Echoes of Grace: 1939
Table of Contents
July
In a Lumber Camp
It was the daybreak hour of an autumn day. In the dim light two men were threading their way through a pine forest. On either hand the straight trunks, rose like pillars and, far above the heads of the passing men, the branches formed a dense green canopy. Under foot a carpet of pine needles deadened the sound of their footfalls.
Tim was short and humpbacked, with long, sinewy arms. Notwithstanding his deformity and his tangled dark hair and beard, it was a kindly if not a clever face which peered up at Raymond.
The younger man formed a most decided contrast to Tim. Raymond was tall, broad-shouldered and carried himself proudly erect. He had a fair, clear-cut face and steel-blue eyes.
"Ray, ye've got a lot to be thankful for." "I?"
"Yes;" and Tim cheerily refused to note the scorn in the other's voice. "I don't jest know what's in the few years behind ye, nor what brought the likes of ye here, but ye're straight and strong, ye know books and ye've had a chance. The boys here air different, but ye've had a chance, Ray."
They had reached an opening in the forest. Tim threw aside his coat, seized an ax and began, with sturdy strokes, to chop down a tall pine. Raymond stood lost in thought. A chance? Yes, he had had that, and he had thrown it away.
"It's nobody's business but my own," he said to himself, trying to forget the bowed form, scholarly face and white head that would rise up before him.
With a sudden start his thoughts came back to the present. The sun was rising, painting the eastern sky with varying tints of yellow and rose. The wind in the pines sang a low, sad refrain.
"But I've no time to think of color and harmony," and under his tawny mustache Raymond's lip curled. "Those things belong to the past, to college halls and parlors. I'm only a lumberman. Well, I'm free from the old superstitions, yet I sometimes ask myself if freedom is worth the price I paid for it."
Haskin's Camp was situated in Northern Minnesota. Raymond was a new hand, having arrived but three weeks before. His fellow-workmen saw at once that he was not one of them. They resented his correct speech, personal neatness, and especially his refusal to join in their rough amusements. His silence regarding his past was also looked upon with suspicion. The men were rough and uncultured. Many of them were addicted to drink, while oaths and disregard of the Lord's Day were the rule rather than the exception. There was nothing in their surroundings to inspire them to better living.
Tim had been a member of the crew for many years. Notwithstanding his dullness, he was a general favorite. To the surprise of all, he seemed attracted to Raymond. He expressed his preference in many unobtrusive ways, and won a kindly tolerance from the young man.
Thanksgiving Day came. On that morning Raymond woke from a troubled sleep.
All night his dreams had been haunted by visions of his past.
Snow was falling rapidly, for winter had already come to that Northern land. Raymond and Tim were working with a large party of choppers.
At that moment a monarch of the forest came to the ground with a resounding crash. Above this noise rang out a cry of terror and pain.
It was Tim. He had chanced to stand where the great branches swept him from his feet and pinned him to the earth. Raymond was the first to reach his side. Carefully the men freed him, finding the poor bent body fearfully mangled.
"I guess it's all over with me, boys," he said, trying hard to keep his voice steady.
"Ray, stay by me. O, be careful!"
They carried him to the camp. A man was started on horseback to the nearest village, twenty miles distant, for a doctor. All feared Tim would not live until the doctor arrived, and his suffering was great.
When he had been laid on a rude bunk near the great stove he looked up wistfully into the faces of his companions.
"It's death, boys. Tell me 'bout God Him I've never thanked. But no one ever told me."
A strange silence fell upon the group of men, a silence broken only by the howling of the wind outside. Tim spoke again,
"Ray, tell me. It must be ye know, 'cause ye're different from the rest of us."
All eyes turned toward the young man. He bent lower over Tim asking:
"What is it you want to hear?"
"All 'bout Him. Will He be mad 'cause I never thanked Him? You see, I don't know much, and nobody ever told me. Can't you tell me about Him? Can't you, my boy? Pray for me."
Raymond Lee's face grew stern and white. His father was a minister. He had himself been a theological student. The influence of a skeptical classmate and the reading of books loaned by him had instilled doubt into Raymond's mind. Dominated by an idea of his own mental superiority, the youth went on, until a day came when he scoffed at the faith of his dead mother and denied God.
There had been a stormy interview with the college president. This man laid so much stress on the righteous wrath of Raymond's father, that the son resolved to cut himself loose from home ties. He wrote defiantly to his father of his change of views, and went out into the world, leaving no clue whereby he could be traced.
Dark days had followed. It had not been easy to find work. Raymond Lee had learned the emptiness of a life without hope in God, or confidence in man. He hungered for the sound of his father's voice, but was too proud to return home and beg forgiveness. In a fit of desperation he had hired out to the foreman of Haskins' lumber camp.
All those things flashed through his mind in a moment. This dying man was asking him to pray, and he had said there was no God. A groan broke from his lips.
"Tim, I cannot. I—" and he paused, unable to say that he did not believe in the God to whom, in the hour of death, even the half-witted Tim had turned.
"Can't! Why, I 'sposed ye knew Him. Ye've had a chance."
Raymond could bear no more. Turning away, he rushed out into the storm.
For hours he strode back and forth through the trackless forest. He heeded not the wind nor the snow. Face to face he met and grappled with the problem of man's relation to his Creator.
Raymond Lee was alone with God. In that hour his boasted skepticism fell from him. The theories of science and law, upon which he had rested, gave way beneath him. There was but one sure foundation for man's life trust in God as Father, and in His Son as Lord and Redeemer.
Shadows were beginning to gather in the room where Tim lay when the door opened to admit Raymond. With a firm step he crossed to the side of the dying man.
"Tim, I have been with God. He has forgiven me, sinner that I am. Now I have come to tell you of His love."
Simply, tenderly, he told the story of God's love in sending His beloved Son into the world to die for sinners—to become the Sinbearer of all who will put their trust in Him as Savior.
"God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 5:8.
"The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7.
Others gathered around the bed. Could they doubt the truth of the words spoken when they saw the light that came in Tim's face?
"I see," he gasped.
Raymond knelt down. First one and then another of the rough men dropped upon their knees.
Never had Raymond Lee prayed as in that hour. God was with him. Round him were men who in Tim's own words had "never had a chance." He prayed with a faith born of absolute belief in God's willingness to save.
"It's all right," Tim murmured. "I'm going to Him. Ray, you tell everybody."
"Yes, Tim. I will spend my life telling this story."
The dying man said feebly, "I thank Him."
A few moments more and all was over. Raymond faced his fellow workmen.
"Tim is gone. Boys, I have gone back to the service I pledged to God many years ago. You heard my promise to Tim. Will you forgive the spirit I have shown toward you, and let me begin by telling you?"
"Yes, we will," was the reply of the leader among the men. "When we come where Tim is, we will wish we had heard." And he told the "Old, old, Story" of Jesus and His love to them.
Before Raymond slept, he wrote a long letter to his father. He would remain where he was until he received an answer to the letter. The next night he held a meeting and began to tell the story of the life of Christ, His death and resurrection.
The third evening came. At the close of Raymond's informal but heartfelt talk, the door opened to admit a stranger, a tall, spare man with snow-white hair.
"Father!"
"My son! I came to help you here," and Raymond Lee was clasped in his father's arms.
The work begun at Haskins' camp went on until seventy souls were brought to know the Lord Jesus as their own Savior.
Raymond Lee had found his life's work. Doubt and unbelief were forever laid aside in that hour when a dying man begged him to cry unto God for assurance of salvation.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts 16:31.
