from tie e jito ri desk
Miracles in the Prisons of Greece
■ n the State Prisons of Greece ■ a great work has been done as the result of thousands of Greek New Testaments and Bibles contributed by the Million Tes taments Campaigns and the American Mission to Greeks. We want to give you the testi mony of a dear Greek prisoner in the Rural Prison of Ayias on the Biblical Island of Crete. “ I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for what took place in my life as a result of reading your evange listic magazine, the ‘Voice of the Gospel.’ You, my beloved brethren, are directly respon sible under God for the salva tion of my soul. (Hundreds of copies of this monthly Evangel ical magazine published by the American Mission to Greeks are distributed in the prisons and hospitals.) You have rescued me from my evil ways and I have been born again. How I’d love to get the magazine regularly. (Maybe someone who reads this would like to subscribe for him at $3 a year.) “ I would love to contribute to this marvelous work that you are doing, but I am poor and destitute. I believe, however, that the Lord will lead others to help so that many prisoners like me may find Christ. Why don’t you send your magazine and the Word of God with it to every prisoner in Greece? I know many more would come to the Lord if you could only reach them with the Gospel. I’d love to have a Bible for myself and at least 100 copies of your magazine and 100 Greek New Testaments for my fellow pris oners. (A Bible costs $1.00, and we can get 5 Greek Testaments for $1.00.) Please do pray for me, also, and think of me, your brother in bonds. You have saved me from death through the Gospel of Christ, for which I am deeply grateful.” GEORGE GIGIMES N o te : You may have a definite share in this wonderful ministry among the prisoners of Greece by writing to the American Mission to Greeks, Inc., Dept. K, P.O. Box 423, New York 36, N.Y. (or to 90 Duplex Ave., Toronto 7, Canada). If you want to know more about this work write for a free copy of the diary of the Second Missionary Journey of the Rev. Spiros Zodhi- ates, General Secretary. On the first page is a picture of him sitting in the ancient prison of Philippi where Paul and Silas were imprisoned. This 61-page book will be sent you free on request.
Divine Guidance A ll Christians are interested in divine guidance. In James 1:5-7 we have some wonderful rays of light from God on this subject. These verses fall into five natural divisions, the first of which is the fact. “ If any of you lack wisdom” — what a statement! What fact in all of life, and particularly the Christian life, is more obvious than that? W e “ lack wisdom” continually, and we stand in need of guidance from a source greater than our own inadequate minds and untrustworthy hearts all the time. Surely with one accord we agree that we are dependent upon God through the H o ly Spirit for wisdom. By ourselves we are like the pilot whose plane crashed because he would not wait for the beam, and so kept crying broken-heartedly, “ If I had on ly had the light!” H ow we m ay obtain this guidance is made plain in the next part of this verse containing the formula. “ Let him ask of God.” What could be simpler than that? A ll profound truths are simple. God makes it easy so that everyone may understand and take advantage of His method of securing guidance. A n y one can ask. That does not require higher education, nor does it demand a distinguished background. The first thing about His formula is to pray. The Lord may use various ways to make His w ay known, but we must begin by asking. An explorer in A frica once hired a native to cut the underbrush in the jungle for him. Soon he began to w orry and said to the African, “ I don’t see any path.” “ Don ’t you worry,” answered the black man, “ Just follow me. I am the path.” That the heavenly Father is qualified for this we find in the next two clauses of verse six which show how adequate is His fulness. “ W h o giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.” Here is a Father who does not give out stones for bread. He opens His storehouse of wisdom to us, poor sinners saved by grace. Nothing is impossible with Him. Nothing is too hard for Him. W e can do no better than to acknowl edge the fulness of His supply. The verse goes on to assure us that there w ill be fulfillment. “ And it shall be given him .” This is the unbreakable promise of our God, who speaks and it comes to pass. W e can rely upon His Word. What a relief to be sure o f something in this day. W e do not know just how He will lead us. W e m ay have need o f patience. Dr. F. B. M eyer tells of crossing the Irish channel one starless night. The captain was asked: “ H ow do you know Holyhead Harbor on so dark a night as this?” The captain answered: “ You see those three lights? The three must line up behind each other as one, and when we see them so united, we know the exact position of the harbor’s mouth.” Dr. M eyer likens these lights to three things he believes must agree when we seek the guidance of God: the inward impulse of the heart, the W ord of God, the outward circum stances. W ell, whatever the way, “ it shall be given.” There is but one condition we must fulfill and that is faith. “ But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” God w ill not be mocked by us. He is not putting at our disposal the riches of His grace and wisdom if we are not sure we want them. The “ wavering” mentioned here is often the result of unyieldedness o f the heart and will to God. As we search our hearts, we must be sure we want to go the way the Lord directs us; that we desire His way, not ours, out of any difficulty. If we want H im to lead us all the way, any time, any where, we will be able to “ ask in faith.”
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TH E KING 'S BUSINESS
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