AU G U ST , 1963 (With materials from Biota's July Broadcasts)
I « T O T . A . broadcaster Monthly Publication of the BIOLA FELLOWSHIP Vol. 3 No. 8 AUGUST, 1963 CONTENTS THE UNFAITHFUL W IFE .......... 3 THE SNIPER ......................... 5 THE DRINKING W O M A N ........ 8 THE ART OF FO RG IV IN G .......... 10 PARABLES A N D PEARLS ......... 12 THE INDW ELLING CHRIST .......16 THE CRISIS IN MO RALITY ...... 21 QUESTIONS AN D ANSWERS ......25 HOW TO GET A NEW HUSBAND 30 COVER: Pictured on this month's cov er are three familiar radio voices and Biola administrative officials: Dr. Louis T. Talbot, chancellor; Dr. Samuel H. Sutherland, president; and Dr. Charles L. Feinberg, dean of the Talbot Theological Seminary. The pic ture was taken at graduation in front of the Seminary building, Myers Hall, as they stand in academic robes.
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FEATURED iULY
RADIO MESSAGE
by D r. H en ry B randt
W h a t w o u l d y o u think if, while driving down the highway, you had a car pass you in which was rid ing an unknown man and the wife of your best friend? This occurred recent ly, which ultimately caused two clients to come to my office. After the hus band received the report he faced his wife with it. “Why, the very idea,” she indignantly responded. So he re treated from the accusation and chose to disbelieve his best friend. When he
got similar reports from several others, however, he went to the other man involved. He, too, was most vehement in his denial. “I’ll have you sued for libel,” he declared. Finally a detective was put on the trail, and the evidence was unmistakably found; his wife was committing adultery. The husband and wife came to my office for help. What had gone wrong? Here was a young man married to (continued on next page)
The Unfaithful Wife (continued) a young woman. They had all the hopes and. aspirations of any couple when they got married. She came from the kind of a home where mom. and dad co-operated, working together in all projects. Mother could ask father to help her, and vice versa! On the other hand the husband came from a home where Dad'was czar. One just didn’t ask dad to do any menial tasks. As a result, when this couple were first married and the wife would try to discuss some household problem with the husband, he would respond, “Oh, don’t bother me with your trou bles; you work them out.” Bit by bit their lives began to drift apart. The husband was absorbed in his own work. She was left to build a life all her own. What he didn’t know was that she wasn’t building the kind of a life he thought she was. She had been a very clever woman and had covered up her difficulties. Deceit is one of the products of the human heart. When she came in she asked, “Can you blame me for being lonesome and bitter? I was misunderstood. This, was my way of getting even.” In that sense, she was right; she hadn’t gotten a square deal from her husband. The human heart, rather than committing a person unto God and praying for grace to surround them, tries to hit back and get even. This deception of hers led her to adultery. It is quite understand able for her to say, “He drove me to it.” He certainly made it easy for this woman to do what she did. A woman has a right to expect her husband to become involved in building a life to gether. How natural, when we face difficulties and problems, to draw with in ourselves and to nurse the product of an evil heart Deception and adul tery are both products of the human h eart., Another illustration will also reveal other things that are in the heart. Think of theft and covetousness. A man came into our offices who was very well dressed. He seemed to be a highly respected man. As he sat down, almost .immediately, he put his head
Dr. Brandt Dr. Henry Brandt will be featured August 18-25 at Biola's Family Bible Conference, Firs, Bellingham, Washington. mto his hands and said, “I don’t know how to say it, but I’ve been stealing money from my employer.” I respond ed, “How did you ever get into that?” It seems that he had some friends who had prospered. They had all "started out about the same. They had a little house, a meager but sufficient income, and seeming happiness. But his friends began to better themselves. They were making more money than he was. "They ate in better restaurants, drove nicer and bigger cars. This man’s heart began to be filled with covetousness. There are many of us the same way. We see somebody else succeed but rather than rejoicing with them, we turn sour and are covetous. We say in essence, “He got a lUcky break. I’m just as good.” Again, the product of the human heart is the sort that leads one toward covetousness. My client was in a position where he could see a potential good deal. He could buy a certain quantity of ma terial at a very low price, then turn around and sell it for nearly double the amount. With this he could make him self several thousand dollars. It would, of course, necessitate “borrowing” some of" the company money in order to buy the quantity of materials. But, instead
of going up, the market hit bottom. He was now in real trouble. He would have to manipulate the company rec ords. So covetousness had led to deceit and theft. This man had to face up to the fact that what he did was a result of a sinful heart. How is it with you in your life? Jesus said that the very thought is as sinful as the act itself. The Lord Jesus came to save us from our sins, as well as to cleanse us from a vile and guilty heart. He desires to give us victory over temptation. He died to eliminate covetousness from your heart; to change the tendency toward fornica tion and adultery; to make it possible for you to find victory over evil speak ing, wickedness, deceit, lust and the evil eye. You don’t have to ever get into situations such as I have described if you realize that what you do is a result of what comes out of you. Christ’s redemption and daily cleans ing is good news. You may not be able to control what your husband is going to do. You may not be able to control who" moves next door to you. You may not be able to have much to say about the temptations that are going to con front you. But there is one thing you do have control over. That is the prod uct of your heart. .Christ died to change your heart if you want it changed. Don’t blame someone else for what goes on in your heart. Most of us have two kinds of problems: what we do about the people in our lives, and what we do about circumstances sur rounding us. Actually it is our heart attitudes toward people and circum stances in our lives that makes the dif ference. The product of your heart can be cleansed if you will come to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him to do it. “Search me, O God, and know.my heart: try me, and know my thoughts, And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way ever lasting.” Don’t worry about the other person, a child or marriage partner. The important thing to you is what are you going to do about your own heart? Christ died to cleanse it and He will if you will just turn your life over to Him.
