years later, those who governed the a rea decided such a monumental fe te o f en gineering effort should certainly he pre served fo r all posterity. They ordered that the w ater he emptied out in order that the large basin could be perm a nently preserved w ith cement. They fe lt this would have been more enduring than the clay. They encountered rea l diffi culty, however, when the supply was re moved. The blazing sun beat down upon the reservoir and soon the bottom and sides, previously dampened by the re freshing w ater, cracked and crumbled until the entire structure w as finally re duced to ruins. This certainly should re mind us as Christians to keep our hearts filled w ith the pure refreshm en t o f the Word o f God. H erein alone w ill we find true peace and jo y in our daily lives, in addition to the prom ised w ell o f w ater that is to spring up w ithin us into ever lasting life. B e constantly filled w ith the Spirit, the New Testament exhorts us, while from P roverbs we have this chal lenge, “K eep thy heart w ith all dili gence, fo r out o f it are the issues o f life.” * * * It's a sin to live a life short of what God intended your life to be. * * * M ISSIO N S It has been proven many times that any church not a “m issionary” church w ill be a “m issing” church. The life blood o f God’s people is their outreach with the Gospel. An artist was commis sioned by a denom ination to paint a pic ture o f a dying church. A fter studying many structures he began on the canvas. When the w ork was finally completed, some o f the leaders w ere astonished with his results. He hadn’t portrayed a tum- bled-down, old-looking house o f worship needing paint. His was an in terior scene o f a large imposing edifice, furnished with soft, com fortable pews, a massive pipe organ and the finest carpeting. The fo c a l point however, w as an offering plate on the back table. There was a sign over it reading, “F o r Foreign Missions.” On closer inspection the empty plate and sign were covered over w ith spider webs. H ere w as the evident and over whelming fa c t that the people w ere not interested and had not been encouraged to give to missions. The danger to any church is when the interest is centered only on ourselves. We fo rg et the chal lenging commission o f the L ord to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.
Where this happens jo y in service will be missing and there w ill be a rea l cold ness in our first love fo r the Saviour. E ach o f us needs to be keenly aw are o f the g reat need o f the mission field today. Remember, there is a m ighty “Go” in the word “Gospel.” May the challenge o f the Apostle Paul bum deeply within our hearts, “Awake to righteousness, and sin n ot; fo r some have not the know ledge o f God: I sp eak this to your sham e.” Minds are like parachutes — not much good unless they are opened. * * * THE M E A N IN G OF LIFE Some years ago, before the communists took over, a young m issionary went to a certain station in China. It was his first appointment. No sooner had he arrived than he began talking about the Lord Jesu s Christ. This greatly antagonized one o f the Chinese who bitterly com plained to him, “You’ve been here just a short time, yet all you’ve been able to talk about is Christ. Don’t you ever get tired o f it?” The enthusiastic new m is sionary didn’t answ er the caustic criti cism but in jected a question o f his own: “T ell me, friend, what did you have fo r b rea k fa st this morning?" The native was ra th er astonished at this turn o f con versation and quickly replied, “R ice.” "And what did you have fo r lunch?” the young s e r v a n t o f Christ continued. “Why, rice,” the native shot back. “And what will you have fo r dinner tonight?” the m issionary again asked. To this the C h in e s e disgustedly declared, “Why, rice, o f course." With a gentle sm ile the m issionary concluded, “Now tell me, don’t you g et tired o f having rice fo r breakfast, lunch and dinn er: three times a day, rice, rice, rice?” By this time the man was so perturbed and im patient he said in exasperation, “Why, o f course not! R ice is very life to us.” The m is sionary had made his point. He applied the truth, “E ven so Christ is very life to us. Since we love Him throughout the day we n ever tire o f H is presence. It’s a pure delight to be more and more in His fellow ship.” My friend, what is life to you? Is it ju st food and bodily ap peasem ent that keeps you going each day? I f so, you are a very poor creature indeed. True joy and satisfaction only comes when we can say, without hypo crisy o f heart, “F o r to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” 29 * * *
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