March. 1945
119
THE CHAPLAIN AND HIS MEN [ Continued, from Page 88]» “Dear Chaplain,” one father wrote. "I* received your letter which made me very happy to know that . . . has attended the worship service. Every morning between 7:30 and 8 a.m., I pray that my son may fully accept Jesus and do the Lord’s work while in army training. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the letter which brought, me great joy.” Another letter reads: “With the greatest of -pleasure I answer the let ter- we received from you concerning our boy. It is an answer to our prayers to hear that he is attending church service. We had a letter from him some time ago stating that when he got so homesick he thought he couldn’t stand it any longer, he would go over and have a talk with you. . . . We want you to know that we thank you from the depths of our hearts for everything.” Jt is a holy privilege and a tre mendous responsibility that we chap lains haVe. Our men are separated from the shelter of their homes and are subject to fierce and constant temptation. Alone in strange commu nities, they are tempted to imagine it is easy “to get away with things”,they would not dream of risking in their home towns. Satan is never idle' in suggesting subtly that the privations and sacrifices demanded by war are a warrant for indulgences in drink and lust. Parents and all Christian peo ple need to pray fervently for service men that they may be led to Christ as Saviour, first of all, and then that they may be built up in Christian life and faith. I want to emphasize this as strongly as I can: Every father and mother should make certain—absolutely cer tain—that the son leaving for miltiary service is born again. Never take that matter for granted, regardless of how regularly the boy may have attended church. I speak from experience when I say that there are throngs of men who, although they have grown up in a Christian environment, never have taken the step that means personal, saving faith in the Son of God. This is the decision that means regenera tion of heart and life and the making of “ all things new.” Having led your son to the Lord Jesus, pray for him and write to him, and in your correspondence speak of spiritual things in that happy and hearty and natural way that will act as an anchor to keep him true. The Test of *Broadened Horizons One translation of Psalm 66:10-12 is particularly significant and has a bearing upon the testing of which we
have spoken. It reads: “Though thou has put us to the proof, O God, test ing our metal . . , though we had to pass through fire and water, yet thou hast granted us rich relief, setting us free in liberty.” The Authorized Ver sion speaks of "wealthy places." True it is that experiences of this war are leading many an individual into “rich relief,” into “wealthy places” of spir itual vision. Here is a report of a soldier’s ex perience in the South Pacific. *After a time in Australia, he was sent to New Guinea when operations were begun there. High in the mountains he was wounded in combat/ “Imagine,” he says, “a dark, stormy, rainy, tropical night and myself, a wounded American soldier, being car ried down the mountainside through the thick jungle by a group of natives called Fuzzy-wuzzies, and all the way to hear them singing the Christian hymn, In order properly to understand the Bible, one must see it as a whole, and must see how the parts are inter-re lated. In this volume, in twenty-five chapters, the author presents an .ac curate and well-written systematic study of the Word, showing how no part may be neglected without doing harm to the other sections. If one will use it with Bible in hand, this book can furnish a valuable Bible course. God’s eternal truths are presented on the graphic, orderly, and beautiful “Beckwith Art Chart of Bible History and Prophecy,” a copy of which is a part of this book. <9f this chart, in the introduction to the b o o k , Herbert Lockyer says: “Of all the Bible charts that I have seen, none has impressed me so much as this one.” 128 pages, including a good index. Zondervan Pub. House, Grand Rapids, Mich. Cloth. Price $1. Little Talks on Great Words By Wendell P. Loveless Author Of gospel songs and medita tions heard in radio broadcasts over a period of many fruitful years, Mr. Loveless provides in the present vol ume a fascinating group of studies gathered around such Bible words as “wings,” “secret,” “hiding places,” “thanks,” “b u r d e n , ” “m y s t e r y , ” “bonds.” The selections are readable, comforting, and inspiring; a number of poems are used. 136 pages. Wm. Eerdmans Pub. Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. Cloth. Price $1.50. God’s Prophetic Plan Through the Ages By George D. Beckwith
‘Lead, kindly Light, amid th' en circling gloom Lead Thou me on; The night is dark, and I am far from home; Lead Thou me on.’ That wajs|an experience in my Chris tian life that has meant more to me than a rch in g else.” That 'young man, a graduate of a university in the South, already has determined that if he is spared, he will go back to the States when the war is over and prepare himself for mis sionary work among the natives on that island. He is- riot alone. There are many others like him to whom the war has brought an enlarged missionary vi sion. Yes, war tests men. But in the mercy of God the testing is meant to give to all of us—in the -pulpit and in the ranks—the “rich relief” which will lead to “wealthy places” of spiritual progress. Given first as a series of radio messages, the truths of this book com bine to make a verse-by-verse study of an especially significant portion of the Word of God. The style is con versational and yet scholarly. Desire for the exaltation of Jesus Christ is evident on every page. Whether used as a devotional study book or a reference text, this volume is of out standing value. 134 pages. Publication office of “Our Hope,” 456 Fourth Ave., New York 16, N. Y. Cloth. Price $1.50. General D o b b i e was the heroic governor of the famous island of Malta when, in 1940, it was bitterly besieged by fierce enemies who sought to seize it.. But Malta, “ the most bombed spot on earth,” did not fall. Its governor, known as a man of prayer and deep reverence for God’s Word, attributes the deliverance to divine intervention. “God was with us,” he declares, and his book Is a humble, devout attribution of praise to his Saviour. A few of the fourteen chapter titles are: “The Christian and the World,” “Christianity and Military Service,” “The Miracle of Malta: The Problem of Defense; the Solution of the Problem; and the Hand of God,” “Christ the Friend,” and “The Nation and God.” 94 pages. Zondervan Pub. House. Cloth. Price $1.25. A Very Present Help By Lt. Gen. Sir William Dobbie Studies in the Epistle to the Colosslans By E. Schuyler English
L i t e r a tu r e Tab le
Made with FlippingBook HTML5