the sniper
by Dr. Henry Brandt O n e o f t h e most difficult things about our ministry is to see the growing number of weary, tired and unhappy people who come, for help. The thing that makes it so sad is be cause it is unnecessary. The message of the Gospel is one of positive hope and assurance. It is a message of reconcilia tion and joy, all of which can be yours, no matter what your problem may be. The Lord Jesus Christ died for your problems. The attitude of heart needs to be, “Search me 0 God and know my heart, try me and know my thought^ and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlast ing.” Working with troubled hearts most of the time these folks have some body else on their minds. They come in and want to talk about the way somebody else has treated them. They usually ask, “What can I do about somebody else?” What is really needed is to center your attention on letting God talk to you. It is like the Pharisees who came complaining to Jesus about His disciples. They didn’t appreciate the fact that they chose to eat before: washing their hands. The Lord JeSus (continued on next page) 5
the other hand, took the attitude that they should be more liberal. The young man himself became a football between two parents. The argument grew more and more intense. The hus band took the position that the wife was wasting her time getting counsel from us. He insisted the sessions be terminated. On our records was the warning, “In our judgment, if these two people do not resolve their tensions we would not be surprised if some very serious and drastic things might have to be faced.” Murder seemed a little remote at the time. But a bitter young man was caught in a feud between mother and father. The squeeze and pressure was more than he could bear. The Bible tells us that one of the products of the human heart is murder. How plain it ought to be that we must take care of the condition of our own heart through the power of the Holy Spirit. In the second folder were some other small clippings about another sniper. Again it involved a young teenager. After talking with him, we began to realize that behind his life was a mother and father too busy to bother much about him. He was the kind, too, who really needed a lot of attention and very serious guidance. We had warned the parents of their serious responsibility. A failure would mean to expect dire consequences. Fortunate ly in this case, his aim was bad. While he missed, yet the attempt was still there. Murder isn’t something that happens all at once. Jesus said, “I say unto you that if you are angiy with your brother, you have committed mur der already.” Actually, murder is just getting a little madder; mad enough to kill. Realize, however, that to be mildly annoyed is the first step. To be nursing these miserable situations in our hearts and the ..manufacturing of these grievances makes the differ ence. The Lord Jesus has come to give inner peace and to deliver us from the pressures and grief of human probleins and difficulties. See what God can and wants to do for your heart if you will simply recognize Him as the supreme Source.
The Sniper (continued) answered them by saying, “There is nothing from without a man that can defile him, but rather those things which come out of him. These are the things that defile the man. Think of some of the things that go into you: alcohol, dope, smoke, too much food, these are a few of the kinds of things that go into a person. But, according to Jesus these aren’t the things that de file Him. Our Saviour pointed out that some of the things which proceed out of the heart of man are evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lust, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride and fool ishness. That is a rather imposing and frightening statement isnt’ it? When you say to your husband, “You make me furious,” is he putting that into you, or is he bringing it out of you? It makes a big difference because if he is putting it into you then we will need to treat him. But if he is bringing it out of you then we will need to treat you. Some sobering things happened in our office a few weeks ago. In one of our case conferences the person in charge put two folders in front of me. One of them contained case records of a contact which we had had with a woman. There were also some news paper clippings in there. A short time ago we had a sniper loose in our com munity. He was shooting bullets through people’s windows. Naturally it caused considerable consternation, as you might well imagine. People wondered who would be next. Then one day it came out in a newspaper that a woman had been shot and killed. The woman happened to be one of our clients about a year previously. She had come because one of the bur dens upon her heart was the relation ship between herself and her husband. She told us that they were growing farther and farther apart. The biggest current issue was an argument over how to treat their teenage son. She thought the boy should be expected to live according to the precepts of the church which they attended. He, on
the jealous wife by D r. Henry Brandt T h e r e is n o t h in g that will upset domestic tranquility sooner than
ilarly, the solution to this man’s hostile: approach toward .his wife was not ttf have her change. It is almost like] both partners having pneumonia. The doctor must treat each of them. It' might be that the husband kept the window open too wide and as a result the wife got sick. Can she say, “You caused me to be sick. You go get the shots”? The husband may have been most inconsiderate but both are sick and both need to be treated. In the case of my clients, each of them needed to come before God asking Him to help them to achieve a change of heart. The most wonderful thing is that as believ ers? we have a place to go. That is good news! Christ died to take care of jealousy, envy, hate and bitterness. The only thing that would keep you from availing yourself of the power of God in your life is an unwillingness to come. He said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” If you decide to nurse your grudge, you will be the loser. It is your privilege to be miser able, but you don’t have to be. There is a fountain of wisdom from above enabling us to respond to all of the affairs of life. “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peace able, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy. . . .” What a wonderful thing to realize that the terrible world about us can’t touch us, unless we want it to. Christ died to enable us to effectively cope with the situations of life. This woman, struggling with a jealous heart, and her husband, thor oughly disgusted with her, had a need to turn Godward. Christ died for our sins. He died to give us the power that we need receive inner peace in a world in turmoil. You have the privilege of coming or you have the privilege of rejecting Him. What Will you do with Jesus? 7
