776 WEDNESDAY, Aug. 6. Jo h n 1:40-51. W inning a B rother. Andrew’s name is tife first one men tioned in th e New T estam ent in the list of C h rist’s disciples. The o ther one of the two, vs. 40, is presumed to be John, who w ith characteristic modesty refrain s from speaking of himself. The language implies th a t each one of these two disciples sought a t once to bring his own b ro th er to Jesus and th a t Andrew succeeded first in bringing Simon. The best evidence of conversion is th e in tense desire and imm ediate effort to bring some one to Jesus. This has ever been th e method of advancing th e cause of Christ. Why is it so much h ard e r to speak to a member of one’s own fam ily about Christ th a n it is to speak to an u tte r stran g e r? Obviously those nearest us demand our atten tion first. May not th e provision mentioned in I Tim. 5:8 include sp iritu al as well as tem poral things? It is no t selfish to be concerned for the salvation of those n e a re st and dearest to us. God has re lated them to us for th is purpose. The same principle holds good in th e Divine program for th e world. I t is no t con sisten t w ith th e Scriptural o rd er to pass over unevangelized countries to carry the Gospel to regions beyond. Moreover a candidate for th e foreign field who is no t doing everything in his power to bring men to Christ m the horhe land, may well doubt th e reality of Mis call. Joseph said to his h reth ren “Yé shall no t see my face except your b ro th er be w ith you.” Gen. 43:5. This explains th e ir refusal to re tu rn to Egypt for food unless Benjam in should go w ith them . While we may not ap prop riate these words and apply them to ourselves, it will surely enhance th e happiness bf Heaven to have our family circle unbroken in th e presence of the King. THURSDAY, Aug. 7. Acts 16:9-15. W inning O thers to Christ. It was a memorable step when the Gospel passed from Asia into Europe. It had a very hijmble beginning w ith a woman’s prayer meeting on S aturday morning in the open air. Judaism was so feeble here th a t th e re was no syna gogue to shelter it and no men to sup po rt it. Among these humble women the evangelization of a continent began. The “man of Macedonia” tu rn s out to he a woman. Lydia was th e first con v ert of Europe. She becomes th e p at te rn of all th a t are to follow. The Lord opened h er h ea rt to attend to and b«-
THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S lieve th e th ing s spoken by Paul. Her case is somewhat sim ilar to th a t of Cornelius. She is a sincere, devoted woman engaged in th e solemn service of a prayer meeting b u t h er n e a ri must be opened by th e Holy Spirit to make th e preaching of th e Word effective. The preaching of P au l is necessary and convincing b u t he does no t make the converts. Their faith stand s no t on th e persuasive words of m an’s wisdom b u t in th e power of God. The photog raph er sets his cam era and ad ju sts the p late b u t th e ligh t makes th e picture. It is th erefo re righ tly called a photo graph. It is th e work of th e sun, no t of th e man. The preacher can bring the Gospel to th e h earer and th e tru th is p rin ted in the h e a rt because God acts upon it. H ere is th e first mention of baptism since th e household of Corne lius was baptized years before because th is is a new center of Gentile work. It is in teresting also to note th e connec tion in th e Scripture of conversion and an abounding, hospitality. Matthew and Zaccheus feasted the Saviour and th eir friends afte r th e ir conversion. At P en tecost the new converts had all tilings in common and did ea t th e ir m eat w un gladness and singleness of h eart. When P ete r opened the kingdom to Cornelius they ate together, and now Lydia in the joy of her new experience urges the Gospel messengers to make her dwell ing th e ir home. FRIDAY, Aug. 8. Jam es 5:13-20. P ra y e r an d Soul-winning. The figure of speech used in th e nine teen th verse is th a t of a trav eler who leaves the road and loses his way. An other comes to him, tu rn s him arouna and leads him back to th e place where he tu rn ed aside, th a t he may continue his journey w ith safety and success. God employs hum an agencies to help men into th e way to heaven. The phrase “ convert a sinner from the erro r of his way” involves w hat one can do in behalf of another, while th e change of h ea rt can of course be accomplished by Divine power alone. Sin means to miss th e mark. The sinner is one who has fallen sho rt of God’s purpose for him and th e Christian "worker by prayer and personal contact helps him to tu rn from his evil way unto the Lord. Was a soul ever converted to God, for whom someone, sometime and somewhere, had no t prayed? Think of the m u lti tude who have no one to pray for them! Think of a single hum an being who has lived it may be for many years in
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker