DEVOTIONAL COLUMN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIV, Issue 848, 27 October 1923, Page 10

DEVOTIONAL COLUMN.

PRAYER. V “0 God. mercifully grant unto us that the fire of Thy Ip.ve may burn up fit. us all things that displease Thee, arid make us meet for Thy Heavenly kingdom.—Amen. READING. Wait on the Lord; bq of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart; >vait, I say, on the Lord. —Psalm 27.14. USELESS. “It is useless to flog up a zeal for missions where wq have' lost the enthusiasm of the Holy Cross, apd live as if forgiveness were but an accidept in religion. '} • It is ffoip Ifie cpntre of Uic church's life that missions grow,' from' tpe holy Iqfe of Cjpd as revealed in tl?e atoning Gres?. They do not arise at some point in the outskirts of Christian faith; they are not among tpe church's luxuries."—T. P. Forsyth. RAPTJSTS IN AUSTRIA. Thq first Bapfist Chprch in Austria ha? been erected and opened. Pply since t|je wqr have Baptist? had tl>p legal rjght pf existence in this land. “SAFE!) THE SAGE’* AND THE MINISTER’S CONTRIBUTION BOX. "Once upon a time there was a minister of a City Church, 11 writes “Safed t!)o Sage’* in the Christian Century. “And he went, lie and his, household,' and sojourned in the Wilderness in the Good Old' qummertiip o . And the folk who dwelt in that region unto him a Committee, saying, Behqld, we are informed that thou art a man of Distinction, and ivc desire thee to preach for us on the coming Sabbath. “And he said, I will do it. '“And on the Sabbath day he walked, he and his son, unto the Synagogue, and qs they entered the minister beheld that the contribution box was attached tq the wall in the vestibule. And he dropped therein a silver half dollar. “And at the close of the service, the committee waited upop him, and thapked him. And they said.- It' is our custom to give unto the minister, wfien one preacheth here, the contents of the contribution box; will that be satisfactory? “And he answered, That will be satisfactory. “And they produced a key, and uplocked the box, and gave unto him one silver half dpllar “And the minister and his son walked back through the hot sunshine to the place of their sojourn. And ns they went, the lad spake unto his father, saying Dad, if you had put more into that box, you would haye got more out of it.' 1 “Now the same is true of many other men, who would-get more but of the service of the House of God if they put more into it of Prayer and Service and Loyalty and Lflve. and even ,of Cash. “And the same is true of the minister, with respect to Jib sermon. “And the sam e is true of life as a whole. “There are many folk wjro are getting mighty little out of life, and to whom the whole sho.oting matjJh is worth less than half price, because they do pot put more into it. ' “Wherefore give unstintedly of thy love and of thy service, and thou shalt get more out of it.” LIVING IN TWO WORLDS. There are two. Why not live in them ? But hqw ? Ip this woßd, a? far as we have gone, thorp js frouple, sickness, disappointment, failure, hate, ifi will, old age and &esth. ■ Over against all that, is tho other >yorM, which is free from all (those things. In this world we’ aye constantly struggling for money, food, shelter, pleasure, health, happiness. |p the other y/orld the struggle will fie free from all interference and power, and happipess will be felt qiid enjoyed without the pain of comparing opr own success with the tragedy of the failures of multitudes who struggle but never attain. Tiio bitterness and’ despair that millions of human beings feel over tire .conditions that face then? if? this world >yould be wonderfully lessened jf those .wfio suffer would acqtiire the habit of living ?n anticipation in the other world while enduring in this. . . It was this attitude of mind that sustained the martyrs and all the early Christians under persecution.' They lived as "seeing Him who is invisible.” All this does not mean a complacent acceptance of injustice or evil, as if. nothing cquld b.e done to make this world hotter. Bpt it (joes meap an attitude of mind thgt rests calmly op the wonderful fact of another world where the crooked shall be made straight, where ln?te and ill will and poverty and -sickness and .defeat and death shall be no more. That fact ought to put courage and good cheer in to'everybody. Try living in twoi worlds. There are two. Why not live in them now? “ABB MIGHT." Paul iyas a great speaker. He was also a great prayer. We are won and moved by his great speeches, wo are captivated by his great prayers. When ho talks to men about God ho lifts us up. When he speaks to God about men, ho consoles us. In the first chapter of his letter to the Colossians, he emphasises his prayers. Ho says. ‘-‘Braying always for you. ’ The C^V? 0 pf this praying was the report of their f‘faith in Jesus Christ” and their love unto all the saints.'”