EDITORIAL
This past month, for instance, has been one of the hardest, financially, that we have had. We had two pressing obligations but not enough money to meet them. The small amounts which were coming in daily (which we greatly appreciate and which usually cover our expenses) we knew would never meet these obligations on time. So there was nothing to do but pray for a large sum to come at once.
Just two days after I made my request of God for this sum, a knock came on our door and a check for $50.00 was placed in our hands. This covered exactly the bills which were causing us no little concern.
We were again made to realize that our God is faithful. He never puts His children into a work, only to leave them stranded in the middle of it for lack of funds. But we learned too that we must never take for granted His supply. He has told us to ask for what we need; and He expects us to do just that. Sometimes He withholds that we might more earnestly pray. But when we go through the "proper channels" -- "If ye shall ask any thing in my name," we may be sure of the supply -- "I will do it."
The "proper channels" for us is not to ask any human for help. We have had some very kind offers from sincere folk who told us that if ever we had any need, to let them know. But we have decided, and that from the beginning, never to make our needs known to anyone except our loving heavenly Father. Thus we are obligated only to Him, and we can give Him all the praise.
After all, what good earthly father would ever forget the needs of his children, and not do everything in his power to meet those needs? And will our heavenly Father do less? Will He forget? Will He not do all in His power to supply?
My friend, though everyone and everything else should fail, "God is faithful;" you can count on that. "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it."
Sincerely yours,
Arthur E. Gordon, Editor
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Dear Shut-In . . .
EXCERPTS from
LILLIAN'S LETTERS
Now because there are so many who want to know -- YES! (I surely am grateful under existing circumstances) I am single. I live with my good Mom and Dad. My birthday was October 11th, 1927. Am about 5 ft. 2 in. tall; weigh about 110 lbs. Have spent the most part of about 8 years down with this rheumatoid arthritis which seems to affect my right side more severely that the left.
Gave my heart to God at about 5 years of age. Then at 16 I felt the need of a deeper, closer, more real experience with God. In surrendering my life, my all, and tarrying until . . . O the peace that came. He cleansed and filled me with His Spirit. The Holy Spirit was there to guide and direct, to intercede for me.
Oh there have been trials, tribulations, many a Gethsemane experience, but my heart is fixed. As Job, though I be slain yet I will trust Him. We weren't promised an easy way, but a Way.
Sometimes I marvel at all the crafty, impossible things the devil pops up with. We are in a warfare, Ephesians 6:12: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
But those skies are going to split soon. Then this vale of tears will be over. At times, though, God gives us sips of heaven, and oh if that's just a sample -- whee! -- what we've got a-coming! Let's not miss it.
Beverly Shea's aunt, Miss Marrion Whitney, in her recent card to me said, "Hudson Taylor says, Our trials are sent as God's platform, for Him to display His graces, patience, courage, and love, etc. So we are honored to be in His display window. May He help us to be good samples for Him. We have our own difficulties, but He knows how much we can bear. He remembers we are but dust."
Miss Lillian Butt suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. Before her illness she was a nurse.
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Wishes, cares, anxieties prepare the heart for prayer, but are not prayer until they are converted into direct address, application, and cry unto God. -- Adolph Saphir
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ADVENTURE IN PRAYER
By REV. HARRY W. RICKARDS, JR.
(Part IV)
(CONTINUED FROM THE JUNE ISSUE)
WE HAD PRAYED much before the trip and during the trip that we might be able to visit Karluk, an isolated fishing village on the island of Kodiak. The reason for this desire was that our missionaries, Fred and Sue Crozier with whom we were living, had spent six years in this village. We wanted to see the little house where they and their children had weathered six hard winters. We wanted to see their little chapel that sat on the bleak hillside above the mouth of the river, looking out over the Pacific Ocean.
Fred built that chapel. Every bit of lumber, every piece of equipment had to first of all be paid for and then shipped by boat to the village. Then, every piece had to be taken from the freighter and carried by row boat to the beach in front of their house and then dragged and pulled by any way possible up the steep hill to where the chapel was to be built.