"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt. 11:28.
Three Pointed Questions
A young Scotsman, not long out from the old country, attended same meetings in a district of the Rocky Mountains. A friend of young men observed the young stranger, and at the close of the service shook hands with him, and spoke to him about his soul, asking him three questions,
"Are you saved?" With tears in his eyes he confessed he was not.
"Are you willing to be saved?" "Yes," was the quick response.
"Are you willing to be saved now?" "Yes, I am."
God had been dealing with the dear fellow. Far from home, from friends and relations, a stranger in a strange land, he was in a condition to be spoken to. He knew he was not saved. He needed no one to tell him that he was unsaved. Conscious of the fact that he was a sinner, unprepared to meet a sin-hating God, he was not only willing, but anxious to be saved.
When people see they are guilty and lost, they are willing to accept salvation on God's terms. That night he accepted Christ as his Savior, and left the hall rejoicing in the assurance of salvation. Look and live now.
"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.
What's Your Name, Doctor?
It was on the battle-field. A soldier lay bleeding to death. Seeing a surgeon passing near, he faintly called, "Doctor, please." The surgeon dismounted, attended to the man, gave all possible relief, and ordered him to be conveyed at once to the hospital.
As he was leaving, the wounded man asked, "What's your name, doctor?"
"O, no matter."
"But, doctor, I want to tell my wife and children who saved my life."
Surely that was becoming gratitude, and do you not think the Lord Jesus deserves as much from you? Does He not say to you as He did to another,
"Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee." Mark 5:19.
Tell it to others, dear young believer. It will strengthen you. It will be a safeguard to you. It is more likely you will stand firm if you openly confess the name of Christ.
You are a young convert. You have come to Christ, and have been saved by Him. God knows this, and you know it; but God wants you to let others know it. He wants you to own that you belong to Christ. This is what is meant by "confession."
"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Romans 10:9.
I Crave for Pardon
In a one-roomed cottage there lived a woman, who had for years been crying to God about her soul. One day when visiting her, a friend asked her if she knew that she was a sinner.
"O yes! yes!" she answered, "night after night as I lie awake, I crave for pardon."
Little she seemed to know that God delighted in mercy, and that pardon was offered to her; that, through Christ Jesus, the risen Savior, is preached that for which she so longed, even the forgiveness of sins; and that by Him all that believe are justified from all things. She knew her danger, and was alarmed as to the future, but as yet had not relied upon Christ's finished work.
And surely there is enough for every unsaved soul to be alarmed at. Every moment is carrying us nearer and nearer to eternity. We know not at what hour death may lay us low, and we are warned by the solemn scripture,
"Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth," not to count too surely upon any future at all.
And what will eternity be for those who have never repented before God, and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ? A never ending existence away from God, away from Christ, away from light and love, purity and peace, holiness, and happiness, beyond the reach of mercy, and not only shut out from God, the true source of blessing for His creatures, but shut "in torment" with the devil and his angels. May your eyes be opened to see your danger.
If you were to see yourself as God sees you for a moment only, you, too, would "crave for pardon." Thanks be to God, that besides showing your awful and imminent peril, His Word presents the Savior whose work alone can meet your need, and whose presence in heaven today is the assurance that God has been glorified about sin, and can righteously receive the vilest sinner who pleads the precious name of Jesus. The repentance of one sinner towards God makes heaven's courts to resound with joy, for our Lord tells us,
"There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." Luke 15:10.
Will not you cause joy there today?
Behold the Lamb
Behold the Lamb for sinners slain,
To cleans them from each guilty stain
His precious blood was shed;
He took their place upon the tree,
Made sin for sinners there to be,
To set the guilty captives free
By dying in their stead.
He lay beneath that righteous stroke,
O'er Him the waves and billows broke,
He bowed His head and died;
God there forsook His only Son,
That holy, true, obedient One!
By whom alone His will was done,
When He was crucified.
Behold Him now upon the throne,
The source of life and peace alone,
No longer in the grave;
Dispensing blessing full and free
To such as lost and ruined be.
O sinner, there for refuge flee!
Whilst yet He's free to save.
Soon He will rise and close the door,
Glad tidings then thou'lt hear no more,
The day of grace be past;
Then such as would not bow the knee,
Unto the rocks and dens shall flee,
Thus hidden from His eye to be,
Who comes as Judge at last.
"The Lord... is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:10.
"IT IS THE BLOOD
THAT MAKETH
AN ATONEMENT
FOR THE SOUL."
Lev. 17:11.
"THE BLOOD
OF JESUS CHRIST,
HIS SON,
CLEANSETH US
FROM ALL SIN."
1 John 1:7.
"REDEEMED...
WITH THE PRECIOUS
BLOOD OF CHRIST."
1 Peter 1:17, 18
August
I Had a Kind Mother Who Loved Her Boy
A lady living in one of our large cities was passing a saloon some time ago, just as the keeper of it turned a man into the street. He was quite young, and his face showed he had been drinking and was on the way to ruin. He was swearing most dreadfully, and shaking his clenched fist at the man who had thrust him out of the saloon. He was so blinded with passion that he did not see the lady who stood near him till she laid her hand on him, and asked in a gentle, loving voice,
"What is the matter?"
The young man started as if a heavy blow had struck him. He turned quickly around, paler than before, and trembling from head to foot. He looked at the lady for a moment, and then said,
"O, I thought it was my mother's voice; it sounded so strangely like it. But her voice has long been hushed in death."
"You had a mother then that loved you?" said the lady. He burst into tears as he said,
"O, yes, I had a kind mother, who loved her boy. But since she died everything has gone against me. I am lost, lost to everything that is good—lost forever."
"No, not lost forever; for God is merciful and gracious, and His pitying love can reach the chief of sinners," said the lady, in a kind sweet voice; and her words seemed to have a powerful effect upon the young man.
As the lady passed on her way the young man followed her. He noticed the number of the house she entered, and wrote it down, and the name on the door plate, in his pocketbook. Then he went on his way with new thoughts and feelings stirring his whole soul.
Years rolled along their course, and the kind lady had almost forgotten this, among many kind incidents of her life, when one day a stranger called at her house and sent in his card, asking permission to see her.
Wondering who it could be, she saw a noble looking, well-dressed man. He rose respectfully to meet her, and holding out his hand, said,
"Pardon me, madam, for this liberty. I have come many miles for the pleasure of heartily thanking you for the great service you rendered me a few years ago."
"I am puzzled to know what you mean, sir, for I do not remember having seen you before."
"I have changed so much that I do not wonder you have forgotten me," replied the man. "But though I saw you only once, I would have known you anywhere, and your voice too, is so much like my mother's."
The moment these last words were spoken, the lady remembered the poor young man to whom she had spoken kindly in front of the saloon long ago.
He wept, and she wept with him. He soon wiped away his tears, and then told the lady that the kind words she spoke to him that day had been the means of saving him from ruin, and making him a different man.
'Those words, 'not lost forever,' followed me wherever I went; and it always seemed my mother's voice speaking to me from the grave. I have repented of my sin and am trusting in Jesus, and am thankful to say by the grace of God, I have been able to resist temptation, and to do some good in the world."
"I never dreamed there was so much power in a few words," said the lady.
But we know there is. There is great power in kindness, and this is the reason why we should learn and practice it.
The Journey to Heaven
Two acquaintances were saying "goodbye," after a few days spent in the same house. One was a child of God, the other not.
"I wonder if we shall ever come across each other again?" said the one who lived for this world.
"I don't think it's very probable," replied the other; "but can you give me any assurance that we shall meet in heaven, where the Savior is whom I love?"
"Heaven! why, that seems a very long way off; I haven't begun to think about it." And so they parted.
At a cab-stand two or three men were waiting about. Another joined them, and going to an elderly man said,
"Hello, John, you here! How's your rheumatism?"
"O! I reckon we shant's part company till we get to heaven,' was the answer.
"Heaven, why, that's a far-away place."
"Yes, and I believe it'll take me all my time to get there at all."
These are man's thoughts of heaven, whether among rich or poor. He secretly fears it, for to him it means departure from this life, and so he hopes it may be a long way off.
To the Christian, heaven or paradise is "where the Savior is."
To the dying thief Christ said,
"Today thou shalt be with Me in paradise". Luke 23:43.
To Stephen, when being stoned, it appeared quite close, for "he... looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55).
No one with his sins on him could wish to find himself in heaven, for naught that defileth can enter there. Yet many are content to go on in uncertainty as to how they can be made fit for heaven, or of the right road there. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7), and thus make us fit to dwell with Christ in heaven, and Christ Himself is the passport there.
Supposing you knew that tomorrow your life down here was to come to an end, would you not feel that the place where you are to dwell for eternity was of vastly more importance than the duties or pleasures in which you have hitherto passed your time? When God said to the rich man in Luke 12:20,
"Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee," what an awful moment it must have been, for was his future to be spent in heaven or hell? Is it not wiser to face the question at once, than to put it off till too late? God sent His beloved Son to earth to die for us, that He might have the pleasure of welcoming poor sinners and publicans and dying thieves to His home in heaven.
Heaven is very near to you. God can either say to you,
"Thou fool! this night thy soul shall be required of thee," or else,
"Today shall thou be with Me in paradise." O, remember, that
"When once the Master of the house is risen up and hath shut to the door," not all your tears and prayers will gain you an entrance. You have had your offer of Christ and heaven, and rejected it. The Bible says, "Today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts." Heb. 3:15.
"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Cor. 6:2.
Remember! Remember!
Youth.—"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them" Eccles. 12:1.
Professor.—"Remember Lot's wife" (Luke 17:32), and "flee from the wrath to come."
Pleasure Lover.—"Remember (know thou) that for all these things God will bring thee unto judgment" Eccles. 11:9.
Believer.—"Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead" (2 Tim. 2:8), and He says, "Because I live, ye shall live also" (John 14:19).
Unbeliever.—"Abram said, Son, remember. Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed." Luke 16:25, 26.
Aged.—"Remember how short my time is." Psa. 89:47.
Remember! REMEMBER!! REMEMBER!!!
The Puzzled Woman
"What is your object in giving these tracts away?" said a respectable farmer's wife in a puzzled tone to me one market day.
I told her that those tracts were to call attention to what vitally concerns each one of us, the salvation of our souls and how we must be saved.
Still she looked puzzled. It seemed strange to her that anyone should so lower herself in the eyes of others for such an object.
It is possible that when she got home, she would read the tract given to her, and from it would hear for the first time, that Christ had died for her, a sinner, and would turn to Him, and trust Him as her Savior. Then with a sense of her own eternal security and happiness, her heart would go out in pity to those who "heedless of their souls immortal" are hastening on to a lost eternity, and her longing cry for them would be—
"O! won't somebody tell them;
Tell them of Calvary's tree,
Tell them the story of Jesus,
What a great Savior is He"?
If this had been the blessed result of her reading that gospel booklet, it would itself be the answer to her question,
"What is your object in giving these tracts away?"
Alas! how terrible is the ignorance and indifference as to what determines whether our eternity, our forever and forever, will be spent in the joys of heaven, or in hell where there is "weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Ask the first six thoughtful people you meet how they must be saved, and the answers of at least five out of the six will prove them to be as ignorant as if they were living in a heathen land. They will say,
"By doing the best I can."
"By leading a good life."
"By strict attention to religious duties."
"By praying every day for the forgiveness of my sins."
"By liberal charities and good deeds," etc.
Now God's verdict on these things as means of gaining salvation is that it is "not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:9). We are saved by what Christ has done for us, not by what we try to do for Him.
God's Word shows us that "God so loved the world" that He gave His Son to die and shed His blood to atone for our sins, and on the ground of His perfect atonement, (not by our merits or good deeds) God freely forgives everyone who turns to Him.
"Through this man (Christ Jesus) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by Him all that believe are justified from all things ... " Acts 13:38, 39
The believer can say of Christ, "His Own self bare our sins in His Own body on the tree." 1 Peter 2:24.
"The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7.
God's last message in the Bible is, "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Rev. 22:17.
As sinners who have turned to God, we must appropriate for ourselves the forgiveness He offers us in virtue of Christ's atoning death for us.
"He died to save sinners. I am a sinner, and therefore He died to save me," said one to herself as she thus made it her own.
If any have to face an eternity of unutterable woe through not having known, and therefore not having availed themselves of the full free salvation Christ died to bring them; they can only say,
"We are lost because we did not think it worth our while to look into God's Word to see how we might be saved."
Extract: "Thy Faith Hath Saved Thee."
"Thy faith hath saved thee." Luke 7:50.
"It is of faith, that it might be by grace." Rom. 4:16.
Look at this woman at the feet of Jesus; for Jesus bids you look as well as the Pharisee! Behold how she wept, how she washed the feet of Jesus, and anointed them with ointment! These were sweet tokens of her love and adoration. But were these the cause of her forgiveness? O no!
"Thy faith hath saved thee."
Learn then in what salvation lies. Love may bring ointment to Jesus. Sorrow for sin, when grace is in the heart will cause tears to fall; but faith brings nothing, for it has nothing. It casts itself wholly upon Jesus. It has nothing to do with self; neither our own feelings, nor the exercise of our graces.
Jesus is the one blessed object of faith's joy and hope, pursuit and desire.
The Old Mistake of "Doing My Best."
Some time ago a Christian was out giving away little books containing good news about the One who saves sinners. While thus employed, he met an acquaintance, who, he had every reason to believe, was unsaved. Having shaken hands, he offered him a little book, bearing on its outside the words,
"Are you a Christian?"
The book was accepted, and they separated. The next day they again met, their daily occupation being at the same place.
"Well, S—," said the Christian, "did you read that little book? and are you a Christian?"
"Yes, I hope so," was the reply; and then something interfering, the conversation had to cease.
An hour later, however, the two were standing side by side once again.
"S—, you told me an hour ago that you hope you are a Christian; may I ask you on what grounds you base your hope?"
"O, I really do think I am one. I always go to church, and do the best I can; and I can't do more than that."
"And is that all that you have to build your hopes upon?"
"Well, God is merciful, and if one does his best, I don't see what else can be expected of him."
"Ah, S—, it is indeed true that God is merciful. He has shown His mercy by providing a way of salvation; but what claim can you have to His mercy, while you are neglecting the one channel through which it flows? God's mercy will not flow through your channels, but it flows fully and freely through Christ; and if you are to be saved, it must be through Him. Paul says, in his Epistle to the Galatians, that 'if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain?' For what was the use of the Son of God suffering for sins, if 'doing your best' is all that is needed."
If one among my readers is trusting to "doing his best," may he at once abandon every such thought, and look to Christ, and to His finished work, for salvation.
"God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8.
Jesus Lives
The terrors of the cross are past,—
Jesus lives—
Redemption's work, so grand, so vast,
Jesus lives,
Although a crown of thorns He wore,
And all man's wicked hatred bore,
Those dreadful suff'rings now are o'er,
Jesus lives.
Captivity is captive led,
Jesus lives.
Death and the grave bear naught of dread,
Jesus lives,
Released from sin and Satan's hold
We soon shall enter joy untold—
With rapt delight His face behold,
Jesus lives.
Live Soberly
Titus 2:12
That precious grace of God which, while it brings salvation unto all men, teaches those who are saved "to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world." And be it remembered that "to live soberly" means a great deal more than temperance in eating and drinking; it means this most surely, but it takes in also the whole range of inward self-government—the government of the thoughts, the government of the temper, the government of the tongue. The grace that saves us, not only tells us how to live, but teaches us how to do so.
Trusting in Thy Son
"No more, my God, I trust no more
In all the works that I have done;
I leave the hopes I held before
For trusting in Thy Son.
"The best obedience of my hands
Dare not appear before Thy throne!
But faith can answer all demands
By pleading what Thy Son has done."
"FEAR THOU NOT:
FOR I AM WITH THEE:
BE NOT DISMAYED:
FOR I AM THY GOD:...
YEA, I WILL HELP THEE."
Isa. 41:10
"CASTING
ALL YOUR CARE
UPON HIM:
FOR HE CARETH
FOR YOU."
1 Peter 5:7.
September
Danced for the Last Time
With dancing feet, but heavy heart, a young immigrant from Jugoslavia entertained the pleasure mad crowds in Hollywood, California. Coming to America, when quite a youth, after a childhood of hardships and loneliness, years were passed in seeking satisfaction in a round of gaiety but—in vain. He was told by someone, who noticed his look of weariness, that to be happy himself, he must spend his time in giving happiness to others, and this led him to the stage, where—after much training and instruction, he became a professional dancer and plunged into a round of gambling and other questionable pursuits, only to find the truth of the words of Solomon,
"All is vanity and vexation of spirit." Eccles, 1:14.
He has danced before Hollywood notaries for the last time, never more will he pay—as he did repeatedly, seven dollars for a single lesson to improve his art.
"God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform"—wrote Cowper, and never was it more in evidence than in this case!
A motion picture star, with whom he worked, seeing the young fellow's dissatisfied air, amid their daily round of pleasure producing gave him a Bible which she had procured. It was at once diligently read, and memory went back to childhood days, and an old grandmother in Yugoslavia secretly reading a Bible which had fallen into her hands. She taught him it was a good book, and ought to be heeded.
As he read, day after day, groping in the spiritual darkness, for light, he one day saw in a paper an announcement of evening Bible classes. He at once enrolled, but somehow was never questioned—as is usual—as to his spiritual condition, and when on his first evening he was found in the class room, no one knew or guessed the anguish of his soul. There he heard for the first time in his life, the sweet gospel story and it wonderfully soothed his troubled spirit. It was the dawning of a new day for the Hollywood dancer, though the sun had not yet risen in his horizon; and back he went to his dancing—and the Book, while continuing his attendance at the night classes.
A few weeks after, a very ordinary event was announced, which, however, proved a great one in
A. D.'s soul's history. It was just a meal to be served to the students at the dinner hour to which all were invited. The dancer was there, and as he saw all the day-students file in with happy faces, young men, hearty, clean, free and strong, and young women who seemed so totally different in spirit and appearance to all he had met before, he was deeply interested.
Then, as they quietly stood, someone started a hymn in which all joined:
"What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear,
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in Prayer"
The arrow had found its mark, the young Hollywood entertainer, covered his face with his hands and silently and earnestly prayed:
"O! my God, help me to find that Friend."
Has He ever refused to hear a contrite cry? Never. That night, without disclosing his anguish of soul, he promised a young man to attend some evangelistic meetings in a church in Hollywood. Several times he was found there and finally, the young fellow-student, with Bible in hand, led him to the Savior!
His joy in believing was over-abounding, he had danced to a Hollywood audience for the last time, henceforth his feet must tread the paths of wisdom, paths of happiness—says Solomon,
"Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace." Proverbs 3:17.
After a few years of waiting, with the question of Saul constantly upon his lips
"Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do," he heard the answer; and though he had vowed never to leave his adopted country (having become a citizen of the U.S.A.), the answer seemed too plain to question,
"Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee and hath had compassion on thee" (Mark 5:19) that, he left for his native land, to labor in the harvest field of Yugoslavia, telling of the grace, mighty to save, which has meant everything to him!
To you—dear reader, "Is the word of this Salvation sent." Perhaps, you too have tried the world, to find, like this young man, how unsatisfying is its pleasures. Will you not today turn to that blessed Savior who said:
"Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt. 11:28.
"Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:27.
Will You Come Today?
Because It Works
No doubt you have heard of the modern professor, who, seeing a mechanic reading the Bible during his dinner-hour, said to him,
"I'm surprised to see an intelligent man like you read that Book. Why, you don't even know the writer, say, of the book of Daniel for instance."
"Do you use the multiplication table, sir?" the mechanic replied.
"Why of course," was the reply "but what has that to do with it?"
"Do you know the author of it?"
"No, of course not."
"Well, why do you use it?" the mechanic asked.
"Because it works," came the answer again.
"That's why I read this Book—because it works," said the delighted believer. The great test of all theories, remedies, or devices, is—Do they work?
Detailed explanations and a perfect understanding of them is unnecessary; if they work they are accepted and sought after.
For instance, we cannot explain or understand the process by which food becomes flesh, bone, blood, etc., or how it restores used strength and energy and maintains life. But it does, and we continue to eat and drink.
Again, the medicine some of us take; can we explain or understand how it attacks and repels the disease or malady? No, but it works, and so we hopefully take it.
So with the Gospel! The wisest sage or most holy saint cannot adequately explain or fully understand the ways of God in saving a soul; but it has worked in numberless cases, and among them, our own; so we value it and commend it to our fellow creatures, who are all in need of deliverance from sin.
The difficulty seems to be, in bringing them to realize their need. A friend of mine approached a man about his soul's salvation, but he replied,
"I'm not sick yet." He didn't feel the need of a Savior. Do you?
Whether you realize it or not, you do need the Lord Jesus Christ to save you from sin's awful power and penalty. No other can save you, "for there is none other Name under heaven... whereby you must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
All our strength, wisdom, and merit combined are no use against the forces of evil which are engulfing us. We are "without strength" and "having no hope." Our so-called and much boasted merit is really demerit, for we read,
"All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." Isa. 64:6.
God only can deliver a lost soul, and this He does through the atonement of His blessed Son.
The Gospel of Christ... is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth." Rom. 1:16.
A Child of God
Eighteen years old, at a boarding school, in the midst of learning, and yet a veritable heathen. That was my condition when it was ordained by my elders that I should be confirmed—along with seven other girls of our school.
I must tell you now that for three years, at least, I had had within me an intense longing to know God; I yearned with all my soul for heavenly light. Yet I was puzzled, and knew not what it was or who it was I really needed. When at home I used to go out to the woods and cry aloud to heaven in desperation, not realizing there was One up yonder who loved me and had given Himself for me. I rather thought God was angry with me, for I looked on myself as such a hopeless sinner—so earthly-minded, nothing spiritual about me.
A month before confirmation a preparation class in the school was commenced, at which catechism and collects were studied. Some days before confirmation, we were each in turn interviewed by the vicar in his vestry, when the following questions were put to me:
"Do you know your Catechism?" "Yes." "Do you know the Collects?" "Yes."
"Have you studied the Thirty-nine Articles?" "Yes."
"Do you say your prayers?" "Yes."
"Well, my dear, you will pass very well," and receiving a fatherly hand on my shoulder, I was shown the door! Had the vicar said,
"Do you know the forgiveness of sins?" I would have answered most emphatically, "No."
During the intervening days till the hour of confirmation, I was most unhappy, not having a ray of light from above—only a deeper sense of condemnation—dreading to go forward to the ceremony, lest I should make a false profession. It is customary for girls to have simple white frocks for this church service—emblem of holiness, I suppose.
Through some mistake, my dressmaker did not send my new garment in time, so, feeling very wretched, I told the lady of the school I could not go, as my dress had not come. Whereupon she replied.
"How stupid! Well! never mind, some old ladies will be among the candidates—just go in your black one, you will pass in the crowd."
So, you see, there was no way of getting out of it, and after all, the black dress seemed comforting, quite in keeping with the inward feelings. A black dress covering a black heart! As we drove in silence to the church, I could not help comparing my black with the other girls' white garments, saying, as I looked at them,
"I dare say your hearts are as white as your frocks, but alas for mine!"
The church was full—the occasion seemed very solemn, and sitting up at the end of the long pew, I was truly miserable—wishing with all my heart that I might stay there, and not go forward to the communion rails.
But what of my teacher up in the gallery? Would not she be very angry if I remained in my seat when my turn came? With my mind busy with these thoughts, I paid little heed to the service—indeed, I do not remember what took place till the bishop paused, leaned over the pulpit, and said so kindly,
"I hope none of you mean to come up, better stay just where you are, than be untrue. This service is only for those who know their hearts are right with God. Never mind your friends in the gallery. Be true."
All right, thought I, now with the Bishop's permission, I will not leave the pew; and folding my arms in peace I meant to watch the service through to the end. Whereupon the bishop once more leaned over the pulpit, and in most tender tones asked if there were any unsaved ones before him. I looked up, wondering if he knew all about me!
"Shall I tell you," said the bishop, "what words brought life to my soul long ago?" To this I listened with all my might, just longing for salvation.
"Hear these familiar words, 'Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out' (John 6:37), and, my dear young people, if He does not cast us out, why, of course, He takes us in—into His own family, and henceforth we become 'Children of God.' "
The Lord, by the Spirit's power, applied the word to my heart. All now seemed so simple, and, not caring who saw me, I sank right down on the floor on my knees in that high old-fashioned pew, and pouring my heart out to God, pleading His own sweet words,
"Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out," then and there received power to become a child of God, and, like the prodigal son, I was conscious of the kiss of forgiveness.
A child of God! O, think of it! What a joy! Such a burden gone—I could have shouted for joy, All glory to the Lord Jesus!
Do you know Him thus, my dear reader? As a guilty sinner, accept Jesus Christ as your own and only Savior.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts 16:31.
"Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37.
The Infidel
I heard of a little girl who had learned to love the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ, and was told that a certain man was an infidel.
"What is an infidel?" she inquired; and when it was explained to her she seemed very much surprised. A few days later, that man was walking down the street, and the little girl came up to him and said,
"Why don't you love Jesus?"
He pushed her away, but she repeated the question again and again, and he saw that there were tears in her eyes. That question began to trouble him. He could not get rid of it day or night. It kept coming up to him from the sidewalk, from the letters on his desk, from the voices of his children at play, and the pillow kept whispering it to him after he went to bed. At last he got up and said,
"I will go and get the Bible and find some place where Christ has contradicted Himself, and that will be a good reason why I should not love Him."
So he took the Book and opened it at the Gospel of John—he had opened at the wrong place; if anyone wants to find reasons for not loving Christ he must not go to that Book; and there he found out reasons for loving the Son of God instead of hating Him, and before the sun was up he had begun to seek the Lord with all his heart, and was very soon converted.
"God commendeth His love toward us, on that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," Rom. 5:8.
Admit the Bearer - a Sinner
"So, John, you're really saved. You have been seeking salvation for a long time. How did you get saved at last?"
"O, it was the simplest thing in the world; it was just by presenting the right ticket. I held it out, the door was opened, and I was in. And the strange thing is, I found that the ticket of admission had been in my possession from childhood, and I had carried it in my breast pocket for the last twelve months, and never had the sense to use it."
"That is strange, for you were so anxious to be saved. What kind of a ticket was it, and what was written on it?"
"Why, it was as plain a ticket as you ever bought for a public meeting, and it had nothing on it but the words—
"Admit the Bearer, A Sinner." (Luke 18:13, 14).
"Was that all?"
"Yes. And what kept me so long from being saved was, that I always added something to the words on the ticket, when I presented it. Whenever the Lord saw anything of my adding, it was refused. The first time I went, I wrote at the bottom,
`But not so great a sinner as many of my neighbors.' That would not do, so I rubbed it out and put down,
`But is doing the best he can to improve.' That would not do either, so I became more anxious, and prayed and wept awhile, and then, under the words,
`Admit the bearer, a sinner,' I wrote, 'who is praying and weeping for his sins.' Even that wouldn't do. After that I began to despair, and wrote down,
`Too great a sinner to be saved.' That only made matters worse, and I had almost given up, when I looked at Christ and heard Him say,
`I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved' John 10:9, and
`Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out' John 6:37.
`And ye will not come unto Me, that ye might have life' John 5:40, and those precious words,
`Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely' Rev. 22:17.
I looked again at that parable of the Pharisee and Publican, and saw that it was simply as a sinner that he went, and was justified. He did not make his sins too great to be forgiven, nor too little to need forgiveness. He went just as he was, 'a sinner,' and trusting to the promised grace of God, he went down to his house 'justified.' I remembered that Jesus had said,
`I came to call sinners to repentance,' so pulled out the old ticket, and without adding a word, presented it. It was accepted, and I entered."
"THE WORD OF THE LORD
ENDURETH FOR EVER,
AND THIS IS THE WORD
WHICH BY THE GOSPEL
IS PREACHED UNTO YOU."
1 Peter 1:25
"THY WORD
IS A LAMP TO MY FEET,
AND A LIGHT
TO MY PATH."
Psalms 119:105
October
The Farmer and the Editor
An infidel farmer in Illinois, wrote to the editor of a newspaper as follows:
"I have a field of corn which I plowed on Sunday; I planted it also on Sunday; I did all the cultivating it received on Sunday; I gathered the crop on Sunday, and on Sunday hauled it to the barn, and I find that I have more corn to the acre than has been gathered by my neighbors during this October."
The editor of the newspaper was not a professor of religion, and the farmer evidently counted on obtaining his sympathy. He did not get it, however, for he simply added these words at the bottom:
"God does not always settle His accounts in October."
The farmer seemed to imagine that because his crops prospered, and that he was not punished for breaking the Lord's Day, that therefore there was no God, or if there were one, He was indifferent as to man's conduct. A terrible mistake, surely!
Men judge of God by themselves. God is "long suffering and slow to anger," but He "will by no means clear the guilty" (Exod. 34:7). God chooses His own time to settle the account with the sinner, but "whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7).
In speaking to His people, Israel, He tells what great sins they have been guilty of, and adds:
"These things hast thou done and I kept silence, thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself, but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver" Psa. 50:21, 22.
They thought that God was like themselves because He "kept silence." His long-suffering was manifested that they might repent and be forgiven, but they mistook His silence for indifference.
"Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." Eccles. 8:11.
Because God does not "speedily" execute judgment on sinners, because He is loving and patient, men take advantage of it, and instead of accepting the offer of mercy which He is pressing on their acceptance, their hearts are "fully set in them to do evil." Are you one of this class?
"The wages of sin is death," and the "wages" will assuredly be paid to those who do not accept God's gift of "eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
There is a day of reckoning ahead, whether you believe it or not.
"It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Heb. 9:27.
"What wilt thou say when He shall punish thee?" Jer. 13:21.
God is waiting to be gracious, and longs to pluck you from the eternal burning (2 Peter 3:9; Ezek. 33:11). He has given the Lord Jesus to die on Calvary's Cross to save you from unending woe. Sin has been so "put away" that God can, in consistency with His inflexible righteousness, and holiness, pardon the biggest offender. Hearken to His gracious invitation:
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isa. 1:18.
Why not now believe on Christ and be eternally saved? (John 5:24; 6:47) Behold, now is the accepted time (2 Cor. 6:2).
After Many Days
Taking up the local paper, I read of the death of "Diana Bacon, aged 102," or 108, I cannot remember which. On reading it aloud to my friends, which whom I was staying, they exclaimed,
"Why, that is our dear old friend," and showing me a photo of a sweet, peaceful old face, told me the following,
One summer morning they were out walking, and they saw sitting under a hedge, in the country lane, an old body making nets. Feeling interested in her, they went and sat beside her, and spoke of Christ. She listened; seemed pleased, but evidently did not know Him as her Savior. They asked her could she read?
"No, she couldn't read, but she had a little grandson who was a good scholar."
They had given away all their tracts, so taking a piece of paper, one wrote out this verse,
"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son, cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7.
Reading this to her, they told her to be sure and get the little grandson to read it to her often. Then telling her of the pardon through the precious blood, and that even an old body like herself, living so long without Christ, might find cleansing and peace through this blood of God's dear Son, they passed on their way.
Two years passed away, and one day, walking in this town about two or three miles from where they had met the old woman, an old bent form approached them, and making a low curtsey, said,
"O! ladies, I have been praying to the Lord that I might meet you again." They exclaimed:
"Do you know us, then?"
"O! yes," she cried. "Don't you remember two years ago you met me in the lane, and gave me a little paper."
And then, fumbling in her basket, she produced the little scrap, very dirty, very thumbed, and one recognized her own handwriting. She said at once,
"I can now say, the blood of our Lord Jesus has cleansed me from all sin."
The Lord had cared for the seed sown, and others had been led to tell her of Jesus. They never lost sight of her again. Every Saturday, for many years, as long as she could walk, she came to their house, and though she could not read, seemed to grow in love and grace, and always enjoyed a word of prayer and a little reading. She never forgot her text.
"Thank you a million hundred times," she used to say so often. Frequently they went to see her, and every January 1st, her birthday, they paid her a special visit. The first time they went, she said,
"I have got a big Bible, and I want you to mark that verse, that when people come to see me, I may point out the text and say, That is the verse which brought me to Christ."
And now, safely housed, the dear old woman can look back and rejoice in the light that knows no shadowing over the way God sought and won her.
Dear reader, are you waiting for some great thing to bring you to Christ? Some very fine sermon, a shipwreck when you are marvelously saved, a serious illness when you lie facing death for days or weeks? No, God is calling you every hour, waits for you to come to Jesus every day. Old Diana Bacon had a responsive heart. God called, and she answered, and came to Him.
He speaks peace and gladness. He tells of cleansing from every sin; of "no condemnation;" of sins "remembered no more," and "cast into the depths of the sea."
"Blotted out as a thick cloud," and the spotless robe of righteousness in which to appear before God, as fair, and as dear, as His own beloved Son.
"Thou... hast loved them as Thou hast loved Me." John 17:23.
Jesus - Savior
Jesus, He the Savior is,
O what a theme is this,
Praise shall be forever His
Seated now in glory.
O Savior, precious Lord,
Worthy to be adored;
Join now with glad accord,
Give Him honor, glory.
Jesus—precious name to know,
While pilgrims here below,
By His blood made white as snow
Meet to dwell in glory.
Jesus—O, how sweet that name,
For evermore the same,
Worthy He of highest fame
And of honor, glory.
Jesus, ever faithful Friend,
His love will never end,
He will all His own defend
Till with Him in glory.
Jesus hath done all things well,
Now let the tidings swell,
Of His grace the story tell,
Till the dawn of glory.
Jesus, O, what love and grace,
In all His ways we trace,
O, what joy to see His face,
In the brightest glory.
Jesus soon again will come
And gather all His own,
Ever then to be at home
In His rest in glory.
Jesus, when on earth was slain,
Now lives on high again;
He in righteousness will reign
When He comes in glory.
Lean Hard
"Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you." 1 Peter 5:7.
What shortsightedness in refusing to cast all our cares upon Him who is so tender, so wonderfully efficient, so wise, so all-seeing, so large-hearted, so compassionate!
It is possible to fuss and fume and fret until the hair turns grey, and yet, at the end find that no progress has been made whatever. But those who really learn to cast all their care upon Him will be the happiest people that can be found on the face of the globe.
Not Cast Out
A lady of talent and education, possessing a loving husband, and a happy home, passed as a Christian while all went well. But when trial came, and she was called upon to part with her dearest treasure, her pious husband (who commended her to the Lord with his latest breath), she rebelled against the will of God, and finally denied His very existence, and became an advocate of infidelity.
What of her dying husband's prayers on her behalf? Are they to remain unanswered?
Time passed on, until one day she was induced to enter the place where a faithful evangelist was delivering his Master's message:
"Ye must be born again."
The Holy Spirit used his powerful appeals to awaken the conscience so long dead, and she sobbed like a child.
Christian friends pointed her to Jesus, but in vain. She only answered with the bitter cry,
"It is too late."
The preacher came, and assured her of Christ's willingness to save, but this seemed only to increase her agony.
"That is not for me," she exclaimed; "I have committed the unpardonable sin; I have grieved the Holy Spirit, and I am lost forever."
Vainly her friends assured her that such was not the case, as her very tears testified. She told the story of her rebellion and unbelief, and seemed unable to credit that there could be salvation for her.
It was growing late, and we were utterly at a loss how to proceed, as she could not be left thus. Lifting his heart in prayer, the preacher said,
"Are you wishing to come to Jesus, just as you are?"
"I would do anything, give up anything, even life itself, to know my sins forgiven, but it cannot be," she answered sorrowfully.
"You believe that I am willing to help you, do you not?"
"O, yes; I do."
"And yet you have never seen me before! Will you not then believe your Savior, who died for you, when he says,
`Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out'?" John 6:37.
"But I do not, cannot love Him," she sobbed. "My heart is full of tenderness and sympathy for every living thing; I could not bear to see a little bird suffer pain, yet when I hear of the sufferings of Jesus on the cross, my heart feels hard as a stone. Is not that a proof that I am lost, that I have sinned away the day of grace?"
"Ah! now I see your mistake," the preacher replied. "You want to feel saved before you believe; you must not look at your love to God, but at His love for you. 'He loved me, and gave Himself for me.' Grasp that; never mind about your love for Him, only think of His love to you."
But the unhappy lady could only moan—"It is not for me, I am lost."
"Thank God for that!" answered the evangelist. "Jesus Himself says He came on purpose to seek and to save that which was lost, and, therefore, to seek and to save you, just as you are, lost, and in danger of eternal condemnation. He says, He will in no wise cast you out. Does He mean what He says, or is He telling you a lie?"
"O, no! He cannot lie," she said; "if He be God at all, He must be the God of truth. I do come to Him as lost. Does He indeed say He will not cast me out?"
