code held sacred to all in the
family. From the time I can remember being able to remember things, I grew up
understanding what it meant to say, 'I'm sorry.'From childhood, I recall my
parents instilling in me and my sister that if we were truly sorry for something
we had done, we could always ask for forgiveness and we would be forgiven. It
was a mutual obligation both parties (the inflicter and the inflicted) had to
accept. Through the realization we had wronged another member of the family,
unity could be restored with those simple words, 'I'm sorry.' "I remember a time
when this worked amazingly well, until I abused the system. I still remember
breaking my sister's baton over my knee when I was about eight years old. It was
then I learned about the power of repentance. As I forced the midpoint of that
lightweight baton over my knee, I remember thinking, 'Saying "I'm sorry" will
fix this!'Repeated 'I'm sorry's'were declared in my defense, but Mom saw through
the veil of charade. I had abused the right to say 'I'm sorry'! Finally, after a
long discussion, I was forgiven. Not for breaking the baton as much as I was
forgiven of abusing the ability to repent and say I was sorry. "There are times
now when I think of how I have abused the repentance God has provided through
Christ. Have I taken advantage of our relationship?" The Incurable Inebriate A
man named Henry Milans lay in a ward of Bellevue Hospital in New York. A group
of students stood around his bed, while the instructing professor remarked: "We
have discovered in this man all the marked indications of the incurable
inebriate. Note the dancing eyes. Note the trembling of the hands and other
members of his body. This man can never be cured. He must die as he has lived, a
drunkard. Nothing can save him." Not long after that, Ensign Hall of the
Salvation Army describes what happened. "Amid the fervent 'Hallelujahs!'of
Christians in the hall, Milans stumbled forward. The change that took place in
him was remarkable. What science was unable to do, Christ accomplished in a
moment." Nineteen years after his conversion, he testified: "From that moment to
the present I have never been tempted to take a drink of anything with alcohol
in it. I should have to learn all over again to love the drink that was for 35
years the greatest love of my life." A Tour and a Turn Around A backslidden
member of Dr. Philips Brooks' parish called at the study to request that his
name be dropped from the roll. Dr. Brooks reminded him that the step he proposed
was a serious one and appealed to him to reconsider. However, the man was
insistent. Just then a poorly dressed boy entered the study with a note
scribbled in pencil on crumpled paper. After Dr. Brooks read it, he challenged
his visitor: "My friend, this note is from a poor, sick woman who is requesting
that I visit her. I must go to preach a funeral message in a few minutes. Would
you be good enough to go along with this lad to his home and supply whatever his
mother needs?" "Certainly, Dr. Brooks, I shall gladly do that for you and for
her," was the answer. He followed the lad down the wide street into narrower
streets and finally, into an alley. The boy stopped at a shanty whose half-open
door, held by one hinge, led into an unlighted room. When the stranger stepped
in, the half-blinded woman welcomed him, "Oh, Dr. Brooks, I knew you would come!
You are God's man. You always come to the call of trouble. I am sick and hungry,
but first I want you to pray for me. Please pray." The backslider had not prayed
in years. Should he tell her that he was not Dr. Brooks? While he was
hesitating, she pleaded, "Oh, pray for me." His heart would not let him refuse
the request. He dropped on his knees. Following his first sentence which was a
petition for himself in his own backslidden condition, he prayed for her and
closed the prayer. Then he explained, "My dear woman you have discovered by this
time I am not Dr. Brooks. He is conducting a funeral and he sent me to help you.
Oh, how you have helped me! What do you need?" She told him anything would be
appreciated. There was no food, fuel, or medicine. Accompanied by the son, they
went to a store, filled a basket with fruit and goodies which the lad carried
home. He then ordered and charged to himself, groceries, medicine, and coal to
be delivered. Hurrying back to the pastor's study, the man, no longer a
backslider, found Dr. Brooks in his study. Renewed in spirit, the man extended
his hand and said softy, "Oh, Dr. Brooks, I do not want to be dropped from the
roll: I am all right now sir, I am all right."

Going Fishing Without Bait A fisherman had planned a special fishing trip for
several months. He made out a list of essentials and scratched each item off as
he packed. He had his car checked and serviced. All of his appointments were
under control. Everything was ready. He even made sure to leave his wife and
family well stocked with whatever they might need. The long awaited time finally
arrived, and he eagerly bid them goodbye, hopped in his car and left. He arrived
at his fishing cabin that evening, got things tidied up and his food in order,
set the alarm for 4 AM, then went to sleep dreaming of the fish he would catch
on the morrow. He arose hurriedly at the first sound of the alarm, quickly ate
eggs and bacon, almost gulping the food down in his anxiety to get out on the
lake. Just as he was getting into his boat, he made a startling discovery: he
had not brought along any bait-the bait box was empty! Many people prepare to
meet God in a similar way.

Defective Inside A visitor to a sculptor's studio commented, "I saw some blocks
of marble lying off in a corner. Out of one a hand emerged, out of another was a
head, with face unfinished. Others had unfinished work. Why the abandoned
pieces? The artist answered: "All those pieces showed great promise on the
outside, on the surface. But as I chiseled deeper, flaws and defects in the
marble that were not visible on the surface showed up. They had to be
abandoned." The difference between marble defects and human defects is that the
marble cannot repent and be cleansed, but the human can. The defective heart
becomes the perfect heart at the touch of the Master.

Real Sorrow Two little boys were playing together one afternoon. They had not
been playing long when the larger boy took advantage of his weaker playmate.
Georgie, the smaller one, too proud to complain, withdrew some distance and sat
by himself, manfully winking back the ready tears. After a short time, the
larger boy grew tired of his solitary play and called, "Say, Georgie, come back.
I'm sorry." Georgie, warned by previous experience, did not respond to the
invitation at once. "Yes," he replied cautiously, "but what kind of sorry? The
kind so you won't do it again?" No Retribution When Robert Southey was a small
boy, he tells of another boy in his neighborhood by the name of Jim Dick. A
number of children began tormenting Jim one evening, calling him names because
of his racial origin. The poor little fellow was reduced to tears and slunk
away. One day Southey wanted to go skating, but his skates were broken, and the
only boy from whom he could borrow a pair was Jim Dick. "I went and asked him
for them," said Southey. " 'Oh, yes, Robert, you may have them,' was his answer.
When I went to return them, I found Jim sitting by the fire in the kitchen
reading the Bible. I told him I had returned the skates and thanked him for
letting me use them. He looked at me as he took his skates and with tears in his
eyes, said, 'Robert, don't ever call me names again,' and immediately left the
room. The words pierced my heart; I burst into tears, and from that time
resolved never again to abuse a member of a minority group." A Christian's New
Nature A Hindu said to a native missionary, "I am sure if I lead a good life and
do what is right, giving up my bad habits, God will be pleased with me and
receive me into heaven." "That is the way most people reason today," replied the
missionary. "You know the babul tree (a tree with long, sharp thorns). Now,
suppose you break off from its branches a hundred or more of the nasty thorns,
then will the tree cease to be a babool tree?" "Certainly not." "Suppose you
should apparently stop one or another or even many of your evil ways and habits,
you would still remain the same like the babool tree. You must have an entirely
new nature, must become a new man, in order to please God. Only Christ can give
you a new heart." The missionary's reply was sound and scriptural. The message
of Christ, His first and only message to sinful man, is his need of repentance.
To Repent Francis Fuller very wisely said, "To repent is to accuse and condemn
ourselves; to charge upon ourselves the desert of hell; to take part with God
against ourselves, and to justify Him in all that He does against us; to be
ashamed and confounded for our sins; to have them ever in our eyes and at all
times upon our hearts that we may be in daily sorrow for them; to part with our
right hands and eyes, that is, with those pleasurable sins which have been as
dear to us as our lives, so as never to have more to do with them, and to hate
them, so as to destroy them as things which by nature we are wholly disinclined
to. For we naturally love and think well of ourselves, hide our deformities,
lessen and excuse our faults, indulge ourselves in the things that please us,
are mad upon our lusts, and follow them, though to our own destruction." The
Pharisaical Sinner An evangelist, wanting to comfort someone who had just
accepted the Lord, said to him, "You see how even a publican was accepted when
he cried for mercy." "Ah," said the man, "but I have been a greater sinner than
a publican: I have been a Pharisee!"

Too Much or Too Little A very practical man was known to confess: "I have too
much religion or too little; I must either give up what I have or get more. I
have too much religion to let me enjoy a worldly life, and too much worldliness
to let me enjoy religion." He solved the dilemma triumphantly by a wholehearted
acceptance of Christ as his living Lord. He put an end to divided loyalty and
doubtful obedience. A Changed Disposition An excellent story of a good man's
deliverance from the tyranny of bad temper is told by Dr. Alexander Whyte in his
James Fraser, Laird of Brea. It seems that Fraser, a minister, was at times, by
his own admission, of a sullen and peevish disposition. One day when he was
visiting his people, he called on one of his elders to have a conference with
him. All the time Dr. Fraser was talking, the elder sat patting a pet dog to
whom he paid more attention than to his minister. When his wife came into the
room to give them tea and ventured a word or two in the conversation, he turned
on her with an angry look and curt remark that sent her out of the room with
reddened cheeks. Fraser rode slowly back home that night giving himself time to
think. "After all my evangelical preaching," he said to himself, "to see an
elder of mine such a brute at home!" But gradually Fraser began to see that it
was a case of like minister like elder; at any rate, in the matter of mulishness
and glumness at home. The minister was much later than usual in arriving home
that night. But from that time, his whole household connected that night with a
great change in the head of the house. A sermon he preached on the following
Sunday was so conspicuously blessed to the bad-tempered elder that his household
also took immediate note of a miracle. James Fraser and his elder had entered
into newness of life.

Repent-Not Penance A minister found some young people reading the Douay Version
of the New Testament. On noticing a passage in the chapter which was translated
"do penance," where the English Version rendered the same word as "repent," he
asked them if they knew the difference between penance and repentance. A short
silence followed; then a girl asked, "Is this right? Judas did penance, and went
and hanged himself; Peter repented and wept bitterly." The girl had it right.
"Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts
3:19).

Wandering Boy There was a young civil engineer of western Kentucky who assisted
his father in his business of railroad prospecting and surveying. As he traveled
from place to place, he fell into the society of loose men and acquired
intemperate habits, more than his father seemed to be aware of. He shrewdly
managed to conceal his evil habits from his parents who were wonderful
Christians, the father being the choir leader and the mother a soprano soloist.
Once, while the young man was employed on a section of road forty miles from
home, it became necessary to lay over from Thursday noon till Monday. His father
would be detained till Saturday, reaching home in time for the choir rehearsal.
The son, instead of going to his home, went to a bar to begin a spree. The
bartender understood his case too well and kept him hidden in his own apartment.
When his father came home, he expected to find the boy there. Trouble began when
the question, "Where is Harry?" informed the startled mother that he should have
come earlier. During the Sunday evening service she was to sing a solo, and by
special request-because she sang it so well-her selection was to be, "Where Is
My Wandering Boy?" It seemed impossible to her to sing that song under the
circumstances. When on Sunday morning, a policeman found Harry, the certainty
was no more comforting than the suspense had been. She was advised that he would
be "all right tomorrow morning," and that she had better not see him until he
sobered up. Toward Sunday night Harry began to come to himself. His father had
hired a man to stay with him and see to his recovery. When Harry learned that
his mother had been told of his plight, the information cut him to the heart and
helped to sober him. When the bells rang, he decided to go to church. He knew
nothing of the evening program. He was still in his working clothes, but no
reasoning could dissuade him. His attendant, after making him as presentable as
possible, went with him to the service. Entering early by a side door, they
found seats in a secluded corner, but not far from the pulpit and the organ.
After the usual succession of prayer, anthem, and sermon, the time for the solo
came. It was probably the first time in that church that a mother had ever sung
out of her own soul's distress: Oh, where is my wandering boy tonight, The child
of my love and care? Every word was to her own heart a cruel stab. The
congregation caught the feeling of the song, but there was one heart as near to
breaking as her own. She sang the last stanza, Go for my wandering boy tonight,
Go search for him where you will, But bring him to me with all his blight, And
tell him I love him still. Oh, where is my wandering boy? Just then a young man
in a woolen shirt, corduroy trousers and jacket made his way down the aisle to
the choir stairs with outstretched arms, and sobbing like a child, cried, "Here
I am, Mother!" The mother ran down the steps and folded him in her arms. The
astonished organist, quick to take in the meaning of the scene, pulled out all
his stops and played, "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow." The
congregation joined in the great doxology, while the father, the pastor, and the
friends of the returned prodigal stood by him with moist eyes and welcoming
hands.

Under Christ's Supervision A poor German girl announced that she was going to
give a piano concert. In order to attract people to come, she mentioned in the
advertisements that she was the student of the famous Hungarian professor, Franz
Liszt. But it was a falsehood. To her dismay, she learned the professor was
going to visit her town on the day before the concert. What should she do now?
She went to meet him, confessed her guilt, and asked him to forgive her. The
professor answered, "You made a mistake. All of us make mistakes. The only thing
that you can do now is to repent; and I believe that you have already repented.
Sit down and play." At the beginning, she played with much fear. The professor
corrected a few of her mistakes and said, "Now truly you can say that I taught
you. Go ahead and play at your concert tomorrow evening, and the last piece will
not be played by you, but by your teacher." You are like this girl. You have
sinned. There is nothing else you can do but repent. Then you will play the role
of your life under the supervision of Christ Himself. The last and the best
piece will be played by Him.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 96: RESURRECTION
========================================================================

Resurrection

It Matters Not How Long in the Grave A closely sealed vase was found in a mummy
pit in Egypt by the English traveler Wilkinson. In it were discovered a few
peas, old, wrinkled, and hard as a stone. The peas were planted carefully under
a glass, and at the end of 30 days, they sprang into life, after having lain
sleeping in the dust of a tomb for almost 3,000 years-a faint illustration of
the mortal body which shall put on immortality. "Because He lives, we shall live
also." A Solitary Grain In April, the Sunday school teacher asked all eight
children in her class to hide within an empty container a small object that
represented life in the spring. Not wanting to embarrass eight-year-old Stephen,
whose mental retardation was becoming more manifest, the teacher suggested that
the children all place their unlabeled containers on her desk. Since she feared
that Stephen might not have caught on, she decided that she should open them.
The first had a tiny flower. "What a lovely sign of new life!" "I brought that
one!" the donor exclaimed. Next came a rock. "That must be Stephen's," the
teacher thought, since rocks do not symbolize new life. But Billy shouted that
his rock had moss on it, and moss was new life. The teacher agreed. A butterfly
flew from the third container, and another child bragged that her choice was
best of all. The fourth container was empty. "That has to be Stephen's," thought
the teacher, quickly reaching for the fifth. "Please, don't skip mine!'Stephen
interjected. "But it's empty." "That's right," said Stephen. "The tomb was
empty, and that is new life for everyone." Later that summer, Stephen's
condition grew worse, and he died. On his casket at the funeral, mourners found
eight containers. They were ALL EMPTY. No Tomb to Visit In one of the villages
of Northern India a missionary was preaching in a bazaar. As he closed, a Muslim
gentleman came up and said, "You must admit we have one thing you have not, and
it is better than anything you have." The missionary smiled and said, "I should
be pleased to hear what it is." The Muslim said, "You know when we go to Mecca
we at least find a coffin. But when you Christians go to Jerusalem, which is
your Mecca, you find nothing but an empty grave." But the missionary just smiled
and said, "That is just the difference. Mohammed is dead; Mohammed is in the
coffin. And false systems of religion and philosophy are in their coffins, but
Jesus Christ, whose kingdom is to include all nations and kindreds and tribes,
is not here; He is risen. And all power in heaven and on earth is given unto
Him. That is our hope." A living Christ! That is our hope. He is not dead, but
alive forevermore. The Disciples Made No Relic of Christ's Tomb If ye seek
Jesus, do not go to His grave. You will not find Him there. Is it not quite
striking that after the disciples were convinced that He had risen they never
again visited His tomb? At least there is no record of it. Why should they? It
was only an incident, a temporary halting place in the experience of our Lord.
They did not make pilgrimages to it. They did not esteem it above any other
place. They did not bury it beneath tokens of affection. They did not break off
pieces of the rock and keep them as relics for seeking souls to look at in the
hope of meriting divine favor. No, after that first Sunday evening, the
disciples were done with the tomb. Why should they give their time to the
veneration of places, when they had the living Savior with them? To us, Christ
is all and in all. He is alive, and He has power to give life. Not by meat and
drink, not by pilgrimages and fastings, but by looking unto Him do we enter into
life that death cannot touch.

How Do I Know He Lives? How do I know that Christ has risen? What proof have I
to give? He touched my life one blessed day, And I began to live. How do I know
he left the tomb That morning long ago? I met Him just this morning, And my
heart is still aglow. How do I know that endless life He gained for me that day?
His life within is proof enough Of immortality. How do I know that Christ still
lives, Rich blessings to impart? He walks with me along the way And lives within
my heart.

You Cannot Stop a Real Resurrection The chief priests and the Pharisees were
determined that Jesus was going to stay in his grave. They used every resource
and power available to see to that. They secured the tomb by placing a seal on
the great stone that had been rolled in front of it to close the entrance
(Matthew 27:66). They also posted guards at the entrance of the tomb. These were
not the spekoulator who were bodyguards or executioners (Mark 6:27), nor the
phulax who were keepers (Acts 5:23), but the elite koustodia who were the Roman
army's special forces. In spite of all their human efforts, the Jewish leaders
were unable to prevent Jesus from accomplishing what had already been determined
and promised: "After three days I will rise again" (Matthew 27:63). These
carnal-minded, religious leaders did not know that NOTHING in the physical realm
has the ability to hinder the divine will from accomplishing its purpose. YOU
CANNOT STOP A REAL RESURRECTION. Paul states that all who are baptized into
Christ are baptized into his death, and in the same manner that Christ was
resurrected they are to be resurrected to a new life in Christ (Romans 6:3-7).
There are individuals who want others to believe that someone or something
prevents their resurrection to a new life. Such a person remains the same
individual that he was before his "conversion." At this point, you should again
remember that YOU CANNOT STOP A REAL RESURRECTION in an individual's life. You
can stop a fake, but not a genuine resurrection to a new life in Christ. God's
incomparably great power is available for those who believe. "That power is like
the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised
Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms"
(Ephesians 1:19-20). If you deliberately decide in your heart that you are going
to bury your old self and be resurrected to a new life in Christ, you have God's
promise that you cannot be stopped. However, if you are looking for an excuse
for living the same old life day after day, you will find one. There are
numerous people and things to blame. You can blame society, or your mate or your
children, or your parents, or your neighbors or hypocrites in the church. You
can blame bad breaks, the wrong side of the bed, circumstances, or your tough
childhood. Excuses are endless, but if you want to be resurrected to a new life
you will be. Nothing can stop you. If you are a fake, you will always have an
excuse why you cannot change. If you are genuine, you will not be stopped. YOU
CANNOT STOP A REAL RESURRECTION! A Glorious Body In the days when any country
boy could stand in front of a blacksmith's shop and watch with fascinated eyes
what happened there, something analogous to the resurrection of the body
occurred. The smith would put a rusty, cold, dull piece of iron into the fire,
and, after awhile, take that identical piece of iron out of the fire, but now
bright and glowing. Thus it will be with our bodies: they are laid down in the
grave, dead, heavy, earthly; but at the general resurrection this dead, heavy,
earthly body shall arise living and glorious. The Corruptible Made Incorruptible
A professor of biology made it his custom to stand before his students holding
up a little seed between his thumb and forefinger. When he bowed before the
seed, his students were mystified. This university professor had spent his whole
life studying the beginning of life, and he acknowledged to his students that it
was still a mystery to him. He said: "I know exactly what this seed consists of
in the exact proportions of water, carbon, and other elements. I can mix these
individual elements and make a seed that will look exactly like this one. If I
plant the seed that I have compounded, it will rot. The various elements I have
put together will be absorbed by the ground. However, if I sow the seed that God
made, it will spring up into a plant, because it contains that mysterious
element we call life." The physical resurrection of Christ is just as much a
mystery. In fact, the life you now possess which causes your body to function
and renew itself continually, and not collapse into a putrefying mass, is also a
mystery. He, therefore, who in the beginning created our present corruptible
bodies, will also create a new body without having to collect the various
elements of our old ones from the earth. My Resurrection Has Come Suppose a
visitor to our earth from another planet were to see a caterpillar on a
rosebush, and a conversation could take place between them. It might go
something like this: "How ugly you are and how gross, doing nothing but eat,
eat, eat, all day long," says the visitor. "True," replies the caterpillar, "but
I won't always be like this. Some day I'll have beautiful wings, and fly from
flower to flower." "A likely story," says the visitor with a laugh. A few days
later, this stranger finds a hard brown chrysalis on the rosebush and is
surprised to hear the caterpillar's voice saying, "Now I'm worse off than
before. You think I'm dead because I can neither move nor eat, but soon I shall
have a resurrection and fly in the sun." "Poor deluded worm," says the visitor,
"you'd better accept the fact that your life is over." But about three weeks
later, the stranger, strolling in the rose garden, is surprised to hear the
caterpillar's voice again. Looking for the chrysalis, he sees one beautiful wing
and then another unfolding from its cracked shell. "You see," says the voice,
"my resurrection has come," and spreading its wings the butterfly flits away to
enjoy its wonderful new existence. The Living One A Mohammedan and a Christian
were discussing their religions and had agreed that both Mohammed and Christ
were prophets. Where, then, lay the difference? The Christian illustrated it
this way: "I came to a crossroads and I saw a dead man and a living man. Which
one did I ask for directions?" The response came quickly, "The living one, of
course." "Why, then," asked his friend, "do you send me to Mohammed who is dead,
instead of Christ who is alive?" This is the basic difference between Christ and
every other religious leader. All the others came into the world, lived, and
died-but none of them lived again. The resurrection of Christ was the one event
that persuaded His disciples once for all that He was the Christ, God's Son.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 97: SALVATION
========================================================================

Salvation

"Don't Put It Off, John!" Speaking to his physician, John cried in great
perplexity, "I might not live a week!" "Of course you may not, John, but very
likely you will, and the medicine will be in the house; it will keep; and if you
find yourself getting worse, you could take some. I shall not charge anything
for it. If you should feel worse tomorrow you might begin even then." "Sir, I
may be dead tomorrow!" "When would you propose to begin your medicince then,
John?" "Well, sir, I hoped you would tell me to begin today." "Begin today, by
all means," consented the doctor, kindly. "I am glad to see you realize how
foolish it is to put off taking this medicine." And then the physician,
reflecting upon their past conversations about spiritual matters, inquired, "But
are you not being just as foolish when you put off taking the medicine which the
Great Physician has provided for your sin-sick soul? I plead with you, John;
don't put it off!"

Considering Noah's Ark Did you ever wonder... Was the ark REALLY big enough for
all those animals? On first glance, the figures can be frightening. At the time
of this writing, science has classified one million different species of
animals. With seven of every clean and two of every other kind, it would seem we
need space for at least 2,500,000 animals on the ark. Can we just faith it?
First, let us note the ark was no toy boat, but a gigantic barge with a volume
of 1,396,000 cubic feet (assuming one cubit equals 17.5 inches). The ark had a
carrying capacity equal to that of 522 standard stock cars. (1) What about the
multitude of animals, you may ask. Most of that list of a million are worms,
insects, one-cell animals and sea creatures who would have no need to be on the
ark. In fact, "there was need for no more than 35,000 individual vertebrate
animals on the ark." (2) Chipmunk to elephant, let us assume the average size of
an animal on the ark to be a sheep. Currently the railroad can fit 120 sheep on
a stock car. Doing some fast figuring, the ark needed only to carry 292 stock
cars worth of animals. Plenty of room for Noah, his family and extra hay. Today
God provides room for all men to find salvation at the cross. Noah pleaded with
men to, "Get on board the ark," and they did not understand until the flood came
and took them away. So shall the coming of the Son of Man be (Matthew 24:39).
Will there be spare room for those you know who could have made it? Are you
doing your part? No Half-Measures With Him "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
New status, new life, new creation-we must not separate these blessings. They
belong together, and are given to all who are in Christ. A simple illustration
may help. If a vagrant comes to us in dire need, down and out, in rags and
tatters, and sick, even starving, it will be good to give him a bath and a
change of clothing, but not enough. For he is ill and undernourished. So, in
addition, he needs food and hospital treatment. Similarly, we come to Christ
down and out, in the rags and tatters of our sin, spiritually sick and starving.
In Christ, we are at once made welcome and accepted, and given a bath and a
change of clothes. God sees us as righteous in Christ. This is our new status.
But it is only the beginning. The Good Physician knows we are sick. So he puts
His Spirit within us to give us new life and health, and He feeds us with His
Word until we grow strong and vigorous. There are no half-measures with Him.

What John 3:16 Did Shortly after the Korean War, a hungry waif wandered the
darkened streets trying to find shelter from the bitter cold of winter. A night
watchman noticed his plight and said, "GoMa (child), go to yonder house and say
to the one who answers the gate, 'John 3:16.'" "But I do not know what John 3:16
is," replied the lad. Nevertheless, desperation took him to the gate and brought
that strange expression to his lips. He did not understand, but he whispered,
"John 3:16." The lady smiled and took him into her warm home. The lad was
puzzled as he thought, "I do not know what this John 3:16 is, but it sure makes
a cold Korean boy warm." Seeing his gaunt cheeks, the lady soon had him seated
before a steaming bowl of soup. As he ate, the lad thought again, "I do not know
what this John 3:16 is, but it sure makes a hungry Korean boy full." After a
bath, he lay there on the warm bed with tears flowing down his cheeks, "I do not
know what this John 3:16 is," he thought, "but it must be the most wonderful
thing in the whole world. It makes a strange lady love a lonely Korean boy."

Imperfect Christians and the Perfect Christ Two fellow travelers were seated
together in a railway compartment engaged in earnest conversation of a religious
nature. One of them, a skeptic, was evidently trying to excuse his unbelief by
exposing the various evils which afflict Christendom, detailing with pleasure
the hypocrisy and the craft, and the covetousness and divisions found in the
professing church, and then he pointed to some of the leaders as the most
markedly corrupt of all. In front of them sat a Christian who was compelled to
hear all this. He knew the accusations to be true-too true to be concealed from
the most charitable mind-so all he could do was to bow his head and bear the
deserved reproach. Soon, however, the accuser, anxious to extend the circle of
his audience, addressed this fellow passenger in front of him. "I see you are
quick to detect evil," said the Christian, "and you read character pretty well.
You have been uncovering the abominable things that have turned Christendom into
a wreck, and are fast ripening it for the judgment of God. You have spared none,
but given all a good measure. Now, I am a Christian and love the Lord Jesus and
His people. Not a word shall I offer in defense, but I solemnly challenge you to
speak the first word against the Lord Jesus Christ Himself." The skeptic was
surprised. He seemed almost frightened and sheepishly replied, "Well, no! I
could not find fault with Him. He was perfect." "Just so!" said the Christian.
"Therefore was my heart attracted to Him, and the more I looked, the more I
found I was not like Him at all, but only a poor, guilty, sinful man. All of the
evil which professed followers of His may do cannot turn me away from Him. My
salvation hangs on what He has done, and not on what they are doing." Are You
Refusing Your Inheritance? While a student at Yale University, Eugene F. Suter,
Jr.'s father died, leaving him an estate of $400,000. When Eugene refused the
inheritance, the trustees of the estate insisted he take it, and even took him
to court to force him to accept the money. In an unprecedented case held in New
York City, Judge William T. Collins reluctantly ruled that the young man had a
legal right to reject the $400,000. The order legally cut off the 22-year-old
student from all future interest in the family fortune, leaving him without an
income. There are a lot of people in this world who are refusing a far greater
inheritance than Suter did. God has offered us the opportunity to be joint-heirs
with Christ and heirs of eternal life, and so many are refusing to profess
belief in Christ and to be born again. Like Suter, they will be cut off from all
future benefits from their Father's estate. Will your inheritance go unclaimed?

Grounded? Some years ago in a little western town, a crowd of men gathered about
a store window through which they saw a large American eagle. It was fastened by
one of its feet to a chain which was secured at the other end by a ring in the
floor. Held captive this way for some months, it had become seemingly
indifferent to its condition. While the men were looking at the huge bird, a
tall, young mountaineer pushed his way through the crowd and entered the store.
He asked the proprietor what he would take for the eagle, and the owner said,
"Two dollars." When the young man took the money from his pocket and paid the
price, the keeper of the store unfastened the chain and handed the eagle to his
new owner. Followed by the crowd, he carried the great bird down the street
until he came to a signboard, and on top of this, he placed the one-time child
of the skies. But the great bird remained motionless and the crowd was
disappointed. It had been bound so long to this earth that it did not seem to
care to fly any longer. Suddenly, high above the mountain, the sun struck its
eyes, and the eagle seemed to remember that it was an eagle and that its home
was up yonder among the crags and the cliffs. It lifted first one foot and then
the other as if to make sure of its freedom and power; then it lifted first one
wing and then the other. With a shriek and a bound, it flew away, and higher and
higher it ascended until it was lost in the face of the sun. The crowd cheered.

Importance of Choice A sailor and a miner lost control of the rowboat they were
maneuvering above a waterfall. The swift water started hurling them to
destruction. Someone from the shore flung a rope to the two as they were tossed
from their boat into the pounding current. At that same instant, a floating log
shot by. The sailor grabbed the rope and hung on, but the miner seized the log
and wrapped himself around it, ignoring the rope. The man grasping the log was
borne irresistibly along to his destruction. The other man was pulled safely to
the shore. The gospel message is that Christ is on the shore, throwing us a
life-saving rope. So many things seem to float by that are attractive, but life
shows them to be fatal. Isaiah pled for Israel to grasp the hand of the Lord
which is with His servants.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 98: SALVATION: THE COST
========================================================================

Salvation: The Cost

Christ's Intervention In the sixteenth century, Oliver Cromwell ordered that an
English soldier be shot for a cowardly crime. The execution was to take place at
the evening bell. But at the appointed time no sound came from the belfry.
Investigation revealed that the girl who was engaged to be married to the
condemned man had climbed into the bell tower and clung to the clapper of the
giant bell to prevent it from striking. They found her there with her hands
bleeding and torn to shreds. All of us are sinners under sentence of death. But
Christ intervened in our behalf. Look at His bruised and bleeding nail-pierced
hands on that cross.

Freedom I will never forget the day I watched about 40 khaki-clad men get off an
old rattletrap brown bus in Houston, Texas. Some had scars on their faces. I
especially remember one man whose arm had been amputated. Some of them looked
tough. I remember thinking I would not want to meet some of those guys in a dark
alley. Others looked like clean-cut, all-American boys. They all had two things
in common. Each man had served time in prison and each man had been freed.
Freedom had been a long time in coming. They measured the time they had served
by calendars. As I talked with some of those men, it soon became apparent that
adapting to freedom would require some adjustment. They were so used to forced
regimentation that some of them really did not know they were free. They asked
if I represented the Texas Department of Corrections. As children of God, we
sometimes do not quite comprehend the fact that we have been set free by our
Savior. Some of us are imprisoned by the memories of a sinful past. Lloyd
Ogilvie said, "The memory of past failure is like sand in the gears of our
effectiveness." God did not put the handcuffs of past memories on you. They are
self-imposed. He wiped out your sins in order that you might have seasons of
refreshing (Acts 3:19). Other Christians are incarcerated by legalism. They read
the Bible to learn of its rules. The legalist with a sensitive conscience knows
he cannot keep God's laws perfectly. Maybe that is why the novelist John Updike
said, "I agree with the Jews. One Testament is enough." If faith is solely a
matter of lawkeeping, I would agree. The Psalmist was talking about the Old
Testament when he said, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul"
(Psalms 19:7). There was no need for a new law code, but there was a need for
freedom from the consequences of disobedience. Small wonder that legalists
either live in a state of perpetual discouragement or self-righteous hypocrisy.
The legalist does not understand that "everyone who believes in Him is freed
from all things" (Acts 13:39 NASB). If you are living in a prison of your own
making, you can walk through the doors of freedom today. "It is for freedom that
Christ has set us free" (Galatians 5:1). The Beauty Remains There was a
conversation between the great artists Renoir and Matisse. At the time, Matisse
was Renoir's young student. Renoir suffered from terrible arthritis. It was very
painful for him to paint. He had to hold his brush between his thumb and index
finger. And as he painted, students often heard him crying out in pain. On one
such occasion, Matisse asked the old master, "Why do you go on if it hurts so
much?" And Renoir answered, "The pain passes, but the beauty remains."

Counting the Cost Let's ask ourselves this question: "Am I concerned about the
sacrifices I may be called upon to make in serving Christ?" Two young men were
talking about this very thing. One of them said, "I cannot tell you all that the
Lord Jesus is to me, or what He has done for me. I do wish you would enlist in
His army." "I'm thinking about it," answered the other young man, "but it means
giving up several things-in fact, I am counting the cost." A Christian officer,
just passing, heard the last remark, and laying his hand on the shoulder of the
young soldier said, "Young man, you talk of counting the cost of following
Christ, but have you ever counted the cost of not following Him?"

Sovereign Grace A father sees his child drowning. If he remains indifferent and
does not come to the rescue of his child while he can, I am sure the law will
condemn him. He will be punished because he did not save his child while he
could. That is a case where power carries with it the responsibility of saving
action. The father has to save his child whether he wants to or not. It was not
so, however, with God. God could save you and me, but He did not have to, since
He knew the tremendous cost of saving man. Remember, He did not do what He did
under the compulsion of some law, but out of His pure free will and sovereign
grace. When we think of that, how much more we appreciate what He has done for
us.

Salvation Too Cheap? A miner once said to a preacher, "I'd like to be a
Christian, but I can't receive what you said tonight." "Why not?" asked the
preacher. "Well, I'd give anything to believe that God would forgive my sins,
but I can't believe He'll forgive me if I just turn to Him. It's too cheap." The
preacher looked at him and said, "Have you been working today?" Surprised, the
man replied, "Yes, I was down in the pit as usual. Why?" "How did you get out of
the pit?" "The way I usually do. I got into the cage and was pulled to the top."
"How much did you pay to come out of the pit?" The miner looked at the preacher
in astonishment. "Pay? Of course, I didn't pay anything." "Well," said the
preacher, "weren't you afraid to trust yourself to that cage? Wasn't it too
cheap?" "Oh, no," he said; "it was cheap for me, but it cost the company a lot
of money to sink that shaft." Then the implication of what he had said struck
him, and he saw that though he could have salvation without money and without
price, it had cost the infinite God a great price to rescue lost men.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 99: SALVATION: EXPLANATION
========================================================================

Salvation: Explanation

Help From Above An old Indian chief constantly spoke of the Lord Jesus and what
He meant to him. "Why do you talk so much about Jesus?" asked a friend. The old
chief did not reply, but slowly, deliberately gathered some sticks and bits of
grass. He made a circle of them. In the circle he placed a caterpillar. Still
silent, he struck a match and lit the sticks and grass. They watched the
caterpillar. As the fire caught around the circle, the trapped caterpillar began
to crawl around rapidly, seeking a way to escape. As the fire advanced, the
helpless caterpillar raised its head as high as it could. If the creature could
have spoken, it would have said, "My help can only come from above." Then the
old chief stooped down. He extended his finger to the caterpillar which crawled
up his finger to safety. "That," said the chief glowing, "was what the Lord
Jesus did for me! I was lost in sin. My condition was hopeless. I was trapped.
Then the Lord Jesus stooped down in love and mercy and He drew me out of the
horrible pit of sin and shame. How can I help but love Him and talk of His
wondrous love and care?" His Name Was Jesus, the Savior A visitor approached the
preacher after listening to his sermons on the necessity of receiving Christ as
Savior. The man said he thought that Christianity should limit itself in
presenting Christ as our example whom we should follow. The preacher turned to
the visitor and said, "If I were to preach Christ as our example, would you
follow His example?" "Why not?" was the flippant answer. The preacher thought
for a moment and said, "Okay, let us think then of some of the things that Jesus
did and did not do. One of the things that is said of Him is that He did not
sin. Can you take that step and follow His example in doing no sin?" "No, I must
be very honest about myself, I do sin." The preacher then answered: "It is
impossible then to follow Jesus unless you first make Him your Savior. It is He
who must live in you so that you can say 'For me to live is Christ.'" Jesus came
into the world not to set an example for us, but to become our Savior. It is
only as we receive Him that we are able to follow Him because He indwells us.

God's Transforming Power A group of atheists were criticizing the Bible. One of
them spoke about creation. He said, "What man with any common sense could
believe that several thousand years ago, God stooped down and picked up a piece
of mud, breathed on it, and changed it into a human being?" A Christian man
standing by overheard the conversation and responded by saying: "I cannot answer
all the questions about creation, but this I know: One night God stooped down
and picked up the dirtiest piece of mud in this city, breathed upon it by His
Holy Spirit, and changed a gambling, thieving, drinking wretch into a
peace-loving man of God. I was that man."

He Swapped A minister was speaking to fishermen on an English seashore. He was
trying to make it plain to the men what Christ's work on the cross really was.
Presently, he said, "Now will one of you men tell me, in your own words, what
the Lord Jesus did there on the cross?" An old seaman looked up and, with tears
on his weather-beaten face, said: "He swapped with me." How gloriously true!
"His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree."

Salvation Assurance Nothing disqualifies us for doing God's work more than a
doubt as to our salvation. Mr. Moody used to illustrate this by saying: "If I
were in the river, and I didn't have a firm grip on something, I couldn't help
anybody. I've got to get a good hold for myself before I can help someone else."
There is no liberty, peace, rest, joy, or power until we have assurance. Not a
Dying Thief but a Living Thief A minister was talking to a man who professed
conversion. "Have you united with a church?" he asked him. "No, the dying thief
never united with a church and he went to heaven," was the answer. "Have you
ever sat at the Lord's table?" "No, the dying thief never did and he was
accepted." "Have you been baptized?" "No, the dying thief was never baptized and
he went to heaven." "Have you given to missions?" "No, the dying thief did not,
and he was not judged for it." "Well, my friend, the difference between you two
seems to be that he was a dying thief and you are a living thief." The Cross of
Christ-Key to Salvation A little girl once begged a famous preacher to visit her
dying mother. "Come and get my mother in," she pleaded. He followed the girl to
a slum tenement, and sitting by the mother's bed began to speak of the beautiful
example of Christ. But the woman interrupted him saying, "That's no good,
mister, no good for the likes of me. I'm a poor sinner and I'm dying!" He was
one of those preachers who did not think it proper to speak of the cross and the
blood of Christ. But he remembered the simple story of Jesus dying on the cross,
which he had heard from his mother, and he explained it all to the woman. "Now,"
she cried, "you're getting at it! That's the story for me!" The minister said
afterward, "The gospel message got her in, and got me in, too!" That's the
message that can bring salvation-the cross of Christ. The Bridge of Repentance
and Pardon Across the River Zambesi, below the Victoria Falls, is a bridge which
spans the widest chasm and overlooks the most terrific turmoil of waters to be
seen on any river in the world. That bridge was made by building out an arm from
either shore and uniting the two outstretched arms in the center above the
roaring stream. Neither arm could have reached the opposite bank by itself; the
two were needed to meet each other. Such are repentance and pardon which form
the bridge across that tumultuous stream and those stupendous falls which
separate the soul from God. At first one is inclined to say, "Why cannot the
bridge of pardon be thrown over exclusively from God's side?" Perhaps others are
tempted to say, "Surely the bridge of repentance will span the chasm and bring
the soul to the unregarding God." But no, the truth lies here: pardon without
repentance is impossible, and repentance without pardon is useless. When
repentance and pardon meet, the soul is joined with God.

Illuminated by the Light After a mission service, the preacher of the evening
was hurrying away to a late train. He had just three minutes to catch it when he
saw a man running after him. "Oh, sir," he said breathlessly as he came up, "can
you help me? I am very anxious about my salvation." "Well," replied the
preacher, "my train is just here, and it is the last one; but look up Isaiah
53:6. Go in at the first 'all' and go out at the last 'all.' Good night." The
man stood staring after him until he had disappeared into the station and then
he muttered, "Go in at the first 'all' and go out at the last 'all.' What does
he mean?" When he arrived home he took down his Bible and turning to Isaiah 53:6
read these words, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one
to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." "Go in at
the first 'all,' " he repeated. " 'All we like sheep have gone astray.' I am to
go in with that 'all.' Yes, I see. It just means that I am one of those who have
gone astray. And go out with the last 'all.' 'The Lord hath laid on him the
iniquity of us all.' I see. Yes, I am to go out free with those whose iniquity
has been laid on Christ." At last he realized his individual lost condition and
his individual redemption. This is actually the message of John 1:9. The eternal
Light of Christ illumines the individual who responds affirmatively. "Go in at
the first 'all' and go out at the last 'all.'" The Needy Community On a cold
winter day Thomas Carlyle was sitting near his fireplace when the door opened
and the new pastor of a nearby church came in. After they had exchanged a few
words, the young preacher asked the philosopher, "What do you think our
community needs more than anything else?" Without hesitation Carlyle answered,
"What our community needs more than anything else is a man who knows God
experientially, not simply from what he has learned from others."

Put Yourself among Sinners Dwight L. Moody once said, "The great trouble is that
people take everything in general, and do not take it to themselves. Suppose a
man should say to me, 'Moody, there was a man in Europe who died last week, and
left five million dollars to a certain individual.' 'Well,' I say, 'I don't
doubt that; it's rather a common thing to happen,' and I don't think anything
more about it. But suppose he says, 'But he left the money to you.' Then I pay
attention; I say, 'To me?' 'Yes, he left it to you.' I become suddenly
interested. I want to know all about it. So we are apt to think Christ died for
sinners; He died for everybody, and for nobody in particular. But when the truth
comes to me that eternal life is mine, and all the glories of heaven are mine, I
begin to be interested. I say, 'Where is the chapter and verse where it says I
can be saved?' If I put myself among sinners, I take the place of the sinner,
then that salvation is mine and I am sure of it for time and eternity."

Available to All An unbeliever once ridiculed the power of the gospel of Jesus
Christ by saying, "If Jesus Christ is able to save to the uttermost, why is it
that there are so many unbelievers?" The Christian to whom he was speaking
stopped a very dirty little boy who was passing by and turning to the unbeliever
said, "Can you blame soap and water for the filth of this boy?" It was available
to all, but only those who accept it experience its regenerating power.

Simple Faith An evangelist was holding special meetings for boys and girls. One
day after the children's meeting, little Helen came home, rushed into her
father's study, threw her arms around him, and said, "Daddy, I am a Christian!"
"Well, Helen, I am glad to hear that," said her father. "When did you become a
Christian?" "This afternoon, Daddy," she replied. He asked her to tell him what
had occurred. "Oh," she said, "the evangelist told us that Jesus Christ was
there in the room and that, if we would receive Him, He would come in and live
in our hearts and make us His own; that He would receive us." "Well," he said,
"go on; tell me what else happened." "Why," she said, "I received Him and Jesus
took me in." "But how do you know that when you received Jesus He took you in?"
the father persisted. She gave him a look which he would never forget as she
answered, "Why, Daddy, because He said He would!" That's exactly what it means
to believe in the name of Christ-to believe what He is and what He said He would
do for us when we receive Him. It is so simple that explanations only serve to
complicate it.

Saved by Faith The recognition of your sinful and lost estate does not
necessarily mean that you have to understand fully how and why it all happened
before you can cry out for help and salvation. A man once came to a preacher and
asked, "How is it that I was born with an evil heart? Is that fair, that I
should inherit the sin of Adam?" The preacher replied, "The question that should
concern you more is how to get rid of your evil heart. You have an evil heart
which renders you completely unfit for the Kingdom of God; you must have a new
heart or you cannot be saved. The question which now most deeply concerns you
is, how shall you obtain it?" But the man insisted, "I wish you would tell me
how I came by my wicked heart." "I shall not do that at present," replied the
preacher, "for if I could do it to your entire satisfaction, it would not in the
least help you toward obtaining a new heart. The great thing for which I am
desirous is that you should become a new creature and be prepared for heaven."
Then he continued, "You are like a man who is drowning. Along come his friends
to save him, but he insists on being told exactly how he came to be drowning
before he will consent to be rescued." The man started to think. The preacher
was right. The most urgent thing for him and for you is not the full
understanding of why and how you came to be what you are, but to come to the
Savior, to become what you can be-a child of God by receiving Jesus Christ.

Heavenly Light Brings Change The light is willing enough to enter the window of
the soul when it is allowed admission. No man passes from his natural darkness
into heavenly light without being aware that a great change has taken place.
When the light first comes in, it reveals much that before was unperceived. If a
room has been shut for a long time and kept in darkness, the light has a
startling effect. With the light of a candle we cannot detect the dust, but if
we open the shutters and draw the curtains, the light makes the mold and the
dust very apparent. The first effect of the light of God in the soul is
painfully unpleasant. It makes us loathe ourselves and wish we had never been
born. Things grow worse and worse to our consciences as the light shines more
and more. We would have every idol discovered and broken, and every dark chamber
exposed to the sun. We must not keep the light out of any part of our nature.
The light should be permitted to continue to enter our souls, and as it does, it
gradually illuminates. Our will by nature prefers the darkness. We claim the
right to act as we please. The light must continue to enter if our will is going
to consent to change.

Salvation in Three Tenses Somebody asked a Christian, "Are you saved?" "In what
tense?" was the queer retort of the Christian. "What do you mean?" "Well," said
the Christian, "salvation is in three tenses: it is in the past: 'Not by works
of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost' (Titus 3:5). Here
is salvation in the present: 'Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel
which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and ... by which also ye
are saved.' The Greek word sozesthe is inadequately translated in the King James
Version. It should be 'ye are being saved' (1 Corinthians 15:2). Not only were
we saved in the past, but we need salvation continuously. Finally there is
salvation in the future: 'Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we
shall be saved from wrath through him' (Romans 5:9)." Is your salvation in all
three tenses?

Man's Way of Salvation Billy Sunday told of a man who came to him and said, "I
will cut out the booze and get on the water wagon," "Good; what else?" "Of
course, I am a gambler; I will quit gambling and I will never touch a pack of
cards." "All right; what else?" "I am a bad man, and I will live a clean life."
"Good; what else?" He said, "If I quit these things, I think they cover about
all. I will quit drinking, swearing, stop gambling, and I will quit being
impure." Billy said, "Good. Give me your hand and say you will accept Jesus
Christ as your Savior," He said, "No, I will not. If I stop those things, I
won't need to do that."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 100: SALVATION: GOD'S PART
========================================================================

Salvation: God's Part

Found by the Savior A young man who presented himself as a candidate for baptism
was asked by one of the deacons when he had found Christ as his Savior. "I
didn't find Him; He found me," was the reply. That's absolutely correct. God is
constantly seeking the wandering sinner, confronting him with the cross of
Christ at every turn.

Predestination-Settled A woman hearing a preacher speak on predestination said,
"Ah, I have long settled that point; for if God had not chosen me before I was
born, I am sure He would have seen nothing to have chosen me for afterwards!"
The Concealed Angel It is related that Michelangelo, the famous Italian
sculptor, painter, and poet, once stood before a great block of marble that had
been rejected by builders and cast aside. As he stood there with eyes staring
straight at the marble, a friend approached and asked what he was looking at.
"An angel," came the reply. He saw what the mallet, the chisel, and patient
skill could do with that rejected stone. He set to work and produced one of his
masterpieces. Likewise, God sees possibilities in us. The World's Ignorance The
richest man in the world, Croesus, once asked the wisest man in the world,
Thales, "What is God?" The philosopher requested a day in which to deliberate,
and then for another, and then for another, and another-and at length confessed
that he was not able to answer. The longer he deliberated, the more difficult it
was for him to frame an answer. The fiery Tertullian, the early Church Father,
eagerly seized upon this incident and said it was an example of the world's
ignorance of God outside of Christ. "There," he exclaimed, "is the wisest man in
the world, and he cannot tell you who God is. But the most ignorant mechanic
among the Christians knows God and is able to make Him known unto others." If
God is to be revealed at all, He has to reveal Himself, and He has done so
through Jesus Christ.

Jesus, a Seeker The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. The
Lord finds faith in a Roman soldier. He finds faith in heathen women. He finds
lost womanhood in the Samaritan woman at the well. He seeks and finds generosity
in that tight person called Zacchaeus. He seeks and finds courage in Peter, that
coward who wouldn't reveal even to a little maid who he was while Jesus was
being tried. The Lord seeks and finds an apostle in a persecutor like Saul of
Tarsus and makes him Paul.

God's Part A man once rose up in a meeting to give his testimony to the saving
grace of God. He told how the Lord had won his heart and given deliverance from
the guilt and power of sin. He spoke of Christ and His work but said nothing of
any efforts of his own. The leader of the meeting was of a legalistic mind, and
when this man's testimony was ended he said, "Our brother has only told us of
the Lord's part in his salvation. When I was converted, there was a whole lot I
had to do myself before I could expect the Lord to do anything for me. Brother,
didn't you do your part first before God did His?" The other was on his feet in
an instant and replied, "Yes, sir, I clean forgot. I didn't tell you about my
part, did I? Well, I did my part for over 30 years, running away from God as
fast as ever my sins could carry me. That was my part. And God took after me
till He ran me down. That was His part."

God Sets the Condition A young man attended an informal gathering in a Christian
home where those who attended were encouraged freely to express any perplexities
that stood in the way of belief. "I went into the woods one day," this young man
said to the group, "and sat down on a sandy patch of ground and said to God,
'God if you will destroy that little pine tree I am looking at, I will believe
in you.' I sat there a long while, but nothing happened. Now, if there was a
God, why didn't He reveal Himself to me when I asked Him to?" He was honestly
troubled and obviously in earnest, yet, not knowing the Scriptures, he erred.
Man does not set the conditions by which he will condescend to believe in God,
but God sets forth the conditions under which He will reveal Himself to man. Man
must come to Him through the provision He has made in Christ, repent of his sin,
and yield his heart to the purifying action of the Holy Spirit. Then and only
then will he "see God."

We Have Received! In John 1:16, the verb elabomen, "we received," has an active
sense. It means "to take, to take hold of, to seize." This always indicates
man's part in the process of his salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ. It should
never be thought that man either merits this salvation or takes the initiative
in its process. It is as if I had a piece of candy to offer to my child. It is
my offering that prompts his receiving. My little boy would not say, "Daddy,
give me that," if "that" were not there. Or here is a spring of water; I am
thirsty. I can take a cup and fill it with water to satisfy my thirst. My cup
would be absolutely useless if there were no possibility of getting it filled.
Or I am sick; medicine is available which the doctor prescribes for me. It is up
to me to take it or leave it, and my choice would determine the consequences.
But I, the patient, could never boast that it was my receiving the medicine that
cured me. My receiving was actually nothing more than an active
passivity-obedience and submission to the doctor's advice. No man, therefore,
who is given the privilege of receiving of the fullness of God in Christ can
boast of it, for without the offering and the giving there would have been no
receiving. But, on the other hand, the offering and the giving would do a man no
good if he did not receive it.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 101: SALVATION: INVITATION
========================================================================

Salvation: Invitation

Saved at the Bottom of the Sea Off the Florida coast, Mike, a professional
diver, was engaged in salvaging parts of a ship which had sunk some months
previously. He had just descended one morning and was making his way slowly
toward the sunken hull when he noticed something white in the mouth of an oyster
or shellfish of some sort. Stooping, Mike picked up the small piece of white
paper and turned his marine light on it. A gospel tract! He read its message
slowly and carefully, and conviction struck home to his heart. If God's message
of mercy in Christ had pursued him to the bottom of the sea, he could not hold
out any longer. Standing where he was that morning, Mike accepted Christ as his
Savior. When he returned to the surface, he took with him the little tract which
had followed him to the bottom of the ocean.

Let Him In One day the great artist, Michelangelo, stood outside a window.
Inside he saw a canvas with a few brushes and paints next to it. All that was
missing was the hand of the artist. "Oh," cried Michelangelo, "if I could only
be inside, what a picture I could paint!" That's exactly what Christ wishes when
He stands outside your life. "Oh, what I could accomplish, if only I could get
in!" Allow Him to get in. Open the door of your heart. Believe on Him. Then He
will bring peace to your troubled soul.

Get on Board Suppose an artist sees a piece of canvas on which he desires to
paint a beautiful picture. However, if that piece of canvas does not belong to
him, do you think the painter would work diligently on that canvas? No! Yet
people want Jesus Christ to bestow His grace upon them in taking away a bad
temper or some other sin, though in their hearts they have not yielded
themselves to His command and His keeping. It can not be. But if you will come
and give your life into His charge, Christ Jesus waits to be gracious; Christ
Jesus waits to fill you with His Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit alone who by His
indwelling can make a spiritual man.

Taste and See There was a little fellow who was returning home from a store with
a pail of honey in his hand. A gentleman who walked beside him saw him slip one
finger down into the pail. Then, because his mother had told him never to wipe
his sticky fingers on his blouse or trousers, it found its only logical
destination, his mouth. It really tasted good. After he had done this several
times, the gentleman approached him and said, "See here, Sonny, what have you in
that pail?" "Some honey, sir." "Honey-is it sweet?" "Yes, sir." "How sweet is
your honey?" "It is very sweet, sir." "Well, I do not understand you. I asked
you how sweet your honey was, and you have not yet told me. How sweet is it?"
"Why, it is very, very sweet, sir." "Well, you are a funny little fellow; I
asked you how sweet your honey is, and you just tell me it is very, very sweet.
Now, can't you tell me really how sweet your honey is?" The little fellow was
impatient by this time, so he stuck his finger down into the honey, and holding
it up said, "Taste and see for yourself."

Seize the Opportunity Long ago, in one of the old Greek cities, stood a
remarkable statue. Every trace of it has vanished now. However, we still have an
epigram which gives us an excellent description of it and the lesson which those
wise old Greeks meant it to convey. The epigram is in the form of a conversation
between a traveler and the statue: "What is they name, O statue?" "I am called
Opportunity." "Who made thee?" "Lysippus." "Why are thou on thy toes?" "To show
how quickly I pass by." "But why is thy hair so long on thy forehead?" "That men
may seize me when they meet me." "Why, then, is thy head so bald behind?" "To
show that, when I have once passed, I cannot be caught." Remember, Christ says,
that the present opportunity may never be yours again, seize it while it is near
you.

Putting Salvation Off An old man said to his pastor, "When I was seventeen, I
began, at times, to feel deeply about settling my soul's estate, and this
continued for two or three years. But I determined to put it off until I was
settled in life. After I was married, I reflected that the time had come when I
had promised to attend to religion. But I had bought a farm, and I thought it
would not be convenient for me to become religious until it was paid for, since
attending church would take time and money. I then resolved to put it off ten
years; but when the ten years came round I thought no more about it. I sometimes
try to think about it, but I cannot keep my mind on the subject one moment." The
pastor urged him not to face death as an enemy of God, to repent, but he said,
"It is too late; I believe my doom is sealed; and that is just as it should be,
son, for the Spirit strove with me, but I refused."

Jump, I Am Here When a fire broke out in a tenement house, everybody managed to
escape except one child. Through the smoke-filled room he made his way to the
window, where he started to cry, "Daddy, Daddy, how can I escape? I can't jump;
it's too high. I can't get out through the door because it's full of flames."
Because of the dense smoke, the child couldn't see the crowd in the street, but
he heard their cries and especially the voice of his father. "Son, I'm here with
my arms open to catch you. Jump and I'll save you. Never mind if you can't see
me. I'm here."

Whosoever Will, Come-the Final Invitation It was Dwight L. Moody who said, "Many
men fold their arms and say, 'If I am one of the elect-in other words, one of
those God willed to be saved-I shall be saved; and if I am not, I shall not. No
use bothering about it.' I have an idea," he said, "that the Lord Jesus saw how
men were going to stumble over this doctrine of election, so after He had been
thirty or forty years in heaven, He came down and spoke to John. On the Lord's
Day in Patmos He said to him: 'Write these things to the churches.' John kept on
writing. His pen flew very fast. Then the Lord, when it was nearly finished,
said: 'John, before you close the book, put in one more invitation: "The Spirit
and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is
athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." ' "




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 102: SALVATION: THE REQUIREMENTS
========================================================================

Salvation: The Requirements

Get on Board A certain businessman arrived at the airport 30 minutes in advance
of his flight. He went to the ticket window and received his boarding pass.
Next, he checked his suitcase in plenty of time to get it on the proper flight
with him, then sat down with a magazine in the lobby waiting for time to board.
Since this was his first chance to relax all day, he closed his eyes for what he
thought would be a ten minute "cat nap." He rested his eyes right through the
first, second, and final boarding calls on his flight. When he awoke, a quick
glance at the clock on the wall snapped him back to reality. The flight had
taken off without him. He had done everything right except one. He had not
gotten on board. Some people are going to miss the plane spiritually if they do
not get on board. It is fine that we have faith and Christian parents and
atmospheres in our homes. But we must accept Christ to get on board. Do You
Believe in Your Sins? A pastor in New York urged an intellectual but dissipated
man to become a Christian. The man replied, "I cannot believe in the inspiration
of the Bible, in the deity of Christ, or in prayer." "Do you believe in your own
sins?" asked the pastor. "Oh, yes," replied the honest soul; "there is no doubt
about my being a sinner and sometimes I am in hell!" "Are you willing to bring
your sins to Christ for forgiveness and let Him, whatever you think of Him, take
your guilt?" "But," he said, "I cannot believe in the inspiration of the Bible,
or in the deity of Christ, or in prayer." "Just now," persisted the wise pastor,
"I am not asking you to believe these things. You know you are a sinner, and in
sin there is a taste of hell. Now, I offer you Jesus Christ as your Savior from
sin. Will you accept Him as such, and leave all questions that puzzle you for
future solution?" The man went to his home, and that night he accepted the
Christ he knew as his Savior, and came to the meeting the next night to tell the
people the joy of forgiveness that was in his soul. After several days of
testimony which led others to Christ, the pastor gently asked, "What do you
think now of the deity of Christ?" "Such a Savior," he said, with great emotion,
"must be divine; if He were not divine He could not have done what He has done
for me!"

Why the Doctor Arrived Too Late It was almost one o'clock in the morning when
the phone range in the Winters' home. Dr. Leon Winter, the highly acclaimed
Chicago surgeon, was awakened with a start. Tonight it was a young boy, they
said, tragically mangled in a late night accident. Couldn't someone else handle
it? Not this time. This time his hands were possibly the only ones in the city,
or maybe in the whole regio n, which were skilled enough to save. The quickest
route happened to be through a rather rough area, but with time being a critical
factor, it was worth the risk. He almost made it through the worst of the
neighborhood. Almost. Then, at a stop light, his door was jerked open by a man
in a gray hat and a dirty flannel shirt. "I've got to have your car!" the man
screamed, pulling him from his seat. Winters tried explaining the gravity of his
situation, but the man was not listening. The doctor wandered for over 45
minutes looking for a phone. When the taxi finally got him to the hospital, over
an hour had passed. He burst through the doors and into the nurses' station, but
the nurse on duty only shook her head. Too late. The boy had just died about 30
minutes earlier. "His dad got here just before he died," the nurse told him. He
is in the chapel. Go see him, would you? He is awfully confused. He could not
understand why you never came." Without explaining, Dr. Winters walked hurriedly
down the hall and quietly entered the chapel. At the front knelt the huddled
form of a weeping father, in a gray hat and a dirty flannel shirt. Tragically,
he had pushed from his life the only one who could save. How many today are
pushing from their lives the only One who can save? A New Man in the Suit The
program committee for a national barber's convention devised a graphic means of
demonstrating the effectiveness of their profession. They found a social
derelict on skid row with long, dirty hair. His face was unshaven and his
clothes were ragged and filthy. His body reeked with odors of cheap liquor and
filth. The barbers cleaned him up. They gave him a bath, shampoo, shave, haircut
and manicure. They liberally sprinkled talcum powder on him and added spicy
cologne. He was dressed in a new suit and was presented before the convention as
a changed man. He certainly looked the part. However, within a week the man was
back on skid row, back in the gutter, back in his former pattern of living. The
barbers altered his appearance, but their tonsorial services had not changed his
inward nature. Anyone who has the money to spend can put a man in a new suit,
but only Christ can put a new man in the suit. "Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." Christ alters
us from the inside out.

