The Heartbeat of The Remnant - Ephrata MinistriesJan 02, 2006 · subscriptions or contributions to: The Heartbeat of The Remnant, 400 W Main St Ste 1, Ephrata, PA 17522 U.S.A. You

January / February 2006 Volume 12 Number 1

. . . is a Secure Refuge in our God. . . is a Secure Refuge in our God

The Heartbeat of

The Remnant

2 The Heartbeat of The Remnant January/February 2006

C O N T E N T S

The Heartbeat of The Remnantis published bimonthly byCharity Christian Fellowship.Copyright ©2006 by CharityChristian Fellowship.Subscription is available at nocost upon request. However,there is considerable costinvolved in printing TheRemnant. It is financially sup-ported by the gifts of God’s peo-ple as they respond to the promptings of His Spirit. We request your prayerful consideration of this need. Sendsubscriptions or contributions to: The Heartbeat of The Remnant, 400 W Main St Ste 1, Ephrata, PA 17522 U.S.A.You can call 1-800-227-7902 or (717) 721-7775.

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The Heartbeat of

The RemnantPublisher

Board of Directors

General Editor

Editorial Staff

Reprint Policy

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Charity Christian FellowshipPublication Office

400 W Main St Ste 1Ephrata, PA 17522

Denny Kenaston • ChairmanBen Beiler • Treasurer

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3 MATHILDE WREDE:THE ANGEL OF THE PRISONS

FORMULA FOR A BURNING HEARTby A.W. Tozer

THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THEHAPPY MEAL: CHRISTIAN BEWARE!

by Dean Taylor

HOW MEN GROWby G.G. Warren

PAINTING FOR ETERNITYby Theodore L. Cuyler

OUR FELLOWSHIP IS WITH THEFATHER

by Campbell Morgan

SOUL IDOLATRY EXCLUDES MENOUT OF HEAVEN

by David Clarkson

EMOTIONAL FREEDOMby Mollie Jo Cassidy

A PROMISE FOR SERVICEfrom Out and Out Magazine, 1907

BIRD CAGE

Precious Letters from Our Readers

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January/February 2006 The Heartbeat of The Remnant 3

In 1900, the Internation-al Prison Congress washeld in St. Petersburg.

The greatest jailor onearth, the Tsar of all theRussias, the turnkey of thegreat ice dungeon, Siberia,opened the sessions.Grand dukes and othernotables of Russian highsociety were present inforce. There were gala din-ners and receptions. At onesession a French sociolo-gist in evening dress read apaper on incorrigibles. Itshone in faultless rhetoric.“This class of criminals arehopelessly sick. No recla-mation is possible. All thatcan be done is, in one oranother way, to renderthem harmless.”

When the last word hadfallen a slight figure wasseen making her way to theplatform. She asked theindulgence of the chair-man, and then in a silveryvoice, speaking in French,said: “There is, gentlemen,one agency by which everycriminal can be trans-formed, even one who is, asthey say, incorrigible. Thatis the power of God. Laws

and systems cannot changethe heart of a single crimi-nal but God can. I am per-suaded that we oughtabove all to occupy our-selves with the souls ofprisoners, and with theirspiritual life.”

The congress applauded.It was a message social con-gresses do not often hear.

The apparition was MissMathilde Wrede, theBaroness Wrede, in fact,though she never seemedconcerned about her title.She bears a more uniquetitle, “The Angel of thePrisons.”

Her father was theprovincial Governor ofVasa, Finland. She firstbecame interested in theimprisoned by watchingsome who came to makerepairs on the governor’shouse and grounds, menunder guard and of gloomycountenance. Again, as alittle girl, she saw by acci-dent the smith weldingred-hot irons on a group ofprisoners. After that thelovely birthday furniture ofher chamber, which herfather had given her as a

Mathilde WredeThe Angel Of The Prisons

“Laws and systemscannot change theheart of a single

criminal but God can.I am persuaded that

we ought above all tooccupy ourselves withthe souls of prisoners,

and with theirspiritual life.”

present, failed to satisfy her. Itwas prison-made.

She was brought up ina world of culture, educatedcarefully with the lovely train-ing of the Scandinavianschools, and was a giftedmusician. One evening, inwhich she had planned to gowith her father to a societyfunction, she went instead to arevival meeting in which a lay-man was preaching. His textwas John 3:16, and MathildeWrede responded, as tens ofthousands have done before tothe golden words. It was anembarrassment to her fatherand his entourage, but in herown heart the hallelujah birdwas singing. Some days after,a prisoner came to her home torepair a lock and, conversingwith him, she told of the greatthings God had done for her.“Ah, Miss,” he answered, “youshould come out and tell usprisoners about it. We need itenough.” She promised to go,and she went. Then she went

again. She had entered uponher life work.

To her final decision, shehad remarkable guidance. Shehad in this early time agreedto visit a prisoner but decidedto put it off in order to pay apressing society call. On thenight before, in vision ordream, which she could nottell, a prisoner came into herwhite chamberwith irons onhands and feet,rattling as hewent. In themiddle of theroom he haltedand looked ather with sorrow-ful eyes. Sheheard wordswith startlingd i s t i n c t n e s s :“thousands ofpoor, chainedprisoners sighfor life, freedom,and peace.Speak to them

the word of Him who canmake them free, so long as youhave time.”

Then the apparition van-ished.

She tossed about greatlydisturbed, thinking of heryouth, delicate health, and theburden prison work wouldentail. Finally she opened herBible. Her eyes fell first onJer.1:6: “Ah, Lord God! Behold,I cannot speak; for I am achild. But the Lord said untome, Say not, I am a child; forthou shalt go to all that I shallsend thee, and whatsoever Icommand thee thou shaltspeak.” With a prayer, sheasked for a confirmation of hercommission. The next passagethat struck her eyes wasEzek.3:11: “Go, get thee tothem of the captivity, unto thechildren of thy people, andspeak to them.”

Sometime after, she wascalled to Helsingfors, the capi-tal, and, passing a chain-gangon the streets, asked herselfwhy she should not utilize her


leisure in visitingthe prisons there.She went to thehead of the prisonadminis t ra t ion ,introduced herselfas the daughter ofthe Governor ofVasa, and askedfor a permit tovisit any and alljails and prisonsof Finland. Thedirector asked herage.

“I am twenty.”“Not exactly

an advanced age.” “That is a fault that will

correct itself in time.”She got her permit with the

observation that it was givenin the conviction that it wouldnot be long used. “A ballroomwould soon be felt to be amore suitable place for herthan prison interiors.”

Her ministry began in theKakola prison, near Abo,where four hundred life-sen-tenced are interned. She wasasked to speak to them inchapel on Good Friday. Whenshe had finished, they wereweeping. Day after day shevisited them at their cell doors,preaching, teaching, writingfor them, encouraging them,sympathizing with them. Themost desperate, even maniacalprisoners calmed in her pres-ence. One prisoner describedthe effect her first appearancemade upon him, pining as hewas behind the thick prisonwalls. “I remember distinctlythe moment when, for the firsttime, I saw her standing in thedoorway of my cell. It was as ifdaylight were streaming in, as

if spring had come with itsgreenery in the barrenness ofwinter.”

For forty years, Mlle.Wrede ministered to men andwomen behind the bars. Shehad a government ticket on allFinnish state railways andtook a general oversight notonly of those in ward but ofdischarged prisoners, also,and of the families of prison-ers both in duress and dis-charged. One gets the impres-sion from reading the inci-dents of her life of a specialcharisma given to this womanfor the work for which she was

called. Her biog-rapher thinks thesame, and, afterspeaking of hernatural capaci-ties, her tact,good judgment,tenderness, adds:

“She was everknown as offriendly disposi-tion but nowthere streamedthrough her anentirely new feel-ing, a hot sympa-thy for those suf-

fering men such as she couldnot have imagined before. Itwas as if a spark of divine lovehad set her heart afire.”

“Idolized” is a lean wordto express her place in thehearts of Finnish prisoners.The Russian government wasrelentlessly pursuing a policyof repression in Finland, andbatches of prisoners were dis-patched at intervals fromWiborg to the Siberian mines.Mlle. Wrede was on hand tobid farewell to them and tocomfort them as they passedinto their Siberian life sen-


tence. One can imagine thestate of these breaking, bleed-ing hearts. On one occasionthey asked her to leave beforethe final scene. They feltashamed of their croppedheads and exile prison garb.When, however, on the lastevening, she crossed theprison court, an arm stretchedout through every grated win-dow to her, and one of theprisoners called out sobbing,“Farewell, thou dearest,daughter of our Fatherland,thou only true friend of theprisoners.”

When on vacation she usu-ally spent some weeks withher intimate friend, thePrincess Lieven, in theKromon Castle, Livonia. Oncoming home, she went to herlodging in a little Helsingforsback street, hired from anotherfriend, Miss HedwigHaartmann, the leader of theSalvation Army in Finland. Inthis, her home, she lived on thesame fare as the prisoners inprison, and they knew it. Suchwere the contrasts in this life –related by birth to the highestbreeding and by choice to thegreatest need. Daytimes sheengaged in visiting the pris-ons; evenings were given up toother troubled, tempted menand women who came to con-

sult her. She often wentabout the country visit-ing her ex-convicts ofmany years standing.Everywhere she wasaccorded enthusiasticreception. One ex-convictinvited her to his homeand slept on the floorbefore her door like adog so that she should

not be disturbed in any way.She spent herself to the

uttermost farthing. When,after a night of insomnia, shefelt a certain reluctance to takeup her daily task, she wouldsay to herself encouragingly,“Today I have again the privi-lege of being occupied withmy Father’s business.” Thenwhile going down the stair-way she would continue, “Omy poor body! How tired youare! We are now going to tryagain to get a-going. Up tonow you have shown yourselfobedient and patient whenlove spurred you to work. Ithank you. I know you will notleave me in the lurch.”

So much has happened inthe last years of European lifethat the detail of history blursin many minds and one for-gets the terrible con-tests between the Redand White factions inFinland that followedthe Russian revolu-tion. When it brokeout, Russian soldiersstormed the Kakolaprison and set theprisoners at large.These ex-convicts,together with theJacobin elementswhich the revolutionchurned up from the

depths, took the reins in theirhands and a Terror followedthat made a fair imitation ofthat of ’93. They tell of countrypeople tied to chairs withtongues nailed down to theirtables and bread placed beforethem. Then they were left tostarve. When the Whitesreturned to power they paidtheir scores in full weight coin.

Mlle. Wrede was in familyconnections White; in hercareer, she was closely intouch with Red society as rep-resented in the prisons inwhich she ministered. On thetable of her living room stoodduring all this troubled time, aglass with two flowers, onered, one white. These typifiedher double relationships. Herdoor was open to both Redsand Whites. All in need, allwho were mourning over deador imprisoned loved ones,came to her to get advice, sym-pathy, and help. She oftenquoted the words in Acts,“And Paul dwelt two wholeyears in his own hired house,and received all that came inunto him.” In the amnestytimes her quarters were over-run with ex-prisoners who in


shoals, came to her andbesieged her from morning tillnight. The Red Guardiststreated her with childlikerespect and kindness and shewas able to intercede for manywith whom it otherwise wouldhave gone hard.