jealousy on the part of one of the mates. A young man and his wife, ac tive church workers, came to me with the problem of jealousy on the part of the wife. She didn’t like other people talking to her husband whatsoever. This made him mad. In the first ses sion, she and I agreed, theoretically, that jealousy is a bad thing. The next Sunday they went to Sunday school, attending the married couples’ class. They sat down next to my client’s cou sin and her husband. The woman was seated next to my client’s husband. That wasn’t so bad until the teacher noticed that my client’s cousin didn’t have a Bible. He suggested her hus band share it with her. The wife didn’t like this whatsoever. She sat there jealous and “green with envy.” From what I gathered they had quite a fiery row on the way home from church. That week, when they returned for their appointment, there was a dis gusted man who entered the ofiice. His statement was, “I’m just fed up with her! I’ve had it!” Now, not only did I have a jealous woman on my hands, but also an angry man. So, in talking with the woman, she stated, “I have to make my husband think I’m jealous. Why, I wouldn’t know what he’d do if I weren’t. How could I trust him?” What a strange way to seek to main tain a marriage. Here was a Christian woman who was clinging to the work of 'the flesh in order to control her husband. Theoretically, it is quite easy to say that the work of the flesh is evil; we should turn Godward asking for victory. This young woman knew this. Yet, it was the last thing she wanted to admit. The solution to this woman’s jealous heart was not for her husband to be careful in isolating him self apart from any other women. Sim
hardly seems possible, and yet this was her story. His wife drank. She would sneak a drink of liquor every once in a while. Somehow my client found out about it. She took it upon herself to befriend the pastor’s wife. Once more her concern was for the testimony of the church. There had been one scan dal and another would be too much. This was her reason for befriending the woman. Occasionally, the pastor’s wife would call up the woman and ask her to come and get her from some bar. She would, of course, oblige. Sonfe- times she would park out in front of the bar and wait for long periods of time until she came out.. During these periods she would brood over her af fairs and troubles. She brooded about the first pastor, she brooded about this pastor’s wife. Then, there was another thing which occurred to her. You know, you sit and start sorting over all the morbid things of your life and you can certainly find enough to keep you busy. That is, you can if you choose to live that kind of a defeated life. She also reminded herself of the fact that the sister she lived with (they were both unmarried), was a dominat ing, bossy, stubborn soul. “Life is very tough,” she thought as she sat sorting over her miseries. Paul advises every believer, “Finally brethren, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.” But this was not true with this woman. She would rather dwell on the morbid things. Her ministry was to wait for a ruined life, and it was a reluctant ministry. “Why do I have to do this?” she reasoned. “If she would have be haved herself, "I’d be home.” Finally one night she said to herself, “Why should I sit out in this car all by my self. I guess I’ll go in and have a drink, too.” When she did, she learned some thing: a couple of drinks can make life look much better. There are a lot of people who have found this out. They invest a good deal of money try ing to find some temporary peace. It is only for a short time, but it is there. 8
FEATURED JULY RA P IO MESSAGE
The Drinking Woman
by Dr. Henry Brandt
S o m e t im e s t h e s t o r ie s of real life are even more difficult to com prehend than those made up by the best fiction writers. A woman in her late 40’s came to me who said she was a Christian and very active in a cer tain church. To her great disappoint ment, however, the pastor had become involved with one of the women. It was an unfortunate scandal a n d brought disgrace upon the church. She in turn felt quite bitter about the pas tor because of her burden for the work. Then another pastor cdme along. It
her grudge about her sister rather than crying out to the Lord to help the poor woman inside the cocktail joint. That is exactly what happens when one approaches the. wqrld with a heart filled with strife. Sooner or later you. yourself are going to get involved with, evil works just like this woman did. The origin of her evil works was in her heart. It was not the behaviour of the people around her, admittedly not what it ought to be, but her own inner responses to wrong doing. As she and I would come “right down to the wire,” the fundamental issue she had to come to grips with was namely, would she pray God’s forgiveness to wards these people. She would almost hysterically declare, “I don’t know what to say; I’m confused; I can’t get things straight.” Yes, where envy and strife is, there is confusion. This wo man knew what she needed to do. When anybody takes the position that they will not do the needful thing, confusion will result. It is a tragic situation. The key to help for this ,wo man was at the point where she re pented and cried out, as a penitent sinner, “O God, help me!” But she felt she still had these people to deal with. In actuality, she wouldn’t get anywhere until she dealt with her own need. “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gen tle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without par tiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (James 3:17, 18). There is another kind of response to life that is possible, but this doesn’t come on your own, it comes from above; it is something external to you. It is not for you to decide what the other person must do. Make certain that your own heart is right before the Lord, and rejoice in His blessed provision, The only way to effectively overcome evil is when your own heart is filled with that holy wisdom which is from above. * * * Make the most of life . . . before the most of life is gone. 9