"He says, 'Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.' In no wise—no matter what the past has been—'in no wise cast out'," urged the preacher.
"Thank God for that!" she at length exclaimed. "Then He does not cast me out; and I will trust Him, and love Him, and serve Him too."
Her tears were dried, and she went on her way rejoicing, to prove, by a life consecrated to Christ.
"He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him." Heb. 7:25.
Useful When Applied
A soap manufacturer, not a Christian, was walking with a minister. Said the soap-maker,
"The gospel you preach hasn't done much good, for there is still a lot of wickedness and wicked people."
The preacher made no immediate reply, but they soon passed a child making mud pies. She was exceedingly dirty. It was then the preacher's turn, and he said,
"Soap hasn't done much good in the world, I see; for there is still much dirt and many dirty people."
"O, well," answered the manufacturer, "soap is useful only when it is applied."
"Exactly," was the minister’s reply; "so it is with the gospel."
"All have sinned." Romans 3:23.
"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." 1 Timothy 1:15.
"The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7.
His Greatest Thought
A short time since the centenary of the late Professor Simpson, of Edinburgh, was held. He was the discoverer of the surgical uses of chloroform, and his wonderful discovery made him to be recognized as one of the world's greatest scientists. By it he procured relief for thousands and obtained a great name for himself.
One day, while seated with many ladies and gentlemen, he was asked,
"What is the greatest thought which has ever crossed your mind?"
Probably it was expected that he would describe some of the interesting experiments which he had made, or give their important results. But it was not so. To their astonishment, he answered that the greatest thought which had ever crossed his mind had been
"The shortness of time and the great length of eternity."
These things had eclipsed all other ideas. Everything else had sunk into comparative insignificance.
Has this wonderful thought ever occupied your serious attention? Multitudes of men and women live today as if they were to live forever. But how short time is! At the longest we are only here for a brief season. Our years few or many, are soon gone, and then, what then? Eternity.
"Eternity, where?
O! Eternity, where?
With redeemed ones in glory,
or fiends in despair
With one or the other,
Eternity, where?"
You may feel yourself very comfortable in the world. You may be looking on into the future, and may see it filled with many bright prospects.
But life here will come to its close. Are you prepared to meet God?
In eternity there are two spheres, but only two—Heaven and Hell.
Which is to be your portion? You must either live with Christ in glory or pass your eternal existence with the lost in hell.
"These shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25:46.
"BOAST NOT THYSELF
OF TOMORROW:
FOR THOU
KNOWEST NOT
WHAT A DAY
MAY BRING FORTH."
Proverbs 27:1.
"BEHOLD,
NOW IS THE ACCEPTED
TIME:
BEHOLD, NOW IS THE DAY
OF SALVATION."
2 Corinthians 6:2.
December
How Jack Was Made Anew
It was the last day of the year. A few of the men had met weekly for prayer, and of late they had prayed earnestly for one of their number who carried his dissipation and recklessness beyond all limits. Just before this sailor's watch on the last night of the year, one of his comrades said to him kindly,
"Jack, we meet tonight to pray the old year out, and we shall pray for you." Jack turned round in a rage.
"Make me your subject, if you dare, and I'll knock your brains out," was his answer.
Overhead shone the stars, and far away gleamed the lights of the city, and still the parting words of his comrade rang in his ears.
"I wonder what they'll say," he thought at length, after his anger had died away. "Well, if they mention all my sins, they'll have enough to keep them busy;" and one after another scene of sin came up before him, scenes from which many of the participants had been called away to judgment. Rousing himself up he tried to shake off their memories, but in vain.
"We'll pray for you," rang in his ears. All at once the texts learned at his mother's knee from his almost forgotten Bible came up before him. Vainly he whistled and sang, and tried to think of everything else.
"The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4), said memory; "the wrath of God abideth on Him" (John 3:36); and so passage after passage came up before him. He saw himself a sinner before an avenging, slighted God; and despairing, trembling, he threw himself upon his knees.
"O, what a long list of sins I've got scored against me!" he groaned; "I can't ever get them chalked out."
He saw himself undone and helpless; but as One of old appeared to Peter walking on the sea—the blessed "Son of Man"—so across the wild waves of doubt, of anguish, and despair came the Heavenly Comforter into the heart of this poor sailor, saying,
"Be not afraid; only believe."
Alone upon his knees, he believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and was saved (Acts 16:31). He heard the far-off city bells toll out the dying of the year, and merrily chime in the advent of the new, and a "new creature" Jack arose from his knees, and grasping the hand of his comrade who came to relieve him, said, with a tearful voice,
"Ned, I'm a new man in Christ Jesus."
His conversion was indeed sincere. God's Spirit perfected the good work begun in him; and, as he contemplated the abyss from which he had been snatched, he could not sufficiently admire Divine goodness. Jack was unwearied in his efforts to show his late companions the folly of their ways; and more than one had reason to hold in grateful memory of Jack's New Year.
Will you also, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and be made anew?
Trust Him
Your faith is lamentably weak. Yes, but look up to Jesus seated at the right hand of power in the heavens. It is not a question of you and your abilities, but of Him. Left to yourself, the world and the powers of evil will easily overcome you, but with Christ in command, you may safely sing—
"When I fear my faith will fail, Christ can hold me fast."
Will you not trust Him for this, and boldly confess His name?
The New Millionaire
City Sensation! "Street Sweeper Left a Fortune!"
So read the "Leaders" in the morning newspapers, and eager eyes scanned the columns to find who the lucky street-sweeper was. Half-a-dozen business men coming into town by a morning bus, were discussing the sensational news. One suggested that it was a "hoax"; he had seen and heard of such tricks before. Another "believed" the fortune was there, but that it was intended for another man having the same name; while a third "observed" from the way it was announced in the newspaper that the editor did not altogether accredit the "sensation" himself. At last an aged, respectable-looking man, a stranger, who had listened to the various opinions of his fellow-travelers regarding the street-sweeper and his fortune, quietly remarked,
"The news is perfectly correct, gentlemen. I have read the will and knew the testator. He left the money for the man whose name appears in the paper right enough, and it will be paid to him, in full, as sure as his name is in the will. I have just seen the man, and he knows and believes that he is the happy possessor of his uncle's estate."
There was no room for further question or debate. The man who had just spoken, knew firsthand the truth of that which he spoke, and they believed him.
"How did the lucky fellow receive the news?" asked one.
"I believe that belongs to me," he said, and threw his old broom across the street, and walked off in all the dignity of a millionaire, never to return to street-sweeping anymore," said the lawyer.
There was a laugh all round, for men of the world recognize and admire the wisdom of such a course as the street-sweeper pursued that day.
Yet strange to say, in things eternal, things pertaining to God and Salvation, men generally act otherwise. The Gospel of God proclaims that through the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross, the free gift of eternal life (Rom. 6:23), with an eternal inheritance in heaven (1 Peter 1:4), has been procured and made sure to every sinner, of every clime and color, who is a believer in the Lord Jesus—that is who by faith claims the benefits of the great redemption, and becomes united to the glorious Person of Him who came on earth to save the lost. Some, who know their name and own it, humbling though it be (see Rom. 5:8), and accept the free gift without labor or merit on their part, pass immediately into the present possession of eternal life. They know it on good authority, for God has said it (see 1 John 5:13). They show that they believe God—as the street—sweeper believed his uncle's will—by confessing themselves saved, children of God, possessors of eternal life, and heirs of heaven, and manifest to others that their faith is genuine and their conversion true, by leaving for ever their former haunts and occupations as children of the devil and worldlings—as the sweeper left his broom—going forth among men in the consciousness and confession of being heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. And the men of the world who applaud and would have been proud to shake hands with the street-sweeper, count those who thus "lay hold on eternal life" as fanatics and fools, so little do "the riches of Christ," and the glories that are forever, count in the world's estimation. Yet these will shine forth as true gold, when all else has crumbled into dust; and when death has emptied the worldling's hands of all that he now grasps so proudly, Christ will shine forth in eternal excellence.