One day a pair of FinnishBolshevists came to her apart-ment and demanded money.“Money I have,” sheanswered, “but it is for the oldand sick.”

“But we are hungry.”“So am I. My breakfast is

coming, and you may share itwith me.” When it came it wasa single slice of bread and littlecabbage. The pair involuntari-ly laughed, and one whis-pered, “We have surely stum-bled in on Mathilda Wrede.”

“Yes,” she said, “I am,indeed, Mathilda Wrede. Asyou see, the breakfast will notsuffice for all, but if you willcome to supper there will beenough and we will confer onhow such capable and indus-trious men as yourselves mayearn your own meals.”

They went off with “manythanks” and hat in hand.

Here, as everywhere,drink is the first cause ofimprisonment, drink endingin quarrels and murder. Oneday she was met on the streetby an old prisoner who hadbeen drinking. She asked himif he had work.

“Oh, yes, I am an asphalteur.”

“Are you well paid?”“Oh, yes.”“Then you no doubt put

your money in the bank.”“Sure! I carry each week

much money to the bank.”“That’s good. In what bank

do you deposit it?”“It all goes to the

Sinebrychoff Bank (one of thegreat breweries ofHelsingfors).”

“But L-, that is terribly sad.If you haven’t self-controlenough to do otherwise, giveme your money and I willdeposit it in a real bank.”

“No, thanks. I’ll keep it. Iam used to beer and musthave it as long as I can get adrop.”

“ ‘As long as I can get adrop.’ These words re-echoedin my ears. When ever willthis murderous flood of intox-icating drink that engulfshomes, bodies, and souls bestanched?”

The story is told of a lifeprisoner whom Mlle. Wredehad often visited in prison, aman earnestly desirous ofdeliverance from sin. One dayhe surprised her by asking,“Would you lend me, Miss,your brooch?”

For years she had wornthis silver shield inscribed inFinnish with the words, Annoja Rauha, “Grace and Peace.”

“Don’t ask me why,” hecontinued; “just trust it to meand an hour afterward youshall have it again.”

Mlle. Wrede was wont, asfar as possible, to defer to thewishes of prisoners, so she putit into his hands. An hour laterit was returned but with noexplanation. She could see,

however, that in his mindthere was a quiet satisfaction.

Some time after, she calledagain on him, and withoutsaying a word he offered her abrooch, the exact replica ofhers, but apparently in ivory.“How beautiful!” sheexclaimed. “Where did youget the ivory? Is it really yourwork? It is far lovelier thanthe old one.”

“It is not ivory,” heanswered. “Some months agoI found a bone in the soup,and I immediately thought tomake a brooch of it for MissWrede. It has been in the sun-shine for a long time, to dryout all the particles of grease.Later I shaped it as yours.”Then followed the unforget-table words:

“In the pot in which theycook soup for prisoners oneseeks in vain for delicatemorsels. Grant that this is abone from an old cow. From ita prisoner has shaped a jewelfor you. One can easily thinkof a life-sentenced person asan evil and worthless thing.But you have said that God inHis goodness can deliver aman as bad as I have been. Thesun of His love can consumeall my sins as the power ofsunshine has cleansed thisbone. The thief on the crosswas brought by Jesus toParadise. The Lord in Hismercy has a place for me inHis kingdom, a great sinnerbut a pardoned one.”

Mathilda Wrede’s lastwords were: “Tonight I crossthe frontier. Can any be ashappy as I!” ❏



Ihave previously said that any Christian whodesires to, may experience a radical spiritu-al renascence, and this altogether independ-

ent of the attitude of his fellow Christians. Theimportant question now is How? Well, here aresome suggestions which anyone can follow andwhich, I am convinced, will result in a wonder-fully improved Christian life.

1. Get Thoroughly Dissatisfied with Yourself.Complacency is the deadly enemy of spiritualprogress. The contented soul is the stagnantsoul. When speaking of earthly goods, Paulcould say, “ I have learned … to be content”; butwhen referring to his spiritual life, he testified,“I press toward the mark.” Stir up the gift ofGod that is in thee.

2. Set Your Face Like a Flint Toward aSweeping Transformation of Your Life.Timid experimenters are tagged for failurebefore they start. We must throw our wholesoul into our desire for God. “The Kingdom of

God suffereth violence, and the violent take itby force.”

3. Put Yourself in the Way of the Blessing.It is a mistake to look for grace to visit us as akind of benign magic, or to expect God’s help tocome as a windfall apart from conditionsknown and met. There are plainly marked pathswhich lead straight to the green pastures; let uswalk in them. To desire revival, for instance,and at the same time to neglect prayer anddevotion is to wish one way and walk another.

4. Do a Thorough Job of Repenting.Do not hurry to get it over with. Hasty repen-tance means shallow spiritual experience andlack of certainty in the whole life. Let godlysorrow do her healing work. Until we allow theconsciousness of sin to wound us, we willnever develop a fear of evil. It is our wretchedhabit of tolerating sin that keeps us in our half-dead condition.

Formula for aBurning Heart

by A.W. Tozer


5. Make Restitution Wherever Possible.If you owe a debt, pay it, or at least have a frankunderstanding with your creditor about yourintentions to pay, so that your honesty will beabove question. If you have quarreled with any-one, go as far as you can in an effort to achievereconciliation. As fully as possible make thecrooked things straight.

6. Bring Your Life Into Accord With theSermon on the Mount and Such Other NewTestament Scriptures as are Designed toInstruct Us in the Way of Righteousness.An honest man with an open Bible and a padand pencil is sure to find out what is wrongwith him very quickly. I recommend that theself-examination be made on our knees, risingto obey God’s command-ments as they are revealedto us from the Word.There is nothing romanticor colorful about thisplain downright way ofdealing with ourselves,but it gets the work done.Issac’s workmen did notlook like heroic figures asthey digged in the valley,but they got the wellsopen, and that was whatthey had set out to do.

7. Be Serious–minded.You can well afford to see fewer comedy showson TV. Unless you break away from the funnyboys, every spiritual impression will continueto be lost to your heart, and that right in yourown living room. The people of the world usedto go to the movies to escape serious thinkingabout God and religion. You would not jointhem there, but you now enjoy spiritual com-munion with them in your own home.The devils ideals, moral standards, and mentalattitudes are being accepted by you withoutyou knowing it. You wonder why you can makeno progress in your Christian life. Your interiorclimate is not favorable to the growth of spiritu-al graces. There must be a radical change inyour habits or there will not be any permanentimprovement in your interior life.

8. Deliberately Narrow Your Interests.The Jack-of-all-trades is the master of none. TheChristian life requires that we be specialists.Too many projects use up time and energy with-out bringing us nearer to God. If you will nar-row your interests, God will enlarge your heart.“Jesus only” seems to the unconverted man tobe the motto of death. But a great company ofhappy men and women can testify that itbecame to them a way into a world infinitelywider and richer than anything they had everknown before.

Christ is the essence of all wisdom, beauty andvirtue. To know Him in growing intimacy is toincrease in appreciation of all things good andbeautiful. The mansions of the heart will

become larger when theirdoors are thrown open toChrist and closed againstthe world and sin. Try it.

9. Begin to Witness.Find something to do forGod and your fellowmen. Refuse to rust out.Make yourself availableto your pastor and doanything you are asked todo. Do not insist upon aplace of leadership. Learnto obey. Take the lowplace until such time as

God sees fit to set you in a higher one. Backyour new intentions with your money and yourgifts, such as they are.

10. Have Faith in God.Begin to expect. Look up toward the thronewhere your Advocate sits at the right hand ofGod. All heaven is on your side. God will notdisappoint you.

If you will follow these suggestions, you willmost surely experience revival in your ownheart. And who can tell how far it may spread?God knows how desperately the church needs aspiritual resurrection. And it can only comethrough the revived individual. ❏

The Christian life requiresthat we be specialists.

Too many projects use uptime and energy withoutbringing us nearer to God.

If you will narrow yourinterests, God will enlarge

your heart.

At the end of a shortvisit with my brotherand his family this past

weekend in South Carolina,we said our last goodbyes overa late night dinner at the localMcDonald’s. I don’t care muchfor fast food—especiallyMcDonald’s—but facing a 13hour drive home we agreedwith my brother that it mightmake a nice grand finale for allour children.

My brother and I grew upat total odds when it came tospiritual things, he an agnosticevolutionist, and me the pro-fessing fundamentalist. Itseemed we were always atodds on just about every topic.Looking back, I regret most ofthose debates we had in ourchildhood. If anything, I thinkI pushed him further into hisgodless convictions by argu-ing with him so often in theflesh. But now here we werealmost 25 years later with ourwives and children, looking atthe vastly different outcomesof each of our lives.

Earlier that day we hadfinally gotten past the surfaceand I was able to ask him howhe felt about God. I asked himwhat he felt the repercussionswould be of raising children inan environment completelyvoid of God. We then enteredmore discussion as he pro-ceeded to give his old argu-ments and I offered my usualapologetics against the claimsof the “Big Bang Theory” andevolution. From there wewent on to discuss his distrustof “organized religion” andhis disdain for church-goinghypocrites. He concludedwith the statement that he is


The Lion, The Witch,and the Happy Meal:

CHRISTIANBEWARE!

by Dean Taylor

looking for a Christianity thatis more believable than whathas classically been taught.He had read enough of theBible to consider the majorityof it as “unsophisticated” and

was seeking a faith that “couldcombine science and religiontogether.” In essence, he saidhe wanted a “reasonable reli-gion.” The idea of a holy,moral, law-requiring God wasmedieval to him. He wanted agod that could be seen andclearly postulated.

Feeling troubled by ourdiscussion I later discussedthe conversation with mywife. She said that she wasconcerned that there seemedto be no burden of spiritualneed in their lives. Until theyhave that, she feared ourwords would most likely bemeaningless. She recommend-ed that we continue moreurgently to pray for thathunger in their souls.

But now at the end of ourvisit, as I sat there groping formy final words, strugglingover the obvious offenses andfailed compromises of theweekend, I reached into my 4-year-old’s Happy Meal andpulled out the “toy” with thetitle “White Witch” on it. Thetheme was from Disney’snewest secular invasion“Narnia.” As I looked around Isuddenly noticed that the

whole place had big picturesof lions, witches andwardrobes all over it.

