Readings for the

WEEK OF PRAYER April 21-28, 1951

irTHIS is certainly the day of our supreme need. Unless we recognize this and seek God with all our hearts we may not even realize that we are in deadly

peril. Will anyone today dare close his or her heart to the pleadings of the Holy Spirit and fail to discover what that supreme need really is?

THE theme for our study on this open-ing day of the 1951 Week of Prayer is a challenging one indeed. It calls for our earnest and prayerful consideration. It not only concerns the church as a whole, but it is of special and particular import-ance to each individual member.

Let us first of all consider the kind of world in which we live. We begin by reading what Jesus has said of these days: "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the com-ing of the Son of man be." Matt. 24: 37-39. "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roar-ing; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great, glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And He spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.

Sabbath, April 21, 1951

OUR SUPREME

NEED By J. L. McELHANY

So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." Luke 21: 25-31.

The Apostle Paul adds these words: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 2 Tim. 3: 1-5.

THE TIME OF THE END

A very graphic description of the world we are living in today is given to us in the Spirit of prophecy:—

"We are living in the time of the end. The fast-fulfilling signs of the times de-clare that the coming of Christ is near at hand. The days in which we live are solemn and important. The Spirit of God is gradually but surely being withdrawn from the earth. Plagues and judgments are already falling upon the despisers'of the grace of God. The calamities by land and sea, the unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, are portentous. They forecast approaching events of the great-est magnitude.

"The agencies of evil , are combining, their forces, and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.

"The condition of things in the world shows that troublous times are right upon us. The daily papers are full of indica-tions of a terrible conflict in the near future. Bold robberies are of frequent occurrence. Strikes are common. Thefts and murders are committed on every hand. Men possessed of demons are tak-ing the lives of men, women, and little children. Men have become infatuated with vice, and every species of evil pre-vails."—"Testimonies," Vol. IX, page 11.

"The scene that next passed before me was an alarm of fire. Men looked at the lofty and supposedly fireproof buildings, and said, 'They are perfectly safe.' But ,these buildings were consumed as if made of pitch. The fire-engines could do nothing to stay the destruction. The fire-men were unable to operate the engines.

"I am instructed that when the Lord's time comes, should no change have taken place in the hearts of proud, ambitious human beings, men will find that the hand that had been strong to save will be strong to destroy. No earthly power can stay the hand of God. No material can be used in the erection of buildings that will preserve them from destruction when God's appointed time comes to send retri-bution on men for their disregard of His law and for their selfish ambition.

"There are not many, even among educators and statesmen, who compre-hend the causes that underlie the present state of society. Those who hold the reins of government are not able to solve the problem of moral corruption, pov-erty, pauperism, and increasing crime. They are struggling in vain to place busi-ness operations on a more secure basis. If men would give more heed to the teach-ing of God's Word, they would find a solu-tion of the problems that perplex them.

"The Scriptures describe the condition of the world just before Christ's second coming. Of the men who by robbery and extortion are amassing great riches, it is written: 'Ye have heaped treasure to-gether for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on, the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he cloth not 'resist you' James 5: 3-6.

"But who reads the, warnings given by the fast-fulfilling signs of the times? What impression is made upon world-lings? What change is seen in their attitude? No more than was seen in the attitude of the inhabitants of the Noachic world. Absorbed in worldly business and pleasure, the antediluvians 'knew not until the Flood came, and took them. all away.' Matt. 24: 39. They had heaven-sent warnings, but they refused to listen. And today the world, utterly regardless of the warning voice of God, is hurrying on to eternal ruin.

"The world is stirred with the spirit of war. The prophecy of the eleventh chap-ter of Daniel has nearly reached its com-plete fulfilment. Soon the scenes of trouble spoken of in the prophecies will take place."—Id., pages 13, 14.

THE CHURCH IN A WORLD OF SIN Do these startling words from the

Scriptures and the Spirit of prophecy overdraw the picture? Indeed they do not! We are living ,in a world saturated with sin, abounding in wickedness, and tortured with fear. As a reaction against these things countless multitudes are in-toxicated with a spirit of worldliness and abandon themselves to immoral excesses, drunkenness, gambling, theatre-going, and the pursuit of sports and worldly pleasures. Spurred on by Satan, these seem intent on departing as far as pos-sible from all knowledge of God and from all principles of righteousness.

In the very midst of these conditions the church today must exist and carry on her work. You and I as individual mem-bers of the church find ourselves living amid these deadly perils. Are we affected by these conditions? Are our Christian experiences blunted and dulled by these things? Are we making conces-sions •to and compromising with the world? Is our love for the world and the things of the world gaining the mastery over us? Is our love for God waxing cold? Well may we repeat the solemn question asked in the foregoing state-ment, "But who reads the warnings given by the fast-fulfilling signs of the times?" Are we, the believers in the soon coming of our Lord, reading the warnings given by these things?

There are those who indicate by the way they live that they are reading the

away from sin, from worldliness, from every wrong course of action.

OUR SUPREME NEED This is certainly the day of our

supreme need. Unless we recognize this and seek God with all our hearts we may not even realize that we are in deadly peril. Will anyone today dare close his or her heart to the pleadings of the Holy Spirit and fail to discover what that supreme need rally is?

With such a question demanding our answer, what could be more consistent than to seek the Lord's counsel on this very point? "A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work. There must be earnest effort to obtain the blessing of the Lord, not because God is not willing to bestow His blessing upon us, but because we are unprepared to receive it. Our heavenly Father is more willing to give His Holy Spirit to them that ask Him, than are earthly parents to give good gifts to their children. But it is our work, by confes-sion, humiliation, repentance, and earnest prayer, to fulfil the conditions upon which God has, promised to grant us His bless-ing. A revival need be expected only in answer to prayer."—"Christ Our Right-eousness," page 146. (Italics supplied.)

This revival is a renewal of our spirit-ual life. It is not realized through mass emotion or excitement or brought about merely by some protracted meeting. It can be brought about in each individual life by our realization of our utter and complete need of having Christ's life and righteousness fully wrought 'out in our lives.

Thank God today for Christ and His righteousness. Down in these last days of time, out of a world that soon will meet its doom, God has planned to pre-pare and translate a people into His eternal kingdom. It is a heartening truth that the Laodicean church is also to be the translation church. God's plan for our salvation becomes effective only as we fully enter into it. Our own choice is the deciding factor. "In order to accept the invitation to the gospel feast, they must make their worldly interests sub-ordinate to the one purpose of receiving Christ and His righteousness. God gave all for man, and He asks him to place His service above every earthly and selfish consideration. He cannot accept a divided heart. The heart that is absorbed in earthly affections cannot be given up to God."—"Christ's Object Lessons," page 223.

It is too late to be satisfied with merely a nominal faith. We must move out into the light of a faith that embraces Him fully. "To talk of religion in a casual way, to pray without soul-hunger and liv-ing faith, avails nothing. A nominal faith in Christ, which accepts Him merely as the Saviour of the world, can never bring healing to the soul. The faith that is unto salvation is not a mere intellectual assent to the truth. He who waits for entire knowledge before he will exercise faith, cannot receive blessing from God. It is not enough to believe about Christ; we must believe in Him. The only faith that will benefit us is that which em-braces Him as a personal Saviour; which appropriates His merits to ourselves. Many hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a transaction, by which those who receive Christ join themselves in cove-nant relation with God. Genuine faith is

An old warrior of New Georgia, Solomon Islands. Now a follower of the Lord Jesus. •

warnings given. \ Their love for God and their preparation for the coming of Jesus increase day by day. They give evidence that they have heeded the exhortation, "I counsel thee to buy of Me . . . white rai-ment, that thou mayest be clothed." Rev. 3: 18. There are, on the other hand, also those whose lives indicate that their reli-gious experience is only nominal, in name only. Jesus describes such people in these words: "But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken." Matt. 24: 48, 49. Unless something positive and radical takes place in the lives of this latter class they will never enter the kingdom of God. We pray that the realities of that fact may sink deep into the consciousness of every-one today. This is the time when every one of us must decide in which of these two classes we shall be.

So this should be a day of great deci-sions, a day of repentance, of turning

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life. A living faith means an increase of vigour, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes a conquering power."—"Desire of Ages," page 347.

"The soul that is yielded to Christ be-comes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. . . . The only defence against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His right-eousness."—Id., page 324.

FULL PARDON THROUGH CHRIST This important theme, which lies at the

very heart of our hope and fitness for heaven at the coming of Christ, is further set forth by the servant of the Lord in the following words:—

"Through Christ, restoration as well as reconciliation is provided for man. The gulf that was made by sin has been spanned by the cross of Calvary. A full, complete ransom has been paid by Jesus, by virtue of which the sinner is pardoned, and the justice of the law is maintained. All who believe that Christ is the atoning sacrifice may come and receive pardon for their sins; for through the merit of Christ, communication has been opened between God and man. God can accept me as His child, and I can claim Him and rejoice in Him as my loving Father. We must centre our hopes of heaven upon Christ alone, because He is our substitute and surety. We have transgressed the law of God, and by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. The best efforts that man in his own strength can make are valueless to meet the holy and just law that he has transgressed; but through faith in Christ he may claim the righteousness of the Son of God as all-sufficient. Christ satisfied the demands of the law in His human nature. He bore the curse of the law for the sinner, made an atonement for him, that who-soever believeth in Him should not perish, but, have everlasting life. Genuine faith appropriates the righteousness of Christ, and the sinner is made an overcomer with Christ; for he is made a partaker of the divine nature, and thus divinity and humanity are combined."—Mrs. E. G. White in Review and Herald, July 1, 1890.

"Righteousness within is testified to by righteousness without. He who is right-eous within is not hard-hearted and un-sympathetic, but day by day he grows into the image of Christ, going on from strength to strength. He who is being sanctified by the truth will be self-con-trolled, and will follow in the footsteps of Christ until grace is lost in glory. The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second our fitness for heaven."—Mrs. E. G. White in Re-view and Herald, June 4, 1895.

The revival that ought to start today in every one of our hearts must not only in-clude our complete victory over sin and the world but also a complete acceptance by faith of the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Without question this is our supreme need. Indeed our title to heaven and our fitness for heaven depend upon it. What will our response be? May the Holy Spirit bring to us today all that our loving heavenly Father plans that we shall receive.

"WHEN the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son." Gal. 4: 4. God keeps time. He keeps all the time that is kept; and He keeps time and times that are not known on earth. Time is the measure of God's appointments. The time we mark as days, and months, and years, are periods determined by the fiat of God, setting the rotation of the earth, the revolution of the moon, and earth's circuit around the sun. The times of which we catch glimpses in the heavens, the con-junctions, the eclipses, the visits of com-ets, the slow sweep of stars and galaxies measured by millenniums, are not de-tached occurrences; they "are parts of the clocked movements of eternity. And not only in the majestic march of the uni-verse, but also in the minutest details of earth's life, is seen the pulsating rhythm of God's time. Every human heartbeat is an appointment of God, every concep-tion, every birth, every threescore-and-ten. Our times are in His hand.

We constantly in our daily lives come to those little climaxes which in their limited degree are "the fullness of the time." The labourer, toiling with pick and shovel under the burning sun, looks and longs for the end of the day, when his weariness and hunger will be ap-peased by rest and food. The housewife, through the summer canning, drying, and preserving the fruits of earth for winter's need, at last surveys with pride the results of her toil in stores of food that shall nourish her household. The student, delving in the mines of fact and fancy, eagerly anticipates the day of graduation, when his long application to his studies will be rewarded with the school's recognition. The child, doing the tasks assigned him and counting im-patiently the days that are building to-ward maturity, hails with joy each yearly birthday that measures his stature of a man. All these are in their little way "the fullness of the time," marking off the progress of our lives; and our experi-ence with them teaches us the satisfac-tion that comes with accomplishment and revelation.

So also in the grand strategy of heaven, that deals with fates and destinies, there come the measured beats of time which signalize the accomplishments of God. That little portion of eternity allotted to earth for the drama of redemptive love—sin, rebellion against God's government, mercy, propitiation, vicarious atonement, salvation, vindication of God, glory—is marked off in periods, epochs, eras, the accent on each of which is a critical event. God holds a stop watch on the life of men and the succession of generations; and when the process of His design reaches its climaxes, He calls time. There are brief periods, such as a man's lifetime, marked off by death; there are epochs, such as the bondage of Israel in Egypt, ended by the exodus; there are eras, such as the antediluvian age, cut off by the Deluge, and the age of the Hebrew theocracy, whereof God signalled the end by the advent of the Messiah.

CHRIST REDEEMS LOST DOMINION It is this last era—indeed, the culmina-

tion of all preceding eras—of which Paul speaks when he says, "The fullness of the lime was come." Ever :lace our first parents, branded by sin, were banished from Eden, the suffering race, encouraged by the divine promise, had looked forward to redemption. It was God's purpose that the race should be redeemed; and to this end He directed His agencies. Man who sinned should be redeemed by a Man who knew no sin. Creation had made Adam the son of God; incarnation, a new creation, should make Christ the Son of man. What Adarh had lost by sin, Christ should redeem by the pouring forth of the love and life of God.

No sudden, abrupt act was this to be. God's processes of life and generation are unfoldings of divine power in mysteries of germination and growth. As we plant the seed and wait for the springing of the tiny shoot, then watch and cultivate its development into the full-grown plant, the flower, and again the seed, food for man and beast as well as promise of an-other cycle, we are watching the symbol of the plan of salvation. (Isa. 61: 11.) In the womb of time God wrought His mar-vellous work of the new creation, not hastening, not delaying, fashioning its parts according to His plan through periods of development and crises of in-terference, until, its every form and func-tion perfect, He brought forth His per-fect work, and the Son of God was born. The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem of Judea marked the fullness of God's time allotted to the preparation for the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

That time God had foretold. To Daniel He gave the longest time-prophecy He ever made, the 2300 day-year period. (Dan. 8: 14.) He set the time of its be-ginning as the decree to restore and build Jerusalem. (Dan. 9: 25.) And He set the time when the supreme sacrifice of Christ should be made, in the midst of the last "week," or period of seven years, of the Jew's probation. (Dan. 9: 26, 27.) Other prophecies gave details such as the place of the advent, Bethlehem (Micah 5: 2; Matt. 2: 4-6), and the character of Messiah's work as Redeemer. (Isa. 52: 13-15; 53:1-12.)

If Israel had been ready for the coming of her Deliverer, the history of succeed-ing centuries would have been changed. But Israel was not ready. Her leaders knew the time and the place; all her people looked and longed for the coming of the Christ. But they did not make themselves ready for the great event. Like the Laodiceans, they were neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm, fit only to be spewed out of the mouth. Their spiritual-ity had been sapped by their worldliness. Some gave themselves to sport, engaging in the athletic contests of the Greeks, even if shunning the brutalities of the Roman amphitheatre. Some spent their energies in the amassing of wealth, and became the greatest traders of the East, sharp, shrewd, double-dealing; and they used their riches for self-indulgence,

SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 1951

In the Fullness of Time By ARTHUR W. SPALDING

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ostentation, and oppression of the poor. Some devoted themselves to learning, sampling the pagan literature and philo-sophy of Greece and Babylon and Egypt, corrupting their knowledge of the Sacred Oracles by the fantasies and sophistries of their masters.

They all paid tithe, even of their mint and anise and cummin; they kept the Sabbath according to their understanding of Sabbath-keeping; they looked for the coming of Christ in glory. They were letter-perfect in the Scriptures, and loved to argue fine points of theology; they basked in the consciousness that they were God's peculiar people, and they were contemptuously pitiful of the Gentiles who knew not God. They even compassed land and sea to make proselytes, con-vinced that they were bringing souls into the kingdom of God. But because they taught themselves to say and, do not, in the vital things of the law, because they had not God written in their hearts, they gained a solely materialistic concept of the kingdom of Christ, which made them reject their Saviour and to be rejected of God.

SECOND COMING A NECESSITY

Therefore the second coming of Christ became a necessity. Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the specifications of the Re-deemer; He came at the predicted time; He filled the office of healer of all who would be healed; He gave His life as a sacrifice for sin. But He could not then become King of Israel, because Israel, ignorant and wayward, knew Him not. A remnant indeed, a gleaning from the vineyard possessed by unfaithful keepers, was saved from the cataclysmic wreck. And with this handful of men who en-throned Him in their hearts, Christ came forth to save the world. A new Israel, a spiritual Israel, was created.

As High Priest of His people, He must officiate in the service of God's sanctuary, presenting His sacrifice for sin to cover the wrongdoing of repentant sinners. That earthly model of the heavenly sanc-tuary, the temple in Jerusalem, instead of being glorified by the presence of the Christ, was at the crucifixion rejected of God. Its sacred veil was rent from top to bottom, and men might gaze upon the empty space whence the Shekinah had for ever departed.

Jesus, our High Priest, returned to the sanctuary in heaven, there for two more millenniums to carry on the work of re-demption. (Heb. 8: 1, 2.) He sent as His representative on earth the Holy Spirit, who, possessing the souls of His disciples, should establish them in the kingdom of grace, and make them His messengers to the world. (John 14: 26.) And Jesus promised that, again in the fullness of time, at the completion of an-other era, He would come again. (John 14: 3.)

The second advent of the Lord, there-fore, became the great hope and longing of Christians. It was to be the climax of divine prophecies, ancient and current. It was declared by the Lord Jesus. It was constantly proclaimed by the apostles, who at first looked for its early fulfilment. It was the cherished faith of Christians through those savage cen-turies of pagan persecution, when they dwelt in deserts and forests and caves, or faced the lions in the arena, or languished in the dungeons of the Cesars. It was

the sustaining hope of the church in the wilderness during the Dark Ages, when by the papal emissaries they were hunted on the mountains, slaughtered in the valleys, burned at the stake, racked, starved, and buried alive. It is the abid-ing confidence of the church even to the end of time.

The doctrine of the second advent of Christ, with its attendant events of the final judgment and destruction of the wicked, of the dissolution of the old world and the creation of a new world, with sin for ever gone and innocence and purity in its place, is inseparable from Chris-tianity. Not only is it essential to the completion of salvation's design, but it is documented by the testimony of Jesus and His apostles, and it is witnessed to by the faith and constancy and ministry of the church's martyrs and evangelists. Without it the gospel is a stream that sinks into sullen sands; with it the river of life goes forth to make the desert blossom as the rose and to create the Paradise of God.

