AN IMPORTANT ELECTION
In a few days the citizens of the United States will participate in an important election. With increasing tension and frustration in the world each succeeding election becomes more important. The American electorate is choosing not just the leader of our country but a leader of the free world. Thus tremendous responsibility rests upon the voter.
There is also another election. The most important election of all. Peter tells us in his Epistle in the New Testament: "Make your calling and election sure" (2 Peter 1:10). This has to do with the salvation of your eternal soul. This heavenly "ballot" contains the all-important question: Will you be saved? God has voted Yes; Satan has voted No. This makes it a tie. Your vote must decide the issue. What will it be? Will you vote Yes with God to make your calling and election sure; or will you vote No with Satan against your salvation? I would remind you in the words of Scripture, "Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation" (II Corinthians 6:2).
For instructions on how to vote, please note the following Scriptures:
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:31).
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36).
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved" (John 3:17).
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved: (Acts 4:12).
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).
If you will by faith consent to your own salvation, this will make it a majority -- God and you -- and will assure you of a place in heaven. If you "vote" with Satan No, then again it is a majority, but this way seals your eternal doom. This is an important election. And you must cast your vote. The issue is clear. This may be your last opportunity.
-- Editor.
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"But now in Christ Jesus ye who once were far off are made near by the blood of Christ."
Ephesians 2:13
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WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME?
By William MacDonald
Here is the most common question of the day, and perhaps it is the one question that is uppermost in your own mind at this very moment. Maybe sickness has come into your life with its suffering, its expenses and its gnawing uncertainty. Or again, it could be that death has struck your family circle with its own peculiar sorrow. Perhaps it is an accident that has upset your most cherished plans, or family strife that has brought misery and unhappiness into your home. Possibly your fondest dreams have been shattered by tragedy, debt or unemployment. For some reason or other, you are despondent, worried, nervous and ill. You wonder if life is worth living, and ask yourself, repeatedly, "Why did God let this happen to me?"
It is a good question to ask, and, incidentally, it is the only sane approach to finding the answer to your present difficulty. You could adopt the attitude of bold defiance, of course, and grimly determine to fight against your trials. Or you could just give up with the fatalistic attitude that your troubles are unavoidable anyway. But the best policy is to ask yourself quietly and calmly, "Why did God allow this to come into my life?"
Your first temptation might be to reason that God is punishing you for some sin that you have committed. While this could very possibly be true, it is obviously not the principal reason for your distress. If God's main purpose were punishment, He could have taken your life away altogether. Instead of that, He has purposely extended your life so that your question might be answered.
"Why," you ask, "did this happen to me?"
The answer is that God wants to speak to you. He has tried to speak to you before, but as long as things were going well with you, you weren't interested in listening. He knows that the only way to get your attention is to allow trials to come into your life. He is so interested in you that He is even willing to permit you to suffer for a short time if only as a result you might be made happy forever.
God has four purposes for you in these trials. First of all, He wants you to feel your need for help. Secondly, He wants you to realize your inability to help yourself. Again, He wants you to abandon all hope of obtaining relief from your fellow-men. Finally, He wants you to cast yourself on Him and ask Him to save you.
You see, if you had died before now, you would have been lost throughout all eternity. Your sins have never been forgiven, and because of this, you would have been barred from Heaven forever.
But God does not want you to perish. In order that He might have an honorable way of forgiving your sins, He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die on the Cross of Calvary. Christ died for ungodly sinners so that they might be forgiven. Three days after His burial, the Saviour rose again, and then some time later, He went back to Heaven, where He is at this very moment, waiting to save you.
Now here is the message which God is trying to make you understand. If you will acknowledge your sins and receive the Son of God as your Lord and Saviour, He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life in Heaven. He has definitely promised this in His Word, the Holy Bible, and He cannot go back on His promise.
"Verily, Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life" (John's Gospel, chapter 6, verse 47).
The great question which you must face just now is this, "Will I or will I not open the door of my heart and welcome the Lord as my Saviour?"
If you refuse Him, you will only go out to face further sorrow and disappointment in this life, and everlasting woe in the next.
If you receive Him, you will be given strength to bear every trial and testing on earth, and will be guaranteed unending joy in Heaven.
No matter how severe your troubles are just now, they would be well worth every throbbing pain, every falling tear, and every crushing heartache if they were the means of bringing you to Christ. You would then say with the Psalmist David:
"It is good for me that I have been afflicted . . . for in my distress I cried unto the Lord and He heard me" (Psalm 119:71; 120:1).
Whatever then your problem may be, make it a steppingstone to Christ.
From a tract published by Good News Publishers, Westchester, IL.
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HE IS PRECIOUS
By Chas. H. Spurgeon
As all the rivers run into the sea, so all delights center in our Beloved.