“Narnia” is the latestmovie sensation out by WaltDisney. The movie is based

upon the book, The Lion, TheWitch and The Wardrobe, writ-ten by C.S. Lewis in 1950. Iasked my brother if they hadseen the movie, and of course,they had. So I began to discusssome of the beliefs and prac-tices of C.S. Lewis. Havingread many of Lewis’ works, Ifound myself tempted to usehis intellectual approach toChristianity as a type of reli-gion that my brother mightfinally accept...but I had tostop myself. Like my wife said,if there is no sense of need thenwhat’s the use? He needed tosee that he was a sinner inneed of a savior, not merelyadd psychological Christianity

to his already “sophisticated”philosophical mindset. So wegathered the children, instruct-ed them to put the witches inthe trash can, and headed backhome to Pennsylvania.

On the 13 hour drive backhome I thought a lot aboutC.S. Lewis and pondered whyhe is now becoming so popu-lar. I thought about my broth-er’s desire for a relative,rational, and modern religionand concluded that he was notalone. Lately it seems thatHollywood has awakened tothe potential capital gains itcan tap into from unsuspect-ing Evangelical and CatholicChristians. The film “ThePassion” brought in recordsales and since then manysmaller film companies havejoined in to win theEvangelical and Catholic dol-lar. The seasoned gold hunterWalt Disney is not at all new tothese tactics and is an age oldenemy of Christianity and theCross. Wes Penre, who warnsabout the influence of manysecret societies says, “WaltDisney was a 33rd degreeFreemason and an illuminist.Behind all those cartoons,magazines, movies etc., is ahidden agenda to mess up ourchildren’s minds. Disney’sproduction over the years isfilled with Masonic symbol-ism, occult over- and under-

tones, mind control and indoc-trination. He is preparing ouryounger generations for theNew World Order, and intro-duces them to sorcery (blackmagic) as being a ‘cool thing.’”


Lately it seems that Hollywood hasawakened to the potential capital gains itcan tap into from unsuspecting Evangelical

and Catholic Christians.

Walt Disney was a 33rd degree Freemasonand an illuminist. Behind all those cartoons,magazines, movies etc., is a hidden agenda

to mess up our children’s minds.

That Disney has had anagenda against conservativeChristianity is no new thing.What surprises me now is thewide spread acceptance thatC.S. Lewis has receivedthrough Disney. Walk intoany Christian bookstore, pickup most any Christian bookcatalog or go to a Christianbook website and you’ll seeNarnia and C. S. Lewis plas-tered everywhere. C.S. Lewishas never been so popular! But

what did C.S. Lewis believe?Exactly what is he teachingour children and othersthrough his books and subse-quent movies?

Clive Staples Lewis spentthe first part of his life anardent intellectual atheist. Hewas a literature professor atOxford from 1925 to 1954, andprofessor of medieval and

Renaissance literature atCambridge University from1954-1963. However, after 1954he was primarily a writer. Heclaimed a change in his lifewhich caused him to beginbelieving in God and abandonhis belief of atheism. He wrotemany books defending hisview of Christianity. One of hismost popular books, MereChristianity, was basically aChristian defense against theclaims of atheism. However,

what he is probably mostfamous for is a series of sor-cery-fantasy books called TheChronicles of Narnia which claimto be full of hidden Christianmessages and overtones.

C.S. Lewis originallybecame popular in a timewhen science, psychology, rel-ativism and cynicism were allcoming strongly against the

church. Much like my brother,many people then were losingfaith in the simplistic messageof the Bible. Science was grow-ing exponentially and thechurch was losing grounddaily. As a last ditch effort, thechurch began to look for a“reasonable” faith that couldbe explained scientifically.This was the scene onto whichthe notable atheist and intel-lectual C.S. Lewis emerged,claiming to have converted toChristianity. He began to writebooks, debate and give semi-nars on Christianity all overthe world. The world was a bittaken back by his intellectualapproach and in 1947 he evenmade the cover of Time maga-zine, labeling him the “apostleto the skeptics.” However,unlike the apostles of old, whorebuked the culture and reli-gious structure of the age bypresenting an uncompromis-ing gospel, I am afraid thatC.S. Lewis allowed the simpleGospel to become polluted inhis attempt to win over theintellectuals. Talking aboutholy things in an unholy waycan be very damaging.Sporting his cigar and beerdrinking demeanor as hedebated Christian themes, Ifeel he often rendered manyholy doctrines of the Bible asmere esoteric nuances andtrendy dialogs.

One of the hardest thingsfor intellectuals to accept is thenarrow, egocentric-soundingconcept that Christianity is theonly way to Heaven. Jesussaid, “I am the way, the truth,and the life: no man cometh untothe Father, but by me (John14:6)”. Being completely at


I am afraid that C.S. Lewis allowed thesimple Gospel to become polluted in hisattempt to win over the intellectuals.

Talking about holy things in an unholy waycan be very damaging. Sporting his cigar

and beer drinking demeanor as he debatedChristian themes, I feel he often renderedmany holy doctrines of the Bible as mere

esoteric nuances and trendy dialogs.

odds with such an exclusiveidea, the skeptics and intellec-tuals were glad to hear formC.S.Lewis in his book MereChristianity, that some pagansmay belong to God withoutknowing it. He wrote, “Thereare people in other religionswho are being led by God’ssecret influence to concentrateon those parts of their religionwhich are in agreement withChristianity, and who thusbelong to Christ withoutknowing it. For example, aBuddhist of good will may beled to concentrate more andmore on the Buddhist teachingabout mercy and to leave inthe background (though hemight still say he believed) theBuddhist teaching on certainpoints. Many of the goodPagans long before Christ’sbirth may have been in thisposition.” Narrow minded asit may seem, the Bible clearlyteaches that “Neither is theresalvation in any other: for there isnone other name under heavengiven among men, whereby wemust be saved (Acts 4:12)”.

Another thing that intel-lectuals have a difficulty withis all the talk about Heavenand Hell. Gold, music andcrowns in Heaven—fire, dark-ness and torment in Hell,seems too much like a child’sstory to be reasonable andbelievable. Unfortunately, C.SLewis felt the same way.Speaking on Heaven, Lewisintellectualized the Biblicallanguage saying “All thescriptural imagery (harps,crowns, gold, etc.) is, ofcourse, a merely symbolicalattempt to express the inex-pressible. Musical instru-

ments are mentioned becausefor many people (not all)music is the thing known inthe present life which moststrongly suggests ecstasy andinfinity. Crowns are men-tioned to suggest the fact thatthose who are united withGod in eternity share Hissplendor and power and joy.Gold is mentioned to suggestthe timelessness of heaven(gold does not rust) and thepreciousness of it.”

In reference to Hell,instead of seeing literal fireand torment, Lewis impliedthat Hell wasmerely a state ofmind. In The GreatDivorce he said“...every shutting-up of the creaturewithin the dun-geon of its ownmind is, in the end,Hell.” If Hellbecomes intellectu-alized then certainly witches,demons and goblins would beconsidered safe amusementsfor our children. I found itinteresting that when askedabout so called “white witch-es,” the late Anton LaVey,author of the Satanic Bible, andhigh priest of the Church ofSatan, scoffed at the distinc-tion saying “There is no differ-ence in Satanism, betweenwhite and black witchcraft ormagic.” It is sad when demonpossessed mad men havemore wisdom and insight thanmany professing Christians.

The Bible itself, with suchunbelievable stories as theparting of the Red Sea byMoses, Noah and the ark, oreven Elijah’s fiery chariot, is

simply too much to swallowfor the a modern scientificman. Unfortunately, Lewisdismissed many of these his-torical events as Christianmythology. In The Problem ofPain, Lewis wrote “I have thedeepest respect for Paganmyths, still more for myths inthe Holy Scriptures.” In hisbook, Reflections on the Psalms,he wrote “I have therefore nodifficulty accepting, say, theview of those scholars who tellus that the account of Creationin Genesis is derived from ear-lier Semitic stories which were

Pagan and mythi-cal.” Jesus not onlybelieved these sto-ries were true butpreached thatthese men werestill living in heav-en and God wasstill their God.1Cor 10:11 states:“Now all these

things happened unto them forensamples: and they are writtenfor our admonition, upon whomthe ends of the world are come.”

Distinguishing betweenwhich myths to believe andwhich to discard seemed to bea struggle for C.S. Lewis. In aninterview with RogerLancelyn Green for his book,C.S. Lewis: A Biography, Lewiswas speaking of the difficulttime he had when his wifewas struggling with sicknesssaying “I had some ado to pre-vent Joy and myself fromrelapsing into Paganism inAttica! At Daphni it was hardnot to pray to Apollo theHealer. But somehow one did-n’t feel it would have beenvery wrong - would have only


been addressing Christ subspecie Apollinis.”

As influential as Lewis hasbeen as a Christian apologist,after reviewing many of hisbeliefs, the embarrassing ques-tion that still has to be asked is‘was C.S. Lewis even aChristian?’ Many foundationalteachings seem to be missingin his works. Speaking of theAtonement, Lewis said that

“Christ’s death was not a sub-stitution for us, but rathersomething like the RomanCatholic idea of the storing-upof grace.” The late Dr. MartynLloyd Jones said of him:“Because C.S. Lewis wasessentially a philosopher, hisview of salvation was defec-tive in two key respects: (1)Lewis believed and taught thatone could reason oneself intoChristianity, and (2) he was anopponent of the substitution-ary and penal theory of theAtonement (ChristianityToday 20-12-63)”.

John MacArthur, in athought provoking paper enti-tled “Open Theism’s Attack OnThe Atonement” criticizes C.S.Lewis’ idea of salvation saying:

...the wind of [new-modeltheology’s] influence blows in

through every crack when weread C. S. Lewis’s Chroniclesof Narnia stories. Lewis wasno theologian, and there’s nodoubt that his views weresquidgy on the question ofeternal punishment. He heldother views that make old-model evangelicals shudder.But one wonders if he reallywould have been in sympathywith open theists’ quest for a

tamed and toned-down deity.…That same basic falseassumption was the startingpoint for the heresy of opentheism. New-model theolo-gians began with the assump-tion that God could not begood and terrible at the sametime, so they set out to divestHim of whatever attributesthey did not like. Like theSocinians and liberals whopreceded them, they have setout on a misguided quest tomake God “good” accordingto a humanistic, earthbounddefinition of “good.” They aredevising a god of their ownmaking…In the final book ofthe Narnia series, a wickedape drapes a lion skin over awitless ass and pretends theass is Aslan. It is a sinister anddangerous pretense, and in the

end it leads countlessNarnians astray. The god ofopen theism is like an ass in anill-fitting lion’s skin. And it isleading many away from theglorious God ofScripture…God is both goodand fearsome. His wrath is asreal as his love. And thoughHe has “mercy for thousands,forgiving iniquity and transgres-sion and sin, [He] will by nomeans clear the guilty” withoutsatisfying His own justice andwrath (Exod. 34:7).