I want to tell you how God once more answered prayer and took us to this little isolated fishing village.
We left the ladies in Kenai and we men took the regular passenger plane to the town of Kodiak, on Kodiak Island, which is just south of the Kenai Peninsula. We landed on the Navy base and were met by one of the missionaries who works in the Servicemen's Christian Center. A very fine couple, also serving at the Center, welcomed us into their home. For the next few days they took us around the town and out for a private picnic to see some of the island.
If we had forgotten for a moment that this was Alaska and not a fishing village somewhere else in our fifty states, we were soon reminded of it. While out one afternoon on the water in a small skiff we were caught in some "rip tides." You say, "Preacher, that could happen anywhere." That's true. But just about the time I would have liked to have had my feet on dry ground, Fred said excitedly, "There's a whale!"
Sure enough, not far from one side of us a whale had surfaced. I had just about decided that my wish for dry ground was not such a bad idea when just off the other side of us he surfaced again. Now, I was sure the best place was back on the shore. I said, "Fred, that fella's been up on both sides of us; you don't think he'll center-in on us on his next trip topside, do you?" Fred, without cracking a smile, said, "They've been known to come up under a boat and throw people and boat in all directions." (I never have been quite sure whether Fred was "pulling my leg" or not.) We decided it was time to head for shore.
It came time for us to return to Kenai and I had not yet been able to get to the village of Karluk. Fred said it looked impossible; there were no friends with planes available and the boats were all out fishing. But, we have a God who opens doors.
On our last evening there, we spoke to a group in a prayer meeting at the Servicemen's Center. At the close of the service a Christian businessman came up and spoke with me. He said that God had spoken to him, that the service had been a blessing to him and he would like to take me to Karluk the following day. He was a busy man but he was going to put aside all of the next day's work and fly me into this village. He said to me, "Now, Harry, you pray for good weather tomorrow." It had been raining "cats and dogs" for days.
It was a strange experience and a blessed one. I did not pray that night. I did not believe that God had brought me from Oxford, Pennsylvania to Kodiak, Alaska to shut a door in my face now. I got down on my knees by the bed that night and said, "Thank you, Lord, for opening the door and getting me to Karluk tomorrow." I could hear the rain beating on the roof as I got into bed, but He gave me perfect peace in my heart that in the morning the weather would clear.
I must be honest with you; in the morning when Fred woke me, my first question was, "How's the weather?" I did not like his answer--"Harry, its raining hard!" We went over to the businessman's home and had breakfast with the rain beating on the window and my faith growing weaker all the time. In the pouring rain we drove out to the lake on the edge of town and while he did a little work on the plane, I pumped the water out of the floats and, in general, we made ready for our flight. All the while it poured down rain and we were soaked.
With our preparations finished Stan called for a weather report and was told that it was clear in Karluk and clearing to Kodiak, but a low ceiling. He told me this meant we could not fly over the mountains but would fly through the passes and canyons and make our way to Karluk between the mountains. And what a flight; I shall never forget it! We came so close (so it seemed to me) to the sides of those mountains at times that I felt I could step out and walk off. We had been following the course of a winding river for awhile then Stan turned to me and says, "Just around the bend." We flew around the bend and there in front of us was the village, half on each side of the mouth of the river, with the Pacific Ocean just ahead.
There are no words to describe the beauty. Though there were no trees, yet there was much grass and low shrubs. It was a beautiful sight to me. Stan brought the plane down on the river and taxied up to the shore. I stepped out with emotions in my heart that no words could describe. I cannot put on paper the praise that filled my heart to a God who had brought me here to the shore of this little isolated fishing village.
We went first to the chapel on the hillside. It was a sad visit, for this was a closed chapel. It had been closed for two years, with windows and doors boarded shut. We broke our way into the building. Our hearts were heavy as we walked through it, looked at the empty seats and thought of the once warm room it had been, filled with those who were hearing the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We went down the hill from the chapel to the house that had been Fred and Sue's home, where they had many happy times together in that far away place where the Lord had sent them.