The fullness of the time has again come. God has made His appointment, and He will keep it. As sure as the earth in its rotation makes the day, as sure as the moon in its movement around the earth makes the month, and as sure as all the heavenly bodies in their travels and conjunctions mark off the times of God, so sure is the fulfilment of the prophecies of God.

The prophecy of the 2300 years, at the end of which the sanctuary was to be cleansed, began in 457 B.C., at the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus to restore and build Jerusalem; and it extended to A.D. 1844, when Christ as our High Priest en-tered the most holy place of the sanctuary in heaven, to begin its cleansing from the forgiven sins of His people. This is the investigative judgment, revealed to Daniel in his first vision. (Dan. 7: 9, 10.) And this is the initial judgment proclaimed by the first angel of Revela-tion 14. Definite prophetic time ended in 1844, when the antitypical day of atone-ment opened. The time now is culmin-ating to its utter fullness.

LOOKING FOR THE PROMISED HOME- COMING

It may seem to us that there is delay. A hundred years ago our fathers first looked for the coming of the Lord: when will it be? Our impatient hearts would beat the measure faster. But we do not comprehend the times of God, nor do our

/earthly watches synchronize with His heavenly chronometer. We are like chil-dren impatient of a promised home-coming. A little boy, told that his beloved father will return home soon, plays with his toy watch, twirling its hands to suit his fancy, and often inquires, "When will daddy come? It's past ten o'clock, it's past noon, it's past two o'clock. When will he come?"

"But you are not ready," his mother answers. "You must put away your toys, you must wash your hands and face, you must let me put on your clean clothes. You're too busy with your play. Come, get ready."

Christ cannot come in His kingdom of glory until He has come into our hearts in His kingdom of grace. To impatient Jews who demanded of Him when the kingdom of God should come, He answered: "The kingdom of God cometh

not with outward show. Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, Lo there! for, be-hold, the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17: 20 (margin), 21.

Christ would gladly have staged His second advent long ago, if His people had made themselves ready and had finished the work He gave them to do. But in His foreknowledge He set as the time of His coming, the point when the church, His bride, shall have made herself ready. (Rev. 19: 7.) That exact day is not yet made known to us, nor will it be made known until we are better acquainted with Him. In that day our eyes will be opened, and we shall know Him and be with Him.

We are in the time of the end. As it was predicted to Daniel, knowledge has been tremendously increased. To the wise it has opened the mysteries of God; to the wicked it has served only to face them with the judgment. Men with their applied science have shrunk the earth to a handful of sod. They speak, and their voice echoes around the world; they leap, and they have compassed the earth; they reach for the mysteries of the universe, and lo! they arrive at the brink of eternity.

But in the sum total, their science is barren to them, because, while it offers a farthing to life, it gives a pound to death. In the folly of his knowledge, man has come to the gates of hell. All his science, all his discoveries, all his inven-tions, are turned away from the paths of peace, and devoted to the arts of destruc-tion. In the realm of the physical, he has abused the image of the divine; in the realm of the mind, his speculations have taken him away from God; in the realm of statesmanship, he has cultivated atti-tudes of rivalry and hostility which have plunged the world into holocausts of war. Where now shall man turn for salvation from his science?

The hope of the world is the second advent of Christ. For God has promised that in that coming there shall be aboli-tion of all evil; there shall be a renova-tion of the earth, with the results of sin wiped out; there shall be universal peace, and righteousness shall reign for ever. But does the world look and hope for that blessed coming and the intervention of God? Far from it! It laughs at the simple faith of them who believe, and cries: "Where is the promise of His com-ing? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the be-ginning." "None of the wicked shall understand." 2 Peter 3: 4; Dan. 12: 10.

NeVertheless, the word of our God stands sure. The last reaches of proph-etic time are now behind us. We touch the fringes of eternity. The fullness of the time has come, when God will send forth His Son as Saviour of His people and as King of all the world.

Of even greater moment to the church than to the world, is this imminent ad-vent. Is Israel ready? Shall she repeat the history of that now forsaken Israel who failed to receive her Messiah? Shall weaknesses of the flesh, the vain plea-sures of the world, the search for forbid-den knowledge, the greed for money and power, the ambitions of unsanctified hearts, rise up against the times of God? Or shall this modern Israel, this Laodi-cean church, repent of her lukewarmness, receive the unadulterated gold of God's truth, discard the filthy rags of her own

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Monamona school children at drill.

MONDAY, APRIL 23, 1951

"At the Doors I/ By W. L. EMMERSON

good deeds, and put on the white raiment of Christ's righteousness, open her eyes to the saving faith of God, and be ac-counted ready for the King?

The answer lies not alone with the leadership of the church, great though is its responsibility. It lies with you and me, with every man, woman, and child of this last-day church. Let everyone take heed whom he is following. Christ is our supreme Leader, and we can safely follow only men who follow Him.

Christ is coming! He is coming in glory! And but a little while divides that

EVER since sin entered the world,, mar-ring the fair face of creation with sorrow, suffering, and death, the faithful rem-nant have longed for the day when the controversy would be over and the victory won. Ever recurring in their minds and trembling upon their lips has been the question, "How long, 0 Lord?"

The question is indeed a natural one. If a dearly loved friend, whom you had ' not seen for a long time, wrote saying he was coming to see you, and if in the course of his letter he promised that he would help you out of all your difficulties, you would naturally look forward eagerly to his arrival. You would want to know exactly when to expect him so that you might give him the welcome that was in your heart.

The return of Jesus means more to the children of God than the coming of any earthly friend, for He will solve not merely every personal problem, but every world problem as well. Surely then it is only natural that they and we should con-tinually ask, "How long?"

Had God chosen so to do, He could have answered this ever-present question by stating precisely the "day" and even the "hour" of His Son's return, but He has not done so for two reasons. If the faith-ful Israelites or the early church had been told just how long the period of waiting would be before Jesus came back

by might have become discouraged by its remoteness. Moreover, many down the ages would have procrastinated in their personal preparation by reason of the fact that the day was so far off. Jesus declared that some, in any case, would say, "My Lord delayeth His coming;" and

blessed day from ours. A near tomor-row!

But today He comes in grace. Who will receive Him? They who tomorrow will joyfully greet Him in the fullness of His glory. "Behold," He says, "I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." Rev. 3: 20.

The fullness of the time is come. "Be-hold, the Bridegroom cometh; go 'ye out to meet Him!" Matt. 25: 6.

would "eat and drink with the drunken." Matt. 24: 48, 49.

So, in His wisdom, instead of specify-ing just when His Son would come back, _God set up prophetic waymarks along the highroad of time whereby succeeding generations might recognize His overrul-ing hand in the kingdoms of men and see the day of the Lord drawing ever nearer.

PANORAMAS OF TIME We are familiar with the great pano-

ramic prophecies which God gave to Daniel and to John the revelator, and we know that we have passed almost all the waymarks which God set up for the guid-ance of His people.

We know that we are down in the feet and toes of the great image which Nebu-chadnezzar was shown (Daniel 2) and in the time of the fourth of the world powers of Daniel seven.

We know that a century and a half ago the church emerged from the long period of "tribulation" foretold in the visions of both Daniel and John as well as by Jesus (Matt. 24: 21), and that we have entered the final epoch of the "time of the end" which reaches from the close of the great tribulation to the end of time. (Dan. 8: 17.)

We know more than that, for in His prophetic Word, God has described the course of the "time of the end" with such a wealth of detail that if we have eyes to see, and ears to hear, and hearts to understand, it is impossible to resist the conclusion that the returning King is today not merely on the way but "near, even at the doors." Matt. 24: 33.

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days," declared Jesus, "shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven." Matt. 24: 29.

Have those waymarks been passed? Yes indeed; the darkening of the sun and moon was fulfilled in the Dark Day and subsequent night of May 19, 1780, and the stars fell exactly as foretold in the spectacular star shower of November 13, 1833.

Continuing His delineation of the course of the "time of the end" Jesus went on to say: "And there shall be . . upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity"; deepening and widening un-til the hearts of men everywhere would be "failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." Luke 21: 25, 26. And this despite the declaration by Daniel that' during the same period "many" would "run to and fro," and "knowledge" would be "increased." Dan. 12: 4.

That these two aspects of the latter days have been both spectacularly and tragically fulfilled during the past cen-tury or so we know well enough. What perhaps has not sufficiently burned itself into our consciousness is the significance of the crescendo of progress and catas-trophe in our time.

LIMITS OF POWER AND KNOWLEDGE ALMOST REACHED

As the years of the nineteenth century sped on, men certainly did begin to "run to and fro" with increasing rapidity. Steamships displaced the old sailing ves-sels upon the seas, and the railway and the motor-car revolutionized travel on land, until, by the end of the century, Jules Verne was able, without any sug-gestion of fantasy to write his famous story, "Round the World in Eighty Days."

But here is the fact which appeals to me as of the deepest significance: While the capacity of man to "run to and fro" was speeded up some fourfold between 1800 and 1900, in the fifty subsequent years of the twentieth century, communi-cations have been speeded up by the development of the aeroplane no less than twentyfold, so that a traveller today can go round the world by commercial air-ways in little more than four days. And even this rapidity of motion will soon be eclipsed, for new methods of propulsion have already made possible speeds faster than that of sound, and bid fair soon to bring man to the very limit of human en-durance.

Think, too, of the increase of "knowl-edge" which Daniel also foreshadowed in "the time of the end." Knowledge has vastly increased in an infinite number of directions during the past one hundred and fifty years, but the point most deeply to be pondered is the crescendo_ of the ex-pansion of knowledge in recent decades.

D. R. Davies in his book, "Theology and the Atomic Age," truly declares: "If the nineteenth century is 'the wonderful cen-tury,' then the twentieth century can only be thought of as 'the incredible century.' " —Page 38.

So spectacular, in fact, has been the penetration of the scientists into the secrets of the infinitely small and the infinitely large, in the last decade or so, that man has been carried almost to the limits of his capacity to comprehend the universe.

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Says Lincoln Barnett in his recent "The Universe and Dr. Einstein," after discussing the most recent discoveries in the heart of the atom and on the farthest horizons of space: "For all the promise of future revelation it is possible that cer-tain terminal boundaries have already been reached in man's struggle to under-stand the manifold of nature in which he finds himself. . . . There appears to be nowhere to progress."—Page 100.

Surely the conclusion cannot be resisted that this time to which we have come, when men's hands are reaching out to grasp ultimate power and uncover the last secrets of knowledge, is the time when God must step in to wrest from them that knowledge and power of which they have shown themselves so utterly undeserving.

ON THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS That the times indeed demand the

speedy intervention of God is even more clearly underlined when we look at the other side of the prophetic forecast and note the crescendo of catastrophe which has come upon the world in our day and generation.

In his book, "The Two Humanities," D. R. Davies, whom we quoted a few moments ago, points out that in the past 150 years major conflicts have become in-creasingly frequent and the intervals be-tween them have become progressively shorter and shorter.

"Between the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the Franco-Prussian War," he says, "was a period of fifty-five years. From the Franco-Prussian War to the Great War of 1914-18 was a period. of forty-three years; and from the end of the Great War to this Greater War, the interval has been only twenty-one years." —Page 34.

"Note," he significantly adds, "the sinister descent: fifty-five years, forty-three, and twenty-one. And each suc-ceeding war more intense and destructive than the last—more destructive, not only of life and property, but of truth, liberty, and supreme values."

And today, with the second World War hardly over, men are talking not so much of the possibility of a third universal conflict as of the imminence of its out-break.

Jesus declared that the nations would at last be so completely caught in the spiral of mounting destruction that there would be "no way out" of universal catas-trophe, for that is what the expression "with perplexity" in Luke 21: 25 literally means. Within the past few years we have certainly come to that time.

As recently as the period between the first and second World Wars the leaders of the nations were still confident that the problem of world peace would be solved, and that civilization was on the way to Utopia. Then came the war, and hope diminished; but when the first atom bomb fell out of the blue upon ill-fated Hiro-shima, mankind's morale collapsed with startling suddenness.

Since then the scientists have become possessed of secrets of the atom which have made the bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki seem like children's playthings. And today the frightened leaders of the nations, conscious that unless some con-trol of these horrific forces is quickly found there is literally "no way out," stand paralysed and helpless in the face of inevitable catastrophe.

That men should have come on the one hand almost to the limits of knowledge and power and on the other to the im-passe of imminent self-destruction, can mean only one thing. The time of the end is far spent. The end of time is at hand. And Jesus is "at the doors."

FINAL MOVEMENTS WILL BE RAPID ONES There is not time to survey the many

other "signs" of the end-time to which attention might be drawn, such as the re-surgence of papal power, the emergence of the "lamb-like" beast of the New World from obscurity to paramount power, the sharpening outlines of the "image to the beast" in the erstwhile Protestant churches of Christendom, the awakening of the East, and the moving of the spotlight of world concern to the ancient Bible lands of the Middle East. All that can be stressed here in connection with each of these features of the prophetic picture is the sudden and tremendous increase in the tempo of these developments in our day—and their irresistible implication.

Years ago we were told by the servant of the Lord that "the final movements will be rapid ones" ("Testimonies," Vol. IX, page 11), and as we look around the world today we cannot but realize the fact that we have entered the time of those rapid final movements.

Recognizing that events upon the earth are thus hastening to their climax, the awe-inspiring conclusion follows that preparations in heaven must as swiftly be moving forward toward the day when the Judge of all the earth will break into history for the finishing of His agelong purposes. Nearer even than the climactic day of Christ's return is the time when the heavenly assize will have completed its work, and the decision concerning every human soul will go forth: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Rev. 22: 11.

And so the solemnizing challenge comes to us in the midst of this Week of Prayer season that we must hurry, too, if we are to be ready to meet the Lord in peace when He comes.

"MAKE HASTE" This is the note on which Peter con-

cludes the striking prophecy recorded in the third chapter of his second epistle.

Having described the coming of the "day of the Lord ... in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat," when "the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Peter 3: 10), he urges:—

"Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless." (Verse 14.)

The expression Peter uses here, "Be diligent," involves for the day earnestness in preparation for the day of the Lord. It emphasizes also the sense of urgency. Elsewhere it is actually translated "make haste." Thus in Luke 2: 16 the same root word in the story of the coming of the shepherds to the manger of Bethle-hem is rendered: "And they came with haste, and found . . . the Babe." Else- where we are told that "Zacchus . made haste, and came down," and re-ceived Jesus joyfully into his house. (Luke 19: 5, 6.)

So here Peter exhorts those who see events speeding on to the great consum-mation to "make haste" that they may be ready for the fateful day.

How then are we to get ready? In His message to the last church upon earth, through the revelator, Jesus says of the time just before His visible return: "Be-hold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." Rev. 3: 20.

If you listen you can hear Him knock-ing now, for says the Lord's messenger: "Every warning, reproof, and entreaty in the Word of God or through His mes-sengers is a knock at the door of the heart. It is the voice of Jesus asking for entrance."—"Desire of Ages," page 490.

OPEN THE DOOR In several striking messages the ser-

vant of the Lord reveals the response of the church of the last days to this appeal of the waiting Christ. Some she says will be heedless of the knocking of the graci-ous Saviour• and will keep the door of their hearts fast shut against Him. Such she warns: "With every knock un-heeded, the disposition to open becomes weaker. The impressions of the Holy Spirit, if disregarded today, will not be as strong tomorrow. The heart becomes less impressible, and lapses into a peril-ous unconsciousness of the shortness of life, and of the great eternity beyond."—"Desire of Ages," page 490.

Others, she says, "opened the door slightly, and permitted a little light from His presence to enter, but did not wel-come the heavenly Visitor. There was not room for Jesus. The place which should have been reserved for Him was occupied with other things."—"Testimon-ies," Vol. II, page 216.

Of still others she says: "I saw that many have so much rubbish piled up at the door of their heart that they cannot get the door open. Some have difficulties between themselves and their brethren to remove. Others have evil tempers, selfish covetousness to remove before they can open the door. Others have rolled the world before the door of their heart, which bars the door. All this rubbish must be taken away, and then they can open the door and welcome the Saviour in."—"Testimonies," Vol. I, page 143.

How is it, brother, sister, with you? Is your heart's door closed against the wait-ing Saviour? Is it open only just a little by reason of the rubbish which still must be cleared away before there is room for Him within?

If your condition is so described, will you not ponder the wonderful condescen-sion of Jesus and open wide the door for Him now while there is yet time?

"The mansions in glory are His," we are told, "and the joy of that heavenly abode; yet He humbles Himself to seek an entrance at the door of your heart, that He may bless you with His light, and make you to rejoice in His glory."—"Testimonies," Vol. II, page 224.

Such love demands a response, and the times emphasize its urgency, for while He is now knocking in mercy and in love, soon He will be knocking as an Officer of divine law to hail the heedless and un-ready to inexorable judgment.

So pleads one of the Lord's angel mes-sengers: "Get ready, get ready, get ready" ("Early Writings," page 64), for there is not much time!

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THE Apostle Paul wrote of the closing days of earth's history, when the church of Christ would be living in expectancy of His soon coming, Of the church in that waiting period, the apostle inquires, "What manner of persons ought ye to be?" We who read this question today are the ones addressed. We are living in the judgment hour. We know not how soon our cases may come up for review in the heavenly tribunal. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Signs in the heavens above, in the earth beneath, in the social, the industrial, the political, the religious worlds, as well as fulfilling lines of Bible prophecy, demonstrate that we have not followed cunningly devised fables, but a hope and faith well grounded upon the infallible Word of divine revelation.

Inspiring but momentous is the con-sideration that the great controversy be-tween truth and error which, begun in heaven above by the unjust charges of Satan against God and the divine govern-ment, is to reach its great final climax in this our day. And every child of God will be a participant in the controversy. Every human intelligence must take his stand with God and truth, or stand mar-shalled under the banner of Satan. There can be no neutrals. All who are not positively and actively standing for right and truth will be classed on the side of wrong and evil.

Is it not, therefore, most fitting that we should consider "what manner of per-sons" we must be in this fateful hour? Our very souls are at stake. How dare we fail to meet the issue earnestly, solemnly, prayerfully, seeking the enlightenment and leading of the Holy Spirit, recon-secrating ourselves to God without one single reservation! Only as we do this can we hope to prove triumphant.

"Those who come up to every point, and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the coun-sel of the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for translation."—"Testimonies," Vol. I, pages 187, 188.

Does the Apostle Peter indicate what is required of us by the divine standard of character? He does: "What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy con-versation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God? ... Be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blame-less." 2 Peter 3: 11-14.

