The psalmist said, “ I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.” If you truly love God’s house, you w ill be eager to be on time at every meeting, and you w ill want to help keep your place o f worship clean. May 15, 1955
IN CHRIST IS LIFE
W h a t is the Good Life? A bout four or five times a year I like to get away for a camp ing trip. We’ve been doing this for as long as I can re member. Dad bought me my first rifle when I was nine and by the time I was ready for high school I had killed four deer and the full limit of pheasant and grouse each year. This outdoor living goes back several generations in our family. My great grandparents came to Oregon in a covered wagon in 1847 and great grandfather was on hand for the gold rush in California in ’49. The old family ranch up near Corvallis is still in the family and it’s a delightful place. One of my favorite spots for camping in the winter is Death Valley. We’re down here now. It’s an interesting place . . . dotted with shifting sand dunes, abandoned gold mines and the graves of early-day pioneers. Telescope Peak on the south is covered with snow down to about the 5,000-foot level and here on the floor of the Valley the days are hot and the nights cold and sometimes whipped by sand-laden winds. Last night before the wind swooped down out of the Panamints I was sitting hunched close to our dying camp fire. After the others have crawled into their sleeping bags I like to sit by myself and watch the fire. It’s a good time to think. Last night I got to thinking about the good life. My thoughts drifted back to a fellow I knew in the army. He was a brilliant chap and it was always a pleasure to talk to him. Once when we were talking about the part Jesus Christ plays in the good life my friend very solemnly told me that he considered Jesus the greatest man who ever lived. But my friend just could not believe that Jesus was God. I think a good many people have mentally classified Jesus just as my friend had done. Now I think it is very laudable to revere Christ as the greatest man ever to five. But when we closely examine this proposition it falls apart. Here’s what I mean. Jesus Christ plainly and repeatedly claimed to be God. You will recall that He was crucified because He claimed to be God. Now if Christ were but a good man His claims become fantastic. Suppose the finest man you know today should suddenly claim to be God. Society would rightly judge him insane. Either Jesus was God or else this person claiming to be God was the biggest fraud that ever lived. And it hardly behooves any of us to maintain that the biggest fraud that ever lived was the greatest man that ever lived. I think that anyone who carefully examines the record will conclude that Jesus Christ was the greatest man who ever lived . . . because He was God made flesh. And because He is God He is big enough to be our Saviour. In Him is life—the good life. — L. H. If you have found In this short article a way of life that you would like, we urge you now— this very moment— to yield your will to His will and in doing so find that in Christ is life. If you have a question, or if we can be of help in any way, please write us. We shall be happy to send you a copy of the Gospel of John. It is yours free for the asking. Address: The Editors, King's Business, 558 S. Hope, Los Angeles 17, Calif.
Reverence for Sacred Things 2 Chr. 26:3-5, 16-21 Pointers on the Lesson
Solemn warnings are to be noted in today’s lesson. W e see in the life of Uzziah, Judah’s king, how it is possible for a man to be a strong influence for God in his early days and then in his later years to be a failure in God’s service. W e dare not let spiritual pros-
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For You Perhaps your relationship with God isn't always what you'd like it to be. Each month this special column is written to help seeking hearts find that in Christ is abundant life. When you've read this column won't you clip and share it with a friend?
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perity in the beginning days of Christian experience deceive us into thinking that apart from attention to the means of grace our latter days w ill also be spiritually prosperous. Uzziah's Early Years vv. 3-5 It is good to know that when Uzziah began his reign he sought to please the Lord. He heeded the example of his father before him who did right in the sight of the Lord (25:2). He also had a wise counselor who helped him in spir itual matters— Zechariah who was skilled in the things of God. It is significantly stated that “ as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper” (v. 5 ). Here is a principle that always works. There is no soul prosperity apart from seeking after the Lord. But when a person follows after the Lord it always follows that there is a growth in the spiritual life. Spiritual prosperity should be our greatest concern. See 3 John 2. Uzziah's Later Years vv. 16-21 Being blessed in material ways, Uzziah appears to have been lifted up with pride. This pride was doubtless the evil which caused him to intrude into the work that belonged to the priest. He went into the temple of the Lord and offered incense upon the altar of incense. This sort of thing was the prerogative of the priests alone. The kingly and priestly offices were separated by the law of Moses not to be united again except in the person of the Messiah. W hen reprimanded by the priests for the thing which he had done, Uzziah did not repent but became angry (v. 19). It was while he was in this fit CONTINUED ►
APRIL, 1955
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