plans that need to be adopted. A good rule for our lives is to let God show us how to plan and then live out that plan. To confront in flation successfully and econom ically we have to plan to live wise ly. We need to have our "loins girded and our lamps burning." I have heard an evangelist de clare, "Many of you have stolen from God in order to buy these luxuries of life. You have foolishly taken what money you should have given to God and purchased other things with it. We need to give as well as live wisely." The steady rise in the cost of living is no excuse for holding back from giving to the work of the Lord. God always requires sacrificial giv ing from His people. Old Testa ment believers returned a specific proportion of their income to the Lord with the result that they ex perienced His blessing. New Testa ment believers are to do no less than the Old Testament believers did. The promise is to all who thus honor Him (I Cor. 6:1, 2). Spiritual Demands Whether in a struggle for eco nomic survival or financial solven cy, the believer is to remember that God's program will go right on. We must do God's will giving of our talent and support. Paul re minds us, "Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we will reap if we faint not" (Ga. 6:9). As believers we can fulfill what ever demands are attached to any ministry in the local church if it happens to be God's will for us. We can do so without jeopardiz ing our home lives. Too often we are ready to excuse ourselves from any responsibility in church serv ice, leaving only a few conscien-
Mrs.John Stanley Is pictured at the Alum ni Banquet when her husband was named Alumnus of the Year. The Stanleys are stationed with the USMC in Barstow, Cali fornia.
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