This means high and holy attainment of character. As never before we must realize in this late hour that we cannot continue to cherish sin and find a home with the pure and holy. There come to us these faithful admonitions from the messenger of the Lord:

"Now is the time to prepare. The seal of God will never be placed upon the fore-head of an impure man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of the ambitious, world-loving man or woman.

It will never be placed upon the forehead of men or women of false tongues or de-ceitful hearts. All who receive the seal must be without spot before God—candi-dates for heaven."—"Testimonies," Vol. V, page 216.

In view of this high and holy standard to which we must attain, shall we not heed this admonition from the Apostle Paul :—

"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But ex-hort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." Heb. 3: 12-14.

HOW TO GET RID OF SIN If in searching our hearts we find sin

there, how shall we put it away? Why do we raise a question like this to

members of our church? Are there some among them who do not know the steps they must take in truly becoming the children of God? I know from letters which have come to me and from personal interviews that there are those among us who are still wavering and uncertain as to their relationship to God. And so far as that is concerned, it will prove helpful to all of us on an occasion like this to review our Christian experience.

Recognizing our sins, we must confess them to God, and also to our fellow men, wherein we have sinned against them. Our confession should be as broad as the knowledge of sin. Have we disgraced the church by some publicly known evil, our confession should be made to the church. Have we been unkihd, impatient in our home, we should confess to our loved ones. Have we had trouble with a brother and do we feel that he was (lore greatly in the wrong?

"If envy, malice, bitterness, evil sur-misings, have existed, confess these sins, not in a general way, but go to your brethren and sisters personally. Be defin-ite. If you have committed one wrong and they twenty, confess that one as though you were the chief offender."—Mrs. E. G. White in Review and Herald, Dec. 16, 1884.

True sorrow for sin leads not only to confession, but to restitution. It is not enough to say to God "We are sorry we robbed you in tithes and offerings," but we must restore what we have taken. If we have cheated our neighbour, we must also make restitution to him.

And in this work of putting away sin we must act promptly. It is too late to delay. "I was shown God's people wait-ing for some change to take place—a com-pelling power to take hold of them. But they will be disappointed, for they are wrong. They must act; they must take hold of the work themselves, and earn-estly cry to God for a true knowledge of

themselves." "It should be a subject of thought, of study, and earnest inquiry, What shall we do to be saved? What shall be our conduct that we may show ourselves approved unto God?"—"Testi-monies," Vol. I, pages 261, 705.

When the repentant sinner goes through this process of ridding himself of sin, then there comes to him this blessed assurance: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un-righteousness." 1 John 1: 9.

"Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." Isa. 55: 6, 7.

Accepting these and other blessed promises, the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature, and a child of God. Declares the Apostle Peter, there "are given unto us exceeding great and preci-ous promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1: 4.

Of the new life in Christ, the Apostle Paul declares: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which, I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Gal. 2: 20.

When one reaches this experience, as every triumphant Christian must, he will find no pleasure in attending the theatre or movies, in listening to the silly, senti-mental songs or other unprofitable things which come over the radio, nor in viewing pictures of gambling, prize fighting, or horse racing and other degrading scenes shown on television.

Christian experience is progressive. In the words of the apostle we are to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3: 18. Knowledge of our Saviour will come to us through the earnest, faithful study of His holy Word and through intercessory prayer. In the study of the Word we may partake spiritually of the fruit of the tree of life.

"After the entrance of sin, the heavenly Husbandman transplanted the tree of life to the paradise above; but its branches hang over the wall to the lower world. Through the redemption pur-chased by the blood of Christ, we may still eat of its life-giving fruit."—"Testi-monies," Vol. VIII, page 288.

"He who by faith receives the Word, is receiving the very life and character of God."—"Christ's Object 'Lessons," page 38.

An active Christian experience em-braces a daily consecration. The day of our conversion may have brought us joy and peace; it is our privilege to have joy and peace in believing constantly. "How-ever complete may have been our conse-cration at conversion, it will avail us nothing unless it be renewed daily; but a consecration that embraces the actual present is fresh, genuine, and acceptable to God."—Ellen G. White in Review and Herald, January 6, 1885.

GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIIT As the motivating power in our Chris-

tian living, we should seek for the infill-ing and leadings of the Holy Spirit. Only

TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 1951

"What Manner of Persons Ought Ye to Be?"

By FRANCIS M. WILCOX

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Church and school, Kopiu, Solomon Islands,

by the power of the Spirit can sin be re-sisted and overcome.

"In describing to His disciples the office work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus sought to inspire them with the joy and hope that inspired His own heart. He rejoiced be-cause of the abundant help He had pro-vided for His church. The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that He could solicit from His Father for the exaltation of His people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the sub-mission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the third person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world's Redeemer."—"The Desire of Ages," page 671.

We are exhorted to pray for the Holy Spirit:

"Pray that the mighty energies of the Holy Spirit, with all their quickening, recuperative, and transforming power, may fall like an electric shock on the palsy-stricken soul, causing every nerve to thrill with new life, restoring the whole man from his dead, earthly, sensual state to spiritual soundness. You will thus become, partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."—"Testimonies," Vol. V, page 267.

"All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God, will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own Spirit, the life of His own life."—"The Desire of Ages," page 827.

The wide-awake, consecrated believer will not be content with personal salva-tion, however precious it has come to be. He will long to lead others who know not God to the blessed fountain of salvation which has watered his own soul. And where shall we find our field of labour? In our home, our neighbourhood, our native land, the countries overseas. Our field is the world. The message of Christ's soon coming is to go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

From a purely human viewpoint it would seem that we have almost reached the limit of our resources in the giving of this message to the world. The Mace-donian calls are growing so numerous and so insistent that it is impossible for us to meet them. Of ourselves we can never accomplish the work committed to us. Our hope is in the divine promise, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord.'

This was the impelling power accom-panying the gospel message in apostolic days. -The church then possessed no great institutions to add influence to their work. They- had none of the modern facilities of communication. There was _no assured support of preachers. But the gospel was carried to all the world. We thank God for the wonderful facilities provided for the giving of the message today, but if we depend primarily upon these we shall fail. It is not to the machinery, the wheels, but the spirit within the wheels as revealed by Ezekiel

upon which we must depend. Eze. 1: 20, 21.

We are told that the gift of the Holy Spirit "claimed by faith brings all other blessings in its train." ("Desire of Ages," page 672.) How greatly we need this larger measure of the Spirit to give power to our feeble efforts! It would energize our activities. It would be the Spirit in the wheels of organization, rob-bing them of their mechanical ring, and making them effective in God's hands for the speedy finishing of His work. This Spirit gift, filling our hearts, enlarging our souls, would make sacrifice for Christ a joy, and giving to His cause an act of love. Pentecostal giving would result as the fruit of Pentecostal consecration. There would be needed no laboured effort in attaining goals; instead, no sacrifice of time or money would be counted too great for Christ the Lord. In this experience rests our only hope in seeing this work cut short in righteousness and brought to a speedy and triumphant conclusion. For this Pentecostal blessing let us seek with

consecrated hearts and earnest petition. And let us not let go of the arm of divine power, until God graciously visits His church with the mighty outpouring of His Holy Spirit.

It is our blessed privilege this very hour to so completely dedicate our lives to Christ and His service that we may be fitted to meet Him with rejoicing at His coming.

"Today you are to give yourselves to God, that He may make of you vessels unto honour, and meet for His service. Today you are to give yourselves to God that you may be emptied of self, emptied of envy, jealousy, evil surmising, strife, everything that shall be dishonouring to God. Today you are to have your vessel purified that it may be ready for the heavenly dew, ready for the showers of the latter rain; for the latter rain will come and the blessing of God will fill every soul that is purified from every de-filement. It is our work today to yield

our souls to Christ that we may be fitted for the time of refreshing from the pres-ence of the Lord, fitted for the baptism of the Holy Spirit."—Mrs. E. G. White in Review and Herald, March 22, 1892.

Shall we not heed this earnest admoni-tion? Those who endure unto, the end, and are triumphant at last, will be men and women of clean hands and pure hearts, of high and holy purposes, of earnest endeavour. In their experience there will be no dallying with sin. They have consecrated themselves and all that they have to God without one single reservation.

Today we should pray for the anoint-ing of the Holy Spirit that we may be prepared to take part in the loud cry of the gospel message. Then, when our blessed Lord will come, we shall be among those who will joyfully exclaim: "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." Isa. 25: 9.

In this waiting period, preceding Christ's coming, we must live in a world

of great perplexity, a warring world, "men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." Luke 21: 26. Trusting God, we may escape this fear. This is the divine promise: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." Isa. 26: 3. Added to this is the blessed assurance given in Isa. 41: 10-13: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. . . . For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."

May God grant that we may experience this keeping power in our battle against sin, that we may labour earnestly to lead others to know Christ, whom to know aright is life everlasting.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 1951

Our Youth in the World Crisis By THEODORE E. LUCAS

CHALLENGING tocsins sound over a world that rocks beneath the threatening destruction of alphabetic bombs. Civiliza-tion has come to the place where the end of the trail is in sight.

This prospect of catastrophe would be dismal indeed, were it not for the fact that Christian youth know the way of escape. From this world madness the church of God rises above the debris and points victoriously to Christ. The world's hope and only hope is in Christ; truly, He has the only solution for the world's problem.

In a world that has turned its back upon the Prince of peace, in a morally chaotic world that has forgotten the Sun of Righteousness, in a complacent world that daily crucifies its Saviour on the cross of indifference—He stands as the one supreme constructive fact.

In such a day as this God calls the young people to make Christ supreme in their lives. To make that discovery is a transforming experience that changes our whole outlook, especially as we turn from ourselves and face Him with the sincerity and earnestness of youth, seek-ing the lasting things of life.

"Your hope is not in yourself; it is in Christ. Your weakness is united to His strength, your ignorance to His wisdom, your frailty to His enduring might. So you are not to look to yourself, not to let the mind dwell upon self, but look to Christ. Let the mind dwell upon His love, upon the beauty, the perfection of His character. Christ in His self-denial, Christ in His humiliation, Christ in His purity and holiness, Christ in His match-less love—this is the subject for the soul's contemplation. It is by loving Him, copy-ing Him, depending wholly upon Him, that you are to be transformed into His likeness."—"Steps to Christ," pages 70, 71.

It is to be remembered that Jesus did far more than to set up a discipline of spiritual exercises which would give us the mechanical answers in any given situation. He set the Christian standards and patterns through His attitude and His spirit. Through our efforts to learn the mind of Christ we seek to follow the way of life He lived. His spirit and teaching are as up to date as the head-lines of your newspapers. They are as realistic as any philosophy of life to which some may give adherence; and they deal with life right where we live—in the here and now.

The Christ-like spirit is the attitude of adherence to truth and right. It is un-selfish love in action. Love for Jesus was the normal relationship of constructive goodwill for all men. Unselfishness was a governing attitude in His life which recognized that the life that shares is the only effective one.

For all of us it is true that many people will catch their first glimpse of the spirit and character of Christ through our per-sonal influence. We must allow our faith to motivate us to action. Christianity becomes real to us only when it becomes a vital force in our lives. Jesus clearly pointed out to many questioners that

being a Christian is no half-way matter. We must be completely captured by Christ and His service if we are to share the transforming experience of Christian fellowship.

SERVICE AND CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE

He invites us to a personal Christian experience, to an open commitment of heart and hand to Christian tasks. Ser-vice is the reflection of such individual experience. Bible study, personal devo-tions, the Missionary Volunteer pledge with its time-honoured and vital covenant relationship to Jesus Christ, participation in worship, cultivation of Christian friendships—these are at the foundation of sharing our faith. We continually must study and apply newly developed tech-niques that will aid us in presenting the truth in a fresh, effective manner. "Amid the perils of these last days, the only safety of the youth lies in ever-increasing `watchfulness and prayer. The youth who finds his joy in reading the Word of God, and in the hour of prayer, will be con-stantly refreshed by draughts from the fountain of life. He will attain a height of moral excellence and a breadth of thought of which others cannot conceive. Commun-ion with God encourages good thoughts, noble aspirations, ,clear perceptions of truth, and lofty purposes of action. Those who thus connect themselves with God are acknowledged by Him as His sons and daughters. They are constantly reaching higher and still higher, obtain-ing clearer views of God and of eternity, until the Lord makes them channels of light and wisdom to the world."—"Mes-sages to Young People," page 247.

Throughout the year let us be about the supreme business of the Christian—winning others. Every child of God is a steward of his time, talents, money, and life, all of which belong to God. Share-Your-Faith is more than a motto: it is a way of life which includes a com-prehensive service programme. "The work above all work—the business above all others which should draw and engage the energies of the soul—is the work of saving souls for whom Christ has died. Make this the main, the important work of your life. Make it your special life work. Co-operate with Christ in this grand and noble work, and become home and foreign missionaries. Be ready and efficient to work at home or in far-off climes for the saving of souls. Work the works of God and demonstrate your faith in your Saviour by toiling for others."—"Messages to Young People," page 227.

There is no easy way to win the vast multitude of young people who today are not being reached for Christ. Perhaps you have often wondered why God, in His wisdom, did not devise some easy way to make men come flocking to His church. Could He not cause some great super-natural sign to appear in the sky which would frighten people enough to make them believe in Him? This is, indeed, what the people were looking for in Jesus' day, but Jesus knew that was not God's way.

"God might have committed the mes-sage of the gospel, and all the work of

loving ministry, to the heavenly angels. He might have employed other means for accomplishing His purpose. But in His infinite love He chose to make us co-workers with Himself, with Christ and the angels, that we might share the bless-ing, the joy, the spiritual uplifting, which results from this unselfish ministry."—"Steps to Christ," page 79.

THE WHITENING HARVEST FIELDS

On one occasion Jesus lifted His hand and pointed out to multitudes of people and compared them to a great harvest field. He said, "Look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." Then He did not ask His followers to pray that in some magical way that harvest would be reaped, but He said, "Pray ye . . that He will send forth labourers into His harvest."

Jesus suggests• that when He talks of this work in terms of a harvest, it takes a great deal of hard work to accom-plish its purpose. A farmer does not put on a white collar when his wheat is ready to reap and wish that it would in some way gather itself into his barn. In spite of modern machinery it still requires labour, and there is an urgency about his work. Long hours are spent willingly during harvest time because the precious grain must be gathered before the rains come and ruin it.

Two lessons come to us from this thought of the harvest. First, it requires a great deal of time and effort to reap the harvest of unreached youth. Second, we ought to work with an urgency before storms come and destroy our opportunity.

Our real task begins as we go out to share our faith with the unreached youth on the highways and byways of life. We must go to them where they are. We cannot wait for them to come to us. Jesus did not establish Himself on a mountain and send out an announcement that all who wished to become disciples should come to meet Him on a certain day and at a certain hour. Instead, He walked down to the seashore where Simon and Andrew were working. He went to the tax table where Matthew was sitting. In fact, He was constantly going where the people were.

"The work of Christ was largely com-posed of personal interviews. He had a faithful regard for the one-soul audience.

. . The most successful toilers are those who will cheerfully work to serve God in small things. Every human being is to work with his own individual thread, weave it into the fabric that composes the web, and complete the pattern. . . .

"Educate the youth to help the youth; and in seeking to do this work each will gain experience that will qualify him to become a consecrated worker in a larger sphere. Thousands of hearts can be reached in the most simple way. . . .

"The world's great and gifted men and women, are often refreshed by the most humble, simple words spoken by one who loves God, . . . a service of little things, done in natural simplicity, will unbolt the door, which has long been locked to many souls."

"Never underrate the importance of little things. Little things supply the actual discipline of life."—"Messages to Young People," pages 203, 202.

Young people, we are the labourers who must go out into the fields today to gather the harvest into the barns. We

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must go about our work earnestly and patiently. We must go out and share our faith with young people of our own ages. We must not wait for them to come to us.

GOD IS CALLING OUR YOUTH As the eyes of the Lord run to and fro

throughout the whole earth seeking those whose hearts are toward Him they light again and again upon the fine stalwart young men, the keen, thoughtful young women of our day. e longs that they shall give themselves unreservedly to Him. He has great tasks for you to perform calling for the highest courage, the steadiest nerve, the greatest endur-ance. Among your ranks He sees His strongest champions who will maintain the honour of His name though the heavens fall. To them He looks for wit-nesses who will remain loyal to Him.

To you He commits the task of taking to all mankind the last warning and sav-ing message. It is for you with all the power of your being, by voice and by pen, by preaching and visiting, by missionary service and printed page, to arouse young men and women everywhere to a realiza-tion of the full significance of this solemn time. By loving ministry to the poor, the sick, and the needy God would have you reveal His love for men and woo them back from their evil ways to serve Him with all their hearts.

God's invitation to young people today is indeed a call to noble tasks. All who yield themselves to Him and throw them-selves wholeheartedly on His side, deter-mined to champion His cause against all opponents, and at all costs to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus will find that He will honour their faith and courage. He will not disap-point them.

When the rich young ruler came to our Lord and talked with Him about the way of life we are told that "Jesus beholding him loved him." The young man wanted to do right. He was keeping the com-mandments to the best of his knowledge. Jesus was drawn to this fine, strong, up-right young man and rejoiced in his pure beautiful life. So far no one had come to Him of such rare promise. What rich possibilities were here! Surely, in this splendid youth was the making of a mighty champion of righteousness. To turn his life into richer, deeper channels He suggested an act of sacrifice. He wanted the young man to realize that the keeping of the commandments, though very commendable and very necessary, was not sufficient of itself.

Faith was indispensable and could not in his case be developed until confidence in riches had been shaken. The young man went away sorrowful, not willing to make the surrender asked of him. Though he knew it not, the greatest op-portunity of his life had passed. He held on to his money but lost eternal riches. Instead of becoming a great leader in God's cause and championing the fortunes of the early church he faded out of the picture, and all that remains is the record of his tragic failure.

By His Holy Spirit God is speaking to the youth of today. Beholding them He loves them. To every young man He is saying, "My son, give Me thine heart." With every young woman He is pleading, "Come unto Me. . . . Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me." Money or posi-tion makes no difference with Him. He found David with the sheep, Gideon at a

wine press, and Paul on the Damascus road. He found Amos as a herdsman, a gatherer of sycamore fruit, the poorest of the poor, yet the Lord took him as he followed the flock and said, "Go, prophesy to My people Israel." It is not place or social standing that matters in His sight, but willingness to listen and obey.

Young men and women, you heard the call of the Lord. This is your moment of supreme opportunity. Listen with all care. Tell Him that you want to do His

"ARISE, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee." Isa. 60: 1, 2.