There is no substitute forthe blood, no short cutthrough repentance, and noinnovation without the HolySpirit convicting of sin, bring-ing repentant sinners to graceand salvation. As simple, fool-ish and unsophisticated asthat may seem, there is still noother way. Jesus warned us offalse ways of salvation saying“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hethat entereth not by the door intothe sheepfold, but climbeth upsome other way, the same is athief and a robber. But he thatentereth in by the door is theshepherd of the sheep. To him theporter openeth; and the sheephear his voice: and he calleth hisown sheep by name, and leadeththem out. And when he puttethforth his own sheep, he goethbefore them, and the sheep followhim: for they know his voice. Anda stranger will they not follow,but will flee from him: for theyknow not the voice of strangers(John 10: 1-5)”. Why is theChurch not heeding theMaster’s warning and fleeingfrom these strange voices?

Writing to the Corinthiansthe Apostle Paul said many

continued on page 17


There is no substitute for the blood,no short cut through repentance,

and no innovation without the Holy Spiritconvicting of sin, bringing repentant sinners

to grace and salvation. As simple, foolishand unsophisticated as that may seem,

there is still no other way.

To rightly estimate any phase inany man’s life, we must considerit as a chapter in the process of

his growth upward—or downward. Consider Jacob at Bethel when a

ladder came down from Heaven minis-tering God’s love to him. Some find fault with Jacob’s vow at Bethel as being selfish and mercenary.If God will do this for Jacob, then Jacob will do this for God! How much nobler to stay one’s self uponGod with a generosity such as Abraham’s, which trusts all to Him!

But Jacob was at the very beginning of his spiritual life at Bethel. He had just had his first glimpseof the vision which was to shape that life to its close. He naturally rises to no height of self-abandon-ment He honestly states the case as it strikes him, and takes God at His word in the practical com-monplace way which was characteristic of him.

But at Jabbok, Jacob went further. Once more Divine powers and presences come into his life andthis time he has no bargain to make with them. He doesn’t asks for safety for himself, or the preserva-tion of his property, or the mollification of his broth-er’’ anger. He asks just the blessing which God canbestow, and leaves it to take any shape or to carryany meaning which God may give it. He drives nobargain now, but trusts and adores. Then it was therethat his old name Jacob, the Supplanter, ceased to fitthe man, and he became Israel, “a Prince of God.”

And so God takes us from one stage to another,from narrow and selfish views of our relation to Him,to the hour when of all His gifts we ask nothing butthe blessing that expresses His gladness in us, andhelps to our gladness in Him. ❏


How MenGrow

by G.G. Warren


When Apelles, the Greek painter,was asked why he bestowed somuch labor upon his pictures, he

replied, “Because I am painting for eterni-ty.” He used the word as a bold figure ofspeech; but we may use the word literallywhen we say that we are painting the pic-tures of our lives for eternity. We use fastcolors. Whatever pure and holy word ordeed be wrought into that picture will standthere, imperishable and immortal. Whateverselfish or sinful thing be painted on that life-canvas can never be washed out, except bythe application of the blood of Jesus here inthis present life. Now or never that preciousblood availeth. When death comes, theprocess of painting stops! No strokes of pen-itence or of faith can be added to it then. Noguilty spots can be washed out then. Thepainting is finished, and finished for ever.

Death frames the picture, and sends it onto the Judgment Day for exhibition. Not a“private preview” before a select company,but a public exhibition before an assembledmultitude whom no man can number. ForGod will bring every word and every workinto judgment, whether it be good orwhether it be evil. The picture of out liveswhich is presented before the “great whitethrone” will be forever unchangeable. If the

canvas is adorned with deeds, howeverhumble, for the glory of God, then the life-work will stand as an everlasting memorialof Divine grace. If the life was only spent forthe gratification of sinful self, then thewretched picture of it will only be held up to“shame and everlasting contempt.”

We may desire most intensely to alterthe portraiture then, and to improve it, butthe pencil and the colours were left behindus; the hand will have lost its cunning forevermore. We may importunately beg andbeseech the righteous Judge to give us onemore opportunity. The irreversible answerwill be, “He that is unjust, let him be unjuststill; he that is filthy, let him be filthy still.He that is righteous, let him be righteousstill; he that is holy let him be holy still.”Seeing that these things are true, what man-ner of persons ought we to be in all holyconversation and godliness.

When the noble Russell was executed asa martyr to freedom, he handed his watch toa friend who stood beside him on the scaf-fold. “Take this watch,” said he, “for I haveno more to do with time. My thoughts noware only about eternity.” The utterance ofthe dying martyr is a word in season for usall. We pastors who are setting about the

Painting forEternity

Painting forEternity

by Theodore L. Cuyler

centuries ago “The cross is tothem that perish foolishness; butunto us which are saved it is thepower of God. For it is written, Iwill destroy the wisdom of thewise, and will bring to nothingthe understanding of the pru-dent. Where is the wise? where isthe scribe? where is the disputerof this world? hath not God madefoolish the wisdom of this world?For after that in the wisdom ofGod the world by wisdom knewnot God, it pleased God by thefoolishness of preaching to savethem that believe. For the Jewsrequire a sign, and the Greeksseek after wisdom: But we preachChrist crucified, unto the Jews astumbling block, and unto theGreeks foolishness; But untothem which are called, both Jewsand Greeks, Christ the power of

God, and the wisdom of God.Because the foolishness of God iswiser than men; and the weak-ness of God is stronger than men.For ye see your calling, brethren,how that not many wise menafter the flesh, not many mighty,not many noble, are called: ButGod hath chosen the foolishthings of the world to confoundthe wise; and God hath chosenthe weak things of the world toconfound the things which aremighty; And base things of theworld, and things which aredespised, hath God chosen, yea,and things which are not, tobring to nought things that are:That no flesh should glory in hispresence. (I Cor. 1:18-29)”.

In conclusion, the nexttime Disney thinks they canrattle the Christian’s cage and

we will come running in,bringing our children’s openminds to sit and listen to theirdestructive doctrines and lies,show them your strength andstay at home and teach yourchildren from the Word ofGod! Teach them to listen care-fully for the Shepherd’s cryand be ready to flee the voiceof the stranger. Teach them tobeware of this bloodless, intel-lectual ‘Christianity’ and stayclose to the simple truthsfound in the Word of God.Without question “Be sober, bevigilant; because your adversarythe devil, as a roaring lion,walketh about, seeking whom hemay devour (1 Peter 5:8)”. ❏


Master’s work anew may well take note ofthe fact that we are preaching for eternity!Let every parent who reads this paragraphinquire of conscience, “Am I training up mychildren not only for this world, but for theworld to come?” Let every man of businessask himself whether he is only aiming to filla bag that is full of holes, or, as God’s stew-ard, is laying up treasures in heaven? Youngfriend, are you training yourself in self-indulgence, or for the immortal crown?

Upon the walls of an institution inMontreal, I saw this summer, this briefline—“Nothing is long except eternity.”That was a motto for every pastor’s study,and for the walls of every dwelling. Let usall write it up before us on the arch of theheavens. “Nothing is worth living for buteternity.”

Let the clanging bells of timeWith their changes rise and fall!

But in undertones sublime—Sounding deep beyond them all—

Is a voice that must be heard,As our moments onward flee,And it speaketh but this word

‘Eternity! Eternity!’

continued from page 14, The Lion, The Witch, and the Happy Meal: Christians Beware!


Iwonder sometimes whetherany more startling or pro-found word is to be found

in the New Testament concern-ing the relationship into whichmen and women in JesusChrist are brought with God.This indeed is a sea wherein allour thoughts are drowned. Wemay approach the great themeand see some of the gleams oflight that break from it, and yetwhen we have meditated on itprayerfully and carefully,under the guidance of theSpirit, it still stretches outbeyond us, baffling ourthoughts, incapable of beingexpressed in any words of

earth’s poor language, waitingfor its final exposition, for thelanguage and illumination ofthe Father’s house.

“Our fellowship is with theFather.” The emphasis isplaced upon the word thatindicates relationship. It is themost startling announce-ment— fellowship. How differ-ently the minds of men think ofGod. There are those who hatethe very thought of Him. Thereare those who fear Him with aslavish fear. There are thosewho only think of Him as aking to whom they are boundto submit themselves. But thedistinctive and overwhelming

glory is, that it brings us into anew relationship, that of fel-lowship. All enmity is ban-ished form the heart; all fear,save the fear of filial love, isforever swept away; henceforthwe enter, though Christ Jesus,upon the profounder, morewonderful, more intimate rela-tionship indicated by that greatword “fellowship.”

It seems to me almostimpossible for us to begin toattempt a description of whatfriendship with God means.The word “friend” is one of themost sacred and beautifulwords in our language, and aword sadly abused. There is agreat difference between anacquaintance and a friend. Ithank God for my acquaintanc-es, but I have not many truefriends in the world, nor haveyou. A friend is so precious thatno human being ever has verymany of them on life’s pilgrim-age and pathway. How manypeople are there with whomyou feel perfectly safe? Howmany with whom you feel, sit-ting alone, that you can pourout everything that is in yourheart, the mean thing as well asthe noble thing, the doubt aswell as the confidence. Thereare very, very few; but that isfriendship. “Our fellowship itwith the Father.” We have beenbrought into such a relation-ship with God, that if we dobut know Him and understandits truth, we can together fulfillthat very idea of friendship. Ican feel perfectly safe when Ihave entered in to my innerchamber and have shut thedoor against all others than myFather. I can say to Him every-thing that is in my heart.

Our Fellowship IsWith The Father

by Campbell Morgan

Dear young believer, haveyou discovered that? If notthen you have not yet experi-enced one of the most preciousthings in life as a Christian, onof the deepest and profoundestblessings that has come inChrist Jesus. There is one thingGod never wants to hear fromyou, and that is a word of thenature of hypocrisy. He neverwants to hear you say that yourwill is resigned to His, whenyour heart is hot and restlessand you think He is dealinghardly with you. When youthink so, He wants you to tellHim. He wants you to dare topour out in His listening eareverything that is in yourheart— your meanness, yourlittleness, your baseness, yourdoubts, and your fears. Oh,but you say, I would be afraidto do it. There is the secret to agood deal of lack in your life.Begin to do it, and you willfind that He will sift the thingsyou say to Him, and He willblow away that which isunworthy, and retain thatwhich is best.

Notice a quotation fromDryden, in that poem, “All forLove”:—

“…We were so mixed.As meeting streams,both to ourselves were lost.We were one mass;we could not give or takeBut from the same;for he was I, and I he.”

That is the perfection offriendship, and that is the veryinner heart of the meaning ofthis word “fellowship.” I giveto God, but I can only give toHim only Himself as He has

given Himself to me. God givesto me everyday. What does Hegive to me? God gives to memy new self in Christ. As twostreams have mingled, so thelife of the soul in Christ and theinfinite life of God have min-gled, and all my frailty finds itsforcefulness in His might, andall His might finds its means ofexpressing itself along the lineof my frailty.