The village is accessible only by plane or boat. There are times of the year when no boat can get in. Then, there are times when planes cannot land. So there are seasons when there is no way in or out. How would you like to raise your family in such a place? Sickness comes, accidents occur and there is no medical help. My! how we ought to thank God for those who willingly follow His leading and go to such places. How we ought to stand with them; how we ought to pray for them; how we ought to give of our money!
We visited in several of the homes in the village. There was not a home that we went in but that before we were there five minutes they would ask, "Are the missionaries coming back?" "Are missionaries coming to our village?" All we could say was, "We hope so, soon." Missionaries told me there are many villages just like this one--without missionaries, without the Gospel message, and no one to go.
It was getting late and the wind was beginning to blow very hard. Stan felt that if we were to get the plane into the air, we would have to leave soon. It was not long before we were in the air and on our way back to Kodiak, where we were to take a plane that afternoon for Kenai. It was a beautiful return trip. The Lord just seemed to do everything to make my trip perfect. The ceiling was higher on the return and we were able to fly over the mountains.
That same evening we were back in Kenai, where our wives waited to meet us at the airport. They rejoiced with me that God had made it possible for me to get to Karluk.
From "OUR TRIP TO ALASKA," by Harry W. Rickards, Jr.; Condensed and adapted for TRIUMPH by the Editor.
(To be concluded)
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Poet's Page
GREETINGS:
Will you pardon this intrusion
To your quiet, safe retreat?
This is just another "Shut-in"
Whom you never chanced to meet.
One who sympathizes with you,
And with sufferers everywhere;
Will it help to know that for you
Some one lifts the heart in prayer?
Will you let me share a secret,
God revealed to me when "blue?"
O, it was so sweet to hear it!
(Hope you often hear it too!)
Deep within my heart He whispered:
"Cast on me thy every care;
I will comfort you in sickness,
And will all your burdens bear."
So I lean upon His promise--
For I know it cannot fail;
And His loving arms enfold me
When no earthly helps avail.
Dear -- I trust this little message
From a sincere friend unknown,
Will remind you of His Promise:
"I will ne'er leave thee alone."
-- Effie O. Foss
Chicago IL
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THE LORD ACCEPT THY BURNT SACRIFICE
(Psalm 20:1-3)
We offer Thee, O Lord, our hearts entire;
We would not, could not give Thee less than all.
Laid on Thine altar, we await the fire
That shall consume our sacrifice -- too small.
But we forget that flames are meant to burn,
And there can be no burning without pain.
The usefulness for which our souls so yearn
Will come when we're consumed. Then, why complain?
Jehovah, as our Carmel, send Thy flame
Upon our Whole Burnt Offering; 'tis Thine own.
Let not the smallest fragment then remain.
Heed not a cry of anguish nor a groan.
Then, o'er the ashes breathe Thy breath Divine,
And we shall live, not as ourselves, but Thine.
-- Cosa Elizabeth Reynolds
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THE CHRISTIAN'S SONG IN ADVERSITY
Some see a time of strain and stress,
No ray of hope or happiness,
No hand to lead, no love to bless;
But we see Jesus.
Some see turmoil and dark despair,
No one to trust, no one to care,
Naught but confusion everywhere;
But we see Jesus.
Some see a storm upon the sea,
And waves that beat tumultuously,
A boat that's rocking dangerously;
But we see Jesus.
Is He asleep and cannot rise?
He's Master of the sea and skies.
Though weak our faith, He hears our cries.
Yes, we see Jesus.
For in the storm, He is our peace.
He bids the winds and waves to cease.
He makes the guiding light increase.
Ah, we see Jesus!
-- Cosa Elizabeth Reynolds
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UNTO THE IRON GATE
The iron prison gate is closed and barred
Upon the servant of the Lord. I beat
Upon the bars, It is no use; the guard
Of pain keeps watch and brings me to defeat.
I turn me back, my hands with knocking bruised,
To seek some other exit. Thus I creep
From place to place, but growing more confused.
Till weary of the search, I fall asleep --
Just resting in the Lord. As, what a bliss!
Awaiting His own time for my release;
Not needing any other hope than this:
Who trusts the Lord is kept in perfect peace.
