be priorities. Keep things in per spective. I’m reminded of a song one of our boys in youth work back home in England wrote. This boy was sub mitting songs to the “pop” market. The publishers sent them back to him, letting him know that they were good. He was told outright, however, to make the lyrics more suggestive so that they would sell more readily. One of the songs he wrote was about the experience he had one New Year’s Eve. He and his friends got drunk. They decided to go to church. The situation in England is this: when teenagers suggest they go to church, you can usually believe they must be drunk. There is so little interest there in the things of the Lord. In the song he tells how about six of them filed into the church and listened to the old man who got up to preach. He was all dressed in the robes of his office. The only thing this youth could remember was a long pointed finger coming at him, and a voice booming, “Young man, you’ll die.” He was absolutely terrified. The chorus of the song goes, “So, I went out, and bought myself a Bible, and read about this Man they called the Lord.” Now, if a young man who is drunk on New Year’s Eve goes to church once and can be convicted with the necessity of getting a Bi ble, there’s no reason why y o u shouldn’t get one like this yourself. I assure you I make no money sell ing Bibles. I get no percentage from any book store. I know, however, what this can mean in your own heart and life, however, and I urge you to apply it to your own needs to day for spiritual growth and satis faction in Christ. PART III W E have three children in our home: David, 8, Judy, 6, and Peter, 4. Do you suppose we person ally feed them each day? No, the food is provided and at this point 11
If you’re a Christian, you’re intend ed to be without fear. This means making an impact on enemy terri tory. When I was in the Royal Marine Commandos, we had to learn how to fire every gun from a revolver to a sixteen-inch Naval gun. They used to take us into a darkened room, and strip down these guns. We cleaned them in the dark and put them to gether again in the dark. Until we could do that, we would not be re garded as being proficient in the handling of our offensive weapons. I believe you ought to be able to take your Bible in the dark of testing, being so familiar with it that you can use it proficiently for spiritual strength and stability. A soldier who can’t handle his weapon isn’t very much of a soldier. Keep in mind that the Sword of the Spirit is your defensive weapon too.. A Christian will be subjected to all sorts of attacks. As good sol diers, we are expected to stand up to them. Do you know how to do it? The Lord Jesus Christ is a prime illustration of how a man can use the Word of God as a defensive weap on. Read the fourth chapters of Mat thew and Luke. When temptations from the devil came, He turned each of them aside by use of Scripture. There are no short-cuts. You have to decide that you will do something about your Bible and really spend time on it. The first thing you’ll need is a Bible. I don’t want to insult your intelligence, but I want to say s6me- thing very straightforward. A lot of Bibles have been published so that no one will read them. They are made so delightfully small with print absolutely impossible to read. (You may be able to read it, but you cer tainly cannot study it.) Have one large enough with margins where you can make notes. You can afford one all right, even if you have to do without something else. There must
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