Wonderful One, as the Counsellor whose wisdom is unexcelled, as the Mighty God, as the Everlasting Father (or the Father of Eternity), and as the Prince of Peace. How wonderful when all the world shall thus acclaim the blessed Saviour! In the coming Kingdom of Christ the world shall see the things for which the human heart has longed since sin en tered the world. There shall be universal peace in that day—“ of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end” . There will be world order in that day “to order it” ; universal security “to establish it” ; world-wide justice “with judgment [justice] from hence forth even for ever.” These things are surely coming —“the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” If it were left to men such things could never come. The world under human government has drifted into hopeless chaos. No man but the Son of Man can restore the world to the condition described in the match less passage we are studying. “ Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” HARVEST HOME The harvest moon, a great orange ball Rose slowly in the sky; It lighted fields with cornstalks stacked. And yellow pumpkins nigh. It bathed the landscape with its light— Made plain the winding road; It smiled upon a party gay Of youngsters— quite a load; Who, seated on a load of hay. The night charmed with their song. A s to the village church they went So merrily along. The young folks practiced joyful songs. And decorated, too; They placed a pyramid of fruits Where all might have a view. Twas Harvest Hom e" the coming day. When folks from far and near Would glady come to worship Him Who blessed them through the year. —Fannie B. Brown. “ THE HEAVENLY GUEST, OTHER SACRED POEMS” 52 pp., 50 cents. Intro, by Dr. Oswald J. Smith “ CHRISTIAN COMFORT" 72 pp., 50 cents, New tenth ed., 18 chapters "BEST BIBLE VERSES TO MEMORIZE" 40 pp., 35 cents, excellent for youth Order from author, Joseph T. Larson, Evangelist 4571 Stuart St., Denver 12, Colo.
Dec. 28, 1952 "WHAT'S THIS YEAR BEEN WORTH TO ME?" 2 Cor. 13:5a; Phil. 4:8 At this time of the year most mer chants are looking forward, probably with not much enthusiasm, to their year ly inventory. Taking stock of things ought not to be left only to business men. The Christian, too, ought to take at least a yearly check, to see if he has made any progress in the things of God. In this connection let us consider several suggestions set before us in the texts. The Value of a Year The Bible constantly urges God’s peo ple properly to evaluate the meaning of time (Psalm 90; Eph. 5:14-17; 1 Cor. 15:58; Gal. 6:9; 2 Cor. 5:9, 10). Time is God’s gift to every man. Time is a trust. Time is an opportunity for man’s finest investment (Matt. 6:19-34). Time is of tremendous value because it affords a man an opportunity to come into fellowship with God. Undoubtedly God would have judged the world cen turies ago for the last time if it had not been for His unbelievable patience (2 Pet. 3:9). The fact remains that from eternity God gave to His Son an innu merable company of the elect. Time can not run out until every one of these for whom Christ died is brought safely into the fold (John 6:37; 10:1-11). Today is the day of grace, the day of salvation. Let every man make sure that he accepts God’s remedy for sin and His method of reconciliation (Heb. 3:7, 8). Time is of great value because it gives the Christian an opportunity to lay up treasure in Heaven (Matt. 6:19ff). The time is coming when every man will dis cover, to his eternal glory, or his eternal shame, that the wisest course in life is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. This does not mean that there is reward only for the man who does some great thing. Our gracious Lord writes down in His book of remembrance every deed of kind ness, every act of mercy, every word of helpfulness, yea, He even records the giving of a cup of cold water (Mark 9:41). Time is valuable because on the basis of a man’s use of it he shall be judged (Rom. 14:12; 1 Cor. 3:12-15; 2 Cor. 5:10). Study these Scriptures carefully. Note that the judgment involves every Christian, for this judgment is the Judg ment Seat of Christ. This is not the Great White Throne of Revelation 20: 11-15. At the latter judgment all the wicked m6n of all time shall appear. But at the Judgment Seat of Christ the saints shall be judged on the basis of their record for the purpose of reward. This will be a personal judgment, an im partial judgment, and a thorough judg ment. Ask the Spirit of God to make this real in your own life now.
The Best Inventory You can Possibly Make 2 Cor. 13:5
This entire verse should be studied carefully by every Christian. The Holy Spirit here is urging the believer to make sure that he is truly saved and on his way to Heaven. Notice the method to be used in this self-scrutiny— examine. This word means carefully to study, to search and seek out. Are you doing this in your own life now? Are you taking your spiritual life seriously? Let us take spiritual inventory faithfully and hon estly. What do we find? Notice, again, that the subject for examination is given — examine your selves. It is a thousand times easier to be critical of some one else’s life than it is of our own. If we spent more time in examining ourselves we should have less time to “snoop” into the lives of others. Notice the intent of this examination — “whether ye be in the faith” . These words remind us of Second Peter 1:10. Look up this verse and discuss it in your group. Ask yourself the question, Have I been born again? Do I have full assurance of salvation? Do / give indi cation of the Holy Spirit’s work in my life? Never can a man make a more im portant study than this study of his own spiritual condition. How To Make Next Year Mean Even More Phil. 4:8 When we say next year we do so, of course, with the reservation, according to the will of God. But if the Lord tar ries for another year, and if He permits us to linger longer in this life, we will want to make the coming year a finer one than the year just past. Let us never forget that a real, vital, personal experience with Jesus Christ is the most important thing in the world. Once this has taken place the believer is expected to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18). One of the ways of spiritual development is the careful guarding of the thought life. The Holy Spirit stresses this fact in Philippians 4:8. Notice carefully the dif ferent items mentioned as fit subjects for Christian meditation—true things (John 14:6, 17:17), honest things, just things, pure things, lovely things, things of good report. Study each of these items; dis cuss them in your group. Are you think ing along these lines day by day? If You Move Please notify us immediately on Form 22-B (which you can secure from your Postmaster), attach 2 cents postage and send us your old and new addresses. Allow four weeks for change of address. THE KING’S BUSINESS 558 S. Hope St., Los Angeles, Calif.
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