This is the fact; “our fel-lowship is with the Father.”Now, how far do we practiceit? There is such a thing aspracticing friendship, practic-ing fellowship. We have onlybeen talking about the natureof the great fact of friendshipwith God, in and throughJesus Christ.

In every life there ought tobe time for the practice of fel-lowship with God. Here is oneperil of the age. Oh, this rush-ing, restless, feverish age! Weare swept off our feet by therush of our work. Carriedalong from day to day, tum-bling like a turbid stream, andthere is not restfulness, notpractice of fellowship, no timefor it. Time for everything else,but not for that, and everythingelse is weakened for lack of it.First take time to talk withGod, and secondly,—and this ismore neglected than the first—take time to let God talk to you.The first need emphasis; taketime to talk with Him. I do notsay pray, though it would beright to say it, but we have solargely associated the work“prayer” with petition. Wehave been busy asking forthings. Talk to Him. Tell Himall about your own life; aboutyour home; about your chil-

dren. Ask Him for things ifyou wish, but the nearer youlive in communion the fewerpetitions there will be in yourprayer. Practice the art of talk-ing to God. Tell him every-thing, and then take time thatHe may speak to you.

Oh, that this message mayat least call a halt amid all theactivity of the church, and callevery one of us back to thepractice of our fellowship.Beloved, fellowship is a fact. Iam not asking you to createthe fact, but to show it. Thefact is created in Christ. InJesus I have been made thefriend of God. The trouble isnot there, the trouble is that Ihave not practiced it. And letme say that when a soulbegins to practice this waitingfor God and for His speech,then will come a new sense ofChrist, such as the soul hasnever had before. ❏



Acovetous man is an idolater. Not onlythe covetous, but the immoral, are idol-aters. For the apostle, who here makes

covetousness to be idolatry, considers volup-tuous people to be idolaters also, where hespeaks of some who make their belly their God(Phil. 3:19). Indeed, every reigning lust is anidol—and every person in whom it reigns is anidolater. “The lust of the flesh, the lust of theeye, and the pride of life.” Pleasures, and rich-es, and honors are the carnal man’s trinity.These are the three great idols of worldly men,to which they prostrate their souls! And giv-ing that to them which is due only to God, theyhereby become guilty of idolatry. That this maybe more evident—that covetousness, immorali-ty, and other lusts are idolatry—let us considerwhat it is and the several kinds of it.

Idolatry is to give that honor and worshipto ‘the creature’, which is due to the Creatoralone. When this worship is communicated toother things, whatever they are, we therebymake them idols, and commit idolatry. Nowthis worship due to God alone, is not onlygiven by the savage heathen to their stick andstones—and by papists to angels, saints andimages—but also by carnal men to their lusts.

There is a Twofold WorshipDue Only to God

1. External, which consists in acts and ges-tures of the body. When a man bows to or

prostrates himself before a thing, this is theworship of the body. And when these gesturesof bowing, prostration are used, not out of acivil, but a religious respect, with an intentionto testify divine honor, then it is worship dueonly to God.

2. Internal, which consists in the acts of thesoul and actions answerable thereto. When themind is most taken up with an object and theheart and affections most set upon it, this is‘soul worship’—and this is due only to God.For He being the chief good and the chief endof intelligent creatures, it is His due, proper toHim alone, to be most minded and most loved.It is the honor due only to the Lord to have thefirst, the highest place, both in our minds andhearts and endeavors.

Now according to this distinction of worship–

There are Two Sorts ofIdolatry

1. Open, outward idolatry, when men, out of areligious respect, bow to, or prostrate them-selves before anything besides the true God.This is the idolatry of the heathen, and in part,the idolatry of papists.

2. Secret and soul idolatry, when the mind isset on anything more than God; when anythingis more valued than God, more desired than

Soul Idolatry Excludes MenOut of Heaven

by David Clarkson (1621-1686)

For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater,hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Ephesians 5:5


God, more sought than God, more loved thanGod. Then is that soul worship, which is dueonly to God.

Hence, “secret idolaters” shall have no inheri-tance in the kingdom of God. Soul idolatry willexclude men out of heaven as well as open idol-atry. He who serves his lusts is as incapable ofentering heaven, as he who worships idols ofwood or stone!

Before we come to confirm and apply thistruth, it will be requisite to make a more cleardiscovery of this secret idolatry. In order there-unto, observe, there are–

Thirteen Acts of SoulWorship

1. ESTEEM. That which we most highly value,we make our God. For esteem is an act of soulworship. Worship is the mind’s esteem of athing as most excellent. Now the Lord demandsthe highest esteem, as an act of honor and wor-ship due only to Himself. Therefore, to have anhigh esteem of other things, when we have lowthoughts of God, is idolatry. To have an highopinion—of ourselves—of our abilities andaccomplishments—of our relations and enjoy-ments—of our riches and honors—or those thatare rich and honorable—or anything of likenature, when we have low opinions of God, isto advance these things into the place of God—to make them idols and give them that honorand worship which is due only to the divineMajesty. What we most esteem—we make ourgod. If you hold other things in higher esteemthan the true God, you are idolaters (Job 21:14).

2. MINDFULNESS. That which we are mostmindful of—we make our God. For to be mostremembered, to be most minded, is an act ofworship which is proper to God, and which Herequires as due to Himself alone (Ecc. 12:1).Other things may be minded; but if they bemore minded than God, it is idolatry—the wor-ship of God is given to the creature. When youmind yourselves, mind your estates and world-ly interests, mind your profits or pleasures

more than God—you set these up as idols inthe place of God.

When that time, which should be taken upwith thoughts of God, is spent in thoughts ofother things—when God is not in all yourthoughts—or if He sometimes is there, yet ifother things take a higher place in yourthoughts—if when you are called to think ofGod—as sometimes every day we should dowith all seriousness—if ordinarily and willing-ly you make these thoughts of God give placeto other things, it is idolatry.

If either you do not think of God or think oth-erwise of Him than He is—think Him allmercy, disregarding His justice—think Him allpity and compassion, disregarding His purityand holiness—think of His faithfulness in per-forming promises, not at all regarding Histruth in execution of threatenings—think Himall love, not regarding His sovereignty—this isto set up an idol instead of God. Thinking oth-erwise of God than He has revealed Himself—or minding other things as much or more thanGod—is idolatry.

3. INTENTION. That which we most aim at,we make our God. For to be most intended isan act of worship due only to the true God. ForHe being the chief good—He must be the chiefend. Now the chief end must be our chief aim—it must be intended and aimed at for itself; andall other things must be aimed at for its sake ina subserviency to it.

Now, when we make other things our chief aimor main design, we set them up in the stead ofGod and make them idols. When our chiefdesign is to be rich, or great, or safe, or famous,or powerful—when our great aim is our ownease, or pleasure, or credit, or profit and advan-tage—when we aim at, or intend anythingmore, or anything as much, as the glorifyingand enjoying of God—this is soul idolatry.

4. RESOLUTION. What we are most resolvedfor, we worship as God. Resolvedness for God,above all things, is an act of worship which Hedemands as due to Himself alone. To commu-


nicate it to other things is to give the worship ofGod unto them, and so to make them gods.When we are fully resolved for other things—for our lusts, pleasures, outward advantages—and but faintly resolved for God, His ways,honor, service—this is soul idolatry.

When we resolve presently for other things, butrefer our resolves for God to the future—”Letme get enough of the world, of my pleasure, ofmy lusts, now—I will think of God hereafter, inold age, in sickness, on a deathbed”—these areidolatrous resolutions. God is thrust down—the creatures and your lusts advanced into theplace of God—and that honor which is dueonly to Him, you give unto idols.

5. LOVE. That which we most love—we wor-ship as our God. For love is an act of soul-wor-ship. To love and to adore are sometimes bothone. That which one loves—he worships. Thisis undoubtedly true, if we intend hereby thatlove which is superlative and transcendent—for to be loved above all things is an act ofhonor and worship, which the Lord demandsas His due in peculiar (Deut. 6:5). In this theLord Christ summed up all that worship whichis required of man (Mat. 22:37). Other thingsmay be loved—but He will be loved above allother things. He is to be loved transcendently,absolutely, and for Himself. All other things areto be loved in Him and for Him. He looks uponus as not worshiping Him at all, not taking Himfor a God, when we love other things more oras much as Himself (1 John 2:15). Love to thecreature, whenever it is inordinate, it is an idol-atrous affection.

6. TRUST. That which we most trust we makeour God. For confidence and dependence is anact of worship, which the Lord calls for as dueonly to Himself. And what act of worship isthere which the Lord more requires than thissoul-dependence upon Him alone? “Trust inthe Lord with all your heart” (Prov. 3:5). Hewill allow no place for confidence in anythingelse. Therefore, it is idolatry to trust in our-selves—to rely upon our own wisdom, judg-ments, abilities, accomplishments. The Lordforbids it (Prov. 3:5).

To trust in wealth or riches—Job disclaimsthis and reckons it among those idolatrousacts that were punishable by the judge (Job31:24). And our apostle, who calls covetous-ness idolatry, dissuades from this ‘confidencein riches’ as inconsistent with confidence inGod (1 Tim. 6:17). To trust in friends thoughmany and mighty—He fixes a curse upon thisas being a departing from—a renouncing ofGod—an advancing of that we trust into theroom of God (Psalm 136:3). Psalm 118:8, 9—”Itis better to trust in the Lord than to put confi-dence in man. It is better to trust in the Lordthan to put confidence in princes.” The idola-try of this confidence is expressed, in that thetrue God is laid aside. Trust in the creature isalways idolatrous.

7. FEAR. That which we most fear, we worshipas our God. For fear is an act of worship. Hewho fears, worships that which is feared—which is unquestionable when his fear is tran-scendent. The whole worship of God is fre-quently in Scripture expressed by this oneword “fear” (Mat. 4:10; Deu. 6:13); and theLord demands this worship, this fear, as due toHim alone (Isa 50:12, 19). That is our god whichis our fear and dread (Luke 12:4, 5). If you fearothers more than Him, you give that worship tothem which is due only to God—and this isplain idolatry.

8. HOPE. That which we make our hope weworship as God. For hope is an act of wor-ship—and worship is due only to God. It is Hisprerogative to be the hope of His people (Jer.17:13; Rom. 15:13). When we make other thingsour hope, we give them the honor due only toGod. It is a forsaking of the Lord the‘Fountain’—and setting up of ‘broken cisterns’into His place (Jer 2:13), hereby worshipingthem as God. Thus do the papists openly, whenthey call the virgin mother, the wooden cross,and departed saints, their hope. And thus doothers among us, who make their prayers,their sorrow for sin, their works of charity, orany acts of religion or righteousness, theirhope—when men expect hereby to satisfyGod’s justice, to pacify God’s displeasure, and


to procure heaven. Nothing can effect this, butthat which is infinite—the righteousness ofGod. And this we have only in and fromChrist. He is therefore called our hope (1 Tim.1:1); “our hope of glory” (Col 1:27). Those whomake their own righteousness the foundationof their hope—they exalt it into the place ofChrist and honor it as God.