They are willing to suffer a big head tomorrow for a little relief today. My client discovered, to her surprise, that a few drinks and she would think a little more kindly of the pastor that had gone, and this woman, and her sister. As a result she struck up this unfortunate relationship which went on for quite sometime. Understand, she was still busy in the church, but feel ing more miserable all thditime. It was with this backdrop that She came' to see me. Here was a woman with a heart filled with strife. This woman wasn’t all wrong. She had some basis for what .she was feeling and think ing. It is a tragic thing when a min ister lets you down, isn’t it? (It is a ,tragic thing when your own sister pushes you around and is most incon siderate.) She had a point there. And again, it is a tragic thing to see an other woman in the church, the pas tor’s own wife, going down hill. These things are all hard to take. What hap pens when you are confronted with difficulties and the problems of life around you? What do you do when people don’t treat you as they should; you are getting a dirty deal and are misunderstood? This is not a delusion, it is a fact. All of us face things in our lives that we cannot change. The Bible reminds us, “But if ye have bit ter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work” (James 3:14-16). There are many of us who grapple with evil but who are on the side of righteousness. But here was a woman who had become involved in evil. She certainly didn’t start out that way. At the outset she was not active ly involved. The more she brooded the more her heart was filled with strife and bitterness. She didn’t cry out to God for a spirit of patience toward these people. She wasn’t praying for the minister, she was brooding about him. She condemned him in her own heart. The same was true of the others about whom she thought. She nursed
the art of forgiving
by Dr. Henry Brandt
W h i l e o n t h e mission field one time two young women came to me for a word of advice. There were three of them living together in the same apartment. Their question was, “What should we do about a selfish roommate?” (They referred to the one who wasn’t there.) “She was the one who picked out the color of the walls.” The other injected, “You should see the stove we have. She de cided which one to get.” The first came back, “The way our place was ar ranged is because she wanted it that way.” And finally, “We even flavor the food the way she likes it. What can you do about a person like that?” It sounded hard to believe coming from missionaries. I asked them, “What have you done about it?” They were somewhat shocked at this statement. “Why, we haven’t done anything about it.” “You mean she doesn’t know how you feel?” I questioned. They quickly responded, “Why no. We couldn’t tell her what we think.” I pointed out what the Bible has to say regarding a grievance against a broth er. We are told to go to him and get it straightened out. But instead of fol lowing God’s prescription for an agi tated heart these two were murmuring, complaining and grumbling about their roommate. She, in turn, evidently had no idea of their inner feelings. The reason these women were miser able was not because they were on the mission field. It was because they weren’t living the way the Bible orders. People who violate some of the basic, principles of Christian living end up in consulting rooms. One of the last
things Jesus said to His disciples was, “These things say I unto you that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” The man who is filled with joy is the individual who knows God’s commandments and keeps them. An interesting experience happened to me recently in the Congo. We were visiting in the Stanleyville area. There are some fierce tribal wars still going on there. Yet everywhere we went we were welcomed by friendly people. They told us how glad they were that we were there. The one request they repeatedly made was, “Send us more missionaries!” That may sound encour aging, but think what the missionary is up against. Two years ago some of these very same men, who welcomed us so warmly, had spit in the faces of the missionaries. Did you ever have somebody spit in your face? What would you do? (They spit in the face of our Saviour.) Some of these missionaries, several years ago, found themselves grabbed by a mob, bound and thrown into the back of a pickup truck. They were tor tured and threatened with death. Beaten before mockers they bravely held out for the Lord Jesus Christ. The natives stole their cars; they threw them out of their houses and ruined the furniture. Then they said to the missionaries, “Get out! We hate you!” How the tide has changed again to day. What is the reason? When the foreigners left, the natives took over the stores. Things went well as long as there was merchandise. But when the stock was gone they didn’t know 10
