All The Counsel of God

Beware of Drifting Along!

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip” (Hebrews 2:1)

There is nothing easier than drifting; but at the same time, there is nothing that can be more dangerous. While this holds true on any sea, it becomes even more serious when we think of life’s sea. Where few would ever dare to drift in any boat, many seem unconcerned about drifting along through life. Therefore, we need this warning from God’s Word. We need to realize the awful consequences of drifting along.

In the first place, the drifter is always going down. No one ever drifts upstream. The law of gravity applies spiritually, too. It is easy to float downstream. Oh, the many that are doing it! To go the way of the world with the crowd is the easy way of the drifter, but it is the way down to Hell itself.

The drifter not only is going down, but even worse is the fact that he is seldom aware of it. For the most part, he does not even realize that he is drifting. The drifter becomes so much like Samson of whom we read, ” … he wist not that the LORD was departed from him” (Judges 16:20). The currents that cause drifting are often barely perceptible. We drift before we know it. That is why we need to constantly keep our bearings and have our port in view.

The devil seldom urges a Christian to leave the church or give up his faith in the Lord. His strategy is more subtle than that. He just seeks to cause us to relax – to rest on the oars and drift along in our Christian life.

Are there not many Christians who have drifted into a state of coldness and indifference in this way? They have seemingly forgotten their conversion experience with its sense of guilt concerning sin and subsequent joy in coming to the Lord. The truths of sin and grace which once so strongly gripped their hearts and consciences have become so familiar that they now fall on almost deaf ears. Their “first love” for the Lord and for the souls of men has been largely left; and other things, though good and legitimate, have taken first place.

This is the peril of drifting. We must recognize it. We must beware of its deceitfulness and also realize “it can happen to me.”

Drifting along is so serious. If we continue drifting along, we will ultimately come to ruin. The waters may still seem placid, but the rapids, and finally the falls, are sure to come at last. Besides, all the time we are drifting, we are not only ruining ourselves, but we are also endangering the lives of others. Just as derelicts endanger other ships, so aimless, ambitionless, spiritual drifters are often a menace to the spiritual welfare of others.

Are you drifting along? Heed the songwriter’s plea: “Drift no longer! Let Jesus Save.”

Our Walk with the Lord Jesus Christ Amos 3:3

Walk-to live and act or behave; to pursue a particular course of life

People that walked with God pleased God

Genesis 5:22-24 – Enoch walked with God

Genesis 6:9 – Noah walked with God

Genesis 17:1 – God charges Abraham to walk before the LORD (Abraham’s response; Genesis 24:40)

The Lord requires it

What does it mean to walk with God? The word “walk” and it’s variations appear over 400 times in the Holy Bible and most of the time it doesn’t refer to literally walking with your feet, buy obeying the Lord and living in accordance to his ways and will. Micah 6:8 & Deuteronomy 10:12 – What the Lord requires of thee Exodus 16:4 – walk in his law (see Exodus 18:20, Leviticus 18:4, Deuteronomy 5:32-33) Jeremiah 7:22-24 Walk in his ways Psalm 119:1

Negative walking

Leviticus 20:23 – walk not like the nations, II Kings 17:8 Deuteronomy 8:19 – walk after other gods I Kings 15:1-5 – heart not perfect before the LORD II Kings 10:31 – didn’t walk with all of his heart II Kings 17:19 – they made up their own rules Job 31:7 – walk not after thine eyes (walk by faith not by sight II Cor 5:7)

Promises

Psalm 84:11 not withhold good things to them that walk aright

Proverbs 2:7 Shield to those that walk uprightly

Other Verses

Jeremiah 10:23 The way of man is not in himself Proverbs 13:20 Walk with the wise Hosea 14:9 The Lord’s ways are right Proverbs 14:2 Walking shows your fear of the LORD Jeremiah 6:16 Find rest unto your souls (see also Matthew 11:28-30) Jeremiah 18:11-12 On backsliding Micah 2:7 His words do good to them that walketh uprightly Luke 1:6 Walking in the commands and ordinances of God renders one blameless NT on walking Romans 8:1, 4 Walk after the Spirit Galatians 5:16 Walk in the Spirit I John 1:7 and Proverbs 16:3 Walking, committing works to God establish thoughts II John 1:6 This is love, walk in his commandments

David Livingstone, the missionary who laid down his life to open the dark continent of Africa, said, “Difficulties? What are difficulties? Just things to be overcome.”

Our day demands that every believer have this kind of victorious faith. Recently, a leading religious periodical characterized American Christianity as “lifeless, pessimistic, and defeated.” If this analysis holds even a grain of truth, there is an urgent need for people who have winning faith.