9. DESIRE. That which we most desire—weworship as our God. For that which is chieflydesired, is the chief good, in the estimation ofthe one who desires it. And what he counts hischief good, that he makes his god. Desire is anact of worship—and to be most desired is thatworship, that honor, which is due only to God.To desire anything more, or as much, as theenjoyment of God—is to idolize it, to prostratethe heart to it, and worship it as God aloneshould be worshiped. He alone should be thatone thing desirable to us above all things.“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that willI seek after—that I may dwell in the house ofthe Lord all the days of my life, to behold thebeauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his tem-ple.” Psalm 27:4

10. DELIGHT. That which we most delight andrejoice in—that we worship as God. For tran-scendent delight is an act of worship due toGod alone. And this affection in its height andelevation is called glorying. That which is ourdelight above all things, we glory in it—andthis is the prerogative which the Lord demands(1 Cor. 1:31; Jer. 9:23, 24). To rejoice more in ourwisdom, strength, riches, than in the Lord—isto idolize them. To take more delight in rela-tions, wife, or children, in outward comfortsand accommodations, than in God—is to wor-ship them, as we ought only to worship God.To take more pleasure in any way of sin,uncleanness, intemperance, earthly employ-ments—than in the holy ways of God—than inthose spiritual and heavenly services whereinwe may enjoy God—is idolatry.

11. ZEAL. That for which we are most zealous,we worship as God. For such a zeal is an act ofworship due only to God. Therefore, it is idola-trous to be more zealous for our own things—

than for the things of God—to be eager in ourown cause; and careless in the cause of God—to be more vehement for our own pleasure,interests, advantages; than for the truths, ways,honor of God—to be fervent in following ourown business, promoting our designs; butlukewarm and indifferent in the service ofGod—to count it intolerable for ourselves to bereproached, slandered, reviled; but manifest noindignation when God is dishonored, Hisname, Sabbaths, worship, profaned; His truths,ways, people, reviled—this is idolatrous.

12. GRATITUDE. That to which we are mostgrateful, that we worship as God. For gratitudeis an act of worship. We worship that for whichwe are most thankful. We may be thankful tomen, we may acknowledge the helpfulness ofmeans and instruments—but if we rest hereand rise not higher in our thanks and acknowl-edgments—if the Lord is not remembered asHim without whom all these are nothing—it isidolatry. For this the Lord threatens those idol-aters (Hos. 2:5, 8). Thus when we ascribe—ourplenty and riches to our care and industry—our success to our prudence and diligence—our deliverances to friends, means, instru-ments—without looking higher—or not somuch to God as unto these—we idolize them,sacrifice to them, as the prophet expresses it(Hab. 1:16). To ascribe that, which comes fromGod unto the creatures, is to set them in theplace of God and so to worship them.

13. When our care and industry is more forother things, than for God—this is idolatrous.No man can serve two masters. We cannotserve God and mammon—God and our lustsalso—because this service of ourselves and ofthe world, takes up that care, that industry,those endeavors, which the Lord must have ofnecessity, if we will serve Him as God. Andwhen our time and endeavors are laid out forthe world and our lusts, we serve them as theLord ought to be served—and so make themour gods. When you are more careful andindustrious to please men or yourselves, thanto please God—when you are more careful toprovide for yourselves and posterity, than to be



As young ladies, we are created with aneed for emotional fulfillment. Thoughthe desire for marriage is a God-given

gift, the Lord has also supplied abundant graceto live happily without a life partner, for as fewor many years as He should choose. In this sea-son of singleness, the Lord intends for us to findtrue freedom in being totally His and givenover to His matchless love. These years alsohold a unique opportunity for intense spiritualgrowth and ministry.

Because of its potential, this special seasonof life is targeted by the enemy. If satan canenslave a soul in their youth, he succeeds instealing many precious gifts of eternal value: avictorious Christianity, intimacy with the Lord,and an anointed ministry. Our youth years aretimes when many important battles are foughtand life patterns are set. Often, these battles andchoices are so formative that, as a result ofthem, we live our adult years in either bondageor freedom. As unmarried young women, per-haps our greatest battle lies in maintaining apure heart and in keeping those God-givenemotions in check. I personally believe thatwhat we do—more exactly, who we are—in thisspecial season of life is incalculably crucial.

Basically, I see two options. Bondage orFreedom. Bondage to emotional longings forromantic fulfillment. Or, freedom to live joyful-ly, contentedly, and to love the Lord with allour hearts.

Because of the love and power of my LordJesus Christ, I have known this sweet freedom.

It has been so beautiful, rewarding, and satisfy-ing, that I am not content to contain my joy. Thetruths that I have discovered in my journeywith the Lord have such life-changing potential,that I cannot hold my peace.

And so, my desire in writing this article is tofirst of all to sing the praises of my Beloved. He

Emotional Freedom

by Mollie Jo Cassidy

For Young Ladies


has revealed His love to me and captured myheart. His promises have not failed.

Then, I want to share my vision for emo-tional freedom. Someone once wisely said:“Vision without action is a dream. Action with-out vision is a nightmare. But action with visionbrings beautiful reality.” The things I share hereare some of my visions. But it is more than thatfor me. It is beautiful reality; it is my testimony.Because vision must have action to be reality, Ihave included some practical things we all cando to obtain emotional freedom. But, firstthings first.

We Need to Have theVision for It

For those of you who are walking in free-dom, many truths I share will not be new. Mydesire is to encourage you; don’t grow weary inwell doing! May God continue to give you vic-tory. And please pray for me and my relation-ship with God.

But, my burden is especially for those whoare not walking in victory. Some of you may bein bondage toyour emotions,and fighting alosing battle. Youhope you can just“make it”through your sin-gle years. Youfeel a heavyweight, anintense, unful-filled longing. You don’t know the wonderful,satisfying love of Jesus Christ. You’re not happy.You’re not free. Oh, as you read this article, letfaith and hope arise in your soul: you can be lib-erated to wholly love the Lord Jesus! God wantsto do a great work in you. . . and He is able! Mayyou know the Truth, Jesus Christ, Who will setyou free. And “If the Son therefore shall makeyou free, ye shall be free indeed. “ (John 8:36)

Steps to VictoryAs in every aspect of the Christian walk, we

cannot be victorious in our own strength. Ourown efforts will prove futile and frustrating. Weneed divine grace, the desire and power to doGod’s will. When we come in brokenness beforethe Lord, offering up our hearts to His keeping,He accepts our consecration. The only way wecan truly keep our hearts emotionally pure is byactually giving them to the Lord Jesus andentrusting them to His keeping. As the GoodShepherd, He never loses or misplaces thatwhich is committed to His trust. “. . . for I knowwhom I have believed, and am persuaded thathe is able to keep that which I have committedunto him against that day. “ (2. Tim. 1:12)

One step we can take after initial consecra-tion is to remove all provision for the flesh.“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers andpilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which waragainst the soul.” (1 Peter 2:11) It’s hard enoughdealing with our own affections and desireswithout adding to them the temptations thatcome from worldly videos, music, and booksthat stir us up emotionally! These things hinderlove for Jesus, breed discontentment, and cloud

our spiritualvision. Let’smake a radicaleffort to removeall damaginginfluences fromour lives. Topurge ourselvesfrom theseweights frees usto run our race.

We need the wise counsel of our HeavenlyFather, and our earthly parents, to know how towalk in pure relationships with young men.God has also given us common sense. If wetruly desire to keep our hearts pure then wewon’t do things that stir up our emotionsunnecessarily. “ . . make not provision for theflesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (Romans 13:14)Our heart’s purity is too precious a thing to risk.

Let’s make a radical effort to removeall damaging influences from our

lives. To purge ourselves from theseweights frees us to run our race.


Avoid unhealthy situations. This includesdeveloping any special friendships with otheryoung men. A girl who is devoted wholly toJesus should treat all the young men the same,with no special friendliness to any one in par-ticular. It is Biblical to treat them as brothers inthe Lord—but special, close friendships (out-side of a holy courtship relationship) are dan-gerous and create unnecessary struggles.

Dealing with EmotionsA very foundational aspect of emotional

freedom is releasing all competing affections tothe Lord. A competing affection is an emotionallonging or romantic attraction that hinders obe-dience and love toward Jesus. Regardless of ourmarital status, Christ requires and deserves firstplace in our hearts. However, emotional free-dom is not an absence of desire for marriage oran indifference toward young men. Rather, thisis a liberty to love the Lord wholeheartedly andwithout distraction. This principle is found in ICorinthians 7:35.

It is important to understand that emotionalattraction towardyoung men is not evil.Nor is it love; it ismerely a feeling of lik-ing them. Furthermore,our emotions need notbe something wedespise, as a “hin-drance” or “problem.”They only become aproblem when they areout of place, when theycontrol us. God’s heartis to use the battle foremotional purity tomake us intimatelydependent on Him. Aswe respond to HisShepherding, the verythings that drive us toour knees will be usedto make us women of

God. And then we can understand how eventhis struggle can ultimately result in a lifetime(and eternity) of good.

What we do with our emotions determineswhether we will walk in freedom or bondage. Ifa young lady chooses to hold on to her desires,to feed them, and to keep them a secret, her soulwill become enslaved to them. The right thingto do when we feel an emotional drawingtoward a particular young man is to immediate-ly and completely give it to the Lord. For “ . . .they that are Christ’s have crucified the fleshwith the affections and lusts .” (Galatians 5:24)

We read in Genesis that God, the eternalmatchmaker, put Adam to sleep while He pre-pared him a life partner, Eve. When God’s timewas fully come, Adam awoke and was madeone with Eve, God’s “perfect choice.” Thisaccount of the first marriage is, to me, a pictureof what God desires to do in our lives. God isable and willing to bring a true rest to ourhearts. Emotionally speaking, “he giveth hisbeloved sleep.” (Psalm 127:2) Yet, as we rest inthe arms of the Father, we can be confident thatHe is not sleeping! He is preparing the perfectchoice of a life partner for us, as He did forAdam. In light of these truths, reflect on thesetender promises of God: “ . . . he that keepeth

thee will not slumber .. nor sleep. . . TheLORD is thy keeper. ..” (Psalm 121:3~5)When God “awakens”us at the appointedtime, may our testimo-ny be “I laid me downand slept; I awaked;for the LORD sus-tained me.” (Psalm 3:5)

The Lord has alsogiven us humanauthorities, usuallyour parents, to helpand guide us throughthese issues. Godwants us to “give” ourhearts to our parentsand to keep open com-munication with themabout our emotional


struggles. Their watchful care is a wonderfulblessing! Honest accountability with our dadand mom helps us greatly in achieving emo-tional freedom. Even a little deceitfulness willsignificantly hinder victorious liv-ing. The more honest and open weare with both God and our author-ities, the more freedom we willenjoy. At first, it may be embarrass-ing or difficult to speak to yourparents about boys and desires formarriage. But, for me, it only getseasier after time.

