you could have come into this world completely mentally unbalanced. Who ordered the circumstances of your life? If you know the Lord as your Saviour, in a real sense you can’t even claim credit for believing in Christ, for sav ing faith is a gift of God. In the light of this, Scripture rightly asks, “Where is boasting then? It is excluded . . . by the law of faith. For who maketh thee to differ from another, and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? For if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou h’adst not received it?” The hymn writer phrased it well he declared,“Jesus paid it all. All to Him Iowe. Sin had left acrimson stain, He washed it white as snow.” * Salvation is not giving up something but rather receiving Someone. * * * LIFE'S PATHWAY Every true child of God certainly wants to know the Lord’s perfect will for his life and guidance for his path way. In some remote and desolate areas of the country, a hunter often will go through the dense forest, breaking tree twigs as he goes along which will guide him on the return trip, or enable others to follow on behind him. In our lives, this may be the week for some to jour ney through the dark woods of afflic tion and sorrow. We need not become desperate with fear and frustration for here and there, along the way, the Lord has marked for us an unmistak able way. We see the tread of our Shepherd’s foot, the brush of His hand, leaving us clear evidence that He has gone on before, that the path which may seem so strange and difficult for us, has already been trodden by Him. The Psalmist was right in being con fident: “Thou wilt shew me the path of life; in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleas ures forever more.” * The only safe and sure way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend. * * * When it comes to doing things for others some people will stop at nothing. * * * * * * *
LITTLE THINGS It’s interesting to realize how some of the great experiences of life are really affected by things which on the surface, at least, seem so small. One man tells how a pair of socks changed the course of his existence: “I was expecting to take a short boat trip with some of my friends, but two days before that I met with an accident while chopping wood. The axe slipped and cut my foot. The blue dye in my socks poisoned the wound so that I had to stay near home and forget the trip with friends. While they were on their journey, a powerful preacher came to our town. I had become so tired of staying home I decided to attend his meetings. The minister’s message that night touched me deeply. As a result, I surrendered my life to the Lord. I had really needed a vital change. New de sires and purposes took hold of me. I was determined to seek an education so that I could live more usefully for my Lord.” Think of it, just a little pair of socks! Incidentlly, the man who told that story was the President of the United States, James A. Garfield. It’s true, that the most critical things in life, the turning points in our human destiny, depend upon little things. Give careful watchfulness to every detail of life, committing each step of life’s path way to the Lord! * Men, like steel, are useless when they lose their temper. * * * CONTENTION Melanchthon, a con tem po ra ry of Martin Luther, mourned in his day over the many divisions among the re formers. To illustrate forcefully the dangers, he offered this practical para ble to his fellow ministers: “A terrible war broke out one day between the wolves and the dogs. The wild creatures sent out a spy to see how best they could defeat the canines. Returning, the spy reported, ‘If we just leave them alone, they’ll defeat themselves. There are so many different kinds of dogs who seem to do a lot of barking but don’t know how to bite. I observed that while they all hated us wolves yet each 26 * *
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