He has His angel yet for him who waits,
With power and strength to open iron gates.
-- Cosa Elizabeth Reynolds
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NOURY BENYAMINE'S TESTIMONY
"It is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn Thy statutes."
Psalm 119:71
It's true I've been a shut-in,
For fifteen long years or more,
Folks whisper, "It is tragic,"
As they pass my chamber door.
My heart sometimes grows weary
For some friendly face to see,
But I am never really lonely,
For my saviour lives with me.
He's right here by my bedside,
This Lord I love so dear,
When the nights are long and dreary
I can feel His presence near.
He whispers words of comfort
In a voice so soft and clear,
That my heart leaps up within me
As His promises I hear.
He says the day is coming
When from pain I shall be free,
For that day I'm waiting, longing,
And my Saviour waits with me.
Yes, it's true I am a shut-in,
But my Lord so long ago
Endured more pain and heartache
Than I shall ever know.
Yet He's building me a mansion
In that land so bright and fair.
And one day, all hale and hearty,
I shall go to meet Him there.
So, although I am a shut-in,
I'll keep smiling and sweet,
Until the day I lay my trophies
Down at Jesus' pierced feet.
Noury Benyamine, once an athlete and dancer and rejecter of Christ, has through affliction lost the use of most of his body, but has found the Saviour for whom he is a glowing witness. He lived in Syria.
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SERMON SERIES
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER
No. 12
Behavior Of Christian Pilgrims
I Peter 2:11-12
"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation."
"THIS WORLD is not my home, I'm just a-passing through," says the hymn writer; and thus he concludes, "And I can't feel at home in this world any more."
This world is not the home of the Christian. We are just passing through to our home in heaven. We are on a pilgrimage here. But while we're here we must behave as pilgrims.
As "strangers and pilgrims" we must "abstain from fleshly lusts . . . having (our) conversation honest among the Gentiles." It is for the sake of our eternal souls that we behave in this manner. It is for the sake of those among whom we dwell. But even more it is for the glory of God.
The worldling may not--probably will not--take kindly to our behavior as pilgrims; and yet by our behavior the worldling will one day glorify God.
We could do no better for this study than to attach ourselves to the pilgrimage of John Bunyan's two characters, Christian and Faithful, as they find themselves in the town of Vanity, where Vanity Fair is found, which graphically pictures the world in which we sojourn. Bunyan relates his story thus:
Then I saw in my dream, that, when they (Christian and Faithful) were got out of the wilderness, they presently saw a town before them, and the name of that town is Vanity; and at the town there is a fair kept, called Vanity Fair. It is kept all the year long. It beareth the name of Vanity Fair, because the town where it is kept is lighter than vanity, and also because all that is there sold, or that cometh thither, is vanity . . .
At this fair are all such merchandise sold as houses, lands, trades, places, honors, preferments, titles, countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures, and delights of all sorts, as whores, bawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, and what not.
And, moreover, at this fair there are at all times to be seen jugglings, cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, knaves, and rogues, and that of every kind.
Here are to be seen, too, and that for nothing, thefts, murders, adulteries, false swearers, and that of a blood-red color . . .
Now, these pilgrims, as I said, must needs go through this fair. Well, so they did; but, behold, even as they entered into the fair, all the people in the fair were moved and the town itself, as it were, in a hubbub about them, and that for several reason; for,
First -- The pilgrims were clothed with such kind of raiment as was diverse from the raiment of any that traded in that fair. The people, therefore, of the fair, made a great gazing upon them: some said they were fools; some, they were bedlams; and some, they were outlandish men.
Secondly -- And, as they wondered at their apparel, so they did likewise at their speech; for few could understand what they said. They naturally spoke the language of Canaan; but they that kept the fair were men of this world. So that from one end of the fair to the other, they seemed barbarians each to the other.
Thirdly -- But that which did not a little amuse the merchandisers was, that these pilgrims set very light by all their wares. They cared not so much as to look upon them; and if they called upon them to buy, they would put their fingers in their ears, and cry, "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity," and look upwards, signifying that their trade and traffic were in heaven.