In 1 Samuel 17, we find the story of a young man who arrived at a battlefield to find the army of his nation paralyzed with fear. A boisterous representative of military might named Goliath had challenged them, and they were afraid to accept the challenge. David, the young shepherd, clothed in the lightest possible armour, strong in

the Lord, and armed with faith, decided to go into battle against this giant. David’s faith in God brought victory that day. From his experience, we learn that the believer’s dynamic power flows from faith in God.

The winner’s faith will withstand severe challenges. As young David came onto the field of combat, Goliath said to him, ” … Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field” (1 Samuel 17:44). What a challenge to David’s faith! Yet he marched on to victory.

Every day believers face severe challenges, but faith will not tum or run. As C. H. Spurgeon said, “Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.”

These challenges may come in the form of overwhelming obstacles. David was told concerning Goliath, ” … thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth” (1 Samuel17:33). The critics today say, “Why don’t you Christians give up? You will never win the world.” The obstacles may be great, but it is ours to face them in the strength of the Lord. Though everyone else stands like a stunned animal in fear and dismay, we should strive to overcome the obstacles.

These challenges may come in the form of disheartening rebukes. David’s faith was severely rebuked. David’s brother told him, ” … 1 know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart … ” (1 Samuel 17:28). Saul said, ” … Thou art not able to go against this Philistine … ” (1 Samuel 17: 33). Whenever anyone gets out of the battle line, such rebukes follow. His motives, his faithfulness, and his abilities will be questioned, but the winner’s faith will not falter.

The winner’s faith will provide unshakable confidence. No Christian should believe that he has the strength within himself to face all the battles of life. He should believe that nothing is impossible for him if God furnishes the power. David was able to say, ” … The LORD … will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine … ” (1 Samuel 17:37).

The winner’s faith will provide unshakable confidence in his God. In David’s little phrase, ” … The LORD that delivered me … ” (1 Samuel17:37, we find utmost confidence in God. The great, loving, redeeming God we serve has led us to victory over the curse of sin by saving us. Now we can believe that no need shall go unfulfilled when we trust Him to provide.

Winner’s faith will provide unshakable confidence in his cause. The cause of telling the world about Christ and perfecting the saints is even greater than that of taking away ” … the reproach from Israel…” ( 1 Samuel17 :26).

The winner’s faith will provide unshakable confidence in himself. David was able to say, “Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them … ” (1 Samuel17:36). We need nothing to puff us up with pride, but we do need a quiet confidence that God can use us as channels for service.

The winner’s faith will produce sure conquest. When we live in constant doubt, we walk a treadmill; and the work we attempt to do for God never seems to bear fruit. I Samuel 17:50 gives us a thumbnail sketch of the battle between David and Goliath, “So David prevailed over the Philistine … ” David had done the impossible.

This conquest brings glory to God. ” … that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:46) should be the motive behind every victory we seek. Dawson Trotman once said, “In all that I do, I want men to see no one but Jesus.”

This conquest encourages God’s people. The armies of Israel stood in fear of the Philistines until Goliath fell, and then ” … the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines … ” (1 Samuel17:52).

F. B. Meyer was speaking in the spirit of the winner’s faith when he told his congregation, “We never test the resources of God until we attempt the impossible.” There are times when it seems that the task is too large, our abilities too small, and the world too unfriendly. These are the times for us to lay the situation squarely before God. When we do this, we, like David, can slay our “Goliaths.”

Jenny Lind, a famous singer, wrote of the day on which she discovered her powers as a singer, “I got up that morning one creature; I went to bed another creature. I had found my power.” The whole outlook of her life was transformed. She “came alive” and stepped out into the world.

In a far greater sense, the person who meets Jesus and surrenders to Him finds his life transformed, his outlook

revolutionized, his life made new. The Apostle Paul said, ” … if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5: 17).

The message of the New Testament demands a new creation, a complete and radical change in man’s nature. Education, reformation, character building- none of these is sufficient. Jesus did not come to patch up our sinful nature, to cover over our weakness, to gild our unloveliness.

Jesus came, instead, to make us new. Christ’s love changes the center of life. The power of the cross operative in our life constrains us to a new service. We should echo the testimony of Paul, who said, “For the love of Christ constraineth us … ” (2 Corinthians 5:14). This is the “henceforth” of my new life. My new life is no longer centered in self, but in Christ. My life has a new center, a new control.

