775 ones they had bought m eat of a t noon. We labor so long and h ard fo r th e meat th a t perish eth ’ in factory, store and stock exchange th a t we forget to watch for souls, tak in g no though t fo r th e bread of life for th e lack of which men are perishing everywhere. The joy of leading a soul to Christ is indescrib able. One’s own physical needs, how ever pressing, are forgotten in m in ister ing to th e sp iritu al needs of another, vs. 32. Not only in solicitude for the sal vation of souls bu t in tak ing advantage of every possible opportunity and even in creating such opportunities our Sav iour left us an example th a t we should follow in His steps. TUESDAY, Aug. 5. Act 1:1-11. The Soul-w inner’s Commission. As Luke in tim ates in the opening sen tence of the book of Acts* Jesus only made a beginning when he was on the earth . The account of th a t beginning Luke has given in his Gospel. In his second trea tise he proposes to give some account of w hat Jesu s continued to do afte r He left th e earth . Mark 16:20. A b etter title to th e n arrativ e th an th e one which man has placed be fore it in our English . Bibles m ight be “The Acts of th e Risen Lord through th e Apostles.v The prom ise of John 14:12 is fulfilled. Our Lord has two bodies, a literal body composed of flesh and bones and a sp iritu al body com posed of regen erate men and women. 1 Cor. 12:27. Luke gives us th e his to ry in p a rt a t least of both of these bodies. In th e Gospel th e re is the his to ry of th e physical body and th e book of Acts gives the beginning and early histo ry of the sp iritu al body. There is a significant analogy between th e two. Both have a su p ern atu ral beginning, a period of service upon earth and an u ltim ate ra p tu re into heaven. John 17:18 proves th e sim ilarity of service. As Jesu s w itnessed a good confession before P ilate, John 18:37, so He com missioned His disciples as witnesses, Acts 1:8, and th e ir w itness-nearing th rough th e ages h as m aintained the continuity of th e church. We are not only His w itnesses b u t w itnesses unto Him. O ther religions are independent of th e ir founders. Christ and Chris tia n ity are inseparable. Subtract Con- fucious from Confucianism, and Buddha from Buddhism and everything is left. Sub tract Christ from Christianity and nothing is left. He is th e Alpha and Omega, the au th o r and the finisher of our faith;
THE K I N G ’S BUS I NE S S SUNDAY, Aug. 3. P salm 122. Joyous Worship. Worship th a t is prompted and per vaded by joy is th e only kind th a t is pleasing unto God. M issionaries tell us of the sad and hopeless faces, indices of heavy sin-burdened h ea rts of heathen devotees as they perform th e ir weari some and often painful rites a t th e sa cred rivers of India or before cathedral shrines in South America. How differ en t is the ju b ilan t exu ltan t note in the sacrifice of praise from the lips of a believer who is resting on th e finished work of Christ and th e prom ises of th e living God! “ I will make them joyful in my house of prayer.” Is. 56:7. Through all th e centuries men have sought salvation by th e ir own works. They have tried to earn etern al life by the good deeds which they have done. P au l tried it. A fter all his strivings a fte r righteousness he cried “O w retch ed man th a t I am who shall deliver m e?” ' L u th er tried it. A fter all his penances and fastings he cried “O my sin, my sin, who shall tak e away my sin ?” They found no peace or happi ness in th e though t of th e ir own m erit bu t they found a perennial spring of trium p h a n t gladness in th e though t of God’s abounding grace th rough Jesus Christ. ■ There is no other ground of rejoicing on ea rth or in heaven th an this, th e measureless grace of th e heav enly F ath e r. “ P lenteous grace w ith theè is found, grace; to cover a n my sin.” God does no t w ant th e forced exaction of a bond-slave, driven by the scourge of fear. He delights in the spontaneous trib u te s of H is happy care free children who rejoice and re st in His abounding mercy. MONDAY, Aug. 4. Jo h n 4:35-42. Jesu s th e Soul-winner. Our blessed Lord was as faith fu l w ith an audience of one as w ith a g reat mul titude. Few of H is public addresses are recorded. Many of H is p riv ate con versations are preserved. He cared more for fidelity th a n conventionality. His disciples were surprised th a t He should speak to th e woman a t Jacob’s well. The sequel justified th e appar en t breach of etiquette. By th a t brief conversation she was converted from a social outcast to a city m issionary. Be fore n igh t she had b rough t th e whole town ou t to h ear th e prophet preach. The disciples were too busy buying meat to save souls, vs. 8. Perhaps they saw in th e evening congregation th e very
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