May, 1935
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is an easy thing to take the show ticket, the playing card, and whiskey when his heart has not received Christ and the Word of God. I f boys and girls will only receive Christ as Saviour and hide the Word of God in their hearts, they will be able to resist temptations. The Threefold Responsibility G e n esis 18:19 I. The Father’s Responsibility. 1. To command his children. 2. To command his household. II. The Household’s Responsibility. 1. T o keep the way of the Lord. 2. To d o : a. Justice. b. Judgment. III. The Lord’s Responsibility. 1. To fulfill His promise. 2. To know and care for His own upon condition o f obedience. — D orothy G oodner .
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTARY [Continued from page 199]
I can tell by looking at the heart. Max’s heart is clean, while Mike’s is black. Max, having received Christ as Saviour, gladly receives the Word o f God. (Slip the tray out far enough to allow the card marked “God’s Word” to slip down back of the heart.) When I Open the door to his heart, you see “God’s Word.” Mike comes to Sunday-school, but he does not want to accept Christ as Saviour and receive the Word o f God into his heart. He thinks David was foolish when he said: “ Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Notice what happens when temptations come along. They do not get into Max’s heart, because he has the Word of God in his heart, and is kept from yielding to temptation. It is different with Mike. When this cigarette comes along, he receives it. It
Object Lesson T h e M a t c h B o x B rothers
Objects: Two match boxes, an imitation cigarette, a small flask-shaped bottle filled with vinegar, a card marked “ Show Tick et,” an imitation playing card, and a card on which is written, “God’s Word.” '(Out line a heart on thè end o f each o f the boxes. Color one heart black, and leave the other white. Cut a door in each heart.) Lesson: I brought a pair o f twins with me this morning. Their names are Max and Mike. You cannot see them, for they are still in my bag. Here they are—Max and Mike Match Box. It is well to remember that though two boys may be twins, they do not always accept Christ and become born again at the same time. These brothers look just alike, but one is a Christian, and the other is not. You ask me, “ How do you know?”
CHILDREN—A HERITAGE OF THE LORD [Continued from page 167]
o f the Lord,” insisting on obedience and the practical ap plication o f the Fifth Commandment. W e aimed also to have the daily family prayer and reading of the W ord ; and as the children grew and were able to read, each one had his own Bible and read a verse in the passage for the day. The home itself was, perforce, simple in structure and furnishings. Most o f our life in China was spent in made- o'ver Chinese houses adapted to our use with some appli cations of whitewash and common sense. “ Plain living and high thinking” was the prevailing idea, and table talks or family gatherings were always times when items o f news were discussed, or current events were reported, or bits of humor were flashed about. But underneath everything was the realization that “ Christ is the Head o f this house” and that the husband and father was His undershepherd in looking after and guarding the flock. Never will the children forget the Bible stories told by their father in his inimitable style as he phrased the messages in modern English and brought an individual application. This personal presentation made the Bible a living Book to the children, and as they have advanced in years, the instruction in, and memorization of, many passages have stood them in good stead as they have gone out into their own work in the world. The home, primarily, is the place where the children are not only trained in “ works o f righteousness” but are also fortified against the temptations and subtle arts o f the evil one. In the rearing of our children, were there problems? difficulties ? Oh, yes, plenty of them! What home is with out them ? Strong little wills and stubborn dispositions had to be met, and met in the right way, for each child had to be guided to the Saviour— each one making his or her own decision regarding personal relationship to the Lord. We indicated the way, but left each child to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Gladly I say that each one chose to be the Lord’s, and some o f the children made the further decisión to engage in service in some missionary capacity. Some are now in China, others elsewhere, actively engaged in Christian work. Ours was not an unusual home. In the strength o f the Lord, any husband can establish a similar one by following the plain instructions given in the Book o f books. That was all we did. May the Lord bless all parents who are truly seeking to build a home after the pattern “ which was showed . . . in the mount” of God’s Word.
“ absent from the body,” are still witnessing for Him. In fact, they have spoken more loudly in their death than in their life. May I leave with you as a closing thought the words of a motto, in our home, a message which we always prized very highly? May my last thought at night and my first in the morn ing be o f :
A Dying Saviour’s Love, A Risen Saviour’s Power, An Ascended Saviour’s Grace, And a Coming Saviour’s Glory.
HOME GLIMPSES B y ELEANOR E. ELLIOTT
T h e Chinese saying, “ To rear and not to educate is a father’s fault,” could not be applied to my own parents, for my environment was one of Christian education from my youth up. A “ daughter of the manse,” I have heard Biblical teaching and preaching since I could hear anything with understanding; and it was therefore almost impos sible for me to escape my personal responsibility, first, with regard to my own acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord, and, second, concerning my place in His plan and purpose of reaching the lost with His blessed message of salvation. My husband, too, responded to his home environment, which was also one of godly piety. He became a mission ary as the result o f two generations o f prayer that one of the children might hear the call to foreign fields. Thus my husband and I, with a background o f prayer and upbring ing in the Christian faith, went to China to set up a home, to preach, and to minister to bodily needs as opportunity served. The number o f years allotted to us in this work, taken together, were about sixty. W e were blessed with six children, and we started out with certain fixed principles in mind. With reference to daily needs, we have depended solely on the promises of God, especially Philippians 4:19 and Mathew 6:33. There has been scarcely a day in which we have not brought these words before the Lord in prayer, and we can truly say as did Solomon, “ There hath not failed one word o f all his good promise” (1 Ki. 8 :56 ). W e have always had a roof over our heads, clothes to wear, food to eat, and means supplied for the education o f the children. The second fixed principle was with reference to the children whom we strove to “ bring . . . up in the nurture and admonition
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