have us plant peanuts! We n eed to learn that delays and disappointments are often like boll weavils o f divine providence so that we may be more productive fo r the L ord ’s honor and glory. God assuredly prom ises us in His Word, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt g o ; I will guide thee vnth my eye.” * God said it, Jesus did it, I believe it, and that settles it. * * * DEFEAT OR VICTORY? One o f the saddest things o f life is to see Christians who are supposed to be victorious, descending to the low level o f spiritual d efea t as i f God had nothing better fo r them. In a fishing village located on the shore o f one o f the G reat L akes, there was a p air o f captive eagles. When only two w eeks old, they were taken into captivity and kep t in a large cage. When they were fu lly grown, their wing span m easured six feet. One day, when the owner had gone fishing, some mischievious boys opened the cage and let the birds go. Since they had been in captivity, how ever, they had never learned to fly al though the instinct fo r the sky was not fu lly crushed. F lailing w ith their urings, they floundered about in an effort to get off the ground. One rose high enough to get on a low branch o f a fo rest tree where it was soon shot by a hunter. The other headed toward the lake, where, unable to fly , it drowned. God had intended that these birds should enjoy their freedom in the sky. But from all o f this they had been hopelessly shut out. Think how much this is like so many o f G ods children! In stead o f enjoying the glo rious liberty the L ord intended fo r all o f us, repeatedly we are brought into the depths o f despondency and discour agement. Too often do we grovel in the dust and dirt, the muck and m ire o f this earth. We even lose the respect o f our unconverted neighbors and rela tives, fo r our Christianity seem s no different to them than their own prob lems. The B ible assuredly rem inds us, “They that wait ivpon the L ord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall * *
run and not be weary, they shall walk and not fain t.” * Perseverance is the ability to stick to something you're not stuck on! * * * WITNESSING I f they had a spiritual need, would your neighbors come to you fo r help? Two businessmen lived side by side. One was a professing Christian, the other an adm itted unbeliever. Working in the city, they rode the same train to town each morning. The w eeks went into months, and months passed into years. Their discussions centered on business, current events, sports, poli tics, social activities — you name it. Then one day the unbeliever became desperately ill. His w ife, who was b om again, urged him, “Won't you let me call a good Christian so that he can talk to you about your soul?” Discour aged, h er husband shook his head, “What good would it do? What have they to offer? L ook at our n eighbor; he’s supposed to be a good Christian yet we’ve ridden thousands Of miles together and he’s never once recom mended his possession o f Christ to me. I f his Christianity isn’t worth talking about, it can’t be worth dying fo r.” What a terrible note o f condemnation fo r any Christian! L ook about you in your neighborhood. Realize that you’re the only Christian somebody knows. The B ible says, “L et the redeem ed o f the L ord say so.” S p eak out fo r the Lord and rem em ber silence isn’t a l ways golden. Sometimes it can be ju st plain yellow. * Remember that conscience is like a tun dial: when the truth of God shines on it, it always points the right way. * * * INEXHAUSTIBLE SUPPLY There is a huge crater in Trinidad emanating originally from a volcano now extinct. This abyss is completely filled with pitch. Through the years workmen have taken tons o f asphalt from this tar-like lake fo r paving roads around the world. It is interesting to note that no m atter how large a hole 27 * * * *
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