THE SUNDAY CIRCLE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21254, 7 February 1931, Page 5

THE SUNDAY CIRCLE.

RELIGIOUS READING FOR THE HOME. REST IN THE LORD. Oh, the little birds eang east, and the little birds sang west, And I said in underbreatb, All our life is mixed with death, And who knoweth which is best? Oh, the little birds sang east, and the little birds sang west, And I smiled to think God’s greatness flowed around our incompleteness, Round our restlessness, His rest, —E. B. Browning, PRAYER IN VIEW OF THE HAWKE’S BAY DISASTER. Almighty God, Who art a very present Help in time of trouble; let not the heart of Thy people fail when fear cometh, but do Thou sustain and comfort them until these calamities be overpast; and since Thou knowest the cause and reason why this grievous disaster of earthquake and fire hath fallen upon men, so do Thou heal the hurt and wounded, console the bereaved and afflicted, protect the innocent and helpless, and deliver any who are still in peril for Thy great mercy’s sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A TEXT FOR EACH DAY’S MEDITATION. Sunday.—“ Ido sot my bow in the cloud and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I shall look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant.” —Genesis ix, 13 to 16. Monday.—“ Be strong, and of good courage, and do it, fear not nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee: He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”—l Chron,, xxviii, 20. “ Certainly, I will be with thee.”— Exodus iii, 12. Tuesday. —“ Surely, I will be with thee.’—Judges vi, 16. “My mercy will I keep for him evermore, and My covenant shall stand fast with him. My covenant will I Hot break, nor alter, the thing that is gone out of my lips.”—Psalm Ixxxix, 23 and 24. Wednesday.—“ Incline your ear and come unto Me, hear and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you even the sure mercies of David. Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.”—lsaiah lv, 3 and 6. Thursday.—“ Who is a God like unto Thee that pardoneth iniquity. t . * He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy.- He will turn again, He will have compassmh Upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and ThbU Wilt cast all their sins_ into the depths of the sea.’—Michh vii, 18 fltid 19, Friday.—" God is faithful* who will not suffer you to be tempted, or tried, above that ye are able; but will with the temptation, or trial, also make a way to esdape, that ye may be able to bear it.”—l Cbr., x, 13. Saturday.—“ Draw nigh to God,, and He will draw nigh to you.”—James iv, 8. “The God of all grace, Who hath called us unto Hie eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, s.tablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” —1 Peter v, 10 and 11. —H. R. Higgins in A. C. W. CHRISTIAN THEORIES NOT ENOUGH. And the lodger said to the landlady: “Please can I have three pegs in hiy bedroom for to hang my things upon.” And she skid: “Certainly,” and paihted three lovSly pictures of possible pegs upon the wallpaper. And the lodger said: “Please can I have something to eat.” So the landlady handed him a couple of pages of the cookery book for lunch. , . And the lodger felled the landlady with his umbrella and departed from that house in great hunger and wrath. —M. WHAT IS A PROPHET? A prophet ia not a voice only. A prophet is a life behind a voice. He who would speak for God must have lived for God. According to the profound insight of the Old Testament, speech iS not the expression of a few thoughts of a man, but the utterance of his Whole life. A man blossoms through his lips; and no man is a prophet Whose word is not the virtue and the floWef of a gracious and a _ consecrated life. —Sir George Adam Smith. REPUTATION OR CHARACTER. Hef last journey was over; she knocked at the door with a sinking heart. She waa Worn and old, and carried no luggage, but one hand held tightly two coins. She looked at them as she waited, and shook her head doubtfully. One coin was quite black, and the other, though dim, Was quite shilling in comparison. The black coin bore the name “ Reputation,” the other had “ Character ” on it. When the door opened, she timidly offered St. Peter the coin “ Reputation.” He took it, looked at it gravely, and asked: “Have you any other? ” In silence she handed him the other coin. His face lit up as he said: “Ah! Yes! Come in—you are one of the souls with more character than reputation.” “ But,” said the woman, “my character coin is not mine. Can I come in on it?” “Not yours? Whose it is? ” Said St. Peter. The woman did not know how to explain. Suddenly she thought of a verse, and said it:— “ A,nd every virtue we possess, And every victory won, And every thought of holiness, . Are His alone.” “Ah! Yes! ” said St._ Peter, and took her hand and drew her in. “Yes! Yes! I myself Was a coward arid a liar once you know, till He made me brave and truthful.”—Mrs Grace Fox, THE MESSAGE OF THE CHURCH. I take it to be the definite message of the Church that Christians should sit loosely to the tilings of this world, should reckon their pcSsitidii or means UP a trust for theit brethren, and should live in the “ pilgrim ” spirit. The motive for such a life is, of course, our belief that Our true life is that Spiritual life with God where our hearts are and where our treasures should be. It is a real misfortune that the Christian Church has been apt to ally and identify itself with certain States of Society. Our Lord’s apparent indifference to such matters might have warned Us that salvation does not lie in any status quo or in any rearrangement of politics or society. Different arrangements may be necessary to make the best of different circumstances. Our duty is constant, to give glory to God and to bring glory to God under any such arrangements or circumstances, and to prove by our “ detachment,” our faith that man’s true citizenship ia in heaven. If the Church were such a “mobile army,” it would be of much greater blessing to mankind, and in times of doubt and change a strength and reassurance. The Victorian belief in steady inevitable progress has been rudely shaken, and the insistent question is being asked; “What is life about, and what is it for?” Democracy, yesterday’s god, is being subjected to criticism today. Communism offers confidently to take its place. But to Christians those changes only bring the stronger assurance that there is no “ ideal state,” but that human happiness depends neither on tlie material nor mental alone, but Supremely on a man’s spiritual life. The “ UeW humanism ” is having a great vogue. Perhaps it is true that more people disbelieve in God now than at any other time in the world’s history. If it be true, I am afraid that the world is losing a lot of time on a false scent. Meanwhile there is a Supreme call to and a supremo opportunity for Christians to try add make their own lives and fellowship a more sincere and attractive “ Setting forth ’’ of the glory of God, revealed in the face of Jesus Christ.—Bishop WestWatson, in the Church News.