If a rocket were shot into space without any effort to return it to earth, or to cause it to establish an orbit about the earth, it would wander aimlessly and without purpose through the darkness and coldness of vast space. But if it were to establish an orbit about the warm sun, the darkness and coldness would be dispelled, and it would receive the benefits of light and warmth- it would be moving around the source of life. When we do not have Christ as the center of our lives, we are as the rocket aimlessly wandering through the darkness and chill. We are free to roam, but what good does our freedom do us? But centered in Christ, we enjoy the light of warmth of His presence.

The one who is growing in Christ, who has Christ as the center of his life and who is victorious over sin, is to go on to useful service. ” … from henceforth thou shalt catch men” (Luke 5:10), Jesus said to three of His disciples. In the new Christian life you are to be a soulwinner. Probably you will not see thousands turn to the Lord, as did Peter on the day of Pentecost, but if you so live and so witness that even one soul is in Heaven because of you, you can rejoice throughout eternity.

G “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14).

0 “0 come, let us sing unto the Lord … ” (Psalm 95: 1 ).

0 “Our help is in the name of the LoRD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:8)

D “Delight thyself also in the LoRD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 3 7:4 ).

N “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1 Corinthians 13: 13 ).

E “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise … ” (Psalm 1 00:4).

W “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith … ” (1 Corinthians 16: 13).

S “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

The coming of God in the flesh is essential to eternal redemption for mankind. Anyone born into this world receives Adamic life and an Adamic nature, for the purpose of expression and fellowship with life as found in this present world. But this present life and world is under the judgment and curse of Almighty God. This condemnation has come because of sin. You and I must be delivered from this present kingdom of darkness, sin, and Satan into the kingdom of God, or we will not have life eternal. The question that confronts all who are in this life is how to escape the judgment of God that abides upon those who are confined in the kingdom of darkness. We entered this kingdom of darkness by being born into it. One enters the kingdom of God by means of the new birth.

The Lord Jesus, in John 3:3, says that to be born of the flesh and not of the Spirit means one cannot see the kingdom of God, hence the absolute need of the new birth. Unless one is born the second time while still living in this life, he will not see nor enter into the kingdom of God.?

MAN’S WAYS ARE NOT GOD’S WAYS

Many individuals who have become aware of sin and its problems have devised many ways, to their own liking, to escape the judgment at death and to enter into salvation in the life to come. But man’s ways are only a continuation of the way of death and darkness. In order to escape the inevitable result of this present life into which we have been born, God says we need to be born again- by the Spirit of God- that we might enter into His kingdom of light and life. The Lord Jesus Christ, knowing and recognizing these truths and principles,spoke to Nicodemus and said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:6-7).

How did this Teacher, Jesus Christ, know this? Was He just smarter than those living at His time? Did He come upon a truth that others had overlooked? What is the answer to this situation? You and I might speculate and reason on this for some time, but even if we were to hit on the truth of the matter, we would not know it as the truth because ” … the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” ( 1 Corinthians 2: 14).

The kingdom of darkness into which we have come by our first birth, which is a natural, adamic birth, can only be overcome by a second birth which is “from above.” The second birth will cause the first one to be laid aside by death that the second may continue for eternity. Hence by means of a second birth and that “from above”(heavenly), one born into the kingdom of darkness can now be translated into the kingdom of light. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10: 13).

Jesus said in John 14:6, ” .. .1 am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” He is the Way; He is the Truth; He is the Life. He came to this world of darkness for the purpose of giving to mankind ” … the way, the truth, and the life …. ” Who is this person called Jesus the Christ?

CHRIST WAS GOD IN THE FLESH

Jesus the Christ, according to the Bible, is God in the flesh. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3:16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

William H. Bowler, in his book, The Virgin Birth, states, “God will not permit any controversy on this matter. This is an ‘either-or’ statement. Either you believe God, or you call Him a liar. There is no middle ground, and no controversy about it, and no room for human interpretation or opinion!” Again he states, “If Jesus Christ were not the Son of God and God the Son, then the cross of Calvary was only a sham, and the death of Christ was only the death of one who was deceived. If Jesus Christ were not the virgin-born Son of God, then His blood could never cleanse from sin. The Bible says that we are redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:19). But if Jesus Christ were not virgin-born, His blood would have no more value than your blood! Do you see what difference it makes whether or not we believe in the virgin birth and deity of Christ? It makes the difference between Heaven and Hell!”

In John 1: 1, we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Then in verse 14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Jesus the Christ is God in human form. Philippians 2:5-8 very clearly presents this truth, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, 0 God” (Hebrews 1 0:4-7).

CHRIST’S BODY HAD TO BE SINLESS

The Scriptures teach that God was manifest to mankind in a body of flesh. It was in that body that Christ bore our sins to Calvary. It was the blood shed from that body that cleanses from sin (Hebrews 10:4).

