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this house If you destroyed the Incense bowl! Ai-ya! Ai-ya!” The old mother made no response, but continued to pray. True, she was just a young Christian and did not know much about doctrine, but, thank God, she did know Jesus,- and that prayer offered in His Name in faith would be answered. While relatives and neighbors gaped and prophesied greater calamity and judgment, she “prayed through” to victory. Slowly but surely her son became normal, conscious ness returned, and ere long he was able to sit up and take nourishment. After a prolonged convalescence he re turned to Bible school at Wuchow with a testimony that the power of God was victorious over the power of Satan. Hallelujah! Does this not turn our thoughts to the words of L. E. Jones’ well-known hymn: "There is power, power, Wonder-working power, In the precious blood of the Lamb!” Mr. and Mrs. S. were Christians, and when they ac cepted Christ as their Saviour, they voiced the same de cision that Joshua did some three thousand years ago: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Not long after this, the test came. The Chinese do most of their cooking on crude wood stoves made of clay. Having no fire-brick, the stove is forever crumbling and falling apart. When this happens in the ordinary heathen home, the almanac is consulted or a visit is made to a necromancer who, after referring to his magic book, de cides when a lucky day will be forthcoming on which the needed repairs may be undertaken. No matter how serious the break might be, or how necessary the repairs, no one would ever dream of repairing a stove on any thing but a lucky day, because in so doing the wrath of the kitchen god would be brought down upon the house hold, if not upon the village as a whole. Mr. and Mrs. S. had decided that now that they were Christians, they would have nothing to do with the customs or practices of the heathen. Therefore, when their stove broke down, they took steps to mend it without further ado. Right in the midst of the repair work a relative entered. After watching the proceedings for a few minutes, the relative asked the in evitable question: “Is today a lucky day for repairing the stove? Is this a day when the kitchen god will permit a stove to be made whole?” The Christian couple then testified to the fact that they had not consulted the almanac or a necromancer. They testified that they believed their God had more power than the kitchen god, and therefore they were go ing to repair thé stove, lucky day or no lucky day. Defied by their actions, the power of evil struck—the wife became so ill that the husband despaired of her life. But God undertook, and that faithful Christian wife was restored to complete health. The power of God triumphed over the power of evil! Are the above just isolated cases chosen to prove a point? Indeed not! Every time a soul is born into the Kingdom of God, on every occasion that Satan is rebuked and a brand is plucked out of the fire (Zech. 3:2), the almighty power of God is made manifest. How true and fitting the words of Charles Wesley’s immortal hymn, "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” : “He breaks the power of canceled sin, He sets the prisoner free; His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood availed for me.” The Power of Nature is great, the Power of Man is greater, the Power of Satan is greater still, but — the Power of God is Greatest.
( Continued from previous page) is to cry out for assistance and the powerful Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, will come to their rescue. Because His power is greater, He will save them from the power and consequences pf sin, and ultimately from its very presence. As this humble cartoon brings Its message to simple heathen hearts, let us remind ourselves that: I "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Does this power of God actually free men and women from the power of Satan and sin on the mission fields today? Listen: Mr. L. was a student In the Alliance Bible School in Wuchow. During thè Chinese New Year’s vacation he de cided to journey home and spend his holiday in his fam ily village, testifying to his relatives of the wonderful sav ing power of the Lord Jesus Christ. During the school year his mother had accepted the Saviour,' and he was anxious to see just how she was progressing in the New Way. So he wended his way down the crooked path to ward his home, and, as he approached the front of the building, he noticed that the door gods and other protec tive papers and symbols had been removed from over the doorway. There was no heathen inscription on the front of the house. There were no exhortations for “The Five Blessings of Heaven to Come Down Upon the Dwellers” and no “Blessings Upon Him Who Enters and Exits.” Entering the tiny room, he found that the family altar had been stripped of its wooden gods and ancestral tab lets. However, he noticed that the old family heirloom, an ancient bronze incense bowl, which had been in the family from time immemorial, was still In its honored place on the idol platform. A close examination revealed that it was no longer used for burning incense, but was standing there empty. After discussing and praying about the matter, mother and son decided that they must, destroy the incense bowl because of its former association with the idol worship. Just then an old aunt entered and, hearing their conver sation, asked that either the incense bowl be given to her or that it be used as a flower urn. Both these sug gestions the mother and son refused. Removing the bowl from its place of honor, the young Bible school student took it out into the yard to smash it to pieces with a clumsy hoe. Realizing now that her nephew meant to carry out his threat, the old auntie warned him, saying, “Remember, if you smash that incense bowl, calamity will visit this household, and perhaps this whole village will suffer as a result of your indiscretion.” The boy’s only answer was to raise the hoe, and with all of his strength to break it to bits. Auntie rushed off in horror to tell the community of the calamity that was about to descend. A few minutes after the deed was done, the young man became violently ill. He had all the symptoms of one who had eaten something that was spoiled. His diet, however, had been the same as the other members of the family. Then he became semi-conscious, in a partial coma. Realizing that something out of the ordinary was wrong with her son, the mother moved him into the house, and stretching him out on his bedboards, prayed for him. Just then, In came Auntie. Immediately taking in the situation, with a tone of satisfaction, she said: “I told you so! I warned you calamity would come down upon
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