. Ho then speaks o, the object of his p'rayers or the things he prayed for. First of all, ho prays for the knowledge of God’s will. It may bo well to note hero, it is not tho knowledge of God’s character -that is mentioned, and that is right. The knowledge of Gods character is very deep and. the knowledge of His will is very plain, and much move within our- reach. Jf we try to go too deep into QodA character before we have a knowledge of' His will, wo are liable to! become submerged. If wo know the will pf God, then uve may from that will learn' the, character of Qpd- Hut qur knowledge ; of God’s will does not find its end or object i n that knowledge, Paul put the purpose ami tile end very clearly, “that ya may walk worthily of thq Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work.” Then he shows that by knowlijg and doing this will, there is also an “in-| creasing in the knowledge of God,” When one is thus knowing ami doing God s will, I he becomes, conscious inure and more of his' own unworthiness and Ids weakness. Thq : will of God is sq good .and acceptable aiid, perfect that by contrast, it reveals our unworthiness, and tho attempt to do it reveals our weakness. Therefore we need in,ight. PqweV' is in God—might is that power having entered into us. The power; may ho abundant, but it never accomplishes anything uu/.il it becomes might within ,us. • This might,.must be many-sided because our needs- ’are many-sided. Wo need God’s potyer, then, coming into our souls through many avenues, In our body wo need sti.ength from many sources; food, heat, w ater, air, light, shelter, clothing, etc, (bur minds need might coming from readir.g, observation, experience, _ from bookd, personal association, experimentation, and daily work, from poetry, philosop'ny science, mathematics, history and da iiy 'life. So, too, our spiritual natures mjed power from God. coming in by His V.Uord, the knowledge of his will, of His .deeds of His character, and by Holy : Spirit, giving, life, light,-comfort, hope, faith, and His fellowship, The apostles prayer was, therefore, real, practical, comprehensive. “strengthened with all might.” But note the measure of tills might: “According to His glorious power.”. Tho measure of our might is not within ourselves. That is its field, but its measure ,is in God; His glorious power.” What an expression. The power that mad# and sustained the world. The glorious power that maintains His throne and its overwhelming light. Tho power that changes and directs the souls and lives of men. Hera is, the measure and source which maintains our might to meet all the emergencies of life, Tins life does not move smoothly. It hap conflict. It lias sorrow. It has disappointment. It has opposition in all forms, It also has a power without measure, boundloss in variety, and glorious in its character, Note also the fruits pf this might. "All long-suffering and patience.” The word “oatinnoa" would batter be trans-

luted ‘VojwerwicA.” The purpose is achievement of the end so.ught. But the might foi? this worlds through these channels : Iphg-sufffirwg 'or .patience or veranco or activity. .If the p&tiejico ijj Jpst the ; soui becomes confused, depressed and over-,burdened, and activity and perseverance cease. First of all \ve must have the ipatienico which is accompanied by hope. Tlii,s maintains ,the /perseverance in connection' with the knowledge of God’s yvill. To him who thus patiently and persistently seeks to xjp> not his own wwj, por obtain his own progress, but the will of God, there can bp no failure, for he is in the 1 line of God’s promise jhat his labours shall not be in vain. , SAFE ?—OF COURSE. There, is gp eat safety in the penis God choosiß for us. “Is it safe to work among* the Ittpers ?” 1 was asked of Bam Higginbottonli of India, whose missionary service has bOpn so blessed to the - outcasts whom Christ r asked us specially to remember and heal., “Yes,” was the answer; “it is safer, to work among l the lepers, if it’s my job, than to, work anywhere else,”—B.S. Times.