In the Incarnation of God, the kind of body is important. It must be a sinless body. The record of Scripture is that God has used four ways to produce human bodies:

1. By the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7).

2. By the rib from Adam (Genesis 2:22).

3. By uniting man and woman (Genesis4:1).

4. By the power of the Holy Spirit and the virgin (Matthew 1:20).

The last or fourth way is known as the “seed of the woman.” This is the manner of providing the body for the Christ. Genesis 3: 15 states, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” God is here saying that by the Seed of the woman, He will overcome Satan. The Redeemer is to be of human form, derived from the woman. Isaiah 7:14 says, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The angelic messenger to Joseph, in Matthew 1:20-21, states, “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins”

CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS

The doctrine of Scripture as to the Incarnation is that God took upon Himself a human body. That body was without sin, for it was conceived by the Holy Ghost of the virgin Mary. God in that body lived the kind of life His Word commanded us to live. Then, at Calvary, he paid the price of our sins by the shedding of His blood on our behalf. Praise God, we now have a Saviour in the person of Jesus the Christ who lived for us in the flesh, a life without sin, and then died for the sin we had committed. Only God could be that kind of Saviour!

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God” (John 1 :1-2).

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:8-14 ).

The greatest event that has ever taken place in the history of the world was the coming into it of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of mankind. The first promise of the coming of a Saviour is found in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” In Isaiah 7:14, we learn that He was to be born of a virgin, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel”; and in Isaiah 9:6, we are told that ” … his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The MightyGod, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” God honoured Micah and Daniel in allowing them to tell where and when He would be born, (Micah 5; Daniel 9). As we know, the birth of Christ took place as foretold by the Old Testament prophets.

The story of the birth of Jesus is simply told, and it is the “sweetest story ever told.” The angels proclaimed it; the shepherds heard and believed it. They said one to another, ” … Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us” (Luke 2:15). As a result of their trip to Bethlehem, we are told that they ” … returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen,as it was told unto them” (Luke 2:20).

People have been told the story of the birth of Jesus ever since that first Christmas Day. Many have believed it and accepted Christ as Saviour, and they, too, have glorified and praised God continually for

this wonderful Saviour. Down through the ages the saints have sung His praises and have told the glad news of salvation from sin through His atoning work on the cross, and souls have been saved and born again as a result of their testimony.

Oh, let the glad news ring out! “The story of salvation repeat over and over,” for there are countless multitudes who have never heard it. When the angels announced His birth, the humble shepherds hastened to Bethlehem to worship and adore. The wise men saw His star in the East, and they traveled weary miles to behold Him, and to lay their gifts at His feet. Centuries have rolled by since that glad day, and history has repeated itself many times. For the plain people of earth, the unlearned, and the children have sought and found Him, and the wise and learned, many of them, have received the news of salvation with glad hearts, have left all, and followed Him.

The world was steeped in sin; it needed a Saviour. The world today is still steeped in sin, and men still need the redeeming grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many are accepting Him, praise God! Jeremiah the prophet said, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). It is from the Word of God that men learn of Christ, the Saviour of mankind. How glad and thankful we who love Him and are giving out the Word should be, in doing what we can to tell others “the sweetest story every told.” This story of the One who was to be called ” … JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21 ), is being told to men of every race and country.

Men, alas, are still sinning against God, even as they were when the Saviour came nineteen hundred years ago. But let us keep reminding them of Romans 6:23, which says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The Old Testament Scriptures predicted the coming of a
Messiah who would be both a Saviour and a King. Prophecy became
history in Jesus Christ. At His first coming, ” … the LORD hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6), and when He comes again,
” … the government shall be upon his shoulder … ” {Isaiah 9:6).
The Lord’s return for the church and His subsequent coming
with the church to reign over the earth forms the Christian hope and
solution to the problems of a chaotic world. The Scripture reveals
numerous blessings bound up in that wonderful hope.

A HOPE OF RESURRECTION
The Apostle Paul tells us that following the archangel’s shout,
announcing the coming of Christ, believers in Christ who have died
shall be raised (1 Thessalonians 4: 16). This is the first resurrection or
the resurrection of life (John 5:28-29).
The happy state of those sharing resurrection at Christ’s
coming is described in Revelation 20:6, “Blessed and holy is he
that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death
hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ,
and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

A HOPE OF RAPTURE
Immediately following the resurrection of the dead in Christ,
believers who are living at that time shall be caught up to meet the
Lord in the air, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in
the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians
4: 17). The Lord spoke of this blessed hope to His disciples in John
14:2-3, ” … 1 go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also.”