As the prophet Isaiah looked abroad over the world in his day he saw darkness everywhere. The great Oriental empires were engaged in their careers of con-quest. They marched forward over a trail of blood leaving cruelty and oppres-sion in their wake. But Israel had been chosen of God to be a. light amid this darkness. She knew what true righteous-ness was, for she had the commandments of God and the sacred word. She had been placed at the crossroads of the nations as a light to enlighten the Gentile nations of the world.

Israel as a lighthouse on the shore of universal darkness was to let her light shine, and at times it did shine brightly, but more often dimly as heathenism itself crept into the camp of Israel. Finally, before the coming of the Messiah, the light of Israel flickered out and left the world in darkness.

But it was not to remain in darkness, for Christ came with a new flaming light that shone forth with new radiance in the lives of His followers. The gospel light that He kindled was to carry its saving message to the ends of the earth. It was not now to be entrusted to one nation alone, but men from many lands were to pick up the torch and carry its saving rays to every nation and kindred and tongue until the whole world should be lightened with its glory.

And how was this to come about? We are told in the Spirit of prophecy that light from heaven will shine upon one here and there and he in turn will re-flect it to others and still others until lights will be kindled in many places, and "memorials for Him" will be raised "in every city and village." Thus the truth will be proclaimed throughout the world. (See "Testimonies," Vol. IX, pages 28, 29.)

We are living in the days of the ful-filment of these prophecies. The lights are being lighted in the "high and low places of the earth." We are seeing the outpouring of the Spirit of God in many lands. The truth is shining brightly and thousands are coming to the light and in turn letting their light shine before their neighbours.

will, that you desire His help, and as He asks you to be His champion in this mighty hour accept His commission. And say to Him as Isaiah said in his youth, "Here am I; send me." Such an act of surrender will bring you immediately into the company of His chosen ones and open the widest possibilities of rich and joyous fellowship and service with Him. You will become something far greater than you could ever have been without Him.

But we must let the men from overseas divisions tell their story of how the mes-sage is sweeping on to its triumph. Re-member, however, that every advance step is contested by the enemy, and vic-tories are won only by marching forward through baffling problems and deep per-plexities. These would bring discourage-ment except for the faith and confidence that our loyal workers have in their great Leader. With Him victory is assured.

Elder V. T. Armstrong, president of the Far Eastern Division, tells of the un-precedented opportunities in his division. He says:—

"The war opened the doors of Japan in a most remarkable manner. Today calls are coming from every part of that densely populated, interesting country. In pre-war days the staff of missionaries, the church buildings and institutions, were few and too small to meet the needs even in those days when the membership was less than 1,500. With the close of the war and the mass movement to study the Bible and break with former religions, have come such opportunities and calls for literature, Bible studies, Christian education, and medical and health ser-vices that the limited staff of workers have come face to face with new and unlimited possibilities. ' "Baptisms for the past three years more than equal the number of baptisms in the preceding forty-five years. All churches were disbanded during the war with all records of church membership lost. Many of the church buildings were destroyed. These churches have been reorganized and new churches are being built. The number of church organiza-tions has more than doubled since the war.

"The Philippine Islands have for years been a fruitful mission field with a rapidly growing membership. All former records have been eclipsed by the records of literature distribution, schools, enrol-ments, and baptisms. The membership of this union makes it second in size in the world field, and at the present rate of baptisms the membership will undoubt-edly pass the 35,000 mark early in 1950.

"In the Indonesia Union the member-ship has nearly doubled since the war and is now nearing the ten thousand mark. Hundreds of bright young people are looking to us for a Christian education. The demands today are far beyond the ability of the limited staff and our meagre facilities. Could the staff of missionaries

THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 1951

Into All the World By JAMES I. ROBISON

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be doubled in the Indonesia Union the membership could soon be doubled. Many islands and wide stretches of territory are unentered and await the gospel worker."

ADVANCE IN EUROPE AND AFRICA We shall next hear from troubled

Europe where Elder W. R. Beach, with his faithful corps of workers, is carrying on with courage and faith in spite of per-secution and trial. He says:—

"We are facing today in Europe unpre-cedented opportunities for evangelistic advance. The millions in our territories are living right under the shadow of an ominous future. Men are naturally per-plexed and thoughtful. There is a lot of religious bitterness, but generally speak-ing, people are more inclined to listen to what God has to say to them. For mil-lions, the supernatural intervention of God in world affairs has become the only hope of a solution to man's predicament. This explains, I am sure, why hundreds now crowd into our evangelistic centres where only groups of twenty to thirty could be gathered to listen to the message a few short years ago. In many of our eighteen cities with more than a million inhabitants, three evangelistic meetings are held the same day in the same hall in order to accommodate the hundreds that desire to listen.

"This heartening picture of evangelis-tic opportunity stands against a glorious background of achievement since the end of World War II. Think of it, Brother Robison! The valiant pioneers of the advent cause worked seventy years to reach, as on December 31, 1945, a total membership of about 32,000 in Southern Europe. In the succeeding four years of this momentous post-war period the net membership gain is approximately 33,000.

"So the signals of advance are flashing in from all sides. Around the entire rim of our vast field we find a spirit of resolve and unremitting effort for God. More than forty churches and evangelistic centres have been built and opened for service since the close of the war. Surg-ing, ponderous events continue to bring abounding opportunities. Our 1,345 churches and 1,364 workers are setting themselves with admirable zeal and cour-age to the task, and join hands with the advent people everywhere to finish the work."

Probably one of our most encouraging mission fields is the great continent of Africa. We shall let Elder C. W. Bozarth tell the story of Africa's advance and need.

"I am happy to tell you that the work throughout Southern Africa is making progress in all departments.- The year 1949 was the best year in the history of the work in Africa. We held 125 camp-meetings, with more than 320,000 in at-tendance. At these meetings there were approximately 3,000 who accepted the truth when the call was made for those who desire to turn away from heathenism and accept the third angel's message. Our baptisms have also been exception-ally good this year, and when the reports are all in we are confident that we shall have baptized at least 10,000. Our Sab-bath-keepers have climbed to the large number of 135,000. This shows a gain of 55,000 over a five-year period, or an average of 11,000 per year.

"While we were up in the Congo Union, Brother Arthur Davy, president of the Ruanda Urundi Mission field, told us that if he had one hundred new workers he could place every one of them immedi-ately. Elder Ambs pled for the work out in the Western Congo where we do not, have any work at all, and yet there are people in that country who have been call-ing for years for someone to come from the Sabbath church to teach them this message. .

"I wish you could have heard Brother Webster, of the Kisii country, appeal for additional workers and equipment for that territory. Already this year, they have baptized more than 1,000 souls there among the, Kisii people, but if they were in a position to add to their working fo-c,e and provide a little equipment I feel sure that in just a little while they would be able to double their baptisms.

"Yes, Brother Robison, the calls are greater than we have ever seen them in Africa before, and now is the time for us to step into the opening providences of God and reap a rich harvest of souls for the heavenly garner."

OPPORTUNITIES IN CHINA AND SOUTH AMERICA

From troubled China, which offers a great challenge to us to take this last message to its waiting millions, Elder W. H. Branson reports:—

"China is now a Communist-controlled country and it seemed unwise to the

The church, and some of the male members from Lou and Manus Island, Territory of New Guinea.

General Conference and the division com-mittee for our foreign mission staff to remain in the field. Most mission organ-izations have withdrawn practically all their foreign workers. Generally speak-ing, the presence of foreigners causes em-barrassment to the national Christian workers and members since any associa-tion and affiliation with them gives rise to serious questioning by the authorities and at times a definite restriction of their liberty to carry on the work of the church.

"The work of our mission in China, however, is carrying on. In the provi-dence of God Chinese nationals have been prepared to take over the burdens for-merly carried by our foreign missionaries, and thus God is not without a witness in this populous country.

"The new China Division Committee and officers are all Chinese. Every union

and local office throughout the field is manned by Chinese leaders. Our sani-tariums are being operated by Chinese doctors and nurses, and our schools are carried on under the direction and tute-lage of Chinese teachers. Many of these national brethren have developed into great strength of leadership and they will be ,able, under the guidance of God, to push the work on to victory in China.

"Reports are reaching us of baptisms of new converts in many places through-out China, and we trust that the present membership may not only be maintained but increased under the guiding hand of our God and the blessing of His Spirit.

"Our Chinese leaders in China are facing legions of perplexing and very difficult problems, and they stand in need of the prayers of all God's people on their behalf. We earnestly request that they be remembered at the throne of grace during this Week of Prayer."

South America, once the neglected con-tinent, offers today perhaps the greatest opportunity of any mission field in the world. Elder R. R. Figuhr sends the following encouraging message:—

"South America is today the continent of evangelistic opportunity. On every hand there is an increasing desire on the part of the people to hear and to study the truth. Old superstitions and cold formalism do not give comfort and assur-ance in this day of uncertainty and fear. So our evangelists are reporting increas-ing and attentive audiences as they pro-

claim the truth. Our gain in baptisms has for several years increased from 20 to 35 per cent each year.

"One of our workers who arrived a few days ago in a city where the truth has never been preached, writes how difficult it is to do anything because of the fear that the people have of the priests. This worker dares not tell the owner of the house where he lives that he is a Protest-ant, for if he were to do so he would im-mediately be thrown out. Time after time he has endeavoured to secure a hall for meetings, but when the purpose of the hall is finally mentioned the deal is immediately called off. Our worker writes further on in his letter:—

" 'While we were doing Ingathering we spoke to a gentleman about our work and he seemed quite interested and enthusias-tic and asked for some kind of meetings.

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We acceded to his request. He gathered in his house about twenty persons, very fine people. Among them was the chief of the security police with all of his family. They were very well pleased and have promised to help us in every way they can. Another night we were invited to the home of an author. There were more than ten in that house, all cultikred people. They have asked that we come back again and converse with them further.'

"We believe that this is the time to press on in South America. Had we time we could go on and tell of the need of a greater medical work and more educa-tional institutions in South America. All of these are appreciated and there is an incessant clamour for more. We are doing the best we can with what we have, ever praying that the Lord will make up our deficiencies by the abundance of His blessing."

ONWARD IN AUSTRALASIA AND SOUTHERN ASIA

Elder N. C. Wilson, reporting from the far-flung Australasian Inter-Union Con-ference, sends this encouraging word :—

"In Australasia we have very much to encourage us and urge us on to greater accomplishments for God. Wherever the advent message has been preached people's hearts have been touched and changed. Even in the most backward parts of the South Pacific Islands great victories are being won for God. The older missionaries in the field tell us that especially during the past several years the victories won have seemed more out-standing than at earlier times. People who have spent all their lives in the deep-est sin and degradation have found vic-tory in God and have accepted the advent message.

"In New Guinea, in the Solomons, in Fiji, in Tahiti, and in many other places throughout our vast South Pacific island empire we have witnessed miracles of God's saving grace which cause us to feel that the time has come to arise and press the battle to the gates of the enemy.

"In Australia and New Zealand there is much to cheer the heart of the advent believer. Our evangelistic meetings have never been so well attended. Baptisms are larger year by year. The baptisms last year were approximately twice as many as for the next best year. The cir-culation of our literature goes on each year to higher goals. Great and blessed things are taking place in these strong home bases.

"As a group of workers in Australasia we dedicate our all to God for the speedy finishing of His work in this large and in-teresting field. A large section of God's world-wide family will be awaiting in Australasia the return of our Lord, and evidences all about us declare the soon coming of that blessed day."

From Southern Asia, so long looked upon as the Gibraltar of heathenism, Elder A. L. Ham brings an encouraging report of progress. He says:—

"This is a new day in Southern Asia for our evangelists, both national and foreign. It is not unusual to have around a thousand people attending the meetings and a very unusual interest has been manifested. Our workers have been able to secure halls which never before were permitted to be used for religious ser-vices. As a result our baptisms are in-creasing and there is a very definite de-

sire on the part of the people to learn about Christianity.

"The Voice of Prophecy Bible Corres-pondence School has met with phenom-enal success. During the short time of its existence we have enrolled over 60,000 students, and one feature which is most encouraging is that so many of those who enrol continue on to finish the course. The advanced course is also being con-ducted, and there seems to be an eagerness on the part of Brahmins, Mohammedans, and others to take this course.

"I am sure, our people all over the world will be glad to knew that in the little country of Nepal, which has through the years excluded missionary workers from its territory, there are ardent students of the Voice of Prophecy. A prominent citizen in Nepal who is tak-ing the course wrote that although no one could get entrance to visit him in Nepal, because no foreigners are allowed, he hoped to come to India to meet our brethren. In a more recent letter he asked for enrolment cards as he has several friends who are eager to take the course.

"We see in the Voice of Prophecy Bible Correspondence School the means which God is using to send His last warning message to the people beyond these im-passable boundaries. -We are expecting similar news from Tibet, Bhutan, and Afghanistan. There are reasons to be-lieve that the message through this means is reaching into those closed countries as well.

"It seems to us that there is no limit to the results we may expect to see if we can have sufficient well trained and con-secrated workers to answer the many calls we are receiving from almost all parts of this division."

VICTORIES IN INTER-AMERICA AND CENTRAL EUROPE

Inter-America reports progress from every corner of their field. In these in-teresting lands the message is making un-precedented advance. Elder E. F. Hack-man reports:—

"All the fields in Inter-America are wide open to the preaching of the mes-sage; and all parts of this vast field are calling for more men and means. Inter-America presents a most bountiful har-vest. I wish to repeat that the doors of opportunity are wide open just every-where!

"Our outstanding objective during 1949 was to emphasize evangelism, and the re-sults have been most gratifying. We are especially impressed with the marvellous work that is being done by our lay preachers. More than a thousand are now operating throughout the division, and are carrying on a strong work with very little expense to the denomination and bringing in literally hundreds of con-verts. 'During the second quarter of 1949

these lay preachers held over 600 efforts; and during the first six months 879 per-sons were baptized as a result of their efforts; and there were more than 2,193 others in the baptismal classes.

"In addition to this our regular work-ers held 365 evangelistic efforts (one for each day of the year) for 1949, and we fully expect to baptize a total of 8,000 new converts when all the reports are in, which will far exceed any former record for a single year:

"When we say that the fields are wide open for the preaching of the message

we do not wish to imply that the task is a simple or easy one. Far from it. In many parts of the Inter-American Divi-sion our believers have suffered, and are still suffering, for their faith; but they are undaunted in their determination to give the truth to their friends and neigh-bours. Our buildings and our workers in some portions of the field have been re-peatedly stoned this past year, and many other attempts have been made to dis-courage those who are preaching the message; but God has worked for His people, and the enemy has been held - in restraint that the work might go for-ward.

"There are vast sections of this divi-sion as yet unentered, and we have barely touched the Indian work in the various republics of Inter-America. But we are not discouraged; for God has His work in charge, and has ways for the finishing of the task in His own good time. It is our major concern to do our utmost to send the message of salvation to every part of the field, that the innumerable com-pany of waiting ones may be quickly gathered into the heavenly garner."

From Central Europe we have this courageous message from Elder A. Minck, the division president:—

" 'But the word of God grew and mul-tiplied.' Acts 12: 24. Not since we be-gan the proclamation of the message in the land of the Reformation has there been such a search for truth as there has been since the close of the last bloody conflict of nations. The chapels and meeting halls which escaped destruction are often too small to hold all the listen-ers. At first the existing misery drove the people to God, then the disappointing experiences since the war caused the people to listen to Bible truths and accept Jesus Christ as their only Saviour.

"Probably the best proof of this new power and the fruitfulness of the last gospel message in Germany is the fact that from the autumn of 1945 until the close of 1949 more than 18,000 persons have been baptized. This has placed heavy demands upon our ministers, but this success was due also to a large degree to the co-operation of well-trained and gifted lay members.

"The young people have been revived and thus are able to work out their motto: `Share your faith.' In connection with one of our youth's congresses, a young brother reported that he had been chosen elder of a church. He stated that his greatest joy was the fact that almost all of the thirty church members had been won through his own personal work.

"One of the successful means of saving souls has been the Bible Correspondence School. One of the participants of this course writes from a totally Catholic dis-trict: 'I find this Bible Correspondence Course a most wonderful arrangement for the dissemination of the gospel and its truth for everyday living. In this difficult struggle for my existence such a Bible study proves a spiritual refreshing and a most beneficial diversion. It also offers the best opportunity at last again to do something about one's soul salva-tion in this soulless atomic age.'

"So in Central Europe we have many reasons to exclaim with the psalmist: `The Lord on high is mightier than the voice of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.' Ps. 93: 4. God will surely complete His wonderful work also in Germany, and Jesus Christ will

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soon come again and establish His ever-lasting kingdom. This is our faith and our joyful hope."

G. A. Lindsay reports that, "1949 was the best year for soul-winning in the Northern European Division field. There is an earnest desire on the part of all our members to do something for God and their fellowmen. Finland is taking the lead in this great work. There is found a seeking for God, a real hunger after a spiritual revival with the people in general. Our denomination is per-mitted to share with other churches the religious services over the Finnish National Broadcasting. One Sunday, when one of our leading evangelists in Finland was responsible for the forenoon regular church service over the air, at the close of his meeting he announced that if any of the listeners were in need of special spiritual help, they could just write him a letter, and he gave his address. He received many letters, and one of his listeners, a business man, who lived nearly 200 miles away, took the train and came to see him personally to talk over some problems he had. The result was that this man gave his heart to God in our brother's home, and he went home rejoicing, and is now prepar-ing for baptism."

Time does not permit us to give further reports from the detached unions includ-ing the British Isles, West Africa, and the Middle East. From each of these fields we hear of progress even though every advance step is contested by the enemy. One encouraging feature is the report from the Arabic fields that a num-ber of young Moslems in various coun-tries have been baptized during the last year or two. Recently five young men from prominent Moslem families in one of our schools took their stand for the truth and are proving faithful in encour-aging others to investigate the message. It is almost unheard of that as many as five Moslems should accept Christianity at one time and together. This is a great victory, and we trust that they may prove faithful even though their families and friends are persecuting them.

As the message sweeps on to its final victory in all lands, let us hold these thousands of overseas workers and be-lievers up before the throne of grace, especially in this annual prayer season. The advent message had its birth in prayer. It has made its greatest progress and experienced its largest victories as a result of prayer. There is power in prayer. It is power that our workers in all lands need just now as the message swells on into its loud cry.

