the shallow nature of the devotion of the Israelites, and the steadfast and forgiving nature of God, anx ious to eiicourage. In the New Testament in Romans 15:1-6 there is another interesting passage relating to this, teaching us that by the patience and com fort (steadfastness and encouragement) of the Scrip tures, i.e., by the example of the patience and com fort — steadfastness and encouragement — of the God of 'the Scriptures, we might take courage or derive strength, for He is also our God. Nov. 7: “God with us,” Matthew 1, is the name which Jesus was called. He identified Himself completely with us here, so that we might be completely identi fied with Him in eternity. Nov. 9: God’s purpose is reflected and wrapped up in His name — “ Saviour” and “ Emmanuel.” God was not coming down to be with man, because man previous ly had been separated from Him, Ephesians 2:1. He was coming to effect a way of approach so that we might always 'be with God — and so Jesus can pray as He does in John 17:24. For the time being we are with Him as the Holy Spirit lives in us — but some day we shall know Him as He knows us. Nov. 14: We decided to get up in the morning for some added time in the Word, so were up at 5:00 this morning. Perhaps this is a prerequisite to a well- ordered day, with time well spent — at least one of the prerequisites. Nothing takes the place of disci pline — obedience. We are chosen, destined and sanctified for obedience to Jesus Christ. (I Peter 1.) Our being chosen is for the purpose of obedience and cleansing. We are chosen to be obedient to God as we know Him, and the mark of our stature is the degree of our obedience. We all have the same source of revelation of the will of God — what is to be obeyed — as far as character is concerned; we have the example of Jesus Christ: v. 17, “As He who called you is holy, be ye holy in all your conduct.” v. 14, “ as obedient children,” deliberately disregarding the previous ambition of self-aggrandizement (2:1). As a result of our calling, we have before us an endless stretch of good things from God. In this present phase of time and space, we have a living hope (v. 8). We also have an increasing assurance that as our conformity to Jesus Christ grows, though purposes are often tested, more honor for Him will our result. And we have a continued assurance that beyond time and space we have an eternity of full realization of our hope and the purpose of our call— obedience to Him. Nov. 15: “ Gird up the loins of your mind.” Let your mind be disciplined, so that you can concur in your minds with what God has done in your heart; so that you may hope with full confidence in God’s promises to remake us in the image of Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20-21). Disciplining the body is difficult but possible through tangible exercises; disciplining the mind is 100-fold more difficult, as it is subject to a myriad of unseen influences which are difficult even to recognize as influences — distracting sights and sounds and smells, atmosphere, presence or absence of security props. Nov. 16: But we must be holy as He who has called us is holy, trusting that He is the One at work in us to will and to do His pleasure. Obedience to that will within us is a discipline which is learned in the school of experience; therefore we should not be discouraged when we fail, but learn from each fail ure what to beware of. Nov. 22, Thanksgiving 1962: We have much to be thank ful for as we look back over the past year. Our needs OCTOBER, 1963
have all been met in order for us to come here, and we have been kept well and healthy. We have a good teacher in Vietnamese and are making some progress. Nov. 23: Paul’s statement “ I die daily” is in a context of relationships to other people. This is also seen in II Corinthians 6 and 7, .where Paul’s feelings go under even though the Corinthian Christians seem hardly to appreciate Paul’s sacrifices. We too must put up our huisclos — close the door — our death- to-self life in unremitting service to others — for “ Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these . . ., ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40). Nov. 28: Friday we went to the An Dong market in Cholon where Vumell bought a Vietnamese hat for 20 piastres. The market was almost empty at 3:00, but children followed us around, poking and pulling at our clothes. Children are often the pitiful mem bers of a society where they have to be out in the streets: they have their whole life before them with the scars of early childhood carrfed along with them. No wonder Jesus said, “ Suffer the little children to come unto me.” He wanted to heal some of the wounds and put kindness as a salve over them. Dec. 13: Jesus’ relationship to the Father was one of com plete confidence in Him and complete commitment to His will. Jesus’ will was completely swallowed up in God’s will, and He knew that it was good. His meat was to do God’s will (John 4). He had a will of His own (Luke 22), but He co-operated complete ly with God’s will as He discovered it at every point. Jan. 13: As parents, we have a grave responsibility to our daughter. She comes into the world knowing nothing and having few instincts — like the resettle ment groups which the king of Assyria sent to Pales tine who knew nothing of the “ law of the god of the land.” They had to be taught from scratch. See II Kings 17:24-28. So we start from scratch, and what Kari learns of God will be learned from us — of His love and His discipline. If she does not obey us, she will not obey God — Proverbs 23:13, 14. If we discipline her, we will save her from hell! Later on she can learn from a book to obey (Eph. 6:1-2) but for now it must be enforced guidance; she cannot yet reason. Jan. 31: I Chronicles 13. Uzzah was not killed because he simply touched the ark, but rather because the whole operation was being carried out in a manner con trary to what God had commanded, which goes to show that the end never, never justifies the means. Feb. 10: Every work has its place, and there is time for all that God wants us to do. God does not intend that we should feverishly guard our moments, but commit them to Him and honestly do the work He has given us with a will. There is a time for every thing, a time to be bom and a time to die, a time to laugh and a time to cry. For David there was a time, after his busy day of bringing back the ark of God, to go home and bless his household (I Chron. 16:43). . . . To Bring to Pass, as It Is This Day, To Save Much People Alive. Elwood and Gaspar gave their lives for the tribes. Their goal was the Word for the people without God and without hope. As members of the Summer Institute of Linguistics and the Wycliffe Bible Translators, they were part of a team which is studying 300 languages in 15 countries. We know they would not want their work to die. Fourteen more tongues in South Viet Nam need men like them — 2000 more need them in the rest of the world. Who will go on? Did they die in vain? is
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