sl
I* Dail;9 Devotional Home Readings Connected with International Sunday School Lessons B? FREDERIC W. FARR, D. D.
praying, while they sit in dump re sponseless apathy in th e pews. If they could h ear the call of God to personal consecration to holy service and enter the sanctuary afte r solemn p repara tion, the Holy Spirit would lig h t the sacred fire in th e censer of th e ir hearts. All o th er considerations would be sub ordinate to th e consciousness of the Divine presence and each worshiper would say to himself, “This is th e house of God and th is is th e gate of Heaven.” SATURDAY, Aug. 2. Matt. 18:15-20. Removing th e Obstacles. As Achan troubled th e camp of Is rael and tu rn ed victory into defeat by his goodly Babylonish garm en t and wedge of C anaanite gold, so in th e church today, some roo t of b ittern ess caused by a disagreem ent between b reth ren , may b reak the fellowship be tween b reth ren and hinder a work of grace. The method of -procedure pre scribed by our Lord in th is passage should in all cases of disaffection and m isunderstanding be literally carried out. A lthough th e church was no t then in existence, nevertheless the use of the word here for the second tim e (th e word does not occur in th e Gospels save here and in Matt. 1 6 :1 8 ), w arran ts its application to the church during the tim e of its continuance on earth . Ex perience shows th a t in any difficulty th a t may arise, it is th e one who is th e least to blame th a t assumes th e in itia tive in any attem p t a t reconciliation. In th é fifteenth verse it is th e aggrieved p arty who is to seek ou t th e aggressor and attem p t a rea d ju stm e n t even though sm arting under a sense of per sonal injury, bu t in Matt. 5:23, one who is no t conscious of having commit ted a fau lt b u t again st whom some grudge may be cherished on account of an im aginary wrong, is to undertake the removal of th e prejudice before ac ceptable worship can be offered unto God. When the atmosphere has been thu s cleared the Word of God can have free course and the Spirit of God can work unhindered in the h earts and lives of men.
FRIDAY, A u g .l Heb. 10:19-25. D raw ing Nigh to God.
Public worship is a duty as well as a privilege. We owe it to God, to our b reth ren and to ourselves to attend upon th e means of grace. We come into th e presence of God no t as poor m iserable sinners, trem bling under the condemnation of an angry Judge, bu t as happy and rejoicing believers, tru s t ing in a loving Heavenly F ath e r. There is a blessing to be obtained in public worship for which no am ount of pri vate devotion can be sub stitu ted . “ God loveth th e gates of Zion more th a n all the dwellings of Jacob.” There are two orders in th e m inistry of worship, Jesus th e g reat H igh P rie st and th e whole body of washed and blood-sprinkled saints who m ake up th e holy priesthood. Thé summons to worship is, “B rethren, le t us draw n ear.” The one who conducts th e worship does no t say, "L et me draw n ear on your behalf.” The g reat lack today in worship is th a t of intelligent h ab itu al co-operation on th e p a rt of the worshipers. They pray and praise by proxy. They allow th e choir to do the singing and th e preacher to do the v. 20. ' Ten tim es b etter. The prob lem of how to live a t one’s best and ac complish one’s w ork most efficiently, is one of th e biggest of life. Strong meats and d rink s have ten thousand tim es defeated men who, had they resisted them , m ight have been Daniels indeed. — Riley. A living Christ in a living man makes a living sermon.— Sel. W hatever makes men good Christians, makes them b etter citizens.—Webster. Serving th e Lord does no t dull th e in tel lect and m ind. On th e contrary, it quickens them . He who sits a t th e feet of th e Lord and h ears H is word, is sit ting a t th e feet of th e supreme intellect of th e universe.— Haldeman. (Concluded from Page 773)
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker