chases amounting to millions of dol lars in my time, but the greatest in vestment of them all was when I was a small country boy and I scrimped and saved to buy this little red leather Bible for $2.75. I paid for the Bible week by week with hard - earned money. I count it the most important purchase in my whole life for it told me of the Lord Jesus Christ and through Him I found eternal life." I f one of our nation’s leading business men could say that, why is it that we, who seem so poverty-stricken both fi nancially and spiritually, let dust ac- cummulate on the pages of the Bible or Bibles so common in most church homes. The Psalmist rightly declared, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” * * * You can't do anything to become a Chris tian, however, after you are one, you should do everything that becomes a Christian. NECESSARY SHADOWS It may seem to you as though life itself holds no future happiness or reason for going on. Yet, the Word of God promises us that if we suffer with Him, Christ our Lord, we shall also be glorified together. There are cer tain plants in the Christian life, such as meekness, gentleness, kindness, humility, understanding, which can not grow to perfection if the sun of prosperity is always shining. So be thankful for the trials and hardships. Know that God wiU not suffer you to be tried above that you are able but Will with the testing also make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it. Happiness doesn’t depend upon the mere absence of pain, both physical and mental. I f we can accept chastening from our earthly parents, and in later years count ourselves happy because we were spanked and corrected, how much more should we be in subjection to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Giver of every good and perfect gift. As the Word of God tells us “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into manifold trials and testings.” 13
HOW DO WE LIVE? How tragic that so few Christians really heed the Scriptural injunction, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man on the needs of others.” We stop at the point of where it might cost us something. A mission ary wife and mother of three children was invited to speak at a certain church’s women’s meeting. Her mes sage was so inspiring that they kept her U5 minutes longer asking ques tions. When it came time for the meet ing to close, one of the be-jeweled ladies reported that the treasury was depleted. However, they did give the missionary the traditional 501 for gas allowance. And since she had offered to take the four chicken pies which remained from the dinner (no one else wanting them) they deducted fifty cents each and gave her two dollars and fifty cents to make up a total of $5.00. Happily they rolled away in their expensive late-model cars, satisfied with the part they had taken in missions. What would God think about such hypocrisy? Far fetched, you say? Talk to some of the missionaries and listen to their fac tual recountings. How unthinking and selfish many people are. This world is in dire spiritual need. I t is dying; it is lost without Christ. I f we are only concerned about what we can amass for ourselves, how can we ever reach the lost for Christ? Speaking of the bestowment of God’s grace and manifold blessings, ive are reminded, “To whom much is given, much shall also be required." * * * There is more power in the open hand than there is in the clenched fist. LIFE'S GREATEST INVESTMENT I t was in Philadelphia that John Wannamaker, a great man of God and one of America’s self-made million- naires of bygone days, built a huge department store business. When he was only eleven years of age Wanna maker bought a Bible which he dearly loved and constantly read. Before his death he declared, “I have made pur
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