as armourplate. It is not a fetish or a charm. The soldier who accepts a New Testament and places it in his pocket will not be secure from the enemy’s fire because of the presence of this book. No where does God promise that a printed copy of the Bible is life insurance against danger or death. The Bible is a book to be read, studied, meditated upon, loved, and lived. It is a book which can be read with one’s eyes but must also be hidden in one’s heart. Its letters are light; its words are love; its message is life. The value of the book is its eternal value. .Its message transcends life. It is a book to live by; it is a book to die by. Its gospel being heeded, there is no death. The Apostle Paul stated, “ For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” The value of the book lies not in merely carrying it, but in coming to know in timately, personally, vitally, its Author. The words of the Bible are able to make one wise unto salvation, but only as one believes them and allows them entrance into the heart and life. Same Destination I N a recent conference with a group of Protestant editors, President Harry Truman lashed out against interchurch squabbling. He suggested that petty feuds be forgotten and denominational quarrels be overlooked. “ Everybody,” said he, “ is headed for the same place and they are headed on the same train and under the same engineer.” It is presumed that Baptist Harry Truman was speaking of only born-again Christians and that he meant whether you belonged to this denomination or that, if you had truly trusted the living Son of God as your personal Saviour, there would be no doubt as to your eternal destiny. It was indicated that what was meant in this statement was that the minor points of church differ ences should not separate where there was unity in the great basic underlying fact of one’s personal relationship to the crucified and risen Christ. With this we are in hearty agreement. However, in reading the news dispatch rather carefully, we have an uneasy conviction which, coupled with previous statements, might lead us to believe that resident in the present remarks was a view that all men are headed for heaven, particularly all Americans. It is sur prising how many people subscribe to the doctrine that Christians are folks with white skins or that Christians are folks born under the Stars and Stripes! It is amazing how careless is the think ing of literally millions of people who never yet have understood clearly that the doctrine of the universal Fatherhood of God and the universal Brotherhood of Man is a myth of the most dangerous sort. The startling truth is that all are not headed the same way; heaven is not everyone’s destination; even the engineer is not everyone’s engineer. Clear words of Scripture tell us that there are two fathers, one the Father T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
who have never heard. This is the secret of the burning heart. This is the spark that will add divine energy to human instrumentality. This is the desperate need of the church of Jesus Christ today. At the present writing, Dr. Talbot has embarked on a new mission. This time it is to South America to visit the many difficult yet spiritually potential fields of that vast continent. The travel is extremely taxing, the climate enervat ing. But the results obtained from show ing these films are beyond the power to contemplate. May God be pleased to use these forthcoming films as well to create millions more of burning hearts! Books That Save Lives W E have noted a number of news accounts with accompanying photo graphs telling the story of bullets’ be ing stopped by a Bible or a New Testa ment in the pockets of our G.I.’s. Im mediately lessons were drawn from these incidents and various agencies urged that all soldiers carry such New Testa ments in strategic places in their uni forms so that they too might have the insulation of this Holy Book. Now comes the tale of a comic book’s saving the life of an Air Force cor poral ! Charles L. Fultz was checking the nose wheel of his plane while its engine was racing at top speed. He was standing about two feet from the air Scoop when the suction plucked him off the ground and hurled him into the opening. Investigation revealed that the air blast ripped pages from the comic book in his pocket and blasted them against the intake screen, cutting down the suction and saving Fultz’s life. From this incident, too, lessons could be drawn that all soldiers ought to carry comic books in their pockets! The absurdity of either conclusion is obvious. If the truth were known, there have been hundreds and hundreds of G.I.’s, both Christian and non-Christian, with New Testaments in their pockets or medallions of some sort about their necks whose lives were snuffed out by the enemy’s bullets. Neither the Bible or the New Testament is to be carried
“ Burning Hearts” Y OU will remember the origin of this phrase. It was the afternoon of the resurrection day, and two of our Lord’s friends who had been to Jerusa lem were returning to their own village of Emmaus. As they made their way along the road, the Lord Himself drew near, walked with them and spoke un forgettable words regarding His death and resurrection. Their testimony after wards was that the words of our Lord had set their hearts on fire. If there is anything that is needed in the great realm of Christian living today, it is “burning hearts.” We' have sermons by the bushel and exhortations without number. What we need are Spirit-filled and Spirit-directed messages that after burning away the dross of selfishness and frivolity, will become a great light reaching out to others and lighting the way to usefulness and immortality. Over a year ago, Dr. Louis T. Talbot, President of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, undertook an extensive round- the-world tour. The purpose of this tour was two-fold. First, it was an expres sion of love to graduates from the school where they had received their training. Secondly, it was a mission to see first hand through the eye and through the camera what actually takes place on the mission fields. The result of this trip was that upon Dr. Talbot’s return a series of ten interesting and informative colored moving picture films were shown to large audiences all along this Pacific Coast. The complete results of this mission probably will never be tabulated on this earth, but of some results we are cer tain. As these pictures were shown and as the missionary story unfolded, hearts began to burn. Interest was quickened, tears flowed, and resolves were made. The great Christian ideal of this age is the cause of missions. The purpose that is foremost in the heart of God is the publishing abroad of His Son and the spiritual tonic that will do more to create really spiritual believers is a deep and unbounded interest in carrying the gladdest good news of all time to those Page Four
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