September 1926
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
500
But nothing is gained by descending to the dark, dingy level where Satan dwells. Let us lift up our eyes and remember the struggling pilgrims who are looking to us for a ray of reflected sunshine. Smile upon them. Speak lovingly to them. Cheer their hearts. Forget ourselves and think o f others. We are walking with the King of kings and Lord of lords. The Holy Spirit within us—if we will permit Him—will bring forth heavenly strains of music and we will be able to give voice to them in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts unto the Lord.” And, as we sing, the smile will come back to our lips, the light will gleam in our faces, and perhaps create a desire in the heart of some one who is traveling the weary way of darkness and despair to long that they too might know the source of the sunshine that makes life so blessed and so happy for us. “ Let our light so shine before men that they, seeing our good works,” and happy faces, may be brought to the place where they will “ glorify our Father who is THE HEINOUS HUMAN HEART The cartoon presents a horrible picture and yet a true one, and one which is greatly needed. It is not strange that ungodly men hate the Word of God. A photographer has the most difficult pro fession in the world. He does his best to make ugly faces good looking, smoothing out all the ungainly, uncouth features and marks. But when the portrait is finished in a manner satisfactory to the customer, it is usually anything but a true picture. But when God makes a picture of the human heart, He portrays it just as it is. Jeremiah says: “ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know i t ! ” and then God says, “ I, the Lord, search the heart” (Jer. 17:9, 10). An honest confession is good for the soul, and we want every reader to take a good long look at the text on the cartoon, then jpieditate upon the day’s record, and contrast and compare the two. This would be a good picture to hang in every home, and good for the preacher to hang in his study, so that he might have a Scriptural foundation for a faithful message. Nothing is so well calculated to bring us to our faces in the dust as the truth. “ Truthing it in love” should be the motto of every preacher and teacher and, in fact, every professing Christian. The editor has lived in the cities all of his life, and for more than sixty years has kept in touch with the newspapers, magazines and books. For many years the government prohibited the use’ of the mails for a certain character of literature, but today attacks upon God, upon Christ, upon the Bible, upon righteousness, upon chastity, have free access to the mails. Pass by the news stands. Count the magazines. Look at the character of them. Think of the young people who read them and will be influenced by them, and then look again at the cartoon. Not many of our read ers can contrast present day literature with that of sixty years ago, but if they could, they would surely say, “ Evil men do wax worse and worse.” What is the lesson! The Word of God is true! Its description of the human heart is true! Acknowledge
center of our thoughts, what a difference it would make in our public prayer! We should practice the presence of Christ so that He becomes real to us. Then fellowship and communion with Him will be sweet. This is what He longs for. He loves us. He loves to answer prayer. Does it not give us real pleasure to minister to those we ldvet Surely it does. Then, how much more does it give joy to His great heart to “ give good things to them that ask Him.” _ Giving does not impoverish Him. Nay, it rather enriches Him,—but let us not grieve Him by selfish desires, for selfish purposes, for a selfish life always alienates us from Him. Seeking His blessing and help to further our own selfish aims would hurt His heart. Real prayer is the most simple, practical thing in the world. It is just linking up our lives with His life, walking with Him, communing with Him, longing in all things to glorify Him, dying to self, dedicating all to Him. In this atmosphere perfunctory prayer disap pears, and real prayer lives like a breath of the soul. THE GOOD WORK OF THE GIDEONS In July, 1925, The Gideons, at their national conven tion set their mark at 100,000 Bibles to be placed in the hotels of the United States and Canada by June 30 1926, and they have gone “ over the top” by several hundred volumes. Mr. Samuel R. Boggs, the President of The Gideons, says this was accomplished by “ praying much on their knees and working hard on their toes,” and this is a splendid program for any band of believers. The Gid eons are indeed fortunate in having such a live, prac tical business man at the head of this practical work, which has such an appeal to every real Christian. We have followed this organization for many years and know o f nothing more definitely satisfactory, than to place God’s Word in a hotel room as a seed sown in a needy field and committed to Him for His oversight and blessing. _ . •> The plan for 1926 is to place 100,000 more Bibles in the hotels as yet unprovided for. Ponder! Pray! Place the pen in your fingers, write your check and mail to the Treasurer, F. J. Peeke, 140 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, Illinois, and thus have a share in the blessed harvest. SUNSHINE FACES We were walking in the garden recently, and the sharer of our joys and sorrows said, “ See! All the pansies have turned their faces to the sun!” And we noticed with surprise that it was so,—and immediately thought of many faces we had seen that were radiant with sunshine and smiles, because they were always turned towards the Sun of Righteousness. As the Psalmist expresses it: “ They looked unto Him and were radiant.” It takes no wisdom to turn from the light,—but it does require faith and Heavenly grace to keep one’s eyes upon the light of Heaven; to smother in one’s breast the'rising tide of rebellion against the unkindly criticism, the hard, harsh words and innuendoes; to remember that if “ we suffer we shall also reign with Him,” and pray for them that “ despitefully use us and persecute us.”
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