Parables c w u C
renewed with the very breath of heav en. Certainly we need to be constantly abiding. This is why God’s Word re minds us that men ought always to pray and not faint. APPRECIATION TOO LATE A man came to his pastor to com plain about the way in which he was always being asked for his support. He grumbled, “Quite frankly, I’m tired of all your appeals for money, money, money!” Gently the minister responded, “Sir, I know just exactly how you feel. It was the same way in our home. You see, we had a young son whom God had given to us. No matter what hap pened, it seemed that there was always the need for money. My wife would tell me that she had to have money for his shoes, or for some new clothes or funds for his music lessons. One day, how ever, all her requests ended. You see, God saw fit to call our boy home. Be lieve me, I miss those appeals for money now. I guess you can under stand. I’d much rather have my son!” Yes, ills a fact, we never FULLY appreciate what we have until it is taken from us. There are some tremen dous opportunities and obligations be fore us as Christians. As long as the Lord allows us to proclaim the mes sage of eternal life to those who know not Christ, there will be calls for finan cial assistance. When such announce ments end, then the organization prob ably has ceased to function as an evan gelistic thrust. We’re reminded in the
PURPOSE OF PRAYER There’s probably nothing which is so generally agreed upon as to its great value which is so infrequently prac ticed as prayer. While we all may rec ognize the importance of regular com munion with the Lord, in the final analysis, how much time do we personr ally spend before the throne of grace? How concerned are we to secure God’s strength, blessing, wisdom, and under standing for all of our daily problems? A t his bedtime prayers, a little boy had a good question for his mother. Have you ever thought about this? He wanted to know, “Why can’t we pray just once a week or once a month? Why do we have to ask God every day for our daily bread?” His mother had to think about that. Sometimes children can come up with some real pointed ques tions. We should be able to give them some answers. While her mind was rac ing for something to satisfy her boy’s curiosity, the little lad, with a wisdom beyond his years, thought of the answer himself. He declared with a bright smile, “Oh, I guess I know. We pray every day for our daily bread so that it’ll always be fresh!” And what better reason? Too many of us are spiritually stale. We need the inspirational re freshment that can come only from God’s Word. Yesterday’s blessings are not necessarily what gives us the strength to meet the tests for today’s problems. There must be a fresh out pouring of God’s Holy Spirit upon our lives. In this way, we find our souls
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