PSYCHOLOGY AND ECONOMICS. Economics Will, no doubt, disagree with me, says Bishop Wcst-Watson, but 1 am perfidaded that psychological causes aggravate economic troubles. If everyone is full of gloom}' forebodings and passes them on, our power of endurance and resistance is reduced, and confidence Undermined. Et'Oh if this spirit does not precipitate the conditions, it must surely

delay the recovery. And so I think that the Christian Church has a really urgent part to play in calling people back to faith in God and His purposes for our land. The country which loses faith in God and in its destiny is in a poor way. The founders of this colony of Canterbury, at any rate, came out with a sense of Divine guidance. Success has, per-, haps, made us too self-centred. Adversity may lead ua to ask again what God would ,have us to do as ah outpost of a Christian race in the South Seas, what are our duties and responsibilities, for instance, to the Pacific world, and the islands of the sea, in things of the mind and spirit. , [The bishop might have omitted of Canterbury,” for his words apply to New Zealand'as a whole.] WELLINGTON CITY MISSION TO HAVE ITS OWN BUILDING. The Wellington Mission, of which the Rev. T, F. Taylor is the famous head, is to have a home of its own, in place of the present Sunday quarters in a picture theatre and hired premises for Weekday activities. The Wellifagton S.C. has authorised the Trust Board to enter into a contract for the erection of a building, estimated to cost £BOOO, It is understood that the money is in hand. The mission has collected and spent great sums of money and vast quantities of goods in the relief of distress in the Church's name, and it is wonderful to know that in addition Mr Taylor and his advisers have been able to finance so large a building. EVANGELISING THE PACIFIC ISLANDS. Figures published in the World Dominion Press by the Rev. J. W ; Burton in a missionary survey of the Pacific Islands show that. there is still a great deal of evangelisation to do in that huge area, covering 380,000 square miles. The population is only just over 2,000,000, and the Christian population is under a third of that figure, grouped as 368,200 Protestants and ■ 252,792 Roman Catholics, The eastern division, once known as Polynesia, is only one thirty-seventh of the whole area, and while it is described as wholly evangelised, less than half its population of 500,000 professes Christianity —half Roman and half non-Roman. The remainder, containing three-quarters of the population, is described as partly evangelised, about 500,000 belonging to one Christian communion or another. The area embraces the groups north of Australia, including New Guinea, of which nearly one-quarter of the population of 899,000 is Christian, two non-Romans to one Roman. The work of the missions is nearly all confined to the coast, and there are masses of heathen still in the three divisions of New Guinea and in the New Hebrides and Solomons. The rapidlygrowing Oriental population is mostly unreached—Chinese in Samoa ami the mandated New Guinea, Indians in Fiji, Tonkinese in New Caledonia and. New Hebrides, and Japanese everywhere, including 12,000 in Japan’s mandated territory. The 27 missions at work have 789 missionaries and 4109 workers, a large number compared with other parts of the world, necessitated by the scattered nature of the islands. The mountainous areas inland on some of the larger islands present unusual difficulties to evangelising effort. OTAKI MAORI CHURCH TO BE RESTORED. A generous English lady visitor to Otaki lias offered a substantial gift towards restoring the decayed portion of the panelling of the wails of the famous Maori church. The panels alternate between the broad totara slabs, which form the inner walls. This churcb was, erected by the first converts to Christianity in Otaki nearly 90 years ago, and is the finest surviving example of Maori art and architecture in New Zealand. The ridgepole is the trunk of a totara. 80ft long, and the Maoris, by means of sloping poles and flax ropes accomplished the amazing feat or raising it to the top of the five other 40ft totara trunks which form the central pillars. and fixing it in an accurately level position! MOTTO FOR CHRIST’S COLLEGE, CHRISTCHURCH. Although Christ’s College adopted a very elaborate shield some time ago, the motto was not decided upon. Tile college Register of December, however, states that alter considering the question of a school motto for some time, the Board of Governors has adopted the suggestion of Professor Pocock —“ Bene Tradita, Bene Servanda, which may be paraphrased “ a good tradition, to be well maintained.” The following ideas underlying this motto, as supplied by Professor Pocock, were entered in the minutes of the meetings of the governing body: (a) A great tradition worthily to be maintained; (b) Guard well a great inheritance; (c) Worthily maintain all that is worthy in your inheritance; (d) Yours is a great inheritance, do your duty by it; (e) Build well upon the foundations your fathers have laid for you.