T h e K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
July 1932
335
to Satan; and almost prays and rejoices to see things get worse, to hasten the com ing o f Him who is to put all right. May God keep us from either error. — A ndrew M u rray .
CD aily CD evo itonalc^J^ea cLtu g s A M E S S A G E FOR E V E R Y DAY OF T HE M O N T H
JULY 19 C h r istia n G rowth
“As therefore ye receive Jesus Christ, the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and builded up in him" (Col. 2:7 ). The apostle uses the. threj; ..figures--oi- walking, being rooted, and built up. T o gether they suggest an initial act by which we are brought into Christ and a subse quent process flowing from it. Our ac ceptance o f Christian truths is the means by which we come into possession o f what is more than belief in truths. When we be lieve on Christ, we come in a vital sense to possess Him. W e are rooted in Him. His life flows into us. There is no progress without that initial step. There is sure progress if the initial step has been taken. Christian growth consists in a more complete confession o f Christ, a more con stant approximation to Him, and a fuller appropriation of Him. It-is not a growing up from Christ as a starting point, but into Christ as goal. This is accomplished by keeping the channels o f communication open so that the reception may be contin uous and progressive. Our growth will consist both in the spontaneous develop ment of the implanted life and in our con scious and continuous efforts to follow Him.— A lexander M aclaren . JULY 20 T h e G row th of F a it h “Faith as a grain o f mustard seed” (Lk. 17:6). It is said that the grain of mustard seed is the smallest known. W e can hardly separate it or look at it, except with a glass. And the Lord says—oh, what a , wonderful thought for us, what wonderful conde scension for Him ¡— “ Some of you have faith, but it is small, it is marvelously small, it is almost incredibly small. It is like one o f these little grains of mustard seed. But if ye have'faith as a grain of mustard seed, Christ Himself and all heaven become yours.” And that is the be ginning. Think of what you were in the last trouble, in the last temptation that came upon you. Think o f what you were when the cloud and the darkness fell, when you looked about for help and could see none. Had you forgotten that there was a Saviour, and that He was yours, that He was ready and willing to undertake for you, that He was pledged to do it, by His own precious blood and by His word ? Had you forgotten that you had a Sav iour? You saw no faith, in that poor heart o f yours, as the days and the trouble passed away. But if you have faith, even as a grain o f mustard seed, be not dis couraged ; be cheered, ye shall not fail. — E lder C u m m in g .
Lindbergh flew alone from New York to Paris ? Why should I doubt that Elisha saw the horses and chariots o f fire when I can take a telescope and view the land scape for miles around, or see the world in a drop of water? Some say they do not believe Samuel heard a voice in the tabernacle, or that a voice from heaven spoke to Jesus at His baptism, or to Saul on the way to Damas cus, and yet the same people sit at the radio and hear an orchestra in Alaska. You remember when they dropped a pin in front of the microphone of the National Broadcasting System and amplified the sound and sent it around the world by way of Patagonia, until it became the sound of a thousand cannon in full blast, in one-eighth o f a second. I f man can do that, why should I doubt anything the Bi ble tells me o f the miracles contained therein ? — R obert G. L ee . “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and o f love, and o f a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7). W e must seek as much to be kept from the superficial optimism which never is able to gauge the extent of the evil, as from the hopeless pessimism which can neither praise God for what He has done, nor trust Him for what He is ready to do. The former will lose itself in a happy self-gratulation, as it rejoices in its zeal and diligence and apparent success, and never see the need of confession and great striving in prayer, ere we are prepared to meet and conquer the hosts of darkness. The latter virtually gives over the world God’s Word “ When thou awakest, it shall talk with thee” (Prov. 6:22). It does not talk with a soul asleep: Therefore, O Grace, my spirit keep Awake—alive—and attent that I May hear the truths which within it lie. Talk with me, O thou heavenly Book, When impossible on thy page to lo o k ! Broadcast, through memory, in my soul Teachings, which thought and life control. May thy doctrines be to faith as food j Tell me of sin and o f cleansing blood. Inform, examine, and quicken me, That my soul be ever blessed by thee; That when above I shall meet my Lord, I may say I heard and loved His Word.— W illiam O ln e y . JULY 18 T h e S pirit of a S ound M ind
JULY 15 E xpectancy
“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me” (Hab. 2:1 ). I am convinced, my brethren, that we lose many answers to our prayers—not so much because we do not pray as because we do not go up to our tower to watch for and to welcome God’s answers to our prayers. “Why should I answer?” our God may well say to His waiting and min istering angels: “Why should I answer him? He pays no attention to My answer to his prayers. He is never on his watch when I send My answer. And even when I do send My answers to his house and to his heart, he takes them and holds them as common and everyday things. He never wonders at My grace to him. He never performs his vow for My goodness .to him. He holds a thousand—he and his— o f My benefits, but he does not seem to know it.” My brethren, I am sure that we would all get far more, and far more won derful answers to prayer if only we were far more on the outlook for them. Ha- bakkuk never made a holier or a more fruitful resolve than when he said, “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me.”— A lexander W h yte . JULY 16 C h ristian C on ten tm ent “But godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim. 6 :6 ). Oh, that we could “be still,” and trust and know, That all our Father sends us here below Is best for us, since He has willed it so, And ever cease our doubting; Then should we nestle down in His sweet will, Our troubled spirit hear His “peace, be still,” And in our heart this sweet contentment feel, And victory be shouting. So many souls are wrecked upon the bil lows O f discontent, while they among their fellows Have hanged their silent harps upon the willows, And sit and pine away; While those who fully know and are per suaded That He, who always has His people aided, Will help them when all other hopes have faded, Are kept “against that day.” y^r-A . J. T aylor . JULY 17 W h y D oubt G od ? “ O thou o f little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matt. 14:31). Why should I say that Elijah could not go to heaven in a chariot of fire when
“ Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory! Oh, glorious victory That overcomes the world.”
JULY 21 C haracteristic W alk s
“ Walk worthy o f God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory” (1 Thess. 2 : 12 ).
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