One chanced, mockingly, beholding the carriage (conduct) of the men, to say unto them, "What will you buy?" But they, looking gravely upon him, said, "We buy the truth." At that there was an occasion taken to despise the men the more: some mocking, some taunting, some speaking reproachfully, and some calling on others to smite them. At last things came to a hubbub and great stir in the fair, insomuch that all order was confounded. Now was word presently brought to the great one of the fair, who quickly came down, and deputed some of his most trusty friends to take these men into examination about whom the fair was almost overturned.
So the men were brought to examination; and they that sat upon them asked them whence they came, whither they went, and what they did there in such unusual garb. The men told them that they were pilgrims and strangers in the world, and that they were going into their own country, which was the heavenly Jerusalem, and that they had given no occasion to the men of the town, nor yet to the merchandisers, thus to abuse them, and to hinder them in their journey, except it was for that when one asked them what they would buy, they said they would buy the truth.
But they that were appointed to examine them did not believe them to be other than bedlams and mad, or else such as came to put all things into a confusion in the fair. Therefore they took them and beat them, and besmeared them with dirt, and then put them into the cage, that they might be made a spectacle to all the men of the fair. There therefore they lay for some time, and were made the objects of any man's sport, or malice, or revenge; the great one of the fair laughing still at all that befell them . . .
But Christian and Faithful behaved themselves . . . wisely, and received the ignominy and shame that were cast upon them with so much meekness and patience that it won to their side several of the men in the fair . . .(And), committing themselves to the all-wise disposal of Him that ruleth all things, with much content they abode in the condition in which they were, until they should be otherwise disposed of.
Then a convenient time being appointed, they brought them forth to their trial, in order to their condemnation. When the time was come, they were brought before their enemies and arraigned. The judge's name was Lord Hate-good; their indictment was one and the same in substance, though somewhat varying in form; the contents whereof were this: "That they were enemies to and disturbers of their trade; that they had made commotions and divisions in the town, and had won a party to their own most dangerous opinions, in contempt of the law of their prince."
Then Faithful began to answer that he had set himself against that which had set itself against Him that is higher than the highest. "And," said he, "as for disturbance, I make none, being myself a man of peace; the parties that were won to us, were won by beholding our truth and innocence, and they are only turned from the worse to the better. And as to the king you talk of, since he is Beelzebub, the enemy of our Lord, I defy him and all his angels."
Then proclamation was made, that they that had aught to say for their lord the king against the prisoner at the bar should forthwith appear and give in their evidence. So there came in three witnesses; to wit, Envy, Superstition, and Pickthank. They were then asked if they knew the prisoner at the bar, and what they had to say for their Lord the king against him.
Then stood forth Envy, and said to this effect: "My Lord, I have known this man a long time, and will attest upon my oath before this honorable bench that he is --"
Judge. Hold! Give him his oath.
Envy. So they sware him. Then said he, "My lord, this man, notwithstanding his plausible name, is one of the vilest men in our country. He neither regardeth prince nor people, law nor custom, but doth all that he can to possess all men with certain of his disloyal notions, which he in the general calls principles of faith and holiness. And in particular, I heard him once myself affirm that Christianity and the customs of our town of Vanity were diametrically opposite, and could not be reconciled. By which saying, my lord, he doth at once not only condemn all our laudable doings, but us in the doing of them . . ."
Then they called Superstition, and bade him look upon the prisoner. They also asked what he could say for their lord the king against him. Then they sware him: so he began:
Superstition. My lord, I have no great acquaintance with this man, nor do I desire to have further knowledge of him. However, this I know, that he is a very pestilent fellow, from some discourse the other day that I had with him in this town; for then, talking with him, I heard him say that our religion was naught, and such by which a man could by no means please God. Which saying of his, my lord, your lordship very well knows what necessarily thence will follow; to wit, that we still do worship in vain, are yet in our sins, and finally shall be damned: and this is that which I have to say.
Then was Pickthank sworn, and bid say what he knew, in behalf of their lord the king, against the prisoner at the bar.