what to do and the stores closed. It was good to have the white man’s cars. They were run day and night with no thought for any service, except to put in gas. No one knew how to fix them and the result was chaos. In such a manner, everything in the Congo “ground to a halt.” The entire eco nomy was completely and seemingly hopelessly ruined. How would you feel if you had to go back to these people who, only a short time before, had spit in your face and taken away all of your pos sessions? This was one of my jobs when I went to the Congo. I was talk ing to some missionaries who were required to work with tire same people that had spit in their faces a couple of years ago. They had taken away THE CLOCK OF LIFE The clock of life is wound but once, And no man has the power To tell just where the hands will stop A t late or early hour. To lose one's wealth is sad indeed; To lose one's health is mote; To lose one's soul is such a loss As no man can restore. The present only is our own, Live, love, toil with a will— j Place no faith in "tomorrow" — for The clock may then be stiff. their cars and had gone into their houses and ruined their furniture and houses, yet now they were saying, “W ill you forgive us? We were wrong. We were deceived.” What would you do? Being human, some of the mission aries had feelings similar to what most of us have experienced. It was hard to forgive. How wonderful to realize that Christ died for our sins and has prom ised, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Again His words are, “I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and perse cute you.” Everyone of those mission aries had read that verse, perhaps
never dreaming that someday they would have to apply it in their own ministry. It is so easy to allow bitter ness, hate and disgust to well up in one’s heart. Have you ever experienced this same problem? Maybe someone has been quite inconsiderate of you. They have mistreated you, just like these Congolese did. In such cases, as with the missionaries, we must see ourselves as needy people. It is easy to think that someone else, who has mistreated you, should re pent. But that is not what I am say ing. You are to love these people who have been unlovely to you. Someone says, “I suppose you would love them?” Supposing I didn’t love them. Two of us would then be in the wrong. The real test of our Christian experience is the matter of forgiving people we may not want to forgive. The Lord Jesus Christ died to give us the kind of a spirit to forgive those who may not deserve it. For some reason most people want to nurse their grudges. There seems to be something pleasant about thinking daggers at somebody. It seems to be too much fun to give up. Most people who come to the coun seling room to see me are those who have very much these same problems. They will say, “What am I going to do about the people in my life who aren’t behaving themselves the Way they should?” Our ministry is a matter of accepting degraded people who are doing things which may be clearly wrong and yet loving them with all our hearts, seeking to minister unto them, especially when they don’t de serve jt. The difference between happy and unhappy people does not depend upon where you are but upon what is your joy, peace and patience with oth ers. The victorious answer is a day by day communion with God. As a funda mental preparation, say with the Psalmist, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try mie and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Doing this you will be a demonstrator of the power and grace of God in and through your life. 11
.......... 1-mjiug parables and pearls (AS FEATURED OVER "TH E BIOLA HOUR")
LOVING OUR ENEMIES It was during the terrible Armenian atrocities that a young woman and her brother were pursued by Turkish soldiers. The brother was cornered and brutally slaughtered by one of them , however, it allowed time for the young woman to leap a fen ce and escape. Later she served as a nurse and was forced by the Turks to labor in a hos pital. As fate would have it, the very soldier who had killed her brother, was brought in to h er ward, seriously injured. T h e slightest, inattention would have meant his death. Should' she pass by and overlook a small de tail, no one would notice and she would be avenged. Instead, however, she did all in h er power to restore him to health. W hen he got better, the Turkish soldier thought h e rem em bered the face of his nurse. One day it all horribly dawned upon him . H e asked her frankly, “W hy didn’t you let m e die?” She replied kindly, “Be cause l am a follower, of the Lord Jesus Christ. H e it was who said, “Love your enem ies and do good to them !” A fter long moments o f' silence, the injured man responded, “I never knew there could be such a religion. T ell me about it. That’s what I need.” W e cannot tell how at this turn or at that, God will lead and provide. As H is servants, let us be ready always “to give an answer to every man that asketh us, a reason of the hope that is in us with meek ness and fea r.” * * * If you're a stranger to prayer, then you're a stranger to power. * • * HELP WHEN WE NEED IT L ife is filled with problems. The Word of God assures the believer, how ever , that the Lord is our help or stay 12
BEATITUDES OF A CHRISTIAN WIFE
Blessed is she whose daily tasks are a labor of love, for w illing hands and a happy heart translate beauty ' into j privilege and her labor becomes a serv ice to God and to those she loves. Blessed is she who opens the door to welcome both stranger and well-loved friend for gracious hospitality is a test of true Christianity arid spiritual stew ardship. Blessed is she who mends stockings and toys and broken hearts, for her understanding is a balm to those in need. Blessed is she who scours and scrubs. She knows that cleanliness is important, but that forgiveness of sins in the human heart can only be purified through the blood of Jesus Christ. Blessed is she whom children love for the love of a . child is more to be valued than fam e or fortune. Blessed is she who sirtgs at her work for music lightens the heaviest load and brightens the dullest chore. Bless ed is she who dusts away doubt and fea r; and sweeps out the cobwebs of confusion, for h er faith in Christ will triumph over all adversity, and her patience of hope w ill be rewarded by the Lord. Blessed is she who serves laughter and smiles with every meal, for h er buoyancy of spirit is an aid to mental and physical digestion. The B ible says, “A m erry heart doeth good like a m edicine. Blessed is she who preserves the sanctity of the Christian home fo r hers is_ a sacred trust that crowns h er with dignity, and results in her children arising and calling her blessed, and h er husband praising her also.