Reader, do you have Christ? Are you saved? Do you possess eternal life? Have you received it as God's free gift?
The Lord's Got Me
When I joined my regiment in North Carolina, I found there a young lieutenant who in his Connecticut home had had the reputation of being an active earnest Christian.
I called on him in his tent, and said something of my hope to have his help in work for my Master.
"No, no!" said he, "I've given up all that stuff. I know now there's no truth in it, and I don't want to hear a word on the subject."
How tempted most of us would have been to argue the point with the backslider; but I simply said:
"You are not saying now what you believe, Lieutenant."
This came with startling unexpectedness, and his assurance was all gone as he asked, in genuine surprise,
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I know you well enough to understand that what you said and did for years has not been given up by you in your inmost heart. You can talk this way to me now, to try to stiffen up your courage of resistance, but when the camp is quiet and you are alone in your bunk in the darkness, you would never talk in this way to God, who you know is near you always."
"Well," he said somewhat gently, "I don't want to talk about this subject, at any rate."
"But I must talk about it," said I. "It is very real to me. And I am here because of my belief. I love you too dearly to refrain from speaking to you."
After a little there came on a battle in which our regiment lost severely. Several temporary hospitals were opened in small dwelling-houses in different parts of the field of action. As I was occupied in one of these hospitals, I heard that the lieutenant lay wounded in another. As soon as I had opportunity, I went to see him. His right leg had been amputated near the hip. He lay on a cot among many wounded. Looking up as I appeared, he said cheerily:
"The Lord has got me. I wouldn't serve Him with two legs, so He took away one. But now I'll be more of a man with one leg than I was with two."
Then as I spoke warmly of my sympathy with and interest in him, he told of his experience and feelings.
"As my leg went out from under me and I felt I was gone, I said,
`The Lord's got me, and I'm glad of it.'
"You were right that day you came to my tent first. I never really gave up my belief, or had any rest in my soul trying to live without God. And now I believe I shall live nearer the Lord than ever, and have more comfort in Him."
"He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God, hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son, hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:10-12.
Is Christ Your Portion?
Is there a soul reading this who cannot rejoice in Christ, who knows Him not as his portion? Is there one who is saying, My sin is too great to be pardoned? To feel about your sin is right, but to be in despair about it is quite wrong. You are virtually saying, My sin is greater than the grace of God. You will not dare to say so if you are looking at Christ. Is Christ come short? Is grace beneath your need or above it? Christ is the portion of every poor soul who believes on Him. The atoning work is done.
"The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7.
That Blessed Hope
Titus 2:13
The days are passing fast,
The years go on apace;
The Lord is coming, and at last
His own shall see His face.
Is this your joyful hope?
To see your Lord above;
Whose Word has cheered, whose grace awoke
Your heart to His great love.
This year may not have passed,
Until we meet our Lord;
Even today may be the last
We'll spend in Earth's abode.
Lay hold in living faith,
On God's most precious Word,
And wait to see Him face to face
Who is thy Guide and Lord.
O! face to face with Christ,
God's own anointed Son;
The Father's joy our portion there—
Eternity's begun.
Opened Eyes
Our vessel was on a river in Africa. I had been drinking (moderately as we say), and half drunk, I threw myself into the river to bathe, without thinking of the dangers to which I exposed myself.
As I swam some distance from the vessel, a crocodile began to chase me. Some of the men on board saw my position and shot at this formidable animal, but without effect. It came along rapidly, and I used all my efforts to reach the bank, the danger I was in bringing me completely to my senses.
When I was just a short distance from the reeds with which the bank was covered, an angry tiger sprang towards me, the crocodile was also now quite close, its jaws wide open ready to devour me.
I saw death before me. The sins of a lifetime rose before my mind like a great mountain. I remembered my mother's prayers, my father's teaching, the pressing appeals of my Sunday School teacher—which I had despised. As my life passed in review I cried in despair,
"O God! have mercy on me, a poor, miserable sinner!"
This prayer was answered in a remarkable manner—truly "God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform"—and my life was preserved.
I escaped the claws of the tiger which came upon the monster behind me. There was a battle. The water was red with the blood of the tiger, whose efforts to bite through the scales of the crocodile were useless, while the latter was gaining the advantage, for he kept his adversary under water and soon caused his death, when they both sank to the bottom of the river.
My comrades had watched this scene with great anxiety, and when they saw that I was safe on the bank, they rowed vigorously and brought me on board.
The moment I reached the deck, I fell on my knees to thank God for His marvelous deliverance. The Bible that I used to leave at the bottom of my kit, became, through the grace of God, my daily companion. I saw the wickedness of my heart. I confessed to God my sins and the lost state in which I had lived as a rebel for long years, and I saw that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had borne my sins "in His own body on the tree" and that God was asking of me nothing more than to believe that my divine Substitute had satisfied all the claims of God's holiness.
I saw, also, that henceforth my privilege and my joy would be to live for Him, and to glorify Him in all things.
"Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Cor. 6:19, 20.
I Am the Lord's
What comfort may be found in these words! The Lord Jesus has redeemed us with His own precious blood (Titus 2:14); and having set such a value upon us, and bought us for Himself (1 Cor. 7:23) He will assuredly keep us (1 Pet. 1:5). None shall pluck us out of His hand (John 10:28). Our life is safe beyond all contingencies, for it is "hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3).
"Whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." Rom. 14:8.
Tossed about as we may be by ever changing circumstances, still, to be entitled to say,
"I am the Lord's," may well keep the soul in abiding peace. It is heaven begun below.
Come what will,—painfulness or weariness, poverty or persecution, bonds or imprisonments, fire or flood, still the sweet words, "I am the Lord's," should enable us to say, "None of these things move me." Acts 20:24.
And what strength will it impart if this little word, "I am the Lord's," becomes an abiding thought running perpetually through the heart! It will detach us from an evil world; it will keep us calm and patient amidst all its restlessness and strivings, its tumultuous commotions and disturbances; it will raise us above its empty pleasures, and protect us from its dangerous devices. We shall then be anxious about nothing, careful only to please our Father; for whatever troubles may threaten or assail, we can come with confidence, making our requests known unto God, and His own Peace, according to His word, "shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6, 7).
Death itself is not death to the believer; it is the entrance into life, unhindered by any of the clogs that press us down here in this lower world. But not only will peace be our portion, but joy will be ever bubbling up, knowing that, "He that shall come, will come, and will not tarry" (Heb. 10:37), and then we shall be "forever with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:17).
The Son of God
He came, the mighty Son of God!
He came, creation's only Lord!
The Holy One.
He came—men cried again, again,
We will not have this Man to reign,
Let Him be gone!
He came, such wondrous grace to prove.
He came in tenderness and love
Fully expressed.
He came, but found no place, no home,
Except a manger, and a tomb—
The cross, His rest.
He comes, the clouds shall part in twain,
And midst them He will come again
To gather home
The few who love Him here below,
That follow Him through weal and woe,
Lord Jesus, come!