He noted that the man’s fist was tightly clenched, and firmly held, in his grasp were just a few pieces of withered grass. No doubt, in a final split second, aware that he was perilously falling, he desperately reached out to grab some thing to which he could cling to save himself, but all that was there was a dry stubble of grass. How many people today are seeking for something to which they may cling during their desperate times, such as death, sorrow, financial loss, sickness, mental depression and the like. Without the Lord Jesus Christ, all one can find to grasp are just a few pieces of straw. The Saviour holds the only answer for He alone could declare, “I am the truth,” you can safely believe Me. The Lord has promised, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” LYING Long before modem lie detectors were invented, men were endeavoring to dis cover ways by which it could be deter mined if an individual was telling a falsehood. The ancient Egyptians used an interesting method known as “the secret donkey." The suspected liar was placed in a darkened bam with the ani mal. He was ordered to take firm hold of its tail. I f the donkey brayed, the man was pronounced guilty. I f it re mained quiet, then he would be consid ered innocent. The individual under suspicidn was not told one further bit of information. The jurists coated the ani mal’s tail with lamp black. It was their theory that if the accused were not guilty, he would rather grab the tail, re turning with blackened hands. I f he were guilty, however, he would hesitate to upset the donkey for fear of what might happen. His hands, of course, would re main clean. So the wicked man gave himself away. Criminologists indicate that there is no 100% effective lie detector machine available. People may fool others, but re member, no man can fool God. The Bible says, “He who utters lies will not es cape." The Lord knows not only what we do, but also the innermost secrets of our hearts. Lying comes from selfishness. It is a satanic means of trying to get ourselves out of trouble, or seeking to avoid some punishment we rightly de serve. When a man comes to Christ the Word of God tells us that he is a new creature, “Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.” 34
QUENCHING ZEAL Psychologists tell us that one of man’s driving forces is to provide security for himself. He will go to every extreme in order to amass more money to himself. This is a vastly different concept from the one presented in the Word of God. Here we are instructed to lay up for ourselves in heaven true riches which can be used throughout all eternity. Have you ever tried this interesting experiment? A piece of paper is set on fire. Naturally, it readily bums. I f the paper is placed down flat on a level piece of metal, however, the results are dif ferent. The fire soon dies out. The metal absorbs the heat, thus extinguishing the fire. Spiritually speaking, too many of us have had the fire of our first love for the Lord Jesus Christ dampened because of the love of metal, or money, placed next to our hearts. The burning zeal for Him has died down thereby. The Bible tells us that we are to be stewards for the Lord. A steward was one who didn’t own anything of himself but was merely entrusted with the possessions of his master. Even so we are stewards of the manifold grace of God, entrusted with the substance of this world. We are to be faithful in in vesting that which He has bestowed upon us for His own honor and glory. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul penned, “He which soweth sparing ly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap al so bountifully.” CLING TO TRUTH There is so much which is unreal and make-believe in the world. While men look for reality, foundations continue to crumble about them. The Christian has the only truth to which one may safely cling. While . waiting for a change of trains in a small midwestem town a minister paced up and down the plat form. Then, all of a sudden, his eye was attracted to a large crowd of people who were milling around something at the bottom of a high cliff behind the station. Thinking he had a few moments, he hurried to join them to see what was causing the excitement. It was a sicken ing sight to behold, for there was the form of a man who had evidentally fallen to his death, perhaps in the dark hours of the night. His body had just been discovered and help was summoned. The traveler studied the tragic sight.
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