You Must Believe A young nurse was helping to care for a sick, Christian
gentleman whom she loved very much. He said to her, "Ellen, it is time I should
take my medicine. Measure just a tablespoon and put it in a glass." She quickly
did so and brought it to his bedside. He made no attempt to take it from her but
said, "Now, dear, will you drink it for me?" "Me drink it? What do you mean? I
am sure I would in a minute if it would make you well, but you know it won't do
you any good unless you take it yourself." "Won't it really?" "No, I am sure it
will not." "If you cannot take my medicine for me, neither can I take your
salvation for you. You must go to Jesus and believe in Him for yourself." The
dear old saint of God had been trying to explain to his young nurse that she
could not be saved on his account and by serving him, but rather through her own
acceptance of Jesus Christ as her Savior.

Self-Made Spiritually A little girl baked a cake without benefit of a cookbook
or her mother's advice. She knew nothing about proportions of flour, baking
powder, sugar, salt, and milk, and never thought of eggs or shortening. When the
cake came out of the oven, it was well rounded and nicely browned. She exhibited
it to her family with pride as "a cake I made my very own self," but when she
took her first bite of it she found it bitter with too much baking powder, and
hard as a rock. That's how our own concoctions turn out in the spiritual realm,
when we blithely assume we "know that recipe" without reference to the cook or
the cookbook. You must first know God in Christ through receiving Him as Savior
and Lord, before you can have the spiritual discernment that will enable you to
understand the doctrine revealed in His Word. No Other Way Once we have
discovered any of the laws that govern the universe, we proclaim them with
absolute certainty, and admit to no rival laws and theories. In school we don't
find one teacher saying that two and two are four, and another that two and two
are five. Once a physical law has been defined and established, we don't hold
that any man's contrary claim is equally valid. The truth of physical phenomena
render its laws exclusive. Yet the human mind often refuses to grant that this
holds true regarding the laws of the spiritual realm. They prefer to accept the
glib assumption that all roads in the religious world lead to God and heaven.
The argument goes something like this: "There's only one God, and every religion
is based on serving and following and worshiping that one God, by whatever name
they call Him. After all, we're all children of one Heavenly Father." Strangely
enough, even some who profess to follow the teachings of Jesus blandly ignore
His unequivocal statement, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). Such words are totally unacceptable to
non-Christians, and even some nominal Christians unthinkingly say that all
religions are equally good and lead to God.

Only One Way Jane, a deeply religious woman, presumed that the Virgin Mary, the
mother of the Lord Jesus, could do the work of her Son just as effectively as
He. And of course, being a woman, she identified more with a female. She was
discussing her religious beliefs with a friend who, on the other hand, believed
that no one could be what Jesus Christ was and is, and that no one else could
effect the work of salvation in the human heart. But nothing could persuade
Jane. The friend who believed in the exclusiveness of Jesus Christ to save was
employed as a maid in a doctor's home. One day Jane became seriously ill and
called for the doctor, her friend's employer. The friend answered the phone and
said, "I am sorry, but the doctor is not in." Then this Christian woman, who had
put all her trust in Jesus Christ, thought of all the theological discussions
that she had had with her friend and added, "But, Jane, you know the doctor's
mother is in. Maybe she can help you." "Is she a doctor?" "No, but she is the
doctor's mother. She will do, won't she?" Immediately Jane could see what her
friend was driving at. She wanted to show her in this vivid way that Mary,
although highly respected and honored, cannot do the work of her Son.

Reward for Acknowledging Sins In the early part of the reign of Louis XVI, a
German prince traveling through France visited the arsenal at Toulon where the
galleys were kept. The commandant, as a compliment to the prince's rank, said
that he was welcome to set free any one galley slave whom he should choose to
select. The prince, willing to make the best use of the privilege, spoke to many
of them in succession, inquiring why they were condemned to the galleys.
Injustice, oppression, false accusations were assigned by one after another as
the causes of their being there. In fact, they were all injured and ill-treated
persons. At last he came to one who, when asked the same question, answered to
this effect: "Your Highness, I have no reason to complain. I have been a very
wicked, desperate wretch. I have deserved to be broken alive on the wheel. I
account it a great mercy that I am here." The prince fixed his eyes upon him and
said: "You wicked wretch! It is a pity you should be placed among so many honest
men. By your own confession, you are bad enough to corrupt them all; but you
shall not stay with them another day." Then, turning to the officer he said,
"This is the man, sir, whom I wish to be released."

Baptism of Repentance A certain man thought that by being immersed he could find
salvation. A friend of his had quite a time explaining to him that it was not
so. But this man insisted that, as water would purify the body, so water
consecrated by a minister or priest would purify the soul. Finally, to
demonstrate that baptism did not mean regeneration, the friend decided upon an
object lesson. "Here," he said. "I take an ink bottle, cork it tight, put a
string round the neck, and drag it through the river. How long will it take to
clean out the inside?" The answer was obvious, "You will never in the world
clean it out that way." We must understand once and for all that no outward act
will ever cleanse us within. Repentance is an act that takes place within us,
while baptism is an outward act that demonstrates to the world what has already
happened in our hearts. Thus, neither John the Baptist nor anyone else in the
New Testament speaks of "repentance of baptism" but of "baptism of repentance."
Baptism depends upon and is caused by repentance and not vice versa. It does not
make sense for the unrepentant to be baptized. The "Yes" of Faith A woman came
up to an evangelist after hearing him preach and said that she could not
understand salvation. The evangelist asked, "Mrs. Franklin, how long have you
been Mrs. Franklin?" "Why, ever since I was married," she replied. "And how did
you become Mrs. Franklin?" he asked. "When the minister said, 'Wilt thou have
this man to be thy wedded husband?' I just said, 'Yes.' " "Didn't you say, 'I
hope so,' or 'I'll try to?' " asked the evangelist. "No," she replied, "I said,
'I will.' " Then pointing her to God's word, he said, "God is asking you if you
will receive His Son. What will you say to that?" Her face lighted up and she
said, "Why, how simple that is! Isn't it queer that I didn't say 'Yes' long
ago?" That is the simple belief the Bible calls for-for you to say "Yes" and God
will receive you as long as you come in the name of Christ.

Only One Savior It is said when one of the most noted English physicians was
succumbing to a fatal disease, he went from one authority to another until he
had reached the highest on the continent. Telling this man his trouble, he
received the reply, "The only man who can save you is an English physician, Dr.
Darwin of Derby." Sad was the reply, "I am Dr. Darwin of Derby." He was the
best, but he could not save himself. Even the best of us cannot save ourselves.
The Father's Child Dwight L. Moody gives us a fine illustration of the fact that
the commandment of Christ to follow Him is given to His children and not to
strangers "I was standing with a friend at his garden gate one evening when two
little children came by. As they approached us, he said to me, 'Watch the
difference in these two boys.' Taking one of them in his arms he stood him on
the gatepost and, stepping back a few feet, he folded his arms and called to the
little fellow to jump. In an instant the boy sprang toward him and was caught in
his arms. Then turning to the second boy he tried the same experiment. But in
the second case it was different. The child trembled and refused to move. My
friend held out his arms and tried to induce the child to trust to his strength
but nothing could move him. At last my friend had to lift him down from the post
and let him go. 'What makes the difference in the two?' I asked. My friend
smiled and said, 'The first is my own boy and knows me; but the other is a
stranger's child whom I have never seen before.' And there was all the
difference. My friend was equally able to prevent both from falling. The
difference was in the boys themselves. The first had assurance in his father's
ability and acted upon it, while the second boy, although he might have believed
in the ability to save him from harm, would not put his belief into action." So
it is with many today who give credit to the gospel story but are unwilling to
cast themselves into the arms of the Savior.

Believe and Receive There are radio waves all around us sent out by
transmitters. Only a receiving set can catch them. If you don't tune your radio
to the waves of the transmitter you'll never understand what the speaker is
saying. If you're not tuned in to God, you'll never understand Him either. Don't
try in your unbelief to understand and know God. It's impossible. You must
believe before you can receive His regenerating nature. St. Paul knew this when
he said, "I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20). Then
your battles, the temptations that beset you, will be fought by Christ Himself.
He can more easily bear the burdens of your life than you can by yourself.

Real Joy A gentleman residing in the fashionable part of London, and thoroughly
carried away with the follies of society life, was walking down the street one
day with a Christian woman of his acquaintance. He turned to her and asked, "How
is it that you religious people are always trying to rob us of our pleasure? I
enjoy life, and I can't see why you should be forever trying to rob me of what
pleasure this short life affords." "You are greatly mistaken if that is what you
think," replied the woman. "We do not want you to give up anything, but to
receive." The gentleman kept thinking of the word "receive." It refused to leave
him. Not long after, he called on the woman, told her his life was miserable,
and asked what he must do to receive peace of soul and joy of heart. She led him
to the Savior, where he found pardon and joy he had never known before.




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  CHAPTER 103: SALVATION: THE RESULT
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Salvation: The Result A Christian Is a Butterfly in the State of a Caterpillar
Justification is instantaneous; sanctification is a long growth. Justification
is the act of God whereby He takes a man who is dead in trespasses and sins and
says, "I create within you the new life of Christ and now I look upon you and
see you just as perfect as I see the Lord Jesus Christ." Justification is the
act of God whereby he declares an ungodly man to be perfect while he is still
ungodly. It is as extraordinary a thing as if you were able to say that the
caterpillar is really a beautiful butterfly. "Oh," you say, "but it isn't! It
still looks like a caterpillar." Well, that is exactly what God does with us. He
comes to us in our "caterpillar status" and declares us to be "butterflies." In
reality, that is what happens in nature, too; that caterpillar does become a
butterfly. For God has given us this remarkable picture of metamorphosis-that
which goes into the cocoon as a worm comes out as a butterfly, for it lives part
of its life in one state and part in another. We call this process
metamorphosis. It is very interesting to note the Greek word used in Romans 12:2
: "Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed (metamorphosed) by the
renewing of your mind." The Human Tiger A French explorer was crossing Africa
from the Zambezi and came into the region of the Barotsi people. He had heard
stories about the native king Lewanika, whose greatest delight had been to put
to death, by newly invented tortures, those who offended him. He was also known
as the "human tiger." This French officer came to the station where Pastor
Coillard was in charge, and the pastor himself, a Frenchman, entertained him
kindly. Then came Sunday. The French officer was absolutely without God, but as
a matter of politeness he went to church and sat through the service. When he
came out he said, "Monsieur Coillard, who was that remarkable looking man
sitting next to me, who listened so carefully?" That was King Lewanika, the
'human tiger.'" "Was it?" "Yes." "Then if that is what Christ can do, I mean to
be His."

Light Reveals A young woman asked me to tell her in a few words how she could
know if she was really a Christian. I said: "If you are a Christian you are not
afraid of the light because you live in it. You no longer run after sin, though
it may run after you. When you belong to Christ, you will find it difficult to
sin; but when you belong to Satan you will find it easy. You belong to the one
whom you truly long to please." The Truth Is Dynamite A. W. Tozer says: "The
truth received in power shifts the basis of life from Adam to Christ, and a new
set of motives goes to work within the soul. A new and different Spirit enters
the personality and makes the believing man new in every department of his
being. His interests shift from things external to things eternal, from things
on earth to things in heaven. He loses faith in the soundness of external
values; he sees clearly the deceptiveness of outward appearances; his love for
and confidence in the unseen and eternal world become stronger as his experience
widens.... The gulf between theory and practice is so great as to be
terrifying.... Wherever the Word comes without power, its essential content is
missed." A New Stomach One time a former drunkard was praising God for taking
away all his appetite for liquor. A physician argued with him, saying that he
would have to have a new stomach in order to have the appetite for liquor
removed. "Praise God!" said the former drunkard. "I knew I had a new heart, but
this is the first time I knew I had a new stomach!" "Therefore, if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

New Creatures in Christ Queen Victoria once paid a visit to a paper mill. The
foreman showed her and her attendant over the works without knowing who his
distinguished visitor was. She finally went into the rag-sorting shop where men
were employed in picking out the rags from the refuse of the city. Upon
inquiring what was done with this dirty mass of rags, she was told that, sorted
out, it would make the finest white paper. After her departure, the foreman
found out who it was that had paid the visit. Some time later, Her Majesty
received a package of the most delicate white stationery having the Queen's
likeness for a watermark, with the intimation that it was made from the dirty
rags she had inspected. That illustrates Christ's work in us. He takes us,
filthy as we are, and makes us into new creatures. Receiving Christ is becoming
Christ's. After receiving Him, we are as different from what we were before as
pure white paper is from the filthy rags from which it was made.

Made Spotless Dr. Guthrie, attending a school gathering in a slum area, followed
a speaker who had referred to poor neglected children as "the scum of society."
This roused the indignation of Dr. Guthrie. Taking a clean sheet of paper and
holding it up, he said, "Yes, this was the scum of society once, only filthy
rags, but they can be cleansed and made into spotless white paper on which you
may write the name of God." So it is with a believer in Christ. A Heartfelt
Experience Somebody was asked how he knew that he was converted. "Why, bless
your heart," was the answer, "I was there when it happened!" When Jesus Christ
comes into our hearts, we know it, and others will, too. His Perfect Salvation
Someone has said, "The Redeemer who loved us from eternity and formed us for
Himself will not leave the pining soul to the secondhand tinkering of others. He
will closet us in with Himself." I believe God longs to give to each of us a
perfect personal assurance of His perfect salvation. Yet how few seem to realize
this as David Brainerd did. In his diary he wrote: "My discourse was suited to
my own case, for of late I have found a great want of apprehension of divine
grace and have often been greatly distressed in my soul because I did not
suitably apprehend this fountain open to purge away sin, and so I've had to be
laboring for spiritual life and peace of conscience in my own strength; but now
God showed me in some measure the arm of strength and fountain of all grace. But
do I hear someone say, can He meet me at the point of my need? Let me tell you
that He absolutely can." The Heart a Better Interpreter That great English
preacher, Joseph Parker, once said, "The divinity of the Son of God is not
proved merely in proportions. I think that he who believes in the divinity of
Christ has all history, etymology, and philosophy on his side. My dependence is
not founded upon the construction of a phrase or the mood and tense of a verb,
and yet we have nothing to fear from that side. I rely upon His moral reach and
spiritual compass. When He touched my soul into life, I did not call for a Greek
grammar, Hebrew lexicon, or volumes of encyclopedias, to find how the thing
stood. I believe because 'once I was blind, and now I see.' The heart is
sometimes a better interpreter than the understanding. What better proof do I
want? 'He has redeemed my life from destruction.' "

Second Birth A preacher was asked, "Where were you born?" "I was born in Dublin
and Liverpool," he replied. The man with whom he was conversing thought there
was some misunderstanding. "How can a man be born in two places at once?" he
asked. But the preacher meant that he had been born in the flesh in Dublin and
born again in the spirit in Liverpool. The second birth is just as definite an
experience as the first. With the first birth man becomes a creature of God;
with the second he becomes a child of God.

Seeing the Gospel A missionary approached a native whom he had not seen before
and asked, "Have you ever heard the gospel?" "No," he replied, "but I have seen
it. I know a man who used to be the terror of the neighborhood. He was a bad
opium smoker and as dangerous as a wild beast. But he became completely changed.
He is now gentle and good and has left off opium."

Mystery of Salvation A psychiatrist who visited a rescue mission listened
intently to the testimonies of many converts. The superintendent asked him if he
would like to say a word. This is what he said: "Tonight I have been given an
opportunity to observe something I did not know existed anywhere. It has been my
privilege to listen to the testimony of men who were glad to witness to what
Christ had done for them. I know nothing about that, but I confess I cannot
otherwise explain what has taken place in their lives. A few of these men I
recognize. As drunkards, even as dope addicts, some of them have come under my
observation at the hospital. But here they are, alive, well-dressed, delivered,
and in their right minds. I do not know how the miracle has been wrought, but of
one thing I am confident-nothing in science can account for this change in them.
That kind of gospel is worth preaching to anyone, anywhere." The End of a Quest
Justin Martyr, one of the early Church Fathers, started out in his youth on a
search for the highest wisdom. He tried a stoic, who told him that his search
was vain. He turned to a second philosopher, whose greed for money quenched any
hope of assistance from him. He appealed to a third, who required a preliminary
knowledge of music, astronomy, and geometry. Just think of a soul thirsting
after God and pardon and peace, being told, "You can't have any of this until
you've got a college degree." How many would be shut out from God's presence! In
his helplessness, Justin Martyr applied to a follower of Plato, under whose
guidance he began to have some hope that he was on the right track. But one day,
when earnestly groping after the truth, he was met by a nameless old man who
talked to him about Jesus Christ. Immediately he felt he was at the end of his
quest. "Straightway," says Justin, "a flame was kindled in my soul," and if not
in the actual words, yet in the spirit he sang, "Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
More than all in Thee I find."

Standing in the Lord's Shoes A poor, uneducated old woman was once met by a
skeptic. "Well, Betty, you are one of the saints, are you? Pray what sort of
folks are they? What do you know about religion?" "Well, well," replied the old
woman, "you know, sir, I'm no scholar, so can't say much for the meaning of it;
I only know I am 'saved by grace' and that's enough to make me happy here, and I
expect to go to heaven by and by." "Oh, that's all, is it? But surely you can
tell us something more than that. What does being saved feel like?" "Why, it
feels to me," said that Spirit-taught one, "just as if the Lord stood in my
shoes, and I stood in His." The Light Within An old sculptor had among other
pieces of work in his shop the model of a beautiful cathedral. It was covered
with the dust of years, and nobody admired it, although it was an exact model of
a fine cathedral, inside and out. One day the attendant placed a light inside
the model, and its gleam shone through the beautiful stained-glass windows. Then
all stopped to admire its beauty. The change that was brought by the light
within was marvelous.

Victory over All Sins To a pastor's study one day came a young man from a good
family. He was in the depths of despair and confessed that he had practiced the
most loathsome sins. He hated his own body, the instrument of his shame. He
wanted to die, and would have put an end to his life if he could have been sure
that death ended all. The pastor, in recounting this incident, said that he
shuddered to think of what would have been the result of that interview if he
had not been able, on the authority of God's Word, to call him to repentance and
conversion in Christ, and to assure him of a gift of power that can give victory
over all sins. One genuine experience of Christ is worth more than all the
arguments of a pagan philosophy. The Willing Slave During the time when slave
trade was still practiced in some parts of the South, a handsome young man was
up for sale. The bids kept rising. Finally, an Englishman gained possession. The
young slave began to chide him, "Ha, you buy a slave when slavery has already
been abolished in England." The purchaser, however, said, "I have bought you to
set you free." The young slave, overcome with emotion, replied, "I will be your
willing slave forever."

Fruit of the Spirit A missionary teacher tells of a Japanese woman who asked her
if only beautiful girls were accepted by her school. "Why no," she replied, "We
take all the girls who come to us." "But," continued the woman, "all your girls
seem to be very beautiful." "That's because we teach them the value of their
souls in God's sight," explained the teacher, "and this makes their faces
lovely." "Well," said the woman, "I don't want my daughter to become a
Christian, but I would like to send her to your school to get that look on her
face."

Spiritual Resurrection "Oh, how many things I would have to give up!" said a
sinner who was wondering whether to receive Christ or not. "So many things I do
now I would no longer be able to do." "Don't be afraid," an experienced
Christian told him. "Even now aren't there things you can't do? For instance,
can you eat dirt?" "No, of course not," was the reply. "I don't even want to eat
dirt." "This is exactly what will happen when Christ begins His life in you,"
said his friend. "The sin that you now desire you will not want at all."

Proof-A Changed Life! A changed life is an indisputable argument. Zeno, the
subtle Greek philosopher was once trying to show that there is no such thing as
motion; upon which Diogenes simply got up and walked about! So when cynics sneer
at Christianity and say it is all a lot of nonsense, the best way to refute them
is to produce the evidence of a changed life. The Christian's Riches John Bunyan
wrote: The happy man was born in the city of Regeneration, in the parish of
Repentance unto Life. He was educated in the School of Obedience; he works at
the trade of Diligence and does many jobs of self-denial. He owns a large estate
in the country of Christian Contentment and wears the plain garments of
humility. He breakfasts every morning on spiritual prayer and sups every evening
on the same. He also has "meat to eat that the world knows not of." He has
gospel submission in his conduct, due order in his affection, sound peace in his
conscience, sanctifying love in his soul, real divinity in his breast, true
humility in his heart, the Redeemer's yoke on his neck, the world under his
feet, and a crown of glory over his head. In order to obtain this, he prays
fervently, works abundantly, redeems his time, guards his sense, loves Christ,
and longs for glory.




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  CHAPTER 104: SATAN
========================================================================

Satan A Letter from Satan to His 'Friend' Dear "Friend," I visited your Sunday
school service and was overjoyed to see that many of your class members were
absent. I was thrilled to see that those who came were late, or tired and sleepy
during the Sunday School lesson and also the sermon. I rejoiced in hearing some
of the lessons that were not well-prepared, and that many of you just did not
care. Of course, it is devilish to see some of you leave after Sunday school and
not get your souls fed in the worship service. Sunday is always one of my
favorite days because that is the day I do some of my best work-getting
Christians to stay home and watch television, or getting involved in sports and
all sorts of "recreation." I howl with laughter each time I see many of you fail
to give much of your tithes and offerings; you make the board and minister
squirm and fret over tight budgets and this takes away some of their
effectiveness for the Enemy. I hope you will miss services again this Sunday.
Stay home where it is warm, and it will help you get used to the future climate.
And one thing more-do not let them get you to become a "born again" Christian!
-Satan

Know Satan's Moves If you have ever seen a wrestling match, you know it is not
pretty. It is sweaty, sticky, dirty, and painful. When you wrestle, you get down
and get dirty. There is no half-hearted involvement. You give it everything
you've got, or you lose. Anthony T. Evans wrote: "I know a bit about wrestling
because my brother, Arthur, was the Maryland state wrestling champion in his
weight class. At his championship match my brother weighed in at about 230
pounds and was going up against the three-time Maryland state champion who
out-weighed him by 35 pounds. Before the match, a reporter asked, 'Who is the
toughest wrestler in this room?' "My brother, humble fellow that he is, said,
'You are looking at him!' "The reporter looked at him and asked, 'What makes you
think you are so tough? You are about to fight the man who has won the state
championship three times in a row.' "My brother replied with a very insightful
comment, 'I know. He is bigger and perhaps stronger than I am, but I know his
methods.' "We are in a similar fight against Satan. Just as my brother needed to
learn his opponent's moves, we need to understand Satan's moves. We need to know
how he operates, so that we can prepare ourselves 'to resist in the evil day,
and having done everything, to stand firm' (Ephesians 6:13). No place in
Scripture reveals Satan's schemes better than Genesis 3, which records Satan's
initial contact with man. As the story unfolds, we clearly see Satan's strategy
to ruin the human race." Do Not Laugh at the Devil Have you heard about the
fellow who was seriously ill? A visitor asked him if he was willing to turn his
life over to God and renounce the devil. "I am willing to give my life to God,"
he said, "But a man in my condition should not be making any enemies." We may
laugh, but we must not forget that the strength and influence of the devil is
real. In fact, the number of his followers is increasing. Satan's church is
growing and new groups are beginning. Satan's Bible is available in many
bookstores. More and more signs of devil worship are now appearing in graffiti.
Never forget that the devil has one goal. He wants your soul. His desire is for
all men to be in hell for eternity. He is the embodiment of evil. Twelve times
the New Testament calls him "the evil one." He has the power to enter a person
(Luke 22:3). With his craftiness, he can use even the best of people to achieve
his ends (Matthew 16:23). He can trap man and take him captive (2 Timothy 2:26).
He can fill the heart of man and lead him to death (Acts 5:3). It is not
old-fashioned or anti-intellectual to believe in a living, powerful person of
evil. Perhaps we need to see more vividly the contest in which we are
participants. "I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive
forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me"
(Acts 26:17-18). Instead of joking about him, perhaps we need to restore a
custom of the early church. Tertullian, (A.D. 155-222) recounted how converts
not only confessed the Christ, but also said, "I renounce you Satan and all your
service and all your works." We may not be a member of Satan's church but we can
still be his follower (1 Timothy 5:15). This is because we serve him by default.
If we do not totally and wholeheartedly serve the Lord, we automatically become
servants of Satan. "Do not you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to
obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-whether you are
slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to
righteousness? (Romans 6:16). The old dragon, the serpent, is not all-powerful.
In fact, we can fight against him and win if we will seek divine assistance
(Romans 8:13, Romans 8:26). We can resist him and flee his influence (James
4:7). Our weapons and strength are mighty, and we can fight against him and
triumph (Ephesians 6:13-18). With such strength, we need not fear the devil. Yet
we must constantly be alert to his schemes and devices. He wants us, he is
powerful, but he can only win if we let him. "For we are not unaware of his
schemes" (2 Corinthians 2:11). Do You Know the Devil? That is a pretty unusual
title for an article that is designed to uphold the Christian faith. Why would
we ever want to know the devil? Because we will never overcome him unless we
know something of his sinister purposes, his devious tactics and his universal
influence. George C. Scott portrayed George Patton in the film biography of the
World War II general's career. There is a scene in which Scott as Patton
reflects on the defeat of the German field Marshall, Erwin Rommel. He said
something like, "Rommel, I read your book." We have to read the book on our
enemy, the devil. Among the things we need to know about him are the following:
1. He controls people. He has even been able to control people who walked in the
physical presence of Jesus. Near the end of our Lord's earthly ministry, he
predicted His own death. Peter resisted the thought that such a thing could
happen. Even with the passing of nearly 20 centuries, Jesus' reaction to Peter
is a shock. "Out of my sight, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not
have in mind the things of God, but the things of men" (Matthew 16:23). 2. He
lies. He is the father of lies (John 8:44) and he "masquerades as an angel of
light" (2 Corinthians 11:14). He can start with a premise or a practice that is
clearly the opposite of what God wants and put a spin on it that makes it sound
like you have God's backing for the most evil deeds imaginable. 3. He has
universal influence. In Job 1, God asked Satan where he had been. In arrogance
Satan shot back, "Ranging over the earth from end to end" (NEB). You cannot go
anywhere on this planet where Satan does not go. This is not said to make you
paranoid about Satan, but so that you might be better prepared to resist the
devil and force him to flee from you.

All These Things I Will Give You Jesus had been in the desert for 40 days and 40
nights without food. He must have been extremely hungry when Satan approached
Him! Always expect Satan to tempt you in your weakest moments. He said to Jesus,
"If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread" (Matthew 4:3).
Jesus failed to respond to this temptation, so Satan attempted pride (Matthew
4:6). With another failure Satan "upped the ante" and offered Jesus greater
THINGS than food; He offered the world. He said, "all these things will I give
you, if you will fall down and worship me" (Matthew 4:9). With this statement,
Satan finally arrived at the real issue: "Fall down and worship ME." All sin
stripped of its glamour and laid bare is the dethroning of God to make some
THING (living or non-living), a god. Satan can offer you only THINGS; nothing
more. Jesus offers you abundant life; life to its fullest (John 10:10). The life
Jesus offers you has promises for both the present life and the life to come (1
Timothy 4:8). People are foolish. They look for life and peace in THINGS, but
Jesus says that you can have life and peace and joy with or without things
(Matt. 5-7). Paul accepted what Jesus had to offer and said of himself, "I have
learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed
or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him
who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:12-13). THINGS cannot bring life and
happiness because they are temporary. Only a foolish person spends his life
acquiring THINGS to the neglecting of the life Jesus offers. Jesus once told of
such a man (Luke 12:16-21). The man acquired so many "things" that he had to
tear down his barns and build bigger ones. With a sigh of relief, he said,
"Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years; take it easy, eat, drink, and
be merry" (Luke 12:19). "But God said of you: then whose shall those THINGS be
which you have provided?" (Luke 12:20). THINGS have an end but ETERNAL LIFE is
forever. The THINGS Satan offers you are in no way certain because he is a liar.
Jesus says, "There is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native
language, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44). Satan cannot
offer you anything without telling a lie. On the other hand, Jesus is TRUTH
(John 14:6). Jesus cannot promise you anything that He will not or cannot
fulfill. Just as Satan offered Jesus ALL THESE THINGS, he offers them to you
today. Are you accepting his offer? If your day-by-day life is consumed in
acquiring THINGS, you have accepted. Satan is saying to you, "ALL THESE THINGS
WILL I GIVE YOU" but I believe Jesus' estimation of Satan. You are being lied
to!

Hostages in the Pew Satan is not warring over those who are in the world, for he
already has them in his grasp. His war is to conquer those who are sitting in
the pew. Those who have been reconciled, he longs to take hostage once again.
His strategy is deceptive, because he uses them to hinder the work of the
church. First, he deludes them with other goals in life which soon take priority
over the work of the church and personal involvement. They become members of the
body which become dysfunctional. Hands that will not work. Feet that will not
travel to God's appointed place. A mouth that will not confess Jesus to others.
Ears that soon fail to listen. A brain that refuses to think and dwell on things
above. Lame, blind and deaf, the church struggles to fulfill its purpose.
Second, he lures them into complacency. Having become satisfied with less than
God's desire for their lives, they settle for adolescence rather than maturing
to adulthood, while at the same time believing they are adults. They fail to
meditate upon God's Word, except while sitting in the pew. They give token gifts
instead of a sacrifice. They listen to lessons with change or repentance far
from mind. Maturity is not even in view, because their eyes have been blinded.
Eventually, they find themselves attending but not involved. Third, he
tantalizes their sense with false teachings with the purpose of taking others
off course. Having become numb, new sensations must fill the void. Having not
understood God's purpose they change their attitude from not wanting to go
beyond what is written to stretching the limits as far as they can. Deluded
themselves, they delude others to a false sense of security. They now must seek
bigger, greater sensational things to keep the momentum going so their
individual spirits can feel fulfilled. The appearance of great things happening
blinds their eyes to the fact they have been taken hostage, and pride keeps them
from being set free. Fourth, he stalemates their vision with past
accomplishments. Boasting in the glory of a successful past program they fail to
launch out into new, more productive, fruitful efforts. They might even nurture
a program long after its death. Individuals stop teaching and serving others
after just a few victories. They fail to dream of God's use of their lives and
God's vision for the church. If the church and we as individual members are ever
going to be what God desires, the hostages in the pews must be freed. The only
thing that can set them free is the truth. No mystical, sensational experience,
just reasonable, plain truth. Only the Bible can reveal if we are held hostage.
Only the Bible can set and keep us free. Read it, study it, and make it yours,
that you might heed the warnings and not be taken hostage. On Being Deceived A
man is DECEIVED if he is a hearer and not a doer of the Word (James 1:22). A man
is DECEIVED if he says that he has no sin (1 John 1:8). A man is DECEIVED when
he thinks himself to be something when he is nothing (Galatians 6:3). A man is
DECEIVED when he thinks himself to be wise with worldly wisdom (1 Corinthians
3:18). A man is DECEIVED when he seems to be religious and does not bridle his
tongue (James 1:26). A man is DECEIVED when he thinks that he will not reap what
he sows (Galatians 6:7). A man is DECEIVED when he thinks that evil company will
not corrupt good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33). A man is DECEIVED when he thinks
that the unrighteous will inherit the kingdom of God (heaven) (1 Corinthians
6:9). Now Satan will try to DECEIVE you to not pay attention to the above. Will
you let him? The "Orphan" A young man, under the influence of drink, stood on
the outside of a crowd and boasted that he would make the open-air preacher stop
preaching. He shouted: "Hi, Mister, you can go home; you don't need to preach
any more-the devil's dead!" The preacher looked at the young man sternly and
replied, "The devil's dead? Then you are an orphan!"

Satan Defeated Dwight L. Moody said that one of the happiest men he ever knew
was a man in Dundee, Scotland, who had fallen and broken his back when a boy of
fifteen. He had lain on his bed for forty years and could not be moved without a
good deal of pain. Probably not a day had passed in all those years without
acute suffering. But day after day the grace of God had been granted him, and
when Mr. Moody was in his room it seemed as if he was as near heaven as he could
get on earth. When Mr. Moody saw him, he thought he must be beyond the reach of
the tempter, and he asked him, "Doesn't Satan ever tempt you to doubt God and to
think that He is a hard master?" "Oh, yes," he said, "he does try to tempt me. I
lie here and see my old schoolmates driving along, and Satan says, 'If God is so
good, why has He kept you here all these years? You might have been a rich man,
riding in your carriage.' Then I see a man, who was young when I was, walk by in
perfect health, and Satan whispers, 'If God loved you, couldn't He have kept you
from breaking your back?' " "And what do you do when Satan tempts you?" "Ah, I
just take him to Calvary, and I show him Christ, and I point out those wounds in
His hands and feet and side, and say, 'Doesn't He love me?' The fact is Satan
got such a scare there nineteen hundred years ago that he cannot stand it; he
leaves me every time." That bedridden saint of God did not have much trouble
with doubts; he was too full of the grace of God.

Proof of Conversion Dwight Moody used to speak of a miserly farmer recently
converted, to whom a neighbor in distress appealed for help. The miser decided
to prove the genuineness of his conversion by giving him a ham. On his way to
get it the tempter whispered, "Give him the smallest one you have." A struggle
ensued and finally the miser took down the largest ham he had. "You are a fool,"
the devil said. And the farmer replied, "If you don't keep still, I'll give him
every ham in the smokehouse!"

Later, but Lost There is a story that Satan once had a conference in order to
devise some effective method to harm the Lord's work on earth. One demon
suggested, "Let us go down and persuade men that there is no God." This,
however, was rejected by the majority of the demons and by the archdemon, Satan,
who stated that it was impossible for any intelligent man not to believe in the
existence of God. How could they persuade men of the non-existence of God when
they themselves believed that there is a God? Another demon proposed that they
should tell the people that Jesus Christ never really existed. This also was
rejected since historical facts are historical facts, and Jesus Christ as a
historical figure could not be denied. Then another demon suggested that they
persuade everyone that death ended it all and that they should not worry about
life after death. But this also was rejected because man would conclude that God
must be a fool to have created man for this earth only. Finally the most
intelligent of the demons got up and said, "I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll
go down and tell everybody to believe that there is a God, that belief in Jesus
Christ saves, but you can get by just by professing faith and go on living in
sin as you used to." Immediately this proposal was unanimously acclaimed, and
ever since, the demons, Satan's agents, have been telling people to believe, but
to live the way they want.

God Has the Keys When the devil came to Martin Luther and asked him to open the
door of his heart so that he could come in and discuss some very important
matters with him, he said, "I don't have the keys to the door; God has them. Ask
Him if you wish." Needless to say, Satan took to his heels.

Resist Satan Billy Bray, the Cornish miner, whose rugged piety has been a
blessing to many, says that one year his crop of potatoes turned out so poorly
that, when he was digging them, Satan, at his elbow, said, "There, Billy, isn't
that poor pay for serving your Father the way you have all the year? Just see
those small potatoes!" He stopped digging and replied, "Ah, Satan, at it again;
talking against my Father, bless His name! Why, when I served you I did not get
any potatoes at all. What are you talking about?" And on he went digging and
praising the Lord for small potatoes.

Satan Is Real A man came to Charles Finney, the well-known evangelist, and said,
"I don't believe in the existence of a devil." "Don't you?" asked Finney. "Well,
you resist him for a while, and you will believe in it." That's what the second
commandment of James is: "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James
4:7). A godly life is characterized by its conflicts with sin. The place most
frequented by Satan is where holiness dwells.

Empty Houses Suppose you had been house hunting in a development of new homes,
and when you found an empty one you tried to get into it. If the house was full,
occupied by people, you wouldn't dare try to get in. That's exactly what Satan
does. He looks for vacuums. He looks for empty houses. They may be clean, but if
God is not within you, having made you His temple, you can be sure the devil is
going to occupy you. Be filled with the Spirit of God. That's the admonition and
meaning of this parable of our Lord in Luke 11:24-26.

Satan's Big Trick Luther says in one of his sermons: "The devil held a great
anniversary at which his emissaries were convened to report the results of their
several missions. 'I let loose the wild beasts of the desert,' said one, 'on a
caravan of Christians, and their bones are now bleaching on the sands.' 'What of
that?' said the devil. 'Their souls were all saved.' 'I drove the east wind,'
said another, 'against a ship freighted with Christians, and they were all
drowned.' 'What of that?' said the devil. 'Their souls were all saved.' 'For ten
years I tried to get a single Christian asleep,' said a third, 'and I succeeded,
and left him so.' "Then the devil shouted," continues Luther, "and the night
stars of hell sang for joy." One of the tricks of Satan is to make us believe
that submission to God means a spiritual stupor. Far from it. It is a battle; it
is resistance and first of all to Satan himself.

Satan's Tools An old fable says that the devil once offered his tools for sale,
intending to give up his business. He displayed these tools-malice, hatred,
jealousy, deceit, and several others, with the prices marked on them. One of
them was set apart, marked with a higher price than the others. When the devil
was asked why this was, he said, "Because that is my most useful tool; it is
called depression; with that I can do anything with people." How true! Let us
watch, therefore, when it makes its appearance and take our stand against
depression; it is often from the devil.

Fighting the Forces of Evil Animal trainers say that the secret of handling
lions, tigers, and leopards is to keep them constantly afraid of you. The
instant they get over their fear, they will attack. They are treacherous beasts
and often gather courage for an attack when the trainer's eyes are turned away
from them. One never knows when they will spring at their keeper if they have a
chance to do it from behind. Our fight with the forces of evil is like that.
Satan is always seeking to attack us from the rear or in ambush. He goes about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, but he is a great coward when
faced with courage. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" is as true
today as it was when the Apostle James first made the declaration (James 4:7).
The Cleansing Blood It is related that once the devil came to Luther and tried
to use the biblical truth of the fallibility of the Christian to create in him a
defeatist attitude. He presented Luther with a long list of sins which Luther
was guilty of; sins of commission and sins of omission. Then Luther with his
characteristic wit turned to the devil and said, "No, you must have forgotten
some, for sure. Think a little harder." Sure enough, the devil thought of some
more, and he put them down. "That's very fine," said Luther. "Now write with red
ink across them all, 'The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin' (1 John 1:7)." There was nothing the devil could answer to that.

Self-reformation A bent bow springs back, not merely to the perpendicular line,
but bends to the opposite direction. A pendulum that is set swinging not only
returns to the place from which it started but also swings as far in the other
direction, and this is true of every great effort in life, whether intellectual
or moral. After great intellectual strain, the mind returns, not to the
condition of repose in which it was before, but to a condition of weariness.
After great moral effort, there is danger of reaction, and this is especially
true of penitence. After a great act of penitence there is a sense of joyous
freedom from sin. The soul has been swept and garnished, swept by confession,
garnished by the relief of knowing that it is not burdened any more. Yet this is
only the negative side of spiritual life and is in itself a condition of
peculiar danger. The old tenant has been driven out of the house. The house has
been cleansed and prepared for a new tenant. But, alas, it is still empty. A
great victory has been won, but there is often a tendency to exaggerate the
results of the victory, let down the defenses and think the war is ended when
only one battle has been fought. The enemy may have been routed, but if we give
ourselves up to mere rejoicing, the enemy may return with recruited forces and
fall upon us while we are feasting upon the memories of our first victory, and
so we may become an easy prey.

Spiritually Dead A young Christian who worked for a rich man was always telling
his employer that Satan was constantly battling with him, but he always won over
Satan. The master made fun of him, telling him that Satan never bothered him.
How was that? The young Christian could not answer him. One day, however, they
went hunting together. The employer shot at some wild ducks. Some he killed, and
some he just wounded. "Run," the employer said, "and catch the wounded ones
first before they run away." The young Christian came back laughing. He had the
answer to the big question. "You know, sir," he said, "why Satan does not tempt
you? Because you are spiritually dead, just like those ducks. He goes after the
live ones, ones like me."




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  CHAPTER 105: SELF
========================================================================

Self

You Tell on Yourself You tell what you are by the friends you seek, By the very
manner in which you speak, By the way you employ your leisure time, By the use
you make of dollar and dime. You tell what you are by the things you wear, By
the spirit in which you burdens bear, By the kind of things at which you laugh,
By records you play on the phonograph. You tell what you are by the way you
walk, By the things of which you delight to talk, By the manner in which you
bear defeat, By so simple a thing as how you eat. By the books you choose from
the well-filled shelf, In these ways and more, you tell on yourself, So there is
really no particle of sense In an effort to keep up false pretense.

Tied to Old Habits A drunken man entered his row boat one night to cross the
river. He picked up the oars and pulled away-so he thought. He rowed all night
but did not reach the destination. When daylight came, he was surprised to find
that he was just where he started the night before. He had forgotten to untie
his boat. So it is with many of the Lord's followers. They are tied to their
habits, desires, wills, or some cherished idol or idols of the heart.
Consequently, their lives are fruitless. Shorebound Christians never flourish
and are of little or no help to others.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 106: SELF: SELF-CENTERED
========================================================================

Self: Self-Centered For His Glory How oft have you sought some reward for a task
you said was "for the Lord?" How oft have you felt a stinging slight and felt
that you were not treated right? How oft have you said "I quit, I am through.
Nobody says 'thanks'for the things I do." How oft have you felt the precious
thrill that comes from just being in His will? How oft did you count earth's
glory dim compared to the joy of serving Him? What is it your heart has longed
for? Does praise of men or His smile mean more?

Too Much and Too Little Riches can be a handicap. A wealthy woman told her
doctor she was frustrated by a restless desire for more and more things. He
replied, "These are the usual symptoms of too much ease in the home and too
little gratitude in the heart." The Gospel According to the Little Red Hen
Remember the story of the Little Red Hen? Here is a church equivalent! Once upon
a time there was a church. One day the Lord found a lost and dying world,
enslaved in sin and destined for hell. "Who will share the gospel with those who
know not the way of life eternal?" said He. "Not I," said the elder. "Not I,"
said the deacon. "Not I," said the Sunday School worker. "Not I," said the choir
member. "Not I," said the member. "Very well, then," said the Lord. "I will find
someone else." And He did! After some time the gospel seed sprouted and grew.
"Who will teach these young in faith the way of righteousness and truth?" asked
the Lord. "Not I," said the elder. "I have other things to do." "Not I," said
the deacon. "That is not my job." "Not I," said the choir member. "I do not like
the deacon." "Not I," said the member. "Let the Sunday school worker do it."
"Very well, then," said the Lord. "I will find someone else to teach my Word."
And He did! "Now," said the Lord, "the church has children and teenagers. Who
will shepherd and direct them in My ways?" "Not I," said the elder. "That is not
my job." "Not I," said the deacon. "I do not like the choir member." "Not I,"
said the Sunday school worker. "I have other things to do." "Very well, then,"
said the Lord. "I will find another." And He did! Again the Lord said, "The
meeting house needs some work. Who will help clean it, mend its roof, paint its
walls so that it may bring honor to my name and joy to those who gather there?"
"Not I," said the deacon. "I have other things to do." "Not I," said the Sunday
School worker. "That is not my job." "Not I," said the member. "Let the deacon
do it." "Very well," said the Lord. "I will find someone else." And He did!
Later the Lord said, "Some of my children are in need. Who will share what is
theirs so that others may have?" "Not I," said the elder. "Let the deacon do
it." "Not I," said the deacon. "Let the Sunday school worker do it." "Not I,"
said the Sunday school worker. "Let the choir member do it." "Not I," said the
choir member. "Let the member do it." "Not I," said the member. "Let the elder
do it." "Very well, then," said the Lord. "I will find someone else." And He
did! Eventually, after the gospel was preached, the weak taught, the young
guided, the meeting house repaired, and those in need helped, the Lord said,
"Who will share in the joys of Christian service? Who will come taste the
blessings of faithfulness? Who will know the fruit of spiritual growth?" "I
will!" said the elder. "I will!" said the deacon. "I will!" said the Sunday
school worker. "I will!" said the choir member. "I will!" said the member. "No,
you will not," replied the Lord. "My rewards will go to those who do My will,
not their own." The Snail in the Lobster Shell A little snail that lived by the
ocean noticed with envy the big and beautiful shell in which the lobster lived.
"Oh! How this little shell of mine pinches," whined the little snail. "What a
grand palace the lobster carries on his back! I wish I lived in his place. Oh!
Wouldn't my friends admire me in that shell! Think of a snail living in a
mansion like that!" In time a wonderful thing occurred. The watching, envious
snail beheld the lobster work right out of his shell to grow up in another,
larger one. When the empty, metallic green shell of the lobster lay neglected on
the beach, the snail said, "Now I shall have my wish. Hurrah! The little snail
is going to live in a lobster shell!" In his pride he cried out to the birds
overhead, "Ah, the little snail is going to live in a lobster shell." He cried
to the cattle in the field, "Oh, oh! Now you shall see. The little snail is
going to live in a palace." So the birds and the cattle in the field were
curious and they watched the little snail. The snail pulled himself loose from
his own little shell, and cried, "Well, I'm glad to say I'm through with you.
Goodbye. You've pinched me and pressed me for the last time. I am going to live
in the grand lobster shell." The birds and the animals saw the little snail
proudly crawl into the towering lobster shell and he huffed and puffed and blew
and gasped in an effort to make himself fit. But with all his efforts he felt
very small inside the grand lobster shell. He grew tired, too. That night he
died because the great empty shell was so cold. A wise old crow then said, "You
see! That's what comes of envy. What you have is enough. Be yourself and save
yourself from a lot of trouble. How much better to be a little snail in a
comfortable shell than to be a little snail in a big shell and freeze to death!"
The First and Hardest Lesson "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in
Kindergarten," says Robert Fulgham's popular essay and book. In truth, one of
life's most important and hardest lessons comes to us long before kindergarten.
This lesson is painful and upsetting to learn, and it goes against what we want
to think is true. But it is vital that we learn it. Many people never do. The
lesson is this: you are not the center of your universe. You might as well face
it. Once, a long time ago, Nicolaus Copernicus studied the sky and declared, "If
man is to know the truth, he must change his thinking! Despite what we have said
for years, our earth is not the center of the cosmos-but just one celestial body
among many. The sun does not move around us; we move around the sun." That was a
radical adjustment-a revolution in thought. Years later, Jean Piaget studied
children and declared, "Each child must experience his or her own 'Copernican
revolution.'They must learn that they are not the center of their world." This
is a private, radical adjustment for every one. "After all," each infant thinks,
"My wants have always been met. Let life continue that way!" "Walls should move
out of the way before I run into them. The floor should become soft just as I
fall. Everyone should give me their toys if I want them. The rules of games
should change so I can always win. And big things like cars should never drive
where I might want to run or play." Sooner or later, life does not cooperate and
the child is shocked. What about us adults? Have we learned the lesson? Most of
us learn it. But Satan urges us to put ourselves back in the center. And we
often do, even when we know better. Jesus Christ studied His audience and
declared, "If you want to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must change your
thinking! Despite what your sinful nature tells you, you are not the center of
your world. To find life, you must know the truth. Accommodate yourself to that;
it will set you free!" That is the most radical adjustment of all. A hard
lesson. The illusion is easier. It justifies selfishness. And we all like being
selfish. Too bad that the selfish way is not true. Too bad that it does not
bring satisfaction or life. A hard lesson. But an important one. Life goes much
better once you have got it.

How Important Are You-to You? Near Lincoln, Kansas, stands a group of
gravestones that boggles the imagination. A farmer named David, a self-made and
determined man, managed to amass a considerable fortune, but had few friends and
no relatives for whom he cared. When his wife died, David erected an elaborate
statue showing both her and himself sitting at the opposite ends of a loveseat.
So pleased was he with this monument that he commissioned the sculptor to create
another, this time showing him kneeling at her grave with a wreath in his hand.
And that made such a fine impression upon him that he set out to erect still
another tombstone depicting his wife kneeling at his future graveside with a
wreath. He even put wings on her back as she now resided in another world. So,
as time passed and one idea led to another, he eventually spent over a quarter
of a million dollars on monuments to his wife and himself. David had no interest
in aiding his fellowmen or benefiting his nearby town. Nor did he become a
blessing to the church, for he used all of his resources on shrines to self. He
died at the age of 92, a resident of the poorhouse, and his cherished stones are
slowly but surely sinking into the Kansas soil, victimized by vandalism and
neglect, weathered by time.

Nine Great Ideas: All Mine! My idea of visitation: everybody come to see me. My
idea of sympathy: everybody suffering with me. My idea of a sinner: the man for
whom I have a great dislike. My idea of a meek man: the man who yields to me. My
idea of a contentious man: the man who takes issue with me. My idea of a wise
man: the man who listens to me. My idea of unity: everybody agreeing with me. My
idea of cooperation: everybody working with me. My idea of a good sermon: one
that fits and hits everybody but me.

How to Be Miserable in 20 Easy Steps! Use "I" as often as possible. Always be
sensitive to slights. Be jealous and envious. Think only about yourself. Talk
only about yourself. Trust no one. Never forget a criticism. Always expect to be
appreciated. Be suspicious. Listen greedily to what others say about you. Look
for faults in others. Shirk your duties if you can. Do as little as possible for
others. Never forget a service you may have rendered. Sulk if people are not
grateful for your favors. Insist on consideration and respect. Demand agreement
with your own views on everything. Always look for a good time. Love yourself
first. Be selfish at all times! Of Lice and Men Human beings have a huge
capacity for self-delusion. The Scottish poet, Robert Burns, wrote a famous poem
about this entitled "To A Louse (On Seeing One On A Lady's Bonnet at Church)."
In the poem he pictures a woman, strutting to church decked out in frills and
finery, convinced that she is cutting a grand figure. But the sophisticated
image she aims for is spoiled by a pesky louse crawling through the lace of her
bonnet! The poem closes with some memorable lines (somewhat translated): "O,
that some Power the gift would give us To see ourselves as others see us!" What
could we need more? The Bible urges: "Do not think of yourself more highly than
you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment" (Romans 12:3 NIV).
In order to see ourselves realistically we must "In humility receive the
implanted word...." (James 1:21). Then we must use that word as a mirror in
order to see our true spiritual condition and change what needs changing (James
1:23-25). True Christianity means: SERVE, even when we are not being served.
LOVE, even when we may not be loved. HELP, even when we have not been helped.
GIVE, even when we have not received. PLEASE, even if others do not please us.

Simpson's Folly Many years ago a man named Simpson built a house on the Canford
Cliffs, near Bournemouth, England. Friends and neighbors tried to warn him he
had chosen a site too near the edge of the cliff, that landslides frequently
occurred along the coast, and the very weight of the house would precipitate
such a catastrophe. But Mr. Simpson wouldn't listen. He built a very beautiful
house there and for a time all went well. Then the inevitable happened, and the
ominous warnings all came true. All that remains of his house is a heap of ruins
on the beach known as "Simpson's Folly."

Rights-Ours and Others A young lawyer negotiated a contract of which he was
rather proud and took it to an old and wise counselor for his examination. To
his surprise the old man, as he read it slowly, shook his head. "That is a great
contract, John. It is most skillfully drawn," he remarked as he handed it back.
"But, John, you have forgotten the other fellow. No contract is sound which
neglects the rights or the equities of any party to it." We are not righteous if
we think only of our own rights and neglect the rights of others. No
Responsibility A young man applying for a job as usher in a theater was asked by
the owner, "In case of fire, what would you do?" "Oh, don't be concerned about
me," was the reply. "I'd be able to escape immediately." He did not even think
of his responsibility toward others. Of course, he didn't get the job.

Preoccupation with Self Someone remarked to the director of a mental
institution, "I imagine all the people in here are 'beside' themselves." "No,
you're wrong," the doctor replied. "They're shut in here, not because they're
'beside' themselves, but because they're 'inside' themselves. They think of
nothing else but self." When preoccupation with self becomes your problem, you
become a problem for the world and to God Himself. The Peacock Syndrome A rich
man decided to take up fishing. He bought the most expensive equipment and bait,
but he caught nothing. He passed by a farmboy who had an old stick and a rusty
hook but had caught a big string of fish. "How did you manage to catch so many,
when I couldn't catch a single one?" he asked. "Oh," said the boy, "I try to
keep out of sight so the fish won't see me. Perhaps you show yourself too much."
The Way of the World The fable of the fox and the wolf aptly illustrates the way
of the world that the Christian is to avoid. It seems a fox was peering into a
well from which people drew water by lowering an empty bucket, and pulling up
the full one that was at the bottom. By accident the fox fell into the empty
bucket and found itself at the bottom of the well. It made a lot of noise trying
to get out. A wolf, hearing the noise, looked down and said to the fox, "What
are you doing, my friend?" "I'm catching fish," was the sly answer; "Come down
to help me." "How can I?" asked the wolf. "Jump into that bucket up there and
you'll be down here in a moment." The foolish wolf obeyed, and because it was
heavier than the fox it went down and the fox came up and started to run away.
"Are you leaving me down here?" cried the wolf. But the fox answered slyly,
"That's the way of the world, my friend; when one goes up, the other goes down."

Share Your Blessings In her travels, a lady experienced some cold weather. As
she was shivering she turned to her servant to remind her to send some warm
blankets to the poor people when they got home. She arrived at her luxurious
warm home, took off her furs, and over a cup of tea made herself comfortable.
Later, when her servant reminded her of the promised blankets, her reply was,
"Ah, yes, I remember; but it's nice and warm now."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 107: SELF: SELF-CONTROLLED
========================================================================

Self: Self-Controlled In His Presence La Fontaine, chaplain of a Prussian
regiment, preached a plain sermon on the sin of a hasty temper. The next day the
major, a very passionate man, told him he had used his official liberty rather
too freely. La Fontaine admitted that he had thought of him, but had no
intention of being personal. "Well, it is of no use," said the major. "I have a
hasty temper, I cannot help it, and I cannot control it. It is impossible." The
next Sunday La Fontaine preached upon self-deception, and the excuses which men
are apt to make, "Why," said he, "a man will declare that it is impossible for
him to control his temper, when he very well knows that, were the same
provocation to happen in the presence of his sovereign, he not only could, but
would, control himself. And yet he dares to say that the continual presence of
the King of Kings imposes upon him neither restraint nor fear!" The next day the
major again accosted him. "You were right yesterday, chaplain," he said humbly.
"Hereafter, when you see me in danger of falling, remind me of the King." Let us
always remember we are in the presence of Christ. Surely we would not wish to
let our passions loose in the presence of the King. The Invitation There is a
story of a young minister who was going home late one evening from church. He
entered a crowded streetcar with his Bible under his arm and at once became the
target for sneering remarks from some rough fellows. These remarks kept up, and
as the young minister was leaving the car, to the amusement of his companions
one youth said, "Say, Mister, how far is it to heaven?" What would be the
actions of a consecrated Christian under such circumstances? Is it permissible
to lose one's temper and blow one's top? Of course, one way to answer is to keep
silent, but then one feels he is failing the Master. This young minister, with a
quiet dignity and with all gentleness, replied, "It is only a step away; will
you take it now?" Not a Coward A young soldier who was showing signs of panic on
the eve of his first battle was chaffed by a veteran. "Why, sonny," he said,
"you're shaking with fear. Don't be such a coward." "I'm not a coward," hotly
retorted the youth. "If you felt half as scared as I do, you'd run away!" He was
right. That young man was not a coward because he felt fear, but he would have
been a coward if he had allowed it to master him and drive him from his post of
duty.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 108: SELF: SELFISH
========================================================================

Self: Selfish

Touching in Church What is all this touching in church? It used to be a person
could come to church and sit in the pew and not be bothered by all this
friendliness and certainly not by touching. I used to come to church and leave
untouched. Now I have to be nervous about what is expected of me. I have to
worry about responding to the person sitting next to me. Oh, I wish it could be
the way it used to be; I could just ask the person next to me, "How are you?"
And the person could answer, "Oh, just fine." And we would both go
home...strangers who have known each other for 20 years. But now the minister
asks us to look at each other. I am worried about that hurt look I saw in that
woman's eyes. Now I am upset because the lady next to me cried and then
apologized and said it was because I was so kind and that she needed a friend
right now. Now I have to get involved. Now I have to suffer when this community
suffers. Now I have to be more than a person coming to observe a service. That
man last week told me I had never known how much I had touched his life. All I
did was smile and tell him I understood what it was to be lonely. Lord, I am not
big enough to touch and be touched. The stretching scares me. What if I
disappoint somebody? What if I am too pushy? What if I cling too much? What if
somebody ignores me? O Lord, be here beside me. You touch me, Lord, so that I
can touch and be touched. So that I can care and be cared for. So that I can
share my life with all those others that belong to you. All this touching in
church, Lord, it is changing me!

Life and Self During a Peter, Paul and Mary concert, in the middle of a comic
skit, Paul made an insightful and disturbing observation. In the 50s there was a
magazine called Life. Then came People magazine. Now we have one called Us. What
next? A magazine called Me? And now there actually is a magazine called Self.
How indicative and indicting of a world infatuated and preoccupied with self.
How contrary to the example and lifegiving principles of the Christ. He came to
bring life. He revealed and demonstrated the principles of life. He clearly
taught that life is not to be found in living for self, but rather in GIVING OF
SELF in the service of God and others! He said in Luke 9:23-25 "If anyone wishes
to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow
Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his
life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if
he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?" Happiness is not found
in the pursuit of happiness. Life is not found in the pursuit of life. Both are
found in a pursuit of God and His righteousness. As Jesus said, "Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied"
(Matthew 5:6). The end of our current emphasis on SELF is not life, but
disappointment and ultimately death! If we would discover TRUE LIFE, then we
must pursue the things of God and the spirit! "...whatever is true, whatever is
honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, let
your mind dwell on these things" (Philippians 4:8).

Rivalry in God's Family Jay E. Adams writes that under the roof in his back yard
hangs a hummingbird feeder that he keeps filled with sugar water. There are four
openings in it from which birds may suck the nectar. Yet, day after day, from
early morning until after dusk, the feeder is the source of their own private
version of star wars. One bird chases all the others away. "As I said," Adams
writes, "there is room for four birds at a time, and fully that number attempt
to feed. But the top dog (excuse my use of this metaphor for a hummingbird!),
who now 'owns'the feeder, will not let them. All day long he sits on the branch
of a nearby apricot tree guarding 'his'feeder and defying others to transgress
on what he has established as 'his'territory. "This ongoing slice of life
confronts us throughout the day as green and red Annas hummers streak across the
yard, the king hummer in hot pursuit of an intruder. While the chase is on,
others sneak a sip or two, only to be driven off when he returns. "The whole
business has become a sort of parable for our family. Here is an example of
grace: I bought the feeder; I supply the sugar water. The birds do not earn it;
they receive it all gratis. Yet, day after day, they fight over who may enjoy
it. "How like the people of God! All we have or are that is worthwhile is the
gift of God's pure grace. And yet we are proud, self-centered, envious, and
quarrelsome. Often we fight over God's good gifts rather than expressing our
gratitude in humility and sharing what we have been given with others. Just as I
am confronted daily with rivalry in my yard, even so God is confronted daily
with rivalry in His."

Taking and Receiving "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).
There is an old story that goes like this: An unusual tree grew outside the
gates of a desert city in the Middle East. It was an old tree, a landmark as a
matter of fact. It seemed to have been touched by the finger of God, for it bore
fruit perpetually. Despite its old age, its limbs were constantly laden with
fruit. Hundreds of passersby refreshed themselves from the tree as it never
failed to give freely. But then a greedy merchant purchased the property on
which the tree grew. He saw hundreds of travelers "robbing" his tree, and he
built a high fence around it. Travelers pleaded, "Share with us." The merchant
quoted in return, "It is my tree, my fruit, bought with my money." And a strange
thing happened: the old tree died! What had happened? The law of giving, as
predictable as the law of gravity, had expressed its immutable principle: when a
tree stops giving, it stops bearing, and it dies. Yes, this story illustrates
well the law of give-and-receive. And when I think of how much I take from God's
world, I bow in guilt at how little I give to His work. "But this I say, He that
soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly" (2 Corinthians 9:6). The Bare Facts
One night two friends were camping out in the deep woods on a warm summer's
night. Suddenly, their sleep was abruptly interrupted by a large furry visitor.
A huge black bear began to tear through their camp, crushing supplies, throwing
backpacks, and scaring the two men half to death. Thinking quickly, one of the
men began to lace up his sneakers for a quick getaway. "You will never outrun
that bear!" his friend yelled. To this he replied, "I don't have to outrun the
bear, I just have to outrun you!" Jesus taught us to put others first. His very
actions and dealings with the beggars, the lepers, and thieves showed that He
had compassion for the lowly. So the next time you have trouble with your
brother remember the following: "The world measures a man's greatness by the
number who serve him. Heaven's yardstick measures a man by the number who are
served by him."

Ruined by Selfishness A farmer inherited a rice field. The first year, the water
covered his land so well that he had an abundant harvest. In fact, it even
overflowed into his neighbor's field, making it fertile also. But he began to
fret because his neighbor's field became as productive as his own. He decided
that the water was part of his inheritance and belonged exclusively to him, so
he cut it off from his neighbor's field the next year. The result? His own field
was flooded and his crop ruined.