But in addition to prayer, we must have a working church. There will still be calls for thousands of our young people to go out to the ends of the earth in the finishing of our task. May the church at home be ready to send them forth with their prayer and benediction and with financial support- that will make it pos-sible to send the message into every ham-let and village in the whole world! We must all face the task. Our world pro-gramme should rest heavily upon the heart of every believer. Every church should dedicate its resources, its mem-bers, its youth to the finishing of the task. If 600,000 Adventists scattered over the world should really get in earnest and pray and work and give as we should, how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Saviour might be carried to all the world!

THE great Teacher said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." It is obvious that He was referring to material treasure. He was doubtless speaking about possessions in property and money. Sometimes it is difficult to know what our attitude should be to these temporal things, and sometimes it is difficult to do with them what we are convinced we ought to do.

Mrs. Samuel, an Indian lady, had many beautiful and costly jewels and orna-ments. Her husband, a doctor, is a very earnest member of our church and is a devoted personal worker. He was very desirous that his wife should accept this truth and prayed most earnestly for her conversion. While she came to believe the doctrines of our church she could not bring herself to give up her costly ornaments. There was a struggle in her life for many, many months. How-ever, she was led to give special study again to the message. She associated others with her in this study who were also seekers for truth, and in this way, while she prepared herself for baptism, she also prepared others for that sacred rite. She was truly converted, and not only removed her lovely jewels, but sold them, giving the entire amount received toward the erection of a tuberculosis ward in the hospital. She also paid in a large sum in tithes. Now, this dear sister and her busy husband find time to conduct a Sabbath school for caste Hindus and others who are interested in the message. They are very happy in this soul-saving work. Sister Samuel has placed her trea-sure in heaven and is sharing her rich blessings with others, "for we must share if we would keep that blessing from above. Ceasing to give we cease to have. Such is the law of love."

Jesus did not denounce the obtaining of property and wealth. In fact, it was He who gave the parable of the talents, which clearly indicated His wish that His stewards be earnest and faithful in the employment of those talents. He com-mended those who had gained by the use of those talents. The great question for us to consider is what use do we make of the talents given to us, or the gain re-ceived through the employment of them? Let us consider some experiences recorded for our instruction and help.

With Achan, the treasure was hid in a hole in the ground under his tent. That which should have come into the treasury of God was in the wrong place. So also were Achan's heart's affections in the wrong place. He was not concerned even at that time of crisis about the cause of God. He sought to gain the things of the world, but lost his own soul.

Where was the treasure of Ananias and Sapphira? It was with them and not in the treasury where they promised to-place it for the work of God. Their hearts were with their treasure, and in their deceit and unfaithfulness they perished.

Where was the heart of the rich young nobleman who desired to be a disciple? It was in his great possessions. When the test of unselfishness came he "went

away sorrowful" and kept his riches, but lost his inheritance in the kingdom of heaven. The question at once arose, Can a rich man enter the kingdom of heaven? Jesus indicated that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, but He did not say it was impossible. - The important question is, Where are his ab-sorbing affections? Are they centred in the bank account, in stocks and bonds and property holdings, or are his affections set on the things of God and His great cause of gospel truth and the proclama-tion of His last warning message? Does he gladly dedicate his abilities in business affairs, and a liberal portion of his in-come from his holdings to advance the work of God and bring salvation to the lost? That is the real test as to whether or not the rich man may enter into the kingdom of heaven. _

ENTRIES IN BANK OF HEAVEN Those who have been entrusted with

talents and wealth do well to consider the following statement:—

"Money cannot be carried into the next life; it is not needed there; but the good deeds done in winning souls to Christ are carried to the heavenly courts. But those who selfishly spend the Lord's gifts on themselves, leaving their needy fellow creatures without aid, and doing nothing to advance God's work in the world, dis-honour their Maker. Robbery of God is written opposite their names in the books of heaven."—"Christ's Object Lessons," page 266.

Here is indicated how both our hearts and our God-given treasure may be in heaven :—

"Every opportunity to help a brother in need, or to aid the cause of God in the spread of the truth, is a pearl that you send beforehand, and deposit in the bank

.,. of heaven for safe keeping. God is test-ing and proving you. He has been giving His blessings to you with a lavish hand, and is now watching to see what use you are making of them, to see if you will help those who need help, and if you will feel the worth of souls, and do what you can with the means that He has intrusted to you. Every such opportunity improved adds to your heavenly treasure."—"Testi-monies," Vol. III, pages 249, 250.

That is a very solemn and thought-in-spiring statement. Notice again, "God is testing and proving you." Then, dear brethren and sisters, where are our affec-tions, our interests and deep concern centred? How do we use the blessings bestowed upon us so bountifully?

We are told of the Saviour that "He was possessed of one purpose. He lived to bless others." Then, it will be helpful for us also to consider the desperate needs of others. First of all there is the respon-sibility laid upon us as a people to give to all the world a last warning message. No other church, no other people, are giving the messages of Rev. 14: 6-11. That burden and responsibility has been laid upon us as a people. We have ac-cepted the call of God to do this, and we can say like the Apostle Paul, "Woe is me

FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1951

"Where Your Treasure Is" By A. L. HAM

13

Village on Lou Island, built since the inhabitants embraced Christianity a few years ago.

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if I preach not the gospel." We must possess in our souls a consuming passion for the lost; for those who are perishing for the bread of life, and for the water of life; those in darkness who are seeking the light; those for whom Christ died and who are the "other sheep" which He would have follow Him. It is through the world-wide proclamation of this mes-sage that these "other sheep" are sought out and brought to Him. He is counting on us faithfully to do this solemn work. When we look at what has been accom-plished by a loyal, devoted people in al-most all parts of the world, it is marvel-lous in our eyes. More than 220 countries entered, churches, schools, hospitals, pub-lishing houses erected and operated in many lands of the earth, evangelistic efforts in many tongues in many lands, winning precious souls to Christ, lead us to praise God and take courage. Truly God has wrought great miracles of His grace in the salvation of souls through the proclamation of this message in many, many lands of this earth.

However, when we survey the world field we are humbled and astonished to see how much there is yet to be done before the great task is finished. Even in North America where this message had its rise and the "homeland" which has sent so many missionaries to all the world field, and has very loyally supported the work financially, there are still vast areas and many cities and towns where the message has not yet been established. In every mission division of the world field the great unentered territories, with thou-sands of cities and towns unwarned, present a staggering challenge to our committees. At every annual committee meeting when we set up the budgets for our organizations and institutions we are faced with urgent and pathetic requests for large sums with which to carry for-ward our present work and advance into new providential openings. Doors that have long been closed against the procla-mation of the gospel are now opening, and many are wide open for us to enter and finish quickly God's great work. But we can only meet a very small portion of these crying needs.

THE GREAT UNFINISHED TASK Our people are known as sacrificial

givers. Christian leaders of other churches marvel at our sacrificial giving. Yet, comparatively speaking, many of our people are living in comfort while the work of God suffers. So often when we see the very fine homes of many of our good people, and modern equipment, con-veniences, and labour-saving devices, we are led to wonder if we are not becoming too comfortable and satisfied with this world. Are we longing as we should for the mansions in heaven which Jesus is preparing for us? Is there the urgency that there should be in our hearts for the finishing of the work that we may go home with Him?

I have frequently been impressed by the warning given in Haggai the first chapter. These words have come home to me with great force when contemplating the increasing needs of God's cause. "Is it time for you, 0 ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?" Let us think of "this house" which re-ferred then to the unfinished temple, as the great unfinished task of this world-wide movement. Are we today seeking too much our own comfort, our own plea-

sure, our own prosperity, heeding not the cries of men and women for the bread of life and the water of life? Is there now the complete devotion to the cause of God as was experienced by the pioneers of this message? Is there in us the same unflinching loyalty and willingness to sacrifice even the comforts of life that God's work may prosper which possessed the hearts of those who led us in the early years of this great cause?

Our hearts are deeply stirred when we think of these things. We see the great changes in the attitudes of so many people in so many countries of this world. A new eagerness to leant about Chris-tianity and a desire to accept Christ on the part of so many people who formerly were indifferent to these things lead us to conclude that now is the time for the message to swell into the loud cry. What God's people need and must have is a much deeper consecration and a far greater spirit of sacrifice if we are to meet the challenge of this new day in so many countries of the world.

Let these pathetic appeals stir our hearts. Here is what a man, a doctor of philosophy and college professor, says os he writes to the Voice of Prophecy Bible Correspondence School:—

"I hold Christ in the highest reverence, and bow down my head before Him. I am in desperate need of His grace and mercy. I am faced with a grave problem. I am not ready to stand before the judg-ment seat. The idea never struck me before. I am grateful to you for having set me thinking seriously on this question of life and death. I do not know the way to get ready, and I need light and guid-ance on this very important topic."

Another writes: "Ever since I took up your lessons my life has been spiritually changed. I put off my unholy thoughts and actions by earnest prayer as guided by your lessons. I am now well ac-quainted with the Bible and I am reading it daily. Finally, I thank you in the name of the Lord for the true path you have shown to me when I was in dark-ness."

We could go on and quote many other such appeals, but these are sufficient to show you that the hearts of men and women are now being impressed as never

before with the importance of the Chris-tian faith, and that Jesus is the only, Saviour of man. Such appeals should stir us to greater sacrifices for others.

GIVING A TEST OF LOYALTY "Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came

to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of Mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house." Haggai 1: 9. May it not be, my brethren and sisters, that with the great needs of the work of God ap-pealing to us for far greater sacrifices in this soul-saving endeavour, we are found to "run every man to his own house." Do we seek first the things of God, or do we put our own pleasure and comfort above all else? God has en-trusted us with resources. He has made us stewards of the things which really belong to Him, and He is testing us to see if we will be faithful. "Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful." 1 Cor. 4: 2.

"In commissioning His disciples to go `into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,' Christ assigned to men the work of extending the knowledge of His grace. But while some go forth to preach, He calls upon others to answer His claims upon them for offerings, with which to support His cause in the earth. He has placed means in the hands of men, that His divine gifts may flow through human channels in doing the work -ap-pointed us in saving our fellow men. This is one of God's ways of exalting man. It is just the work that man needs; for it will stir the deepest sympathies of his heart, and call into exercise the high-est capabilities of the mind."—"Testi-monies," Vol. IX, page 255.

ACT OF DEVOTION In writing to the church at Corinth,

Paul refers to the devotion and liberality of the churches in Macedonia. He said, "... but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God." 2 Cor. 8: 5. He expects us to develop in our characters the Christian grace of benevolence. Again he says, "Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all dili-

SABBATH, APRIL 28, 1951

"Come Out of Her, My People" By MRS. E. G. WHITE

gence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also." 2 Cor. 8: 7. He is also careful to indicate that there should not be undue pressure on any to give, and that God blesses according to the willingness and liberality of the giver. "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always hav-ing all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." 2 Cor. 9: 7, 8.

Sacrificial giving is, therefore, an act of devotion prompted by love and sym-pathy. The greater our love and sym-pathy for those in need the greater will be our devotion and benevolence. The following is also very much to the point:

"Unlimited effort is demanded at this time when moral darkness is covering the world. Many of God's people are in danger of being ensnared by worldliness and covetousness. They should under-stand that it is His mercy that multiplies the demands for their means. Objects that call benevolence into action must be placed before them, or they cannot pat-tern after the character of the great Exemplar." — "Testimonies," Vol. IX, pages 254, 255.

In this connection I like to think of the love, devotion, and sacrifice of the Indian worker who had a burning desire to erect a suitable church building for his people to worship in. They had a plot of land, but little money. The pastor worked with his own feeble hands to lay the founda-tion. He quarried stones from a pit near to the site, carried the stones to the slowly rising walls, and laid them in order, hoping and praying and giving from his own meagre salary for the materials needed for the church. One day the mis-sionary visited his place and found him down in the pit cutting stones for the structure. Then noticing a small herd of cattle grazing peacefully on the near-by hillside, he asked, "Is that your herd of cows?" Our brother straightened up from his work and looked for a moment at those cows as though he almost re-gretted that they were not his possession. Then significantly, as though a great thought had come to him, he pointed with both hands to the partially constructed walls of the church and said, "That is my herd of cattle." He was putting his treasure into the cause of God.

"What shall I give Thee, Master? Thou who didst die for me.

Shall I give less of what I possess, or shall I give all to Thee?

"What shall I give Thee, Master? Thou has redeemed my soul;

My gift is small but it is my all—sur-rendered to Thy control.

"What shall I give Thee, Master? Giver of gifts divine!

I will not hold time, talents, or gold—for everything shall be Thine."

—Homer W. Grimes.

So let us, dear brethren and sisters, at this time reconsecrate ourselves and dedi-cate all we possess, be it large or small, for the salvation of lost souls and the speedy finishing of God's great work. For where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also.

"BE not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Rom. 12: 2.

To whatever field of labour Christians may be called, in whatever part of the Lord's vineyard they may be assigned to work, they cannot conform to the world. The world's way is not God's way. The world would have Christians conform to its ideas, and meet its own standard of Christianity. The world has marked out a line, and demands that Christians fol-low in its way, and do those things which will suit the world, and make them one with it in purposes and plans. But the voice of God is heard in His Word, speak-ing to the children of men in unmistak-able language, and saying, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the un-clean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." 2 Cor. 6: 17, 18. Will you obey that voice?

SOUND AN ALARM The life of Christ manifested in human

character will be antagonistic to the world, and in opposition to its customs and practices. Yet there is continual danger on this point among those who profess to have advanced light. It is Satan's purpose to set in operation such agencies as will lead the people of God into conformity to the world's standard, and it becomes every Bible Christian to sound an alarm in every organized body of professed followers of Jesus Christi

To be separate from the world, to be Wholly the Lord's, to be uninfluenced by the rules, maxims, practices, and methods of the world means far more than many comprehend.2

MARKS OF THE CHRISTIAN A Christian, as described by the Scrip-

tures, is a person who is separated from the world in his aims and practices, and is united with Christ—a possessor of the peace which Christ alone can bestow, find-ing that the joy of the Lord is his strength, and that his joy is full. Chris-tians will not leave the world to perish unwarned, and make no effort for the re-claiming of the lost. . . . Those who truly love Christ become labourers together with God, and they watch for every opportunity to employ the means at their command in doing good, and in pattern-ing after the works of Christ. They will not yield to temptation to make alliances with the world. They will not unite with secret orders and bind themselves by in-timacies with unbelievers. But those who are not wholly on the side of Christ are to a large degree controlled by the maxims and customs of the world. They unite in close companionship with the world, and make partners of those who do not love God, but rather dishonour Him.3

In His teaching, Christ sought to ad-just the claims of heaven and earth. In His lessons of instruction, this was an all-important subject. He saw that men

are in danger of cherishing an inordinate love for the world. The love of God is supplanted by a love for the world. Nothing but the power of the omnipotent God can dislodge this love. The things which are earthly and temporal lead men away from God, although the advantages to be gained are but an atom in compari-son with eternal realities. They have eyes, but they see not aright. Instead of keeping the heavenly world in view, the things of this world are ever before their eyes, and are magnified till they eclipse the world of bliss.

Turning away from heavenly attrac-tions, from imperishable wealth, from peace, from nobility of soul, man pours out his affections on unworthy, unsatisfy-ing things; and by constantly beholding this world, he becomes conformed to it. His mind, capable of elevation, and privileged to grasp the eternal blessed-ness of the saints, turns away from an eternity of greatness, and allows its powers to be chained like a slave to an atom of a world. It is humiliated and dwarfed by allegiance to worldly things.

Jesus came to change this order of things, to correct this widespread evil. He lifts up His voice as the voice of God in warnings, reproofs, and entreaties, seeking to break the spell which infatu-ates, enslaves, and ensnares men. He presents before them the future eternal world, and addressing them in decided language, says, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"4 Mark 8: 36.

NOT THE WORK OF A MOMENT The requirements of God are set plainly

before us; the question to be settled is, Will we comply with them? Will we accept the condition laid down in His Word—separation from the world? This is not the work of a moment or of a day. It is not accomplished by bowing at the family altar and offering up lip-service, nor by public exhortation and prayer. It is a lifelong work. Our consecration to God must be a living principle, inter-woven with the life, and leading to self-denial and self-sacrifice. It must under-lie all our thoughts, and be the spring of every action. This will elevate us above the world, and separate us from its polluting influence.

All our actions are affected by our religious experience. If our experience is founded in God; if we are daily tasting the power of the world to come, and have the fellowship of the Spirit; if each day we hold with a firmer grasp the higher life, principles that are holy and elevat-ing will be enwrought in us, and it will be as natural for us to seek purity and holiness and separation from the world, as it is for the angels of glory to execute the mission of love assigned them. Every-one who enters the pearly gates of the city of God will be a doer of the Word. He will be a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.5

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WHY SO LITTLE STRENGTH? Many are inquiring, "Why is it that

we have so little strength? Is it because heaven is sealed? Is it because there are no precious blessings in store for us? Is it because our source of strength is ex-hausted, and we can receive no more? Why is it that we are not all light in the Lord?" . . .

The trouble lies with ourselves. Our iniquities have separated us from God. We are not filled, because we do not feel our need; we do not hunger and thirst after righteousness. The promise is that if we hunger and thirst after righteous-ness, we shall be filled. The promise is to you, my brethren and sisters. It is to me, it is to every one of us. It is the hungering, thirsting souls who will be filled. We may come to Christ just as we are, in our weakness, with our folly and imperfections, and offer our petitions in faith. In spite of our errors, our con-tinual backsliding, the voice of the long-suffering Saviour invites us, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." To the needy, the fainting, those who are bowed down with burden and care and perplex-ity, the invitation is, Come. It is Christ's glory to encircle us in the arms of His mercy and love, and bind up our wounds. He will sympathize with those who need sympathy, and strengthen those who need strength.5

The reason why so little is accom-plished to fulfil the words of the Lord's prayer, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven," is that many of those whose names swell the church list have never been joined to Christ; but they have so mingled with the world that their lives and characters are fashioned after the world's standard. In place of pointing heavenward, they are as sign-boards directing. to the world. They are not in union with Christ as is the branch to the vine, although Jesus says, "Without Me ye can do nothing."