A HOPE OF REUNION
Resurrected believers and living saints are to be caught up
together to meet the Lord in the air “Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to
meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord”(1 Thessalonians 4:17). What a happy reunion that will be! Husbands
and wives shall be joined again, broken fam1ly circles restored,
friends and loved ones shall meet, never to be parted again.

A HOPE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
“For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of
righteousness by faith” (Galatians 5:5). “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; f or we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). God has predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son…” (Romans 8:29). Not only to be sinless but to be unable to sin! “And every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:3).

A HOPE OF RESTORATION
The redemptive work of Christ shall then lift the curse of sin
from the whole groaning creation. “For the earnest expectation of
the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God
(Romans 8:19). “For we know that the whole creation groaneth
and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22). Then
shall the desert bloom as a rose, and thorns and thistles shall give
way to fruitful vines and trees. The lion and the lamb shall lie down
together. All nature shall rejoice and bring forth in abundance (read
Isaiah 35).

HOPE OF REWARD
When our glorious King returns, He shall bring His rewards
with Him, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with
me, to give every man according as his work shall be”
(Revelation 22: 12). Every act of kindness done in His name, all work
built upon the foundation Christ Jesus, which abides the test of His
judgment, shall be richly rewarded.

A HOPE OF REIGNING
Those who follow the path of humiliation marked out by
His nail-pierced feet shall be exalted with Him. ” … and they shall
reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:5). The willing victim of
the cross shall one day wear the victor’s crown. The Saviour shall
be acclaimed Sovereign. He shall be glorified in the innumerable
hosts of the redeemed!

In Galatians 4:4, we read, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.” Thus, according to the Word of God, the coming of Christ into the world and His lowly birth of the virgin were pre-arranged even to the setting of the very hour. This indicates that in God’s great program of redemption, there is neither confusion or chance, but perfect order and plan.

God is never ahead of His program, and surely never behind. As the first coming of our Lord was according to God’s prearranged plan, even so His second coming to earth will be according to His own set time. The church’s social schemes are not going to hasten the coming of His glorious kingdom. The world’s rejection of His program is not going to delay His return, “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Hebrews 10:37).

Christ’s first coming into the world brought light to the lost, life to the perishing, comfort to those that mourned, and joy to those who waited in hope; but alas, only sorrow and darkness to the many who rejected Him! We read that “He came unto His own, and his own received Him not” (John 1: 11). The tragic record of the overthrow of Jerusalem, with the destruction of the beautiful temple, and the scattering of Israel in unbelief among the nations, was but the aftermath of the nation’s sad rejection of Jesus, their Messiah.

There are many signs today that indicate the near approach of His second advent to earth. That advent will mean joy and glory to those that look for that ” … blessed hope … ” (Titus 2:13), but sadness and wailing to those who have rejected His claims and refused His grace.

Today we look in vain for anything hopeful among the many schemes of the nations for world peace. Our soon-returning Lord alone can establish peace. Furthermore, abiding peace and lasting joy can only come to every individual sinner by acknowledging Him as Saviour and crowning Him as Lord of all. Do you know and live for Christ?

A little boy, with sad heart and tearful eyes, wended his way out into the field and sat down on a log where he thought no one would see or hear. “All these things I have been told about Santa Claus are only lies … and stork’s don’t bring babies at all … I wonder if there’s any truth in what they tell me about Jesus.”

Reader, this little boy was not the writer of these lines, but he has my deepest sympathy. I barely escaped a thrashing as a boy of ten for telling my younger brothers and sisters there was no truth in the Santa Claus story. Do you suppose I ever regained the respect I lost for my father through that incident?

As I remember my past experience, I think I would have been saved at a very early age had it not been for the lies told me in the name of Christianity.

This little boy continued to muse on his mental and spiritual disaster, “Papa and mamma tell me lies about Santa, and about babies, and about many other things; but if l tell them a lie, I get a whipping … I wonder how old little boys must be before it is right for them to tell lies. What is there so wicked about being born that papa and mamma must lie about it?”

There is never any reason for telling lies to children or for treating them in such a manner as to give them a horror of sacred things.

Do you wonder that your children grow up without faith in Christ when you tell them lies? If you are to prudish to tell your children the truth about the origin of life, why tell them a lie? They will find out sometime, and usually from a morally degrading source, and then their confidence in you is destroyed.

The Lord Jesus said, “And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea” (Mark 9:42). In view of this solemn passage, I plead with you, “Don’t lie to the children.”

Christian parents, God has given you the blessed privilege of training your children so that they will want to know Him and be saved as soon as they are old enough to understand the Gospel. Don’t give them such a false conception of God that they will want nothing to do with Him. How solemn then is your responsibility to so live before them that they will not get a false conception of Him and be lost.