Refusal to Face Reality When Marie Antoinette came to Paris as a bride, not a
single ragged or starving person appeared on the streets along which the
splendid procession passed. France was seething with discontent at the time,
born of dire poverty-a discontent that was later to break out in the horrors of
the Revolution-but Marie Antoinette was not to know anything about that. So the
poor starving populace were swept into the side streets where they could not be
seen and kept penned up there so that Marie Antoinette might think all was happy
and prosperous in Paris. But an optimism based on ignorance is not optimism at
all. An optimism gained by a refusal to face the facts is deliberate
self-deception. Fear to face reality stems from fear of the sacrifice and labor
of love that may be involved. Selfishness turns away its face from the sorrows,
shames, and failures of others. But love dares to look at the head bowed with
grief and the face paled with suffering.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 109: SELF: SELF-PITY
========================================================================

Self: Self-Pity

What We Think Our Thinking: "It's impossible." "I am too tired." "Nobody really
loves me." "Nobody really cares for me." "I cannot go on." "I cannot figure
things out." "I cannot do it." "I am not worth it." "I cannot forgive myself."
"I cannot afford to." His Thinking: "All things are possible" Luke 18:27. "I
will give you rest" Matthew 11:20-30. "I love you" John 3:16. "I care for you" 1
Peter 5:7. "My grace is sufficient" 2 Corinthians 12:9. "I will direct your
steps" Proverbs 20:24; Proverbs 3:6. "You can do all things" Philippians 4:13.
"I am able" 2 Corinthians 9:8. "It will be worth it" Romans 8:28. "I forgive
you" Psalms 103:12; 1 John 1:9. "I will supply all your needs" Philippians 4:19.

"I Cannot Do Any More for These People!" Have you ever said that as a pastor?
You have done your very best and yet your very best has not found acceptance
with the people you serve. You may be just like Moses. The children of Israel
were unreasonable. Having grown tired of manna everyday, they chided Moses for
not giving them meat to eat. Moses was angry. "I have had it with these rebels,"
he complained. "I have done my very best, and this is the thanks I get." Was
Moses feeling sorry for himself? Indeed! He did not think God was being fair. He
felt sure he deserved better than he was getting (Numbers 11:10-15). The feeling
that we deserve better than we are getting always seems to be the basis of
self-pity.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 110: SELF: SELF-RIGHTEOUS
========================================================================

Self: Self-Righteous

See the Wonders of God A preacher wrote: "Last summer I stood looking over a
Highland river valley lit with a beautiful sunset, and I marveled at the work of
God in nature. I turned to a farmer friend and said, 'What a privilege it is for
you to live amid such beauty!' He thought for a moment and said, 'Aye, man, it's
grand sheep country.' I have many farmer friends who would have bared their
heads at the very thought of the wonders of God in nature, but this man's sense
of the beautiful was clouded by the pursuit of the material. Oh, how often we
lift our eyes from the face of the vision God gives us and turn them on our
mirrors and see only self; self counting the sheep and the cattle; self getting
rich, climbing the ladder of earthly success; self winning favor in the eyes of
men. Not that these things are not worthwhile in their place on earth-they are!
But when we make them our only end in life, we miss all that is best and most
beautiful."

Too Close to the Mirror A stern old saint used to bemoan the wickedness of the
world which to her was going from bad to worse. She seemed to be obsessed with
the idea that, except for herself and her own circle of friends, no one else was
saved. She stood so close to the mirror of life that she and her immediate
surroundings dominated the view. Had she only stepped back or to one side, she
would have had a much better perspective of life as a whole. Another Christian
saw in the mirror all the wonderful manifestations of the working of God, news
of which seemed to be reaching her from every quarter-from the slums, from the
mission field, from all the darkened corners of the earth where light was
dawning. How poor life seems to be when it is only a shadowy background to the
all-absorbing form of self. How glorious when we step out of the picture and let
the larger landscape sweep into view.

None Righteous An Indian and a white man were brought under deep conviction of
sin by the same sermon. The Indian was immediately led to rejoice in pardoning
mercy. The white man was in distress for a long time, almost to despair. But at
last he was brought to a joyous sense of sins forgiven. Sometime after, while
meeting his Indian brother, he said to him, "How is it that I should be so long
under conviction, when you found peace at once?" "Oh, brother," replied the
Indian, "I will tell you. There comes along a rich prince. He proposes to give
you a new coat; you look at your coat and say, 'I don't know; my coat looks
pretty good; it will do a little longer.' He then offered me a new coat. I look
at my old blanket; I say, 'This is good for nothing,' and accept the beautiful
new garment. Just so, brother, you try to keep your own righteousness. You won't
give it up; but I, poor Indian, could see that I had none, so I was glad at once
to receive the righteousness of God-the Lord Jesus Christ."

Two Sides to Every Question Someone once remarked, "There are two sides to every
question-my side and the wrong side." An illustration of this concerns an
argument that arose between two young chaplains of different denominations. The
senior chaplain said, "Let's bury the hatchet, my brother. After all, we are
both doing the Lord's work, aren't we?" "We certainly are," said the junior
chaplain, quite disarmed. "Let us do it, then, to the best of our ability, you
in your way, and I in His." I'm afraid too many of us are inclined to think our
ways are the Lord's ways, and the ways of other fellow Christians fall short of
that standard.

Average Morality Is No Morality Many of us are like that man who prided himself
on his morality and some specific virtues and said, "I am pretty good on the
whole. I sometimes get mad and speak a couple of unnecessary words, but then I
am pretty honest. I work on my farm on Sundays when there's work to be done, but
I give a good deal to the poor and have never gotten drunk in my life." This man
one day hired a Christian to build a fence around his pasture. He gave him very
specific instructions. In the evening when the Scotsman came in from work, the
man said, "Well, Jack, is the fence built, and is it good and strong?" "I cannot
say it is all tight and strong," Jack replied, "but it's a good average fence,
anyhow. If some parts are a little weak, others are extra strong. I have left a
little gap here and there, a yard or so wide, but I made up for it by doubling
the rails on each side of the gap. I dare say the cattle will find it a good
fence on the whole and will like it, though I cannot say it is perfect in every
part." "What!" cried the man, not seeing the point, "Do you mean to tell me that
you built a fence around my lot with weak places and gaps in it? Why, you might
as well have built no fence at all. If there is one gap or a place where an
opening can be made, the cattle will be sure to find it and will be sure to go
through. Don't you know, man, that a fence must be perfect or it is worthless?"
"I used to think so," said the man, "but I hear you talking so much about
averaging matters with the Lord, it seems to me we might try it with the
cattle."

Respectable Sinner A gentleman once took exception to a message based upon the
Word of God concerning Jew and Gentile, that both are guilty before God. The
preacher remarked, "But the Word of God distinctly says, 'There is no
difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God' " (Romans
3:22-23). The preacher's friend then replied, "Do you mean to say that there is
no difference between an honest man and a dishonest one, between an intemperate
man and a sober man?" "No," the preacher remarked, "I did not affirm that there
was no room for comparison between such cases; but my position is, if two men
were standing here together, one an intemperate man and the other a sober man, I
should say of the one, 'This man is an intemperate sinner; the other is a sober
sinner.' " Our friend did not know how to meet the difficulty, but answered,
"Well, I don't like such teaching." Very quietly the preacher replied, "Then I
will make some concession and meet your difficulty. I will admit that many are
'superior sinners,' and that you are a superior sinner." What consternation was
pictured on the face of the respectable sinner. Sometimes it is harder for
respectable sinners to be justified because of their self-righteousness than it
is for out-and-out sinners.

Hindrance to Spiritual Growth A young preacher frequently talked with a wise old
farmer. One day the question under discussion was, "What is the greatest
hindrance to spiritual growth and happiness?" The preacher said, "Surely it is
failure to renounce our sinful self." "No," said the farmer, "the greatest
hindrance is failure to renounce our righteous self."

First, Look in the Mirror A man prayed complainingly to Almighty God about a
neighbor, saying, "O Lord, take away this wicked person." And God said, "Which?"

Layers of Self "Man is like an onion," said A. T. Pierson, "layer after layer,
and each a layer of self in some form. Strip off self-righteousness and you will
come to self-trust. Get beneath this and you will come to self-seeking and
self-pleasing. Even when we think these are abandoned, self-will betrays its
presence. When this is stripped off, we come to self-defense, just as the
Corinthians did-the word of the puffed up-and last of all, self-glory. When this
seems to be abandoned, the heart of the human onion discloses pride that boasts
of being truly humble."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 111: SIN
========================================================================

Sin A Worm in an Apple How does a worm get inside an apple? Perhaps you think
the worm burrows in from the outside. No, scientists have discovered that the
worm comes from the inside. But, how does he get in there? Simple. An insect
lays an egg in the apple blossom. Sometime later the worm hatches in the heart
of the apple, then eats his way out. Sin, like the worm, begins in the heart and
works out through the person's thoughts, word and actions. For this reason,
David once wrote, "Create in me a clean heart, O God." On Being Side-Tracked An
old fable says that swift-footed Atlanta challenged her suitors to race with
her, with herself as the prize or death as the penalty of losing. Many competed
and lost their lives. Finally, a man named Hippomenes, secreting on his person
three golden apples, entered the contest. As with the others, Atlanta swiftly
passed him, but he threw an apple. She, startled, stopped to pick it up. He
regained the lead, but soon Hippomenes again saw himself gradually slipping
behind; and again he threw a golden apple. Atlanta, charmed by its glitter,
delayed to seize it, and fell behind. But once again, as they neared the goal,
she was about to pass him, and Hippomenes threw his last golden apple. Atlanta,
lured by its charm, stopped again-and lost the race. Satan today throws along
life's highway three golden apples that charm and destroy many a racer. They
are: "the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life" (1
John 2:16). Multitudes of Christians today are being turned aside from full
obedience to the will and work of God by Satan's "three golden apples!"

Sin Separates "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God"
(Isaiah 59:2). The Bible says that sin separates; it comes between man and God.
Sin is like a giant canyon, with man on one side and God on the other. A canyon
can never be removed; it will always be there. And it is useless to try to fill
up a canyon. But when a bridge is put across a canyon, a man can cross it as if
no canyon ever existed there. Forgiveness of our sin is like a bridge. A bridge
allows us to have eternal life, even though there is sin which otherwise would
separate us from God. Sin is also like a cut or break in an electric wire. There
must be a perfect connection from the source to the light bulb before there can
be any light in the bulb. Sin separates our connection with God. Forgiveness is
like a splice in a wire. It does not take a brand new wire to complete the
circuit, but there must be a wire in which every single break has been repaired.
Sin separates man and God. There is only one way to get back to God; through
Jesus Christ!

"He Pays Too Much for His Whistle" "No temptation has overtaken you but such as
is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape
also, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13 NASB). Here is a
quote from Thomas Fleming, in The Man Who Dared The Lightning. "When Benjamin
Franklin was seven years old, a visitor gave him some small change. Later,
seeing another boy playing with a whistle, young Benjamin gave the boy all his
money for it. He played the whistle all over the house, enjoying it until he
discovered that he had given four times as much as the whistle was worth.
Instantly, the whistle lost its charm. As he grew older, Franklin generalized
this principle. When he saw a man neglecting his family or business for
political popularity, or a miser giving up friendship for the sake of
accumulating wealth, he would say, 'He pays too much for his whistle." The above
story has an excellent lesson in it: Too often we pay too great a price for
something that looks so good and promises so much. Fish are hooked because they
are attracted to something that looks like food and would make a good meal only
to become food themselves. Do not be fooled, the world offers you whistles that
are not worth the price.

Sheep Do Not Wallow Children sometimes do not listen. They hear what they want
to hear. We, as their parents, often strive to work in their lives and give them
guidelines to follow for their own good and because we love them. We know and
understand this, but many times our children do not. They become angry and
resentful towards us because they believe we are robbing them of fully
experiencing life, and we are taking away their opportunities for fun and
happiness. We sometimes want to beat our heads against a wall in frustration. I
wonder if God feels that way also in regards to us, His children? Listen to this
story: There was once a lamb and its mother. It seems the lamb passed a pig pen
each morning on the way to pasture with its mother. Watching the pigs wallow in
the mud seemed like fun to the lamb, and on an especially hot day the lamb asked
his mother if he could jump the fence and wallow in the cool mud. She replied,
"No." Then the lamb asked the question, "Why?" The mother just said, "SHEEP DO
NOT WALLOW." This did not satisfy the lamb. He felt she had "put him down and
exercised force she should not have," etc. So, as soon as the mother was out of
sight, the lamb ran to the pig pen and jumped the fence. He was soon feeling the
cool mud on his feet, his legs, and soon his stomach. After a few moments he
decided he had better go back to his mother, but he could not. He was stuck! Mud
and wool do not mix. His pleasure had become his prison. He cried out and was
rescued by the kindly farmer. When cleaned and returned to the fold, the mother
said, "Remember, sheep do not wallow."

Nine Out of Ten A news documentary on TV claimed that 91 percent of the United
States' students in colleges, universities and graduate schools cheat on exams
and tests in order to graduate. This is what happens when God is rejected and
atheism is accepted. Atheism will bring down our civilization. Civilization is
based on mutual trust. Cheating is lying. It is stealing that which is not
yours. What confidence do you have in your doctors when you realize that nine
out of ten are not really qualified because they stole information they did not
know in order to graduate? How honest do you expect the billing to be when nine
out of ten of them lied to get through college? If he cheated the college, how
do you know he will not cheat you? How does society survive when you lose trust
in 91 percent of college graduates? The same is true of lawyers, politicians,
and store keepers. Stores will post one price at the shelf and charge a higher
price at the cash register. Customers seldom catch it because the little bars
flash across the computer too fast. When it is caught, there is a quick apology,
the figure is changed and it is blamed on "computer error." But the "computer
error" is not corrected. We remember when a man was as good as his word. A
handshake over a deal was as dependable as a legal document. A man would rather
die than lie or cheat. Neighbors who did not go to church, prided themselves in
their own integrity. Christian standards formed the basis of society even among
those who did not profess to be Christians.

Passing the Buck Almost everyone is aware of the statement attributed to
President Harry Truman that "The Buck Stops Here," but does it? There are people
who will not accept responsibility for their actions. Included in this group are
criminals and sociopaths. The war trials at Nuremberg brought out this idea. The
Nazi war criminals claimed they were just following orders. "We really did not
want to exterminate the Jews. Hitler made us do it." The criminal says, "I am a
product of society. They are to blame, not me." The wife and child abuser says,
"I was raised by abusive parents, so do not blame me; blame them." The denial of
guilt does not remove or negate the responsibility of it. In our society today
we are just as sick as they were then. No one wants to accept responsibility for
anything. Everything is relative, so do what you want to. It is O.K. Well,
friends and neighbors, that is plain junk. It just ain't so. Of course, anyone
can play the game of denial. It all started a long time ago. Genesis 3:1-19
tells us that Adam ate the forbidden fruit and God held him responsible. Adam
said, "I am not responsible. You know the woman you gave me, remember her? She
gave me fruit from the tree and I did eat. But do not blame me, you gave her to
me so blame her, but not me." God then went and asked Eve, "What have you done?"
Eve said, "The serpent deceived me and I ate." "The devil made me do it," was
Flip Wilson's favorite line. God held them both responsible for their actions.
He will hold us responsible for ours. The soul that sinneth shall die. When we
sin, let us ask God to forgive us, and then we should take the consequence that
goes with it.

Hidden Faults At a U.S. arsenal a few years ago, a large cannon lay, marked
"Condemned." The attendant pointed out some indentations about the size of a
pinhead which dotted the barrel in a dozen places. They did not appear to go
deeper than a 32nd of an inch; and yet the weapon was condemned. There might be
a weakness extending through the entire gun, so that in war the mighty engine
capable of hurling half a ton of metal, a dozen miles and hitting a target with
fine accuracy, might under the heat of battle and the strain of powder, burst
into a thousand fragments. Some basic flaw may destroy our characters and ruin
others, be we ever so perfect in other points. The Force of Habit How easy it is
to tear a piece of paper along the line in which it has originally been folded!
How easy it is for a second temptation to overcome when the first has been
yielded to! A sin that has once gained the victory over our moral nature has put
a fold, as it were, in that nature, and destroyed its straightness and
smoothness, so that when the same temptation comes a second time, it seeks the
weak point which it had formerly made, and along that line of least resistance
we are turned from our righteous principles and strong resolution.

Insensitivity to Sin A little girl in London held up her broken wrist and said,
"Look, Mommy, my hand is bent the wrong way!" There were no tears in her eyes.
She felt no pain whatever. That was when she was four years old. When she was
six, her parents noticed that she was walking with a limp. A doctor discovered
that the girl had a fractured thigh. Still she felt no pain. The girl is now 14
years old. She is careful now, but occasionally looks at blisters and burns on
her hands and wonders, "How did this happen?" She is insensitive to pain!
Medical specialists are baffled by the case. It is called ganglineuropathy.
There is another insensitiveness which is deadlier and more
dangerous-insensitiveness to sin! Paul said of people with this malady: they had
"their consciences seared as with a hot iron" (1 Timothy 4:2). Not Eatin', Just
Holdin' Johnny asked Mother, "Can I have some cookies, Mom?" Looking at the
clock, she replied, "Not now! It is too close to dinner!" About ten minutes
later, Mother entered the kitchen. There was Johnny up on the counter with his
arm in the cookie jar clear up to his elbow. "I thought I just told you, 'No
cookies till dinner!'" Johnny's mother fumed. "Well, Mom, I'm not eaten' no
cookies! I'm just holdin' some!" Each of us has some point of vulnerability. It
may be a problem with alcohol, or sensuous lusts, or a desire to gamble even to
the point of cheating. We often compound our problems by putting ourselves into
untenable positions and precipitous situations. Johnny would have had a much
easier time if he had avoided the cookie jar. We would not fail so often if we
avoided places where we would be subject to temptations. We ought not go where
alcohol is served; we ought to avoid the magazine rack where the flesh is
enticed; we ought to abstain from those things which tempt us to be dishonest.
Let us cease giving the flesh easy opportunities! The Mark of Sin "For the Word
of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). As
the powerful chain saw cut its way through the oak tree, it uncovered an object
foreign to a tree. There, embedded in the tree was a 22-bullet, once hidden from
view, now made visible by the cutting asunder of the tree. From the outside, the
point of entry was no longer visible, but on the inside, the path of the bullet
had clearly left its mark in the wood. Compared to the size of the tree, it was
an extremely small mark, yet by its presence, had caused the area surrounding it
to turn black with rot. Had one been present when the bullet entered the tree,
it would have been possible not only to see the mark, but to dig the bullet out.
However, with the passing of time, the tree grew larger and stronger. The bark
had grown thicker and the bullet remained hidden, a part of the tree. Just as
the bullet penetrated into the tree, so sin penetrates us. The point of entry
may not be visible to anyone else, but the sin becomes embedded in our lives,
and unless it is removed, causes a growing spot to rot.

Sin Scars When Leonardo da Vinci was a young artist during the Renaissance in
Italy, he is reported to have painted a beautiful portrait of a young child who
appeared in the picture as an angel. The artist was so pleased with the work
that he kept it in his studio where he could gaze upon it. Often, it is said,
looking at that picture would comfort his soul in sorrow or tranquilize his
heart in anger. Much later in life, after many years had passed, he was doing
another picture. For this canvas he needed the portrait of a man whose
countenance would personify evil. Long and diligently he searched for a model
and at last found one. The features had been so scarred by sin that the portrait
was the exact opposite of that of the child. Then an amazing thing happened. The
model told the artist that he had been the child whose picture still hung in the
studio. This crime-hardened man with dissipation written across his countenance
had been the angelic-appearing child who had personified all that was good. The
Invasion of Evil Over wide areas of the United States, carpenter bees begin
swarming around the roofs and eaves of houses when spring arrives looking for
edible wood in which to nest. The bees make a small hole in the wood and lay
their eggs. Though the initial hole is small, over time more and more of the
inner wood is eaten away. Even though the surface of the wood looks good, enough
carpenter bees can eat away the strength of the supporting timbers of a home and
eventually destroy it. The home owner must guard against such attacks.
Similarly, the Christian must guard against the attacks of sin which bore
within, seeking a foothold in one's life. Just as the carpenter bees multiply
and feed on the wood, sin multiplies and feeds on the soul. It is better to keep
the sin out in the first place than to root it out after it invades. The Cost of
Compromise Winter was coming on and a hunter went out into the forest to shoot a
bear out of which he planned to make a warm coat. By and by he saw a big bear
coming toward him and raised his gun and took aim. "Wait," said the bear, "why
do you want to shoot me?" "Because I am cold," said the hunter, "and I need a
coat." "But I am hungry," the bear replied, "so maybe if we just talk this over
a little, we could come to a compromise." So the hunter sat down beside the bear
and began to talk over the pros and cons. In the end, the hunter was well
enveloped with the bear's fur, and the bear had eaten his dinner. We always lose
out when we try to compromise with sin. It will consume us in the end.

Licking the Blade Paul Harvey tells how an Eskimo kills a wolf. He coats his
knife blade with blood and lets it freeze. Then he adds another coat of blood
and then another. As each coat freezes he adds another smear of blood until the
blade is hidden deep within a substantial thickness of frozen blood. Then he
buries the knife-blade up-in the frozen tundra. The wolf catches the scent of
fresh blood and begins to lick it. He licks it more and more feverishly until
the blade is bare. Then he keeps on licking harder and harder. Because of the
cold he never notices the pain of the blade on his tongue. His craving for the
taste of blood is so great that he does not realize his thirst is being
satisfied by his own blood. He licks the blade till he bleeds to death,
swallowing his own life. That is the way the devil works on us. He gives us a
taste of sin, knowing we will crave more. We go deeper and deeper in satisfying
our desires. We never notice the blade inside till it is too late. Only when we
are dying do we realize we have swallowed our own life in sin.

Sin Against God A lady in a carpool took God's name in vain and immediately
apologized to her companions. One of them quickly responded, "You do not owe us
an apology. You did not use our names." Sin does hurt people around us and
requires a reconciliation with that person. But we must always remember, with
David, "Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy
sight" (Psalms 51:4 NASB). Our Concept of Righteousness There are Christians
who, in effect, define righteousness by what they shun. They keep away from
certain foods and drinks, from certain people, from certain places. There
certainly are occasions when Christians do well to keep their distance, but our
Lord's emphasis was against that way of defining unrighteousness. He stressed
one's internal attitude, regardless of the external surroundings: "What comes
out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man,
come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness,
deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness" (Mark 7:20-22). It is
convenient to focus on the sins of others; this keeps the spotlight away from
oneself. And it is convenient to understand sin in terms of actions that can be
physically avoided; one can thereby avoid disturbing thoughts about attitudes
such as coveting, envy, and pride, which our Lord includes on his list of "evil
things" right along with theft, murder, and adultery. God everywhere shows a lot
of concern about sin, and so should we. But it is the nature of sin to deceive
us, even when we think we are being righteous. We must work at keeping our
understandings and emphasis in line with what God has revealed. A Fence or an
Ambulance A certain community was near a dangerous highway curve where several
cars had misguided the curve and fallen over a cliff. Great discussion took
place in the town over what to do about the situation. Some in the discussion
group thought it a good idea to station an ambulance at the bottom of this cliff
to give immediate aid to the victims. Wiser heads suggested it might be better
to erect a fence around the curve on top of the cliff. To us, such a discussion
is ridiculous. We know it is much better to prevent accidents and deaths than to
treat them after the fact. Let us not overlook the truth that this principle
also has much spiritual merit. We need not debate whether Christians sin. The
New Testament speaks plainly. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we claim we have not sinned, we make
Him out to be a liar, and His Word has no place in our lives. The Apostle John
immediately follows this truth with a powerful statement of assurance. "My dear
children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin,
we have One who speaks to the Father in our defense, Jesus Christ, the Righteous
One" (1 John 2:1-2). Although forgiveness and grace are abundant, Jesus does not
intend for us to just focus on these. He not only provides forgiveness, He also
gives us the power to keep from sin. How much better that we focus on the
"fence" at the top rather than on the "ambulance" at the bottom.

Intellectualism and Immoral Life Josh McDowell relates how he was counseling a
student who said she was fed up with Christianity because she did not think it
was historically accurate nor that there was actually anything to it. She had
convinced everyone in her circle that she had searched and found profound
intellectual problems with Christianity as a result of her university studies.
One after another of her classmates tried to persuade her otherwise; but to no
avail. Josh asked her several pointed questions. Within 30 minutes she admitted
that she had fooled everyone including herself, and that she had developed her
intellectual doubts in order to excuse her immoral life.

Nip Sin in the Bud Sin is deceitful (Hebrews 3:13). Sin's progression is one of
its characteristics it seeks to conceal. The "blessed man" of Psalm 1 (1)
walketh not, (2) standeth not, and (3) sitteth not. Observe the progression.
That Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom, and did not immediately move there, is
illustrative of the progressiveness of sin. Eve (1) heard the devil's lie, (2)
believed the lie, and (3) obeyed it. Sin is progressive. The prodigal son
gradually went to the far country, which illustrates sin's progression. Peter
(1) first deserted the Lord, (2) later fraternized with the enemy, (3) then,
denied the Lord, (4) afterwards committed perjury, and (5) finally, he cursed
and blasphemed. Sin was progressive in his case. Be not deceived, for sin is
still progressive. Social drinking can easily lead to alcoholism. Dancing has
been the first step in many cases leading to an ultimate destruction of one's
virtue. Missing the mid-week service can lead to missing the Sunday night
service, then Sunday morning Bible school, then the Sunday morning worship
service-yea, to complete apostasy. Envy can grow into hatred, and hatred can
grow into murder. Be not deceived. Sin is deceptive. It grows. It is
progressive. Therefore, resist every temptation, choosing the way of escape
always provided (1 Corinthians 10:13). Give none occasion to sin. Abstain from
every appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Nip sin in the bud! Otherwise,
it will grow! "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take
counsel, but not of Me; and that cover with a covering, but not of My Spirit
that they may add sin to sin" (Isaiah 30:1).

Less Than Expected A fellow decided to rob a convenience store clerk. The robber
had a neat plan to give the clerk a $10 bill, get her to open her cash drawer to
make change, and then grab all the money. The plan worked! He got everything in
her cash drawer-total $4.34-and left the clerk with his $10. He went in the hole
to the tune of $5.66! The undeniable truth is that sin never gives what it
promises. It always returns less than the sinner invests in self-esteem,
integrity, and spiritual security. Want proof? Adam and Eve were promised
freedom, wisdom and life by Satan, only to be led to commit spiritual suicide.
Sensuous Samson fell in love with a woman who did not love God, and he paid with
his eyesight, freedom and life. Ananias and Sapphira were going to get credit
for being generous and wound up being buried for being liars. In each of these
cases, sin promised something it could never deliver. The same thing is still
happening in our world today. Adolescents are led to see God, their parents, and
their teachers as enemies and wind up in rebellion's deep pit. People date and
marry without taking into account that the spiritual element is the critical
part of a relationship. Some church members hide behind masks and fool
themselves and their friends, but not God. Sin costs too much. You have to sell
your soul to have whatever pretty trinkets it offers you for the moment. Then
you have to face a time of bitter reckoning. You have to "pay the piper." Yet
whatever had been promised to you as a reward has already gone up in a puff of
smoke or has slipped through your fingers. And Judgment Day is coming! The basic
lure of sin is the promise of quick gain, without regard to long-term
consequences. Truth and holiness work differently. With total honesty about the
difficult demands at hand, the God who cannot lie promises to reward you down
the line. Obedience, purity, integrity, repentance, denial-these are hard words
and demanding deeds. But what lies at the end is invaluable! Sin never delivers.
Christ never fails. So don't get robbed while trying to pull a fast one on God.

Pain and Pills You and I live in a world that is obsessed with the elimination
of pain. Just take a stroll down the medicine aisle next time you are in the
grocery store. You will see what I mean. When we have a headache, we take two
aspirin, take a nap, and wake up feeling better. We forget the pain. Face it, we
do not like pain. But is that entirely healthy? Could it be that in some matter
of my life, there is room for pain? Can it be at times I should feel some pain?
The question pleads for affirmation. Along with solutions to our physical pains,
I am afraid we have mistakenly found a cure for our spiritual pain. Sadly, this
is a deadly cure! To avoid the pain of sin, we have taken a deadly pill which
diminishes the impact and consequence of sin in our lives. We have closed our
eyes to the destruction of sin and swallowed a pill of deception. We do not feel
the burdensome ache of sin. For Israel, it was not enough for a prophet to
forecast impending doom as a consequence of sin to get them to repent. More
often than not, Israel had to face the consequence of sin to come to repentance;
they had to feel pain. In Joel 2:12-13, we see Israel's pain manifested: "Return
to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your
heart and not your garments." To rend something means to rip or tear in grief,
anger, rage, etc. We must ask ourselves when we last felt the need to tear our
hearts because of sin. Feel the injury of sin and avoid the problem of pain! Let
us rend our hearts today and feel the pain. We must return to God. The Well of
Kindness In ancient times in the East, a common practice among tribes at war was
to fill each other's wells. Every well thus rendered useless was a public
blessing destroyed. It is like a crime against humanity when a well of kindness
in a heart is stopped. The world's need and sorrow are the losers. The thirsty
come to drink where before their want had been satisfied, and are disappointed.
But the most serious consequence is the harm that is done to the persons
themselves whose love and compassion are thus restrained. One of the great
problems of Christian living is to keep the heart gentle and sweet amid all the
world's trying experiences. Nothing worse could happen to a person than to
become cold toward human suffering, or bitter toward human infirmity and
failure. The Unbreakable Chain It is told of a famous smith of medieval times
that, having been taken prisoner and immured in a dungeon, he began to examine
the chain that bound him with a view to discovering some flaw that might make it
easier to break it. His hope was in vain, for he found from some marks upon it
that it was his own workmanship. It had been his boast that none could break a
chain that he had forged. Thus it is with the sinner. His own hands have forged
the chain that binds him, a chain that no human hand can break.

Don't Play with Sin Sin is nothing to play with. It has the strength to defeat
you if you get too close to it with excessive confidence in your own strength. A
well-to-do man advertised for a chauffeur. Three applicants came. His first
question was, "How close to the edge of a cliff can you drive without going
over?" One man said, "A yard." Another said, "A foot." The third said, "I always
try to keep as far away as possible." The third man got the job. He who
underestimates the strength of an enemy is in danger of defeat.

Criticism Dangerous A student may turn his enlightened heart into darkness by
starting to be critical, first with the things that may be criticized, and then
proceeding to belittle those things that are beyond criticism. He is like a
little boy with a new knife; he must cut something or other. He cuts up the
Scriptures and decimates them; he has such a sharp knife that he must use it or
otherwise he is not happy. From a critic, he advances to an irreverent
faultfinder, and from that to an utter unbeliever. His light has blinded him.

Prepared to Sin A little boy was once forbidden by his mother to go swimming,
but she permitted him to go out for a walk. When he came back, it was quite
evident that he had disobeyed her and had gone in the water. When asked why, the
little fellow answered, "Well, Mother, I happened to have my swimming trunks
with me, so I decided to go in." When the child saw the beautiful sea, it
presented a real temptation to him. In his mind was born the desire to disobey
his mother-to sin. After all, sin is nothing but disobedience. The desire,
however, could not have been translated into sin if he had not had his swimming
trunks with him.

Slay the Monster A man with an axe was attacked by a vicious dog, and in
defending himself had to kill the animal. The owner was furious and asked the
man how he dared kill his dog. The man replied that if he had not killed it, the
dog would have torn him to pieces. "Well," said the owner, "why did you hit with
the blade? Why didn't you just hit it with the handle?" "I would have," replied
the man, "if it had tried to bite me with its tail." So, when I have to deal
with sin, some people say, "Why don't you go about it more diplomatically? Why
don't you choose less offensive words to describe it?" I answer, "I would, if it
would bite me with its tail, but as long as it deals roughly with me, I will
deal roughly with it; any kind of weapon that will help to slay the monster, I'm
going to feel free to use." A Believer Like Zacharias A gentleman who believed
himself perfect called to see an old Christian neighbor. They began talking
about the interesting subject of the believer's perfection. "Can you point to a
single perfect man or woman in the Bible?" inquired the aged saint. "Yes,"
readily answered the other, "turn to Luke 1:6 and you will read there of
two-Elizabeth and Zacharias-who walked in all the commandments and ordinances of
the Lord blameless." "Then you consider yourself a believer like Zacharias?"
"Certainly I do," said the visitor. "Ah," replied the old man, "I thought you
might be; and we read a few verses further on that he was struck dumb for his
unbelief." Are You Sinless? A lady came to her pastor after he had preached one
day and said, "But does not John say, 'Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not' (1
John 3:6)?" Of course he consented to the fact, telling her that the Christian
does not voluntarily wallow in sin, but that we should also remember that the
same apostle says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have
not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us" (1 John 1:8-10). Then
he turned to this Christian lady and asked her, "Can you say you are sinless?"
There was no answer. No Rights We claim things as our right, sometimes, to which
we have no right at all. In fact, we have no right to anything, and sometimes
God impresses this upon us by taking things from us. Let us not be like the sick
man to whom a benevolent gentleman had been giving a quart of milk a day. At
last, the time came for this poor man to die, and of course the gift of milk was
expected to come to an end. When he was gone, the gentleman called upon the
widow. "I must tell you, sir," said she, "that my husband has made a will and
has left the quart of milk to his brother!"

Temptation Attracts or Repels Thomas à Kempis has said, "First there comes to
the mind a bare thought of evil, then a strong imagination thereof, afterward
delight and evil motion, and then consent." His advice was, "Withstand the
beginnings." If you apply a magnet to the end of a needle that moves freely on
its pivot, the needle affected by a strong attraction approaches as if it loved
it. Reverse the order, applying the magnet to the other pole, and the needle
shrinks away trembling as if it hated it. One man rushes into the arms of vice;
another recoils from it in horror. According as the nature it addresses is holy
or unholy, temptation attracts or repels, is loved or hated. Our Lord Jesus
said, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41).

Sins Buried An earnest servant of Christ preached on the text, "Thou wilt cast
all their sins into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19). His little boy, ten
years old, afterwards said to him, "Daddy, when you were talking about the Lord
casting sin into the sea, you ought to have said that sin was heavy like stones,
and would drop out of sight, or they might think it would float like corks on
the top." Praise God, our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus as stones
thrown into the ocean.

Don't Neglect the Son Emperor Theodosius, in the 4th century, denied the deity
of Christ as do many in this 20th century. When his son Arcadius was about
sixteen, he decided to make him his partner in the government of the empire.
Among the great men who assembled to congratulate the new wearer of the imperial
purple was Bishop Amphilocus. He made a handsome address to the Emperor and was
about to leave when Theodosius exclaimed, "What! Do you take no notice of my
son?" Then the bishop went up to Arcadius and putting his hands upon his head
said, "The Lord bless thee, my son." The Emperor, roused to fury by this slight,
exclaimed, "What! Is this all the respect you pay to a prince that I have made
of equal dignity with myself?" Amphilocus replied, "Sir, you do so highly resent
my apparent neglect of your son, because I do not give him equal honors with
yourself. Then what must the Eternal God think of you when you degrade His
coequal and coeternal Son to the level of one of His creatures?" The Unseen Sin
A half-witted man wore a most curious coat. All down the front it was covered
with patches of various sizes, mostly large. When asked why the coat was patched
in such a remarkable way, he answered that the patches represented the sins of
his neighbors. He pointed to each patch and gave the story of the sin of someone
in the village. On the back of his coat there was a small patch. On being asked
what it represented, he said, "That is my own sin, and I cannot see it."

Don't Let Your Light Grow Dim There is a danger that there may be a dimming of
the light within us. It is worth our while to note some of the things that bring
this sad eclipse of the soul. Anything that corrupts, degrades, or debauches the
soul; anything that mars its innocence, or robs it of its purity, will at the
same time dull the keenness of its perception as to what is right and what is
wrong. Innocence is often compared to cleanness or whiteness, while guilt is
described by the words dark, black, mire, and dirt. Conscience is like a glass
through which the light streams. But if we rub coal dust or smut of any sort
over the glass, the light will shine through it but dimly. And if we cover the
glass with a sufficient coat of filth, it will not shine through at all. So sin
makes foul the glass of the soul. Where the light shines clearly and the man has
no doubt at all about what is right, if he yields to temptation and sinful
thoughts make conquest of him, it will be as though tar stained the glass in his
window. If he continues to sin and impure thoughts come to get possession of his
soul, the light from heaven will finally be shut out entirely.

Call It by Its Real Name Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman told of a distinguished Methodist
minister of Australia who preached on sin. One of his church officers came
afterward to talk with him in his study. He said to the minister: "Dr. Howard,
we don't want you to talk so plainly about sin, because if our boys and girls
hear you talking so much about sin, they will more easily become sinners. Call
it a mistake if you will, but do not speak so plainly about sin." The minister
took down a small bottle of strychnine that was marked "Poison." He said, "I see
what you want me to do. You want me to change the label, such as 'Essence of
Peppermint.' Don't you see what would happen? The milder you make the label, the
more dangerous you make the poison."

What Makes Sin Sinful? What makes sin sinful? I remember when I was in the army
I was brought before my commanding officer because while I was on night duty I
had opened a telegram I wasn't supposed to. Nobody had told me this. I thought
it was part of my duty to open it and to communicate its contents to the officer
on duty. I ended my defense with the words of Paul, "Sin is not imputed when
there is no law" (Romans 5:13). I was not punished. They saw the reasonableness
of my contention that one cannot break a law that does not exist.

Lure of Sin Spurgeon was right when he said, "Where the most beautiful cacti
grow, there the venomous serpents are to be found at the root of every plant."
And it is so with sin. Your fairest pleasures will harbor your grossest sins.
Not Welcomed It is only natural when you are eagerly expecting someone to
welcome him with open arms. Just imagine the disappointment of a father
returning to his family from the war to find that he is not recognized. All
along the family has been praying and waiting for his return, yet when he
arrives he is not welcomed. There could be no greater shock to a father than
that. A welcome by one's own family is the instinctive hope of all. "He came
unto His own and his own received Him not."

Wrong Standard Pride comes from the fact that we measure ourselves by earthly
standards, instead of by God's standard for us. We are like the little boy who
came to his mother and said, "Mamma, I am as tall as Goliath; I am nine feet
high." "What makes you say that?" asked the surprised mother. "Well, I made a
little ruler of my own and measured myself with it, and I am just nine feet
high!"

Don't Gold Plate Your Life Ruskin told of visiting a famous cathedral in which
there are a number of colossal figures high up among the heavy timbers that
support the roof. From the pavement these statues have the appearance of great
beauty. Curious to exam them, Ruskin climbed to the roof and stood close beside
them. He was disappointed to find that only the parts of the figures that could
be seen from the pavement were finished. The backs were rough and unsightly.

Sin Is Sin Spurgeon writes: "The shops in the square of San Marco were all
religiously closed, for the day was a high festival. We were much disappointed,
for it was our last day, and we desired to take away with us some souvenirs of
lovely Venice. Our regret soon vanished, for on looking at the shop we meant to
patronize, we readily discovered signs of traffic within. We stepped to the side
door and found, when one or two other customers had been served, that we might
purchase to our heart's content, saint's day or no saint's day. After this
fashion, too many keep the laws of God to the eye, but violate them in the
heart."

Indulgence Thomas Manton says on indulging: "There were but two common parents
of all mankind, Adam the Protoplast (the first created), and Noah the Restorer,
and both failed due to appetite, the one fell by eating, and the other by
drinking." A Lost Inheritance The son of a rich father forsook his fine home for
a life of crime and immorality, bringing disgrace to his family and causing his
father many years of deep sorrow. One day he learned of his father's death and
decided to return home at once. He wanted to be present at the reading of the
will to see if he had been left anything. He thought possibly his father out of
kindness had bequeathed him something. Together, with other members of the
family, he assembled at the lawyer's office to listen to the reading of the
will. The first part of it was a long recital of his son's sins. Father had set
them down carefully, one by one, expressing the grief of heart which he had
borne for so many years. The son became more and more restless as he heard that
sad story of his evil doings. He began to fidget and fuss in his seat, obviously
disgusted with the whole proceedings. Finally, he could stand it no longer and
grabbed his hat, rose to his feet, stomped out of the room, and slammed the door
behind him. But he left too soon. For the second part of the will said that his
father had left him $25,000. He could not subsequently be located and thus never
got the money for the simple reason that he declined to hear about the sins
which he refused to confess. He lost his inheritance.

Us Only There was a small Christian sect of an exclusive nature which was
holding a convention. Outside the auditorium there was displayed the motto,
"Jesus Only." A strong wind blew the first three letters away, so that the sign
read, "Us Only." Isn't that too often the sign that our prayers, attitudes, and
behavior present to the world? And then we expect God to bless us. No
Repentance, No Pardon Caleb Young, in Kentucky, thought that a man in the
state's prison who was serving a life term had been too heavily sentenced.
Bringing influence to bear upon the governor, he obtained a pardon for the man.
He went to the prison and had a talk with the man. He said to him, "If you were
to be released from this place, what would you do?" The man vindictively
replied, "I would go and shoot the judge that sentenced me, the lawyer that
prosecuted me, and the witnesses that testified against me." Mr. Young said
nothing to the man about the pardon. He went out of the prison and tore the
pardon to pieces.

Vanity Two geese about to start southward on their annual autumn migration were
entreated by a frog to take him with them. When the geese expressed their
willingness to do so, if a means of conveyance could be devised, the frog
produced a long stick and got the two geese to take it at each end while he
clung to it by his mouth in the middle. In this manner the three were making
their journey successfully when they were noticed from below by some men who
loudly expressed their admiration of the device and wondered who had been clever
enough to discover it. The vainglorious frog, opening his mouth to say, "It was
I," lost his hold, fell to the earth, and was dashed to pieces. Beware,
Christians, lest you meet with the same calamity as that of the frog through
your vain-glorying in self.

Sinner Like You and Me There was a criminal who was awaiting execution. A
minister went to visit him, but there was not much response to his exhortation.
On his way back home, the minister met one of his elders and told him about his
experience. He asked the elder to go and see the criminal. The elder came back
with great joy in his heart for what had been accomplished with him. The
minister was very anxious to know why he had failed and the elder succeeded.
This is what happened. As soon as the elder saw the criminal, he sat beside him,
took his hand in his and said with much fervor and simplicity, "Wasn't it only
the great love of God to send His Son into the world to die for sinners like you
and me?" In a moment the fountain of the man's heart was broken up and he wept
bitter tears. Afterward the criminal said, "When the minister spoke to me, it
seemed like one standing far above me, but when that good man came in and sat
down by my side and classed himself with me, I could not stand it any longer."

Sin's Chain An overladen coal barge stood in the river. A sailor reported to the
captain that the water was gaining upon the vessel, but the captain drove him
away with scoffing. Twice, thrice the warning was repeated, but each time it
went unheeded. At last the barge began to give evidence of sinking. The captain
ordered the men to the boats. As they took their places, he said, "See, I told
you there was plenty of time." Then he took out his knife to cut the cable to
the barge. He fell back with a cry of horror; the cable was an iron chain. A
Sinner Who Didn't Think A young man once said to a preacher, "I do not think I
am a sinner." Then the preacher asked him if he would be willing for his mother
or sister to know all he had done, said or thought, all his motives and all his
desires. After a moment the young man said, "No, indeed, I certainly would not
like to have them known-not for all the world.

Forgiveness Necessary When Mr. Wesley was on a voyage with General Oglethorpe to
Georgia, the General threatened revenge upon an offending servant, saying, "I
never forgive." "Then I hope, sir," said Mr. Wesley, "that you never sin." The
General saw the force of this remark and modified his action toward the servant.

Avoid Strife A man let an offender go instead of avenging himself for an insult.
He was criticized in consequence, and he said to the friend who chided him,
"Tell me, my friend, if you were climbing a hill, and a great stone or block
rolled down toward you, would you consider it disgraceful to step aside and
allow it to roll past? If not, what disgrace can there be in avoiding and giving
way to a man aroused by anger until he has had time for reflection, and his
agitated mind finds rest in repentance?" There is an old legend that tells of
Hercules encountering a strange animal on a narrow road. He struck it with his
club and passed. Soon the animal overtook him, now three times as large as
before. Hercules struck it fast and furiously, but the more he clubbed the
beast, the larger it grew. Then Pallas appeared to Hercules and warned him to
stop. "The monster's name is Strife," he said. "Let it alone and it will soon
become as little as at first." This is valuable advice for those of us
Christians who engage in counterblows, thinking that only thus can we stop the
blows.

Strong but Weak Edinburgh Castle was captured only once in the whole history of
Scotland. Its defenders thought that the steepness of the rock on one side made
it inaccessible and impregnable, so they put no sentries there. In the grey mist
of the early morning a little part of the enemy crept up the precipitous slopes
and surprised the garrison into surrender. It was captured at its strongest
point. Paul said, "When I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10). Yet
the reverse is often true also. "When I am strong, then am I weak."

Treasure in Heaven When a friend once wrote to Dr. Livingston about the
sacrifices he was making in spending his days among the savages of Central
Africa, he made the spirited reply: "Is that a sacrifice which brings its own
best reward in healthful activity, in the consciousness of doing good, in peace
of mind, and in the hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with such a
thought! I never made a sacrifice." May we, too, seek "first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness," rather than our own selfish satisfaction.

Christian Forewarned A man once remarked that he could not swallow what the
preachers called "original sin and Adamic nature." "My good fellow," said a
Christian to him, "there is no occasion for you to swallow it-it's inside you
already." The sooner we realize that grim fact in our Christian lives, the
better. "Forewarned is forearmed" is especially good advice for the Christian.
Dangers inducing us to sin are not all found outside ourselves; they are also
inside; and sometimes the enemies within are stronger and more furious than
those without. The Regenerated Sinner An old Scotch minister was really
disturbed when a fellow minister came to preach in his church, because to his
surprise he gave a sermon to sinners. The Scotch minister could not keep the
disappointment within him, so he turned to the visiting preacher and said,
"Well, Rev. McDonald, that was a very good sermon which you preached, but it is
very much out of place. I do not know one single unregenerate person in my
congregation."

Sick Sheep A visitor saw the shepherds in Nazareth bringing their flocks to
water them at the well. When the sheep had drunk their fill, the shepherds
called and their sheep followed them. The visitor asked the shepherds if the
sheep always followed their own shepherds when they called them. "Yes," said a
shepherd, "except under one condition." "What is that?" "The sheep that do not
follow the voice of the shepherd are the sick sheep. If a sheep is healthy, it
will always follow the shepherd, but if there is something wrong with the sheep,
it will follow anybody."

Feel in Your Pockets A neighbor heard that a poor woman was reduced to extreme
poverty by the loss of her cow, which was her only means of support. He was
personally unable to replace the cow for the poor woman, so he went around
soliciting funds. Each neighbor offered sorrow and regret, but none practical
assistance. He became impatient, and after being answered as usual by a
plentiful shower of feeling, exclaimed. "Oh, yes! I don't doubt your feeling;
but you don't feel in the right place." "Oh," said one, "I feel with all my
heart and soul." "Yes, yes," replied the solicitor, "I don't doubt that either;
but I want you to feel in your pocket." If we can feel in our pockets but don't,
we commit sin. The Constant Dissenter We read about a church which was calling a
new pastor. There were only a few negative votes, the great majority being in
favor of the nominee. A gracious member of the minority moved to make the choice
unanimous. But one man in that minority, a stern old Scotchman, was by no means
disposed to make any such soft surrender of opinion, and he wasted no words. His
ultimatum was quick and straight: "There is one thing ye might as well
understand right here and now. I'll let you know there'll never be anything
unanimous in this church as long as I am in it." No Trespassing In olden times
gardens used to be enclosed. In Palestine every garden was enclosed by a wall-as
was Gethsemane-or by a prickly hedge. "A garden inclosed is my sister, my
spouse" (Son_4:12). To separate one's garden plot from the open field and shield
it from harm was always the gardener's first care. Man in his sinful condition
also shuts himself in. He discourages others from entering his property. He is
afraid they will harm him. But Christ has commissioned His followers to plant
the seed of the gospel and to water it in the hearts of men. This Wonderfully
Made Body Of course, the body compels a great deal of admiration as the farmer
cannot help admiring the smooth shiny seeds from which a beautiful field of
wheat will one day emerge. If you fully understand what is in your body, how
intricate, how methodical all its functions are, you cannot help but admire and
honor it. You could not possibly create such a masterpiece. Scientists may make
a living virus, but that's far from constructing a whole living body. But this
wonderfully made body has been corrupted by your sin and mine. We have caused
corruptibility to enter the cosmos, which includes our bodies.

Avoid Boasting We should not let the sickness of other Christians lead us to
brag that we are well because we are sinless while other Christians are sick
because they are sinners. The proud heart is detestable to God. Perhaps we need
to pray the well-known prayer of an early Wesleyan preacher: "Lord, save me from
that good man-myself." It must be awful in the sight of God to see His children
boasting of their health while condemning others because they are sick.




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  CHAPTER 112: SPIRITUAL
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Spiritual Do We Really Love Heaven? Field Marshall Viscount Montgomery, an
Englishman who was not ashamed to assert his faith in God, was invited to speak
at the opening of a hymn book publisher's new printing plant. He urged rewriting
some of the hymns which he found dismally at odds with man's true nature.
Montgomery said, "We sing, 'O Paradise, O Paradise, How I long for Thee.'But we
do not really long for that. We long to stay on here a bit longer." Then he
added, "I would like to see an author write 'O Paradise, O Paradise, I have a
little shop, and just as long as profits last, here I mean to stop.'"

Ready To Perish The man huddled on the cabin floor was slowly freezing to death.
It was high in the Rockies in southwestern Alberta, and outside a blizzard
raged. John Elliot had logged miles that day through the deep snows of the
mountain passes. As he checked for avalanches, and as dusk and exhaustion
overcame him, he had decided to "hole up." He made it wearily to his cabin but
somewhat dazed with fatigue, he did not light a fire or remove his wet clothing.
As the blizzard blasted through the cracks in the old cabin walls, the sleeping
forest ranger sank into oblivion, paralyzed by the pleasure of the storm's icy
caress. Suddenly, however, his dog sprang into action, and with unrelenting
whines, finally managed to rouse his near-comatose friend. The dog was John's
constant companion, a St. Bernard, one of a long line of dogs famous for their
heroics in times of crisis. "If that dog had not been with me, I would be dead
today," John Elliott says. "When you are freezing to death you actually feel
warm all over, and do not wake up because it feels too good."

Political or Spiritual Liberty On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress
declared the 13 American colonies free and independent from Great Britain. The
Declaration of Independence is the only major national document of the United
States that actually mentions the name of God. He is called "Nature's God," "The
Creator," and "The Supreme Judge of the World." The fathers of our American
freedom recognized that God's hand was at work in the affairs of the new nation.
But far more important than the political liberty that we enjoy is the spiritual
liberty we have in Christ. Jesus said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).




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  CHAPTER 113: SPIRITUAL: BLINDNESS
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Spiritual: Blindness

Prisoner Recognizes Sin One day, after a gospel meeting in a prison in Greece,
the chief of chaplains of the prisons was discussing with the preacher the
wonderful response by the prisoners of Greece to the message of the Gospel:
"When you deal with a prisoner, you do not need to persuade him that he is a
sinner. His imprisonment is a proof of it. But there are many out of jail who
should be in, and because they are out they argue all is well with them and they
need no Savior."

Eye Trouble A friend of mine went into a drugstore the other day and pointed to
some toothbrushes on a rack. "Let me have a pink one," she requested. To her
surprise, the clerk took down an orange one. "No, pink," she reminded him. This
time he selected a lavender one. My friend began to sense the difficulty. "No, I
said pink," she repeated pleasantly; the clerk's finger hovered uncertainly over
the rack and neared the desired color, "That one," she declared emphatically. "I
see you're color-blind," she remarked as he wrapped her purchase. With a
sheepish smile he confessed, "I always call blue 'green.' " But this same friend
had a color-blind relative who doggedly insisted that certain colors were a
figment of other people's imaginations because he could not distinguish them. Do
not be surprised when those who do not know God cannot accept as real the
spiritual truths He has revealed through His Word. The "eyes of their
understanding" have never been opened. To Each His Own Public opinion has its
own valid functions, but it is inappropriate and insufficient in guiding a
Christian worker. A broom, for instance, is not adapted to clean an oil
painting. It has its own function, that of cleaning a floor, and it discharges
this much more efficiently than if it were a paintbrush. How disastrous it would
be if a body of well-meaning and earnest persons, armed with brooms, were to
burst into an art gallery with a view to improving the paintings. The best
intentions won't enable a rough instrument to accomplish work for which it is
unfit. Similarly, public opinion, by reason of its conglomerate nature and
massive force, is unfit to deal with the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. No
God/No Morals Two friends, meeting after a long time, were discussing the
current breakdown in morals, especially among the younger generation. "What do
you suppose really causes it?" asked one who in the past had openly declared she
felt no need of God in her life. Her Christian friend hesitated, feeling it
would be useless to give her own opinion as a believer since the other had so
often rejected her attempts in the past to speak of religious matters. Before
she could formulate a reply, however, her friend advanced her own theory. "Don't
you think the breakdown in religious values has something to do with it?" "Yes,
I do," agreed the other quickly. "If young people have turned their backs on
religion and feel that God doesn't exist, they no longer have any absolute
standards of right and wrong, no authority to turn to for direction, and the
result is confusion. Everyone does that which is right in his own eyes."
Surprisingly, her friend agreed with her. Even unbelievers are beginning to
realize that if God doesn't exist, society has nothing on which to base its
ethics.

New Birth, Not New Surroundings The Roman philosopher, Seneca, wrote to his
friend Lucullus: "My wife has a moronic child, Harpasti, who suddenly became
blind. What I am about to tell you will be difficult to believe, but it is true.
We cannot make her understand that she has become blind and that no change in
her environment will help her. She insists that her nurse take her to a house
where it is not dark. It seems to me," continued the philosopher, "that what has
happened to her is happening to all of us. Not one of us realizes that he is
both miserable and vengeful."

Mad Over Religion? Two friends, one an army officer, met after an interval of
ten years. They had been attached to each other and shook hands cordially. After
a little chat, the civilian, looking at the other man with a curious air, said,
"By the way, General, they tell me you have gone mad over religion." "Well,"
responded the general, "I'm not aware of being crazy; as far as I know I'm
enjoying all my senses. But you know, if I am, there is one comfort; I've got
Jesus Christ for my keeper and heaven for my lunatic asylum, so I think I shall
not do badly after all." The world may consider the faithful, practicing
Christian crazy, but what counts is that God declares him righteous over and
over again. A Rewarding Life The closer to God we are, the more peace and
happiness we shall experience. A baker never expects to get a better cake than
the ingredients he puts into it. Yet many people who complain that life is not
as rewarding as they expected it to be, forget that in leaving out God they have
left out that which alone can give life its glory, hope, love, and joy.

Ignorance on a Grand Scale A man left $200,000 in his will for anyone who,
through research, could prove before a court of justice that there is a soul and
of what it consists. No one has been able to claim the legacy. Only in the Bible
will you find the divine revelation concerning the soul of man.

Ask the One Who Knows Suppose a robbery had been committed in a store in your
neighborhood; you join the crowd standing outside and ask, "What happened?"
Someone starts to fill you in on what's going on, though he hasn't been inside
the building himself. Then the storekeeper comes out, and you ask the same
question. His account differs in many details from that of the bystander. Whom
would you believe? The answer is obvious. You realize that the man who stands
outside a building is a very poor judge of what is taking place within. Yet,
frequently the man who stands outside the circle of born-again Christians
refuses to enter or even listen to what is going on inside the circle of those
who are in Christ. Unfortunately, when he desires to get information on
spiritual things, he doesn't go to those who have experienced the indwelling of
the Spirit of God, but turns to worldly philosophers and rationalists, those
outside of the circle of believers. Therefore the information he gets of what is
going on inside is totally perverted. No Man Is an Island One day a man was
hiking in the mountains when he came upon the hut of a hermit who had isolated
himself from other human beings. He struck up a conversation with the hermit who
told the visitor that he was completely self-sufficient to meet his own needs.
He said, "I cut the trees and hewed the logs for my cabin, and I put it together
with wooden pegs. I grow or hunt all my own food, and I get along just fine. I
don't need anybody else." The man looked at him for a moment, then said, "Tell
me, how did you cut the trees you used for your cabin?" The hermit replied,
"With my axe." Then the visitor said, "But wasn't someone else responsible for
making that axe and your other tools, and for mining the iron that was used to
make them? What about your clothes, do you make all of them?" "No," replied the
hermit, "I have to make a trip outside about once a year to get new clothes."
"Then," said the man again, "what about the shells that you use in your gun when
you hunt your food, and what about the gun itself? Weren't you dependent on
someone else for both?" "Well," said the hermit reluctantly, "I guess so." "The
truth is," said the visitor, "that you are not as independent of others as you
like to think. Even if you could sustain yourself completely without any of the
things we've mentioned, you're still forgetting one vital thing which you could
never supply or maintain by yourself." "What's that?" asked the hermit. Looking
him full in the face, the man said, "Your own life." Whereupon the hermit fell
silent and had little else to say.

Only as You See Him At the Grand Canyon, a guide took a group of tourists to the
southern rim. Among the sightseers were an artist, a minister, and a cowboy.
After they had beheld the spectacle for a few minutes, the guide asked the
artist, "Could you paint a picture like that?" "Never!" the artist replied.
"Only God could make that scene." The guide then turned to the minister. "Could
you describe such grandeur in a sermon, Pastor?" The minister shook his head.
"No, sir. Such majesty defies mortal description." Finally he turned to the
cowboy. "And what do you think about this Grand Canyon, partner?" The cowboy
answered in wonderment, "I was just thinking-what an awful place to lose a cow!"
The unsaved look at Christ and see a good teacher, a moral man but not the Son
of God.

Tom Lincoln's Baby Boy My favorite caricature about Abraham Lincoln shows two
tired Kentucky pioneers with their skinny dogs. They meet on a bleak February
morning. One asked, "What is new out here, neighbor?" The other replied, "Nuthin
at all... nuthin' at all, 'cept for a new baby boy down to Tom Lincoln's.
Nuthin' ever happens out here." In the light of history we know that God was
causing great things to happen on that cold February morning-things of which the
despondent pioneers were not aware. In the dark moments of discouragement, we,
too, have felt like that pioneer: "Nuthin' ever happens out here." Then we
realize that God is still working out His purpose in life. The fault lies in our
own lack of awareness. We may miss what God is doing all around us. Could we but
develop an awareness, our lives would be filled with light and joy. God's love
envelops us, but we must respond to that love if we are to experience its real
meaning. The Calf Path Edward Fudge tells this story: One day through the
primeval wood, a calf walked home as good calves should. But made a trail all
bent askew, a crooked trail as all calves do. Since then 300 years have fled,
and I infer the calf is dead. But still he left behind his trail-and thereby
hangs my moral tale. The trail was taken up next day by a lone dog that passed
that way. And then a wise bellwether sheep pursued the trail o'er vale and
steep, and drew the flock behind him, too, as good bellwethers always do. And
from that day, o'er hill and glade, through those old woods a path was made. And
many men wound in and out, and dodged and turned and bent about, and uttered
words of righteous wrath because 'twas such a crooked path. But still they
followed the first migrations of that calf, who through this winding woodway
stalked-because he wobbled when he walked. This forest path became a lane, that
bent and turned and turned again. This crooked lane became a road, where many a
poor horse with his load toiled on beneath the burning sun, and traveled some
three miles in one. And thus a century and a half they trod the footsteps of
that calf. The years passed on in swiftness fleet. The road became a village
street; and this, before men were aware, a city's crowded thoroughfare. And soon
the central street was this of a renowned metropolis. And men two centuries and
a half trod in the footsteps of that calf. Each day a hundred thousand rout
followed this zigzag calf about, and over his crooked journey went the traffic
of a continent. A hundred thousand men were led by one calf, near three
centuries dead. They followed still his crooked way, and lost 100 years a day.
For thus such reverence is lent to well-established precedent. A moral lesson
this might teach were I ordained and called to preach. For men are prone to go
it blind along the calf paths of the mind, and work away from sun to sun to do
what other men have done. They follow in the beaten track, and out and in, and
forth and back, and still their dubious course pursue, to keep the path that
others do. They keep the path a sacred groove, along which all their lives they
move. But how the wise old woods do laugh, who saw the first primeval calf. Ah,
many thing this tale might teach, but I am not ordained to preach!