The glances of His eyes outshine the sun: the beauties of His face are fairer than the choicest flowers: no fragrance is like the breath of His mouth.
Gems of the mine, and pearls from the sea, are worthless things when measured by His preciousness.
Peter tells us that Jesus is precious (I Peter 2:7), but he did not and could not tell us how precious, nor could any of us compute the value of God's unspeakable Gift.
Words cannot set forth the preciousness of the Lord Jesus to His people, nor fully tell how essential He is to their satisfaction and happiness.
Believer, have you not found in the midst of plenty a sore famine if your Lord has been absent?
The sun was shining, but Christ had hidden Himself, and all the world was black to you; or it was night, and since the bright and morning Star was gone, no other star could yield you so much as a ray of light.
What a howling wilderness is this world without our Lord!
If once He hideth Himself from us, withered are the flowers of our garden; our pleasant fruits decay; the birds suspend their songs, and a tempest overturns our hopes.
All earth's candles cannot make daylight if the Sun of Righteousness be eclipsed.
He is the Soul of our soul, the Light of our light, the Life of our life.
Dear reader, what wouldst thou do in the world without Him, in the midst of its temptations and its cares?
What wouldest thou do in the morning without Him, when thou wakest up and lookest forward to the day's battle?
What wouldst thou do at night, when thou comest home jaded and weary, if there were no door of fellowship between thee and Christ?
Blessed be His name, He will not suffer us to try our lot without Him, for Jesus never forsakes His own.
Yet, let the thought of what life would be without Him enhance His preciousness.
In "Morning and Evening." published by Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI.
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PAT FOUND THE ANSWER
By Chas. H. Spurgeon
Once when I was in the vestry, an Irishman came to see me. Pat began by making a low bow, and saying, "Now, your Reverence, I have come to ask you a question."
"Oh," said I, "Pat, I am not a Reverence; it is not a title I care for; but what is your question? and how is it you have not been to your priest about it?"
He said, "I have been to him, but I don't like his answer."
"Well, what is your question?"
Said he, "God is just, and if God be just He must punish my sins. I deserve to be punished. If He is a just God, He ought to punish me; yet you say God is merciful, and will forgive sins. I cannot see how that is right; He has no right to do that. He ought to be just, and punish those who deserve it. Tell me how God can be just, and yet be merciful."
"That is through the Blood of Christ."
"Yes," said he, "That is what my priest said, you are very much alike there. But he said a good deal besides, that I did not understand; and that short answer does not satisfy me. I want to know how it is that the Blood of Jesus Christ enables God to be just, and yet to be merciful."
Then I saw what he wanted to know, and explained the plan of salvation thus:
"Now, Pat, suppose you had killed a man and the judge had said, 'That Irishman must be hanged!' "
He said quickly, "And I should have richly deserved to be hanged."
"But, Pat, suppose I was very fond of you, can you see any way by which I could save you from being hanged?"
"No sir, I cannot."
"Then suppose I went to the Queen, and said, 'Please your majesty, I am very find of this Irishman. I think the judge was quite right saying that he must be hanged, but let me be hanged instead and you will then carry out the law.' Of course the Queen could not agree to my proposal; but suppose she could -- and God can for He has power greater than all kings and queens -- and suppose the Queen should have me hanged instead of you, do you think the policeman would take you up afterwards?"
He at once said, "No, I should think not; they would not meddle with me; but if they did, I should say, "What are you doing? did not that gentleman condescend to be hung for me! Let me alone; shure and you don't want to hang two people for the same thing do ye?"
I replied to the Irishman, "Ah, my friend, you have hit it; that is the way whereby we are saved! God must punish sin. Christ said, My Father, punish Me instead of the sinner, and His Father did. God laid on His beloved Son Jesus Christ, the whole burden of our sins, and all their punishment and chastisement, and now that Christ is punished instead of us, God would not be just is He were to punish any sinner who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. If thou believest in Jesus Christ the well-beloved and only-begotten Son of God, thou art saved and thou mayest go on thy way rejoicing."
"Faith," said the man, clapping his hands. "That's the Gospel. Pat is safe now; with all his sins about him, he'll trust in the Man who died for him, and so he shall be saved."
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REMEMBERED
"Fear not . . . thou shalt not be forgotten of Me." -- Isaiah 44:2,21.
"Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee." -- Isaiah 49:15.
Thus said the Lord: I remember thee." -- Jeremiah 2:2.
Not forgotten, but remembered!
Child of God, trust on with cheer!
Thy great Father's help is promised
Every day throughout the year.
Not forsaken -- but most precious
Thou wilt ever to Him be;
Tenderly He whispers, "Fear not!
I, the Lord, remember thee!"
Not forgotten, but remembered,
Is the pledge of Love Divine!
