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September 1929
T h e
K i n g ’ s
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Note what a dollar will do : $1 spent for a lunch lasts 5 hours. $1 spent for a necktie lasts 5 weeks. $1 spent for a cap lasts 5 months. $1 spent for an automibile lasts 5 years. • $1 spent for a water power or railroad grade lasts for S generations. $1 spent in the service of God lasts for eternity. This does not mean that we should put our income in the contribution box and starve to death, but that we should wake up to the terrible responsibility that ac companies purchasing power. We speak of the “almighty dollar.” In one sense this is true. Don’t abuse that power. Use it in making good. Get the vision.-— Roger W. Babson. “Assuming that the Lord expects as much of our Protestant churches as He demanded of thè ancient Jews, American Christians have robbed him of $350,000,- 000 this year,” says J. Campbell White. Which reminds us of the terse saying of Doctor Riley in his “Trial of the Rob bers,” that if a Jew gave one-tenth under the law, for a Christian to give less under grace is a disgrace. When a man begins to amass wealth it is always a question as to whether God is going to gain a fortune or lose a man.— Missionary Outlook. One midnight the contribution boxes of our town held a convention in Central Church. In turn, they presented their complaints, as follows : “I am half starved to death.” “I am poisoned with coppers.” “They give me all the bad coins in town.” “I am weighed down with silver, but no bills.” “People’s faces grow long at sight of me.” “They have adopted the envelope sys tem, but only a third of the church have envelopes.” “I never feel prayers mingled with the money.” “They make me appear to be a beggar.” Thus spoke the representatives of the eight churches, and all the contribution boxes testified their assent by pounding on the floor with their handles. There was much discussion of ways and means. Finally a motion was unanimously passed petitioning that henceforth the Gospel should not be free, but a systematic tax be levied on all that received its benefits. “To whom is this petition to be pre sented?” asked the chairman. There was no reply. The boxes had forgotten Who had made the Gospel free. Thereupon the meeting broke up discon solately and was considered an utter failure. A cablegram from heaven reported by Dr. W. J. Schieffelin at the Chicago Na tional Laymen’s Congress (1910) shows how a Calcutta merchant met a misfor tune in his business. A secretary of a British missionary society called on the merchant to ask his help in the work. He drew a check for $250 and handed it to the visitor. At that moment a cablegram was brought in. He read it and looked troubled. “This cablegram,” he said, “tells me that one of my ships has been wrecked and the cargo lost. It makes a very large difference in my affairs. I will have to write you another check.” The s e c r e t a r y understood perfectly and handed back the check fcJr $250. The
check book was still open and the mer chant wrote him another check and handed it over. He read it with amaze ment. It was a check for $1,000. He said, “Haven’t you made a mistake?” “No,” said the merchant. “I haven’t made a mis take.” And then with tears in his eyes, he said, “That cablegram was a message from ‘my Father in heaven. It read: ‘Lay not up for yourself treasures upon earth.’ ” Teofilo (“Friend of God”) said to Christobel (“Christ-bearer”), the new convert in the little mission chapel in Cuba: “Christobel, if you had a hundred sheep would you give fifty of them for the Lord’s work?” “Yes, I would.” “Would you do the same if you had a hundred cows?” “Yes, Teofilo, I would.” “Would you do the same if you had a hundred horses ?” “Yes, of course.” ' “If you had two pigs, would you give one of them to Him?” “No, I wouldn’t; and you have no right to ask me, Teofilo, for you know I have two pigs.” “I f there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what a man hath, and not according to what he hath not.” A widow taught her boys to lay aside ten cents of each dollar they received, for the Lord’s work. Charley became rest less, wandered far west, and went down fast under the influence of strong drink. Still the habit was so persistent that he continued to pay tithes. One day, as the shining ten-cent piece. lay before him he exclaimed, “This is all foolishness. I’ll buy a drink with this dime, and end the nonsense forever.” He caught it up, rushed to a saloon, threw it on the counter and ordered a drink. Before this reached him the bit of silver seemed turned into an accusing spirit which cried: “You are using God’s money for that which is ruin ing your' soul and body.” He caught it up, dashed out of the door, ran far out into the country and threw himself on the ground, pleading for mercy. After hours of agony he arose—the child of a King. The tithe had led him to his Redeemer.— The Sunday School Times. —o— September 22, 1929 Our Part in Making a Better World Matt. 6:10; 28:19, 20' D aily R eadings Sept. 16. Helping our Community. John 4:28-30, 42. Sept. 17. Winning Men to Christ. John 1 :35-51. Sept. 18. Denouncing Evil. Luke 3 :7-14. Sept. 19. Making Ourselves Better. Rom. 12 : 1 , 2 . Sept. 20: Obeying Law. Tit. 3:1-7. Sept. 21. Advocating Peace. Luke 2 :14. —o— C hoice N uggets ’Tis the human touch in this world that . counts, The touch of your hand and mine, Which means far more to the fainting heart Than shelter and bread and wine. For shelter is gone when the night is o’er,
And bread lasts only a day; But the touch of the hand and the sound of the voice Sing ,on in the soul alway. Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on; .’Twas not given to thee alone, Pass it on; Let it travel down the years. Let it wipe another’s tears, Till in heaven the deed appears, Pass it on. On the English sea coast there is a certain fountain which lies within the tide line. Twice each day the tide spreads over it; and the pure, sweet waters are defiled and spoiled by the bitter waves. But the tide goes down and the fountain washes itself clear from its defilement. This is the emblem of a life that is in daily contact with the world and its de filement—again and again it is touched by the evil one, but I bring you the cure today—let Christ lift thy life above the tide of sins. One might become a Chris tian, that is, just simply be saved, and not have much of a positive influence over the world about him, but by taking advantage of our privileges we shall have the greatest possible power for. good over all with whom we come in contact. Keep thy life clean and thou wilt be for a fountain unto others. “We’ve got to do something to arouse interest in our church work,” said the chairman of the board of managers. “Our church socials are failures,” said one. “Our illustrated sermons on Shakespeare and Milton do not bring the people,” con fessed another. “I wonder what we can do to draw the people?” inquired a third. “Mr. Chariman,” said an old-fashioned Christian, “I’ve been thinking that if we tried preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and practicing it a little bit, it might interest people” (Rom. 1:16; Col. 1 :23). A pessimist and an optimist, says Dr. Lyman Abbott, were-once discussing this world. The pessimist, who was, as most pessimists are, something of a cynic and. egotist, brought, as he thought, the dis cussion to a triumphant conclusion by saying, “Well, I believe I could have made a better world than this is myself.” “True,” replied the optimist, “that is what we are here for. Now let us go out and do it. That is what we are here for.”—). S. S. Chronicle. The shining of a man’s light is not to be merely for his own family. It would be a stingy man indeed who would not set a light in the window when there was no other light to guide the traveler along a difficult way, saying, “This candle is for me and my children, and we are not going .to waste any of its rays on the dark street for we know not whom.”. There may be stinginess in respect to the light of the heart as. well' as in respect to the light of a candle. There is to be such an emission of your religious experience that the hearts of others shall be kindled by yours, and that they shall receive benefit from you of comfort, guidance, sympathy. I should like to know what use there is in a man’s learning navigation from books if he is never allowed to steer a ship. What is the use of what a man learns from lectures on organic chemistry and agriculture if he is never allowed to plow a furrow or cultivate a crop? . . .
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