* * Don't try to be saved by being good, be saved to be good. *
ness. And Lord Jesus, when the child lies in my arms and when those eyes look up to m ine to learn what this new world is like, help m e to so live that my child shall find true faith and not fear by believing in Th ee as the only Saviour from sin. M ay my child not find bitterness but love; not gossip but compassion. Lord God, may my baby love me but more than this, may there be a n ' early yielding of the life to Christ. Give my child a clean m ind and a pure soul. May my desire not only be to have a proper baby but also that I myself may be a proper mother. For I ask all of this in the nam e of Jesus Christ, who became man that we m ight live with Thee forevermore. * * * The trouble with most people is they want to be human, but at the same time expect everyone else to be perfect. From children we learn some won derful spiritual truths. For instance, take the little boy who was sitting on the back porch steps, and who kept re peating the alphabet over and over again. H e was fust a little fellow and perhaps hadn’t memorized it too long before. “A , B, C, D , E , F , G, H , I, J, K, . . . ” and so forth> he went. Then, he would go over it again. Finally his Godly mother asked him what he was doing. H e explained, rather startled that she didn’t understand, “W ell, Momm ie, I’m not always sure what I ought to pray, but I know I should pray. So, l just send these letters up to God. H e knows how to fix ’em up into tile words that’ll say just exactly the right thing.” How true he was! The Bible rem inds us, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirm ities: for we know not what we should pray fo r as we ought: but the Spirit him self mak- eth intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” * * * * * PRAYER WITHOUT WORDS *
Biola Conference Soloist
Joyce Landorf, soprano supreme, unit be soloist for the August Biola Family Bible Conferences August 11-17, Mt. Herman, Calif.; August 18-25, The Firs, Bellingham, Washington. in the time of need. As one translation has it, “H e will help us righ t in the nick of time.” How wonderful to real ize the Lord gives us H is all-sufficient grace. In a com ing moment you will be the center of attack by the tempter. In that very- moment of ferocious as sault, by looking to Christ, there is grace to help, to sustain, to give vic tory, right in the “nick of time.” Don’t put off praying for God’s strength until tonight. No matter where or when the assault may arise, turn to the Saviour, and by H is Holy Spirit you will find the overcoming, conquering power in the moment of greatest need. * * * _Profanityreveals a depravity of the mind coupled with a poverty of lan guage. * * * AN EXPECTANT MOTHER'S PRAYER Heavenly Father , Fm about to go seeking a little soul, a thing that shall be m ine as no other thing in the whole world. Prepare m e for motherhood. Preserve my m ind from all doubts and worries so that the little m ind that is form ing may become a brave, clean battler for Christ in this world of sin and selfish
To be an effective soul winner, take sin by the throat, but the sin- ■ter with a loving hand!
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of Bible translation from Mrs. Cowan looks on.
President Samuel H. Sutherland (left), receives copy Bible Translator President George Cowan, as
Biota
Wycliffe Dr. Sutherland: Ou r special radio guests are Dr. and Mrs. George Cowan. Mrs. Cowan (formerly Florence Han sen), graduated from U.C.L.A. with highest honors. Dr. Cowan is president of the Wycliffe Bible Translators which is comprised of 1326 missionaries. The book they have may look like a Bible, however, on the cover are the words, “Nueva Testamenta” which is the first translation of the Word of God in the Mazateco tribal language. Dr. Cowan: This copy is for the Biola library. It is 'a personal joy to present it because of what Biola has meant to the Wycliffe Bible Translators. Distri bution of it has already started, and we know you rejoice with us in the souls who will be led to Christ through it. Dr. Sutherland: For those who may not know, these missionaries go into areas where the spoken language has never been reduced to writing. A gram mar is tediously formulated, and in a slow and often discouraging process
the actual words of Scripture are put down. The people themselves have to be taught to read what has been writ ten. Mr. Sandera: Just to prove it is a very difficult language, Dr. Cowan, could you give us an example? Dr. Cowan: The Mazateco is actually a tonal language. Whenever anything is said, one must maintain a certain relative pitch in the voice for each syllable given. The word that is used for “sin,” by a slight tonal change, can mean “fat,” “one,” and “also; four different words. Dr. Sutherland: Then, as far as this language is concerned being fat and sinning almost comes with the same breath. Dr. Cowan: I made mistakes like that in the early days. I was telling people Christ died for fat people instead of that He died for sinners. Dr. Sutherland: Perhaps those of us who are a bit corpulent can be thank ful for both.
