7 Hinimum
by Dr. John Hunter Torehbearers’ Fellowship England
Safety Precautions
I T goes without saying that the people of Vietnam have been be sieged and beset with problems. Re cently, visiting Dalat, in the central area, I saw beautiful homes built way up along the mountainside. Yet this lovely city was filled with fear. Mur derous activities had been carried on. Not a day passed without some one's being killed. One day while driving down the street with a mis sionary, we saw a sign right on the town’s outskirts which attracted my attention. It declared : “Minimum Safety Precautions: Two Machine Guns and Two Hand Grenades.” If one were to proceed further along that road, he would have to have at least two machine guns and two hand grenades. While we felt God was tak ing care of us on our journeys, yet we knew it would be foolish to go any further into enemy territory. All of this made me think of a very real spiritual parallel. As we go through life, think of all the enemies we en counter. There are untold numbers of problems, difficulties, and frustra tions. Sometimes, there are things which seem worse than physical dan ger. Do you have any defense as you go through life? Are you caught by circumstances and events so that heartache and grief become your lot ? In the sixth chapter of Ephesians from Living Letters we have some wonderful suggestions for our sure protection. These were just ordinary people like you and me. Yet these pre cious words are written for our strength and admonition. Beginning at the 10th verse, Paul reminds them, “Your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you. Put on all of God’s armor so you will be able to stand safe against the wiles
of Satan, for we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood but against creatures without bodies, the evil things of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil places of darkness who rule this world, and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world. So use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks. You will need the strong belt of truth and the breastplate of God’s approval. Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you seek for good news of peace with God. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. You will need the helmet of salva tion and the sword of the Spirit. This is the Word of God.” Isn’t it wonder ful to see the way in which the Holy Spirit spoke to people in the early days of the church? These folks had enemies and powerful forces against them just as you have. The point of these brief thoughts is to ask how you are facing all your prob lems. Are you just trusting to luck, hoping that what good you do will see you right through to heaven? Are you hoping for the best and ex pecting the worst? The joyous word is that no man has to live like this. It makes no difference who you are, rich or poor, man or woman. You may have the wondrous transforming power which will keep and guard you against all of the enemy and attacks. In I John 4 :4 we are given this won derful assurance, “Greater is He (the Holy Spirit) that is in you, than he (the devil) that is in the world.” A real Christian isn’t just someone who goes to church and believes cer tain things. There is more to it than 9
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