T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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THURSDAY, December 22.
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M artyn’s power. He was told to live Henry M artyn’s life and then he would have Henry Martyn’s power. The church can regain her lost prestige by living the life of Christ. She must share His purpose and His passion. She must show His sympathy and love. “O make thy church, dear Saviour, A lamp of burnished gold, To bear before th e nations Thy tru e ligh t as of old. O teach th y wandering pilgrim s By th is th eir path to trace Till, clouds and darkness ended, They see Thee face to face.” SUNDAY, Dec. 25. Jo h n 1:1-18. The Incarnation. Christmas is more th a n a season of remembrance. I t is a festival of hope. I t is burdened w ith the promise and prophecy of good things to come. Among th e rest it contains th e prophecy of a perfected humanity. Christ is more th an th e Revealer of God. He is also th e Revealer of man. He was the p attern and example of all th a t man was m eant to be. Leave Christ out and what a hopeless puzzle and contradic tion is man w ith his contrasts of sain t liness and sensuality! Humanity has been compared to a beautiful statue which has been shattered and th e vari ous p arts dispersed. An arm was in one place and a foot in another. The fragm ents being brought together and joined to each other, all men can see th e beauty and glory of th e ideal. The scattered virtues of th e human race are united and combined in Christ. He is the R epresentative Man. Best' of all, He is not only ideal bu t dynamic. He is not only th e goal beyond us b u t the power w ithin us, th e pledge and prom ise of th a t perfect character which He Himself exemplifies. MONDAY, Dec. 26. Jo h n 14:10-16. The Need of P rayer. There are th ree ways in which a Christian can work w ith God in saving lost men; by prayer, personal work and giving of his substance. The first and g reatest of these is prayer. P reaching the Word of course is necessary, but th is becomes effective through prayer. The blinding of the unsaved by Satan, 2 Cor. 4:4, m ust be prayed away be fore the Gospel ligh t can shine into the h eart. The office work of th e Holy Spirit in convicting th e sinner of his need of Christ is secured through the prayer of intercession. God has given
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Christ’s b irth announced. To no conclave of monarchs nor co terie of philosophers h u t to a few hum ble shepherds came the proclamation of the Saviour’s birth. The even', caused not- a ripple of in te rest in th e busy life of the world bu t beyond all question heaven was concerned most deeply and hell was stirred to its foun dations. The glory of th e Lord th a t shone around the shepherds is mani festly th e old Shekinah glory th a t de parted from th e temple because of Israel’s sin. It bore w itness th a t th e holy Child was indeed Immanuel, “God w ith us.” The C reator had become the Redeemer. The eternal purpose of re demption had begun to be carried out in time. “He saw th a t th ere was no man and wondered th a t th e re was no intercessor; therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him and H is righteous ness sustained H im .” FRIDAY, December 23. Matt. 2:13-23, The child’s life spared The church is th e body of Christ and th erefo re His re-incarnation. When th e Saviour retu rn ed to Heaven He took His human body w ith Him spiritualized and glorified. R etu rn ing to earth in th e Holy Spirit He sought ano th er body and conferred th a t honor upon His church. Through th is mystical body, his sp irit and life now find manifestation and expression. Through th e church th e face of Christ rad iates th e light of His presence in the world, His m ind com municates His though t to us, His h eart beats in sympathy and love, His hands are outstretched in helpfulness, His voice is calling th e world to repentance' and His feet are running upon errands of loving service. “ In thy face,” said a Christian to his dying wife, “ I have seen etern ity .” As th e world looks upon th e church, it ought to be able to say, “ In thy face I have seen th e eternal Christ.” SATURDAY, Deb. 24. Luke 2:40-52. Increasing in Wisdom and S tature. A recent w riter has said, “The Chris tian ity of today is a m isrepresentation and a m isinterpretation of its founder.” The chief credential of th e early church consisted in reproducing th e life and character of her risen Head. The fail ure of th e modern church consists in. not doing this. A preacher was heard to express the wish th a t he had Henry
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