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recognized the Divine prescience, how many words would go unuttered, how many deeds would be left undone. “Lo, God is here,” should be the constant thought of every heart. We should live as though we walked in the visible presence of Deity. On the other hand, how much of comfort and peace we miss when we forget His nearness. We should be less easily alarmed, less prone to despair; we should lose the feeling of loneliness that so sorely oppresses us, if we but remembered that the Lord was nigh at hand. At least, we need never doubt it; there is no city, however crowded; there is no plain of Luz, however ap parently deserted, but the LORD is in that place. THE trees were \given to our first parents by God to be the source of life and joy; they turned them into means of separation from Him. How often is it so with the worldling. He allows the Divine blessings to become barriers between him self and intercourse with Heaven. God’s good gifts are thus transformed into the producers of a curse; for separation from God spells misery and death. Adam and Eve hid themselves wilfully; there are those who do it unintentionally. They allow the concerns of daily life to accumulate around them until they are swallowed up of its business and its cares, and all thought of communion with the Highest is forgotten. There are others, like our first parents, who do it. of set purpose. They plunge into the whirl of work or of pleasure in order that they may not listen to the Divine voice; they strive to forget the presence of God in the rush of every day. The utter futility of such a course hardly needs to be pointed out. Adam and Eve could not see God, but that did not hide them from His sight; in the end they had to reveal themselves and give an account of their folly and their sin. It is useless to imagine that we can effectually secrete ourselves from God. One day we must inevitably re spond to His call and meet Him face to face. The forests of the world afford no eternal refuge for the sinful soul. Let us see to it that neither by design nor from forgetfulness do we allow earth’s trees to come between us and the Father’s face. Rather let us seek to. live such lives that we shall listen for His footsteps and run to meet Him whensoe’er He comes. STARVED, degraded, and in rags, the Prodigal was still his father’s son. Though he had wandered into the far country; though he had wasted his substance in unthinking living; though he had fed the stranger’s swine; he had never lost his sonship. A wayward son of man may also be a son of God. It may be difficult—yea impossible—to discern the Divine lineaments in the hardened or sullen face; all the beauty and the glory of the relationship may have been destroyed by sin; we may find it hard to believe that mass of corruption is the offspring of the Highest; but the fact remains the Prodigal is his Father’s child. Though .the flesh and the Devil have bound him in their iron fetters, he is still the Seed Royal of Heaven. He may belie his sonship; he may despise his Parentage; he may ultimately lose his rewards; but he cannot divest himself of his heavenly sonship. This thought should make us very reverent and very tender in our dealings with backslidden Christians. The sinning child is a son of God, and the Father loves him as fer vently as though he had continued to abide in his ancestral home. He is a brother of the Christ, and the heart of the Nazarene is yearning for his return. Never let us allow him to believe that he belongs to the Evil One. The Devil is a man-stealer; he is the tyrant, the slave-driver of some souls, but he is neither their O ctober 25 “Among the trees of the garden.’’— Gen. 3 :8. O ctober 26 “This my son .”—Luke 15 :24.
=NEW BOOKS W ELL W OR TH READ ING= "Best” Books of 1927 —on Subjects of Vital Importance to Christians The Fact of Prayer
The Adventure of Prayer
By John Elliott Wishart, D.D. A volume for both scholar and 1a y m a n—winning the heart and satisfying the mind . on such puzzling matters as “The Problem of Unanswered Prayer,” “Prayer and the Will of God” and “Prayer and the World’s Order.” The author has thoroughly studied the subject of prayer as it relates both to God and to man, and he here frankly faces the problems and questions grow ing out of it. Writing with conviction and with optimism he provides a sure, solid foun dation for Christian belief in the value a n d validity of prayer._________ . Cloth $1.75
By Mabel N. Thurston This is a practical, inform ing study of prayer w h i c h deals with every phase of the subject, and it is a book that will appeal to young people as well as those more experienced in the practice of prayer. It helps one to understand the principles of prayer, to believe in the power of' prayer, but, above all, it stimulates the reader to pray. A splendid study book and very helpful. Cloth $1.00
Christianity and Common Sense By C lare n ce E. M acartney, D.D.
E very m an w ants to know th e reasons fo r his faith, and this book gives th e reasons— uniquely c ast into the form of a dialogue betw een a C h ristian believer and a visitor from an im ag in ary w orld w ho has com e dow n to e a rth to exam ine th e life a n d faith of m an. It is a book w hich will comm and a carefu l reading, from m any w ho will n o t read th e m ore co nventional b o o k on C hristian faith a n d belief. • C loth $2.00 The Nest of Spears By F. W . B oreham A volum e of tw en ty-eight splendid stories told in the a u th o r’s charm ing, inim itable style— rich, kindly, sp irit ual essays w hich a re a tre a t to th e h e a rt and m ind. In this collection th e re ad e r finds m uch th a t falls in w ith the p ro p e r functions of th e p re a c h e r as outlined by P aul in his in stru ctio n s to T im othy, w ho w as to ld to “ p re ac h th e w o rd ; be in stan t in season, ou t of season; reprove, re buke, exhort, w ith all longsuffering an d teaching.** C loth $1 .7 5 Children of the Second Birth By S. M. S hoem aker, Jr. T his book tells of the conversions of various types of m en an d w om en th ro u g h th e w o rk of a n old c h u rch in New Y ork C ity. A m ong them a re college m en, a new s boy, a m inister, a gentlew om an, a social w o rk er, a m usician, a p ro d ig al an d som e c h u rch “Pharisees.** C loth $1 .5 0 Ownership By Clementina Butler Life and Power By V. Edwards This book, on the subject of human life and Divine power, is a very valuable book for daily reading—especially by those who are burdened with trials and perplexities. It will be found of real, definite aid by those to whom present-day problems are very real and very pressing. Cloth $1.50 If money does not accompany order, goods will be sent C. O. D. If goods are to come by mail add 10% for postage. Send for a free copy of our complete Catalog of Books, Booklets, Tracts, etc. An intensely interesting and spiritual book on the subject of property, business, the world’s work and the work of •Christ in the world. While written especially for “the average woman,” this volume is of much suggestive value to every Christian today, de signed as it is to make a powerful appeal to all to ac knowledge God’s ownership by following the custom of tith ing. Cloth $1.00
B I O L A B O O K R O O M Bible Institute, Los Angeles, Calif.
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