Christ and the world are not in part-nership. The apostle says, "Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." James 4: 4. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 1 John 2: 15. Conformity to the world will never be the means of converting the world to Christ. Christians must be entirely con-secrated to God; if the church is to be efficient in its influence for good upon un-believers. The slightest diversion from Christ is so much influence, power, and efficiency given to the enemy.6

SATAN'S STUDIED PURPOSE Many who claim to be the children of

God do not seem to understand that the heart must be regenerated; for their practices ignore the words and works of Christ. By their actions they plainly say, "It is my privilege to act out myself. I should be perfectly miserable, if I did not act out myself." This is the kind of religion that is current in the world; but it bears not the heavenly endorsement. It is a deception, a delusion of the enemy. Science, so-called, human reasoning and poetry, cannot be passed on as of equal authority with revelation; but it is Satan's studied purpose to exalt the maxims, traditions, and inventions of men to an equal authority with the Word

of God; and, having accomplished this, to exalt the words of man to the place of supremacy.

Weak souls who have never realized that to be a follower of Christ means the subordination of every power that God has given to the obedience of Christ, will be drawn into the snare that Satan has set for inexperienced feet. The true voice of God, speaking from His Word, was not heard; or being heard, was ignored; for other voices attracted the attention and engaged the mind, and thus they were led astray. They did not realize that God required that every thought should be brought into captivity to Jesus Christi

Alliance with the world on the part of those who profess to be Christians, is pleasing to the enemy of all righteous-ness; for it is favourable to his deter-mined purpose of building up his king-dom. It is conducive to his success that many of his subjects put on a form of

Colporteur volunteers, Port Stanley, Malekula, New Hebrides.

godliness, and assume the appearance of the children of God. By this means his power to deceive and decoy souls to ruin is greatly increased. . . . Satan is rich in this world's goods, and he is full of cunning to deceive, and his most effective agents are those whom he can lead to take a form of godliness while they deny the power of God by their unchristlike characters.3

WEIGHED IN THE BALANCES Many who profess to believe the Word

of God do not seem to understand the de-ceptive working of the enemy. They do not realize that the end of time is near; but Satan knows it; and while men sleep, he works. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are con-trolling men and women. Satan is at work even among the people of God, to cause disunion. Selfishness,- corruption, and evil of every kind are taking a firm hold upon hearts. With many the preci-ous Word of God is neglected. A novel or a story-book engages the attention, and fascinates the mind. That which excites the imagination is eagerly devoured, while the Word of God is set aside. It was because they overlooked the Word of God that the Jewish nation rejected Christ, demanding that a robber be

granted them, and that the Prince of life be crucified. And in these last days pro-fessed Christians are committing the same sin. They are weighed in the bal-ances, and are found wanting because they suffer their minds to be engrossed with things of little importance, while eternal truth is neglected. The truth of God, which would elevate and sacctify and refine, and fit men for the finishing touch of immortality, is set aside for things of minor importance. Oh, that this blindness might pass away, and men and women understand the work that Satan is accomplishing among them!5

The church should be the almoner for God to the world, but instead of this, -When there is a union with the world, the members of the church practise robbery toward God, withholding from His cause talents of means, ability, and influence. When the church should be diffusing light in every direction, it is in darkness. When the servants of Christ should be drinking largely from the waters of life in order to impart to the world the knowl-edge of the healing fountain, they are drinking from broken cisterns that can hold no water. Those who profess to love God should let their light so shine before men, that they may see their good works, and glorify the Father who is in heaven. . . . As God's agents we are to pray more, to labour more, but not in self-sufficiency, supposing that we can go on in our finite strength and do the work that is required of us. He whom we serve is to be our efficiency, our stronghold in every time of trouble.6

CONTINUOUS EFFORT NEEDED When the grace of God is given and

appropriated, there will be daily improve-ment made. While Satan on the one side will be seeking to press the believer into his service, Christ on the other side will seek to win and draw the soul to Himself. If you become victor over Satan, you will fight many a sturdy battle 'with inclina-tion, and will be found on strict guard, in order that you may be loyal to God in all things. Satan continues the warfare in the determined purpose of conquering, and it will require continuous effort on your part to be an overcomer. You will have to bring self to task, asking repeat-edly, Is this the way of the Lord? Keep-ing the eye upon Jesus, drawing from Him supplies of grace, the striving one will come forth from the conflict with clearer views of God, and will rejoice in the attainment of new strength and power because he has made the Lord first and best and all in al1.2

There is no safety for the child of God unless he daily receives a new and fresh experience in looking unto Jesus. By be-holding Him day by day, he will reflect His image, and thus represent His divine attributes. His only safety lies in daily placing himself under the guidance of God's Word, in daily bringing his course of action to the test inquiry, "Is this the way of the Lord?" A divine life will re-present Jesus Christ, and will be antag-onistic to the customs, practices, and standards of the world.

We need, as Christians, to keep Jesus ever before us, looking unto Him, the "author and finisher of our faith." Every soul who is seeking to become a joint heir with Jesus Christ must consider that his special work during this testing period is to study the character of Christ, and conform to that character. He cannot

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do this in his own strength; but through the abundant grace given of God, daily improvement will be made.?

A profession of truth is of no value un-less the soul grasps fast the principles, and appropriates and absorbs the rich nourishment of the truth, and thus be-comes a partaker of the divine nature. If this is accomplished, the will of the human agent will co-operate with the divine will. The wild, trailing vine which lies prone on the ground, catches at twigs and stumps, and fastens its tendrils about the things of the earth; and in order to have it twine about a proper support, its tendrils must be cut loose from the false supports to which it has attached itself. So it is with the soul. Earthly supports must be removed, and the thoughts and affections must be trained to find their support in God.1

Probation is about to close. In heaven the edict will soon go forth, "It is done." "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work

shall be." Rev. 22: 11, 12. Soon the last prayer for sinners will have been offered, the last tear shed, the last warning given, the last entreaty made, and the sweet voice of mercy will be heard no more. This is why Satan is making such mighty efforts to secure men and women in his snare.5

A partial surrender to truth gives Satan free opportunity to work. Until the soul-temple is fully surrendered to God, it is the stronghold of the enemy. This influence is leading souls away from the grand old waymarks into false paths. When the mind becomes confused, when right is considered unessential, and error is called truth, it is almost impossible to make these deceived souls see that it is the adversary who has confused their senses and polluted the soul-temple. A tissue of lies is placed where truth, and truth alone, should be. The Word of God is a dead letter to them, and the Saviour's love is unknown.

"Come out from among them, and be ye separate." Will we hear the voice of God and obey, or will we make halfway work of the matter, and try to serve God and mammon?- Christ has placed before us the conditions of eternal life. "Thou

shalt love the Lord thy God," He says, "with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." "This do, and thou shalt live (Luke 10: 27, 28)."8

Separated and consecrated to Jesus Christ, the soul finds joy and peace. Christ does not leave us in our weakness and in-efficiency, but, gathering us in the arms of His mercy, binds us to His great heart of infinite love. "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14: 27. "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." John 14: 18. "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil. 4: 7. Here is Christ's work; will you, the human agent, co-operate with Him?7

1. Review and Herald, November 20, 1894. 2. Review and Herald, November 27, 1894. 3. Review and Herald, December 4, 1894. 4. Review and Herald, February 2, 1897. 5. Review and Herald, January 2, 1900. 6. Review and Herald, August 23, 1892. 7. Review and Herald, July 28, 1896. 8. Review and Herald, November 28, 1899.

"Every opportunity . . . to aid the cause of God in the spread of the truth is a pearl that you send be-

forehand, and deposit in the bank of heaven for safe keeping."—"Testimonies," Vol. III, page 249.

TO CHURCH ELDERS AND PASTORS THIRTY-SEVEN years ago, in the Week

of Prayer reading for December 20, 1913, Mrs. E. G. White said, "All heaven is astir, engaged in preparing for the day of God's vengeance, the day of Zion's de-liverance. The time of tarrying is almost ended. The pilgrims and strangers who have so long been seeking a better coun-try are almost home. I feel as if I must cry aloud, Homeward bound! Rapidly we are nearing the time when Christ will come to gather His redeemed to Himself." —Review and Herald, Nov.. 13, 1913, page 23.

We have now reached the year 1951, and are made to realize perhaps as never before that the days in which we live are solemn and portentous. Anxiety and un-rest are everywhere. The hearts of men and women are filled with fear and un-certainty. The world is not at peace, and from a human standpoint there is no prospect that the nations of the world will be able to reconcile their differences. On the contrary, a colossal armament programme producing weapons formerly undreamed of is the order of the day.

At such a time, it is surely fitting that the remnant church should be called aside for a few days of special communion with God. We are told that in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength, and that if we seek God with our whole heart, He will be found of us and bestow upon us the blessing we need. Although we find ourselves in strait places and in the midst of difficulties far beyond our human strength, we can look back at the victories and deliverances of the past and know

that the same God who wrought for us in former days still inclines His ear to the fervent cry of His people and is ready to make bare His holy arm and bring de-liverance to His chosen ones.

As we look forward to the Week of Prayer, let us plan definitely and thor-oughly so that every church member may share in the exercises of the week. Let the meetings be arranged in such a way that no one will be left out. By all means, make definite plans for the chil-dren. There is an excellent series for them in this issue and they surely need the blessing and spiritual growth which will come to them as a result of daily attendance at meetings wisely planned and carried on.

Readings should be rendered by one who reads distinctly and with expression so that the meaning is made clear. Let the comments be few. Provide ample time for prayer. This is the chief pur-pose of every meeting.

During these important gatherings, let us remember our fellow believers around the circle of the earth. Many are in lands where freedom is restricted. There is little or no opportunity of meeting with denominational leaders from other lands. Little groups must stand alone with no contact with fellow believers. Literature is unavailable. The cheering reports of progress in other parts of the world field are never heard. Local leadership, often comparatively inexperienced, must bear the entire burden of administration. Let us pray for God's children who are in such circumstances. We should not fail

to thank God for the marvellous experi-ences He has already wrought for His people during recent years. Let us pray earnestly for rulers and statesmen. Ask God so to order circumstances that His work may go forward in this difficult time with greater power and rapidity. Pray fox the leadership of this denomina-tion, for our foreign missionaries as they labour under trying conditions, for our children, for our youth, many of whom are being called to stand before states-men and government authorities. Pray for labourers to enter the harvest field. Pray for a more complete consecra-tion and a deeper devotion. Pray for a spirit of liberality and faithfulness on the part of every one who has been made a steward of his Lord's goods. There is still opportunity to share in the work of God by contributing of our means, but we know not how much longer this oppor-tunity will last, for already the restric-tions affecting the movement of funds from one country to the other are bring-ing great perplexity to those who admin-ister the foreign mission budget.

All through the week, keep before the people the purpose of the annual offering to be taken on Sabbath, April 28, in order that each one may have a part in sacrifi-cial giving and share in the blessing which comes to those who in unselfish love bring of their means to the cause of God.

The work of God in the earth is still far from finished, and time is short. Let us pray that the Lord of the harvest will so multiply the feeble resources which we bring to Him in faith, so anoint with His Holy Spirit the leaders whom He has chosen, and so overrule in the affairs of nations that the great task which still lies before us will soon be finished.

GENERAL CONFERENCE COMMITTEE.

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Lessons for the Children's Week of Prayer Prepared by Mrs. RUTH WHEELER

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS TO LEADERS

THE theme for this Week of Prayer for the juniors is "Jesus Calls Us." The les-sons are centred around this thought, how He calls us, and how we may answer that call. This thought progresses to lesson eight, "Bearing the Torch of Truth." Sing each morning as a theme song, num-ber 168, in "Christ in Song," "Jesus Calls Us," or number 521 in the "Church Hymnal." Sing the song thoughtfully and not too fast, giving thought to these beautiful words. Encourage the children to memorize the hymn.

Illustrative material will add to the impressiveness of the lessons. Some sug-gestions for illustrations are: —

Lesson 1. Show some especially at-tractive object of nature, as a rock collec-tion, autumn leaves, mounted butterflies, etc. Call to mind the perfection found in all creation, and that God is the Creator.

Lesson 2. Have four candles of differ-ent lengths. Let these represent that work that different people can do for God. One represents a grandfather, one a father, another a young man, and the fourth one a boy. Let the children guess which candle represents each. Then tell them that the shortest candle represents the grandfather, for his work is almost finished, while the boy is the longest candle, for his work is before him.

Lesson 4. Before the talk show the children several bird nests. At this time of the year vacant bird nests are easy to find. Know what species of bird built each, and tell a little about them. If you are not familiar with birds you may tell about other animals, stressing their in-stincts. If you have only one nest, it will add to the discussion. Some child may be able to tell something of the habit of the bird that will add to the interest.

Lesson 5. Have a short candle in a saucer. Light the candle and mention how it gives only a small light, but that it is enough to light a dark room. This candle may represent the work a child can do in sharing his faith. But suppose the boy or girl does not want to share his faith. Suppose he is too busy with his own work, or too selfish. He wants to keep the knowledge to himself. Put a tin cup over the lighted candle. Now the light is kept just around the candle. If there is no other light, we grope in darkness. But what has happened to the candle? Lift the cup. The flame is extinguished, and there is only a black, smoking wick. So it is with a Christian who does not share his light.

Also show the children pictures of a bullock yoke. Suggest ways in which the children can share their faith.

Lesson 7. Ask the children what they have at home that is a treasure. If pos- sible show some object that could be used on a treasure hunt, such as a beautiful stone. Follow-up suggestions may be given after the meeting on the talents which a child may use in God's work.

Lesson 8. Show pictures of athletes, and tell something about their preparation for the competitions which they will enter. For conclusion have a copy of the Review and Herald picture by Harry Anderson of the young man carrying the torch of truth. Such a picture hung in the room will bring lasting reminder of the lessons.

Make a very definite conclusion or call of some kind at the end of each lesson, perhaps asking for a show of hands when the appeal is reached at the end of each lesson.

After lesson eight conduct a consecra-tion service. Encourage the children to say, "I will choose to follow Jesus."

SABBATH, APRIL 21, 1951

Look Unto Jesus YEARS ago a French scientist was cross-

ing the Arabian Desert under the leader-ship of an Arab guide. When the sun was setting, the guide spread his prayer rug down upon the sand and began to pray. The scientist looked at him with scorn and, when he had finished, asked him what he had been doing.

He said: "I was praying." "Praying! Praying to whom?" "To Allah; to God." "Did you ever see God?" the man of

science asked. "No." "Did you ever hear God?" "No." "Did you ever touch God and feel

Him?" "No." "Then you are a great fool to believe

in a God you never saw, a God you never heard, a God you never touched."

The Arab took the rebuke in silence. They retired for the night and arose early the next morning. When, a little before sunrise, they went out of the tent the scientist said to the guide, "There was a camel around here last night."

With a peculiar twinkle in his eye, the Arabian asked: "Did you see the camel?"

"No." "Did you hear the camel?" "No, I slept soundly all night." "Did you touch the camel?" "No." "Well, you are a strange man of science

to believe in a camel you never saw, a camel you never heard, a camel you never touched!"

"Oh," said the other, "here are his foot-prints all around the tent."

At that moment the sun was rising in all its splendour, and with a graceful wave of his hand, guide said: "Behold the footprints of the Creator, and know that there is a God!"—Selected.

All about us we have evidence that God is the Ruler of all. But even though He is a great God, He knows each of us by name. He knows our temptations and sorrow; He is acquainted with our needs, and we must be acquainted with Him.

We must see His footprints in all the beautiful things that He has made. We must see His smile in the sunshine and in the flowers that bloom in the fields.

Through His prophet He has sent us this word: "Behold His smile in the glad sunshine, and His love and care for man in the rich fields of autumn.... The lovely flowers of every hue, and the lofty and varied trees of the forest, testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God, and to His desire to make His children happy." —Signs of the Times, March 13, 1884.

Jesus is our dearest Friend. He thinks of us and wants us to be happy in His love and care. " 'I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil.' This is the message that, in the light from the cross, may be read upon all the face of nature. The heavens declare His glory, and the earth is full of His riches." —"Education," "Education," page 101.

God speaks to us through the things His hand has created, and He speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. The more we study these two the more we will become like Him.

A number of years ago a man went through the country selling Bibles. At one home the man and woman were not interested. They were wicked people and did not love God, and did not want to read His Book.

Finally they were persuaded to buy the Book, more to please their visitor than any other reason. In a few months the Bible salesman came past that house again. He decided to stop and visit the people who had bought the- Bible.

He was heartily welcomed. In a few minutes the wife whispered to him, "You have no idea how much better my husband has been since he began to read the Bible."

A little later the husband drew the salesman aside and whispered, "My wife has changed ever so much since she took up Bible reading."

Nothing can take the place of reading the Bible and of talking to God in prayer. "Prayer is the breath of the soul."

The paper this morning carried a pic-ture of firemen reviving little twin boys, two years old, and a brother and sister twelve and ten. The brother and his sister had gone to a neighbour to study and to care for the twins who were asleep in bed.

When the mother of the babies came home late at night she found the brother and sister unconscious, their heads on their school books where they had been studying. In their beds lay the twins nearly dead.

The mother frantically called the fire station which was just a few blocks away, and the firemen dashed to the house and began to administer oxygen. The doctor said that only five minutes more and all four children would have been dead. A gas furnace had been left burning and the room was shut tightly. All the oxygen had burned out.

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Rennell boys in school at Betilrazna, Solomon Islands.

We cannot live without sufficient air. Neither can the soul live without prayer. When we keep the Morning Watch, we are giving our souls strength for the day. David said, "Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee."

It is God's Word that keeps us from sin. His Word is the judge of our actions, and it keeps us in the right way when it is hid in our hearts. David wrote, "Lying lips are abomination to the Lord." This verse lays a watch over our lips, and helps them to tell only the truth.

"Love your enemies," Jesus said. With this verse in our hearts we can be happy and loving all the day through. "And pray for them which despitefully use you," the verse continues. We cannot have angry, hurt feelings, we cannot plan to "get even" with this verse in our minds.

The famous minister, Dwight L. Moody, explains this verse with this little story:

"When Christ said to the little band around Him, 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel,' Peter said, 'Lord, do you really mean that we are to go back to Jerusalem and preach the gospel to those men that murdered You?'

" 'Yes,' said Christ, 'go hunt up that man who spat in My face; tell him that he may have a seat in My kingdom yet. Go find the man who made that cruel crown of thorns. Tell him that I will have a crown ready for him when he comes into the kingdom, and there will be no thorns in it. . . . Search for the man who drove the spear into My side. Tell him that there is a nearer way to My heart than that. Tell him that I forgive him freely, and that he can be saved if he will accept salvation as a gift.' "

We need Jesus in our every-day lives. We need to remember the words that He spoke. We need to obey when He calls, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved."

