M U N G E R from 8 radeship. H e prom ised, “ I w ill be here every m orn ing early. M eet w ith m e here and w e w ill start the day together.” So, m orn ing after m orn in g, I w ou ld com e downstairs to the draw ing room and H e w ou ld take a book o f th e . B ible from the book case. H e w ou ld open it and then w e w ou ld read together. H e w ou ld tell me of its riches and un fold to me its truths. H e w ou ld make m y heart w arm as H e revealed H is love and H is grace tow ard me. T h ey w ere w onderfu l hours together. In fact, w e called the d raw in g room , the “ w ith d raw in g room .” It was when w e had our Quiet T im e together.
IN C H R I S T IS L IF E
W h ic h W a y to G od ? I f you are an average, normal human being you have a con sciousness and a desire to know God. You have it because you have a soul that knows that it knows. And because you know, you have a natural inclination to seek the God that gave you a knowing soul. This phenomenon is not peculiar to our day alone. In all of recorded history man has-been seeking in one way or an other to know God. It is interesting to note that all this seeking to know God can be catalogued into two sharply defined sys tems. 1) Man reaching out to God and 2) God reaching down to man. From the lowest pagan to the highest philosophical religions it is (except in two cases), man reaching out to God. This God
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Non-Christian Friend? You're a Christian. ’ But what if you had to live the next 24 hours without Christ? Think about it. Won't you share this column with a friend that he too might have a chance to accept Christ and to know your joy, your assurance?
But little b y little, under the pres sure o f m a n y responsibilities, this tim e began to be shortened. W h y , I don ’t know , bu t I though t I was just too - bu sy to spend tim e w ith Christ. Th is was not intentional you understand; it just happened that w ay. F in ally, not o n ly was the time shortened, bu t I began to miss a day n ow and then. Perhaps it was exam i nation tim e at the university. Per haps it was some other u rgent emer g en cy ; I w ou ld miss it tw o days in a row and oftentimes more. I rem embered one m orn ing w h en I was in a hu rry, rushing d ow n the steps, eager to be on m y w ay. As I passed the draw ing room , the door was ajar. Look ing in I saw a fire in the fireplace and the M aster sitting there. Sudden ly in dismay, I thought to m yself, “ H e was m y guest. I had invited H im in to m y heart! H e had com e as Lord o f m y h om e and yet I was n eglecting H im .” I turned and w ent in. W ith downcast g lan ce I said, “ Blessed Master, forgiv e me. Have y ou been here all these m orn ings?” ' “ Yes,” H e said, “ I told you I w ou ld be here every m orn ing to meet w ith y ou .” T h en I was even m ore ashamed. H e had been faith fu l in spite o f m y faithlessness. I asked H is forgiveness and H e read ily for gave me as H e does w hen w e are tru ly penitent. H e said, “ T h e trouble w ith you is this: y ou have been th ink ing of the qu iet tim e, o f the B ible study time and prayer tim e, as a factor in y ou r ow n spiritual progress, but y ou have forgotten that this hour means som ething to me also. Remem - CONTINUED ►
God and the nature of God and the will of God for him. This reasoning is good. But there is a limit to it. Man can only reach the periphery of his consciousness. Then he must stop. (See illustrations). Man cannot, absolutely cannot go beyond his own consciousness. And God is beyond. The two exceptions for man’s quest to know God are the Jewish and Christian faiths. (Rightly speaking these two are one.) Here it is iGod searching out man. It is God coming down to reveal Himself to man. A ll man has to do is to be willing. He has but to abandon self and cast his life into the all-sufficient hands of a seeking God. Think about it. Into whose other hand can you place your struggling, seeking soul? In Christ is Life. And this life is for you today. It’s just that simple. And yet we find it so difficult to let loose. To stop trying. To stop struggling. The wonderful re laxing part about this whole thing is that God comes to us. Christ said “ Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” A ll you have to do is to be responsive to His seeking knock. You need only open your will to His will today to find that in Christ is Life. — L. H. If you have found this short article a way of life that you would like, we urge you now— this very moment— to yield your will to His will and in doing so find that in Christ is Life. If you want to make a decision for Christ please write us. Your letter will be held in the strictest confidence. We'll send you without charge a special Gospel of John and other helps. Address: The Editors, Ring's Business, 558 S. Hope, Los Angeles 17, Calif.
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