Walking in Darkness Christopher D. Green writes: "I cannot explain why I do it,
but I have always walked in the dark. When I was a kid I used to do it more as a
challenge; an adventure. Now as an adult, I suppose it is more out of habit than
anything else. "If I get up in the middle of the night, I refuse to turn on the
lights. Instead of simply flipping a switch and lighting my way, I wander around
in the dark, relying on my sixth sense to guide me. Usually, I guess from all
these years of practice, I can get to my intended destination without incident.
However, a few nights ago proved to be one of exception and painful consequence.
"After being in bed for an hour or so, I got up to get a drink of water. With my
mouth as dry as the inside of a Kleenex box, I shuffled down the hall half
asleep but still awake enough to enjoy the tickling feeling the carpet made on
my feet. As I cleared the end of the hall, it felt good to pause by the heater.
Continuing on only a few shuffles more, I met my doom. I think I actually felt
the pain before it happened. With one fairly innocent shuffle, I crashed my foot
into the dining room chair. The force was so great it knocked the chair over,
and left me in a painful pile on the floor. The scream was muffled only because
I had a mouth full of plush pile carpet. If I had only turned on the light, I
would have avoided the pain! "Too often Christians forget that they should not
spiritually walk around in the dark. Not only should they avoid the darkness,
they should also be a light that exposes the evil that is found in darkness.
"Remember that if we 'walk in the light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from
every sin' (1 John 1:7)."

Thanks for What Is of Greater Value There is a story of a young man who proposed
marriage to a young woman. He gave her an expensive, beautiful diamond ring
enclosed in an attractive blue velvet box. The following day after their
engagement, the young woman said, "How can I ever thank you enough for the
beautiful blue velvet box? I love it and will always cherish it!" How do you
think her beloved felt? A ludicrous story? Yes, except that it aptly illustrates
the care and attention we humans give in this life to our body and physical well
beings-which is like the blue velvet box. We spend about 99 percent of our
resources and time on something that will return to dust. And we neglect the
gift of the diamond, which is our living, eternal soul. We fail to thank God for
such a priceless gift, purchased for us by the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.




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  CHAPTER 114: SPIRITUAL: NOURISHMENT
========================================================================

Spiritual: Nourishment

Sermons-Not Remembered, But... There was an article in a church paper entitled,
"32,850 Sermons Later." It started off with a letter printed in the British
Weekly from one of their English readers. The British letter went like this:
"Dear Sir, 'It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a
great deal of time preparing them. I have been attending a church quite
regularly for the past 30 years, and I have probably heard 3,000 of them. To my
consternation, I discovered that I cannot remember a single sermon. I wonder if
a minister's time might be more profitably spent on something else?
"Sincerely...." For weeks a real storm of editorial responses ensued. The uproar
finally was ended by this letter: "Dear Sir: "I have been married for 30 years.
During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals-mostly of my wife's cooking.
Suddenly, I have discovered that I cannot remember the menu of a single meal.
And yet, I have received nourishment from every single one of them. I have the
distinct impression that without them. I would have starved to death long ago.
"Sincerely...."




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  CHAPTER 115: SPIRITUAL: SIGHT
========================================================================

Spiritual: Sight No Glass Between The story is told of a little boy whose family
was very poor. He never complained because he had no toys and received no gifts
at Christmas time; but he wished for them. He spent his spare time looking in
the store windows at the pretty things other little boys could have but that he
could not. One day he was run down by a car and taken to the hospital. When he
started to feel better, one of the nurses bought him a toy. As he touched it he
said, "There is not any glass between." Some day we shall see Christ our Savior
face to face, with no "glass" between. Have Your Eyes Been Opened? The Second
Book of Kings and the sixth chapter tells us of an interesting event. Elisha,
the prophet of God, was given knowledge of the planned activities of the Syrian
King to destroy Israel. Elisha warned Israel, which angered the Syrian King, who
then sought to kill Elisha. The servant of Elisha awoke one morning, looked out
and saw the Syrian army surrounding the city. He became very frightened. But
Elisha was not afraid because he could see the Lord's protection. Then, in verse
17, Elisha prayed that the Lord would open the eyes of the servant that he, too,
would see what Elisha saw. In this prayer, Elisha was not referring to physical
sight. The servant had that, for he could see the army, but he had no spiritual
sight to see the Lord's protection. Now there are many people who have perfect
vision in the natural eyes, but they are blind spiritually, just as this young
servant of Elisha. Only the Lord can give men spiritual eyes to see their lost
and ruined condition. Only the Lord can show men the holy wrath of God against
their sin. Only the Lord can reveal the glory of a beaten, scourged, and
crucified Christ. Only the Lord can give men a revelation of the exalted, risen,
Christ, ruling the universe and providing for, protecting, and caring for His
redeemed. Without this revelation, no man will come to Christ in saving faith.
Have your eyes been opened to see the glorious person and work of the blessed
Son of God? The young servant of Elisha could not see the mountains full of
horses and chariots of fire around Elisha until the Lord opened his eyes.
Neither can the sinner see the glory of Christ until the Lord opens his blind
eyes. "Lord, I pray Thee, open their eyes, that they may see."

John Milton's Example John Milton (1608-1674) became totally blind at the age of
43, but he did not give up. During his childhood and early years he absorbed a
vast knowledge and remembrance of the Scriptures. To this he added mastery of
the Latin and Greek classics which he studied in their original languages. At
the age of 47, while immersed in total darkness, he began writing his monumental
epic, Paradise Lost, which he completed in 10 years, and which to this day is
generally regarded as the most sublime and the greatest non-dramatic poem in the
English language. As a writer, he ranks second only to Shakespeare. The Holy
Scriptures lifted him out of his perpetual darkness and thereby God "amply
furnished my mind and conscience with eyes," as he stated to his friend,
Philara, in Athens. He exulted in the Lord; his spirit was alive with unction
from above: "While God so tenderly provides for me," he said, "while He so
graciously leads me by the hand and conducts me on the way, I will, since it is
His pleasure, rather rejoice than repine at being blind."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 116: STEWARDSHIP
========================================================================

Stewardship Where Is the Time? Fred sat in his car, glaring angrily at the red
traffic light-one minute, two minutes, three minutes! You would think for those
little side roads they would have only a one-minute green light. There, only two
cars went through all the time that he and the other motorists on the main road
were waiting! How frustrating! Those lights always seem to turn red just as you
drive up. Behind Fred, in another car, sits Tom. But he does not mind the light
a bit. It just gives him a chance to learn another Bible verse. He has a new one
in a little stand on the dashboard, and he is saying it over and over. By the
time the light changes, he will have another verse to use in witnessing! It is
estimated that the average motorist spends 26 hours a year waiting for traffic
signals to change. And if Fred and Tom are average motorists, then Fred will
spend 26 hours a year running his blood pressure up in angry frustration, and
Tom will spend 26 hours a year memorizing God's Word so he will be a better
servant of Jesus Christ.

It Is Finished Apart from our Lord, it is hard to think of historical figures
whose dying words were, "It is accomplished!" Alexander the Great conquered
Persia, but broke down and wept because his troops were too exhausted to push on
to India. Hugo Grotius, the father of modern international law, said at the
last, "I have accomplished nothing worthwhile in my life." John Quincy Adams,
sixth President of the United States-not a Lincoln, perhaps, but a decent
leader-wrote in his diary: "My life has been spent in vain and idle aspirations,
and in ceaseless rejected prayers that something would be the result of my
existence beneficial to my species." Robert Louis Stevenson wrote words that
continue to delight and enrich our lives, and yet what did he pen for his
epitaph? "Here lies one who meant well, who tried a little, and failed much."
Cecil Rhodes opened up Africa and established an empire, but what were his dying
words? "So little done, so much to do."

Wealth of Time If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with
$86,400, that carried over no balance from day to day, and allowed you to keep
no cash in your account, and every evening canceled whatever part of the amount
you had failed to use during the day, what would you do? Draw out every cent, of
course. Well, you have such a bank, and its name is "Time." Every morning it
credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off, as lost, whatever of
this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balances. It
allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account with you. Each night it
burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is
yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow. You must
live in the present-on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the
utmost in health, happiness and success! Only one life 'Twill soon be past, Only
what is done for the Lord Will last!

Tossed Salad One day as a mother was scraping and peeling vegetables for a
salad, her daughter came to ask her permission to go to an amusement center that
had a bad reputation. On the defensive, the daughter admitted it was a
questionable place, but "all the other girls were going." As the teenage
daughter pleaded to go, she suddenly saw her mother pick up a handful of
discarded vegetable peelings and toss them into the salad. Startled, she cried,
"Mother, you are putting garbage into the salad." "Yes," her mother replied, "I
know'but I thought that if you did not mind garbage in your mind and heart, you
certainly would not mind a little garbage in your stomach. Thoughtfully, the
girl removed the offending material from the salad, and with a brief, "Thank
You" to her mother she went to tell her friends that she would not be going with
them. If you have spiritual indigestion and a poor testimony, maybe it is
because you have tossed too much garbage in the salad.

Only One Life With a shining quarter, a tiny little boy went into a candy store.
With the utmost seriousness, studying each assortment with deep thoughtfulness,
he wandered from case to case. Tired of waiting, his mother called, "Hurry, son,
spend your quarter. We must be going." The child replied, "But Mama, I have got
to spend it carefully; I only have one." You, too, have only one life. How are
you spending it?

Buried Talents Talent is a strange word; it means a coin or one's capability or
a gift. So when we are given children and we neglect to tell them the stories of
faith, we are burying our talents. When we are given friends and we neglect to
significantly touch their lives, we are burying our talents. And when we are
given a song to sing and we sing it not, we are burying our talents. Whatever
talent means-whatever it is we are burying-our money, our faith, our love or a
song, the meaning of the story is clear: burying talents means not using God's
gifts. Who Is Robbed in Unfaithfulness? An interesting fable is told of a rich
man who wanted to help a poor man. The rich man hired the poor man to build a
house on the hillside and went away on a long journey. The carpenter said to
himself, "My boss is away and I can use cheap materials for the parts of the
house which will not show. The house will be weak and undesirable but nobody
will know except me." But when the rich man returned he said, "The house is not
for me: it is for you!" The carpenter accepted the key in astonishment. Instead
of a first class home he now had a fourth-class home. God gives us a job, a life
to build. We have to live in the house we build. If we do a shoddy job, we cheat
one person-ourself. On Being Honest Many stories are told of Paul Gerhardt whose
hymns are still sung in Germany. John Wesley translated some of them into
English. Gerhardt's family was very poor. He was the shepherd boy who cared for
the small flock of sheep and goats on the edge of the forest. One day a hunter
came out from among the trees and asked the lad how far it was to the nearest
village. "Six miles, sire," he replied, "but the road is only a sheep track and
can easily be missed." "I have lost my way, and I am very tired," returned the
hunter. "Leave your sheep and show me the way. I will pay you well." "No, sire,"
said Gerhardt. "I cannot do that for they would stray into the forest and be
stolen or eaten by the wolves." "Never mind; your master would never miss one or
two, and I would pay you more than the price of one or two sheep. "But sire, my
master trusts me with these sheep, and I have promised not to leave them."
"Well," said the hunter, "let me take care of the sheep while you fetch me food
from the village and a guide." "The sheep do not know your voice and would not
obey you, sir." "Can you not trust me? Do I not look like an honest man?" asked
the hunter with a frown. "Sir," said the boy slowly, "You tried to make me false
to my trust, and break my word to my master. How do I know that you will keep
your word to me?" The hunter could not help laughing. "I see you are an honest
lad, and I will not forget you," said the hunter. "Which is the path? I must
find my way for myself." But Gerhardt would not let the man depart hungry, so he
gave him the humble contents of his scrip. Just at that moment several men came
hurrying through the forest uttering shouts of delight as they caught sight of
the two of them. Gerhardt had been talking to the Grand Duke, and these were his
attendants who had been much alarmed at his disappearance. This was the
beginning of Gerhardt's future career of honor and success. Pleased with the
lad's honesty, the Duke had him well educated and thus gave him a good state in
life. Yes, God wants us to be honest in His sight, and to our fellowman. You
will find throughout your life that it pays to be honest.

Mothball Christians I once read that the United States Navy has 768 ships which
comprise what they call the "mothball navy." These ships are anchored in various
harbors around the country. They receive regular maintenance, being repainted
periodically and receiving frequent electrical impulses to retard the process of
rust and corrosion. Moisture content of the air in their inner compartments is
kept at a proper level with giant humidifiers. While these ships can be readied
for combat on very short notice, at the present time they just sit there doing
absolutely nothing. The only purpose they presently serve is to provide jobs for
those who provide the upkeep. It set me thinking about "mothball Christians."
How many do you suppose comprise that fleet? They are being preserved somewhat
through the ministry of concerned friends. They consume incredible amounts of
time and energy in local churches. Periodically someone must go after them and
try to reactivate them. Their talents and abilities are not being used for
anything constructive. They are on the church roll and perhaps feel snugly
harbored because of it. They receive a lot of attention and loving concern, but
never give anything in return. They are served, not serving. I can see a
legitimate reason for maintaining our "mothball navy." National security is at
stake. But there is no excuse for believers to remain inactive. The energy and
manpower needed to win the world is sidetracked-used up on those who should be
involved in helping reach the world. Every Christian is responsible for using
his God-given abilities for the salvation of the world. No Time for Time-Outs In
football when the team faces a tough decision, the coach often calls for a
time-out. In basketball when the press is on, the captain can call for a
time-out. In soccer when the team is bushed, they can gain a few minutes respite
with a time-out. But life does not work that way. There is no way that we can
stop the clock to think about our problems. We cannot save, store, or stretch
time. We may use or we may abuse time, but the clock keeps on
ticking-inexorably. We can only plan how to spend the time given to us.

What Kind of Nail Are You? Here is a parable of a nail that teaches a great
lesson: A new place of worship had just been completed. People came from near
and far to see it. They admired the beauty of its windows, the walls, the carpet
on the floors. Preachers were carried away with the handsome pulpit Bible. On
the roof a little two-penny nail held down a shingle. This little nail heard the
people praise everything else, but none mentioned the shingle nail or seemed to
be conscious of its existence. The little nail became very angry and said, "If I
am that insignificant, nobody will miss me if I quit.'So, the little nail pulled
out, raced down the steep roof and fell on the soft ground below. That night a
big rain came and the shingle nail was buried in the mud. The difference between
being buried in the mud and holding down the shingle is this: before the nail
was obscure but useful. Furthermore, it was protected under the shingle. Now it
will soon be eaten up by rust. The worst of the story is yet to come. The
shingle that the nail held down was now loose, and without the cooperation from
the nail, it blew away, leaving a hole in the roof. The same big rain that
buried the nail leaked in through the vacant spot where the shingle was, running
into the beautiful auditorium. The water ran down the walls, leaving them all
marred. It leaked upon the Bible and stained its pages. It leaked upon the
carpet and the beautiful rug was stained. All because one little nail failed to
do its job. Paul says in Romans 12:4-5 that we are "many members in one body,
and all members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body
in Christ, and individually members of one another" (NAS). We have a world to
win to the Savior and each of us has a responsibility to that task. What kind of
nail are you? One that does his part and is essential to the glory of the Lord
or one that fails to do what he is capable of and has the ability to do? Every
nail is important and essential.

Wise Investment Baylor University is a thriving institution in Beaumont, Texas.
The Christian who gave the money for building that school later lost all his
property. Men of the world asked him, "Don't you wish you had the money back
that you put into that school?" He replied, "Not at all. It is all that I have
saved. If I had kept that money, I would have lost it too. I am thankful that I
gave that building when I did." The world may judge us by what we do with the
property God has placed in our keeping. Nevertheless, we should only be
concerned with God's estimation of our stewardship of His gifts.

Christians as Stewards What the Treasury Department requires in financial
matters, the Word of God requires in spiritual matters. The apostle Paul tells
us that Christians must regard themselves as "stewards of the mysteries of God"
(1 Corinthians 4:1). We are not originators of these mysteries, we are simply
the recipients of them, holding them in trust under God. Paul wants to remind us
by this expression that we are accountable. He has just finished speaking of
that day when the work of each one will be made manifest. Just imagine how
careless a treasurer might be if he knew that he would never have to give an
accounting of the funds entrusted to him. As Christians we are to live
constantly in view of the day of accounting that is coming. We will have to give
an accounting for everything God has given us.

Only Today Is Ours John Bate said, "Today is given us by Him to whom belong
days. We have the power to use it as we please; we compass our salvation or our
damnation within it; we can travel twenty-four hours of time nearer to heaven or
to hell. We are responsible for its proper use. How important that we do the
proper work of today in the sphere of today. That man is blessed who, at the
close of his day, can look upon his finished work and anticipate tomorrow as
bringing nothing but the things which legitimately belong to it. Today God
speaks to us in His Word that we harden not our hearts. Today is the day of
salvation. All duties, all privileges, all trials, all joys, all sorrows; in one
word, everything we have, we have today. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not,
only today is ours, and only in today do we hold all our possessions."

Purpose of Stewardship Would you call the farmer faithful who didn't care enough
to cultivate, weed, and spray his fields after the seed was planted? He should
change his methods if he's not getting an adequate yield of produce. The purpose
of farming is to raise a good crop, and the purpose of stewardship is to
multiply the investment entrusted to a manager by his employer. Christian
stewardship entails the responsibility of investing whatever time, talents, and
possessions God has given us to yield the best returns to Him.

Spiritual Gems Must Be Sought On a visit to Sri Lanka I saw divers go down to
the ocean floor and scoop up mud to find the precious stones hidden there. These
gems can not be found on the beach but down in the ocean bed. All the secrets of
God in nature have been wrested from Him by patient, painstaking investigation
on the part of men.

Stewardship Training When I was living in Khartoum, Sudan, a kind man named
Stelios Costantinidies used to test me in a very interesting way. I will never
forget it for it made a man of me. He would give me sufficient money and a
little over to buy a small treat, and then wait to see whether I would return
the change. He never asked how much the soda or ice cream cone cost-just how
much I had spent. I had to be truthful, so I took the money out and gave him the
right change. If you don't think this is a good test of character, try it on
your own children.




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  CHAPTER 117: TEMPTATION
========================================================================

Temptation The Enemy's Ground Is Not Good Testing Ground At an evangelistic
meeting someone was converted. The next day one who was at the meeting saw the
newly converted man put his hand into a chicken coop. "Say," called the older
Christian, "I thought you were converted last night." Of course, it was evident
that he was about to steal a chicken. His answer was, "I was converted sir,
certainly I am, but I am just trying out the strength of my resolution." The
wise reply of the older Christian was, "It is safer to fight Satan on your own
ground than on his."

Seat Belts Save Lives Temptation is a pretty common experience-and our batting
average for resisting it is not always impressive. Our experiences are a lot
like the seat belts on cars a few years ago. If we did not fasten them, that
infernal buzzer kept annoying us. We knew that the seat belts were not made to
hurt us or unnecessarily restrict us. They were there to keep us safe, and the
buzzer was our friend. But instead of doing what we knew was probably best for
us, we would stick the belts behind us, fasten them and thus shut off the buzzer
that was reminding us to do the safe thing. We Christians know deep down inside
what is right. We even know that the right thing is the best thing for us. And
God coaches us from the inside with His "buzzer," the Holy Spirit, to help us
resist temptation. But we often choose to ignore the buzzer and look for a way
to shut it off. We ignore God's signal and follow our own, even though
experience shows us that things get messed up when we do not listen to Him. We
need to understand a little more about how Satan uses temptation and how we can
win the battle. An understanding of the kinds of strategies Satan uses to defeat
us can help us overcome temptation.




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  CHAPTER 118: TESTS AND TRIALS
========================================================================

Tests and Trials

Shaped for Glory During the Great Depression, a good man lost his job, exhausted
his savings and forfeited his home. His grief was multiplied by the sudden death
of his precious wife. The only thing he had left was his faith-and it was
weakening. One day he was combing the neighborhood looking for work. He stopped
to watch some men who were doing the stonework on a church building. One of
these men was skillfully chiseling a triangular piece of rock. Not seeing a spot
where it would fit, he asked, "Where are you going to put that?" The man pointed
toward the top of the building and said, "See that little opening up near the
spire? That is where it goes. I am shaping it down here so it will fit in up
there." Some of you are going through terrible troublesome times. You may be
experiencing some heartbreaking sorrow. Or perhaps you are enduring some painful
physical illness. Or it may be something else-maybe even too excruciating to
talk to anyone about. The blows of the hammer and chisel hurt. But hold on to
your faith. These difficulties will not get you down. They are only temporary.
Glory is coming. It is the harsh blows to the outward man that often bring the
greatest strength to the inner man. Keep praying. Keep believing. The Master has
to do some shaping of us down here so we will fit in up there. The Great Divide
of Life High in the Canadian Rockies is a rushing stream called Divide Creek. At
one point in its course, the waters reach a large boulder. The water which
travels to the left of the boulder rushes down into the Kicking Horse River and
finally into the Pacific Ocean. The water which travels to the right of the
large rock makes it down into the Bow River which empties into two more rivers
and then into the Atlantic Ocean. Once the water divides at that boulder, its
ultimate destiny is decided. Downstream from that great rock the course cannot
be altered. The left side goes to the Pacific and the right side goes to the
Atlantic. Every person meets his divide point. It comes when one decides to
accept Christ or to reject Him. This Great Divide determines one's eternal
destination and whether that one can have abundant life here on earth. "He who
believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see
life, but the wrath of God rests upon him" (John 3:36 RSV). The Flood Releases
the Fruit Do you know how cranberries are harvested? When the fruit is ripe, the
cranberry bog is flooded with water. As the water covers the bush, the ruby red
berries separate from the bush and float to the surface where they are gathered
and distributed to cranberry lovers around the country. When the flood waters of
trouble and trials sweep over your soul, what is the result? Is fruit "meet for
the Master's use" released to bless and meet the needs of the hungry world
around you?

Precious Lord, Take My Hand Thomas Andrew Dorsey was a black jazz musician from
Atlanta. In the twenties he gained a certain amount of notoriety as the composer
of jazz tunes with suggestive lyrics, but he gave all that up in 1926 to
concentrate exclusively on spiritual music. "Peace in the Valley" is one of his
best known songs, but there is a story behind his most famous song that deserves
to be told. In 1932 the times were hard for Dorsey. Just trying to survive the
depression years as a working musician meant tough sledding. On top of that, his
music was not accepted by many people. Some said it was much too worldly-the
devil's music, they called it. Many years later Dorsey could laugh about it. He
said, "I got kicked out of some of the best churches in the land." But the real
kick in the teeth came one night in St. Louis when he received a telegram
informing him that his pregnant wife had died suddenly. Dorsey was so filled
with grief that his faith was shaken to the roots, but instead of wallowing in
self-pity, he turned to the discipline he knew best-music. In the midst of agony
he wrote the following lyrics: Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me
stand. I am tired, I am weak, I am worn. Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light; Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home. If you live
long enough, you will experience heartache, disappointment, and sheer
helplessness. The Lord is our most precious resource in those hours of trauma.
"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble
(Psalms 9:9). Tom Dorsey understood that. His song was originally written as a
way of coping with his personal pain, but even today it continues to bless
thousands of others when they pass through times of hardship.

Songs Out of Sorrow A piece of wood once bitterly complained because it was
being cut and filled with rifts and holes. But he who held the wood and whose
knife was cutting into it so remorselessly, did not listen to the sore
complaining. He was making a flute out of the wood he held, and was too wise to
desist for such an entreaty. Instead, the flute carver said, "Oh, thou foolish
piece of wood, without these rifts and holes thou wouldst be only a mere stick
forever-a bit of hard black ebony with no power to make music or to be of any
use. These rifts that I am making will change thee into a flute, and thy sweet
music then shall charm the souls of men. My cutting is the making of thee, for
then thou shalt be precious and valuable and a blessing to the world." David
could never have sung his sweetest songs had he not been sorely afflicted. His
afflictions made his life an instrument on which God could breathe the music of
His love to charm and soothe the hearts of men by such an entreaty through the
ages.

Tunneling Through Obstacles Nothing can stand in the way of a determined soul
that obeys God. Helen Keller, deaf, dumb, and blind, joyously welcomed those who
tunneled into her imprisoned soul by means of the single nerve of sensation in
the palm of her hand, allowing her to conquer vast fields of knowledge. At 14
years of age, she received $250 for a magazine article. How this ought to shame
some of us who lie down lazily in front of obstacles, which a little pluck and
self-denying exertion would carve into a stairway for higher achievement. The
Value of Afflictions There is a legend about a grandfather clock that stood in a
corner for three generations, faithfully ticking off the minutes, hours and
days-its means of operation was a heavy weight suspended by a double chain. One
of its new owners, believing that an old clock should not bear such a load,
released the weight. Immediately the ticking stopped. According to the legend,
the clock asked, "Why did you do that?" The owner replied, "I wanted to lighten
your burden." "Please put my weight back," replied the clock. "That is what
keeps me going."

Genuine Faith Joel C. Gregory writes: "The testing we go through demonstrates
the genuineness of our faith. In the phrase 'the testing of your faith,'the word
'testing'is an almost untranslatable word. The Williams version explains it as
showing what is "genuine in your faith." The idea refers to iron ore that has
gone through the refining fire and comes out the other side clean and pure and
genuine. This is the word Job used when he said, 'When he has tried me in the
fire, I will come out like gold.' "Actually, there may be something suspect
about a faith that has never been tested. An army going through basic training
is not ready for battle. Not until soldiers have faced the battle and been under
fire, do they consider themselves proven, hardened, worthy. A ship cannot prove
that it's been sturdily built as long as it stays in dry dock. Its hull must get
wet; it must face a storm to demonstrate genuine seaworthiness. The same is true
of our faith. When we hold fast to belief in Christ in spite of life's storms
and crushing criticism, that's when we demonstrate the genuineness of our
faith." This Thing Is from Me "How can a God of love, who has everything in His
control, let such a thing happen to me?" So asked a young woman who had received
severe injuries through a fall from a horse. "Crippled for life," she overheard
the doctor say. The pastor was silent for a moment. "Did you suffer much pain
when they put you in the cast?" "The pain was terrible," she replied. "Where was
your father then?" "He stood right by me," she replied. "Did your father allow
the doctor to hurt you that way?" "Yes, but that was necessary." "Did your
father allow the doctor to hurt you even though he loved you, or because he
loved you?" "You mean to suggest that because God loves me, He also allowed me
to be hurt?" The pastor answered with a nod. "'This thing is from Me.'Let these
five words comfort you. They will furnish a silver lining to the cloud. Yours is
not a case of 'hard luck.'This trial was planned by God." If you are His child,
He is preparing you for better service. Shakespeare said: "In sickness, let me
not so much say, 'Am I getting better of my pain; but am I getting better for
it.'" Let us not say, "When will I be getting out of this?" but, "What will I be
getting out of this?" He will draw you closer to Him through this trial.

Praise for Pressure A young man was fascinated by a moth and performed a little
experiment to see what would happen when it was released from its cocoon without
a struggle. Using his pocketknife, he slit the enclosure, allowing the insect to
emerge freely. However, it had none of the expected color, it could not fly, and
it soon died. As he thought about this, he concluded that the pressure exerted
on an emerging moth is essential to its proper development-yes, to its very
existence. He later learned that through the moth's struggle to free itself, its
body fluids are stimulated, and the luster is developed on its wings. So too for
the Christian, life's pressures can produce positive results.

Borrowed Burdens A man found himself staggering alone under a load that was
heavy enough to crush half a dozen strong men. Out of sheer exhaustion, he put
it down and had a good look at it. He found that it was all borrowed! Part of it
belonged to the following day; part of it belonged to the following week; and
here he was borrowing it that it might crush him now! It was a very stupid but a
very ancient (and also modern) blunder. The Value of Adversity If Abraham
Lincoln was a young man today, the traveling library would supply him with
books; a county caseworker would see that he had enough light to read by; the
government would see that his parents got a monthly welfare check, housing
assistance and food stamps. Abe could apply for an educational loan and some
social service clubs would see that he went to camp each summer. End result:
There would be no Abe Lincoln such as the one we remember and love who overcame
poverty and adversity to become one of the greatest Presidents of all time. No
Cross, No Crown A grapevine says, in the early spring, "How glad I am to get
through the winter! I shall have no more trouble now! Summer weather will come,
and the garden will be very beautiful!" But the gardener comes, and cuts the
vine here and there with his knife. The twigs begin to fall, and the grapevine
calls out, "Murder! What are you cutting me for?" "Ah," says the gardener, "I do
not mean to kill you. If I did not do this, you would be the laughingstock of
all the other vines before the season is over." Months go on and one day the
gardener comes under the trellis, where the great clusters of grapes hang, and
the grapevine says, "Thank you, sire, you could not have done anything so kind
as to cut me with that knife." No pruning, no grapes; no grinding mill, no
flour; no battle, no victory; no cross, no crown.

Unchangeable Truth Do not let your troubles get you down. Genghis Khan, the 13th
century Mongol conqueror, asked his philosophers to come up with a truth that
would always be unchangeable. Thinking about it for awhile, they came to their
leaders with this quote: "It too shall pass." This reminds me of a dear black
lady who was asked by her pastor what her favorite verse of Scripture was and
she said: "And it came to pass." God in His mercy never gives us more than we
can bear.

I Shall Meet Tomorrow Bravely I shall meet tomorrow bravely, I am stronger now,
The disappointments that befell me Strengthened me somehow. The dawn shall find
my face uplifted, Serene, in the sun, And with Him my problems sifted, One by
one.

Testing A blacksmith known for his strong faith, had a great deal of illness. He
was challenged by an unbeliever to explain why his God would let him suffer. He
explained, "I take a piece of iron, put it into the fire to bring it to a white
heat, then I strike it once or twice to see if it will take temper. I plunge it
into water to change the temperature, put it into the fire again, then I put it
on the anvil and make a useful article out of it. "If it will not take temper
when I first strike it on the anvil, I throw it into the scrap heap and sell it
for a half-penny per pound. I believe God has been testing me to see if I will
take temper. I have tried to bear it as patiently as I could, and my daily
prayer has been, 'Lord, put me into the fire if you will; put me into the water
if you think I need it; do anything you please, O Lord, only do not throw me on
the scrap heap.'"

Toughened by Storms When solid timber is needed, we pass by the things grown in
the hot house. We seek the oak grown on the storm swept hills. The great in
God's Kingdom have been taught by the hills and vales of temptation. Yielding
creates littleness, overcoming creates greatness. The Example of the Pine One
day a boy and his father went into the mountains. They took shelter from a storm
in the lee of some great gray boulders that lay like sleeping giants close to
the crest of a lonely ridge. As the two looked upward, they saw the wind lay its
grim hands on a mountain pine that towered from the summit of the ridge. It was
a sentinel that could escape no danger, an outpost to receive the first shock of
the enemy's attack. Savagely the wind tore at it, shook it violently, and howled
through the branches. To the boy, the tree, strong though it was, seemed about
to be torn to pieces. "Look, Father!" he said, pining upward, "what the wind is
doing to that pine!" The full fury of the blast just then made the pine shudder
and sway. It heaved desperately against the black sky. "Storms are an old story
to that tree," said the father. "A tree like that lives in a struggle from the
time it is high enough to catch the first breath of air. Tennyson says a tree is
'storm-strengthened on a windy site.'The strongest trees are always those that
have weathered the greatest number of gales. Besides, the question is not what
is happening to the tree, but what is happening in the tree." "The pine does not
really seem to mind fighting the storm, does it?" the boy asked. "No, because it
is able to withstand the strongest wind," the father answered. "It is the same
with us. It really does not matter what happens to us, but it matters a great
deal what happens in us."

Joy in Times of Trial James in his customary forthright way tells us to "Count
it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the
testing of your faith produces steadfastness" (James 1:2-3). In case we are
inclined to modify these words as the utopian command of one who had not really
experienced sorrow, let us remember that James was one of the principal leaders
of the Christians in Jerusalem who continually faced persecution from those
outside the Church (culminating in his own martyrdom in his sixties), as well as
internal dissension associated with a Judaizing element. James surely knew what
it meant to "meet various trials!" But James had also learned that difficulties
can produce steadfastness or patience, though the natural reaction is annoyance
or bitterness. He never tells us to pretend that a trial is nonexistent. Instead
he wants us to recognize and rejoice that any problem can be the occasion for
God to work in and through us in a way that He otherwise would not. This is
indeed a "testing of our faith"; it calls upon us to believe in the goodness of
God, and to trust that He is not only willing but able to accomplish His
purposes, no matter what befalls us. Any difficulty, whether great or small, is
an occasion for joy, but only when we remind ourselves of the nature of the God
who loves us and wills only the best for us.

Greatness of a Different Form What do you do when faced by a closed door in
life? A young boy from Missouri named Harry had to answer that question. He gave
evidence of brilliance on the piano even as a child. In addition to being
gifted, Harry had such discipli ne that at the age of seven he was at the
keyboard by five each morning. He practiced faithfully for hours each day. Under
the tutelage of Mrs. E. C. White, he produced each day stronger hope that he
would eventually reach greatness. When Harry was 15, Mrs. White brought news to
her star pupil. Paderewski, the greatest pianist of the day was coming to town.
The young boy was thrilled as he listened to Paderewski play. Mrs. White took
her pupil backstage after the concert to meet Paderewski. With trembling voice,
the young boy told the world-renowned pianist that he played his minuet. "There
is a part of it," young Harry explained, "that I do not know how to execute."
Paderewski walked back with the boy to the empty stage and to the piano. The boy
sat at the same piano where Paderewski had played only a few minutes before. As
the student played, Paderewski gave a smile of approval to the boy's teacher. A
bright future seemed to loom before him. Then ensued the closed door. The next
year Harry's father lost everything in the Kansas City grain market. Harry had
to go to work, and his dreams of the concert stage were shattered. Did the boy
give up on life? Did he let this closed door stop him? Not at all, for this
young, gifted, promising pianist would become world famous before his life was
over, as President of the United States. His name was Harry S. Truman. Does
Anything Ever Turn Out Right? Picture with me, if you will, a man running
through the wilderness being chased by a lion. He knows that if he is fast
enough and dodges through enough thickets, that he could possibly elude the
lion. Luckily, he does manage to elude the lion, only to be confronted by a
bear. Again, he runs with all his speed and strength, realizing now that his
only hope is to reach the safety of his house. Once again, he is successful and
manages to elude the beast by reaching his house. He runs inside, slamming the
door behind him and feeling pretty good about having overcome the obstacles of
life. But, as he leans against the wall with his hand to catch his breath, he is
bitten by a snake. This was an actual illustration that God used in Amos 5:19 to
show Israel the hopelessness of their situation. We all have days and weeks like
that, do we not? But are we like the woman who said that she had quit praying
for patience because God might give her more? But God, being the wise and
all-knowing Father that He is, will often give us what we need to grow healthy
and spiritually strong, even though we do not ask for it-though He would like to
hear us ask now and then. Children almost never ask for a bath, but we give it
to them anyway, because we know that it will help them.

Beautiful Music Out of Deep Tragedy He wrote some of the most beautiful music in
the history of humanity. Yet his life could not be called beautiful; it was full
of tragedy. By the age of ten, both parents had died. He was raised begrudgingly
by an older brother who resented another mouth to feed. Even as an adult, his
life was difficult. His first wife died after 13 years of marriage. Of 20
children from two marriages, ten died in infancy, one died in his twenties, and
one was mentally retarded. Eventually he went blind and then was paralyzed from
a stroke. Yet he wrote great music-music of profound praise, thunderous
thanksgiving, and awe-filling adoration. Who is this victim of so much tragedy?
Johann Sebastian Bach-a Lutheran and perhaps the world's greatest composer of
church music. Perhaps it was because Bach knew the depths of tragedy that he
also knew the heights of faith and praise. So when we seem to be in the depths
of despair, look up, for the Lord is going to bless us and others. The Sand in
Our Shoe A man who had hitchhiked from coast to coast and had walked many miles
in the process was asked what he had found the most difficult to endure. To the
surprise of his questioner it was not the steep mountains or the dazzling sun or
the scorching desert heat that had troubled him, but, in the words of the
traveler, "it was the sand in my shoe." Frequently the little things in life
make the practice of the Christian faith most difficult. Somehow the great
trials of life-moments of crisis, of serious illness, of death and
bereavement-have a way of raising us and bringing us closer to the only source
of spiritual strength, our Savior, Jesus Christ. But those smaller trials, how
they plague us! How they succeed again and again in causing us to fail and
stumble. Those little irritations in the home, those endless vexations at the
shop or office, those little rubs with the neighbors, those petty quarrels at
church-those are the "sand in our shoe," which wear our Christianity thin.

Win Where You Are "Did you ever notice," asked an old lady, as she smiled into
the troubled face before her, "that when the Lord told the discouraged fishermen
to cast their nets again, it was right in that same old place where they had
been working all night and had caught nothing? If we could only go off to some
new place every time we get discouraged, trying again would be an easier thing.
If we could be somebody else, or go somewhere else, or do something else, it
might not be hard to have fresh faith and courage. But it is the same old net in
the same old pond for most of us. The old temptations are to be overcome, the
old faults to be conquered, and the old trials and discouragements which we
failed yesterday must be faced again today. We must win success where we are if
we are to win it at all. It is the Master Himself who, after all these toilsome,
disheartening efforts that we call failures, bids us, 'Try again.' "

Trials Help Development One day a small boy saw a butterfly struggling to emerge
from its cocoon. It was straining with all its might to get out of the opening
which was too small. Thinking he was helping the butterfly, the boy took his
knife and slit the cocoon. But to his dismay the butterfly emerged with small
and shriveled wings and was unable to fly. Within a short time it was dead. When
the boy asked his father about it, his father explained that the butterfly
needed the struggle to get out of the cocoon, for this was the process that
developed its wings and made them strong enough for flight. In trying to help by
relieving the butterfly of its painful struggle, he had actually deprived it of
that which was necessary for its development and its very life. This same
principle carries over into all of human life-the struggles and the trials we
face actually serve for our development, not only in the physical realm but also
in the moral and spiritual.

Patience by Tribulation A certain lady prayed a great deal for patience. She
complained to another Christian that while she prayed for patience, all she
seemed to get was trouble. "The Lord is sending you trouble in order to produce
patience in you," was the reply. How many times have you prayed for patience,
and the Lord sent along your way a child that was naughty, a boss who was
demanding, a husband or wife who was exasperating to live with? It was all an
answer to your prayer for patience so that you may have the opportunity to
exercise and practice it. Accept it from the hand of God, for that is part of
your training.

Music in the Storm Legend has it that a German baron made a great Aeolian harp
by stretching wires from tower to tower of his castle. When the harp was ready,
he eagerly listened for the music. But it was the calm of summer, and in the
still air the wires hung silent. Autumn came with its gentle breezes, and there
were faint whispers of song. At length the winter winds swept over the castle,
and now the harp answered in majestic music. This is a very good illustration of
what our Lord meant when He said, "Blessed are the mourners." Their blessedness
is more apparent at times when adversity and sorrow strike. If as a Christian
you can laugh and be jovial when everything goes well, the world will think
nothing of it. But they will be deeply impressed if you can sing in the time of
storm. This is why the Lord associates blessedness with mourning and sorrow in
this life.

How to Use Suffering An unbeliever once read the story of the crucifixion of the
Lord Jesus Christ. As he pondered it, he gave vent to the following expression:
"There is a Man who not only suffered, but who knew how to use His suffering."
This is the aim of patience. Let her have a perfect work, James 1:4 says. What
does he really mean by that? The word translated "work" here is the Greek ergon
which indicates that endurance should be active, not passive. James wants to
correct a great misapprehension about the word hupomone, "patience." We have
seen that this word "patience" actually means "to bear under." It gives the
picture of someone who is under a terrific load. James is saying that as you are
bearing that terrific load, don't remain stationary; move about, exercise your
energy. There should be no passive endurance in the Christian life. The
Christian should be aggressive, and in spite of the burdens of life he is
carrying, he should move forward to the goal that is set before him.

Afflicted Hearts Some of the greatest benefits to mankind have had their source
in men who have experienced great affliction. The German poet Goethe said, "I
never experienced affliction that did not turn into a poem." The music that
gives man a taste of heaven has often come from afflicted hearts.

Jesus-The Refiner Some years ago in Dublin, a company of women met to study the
Bible. One of them was puzzled by the words of Malachi 3:3, "And he shall sit as
a refiner and purifier of silver." After some discussion, a committee was
appointed to call on a silversmith and learn what they could on the subject. The
silversmith readily showed them the process. "But, sir," said one, "do you sit
while the refining is going on?" "Oh, yes, indeed" he said. "I must sit with my
eyes steadily fixed on the surface, for if the time necessary for refining is
exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver is sure to be damaged." At once
they saw the beauty and comfort of the Scripture passage. As they were leaving,
the silversmith called after them, "Oh, one thing more! I only know when the
process is complete by seeing my own image reflected on the silver." That is
what the Lord Jesus wants to see in you and me as He refines us by fire-His
blessed image. And it will be reflected to others, too.

Burdens Bring Blessings An ant was seen carrying a long piece of straw. Finally
it came to a crack in the rock which was like a precipice to the tiny creature.
After attempting to take its burden across in several ways, the ant went to one
end of the straw and pushed it in front of him over the crack till it reached to
the other side, crossed over on the straw, and then pulled it after him. There
is no burden which you and I carry faithfully and patiently, but will some day
become a bridge to carry us. The God of circumstances will not place a burden
upon us that is heavier than we can bear. Our burdens are only heavy enough to
serve as a bridge to carry us over in such a manner that others may say after we
have gone, "Blessed is he who has endured."

Making You a Blessing A fable tells of a little piece of wood that once
complained bitterly because its owner kept whittling away at it, cutting it and
filling it full of holes. But the one who was cutting it so remorselessly paid
no attention to its complaining. He was making a flute out of that piece of
ebony, and he was too wise to give up because the wood moaned so piteously. His
actions seemed to say, "Little piece of wood, without these holes and all this
cutting, you would be an ugly stick forever-just a useless piece of ebony. What
I am doing now may make you think that I am destroying you when actually I am
changing you into a flute whose sweet music will comfort sorrowing hearts. My
cutting you is the making of you, for only thus can you be a blessing to the
world."

Taste the Sweetness and Escape the Sting It is said that the way the natives in
the East collect honey without being stung by the bees is quite remarkable. They
are not protected by their clothing for they hardly wear any. And yet, although
surrounded by clouds of angry bees, they rarely suffer. The explanation given is
that these natives are quite passive, deliberate in their movements, making no
effort to protect themselves, not attempting to drive the swarm away. If a bee
settles upon them, it does not sting them any more than it would attempt to
sting a piece of wood. The Westerner, on the other hand, is nervous, restless,
combative; he attempts to frighten the bees, is manifestly scared himself, makes
a noise, gesticulates, runs away, and ends by being badly stung. Our troubles in
life compass us about like bees. If we fret and fume, we shall feel the sting
and miss the honey. But if we live in quietness and confidence, we shall taste
the sweetness and escape the sting. Not a Curse but a Blessing Dr. Thomas
Lambie, for many years a medical missionary in Abyssinia, said that while he was
in Africa he learned something very significant from the natives. They often had
to cross bridgeless streams, a difficult procedure because of the danger of
being swept off their feet and carried downstream to great depths or hurled to
death against the hidden rocks. Dr. Lambie learned from the natives the best way
to make such a hazardous crossing. The man about to cross found a large stone,
the heavier the better, lifted it to his shoulder, and carried it across the
stream as ballast. The extra weight of the stone kept his feet solidly on the
bed of the stream so that he could cross safely without being swept away. Thus,
the spiritual man regards the heavy stones, the burdens he has to carry in life,
not as curses as the natural man would tend to interpret them, but as steadying
influences, as God's provisions enabling him to cross safely to the realm
beyond.

Real or Artificial? It is related of the Queen of Sheba that she sent two
wreaths of roses to Solomon, one real and the other artificial. To test his
reputed wisdom she defied him to detect the genuine from the artificial. Solomon
at once directed that some bees be brought into the room. Immediately they flew
to the real flowers and ignored the counterfeit. The real disciples of Christ
are known by the bees that cluster around to sting them. Artificial flowers
don't attract stinging bees. Rejoice, therefore, when you are excommunicated
from the organized world of artificial religion.Learn from the Birds Let us
learn from the birds. What is it that enables them to fly? Wings? Of course, but
not wings alone. It is the resistance of the air that makes flight possible. A
bird flies much as an oarsman rows his boat. As oars are used to push against
the resistance of water, thus sending the craft ahead, the scooped-out shape of
the underside of the bird's wings helps it get a "grip" on the air. The air
resists and the bird pushes against the resistance with the downward stroke of
its wings. By such pushing movements, it succeeds in flying. Throughout life,
progress is made only in the face of opposition. The bird flies through the
resisting medium of air. The brook trout needs the resisting water if he is to
swim. A democracy thrives through a system of opposing political parties and
checks and balances in government. The spirit of a person grows stronger, not as
life becomes easier, but as testings and temptations are met, struggled with,
and beaten into submission.

Move a Great Load Smoothly There is an analogy between our lives and the
different kinds of boats we have today. There is the rowboat, the sailboat, and
the steamboat. All three of them are able to carry loads. The rowboat carries
the least because its motion depends on the strength of those who row. The
sailboat carries a little more for its motion depends on the wind. However,
there is a chance that the wind will toss the boat around quite a bit, and it
will be difficult to reach the goal. The steamboat, however, depends neither on
human strength nor on the winds, but on the power within which will move it to
its destination in spite of the weakness of human strength and the fury of
outside circumstances. This is what Christ desires of us. He desires His
followers to develop the capacity to carry a heavy load in life without
permitting that load to depress them, but rather allowing it to help them to
move smoothly. I do not know if you have ever traveled on a boat which is empty,
which has no cargo. The motion is terribly rough and the seamen dread it. But
when the boat is loaded, it goes along smoothly. That is the goal of trials in
the Christian journey. They help us to get settled on the sea, furious though it
may be, and move smoothly on to our destination.

Joy in Affliction One day I visited the little room where one of the
missionaries of AMG lives in Athens, Greece. This man is an invalid who was
condemned to execution by the Nazis during the occupation of Greece in World War
II. Seven bullets went through his body and he was left for dead, but he escaped
the ordeal alive. Through this experience, and the personal witness of a servant
of Christ, he found Christ as his Savior. After becoming blessed in the Lord
through the new birth, he did not want to keep the good news to himself but was
anxious to share it with others. Although he suffered eighty percent
incapacitation and constant excruciating pain so that he had to remain in bed
most of the time, his great rejoicing in the midst of affliction attracted
attention. A radio announcer came to visit him and told his story over the air
in Athens, inviting suffering people to write to this invalid who knew the
secret of being joyful in the midst of affliction. The same thing happened with
respect to one of the leading newspapers in Athens. As a result, this
consecrated missionary now has a congregation of about nine thousand people all
over the world who write to him asking the secret of his joy. He has written
about thirty-eight thousand letters to individuals thus far as he glories in his
tribulation (Romans 5:3).

Double the Burden Once a porter in Asia, taking his carrying pole, went to meet
a missionary at the train depot. At the station he found that the luggage
consisted of one large, heavy bag instead of several smaller ones which the
missionary usually carried. He couldn't divide that bag into two portions, and
plainly he couldn't carry that heavy bag hanging from one end of his pole. He
looked about until he found a stone about the same weight as the bag, hung that
from one end of the pole, the bag from the other, and walked proudly home with
his double burden! The easier way for him was to carry twice as much. By
carrying the two when he needed only to have carried one, he balanced his
burden. It's easier to carry two bags than one, for they balance. A one-sided
load is a greater strain than a balanced burden that is twice as heavy. A
milkmaid with the old-fashioned yoke always walked more easily and straightly
carrying two full milk pails than under the awkward burden of one. By doubling a
burden you actually make it easier to bear because you have balanced it. We all
have our own burdens, and it often seems as if they are enough to carry. But the
Bible says, "Bear ye one another's burdens." Take on another's as well, and
balance your own. That is the yoke of Christ. The way to carry our own burdens
more easily is to help carry somebody else's burden. Perhaps that's one reason
God gave us two hands-one for our own burdens and one for our neighbor's. "Look
not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others"
(Philippians 2:4).

One Problem at a Time Try this simple experiment. Collect 365 little sticks,
toothpicks, if you wish. Tie them together. Now try to break the bundle with
your hands. No matter how strong you are, it will be a tough job. Make a smaller
bundle, say 30, and it is still too difficult to break. But take just one at a
time and, no matter how weak you are, you'll be able to break each one. You're
exactly the same person who tried to handle all the sticks together, but this
time you changed your way of solving the problem, and it became much easier.
"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (Matthew 6:34). A Lesson From
Suffering A bird had no interest in learning the song its master wanted to teach
it while its cage was full of light. Its master covered the cage to darken it.
He then whistled the same song over and over until the bird learned it by heart.
When it could repeat it note for note, the owner uncovered the cage and the bird
sang it beautifully. This is an illustration of the way God sometimes deals with
us. He darkens the cage of our lives in order to teach us some divine song.

Tested for Strength If steel is to be used in a reliable manner, it must be
tested and proven. So must the servant of Christ. Someone describes his visit to
a steel mill as follows: "All around me were little partitions and compartments.
Steel had been tested to the limit, and marked with figures that showed its
breaking point. Some pieces had been twisted until they broke, and the strength
of torsion was marked on them. Some had been stretched to the breaking point,
and their tensile strength indicated. Some had been compressed to the crushing
point and also marked. The supervisor of the steel mill knew just what these
pieces of steel would stand under the strain. He knew just what they would bear
if placed in a ship, building, or bridge. He knew because the testing room
revealed it." It is often so with us as God's children. God doesn't want us to
be like vases of glass or porcelain. He doesn't want us to be hothouse plants,
but stormbeaten oaks; not sand dunes, driven with every gust of wind, but
granite rocks withstanding the fiercest storms. To make us strong He must bring
us into His testing room of suffering. Better the storm waters with Christ than
the smooth waters without Him.

Those Pesky Insects Henry Ward Beecher wrote: "In the sultry insect-breeding
days of summer, how insects abound! Every tree is a harbor for stinging pests.
Wherever you sit they swarm around and annoy you and destroy your peace and
comfort. By and by there come those vast floods of clouds that bring tornadoes
and are thunder-voiced; up through the valleys and over the hills and mountains
sweep drenching and cleansing rains. When the storm has ceased, the clouds are
gone, and you sit under the dripping tree, not a fly, not a gnat, not a
pestilent insect is to be seen. The winds and rains have driven them all away.
Has it never been so with those ten thousand little pests of pride, vanity,
envying, jealousy, and unlawful desire. For days they have teased and fretted
you and kept you in conflict with conscience, affection, and all the higher
motivations, until God sent you some great searching sorrow, some overwhelming
trouble? In those hours He graciously sustained you and lifted you up towards
Himself, so that, although you suffered unutterable affliction, you felt that it
had cleansed you from jealousies, pride, envies, vanity, the whole swarm of
venomous and stinging insects that beset you." The Fruit of Affliction A man
completely dejected by life's afflictions was walking one day in the botanical
gardens of Oxford when his attention was arrested by a fine pomegranate tree
with a stem which was cut almost through. On asking the gardener the reason, he
received an answer which explained the wounds of his troubled spirit. "Sir,"
said he, "this tree used to shoot so strongly that it bore nothing but leaves. I
was therefore obliged to cut it in this manner, and when it was almost cut
through then it began to bear plenty of fruit."

He Hasn't Made You Yet A happily married woman with two children lost both of
them. They were buried in the same grave, and she went into a deep emotional
collapse. For some years she became as weak and helpless as a little child. She
had to be fed by members of her family who ministered to her. One day as her
aunt, who was a joyful Christian, took her turn at feeding her, this woman who
was unusually despondent that morning said, "Oh, Auntie, you say that God loves
us. You say it, and you keep on saying it. I used to think that way, too, but if
He loves us, why did He make me as I am?" The aunt, after kissing her gently,
said with the wisdom of years, "He hasn't made you yet, child. He's making you
now!" When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all-sufficient,
shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to
consume and thy gold to refine.

Overcoming Difficulties Those who heard Jenny Lind, the sweet singer of
Stockholm, have written of the wonderful quality of her voice and the charm of
the songs she sang. Yet few realize that she owed as much to the school of
suffering and sorrow as to the academy where her powers were developed. Her
childhood was full of sadness. The woman with whom she lived locked her in her
room each day when she went to work; the only means the child found of spending
the long hours was to sit by the window and sing to herself. One day a music
teacher in the city passing by heard the voice of the unseen singer and detected
its possibilities. He called a friend to his side, and together they listened to
the wonderful voice within. They got in touch with the child's guardian and made
arrangements for the almost friendless girl to be given her chance. There were
many difficulties to be overcome, but step by step she mounted the ladder of
fame. She astounded London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and New York. Some say there
never was such a voice, trilling like the thrush, pure as the note of the lark.
But those who knew her best realized how the sorrows of her childhood gave a
richness and depth to her song that otherwise would have been unattainable. She
herself once wrote: In vain I seek for rest In all created good: It leaves me
still unblest, And makes me cry for God. And safe at rest I cannot be Until my
heart finds rest in Thee.

Affliction Unavoidable The lawns which we wish to keep in the best condition we
mow very frequently. But out in the fields there is no such repeated cutting.
The tall unkept grass of the field may be proud that it has never experienced
the power of the mower blades, but the cut grass is more beautiful and more
serviceable. Do we as human beings before God have any more voice in the matter
than the grass in our lawns? There is nothing that the grass can do to hinder
the frequent cutting by the owner. Aren't we as impotent in the hands of God as
the grass is under the mower? Affliction is a fact in life. Let us accept it and
endeavor to find out, not so much why God permits it, as how God wants us to use
it. The Well of Love In Northern Greece we have a beautiful summer camp at the
foot of Mount Olympus. It is right on the shores of the blue Aegean Sea whose
water is very salty. But stand where the water has just receded and dig a few
inches, and the hole will fill up with the most refreshing, sweet water you have
ever tasted. It has come from the mountains and hidden out of sight to be
discovered only by digging. When the sea rolls in and pours its bitter flood
over the little hole, though it covers it with a shroud of brackish waters, the
stream of sweet water still flows. Such should be the stream of love in our
hearts. When the flood of unkindness and wrong pours over us, we may be treated
cruelly by the world. But whatever injustice we may have to endure from others,
the well of love within us should never retain a trace of bitterness but remain
pure and sweet.

Wrought by Fire The Cathedral of Nuremburg contains some rare and exquisite
workings in iron. But was the iron just pinched into shape? How many strokes did
it receive? How many blows did it undergo on the anvil? How was it beaten here
and there? How was it bent forward, and backward, and forward, and backward
again? How was it distorted and contorted? How was it hammered and hammered till
by and by it was covered with little speckles as multitudinous as those in
frost-pictures, and far more permanent? Those speckles were wrought out by
incessant workings in the fire and on the anvil under the hammer. Think also of
the many pieces of iron that failed this trial. Their inner flaws could not
endure, and they were cast aside. Similarly, suffering makes a man or spoils
him. Our Christlikeness is measured by our willingness to suffer with Christ and
for Christ. Since the Body of Christ is the Church, we must be willing to suffer
for the other members of His Body. In this suffering there is an inbuilt joy.
The Hidden Opening There is a place along the Hudson River where, as you sail,
you seem to be entirely hemmed in by hills. The boat drives on toward a rocky
wall, and it seems as if it must either stop or be dashed to pieces. Just as you
come within the shadow of the mountain, an opening is suddenly discovered, and
the boat passes out into one of the grandest bays on the river. So it is with
temptation. You are not to seek it, not to enter into it; God promises no way
out in such a case. But if it meets you on your heavenward journey, you are to
go straight on, though you see no way out. The way will reveal itself in due
time if you only keep on your way, being the way of duty-the way of the Lord. As
in the river, the beautiful bay lies just around the menacing rock. So it will
often be found that your sweetest and best experience in life lies just beyond
your most threatening temptation.

Triumph over Adversity Naturalists are amazed at the resistance of weak things
in nature. There is security and triumph of frail things that baffles man's
understanding and imagination. "It is a curious thing," wrote Kay Robinson,
"that the extremes of heat and cold seem to be most easily endured by the
flimsiest creatures. What is it that, when the frost is splitting our strongest
metal water-pipes, protects the tiny tubes of life-giving moisture in the almost
spectral organism of a gnat? Larger things get frostbitten and perish. In
tropical countries the tiniest insects brave the blistering midday heat which
shrivels the largest herbage, and drives men, birds and animals gasping under
shelter. In India a small, blue butterfly flits all day about the parched grass
or sits in full blaze of the sun where metal or stone becomes so hot that it
burns the hand. What heat-resisting secret resides in the minute body of that
little butterfly, scarcely thicker than notepaper? Nature's power of preserving
life touches the miraculous." The same God who made the natural world made the
spiritual also. Similarly, then, the saints have the least reason to be afraid
when they most feelingly recognize their utter weakness and dependence. We
prevail by yielding; we succumb to conquer like those sea-flowers that continue
to bloom amid the surf when the rocks are pounded. In acquiescence and
diffidence, in yielding and clinging, we triumph over adversity as the fern
survives geological cataclysms and the butterfly the scorching sun. In our
weakness we experience God's strength (2 Corinthians 12:9).

New Power, New Joy The treasures of His grace are never exhausted. In the realm
of the spirit there is something that stirs within man, a deep-rooted instinct
for seeking. God has hidden His treasures in the difficult and arduous ways of
experience. Experience contains precious treasures that men find only as they
journey faithfully along life's hazardous road. When we conquer and overcome, we
find a treasure of God in the conquest of a certain sin, in the overcoming of a
great temptation; we find the hidden manna which may be fresh courage, new
strength to overcome another temptation that has harassed us for a long time.
New strength and new joy are ours through conquest. In the midst of this
difficult way of discovering new things about life, men learn to tackle it with
new equipment and new determination. The story told by a certain man can be
echoed by most of us: "I wrestled," he said, "all night, in the grip of a
fearful sin that was slowly dragging my soul to hell. All through the night the
fearful battle raged, and I felt that my soul was lost; but with the coming of
the dawn there shone a light brighter than the dawn. The Son of Man was at my
side and the temptation was thrust from me in His strength. I arose from my
knees, strengthened in body and soul, and prepared to meet anything that might
come my way." You and I have wrestled like that man and have found new power and
new joy when we have conquered a temptation in the power of God. The man of
faith can find, if only he will seek, the promise of a glorious dawn even in the
darkest night.

Rescued from Difficulties To quote G. Campbell Morgan: "I remember hearing a
very dear friend of mine in a conference say that if the Lord leads us into
difficulties, He leads us out; but that, if we get into difficulties of our own
making, we have to get out ourselves. I thank God that is not true of my life.
That is not what I have found out. Yes, it is true, if He leads me into
difficulty, He will lead me out; but if I wander off in my own foolishness, He
will still follow me, and lead me out."




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  CHAPTER 119: THANKFULNESS
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Thankfulness

Two Little Words A doctor wrote a letter of thanks to a schoolteacher for having
given him so much encouragement when he had been in her class 30 years before.
He later received this reply: "I want you to know what your note meant to me. I
am an old lady in my eighties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own
meals, lonely, and seeming like the last leaf on the tree. You will be
interested to know that I taught school for 50 years, and yours is the first
letter of appreciation I have ever received. It came on a cold, blue morning and
cheered my lonely old heart as nothing has cheered me in many years." Do Not
Delay Expressing Appreciation A young man was an organist in a large church in
Texas. He was a fine musician, but, being blind, was unable to read in the faces
of his audience the great pleasure his music was giving. His caressing touch on
the keyboard sent out through its great pipes the songs of his soul. People
would talk to each other about the beauty and the uplifting influence of his
music. Often his music sent tears down furrowed cheeks. But no one ever thought
to tell the organist, who was longing to hear a word of response. One morning it
was announced that he would not play after that service. His decision was final;
another organist must be secured. After the service a woman who had enjoyed his
music thoroughly went up to him, and said, very earnestly, "I am sorry you will
not play for us any longer. I have enjoyed your music so much. It helped me
greatly; it soothed and comforted me when I sorrowed. I have thought many times
I would tell you what an inspiration I have received through your music. I thank
you for it." The young man's voice faltered and tears rushed to his sightless
eyes as he whispered, "Oh, why didn't you tell me sooner? I needed comfort and
inspiration, too."

Think of Those Who Have Less Than You A mother and her two little children were
destitute. In the depth of winter they were nearly frozen, and the mother took
the cellar door off the hinges and set it up in front of the corner where they
crouched down to sleep so that some of the draft and cold might be kept from
them. One of the children whispered to her, "Mother, what do those poor children
do who have no cellar door to put up in front of them?"

