the picture of religions. Certainly it was true in Israel’s history. Jere miah wrote of God’s hatred for the abominable works by the false re ligious leaders. In I Samuel 4:3-11 we read the account of Israel’s battle with the Philistines and of how they were losing. At the point of defeat they called the elders together say ing, “Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord . . . that it may save us out of the hand of our ene mies.” They used that which God meant to be a blessing. They made an idol of the ark rather than turn ing to the One who gave it to them. Israel was thereby defeated and over powered by the Philistines. God meant the temple to be a place of blessing where His ancient people and He could meet. Instead they made it a status symbol which gave them a pride of nation and race. The Lord has a lesson here for you and'me for He has given us many things to be used as blessings. Have we turned them into curses? Have we made idols of them and do they take the place of our Lord? Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. Let us not allow them to be defiled in any manner (II Corinthians 6:16).
The happiest people are those who are too busy to notice whether they are or not. * * * The Bible is like a compass. You have to read it and then follow it, to get where you want to go. * * * COMPLETE FORGIVENESS One of the clever attacks of Satan is to try to persuade us that because of our sins God surely could never forgive us. The Devil came to Martin Luther bringing a list of aU his sins. It was a very grim report. This great man of God, after hearing the of fenses, spoke confidently, “But surely you must have others. Are there not some you’ve forgotten? Why not look a little further?” The Devil did and indeed he found some more. Still Luther responded, “Oh, I ’m sure you’ll find others if you try some more.” The Devil looked and again there were still others he had forgotten. This went on for sometime until every list the Devil could possibly find had been exhausted. Whereupon Martin l/uther suggested, “So the accusations are all correct. But now, i f you wiU, write across them all with red ink, “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” What a testimony! The Devil has no way of combating a faith and determination like this. It is what we need in our own lives as well. The Apostle John wrote, “I f we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” James penned, “For in many ways we all sin” (or stumble). The statement is in the present tense. But thank God He has a two-for-one offer to give us. We confess our sins and then He does two things. He is not only faithful and just to forgive us our sins, but also to keep on cleansing us from them day by day! * Life's greatest tragedy is tolose God . . . and never to miss Him. * * * People wouldn't haveto worry somuch about how their children turn out, if they were more concerned about what time they turn in. 14 * *
Mr. Theron Debour (left), BiolaStewardshipRepresenta tive for Oregon, Is interviewedover "The Biola Hour"by Mr. Al Sanders.
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