January, 1945
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FEBRUARY 25, 1945 CHRISTIANS CAN INFLUENCE
Daily Devotional Readings
LEGISLATION N ehemiah 2:1-8 By G ene W . Fussell
L God's Word Stands “His truth shall be thy shield and buckler” (Psa. 91:4). Truth, not eloquence, is to be sought for in the Holy Scripture. Each part of the Scripture is to be read with the same Spirit wherewith it was written. We should rather search after profit in the Scriptures/ than after subtle arguments. We ought to read plain and devout books as well as those« high and profound. Men pass away, but the truth of the Lord re: maineth forever. If thou desire to profit, read with humility, simplicity, and faithfulness. Inquire willingly, and hear with silence the words of holy men.—Thomas a Kempis. 2. In the Sunshine “Keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 21). ' It is not, “Keep God loving you.” Such a thought is opposed to that glorious revelation of H im whose nature is love. But we are told to keep ourselves in the love of God. It is as though I said to my child, “Keep in in the sunshine.” The sun shines whether we enjoy it or not. And so God’s love abides unchanging. Let nothing make the tried heart doubt that love. The soul needs to rely up on it, and thus be borne in triumph above the conflict and the discourag ing episodes incident to the life of faith.—H. A. Ironside. 3. Gratitude for the Best “I have suffered the loss of alk... that I may win Christ” (Eph. 3:8, 9). Rejoice then, O soul, for the grace He %unfolds, The Saviour who counteth thee dear; And learn that the gift He in mercy withholds Would ne’er make thee happier here. Let others unsated ambitiously climb With footstèps unwearied and swift; With Christ as thine own thou art rich all the time, For the Giver is more thah the gift. —Selected. 4. The Perpetual Presence “Lo, I am with you always” (Matt. 28:20). We speak often of .“the comforting sense of His presence,” now rejoicing in it, now grieving because it .is gone, judging o u r s e l v e s and sometimes others by it. We experience this gleam and gloom because we fix our at tention on the sense of His presence
Can Christians Influence legisla tion? Ought they to do it? What is the responsibility of believers in the gov erning of the nation? Some hold that we should take no part in ciyil government; that we are “in the world, but not of it,” citizens of heaven, and therefore not to act as citizens of earth. Others want the “church” to control all, civil govern ment included. Between t h e s e two extremes lie many shades of opinion. For Those Who Hove Topics I. JESUS CHRIST AND LEGISLATION. Jesus Christ did not come into the world to change the world order by legislation. “My kingdom 4s not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight . . . but now is my kingdom not -from hence.” The Apostle Paul, in re turning the runaway slave, Onesimus, to his owner, does not demand that Philemon, a Christian leader, should release him from slavery (though the suggestion is there), but rather that he regard him as another Christian, a brother, though a slave. God today does not propose to make the world entirely Christian: He would love to do that, but He knows the hearts of men too well. Some will not come unto Him that they might have life. God at this time is visiting the “Gentiles, to take*"out of them a people for his name” (Acts 15:14). He will continue to do so until His “body,” the church, is complete. Christ died to save the world, but only “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). Christ did not come to rule the world now. He • is now saving men. II. THE CHRISTIAN AND LEGISLA TION. Christians do have a real responsi bility as citizens o f.th e earth. We ought to vote, and to use our influence for righteousness. Civil government is a divine institution, as is the church. We ought therefore to bear our share in civil affairs. But how? Let us look at Nehemiah (2:1-8). This great man of God had so con ducted himself as to arrive in a place of great influence. Moreover, his life was upright and his work well done. Too, he knew how to pray. In these three outstanding characteristics we [¡Continued on Page 37]
“Peace 1 leave with you, my peace 1 give unto you . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afra-id” (J ohn 14 27).
instead of the changeless reality of it. “I am" is a blessed perpetual now. He spreads over ,us the pavilion of His love and dispels our fears with these words of cheer: “My presence shall go with thee.” And to this as surance we may reply: “In thy pres ence is fulness of joy.”—CJS. 5. Adversity—Opportunity “I •••glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor: 12:9). Paul’s thorn was not pleasant to him. He prayed to be rid of it. But when he found it had come to stay, he made friends with it swiftly. It was no longer how to dismiss, but how to entertain it. He stopped groaning and began glorifying. It was clear to him that it was God’s will, and that meant new opportunity, new victory, new likeness to Christ.. What God means is always too good to be lost and is worth all it costs to learn. Let us learn as swiftly as we can. Time is short.—Maltbie D. Babcock. 6- That Sure Counsel “The counsel of the Lord standeth for eyer. . . to all generations” (Psa. 33:11). Human advice is not always de pendable. A certain attorney when he died, left large sums of money to his clients to reimburse them for money lost because of following his advice. It is not often that men will take the trouble, or are able, to make good for any wrong advice they have given, and therefore we should not count too much on such counsel. We can, how ever, always rely upon the counsel of God as revealed in His Word. —Moody Monthly. 7. Love Must be Deep “Love one another... fervently” (1 Pet. 1:22). Mr. Moody once said that on one occasion he was conscious of a cold heart, and had been going through
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