Finding the Blessings with a Thankful Heart If one should give me a dish of
sand, and tell me there were particles of iron in it, I might look for them with
my clumsy fingers, and be unable to detect them; but let me take a magnet, and
sweep through it, and it would draw to itself the most invisible particles. The
unthankful heart, like my finger in the sand, discovers no mercies; but let the
thankful heart sweep through the day, and as the magnet finds the iron, so it
will find some heavenly blessings.

Go Ahead and Embarrass Thankless People A mother took her three children to a
restaurant to eat breakfast one morning. The smallest of the three children sat
at the very end of the row. She saw other people being served and eating right
away without stopping to say thanks. It surprised her. When the food was served
to her, she shouted out to her mother: "Mommy, don't people ask the blessing in
this place?" You can well imagine the embarrassment of those present. Her mother
tried to hush her. But, the waitress said to little Mary, "Yes, we do, sister!
You give thanks!" Amazingly, at that very moment everybody else also bowed their
heads and offered thanks. Embarrass them and maybe you will bring them to their
senses to say "Thank you, God."

If You Think, You Must Thank Sir Moses Montefiore, the Jewish philanthropist,
had as the motto of his family, "Think and Thank." In the old Anglo-Saxon,
thankfulness means "thinkfulness." Thinking of all God's goodness draws forth
gratitude.

How Rich Are You? They huddled inside the storm door-two children in ragged,
outgrown coats. "Any old papers, Lady?" they asked a passerby. She was very
busy; she wanted to say no, until she looked down at their feet wrapped only in
thin little sandals, sopped with sleet. "Come on in and I will make you a cup of
cocoa," she said. There was no conversation. Their soggy sandals left marks on
the clean hearthstone. Cocoa and cake would fortify against the chill outside.
After serving them, she went back to the kitchen and started on her household
budget as they sat enjoying the warmth. After a few minutes, the silence in the
front room struck through to her. She looked in. The girl held her empty cup in
her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, "Lady, are you rich?"
"Am I rich? Mercy no!" She looked at her shabby slipcovers. The girl put her cup
back in its saucer carefully. "Your cups match your saucers." Her voice was old
with a hunger that was not of the stomach. They left then, holding their bundles
of papers against the wind. They had not said thank you. They did not need to.
They had done more than that. Plain blue pottery cups and saucers-but they
matched. She tested the potatoes and stirred the gravy. "Potatoes and brown
gravy, a roof over our heads, my husband with a good, steady job-these things
matched, too," she mused. She moved the chairs back from the fire and tidied the
living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still set upon the hearth,
and she let them be. "I want them there in case I ever forget how very rich I
am," she told herself.

Harvest of the Heart at Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is the harvest of the heart
After the fruit and grain are stored away. The quiet season of remembering, The
moment when we pause to praise and pray.

"In All Things" "Gratitude is what always spoils life when it is left out." A
thankful spirit enables one to praise God even when circumstances are difficult.
Alexander Whyte, the Scottish preacher, always began his prayers with an
expression of gratitude. One cold, miserable day his people wondered what he
would say. He prayed, "We thank Thee, O Lord, that it is not always like this."

Observing Thanksgiving "Count it all joy" (James 1:2). Count your blessings
instead of your crosses; Count your gains instead of your losses. Count your
joys instead of your woes; Count your friends instead of your foes. Count your
smiles instead of your tears; Count your courage instead of your fears. Count
your full years instead of your lean; Count your kind deeds instead of your
mean. Count your health instead of your wealth; Count on God instead of
yourself.

I Give Thee Humble Thanks "Giving thanks for all things..." (Ephesians 5:20).
For all the gifts that Thou dost send, For every kind and loyal friend, For
prompt supply of all my need, For all that is good in word or deed, For gift of
health along life's way, For strength to work from day to day- I give Thee
humble thanks. For ready hands to help and cheer, For listening ears Thy voice
to hear, For yielded tongue Thy love to talk, For willing feet, Thy paths to
walk, For open eyes Thy Word to read, For loving heart, Thy will to heed- I give
Thee humble thanks. For Christ who came from heaven above, For the cross and His
redeeming love, For His mighty power to seek and save, For His glorious triumph
o'er the grave. For the lovely mansions in the sky, For His blessed coming bye
and bye- I give Thee humble thanks.

Those Who Do Not Give Thanks A godly farmer was asked to dine with a well-known
gentleman. While there, he asked a blessing at the table as he was accustomed to
do at home. His host said jeeringly, "That is old fashioned; it is not customary
nowadays for well-educated people to pray before they eat." The farmer answered
that with him it was customary, but that some of those on his farm never prayed
over their food. "Ah, then," said the gentleman, "they are sensible and
enlightened. Who are they?" "My pigs," the farmer answered.

Two Hundred Miles of Thanks If you are grateful, say so! Thanksgiving is only
half said until you have done something to show your thankfulness. A missionary
to India was traveling through a city and stopped to speak to a man beside the
road. He talked with the man for a time about Jesus. Then, having to travel on,
he gave him a few pages of the Bible in the man's language. The Indian read them
and was thrilled to learn of Jesus. To show his gratitude, the man measured the
footprints left by the missionary, and made a pair of moccasins. He then
traveled 200 miles to give them to the missionary as an expression of thanks.
The missionary's life was enriched by the gift, but the Indian man was much more
enriched because he had expressed his thanks. Have you ever tried to give 200
miles of thanks? Try it-you will be a better person because of it.

Spiritual Maturity One day, Johann Tauler of Strosbourg met a peasant. "God give
you a good day, my friend," he greeted him. The peasant answered briskly, "I
thank God I never have a bad day." Tauler, astonished, kept silent for a moment.
Tauler then added, "God give you a happy life, my friend." The peasant replied
composedly, "I thank God I am never unhappy." "Never unhappy!" cried Tauler
bewildered, "What do you mean?" "Well," came the reply, "when it is sunshine-I
thank God, when it rains-I thank God, when I have plenty-I thank God, when I am
hungry-I thank God; and since God's will is my will, and whatever pleases God
pleases me, why should I say that I am unhappy when I am not?" Tauler looked
upon him with awe. "Who are you," he asked. "I am a king," said the peasant. "A
king?" Tauler asked, "Where is your kingdom?" The peasant smiled and whispered
softly, "In my heart." Their Money Is Worth Rudyard Kipling at one time was so
popular that his writings were getting ten shillings per word. A few college
students, however, did not appreciate Kipling's writings; they facetiously sent
him a letter and enclosed ten shillings. It read, "Please, send us your best
word." They got back a letter from Kipling that said, "Thanks." The Art of
Thanksgiving The art of thanksgiving is thanksliving. It is gratitude in action.
It is thanking God for the gift of life by living it triumphantly. It is
thanking God for your talents and abilities by accepting them as obligations to
be invested for the common good. It is thanking God for all that men and women
have done for you by doing things for others. It is thanking God for happiness
by striving to make others happy. It is thanking God for beauty by helping to
make the world more beautiful. It is thanking God for inspiration by trying to
be an inspiration to others. It is thanking God for health and strength by the
care and respect you show your body. The Best Thanksgiving Day As we gather
'round our firesides On this new Thanksgiving Day, Time would fail to count the
blessings That have followed all our way; Grace sufficient, help and healing,
Prayer oft answered at our call; And the best of all our blessings, Christ
Himself, our all in all. While we love to "count the blessings," Grateful for
the year that's gone, Faith would sweep a wider vision, Hope would gaze yet
further on. For the signals all around us Seem with one accord to say, "Christ
is coming soon to bring us Earth's last, best Thanksgiving Day!"

Why Only One Day for Thanksgiving? Charles Dickens said that we are somewhat
mixed up here in America. He told an audience that instead of having one
Thanksgiving Day each year we should have 364. "Use that one day just for
complaining and griping," he said. "Use the other 364 days to thank God each day
for the many blessings He has showered upon you."

Why Be Thankful? (Psalms 100:4) "I do not have to thank anyone for anything I
have," an old miser grumbled. "Everything I have I got the hard way-by the sweat
of my own brow." "But who gave you the sweat?" asked his neighbor. The old miser
hung his head in guilty silence. He could not ignore the fact that God had given
the "sweat," the strength to work hard and gain material wealth. Yes, everything
that we are or that we possess is because of God's lovingkindness. Therefore, it
is good for us all to pause at least once a year and say, "Thank You, God."
Actually, everyday should be one of thanksgiving. Why? Because of spiritual and
material blessings. Mrs. Green thanked Tom, the grocery boy, for delivering a
loaf of bread. "Do not thank me. Thank Grocer Jones," Tom smiled. "He gave me
the loaf to deliver." But when she thanked the grocer, he said, "I get the bread
from Baker Brown. He makes it, so he deserves the thanks." So Mrs. Green thanked
the baker. But he told her that Miller Milligan should be given the gratitude.
"Without Miller Milligan's flour, I could not make bread," Brown replied. The
miller told her to thank Farmer Foster because he made the flour from Foster's
wheat. But the farmer also protested, "Don't thank me; thank God," Foster said.
"If He did not give my farm sunshine and rain, I could not grow wheat." Yes,
even a common loaf of bread can be traced back to God, the Giver of "every good
and perfect gift" (Joshua 1:17).

We've Won Napoleon said, "Battles are won, not by men, but by a man." He was
right in more ways than one. Victories are won, not by Christians but by Christ.
It is our privilege and joy to share in His victory. Like the small boy who
jumped up and down shouting "We've won, we've won!" at a football game-though he
was not a member of the team or of the school represented by the team, we too
can rejoice in a victory with which we associate ourselves. We can live in joy
and triumph. We can shout, "We've won!" over the victory that was accomplished
by our Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary nearly 2,000 years ago.

Count Your Blessings A poverty-stricken woman was found on Christmas Day eating
a dinner that consisted of a piece of bread and a small fish. A minister who
visited her spoke commiseratingly of the poverty of her fare, to which the old
woman with face aglow, replied, "Poor fare? Dear heart, don't you see that the
Lord has laid tribute on land and sea to feed me this blessed Christmas Day?"
This woman owned the earth, though she ate only bread and herring for Christmas
dinner.

Victory through Christ An American admiral had a small card printed and
circulated among his subordinates and workers. On it in gray type was this
background: "It Can't Be Done," and then, in bold black type across this was
printed, "But Here It Is." As we look at sin and realize its strength, defeat
would seem to be inevitable were it not for Christ. "But thanks be to God, which
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." The phrase "which giveth
us" is a present participle (didonti) in Greek. A better translation would be
"who keeps on giving us." This is not just one victory that God gives us but a
constant experience of victory through Christ.

Dumber Than the Animals One year when Christmas Day came on a Sunday, a farmer
decided to go to church. (Like some people, he thought he was fulfilling his
religious obligation by going to church twice a year-at Christmas and Easter!)
The sermon that day was preached from the text, "The ox knoweth his owner, and
the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not
consider" (Isaiah 1:3). Isaiah is saying that man is dumber than the animals.
After church the farmer returned home and stood among his cows. One of them
began to lick his hand-a practical demonstration of the sermon he had just
heard. Strong man though he was, the farmer began to weep as he thought, "God
did much more for me, and yet I never thanked Him. My cow is far more grateful
than I am. What do I ever give her other than grass and water?"

Gratitude to God Men will endure almost anything as long as they have hope.
Cyrus Field said he was nearly in despair on many occasions as he sought to make
his vision of the transatlantic cable a reality. Some called it a "mad feat of
stubborn ignorance," that a man should endure all that he and his co-workers
went through to make this feat possible. "Many times," he confessed, "when
wandering in the forests of Newfoundland in the pelting rains, on the decks of
ships on dark, stormy nights, alone, far from home, I have almost accused myself
of madness and folly to sacrifice the peace of family, and all the hope of life,
for what might prove, after all, but a dream.... And yet one hope has led me on;
and I have prayed that I might not taste death til this work was accomplished.
That prayer is answered. And now, beyond all acknowledgments to men, is the
feeling of gratitude to God."

God's Gift of Laughter It is said that Dr. Theodore Cuyler and Mr. Spurgeon were
once out in the fields enjoying God's sunshine and the beauties of nature. Dr.
Cuyler told a story at which Mr. Spurgeon laughed until his sides shook.
Suddenly Mr. Spurgeon said, "Theodore, let's get down on our knees and thank God
for laughter." And these two happy Christian preachers knelt in the field and
thanked God for His great gift of laughter.

Recognize God's Blessings A gentleman of wealth, but a stranger to a personal
knowledge of God, was walking alone through his grounds one evening. Coming to
the small hut of a poor man who earned his family's bread by his daily labor, he
heard the continuous sound of loud speaking. Curiosity prompted him to stop and
listen. The man of the house happened to be at prayer with his family. As soon
as the gentleman could distinguish the words, he heard him give thanks to God
for the goodness of His providence in giving them food to eat and clothes to put
on, and in supplying them with what was necessary and comfortable in the present
life. He was immediately struck with astonishment and confusion, and said to
himself, "Does this poor man who has nothing but the meanest fare, and that
purchased by hard work, give thanks to God for His goodness to himself and
family, while I, who enjoy ease and honor, and everything that is pleasant and
desirable, have hardly ever bent my knee or made any acknowledgement to my Maker
and Preserver?" This incident was the means used by God to bring this rich man
to a realization of his lack of what makes a person really blessed. It was not
long before he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blessing is evidence in
both poverty and riches.




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  CHAPTER 120: THE TONGUE
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The Tongue

Slander Hurts There's no doubt that slander hurts. There's only a single
letter's difference between "words" and "swords." Slanders are like flies; they
light upon our sores where they know they will hurt the most. Sir Francis Bacon
expressed a profound truth when he said, "The worthiest persons are frequently
attacked by slanders, as we generally find it to be the best fruit which the
birds will peck at." The Lesson of the Tongue Socrates of Constantinople, an
early church historian, tells of an ignorant man who came to him asking him to
teach him a Psalm or some part of Scripture. Socrates began to read to him the
39th Psalm, "I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my
tongue." As soon as he had read the first verse, Pambo, for that was his name,
shut the book and took his leave saying that he would go learn that point first.
His instructor waited and waited for him, but he did not come back. Finally, one
day Socrates met Pambo accidentally and asked where he had been. Pambo said he
was still learning that first lesson about the tongue. Forty-nine years later
when someone else asked him why he did not learn anything else from the
Scriptures, his reply was the same. Is it then any wonder that James takes
almost the whole third chapter to discuss this all-important part of the body?

Little Things We should mind little things in life-little courtesies, little
matters of personal appearance, little extravagances, little minutes of wasted
time, little details in our work. It seems that a thing cannot be too small to
command our attention. The first hint Newton had, leading to his very important
optical discoveries, was derived from a child's soap bubble. The art of printing
was suggested by a man cutting letters in the bark of a tree. The telescope was
the outcome of a boy's amusement with two glasses in his father's shop. Goodyear
neglected his skillet until it was red hot, and the accident guided him to the
manufacture of vulcanized rubber-little things, every one a little thing. Yet
how important they proved to be to the man who had the wit to correlate these
things with the idea in his head. So the tongue is like the helm of a ship. The
helm is small, but it can direct a big vessel. The Tongue-The Best and Worst
Xanthus, the philosopher, once told his servant that the next day he was going
to have some friends for dinner and that he should get the best thing he could
find in the market. The philosopher and his guests sat down the next day at the
table. They had nothing but tongue-four or five courses of tongue-tongue cooked
in this way, and tongue cooked in that way. The philosopher finally lost his
patience and said to his servant, "Didn't I tell you to get the best thing in
the market?" The servant said, "I did get the best thing in the market. Isn't
the tongue the organ of sociability, the organ of eloquence, the organ of
kindness, the organ of worship?" Then Xanthus the philosopher said, "Tomorrow I
want you to get the worst thing in the market." And on the morrow the
philosopher sat at the table, and there was nothing there but tongue-four or
five courses of tongue-tongue in this shape and tongue in that shape. The
philosopher again lost his patience and said, "Didn't I tell you to get the
worst thing in the market?" The servant replied, "I did; for isn't the tongue
the organ of blasphemy, the organ of defamation, the organ of lying?" Well done,
servant; you certainly taught the philosopher a lesson, the same lesson the
Apostle James wants to teach us in the third chapter. The tongue can do great
good, and it can do great evil.

Undoing Gossip's Harm There was a peasant with a troubled conscience who went to
a monk for advice. He said that he had circulated a vile story about a friend,
only to find out the story was not true. "If you want to make peace with your
conscience," said the monk, "you must fill a bag with chicken feathers, go to
every dooryard in the village, and drop at each of them one fluffy feather." The
peasant did as he was told. Then he returned to the monk and announced he had
done penance for his folly. "Not yet," replied the monk, "Take your bag, make
the rounds again and gather up every feather that you have dropped." "But the
wind must have blown them all away," said the peasant. Words are easily dropped,
but no matter how hard you try, you can never get them back again.

Tongue Control Once a young man came to that great philosopher Socrates to be
instructed in oratory. The moment the young man was introduced he began to talk,
and there was an incessant stream for some time. When Socrates could get in a
word, he said, "Young man, I will have to charge you a double fee." "A double
fee, why is that?" The old sage replied, "I will have to teach you two lessons.
First, how to hold your tongue, and then how to use it." What an art for all of
us to learn, especially for Christians. A Forked Tongue This is told of a
Christian man whose most intimate friends could not find out anything about his
religious affiliations. One day a friend of his, on being told that he belonged
to the church, exclaimed, "Why, I have known him intimately for some years, but
I never dreamed he was a Christian!" He could not possibly conceive how the
mouth that spoke so violently and indecently of his fellow men could be opened
in church to praise and bless God. A Lie Is Forever A little girl come to her
mother, saying, "Which is worse, Mama, to tell a lie or to steal?" The mother
replied that both were so sinful she could not tell which was worse. "Well,
Mama," replied the little one, "I've been thinking a good deal about it, and I
think it's so much worse to lie than steal." "Why, my child?" asked the mother.
"Well, you see, Mama, it's like this," said the little girl, "If you steal a
thing, you can take it back, unless you've eaten it, and if you've eaten it, you
can pay for it; but a lie is forever."

Evil Use of the Tongue I shall never forget going on a picnic with my
schoolmates and my uncle who was the teacher. We were playing with a little
ball, and it got caught in the top of a tree. The teacher was angry about it and
wanted to know who threw it there. Because my uncle was the teacher, they all
ganged up on me as the culprit. The result was that my uncle broke quite a
good-sized stick on my back punishing me. That was punishment unrighteously
administered because of a lie. Thus, this expression, "a world of iniquity" in
James 3:6, actually means that both a great amount and a great variety of
unrighteousness is caused by the evil use of the tongue. The Steps and Stops
Once, when Dr. Pierson was in George Mueller's study, he took a glance into his
Bible. As he was leafing through it he came to Psalms 37:23, "The steps of a
good man are ordered by Jehovah." He noticed that George Mueller had written by
the side of it in the margin, "and the stops!" If our tongues know when to go
and when to stop, then our whole bodies, our whole personalities, will know when
to move and when to stop. If we don't have God's bridle, these tongues of ours
will keep going incessantly. Now we need the steps and the stops, too! If it
were not for the bridle, the rider would find it very difficult, if not
impossible, to stop the horse. Why does the horse stop? Because the bits in the
bridle hurt his tongue. It is so with God in His dealings with us. We are moving
so fast in the wrong direction, toward our own goal and destruction, that God
has to pull hard on the bridle to cause us to stop. A Tongue's Soliloquy I am
your tongue! I am an important fellow. The Bible mentions me about 215 times
(Proverbs 18:21; Proverbs 21:23, etc.). When I speak kind, thoughtful and true
words, there is happiness; when I speak mean, untrue, angry or complaining
words, there is trouble.

Rumors There is nothing as effective as a bunch of facts to spoil a good rumor.
There is a new magazine on the market named Rumor because it spreads so quickly
and easily. It is easier to float a rumor than to sink one. A lot of people seem
to have "rumortism." All rumors should be fitted with girdles to keep them from
spreading. Whenever we fan the flames of a rumor, we are likely to get burned
ourselves. A groundless rumor often covers a lot of ground. We still cannot
understand how rumors without a leg to stand on get around so fast.

Most Potent Venom A scientist has found out that poison from the skin of a tiny
South American tree frog is far more toxic than any other known venom. Rain
forest Indians use the venom from the skin of the kokoi frog to poison their
blowgun arrows. There is a poison even more deadly-the poison from an evil
tongue. "The tongue is a fire, a word of iniquity." "With their tongues they
have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of
cursing and bitterness" (James 3:6 and context; Romans 3:13-14). Are you a
Christian, able to control your tongue? If so, you are a mature Christian. "For
in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a
perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body" (James 3:2).

Squeezing Toothpaste Have you ever squeezed too much toothpaste onto your
toothbrush? And then have you ever tried squeezing toothpaste back into the
tube? That calls to mind the old proverb, "Three things once released will not
return again: an opportunity neglected, and arrow released from its bows, and a
word spoken in haste." May we add a fourth-toothpaste squeezed from a tube. We
could spend the next six months drawing lessons from this familiar proverb. An
opportunity neglected, an arrow released, a word spoken in haste. Sometimes in
our efforts to say exactly the right thing at the right time, we speak words in
haste. Usually we immediately wish we could recall those words. Words spoken in
haste are all those words we speak without weighing how each could be understood
by the hearer(s), all those words we utter in jest, and everything we say
without thinking. Perhaps the preacher was right when he quipped, "God gave us
two ears and one mouth-that ought to tell us something."

"Foot-in-Mouth" Disease How many times have you said something you wish you had
not? Oh, the pain! But after it is said, it is next to impossible to recall the
bumbling rhetoric. Once an attorney was pleading the case of his farmer client
who had lost a shipment of 24 pigs. He was prosecuting the trucking company that
had lost the animals. The lawyer wanted to impress the jury with the magnitude
of the loss so he said very innocently, "Twenty-four pigs, gentlemen!
Twenty-four! Twice the number in the jury box!" Oops! Too late! The damage was
done. It was all over but the verdict.

Misplaced Values An English nobleman once visited Josiah Wedgwood to see how he
made his legendary china and pottery. A young apprentice was instructed to give
the nobleman a tour of the factory. The nobleman did not believe in God and was
sacrilegious, foul-mouthed, and consistently ridiculed the Bible during the
tour. At first the young apprentice was shocked but after a while he began to
laugh when the man made his cynical remarks. Josiah Wedgwood was greatly
disturbed by this, especially when he saw how his young apprentice was being
influenced by this wealthy nobleman. Later the atheist asked if he could
purchase a particularly expensive vase. As he handed it to the nobleman,
Wedgwood deliberately let it crash to the floor. With a vile oath the nobleman
angrily said, "That is the one I really wanted and now it is shattered by your
carelessness." Josiah Wedgwood replied, "Sir, there are things more precious
than any vase-things that can never be restored once they are ruined. I can make
another vase, but you can never give back to my helper the pure heart you have
defiled by your vile language and sacrilegious talk!"




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 121: TREASURE
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Treasure

Values That Last Certs, Breath Savers, chewing gum are all big sellers.
Americans are conscious about "bad breath," and they spend millions of dollars
to hide or change it. The problem is that the remedies do not last long. There
is a bizarre new breath mint on the market now which lasts for two hours. It is
a time released pill that sits between your upper gum and cheek and slowly puts
out a minty taste for hours. You do not have to chew it, or even suck on it. The
price for a bottle of 200 mints is $30. It seems high, but the selling point is
that it is really more economical. Everybody is interested in things that last.
Our cars wear out, so do clothes, shoes, and everything about us. The faces on
Mount Rushmore have to be continually repaired. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:19
that all earthly treasures are beset by risks and finally end in total loss. The
real treasure of wealth is to be found in heaven. We can store truth, love, and
faith. Our emphasis must always be on the values that last. "Heaven and earth
shall pass away; but my word;" says Jesus, "shall not pass away" (Mark 13:31).

Life Was Good, Until . . . Several years ago a farmer increased his farm holding
from 300 acres to 9,000 acres. Everyone was proud of him and glad to see him
prosper. He had a lovely family-two boys and a girl, and one of the sweetest
wives in the world. He was a leader in the church and the family was very
faithful. Needless to say, he became very wealthy. Life was good. As the
responsibilities of the farm increased, his involvement with the church
decreased. Over time the entire family became so involved with the farm and the
wealth that they all became unfaithful and placed the church on low priority in
their lives. The father died and the children fought over the land, lost it, and
spent all the inheritance. Today, they have very little to do with each other
and have gone through several difficult personal problems. Their mother died in
poverty and loneliness. What good does it to do gain the whole world and yet
lose your soul and those of your loved ones? What can the world give in place of
the soul? The Christian's Riches In CHRIST we have- A LOVE that can never be
fathomed; A LIFE that can never die; A RIGHTEOUSNESS that can never be
tarnished; A PEACE that can never be understood; A REST that can never be
disturbed; A JOY that can never be diminished; A HOPE that can never be
disappointed; A GLORY that can never be clouded; A HAPPINESS that can never be
interrupted; A LIGHT that can never be darkened; A STRENGTH that can never be
enfeebled; A BEAUTY that can never be marred; A PURITY that can never be
defiled; A WISDOM that can never be baffled; RESOURCES that can never be
exhausted.

Worthless Treasures Hidden treasures today are rare. In the ancient biblical
lands, however, they were common. Palestine, which was a land bridge between
Egypt and the great empires, was repeatedly invaded, ravaged, and captured.
Multitudes buried gold. There were no banks. The government, nobility, clergy,
and Arab invaders all robbed the common people often and without warning.
Because of this, the people quickly buried treasure in the ground, in walls, in
tree trunks, or wherever they could. Earthquakes could cover up entire cities
and bury gold with them. All kinds of people quickly buried what they had in the
face of invasion or political change. They left, they died, they were captured,
and no one knew where the treasure was hidden. W.M. Thompson was a missionary in
Syria and Palestine for 30 years. He told of workmen digging up a garden in
Sidon. They found several copper pots of gold. They did exactly like the man in
the parable-concealed their find with care. But then, wild with joy, they could
not keep their mouths shut. The governor of the city caught them, and recovered
two of the pots, and it was found that they contained 8,000 pure gold coins of
Alexander and his father Philip. Thompson saw hundreds of persons all over the
country spending their last pennies looking for such treasure.

He Thought Nothing of Money He paid $70,000 for a house to live in for a few
years upon this earth. He thought nothing of money. He paid $10,500 for a car.
He thought nothing of money. He paid $800 for a television set. He thought
nothing of money. He paid $300 for fishing gear. He thought nothing of money. He
paid $400 for a deer hunt. He thought nothing of money. He paid $20 one evening
watching the Dallas Cowboys play. He thought nothing of money. He paid $10 per
week for tobacco. He thought nothing of money. He gave $5 whenever he went to
church. He thought nothing of money!

Money in the Bank A man gave several thousand dollars to help build a church.
Then came the 1929 Stock Market crash. He lost everything. Someone said, "If you
had that money you gave to start the church, you would have had enough to set
yourself up in business again." He replied, "I would have lost that money, too,
in the crash. As it is, it is the only money I saved. It is now in the bank of
heaven, yielding interest which will accumulate until eternity." Hundreds have
come to Christ through the church he helped build.

Gratitude as an Asset Men reckon up their goods-so much in bonds, so much in
stocks, so much in notes, so much in personal property, so much in real estate.
In taking account of their possessions, do men ever take into consideration the
asset of a thankful heart? Probably not. And yet there is no greater wealth in
itself, and no greater producing agent of wealth than the faculty of gratitude.
Contentment is a personal feast. The richest man in the world can use no more
than enough for his desires. If you have the same, you are as rich as he. A
Cablegram From Heaven A merchant was asked to contribute to a certain piece of
church work. He gladly wrote a $250 check and gave it to the solicitor. At that
moment, a cablegram was brought in. The merchant read it and looked troubled.
"This cablegram," he said, "tells me that one of my ships has been wrecked and
the cargo lost. That makes a difference in my business. I will have to write you
another check." The solicitor thought he understood and handed back the check
for $250, and the merchant wrote out another and gave it to him. When the
solicitor read it, he was utterly amazed; it was for $1,000. "Have you not made
a mistake?" he asked. "No," said the merchant, "I have not made a mistake." Then
he added, "To me, that cablegram was a message from my Father in Heaven. It
reads, 'Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth ...but lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal'(Matthew 6:19-20)." The Value of
Redemption In the world in which we live we always think of the price of things.
We look at a car, and we admire its features, but the price stands in the way of
having it as our own. We look at a new home, and we would love to live in it,
but again, it is beyond our reach if the price is too high. We go into a jewelry
store and see the exhibited diamonds and we would like an expensive one to show
our love to a special person, but again, the price stands in the way. The
amazing thing about God is that He places the greatest fulfillment of our need
at no price at all. However, we are likely to not appreciate the greatness of
the gift, just because it is free. Not Possible in our Own Strength A ship was
plowing through a stormy sea when part of the mast broke off. The captain
ordered a lad to climb up and repair the damage. The boy started up, but he slid
back down and ran into his cabin for a moment. He then came back, climbed back
to the top of the ship and made the necessary repairs. When he was on the deck
again, the captain said to him, "Why did you run down into your cabin for a
minute before you climbed aloft?" "Why, sir," he said, "I went down to offer a
word of prayer and to place this New Testament in my pocket. My mother told me
before I left home that if I would pray and carry the Word of God with me, I
would be well protected from any storm." "For in that He Himself hath suffered
being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted" (Hebrews 2:18).

Going Deeper A small company in the early days of gold mining in South Africa
sank shaft after shaft in different locations, finding only a small amount of
gold in each shaft. Ultimately, the prospectors discovered that all they needed
to have done was to go deeper in the first shaft for, as they did so, they found
gold in abundance. Roy Hession writes that he has found this to be true in the
spiritual life also. "I testify that although I have tried all sorts of
different shafts, hoping for greater results in my life, Christ has now become
the end of all my searching. Revival for me has meant coming back to the place
where I first began, and I intend to stay there. Tell me not of any other way. I
need to go deeper at His cross-much deeper."

Contentment "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought
nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food
and clothing, we will be content with that" (1 Timothy 6:6-8). Our generation
wants it all. Many people who are 30 and under have always had it all. The lack
of material things during the Great Depression has affected the attitudes of
many older people. So many, both young and old, are concerned with driving the
right car, wearing clothes with the right label and vacationing at the "in"
places. Yet, having all these only leads to a desire for more. How we
accumulate! The man who has everything needs a place to put it. Our closets are
running over. We buy houses with two car garages and then leave our cars
outside. The garage is full of things. Mini-warehouses and storage facilities
are a growth industry. Is this accumulation perhaps one reason vans and pickup
trucks are so popular? We need bigger vehicles to carry what we have. But has a
richer life produced a better life? The most popular prescription drugs relieve
anxiety and hypertension. The most popular over-the-counter drugs are aspirin
and related pain killers. Also, if abundance brings happiness, we would assume
that the people who have the most possessions have the greatest happiness. Yet
even the most casual observer can see this is not true. In his accumulation of
things, is not man searching for contentment? The bottom line, according to Paul
is not how much you have. The bottom line on personal profit and loss is finding
godliness with contentment. What do we need to be content? Paul's statement is
almost heretical to our materialistic ears. All that is necessary is food and
clothing. These should be the limit of our earthly desires. Matthew Henry well
said, "The necessities of life are the bounds of a true Christian's desires.
Truly, the secret of contentment is not having much but wanting little. This is
not to say we cannot have more than food and clothing. It means that having more
than these presents a temptation (1 Timothy 6:9). May we, as God's children,
refuse to let the world squeeze us into its mold, and refuse to imitate it as it
seeks everything to live with and nothing to live for.

Hold My Mule! The old man could not carry a tune in a syrup bucket, but he loved
to sing, even if it was off-key! Besides, he was bad about "amening" the
preacher. Services had degenerated into an "undignified" assembly because of the
old man. He simply got too involved in the "goings on" and forgot himself. Four
of the more well-to-do members decided that this old fellow was just too crude
for the congregation. They appointed themselves as the ones to go and talk to
the old man. When they arrived at the old fellow's house, he was in the field
plowing with his old mule. Though it was beneath their dignity, they finally
walked out through the dusty ground which soiled their fine clothes to talk to
the old timer. "Brother Jones," they began, "we want to talk to you about your
singing. Not meaning any offense, but you just cannot sing. We wish you would
try not to sing so loud because frankly, your singing ruins our services!" "I am
sorry," the old fellow replied, "but it is just that when I look at these old
clothes that I wear and then I think of them robes that God has for me, I just
cannot help singing. And when I see that old shack over yonder that I live in
and realize that it is liable to fall any time, and then I think about the
beautiful palace that God has for me, I just have to sing praises to my Lord.
You fellers see this old hat I got on? Well, when I see that crown in my mind
that God has for me, I just have to yell that wonderful name of Jesus at the top
of my lungs!" "As a matter of fact," he said, "would one of you fellers mind
holding my mule? I feel like singing now." They left him right there, singing
away in the field! And as these four men left the old fellow out there singing
they viewed him in a different light. One said to the rest, "You know, his
singing is not really all that bad." Another said, "I never really realized how
sweet his voice really is." The third said, "I just hope that God will allow me
to sing in the same group that he sings in." Now there are several lessons in
this story. Possibly the reason these men had never really seen things in their
true light before was that the world was just too much with them. I wonder if
the reason that we have difficulty sometimes appreciating the things that God
has reserved for us in heaven is that the world is just too much with us, too.
(Amen!)




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  CHAPTER 122: TRUST
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Trust

Learning to Trust "Dear God, what am I supposed to do?" asked missionary Marge
Elam. "I am so worried for my little girl. I am not able to hover over her to
protect her." "The night was warm and quite dark. I could hear several
alligators not far from the house calling back and forth in their strange creaky
way. Nightbirds, frogs and other night creatures added their sounds as a
background to my prayer. I soundlessly left my bed and felt my way to the
hammock where my eight-year-old slept. "'Lord, she has to ride her bicycle alone
two miles through the jungle to go to school. There are many wild things out
there, and always snakes.' "While looking down at the faint outline of my
sleeping child with her small white face pillowed on her bent arm, a memory went
across my mind. It was the other day: her eyes were large with excitement, her
voice almost squeaked, 'Mom, it was the biggest, fattest snake. Its body
stretched all the way across the road. I did not know what to do, so I just
pulled up my legs and rode my bike over it.'" "I could actually hear the thump
of my own heart in the darkness. Then, I heard a voice. It almost seemed to come
out of the darkness, but I knew it was inside of me. He said, 'I was able to
take care of your daughter in the United States, and I am able to take care of
her here as well.'After that, I was able to sleep the night through and every
night since for 17 years. I knew that if He was able to take care of one
eight-year-old girl, He was able to take care of everything else."

Feeling Sorry for Yourself So you think you have problems. Who doesn't? That is
no reason for you to quit the church or abandon the Faith. "You have heard of
the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord-that the Lord is
very compassionate and merciful" (James 5:11). Put yourself in the shoes of Job
for a moment: HE LOST HIS WEALTH. In rapid succession three messengers came
telling Job of the destruction of his property and servants by bands of robbers
and by lightning. HE LOST HIS FAMILY. A fourth messenger came telling of the
death of all of Job's children. Seven sons and three daughters were crushed in a
moment when the house fell. HE LOST HIS HEALTH. Job was smitten from head to
foot with most loathsome ulcers. He was constrained to sit down among the ashes
and scrape himself with a potsherd. HE LOST HIS FRIENDS. His servants turned
their backs on him. The children in the streets despised Job and mocked him. His
friends told him that his sufferings were because of his wickedness. And his
wife nagged him to curse God and die. If you take any of these trials separately
they would be great, but view them collectively and one is almost overwhelmed.
But in the midst of calamity, "Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head,
and he fell to the ground and worshiped" (Job 1:20). And you know what? Job
learned that the Lord is very "compassionate and merciful."

Message of the Robin Martin Luther said, "I have one preacher that I love better
than any other on earth. It is my little tame robin which preaches to me daily.
I put his crumbs on the window sill. He hops on the sill and takes as much as he
needs. From there he always flies to a little tree close by, lifts up his voice
to God, sings his song of praise and gratitude, tucks his head under his wing
and goes to sleep, leaving tomorrow to look after itself. He is the best
preacher I have on earth."

Ours to Obey, His to Make Way A pilot was having trouble bringing his plane down
to land. From the control tower, he was given instructions. "But there is a pole
there," he objected. The answer came back, "You take care of the instructions;
we will take care of the obstructions." So with the child of God. In the Word,
he or she has God's instructions. God will take care of the obstructions. It is
ours to obey the instructions from God's Word.

Learning to Fly When an eagle wants to teach its little ones to fly from the
nest high upon a cliff, hundreds of feet up in the air, it prods one of the
little eaglets and with its beak noses it out of the nest. The eaglet starts to
fall, and the great eagle flies underneath, puts its wing out, catches the
little one on its back and flies a mile into the air. When you can hardly see
the eagle as a point in the sky, it turns sideways, and down falls the little
eaglet, fluttering maybe a thousand feet. Meanwhile, the eagle circles around
and underneath the eaglet; the eagle catches the eaglet on its wings and carries
the eaglet up in the air again. After dishing the young one out again and
letting it go, the eaglet comes down farther and farther-sometimes within a
hundred feet of the ground. Again the great eagle catches the little one on its
back and they go up another mile. The little eagle is at perfect rest, and
little by little it will learn to fly. The eagle knows when the eaglet is tired;
it spoons the eaglet into the nest, noses out the next one and starts off again.
God says, "That is the way I take care of you." But you may say, "I do not like
to have my nest stirred up. I like everything cozy and tidy, and I just like to
stay in my baby ways where I am." But God loves you. That is why He will not let
you stay as a baby; He wants you to learn to fly. Sometimes you have to be
carried aloft, and you may have a horror of having to go by yourself, but it
must come if you are to grow.

Abraham Lincoln's Testimony Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United
States, was born in 1809. A well-known writer says: "The worldwide interest in
President Lincoln, from the time he left his home in Springfield, Illinois to
take the presidential chair at Washington in 1861, and the universal and real
sorrow for his untimely death on the 15th of April, 1865, are very pronounced.
Even to this present day there exists among the different nationalities of the
earth a great interest in this wise and benevolent ruler. President Lincoln had
endeared himself to the hearts of millions by his human sympathy, great wisdom,
and kindly acts toward friend and foe alike in the most critical and difficult
periods of the history of the United States, and after his death this was more
fully realized and appreciated by all." When Lincoln left Springfield, in 1861,
on his way to Washington to take the Presidency of the United States to which he
was elected, he made the following farewell address: "My friends, no one not in
my position can appreciate the sadness I feel at this parting. Here I have lived
for a quarter of a century, here my children were born, and here one of them
lies buried. A duty devolves upon me which is greater perhaps than that which
has devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington. He never would
have succeeded except for the aid of Divine providence, upon which he at all
times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same Divine aid which
sustained him, and on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support.
Again I bid you all an affectionate farewell." These simple words, addressed to
his friends and neighbors, plainly show a reliance upon God, and indicate a work
of God in his soul at that time.

Trustworthiness A Louisville Kentucky woman, very active in church work, had
walked over to the edge of the swimming pool to watch the youngsters at play.
She was thoroughly enjoying their fun when a 13-year-old boy ran up to her and
asked, "Say, lady, do you go to Sunday school?" "Why, yes I do," she replied, a
bit surprised. "Then," he said, "please hold this quarter for me while I go into
the pool." When the Best Defense Is Fleeting A beautiful lesson comes to us from
Proverbs 30:26. "The conies are a feeble folk, yet they make their houses in the
rocks." The cony is a weak, timid little animal like our rabbit or hare. He has
no means of defense in himself, so when his foes, the vulture or the eagle, come
in sight the cony does not turn at bay and do all he can to defend himself
before he flees. If he did he would be torn to pieces in an instant by his
fierce enemies of the air. Nay, the cony has learned a wiser course than this.
He knows he is a "feeble folk," so he rushes straight to the rocks. He lets the
rocks defend him without attempting any defense whatever in his own strength,
which is but weakness. Likewise it is with us. Our only course is to learn the
cony lesson, to fly straight to our Rock, Christ Jesus, in prayer, and trust the
Rock to keep us.

Bless Me, God Do we really understand when we say "Bless me, God?" The word for
bless in the Greek New Testament is eulogéo, which means to speak well of. We
are really quite daring when we ask God to speak well of us. When we bless God
we are eulogizing or speaking well of Him, and He indeed is worthy of being well
spoken of. But how dare we ask Him to speak well of us? In the Bible, God's
words are God's actions. The Lord created the world with His word. So when we
ask God to speak well of us, it is the same as asking Him to act in our lives.
So many of us have the wrong idea about the blessing of God. We have a tendency
to believe that God should hold a rubber stamp and automatically approve our
plans. "How can you look so pleasant tonight?" a man asked his friend. "You have
had a score of interruptions this afternoon, when you had plans to accomplish so
much." "That is all right," was the answer. "Every morning I give my day to
Christ. I take what He sends. These interruptions came in the way of duty. Why
should I complain about the service He has appointed?" Would you really ask God
to bless you if you knew that He might interrupt your planning?

God Is My Refuge Do you have that kind of inner resource? When life is under
attack, do you have a fortress with inner provision that can withstand the
siege? Between the two World Wars, the French built an 87-mile-long defensive
wall called the Maginot Line-the great wall of France that defended its border
with Germany. Three lines of defense were incorporated into the wall. The first
were strong houses, small fortified barracks designed to sound the alarm. The
second line of defense was deep, reinforced bunkers to delay enemy attack. But
the third line of defense was called ouvrage, deeply buried multi-storied forts
every four to six miles. Below the barracks, at the deepest level, were the
storehouses of ammunition, food, and above all else, a constant supply of water
from deep wells. When the Germans did move against France, they did not even try
to attack these final forts. Not a single one of the ouvrage was ever overcome
or taken by the Germans. Why? The Germans knew the soldiers in these bunkers
could survive and resist almost indefinitely because of the deep, endless supply
of water. All of us need fortifications for life. But every line of defense is
inadequate unless deep within us there is a resource hidden, abundant,
untouchable. When the assault of life's enemy comes, we need not fear if that
Source is within us. Absolute trust in God means that Source of life can never
be taken, despite rejection, poverty, loss of vocation, misunderstanding.
Jeremiah himself experienced all of that and more. Yet what was true for him can
be true for you. Jesus said it best: from within, streams of living water.

"For the Lord Your God Will Be With You Wherever You Go" "Have I not commanded
you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for
the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9 NIV). It was
Palm Sunday, 1987, when a dear woman was waiting for service to conclude and
looking forward to an afternoon when the entire family would enjoy a rare day
together. As the final song was beginning to flow from the congregation, she
knew something was wrong. Pushing past the other family members, she made it as
far as the outside steps. It was Tuesday when she awoke and found herself in the
hospital surrounded by her family and physician. A visit to a neurologist was
suggested. The neurologist found an aneurysm in the major artery of the brain.
No symptoms: no headaches, no blurred vision, no motor problems-never been in
better health. Still young in years, still eating correctly, still
exercising-yet within a touch of death. She had two choices: 1) live with the
knowledge of the aneurysm and hope for the best; or 2) have brain surgery. How
does someone handle news like this? How would you handle it? How did our friend
handle it? Where is God at a time like this? The tears came first, then the
resolve to stay busy. So she went back to work and did not tell anyone about it.
She discussed it only with family and a trusted physician. Her decision-surgery.
She began to review life and wonder why, and at the same time, be thankful for
what God had already provided. Then the panic attack came. Would the surgery
leave her paralyzed, blind, or even dead? All were possible. There were long
talks with her husband far into the night-there was inability to sleep-it was
real-it was happening and it was happening to her! On one of those sleepless
nights she walked downstairs, picked up her Bible, looked at a red ribbon
imprinted with suggested topics: sorrow, worry, loneliness, courage -and picked
courage. The passage was Joshua 1:9, and the words jumped out at her: "Be strong
and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord Your
God will be with you wherever you go." Tearing a piece of paper from a note pad,
she copied the verse and clasped it in her hand. The sense of panic then drained
away. The piece of paper remained with her during the days leading up to the day
of the surgery. Surgery day found her with no fear of the surgery or the future.
The piece of paper remained in her right hand as she was moved into the
operating room. The final exam by the attending nurses revealed the paper. The
piece of paper with the verse had served its purpose. She told the nurse to
throw it away. But in her beautiful wisdom, the nurse responded, "I have to take
it now; but when you wake up, you will find it taped to your palm." Twenty-six
hours later two smiling nurses appeared. "Did you find your verse?" Slowly she
opened her fist. The tattered scrap was secured with surgical tape. Reading it
would not be possible for a long time, but the words are etched forever in her
memory: "...for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Only He can
give us the courage to face life and death. May we be moved to call upon His
power and promises daily.

Pedal At first, I saw God as my Observer, my Judge-keeping track of things I did
to know whether I merited heaven or hell. He was out there-sort of like a
President. I recognized His picture but I did not know Him. Later on, when I met
Christ, life became a bike ride. It was a tandem bike, and Christ was in the
back helping me pedal. I do not know just when He suggested we change places,
but life has not been the same since. Christ makes life exciting. When I had the
control, I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable. It was the
shortest distance between two points. When He led, He knew delightful long
cuts-up mountains and through rocky places-and at breakneck speeds. It was all I
could do to hang on! Even though it looked like madness, He said "Pedal!" I
worried and was anxious and asked, "Where are you taking me?" He laughed and did
not answer, and I started to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into the
adventure. And when I would say, "I am scared," He would lean back and touch my
hand. He took me to people who gave me gifts of healing, acceptance, joy and
peace for our journey. He said, "Give the gifts away." So I did to people we
met. And I found that in giving I received, and our burden was light. I did not
trust Him at first to control my life. I thought He would wreck it. But He knows
how to make bikes bend to take sharp corners, jump to clear high rocks, fly to
shorten scary passages. I am learning to be quiet and pedal in the strangest
places. I am beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face. And
when I am sure I just cannot do any more-He just smiles and says, "Pedal!"

How Do We Hallow the Name Of God? In the Lord's prayer, Jesus taught His
disciples to pray, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name" (Matthew 6:9).
To hallow the name of God is to regard it as holy, to treat it differently from
all other names. One of the ten commandments warned, "You shall not misuse the
name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who
misuses His name" (Exodus 20:7). Those who hallow the name of God take special
care to avoid light, meaningless and profane reference to God in their daily
speech. We must realize, however, that hallowing the name of God is not just a
matter of vocabulary. Many people fail to hallow God's name, who would never
think of using His name in a vulgar or obscene context. They simply do not take
God seriously in the way they live. Every day is consumed with activity that
does not take God into consideration. Problem solving becomes a matter of
relying on human resources. God is nowhere to be found in the picture. Which is
the more serious breech of God's command? To speak God's name profanely? Or to
give lip service to Him in church and then ignore Him in everyday life? Several
years ago, J. B. Phillips wrote an interesting book which he titled, Your God Is
Too Small. In the book he wrote about some inadequate concepts of God, and Mike
Cope suggests that our God is "too middle-sized." We affirm a lot of things
about God. He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He is majestic and
glorious. He is the God to Whom we must give account. We are invited to draw
near to Him. Our doctrine of God is right on target. But when it comes to
practical living, then we are not sure God is capable of doing all those things
He has promised. Cope suggests we do not believe what we know. You can talk
about Him in Bible class, but when you are struggling with the mortgage payments
or a sick child or the loss of a job, Bible-class talk about God tends to sound
rather hollow. That is because we believe in a middle-sized God. He is big
enough to judge us in eternity, but not big enough to help with the job problem.
To hallow the name of God means to treat His name with respect, not only in the
way we talk, but also in the way we trust. The Painting of My Life Brian J.
Waldrop relates this slice of life: "Flipping through the channels of my TV the
other morning, I stopped to watch a painter skillfully painting a dese rt
landscape. As the man proceeded to color the canvas in deep browns, reds, and
yellows, the picture really started to look good. I felt that the painter ought
to stop. To me, the picture looked complete. "As I was thinking those very
words, I cringed to see the artist add a dark blackish color of paint to the
canvas. As I had feared, the dark blob looked awkward and out of place. But as
the man continued to add texture and other colors to the blob it began to take
shape. When the painter was finished, the part of the picture that I thought was
ruined looked great! It was exactly what the painting needed to make it
beautiful and complete. "As I sat there watching the program that day, I was
really surprised to find myself cringing at many of the moves the artist made
with his brush. I got to thinking how typical this is of my Christian life. Many
times in my life, after much struggling and hardship, I have come to a place
where I am comfortable. As I am basking in the goodness of the Lord, God has
chosen to institute a change I neither expected nor wanted. During this time I
cry out, 'No, Lord, You are ruining the picture!'But often, as I allowed God to
continue His work on the canvas of my life, to my surprise the picture would
begin to look pretty good. Finally, I would thank Him for the addition or
subtraction to my life. "There have been times, however, that the change never
looked good to me and perhaps never will. During these times I must remember
that God is still painting. The picture has not been completed yet. I must
travel on in faith knowing that when I see Him face to face, my painting will be
beautiful. "In the meantime, I can take comfort knowing that every situation,
though it may be ugly and bad, is paint that the Master Craftsman can use for
good. "Paul stated it this way, 'And we know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose'
(Romans 8:28 NIV). "Lord Jesus, take my life and create a masterpiece!"

Never Moved a Mountain Our thanks to an unknown author for the following lyric
testimony to God's providence: Lord, I have never moved a mountain and I guess I
never will. All the faith that I could muster would not move a small ant hill.
Yet, I will tell you, Lord, I am grateful for the joy of knowing Thee, and for
all the mountain moving, down through life you have done for me. When I needed
some help You lifted me from the depths of great despair. And when burdens, pain
and sorrow have been more than I can bear, you have always been my courage to
restore life's troubled sea, and to move these little mountains that have looked
so big to me. Many times when I have had problems and when bills I have had to
pay, and the worries and the heartaches just kept mounting every day, Lord, I do
not know how you did it. I cannot explain the wheres or whys. All I know is that
I have seen these mountains turn to blessings in disguise. No, I have never
moved a mountain, for my faith is far too small. Yet, I thank you, Lord of
Heaven, you have always heard my call. And as long as there are mountains in my
life, I will have no fear, for the mountain-moving Jesus is my strength and
always near.

Trusting Step by Step A father asked his son to carry a letter from their camp
to the village. He pointed out a trail over which the lad had never gone before.
"All right, Dad, but I don't see how that path will ever reach the town," said
the boy. "Do you see the trail as far as the big tree down there?" asked the
father. "Oh, yes, I see that far." "Well, when you get there by the tree, you'll
see the trail a little farther ahead, and so on until you get within sight of
the houses of the village." Even so should we trust God, being willing to follow
His directions one step at a time. The Greatest Compliment One wet, foggy day a
little girl was standing on a street corner in a large city waiting for an
opportunity to cross the street. She walked up and down and looked into the
faces of those who passed by. Some looked careless, some harsh, some in a hurry;
she did not see anyone who made her feel confident. At length an elderly man,
tall and erect, yet with a kindly expression, came walking down the street.
Looking up into his face she seemed to see the one for whom she had been
waiting. She went up to him and asked timidly, "Please, sir, will you help me
over?" The old man saw the little girl safely across the street, and when he
afterward told the story he said, "That little child's trust was the greatest
compliment I ever had in my life."

Trust in God As D. L. Moody said, "Trust in yourself, and you are doomed to
disappointment; trust in your friends, and they will die and leave you; trust in
reputation, and some slanderous tongue may blast it; but trust in God, and you
are never to be confounded in time or eternity." Luther gave a similar testimony
when he said, "I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all;
but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess."

Childlike Trust A frantic mother called her pastor one day. She was experiencing
a bad case of "nerves" as so many of us do. He thought he heard a child's voice
while she was speaking, so he asked, "Is your child as upset and worried as you
are?" "No, of course not," she replied. "But why not?" persisted the pastor. "I
suppose she puts her trust in me and lets me do the worrying," she answered.
"Then make a transference. Try to think of yourself as a child of God and, just
as your child puts her trust in you, put your trust in God." The Miserable
Supposer There was a poor woman who earned her living by hard labor but who was
a joyous, triumphant Christian. "Ah, Nancy," said a gloomy Christian lady to her
one day, "it is well to be happy now, but I should think the thoughts of the
future would sober you. Suppose, for instance, you should have a spell of
sickness and be unable to work, or suppose your present employer should move
away and no one would give you a job. Suppose...." "Stop!" cried Nancy. "I never
suppose. The Lord is my Shepherd, and I know I shall not want. You know, dear,
it is all those supposes that are making you so miserable. You had better give
them all up and just trust the Lord."

Fanatical Security In the second century, a Christian was brought before a pagan
ruler and told to renounce his faith. "If you don't do it, I will banish you,"
threatened the king. The man smiled and answered, "You can't banish me from
Christ, for He says, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' " To this the
king angrily retorted, "Then I will confiscate your property and take all your
possessions." Again the man smiled and said, "My treasures are all laid up on
high; you cannot get them." The king became furious and shouted, "I will kill
you!" "Why," the man answered, "I have been dead forty years; I have been dead
with Christ, dead to the world, and my life is hid with Christ in God, and you
cannot touch it." In desperation the king turned to his advisers and asked,
"What can you do with a fanatic like that?" The Pilot's Smile In Robert Louis
Stevenson's story of a storm, he describes a ship caught off a rocky coast,
threatening death to all on board. When terror among the passengers was at its
worst, one man more daring than the rest, making the perilous passage to the
pilot-house, saw the pilot lashed to his post with his hands on the wheel,
turning the ship little by little into the open sea. When the pilot beheld the
ghastly white, terror-stricken face of the man, he smiled, and the man rushed to
the deck below shouting, "I have seen the face of the pilot and he smiled. All
is well." The sight of that smiling face averted panic and converted despair
into hope.




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  CHAPTER 123: TRUTH
========================================================================

Truth

Say What They Need to Hear, Even If It Kills You John the Baptist's message from
the wilderness was not, "Smile, God loves you." It was "O generation of vipers,
who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come." Jeremiah was not put into a
miry pit for preaching, "I'm OK, you're OK." It was for crying against the
adultery, idolatry and other wickedness of his nation. Noah's message from the
steps of the ark was not, "Something good is going to happen to you." He
condemned the world and was a preacher of righteousness. Jesus Christ was not
crucified for saying, "Consider the lilies, how they grow," but for saying, "Woe
unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites...children of hell ...fools and blind
guides ... whited sepulchers...generation of vipers." A Psychiatrist's
Confession I am a psychiatrist, but I can attest to the fact that all
truth-including psychological truth-is already written in the Bible. All of the
"findings" of the social scientists and psychologists have their basis first of
all in the Bible. A person could visit three different psychiatrists and get
three different approaches to his problem! He could visit them again a few years
later and discover they have shifted their views even more. Those of us who
believe the Bible have an unchanging foundation on which to build.

Tell the Truth Every Time A small boy was on the witness stand in an important
lawsuit. The prosecuting attorney cross-examined him, then delivered, he
thought, a crushing blow to the testimony. "Your father has been telling you how
to testify, has he not?" "Yes," the lad replied and did not hesitate with the
answer. "Now," said the lawyer triumphantly, "just tell us how your father told
you to testify." "Well," the boy said modestly, "Father told me the lawyers
would try to tangle me in my testimony, but if I would just be careful to tell
the truth, I could repeat the same thing every time."




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  CHAPTER 124: UNBELIEF
========================================================================

Unbelief

What Is the Difference... Between the atheist who would not dream of financially
supporting the church and the Christian who will not financially support the
Lord's church? Between the skeptic who does not believe the Bible and the
negligent Christian who never reads it? Between those who do not believe in
Bible classes and those who choose never to attend a class? Between the atheist
who does nothing to build up the Lord's church and the Christian who finds fault
with others but does nothing himself? Between a man of the world and a person in
the church who lives like a man in the world? Between a man of the world who
lives for self, and a person in the church building who lives for self, not God?
These are tough questions for Christians who live in a tough world. The fact is
that Christians make no difference until they are different. Again, what's the
difference?

Play It Safe A Georgia farmer, ragged and barefooted, was standing on the steps
of his tumbledown shack. A stranger stopped for a drink of water. "How is your
cotton coming along?" he asked. "Ain't got none," replied the farmer. "Did you
plant any?" asked the stranger. "Nope," was the reply, "afraid of bollweevils."
"Well," continued the stranger, "how is your corn?" "Didn't plant none," came
the answer, "'fraid there weren't gonna to be no rain." The visitor persevered:
"Well, how are your potatoes?" "Ain't got none. Scairt of potato bugs." "Really,
what did you plant?" pressed the stranger. "Nothin'," was the calm reply, "I
jest played safe."

It Just Happened Once, an unbeliever visited Isaac Newton, the great English
scientist and Christian. Newton had a mechanical model of the solar system in
his study. The unbeliever asked, "Who made this?" "Nobody," Mr. Newton replied
promptly. "You must think I am a fool!" the unbeliever said, "It would take a
genius to make this." Newton said, "This is only a puny imitation of a much
grander system. I cannot convince you that this mere toy is without a designer,
yet you profess to believe that the great original from which this design is
taken has come into being without a Designer or a Maker."

Transformed Lives! As Dr. Harry A. Ironside preached one day, he noticed a man
in the crowd writing on a card, which he presently handed to the speaker. The
man was Arthur Lewis, an agnostic lecturer, and he proposed a challenge to the
speaker to debate the subject, "Agnosticism versus Christianity," and offered to
pay all expenses involved. Dr. Ironside read the card aloud to his audience and
then said: "I accept on these conditions: "First, that you promise to bring with
you on the platform one man who was once an outcast, a slave to sinful habits,
but who heard you or some other infidel lecture on agnosticism, was helped by it
and cast away his sins and became a new man and is today a respected member of
society, all because of your unbelief. "Second, that you agree to bring with you
one woman who was once lost to all purity and goodness, but who can now testify
that agnosticism came to her while deep in sin and implanted in her poor heart a
hatred of impurity and a love of holiness, causing her to become chaste and
upright, all through a disbelief in the Bible." "Now, sir," he continued, "if
you will agree, I promise to be there with one hundred such men and women, once
just such lost souls, who heard the gospel of the grace of God, believed it and
have found new life and joy in Jesus Christ our Savior. Will you accept my
terms?" As might be expected, the atheist could only walk away silently.

Accounts Will Be Settled! An unsaved farmer, who gloried in his unbelief, wrote
a letter to a local newspaper saying, "Sir, I have been trying an experiment
with a field of mine. I plowed it on Sunday. I planted it on Sunday. I
cultivated it on Sunday. I reaped it on Sunday. I hauled it into my barn on
Sunday. Now, Mr. Editor, what is the result? I have more bushels to the acre in
that field than any of my neighbors have had this October." He expected some
applause from the editor who did not profess to be an especially religious man.
But underneath the letter the editor published the simple comment: "God does not
always settle his accounts in October"-the day of reckoning will come in His
appointed time. The Dirt Floor Spurgeon, that great prince of preachers, was
once staying at an inn in one of the valleys of northern Italy where the floor
was dreadfully dirty. "I had it in my mind to advise the lady to scrub it," said
Spurgeon, "but when I perceived it was made of dirt, I reflected that the more
she scrubbed the worse it would be." Just so, God knew that there could be no
improvement of the corrupt nature of man except through faith in His Son.

Don't Speak of the Resurrection A missionary was preaching on the resurrection
when the native chief cried out, "What are these words about the dead? The dead
arise? Will my father arise?" "Yes," answered the missionary. "Will all that
have been killed and eaten by lions, tigers, and crocodiles arise?" "Yes, and
come to judgment." "Hark!" shouted the chief, turning to his warriors. "You wise
men, did you ever hear such strange talk?" The chief then turned to the
missionary and said, "Sir, I love you much; but the words of resurrection are
too great for me. I do not wish to hear about the dead rising again. The dead
cannot rise; the dead shall not rise!" "Tell me, my friend, why not?" asked the
missionary. "Because I have slain my thousands. Do you think I want them to rise
again?" The gospel was all right as long as he did not have to face his sins. An
Ill-spent Life A millionaire in New York came to the end of his journey and
died. On his deathbed he gave continual expression to remorse for what his
conscience told him had been an ill-spent life. "Oh," he exclaimed, "if I could
only be spared for a few years I would give all the wealth I have amassed in my
lifetime! It is a life devoted to money-getting that I regret. It is this which
weighs me down and makes me despair of the life hereafter!"