Let us come nearer to Him through the study of His blessed Word, and through the breath of life, prayer. God says, will strengthen thee; . . . yea, I will up-hold thee with the right hand of My righteousness." This is our greatest need, God and His right hand to uphold us.

SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 1951

What Time Is It A GREYED-HAIRED lady was talking with

a young girl of thirteen. "Suppose my life should end when I am seventy-two," she said. "And suppose we compare my life to a day beginning at seven in the morning and ending at eleven at night. Each hour of the day would be four and a half years. I am fifty years old now. In my day of life it is six o'clock in the evening. Much of my day's work is done."

The woman took the girl's hand in hers. "But to you, my dear, it is only nine o'clock in the morning. It is the begin-ning of the day."

What time is it to you, boys and girls? How many "hours" of your life have you lived? It is only morning to you. You have a whole day of service to others be-fore you.

God is calling for you. There is a place for you in God's work. God has planned a place for you. God's messen-ger wrote, "Children are the younger members of the Lord's family. They should be led to consecrate themselves to

God, whose they are, by creation and by redemption. . . By helping others they increase their own happiness and useful-ness."—"Testimonies," Vol. VII, page 63.

Our Saviour knows what He wants you to do for Him. He knows the work you may do now and in the future, too. He saw, in the children He blessed in Galilee, the men and women who would work in His kingdom. He saw that some of them would be martyrs and give their lives for Him.

Because you are young and have more time in your future to give to God your life means more to Him than that of a grown man. Jesus calls, "My son, give Me thine heart." He wants you now. You can be a Christian today. Mrs. White has said: "Children may be Chris, tians, having an experience in accord-ance with their years."

You may feel that you are too young to work for Him, but that is not so. You may not be called upon to do a great work for Him, but it is not only the great work that counts, it is faithfulness in the little every-day things that proves the Christian.

You remember the story of the little Dutch boy who found 'a tiny hole in the dyke which held back the Zuider Zee. The little hole soon would have washed out to make a mighty channel through which the seas would have poured over the land destroying it. The brave boy knew there was not time for him to run for help. He must save the land alone. He thrust his finger into the hole and stood waiting in

the cold for long hours until he was rescued.

What a little thing he did, just stand-ing with his finger in the hole of the dyke! But he was proclaimed a hero.

God has a plan for you, and for your life. He also has a plan for the whole world. Since the very beginning God has marked on the great clock of time the events that will happen. And all of them have happened, just when God said they would. Some of these events that God has marked on the great clock of time are still to come. It is these events that we must know. They will help us to plan our lives so that we will be ready and waiting for the greatest, and last event in this world's time—the second coming of Jesus, the Saviour.

It is God's time that is ticking by as the hands of God's great clock move around the centuries.

We cannot ask, "What time is it, Lord?" for only He can know how near we are to the end of the day. But we do know that it is near the midnight hour. It is almost time for Jesus to come again. Also, you cannot know how much of your life you have yet to live. Only God knows, and He has your life plan all laid out. But you must be willing to work with Him.

A boy went to work in a tapestry shop where beautiful Oriental tapestries were woven. The boy was to learn to weave.

The master came and showed him how to work the designs in colour. After a few weeks he was doing the work well enough to be allowed to work on a real tapestry.

The threads on a big frame were before him, and he was given a careful pattern of the part of the work which he must weave. It was only part of the beautiful picture of trees and flowers and a flowing stream. Other men were working on other parts of the same piece.

The boy began putting in small sections of colour where they were on the pattern, carefully tying the threads.

Day after day he worked on the back of the tapestry. The work was never beau-tiful, but he kept on weaving the small blocks of colour where they were shown on the pattern.

Sometimes the boy became very dis-couraged and tired, and then the master

would encourage him and swiftly weave a few threads for him. One day when the boy was weary the master led him to the other side of the loom and told him to stand across the room and to look at the tapestry. The boy scarcely could believe his eyes; a beautiful picture in bright colours nearly covered the loom. Down in the corner where he had been weaving was a bright scene of flowers.

"Oh, master," the boy said, "now I see the whole plan." He hurried back to his work, satisfied with the little part he had in making a work of art.

Our part in God's work is like this. Only the master knows the whole plan; we must trust Him and do the little work we are given to do. The errands we do, the work we do to help at home are im-

19

portant, for they are our work. They are part of the whole pattern.

A party of travellers were delayed all day in ,a hotel. A little girl in the party played a short tune on the piano. She played the little tune over and over until everyone was very tired of it. Some people began to murmur and complain.

"Can't you make her stop?" asked one of the party.

Just then a very good musician stepped up to the piano. He laid his hands over the little girl's hands. While she played her same little tune he played other chords and notes. The travellers smiled with pleasure. It was the same little tune but it rippled and danced with beautiful harmonies.

This, too, is like our lives. God blesses and makes beautiful the most common acts.

Our time is God's time. The world is nearing, its end. Soon the glorious com-ing of Jesus in the clouds will shine before our eyes. To be ready for that day we must follow His plan. We must work with the Master.

It is the morning of life for you. Make every hour of your life count for service.

If we know Him we can hear His voice and we may make each hour of our lives conform to His plan.

*

MONDAY, APRIL 23, 1951

Are We Ready MRS. WARD went to the door to greet

the telegraph messenger. "A telegram for Mrs. Ward!" he said.

Her heart almost, stopped beating. A telegram! Was Jim sick or hurt? Jim was her eldest son who was out in the west. She opened the telegram. "Mary and I are coming home," the telegram read, "Anxious to see you all. Love Jim."

"Betty! June! Tommy!" cried Mrs. Ward. "Jim and his new wife are com-ing! Jim just sent a telegram!" The three children were as excited as their mother. They all adored this older brother Jim. And Mary ! They had never seen Mary, but Jim had written what a wonderful girl she was, and what a neat housekeeper.

Mr. Ward was very pleased when he reached home and heard the news. "Well, we must start right in tonight getting the place fixed up for them," he said. "It's not too late tonight for Tommy and me to mow the lawn and rake the yard."

"And the girls and I will clean the house from attic to basement. Mary is a good housekeeper, and I don't want Jim to be ashamed of his folk. They probably won't come for three or four days, so we will have time to wash the curtains, too."

Everyone was too excited to work that evening. The next morning the girls wanted to go shopping and Tommy had planned on a ball game. Mrs. Ward looked around the disorderly house with a sigh. "They can't get here within three days, I believe I'll run down town this morning and buy a new dress."

Late that afternoon everyone was back at home. Nothing had been done to the house or yard. A taxi stopped at the gate, and Jim and Mary came up the path. They had come by plane. How ashamed the family were to have Mary see them as they were!

"We didn't think you would come so soon," was all they could say. Many people feel the same way about the com- ing of Jesus. They know He is coming, and they want to be ready, but surely there will be time tomorrow. What we are doing today seems much more import-ant than preparing for the coming of Jesus. But these people will be like the Ward family; they will be embarrassed and ashamed to have their Lord find them unprepared.

I often think, if I knew that Jesus was coming tomorrow, what would I do today? Would I read that book I have started? Would I listen to that radio programme? Would I read again the wonderful promises of Jesus? Would I study more carefully the instruction He has given us that we may be ready for His coming? If I knew that this was the last time I would see my sick neighbour would I be more helpful and useful?

Life is uncertain, but here is one thing that is certain, and that is that our dear Saviour is coming back to this earth soon. He is coming to take all those who love Him back to the beautiful home He is pre-paring. Jesus promised His disciples, "I go to prepare a place for you . . . I will come again, and receive you unto Myself ; that where I am, there ye may be also."

All His promises are true, and this is one that makes us very happy. In all the hundreds of years since Jesus made this promise, there have always been people looking and longing for Him to come. But at last His coming is very near.

His followers have wanted to know when Jesus would come, but no one can know. All we can know is that it is "even at the door." Jesus has told us that cer-tain events must take place before He comes. He tells us that there must be great and terrible wars, and surely these have come. He tells us that there will be signs in the sun and in the moon, and these have come. All the signs of His coming have been fulfilled, and now we are waiting for that wonderful day when He will come.

Some people say that we will not know when Jesus comes, but this is not what Jesus says. He told His disciples, "As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24: 27. Everyone will see Jesus come.

John, the apostle, wanted everyone to be ready for that great day. He wrote, "And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming." 1 John 2: 28.

Tommy, a little four-year-old boy, was home alone with only his father one stormy afternoon. The wind swayed the trees and roared through their branches. Every few minutes the thunder growled and rumbled through the clouds, and the lightning flashed. The rain poured down and beat against the window-panes.

Father was busy writing in his study. Tom stood it as long as he could in the front room, then he went to his father's study. He took a little stool and put it right by his father's side and sat down. His father looked up. "Well, what do you want, Tommy?" he asked. "I don't want anything," Tom answered. "I'm just looking at you and liking you."

Father put away his pen and took Tommy on his lap and talked with him. Soon he was happy and had forgotten all about the thunder and the lightning.

David wrote, "Rest in the Lord." When the way seems dark and we are dis-couraged we can go to Jesus and He will give us confidence and rest. We need never be afraid when we think of His coming. We can be happy and joyful, if we have done our very best to be ready for Him.

We need never be ashamed before Him when He comes. We can be ready every day by doing cheerfully and happily the tasks He gives us to do. We can speak words of cheer in His name, and be shin-ing lights wherever we are. in this way we can abide in Him, and His presence will always be with us.

Sir Ernest Shackleton, the British ex-plorer, was forced to make a terrible march with two of his men over the frightful glaciers and mountains of the South Polar region. He wrote, "When I look back on those days I have no doubt that Providence guided us. . . . I know that during that long and racking march of thirty-six hours over unnamed moun-tains and glaciers of South Georgia, it seemed to me often that we were four, and not three. I said nothing to my com-panions on this point, but afterwards Worsley (one of my companions) said to me, 'Boss, I had a curious feeling on that march that there was another person with us.' Crean (the other companion) con-fessed to the same idea.

And so He is with us as we do our best day by day to live as He would have us live,' and to work as He would have us work. We need never be ashamed to meet Him when He comes if we have done our best.

Let our prayer be, "Jesus, help me to live as You would live, if You were a child in my place. Help me to be ready to go home with You when You come."

TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 1951

Choose You This Day THERE are several Brewer blackbird

nests in a large oak across the meadow. These nests are high in the tree and close together. The blackbirds fly around the tree in a chattering throng.

Last summer when we were on a camp-ing trip in the high mountains we found a lodgepole pine with many Brewer black-bird nests, built just like those in the tree by the meadow. As we examined the nests we found that they were all built very much alike.

The red-winged blackbirds live down by the swamp among the cattails. They fasten their nests to the swaying cattails and build them close down over the water. Sometimes the Brewer blackbirds will be living near by in a big willow, and the two species of blackbirds will fly together, but they never build their nests in the same location.

The birds are guided in their nest build-ing by something we call instinct. God gives this to them. Even a tame bird will try to build a nest like his species usually does, although he has been taken captive as a tiny baby. All over the world every kind of bird follows these instinct pat-terns. It has no choice. Everything it does is according to this instinct.

A neighbour of ours is building a new house across the valley. It is a large two-storey house, entirely different from the one where he now lives. It is not like my

20

Young children in school, Manus, New Guinea.

house either. In fact, it is not like any house in our village.

You see, he does not build his house according to instinct. He reads house plan books and decides which style of house will suit him best. He uses his mind and chooses the plan he wants.

This is the difference between people and animals. God has given each person reasoning powers. A man does not make his decisions by instinct, he chooses every day what he will do. This is a wonder-ful power God has given us, the power to choose.

Little baby birds come when their mother calls. They do so without think-ing, it is part of their instinct; they must come when they are called. But children are not that way. Every time a mother calls, the child chooses to obey. Every

time the school bell rings, the boy or girl chooses to come into the school room.

"But," you say, "I don't choose to come in. I would much rather stay out and play." Oh, yes, you do choose. You choose to come in even though you would prefer to stay out. You choose to come in because it would be unpleasant for you if you did not.

We choose to obey our parents because we love them. We choose to obey God be-cause we love Him. Jesus says, "Come unto Me," and we choose to obey Him. We know that He is preparing a beauti-ful home for us in heaven. We know that some day He will come again and take us home with Him. All these facts make us choose to heed His call.

Then there is the other side of the question, too. We know that disobeying God will bring us eternal death. Bad habits, such as smoking and drinking, will bring us ill health and dissatisfaction. Committing crimes, such as stealing or killing, will bring prison terms and more unhappiness. We know all this, and it makes us choose the better way, the way that leads to happiness here, and eternal life at the end.

Joshua had led the children of Israel for many years. He had led them from the wilderness into the promised land. But Joshua was very old and he knew that the time had come for him to die. He called all Israel together and gave them a last charge. Joshua was very

sad to know that many of the children of Israel had turned to worshipping the gods of their heathen neighbours.

Joshua stood before the people and called, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve; . . . as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." And a great shout went up from the people, "God forbid that we- should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods. . . . We also serve the Lord; for He is our God."

But Joshua knew how deep was the sin of the people. He knew how they loved their idols. He told the people that they could not serve the Lord unless they put away these sins, and that would be hard for them to do. Perhaps they were weak and could not follow the Lord.

"Nay;" the people shouted, "but we will serve the Lord!"

"You are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve Him," Joshua charged.

"We are witnesses," the people pledged. And Joshua made a covenant with the

people that day and wrote the words in the book of the law of God. (Joshua 24: 14-26.)

The people had chosen. They had chosen of their own wills to serve God, even though it meant a change in their lives, and perhaps some hardships, for their heathen neighbours surely would make fun of them for turning away from idol worship and from the pleasures of the heathen.

The Apostle Peter wrote, "What man-ner of persons ought ye to be?" This is a question we must answer, and we must know the answer if we are choosing to serve God. 'What manner of person is a Christian? What must a boy or a girl do to be a true follower of God? God sends us word by His prophet, "Now is the time to prepare. The seal of God will never be placed upon the forehead of an impure man or woman. . . . It will never be placed upon the forehead of men or women of false tongues or deceitful hearts." —"Testimonies," Vol. V, page 216.

Then we must be clean, with clean thoughts and words. We must put out of our lives the words and acts that make us impure. We must be truthful and honest.

James, the brother of Jesus, wrote, "If any man offend, not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body." James 3: 2.

"Oh, but I can't be perfect," you say. "No one is perfect."

Please turn in your Bibles to the first letter written by the Apostle John the first chapter and the ninth verse. 1 John 1: 9. He wrote, "If, we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighte-ousness."

Do we believe the Bible? Do we be-lieve God? Yes, we do. Then we must believe this wonderful verse. We choose to do right, and we pray God to forgive us for all the wrongs we have done. We confess the sin to Him and to those we have wronged. Then the promise is true, and we are cleansed from all unrighteous-ness. If God says we are clean, we are clean, white as snow, without spot or blemish. Then, are we perfect? Indeed we are, and we must make this confession, this cleansing, a daily habit.

How do we confess our sins to others? We confess to those we have wronged and ask them to forgive us. But suppose they are more at fault than we. That does not matter. "Confess . . . sins, not in a general way but go to your brethren and sisters personally. Be definite. If you have committed one wrong and they twenty, confess that one as though you were the chief off ender."—Mrs. E. G. White in Review and Herald, Dec. 16, 1884.

Go to your mother or father and say, "I am sorry I spoke so crossly last night." Say to your sister or brother, "I am sorry I was selfish." Try this and see what happens. Maybe brother or sister is not trying to follow God and maybe their for-giveness is not given, but God sees and hears. He forgives, and your record is clean. What a wonderful feeling it is to know that God's promise is true and that you are forgiven and that your record is clean!

May God help us each one to choose the better way and to say, "I will serve the Lord."

* * *

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 1951

Jesus Calls Us A YOUNG boy worked in London. The

firm where he worked had the job of pre-paring the king's carriage for the corona-tion procession. Every workman in the shop did his part well, for the king and the queen were to ride through the streets of London in that carriage while thou-sands upon thousands of their faithful subjects stood along the streets and cheered.

Early on the coronation morning the boy went down the dark street to find a place where he could stand and watch the pageant go by. But even at that early hour the streets were crowded. Finally the boy climbed a lamp post and found a place where he could sit.

Later in the morning, just before the parade would come by, a man who owned a building on that street pressed through the crowd. He had not come early for he knew he could view the parade very well from his building.

As he went through the crowd the man saw the boy perched on the lamp post in

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a very uncomfortable position. The man paused and called,

"How long have you been there, son?" "Since five this morning, sir." "Come with me. I'll give you a better

place to see the procession." The boy stiffly climbed down and fol-

lowed the kind man. • Soon the beautiful pageant began to

pass by. Soldiers and guards in their colourful uniforms, statesmen in their carriages, passed along the street in brilliant array. The boy quietly enjoyed it all. Finally a great shout went up as the carriage of the king and queen came into view. The boy became excited. He leaned far forward. "Look at those lamps, see how they shine!" he shouted.

The people looked at the little, old-fashioned lamps on the carriage. They were polished until they reflected light like mirrors. After the parade the boy exclaimed over and over, "Didn't they shine!" He explained that it had been his job to shine the lamps when the car-riage had been -prepared. His job had not been great, but he had done his best and was proud of his work.

You may feel that the part you have in God's work is small. But never forget that it is important. It is the work that God has for you. It is your work.

In the middle section of the United States there are millions of acres planted in grain. As summer passes the heads of grain ripen and the green of the fields be-gins to turn to gold and yellow. There must be no delay when the fields are ready for harvest. The harvest crews move quickly. Each man has his impor-tant work to do. Usually a boy works with the crew—the water boy. His job is to bring water to the men. He may feel that his job is unimportant. He never touches the grain, never runs any of the machinery. Surely the men running the big harvester and the heavy trucks are much more important. But no, the crew cannot work even a half day without water. The hotter the day, the faster the boy hurries from the cool well by the house out to the field with his load of water. The water boy is one of the most important members of the harvest crew. Carrying water is his work, and it is im-portant.

One day Jesus sat by a well in Samaria. It was summer and the fields of waving grain were turning from green to yellow. Under the hot summer sun they were shimmering white. Jesus spoke to the disciples who were with Him.

"Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields," He said as He pointed out across the waving grain, "for they are white already to harvest." John 4: 35.

Jesus did not mean only the harvest of grain, He also meant the people who were waiting and eager to hear the story of salvation. Every man who was follow-ing Jesus had his share of work to. do. And he must do that work.

Jesus calls us today, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations . . . I have com-manded you: and, lo, I am with you al-way, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28: 19, 20.