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Mrs. Cowan: There is a verse in James that says, “Can sweet and bitter water come out of the same fountain?” In Mazateco, when one translates sweet water, literally he gets “pop.” When bitter water is translated literally the word “beer” comes out. So if we had translated that exactly, we would have said, “Can ‘pop’ and ‘beer’ come out of the same fountain?” It was an inter esting result. We, of course, finally worked it out to use “good” and “dirty.” Mr. Sanders: What is the Mazateco tribe like? Dr. Cowan: They now number 85,000 or more people. 45,000, at least, speak the dialect represented in this particu lar translation. There are believers who have copies of it in about 11 different villages. Regular weekly gatherings study the Word in a number of differ ent locations. Sunrise until long after sunset these people have an insatiable desire for God’s truth. Mr. Sanders: What is the scope of the ministry around the world? Dr. Cowan: Wycliffe Bible Transla tors are now in 15 different countries. Central and South America have been our starting points. In addition we’re in Canada and the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and in four different areas of the Pacific ocean including New Guinea and the Philip pines. In Africa we have urgent calls, we are filling in Ghana and Nigeria. One of the most exciting things is the way in which we are able to train na tional believers to do the work them selves. In addition we have a course in Germany which is to comply with requests from missions and churches in Germany. EVERYONE HAS A WILL (Either the one you make before you die or one that the courts and laws prescribe if you have not wisely pre pared one.) Write for free will books STEWARDSHIP DEPARTMENT Biola, 1 3 8 0 0 Biola Ave., La Mirada, California
Mr. Sanders: Do you have many graduates of Biola with WBT? Dr. Cowan: Yes, we certainly do. They are some of the finest. We’re hoping that you will send us many more. You know, there are at least 2,000 tongues yet to have their language reduced to writing so that they may hear the Word of God for the first time. Dr. Sutherland: Can you tell us the latest concerning the translation min istry of Rachel Saint with the Aucas in Ecuador? Dr. Cowan: Miss Saint has worked with Dr. Kenneth L. Pike on the al phabet problems among these needy people. Dr. Pike said they ran into some sounds that he himself had never had to produce before. We are greatly encouraged with the fact that there are now at least 19 believers among the Aucas. These are babes in Christ who need the milk and the meat of the Word. Dayuma’s husband, a fine young Auca Christian, is one of the most promising members of the reading class. And what is especially thrilling is that these Auca men have a real sense of responsibility in carrying on their own services. They have a heavy bur den of prayer for the down river Aucas who are still antagonistic to the Gos pel. They have never yet heard of the Lord. Phill Saint, himself a missionary in Argentina, visited Rachel recently. The two of them went with the Aucas to the site where Nate, their brother, the pilot on the martyred expedition in 1956, was slain. One of the men, perhaps the very one who threw the spear that killed Nate, was with them. He told them once again how, in their darkness and ignorance, they had killed the men. The redeemed killers took a cross and placed it on the graves of the men as a memorial. A heart warming motion picture was made of this and has been produced in, “I Saw the Aucas Pray.” Dr. Sutherland: We trust that friends of Biola will continue to pray, not only for the Mazatecos and Aucas, but for the needy millions around the world who have never as yet received the. Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. 15
“An unfortunate verse division here. ‘In order that ye’ belongs with the verb at the beginning of verse 18, but the two participles are in the nominative plural, agreeing with ‘ye’, the subject of the verb, hence ‘in order that’ must be taken back into verse 17. “Having been rooted and grounded.’ The con struction is varied here, but these two perfect passive participles are practi cally equivalent to two purpose clauses; that is, that Christ may dwell ip order that ye Inay be rooted and grounded, the rooting and grounding being the re sult of Christ’s indwelling. The versions translate these as present participles, showing the continuance of the past ac tion down to the present time; we are because we have been.” “ Rooted ”—the word is’ used only here and in Col. 2:7 (“having been rooted in Him” ). A tree that is not well rooted is easily blown over. God desires that we be well rooted so as to stand Satan’s windstorms of temptation and so as to bear fruit (Psa. 1:3; Jer. 17:7, 8 ), fruit being the result of life. The verb translated “ground” occurs six times, and is .trans lated “lay the foundation of” (Heb. 1:10 ), “found” (Mat. 7:25; Luke 6 :4 8 ), “ground” (3 :1 7 ; Col. 1:23), “settle” (I Pet. 5 :10 ). The noun from this verb is translated “foundation” sixteen times (including 2:20, see note). God desires that we be well grounded, so as to stand the floods of trial and to stand fast in the faith (Matt. 7:24-27; Col. 1 :23 ), tw o impressively suggestive metaphors. “In love” — not the love of God nor the love of Christ, nor yet mere human love, but Christian love which comes from Christ, and which is the “bond of perfectness” (Col. 3:14 ). Love is the element in and from which we are to derive life and growth and fruit; love is the deep and firm founda tion upon which we are to be thorough ly established and securely settled. In Colossians the thought is rooted “in Him”, grounded in “the faith” (Col. 2 :7 ; 1:23). Verse 18 — “Mary be able to com prehend.” Bringing in “In order that ye,” from verse 17, the sentence stands, “In order that ye . . . may be able to comprehend.” It means to be mighty. 16