Pickthank. My lord, and you gentlemen all, this fellow I have known a long time, and have heard him speak things that ought not to be spoken, for he hath railed on our noble Prince Beelzebub, and hath spoke contemptuously of his honorable friends, who names are, the Lord Old-man, the Lord Carnal-delight, the Lord Luxurious, the Lord Desire-of-vainglory, my old Lord Lechery, Sir Having Greedy, with all the rest of our nobility . . .
Judge. When this Pickthank had told his tale, the judge directed his speech to the prisoner at the bar, saying, "Thou runagate, heretic, and traitor! Hast thou heard what these honest gentlemen have witnessed against thee?"
Faithful. May I speak a few words in my own defense?
Judge. Sirrah, sirrah, thou deservest to live no longer, but to be slain immediately upon the place; yet, that all men may see our gentleness toward thee, let us hear what thou, vile runagate hast to say.
Faithful. 1. I say, then, in answer to what Mr. Envy hath spoken, I have never said aught but this, that what rule, or laws, or customs, or people were flat against the Word of God, are diametrically opposite to Christianity. If I have said amiss in this, convince me of my error, and I am ready here before you to make my recantation.
2. As to the second, to wit, Mr. Superstition and his charge against me, I said only this, that in the worship of God there is required a divine faith. But there can be no divine faith without a divine revelation of the will of God. Therefore, whatever is thrust into the worship of God that is not agreeable to divine revelation, cannot be done but by a human faith, which faith will not profit to eternal life.
3. As to what Mr. Pickthank hath said, I say (avoiding terms, as that I am said to rail, and the like), that the prince of this town, with all the rabblement his attendants, by this gentleman names, are more fit for a being in hell than in this town and country. And so the Lord have mercy upon me!
Then the judge called to the jury (who all this while stood by to hear and observe): "Gentlemen of the jury, you see this man about whom so great an uproar hath been made in this town; you have also heard what these worthy gentlemen have witnessed against him; also you have heard his reply and confession. It lieth now in your breast to hang him or to save his life . . . and he deserveth to die the death."
Then went the jury out, whose names were Mr. Blind-man, Mr. No-good, Mr. Malice, Mr. Love-lust, Mr. Live-loose, Mr. Heady, Mr. High-mind, Mr. Enmity, Mr. Liar, Mr. Cruelty, Mr. Hate-light, and Mr. Implacable, who every one gave in his private verdict against him among themselves, and afterwards unanimously concluded to bring him in guilty before the judge . . . And so they did: therefore he was presently condemned to be had from the place where he was, to the place from whence he came, and there to be put to the most cruel death that could be invented.
They therefore brought him out to do with him according to their law; and first they scourged him, then they buffeted him, then they lanced his flesh with knives; after that they stoned him with stones, then pricked him with their swords, and, last of all, they burned him to ashes at the stake. Thus came Faithful to his end.
Now, I saw there stood behind the multitude a chariot and a couple of horses waiting for Faithful, who (so soon as his adversaries had dispatched him) was taken up into it, and straightway was carried up through the clouds with sound of trumpet the nearest way to the Celestial Gate. But as for Christian, he had some respite, and was remanded back to prison; so he there remained for a space. But He who overrules all things, having the power of their rage in His own hand, so wrought it about that Christian for that time escaped them, and went his way . . .
Now, I saw in my dream, that Christian went forth not alone; for there was one whose name was Hopeful (being so made by the beholding of Christian and Faithful in their words and behavior in their sufferings at the fair), who joined himself unto him, and, entering into a brotherly covenant, told him that he would be his companion. Thus one died to bear testimony to the truth, and another rises out of his ashes to be a companion with Christian in his pilgrimage. This Hopeful also told Christian that there were many more of the men in the fair that would take their time and follow after.
"Beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, hold yourself off from lower nature cravings, which wage war against the soul; having your behavior beautiful among the Gentiles: that wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may out of your beautiful works intently look upon, extol God in the day of inspection" (translated from Greek).
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There must be a good deal more affected by pain that we know of at present. It seems essentially connected with fruitfulness -- natural and spiritual. -- Hudson Taylor
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