DEVOTIONAL LIFE OF THE BIBLE CLASS MEMBERS.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 27, Issue 6, 1 June 1937, Page 6

DEVOTIONAL LIFE OF THE BIBLE CLASS MEMBERS.

"Modern youth appears to be more interested m hiking than m worship. It would rather lift its head m the sunshine than bow the knee m the sanctuary. It appears to know little of awe, submission, selfabasement, and self-surrender. It comes to God, "young, strong and free," with a desire "to be the best that it can be" rather than "to bow before the Most High God." This is not due to any want of the instinct or capacity for worship. Youth is incurably religious, and to worship is but to obey a law or bent of its nature. How, then, has the present neglect of public worship come about? We have not taught youth to pray. We are anxious to disabuse youth of false notions of the Bible, but we do not teach it how to approach God. We uproot the weeds of superstition, but we do not plant flowers, of devotion Our elders were afraid of Romish practices, and they sacrificed our birthright on the altar of their fears. Need we be surprised at our own harvest? How can youth delight m worship if it does not know how to pray?" — Taylor, from "Youth and Life." ...''■

We very often hear that our Bible Class members are not enthusiastic about attending Church. Why is this? Because they have not been trained to pray. They have had no

devotional training. There is no more pressing need m our Bible Class work to-day than to study and nurture the devotional life of our members. When we realise that so many of our class members, come from careless, even irreligious homes, that their lives are full of study, work, sport and so many other things that they live under the delusion that they have time: that they find faithfulness to spiritual rule so difficult: we should take the greatest pain to help and nurture the devotional life of our Bible Class members. The devotional life is never strong without daily Bible reading and . Meditation. The Bible Reading Fellowship notes are excellent helps m this direction. But what of those boys, young men, even fathers, who want spiritual knowledge and a system of Bible reading and who are unable to attend any Bible Class or Church to get such knowledge? Can they receive m any other way. Yes, through the Lone-member branch of the Bible Class Union. This L.M. branch is the correspondence school •of the B.C. Union, and is run specially for the benefit of those unable to attend Church or Bible Class. Such study as is required to be done under this scheme is done m one's own time, and the instruction is absolutely free. Now is the time to join. Take this opportunity. For further particulars write R. DYER, Lone Member Secretary, 511 Wellwood St., Hastings.