Sometimes we face a more seri-ous emotional drawing toward ayoung man, especially as we growinto womanhood. By “serious” Imean this is not just a passingwhim. Maybe you really feel you’dlike to marry someone in particu-lar, and you just “can’t shake” theemotional drawing you feel. Inmany ways, the answers are thesame: give the desire to God andkeep open and honest with author-ities. We must be even more vigilant to guardour hearts and outward behavior toward anindividual we are especially drawn to.

But, that’s not enough. A trustful submissionto the Father’s plan will give us victory over ouremotions. Submission is an act of the will underthe control of God’s Spirit. We may not feelright away like anything has changed. Oftenthere’s a gap between our emotions and ourwill, but don’t let that be confusing.

In our times of need, we can call upon theLord and pour out our hearts to Him in com-plete honesty. “God, I just have to tell you howstrongly I feel about ‘so and so.’ I feel like I wantthis relationship, Lord. But I really want yourwill more. As best as I know how, I surrenderand give this totally to you. . . even if you don’tgive that which I desire. Help me!” And Hewill. He draws nigh to the humble, brokenheart, and fills it with His own grace.

This situation reminds me of what Davidsaid when he was offered free materials for asacrifice unto the Lord: “And the king said. . .neither will I offer burnt offerings unto theLORD my God of that which doth cost me noth-

ing. . . (2 Samuel 24:24) Many times it’s a sacri-fice that really costs. Or at least it feels like it.

I want a higher perspective on surrender. Iwant to be so conscious of Who the Lord is and

what He has done for me that I canfreely sacrifice unto Him. . . no mat-ter how hard or how painful itfeels. It is fearful distrust, earthlymindedness, or willfulness thatmake surrender difficult. Surrenderbecomes a joy when we have anunwavering, child-like faith in theFather’s absolute goodness andperfect love. But, as the old hymnstates, “ . . we never can prove thedelights of His love until all on thealtar we lay; For the favor Heshows and the joy He bestows arefor them who will trust and obey.”(John H. Sammis, “Trust and Obey)

So let us joyfully offer to theLord even that which costs. Let ushave a passion for God’s will to beaccomplished in our lives. Let usmake a glad surrender to Him now,

instead of a sad surrender later. One day inGlory every sacrifice will fade away in the joyof His Presence.

Longings SatisfiedVigilantly guarding our hearts, without sat-

isfying our need for love and security, will leaveus empty and restless. Because of this, emotion-al freedom is not complete without an intimaterelationship with the Saviour. As OswaldChambers stated, “The human heart must havesatisfaction, but there is only one being who cansatisfy the last aching abyss of the human heart,and that is our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Many people, even Christians, vainly seekfor happiness in people or earthly things. In aneffort to find satisfaction, we girls are especiallyprone to viewing marriage as the ultimate lifegoal. Thoughts like “Once I’m married I’ll real-ly be happy” can be part of our mindset, evenunconsciously and subtly.


Of course, there is much happiness and ful-fillment in marriage—God designed it to be so!However, the danger in making marriage anidol is that we look to man for what only Godcan do. This mistake will set us up for futuredisappointment. As wonderful as husbands are,husbands are human. They fail, they are limit-ed, and they don’t live forever. I am persuadedof the absolute necessity to be secured andestablished firstly in the love of God.Furthermore, if we believe that marriage is thesource of basic fulfillment, we are incorrectlyassuming thatthose God callsto celibacy areincapable ofknowing truecompletion, thatthey’re somehowmissing out onthe highest hap-piness. Worst ofall, we’re sayingthat God justcan’t meet our needs.

But this is simply not true. As our Creator,Jesus Christ is fully capable of satisfying ourhearts. This is a ministry that He has reservedfor Himself, although He adds His gifts ofhuman love. It is the will of our Father that weare content now, with Him alone. I’m sure thateven our married friends and our motherswould readily testify that God is the basis oftrue joy, that nothing or no one else could eversatisfy the deepest longings of our soul.

In fact, I feel that finding fulfillment inChrist is one of the best ways to prepare formarriage! When our expectation is in God, allthe love and joy in marriage will be like icing onthe cake. A truly happy marriage is one whereeach partner is firstly in love with Jesus and sat-isfied in Him. But first we have to get to theplace where we don’t need romance. . . Wherewe’re so satisfied in God that whatever else Hegives is received in overflowing gratitude as anadditional blessing.

Unlike earthly marriages, our relationshipwith Jesus will last throughout all eternity.Therefore, it is well worth the effort to developour relationship with Him. One vital way to

develop closeness with Jesus is by spendingtime with Him. Communication through read-ing God’s Word and responding in prayer arebasic ways to get close to His heart. Intimacywith the Lord is spontaneous and continual, notalways structured and formal. Walking withGod goes beyond the morning quiet time. Hewants us to be close enough to bring everyheartache and joy to Him as we go through ourday to day lives.

Since I was 15 years old, I have made it mygoal to find intimacy and fulfillment in the Lord

Jesus Christ. Ihave putromance awayuntil the timeappointed byGod and haveturned my emo-tional focustoward the Lord.And with joy Ican testify thatHe has and still is

fulfilling the promise He made to me: “For hesatisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hun-gry soul with goodness. (Ps 107:9)

One of the greatest blessings of this emo-tional freedom is the stability and satisfactionthat Jesus gives. “ Hope deferred maketh theheart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is atree of life. “ (Prov. 13:12) Christ is our Hopethat cannot be deferred. There need be no heart-sickness when we’re in love with Jesus! It istotally unnecessary to experience drastic emo-tional ups and downs and intense unfulfilledlongings. Of course, there may be days whenwe feel down and struggle more. But, overall,there can be a stability and satisfaction in Christthat carries on through singlehood victoriouslyand joyfully.

I’m not saying something that is just a greatdream: it can be reality for every one of us! Youcan be as free as you want to be! You get asmuch of Christ as you want! He is a rewarder ofthose who diligently seek Him. I have full con-fidence in His ability: He is not lacking in thesupply required to meet our deepest needs!

“The human heart must havesatisfaction, but there is only one

being who can satisfy the last achingabyss of the human heart, and that

is our Lord Jesus Christ.”


Ardent Lovers ofJesus Christ

Amy Carmichael is one whose life I greatlyadmire because of her intimacy with Jesus. Herintense devotion to Christ and the ministry kepther from falling prey to discontentment. Butthere was a specific time in her life where Godspoke to her in a special way that gave herstrength to walk through life single unto theLord. This is what she shared with one of herDohnavur family members:”On this day manyyears ago I went away alone to a cave in amountain called Arima, in Japan. I felt manyfeelings of fear about the future. That was whyI went there. I wanted to be alone with God.“The devil kept on whispering, ‘It’s all rightnow, but what about afterwards? You are goingto be very lonely.’ And he painted pictures ofloneliness. I can see them still.

“Then I turned to my God in a kind of des-peration and said, “Lord, what can I do? Howcan I go on to the end?” and He said, “None ofthem that trust in Me shall be desolate.”(Psalm 34:22)

“That word has been with me ever since,and I give it to you now. It has been fulfilled tome. It will be fulfilled to you. Only live for HimWho redeemed you and trust Him to take careof you, and He will.”” (Candles in the Dark, byAmy Carmichael, pg. 17)

Reading her testimony almost brings chillsto me as I contemplate the awesome meaning ofwhat she shared: “. . . It has been fulfilled to me.It will be fulfilled to you.” And it will be ful-filled to us, if we will also dare to believe Godto keep His promises. Do we trust Christ to inti-mately love us . . . to sustain . . . to satisfy?According to our faith, be it unto us.

Amy Carmichael is an example of what I calla “lover” of Jesus. She loved Him on purpose,with the desire for sweet intimacy. She oncepenned some words that expose her heart’slongings: “You will, I believe and trust, becomemore and more in love with a crucified Saviour.He wants lovers. Oh how tepid is the love of so

many who call themselves by His name. Howtepid is our own - my own - in comparison withthe lava fires of His eternal love. I pray that youmay be an ardent lover, the kind of lover whosets others on fire.” (Amy Carmichael, Candlesin the Dark, pg. 107)

My heart’s deep desire is to be one of theLord’s true lovers, like the Apostle John, and likeMary, who sat at His feet. Not only do I want tobe close to Him, but I want my life to cause oth-ers to pursue after Him. I would like to be thatkind of ardent lover who sets others on fire. I’mtrusting the Lord to make me such, to continuethe work He’s begun. I have hopes of the Lordsaying to me once He calls me Home: “thy loveto me was wonderful.” (2 Sam. 1:26)

In Conclusion . . .It is thrilling to think about the purity and

vibrancy of a young woman who is emotionallyfree. In love with Jesus and satisfied in Him, herradiant joy is contagious. She carries the fra-grance of Christ that draws others to seek afterHim. But we know that such a beautiful testi-mony is not attained by wishful thinking. Itbegins with choices to walk in freedom, to sur-render desires for marriage, to love the Lordwith all our hearts, and to believe that Christ istotally capable to meet our needs.

I wonder how many of you will make thesechoices. Will you choose emotional freedom?Which of you, one year from now, will have thetestimony of being true lovers of Jesus? Willyou know the fullness of joy that is found in Hissweet Presence? How many of you will youhear Him say “thy love to me was wonderful?”The choice is yours. Clearly, it’s a choice thatholds untold impact on lives beyond your own.The world around you will know, sooner orlater, the choice you made.

I hope and pray that you will follow theShepherd to the “high places” of His love. . . to theabundant life of joy and freedom. His love is likean inexhaustible sea, and His promises are sureenough to carry us through. We only need to takeone day at a time. With restful confidence in theOne Who leads . . . let us enjoy the journey. ❏


“If ye ask, I will do.” Concerning thosethings which only God can do, we nat-urally betake ourselves to prayer. For

knowing that we ourselves cannot do them, wefind our hope only in that asking which bringsGod’s doing. But let us remember, too, that ourown personal service, in the things which wecan do, needs also that asking which will bringGod’s doing into it. Do we realize that every-thing we do, need to be saturated with the spir-it of prayer that God may be the real doer, thereal worker in the things which we are busilydoing? Yet this is a mighty truth: “If ye ask, Iwill do” applies to your own service as well asyour intercession for others.

Have you ever toyed with the key of a tele-graph while the circuit was closed? If so, youhave noted this fact. On that key you may writea complete message, from address to signature.Upon it every telegraphic character may be per-fectly formed; every condition of expert operat-ing may be fulfilled. But it matters not howskillful an operator you are, so long as the elec-tric circuit is closed, all your efforts are simplysounding brass and clattering platinum. Not asingle spark of electric life do you transmit; nota single message of good or ill, of bane or bless-

ing is conveyed to the waiting listener at theother end of the line.

