church for a week of meetings and the viewers-with-alarm begin seeing buga boos. “ This will be a bad week for the meeting: tonight there is the concert; next night the fair begins; next night the circus is in town and then the Sons and Daughters of I Will Arise, are hav ing a get-together; then there is the football game and the dance at the school” . . . on and on they build their alibis. Any church that takes a back seat and fearfully anticipates every side show that blows into town is already defeated. We have developed an inferi ority complex toward the world, the flesh and the devil. Imagine the saints of Rome having the blues for fear the young people would go to the gladiatorial contest at the Colosseum! They had a robust faith that eventually put the Colosseum out of business. We need to recover that, leave our little hot-chocolate huddles in church basements and meet the DEMON-stration of the devil with a demonstration of the power of God. We have the Master of the tempest with us. We need not cry, “ Save us, we per ish.” We are not going to perish. We need to face the storm in His Name. When we thus arise, He arises. “ There AROSE a tempest. . . then he AROSE!” We shall have to meet this crisis with something bigger than SECTARIANISM. This is a job for every Christian and for all Christians. There is always the danger that we become absorbed in our own project and lose sight of Jesus. It is possible for any religious group to be come “ rich and increased with goods” and needing nothing. Then it loses its first love, ceases to be a means to an end and becomes an end in itself. And then God is through with it; He raises up a new humble fellowship somewhere and starts all over again. There is a place indeed for the local loyalty. A dog that follows everybody is of no good to anybody. The larger loyalty does not exclude but includes the lesser loyalty. We can be distinctive without being sectarian. There were also other little ships on the sea when Jesus stilled the storm, Mark tells us. Some times we act as if our little ship were the only one! There is only one true sectarianism: “ After the way which they call a sect, so worship I the God of my fathers.” It will take more than just another high-pressure American religious drive to meet this hour. There must be a mov ing of God’s Spirit which cannot be organized, a holy disorder that upsets all our calculations, a plan that seems unplanned. Try to organize it and you kill it. We’ve killed a good many. The hour is too late, the time too short, the need too urgent, to be met by any strategy worked out by the top-brass of any ecclesiastical Pentagon. We have the Answer with us in the boat. Jesus is the Answer to anything and every thing. Apart from Him, there is no answer. The early Christians believed Jesus was the Answer and they changed the world. Since then whenever Chris tians have recovered that conviction they have changed the world. Today another Page Twenty
Reader Reaction We Don’t Deserve It!
calities merely cause friction and should have no place in our efforts to win others for our Lord. I ra H. H oward Mt. Hermon, Calif. Saloons Illegal Your reference in your October issue to the disgraceful national liquor expen diture of 1951 makes me think you might use effectively the following item on the liquor subject which appeared some years ago: “ The Supreme Court of the United States has held that the saloon business is the greatest source of crime and misery that there is in any state. More than that, the greatest source in each state. “When measured by the Common Law, the saloon business is unlawful and therefore without a legal existence.” Tenth Ward case of Indianapolis, Judge S. R. Artman (1906). W illiam B. T aylor Dorchester, Mass. Question Box and Junior K. B. The Questions and Answers are won derful. The children certainly enjoy the Junior page. M rs . J ames E. M ars Palmdale, Calif. Gracious Words Reading The King’s Business has been an enriching experience. May God con tinue to bless your Christ-centered maga zine. M rs . G race C oncklin L ofton Santa Ana, Calif. I have been a subscriber to The King’s Business for many years and would feel lost without it. My favorite page is Dr. Talbot’s Question Box. M rs . R obert Y oung Imperial, Nebr. We have taken The King’s Business almost from its first publication and think it gets better and better each year. M rs . R. E. M illard Portland, Ore. too much for us . . . “ What manner of persons ought we to be!” “Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea Or demons or men or whatever it be, No water can swallow the ship where lies The Master of ocean and earth and skies; They all shall sweetly obey His will; PpflCP ha fifill “WHY ARE YE SO FEARFUL, 0 YE OF LITTLE FAITH?” T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
The King’s Business is the finest piece of reading material, aside from our Bibles, which we have in our home. God bless you each one as you ready this material for your readers. K rause F amily Reseda, Calif. Question Box is the Reason The reason that I subscribe to The King’s Business is that I like Dr. Talbot’s Question Box. He is funda mental and does not stretch beyond what the Bible tells us. C. R. V oth Canton, Kans. Real Appreciation I like The King’s Business so very much. I feel that I just cannot do with out it. I have been taking it for sixteen or seventeen years. I enjoy every feature in it. I like to read Reader Reaction, and Dr. Talbot’s Question Box. The sermons are all fine, and I always enjoy reading all articles on prophecy and even look over the classified adver tisements. R uth W atkins Laurens, S. C. Help to Bible Study I need my King’s Business in my study of the Bible. Please do not let me miss one paper. It helps me be sure I am right when I talk on any subject of the Bible. M rs . S. G. K ern Modesto, Calif. Accept o r Receive In your last issue, there is a letter criticizing the expression “ to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour,” as in correct. According to Webster, to accept and to receive are exact synonyms. To accept means to receive. Also, he con demns the use of the expression, “ If the Lord tarries.” The meaning of the word “ tarry” is to delay or wait, which is the intended sense or thought. These techni crowd thinks it has the answer and they are trying to change the world. If we who have the answer let those who do not have it make a greater impact than we do, God pity us at the last day! “ There arose a tempest . . . then HE AROSE.” He is superior to any emer gency. He can handle any crisis. This storm is not too much for Him: “What manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” It is not
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