Devotional Column

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 6835, 16 April 1932, Page 10

Devotional Column

Precept. Ponder the p.nt.h of thy feet. Prov. 4, 26. Promise. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely. Prov. 3, 23. Prayer. ■ Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink. Psalm 69, 14. Dr. Cairns lias said: The death of the Lord Jesus was not a fate which was inevitable; it was a freely chosen destiny. Ho went to Calvary not a victim but a Conqueror, surrendering his rights, and He is the first-born from the dead. Oswald Chambers says that Calvary is not tho death of'a martyr, but the door by which God keeps open house for the universe. It has opened the door for a rebellious and lost world, because the Second Adam, tho Lord from Heaven, remained in porfect obedience to His Father’s will.

Thus saith the Lord God . . . Yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. Ezekiel xi. 16. God has said that Ho will be As a little Sanctuary, When in distant lands we roam We may find in Him a home. REVERSE IT, AND YOU HAVE IT! Among the many interesting men I met years ago at the beautiful home of tho late Henry Bewley, of Dublin, was Captain Dutton, commander of the Royal Mail steamer Sarmatian, at that timo the largest boat in the Canadian service.

He was a ploasant-looking, breezy sailor-man, and a Christian of wide influence and evangelical lurvour. Just as tho Apostle Paul was never ashamed to tell both mobs and xnouarchs (Acts 22:26) of how he was saved on the road to Damascus, so Captain Dutton was never ashamed to tell of tho wonderful afternoon on tho deck of his ship when he believed on tho Lord Jesus Christ and was born of the Holy Spirit of God. It happened in this waxy. One day, after lunch, a group of-spassengers—all men —and the Captain stood in front of a picture of the death of Nelson, which hung on the saloon wall. The usual tributes of admiration for the dead hero were uttered by ono and. another of the dead heroes, and then, in a voice of penetrating sympathy and solemnity, an Irish land agent, named Thomas Weldon Trench, said: “I wonder was he a Christian?” “Was he a dog?” shouted the Captain, as ho rounded on Trench and glared at him with great indignation and then went on deck. Trench also went on dock.

He found the Captain walking up and down, and evidently very much irritated. Every few moments they passed and ropassed each other in silence. After some time, as they met, Trench suddenly stopped and said: “Captain, do you know how to be saved?”

“Of course I do.” “How?” “Pray to God, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” “Reverse it and you have it!” said Trench, and ho immediately walked away. The Captain stood quite still on the deck and said to himself: “Reverse it and I have it! That is: Believe on tho Lord Jesus Christ and tell Him that I do believe on Him, and I am saved! I

see it! I do believe on Him, I will believe on Him,” and ho cast himself upon Him for salvation. Tho light of the Holy Spirit at onco shono into his soul, and Captain Dutton knew the Lord. From that day until his death ho organised regular Gospel meetings in his ship, and did his best to win sinners to the Saviour. His son followed in his footsteps. For more than .30 years he unceasingly preached the Word of Life in the streets of the cities and villages of France, where I have met him, and now he has joined his father in tho land of endless day. When all Thy mercies, O my God My rising soul surveys, Transported with the view, I’m lost In wonder, love and praise. Through every period of my life, Thy goodness I’ll proclaim; And after death, in distant worlds, Resume tho glorious theme.

When Nature fails, and day and night Divide Thy works no more, My ever-grateful heart, 0 Lord, Thy mercy shall adore. Through all eternity to Thee A joyful song I’ll raise; For, Oh! eternity’s too short To utter all Thy praise. —Joseph Addison. SELF INTEREST. One of the most damaging things in Christian experience is tho uncrucificd self that rises up and seeks to usurp tho place and occupy the throne that ought to belong truly to Jesus Christ; the curse and disease of putting self first.

One of the characteristics of the self life is that it is full of haste, always eager to accomplish its own ends, fearful lest it loses something; but when a man gets to know God and puts God’s interest first, ho can afford to wait. He can walk with leisurely tread through life, because ho knows that ail his concerns are God’s care. You will always notice a strange feverishness in self life. “Ye run every'man to his own house.” Their own interest was all-consuming, and they neglected the things of God. Self-interest produces a distorted vision. They said “tho timo is not como to build tho Lord’s house”; but evidently the time had come to build theirs. Now there you have a twist of a great Divine purpose. The purpose of God is from tho beginning that He should bo first, but those people said that tho timo was not now; they must look after number one. There was the failure. “Seek first tho kingdom of God” —that is the Divine order, and in that order rve get the Divine blessing.

Young man, what are you putting first, self-interest, worldly prospects, intellectual attainment, some worldly ambition? Parents, what are you putting first for your children, what is your ambition for them? What is your ambition for that boy, that he put God first in his life, or are you going to put him on the danger zone, where so many lives have been blasted because foolish parents seek for selfish interests in tho lives of their children? Always put God first, or you will go down in the quagmire of materialism, and, perhaps, worse things. This is the challenge to the age, to put Jesus Christ first.