363
T H E K I N G' S B U S I N E S S
MONTHLY ILLUSTRATIONS Afraid of Sin The Emperor of Constantinople ar rested Chrysostom and tried to make him recant, but he shook his head. The Emperor said to his attendants, “ Put him in prison.” “No,” said one of them, “ he will be glad to go, for he delights in the presence of his God in quiet.” “Well, then, let us execute him,” said the Emperor. “ He will be glad to die,” said the attendant, “ for he wants to go to Heaven; I heard him say so the other day. There is only one thing that can give Chrysostom pain, and that is to make him sin. He said he was afraid 6f nothing but sin.” What a motto for us all, “ Rather die than sin.” “ Striving against sin” (Heb. 12:4). ■ : —Sol. Blasting Out Believers - “ But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come up,on you.” Acts 1:8. In a Wesleyan chapel a mighty revival was in progress. The minister of a neighboring church drop ped in one evening. Scandalized by the excitement, he rebuked the zealous Wes- leyans, saying, “ This is all wrong, all wrong. When Solomon built his tem ple, there was heard neither the sound of hammer, nor saw, nor chisel. You make too much noise here.” The chapel preacher replied, “ Oh, but that’s all right; we ain’t building here, we are just blasting, getting out lively stones for the temple. Christ is the Master- builder.” The preacher was right; he was using dynamite, destroying the kingdom of darkness. What Christian ity lacks today—what you and I lack '— is dynamic energy. —O. P. Gifford. Rejoice Always “ Happy” Rastus was converted at a mission in Chicago. He always had something for which to praise God. One night he came into the Mission, and his black face was beaming even more brightly than usual.
MOST MARVELOUS MIRACLE The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the New Testament standard of power. It is the sample and pledge of what God can do for man. In the Old Testament the standard miracle was the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. From Moses to Malachi the appeal was to the Red Sea as the supreme demonstration of God’s power to help «.nd save. “ As in the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt will I show unto him marvelous things” (Mic. 7:15). In the New Testament the Red Sea is super seded by the empty tomb; and the resur rection of Jesus Christ from the dead stands at the forefront of the Christian dispensation, as the supreme achieve ment of Omnipotence, and the standard of what God can-do for them that be lieve. In Ephesians 1:19, 20, there is a re markable gathering up of terms to em phasize the greatness of this act of power. Usually we conceive of God’s works as done at the finger tips of Om nipotence, There is no trace of effort, no sign of strain, no indication of any tax upon His strength. There can be no strain in the work of the Infinite. But in redemption God’s resources seem to be taxed. Infinite love may be baf fled and infinite power fail. In the work of salvation it would seem as if the Almighty had to rally His forces and gird His strength. “ That ye may know the exceeding greatness of His power, according to t h a t working of the strength of His might which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead.” The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead reveals the might of God working at the fulness of its Strength. ' It is the supreme demonstra tion of His power. -e-Samuel Chadwick.
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs