a very fine banker friend whom I thought was a perfect businessman. One day I picked up the paper, how ever, and saw that he had been ar rested. While we thought he was ideal, he turned out to be a fraud. There are many people who are like this spiritually. Listen my friend, there is no safety outside of Christ Jesus. The devil will come along with all sorts of temp tations. When you yield you have no strength apart from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We need to be in that place where the wind can take us. He will carry us where there is the Water of Life. So, if you are in place where you are drying up, and things are hard for you, let the Holy Spirit blow you out of there to where you will find love, light, joy and the peace of God that passeth un derstanding. * * * The way to see farther ahead is to fol low the will of God as far as you can see. « * * SEEDS OF DESTRUCTION As we think of Independence Day we can’t help but reflect on the fact that there are distinctive parallels between the fall of the powerful and proud Ro man Empire and our own country today. In 1787, Edward Gibbon completed his masterful volume, “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.’’ He claimed that the reasons for this society’s downfall were first of all, the rapid increase in divorce which resulted in the undermin ing of the home unit. Second, higher and higher taxes and the spending of public money. Third, the mad craze for pleas ure. Fourth, the building of gigantic armaments. Fifth, the decay of religious faith, fading into mere formalism and finally becoming too impotent to help the people. Can we ignore these tell-tale signs when we see moral corruption and spiritual declension on every hand? The exhortation may have been given origi nally to Israel, however, its spiritual ■principle for our country today is cer tainly realistic, “I f my people shall hum ble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Miss Leonie V. Soubirou (right), director of the Biota College Department of Nursing, talks with students Margarita Barr, Laurel Heath, Carol Mimms, and Cheryl Tyra. HOW IS YOUR CONSCIENCE? One day a little boy and his sister were playing hospital. The lad was the patient while the girl pretended to be the nurse. As they began, he explained in serious tones, “I ’m supposed to be ‘on conscience.’ ” What he meant, of course, was that he was “unconscious.” Yet, it would seem he might have been very correct. Actually, as God’s children we are all “on conscience.” This was Paul’s declaration to Timothy when he wrote, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from .o pure heart and a good conscience.” During the Olympics one runner, who was the third in a four way relay race, dropped the baton while trying to pass it. Throwing himself on the ground, he wept openly. He actually had to be helped from the arena. Considering his failure he realized very poignantly that he had put his team out of the running. He had disappointed his countrymen. The suc cess of the two runners before him was thereby cancelled. The runner who would have followed him never had a chance. So it is with life itself. There may be someone who will never be won to Jesus Christ unless we are faithful in holding high the torch of eternal life. So may we live, “on conscience,” perceptive of God’s truth. As a faithful Christian you must translate God’s Word into your life so that others may find . the knowl edge of Christ. So Paul wrote, “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and Godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward” (II Corinthians 1 : 12 ). 16
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