Christ needs us. He is depending on every follower to help in the great har-vest. An older man was visiting with a young friend one evening. As they talked the older man began to tell of

some of his experiences in working for God. Some of the things he had done were indeed heroic.

The young man listened thrilled with the stories of heroism. At last he said, "If I had lived in your time, I think I should have been a hero, too!"

"Young man," the visitor said, "You are living in my time, and in God's time! Be sure of this: No man could have been heroic then who is not heroic now."

We are living in God's time. We can be heroes. In every country God's heroes are witnessing for Him now. A young Syrian man was sent to the army. He was a Seventh-day Adventist and could not work on the Sabbath. He was punished many times for keeping the Sabbath. At last he was brought before the commander-in-chief, who ordered him to cease his Sabbath observance and to be a loyal soldier of his country. The boy respectfully saluted his chief and then said, "Sir, did I not tell you before that I must be loyal to God first, and then to my country? It is easier for me to die than to disobey God."

After a few minutes the commander-in-chief answered, "Go, and keep the Sab-bath." And the young man was not punished again for his Sabbath-keeping. Other young followers of Jesus found the way easier because this boy was brave.

All over the world young men and women, boys and girls, and older people are sharing their faith with their friends. Jesus says that we must bear His yoke. "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth" (Lam. 3: 27), the prophet Jeremiah wrote. Jesus helps us to bear His yoke. In the days when the Bible was written two oxen were usually yoked together to pull the load. The heavy wood yoke was borne across the necks of both. It was almost impossible for one to bear the yoke alone. Jesus says, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." And then Jesus tells us how He can give us rest—how He can make our yoke easier to bear. "Take My yoke upon you, . . . for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Matt. 11: 29, 30.

Jesus bears one side of the yoke, while we bear the other. Then the yoke that was almost impossible to bear alone be-comes light. What a wonderful privilege it is for boys and girls to share the yoke with Him!

"Jesus calls us, o'er the tumult Of our life's wild, restless sea;

Day by day His sweet voice soundeth, Saying, Christian, follow Me.

"In our joys and in our sorrow, Days of toil and hours of ease,

Still He calls, in cares and pleasures— Christian, love Me more than these."

Jesus not only will share our burdens, but He will share our joys, as well. Let us make Him part of our very lives. We have the call, "Come unto Me," from the lips of the Saviour Himself. We have the command, "Go ye. . . . I have com-manded you." And with these two we have the wonderfully precious promise, "Lo, I am with you. alway." What a privilege to work for Him!

Let us bear the yoke that His hands make easy, and bear the burden that His arms make light. Some day we shall hear His voice saying, "Come, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

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THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 1951

A Light that Shines A WOMAN came to a little town one

dark night a number of years ago. She inquired for the home of her friend, but found that it was three miles away, out in the country. She could find no one to take her, and decided to walk.

"If you will hurry, you may walk with the doctor," someone told her. "He is going to the home of your friend and he has just started. He carries a, lantern."

The woman was glad .to hear this and she started down the road looking for the gleam of the lantern. • She hurried as fast as she could in the dark, stumbling along, but she saw no light.

At last, after a very weary walk she saw the light of a house in the distance. When she reached it, it was the home of her friend. The doctor was there, for he had arrived only a few minutes before her. "Oh, I tried so hard to catch up with you," she said. "For they told me you had a lantern, but I never saw the light."

"I do have a lantern," the doctor answered, "but I knew the road so well I did not light it."

Someone may be looking for you to light the way, boys and girls. Do not dis-appoint them by not showing your light, for there is such a need for light.

In one of our missionary colleges there is a large map on a front wall. On this map there is a tiny light globe for every missionary who has gone to a foreign land. There is a little light in Africa for the doctor who is in a mission hospital there. There is a light in Lebanon for the teacher, and a light in India for the nurse who has gone to help the people of that land.

The whole map is dotted with little light globes. Each year, on Home Com-ing Day, the map is lighted at the evening vesper service. The big chapel is dark. One by one the names are read of each man or woman who has gone to a mission field during the past year. The first name is read, and a little light glows on the Amazon River. It makes a pin-point of light that scarcely can be seen across the room. The next name is read, and a light comes on, down in the South Seas. Light after light gleams until a soft glow fills that corner of the room. At the close every tiny light is turned on, and the map shines and sparkles until the whole chapel is lighted by the map.

One light does not make much showing, but when every one of the hundreds of lights comes on the room is lighted. That is the way the message of Jesus must go. Each one of us must be a light.

Boys and girls sometimes feel that there is not much that they can do, but a kind word, or a helpful deed will make someone happy. Every kind or thought-ful deed that you do makes someone re-member that you are a child of God. Old Mrs. Rogers may not remember that it was Mary who carried her market basket for her. Young Mrs. Hanson may not remember that it was Sue who helped her hang out her clothes that windy cold morning when the Hanson baby was sick. Mr. Johnson may not remember that it was Harry who helped him get his car out of the ditch, or that it was Jim who helped him drive the cows out of the corn-field, when they were so stubborn that one man alone could not make them leave.

But each of these will remember that some Christian boy or girl was living his faith; some follower of Jesus was letting his light shine. I always think, when I am among those who do not know Jesus, "They will never remember my name, but they will remember that I am a Christian. Someone May want to be a Christian be-cause of what I do, today. Or if I fail to let my light shine he may never want to hear the story of Jesus, because of the way I have lived."

People are often much more impressed with Christianity by the life of a young person than they are with the lives of older people. Recently I met a man who said, "Oh, yes, I know about Adventists. I had an Adventist neighbour for several years. He had a big family of children."

I almost held my breath. Would he say, "I want no more of Adventists"? But he quickly added. "Those were the finest children in our town. They were always willing to help someone, and each other. I seldom heard them quarrelling."

The daughter of a well-known motion picture star began coming to the Path Finder Club in an American city. This club is for Adventist boys and girls, but others can join if they wish to live up to the standards set for the club.

After this girl had been going to the club for several weeks, and had made friends with the Adventist girls in her group she said to her father, "Daddy, I think it would be fun to be a Seventh-day Adventist."

The father told the club leader, and he added, "I want her to be a Christian, and she can choose her own religion." Some of the boys and girls in that Path Finder Club must be living their religion, for a true Christian does find fun in following Jesus. He finds joy in letting his light shine.

A very beautifully dressed lady came in and sat beside me in the bus. Soon she asked me where I was going. When I named our little village she knew I must be an Adventist, for most of the people in our community are. At once she said, "Will you tell me something about Ad-ventists? My mother has an Adventist Japanese girl who works for her. She doesn't speak English well enough to ex-plain things to us. But I want to know more about her religion."

Before I could answer tears came into the woman's eyes. "My father died just a few weeks ago," she explained. "Our little Japanese maid gave us the most comfort of anyone. She couldn't tell us very well how she felt, but she came and wept with us. The few words she spoke helped us so much. She is the finest Christian I have ever seen. Mother and I both want to know more about Adven-tists."

In the same city where this woman lives, one of the best evangelists in the world, with a great company of helpers, had been holding meetings for many weeks. But a little Japanese maid who could speak very little English had been the one who preached the gospel to these people by her simple life.

Just before the woman left the bus she said, "I just have time for one more question, Why don't Adventists eat meat? I know there must be some very good rea-son, for the Japanese maid doesn't eat it, but she cannot explain to us the reason."

The little maid's light had shone even in what she ,ate, or did not eat. Perhaps she did not know at all how closely she

was watched or how she, day by day, was representing the whole Adventist religion to her employers.

The message of the soon-coming of Jesus must go to every land. It must go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. It will be carried, not only by ministers and teachers, by doctors and nurses, but by every man, woman, and child that bears the name of Jesus. Every Seventh-day Adventist tells the story in his name. He keeps the seventh-day Sabbath, and he believes in and is waiting for the second advent of our Saviour. But we must bear the message in our lives as well as our names. We must be true to the great commission Jesus Christ Himself gives to every follower.

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations," He commands. And with the command is the wonderful promise, "And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28 19, 20.

Boys and girls, may each of you be a shining light for Him. May you be a light in your home and in your commun-ity. And some day, if time should last until you are men and women, resolve that there will be a light glowing for you on that great missionary map, brightening the place where you are shining for Jesus.

FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1951

Where Is Your Treasure ! Do you ever play Treasure Hunt?

Sometimes at Junior Camp we play this interesting game. Everyone in the camp goes out to hunt a hidden treasure. The treasure may be some object of nature, such as a certain rare flower or stone, or it may be a treasure that has been hidden before the hunt begins. Everyone is given careful directions how to search for the treasure. How busy every boy ,or girl is! Each is anxious to find the trea-sure and to bring it back to camp.

Boys and girls usually do not own very many great treasures„ but those that they have are very precious to them. They have a few things for which they care a lot. Sometimes a boy has a model aeroplane motor that he prizes very highly. He polishes and oils it and keeps it put away in a safe place. The plane that the motor goes in is carefully kept, too. It is put on a high shelf where its fragile wings will not be broken, and where little brother or sister cannot touch it.

A girl's treasure may be a lovely little watch or a beautiful flower vase. What-ever the treasure is, it is carefully kept.

Years ago, in Bible times, a young woman was given, when she was married, ten pieces of silver. Sometimes these were fastened to a tiny silver chain and worn across the forehead. Jesus told of a woman who lost one of her coins. She searched everywhere for her coin but she could not find it, for it was a very small, thin piece of money. She swept every part of the house. She lighted a candle and swept the house again, not neglecting any corner. Her neighbours heard of her loss, and some of them came to help her hunt for this most cherished possession.

At last it was found! She called all her friends and neighbours together. "Rejoice with me;" she cried, "for I have found the piece which I had lost." No

23

doubt they all joined with her in a real celebration because she had recovered the precious silver piece which had been her wedding present.

Every boy and girl has. one priceless treasure which he must guard. Never must this treasure be neglected or care-lessly lost. It is so great a treasure that it must be kept in a very safe place. It must be kept in a place where nothing can spoil or ruin it.

That great treasure is the heart, or mind. We usually speak of our minds as our hearts. You do not think with your heart; but it represents your mind and soul-. There is one place where the heart may be kept absolutely safe; that is in heaven. God says, "My son, give Me thine heart." "My daughter, give Me your heart."

But how do we give Him our hearts? How do we give this greatest possession into His safe keeping?

Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." If we put our treasures in heaven we are put-ting our hearts there, too.

Most of us do not have much money to give, but we can share what we have. There are other treasures besides money, which we can give to God. We all have time and talents. Time and talents are treasures. You may ask, "But how can my time and talent profit anyone? I can't earn much money."

Listen to this story: A little crippled girl wanted very much to do something for Jesus. She had no money to give and she could not go out and help anyone. Her home was near a busy highway. One day as she sat watching the cars go by a thought came to her.

"If I had something to sell I could earn some money for Jesus."

She bought a packet of sweet pea seeds. Some of her family helped her prepare the ground for a row of sweet peas. As they planted the seeds she prayed that the Lord would bless every one. , As the little green plants appeared she cared for them carefully, asking God to bless them.

Finally the buds appeared and at last the beautiful sweet peas were ready to sell by the roadside. She picked the flowers and tied them carefully into beautiful bunches. She sold them at a little roadside stand as fast as she could prepare them.

As soon as she picked the flowers others began to bloom. She kept the flowers well watered and attended them carefully, and her roadside project lasted for weeks. When the last sweet pea had been sold she found that she had eighty dollars to give to her Saviour.

She had given what she had, and no child in the church was happier. She had given her time and her -talents to Jesus. She had given Him her treasure, and with it, she had given Him her heart.

Long, long ago a man and his family left their home in the country, and went to live in a pleasant city. Their children soon made friends with the people there. The girls married young men of the city. Then one day two angels came to tell Lot that he must take his family and leave the wicked city. The angels urged Lot to leave quickly. Lot rushed to the homes of his married children, but they only laughed at him. Why leave, when the city was so pleasant? His wife loved the city, too.

At last Lot went out of the city with his wife and his two youngest children. All

his other children were left behind. As they crossed the plain Lot's wife thought more and more about her home and the treasures she was leaving. Finally she could stand it no longer for her heart was back there in the city. She stopped and looked back. She was punished for the sin by losing her life. Where her trea-sure was her heart was also. And she never reached the safety of the moun-tains.

A young man watched Jesus as He healed the sick, and as He taught the people. As the man listened he came to believe that Jesus was the Saviour. His heart turned toward Him. One day the young man spoke to Jesus. "Good Mas-ter," he said, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus looked at the young man and He loved him. The Saviour wanted him to be one of His helpers. "Thou knowest the commandments," Jesus answered.

"All these have I kept from my youth up," the young man replied.

"Yet lackest thou one thing; sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven," Jesus answered. Then Jesus gave him a wonderful invitation. "Come, follow Me."

But the young man was very rich. He stood with his head down for a moment and then he turned away. He turned away from Jesus, from a life of service, and from heaven. His treasure was here on this earth, and his heart was here, too. Not even the loving call of Jesus, "Come, follow Me," could draw him away from that treasure.

How many, many treasures we may have that will draw us away, and keep us from answering the sweet voice of Jesus as He calls us! Some of us have friends that do not help us to love Jesus. Our companions guide our thoughts, and they either draw our hearts toward God, or they draw.us away from Him.

Jesus is calling us, every day. He calls us, as He did the rich young man, "Come, follow Me."

"In our joys and in our sorrows, Days of toil and hours of ease,

Still He calls, in cares and pleasures, Christian, love Me more than these."

We do love Jesus, but do we love Him more than these?—these little treasures of this world? Let us resolve today, boys and girls, that we will give Him our hearts, for Him to keep safe in heaven. Some day we may all live in that beauti-ful home He has gone to prepare.

SABBATH, APRIL 28, 1951

Bearing the Torch of Truth MANY hundreds of years ago, in the

country of Greece great foot races were held annually. The people trained for months, even years to run in these races. When the time came for the races, people gathered from all parts of the country to watch.

The torch race was always a favourite. The athletes who entered this race carried lighted torches. The one who first reached the goal with his torch still burn-ing won the race. When the race covered many miles over hills and valleys the runners worked in teams. The burning torch was passed on to the next man when

the first runner reached the end of his course.

The torch race was run at night. Down the road would come the runner holding his torch high so that his friends could see that his torch was still burning. His waiting team-mate would then snatch it from 'the runner's hands and dash off up the hill. It was a beautiful sight to see the lights twinkling over the hills. There was much shouting and cheering.

A runner became exhausted as he ran mile after mile through the dark. He stumbled over the rocky path, but always he held his torch high. If the torch went out he was lost, and the team-mates who waited for him just over the hill could never run in the race, for they would have no torch. A runner could never stop to rest, for if he did his torch would burn out before the goal was reached.

Most of the nations of the earth still take part in a great sports event called the Olympic Games, in honour of the old Greek races. Above the place where the races are held burns a giant torch. Through the blinding snow of ski events and ice games the torch burns on. Wind and snow are not allowed to extinguish the light. The great burning torch repre-sents fair play, honour, and right. It helps the players to be honest in their races and in their play.

Boys and girls, you are running a race also. You are carrying high a torch—the torch of truth. Without it you will be lost, and not only you, but those who are depending on you will never find the way without your torch of truth.

Your light represents honesty and truth. It represents the Saviour to a world that has forgotten about Him. Paul wrote to the people at Rome, "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Rom. 12: 2.

Following the Saviour and obeying Him transforms us. Just as the runners in the torch race were changed from common field labourers to torch-bearers when they took the torch in their hands and started on the race, SO we are trans-formed from children of this world to children of light when we take the torch of truth in our hands.

What transforms us? The truth. How can others know that we are bearing the torch of truth? They will see it in our lives. They will see it in our happy faces. They will see it in our conversation and in our honesty.

Many people in the north-west of the United States make their living by grow-ing lily bulbs. Thousands of acres are planted with lilies. Each autumn the fields are ploughed and the lily bulbs are gathered and carefully stored. In the late autumn the bulb dealers come to choose and buy their bulbs, and they buy them by the carload. A dry lily bulb is not very pretty. It is plain and brown-ish. But the buyer does not pay much attention to its looks. The question in his mind is, "Will these bulbs grow big, beautiful flowers?"

The buyer picks up a bulb and with a sharp knife, cuts it in half, right through the centre. There in the heart of the bulb he sees the tiny green leaves tightly packed together. And in the centre is a wee white spot that will develop into a blossom. It is this tiny white heart of the lily that makes it valuable. No one

wants to buy a lily bulb that has only leaves.

The buyer knows that with sunshine and rain and good soil each bulb from this lot will grow a beautiful fragrant flower. He is not afraid to buy a whole car-load of these bulbs.

That which is in your heart and mind controls what will be in your life. The kind of boy or girl you are is told by what you do. A person cannot spend time on comic magazines and moving picture shows and still have a clean mind and a pure heart. A year or so ago a boy, who had once attended church school, shot and killed a neighbour lady who refused to give him something he wanted. When the police went to his home to take him to gaol he was sitting reading a comic magazine. His father and mother and his brothers and sisters were horrified to learn of the crime. The older brother held up a comic magazine before the police. "This is what made him do it," he said.

Just a few weeks ago a girl shot her sister, because she hated her. She had seen the murder done in the movies and so she did it the same way.

No torch of truth can ever be carried by hands made weak by thoughts of evil and crime. No person can be strong for truth when his mind is filled with the foolishness and excitement that come from the radio every day.

John wrote, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 1 John 2: 15.

"Come out from among them, and be ye separate" (2 Cor. 6: 17), our Saviour calls. Will we obey the call? Will we take up the torch of truth and •bear it high for others to see?

It is hard for a boy or girl to be differ-ent from his or her associates. It is hard to bear ridicule and scorn. But we can keep our lives so like His that those who make fun of us may some day come to us for help in time of need. If we are true followers of God we will be ready to help.

THE TORCH-BEARER

As the days go by, Hold your torch up high—

The torch of a spotless name, The torch of hope That those who grope

In the. darkness may see its flame!

The torch of love— Hold it high above

The crowd as you march along, So all may know The way to go

And avoid the paths of wrong.

Let the glowing light Of the flame of right

Guide the footsteps of those in doubt.

Let your light so shine With the light divine,

That nothing can put it out. —James Edward Hungerford.

Let us join today in saying, "I will carry high the torch of truth. I will be a- light-bearer for Him. I will be true to my heavenly Father. I will choose to follow God's plan in my life."

SIGNS PUBLISHING COMPANY (A.c.A. LTD., PROPS.), Warburton, Victoria,_ Australia