as long as the Lord puts the burden of specific prayer upon your heart. You will be thrilled when the answer comes and you will know that it was for your best and His highest glory. Q . Portland, Oregon — “In the Bible we read, ‘Come apart and be ye separate.' How can a Christian hope to save a non-Christian if he is to shun him? I would find life pretty miserable if I had to shun most of the people 1 meet. I think so often that this is true of some of the senior citizens homes estab lished just for Christians.” A. This quotation of n Corinthians 6:1 is taken from Isaiah 52:11. God told Israel that because there were so many pagan and idolatrous nations among them, always drawing them away from the faith with an ever present attempt of Satan seeking to blot out the Messiah’s coming, God wanted to keep the line pure and distinct. Believers today are told not to be “un equally yoked with unbelievers.” This does not mean, however, that we are to have nothing to do -with them. We cannot win the lost if we are shunning people. That is not in the Bible any where. The Lord Jesus Christ, in His ministry on earth, was in the midst of sinful corrupt humanity. He didn’t go out to live a hermit’s life. He didn’t shun their company. But at the same time, He was not “yoked” up or in separably bound and merged in with them. We send out a missionary where many times he is the only believer. They can’t shun the ungodly. They are going to them. As to the question of the senior citizens’ homes established for Chris tians we need to realize that there are several other purposes for them. They fill a tremendous need! The folk who reside there are not primarily on the firing line. Some of them have given their lives for the Lord in years of faithful service. Yet, even in such places they are visited by unsaved peo ple. Only eternity will reveal how many are brought to Christ through their Godly lives. Thank God for them. 31
before the time of the law, what kind of altars did he build? Why would he take the trouble and time to build them?” A. There was a use of altars long before the time of the law. The first mention of one in the Bible is in Genesis 4:4 when Abel brought his sacrifice to the altar. There is no word indicated for an altar but it is implied. Noah also built an altar after he came forth from the ark. Abraham erected an altar as is first r^^rded in Genesis 13:18. Of course, we also read ot his altar in the willingness he had to offer up Isaac, recorded in Genesis 22:9. These were earthen altars. The reason for his building them was be cause he recognized God’s demand for approach to Himself by means of blood. All of the Old Testament saints came by way of an altar. -Incidentally, two interesting things characterized Abra ham: a tent, and an altar. The tent signified he was a pilgrim on earth; the altar that he was a worshipper of God. Q. Bellingham, Washington — “The Bible tells us to persist in prayer but l have prayed for a certain thing for years and still no answer has come.” A. That is a problem many Christians face, giving more concern than most any other problem. There are a num ber of conditions laid down for prayer. The Lord doesn’t promise that He will answer our prayers exactly at that time. God has all eternity in which to deal with any situation. Sometimes He wants to teach us patience by delaying any answer to our prayers. Again, there are times when we do not pray accord ing to God’s will. If we analyze our prayers we find that they are for our own sake and not for the Lord’s glory. Sometimes the Lord must say “no” to our requests for He knows far better than we what is good for us. It is not for us to determine and demand when or how the Lord is going to answer prayer. We are to. commit these mat ters, in trust, to the Lord for His guid ance and direction. Keep on praying
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