Success without God "Father, are you going away?" asked a little girl of her
dying rich father. "Yes, dear, and I am afraid you won't see me again." Then the
little one asked, "Have you got a nice house and lots of friends there?" The
successful man of the world lay silent for a while and then said, "What a fool I
have been! I have built a great business here, but I shall be a pauper there."
The Unacceptable Excuse During a revival a young man said that he did not wish
to become a Christian. When asked for his reason, he replied, "Several years ago
I was in a man's kitchen. Finding me there, he swore at me and kicked me out. He
was a professing Christian, and from that time on I decided never to have
anything to do with religion. And I never have to this day." The young man was
asked to write down his reason in full and sign it. Then it was handed back to
him with the words, "Take this, and when you are asked for your excuse on the
day of judgment, hand this up." No Comfort Voltaire, that strange combination of
freethinker, deist, and rabid denouncer of Christianity, gives scant comfort to
atheists and agnostics in some of his pronouncements. "The world embarrasses
me," he said, "and I cannot think that this watch exists and has no watchmaker."
And in the same vein he confesses, "To whatever side you turn, you are forced to
acknowledge your own ignorance and the boundless power of the Creator."

Little Lost Mary A mother attended a service in a large and crowded auditorium
with her little daughter, Mary. In some manner the two became separated. The
mother sent a note to the platform which was read aloud: "If there is a little
girl named Mary Moore in the audience, who is lost, will she please raise her
hand so her mother can find her." No little girl raised her hand so the mother
had the police searching the city for the child. Still not finding her, the
mother came back and stood at the door of the auditorium as the people filed
out. Among the last of them was Mary. Her mother snatched her up, crying, "Where
were you, Mary?" "On the front row," replied the little one. "Didn't you hear
the man read the notice, 'If there is a little girl named Mary Moore in the
audience, who is lost, will she please raise her hand so her mother can find
her?'" "Yes," said Mary, "I heard it." "Then why didn't you raise your hand?"
"Why, Mother, it couldn't have meant me," said Mary, "for I wasn't lost. I knew
where I was."

Fear of Death Alfred Krupp of Prussia, the great cannon king, was literally a
manufacturer of death. However, he had such a fear of death that he never
forgave anyone who spoke to him of it. Every employee throughout his vast works
was strictly forbidden to refer to the subject of death in conversation. He fled
from his own home when a relative of his wife suddenly died there, and when Mrs.
Krupp remonstrated, he became so enraged that lifelong separation ensued. During
his last illness he offered his physician a million dollars if he would prolong
his life ten years. But no amount of money could buy an extension of his life.
How different it was with Jesus Christ, because He was not only God but man at
the same time. When He became man, He came down for a definite time, that by His
death and resurrection death might be conquered. The Perplexed Skeptic A young
skeptic said to an elderly lady, "I once believed there was a God, but now,
since studying philosophy and mathematics, I am convinced that God is but an
empty word." "Well," said the lady, "I have not studied such things, but since
you have, can you tell me where this egg comes from?" "Why, of course, from a
hen," was the reply. "And where does the hen come from?" "Why, from an egg."
Then the lady inquired, "Which existed first, the hen or the egg?" "The hen, of
course," rejoined the young man. "Oh, then a hen must have existed without
having come from an egg?" "Oh, no, I mean that one egg existed without having
come from a hen." The young man hesitated: "Well, you see-that is-of course,
well, the hen was first!" "Very well," said she, "who made that first hen from
which all succeeding eggs and hens have come?" "What do you mean by all this?"
he asked. "Simply this: I say that He who created the first hen or egg is He who
created the world. You can't explain the existence even of a hen or an egg
without God, and yet you wish me to believe that you can explain the existence
of the whole world without Him!" Thus the old lady's common sense sent the young
man's philosophy packing. Everything finite must have had a beginning. But the
important issue is, what is behind every finite beginning? Is it self-begun, or
is there an infinite and eternal mind, a personality, behind it, the same
personality which is behind every finite beginning? This personality John
chooses to call ho Logos, "the Word."

Admit Error How do you go about curing a drunk? The answer to that is, you
can't. Before a man can lead a consistently sober life, he has to be motivated
from within. He has to admit to himself he has a real problem, and he has to
want to lick it. Only then can anyone help him. It is the same way when a man is
obsessed with a false idea. You can't change his opinions simply by telling him
he is wrong. He will only become more firmly set against you, and more
determined than ever to defend his idea. No, a man must first admit to himself
that following his idea to its logical conclusion in his life has led to utter
spiritual poverty; he must want to know the truth. He must be willing to follow
it once he is convinced.

Decorations of an Empty Heart There are many people today who are religiously
decorated. These decorations deceive the owners into believing they are
Christians, that they are born-again believers. They have bought some religious
pictures or other items. They hang up pictures of saints or one of Jesus Christ
knocking at the closed door, but they have never opened their own door to
Christ. They have no love for the cross of Christ, but they may have a very
handsome crucifix hanging on the wall, or even a cross on a chain hanging around
their necks. They may be garnished with generosity, giving their tithes to the
church but withholding their hearts from Jesus Christ. The Bible is on the table
or in the bookcase, but it is never read. These are the decorations of religion
that the Lord is speaking about. People may pray long-winded prayers, show zeal,
go to church, volunteer to cut the church lawn, yet these may only be the
decorations of an empty heart. The Purpose of the Storms Early one morning the
doorbell rang at a pastor's home. There stood a young man, half drunk, in
despair, at the end of his own rope. If ever there was a life on the way to
shipwreck in a storm of his own creating, it was this young man's. His wife,
too, had come through a similar experience. Only 20 years old, she had been
married twice, and with children by both husbands had suffered indescribable
beatings-a storm of her own making. But in the midst of it all she had seen the
face of Christ through the ministry of this faithful pastor. She had been saved
by the grace of the Lord Jesus, and her life had been radically changed. Now her
husband had come before dawn to wake up the preacher and ask for spiritual help.
He could no longer live in the storm he had created. What had made him come to
himself?-the recent death of a young soldier killed in the line of duty. The
whole town was speaking of this fine Christian lad, now dead. The prodigal
husband questioned why God would take such a good man who was a blessing to the
world, and leave him, a miserable sinner, behind. The answer, of course, is that
the young soldier was ready to meet his God, while the prodigal was not. This
may be the reason He is keeping you alive. The storms God permits are temporary,
but the purpose for which He permits them is eternal.

Everybody but God One day Mark Twain took his little daughter on his knee and
told her all about the rulers and other prominent men whom he had met in his
travels. She listened attentively. When he had finished, she said, "Daddy, you
know everybody but God, don't you?" Mark Twain was certainly an intelligent
person. Yet he rejected God. A Pig in a Parlor A Christian military officer, who
visited the bedside of a dying soldier under his command, said to him, "I am
going to ask you a strange question. Suppose you could carry your sins with you
to heaven-would that satisfy you?" "The poor dying lad replied, "Why, sir, what
kind of heaven would that be to me? I would be just like a pig in a parlor!" He
was awakened to a sense of his lost state. The officer concluded, "The soldier
was panting after a heaven of holiness, and was convinced if he died in his sin
he would be quite out of his element in such a place of purity."

Modern Pharisee If a person is a seeker after signs from heaven in order that he
or others may believe, do you realize that he falls into the same category as
those who tempted Jesus and is classified by the Lord Jesus as belonging to a
wicked generation? The word of God should be the basis of our proclamation that
Jesus Christ has done enough for Him to be declared the Son of God.

Stranger in Heaven Robert Laidlaw, in his little gem of a tract, The Reason Why,
asks: "Would it be kindness to transfer a poor ragged beggar into the glare of a
beautiful ballroom? Would he not be more conscious of his rags and dirt? Would
he not do his best to escape again to the darkness of the street? He would be
infinitely happier there. Would it be kindness and mercy on God's part to bring
a man with his sins into the holy light of Heaven if that man had rejected God's
offer of the only cleansing power there is? If you and I would not wish our
friends to see inside our minds now and read all the thoughts that have ever
been there (and our friends' standards are perhaps not any higher than our own),
what would it be like to stand before God, whose absolute holiness would reveal
our sin in all its awfulness?" The Bible says you cannot sow thistles and reap
figs. You cannot live for the lusts of the flesh here and expect to enjoy the
things of the Spirit hereafter. "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the
flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap
life everlasting" (Galatians 6:8). A Child Shall Lead A skeptical physician
declared he could see no reason why he should have to come to the cross of
Christ to be saved. A friend gave him a famous book on apologetics with a
powerful defense of the reasonableness of the gospel. It satisfied the doctor's
reason, but it did not move his will. A short time later he was called to the
bedside of a little girl who was dying. She whispered that she had something to
say to him, that she hardly had the courage to, as it was about his peace with
God. But she added, "Tomorrow morning, when I am stronger, I will tell you." But
in the morning she was dead. This led to the physician's conversion and a
subsequent life of dedicated Christian service. God used a child rather than an
apologist of the faith to lead a learned man to Christ. Very interestingly the
word moron in Modern Greek has come to mean "child, baby." Thus we could
paraphrase 1 Corinthians 1:27 as "But God has chosen the mora-the foolish things
or those who are like little children-and the weak ones of the world, to
confound the wise and mighty ones."

Pride of Reason A Christian once served on a parliamentary commission with
Professor Thomas H. Huxley. One Sunday they stayed together in a little country
inn. "I suppose you are going to church this morning," said Huxley. "I am. I
always go to church on the Lord's Day," replied the Christian. Huxley said,
"Suppose you sit down and talk with me about religion-simple, experimental
religion." Sensing something of heart hunger in the great scientist, the
associate replied, "If you mean it, I will." Then he spoke out of a rich,
experimental knowledge of the saving and satisfying power of Christ. Huxley
listened intently. Grasping the hand of the Christian, he said with deep
feeling, "If I could believe what you have said about the cross of Christ and
His pardoning love, I would be willing to give my right hand." He really didn't
have to make that sacrifice. All he had to give up was the belief that the eye,
the ear, the mind, could know all that there is to know and experience. Had he
only been willing to swallow the pride of reason and to accept God's free gift,
he too could have experienced the power of God unto salvation.

Everything but the Bible Marshall Duroc, an avowed atheist, was once telling
Napoleon a very improbable story, at the same time giving his opinion that it
was true. The Emperor remarked, "There are some men who are capable of believing
everything but the Bible." There are some people who say they cannot believe the
Bible, yet their capacities for believing anything that opposes the Bible are
enormous.

Spiritually Blind A minister who faithfully proclaimed the Gospel in an open-air
meeting was challenged at the close by an unbeliever who stepped from the crowd
and said, "I don't believe in heaven or hell. I don't believe in God or Christ.
I haven't seen them." Then a man wearing dark glasses came forward and said,
"You say there is a river near this place? There is no such thing. You say there
are people standing here, but it cannot be true. I haven't seen them. I was born
blind. Only a blind man could say what I have said. And only a spiritually blind
man could say what you have said. The Bible says of you, 'The natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto
him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned' (1
Corinthians 2:14). Doesn't the Word of God say, 'The fool hath said in his
heart, There is not God'?" (Psalms 14:1). No Fear nor Hope in Death When Robert
Owen, the notorious freethinker, visited Alexander Campbell to arrange the
preliminaries for the great debate that was to follow, they walked about the
farm till they came to the family burying ground. "There is one advantage I have
over the Christian," boasted Mr. Owen. "I am not afraid to die. Most Christians
have fear in death, but, if some few items of my business were settled, I should
be perfectly willing to die at any moment." "Well," replied Mr. Campbell, "you
say you have no fear in death; have you any hope in death?" "No," said Mr. Owen
after a thoughtful pause. "Then," said Mr. Campbell, pointing to an ox standing
nearby, "you are on a level with that animal. He has eaten till he is satisfied,
stands in the shade whisking off the flies, and has neither hope nor fear in
death." How true is the saying, "They that die without dying thoughts shall die
without living comforts." The Blind Atheist Shelley could write of the exquisite
beauty of nature and yet was blind to its Source. He had often visited the Alps
and exulted in their breath-taking majesty. Yet when he signed the guest book at
the inn he added "atheist" after his name. The next visitor looked at it and
added, "If an atheist then a fool; if not a fool then a liar."

Atheist Faces Death For the person who is out of Christ, death is generally
viewed with terror. It is said that the French nurse who was present at the
death of Voltaire, being urged to attend an Englishman whose case was critical,
said, "Is he a Christian?" "Yes," was the reply, "he is a Christian in the
highest and best sense of the term-a man who lives in the fear of God. But why
do you ask?" "Because," she answered, "I was the nurse who attended Voltaire in
his last illness, and for all the wealth of Europe I would never watch another
atheist die." The One Supreme Mystery A young man who was studying medicine
could not accept the doctrine of the supernatural birth of Jesus Christ. He went
to a preacher who reasoned with him but left him in greater perplexity than
ever. When he had finished his medical studies, he went to practice medicine in
a rural community. One Sunday he decided to go and hear a backwoods preacher,
not thinking for a moment that such a man could change his viewpoint on the
virgin birth of Jesus Christ. But this humble preacher knocked more skepticism
out of the doctor in half an hour than he had accumulated in all his years of
medical school. He said, "If anybody here is troubled about the mystery of God
becoming man, I want to take you back to the first chapter of Genesis and the
first verse. 'In the beginning God....' " He looked down into the audience very
searchingly. The doctor was so self-conscious that he felt the speaker was
looking directly at him. Then the preacher continued, "My brother, let me ask
you this: Do you believe God was in the beginning? That is to say, that before
the beginning began, God was? Somebody had to be, to start things off. Science
tells us how things evolve and grow, but not how they first started." The doctor
whispered to himself, "Yes, I believe that." "Now," the preacher said, "if you
believe that God was before the beginning, you believe the only mysterious thing
of this universe." "If I believe that, God knows I could believe anything else
in the world," thought the doctor to himself. His conclusion that memorable
morning was, "I went to college and traveled through the mysteries of the theory
of reproduction and cell formation, and now I realize that I was just a common
fool; that if God was in the beginning, that was the one supreme mystery of all
mysteries of this mysterious universe of God." A Firm Stand for Christ A wealthy
unbeliever who had spent much money on the education of his daughter, returned
home from a business trip to be informed by his wife that the girl had gone
forward and accepted Christ at an evangelistic meeting. When she ran to greet
him, he struck her several times and told her to get out and never come back.
She took shelter in a friend's home and spent the night in prayer. Early next
morning the repentant father sent for her to come back. He met her at the gate,
saying, "I give you my heart and hand to go with you to heaven." The mother
followed, and all rejoiced in the saving power of Christ. A firm stand for
Christ did it all.

Power of God unto Salvation A Bible-believing Christian was assailed by an
atheist who said, "I don't understand how the blood of Jesus Christ can wash
away my sin, nor do I believe it." "You and Saint Paul agree on that," answered
the Bible student. "How so?" "Turn to the first chapter of 1Corinthians and read
verse 18: 'For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;
but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.' " The atheist looked
startled and began to study the Bible, where he soon found the cross to be the
power of God unto salvation.

Napolean's Question As Napolean was blazing his trail to the throne, he sought
to conquer Egypt. Along with him as assistants he had some of the best engineers
and scientists of France. It was natural they should talk about the land of the
Nile and the part religion had played in its history. They agreed that religion
had colored and carved the history of Egypt, but that all religion was only
legend and humbug. It couldn't be otherwise, seeing that even God was a myth. So
they talked beneath the starry heavens, these thinkers of France. They were
atheists, as indeed so many of their fellow countrymen were at that time.
Napolean listened and contributed nothing to the conversation, but as he rose to
leave he lifted his hand and pointed to the silent stars that shone so
brilliantly through the deep black sky. "Very ingenious, Messieurs," he said,
"but who made all that?" The Challenged Atheist An atheist who had just finished
lecturing to a great audience invited any who had questions to come to the
platform. After a short interval, a man who had been well-known in the town as a
hopeless drunkard but who had lately been converted, stepped forward. Taking an
orange, he turned to the lecturer and asked him if it was a sweet one. Very
angrily the man said, "Idiot, how can I know whether it is sweet or sour, when I
haven't tasted it?" To this the converted drunkard retorted, "And how can you
know anything about Christ if you have not tried Him?" The Atheist Persuaded A
young preacher once called upon an old atheist who was constantly arguing
against the existence of God. He found him sitting in his sawmill just over the
lever that lifts as the saw leaves the log. As the old man began to denounce the
Deity, that lever sprang, catching him under the heels and flinging him backward
and down into the stream. As he plunged, however, he shrieked as loudly as he
could, "God have mercy!" The preacher ran around, waded into the water, and drew
the struggling man ashore. Said the pastor, "I thought that you did not believe
in a God." As soon as the atheist stopped struggling he said in a subdued voice,
"Well, if there is not a God, there ought to be one, to help a man when he can't
help himself!" Who Made It? One of the greatest atheists of the past was Robert
G. Ingersoll. In spite of his atheism, he had for a friend the famous preacher,
Henry Ward Beecher. In the preacher's study was an elaborate celestial globe
which had been sent him with the compliments of some manufacturer. On the
surface in delicate workmanship were raised figures of the constellations and
stars which composed them. The globe struck Ingersoll's fancy one day when he
was visiting the preacher. He turned it around and around with admiration. "That
is just what I want," he said, "Who made it?" "Who made it, do you say,
Colonel?" repeated Beecher. "Who made this globe? Why nobody, of course. It just
happened." Well, we all know better than that. We know that things don't just
happen but they have a cause, and there must be a First Cause of all things.
That is as far as the mind of man will take him. The logical conclusion-there
must be God, the Creator.

Fools for Christ's Sake Henry M. Stanley found Livingstone in Africa and lived
with him for some time. Here is his testimony: "I went to Africa as prejudiced
as the biggest atheist in London, but there came for me a long time for
reflection. I saw this solitary old man there and asked myself, 'Why on earth
does he stop here-is he cracked, or what? What is it that inspires him?' For
months after we met, I found myself wondering at the old man carrying out all
that was said in the Bible- 'Leave all things and follow Me.' But little by
little his sympathy for others became contagious. My sympathy was aroused,
seeing his piety, his gentleness, his zeal, his earnestness, and how he went
about his business. I was converted by him, although he had not tried to do it."
The Philosopher's Answer A heathen philosopher, on being asked the question,
"What and where is God?" desired two days in which to prepare an answer. Partly
pressed with the difficulties of the subject itself, and partly encumbered and
confounded by polytheistic prejudices, he doubled and redoubled the time. When
required to state the reason for his delay, he acknowledged, "It is a question
in which my insufficient reason is lost. The oftener I ask myself, 'What is
God?' the less able I am to answer." How much more are you unable to reason why
the omnipotent God, in order to save your soul, had to become man in the person
of Jesus Christ and die on a cross. That is beyond reasoning, but it is within
grasp of one's experience.

Wisdom Has to Go The crust is bread itself; the ice is the very water of the
river; and the hard ground is the very soil of the earth. It is the very
substance of the thing that it imprisons. Each forms a barrier which resists
outside influences. That's exactly what happens to man. His wisdom and
self-assurance are the barriers that keeps God's wisdom from reaching him. A
child is fit for the Kingdom of God because, as yet, he has not formed a
crust-like barrier.

Man-Spiritually Blind A minister was asked by a Quakeress, "Does not thee think
that we can walk so carefully, live so correctly, and avoid every fanaticism so
perfectly, that every sensible person will say, 'That is the kind of religion I
believe in?'" He replied, "Sister, if thee had a coat of feathers as white as
snow, and a pair of wings as shining as Gabriel's, somebody would be found
somewhere on the footstool with so bad a case of color blindness as to shoot
thee for a blackbird."

Hearers Only An auditor is one who sits down with the other students, and has
the same advantages of learning, but does not have the same responsibilities.
When examinations are given, he does not have to take them. He is just an
auditor. He may have listened very carefully and have greatly benefited from
what he has heard, but he does not have to be checked by his professor. He
doesn't have to hand in any term papers or theses. He feels very free when he
sees the other duly registered students studying hard while he can take it easy.
But the day of graduation comes, and you know what happens then. The one who sat
for the examination and had responsibilities as well as duties receives a
diploma, a degree, and can be a practicing lawyer, teacher, doctor, businessman,
etc. The auditor, however, can have nothing at all, except possibly a
certificate showing that he had been physically present in class while the
professor gave the lectures on a certain subject.

Blinded by Sin Isn't light self-revealing? Do we need to stand out in the street
and shout to those who pass by, "That's the sun," as we point to it in all its
brightness? The sun is self-revealing in the same sense that Jesus Christ was
and is the Light of the world. The fact that John the Baptist came to give his
witness about the Light did not in any way steal from it the power to reveal
itself. The necessity for the human testimony of the Baptist is a clear
indication of the complete depravity of man, his inability to comprehend that
which is spiritual. His mind and heart have been so darkened by sin that, seeing
the Light, he does not recognize it as the Light. We must also remember what men
and women actually saw down here on earth was a human Jesus. Their darkened
vision could not see anything superhuman in Him. It was necessary for someone
like John the Baptist to tell them that this One who walked with them and who
ate with them was the Light.

God a Necessity During the French Revolution, Robespierre, himself an inhuman
monster, quickly saw that the renunciation of religion would soon bring about
the dissolution of all society. He thereupon began to speak in favor of
religion, though he admitted that he had been an indifferent Catholic. He ended
his first speech in that direction with the words, "If God did not exist, it
would be necessary to invent Him." But God has to reveal Himself to man in order
for man to know Him fully. He has promised to do this through His Word.

Sin Blinds A little boy who had been born blind underwent an operation to
restore his sight. The light was let in slowly. Then one day his mother led him
out of doors and uncovered his eyes, and for the first time he saw the sky and
earth. "O Mother!" he cried, "Why didn't you tell me it was so beautiful?" She
burst into tears and said, "I tried to tell you, dear, but you could not
understand me." Sinful man is also blind to the splendor and the glory of the
light of the gospel. The only way he can comprehend it is to let the light in,
through the enabling of the Holy Spirit.

Hidden Treasure Two men were sent to check a rumor that iron lay beneath the
surface of a certain piece of ground. One, a scientist and mineralogist,
conscious of his own limitations, took along some instruments. The other, a
buoyant, self-confident individual, said, "I believe what I can see; and what I
can't see I won't believe." He walked rapidly over the field and said, "Iron?
Nonsense! I see no iron; there is no iron here." And that is what he stated in
his report. The other man did not trust his eye at all but looked at his
instruments. The needle on one pointed to the fact that a rich deposit of iron
did lie beneath the earth's surface. As he made his report he said, "My eye
couldn't see it, but my magnet discerned it." As the eye cannot see minerals
hidden in the earth, so it cannot see what is in the heart of God toward man.
Man can look upon the crucified Christ and fail to see God's plan of redemption.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 125: UNDISCERNMENT
========================================================================

Undiscernment

Differing Viewpoints Not all people can see God in the various manifestations of
life. Two men looking at the same person may make two dissimilar observations;
they may form two varying opinions, and their judgments will reflect their
differing viewpoints. When Thomas Edison was a young man in school in Ohio, his
teacher said he'd never amount to anything because, seemingly, he could learn
only science and mathematics. He couldn't pass his other subjects because he
wasn't interested in them. The poor fellow nearly despaired when his teacher, at
wit's end, recommended his expulsion. He knew he was slow in English and
history, but he was sure he was going to amount to something in spite of it.
This young man, as everybody now knows, was a genius, an electrical wizard, a
pioneer inventor who helped make America's standard of living what it is today.

He Didn't See Snakes "I will never forget my first experience in hospital work,"
said Chief Surgeon Millar of the Central Emergency Hospital in San Francisco.
"There was an undergraduate nurse in the detention ward, and we had a very
violent case-a man in the worst stage of delirium tremens. I was awakened in the
middle of the night by the head nurse who requested me to come at once to the
patient. When I got there I found him raving and very violent, with the new
nurse scared out of her wits." Then the doctor said, "Why did you let him go so
far? I left you some medicine to give him as soon as he got delirious." "Yes,
doctor," the nurse replied, "but you told me to give that to him if he saw any
more snakes, but this time he was seeing blue dogs with pink tails."

Spiritually Color-blind Just as some color-blind people are not aware of their
color blindness, so it is spiritually. Those who are sinful are not always aware
of their sinfulness, of their spiritual color blindness. In recent years, the
great railroad companies test the vision of their employees by the aid of
skilled eye specialists, with the result that from 10-25 percent of those who
apply for positions as engineers and signal men are found to be deficient in
color judgment. This is certainly a very pertinent illustration of Christ's
teaching in Luke chapter eleven. As the managers of railroads heed the cry of
the newspapers and the public to beware of color blindness, and are determined
that the men who drive their trains shall know the difference between red and
green, so the warning of Christ comes to every one of us, "Take heed therefore
that the light which is in thee be not darkness" (Luke 11:35). A Blessing
Overlooked A man who owned a small estate sent for an agent and asked him to
write an advertisement offering it for sale. When the advertisement was ready,
the agent read it to him. "Read that again," said the owner. The agent read it
once more. "I don't think I will sell after all," said the man. "I have been
looking for an estate like that all my life and did not know that I owned it."
Have you praised the Lord for what you now possess on this earth which you
wouldn't have if the Lord had not given it to you.

Spiritually Bankrupt Aesop speaks in one of his down-to-earth fables of a
goatherd who, having been caught in the mountains in a snowstorm, drove his
flock into a large cave for shelter. There he discovered some wild goats who had
taken refuge before him. The goatherd was so impressed by the size and looks of
these goats, so much more beautiful than his own, that he gave the wild goats
all the food he could collect. The storm lasted many days, during which the tame
goats died of starvation. When the sun shone again, the wild goats ran out and
disappeared in the mountains, leaving the disappointed goatherd to make his way
home, a poorer, and a wiser man. So it is with all those who exchange the tried
and true teaching of God's Word for the ear-tickling speculations of men.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 126: UNITY
========================================================================

Unity

Bear One Another's Burdens One hot day, Herman Trueblood, all clean and cooled
off by a nice swim in the ocean, saw a sweating man and his two sons trying on a
hot day to push his disabled car up an incline. Two voices started yelling at
each other inside him. One said, "There is an opportunity for service; you ought
to help them push." The other voice protested, "Now that is none of your
business. You will get yourself all hot and dirty. Let them handle their own
affair." He finally yielded to his better impulse. He put his shoulder to the
task. The car moved and kept moving. A simple thing then happened which
Trueblood never forgot. The father stuck out his dirty hand, and Trueblood stuck
out his dirty hand. The father said, "I am very glad that you came along. You
had just enough strength, added to ours, to make the thing go." "Years have
passed since that hot day, but I can still hear that man saying, 'You had just
enough strength, added to ours, to make the thing go,'" Trueblood reflected more
recently. "There are many thousands of people struggling to get some heavy load
over the hill, and I probably have 'just enough strength, added to theirs, to
make the thing go.'"

Strength in Union One of Aesop's fables tells of four oxen who were such great
friends that they always kept together when feeding. A lion watched them for
many days with longing eyes, but never being able to find one apart from the
rest, was afraid to attack them. Whenever he came near they turned their tails
to one another so that whichever way he approached them he was met by horns. At
length he succeeded in awakening jealousy among them, which grew into a mutual
aversion, and they strayed a considerable distance from each other. The lion
then fell upon them singly and killed them all. The moral is, "United we stand,
divided we fall."

Each His Part "I did," said the sticks. "I did," said the paper. "I did," said
the boy. "No, I did," said the wind. But they all flew the kite together. If the
sticks had broken, the tail caught in a tree, the paper torn or the wind was
lulled, the kite would have come down. Each had a part to play. The application
is inescapable. We each have a work to do. If the work of the Lord is to be a
success, then every member of the church must play his part. We have the work of
visiting, giving, preaching, and countless other jobs to do to make the church
and its work successful. We must all work together and each do what he can to
help. It is a matter of teamwork (1 Corinthians 3:6-9).

Togetherness Can Build Up a Church A clergyman once remarked to Sir John
Barbirolli how he wished he could fill his church building the way Sir John and
the Halle Orchestra filled every seat of a large concert hall. The conductor
replied, "You could, if you had a hundred members who worked together as well as
the members of this orchestra." The white cuffs of the violinists stood out
against a black background and made a bold horizontal line across the left side
of the stage. As they played, those white cuffs remained an almost perfectly
straight line which often moved up and down very quickly. It was a splendid
demonstration of how the members of a great orchestra will not only play the
right notes, but will play them together. A great church is somewhat like a
great orchestra. The members will not only make the right moves, but will make
them together. They must learn to decide upon a task and execute it with perfect
harmony. A musician who always wants to play his favorite piece (which may be
exceptionally beautiful) and refuses to play-or else plays very halfheartedly or
slowly-when another composition is chosen, not only will not help the cause but
will be a detriment to the whole orchestra and may destroy its appeal. And a
church member who is out of step with others, and who approaches his tasks
carelessly or reluctantly, may generate more sour music than the sweet notes all
the rest can draw out. The Church As a Team The story is told of a horse-pull in
Canada. One horse pulled 9,000 pounds, another 8,000. Together you would expect
them to pull 18,000 pounds. Not so! When teamed together, they pulled 30,000
pounds. The principle is called synergism. By definition, the simultaneous
action of separate agents working together has a greater total effect than the
sum of their individual efforts. More can be done in a team effort than can be
accomplished solo. In order for the principle of synergism to work like it
should, there has to be teamwork. Everything we do takes teamwork and trust.
Every person in the local church is valuable and needed. The church is a team,
and together we can build for the Lord.

Laborers Together An old legend tells of a noisy carpenter's shop in which the
tools of the trade were arguing among themselves. Brother Hammer was told by his
fellow tools that he would have to leave because he was too noisy. To which he
replied, "If I am to leave this carpenter's shop, Brother Gimlet must go too; he
is so insignificant that he makes very little impression." Little Brother Gimlet
arose and said, "All right, but Brother Screw must go also; you have to turn him
around and around again and again to get him anywhere." Brother Screw said, "If
you wish, I will go. But Brother Plane must leave also; all his work is on the
surface, there is no depth to it." To this Brother Plane replied, "Well, Brother
Rule will have to withdraw if I do, for he is always measuring others as though
he were the only one who is right." Brother Rule then complained against Brother
Sandpaper and said, "I just do not care, he is rougher than he ought to be and
he is always rubbing people the wrong way." In the midst of the discussion, the
Carpenter of Nazareth walked in. He had come to perform His day's work. He put
on His apron, and went to the bench to make a pulpit. He employed the screw, the
gimlet, the sandpaper, the saw, the hammer and the plane and all the other
tools. After the day's work was over and the pulpit was finished, Brother Saw
arose and said, "Brethren, I perceive that all of us are laborers together with
God." Is it not wonderful how God uses all of us and our unique gifts in the
building of His pulpit! The Uniting Love of Christ In a museum, an old
white-haired man was standing fascinated before a picture of Christ. After
gazing at it for a few moments he murmured to himself, with face all aglow,
"Bless Him, I love Him!" A stranger standing near overhead him and said,
"Brother, I love Him, too," and clasped his hand. A third caught the sentence
and said, "I love Him, too"; soon there stood in front of that picture a little
circle of people with hands clasped, utter strangers to one another, but made
one by their common love of Christ. On further discussion they found they
belonged to different Christian denominations. But this did not disturb their
fellowship. Perhaps others belonging to their particular denomination, but not
to Christ, could not do what they were doing, stand in awe before Christ and
have fellowship with those who possessed the same feeling.

What Kind of Christian? Many people turn denominational adjectives into nouns.
Instead of saying, I am a Baptist Christian, a Presbyterian Christian, a
Catholic Christian, or an Orthodox Christian, they say, I am a Baptist; I am a
Presbyterian; I am a Catholic; I am Orthodox, and so on. This is a distortion of
values, for being a Christian is the important thing, and what kind of Christian
you call yourself is purely secondary.

Cooperation There were two Christians occupying the same cottage, each bound to
keep his own side of the house well thatched. They were sadly divided
denominationally, one being a Baptist and the other a Presbyterian. After
repeated battles with words, they were not on speaking terms. One day these men
were at work on the roof, each thatching his own side, when they met at the top
and were forced to look into each other's faces. One of the men took off his
cap, and scratching his head said to the other, "Johnnie, you and me, I think,
have been very foolish to dispute as we have done concerning Christ's will about
our churches, until we have clean forgot His will about ourselves; we have
fought so bitterly for what we call the truth, that it has ended in spite.
Whatever is wrong, it's perfectly certain that it never can be right to be
impolite, unneighborly, unkind-in fact, to hate one another. No, that's the
devil's work, not God's! The same thing may be the matter with the church as
with this house. You are working on one side, and I am on the other, but if we
only do our work well, we will meet at the top at last. Give me your hand, old
neighbor!" So they shook hands and were the best of friends ever after.

Get Your Heads Together There is an old legend about a herd of mules that was
attacked nightly by a pack of wolves from a nearby forest. When the wolves came,
the mules began kicking viciously in all directions. Consequently the mules
maimed and injured each other while the agile wolves escaped unharmed. Finally,
a wise old mule called the rest together for a conference and made known his
plans. That night the wolves came yelping from the forest as usual, but instead
of the mules kicking, they all ran and put their heads together in a circle and
began kicking outward. The wolves were put to flight, and the mules did no harm
to each other. Christians need to get their heads together and kick outward
against the forces of iniquity. The world must sometimes wonder whether we who
call ourselves Christ's fishermen have any heads to put together. A Future
Perfection Probably you've heard of the group who were supposed to have arrived
in heaven and been met by St. Peter. In a beautiful meadow they saw some people
assembled and asked Peter who they were. Peter replied, "They are
Presbyterians." They walked on a distance to a beautiful brook, and one asked,
"Who are the people gathered over there?" And Peter answered, "They are
Lutherans." Then they came to a tremendously high wall and one asked, "Whose are
the voices we hear behind that wall?" "Shh!" said Peter. "Please be quiet!" Then
he whispered the name of that denomination and said, "They think they are the
only ones up in this place, and we don't want to disillusion them. If they find
out that others have made it up here, too, how will they feel?"

Workers Together As you look outside on a snowy day and admire the beauty of the
landscape, you may recall that no two snowflakes have ever been found to be
alike. Yet each individual snowflake is only a minute drop of frozen water as it
falls to earth. However, many snowflakes together cover the ground and can
change the course of things and persons. When you do your best, and join that
best with the efforts of other Christians, you will be amazed at what God can do
with your combined "bests."

Nearer the Center On a blank leaf of his Bible a man had drawn a circle with
several radii converging on the center, which he called "Christ." On the radii
were written the names of different denominations of Christians. Underneath were
written the words, "The nearer to the center the nearer to one another."




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 127: VENGEANCE
========================================================================

Vengeance No Mercy The first mate on a certain vessel, yielding to temptation,
became drunk for the first time in his life. The captain entered in the ship's
log, "Mate drunk today." The mate implored the captain to remove it from the
record, saying if the ship's owners saw it he would lose his post, and the
captain well knew it was his first offense. But the obdurate captain refused,
saying, "This is the fact, and into the log it goes." Some days afterward, the
mate was keeping the log. After giving the latitude and longitude, the run for
the day, the wind and the sea, he made this entry: "Captain sober today." The
indignant captain protested, saying that it would leave an altogether false
impression in the minds of the owners of the vessel, as if it were an unusual
thing for him to be sober. But the mate answered as the captain had, "This is
the fact, and into the log it goes."

Vengeance Many Christians are like the woman who had been bitten by a dog and
was advised by her physician to write her last wishes, as she might succumb to
hydrophobia. She spent so long with pencil and paper that the doctor finally
remarked something about how long the will would be. "Will!" she snorted. "I'm
writing a list of the people I'm going to bite!"




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 128: WEAKNESS
========================================================================

Weakness

Lost Temper An aged man went to his physician for an examination. The physician
expressed astonishment at his robust vigor in spite of his advanced years. The
man explained that he had been compelled to live an out-of-doors life. He then
went on to say that when he and his wife were married, they made a compact. When
he lost his temper, she was to keep silent. When she lost her temper, he was to
go out of doors! This is still better advice: "Enter your closet and seek the
Lord in prayer."

Wrath Yields to Mercy The pastor of a large city church was walking down the
street one day with set lips and a steely look in his eye. A parishioner greeted
him with the question, "How are you today, Pastor?" He waked as from a dream and
said, "I am mad!" It was an unusual word for this mild-mannered Christian, but
he went on to explain with deep emotion: "I found a widow standing by her goods
thrown into the street. She could not pay the month's rent. The landlord turned
her out; one of her children is going to die; and that man is a member of the
church! I told her to take her things back again. I am on my way to see him
now!" Wrath against injustice, hypocrisy, and greed can be found throughout
Scripture. But if we are to be guided by the Word of God, our wrath must always
yield to mercy when the repentant sinner turns to ask forgiveness.

Always an Excuse Some Christians have the same idea about the commandments of
God as a little boy who was playing with his sister. A most unpleasant woman who
lived near by had been finding fault with them, and the boy said, "I just hate
her!" His little sister, greatly shocked, said, "Oh no! The Bible says we must
love everyone." "Oh, well," he remarked, "old Mrs. Blank wasn't born when that
was written." In the same way the disobedient Christian always finds an excuse.

Stop Shouting A mother had fallen into the disagreeable habit of yelling at her
children. She thought this necessary in order to maintain her authority; then
she was confined to bed for a week with severe laryngitis. She could not speak
above a whisper and had to run the affairs of her household from her bed. "Do
you know," she confessed afterward, "I found that the children were far more
well-behaved and good-natured when I could only speak to them in a whisper than
when I used to shout at them."

Disturbances Within Astronomers once blamed the inaccuracy of the images viewed
in their telescopes on atmospheric disturbances. Later investigation revealed
that a good deal of the disturbance of telescopic images arises from currents
within the telescope itself. But though we cannot altogether eliminate the
conditioning of outside influences in our quest for truth, we must attempt to
free ourselves as much as possible from the disturbing currents within-the
moods, tempers, sympathies, and fears that falsely bias the soul.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 129: WILL
========================================================================

Will The Will to Do It The late Dr. Wernher Von Braun once was asked what it
would take for man to reach the moon, and he replied, "The will to do it." This
answer holds good in nearly every field of human endeavor. In medicine,
determination and persistence have paid off in spectacular breakthroughs in
conquering diseases. In transportation the dream of traveling around the world
in a matter of hours has become a reality because the will to do so was strong.
"The will to do it!" How vitally important this attitude is in Christianity! If
you really want to do God's will, you can, but you must will to do it. This is
true in so many areas of our lives. Where the Storm May Carry You There is a
beautiful figure in one of Wordsworth's poems about a bird swept from the rough
and rocky country habitat by the strong winds of a storm. The bird battled
desperately, trying to get back to its familiar home, but all in vain. At last,
it yielded to the wind, thinking that the storm would carry it to its death, but
the gale carried it across the waves and brought it to a sunny land with green
meadows and forest glades. How many of us have been like that little voyager,
fretting and fighting against the will of God? We think life can never be the
same again when we are carried seaward by the storm, until at last, we cease our
struggling and yield to the wind, only to find that we have been carried to a
place far better. God's Word encourages us to praise the Lord in the midst of
raging waves and the strong winds of the storm. We can be assured that in God's
own time and way, He will bring us to a better haven He has prepared for us.
Remember: none lives so pleasantly as he who lives by faith.

God's Will Here is an illustration of how to find God's will that has been
useful to many: There was a certain harbor that was treacherous and dangerous.
In order for the captain to guide his ship safely into this harbor, he had to be
very attentive to the three lights that were used to guide him. When all three
lights lined up as one, he knew it was safe to proceed. Then, and only then,
would he be able to bring his ship safely to port. As we seek guidance, we, too,
have to be attentive to three lights that are used to guide us into the harbor
of His will: the Word of God, outward circumstances, and inner conviction. When
all three of these lights line up, we can proceed with assurance that we will be
led safely into the harbor.

Respect God's Will A good pilot must have a healthy fear of gravity. This
respect is not in the conscious mind of most pilots, but it forms the foundation
of everything they do. When a headstrong pilot comes up against gravity, gravity
will win-no matter how strongly the pilot opposes it. A pilot who does not
respect gravity is not around to tell us about it. In a sense, this healthy
respect of gravity is similar to our living in submission to God's sovereign
will. Ultimately, whether or not we choose to accept it, God's will wins out.

How to Find God's Will A young man went into a church and started praying. He
was so anxious to find God's will for his life that he took a piece of paper and
wrote down all the things that he was going to do for God. Then he started to
pray that God might reveal to him whether these promises were acceptable to Him.
"This is not the way I want you to find My will. All I want of you is for you to
sign your name and leave the paper blank for Me to fill." The Human Will A
waitress, a fine Christian woman, works in a restaurant. The tax law states that
tips received from customers should be declared as "taxable revenue." But the
Christian waitress begins to rationalize: "The others do not declare them; Why
should I? If I do, I shall get them in trouble." The element of benevolence
enters this situation and a sinful action is justified as one of protection of
fellow workers. In reality, however, the non-declaration of tips, altogether or
in part, is due to the fact that so much tax has to be paid. What, then, does
this Christian waitress think of doing? Do not count the tips but declare a flat
sum for each working day. Her will hinders her from reporting her actual
earnings. The human will is the hardest horse to tame; it is the hardest part of
our personality to subject to the will of God. Sometimes we even want the will
of God to appear as our own will.

God's Will, My Will A lady had a little gold cross, on the upright part of which
the words, "God's will," were engraved. On the crossbar were the words, "My
will." At the touch of a spring the cross disappeared and left only a straight
beam bearing the words, "God's will." Thus, when our will is lost in God's and
we are indeed dead unto sin, it is no longer a cross to follow Christ. We shall
no longer complain that we do not get our own selfish way, because we shall not
have any. When our will is contrary to God's will, then we have a cross to bear.




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  CHAPTER 130: WISDOM
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Wisdom

Integrity and Wisdom "My boy," said the store owner to his new employee, "wisdom
and integrity are essential to the retail business. By 'integrity'I mean if you
promise a customer something, you have got to keep that promise-even if it means
we lose money." "And what," asked the teenager, "is wisdom?" "That," answered
the boss, "is not making any stupid promises."

Ten Rules for Happier Living Give something away (no strings attached). Do a
kindness (and forget it). Spend a few minutes with the aged (their experience
can be priceless guidance). Look intently into the face of a baby (and marvel).
Laugh often (it is life's lubricant). Give thanks (a thousand times a day is not
enough). Pray (or you will lose the way). Work (with vim and vigor). Plan as
though you will live forever (because you will). Live as though you will die
tomorrow (because you will die on some tomorrow).

Lessons From Teardrops Two little teardrops were floating down the river of
life. One said to the other, "Who are you?" It replied, "I am a teardrop from a
girl who loved a man and lost him. Who are you?" The first responded, "Well, I
am a teardrop from the girl who got him!" Life is like that. We cry over things
we cannot have. If we only knew it, we would probably cry more if we had
received them. Paul had the right idea when he said, "I have learned in
whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" (Philippians 4:11).

Wise Advice from Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln once said, "You cannot bring
about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by
weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage
payer. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn. You cannot build
character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence. You
cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for
themselves.

Seek Counsel from More Than One Here is a caution about seeking experienced
counsel: It's dangerous to go on just one person's experience. Mark Twain told
about a cat who sat on a hot stove lid. That experience taught the cat never to
sit on a hot stove lid again. But further, that cat never sat on a cold stove
lid either. He took more from the experience than it had to offer. If we're
going to talk about experiences, we would be wise to talk to a number of people
who have faced similar decisions and extract direction from their combined
counsel.

Motivation behind Choices There are a great many actions which, in and of
themselves, are neither right nor wrong. They are made right when we act in
love. They become wrong if we act in selfishness. It's like playing the piano.
There are no right or wrong notes. There are only right or wrong notes in the
context of the musical score. We many not like G or F, or be very favorable to
middle C, but the note is only wrong in the context of what is being played.
Likewise, choices become right or wrong based on the motivation behind them.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 131: WITNESS
========================================================================

Witness The Aroma To just come right out and ask somebody what they think you
smell like might be offensive to them (or to you-if they give you a candid
answer). But most people care deeply about what others think of their particular
odor. Americans spend zillions of dollars every year on perfumes (Obsession-$50
for 4 ounces) and cologne (quality gentlemen's foo-foo sells for about $10 an
ounce, too). But those products just fix you from the neck up. Deodorants,
special soaps, body splashes and powders, breath mints and mouthwashes are also
big ticket items for the socially conscious. If you need a good excuse to buy
products that make you smell pleasant, here it is. Now there is a new branch of
scientific research called "odor engineering." So far the researchers have tried
odor engineering only in the work place. According to the publication
Communication Briefings, one Japanese firm reports that air scented with
lavender cut keypunching errors by 21 percent. Jasmine-scented air dropped
errors by 33 percent and lemon in the air was even better-this cut errors by 54
percent. They determined that lavender reduces stress, jasmine relaxes and lemon
stimulates. Odors do make a difference. This gives new significance to a
Scripture that has always intrigued me. "For we are to God the aroma of Christ
among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are
the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life" (2 Corinthians
2:15-16). The odor engineers have not done any research as to what happens to
people (or a community) when a true believer comes around and gives everybody a
whiff of Christ. But Paul says this odor does make a difference. The believer,
with the knowledge and life of Christ, emits (in a figurative way) the very
smell of Christ's sweet sacrifice (note Ephesians 5:2). We cannot buy it in a
bottle. It does not ooze out of our pores. It comes out in our attitudes,
actions and words. That sweet smell affects everybody around us. So it might not
be a bad idea to ask yourself, "What do I really smell like?" If you know Christ
your life smells good. And you will naturally make a difference in all those
around you. Who Changed Tom Brown? The book Tom Brown's School Days contains a
story about a boy who had the courage to stand up to ridicule. Tom Brown was a
student at Rugby Boys School when a new boy enrolled. On his first night in a
room with 12 beds and 11 other boys, he knelt to say his evening prayers. Tom
turned his head just in time to see a heavy slipper flying through the air
toward the head of the new boy. When the lights went out a little later, Tom
Brown thought of his mother, and the prayers she had taught him to say, which he
had never done since he came to Rugby. He decided that the next time he went to
bed, he, too, would say his prayers. The next night, the other boys in the room,
ready to laugh and scoff at the newcomer who said his prayers, were amazed to
see Tom Brown, whom they all respected and feared, kneel down at the side of his
bed and pray. That boy's courageous prayer, in spite of the ridicule, won him
the respect of all his companions. He later became one of the most distinguished
men of the Church of England. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God" (Philippians 4:6). The Real Proof of God Keith Robinson, in The Encourager,
writes: "When God wanted to authenticate Himself to the ancient world, He called
His nation Israel as witness. 'You are my witnesses,'He said, testimony that 'I
am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I,
even I, am the Lord' (Isaiah 48:10). The people of God served as the undeniable
proof of God. "God's people still offer the most basic and best proof of God. A
changed life is still the best testimony of God's power. Divine love reflected
in a Christian heart which accepts, forgives and loves the unlovable is still
the best witness of the nature of God. Hope that will not die is still the best
proof of eternal life. Faith which cannot be shaken even in the face of death is
still the best demonstration of the immutability of God's promises. "We who have
been granted the imponderable privilege of partaking in the divine nature (2
Peter 1:4), are the witnesses, the demonstration, the proof of the divine
presence in the world. Books and lessons and sermons and reason may have their
place, but the real test is in the lives of God's chosen people. If that proof
is not clear and constant, everything else is just hearsay." Which Am I? A
strong horseshoe magnet may be held over an old rust-eaten, shapeless nail
without meeting any response. A bright, ringing nail will leap to the magnet,
attract another, and through it draw yet another, until several are attracted.
That is how Christians are. A really genuine, active, shining Christian has a
tremendous attraction to Christ, is magnetized by His love and purity, attracted
by His power. And through that Christian, Christ can draw others to Him to share
the same power and attraction. But a rusty, unpolished, corroded Christian,
cranky, defiled and selfish, has very little attraction, and through him the
power of Christ to win the world cannot flow. God has enough power to wipe out
every vice and every evil doctrine in this world, but first of all, there must
be conductors. And rusty, untaught, unprepared, and unpracticed church members
neither draw others near to God nor are drawn near themselves. Our religion must
be intensive before it can be extensive.

Every Christian Is a Missionary One day, Mr. Wilfred Grenfell, medical
missionary to Labrador, was guest at a dinner in London together with a number
of socially prominent British men and women. During the course of the dinner,
the lady seated next to him turned and said, "Is it true, Dr. Grenfell, that you
are a missionary?" Dr. Grenfell looked at her for a moment before replying, "Is
it true, madam, that you are not?"

Example and Teaching What ingredients go into creating the environment of a
truly Christian home? Some would say it is teaching our children right from
wrong, belief in God, and respect for their fellowman. But can one truly "teach"
such fundamental truths as these? Rather we must live these truths each and
every day so that our children are irresistibly drawn to the right and the good
life by our continual example. The Wife's Example Made the Difference A young
man finally came to Christ and was baptized after years of indiffernce. Many
talked to him about the Lord, but were not able to sway him. It is not known
what finally moved him, but for years his faithful wife went to every service of
the churchl, Sunday morning and evening, Bible Study on Wednesday night.
Sometimes he went with her. Sometimes he was working or out of town, but she
went. They had one, then two and finally three children. She went on with her
children rain or shine. On one instance, it was raining so hard that one could
hardly see. The wind was blowing. This good Christian mother drove up, got out
of her car and carried one baby into the church building and then started back
for another one when a man came forward to help her out on that last trip. It
was her husband who was baptized, and we all probably know the sermon that
converted him.

Let It Shine Benjamin Franklin wanted to interest the people in Philadelphia in
street lighting. He did not call a town meeting nor try to persuade the people
by talking about it. He acted upon what he considered a good idea. He hung a
beautiful lantern on a long bracket in front of his house. He kept the glass
polished and carefully trimmed and lit the wick every evening at the approach of
dusk. The lamp helped the people see the pavement ahead; made them feel more
secure at night. Others began placing lights in front of their houses. Soon
Philadelphia recognized the need for street lights. Be the one today to light up
your neighborhood with the light of life. Let it shine. Let your light shine
TODAY!

Salt Creates Thirst At a missionary meeting some young people were discussing
the text, "Ye are the salt of the earth." One suggestion after another was made
as to the meaning of "salt" in this verse. "Salt imparts a desirable flavor,"
said one. "Salt preserves from decay," another suggested. Then at last a Chinese
Christian girl spoke out of an experience none of the others had. "Salt creates
thirst," she said, and there was a sudden hush over the room. Everyone was
thinking, "Have I ever made anyone thirsty for the Lord Jesus Christ?" Does Your
Behavior Make Others Behave? In a cemetery, a little white stone marked the
grave of a dear little girl. On the stone were chiseled these words: A child of
whom her playmates said, "It was easier to be good when she was with us." It was
one of the most beautiful epitaphs ever heard of.

Godly Influence Around the turn of the century in rural Tennessee an old man
crippled with arthritis was very faithful in his assembling with the saints.
Twice on Sunday and on Wednesday nights a little girl watched from her window as
the old man with his cane painfully made his way down to the little church on
the corner. One Sunday morning following a snow storm, the little girl ran to
her window and looking out exclaimed, "Surely the old man will not go to church
this morning." But there he was, right on schedule, plodding very cautiously
through the snow. The little girl could not contain herself any longer. She just
had to visit the little church to see what possibly could be there that would
bring the old man out on such an inclement morning. The rest is history. The
little girl was impressed by the services there that morning and a short time
later became a Christian. After high school she enrolled in a Christian college
and while there she met a fine young Christian boy whom she later married. To
this union a son was born who was to become one of the finest gospel preachers.
This brother during his ministry has literally led thousands to Christ. The old
man went to his reward never realizing just what an impact he had made for the
cause of Christ. Because of his godly influence many will go into heaven with
him. There can be no greater joy than to reach heaven and to her someone say, "I
am here because you have shown me the way."

"Thou Shalt Not Steal" A young man, employed by a Sunday school board, was
invited at the last minute to preach at a church in Nashville. On a sudden
impulse he used as his text, "Thou shalt not steal." The next morning he stepped
on the bus and handed the driver a dollar bill. The driver handed him back his
change. He stood in the rear of the bus and counted the change. There was a dime
too much. His first thought was, "The bus company will never miss this dime."
Then quickly came the realization that he could not keep money that did not
belong to him. He made his way to the front and said to the driver, "You gave me
too much change." Imagine his surprise when the driver replied, "Yes, a dime too
much. I gave it to you on purpose. You see, I heard your sermon yesterday, and I
watched in my mirror as you counted your change. Had you kept the dime, I would
never again have had any confidence in preaching." The Power of a Smile One day
as a woman was crossing a street at London station, an old man stopped her and
said, "Excuse me, Ma'am, but I want to thank you." "Thank me?" she exclaimed.
"Yes'm. I used to be a ticket collector, and whenever you went by, you always
gave me a cheerful smile and a good morning. I knew that smile must have come
from inside somewhere. Then one morning I saw a little Bible in your hand. So I
bought one too, and I found Jesus."

Let There Be Light A young girl once consulted with her minister. "I cannot
stick it out any longer. I am the only Christian in the factory where I work. I
get nothing but taunts and sneers. It is more than I can stand. I am going to
resign." "Will you tell me," asked the minister, "where lights are placed?"
"What has that to do with it?" the young Christian asked him rather bluntly.
"Never mind," the minister replied. "Answer my question: 'Where are lights
placed?'" "I suppose in dark places," she replied. "Yes, and that is why you
have been put in that factory where there is such spiritual darkness and where
there is no other Christian to shine for the Lord." The young Christian realized
for the first time the opportunity that was hers. She felt she could not fail
God by allowing her light to go out. She went back to the factory with renewed
determination to let her light shine in that dark corner. Before long, she was
the means of leading nine other girls to the Light. The Chameleon Some of you
have seen a lizard called the chameleon. Certain chameleons can quickly change
color, and even develop spots and streaks that seem to be part of their
background. They can turn green, gray or brown if they are standing on a green,
gray or brown background. Those of us who love the Lord Jesus should "show our
colors"-let others know you belong to the Lord. Do not be like the chameleon who
changes color with his surroundings. If you have to be with unsaved girls and
boys at school and in other places, do not act as they do and do naughty things.
Let others know you are different because you have a new life! The Christian's
Gauge If you visit any large foundry where the boilers are kept going at full
force, you would never be able to look into a boiler to tell how much water
there is in it, but you would be able to tell how much water the boiler contains
by an instrument which is attached to the side of the boiler. Alongside is a
small glass tube which has some fluid in it. If this glass tube is half full of
liquid, then there is an indication that the boiler is half full of water; if
the glass gauge indicated that there is no water in the glass, then we can
depend that there is no water in the boiler. The little glass gauge is the
indicator for the large boiler. How can people tell whether we love God, our
fellowman, or even ourselves? They can never look within our hearts and get the
answer; it is only by our outward actions, the works that we do as Christians
that people are able to tell how much or how little our religion amounts to. Our
love for God is indicated by the works of love in which we engage. There are
people who are constantly looking at the Christian's gauge. A Youth's One-Time
Visit "I refused a date to the movies, choosing rather to go to the Wednesday
night prayer meeting. "When I arrived, I looked for several people who were
important to me. "I looked for my Sunday school teacher-but he was not there. I
looked for the familiar faces of a couple of deacons whom I knew-but they were
not there. I looked for several of the members who seemed to be spiritually real
and who had greeted me warmly at the Sunday morning services-but they were not
there. "Perhaps, these Christian friends do not think the Wednesday night
services are so very important. I guess next Wednesday night I will go to the
movies." Was this young man from your church? The Way Your Child Should Go
Abraham Lincoln's comment, made when talking to a father who was chagrined and
embarrassed because his 17-year-old son had begun to indulge in liquor, is most
convincing: "Well, there is just one way to bring up a child in the way he
should go, and that is to travel the way yourself." A Christian's Reputation The
story is told of Gordon Maxwell, missionary to India, that when he asked a Hindu
scholar to teach him the language, the Hindu replied: "No, Sahib, I will not
teach you my language. You would make me a Christian." Gordon Maxwell replied,
"You misunderstand me. I am simply asking you to teach me your language." Again
the Hindu responded, "No, Sahib, I will not teach you. No man can live with you
and not become a Christian." Gordon Maxwell's reputation as a Christian preceded
him. His very lifestyle attracted people to Christ. And so it was with the
Apostle Paul and his two missionary companions, Silas and Timothy. Saint Francis
of Assisi captured their philosophy of evangelism when he said, "It is no use
walking anywhere to preach unless we preach as we walk!" A Drunkard Speaks to a
Drinking Christian A young lady went to a rescue mission to help out with the
inquirers who would respond to the Gospel. As she approached one derelict in
order to help him make a decision for Christ, he said to her, "Do you play
cards, or dance, or go to the theater, or drink socially?" "No, not now," she
replied. "Well, then you may talk to me; but I will not listen to one word from
you fine Christian folks who are doing on a small scale the very things that
brought me a poor wretch to where I am." This young Christian woman later
confessed that she had greater joy in leading that young man to Christ than the
exercise of all the pleasures that many Christians hold on to simply because
they have not yet been ruined by them.

Little Things Mean a Lot Dr. W. H. Lax was a Methodist minister in the East End
of London for 38 years. He learned that an old man was gravely ill, and Dr. Lax
called on him. However, he was an unwelcome visitor, for as soon as the sick man
caught sight of Lax's clerical collar, he turned his head and refused to utter a
word. While trying to sustain a conversation, Dr. Lax noted the dreariness of
the room and the pitifully small fire; he suspected that provisions had run low.
When he left the patient, Dr. Lax stopped at a butcher shop and had two lamb
chops sent to the house. He called again a few days later, and though the old
man was still far from talkative, he was a little more friendly. On the way home
another order was left with the butcher. By the third visit, there was a
pronounced change in the patient. He was congenial and even outgoing, and before
leaving, Dr. Lax was even able to pray with the man. A preaching engagement took
Dr. Lax out of London for a few days, and when he got back he was informed that
the old gentleman had died. At the end when he was hardly able to speak, the
patient had gasped, "Tell Dr. Lax it is all right now. I am going to God; but be
sure to tell him that it was not his preaching that changed me. It was those
lamb chops." Who Wants to Be a Square? In Mark Twain's day, "square" was one of
the best words in the language. You gave a man a square deal if you were honest.
You gave him a square meal when he was hungry. When you got out of debt, you
were square with the world. And that was when you could look your fellow man
square in the eye. Then a lot of characters ran down the word. Result: A square
today is a man who never learned to get away with it; a Joe who volunteers when
he does not have to; a guy who gets his kick from trying to do something better
than anyone else can; a boob who gets lost in his work. This country was
discovered, put together, fought for and saved by "squares"-Nathan Hale, Patrick
Henry, Paul Revere, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin. We need to get back to
this nation's old beliefs in such things as ideas, pride, patriotism, loyalty,
devotion-even hard work. The Gift He Never Received Billy Graham relates the
story of a wealthy father who provided well for his only son. One day, the boy
came to his father and said he was dropping out of school and leaving home.
Asked why, the son said, "Well, Dad, the truth of it is, I hate you." The father
was stunned and demanded, "Why, son, why? I have given you everything, have I
not?" "Well, that is just it. You have not. You may have thought you bought me
everything, but you have not given me anything to believe in."

I Saw God Today I saw God today- As a tearful child found comfort in your arms.
I saw God today- As an old man's face was lit with hope by the grasp of your
hand. I saw God today- As a smile etched the lips of the stranger you greeted on
the street. I saw God today- As you stopped in the midst of a busy schedule to
listen to a burdened soul. I saw God today- As I spent the day with you, my
friend, and Though the hours have flown and night draws near, Today will linger
on, with memories so dear, For as we shared each hour's array, I met God through
you today.

If Christ Has Really Done Something for Us, We Should Tell Others A little
fellow in the hospital had had a piece of deformed bone removed from his arm. He
got well, but before he left the place he sent for the doctor. "You wish to see
me, Willie?" asked the doctor. The little fellow reached up his hand and laid it
on the doctor's shoulder and said, "My mama will never hear the last about you."
I think that if we fully realized what Christ has done for us, we would say to
Him, "My friends will never hear the last about You."

How One Life Affects Others The unfilled spiritual tank is an invitation to
disaster, and many of us have known that awful moment when, like a car out of
gas, we seem to cough and sputter and pull over to the shoulder, out of service,
not able to go any farther. We have all seen the car out of gas in a long tunnel
or on a narrow bridge at rush hour. Thousands of people are potentially affected
by the clogged-up mess that follows. And it can happen in spiritual life also.
One empty spiritual tank can affect a score of other people. It has happened
more than once.

