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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
February, 1939
III. P ersonal W ork N eeded
There was a national church conven tion going on in Birmingham, with an “Efficiency Conference” in session. Broth er B. sat through a morning session, hearing speeches, reports, and surveys without end, and then slipped out while the members of the conference were eating lunch, preparatory to another long after noon session. He said to a friend, "George, I couldn’t stand it any longer in that con ference on efficiency. It got too monoton ous for me, so I slipped out and ate lunch with a workingman I know in the mills. W e sat on the curbstone and ate from his lunch pail, and I prayed with him and he gave his heart to the Lord. I’ve been lay ing for that rascal for months. All morn ing in that slow conference I kept thinking of him. They were talking about saving men in mass movements, and that’s all right. But I knew where Jim Ruggles sat to eat his lunch, so I slipped out and found him for the Lord .”—Christian Herald. MARCH 12, 1939 RURAL AMERICA—A NEW FRONTIER P roverbs 24:27-32 Meditation on the Lesson Alexander Maclaren, that prince of ex positors, calls this (description of the “Slug gard’s Garden” a parable—an apologue of the condition of a soul whose owner has neglected it. Very appropriately we may say it also parallels the country parishes in many parts of the United States—not that this condition is the result of sloth, but rather indifference and neglect. The rapid growth of many large cities, drawing many church members away from the country churches, has been one contributing factor to the diminishing membership and consequent discouragement. Then follows a lethargy among the surviving members, and sloth begins—and then, weeds spring up where flowers should bloom. W e all know that “ill weeds grow apace,” while if we want flowers and fruit, we must carefully cultivate syste matically and constantly our little plot of ground. All over America we can find abandoned church buildings without reg ular services and resident pastors. Truly, this constitutes a mighty challenge to all earnest Christians who want to make Christ known. Nearby city churches could help put new life and hope in these communi ties by sending out gospel teams, by visita tion, by Daily Vacation Bible Schools, and abov e all by prayer. Alice E. Sherwood expresses very beau tifully the wisdom of the Lord in leading us to “The Desert Places” : “Do you think your service useless In the place you are today? Far removed from scenes once precious, In some by-path, by the way? “Thus, perchance, did Philip reason,
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As the Spirit bade him go From his field of active labor. Other blessing to bestow.
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