Y e r s e 17 —- “That Christ may dw ell, through faith, in your hearts.” The purpose of the strengthen ing with power through His Spirit is that Christ may dwell. The Spirit repre sents the risen Christ' in the heart (John 14:16, IS, 23; 16:7). When He is there Christ is there (Rom. 8:9, 10). The word translated “4well” in a compound katoikeo meaning to dwell down, settle into a permanent abode. The supreme purpose of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is to represent, reveal, bear wit ness of, and make real the living Christ. “Through faith,” as the means. This phrase is in an emphatic position here. Through faith we are saved (2:5, 8 ), are children of God (Gal. 3 :2 6 ), are jus tified (Rom. 5 :1 ), have Christ indwell ing (3 :1 7 ), are kept (I Pet. 1:5) have access (Rom. 5:2)-, stand (2 Cor. 1:24), walk (2 Cor. 5 :7 ), live (Rom. 1:17), have victory over the evil one (6 :1 6 ), have hearts purified (Acts 15:9), re joice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Pet. 1 :8 ), and many more. “In order that ye, having been rooted and grounded in love.” Tasker states,
(Thayer gives to be eminently able.) Thus we find thé same three powerful words, dunamis, kratos, ischus, in 3:16, 18 as in 1:19. “Be m ighty to com prehend.” The R. V. has softened “com prehend” to “apprehend.” Delitsch, “The Greek verb is a compound (kata- lambano) in the middle voice, aorist tense, and means to take down, lay hold of, or seize for one’s self; and to seize with the mind, or understanding, is to a p p r e h e n d or comprehend.” “W ith all the saints”; unity brings strength, even in the matter of know ledge and doctrine. “What is the breadth and length and depth and THE JOY OF INTERCESSION II Cor. l-.it I like to feel that though on earth We never meet, Yet we may hold heart fellowship At God's dear feet. I like to feel in all the work Thou hast to do That I, by lifting hands of prayer May help thee, too. I like to think that in the path His love prepares, Thy steps may sometimes stronger prove Through secret prayers. I like to think that when on high Results we see Perchance thou wilt rejoice that I Thus prayed for thee! height.” Here is an immense cube; but of what? Many and varied have been the answers, some quite fanciful, and the end is not yet. But the answer seems to be at hand, at the beginning of the next verse, “the love of C hrist’ (note the word “love” before and after the cube); His love as manifested in the great plan of redemption (5:2, 25; Gal. 2 :2 0 ; Rom. 8:35, 39). Study and meditate upon it, “with all the saints”; (1 ) Its breadth: how broad is the love of Christ? This is the thing that the sinner desires to know. Is it broad enough to take him in? Any of the “whosoever” verses, or their equivalents, such as “if any man,” etc. will answer this (John 3:16 ; 6:37 ; 7:37; Rom. 10:13;
Rev. 22:17). (2) Its length: this speaks of assurance, which is the next ques tion after salvation. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12). (3 ) Its depth: this may be measured by the immeasurable dis tance which Jesus traveled from the highest heights to the lowest depths, where we were, dead in sins, under the curse. He went from the glory to the cross; not to an ordinary death, but “even” the death of the cross, the curse’s death (Phil. 2:5-8; Gal. 3:10, 13). (4 ) Its height: When He reached the lowest depths, He found us, settled all of our bills .(sin, death, curse, wrath), made full satisfaction to God, and took us out of the lowest depths and away with Himself up to the high est heights (2 :5 , 6 ). Wonderful cube! Marvellous love of Christ! Verse 19— “And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge.” To comprehend and to know. To com prehend the incomprehensible; to know the unknowable; the love of Christ, His love to us, which passes, surpasses, ex cels knowledge; literally, the surpass ing-knowledge love of Christ. Here is the same participle as in 1:19 from the great “overshooting - the - mark” verb from which we get our word hyperbole, translated there “exceeding.” Keep on studying, thinking, praying, meditat ing, conversing, learning, knowing, and at the end of life you will know much, yet not much as compared with what there is to know, of the matchless, boundless, fathomless love of Christ. “In order that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God.” This is the climax, the ultimate purpose of it all. Christ Jesus is the fulness of all things and of the Godhead; He is the fulness of God (Col. 1:19; 2 :9 ); the church is His fulness (1:23, see note); therefore be filled with Him. ( “Ye are made full in Him,” Col. 2 :1 0 ). The Holy Spirit is His representative on earth; be filled with Him (5 :1 8 ; John 20:22). The goal, sought in the first petition (v. 16), has, through a series of steps, been reached in the aorist tense of single definite action, “may be filled,” or “be kept filled.” 17
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