Reputation What kind of reputation do you have? When people speak of you, are
they saying kind things? Jesus honored that unselfish woman who anointed him
with perfume by including mention of her good deed in the gospels. She was well
thought of by her Lord. She had a good reputation. How others perceive us is
usually established by our consistent behavior. We need to live such honorable
lives that even when someone speaks ill of us, others will not believe it of us.
We also need to conduct our lives in such a manner that it will be easy for
others to say kind words to us. There are people who make life difficult for
others. One such a person lives such a life that it will be hard for the speaker
at his funeral to find something about his life worthy of mentioning. Sad. Even
Christians can live such distraught lives that they are looked on as trouble
makers, boat rockers and negative knells. Though we study our Bibles, worship
our God, and pray fervently, just how do neighbors and friends consider us? Are
we known for being faithfully involved and supportive of the church's work, or
do we have the reputation of being hard to please and a terror to live with? If
someone were asked to deliver a eulogy for you, what could easily be told "in
your memory"? "He (or she) was a warm, gracious, faithful, zealous, dedicated,
caring, thoughtful Christian," or "He (or she) was anxious, unhappy, critical,
selfish, uninvolved, bitter, unloving, opinionated and socially obnoxious"? One
cannot build a noble reputation on what he intends to do some day. One's
reputation is affirmed and established daily.




========================================================================
  CHAPTER 132: WITNESS: EFFECTIVE
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Witness: Effective

Guided by Conscience A faithful Christian soldier went to his chaplain for
advice. "Last night," he said, "when I knelt by my bed and prayed, the fellows
began to ridicule me and throw shoes at me. What should I do?" "Well," said the
chaplain, "why don't you stop kneeling down? Just lie down in bed and lift your
heart to God in silence and He will hear you." After a few days, the chaplain
asked the soldier how he was faring with his evening prayers. "I'll tell you,
Reverend. I followed your advice for three nights, but my conscience began to
bother me because I was betraying my Lord. So I began to kneel down as I did
before." "And what happened?" "I was really amazed. Not a single fellow
ridiculed me. Now the fifteen men in my tent kneel down with me, and I pray
aloud for all of them."

Living As You Teach A missionary who was speaking to a group of Hindu women was
surprised to see one of them get up and walk away. Soon she returned and
listened more intently than before. "Why did you leave in the middle of my
message?" asked the missionary. "I was so interested in the wonderful things you
were saying that I went to ask your servant if you live like you teach. He said
you do. So I came back to hear more about Jesus," said the woman. The Missionary
Lady An English traveler in Jerusalem was trying to find someone who could speak
both English and Arabic. He heard of an American missionary who lived near by.
Stopping an Arab boy who knew little English, he asked him if he could direct
him to the missionary's home. The face of the boy lit up, and he said, "You mean
the lady who lives next door to God?" If an uncouth street urchin could detect
one who walked with God, why cannot we so live that the world can see Jesus in
us?

Christianity Is Catching! "What argument of mine led you to Christ?" asked a
missionary in Egypt of an educated Mohammedan who was preaching Christ with
great zeal and success. The missionary was surprised to receive this answer,
"Every argument presented I could refute, at least to my satisfaction. It was
your life that convinced me of salvation through Christ." A Good Marital
Testimony Not long ago a Hindu woman was converted chiefly by hearing the Word
of God read. She suffered much persecution from her husband. One day a
missionary asked her, "When your husband is angry and persecutes you, what do
you do?" She replied, "Well, sir, I cook his food better; when he complains, I
sweep the floor cleaner; and when he speaks unkindly, I answer him mildly. I
try, sir, to show him that when I became a Christian I became a better wife and
a better mother." Are You a Good Showcase? Gutav Dore, the famous artist, once
lost his passport while traveling in Europe. When he came to the boundary post
between two countries and was asked for his passport, he fumbled about and
finally announced, "I have lost it, but it is all right. I'm Dore, the artist.
Please let me go in." "Oh, no," said the officer. "We have plenty of people
representing themselves as this or that great person! Here is a pencil and
paper. Now, if you are Dore the artist, prove it by drawing me a picture." He
took the pencil and drew some pictures of a scene in the immediate area. "Now I
am perfectly sure you are Dore. No one else could draw like that!" said the
officer as he allowed Dore to enter the country. So it is with us. People follow
what we do on the stage of life. They look to see if our conduct squares with
our profession. Are we drawing the picture of Christ, as it were, or of a
different person? What the world wants to see is reality in our actions. It has
been said that God has great and wonderful things to display if He finds
suitable showcases. Are you a good showcase for Jesus Christ? A Rich Conversion
A certain titled gentleman was converted. He loved the Lord a great deal, but he
was not well taught in the Scriptures. He thought that he could continue in some
of his worldly engagements and still bear a good testimony. On one occasion some
weeks after he gave his heart to the Lord, this man accepted an invitation to a
rather worldly party. Upon his arrival, one of the guests greeted him with these
words: "I'm so glad to see you and to know that it isn't true." "I beg your
pardon," he replied, "but I don't think I quite understand you." "Why, " said
the other guest, "rumors were around that you had been converted a few weeks
ago; I'm so glad you're here and to know the rumor was unfounded." "But it is
true!" the man exclaimed. Hesitating a moment, he added, "I see that you think
this party is no place for a Christian to be, and you are right. You will never
again see me at such an affair, nor will anyone else." Not Words But Deeds A
young man had gone as a missionary to China. He was filled with love for the
people but was unable to master the language. At last, having done his best for
two years without success, he felt it his duty to take his resignation to the
mission house. When this became known, a delegation of natives, composed of
heathen as well as Christians, went to the mission house with the pleas that
this man remain. Their argument was this: "He has done us all more good than
anyone else in the mission, although he does not understand our language and
cannot preach to us."

Ability to Carry There was a man who was saved by grace from strong drink. He
was seen one day by the tavern keeper, whom he knew only too well, carrying a
sewing machine to his wife. "Come and have a drink," cried the tavern keeper.
"It will strengthen you." "No, no," replied the former customer. "I've seen the
day when I could not carry a dollar past your door; but since God saved me I can
carry a whole sewing machine."

What the World Needs Belonging to Christ should create in us a sense of
responsibility. His glory should be our concern. We are His image in the world.
An American chaplain in the Civil War asked a wounded soldier, "Would you like
me to read you something from the Bible?" The soldier said, "I'm so thirsty, I'd
rather have a drink of water." After he had drunk it he said, "Could you put
something under my head?" The chaplain took off his overcoat, rolled it up, and
placed it under the man's head as a pillow. "Now," said the soldier, "if I had
something over me. I'm so cold." The chaplain took off his jacket and covered
the man. Then the wounded man said, "For God's sake, man, if there's anything in
that Book that makes a man do for another what you've done for me, let me hear
it!" Isn't that what the world needs today-Christians who exemplify Christ?

I Will Be a Christian A Chinese boy in Singapore found Christ as his Savior and
arranged to be baptized shortly after his graduation. But to his surprise he won
a scholarship of $500 a year for four years in the Hong Kong University. One of
the conditions was, "The winner must be a Confucianist." To a poor student the
temptation to defer baptism was great, but he resisted and presented himself for
baptism at the appointed time. A friend, a Confucianist, stood next in line for
the scholarship, but was so impressed that he refused it, saying, "If
Christianity is worth so much to my classmate, it can be worth no less to me. I
will be a Christian." He trusted Christ as his Savior and was baptized.

Missionaries-Walking Bibles A good example rings louder than any bell to toll
people to church. An African prince, after interpreting the missionary's
message, said, "I can't read this Book myself," referring to the Bible, "but I
believe the words of it because I have watched the missionaries for two years.
They have told me no lies about anything else; so when they tell me this Book is
God's Word, I believe it. I believe that Jesus died for me, and I am going to
follow this Jesus." Not Easily Provoked Some sailors who were working on a ship
in harbor noticed an elderly man engaged in his business on the pier. One sailor
laughingly said to another, "You can't make that old man angry no matter what
you do to him." The sailor who was addressed immediately took this as a
challenge, and snatching up a bucket of dirty salt water ran up to the old man
and dashed its contents all over him. The old man backed away at this surprise
attack and said in a mild voice, "Young man, the Savior says, 'Whoso shall
offend one of these ... that believe in me, it were better for him that a
millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were cast into the depths of
the sea.' Now, since I am one of these who do believe in Him, will He not
consider that you have very much offended me?" The sailor turned away quite
ashamed and perplexed at the spirit that the injured Christian exhibited. The
picture of the old man wet and miserable looking at him with mingled pity and
displeasure stayed with him and led him to go back and ask him to forgive him
and pray for him. The elderly Christian was very ready to do both, and not long
afterward the sailor became a Christian. There is reason to believe that many
sinners might be converted from the error of their ways if they were to meet
such a spirit, as the sailor did, in every professed Christian whom they might
insult or abuse. An Effective Ministry A girl of another faith than Christianity
worked in a store during the holiday season. She met with an accident and was
taken to a hospital. There she made the acquaintance of a Christian nurse whose
loving ministry and gentle goodness soon won her friendship. One day the girl
asked the nurse, "Is it true that you are a Christian?" Upon being answered in
the affirmative she replied, "You are so kind and polite and gentle, I didn't
think you could be a Christian; but then the only Christians I've met are the
Christmas shoppers." The Living Testimony There was once a merchant who had been
a very worldly, godless man. He was finally gloriously converted. On being asked
what had been especially the means of his conversion, he replied, "The example
of one of my clerks." He went on to say, "This young man was one whose religion
was in his life rather than in his tongue. He did not bless God and speak evil
of his fellowmen. When I uttered an oath, he never reproved me; but I could see
it deeply pained him. When I fell into a fit of anger and behaved in a violent
manner, though he spoke no word to that effect, I could see how painful the
scene was to him. My respect for him led me to restrain myself in his presence
and gradually to break off both these habits. In fact, this man, though he never
spoke a word to me on the subject of religion, exercised an influence for good
over me wielded by no other human being. To him, under God, I am indebted more
than to any other for the hope of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ in
which I now rejoice."

Mind Little Things I remember at one time I received an invitation from a young
preacher to speak in his church. He said, "I remember when you preached at my
father's church many years ago. My mother had worked all night, and after
dinner, you did the dishes. I'll never forget that. I forgot your sermon, but I
haven't forgotten your doing dishes at my mother's home."

Goodwill Displayed A Christian family moving into a new community wanted to keep
their lawn well mowed so they might be a good testimony in the neighborhood.
However, they mowed the lawn so early in the day they disturbed the neighbors.
When this was called to their attention, instead of feeling hurt and offended,
they made their apologies and promised to cut the grass at a more reasonable
hour. What might have developed into a neighborhood feud became instead an
evidence of their good will.

Candidate Accepted An official of a mission board, who knew it takes more than
desire to make a missionary, was appointed to examine a candidate. He told the
young man to come to his house at six o'clock in the morning. The young man went
at six in the morning to be examined, and the examiner kept him sitting in the
room until ten. Then he went down to him and said abruptly, "Can you write your
name? Do you know what your name is?" "Yes, sir." He put him through a series of
questions of that kind, and then went to the mission board and said, "He will
do. I tried his patience for four hours, and he did not break down; I then
insulted him, and he did not lose his temper. He will do." If a man answers all
abuses with magnanimity, patience, fortitude, and gentleness, you can depend
upon it, Christ's love has conquered his heart. His Christianity is vindicated
by the very quality of his character.

Prove Yourself In Aesop's fables a traveler was entertaining some men in a
tavern with an account of the wonders he had done abroad. "I was once at
Rhodes," said he, "and the people of Rhodes, you know, are famous for jumping.
Well, I completed a jump there that no other man could equal within a yard.
That's a fact, and if we were there I could bring you ten men who would prove
it." "What need is there to go to Rhodes for witnesses?" asked one of his
hearers. "Just imagine you are there now and show us your leap." Thus Paul
intimated to the Corinthians, "I don't have to come to listen to your words. You
can prove the quality of your life by what you do, and I'll know it from where I
am."

I Belong to Christ "Oh," said a woman to a minister, "do you belong to us?"
"Well," said the minister, "who are 'us'? I belong to Christ." Then, seeing that
this explanation still did not satisfy her, he continued, "I like the
Augustinian creed: 'A whole Christ for my salvation, the whole Bible for my
study, the whole Church for my fellowship, and the whole world for my parish,
that I may be a true Christian and not a sectarian.' " A Generous Concession A
man bought a field next to a farmer who had been engaged in a long-standing
dispute with the former owner about the exact boundary line between this field
and his own property. When the new owner saw the farmer near the fence one day,
he greeted him with the words, "I'm your new neighbor; and I would like to talk
to you about the boundary line between our properties." The farmer assumed a
belligerent attitude and said, "What about it?" "How much of this field do you
claim as belonging to you?" asked the new owner who was a Christian. "I claim
that your fence is a good two feet over on my property," replied the farmer.
"Well, then, I want you to reset the fence four feet back on my side," said the
Christian. This completely took the fight out of the farmer and was the
beginning of a new spirit of concession on his part also.

Like Jesus A little girl in a Chinese village watched a missionary as he went
about the Master's work. She saw him go to the homes where there were sickness,
death, and sorrow, and she watched him as he moved about the village, though she
never heard him speak in public. One day she went to another village and
followed some girls into a mission school. There she heard a lady talking to
them, in Chinese, about someone to whom little children came. One of the little
girls asked the visitor, "Do you know who it was?" "Yes," she replied, "she was
talking about the missionary who lives in our village." She had never heard
about Jesus Christ, and when the teacher described the beautiful life of Jesus
Christ, she thought she was describing the missionary. A Real Conversion Two
little children, a boy and a girl, who played together a great deal, received
Christ and were converted. One day the boy came to his mother and said, "Mother,
I know that Emma is a Christian." "What makes you think so, dear?" "Because she
plays like a Christian. If you take everything she's got, she doesn't get mad.
Before, she was selfish, and if she didn't have everything her own way she would
say, 'I won't play with you; you are a mean little boy.' " That's what the world
sees, the result of our possessing part of the fullness of God. If we have God,
then we must act like Him.

Something in Our Faces Be like the Christian policeman who prayed at prayer
meeting, "O Lord, put something in our faces as we walk about, that people in
trouble may see and so be led to seek our help." How does your face and mine
look to those who may be seeking help?

Effective Testimony The famous English deist, Anthony Collins of the 17th
century, met a plain countryman one day while out walking. He asked him where he
was going. "To church, sir." "What are you going to do there?" "Worship God."
"Is your God a great or a little God?" "He is both, sir." "How can He be both?"
"He is so great, sir, that the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him; and so
little that He can dwell in my heart." The unbeliever Collins later declared
that this simple answer from the countryman had more effect upon his mind than
all the volumes which learned doctors had written against him. This simple
countryman had indeed the right concept of God, the God of the Bible, who as a
spirit is the Creator of all things and yet indwells the heart of His believing
creatures in the person of Jesus Christ. An Irresistible Argument A famous
atheist once said, "I can stand all the arguing of Christian apologists, but I
have a little servant who is a disciple of Jesus Christ, and her good, pure,
honest, truthful life staggers me sometimes." The one irresistible argument for
the gospel's power is a regenerated, consecrated life which is a demonstration
of the life of Christ. The world may miss seeing the life of God in nature, but
they cannot miss seeing it in the lives of those men and women who have the life
of Christ. What a wonderful thought to know that we as human beings can become
the carriers of the life of God and our lives can become the reflectors of His
life.

Love Triumphant It is said that Claude, a man of great piety, was unjustly
imprisoned in the Bastille. At the same time a man was imprisoned who was so
brutal and ferocious that no one dared approach him. The jailer, recognizing
Claude's Christian character, begged him to undertake to humanize this monster.
Accordingly, the humble Christian was shut up with this inhuman brute who
subjected him to the most barbarous treatment. Through it all Claude's only
reply was to exhibit silence, patience, and mildness under attack. His prayers
achieved the rest. The monster at length looked into the face of his companion,
suddenly threw himself at his feet, and burst into a flood of penitent tears. He
became a new creature in Christ, and even when set at liberty he could scarcely
be prevailed upon to leave his Christian friend. The Show Window A country
merchant once visited New York. The thing that impressed him most was the
magnificent and spotless show windows. On his return home he immediately cleaned
up his unused show window and made it so attractive that he was soon doing
nearly all the business in his town. Instead of failing in business, as he had
at one time feared, he became the richest merchant of his county. The show
window of the Christian is most important. It has to be attractive, but it must
represent the truth; it must show that which can be produced in the storehouse.
One of the hardest things for the Christian to do is to be truthful and honest
in his showmanship, to let his tongue represent what is in his heart. Thus the
argument of James runs: Now you have stated to the world that you are wise, that
you possess wisdom, namely, Jesus Christ and His Spirit. Then show it by your
good conduct.

Come Clear Out A converted Chinese gentleman, when in America on a visit, was
unfavorably impressed with the little difference he saw between the style of
living of many professing Christians and the men and women of the world.
Referring to the matter on one occasion he said, making at the same time a large
sweep with his arm, "When the disciples of my country come out from the world,
they come clear out." A Child's Testimony A little child asked his father,
"Daddy, is Satan bigger than I am?" "Yes, he is," answered the father. "Is he
bigger than you, Daddy?" The father replied, "Yes, son, he is bigger than I am."
Surprised, the boy blurted out, "Is the devil bigger than Jesus?" "No, not by a
long shot, David. Jesus is bigger and stronger." The child thought for a while
and said, "Then I'm not afraid of him because I have Jesus in me." The Correct
Reading An atheist, who was also an invalid, sent his little daughter to live
with friends who taught her to read. She proudly told her father when she came
home, "I have learned to read." "Well," said he, "Let me hear you read that,"
pointing to a board at the foot of the bed on which he had printed in large
letters, "God is nowhere." Carefully she spelled out the words in the way that
seemed right to her, "God is now here." The unbelieving father was startled and
perplexed, but God blessed that new reading to the salvation of his soul.

Proof of Pedigree Murray McCheyne, that great preacher, said, "The Christian is
just a person who makes it easy for others to believe in God." Is it easy for
others to believe in God because of your presence among them? And that great
scientist Pascal said. "I saw that everything that came to pass in the life of
Christ must be repeated in the lives of His followers." And another author said,
"Say not that you have royal blood in your veins, say not that you are born of
God, if you cannot prove your pedigree by daring to be holy."

Class Consciousness A preacher, one Sunday morning, noticed a man in the
congregation in his Sunday best. In the evening that same man was there in
working clothes. The preacher afterward spoke to him. "Are you going to work?"
"No," was the reply, "but this morning something was said that stirred me to go
and seek my brother. I knew he had no Sunday clothes, and I knew he would not
come if I put on my Sunday clothes. So I put on my working clothes for him, and
here he is."

Running from, Not After Sin A little girl, in the days when the conversion of
children was not the subject of as much prayer as now, applied for membership in
a Baptist church. "Were you a sinner," asked an old deacon, "before this change
of which you now speak?" "Yes, sir," she replied. "Well, are you now a sinner?"
"Yes, sir, I feel I am a greater sinner than ever." "Then what change is there
in you?" "I don't quite know how to explain it," she said, "but I used to be a
sinner running after sin, and now I hope I am a sinner running from sin."

Testimony of Long-Suffering A mean, worldly army sergeant was saved, and this
was his testimony to his fellow soldiers: "There is a private in our company who
was converted. We gave that fellow an awful time. One night he came in from
sentry duty, very tired and wet, and before going to bed he got down to pray. I
struck him on the side of the head with my boots, and he just went on with his
prayers. Next morning I found my boots beautifully polished by the side of my
bed. That was his reply to me. It just broke my heart, and I was saved that
day." That is really a testimony of Christian long-suffering.

Joy Here and Now A stranger in St. Louis stopped a policeman one Sunday morning
and asked him to recommend a church. He directed him to one at a little
distance. "What's the matter with these other churches that I see along the
way?" asked the stranger. "Why don't you recommend them?" "To tell the truth,"
replied the policeman, "I am an unbeliever myself, but people coming out of that
church are always happy. They are different. If I ever decided to go to church,
that's where I'd go. They've got something there that makes them happy." That
something was the gospel of Jesus Christ. You may not be able to fully
understand it, but it has the power to give you the joy, peace, and satisfaction
of heart that the whole world cannot give.




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  CHAPTER 133: WITNESS: INEFFECTIVE
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Witness: Ineffective

I Work for You Once a clergyman knelt down by a young woman bowed in prayer who
was seeking Christ at a time of revival. Something seemed to worry her. "What is
it?" asked the minister kindly. "Have you surrendered your all?" "I have tried,"
the woman sobbed. "What is the matter, then?" "It's the way Christian people
have treated me. I am afraid I shall have to give up my place in the family
where I work as a servant. The man is so cross and impatient with me." "Give it
up then. God will supply something better," said the minister. "For whom do you
work?" The woman raised her bowed head. "For you, sir." "It's our June!" gasped
the minister, not having realized who she was until that moment.Not Preserved
but Pickled There was a disagreeable man who always liked to be the first to get
up in prayer meeting and repeat his stereotyped testimony, "I praise the Lord
for saving me and preserving me." Finally, a brother who knew him a little
better than the others indignantly got up and said, "Brother, He didn't preserve
you, He pickled you."

Two Dogs in Us As someone has said, "There are two dogs within us; one is white
and one is black, and they both try to bark through the same mouth, and the
result is confusion." Our blessing of God is consequently not clear-cut and it
offends those who hear it rather than attracting them to the God whom we seem to
bless. A Poor Representative When Dr. Will H. Houghton was pastor of Calvary
Baptist Church in New York City, a glib-tongued salesman came into his study and
offered him some oil stocks that he said would make him a fortune. Dr. Houghton
looked at the man and said in substance, "If this stock is as good as you say,
why aren't you rich? You come in here in a shabby suit, with shoes run down at
the heels, and expect me to believe you represent a going concern? I suggest you
get into some line of work that produces representatives who inspire more
confidence in their product."

Setting an Example A mother said to her child, "Johnny, you take those marbles
back to Willie Jones. You know I have told you about playing marbles for keeps;
you think you won them, but that is wrong; you go right back and give them to
the boy from whom you took them." "Yes, Mama," said Johnny dutifully, "and shall
I take back the painted vase you won at Mrs. Jones' bridge party?"

Poor Testimony A group of teenage girls was discussing a new leader for their
Bible class. Their frank comments on the woman in question were enlightening and
amusing. One girl said, "If you kids pick Mrs. L- to be our teacher, I'm
quitting." "Why, what's wrong with her?" asked several of the group. "Plenty,"
was the reply. "Remember how I used to go to help her with her housework on
Saturdays? Well, she still owes me money and she won't pay. Also, she talks a
lot about being a good Christian, and boy, you should hear her say nasty things
about some of her neighbors. Honest, kids, I know I shouldn't talk about her,
but, please, let's wait until we find a teacher who lives what she teaches us on
Sunday." The Unworthy Daughter There is a tradition that Jonathan Edwards, third
president of Princeton and one of America's greatest thinkers, had a daughter
with an uncontrollable temper. But, as is often the case, this weakness was not
known to the outside world. A worthy young man fell in love with her and sought
her hand in marriage. "You can't have her," was the abrupt answer of Jonathan
Edwards. "But I love her," the young man replied. "You can't have her," said
Edwards. "But she loves me," continued the young man. Again Edwards said, "You
can't have her." "Why?" asked the young man. "Because she is not worthy of you."
"But," he asked, "she is a Christian, is she not?" "Yes, she is a Christian, but
the grace of God can live with some people with whom no one else could ever
live."

Words Are Cheap A non-Christian lawyer attended a church service and listened
incredulously to the testimonies of some who were known to him for their shady
deals and failure to meet their honest obligations. "How did you like the
testimonies?" a man asked him at the close of the service. He replied, "To a
lawyer there is a vast difference between testimony and evidence." Words are
cheap, and it is perilously easy to give a fine-sounding testimony for Christ,
but quite another matter to demonstrate evidences of God's purifying power in
our lives through Christ. "This people honoureth me with their lips, but their
heart is far from me" (Mark 7:6).

Citizen or Archbishop? Let us not be like that archbishop who one day was
overhead swearing. A peasant who stood by seemed to wonder greatly at his
conduct. "I swear," said the archbishop, "not as an archbishop, but as a
citizen." "But sir," said the peasant, "when the citizen goes to perdition, what
will become of the archbishop?" How will God judge us when we appear before His
throne? Will it be for what we said in church while praying or preaching, or
what we said to our fellow human beings?

Ain't Up to Sample A Salvation Army captain was preaching in Hyde Park in London
when a man in the crowd interrupted him. "We haven't anything against Jesus of
Nazareth," he said, "but we have something against you Christians because you
ain't up to sample." Living examples of Christ is what the world wants to see in
Christians.

Christian Soldier on Furlough Once a professing Christian sold a bale of poor
hay to a certain colonel who rebuked him, and the church member whined, "I am a
soldier too." "You!" exclaimed the colonel in disgust. "What kind of soldier are
you?" "I am a soldier of the cross," said the skinflint with a detestable
flourish of the hand. "That may be," said the colonel, "but you've been on a
furlough ever since I knew you."

Religion of Words One thing God detests is the religion of words. It was Robert
E. Speer who said: "After thirty years of leadership in Christian work, it is my
conclusion and conviction that the greatest missionary problem is just the
failure of Christian people to live up to their profession."

Fewer but Better Once a soldier was reported to Alexander the Great as having
shown great cowardice on a particular occasion. When the soldier appeared before
Alexander the Great, he asked him his name. On hearing that it was Alexander, he
upbraided him with the dishonor that he had brought on such a name and entreated
him either to change his name or act differently. It would be better for the
cause of Christ to have fewer Christians, but better ones.

God's Honor Needs No Defense King Olaf of Norway was the bloody foe of
heathenism. He reigned twenty five years, the scourge and terror of his own
people, and never made a friend. Their maimed bodies, burned homes, and
plundered property were a perpetual memorial to his merciless zeal. He called to
his aid robbers and vagabonds and enrolled them in his army, requiring only one
condition, that they should be baptized in the name of Christ. He had white
crosses painted on the shields and helmets of all his soldiers. He gave a battle
cry, "Forward, Christian men! Crossmen!" With all this, his last battle was a
sad defeat in which he was slain in a.d. 1030. He justified himself and his
horrible barbarities by saying, "I had God's honor to defend." The question is,
does God's honor really need our defense, a defense that harms others? We can be
sure any zeal that harms others is evil, no matter how we try to justify it.




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  CHAPTER 134: WITNESSING
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Witnessing

Word Not in Vain A highwayman once stopped John Wesley and demanded his money or
his life. Wesley, after giving him the money, said, "Let me speak one word to
you; the time may come when you will regret the course of life in which you are
now engaged. Remember this, 'The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.'"
No more was said, and they parted. Many years after, as Wesley was going out of
a church in which he had been preaching, a stranger introduced himself, and
asked Wesley if he remembered being waylaid at such a time. He said he
recollected it. "I was that man," said the stranger, "and that single verse you
quoted on that occasion was the means of a total change in my life and habits. I
have long since been in the practice of attending the house of God and of giving
attention to His Word, and trust that I am a Christian."

Now Is All the Time We Have Remember that this may be the day the Lord returns.
The thought of Psalms 118:24 surely includes our rejoicing in the return of the
Lord. If I really believe Christ may return today, I'll live differently than I
ever have, seeking to affect others for Christ. Nobody knows when He will
return, so we ought to live each day as though He will come back today. Use time
wisely, make the most of every opportunity (Colossians 4:5). Don't make
excuses-be involved in the lives of those outside the Lord. Pray daily that God
will keep alive in your heart a picture of those who are outside Christ as being
lost. Ask God to revive your loving concern that all men be taught of Him, and
to help you be involved in every effort to teach them. Treat everyone as if
you'll never see them again (Acts 10:37-38). If we don't take for granted that
we'll have time in the future, surely our treatment of each other will greatly
improve. Use the time NOW to share a little about Jesus, for you may not have
another opportunity. If we truly believe NOW is all the time we have, what a
difference that will make in our lives. It's great to be part of the family of
God.

Forgive Me God, I Had No Time The year slipped by and time was spent, And all
the good things that I meant To do were left undone because... I had no time to
stop and pause; But rushed about, went here and there, Did this and that, was
everywhere. I had no time to meditate On things worthwhile. No time to wait Upon
the Lord and hear Him say, "Well done, My child, you have shown the way." And so
I wonder, after all, When life is o'er and I am called To meet my Savior in the
sky, Where saints live on and never die, If I can find one soul I have won To
Christ by some small deed I have done. Or will I hang my head and whine,
"Forgive me, God, I had no time"?

"Man Overboard!" There is a story of an Atlantic passenger lying in his bunk in
a storm, deathly sick-seasick. A cry of "Man overboard!" was heard. The
passenger thought, "God help the poor fellow. There is nothing I can do." Then
he thought at least he could put his lantern in the porthole, which he did. The
man was rescued, and recounting the story the next day, he said, "I was going
down in the darkness for the last time when someone put a light in a porthole.
It shone on my hand, and a sailor in a lifeboat grabbed my hand and pulled me
in." Weakness is no excuse for our not putting forth all the little strength we
have, and who can tell how God will use it?

Exalting Christ A young man entered training as an art student in London. During
those years he thought he would draw a portrait of Christ. He was disappointed.
In trying to reveal tenderness and sympathy, he portrayed only weakness, and he
tore up the portrait. He tried again later but failed to satisfy himself. War
broke out, and his work came to an end. He went to camp and was finally sent to
France and to the front. He was billeted in a French chateau in a room with nine
other men. When he went to bed the first night he was distressed to see over the
beds of the other fellows horrible drawings from some of the vulgar papers that
were circulated in France in those days. He was tempted impetuously to pull them
down, but remembered that everyone had a perfect right to put on his wall space
anything he liked, so instead he planned what he should do with his space. The
only spare time he had was in the night, and his drawing material was a plain
postcard and a pencil. He determined to try again to draw a head of Christ. He
worked upon his drawing for several nights with only a candle to give him light;
and when it was finished, he nervously pinned it on his wall. He did not know
what the men would say or do when they saw it in the morning. They simply looked
at it, said nothing and went out. In a few days all the other pictures were
pulled down and only his drawing remained. He had exalted the risen Christ in
testimony to those around him.

Invite a Golfer to Church One man came out of his house on his way to church on
Sunday morning, just as his neighbor came out of his with his golf clubs. The
golfer said, "Henry, come play golf with me today." Henry, with an expression of
horror on his face, replied, "This is the Lord's day, and I go to church.
Certainly I would not play golf with you." After a moment's silence, the golfer
quietly said, "You know, Henry, I have often wondered about your church, and I
have admired your fidelity. You know also that this is the seventh time I have
invited you to play golf with me, and you have never invited me to go to church
with you." The Power of Multiplication On a wall in the Museum of Natural
Science in Chicago there is a checkerboard with 64 squares. In the lower
lefthand corner is a grain of wheat. The display includes this question: "If you
doubled the amount of wheat as you move from square to square, how much would
you have when you reached the 64th square? A carload? A trainload? You would
have enough wheat to cover the country of India six feet deep." That is the
power of multiplication. Suppose you go out and reach one person for Jesus.
Stick with that person for six months. Help, encourage and strengthen him. At
the end of six months there are only two. At the end of the year there are four
of you. At the end of 18 months there are eight; two years, 16. Do you know how
many people there would be at the end of 17 years? More than the entire
population of the world-more than six billion. Stop and think about what you can
do!

One Red Rosebud There it was-a tiny rosebud thrown in a heap with other uprooted
and discarded rosebushes. Out of the tangled mass, one long stem pushed its way
upward, thrusting forth its one tiny bud. The rosebushes had been thrown away by
a disgruntled homeowner who couldn't seem to get them to grow well. As the man
passed by the heap, he noticed the little rosebud, but he went on his way. The
next day he noticed that the bud still seemed to have life and was trying to
bloom. Donning gloves, he retrieved the bush on which that one bud clung
tenaciously to life. He planted the bush and was rewarded several days later
when a beautiful rose bloomed. Before long the whole bush came alive. In fact
that one bush outbloomed and outgrew other rosebushes the man planted later.
Each year the bush seemed to have one especially long stem with an exquisite red
rose on it. Because one tiny rosebud was unwilling to die, the whole bush was
saved. In the same way, whole families have been won to the Savior because one
child came to know Him first. May we never lose hope for the children who need
to know about Jesus and His love for them! A Lesson From the Palm Tree One can
readily recall the words of Exodus 15:27 which reads, "And they came to Elim,
where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they
encamped there by the waters." Think what a wonderful sight a grove of palms
must be to the wary and thirsty traveler on the desert! These trees not only
mean shelter from the blistering sun, but water to slake the thirst. Palms grow
where there is water, and they send down their trap roots to water. Thus this
tree is never without its testimony. Those familiar with this most famous of all
Bible trees know that it Bears Fruit in Old Age. The palm never stops bearing
fruit, even though it grows to a very old age. Psalms 92:14 states, "They shall
still bring forth fruit in old age." The tree is never on the retired list. Too
many of us are retired Christians. We get to the place where we imagine we have
done our share, so someone else can take over and carry on the work. Recall the
spirit of the old pioneers of Tombstone, who were willing to die with their
boots on, working and toiling to the very last. Just as the palm grows for the
ages, so should it be with all the children of God. We are not shrubs, but
trees. "He shall be like a tree"-that which abides. Who among us is not familiar
with the fact that the Branches Are Symbols of Victory. In Revelation 7:9, the
Apostle John caught the vision of the mighty multitude which no man could
number, standing "before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands." There were they who had come out of great tribulation, and victory was
theirs in the presence of their Lord. It was a time of rejoicing. Are we symbols
of victory? Do men look at us and see some blessed evidence of the power of God
operative in our lives? Or must they behold evidences of defeat? God forbid! I
exhort you, be a palm-tree Christian, the praise and glory of His grace. What a
blessing we can be to others by living the upright palm tree life!

Blossoming in Spite of Adversity In her book, North to the Orient, Anne Morrow
Lindberg, tells about the oriental symbolism of trees: The bamboo stands for
prosperity. The pine tree means long life. The plum tree suggests courage. Mrs.
Lindberg asked a friend why the plum tree stood for courage. The answer:
"Because it puts out its blossom while the snow is still on the ground." The
Christian should adopt the plum tree as our example. We should show our
Christian attitudes at times when they are needed the most. Be kind and
forgiving to those who mistreat you. Be understanding and open-minded to those
who are prejudiced toward you. Stand for moral ideals when it is contrary to
popular custom. Have the courage and strength to do the difficult thing by
"putting out your blossoms" when it is difficult.

"Was That Somebody You?" Tom Carter, the evangelist, told this in one of his
messages: While he was holding meetings in a Pennsylvania town, a young man who
had formerly lived next door to the parsonage committed a murder. The whole
community was stirred. Mr. Carter and the pastor obtained permission to visit
the young man in his cell. After telling him his own story of conversion in a
prison, Mr. Carter and the pastor succeeded in leading him to Christ. Then the
newly-saved man addressed the pastor and sadly said, "To think I lived next door
to you for months and you never told me anything about Jesus until I came here!
If you only had, I probably never would have become a murderer." Are we
overlooking any close-by opportunities? No One Ever Asked Me In St. Louis years
ago, a Christian was transacting business with a lawyer. As the Christian
businessman turned to go, he said, "I have often wanted to ask you a question,
but I have been a coward." "Why," replied the lawyer, "I did not think you were
afraid of anything. What is the question?" The businessman then asked the lawyer
pointblank, "Sir, why are you not a Christian?" The lawyer hung his head. "Is
there not something in the Bible that says no drunkard shall have any part in
the Kingdom of God. You know my weakness." "You have not answered my question,"
answered the Christian. "I am asking why are you not a Christian." "Well,"
answered the lawyer, "I cannot recall that anyone ever asked me such a question
before. Of this I am sure-nobody ever told me how to become one." The Christian
businessman then read passages from the Bible and suggested simply, "Let's get
down and pray." Kneeling, the lawyer prayed first: "O Lord, you know that I am a
slave to drink. This morning this businessman, your servant, has shown me the
way to Thee. Oh, God, break the power of this evil habit in my life." Later, the
lawyer with the "besetting sin" testified that "God broke that power of drink
instantly." Do you know who that lawyer was? Dr. C. L. Scofield, famous editor
of the Scofield Reference Bible!

How the Gospel Came to Korea Robert J. Thomas, a Welshman, was a colporteur
working in China for the Scottish Bible Society. In the course of his work, he
learned that the Korean language is based on Chinese and that, as a result, the
Korean intellectuals could read Chinese. His main responsibility was toward the
millions in China, of course. But the love of Christ for the Koreans constrained
him, and he determined to push on to that country. An American ship called the
General Sherman was sailing to Pyongyang, a large city in the north. He boarded
it. As the ship drew near to Pyongyang, however, a sharp fight broke out between
the officers of the American ship and the Korean coast guard. The ship was
burned in the conflict, and all the passengers were killed. The death of Thomas
was unusual, however. As the ship and the passengers were sinking, he struggled
to reach the shore and staggered up out of the water his arms filled with books.
They were Bibles. He thrust these into the hands of the Koreans who clubbed him
to death. It was through such love that the gospel first came to Korea in the
year 1886.

Gentle but Persistent Influence Paul gave this admonition in Galatians 6:9, "And
let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint
not." A scientist once conducted an interesting experiment in his laboratory.
From the ceiling he suspended an iron ball weighing a ton, attaching it to a
cable strong enough to sustain its weight. Beside the huge iron ball, he hung a
small sphere made of cork attached to a thread fastened to the ceiling. An
electrical mechanism kept the little cork ball swinging slowly, pendulum-like,
against the iron weight. At length, after days of unceasing swinging back and
forth on the part of the cork, the iron ball weighing a ton began to swing very
gently to and fro in harmony with the little cork ball. Gradually, its motion
increased until it was prescribing a wide arc, all because a tiny cork ball had
kept persistently knocking against its massive side, day in and day out. Our
effort to influence people to love God, accept Christ as Savior, and live under
the direction of the Holy Spirit should be as gentle as the tapping of the cork
ball, but also we should be persistent and faithful. May we be so.

He Died for Them, Too! Christopher D. Green recalls this incident: "It was my
gut reaction to become tense as the dark figure approached. Walking down the
street late in the evening, I assumed the worst. I figured it would be at any
moment that I would have a knife or a gun plunged into my side. I had to keep
walking because stopping would mean certain death! "Walking toward each other,
my heart raced as I took a deep breath. He had shoulder-length hair, a ruddy
beard, and wore dark clothes. Within six feet of one another, I looked into his
eyes. I had vowed not to speak. It was he who spoke first. 'Good evening, how
are you?'he said. After a startled pause, I managed to squeak, 'Fine, and
you?'We walked on without incident, my shame growing more intense with each
passing step. One hundred yards later, I began to pray. I remembered that Christ
died for that man! "Anger swelled within me as I watched the newscast. Gay
rights activists had marched into a city council meeting demanding to be heard.
They demanded attention and charged the city with discrimination. Charges were
made that physical abuse at a recent rally had gone unprosecuted. At this point,
an individual stood and shouted, 'If they hurt us again, they will have to pay.
We will fight back!'My gut reaction was to think, 'Go ahead, and see who gets
the beating!'Moments later, I began to pray. I realized that Christ had died for
that man, too. "When I see individuals I am afraid of or individuals I disagree
with so severely I feel like 'punching them out,'I have to realize that what
they need is not a poke in the nose or judgment from me. They need Jesus. They
need me to tell them about Jesus! Lord, help me remember that you died for them,
too!"

They Never Heard of Christmas! Why have we not heard of Christmas? Why have you
denied us light; We who long have groped in darkness Chained by sorrow, sin, and
night? Why have you refused to tell us Of this Son born from above? Why have you
withheld such tidings Of God's condescending love? When was it you learned of
Christmas? Has this story just been heard? Can it be that God would send Him
Just for you who hold His Word? Will you still deny us Christmas? Will we reach
out in vain? Can it be that we must perish Never having heard that name? All our
fathers died in torment, Racked with anguish, fear and pain; Never knowing of a
Savior, Never breathing Jesus' Name! Hear the words of hopeless millions, Dying
where no light has been: "Won't you share this Christ of Christmas, Let Him save
us from our sin?"

Good News Provides Opportunities All news is not beautiful. Or had you noticed?
But bad news is good news for Christians, in a sense, because we see in it
opportunities to turn things around. Or, as Jesus said, to be lights in a dark
world. Christians can do more than curse the darkness. We can light a candle. We
can change the world.

Reading Your Own Obituary It is possible to live under a delusion. You think you
are kind, considerate and gracious, when you are really not. You think you are
building positive values into your children, but, if you could check with them
20 years later, you really did not. What if you could read your own obituary?
How do people really see you? Here is the story of a man who did. One morning in
1888, Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, awoke to read his own obituary. The
obituary was printed as result of a simple journalistic error. You see, it was
Alfred's brother that had died and the reporter carelessly reported the death of
the wrong brother. Any man would be disturbed under the circumstances, but to
Alfred the shock was overwhelming because he saw himself as the world saw him.
The "Dynamite King," the great industrialist who had made an immense fortune
from explosives. This, as far as the general public was concerned, was the
entire purpose of Alfred's life. None of his true intentions to break down the
barriers that separated men and ideas for peace were recognized or given serious
consideration. He was simply a merchant of death. And for that alone he would be
remembered. As he read the obituary with horror, he resolved to make clear to
the world the true meaning and purpose of his life. This could be done through
the final disposition of his fortune. His last will and testament would be the
expression of his life's ideals and ultimately would be why we would remember
him. The result was the most valuable of prizes given to those who had done the
most for the cause of world peace. It is called today the "Nobel Peace Prize."
You may think you are a kind, thoughtful, gracious person. But what if today you
read your own obituary? You are a businessman, what would your employees write?
You are a professional person, what would your clients say? You are a parent,
what would your children write? You are a preacher, teacher, whatever, what
would those who listen to you say? Since we cannot read our obituary, let us
rewrite it. Starting today.

Upsetting the World During New Testament times those who were actively sharing
the gospel met opposition. A case in point is Paul and Silas in Thessalonica.
According to Acts 17:1-9, these two personal workers were persuading and
converting several people. There were, however, those who were unconvinced, and
they complained that the preaching was disruptive and upsetting. They took their
views to the authorities and ultimately the two missionaries had to flee by
night. It might be hard for us to imagine such a thing happening today. We may
believe that our beloved Bill of Rights would protect us from such outlawing of
evangelism. The reality, though, is that the local newspaper recently reported
on the front page an instance of religious freedoms in jeopardy. The article is
about an 11-year-old in the Norm school system who was told not to discuss the
Bible or pray during recess because "a parent had complained that it was
disruptive." The school district further states that the girl had "infringed on
the rights of other students." Greg Clark comments, "I have seen several things
take place during recesses, both while a student and later as a substitute
teacher. Amongst other things I saw boys fighting, girls arguing, hair being
pulled, kids being picked on, and heard all kinds of foul language. I am
wondering if a girl with 'six of her friends' reading and praying could be any
more 'disruptive'or could be any more infringing on personal rights? "I can
remember school days with Bibles on the bookshelf and lively religious
discussions. We certainly did not consider ourselves religious fanatics and
prospects for lawsuits. What has happened? Why are things like flag burning,
Satan worship, and obscene materials "forms of expression" protected by the Bill
of Rights, and yet an 11-year-old praying is questionable? "What would Paul and
Silas do in a similar situation? Would they agree with the idea that religion
should be confined to the church building? A quick look at the text shows that
in their case they merely moved on to Berea and agitated (and converted) a few
more. "It is true that there are people who purposefully set out to cause
disorder. On the other hand, I have personally been threatened by a local man
simply for doorknocking in his neighborhood. The thing we need to remember in
both cases is that Christians have never gone through a period when everyone was
encouraging them to proclaim Jesus. There have always been those who give
'strict orders not to continue teaching.'It is in response to such charges that
first century proclaimers stood and said, "we must obey God rather than men"
(Acts 5:28-29). They knew that if they waited around on the majority vote they
would only end up talking to each other. Such a lifestyle for a disciple was and
is unsatisfactory. The command of our Lord is still: 'Go into ALL the
world,'even if the world gets a little upset." The Lost Boy Once a little boy
was lost in the woods. The alarm was sounded; a church meeting broke up; the
whole congregation and neighborhood responded. Fishermen abandoned their nets
and merchants closed their shops. Plows were left in the field and washing in
the tub. Everyone turned out to hunt for the little fellow. There was a feverish
haste. The night was dark and harm might befall the little fellow. After hours
of search, he was found, and oh, the joy that was felt because of the rescue!
Today that boy is grown. He is lost again! But none seem to care. Mom and Dad
are busy with other things. The church does not seem to care. No alarm is sent
out. Yet, a far worse fate awaits him now. You see, he is now lost in sin! Do we
really care? Enough to do something?

Better Previews Needed In the movies and on television, previews show coming
attractions. Designed to create interest, the previews always show the most
dynamic and dramatic parts, such as the chase scenes, love scenes, and fight
scenes in the show. The whole point of the previews is to whet our appetites for
the upcoming programs. Someday a big show will come to town, and Jesus will be
the star. It will be a worldwide performance, and the cast will be sensational.
But until then, He has left previews of coming attractions in the world. He has
left His church to provide clips of the major production that is to come.
Unfortunately, some of the clips are so bad that people have little interest in
attending the major performance. The church has been so weak in demonstrating
the power and wonder of the main feature that fewer and fewer people have
interest in it. It is time for God's people-the church-to start showing previews
that are worth watching: previews to the world that will prompt the questions,
"Where can I buy a ticket for the show?" Then we can respond, "No purchase is
necessary. We are giving the tickets away. The price has already been paid."

Results of Tract Ministry A man was giving out gospel tracts on a steamer. One
gentleman whom he approached accepted a tract graciously but said, "I haven't
much faith in that kind of work." The Christian worker replied, "It was through
a gospel tract given to me twenty years ago that I was converted." Asking for
particulars, the gentleman discovered that it was he who had given him the
tract! He had ceased to do this because he saw so few results from his efforts.
He added, "But by the grace of God I shall start again." A Fisherman During the
first and second centuries, the symbol of Christianity was the fish. A
present-day Christian decided that a fishhook would be the proper emblem for a
soul-winner to use for winning people to Christ, so he had a little golden
fishhook made to be worn on the lapel of his coat. When people asked him what it
meant, he told them that he was a fisher of men. A little newsboy from whom he
bought a paper one day said to him, "Mister, do you belong to a fishing club?"
"Yes, I do," said the Christian, "and I think fishing is pretty nice, don't
you?" "Oh yes," the little fellow replied, "Do you ever catch any big ones?" "I
have caught 250 pounders," replied the man. "Go on!" said the lad incredulously.
"Yes," said the Christian, "I have caught a 250-pound fish." "Those sure are
big," marveled the boy. Then leaning over, the Christian said, "Sonny, to tell
you the truth, I would rather catch small fish than big ones." He exclaimed.
"No!" "Yes, about your size." The little boy looked down at himself as if he
were thinking, "I am not so small." Then the Christian told him that he was a
fisher of men, seeking to win souls, and that if he would believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ he would be saved. The newsboy took him at his word and came to
Christ. Here was a fisherman for Christ who used a gold fishhook on his lapel to
catch souls with. You may have some other kind of hook. It makes no difference
as long as you catch fish. The Convincing Witness A man traveling along a dark
road one stormy night met a man coming from the opposite direction who said to
him in a hesitant manner, "I think maybe the bridge is out. At least I heard
something to that effect." The traveler was not impressed and decided to
proceed. A little farther on a man came rushing out of the dark to him and said,
"Stop! Don't go any farther. The bridge is out!" So passionately convincing were
his tones that the traveler turned back, and his life was saved. That is how we
are to witness, with passion and conviction.

Thank You, John When John Broadus was sixteen he accepted Christ as his Savior
and at once began to introduce others to his new-found Friend. His first convert
was a school friend. These two lived most of their lives in the same city,
Broadus a professor in the university, the other a truck-driver. Broadus said
that whenever they met during all those years his friend touched his cap as they
passed and said, "Thank you, John, thank you." "I know just what he will say
when I meet him coming down the golden street of heaven," said Broadus. "It will
be just what he said this morning, 'Thank you, John, thank you.' " A Witness Who
Came Too Late Far up the Amazon River, a Baptist missionary was using a
flannelgraph to aid her in telling a group of school children about Jesus. As
she talked, an elderly man with stooped shoulders and gray hair joined the
children. He listened with rapt attention as the missionary told the story of
God's grace as it is revealed in Christ. After the children were dismissed, the
old man came up to the missionary with this question: "May I ask, Madam, if this
interesting and intriguing story is true?" "Of course," the missionary said, "it
is in the Word of God." With countenance and voice revealing his doubt, the old
gentleman said, "This is the first time in my life that I have ever heard that
one must give his life to Jesus to have forgiveness from sin and to have life
with God forever." Then with a note of finality he concluded, "This story cannot
be true or else someone would have come before now to tell it. I am an old man.
My parents lived their lives and died without ever having heard this message. It
cannot be true or someone would have come sooner." Although she tried hard, the
missionary could not convince the old gentleman of this truth from God's Word.
Turning to make his way back into the darkness of the jungle and the darkness of
sin, he kept repeating the words, "It cannot be true; it cannot be true, or
someone would have come sooner." The Christian's Walk St. Francis said one day
to one of the young monks, "Let us go down into the town and preach." They
passed through the streets and returned to the monastery without having said a
word. "You have forgotten, father," said the young man, "that we went down to
the town to preach." "My son," Francis replied, "we have preached. We were
preaching as we walked. We have been seen by many: our behavior has been
noticed; it was thus that we preached. It is no use, my son, to walk anywhere to
preach unless we preach everywhere as we walk." "Wherefore, seeing we are
compassed about by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us play our part nobly,
looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:1). Not
Ashamed of Christ A young man got up to give his testimony for Christ in an open
air meeting. Not being accustomed to speaking in public, he stammered a good
deal at first. An atheist who came by shouted at him, "You ought to be ashamed
of yourself standing and talking like that!" "You're right," the young man
replied. "I am ashamed of myself, but I'm not ashamed of Christ."

Dedicated Soul-Winner Melvin Harper is manager of an eight-thousand-acre buckeye
ranch and rice farm near Bay City, Texas. "Lord, send me cowboys who aren't
Christians," is his daily prayer. Why? Because encouraging cowboys and
youngsters to live for Christ is a kind of divine calling for the man who was
the nation's top bronco buster and steer rider for more than ten years. Through
the personal interest of a pastor who began visiting Harper at the ranch so he
could learn to ride and handle cattle, the veteran rodeo performer started
attending church regularly and finally made his decision for Christ. Soon he
began teaching a class of boys, but he doubts that he was doing much witnessing
for Christ. A new pastor came to the church, so one day the rugged ranch manager
went by to see him. Their conversation soon turned to religion. Melvin asked his
new pastor, "Do you believe in the Lord?" After receiving a quick and
affirmative answer, Melvin continued, "Then if me and you prayed to God,
believed in Christ, and asked for something, would we get it?" The prayer that
followed is one which Pastor Eaves will never forget. Melvin and his pastor
prayed that God would let him become a soul-winner. Melvin didn't sleep much
that night. At four o'clock in the morning he was fully dressed and on his way
to the home of a lost friend. He arrived before daylight and prayed as he waited
in a pick-up truck for the lights to come on in the house. The friend was won to
Christ; that was only the beginning. Melvin's pastor estimates that he has
already won more than fifty people to the Lord. Five cowboys at the ranch have
become Christians, and in his Sunday school class of thirteen-year-old boys,
twenty-four have accepted Christ in one year. When asked about the greatest
thrill of his life, Melvin told about the year when he was the only rider to
stay mounted on the nation's wildest and best bucking rodeo horse in Madison
Square Garden and in Houston. "But," said Melvin, "this kind of thrill doesn't
compare with winning a boy, his parents, and a cowhand to Christ." A Responsible
Position A young man, a skilled mechanic, was driving a visiting clergyman from
his home town, fifty miles across the country, to another city. En route, they
passed a huge factory consisting of perhaps twenty buildings scattered over
several hundred acres. "Do you see that red brick building over there behind
this gray stone one?" the mechanic asked. "I work on the second floor on the
south side. There are seventy-four of us in that department, and as far as I
know, I am the only one in all that crowd who ever goes to church or tries to
live a Christian life. Sometimes I have to remind myself that, as far as that
department is concerned, I am all there is of the Christian Church. If I don't
do good work, then the Church has failed as far as those men are concerned. If I
can't be relied upon, then the Church is undependable. If I am careless, then
some poor unfortunate soul may have to pay for the Church's carelessness. It is
pretty serious business being the Church in the midst of seventy-four other
people."

Win Them One by One When Paul went to Rome, every morning a new soldier of the
Praetorian guard was chained to him, until each Praetorian guardsman had Paul
under his custody. People might have said, "What a pity that a powerful preacher
like Paul should have an audience of only one man a day, and a different one
every day at that." But Paul could say, "God has enabled me to preach the gospel
to the whole Praetorian guard." Who knows how much the conversion of pagans in
Rome may be attributed to Paul's being chained to the soldiers of the Praetorian
guard?

Joy of a Soul-Winner Charles H. Spurgeon said, "Even if I were utterly selfish
and had no care for anything but my own happiness, I would choose if I might,
under God, to be a soul winner; for never did I know perfect, overflowing,
unutterable happiness of the purest and most ennobling order till I first heard
of one who had sought and found the Savior through my means.

Fishing for Men In the business of fishing for men, it is not one's skill or
fine equipment that produces results; it is the power of the Holy Spirit. A
fisherman who had all the equipment that the best sporting goods store could
sell him was having no success. Seeing a country lad with a stick and a bent pin
for a hook, he smiled condescendingly, then did a double take. On the bank
beside the boy lay a fine string of trout. "How is it that I can't catch any?"
the man inquired. "Because you don't keep yourself out of sight," the boy
replied. That's the secret of fishing for men as well as trout. Preach Christ
and Him crucified, and send the people away talking about Him instead of
praising you.

Common Sense in Witnessing The man who charges up to a perfect stranger and
demands, "Are you saved?" may indeed be zealous for the Lord, but he shows very
little understanding or love for his fellowman. His tactless approach indicates
that he has no real interest in the man as a person, but only as a potential
candidate for conversion, an object to witness to. Common sense is essential
even in witnessing. Remember this. You should witness not for the sake of
witnessing but for the purpose of winning souls to Christ. As a fisher of men
you must exercise judgment in casting the net. Or, to change the simile, you
must hold your fire until you see the target. Firing your rifle into the air
will not accomplish anything. Let this be the judgment you exercise as a steward
of the higher truths of life.

Two Lights Are Shining Now A woman who came to know Christ as her Savior
returned home full of joy-the unique gladness that overflows the heart of a
repentant sinner. After a few weeks, she expressed a desire to leave the
community in which she lived because it was so sinful. When her pastor heard
this, he said with some severity, "How would you like it if the city removed all
the lights from the dirty, dangerous streets and left lights only in the good
neighborhoods where no crimes are committed? Didn't Christ say, 'Ye are the
light of the world'?" (Matthew 5:14). The woman accepted the rebuke, and some
time later said to her pastor, "Now there are two lights that shine in our
street." She had led a soul to Christ. The Reason for Happiness In one of his
books, Archdeacon Wilson tells a significant story. Some of the best and ablest
of the students at a women's Christian college started a class to teach the
poorest men in a neglected suburb. They were fired by the noblest impulse-to
give themselves to work for their unfortunate brothers. After some months of
teaching elementary subjects, they asked the men whether there was anything in
particular they wanted to hear more about. There was silence, and then a low
whisper was heard from among them. One of the women went up to find out who had
spoken. "What was it you wished especially to hear about?" she asked. "Could you
tell us something about the Lord Jesus Christ?" asked one of the men. These men,
as they looked upon these college students, did not covet their money, their
education or their social position, but longed for that which made them what
they were, Jesus Christ. This is what the world should be impelled to crave as
they look upon us-not the things about us, or the lack of them, as the cause of
our happiness-but rather the Lord Jesus Christ.

What Will Hell Be Like? There was an old Scotch preacher who was passing a glass
factory just before going to church to preach. As a door was ajar, and it was
some time till the service, he stepped inside. One of the large furnaces had
just been opened. He gazed into the white, blue, and purple mass of liquid flame
until it nearly seared his face. As he turned away unaware of anyone being
present, he exclaimed, "Oh, man, what will hell be like!" A stoker standing in
the shadow heard him. Several nights later at the church a man came up to him.
"You don't know me, but the other night when you stepped into the furnace room I
heard what you said. Every time I have opened that furnace since then, the words
have rung in my mind, 'What will hell be like!' I have come tonight to find out
the way of salvation so that I will not have to find out what hell is like." God
grant that our witness may lead many others to do the same.

Luminous Christians The best argument for Christianity is a consistent Christian
life. There is no argument against the silent eloquence of holiness. Actually, a
lighthouse building would be dangerous but for the light it sheds abroad, and so
it is with us. We may be lighthouses without light. Ships can break themselves
on the rock. It is not merely what we say, or what we do, but what we are that
matters. That is the witness that is convincing. The greatest thing about us is
often our unconscious influence. 2 Corinthians 4:11 says, "that the life also of
Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." "Manifest" is a word meaning
"brilliantly seen." We accomplish more by our radiations than by our
exhortations. May God make us luminous Christians. That's what the light of
Christ does for us. Have you ever put a candle within an alabaster or onyx vase?
This is commonly done in Egypt. When a light is put inside, the whole thing
becomes luminous. That's exactly what happens when Jesus Christ comes into our
hearts. We become bright, luminous. Other people can find their way to God
through the light we shed abroad.

Outspoken Witness Dwight L. Moody once saw a man freezing to death on the street
in Chicago. Moody could not just talk this man into warmth. He pounded him with
his fist and got him really angry. The man began to pound back and then got up
and ran after Moody. That got his blood circulating and saved his life. Our loud
and outspoken witnessing may make people angry, but at least it may awaken them
from their spiritual stupor.

Facing Death with Courage Even today, in this so-called advanced state of
civilization, we hear of brave soldiers of the cross who lay their lives on the
line when they bear a fearless testimony for Christ. Dear personal friends of
mine, Costas Makris and his wife Alki, were Greek missionaries to Indonesia. As
Costas labored in the jungles, more and more natives were converted and then
baptized. The chief became so disturbed about his people turning to Christ,
especially the young people, that he decided to do away with Costas. He lined up
his spearmen in front of this dedicated young missionary. In the distance
Costas' wife and three small sons stood watching their husband and father about
to be executed for the cause of Christ. How would you feel in their place? But
the face of this missionary shone with a heavenly glory that puzzled these
savage people. How could a man face death with a smile? Of course, his wife and
many others must have been praying. As the men lifted their spears for the kill,
the chief called out "Stop!" He walked up to Costas, embraced him, and told him
that a man who could face death with such courage and with such a smile on his
face had something that they themselves needed. The World Needs Light Exactly
what does the Lord mean by "mourning," as we find it in the second Beatitude?
(Matthew 5:4) It is not just shedding tears or inflicting physical harm on
ourselves. Church history tells us of a group of men called the Anchorites who
lived in the fourth century. They dwelt in solitude, fasted, and injured their
bodies. The nearer they could bring themselves to the level of the animals the
better pleased they were. One sect of Anchorites actually grazed with the common
herds in the fields of Mesopotamia, and they were hence called boskoi, or
"shepherds." They acquired a great reputation for holiness because of their
mournful attitude toward life. One of the most famous of these monks was Simeon
Stylites (395-451a.d.), so called from his standing for years on the top of a
column sixty feet high until his muscles became rigid. Some of these hermits
hung weights on their bodies; others kept themselves in cages; all endeavored to
make themselves holy through being miserable. The motive of many of these men
may have been truly honorable, a desire to escape from the vices of the great
cities. But the greater the corruption of society, the more need for holy men
and women to live in that society. The world can only become darker by the
withdrawing of its lights and more corrupt through the removing of the salt
scattered over it.

Opportunities A businessman on his way to prayer meeting saw a stranger looking
in the door of the church. He invited him to come inside with him. "All right,"
said the stranger. That was the beginning of a Christian life for him and his
family. He afterward told the man who invited him, "I lived in the city for
seven years before I met you. No one had ever asked me to go to church. I wasn't
here three days before the grocer, the dairy man, the insurance man, and the
politician called on me. You are the first one to invite me to church." And it
took seven years! Don't wait to pick and choose among the souls of men, but
consider anybody you meet as God's field for you to work in.

