life. But upon their return this time, they were horrified to find that both the bun dle and the baby had disappeared. They saw the tell-tale marks of a great lion’s footprints outside the hut. Quickly they called the villagers together, who came with their drums and weapons. They fol lowed the trail into the woods. The mis sionaries plead with God fo r their baby and He heard their cry. They soon found the baby lying beside the path in the weeds, unharmed. A little farther on they found the bundle of clothes torn to shreds by the lion who had lost his prey! T he M iracle of the A ngels P sa . 34:7 A missionary work was being con ducted in a native Chinese city about five miles from a railroad line terminal. The money with which to remunerate the native missionary in that little sec tion arrived, and the missionary in charge o f the work left one evening to deliver it. He noticed two men following him. He knew they were bandits, so he prayed for .protection. Years later, in England, a man said to that missionary (having learned who he was), “ Who were the two men with swords in their hands who walked with you that night?” The missionary said that no one was with him. Then the other confessed, “ We followed you, expecting to rob you, but these two men seemed so alert we could not attack.” Then the missionary real ized that God had sent His angels to protect him. Christ Jesus unites men’s hearts. The life He gives links souls and hearts to gether in a precious, heavenly bond. Eternal life is the only uniting life known among men. It removes all bar riers. It breaks down every obstacle. It makes brothers of men who were ene mies. No other plan or program will ac complish this result. Unless hearts and minds are changed, there can be no unity. T he O nly R eal P eace I s F ound in G od ’ s L ight L uke 2:14 When the light shone from heaven above the shepherds, the message of peace accompanied it. When the light of heaven shone down upon the hate-filled Saul of Tarsus, peace accompanied it. Men’s dark hearts filled with malign purposes must have the light of God in order to have peace in the heart. Christ Jesus was shut out of Germany, so peace fled and extreme cruelty pre vailed. Christ Jesus was excluded from Russia, so Stalin by his blood purge became a tyrant filled with intolerable cruelty. If Christ Jesus filled the hearts of the great leaders of each country, the peace table would produce a just and lasting peace. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
November 2, 1947 NOTES FROM MISSIONARIES' DIARIES A cts 26:1-23; 2 C oe . 11:23-28
T HE history o f missions is a volume o f miracles. The true missionary lives a life o f faith, expecting God’s intervention in things temporal and spir itual as well as financial. Many are the stories o f heroism and o f blessed deliv erances by men and women o f God who have hazarded their lives fo r the gos pel. We shall recount some of them in the lesson today and trust they may be the means of stirring the hearts o f oth ers to enter this miracle-working min istry. Only those who step out of the boat are enabled to walk on the water. Only those who bring empty vessels will see the infilling oil poured out. Only those who forsake Egypt will find bread descending from heaven. Only those who face giants will enjoy the victory o f the boy David. A servant o f the Lord was on his way to a distant field. The clerk who sold him the ticket made an error and sold him a ticket fo r the wrong ship. This ticket was fo r a ship which left port on August 2 whereas he had ordered it for a ship which was sailing on August 3. When he boarded the ship at 9:30 p. m. on August 3, it was crowded with pas sengers; all available space was filled. The purser saw from the ticket that the missionary was billed for the ship which left the day before. No berth was left on that ship. The man and his wife went to prayer. They looked to their heavenly Father fo r a place to sleep. When they returned to the purser later, they found he had arranged to give them the hos pital room—the finest room on the ship, and the largest. Thus they received more than they had asked or thought. T he M iracle of M oney P hil . 4:19 A missionary was much discouraged in regard to his service. Should he con tinue to preach or should he return to digging coal which had been his em ployment? For some time his ministry had not been very fruitful. His income bad been meager. Very little money had been received; his wife and children were in need. The missionary was walking up and down in his room, distressed, and perplexed. Suddenly his wife called him to come fo r the mail. He took a letter back to his room and read it. It was from a young man who had been saved through his ministry. It contained a dol lar bill. It confirmed the fact that the youth owed his salvation to the faithful preaching of this missionary. The boy had earned the dollar by cutting lawns. The preacher fell to his knees, dedicating anew himself to God, and became more and more fruitful in his labors for Him. Page Fourteen T he M iracle of the S hip P sa . 107:23
T he M iracle of P rotection P sa . 121:3
A missionary and his wife were obliged to go into the woods on an errand. They expected to be gone a very short time, so they left their wee baby wrapped in blankets lying on a cot in their hut. They had done this often and nothing had ever disturbed that precious little bundle of
November 9, 1947 WORLD PEACE POSSIBLE THROUGH MISSIONS I sa . 2:2-4
T HE time mentioned in the Scripture text is that period following the re turn of Christ to this earth when His throne will be set up in Jerusalem. Not until then will there be any peace on earth. There can be no peace until minds agree on Christian principles, hearts agree on Christian actions, and leaders agree on Christian plans. In the Bible, the nations of the earth are compared to wild animals. There cannot be peace among men of wicked hearts and minds until Christ Jesus changes them into a dwelling place for Himself where He will rule and reign. The dream of world brotherhood is a mere phantom. There is no real brotherhood between the atheist, the agnostic, the heathen, and the Chris tian. The only remedy is the preaching o f the gospel and the acceptance of Christ Jesus the Lord. T he O nly W orld B rotherhood Is A mong C hristians G al . 3:27-28 German life will never combine with French life. Italian life will never enjoy Ethiopian life. Japanese life will never mingle with Chinese life. But when all o f these people receive the g ift of eter nal life, a blessed fellowship results.
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