He who loves and understands us,
Best can plan thy path and mine
His own Word cannot be broken,
"As thy days thy strength shall be,"
He, Himself, the word hath spoken --
"I, the Lord, remember thee!"
Not forgotten, but remembered --
In His love for thee He planned,
Chosen, sealed, thy name engraven
On His pierced and peerless hand.
When He calls thee, "Come up higher,"
Thou shalt then His wonders see --
Wonders of His mighty promise --
"I, the Lord, remember thee!"
-- L. C. Hasler.
From a tract published by Faith, Prayer & Tract League, Grand Rapids MI.
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FOLLOWERS OF GOD
"Be ye, therefore, followers of God, as dear children"
(Ephesians 5:1).
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." Not ALL are children of God, but all who have placed their faith in Christ Jesus are children of God. If you are one of His dear children, "be ye, therefore, followers of God . . . "
"Followers" means "imitators." Be ye imitators of God. In what respect? Well, we should love what He loves and hate what He hates. God loves righteousness and hates evil. God the Father loves most of all the personification of righteousness -- His only begotten Son whom He calls, "The Son of His love." If we are to be imitators of God as His children, then we must love His only begotten Son too.
We are bound to Him by love. God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (acceptable sacrifice) for our sins. God the Father loved -- and sent the Son of His love; Christ loved -- and died for us; we love Him -- because He first loved us. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us. What is in our heart as God's dear children wants to be shed abroad in our church, community, and world. That ye might abound therein yet more and more.
But there is another side to the coin. God testifies of the ancient patriarch, Job, that "that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and shunned evil." If we are to imitate God, we too must hate sin. Sin is against God. We may sin against our fellow men, or against ourselves, but primarily sin is against our God. Sin had its origin with Satan, the arch enemy of God. When we sin we are siding with the devil against God.
The Bible declares of the child of God that sin shall not have dominion over him. The true child of God does not practice sin or make sin a way of life. He is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise and is expected not to grieve nor quench nor hinder the operation of the Holy One. "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not . . . "
B U T
". . . And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world," including yours!! (I John2:1,2).
Since God hates evil, He shall see to its final annihilation, and our complete deliverance from its presence and influence. What a glorious and wonderful day that shall be for all God's children and followers. We shall see our Lord, and be like Him, and be with Him forever, dwelling in righteousness.
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DO YOU LOVE JESUS?
By Pastor Edward Drew
A very wealthy man lost his wife when his only child was very young. Then there came into his home a housekeeper to take care of that boy. The boy lived until he was of age, and then he died. The man had no other relatives; and he died heartbroken soon after the boy died. He had no one to leave his enormous wealth to, and there was a question about what would become of his possessions. They could find no will. It looked as if it would all pass over to the state. At last it was taken over by the state, and they held a sale to dispose of his personal effects, at the mansion where he had lived.
The old housekeeper who had brought up that boy from infancy, not having any money of her own, being just as poor as when she began to work for this wealthy man and keep house for him, went to the sale. There was only one thing she wanted. She couldn't buy the furniture, she couldn't buy the expensive rugs, but there was a picture on a wall in that house, a picture of the boy.
She loved that boy. He had been to her a son, although she held no relationship to him. When the picture came to be sold, nobody else wanted it, and she bought it just for a few cents, and took it home. It had been hanging on the wall for some time, and she thought she would clean it, take the back out, take the glass out, and polish it. But when she took it apart, some important looking papers fell out. They were given to a lawyer, who said to the woman, "I guess you have fallen and landed on your feet this time. This man has left all his wealth to the one who loved his son enough to buy that picture."
God will do anything for those who love His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you love Jesus?
-- In "3000 Illustrations," by Walter B. Knight, published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI.
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AGAINST A THORN
Once I heard a song of sweetness
As it cleft the morning air,
Sounding in its blest completeness,
Like a tender pleading prayer;
And I sought to find the singer,
Whence the wondrous song was born,
And I found a bird, sore wounded,
Pinioned by an ugly thorn.
I have seen a soul of sadness
While its wings with pain were furled,
Giving hope and cheer and gladness
That should bless a weeping world;
And I knew that life of sweetness,
Was of pain and sorrow borne,
And a stricken soul was singing
With its heart against a thorn.
Ye are told of One who loves you,
Of a Saviour crucified,
Ye are told of nails that pinioned,
And a spear that pierced His side;
Ye are told of cruel scourging,
Of a Saviour bearing scorn,
And He died for your salvation,
With His brow against a thorn.
Ye are not above the Master!
Will you breathe a sweet refrain?
And His grace will be sufficient,
When your heart is pierced with pain;
Will you live to bless His loved ones,
Tho' your life be bruised and torn,
Like a bird that sang so sweetly
With its heart against a thorn?
-- In "3000 Illustrations," Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI.
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