Why?

Because the battery is not working. And allyour working is effort without result, activitywithout power.

But now you open the little brass leverwhich connects your key to the battery hiddenbeneath the table. Immediately every letter youform thrills with life, every word you writeflashes a living message into the mind and heartof the far-away receiver. Through your work,dead and mechanical in itself, the electronicbattery is now pouring forth its vital stream,flooding with life and power every deft motionof your flying fingers.

The Lesson is Plain

It is in spiritual telegraphy as in material. Ifthe battery is not working, the message is mere


A Promise for Service

fromOut and Out Magazine1907


Aman was on the side of the road with a large birdcage. A boy noticed that the cage was full of birds of many kinds. “Where did you get those birds?” he asked. “Oh, all over the place,” the man replied. “I lure them with crumbs and pretend I’m their friend.

Then when they are close, I net them and shove them into my cage.”“And what are you going to do with them now?”The man grinned, “I’m going to prod them with sticks, and get them really mad so they fight and

kill each other. Those that survive, I will kill. None will escape.” The boy looked steadily at the man. What made him do such things? He looked into the cruel, hard

eyes. Then he looked at the birds, defenseless, without hope. “Can I buy those birds?” the

boy asked. The man hid a smile,aware that he could be on to agood thing if he played hiscards right.

“Well,” he said hesitantly, “Thecage is pretty expensive, and Ispent a lot of time collecting thesebirds, I’ll tell you what I’ll do, I’lllet you have the lot, birds, cageand all for ten pounds and thatjacket you’re wearing.”

The boy paused, ten poundswas all he had, and the jacket wasnew and very special, in fact it washis prized possession. Slowly, he

BirdCageAuthor Unknown

BirdCage


took out the ten pounds and handed it over, then even more slowly he took off his jacket, gave it onelast look then handed that over too.

He received the cage from the man. And then (well, you might have guessed it) he opened the doorand let the birds go free.

The Enemy of the world, Satan, was on the side of life’s road with a very large cage. The man coming towards him noticed that it was crammed full of people of every kind, young, old,

from every race and nation.“Where did you get these people?” the man asked.“Oh, from all over the world,” Satan replied. “I lure them with drink, drugs, lust, lies, anger, hate,

love of money and all manner of things. I pretend I’m their friend, out to give them a good time, thenwhen I’ve hooked them, into the cage they go.”

“And what are you going to do with them now?” asked the man. Satan grinned. “I’m going to prod them, provoke them, get them to hate and destroy each other; I’ll

stir up racial hatred, defiance of law andorder; I’ll make people bored, lonely, dissat-isfied, confused and restless. It’s easy. Peoplewill always listen to what I offer them andwhat’s better, blame God for the outcome!”

“And then what?” the man asked. “Those who do not destroy themselves, I

will destroy. None will escape me.” The man stepped forward. “Can I buy

these people from you?”, he asked. Satan snarled, “Yes, but it will cost you

your life.” So Jesus Christ, the Son of God,paid for your release, your freedom fromSatan’s trap, with His own life, on the crossat Calvary. The door is open, and anyone,whom Satan has deceived and caged, canbe set free.

Trust in the LORDwith all thine heart;

and lean not unto thineown understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him,and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

continued from page 20, A Promise for Service

clatter. We may do, but if God is not doingthrough us, then all our doing is naught. If wework in our own fleshly strength we will buteffect fleshly results, for “whatever is born offlesh is flesh.” God alone is spiritual life. God isthe only begetter of life. Our highest function asservants is to be transmitters of the life of Godto others. Our highest doing is that in whichGod is doing through us.

And how shall this be?

Through Prayer

Prayer connects you with the divine batteryof life and power. Prayer puts you “in theSpirit,” and “it is the Spirit that quickeneth.”From the chamber of prayer you come forth tomen with the unction, the subtle power, thethrill of God’s own life upon you. As you keepasking, God keeps doing. When you growprayerless, your deeds grow powerless. Leadno meeting without asking that God may be thereal leader through you; speak no messagewithout asking that He may speak through you;begin no work without asking that God maywork though you. For, “If ye ask, I will do.” ❏


10/01/05 Beginning Balance -$5,928.61

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October-December 2005 Financial Reportand 2005 Year-end Financial Report

The Heartbeat of

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Difference -$787.42


About the illustration of sin deaden-ing conscience...

Lepers lose fingers, toes, some-times noses. It was always thoughtthe disease did this. But a brilliantmedical missionary began to ques-tion this. Dr Paul Brand noticedthat lepers would go to bed wholeand wake up without a finger. Noone could ever find a trace of themissing finger. He eventually dis-covered that the fingers werebeing chewed off and carriedaway by rats! However could thishappen? It’s because lepers losefeeling. And that’s our problem.We have lost feeling in part of ourconscience. And then the devil –that fat rat – begins to chew usand instead of shooing him away,we don’t even realize what he’sdoing. We desperately need Godto make our consciences sensitive.

From an email

We very much appreciate yourministry. I have been very chal-lenged by this magazine. MayGod continue to bless you in this

effort. In the magazine, we areencouraged to share testimonies ofobedience, so, I thought I wouldshare one. I apologize if it is toolengthy.

After spending about 9 years in avery worldly mainstream churchof about 5,000 members, Godbrought a man into my life whoreally challenged me spiritually.Shortly thereafter, I and my chil-dren left that church and began tohome fellowship with a few otherbelievers, although we were notcompletely likeminded. All ofthese other families moved awayto another fellowship, which leftus here alone for about a year anda half. Then by God’s providence,we found a likeminded fellowshiphere in Colorado, and beganattending there. My wife did notyet practice the headcovering, as Idid not yet understand it. Butafter a few months attending thatfellowship, and doing some study,I got confused. I just didn’t quitesee it. I had always been taughtthat a woman’s long hair was thecovering, and it was hard to getpast this teaching. So, I ended uplooking into church history a little

bit. It did not take very long tofigure out that pretty much alldenominations up until the early1900’s practiced the covering, atleast during worship service.Even the pictures on the walls ofthe Catacombs show women withcloth veils on. I also found a sec-ond century article by Tertulliannoting some of his observationsafter visiting the church atCorinth, the very church that Paulwrote to concerning the veiling.He noted that all of the womenwore a cloth veiling on theirheads. So here was a church whounderstood what Paul was sayingto them in their native tongue, andthey all understood the coveringto be a cloth veiling, not the hair!Since 1Corinthians 1:2 indicatesexplicitly that these scriptures arewritten to all saints everywhere(not just to that church at that timeas many modern churches teach),this pretty much secured it for me,at least mentally. I figured that Imust not have understood thescriptures. I was more inclined tobelieve the first 1900 years ofchurch doctrine rather than thelast 100, especially looking at thefruit that came out of those

We thank God for the letters of counsel and encouragement we have received. It is the only way we can evaluate our progress. Keep them coming. Our desire is to foster a free flow of edification, inspiration and burden from us to you, and you to us. This way we can pass some of the blessings on to the others who are reading. Send us a testimony for “The Blessing Corner” of God’s blessing in some area of obedience, or aquestion that can be answered to the edification of all, or an area of spiritual growth, or a word of encouragement or counsel about TheRemnant or any section of it.


serviceable unto God—when you are morecareful as to what you shall eat, drink, or beclothed, than how you may honor and enjoyGod—when you are more careful to make pro-vision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof,than how to fulfill the will of God—when youare more industrious to promote your owninterests, than the designs of God—when youare more careful to be rich, or great, or respect-ed among men, than that God may be honoredand advanced in the world—when you aremore careful how to get the things of the world,than how to employ them for God—when yourise early, go to bed late, eat the bread of care-fulness, that your outward estate may prosper,while the cause, and ways, and interests ofChrist have few or none of your endeavors—this is to idolize the world, yourselves, your

lusts, your relations, while the God of heaven isneglected! And the worship and service dueunto Him alone is hereby idolatrously given toother things!

He who makes Christ his chief aim, if at lengthhe finds Him whom his soul loves—this quietshis heart—whatever he lacks, whatever heloses besides. He counts this a full recompensefor all his tears, prayers, inquiries, waitings,endeavors.

Therefore, my dearly beloved,flee from idolatry!

1 Corinthians 10:14❏

churches compared to today’s. So,my wife began to veil her head,and it did not take long to begin tosee the blessings. We were at thegrocery story in a local town, andas we were shopping, a Mexicanman came up to my wife andbegan pointing at my wife’s headand speaking in Spanish. Heshouted for his wife to come, andshe came around the corner, alsowearing a veil. He was absolutelyecstatic in seeing another believerwho was practicing this. Hecouldn’t speak any English, andthough I took some Spanish inhigh school, it all left me at thatmoment. I could think of a wordto say, so I just said “Christ?” Andhe began to nod emphatically andsay “Yes! Cristo! Good!” Wecouldn’t talk at all to each other,but we both had Christ, and thatwas enough! Through some ges-turing, we determined that he hadseen us go into this store whichwas about 150 yards away from aK-mart at the other end of the lit-tle strip mall. They were comingout of the K-mart and saw us,with my wife covered, entering

this store, and they both ran allthe way down to the store weentered just to try to find us andsay hello to a fellow believer. Hewas so happy! It was almost likehe had never found another per-son who practiced the veiling.Quite frankly, I also was ecstatic,especially since it was only about3 months earlier that I was alonewith my family, longing to findlikeminded Christian fellowship.The covering was like a sign, avery distinctive outward sign, thatwe are disciples of the Lord Jesus.

Anyway, though I did not under-stand this truth at first, since wehave begun the practice of veiling,it is so very obvious to me now, Idon’t know how I missed itbefore. In the 5-1/2 years sincethen, God has been so faithful toreveal to us the reasons for agodly woman to cover her head,and has given more and moreinsight to what the scripturesmean in 1 Corinthians 11. Mywife has noticed that even ungod-ly people in the community treather with a measure of reverence,

tenderness and respect that shedid not receive from peoplebefore. We can only contributethis to God’s blessings in obeyingHis commandments regardingheadcovering, modesty and ameek and quiet spirit. It brings tomind the verse Jesus spoke to Hisdisciples in John 14:21, He thathath my commandments, andkeepeth them, he it is that lovethme: and he that loveth me shall beloved of my Father, and I will lovehim, and will manifest myself tohim. The word “manifest” means“to come to view”, “disclose” or“reveal”. I have indeed found thisto be true. If we know what Godhas commanded us, even if wedon’t understand it fully, he willreveal the reason and blessing ofthe commandment if we just bowour hearts to Him and obey. Hewill indeed give us understandingand revelation.

Colorado

continued from page 23, Soul Idolatry Excludes Men Out of Heaven

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