There Is More! A young man on a visit to Washington went into the National
Museum. On one of the cabinets was a label with these words: "The body of a man
weighing 154 pounds." "Where is the man?" asked the young man. No one answered
him. In the cabinet were two jars of water, along with other jars containing
phosphate of lime, carbonate of lime, potassium, sodium, and other chemicals.
Another section held a row of clear glass jars filled with gases-hydrogen,
oxygen, and nitrogen. The materials in those cabinets were shown in the exact
proportions combined in an ordinary man. After looking at the assortment for
some time in silence, the young man said, "And that is what I am made of? That
is all that goes to make me?" "That is all," said a bystander smiling, and
walked on. But the young man did not smile. "If that is all that is needed,"
said he, "so much lime, so much gas, so much water, we should be exactly alike."
There is something more which they cannot put into cabinets. God made us body,
soul, and spirit. The soul and spirit cannot be put into bottles.

It Takes Only One There is an inscription on a highway plaque in a small
Minnesota town which reads, "On September 1, 1894, a forest fire swept over this
area and 450 people lost their lives." As a person reads this sign, he cannot
help asking himself, "What do you suppose started that fire?" Along the highways
throughout our national forests we see signs urging tourists to be careful with
fires. Each has a stern warning that a single match carelessly thrown away can
start a conflagration. One match seems insignificant, but think of its
tremendous potential. One Christian can be a radiant witness for his Master if
he will only resolve to do so and dedicate his life to soul-winning.

God's "Helper" Let us remember that wisdom never imposes itself, but it woos the
hearts of others. It is true that we are anxious to help God accomplish His work
in the hearts of people, but sometimes we are like the little girl who, after
being out for a while, was asked by her mother where she had been. She said, "In
the garden, Mother." "What were you doing in the garden?" "I was helping God,"
the child replied. She explained that she had found a rose almost blossomed and
had "blossomed" it. She had only ruined the rose.




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  CHAPTER 135: WORKS AND SERVICE
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Works and Service

How to Avoid Frustration Keep your shoulder to the wheel Your hand to the helm
Your eye on the ball! Your nose to the grindstone Your ear to the ground And you
will not have time to Put your foot in your mouth.

Missed Opportunity During the first three days of July, 1863, in the midst of
America's great Civil War, the armies of the North and South clashed decisively
at Gettysburg. For the first three days of the battle, the fighting was
inconclusive, but then the tide began to turn against General Lee and the
Confederate forces. The northern troops under General G. G. Meade were winning.
Lee began to retreat southward on the night of July 4, while storm clouds
drenched the East Coast with rain. When Lee reached the Potomac, he found that
the river was swollen with rain. He could not cross it. Behind him was the
victorious Union army. Before him was the river. He was trapped. Here was the
great, golden opportunity for General Meade to end the battle. Meade could have
attacked immediately, destroying Lee's army and, in effect, ending the Civil
War. President Lincoln actually ordered him to attack. However, instead of
attacking, Meade delayed. He held a council, then delayed again. Eventually the
water of the river receded, and Lee escaped over the Potomac. The war was
extended two more years. Meade never regained his lost opportunity, and it was
to General Grant that Lee eventually surrendered on April 9, 1865. This story
shows us the tragedy of having missed a great opportunity. But if this principle
is true in the physical realm, as we realize, it is certainly more true
spiritually. The Bible recognizes this when it says, "For what is a man
profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Matthew
16:26). Or again, "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but
he himself shall be saved, yet as by fire" (1 Corinthians 3:15). The Yoke of God
Does Not Fit Stiff Necks Remember when farmers used a collar to harness a team
of horses or mules to pull a plow or wagon? This collar was made of leather with
padding to protect the animal's neck and forequarters so he would not become
disabled. The collar was made with a leather strap and buckle at the top, and
the bottom was rounded to provide comfort to the animal. When the harness was
put on the collar, it was designed to get the most even pull and least pressure
on the horse. If the equipment shifted, the horse would develop a sore. Then the
animal would become so stiff-necked that you could not turn him at all. He would
go one way only. Brethren sometimes get the same way. Some will not adjust to
situations when they know they should but will not because of custom or
tradition and become stiff-necked, instead of doing what God wants done.
Proverbs 19:20 says, "Hear counsel and receive instruction that thou mayest be
wise in thy latter end." Let us wear the yoke of God with pleasure and breach
not against the harness that guides us in His way. "The discretion of a man
deferreth his anger, and it is his glory to pass over a transgression" (Proverbs
19:11). Think long before you rebel. The Second Symbol The cross is the great
symbol of Christianity. On steeples atop churches, covers of hymnals, lids for
communion ware and lapel pins on Sunday jackets, it stands an awesome reminder
of all that Jesus suffered. Jesus spoke of the cross as a symbol of Christian
dedication. "Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me" (Mark 8:34). But Jesus also used another symbol for
Christian commitment."Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me...My yoke is easy
and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30). The yoke is a wooden harness tying
two animals together to pull a load. Yokes are not usually painted on church
buildings, or printed on the covers of Bibles, or worn as ornaments on
neckchains. Maybe they should be. The yoke as much as the cross is a symbol of
commitment to Jesus Christ. Paul W. Powell, in The Complete Disciple elaborates:
"The cross and the yoke symbolize for us the two different aspects of
commitment. The cross is an instrument of death; the yoke is an implement of
toil. The cross is the symbol of sacrifice; the yoke is the symbol of service.
The cross suggests blood; the yoke suggests sweat ...to be committed to Jesus
Christ means that we are ready for either the yoke or the cross." Let me suggest
four lessons from the yoke: SUBMISSION. "Take My yoke upon you." The Christian
willingly submits to Jesus Christ as Lord and Master. "It is not in man that
walketh to direct his steps." "Not my will but Thine be done." OBEDIENCE: "And
learn of me." The yoke suggests submission to a master who must be obeyed.
Blessed is the man who "heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them." SERVICE:
"My burden is light." Compared to the burden of sin, the yoke of the Lord is
easy. But the very idea of a yoke is that of pulling a load, of work, of
service. Christians are to be ministers-servants. "Work for the night is
coming." FELLOWSHIP: "All ye that labor." We are not alone in Christ, but
serving alongside those of like precious faith. Paul spoke of his "loyal
yokefellow." A yoke harnesses two animals together so as to pull a load neither
one could pull alone. "Bear ye one another's burdens." As we follow Christ, let
us take up our yoke as well as our cross, "serving the Lord." My Turn in the
Nursery Last Sunday was my turn in the nursery to work. My heart wasn't in it;
my feelings were hurt. A child from its mother did not want to part And it cried
a lot with its broken heart. I prayed that soon the hour would end, That I would
relax-no more children to tend. Soon the hour was over; it felt good to be free.
I said, "Once a month was too much for me!" The very next Sunday as I sat in the
pew Heard a very good sermon, but visitors were few. But down came a woman and
her soul was saved. She was the mother of that crying babe! Then it dawned on me
that I had been a part Of one being saved-giving God her heart. From that day on
I would never dread Working in the nursery while souls are fed. A Volunteer's
Prayer I thank Thee, Lord, as a volunteer For the chance to serve another year.
And to give of myself in some small way, To those not blessed as I each day. My
thanks for health and mind and soul, To aid me ever toward my goal. For eyes to
see the good in all, A hand to extend before a fall. For legs to go where the
need is great, Learning to love-forgetting to hate. For ears to hear and heart
to care, When someone's cross is hard to bear. A smile to show my affection
true, With energy aplenty-the task to do. And all I ask, dear Lord, if I may, Is
to serve you better day by day.

Little Things I thought to be an actress great The toast of lords and kings. The
good Lord said, "I have need of you To do My little things." I thought I would
be a dancer rare To fly on gossamer wings. The Lord smiled and said, "Stay here
on earth And do My little things." Now I am content to be right here. My heart
with rapture sings 'Cause I know how important it is to God To do "His little
things." When People Work "So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half
its height, for the people worked with all their heart" (Nehemiah 4:6). Few
tragedies scar as does a raging fire. The devastation is complete. The
desolation is mournful. Such was the disaster of the city of Jerusalem when God
judged His holy hill with the torch of Nebuchadnezzar. On the day Jerusalem
fell, the Edomites cried, "Tear it down...tear it down to its foundations!"
(Psalms 137:7). In God's mercy, at last a remnant returned to rebuild their
beloved city. And the city began to rise from its ashes. Yet, when some later
visited Nehemiah, yet in Persia, they told of Jerusalem's continuing anguish:
"Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble
and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been
burned with fire" (Nehemiah 1:3). Hearing this, Nehemiah "...sat down and wept"
(Nehemiah 1:4). The Persian monarch, Artaxerxes, moved by Nehemiah's sorrow,
commissioned him to return to rebuild the city. After a quiet tour "by night"
with some of the local leaders to evaluate the ruins, Nehemiah urged: "'You see
the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned
with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be
in disgrace.'I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me. They
replied, 'Let us start rebuilding.'So they began this good work" (Nehemiah
2:17-18). The task was formidable-after 70 years of abandonment. Enemies "mocked
and ridiculed" them, demanding, "What is this you are doing ...Are you rebelling
against the king?...What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their
wall?...Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from
those heaps of rubble-burned as they are" (Nehemiah 2:19; Nehemiah 4:2). The
story of the wall's restoration from rubble is a thrilling one. Each family had
its own segment of the wall to rebuild. As enemies threatened, some would "serve
as guards by night and workmen by day" (Nehemiah 4:22). And finally, "the wall
was completed on the 25th of Elul, in 52 days. When all the enemies heard about
this...(they) lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work
had been done with the help of our God" (Nehemiah 6:15). When our people today,
together "work with all their heart," amazing achievements will likewise be
celebrated-to the glory of our God.

How Our Heavenly Father Feels about Our Uncompleted Task It is said of one of
the famous composers that he had a rebellious son who used to come in late at
night after his father and mother had gone to bed. And before going to his own
room, he would go to his father's piano and slowly, as well as loudly, play a
simple scale, all but the final note. Then leaving the scale uncompleted, he
would retire to his room. Meanwhile the father, hearing the scale minus the
final note, would writhe on his bed, his mind unable to relax because the scale
was unresolved. Finally, in consternation, he would stumble down the stairs and
hit the previously unstruck note. Only then would his mind surrender to sleep
once again. God's labor seems never to be complete until the final note on the
scale, the concluding, still time, a pause that looks backward and pronounces
completion and value.

Avoiding the R Jimmy had trouble pronouncing the letter "R" so his teacher gave
him this sentence to practice at home: "Robert gave Richard a rap in the rib for
roasting the rabbit so rare." Some days later the teacher asked him to say the
sentence for her. Jimmy rattled it off like this: "Bob gave Dick a poke in the
side for not cooking the bunny enough." He evaded the letter R. There are many
useful, committed Christians at church, but it is sad that so many others are
evading the R meaning R-eady: ready to serve, sing, visit, teach and be truly
committed. These friends are saved, we believe, they are good people,
accommodating, and are religious, but are just not committed. It is possible to
be so religious that we cannot be Christian. Are you handling the letter "R"
right? To Need and Be Needed "I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my
son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become
useful both to you and to me" Philemon 1:10-11). Keith Robinson asks (for all of
us): "What use am I in the world? Has my life really made a difference in
anything? Would anything be appreciably different if I were not here? What is
the old saying about putting your hand in a pail of water and withdrawing it:
the hole that remains is how much you will be missed when you are gone! I am not
pessimistic, depressed, or tired of living, but in reality, I have to recognize
that my life has not made much of an impact on the world, certainly nothing like
I had intended when I was 18 years old. But I am encouraged by the fact that
human worth is not measured only in terms of fame, fortune, and sociopolitical
influence. Perhaps the greatest measure of our value is how much we are needed
by some other human being. John Mark was important because Paul needed him in a
time of extreme anxiety and distress. The once useless Onesimus became
'useful'to Paul and to Philemon. "When the final books are balanced and closed,
the greatest tribute anyone could receive would be: They were useful! Someone
needed them! And what greater ambition could a person entertain than to be
needed, to be useful. My input is not desired or needed for the Mid-East peace
talks. It is doubtful that those involved are indispensable. But I fill a need
in the lives of a few people that cannot be filled by anyone else. If there is
someone who needs my love, if there is someone who looks forward to my presence,
even if I can be nothing much more than just the object to someone's love, then
I am not worthless. My life is not in vain. My existence is not futile. I may
not be much, but I can love someone and make them feel needed. I can be the
object of someone else's love and thus fill their needs and mine. No one is
useless unless they give up on life and love. "'Onesimus'means 'useful.'" Being
a Servant Jesus was the greatest servant who ever lived. "For even the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for
many" (Mark 10:45). Christ came to serve and to give, and God desires the same
for us. "And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as
the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister" (Matthew
20:27-28). The finest model of serving, except Christ Himself, was the Apostle
Paul. Almost without exception he begins every one of his epistles with words to
this effect: "Paul, a servant...." or "Paul, a bond slave...." He was indeed an
apostle, but he conducted himself as a servant. Very few of us want to be known
exclusively as a servant. We want to be known as a servant and a great preacher,
or a famous missionary, or an outstanding elder, or a well-known business man.
What we fail to realize is that true servanthood does not have hidden
aspirations to be great in the eyes of men. When we think of our relationship to
Christ, can it be said of us that we want only to serve Him? Although his
religious philosophy was questionable, Albert Schweitzer was a man willing to
abandon a great career in order to serve his fellow man. In 1913, he sailed for
Africa, having turned his back on fame, money and prestige. His first hospital
was an old abandoned hen house and his first operating table an old campboard.
On a trip to the United States, a reporter asked, "Dr. Schweitzer, have you
found happiness in Africa?" "I have found a place of service," he replied, "And
that is enough for anyone." This does not represent the feelings of many of us
who are members of the church. It is not sufficient to simply have a place of
service. Many of us want a place of recognition and a road to fame. All of us
need to do some serious thinking and praying about this matter of being a
servant. We need to make this prayer ours: "O God, help me to be the master of
myself, that I may be a servant of others."

Servants Do Not Choose Tasks Throughout the ages, God has referred to His
faithful people as His servants. The Bible even calls Jesus "His holy servant."
Unlike the religious leaders who exercised unquestioned authority over the
people, Jesus came not as a ruler, but as a servant. From the example of His own
life He teaches, "But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great
among you shall be your minister and whosoever of you will be the chiefest,
shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be served, but to
serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:43-45). Christ ransomed
us that we, too, might serve God and man. In our zeal to serve, we often
overlook a critical truth: The servant does not choose his tasks. Our concept of
serving God may be doing what we would like to do-for God. We tell God what we
will do for Him, and what we will not do; where we will go for Him, and where we
will not. We even tell Him what must not interfere with our plans. In doing this
we forget He is the Master, and that the Master assigns the task. Our part is to
give ourselves to Him, accepting the assignment He bestows. A servant is not
free to serve on his own terms. Jesus said, "You have not chosen Me, but I have
chosen you to go and bring forth fruit" (John 15:16). So, we have been chosen to
"run with patience the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). The race set
before us may not be on the track we would choose. Perhaps we would not choose
the people God has placed around us, or the location or circumstances we find
ourselves in, but a servant is not above his Master. "A disciple is not above
his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that
he be as his master, and the servant as his lord" (Matthew 10:24-25). Christ's
life was one of sacrifice and doing the Father's will. Though He was rich, for
our sakes He became poor (2 Corinthians 8:9). He counted equality with God a
thing not to be grasped but emptied Himself and became a servant (Philippians
2:6-7). He came to do God's will (Hebrews 10:5-7). As servants following in the
footsteps of Christ, we must present our bodies as "living sacrifices" and say,
"Here I am-I have come to do Your will," regardless of what the task may be.

"I Can't Get No Satisfaction" John Gipson shares this lesson: "As I turned the
key in the ignition my car radio sprang to life. Some popular singer was belting
out the lyrics, 'I can't get no satisfaction.'I didn't care for the song and
turned the dial. But the memory lingered. I wonder how many people there are in
the world who cannot find satisfaction? Do they even know where to look?
"Countless people are on record to testify that satisfaction does not come in
gathering up things for ourselves. As Horace said, 'Those who seek for much are
left in want of much. Happy is he to whom God has given, with sparing hand, as
much as is enough.' "And satisfaction does not come in showing off a Gold Card,
or bragging about one's possessions. In fact, 'If the crow had been satisfied to
eat his prey in silence, he would have had more meat and less quarreling and
envy.' "I learned something last week from a commercial. Normally, I do not care
for commercials. They carry about as much weight with me as a political jingle.
But this one caught my attention. The man was explaining that when he was
growing up he tried everything in the world to make his sister cry. Nothing
worked. Then last week he decided to send her a bouquet of flowers. And you know
what? She cried. "Sometimes we get the desired results in the most unexpected
ways. "Take the young woman with a busy schedule and small children who went out
of her way to minister to a family in need. After her mission was complete she
said, 'I just have to do more of that. It really makes me feel good inside.'
"David knew people who were saying, 'Oh, that we might see some good!'But he
confessed to God, 'Thou hast put more joy in my heart than they have when their
grain and wine abound' (Psalms 4:7). Only by drawing near to God would he ever
find complete satisfaction. Thus he says, 'As for me, I shall behold thy face in
righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with beholding thy form'
(Psalms 17:15). "It is sad that a lot of people cannot find any satisfaction
because they do not know where to look. Take out your Bible and read John
10:10."

I'll Take the Job On a Friday morning an eager young man from Stanford
University stood before Louis Janin seeking part-time employment. "All I need
right now," said Janin, "is a typist." "I'll take the job," said the young man,
"but I can't come back until next Tuesday." On Tuesday he reported for duty.
"Why couldn't you come back before today?" Janin wanted to know. "Because I had
to rent a typewriter and learn to use it," was the unexpected answer. That
quickly-prepared typist was Herbert Hoover. Do you know of a place where there
is almost no witness for Christ at all? Learn the job that will take you there.
No Idler King Antigonus, when he had not seen Cleanthes, the philosopher, for a
long time, said to him, "Do you continue to grind (referring to the occupation
by which he supported himself)?" "Yes, sir," replied the philosopher, "I still
grind; that I do to gain my living, and not to depart from philosophy."

Joy in Being Useful A discouraged young doctor in one of our large cities was
visited by his father who came from a rural district. "Well, son," he asked,
"How are you getting along?" "I'm not getting along at all," was the reply. The
old man's countenance fell, but he spoke courage and patience and hope. Later in
the day he went with his son to the free dispensary. He sat in silence while
twenty-five poor unfortunates received help. When the door had closed upon the
last one, the old man burst out, "I thought you told me you were doing nothing.
Why, if I had helped out twenty-five people in a month, I would thank God that
my life counted for something." "There isn't any money in it, though," objected
the son. "Money!" the old man shouted. "What is money compared with being useful
to your fellow men?" How true! Mercifulness carries within it its own reward and
joy. The Sympathetic Jewel A man visited Tiffany's jewelry store in New York
City. He was shown a magnificent diamond with its gleaming yellow light and many
other splendid stones. But he observed one stone that was perfectly lusterless
and said, "That has no beauty about it at all." The friend who was with him put
the stone in the hollow of his hand and held it there for a few minutes. When he
opened it, the man said, "What a surprise! There is not a place on it the size
of a pinhead that does not gleam with the splendor of the rainbow. What did you
do with it?" His friend answered, "This is an opal. It is what we call the
sympathetic jewel. It only needs contact with the human hand to bring out its
wonderful beauty." How many lives there are that need only the warm touch of
human sympathy to make them gleam with opalescent splendor.

Raising the Bell The story is told of a heavy bronze bell that had sunk into a
river in China. The efforts of various engineers to raise it had been of no
avail. At last a clever native priest asked permission to make the attempt on
the condition that the bell should be given to his temple. He then had his
assistants gather an immense number of bamboo rods. These are hollow, light, and
practically unsinkable. They were taken down by divers, one by one, and fastened
to the bell. After many thousands of them had been thus fastened, it was noticed
that the bell began to move, and, when the last one had been added, the buoyancy
of the accumulated rods was so great that they actually lifted the enormous mass
of bronze to the surface. You may think your bamboo rod is too small and light
to make any difference, but it is necessary in God's sight to help in lifting
souls to God and to lend strength to the others.

Seeing through God's Eyes On one occasion a prime minister of France summoned an
eminent surgeon to perform a very serious operation upon him. "You must not
expect to treat me in the same rough manner that you treat the poor miserable
wretches at your hospital," said the prime minister. "Sir," replied the surgeon
with great dignity, "every one of those miserable wretches, as you are pleased
to call them, is a prime minister in my eyes." How important it is for us to
realize that the soul of a rich, famous, or highly educated person is not more
precious in the sight of God than that of an ignorant beggar. We are all God's
field. There isn't a soul on earth to whom we ought to give nothing but our best
in cultivating it and making it what God originally meant it to be. Let us look
upon the whole of humanity as God's own field deserving our best service.

Help Dispel the Darkness An Australian native preacher went to a little church
in the bush to preach. It was dusk when he arrived, the place was without light,
and he wondered what to do about it. Presently, he saw twinkling lights moving
about through the bush. His congregation was arriving. Each person carried a
hurricane lamp, and as they came in they placed their lamps upon a shelf around
the chapel wall. Soon the whole place was flooded with light. Each had
contributed light that had dispelled the darkness. Your share is needed in a
world which desperately needs the illumination of the gospel. A Higher Honor
When an important building was about to be erected, a certain artist begged to
be permitted to make one of the doors. If this could not be permitted, he asked
that he might make one little panel of one of the doors. Or if this, too, were
denied him, he craved that he might at least be permitted to hold the brushes
for the artist to whom the honor of doing work should be awarded. If so small a
part in a work of earth were esteemed so high a privilege, it is a far higher
honor to have even the least share with Christ in His great work of human
redemption.

Living for Others If you were to visit Paris, you could see the statues of two
men, both named Louis. The first is of Louis XIV, France's absolute monarch, who
is remembered today chiefly for his exclamation, "I am the State." He represents
one of the supreme achievements of greatness through power. His philosophy of
life was that the whole nation and the world, insofar as he could compel it,
should serve him. A few blocks away is a less pretentious statue. There is no
uniform on this figure carved in stone, no badge of office, no sword, no crown.
It is a memorial to Louis Pasteur, the servant of humanity and servant of God.
His life of unselfish, devoted research conferred immeasurable benefits upon all
humanity in the years to come through overcoming disease and suffering. The
statue of the monarch is nothing more than a piece of sculpture; the statue of
Pasteur is a shrine where pilgrims from all over the world pay grateful homage.
It is the uncrowned servant of mankind who wears the real crown of men's love
and honor. As you look back, would you rather be remembered as Louis XIV who
became supreme ruler of France and now has just a statue to commemorate him or
Louis Pasteur who is now crowned as an apostle of mercy? God's Word enjoins us
not to be affected by the glamor of the moment but rather by the judgment of
eternity.

Good Service Required A boy who applied for work was told by the manager he did
not think they had enough work to keep another boy employed. The boy said, "But
I am sure, sir, that you must have enough work to hire me. You don't know what a
little amount of work it takes to keep me busy." Many so-called disciples are
like this boy. They want to follow Jesus, not to see how much they can do for
Him, but how little. To such the Lord never says, "Follow me." Any who enter
Christian service for the sake of having an easy time will be disappointed.
Christ is a busy Commander of busy soldiers. Not for Money, for Christ Is our
first interest in life the accumulation of wealth, or are we like that Burmese
boatman who, when asked by a missionary whether he was willing to preach the
Gospel to his fellow countrymen at only one-fourth of the salary he was now
getting, said to the missionary, "I will not go for that small pay, but I will
go for Christ." A Life of Service A certain family had two sons. The older said
he must make a name for his family, so turned his face toward Parliament and
fame. The younger decided to give his life to the service of Christ and turned
his face toward China and duty. He was Hudson Taylor, the missionary, who died
beloved and known on every continent. "But," someone wrote, "when I looked in
the encyclopedia to see what the other son had done, I found these words, 'the
brother of Hudson Taylor.' " It may be that some were inclined to ridicule him
when he went to the mission field, but in the end, he was respected and admired.
His mercifulness had not been in vain, even as far as the world was concerned.
But the merciful also receive recognition and reward from God Himself. This
takes place both in this world and, in its full measure, in the world to come.

Mansion or Cottage A rich woman dreamed that she went to heaven and saw there a
mansion being built. "Who is that for?" she asked of the guide. "For your
gardener." "But he lives in the tiniest cottage on earth with barely room enough
for his family. He might live better if he did not give so much to the
miserable, poor folk." Farther on she saw a tiny cottage being built. "And who
is that for?" she asked. "That is for you." "But I have lived in a mansion on
earth. I would not know how to live in a cottage." The words she heard in reply
were full of meaning: "The Master Builder is doing His best with the material
that is being sent up." The Master and the Violin A wealthy Englishman had in
his valuable collection a rare violin which Fritz Kreisler, the celebrated
virtuoso, greatly longed to possess. When the owner persisted in refusing to
part with it, Kreisler begged permission to play it just once. That was granted.
With trembling hands the artist tuned the instrument and then played. He played
as only genius can play. He poured his heart into his music. The Englishman
stood as one transfixed until the playing had ceased, and he did not speak until
Kreisler had tenderly returned the instrument to the antique box, as gently a
mother puts her baby to bed. "Take the violin," he burst out. "It is yours. I
have no right to keep it. It ought to belong to the man who can play it as you
did." That was odd reasoning, and yet it has something compellingly illustrative
of the attitude that Paul wanted to arouse in the Corinthians who were made rich
in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:5). In a sense, ought not an instrument belong to the
master who can draw the finest music from it? Ought not your life and mine
belong to the Master who can draw the noblest harmonies from them?

Tried by Fire Pompeii in Italy and St. Pierre in Martinique can both teach us a
lesson. On both of these, fire caused by a volcano brought unprecedented
destruction. The museums that contain relics of these catastrophes display
nothing that was made of wood. All that survived the fire were metallic objects.
In Pompeii, pitchers, bowls, jewelry, and other ornaments survived the fire
because they were composed of gold, silver, and precious stones. But no remains
of wood, hay, and stubble have ever been discovered, for these things were
completely destroyed in the heat of the catastrophe. A True Servant Someone
asked an elderly Scotswoman what she thought of Robert Murray McCheyne's
preaching. She hesitated for a moment, then replied, "He preaches as if he was
a-dying to have you saved." Is that our spirit? Those who watch us will know.
How appropriate was Spurgeon's advice to a young minister who complained of the
smallness of his congregation: "It is as large a one as you will want to give
account for in the Day of Judgment." The first thing others should discern in
us, Paul says, is that we are servants of Christ-subservient, obedient to Him;
that He is Master and we listen to what He says and do what He commands.

Losing the Bonus Suppose a wealthy merchant were to charter a ship to go to some
distant country and bring back a valuable cargo. To encourage speed and
faithfulness, the merchant offers a bonus to officers and crew if they bring the
ship home by a certain date with the cargo intact. The ship arrives at the
foreign port, and the cargo is placed on board. But unfortunately a quantity of
whiskey is also taken on board, and on the way the back the officers and men
indulge in it too freely. They drive the ship upon the rocks, with the result
that the cargo is lost. They send out an SOS, and men with life-saving equipment
put out from a nearby port and save them. They are thus saved from death, but
they have lost the bonus they might have earned. Unrewarded, and with the loss
of all their possessions, they return to their home port at the expense of
others. Likewise, some souls escape hell by the skin of their teeth, but they
have lost their reward.

Poor Service A preacher went to see a dying old man who was very anxious about
his soul. After a few visits by the preacher, the truth dawned upon him, and
through repentance and faith he experienced the joy of forgiveness and the
assurance of eternal life. Just before he died, he said to the preacher with
obvious regrets, "I feel such a sneak because I've served Satan all my life and
only now at the end have I yielded my heart to God." His conscience told him it
was a mean, despicable way to accept and serve his Master and Redeemer. In
Partnership with God A gardener expressed his idea of a co-worker: "As I work in
the garden with the flowers and vegetables I feel that I am having a share in
creation." And when a mother says to a little child who carries some small item
into another room for her, "You are helping me," what stature it gives to that
child and what a sense of dignity and place in life's affairs. This ought to
take away any sense of the worthlessness of the countless small tasks you
perform day by day. Look beyond the temporal and limited as you work in
partnership with God. Your attitude will determine your sense of satisfaction
with your task.

Singing in the Bishop's Choir One day at Perth, England, Bishop Wilkinson
noticed a thin-faced boy looking at him intently. He went up to him and asked if
the boy wished to speak to him. "No, sir," said the lad, "only I sing in the
same choir as you are in." The Bishop's friends laughed at the boy's idea of his
association with the Bishop in the church, but the Bishop didn't laugh. It was
precisely that spirit of partnership in God's work that he wished to encourage.
Similarly what a wonderful sense of satisfaction a Christian has when he can
look at an infinite and eternal God and say, "Lord, I am your co-worker." That
is the most rewarding and unique privilege we can have.

Fellow Laborers Visit a factory where thousands of persons are employed. There
is the manager sitting in his central office where he directs all the operations
of the factory. Everyone is doing his or her separate job. But they are all
fellow laborers with the manager; they are all necessary. Not one could do
without the other. If one does his work badly the whole organization suffers. If
one does his work well they all benefit. Some feel they have important work,
some less important. But there isn't one who is unimportant in the eyes of that
man who is sitting in the general manager's office. The Wealthy Partner A famous
journalist abandoned a lucrative position for reasons of conscience. A friend
asked, "Can you afford to do this?" "Well," said the journalist, "you see, I
have a very wealthy partner." "Who is he?" asked the friend in surprise. "God
Almighty," was the reply. A man who is in partnership with God can afford to
lose his own independence, to surrender it to the interests of the Kingdom of
God, to accept the Divine dictates, because the wisdom and spiritual resources
of the heavenly Father are at his disposal.

Jewels The Koh-I-Noor diamond, when it came into the Queen of England's
possession, was a misshapen lump. It was necessary to have its corners cut off
and its sides reduced to symmetry. No unskillful hand was permitted to touch it.
Men of science were summoned to consider its nature and capacities. They
examined the form of its crystals and the consistency of its parts. They
considered the direction of the grain and the side on which it would bear
pressure. With their instructions, the jewel was placed in the hands of an
experienced lapidary, and by long, patient, careful labor its sides were ground
down to the desired proportions. The gem was hard and needed a heavy pressure.
It was precious and needed every precaution that science and skill could suggest
to get it cut and polished into shape without cracking it in the process. The
effort was successful. The hard diamond was fashioned into forms of beauty and
yet sustained no damage by the greatness of the pressure to which it was
subjected. "Jewels, bright jewels," in the form of spiritual children were the
heritage God gave to Paul, as a spiritual father. God may permit us to play the
same role as spiritual parents to our children, or to the children of God in the
Church. Let us recognize in either case that children are unshapely and need to
be polished; they are hard and cannot be reduced to symmetry without firm
handling; they are brittle, and so liable to be permanently damaged by the wrong
kind of pressure; but they are stones of peculiar preciousness and, if they are
successfully polished, they will shine as stars for ever and ever, giving off
the glory they reflect from the Son of Righteousness.

Seek God's Blessing Daily When Sir James Thornhill painted the cupola of that
world-famous structure, St. Paul's Cathedral, in London, he was obliged to work
while standing on a swinging scaffold far above the pavement. One day, when he
had finished a detail on which he had spent days of painstaking effort, he
paused to evaluate his work. So well had he succeeded in his task that he was
lost in wonder and admiration. As he stood there gazing at the structure, he
began to move backward to get a better view, forgetting where he was. Another
artist, becoming suddenly aware that one more backward step would mean a fatal
fall, made a sweeping stroke across the picture with his brush. The shocked
artist rushed forward, crying out in anger and dismay; but when his companion
explained his strange action, Thornhill burst into expressions of gratitude.
This is an excellent illustration of how God blesses the material things in our
lives and why we should ask Him to bless them. There are two possible outcomes:
Either our plans will turn out as we hoped or they will fail. Having asked God
to bless, we ask Him to be a partner. Only if that is our attitude shall we have
the grace to praise God whatever the outcome may be. If we succeed, we shall
give Him all the credit. If we fail, we shall take it that He has something
different in mind for us. The Wise Pastor A man who was greatly troubled came to
his pastor because he said in all his good deeds he detected a mixture of
selfish motives. "Should I stop doing these things," he asked in perplexity,
"since I find some self-gratification in all of them?" The wise pastor assured
him while we are in the flesh we shall always suffer the humiliation of knowing
that nothing about us is perfect, even our motives. It is a matter of committing
ourselves to God to love and serve Him in all that we do; and if the by-product
of our actions is joy and satisfaction, there is nothing wrong in that. The Two
Builders Paul envisions two builders on the one foundation, Jesus Christ. The
one builds a palace, the other a shack. No doubt in Corinth, as in other ancient
cities, side by side with the temples shining in marble and brass were the huts
of the poor and the slaves, built of flimsy materials such as Paul mentions. He
envisions a sudden flame playing around these buildings, the fire of the Lord
coming to judgment. The marble gleams whiter, the silver, gold and jewels more
resplendently, while the tongues of light leap about the palace. But the straw
hut goes up in a flare. The two builders stand before God, the ultimate
Paymaster. The one man gets wages for work that lasts; the other gets no pay for
what perishes. A Cup of Cold Water Have you understood what is really involved
in the "cup of cold water," as Matthew 10:42 calls it? There is more to it than
appears on the surface. In Eastern lands the water is drawn up from a well in
the court or fetched from a distance. The housewife brings in a supply in the
morning and lets it stand ready for use. As the day goes on the water gets warm.
It would be easy for her to give a cup of this water to a thirsty friend or
stranger, but a "cup of cold water" implies the kindly thought that would lead
her to take the trouble to draw it or fetch it straight from the well, perhaps
in the heat of the day. So often we give what amounts to tepid water to save
ourselves extra work. But I believe it is the "cup of cold water" that shall in
no wise lose its reward. The principle would seem to be that going out of our
way, making sacrifices to help the poor, will have a sure reward.

Someone Forgot A hungry, scantily clothed little boy was crying pathetically.
"I'm cold, I'm hungry!" he whimpered. A stranger approached him and asked, "Do
you believe that God can take care of you?" "Yes," replied the starving little
boy with assurance. "Why, then does He not send someone to bring you warm
clothing and some food?" "I know, sir, that He asked someone to do it, but I
guess this somebody has forgotten it."

Motive for Work An Egyptian architect was commissioned by one of the Pharaohs to
build a lighthouse at the mouth of the Nile. On a piece of rock that was duly
selected, Cnidus, the architect, erected a fine edifice. Engraved upon the
cement covering the outside of the lighthouse was the name Pharaoh. In a few
years the effect of wind and rain had worn the cement away and Pharaoh's name
had vanished. Then it was discovered that the wily Cnidus had engraved his own
name in the masonry beneath. Even Christian work may be done outwardly for the
glory of God; but, when the underlying motive is laid bare, our own glory often
turns out to be the real aim.

Works That Bear Fruit A farmer was showing his fine orchard to a friend who
admired its neat and regular appearance. "But," said the friend, pointing to a
peculiarly shaped tree, "if that were my tree I'd root it up in order to
preserve the uniformity of the orchard." The farmer smiled and said that he was
more interested in the fruit than in the form. "This tree," he said, "has
yielded me more fruit than any of those trees that conform to a more regular
pattern." Sometimes Christian workers may become so accustomed to doing things
in what they consider the traditional or time-honored way that they forget to
evaluate its productiveness.

Compassion or Convenience "Aunt Mary was very kind to stay with you this
afternoon," said a mother to the small convalescent whom she had left in care of
a relative, and whose wearied little face an hour later did not speak well for
the success of the experiment. "I hope you are not overly tired when she was
trying so hard to amuse you." "She wasn't; she just wanted to amuse herself
reading a book of hers to me when I wanted to play puzzles," was the truthful
reply.

Big Salary-Small Job A brilliant young man with a magnetic personality went out
to the mission field. His salary was just a pittance. A large commercial firm
was so eager to obtain his services that they offered him ten times his salary,
but he refused. They offered to make it even larger if he would accept. "Oh, the
salary is big enough," he told them, "but the job isn't!"

Doing Versus Talking A converted cowboy put it very well when he said, "Lots of
folks that would really like to do right think that serving the Lord only means
shouting themselves hoarse praising His name. Now I'll tell you how I look at
that. I am working for Jim here. Now if I would do nothing but sit around the
house telling what a good fellow Jim is and singing songs to him, I would not
suit Jim. But when I buckle on my straps and hustle among the hills and see that
Jim's herd is all right, not suffering for water and feed, or being driven off
the range and branded by cow thieves, then I am serving Jim as he wants to be
served." Let that be our philosophy, too, when the temptation is to talk instead
of serving the Lord.

Earthly Body Expendable We thrill to Nathan Hale's patriotic declaration, "I
only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country," yet all too often
we make some slight infirmity of the body our excuse for not serving the Lord.
We contemplate with awe the inspiring poems of Martha Snell Nicholson, so
crippled by arthritis that she was bedridden for years and seldom drew a
pain-free breath. Yet her writings are fragrant with praise of her Savior. Her
secret? She "endured, as seeing him who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27). Through
her poems and example she brought encouragement to thousands.

Loyalty Reciprocated Queen Elizabeth once sent an ambassador far away on
important and difficult business. He objected, saying to the queen, "But what
will become of my business and my family?" The queen replied, "You take care of
my business and I will take care of yours." He went. In this he showed more
faith than Christians who are unwilling to trust God's care for business and
family. How many vacancies on the mission field exist because of such a lack of
faith or unwillingness to serve the Lord.

First Be Reconciled to Your Brother There were two brothers who had a quarrel
and thereafter refused to speak to each other. The mother did all she could to
reconcile them but to no avail. It greatly distressed her and robbed her of
peace and happiness. One of the brothers saw how badly his mother felt. Hoping
to please her, he brought her a fine gift. She refused it. "I don't want any
gift," she said, "until you have become reconciled to your brother."




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  CHAPTER 136: WORLDLINESS
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Worldliness

Something to Think About A shipwrecked sailor who had spent three years on a
deserted island was overjoyed one day to see a ship drop anchor in the bay. A
small boat came ashore, and an officer handed the sailor a bunch of newspapers.
"The captain suggests," he told the sailor, "that you read what is going on in
the world and then let us know if you want to be rescued."

Painted Sticks One Sunday a preacher told how, while sitting in his garden, he
had watched a caterpillar climb a painted stick that was for decoration. After
reaching the top, the caterpillar reared itself, feeling this way and that for a
juicy twig to feed on, or some way to further progress. Finding nothing, it
slowly returned to the ground, crawled along till it reached another painted
stick, and did the same thing all over again. The preacher said: "There are many
painted sticks in the world-those of pleasure, wealth, and fame. All these call
man and say, 'Climb me to find the desire of your heart, fulfill the purpose of
your existence, taste the fruit of success, and find satisfaction, but they are
only painted sticks.'" Solomon tried to find the purpose of his life in the
world's "painted sticks." He gave his heart to seek wisdom, but learned that it
was "vanity and vexation of spirit" (Ecclesiastes 1:15). He then turned to the
pleasures of the world for meaning in life. He built great houses, and gardens,
and pools. He had servants and maidens; in fact, he had all that a man could
desire. Solomon's comment on pleasure as a true source of happiness, however,
was, "All was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the
sun" (Ecclesiastes 2:11). After trying all that the world could offer, Solomon's
final decision was, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God,
and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes
12:13). The Oldest Profession on Earth Three men, a surgeon, an engineer, and a
politician, were arguing about whose profession was the oldest. "Mine is," said
the doctor. "Remember that Eve was carved out of Adam's rib." "Admitted," said
the engineer, "but remember that the earth was created out of chaos in six days.
That obviously was an engineering job." "Yes," said the politician, "but who
created the chaos?"

Stylish Saints Once a man attended a fair and saw another man leading a fine,
well-groomed horse. He inquired, "Is that a saddle horse?" The other replied,
"No sir. This horse will buck off a saddle. Nothing can stay on his back." "Is
he a driving horse, then?" the man asked. "No, he was hitched up once and made
kindling wood of the vehicle he should have pulled." "Well, what is he good for?
Why is he here?" the man asked. The answer was, "Style, man, style. Just look at
the picture he makes." Once I was in a church building and saw people clad in
fine clothes coming into the morning service. I asked the preacher, "Are those
people workers in the church?" "No," he answered sadly. "Do they visit the sick
and minister to the poor? Do they attend other services of the church?" "Never,"
said the preacher. "There is that horse," I said to myself. "Nothing but style."

Trapped by Things Are you trapped in the tyranny of things? A wealthy man was
moving into a new house, and his next-door neighbor happened to be a Quaker. The
Quakers, as you know, believe in simplicity and plainness of life. The Quaker
neighbor watched as the movers carted in numerous pieces of furniture, a great
deal of clothing, and many decorative pieces. Then he walked over to his wealthy
new neighbor and said in his quaint Quaker way, "Neighbor, if thee hath need of
anything, please come to me and I will tell thee how to get along without it."
Jesus would have agreed with that advice, for He said one day, "A man's life
does not consist in the abundance of things that he possesses."

Want to Carry the Ball? The coach said to the quarterback, "Give the ball to
George." But instead he gave it to John, and there was no gain. Demanded the
coach, "Why didn't you give the ball to George?" "Sir," replied the quarterback,
"George said he did not want the ball." There was a player on our Lord's side
named Demas. Like George, he did not want to carry the ball. He valued comfort
above character, ease above effort, gold above God, self-indulgence above
self-control. Of him Paul wrote, "Demas has forsaken me, having loved the
present world." Are you willing to carry the ball for the Lord? The World Will
Give You Up A man said to D. L. Moody, "Now that I am converted, have I got to
give up the world?" Mr. Moody answered, "No, you do not have to give up the
world; if you have a good ringing testimony for the Son of God, the world will
give you up pretty quick; they will not want you around."

TV Exposure Have you consciously decided to expose your growing child to 18,000
murders? That is what the average young person will view on television by the
time he or she graduates from high school. Your child will have spent
approximately 12,000 hours in formal classroom learning but will have watched
approximately 22,000 hours of television. Those figures explain the results of a
recent World Almanac poll of 2,000 eighth-grade boys in the United States. The
poll asked them which people they wanted to be like when they grew up. Their
leading role models were, in order, Burt Reynolds, Richard Pryor, Alan Alda,
Steve Martin, Robert Redford, and the late John Belushi. Traditional names such
as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and other noted figures in American
history were conspicuously absent from the published list. In fact, no one was
named who was not an entertainer or a sports figure. Whom do your children want
to emulate and admire? Will they someday say, "Aw, come on," if you suggest that
they should want to be like Jesus? A Lesson From Nature A man standing on the
bank of the Niagara River saw a dead sheep being swept down by the current. An
eagle lighted upon that sheep. The body sank for a moment under the weight and
then came to the surface again. The day was bitter cold and the wool wrapped
around the talons began to freeze. Meantime, the sheep was being swept more and
more rapidly toward the falls. But the eagle had not the slightest fear. Had you
shouted a warning, he would probably have laughed at you. He would have said,
"Do not disturb yourself. Do you not see these great wings? There is not the
slightest danger." By this time, the great falls were but a few feet away. The
time for action had come. The eagle spread his great burnished brown wings and
fanned the air. But the wings did not lift him. The frozen wool held his talons
fast, and while his great wings frantically beat the air, he was swept to his
death. Now there was a time when the eagle could have saved himself. He was not
made for such a terrible death. But he held on to the sheep so long that, in the
end, he could not let go. Do not hold on to the world so long that you will not
be able to let go! Is Television Harmless? Richard Nixon's book, In The Arena,
has an attention-grabbing paragraph on television: "Computer specialists have a
saying-'Garbage in, garbage out'-which they use when they want to make the point
that a computer is only a mechanism for processing information, not creating it.
The same principle applies to television. Young people used to learn their
lessons from McGuffey's Readers; the baby-boomers learned them from the Beaver
and Gilligan. As the postwar generation came of age, it spawned a new generation
of TV programmers, who in turn have put more triviality, sex, violence, and bad
manners on the air than anyone ever thought possible. Trash TV could only have
been created by people who were raised on the tube. 'Garbage in, garbage out.'"
Fabricated "news" programs, "re-enactments," peeping-tom journalism, heavy-metal
rock music, slasher movies, and programs which glorify homosexuality as an
alternative lifestyle can hardly be considered neutral as they relate to our
culture. Soap operas are chock-full of unfaithfulness, vindictiveness, revenge,
materialism and murder, while comedy gives way to lewd and suggestive material.
Television has become more than a "vast wasteland" in recent years. It is a
sinkhole of depravity with eroticism and occultism being fed to us on a daily
basis. It is certainly sub-Christian, and in many cases even sub-human.
Harmless? Hardly! Dangerous? Certainly! Fatal? Possibly. The Prodigal Dog Danny
Dodd tells this story: "Theophilus Kimble was his name. He was a big-footed,
clumsy, loud-mouthed mutt of a dog. Smart as he was large, T.K., as we called
him, had a way of bringing many valuable lessons to life. "I remember once he
got through the fence. He thought he had invented the trash can. He ran and
jumped and bounded over and into everything. He was free at last! All the things
that looked so alluring to him in the far regions of the other side of the fence
were now his to explore, and explore he did. There was no sign of him for days.
I kept a close watch on the local news for a report of a half-crazed,
bent-on-examining-the-contents-of-every-trash-can dog, but there was nothing.
Just when I thought I had lost him for good to the charms of three-ply Hefties,
here he came. He had his tail between his legs, whimpering, wanting to come back
home. I let him, of course. He was my dog, and I did care for him regardless of
the number of trash cans I had to replace. He was home. "Does this story sound
familiar? It should. T.K. was playing the canine role of the prodigal son (Luke
15:11-32). All of the elements were there: The enticement of the forbidden in a
far-off country (the trash cans on the other side of the fence); the opportunity
to leave (the open gate); the wasting himself in riotous living (one too many
trash cans); The realization of mistake (probably when he missed his Milk Bone);
and the humble return."

Limited Vision The Bible tells of prophets who "err in vision, they stumble in
judgment" (Isaiah 28:7) and of those who "find no vision from the Lord"
(Lamentations 2:9). Christians are too often like the little boy living in East
London who made his first visit to the country. He lay on the grass in the
orchard and made a chain of daisies. The swallows flew across the sky. "Look up,
Jimmy. See the pretty birds flying through the air," called his mother. He
looked up quickly and in a pitying tone, said, "Poor little birds; they haven't
got no cages, have they?" East London had dwarfed Jimmy's vision. So it is with
many professing Christians. They become so occupied with the paltry things of
earth that they scorn those who place their affections on things above. Do Not
Stay with the Turkeys There is a story about a little eagle that fell out of its
nest and landed in a turkey farm. The eagle grew up among the turkeys and,
although he looked a bit different, he learned to waddle like a turkey, bob his
head like a turkey, and act like a turkey. One day the young eagle looked up
into the sky and saw a beautiful eagle soaring above. The little eagle in the
turkey yard thought, Oh, I would love to be able to do that! As the eagle soared
overhead, it looked down and saw the young eagle below. Suddenly it swooped down
to the ground and asked, "What are you doing here?" The little eagle replied, "I
am just here in the turkey yard where I have always been." The great eagle
looked and said, "Spread your wings, boy. You do just what I do. Follow me."
Then he flapped his wings and lifted off the ground. The young eagle tried it,
too. "Wheeee! This is all right!" "See," the mature eagle said, "you have been
living among these turkeys so long that you were beginning to believe you were
something you are not! Follow me, and you will find out what you really are." So
the little eagle began to soar and fly. He loved it. But the turkeys down below
called out to him and said, "Hey, little guy, what are you doing up there? You
belong down here." "No, I don't," called the young eagle. "I used to belong
there, but now I am what I was created to be. I do not belong with you anymore."

Spiritual Kudzu Vines In central Georgia and other parts of the South, a common
sight is trees completely covered with kudzu vines. Often these lush-green leafy
vines completely hide the tree and even small houses. Although imported to be a
ground cover to combat erosion, these vines are now a curse. Covering acres and
acres of excellent timber and farmland, they slowly destroy other vegetation.
And the kudzu begins as a little seed but is almost impossible to eliminate,
once it sets its woody roots. Spiritual and moral kudzu vines choke our world
and hide our true identity. They begin as insignificant seeds of thought and
grow into massive systems of destructive thinking, completely distorting and
hiding our real nature, even from ourselves. In a parable Jesus warned about
weeds that choke the true plant and keep it from bearing fruit. The kudzu vine
is not really the tree whose exterior it covers. It is a foreign element so
attached to the tree that one could easily mistake it for the tree itself. Is
Our Secular Wisdom Foolishness? "Wisdom" may best describe our present
scientific and cultural plateau, yet spiritually we are foolish indeed. Many
men, seen as wise in the eyes of the world, are fools in the eyes of our God.
The atheist who audaciously affirms, "I know there is no God," is elevated upon
the pedestal of intellectualism and wisdom by the world of pseudo-science, yet
God calls him a fool (Psalms 14:1). Humanists, who deny the existence of sin,
and contend that one's conduct should best be determined by the circumstances in
which he finds himself, are applauded and lauded as the wise men of our age.
God, in no uncertain terms, has said, "Fools make a mock at sin" (Proverbs
14:9). The world cries out, "Do what makes you feel good; do your own thing!"
God has decreed, "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool" (Proverbs 28:26).
The rich farmer in the twelfth chapter of Luke, who found comfort in his
accumulation of worldly goods, would be seen by many among us today as a wise
man indeed. God called him a fool (Luke 12:20). How does God see you, my friend?
Our nation seems to be floating with the tide of moral and spiritual corruption.
Are you drifting with the tide, or are you willing to stem the tide? I would
rather be a fool in the eyes of a foolish world, than a fool in the eyes of my
all-wise Creator.

Junk Thoughts Similar to junk food-tasty and fun but of little value and
ultimately damaging-are the secular messages sent to our brains en masse every
day. Take, for example, the message offered by a recent television ad campaign:
"Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get." To the
average listener (Christian or non-Christian) this pleasantly presented axiom is
tasty, pithy, memorable-and classic junk food for the brain. The "principle"
stated in the axiom is diametrically opposed to Scripture. Yet if we hear the
message often enough, before long we may find ourselves not only believing it,
but living also it out, like all the pagans around us. This is but one example
of hundreds of junk food thoughts offered us every day. In fact, if we ever hope
to think correctly about the danger of receiving "junk thoughts" from the world
system, we need to understand that during the past decades, North America has
changed its mind dramatically. Culturally, it has moved from thinking patterns
based on Scripture to a decidedly secular pattern of thought. Intellectually, it
has rejected thinking processes based on objective biblical evidence to foregone
conclusions that automatically exclude the supernatural. Philosophically, it has
moved away from the concepts of truth, morality, ethics, and virtue toward the
belief that there are no absolutes and that everything is relative.
Unfortunately, the way Christians think has moved, too.

Four Woes Maybe something does get lost in the translation, but a trained mule
will stop when he hears "Whoa!" At least we might stop and listen to Jesus' four
"Woes" and take them to heart. WOE TO THE RICH! Jesus is not condemning wealth,
money, or resources. His condemnation is in the trust we often put in our
riches. The rich young ruler went away sorrowfully because he "had great
wealth." He cared more for his "belongings" than he cared for "belonging." WOE
TO THE WELL FED! No, it is not wrong to eat. It is not even a sin to enjoy good
food. But it is sinful to "live to eat" rather than "eating to live." Many are
becoming gluttons. Affluence brings with it the temptation to over-indulge.
Beware! WOE TO THOSE WHO LAUGH! Is Jesus condemning a funny bone? It is
doubtful. But He does remind us that life is serious business. We are not here
simply to "eat, drink, and be merry." There must be time to mourn. One can
rejoice in the Lord without childish levity. Christianity is solemn commitment.
WOE TO YOU WHEN ALL MEN SPEAK WELL OF YOU! Even Jesus made enemies. When
everybody thinks you are "simply marvelous" you must be doing something wrong.
God did not put us on planet earth to win popularity contests. We are here to
serve, love and worship. Not everybody appreciates that. Satan hates it! To the
rich, the stuffed, the laughing, and the ever-popular, Jesus reminds us to
remember who put us here, why we are here and where we are going. Woe to us if
we miss it!

Time to Think "Will the hassle never end?" One senses that this is more and more
a feeling which is becoming a way of life to the majority of us in this country.
What has happened? We have let ourselves be swept along in the current of modern
society and culture until we are almost swallowed up. We have been molded into
place by machines, schedules, neurotic activity, peer pressures, and "little
league" activities of all sorts. Family units seem to be more individual units
living under the same roof. Could it be we only have a form of that which God
intended and that modern society has gutted our spiritual house? It is possible!
What is to be done? First of all, it is time to take time to think. We do so
little of that these days. No one needs to think as long as he is swept along in
the stream of routine, never-ending activity. Get out of the stream, on the
bank, and think. Stop right now and think. O.K. Here I am. What am I supposed to
think about? The following suggestions are offered by Gary D. Taliaferro: Think
about God's love and power and how they have affected your life. Think of your
family and all the natural gifts and resources He has given you. Think about and
enumerate what the components of His kind of life are in your world and in the
life you are living. Think about a growing tree, the birds flying south at
winter, the process of a bee making honey. Think about a boy learning from his
father about the wonders of life and of creative work. Think about a day without
any yelling and screaming and hassle. Think about how your life in your world
and family can incorporate the quiet serenity of Jesus Christ. Think and control
your life in harmony with God and not be gobbled up by this present world.
Remember, Jesus said through the Apostle Paul, "Do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what
the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans
12:2).

Avoid Contamination If a cube of lead is placed on a cube of gold, the two
metals slowly but inevitably begin to penetrate each other. In the same manner
we tend to imbibe the spirit, to share the opinions, to partake of the qualities
of our intimate associates. Though we may believe that our gold will enrich
their lead, the opposite is far more likely to prove true-their lead will debase
our gold. That is why the Psalmist said, "Depart from me, ye evil doers, that I
may keep the commandments of my God" (Psalms 119:115).

Church Tramps A young man left the church of his parents for another church.
Someone asked, "What was the matter with the church you left?" "Nothing," he
answered, "except they do a lot more for a fellow at the church where I'm going.
They give you a splendid present at Christmas, a social with refreshments once a
month, and a chance to get in with folk who can help you socially." That was his
idea of the mission of the Church. It was not long, however, before he changed
churches again. The same man asked him why. "Oh, they did not re-elect me
president of the social league of the church, and I won't stand for being
slighted." That is what Paul would call a carnal Christian.

Following Dual Paths Kapitango Kusita, an evangelist overseer of an African
Church, was talking about following the "white" path, and the "white" path only.
It was night, and a crowd of natives sat around the campfire. A native dog
passed between the fire and the listeners. "Look at that dog! How many legs has
it?" asked the preacher. "Four," came the reply. "Yes, four indeed," retorted
Kapitango, "but have you ever seen the four legs of a dog trying to follow more
than one path at a time? No, no! The four all go together; yet people with only
two legs try to follow two paths: Christ and the world, God and mammon." The
White Dress A group of young people were about to explore a coal mine. One of
the girls was wearing a white dress. A friend urged her to go home and change.
Not liking the interference, she turned to the guide who was to conduct them and
asked, "Can't I wear a white dress to go into the mine?" "Yes, ma'am," was his
reply. "There's nothing to keep you from wearing a white dress down into the
mine, but there'll be plenty to keep you from wearing one back."




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  CHAPTER 137: WORSHIP
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Worship

Whale Songs According to research conducted by the National Geographic Society,
the 40-ton creation of God-the humpback whale-has a fascinating singing ability.
Recordings have been made of the humpback whale singing in various pitches in
solos, duets, trios, and choruses of dozens of interweaving voices lasting from
six to thirty minutes. What an experience it is to hear, over one's own stereo
system, songs from the ocean depths-sung by 40-ton whales! The passage of Psalms
148:7 comes to mind: "Praise Him down here on earth you creatures of the ocean
depths." The Worship Service A small boy asked an aged sailor, "What is the
wind?" The old man replied, "I don't know, son; I can't tell you what the wind
is, but I can tell you how to hoist a sail." It is not really necessary to know
all about the wind if we know how to set our sails. We simply make them ready,
and let the wind come. This is what we are doing in a worship service-setting
our sails for whatever gale the tomorrows may bring. Here, as it were, we adjust
the wind-catching paraphernalia of our lives. Then we will be ready for life's
gentle zephyrs or its howling storms. Here we align ourselves, set ourselves
right with reality, and then, whatever winds may blow, we can receive their
forward-thrusting force and sail on.

Greeting the King Noblem en were gathered together in London waiting for the
King of Great Britain. They all knew him personally, yet they all honored him as
their king. When he entered, they stood solemnly to their feet. "Take your
seats, gentlemen," he said, "I count you as my personal friends." And then
joking he added, "I am not the Lord, you know!" Immediately one of the noblemen,
a Christian, said, "No, sir, if you were our Lord, we would not have stood to
our feet; we would have fallen to our knees."

Get in Tune A sheep rancher in the remote mountains of Idaho found that his
violin was out of tune, and, try as he would, he was unable to make the
instrument sound the way it should. A frequent listener to a radio station in
California, he wrote the station concerning his problem, asking these good
people at a certain hour and minute on a certain day to strike the right note
for him. This they did: stopping everything else, silencing all other sounds for
a moment, they struck that note. In his shepherd's hut in the distant mountains,
the shepherd heard that sound, and from that single note he put his instrument
into tune again. Thus is the hour of worship, a special time of being in touch
with God. Here we listen for the signal-tone He strikes for our lives, for the
pitch He gives by which our hearts may be put in tune.

Sincerity in Singing The late Dr. Peter Marshall once selected for use in a
church service the familiar hymn of consecration, "Take My Life and Let It Be."
He requested the congregation to give particular thought to the words: "Take my
silver and my gold, Not a mite would I withhold." Exacting the practical sense
of the words "not a mite would I withhold," he asked that all who could not sing
this line with literal sincerity, refrain from singing it at all. The effect was
a dramatic commentary on the glib, thoughtless manner in which, all too often,
we sing our hymns. Hundreds of voices, with organ accompaniment, sang vigorously
up to the designated point. Then, suddenly, there was only the sound of the
organ music. Not a single voice ventured to so challenging a height!

Worshiping the Preacher Henry Ward Beecher, the famous pulpit orator, once had
to be absent and his brother was invited to speak for him. The church house was
crowded, but when it became evident the eloquent Henry Beecher was not going to
appear, many started to leave. Beecher's brother was not disturbed. He stood up
before the murmuring crowd, called for silence and said, "All who came this
morning to worship Henry W. Beecher may now leave. The rest will remain and
worship God." What are we doing in our assemblies? Some, like the Athenians,
come only to hear the preacher say "something" (Acts 17:20-21). "Is it
relevant?" "Is it positive?" Are mental guidelines used in judging sermons? Some
attend to judge the singing, the prayers, or the friendliness of the
congregation. These go away with a host of criticisms, perhaps, or even pride,
but worship has been forgotten. Why do we gather for worship? Some come to "get
it over with for a week"; to get their tickets validated once more. But those
who come because they need strength in carrying their crosses know the value of
true worship. Worship has nothing to do with the song leader or the talent of
the preacher. It has to do with you and your God. Let people do what they will
to please themselves. "The rest will remain and worship God."

Take Our Bearings In the old days of ocean sailing, a small boy was traveling on
shipboard with his father. About once a day the boy saw the captain stand on
deck with sextant in hand, and, as they used to say, "shoot the stars." The boy
said to his father, "Daddy, what is the captain doing?" His father replied, "The
captain is taking our bearings, seeing where we are, finding out if we are going
in the right direction." As a matter of fact, it is something of this kind that
each of us is doing as we are in worship on Sunday morning. We are checking in
with God; we are seeing where we are; we are finding out about our directions in
relation to His will concerning our journey of life. We can so easily become
confused or lose our way out there in the weekday world of days, and we need
this checkpoint. Here we touch base with the Lord of our life, and from Him we
take our bearings for going on. We can deviate from the course and by winds and
currents be carried far astray, unless from time to time we check in with God to
set our course again. The Meaning of Worship Worship that is accepted by God is
a privilege unique to the Christian (1 Peter 2:5). It is not a right. I am
permitted to offer acceptable worship only by the grace of God. Therefore it is
disheartening when children of God deliberately reject this privilege and
wantonly absent themselves from the public assembly God has ordained for His
glory and our good. Consider briefly the significance of worship: It is
obedience to a divine command. It is a means of nourishing the spirit. It
assists in achieving spiritual growth. It encourages others in their spiritual
development. It shows the world where my priorities are. It is one means of
expressing my love for God. It is an avenue God has provided by which I can
praise His name. It is the offering of spiritual sacrifices. It is a way of
showing my thanksgiving to God for all He has done for me. It is a period of
communion with God with the world shut out entirely. It is an experience that
should make the heart of every Christian glad! Will you join your fellow
Christians this Lord's day as they assemble to honor His name? Your Father will
be looking for you.




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Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/2000-bible-illustrationsv9/
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