JULY, 1946 :293 ED ITOR IALLY S P E A K IN G ____ Prayer fo r the President O NE OF the surprising things about the beginning of the Truman ad
c o u n t r y is responding generously. Thousands of tons of foodstuffs will move across the waters to alleviate in a measure the terrible distress'in the famine areas. Truly today America is the world’s granary, as she was its arsenal during the war. All of this causes us to wonder about the real cause of famine. We know, of course, that it is the backwash of war, but the underlying reason for all famine has ever been, and will con tinue to be, spiritual. Where the Word of God is not restricted, and where the people have access to spiritual truth, there will be found an abun dance of material resources as well. If any nation will honor God, God in turn will honor that nation not only spiritually, but morally and materially as well. We are right in taking along with the tons of wheat and the cases of milk the Word of God. If the people in famine areas will learn to seek first the kingdom of God, then God Himself will see that all other things are added unto them. ★ ★ Speed N EWS STORIES are appearing al most every day, telling of new speed records being set by faster aind faster planes. Several new types of motors are now in construction, which will drive planes forward faster than the speed of sound. It is a very simple thing today to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific in eight or nine hours. We believe that in every invention of men there has come a previous per missive decree by God. In other words, God has allowed the inventive genius of men to perfect these mechanical marvels in order to see whether men would use them for unselfish ends, and for the furtherance of that wliich God holds most dear, the dissemina tion of the Gospel. But with this ad vancement in speed, as with so many other improvements, the inventions of men which might have been a boon to mankind, have become monsters of destruction. Undoubtedly the first use of this incalculable speed will be for engines of destruction. There is a brighter side, however; we read that missionaries by these means are reaching their fields faster, and that less time is being consumed and less energy wasted by utilizing the airplane. There is also the speedy travel of Christian speakers from one point to another in this country.. It may be that God is allowing this ex traordinary speed in order that those lands long in the grip of darkness and superstition may more quickly hear the glorious news of light and life.
doctrine built on the denial of the only real light there is in this dark world? Why should anyone be thrilled with a negative teaching which at tempts to prove that all the great doctrines for which our foreparents fought are but myths? Zeal is pro duced in a heart that is on fire to tell benighted people the good news which is the best news in the world. Zeal is a Heavenly fire, lighted only when one’s lips and heart are touched with a coal from off the holy altar of God. That church or denomination that will manifest real growth is the one which holds tenaciously to the faith once for all deliverer unto the saints. ★ ★ Dollar fo r Dollar S OMEWHERE in the early church life of the writer, his pastor expressed a principle in the matter of church finance which has always seemed to him equitable. It was that for every dollar expended on loeal church main tenance, a dollar should also be given for the world-wide missionary enter prise. Over the years, as various church budgets and reports have been examined, it has been noted that very few churches attain" this ideal. The fact is that with the larger churches of all denominations, with few ex ceptions, the ratio is from 5 to 1 to 15 to 1 in the matter of local expendi tures and missionary giving. Something almost magical follows obedience to God’s wishes in the mat ter of church finance. If a congrega tion earnestly endeavors to promote the cause of missions, there is an al most unbelievable rise in the other funds of the church. It seems that when a congregation gives liberally to missionary causes, the building fund or the general funds would suffer, but such is not the case. When missionary giving has first place, it is not long until the mortgage is paid off, a new manse bought and paid for, the pastor’s salary increased, or the money furnished to repaint the church. The simple truth is that God is vitally interested in missions, and it is His desire for the local church to be like wise interested. Nor is this blessing confined only to material things: a vital spiritual blessing as well, results from following this God-given prin ciple of giving. ★ ★ Cause o f Famine rpHE NEWS which reaches us from famine striken lands is bad beyond our imagination and understanding. It is impossible for us to realize the sad plight of literally millions of peo ple dying by slow starvation. Our
ministration was the almost unbe lievable popularity of this rather or dinary man. Mr. Truman followed a president who for more than twelve years maintained a hold on the affec tions of the majority of the American people as no other president had ever done. In the natura’ sequence of events, by comparison Mr. Truman’s popularity would have been slight. But in the first few official acts of the new president, there was an earnest request of the people of this land for prayer in his behalf. The Christian people gladly responded, and faith fully remembered him and his daily problems. As a result, Mr. Truman made very few mistakes. In spite of his lack of extraordinary ability for this most important post, he continued to think right, and to act wisely. That is, it appears that this was true until the last few months. Perhaps Mr. Tru man’s inability to face the world’s great difficulties can be explained by failure of Christian people to pray for him as they once did. It is easy to forget, and, whereas Mr. Truman’s name was mentioned almost con stantly in public and private prayer at the beginning of his administra tion, it is now rarely heard. Surely it is time to call attention to the fact that if we as a nation desire to lead a quiet and peaceable life, we should continue to praÿ for all of those who are in authority. Let us once more bear the name of our President before the throne of grace, asking our Almighty God to give unto him, an ordinary man, supernatural w i s d o m and strength for the tremendous tasks which are his, in accordance with the command of First Timothy 2:1-3. ★ ★ The Sterility o f Unbelief I N THE current issue of the Christian Herald, there is published the reg ular table showing the membership of the various religious bodies in the United States. While these statistics do not claim to be infallible, they are fairly indicative of membership trends. One thing that stands out seems to be the barrenness of modernist groups, while most of the evangelistic de nominations show a sizable increase. The more evangelical the body, it seems, the greater the increase. De nominations which are out and out Unitarian in their belief are either at a standstill or losing ground. It has always been so with unbelievers: their zeal is nil. What enthusiasm can be exhibited in the propagation of a
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