Hello everyone! From
the Editor
Often we hear and read about ‘saints’. But who are these people? When did they
live? Have you ever seen a saint? Well,
to answer these questions we must turn to the Bible.
People talk about ‘Saint Paul’,
‘Saint Peter’, ‘Saint John’ as though they were the only saints in the
Bible. In fact the Bible never calls
these men saints, only Paul, Peter and John.
Often you hear about people who have lived long ago, who did many good
deeds, so a special service is conducted by the Pope to make them saints. These
people must perform two miracles after they die, to become saints. This is so
that people can pray to these saints for help.
Now the Bible says nothing about people becoming saints in this way or
of praying to saints.
Who then are ‘saints’? In the first verses of Ephesians,
Philippians and Colossians we are told that Paul wrote these letters ‘to the
saints’. These were people who were then living, who trusted in Christ, and
were saved by His grace.
The word saint means ‘a holy one’, a person who is saved and separated
from the world. Every Christian is a
saint of God here and now. No church or
man can make a person a saint, only the Lord can do that. Saints are not a
specially holy group among Christians who have great acceptance with God, so
that we may pray to them. Saints are
sinners saved by Grace. If you trust in
the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, then you are a saint of God.
Rescued by a Grasshopper
Thomas Gresham was born in England in 1519. His mother was so extremely
poor and very distressed that she felt she could not look after her baby, so
she wrapped him in a cloth and left him in a field among some tall grass, and
she was never seen again.
But God, who controls all things, was watching over Thomas. A young boy
about twelve years old, was collecting some grasshoppers. Suddenly he heard a
large grasshopper chirp in the grass, so he ran to catch it. Then he noticed a tiny baby lying in the
grass. He picked up the baby and took
it home.
The authorities tried to find Thomas’ mother but she was never found, so
he was adopted by some kind Christian people who cared for him. Thomas became a very famous man. He was
brilliant with money and the economy.
He became a very wealthy man, perhaps the wealthiest in England. Thomas was a very sincere Christian and
sought to live according to God’s word.
At that time England was a very poor country and greatly in debt, so
King Edward V1 made him his royal agent
in 1551, and charged him to manage England’s overseas debt. Through trading on the Antwerp stock
exchange, Thomas was able to clear that huge debt. In 1571 Thomas Gresham built the first stock exchange in London
out of his own money. Queen Elizabeth 1
(1533-1603) made him a kinght.
But Thomas never forgot the Lord and His great care for him as an
infant. He chose the grasshopper as his
crest, and had this crest placed on the walls of the Exchange and also on the
top of the weathercock on the building.
Even to this day the Royal Stock Exchange in London has a large
grasshopper on the front of the building.
This reminds us of the people of Israel who set up a rock and called it
“Ebenezer” after God had delivered them by sending a fierce storm that
terrified their enemies, the Philistines.
Ebenezer means ‘hitherto has the Lord helped us’. 1 Samuel 7:12.
Smile-a-While
Well parked: A driver from the outback visited a big city for the first time. He returned
with a good report to his wife. “They thought I was a good driver so they
placed a ticket on the windscreen saying, ‘parking
fine.”
Cold out-house: What is an ‘IG’ ? It is an eskimo’s house without a loo! (ig-loo)
Sleepy head: Patient: “Doctor,
as soon as I fall asleep, I start snoring.”
Doctor: “Is your snoring loud?”
‘Yes, very loud.” “Does your
wife complain?” “I’m not
married.” “Then your snoring is not
really a problem.” “The problem is
that I have been fired from my last five jobs because of the snoring.”
Poodle problem: Two neighbours were arguing over their garden fence. One shouted, “And keep your dog out of my
shed, it’s full of fleas.” The other man looked at his dog and replied, “Do you
hear that Fido? Keep out of his shed, it’s full of fleas.
Scattered evidence: A Lawyer asked a woman; “Why didn’t you
report the burglary when you first found everything turned inside out and
things scattered everywhere?” “Because I thought my husband must have been
looking for a clean shirt,” she replied.
Pilot problem: A helicopter developed engine trouble and was forced to land on a remote
Scottish island. The pilot went to the
nearest house to ask if there was a mechanic in the area? The woman who answered the door replied, “No,
we have a McKay, McIver and McArdie, but no McHanic.”
Not silent: A telephone operator told a caller; “I’m sorry, but the number you require is a silent number.” “No
it’s not,” insisted the caller, “I’ve been there and heard it ringing.”
Saintly Fellowship
Many Christians will say they often receive more benefit from fellowship
than from actual preaching! This is no reflection on the preacher of course; it
simply shows how true it is that 'iron sharpens iron'. As a young Christian I
remember an old elder who was much more familiar with Gaelic preaching [the
language of the Scottish West Highlands] than English. Having heard an English
sermon one night, he thought it had made no impact upon him - until later that evening, when, having spent it in fellowship
where the sermon was discussed in detail, he was heard to comment: "I
enjoyed that sermon more than I thought'!
What?
But what is Christian fellowship? Is it any different from a fellowship
of doctors or teachers or any other body of like-minded people? How does it
differ from a gathering of non-Christian friends? Surely it must mean more than
meeting for a yarn. One element that makes it special is that those who delight
in it have in common, not a thing but a
personality - the Lord Jesus; a Personality
and Being who is interested in them and all they say and do. And they have
a mutual interest in Him and all that the Bible tells them about Him; what He did at the Cross and continues
to do for them in the Gospel every day. So that when they meet in His name He has promised through
His Word to be with them in and by His Spirit: "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am
I... " Matthew 18:20.
When?
Fellowship is important to young and old in the faith. It is one of the
marks commended by the Bible, Malachi 3:16; Hebrews 10:25. Yet it's not
something we practice naturally. It requires effort. We must work at it. One of
the reasons for this difficulty is the hectic lifestyle many of us lead these days. Young Christians are not
exempt from this, as those of you involved in various stages of study know full
well! We can scarcely find quiet time with God far less a couple of hours with
fellow-Christians. So we have to find and make time, even if it means
sacrificing a favourite pastime, hobby or TV program! As someone once said: if
you are too busy for God, you are too busy! Every Christian ought to have a
regular diet of fellowship. To meet in the evenings after the preaching on the
Lord's Day or in weekly Bible study meetings or informal gatherings at school
or university goes a long way to meet this need.
Who?
Another important aspect of fellowship is a balance of ages. Young
Christians like to be together. Perhaps you don't feel relaxed in the company
of 'old fogies'. But it's as good to mix as it is to talk! There should always
be a more mature Christian present when young Believers gather for fellowship.
Certainly we want to meet with other Christians just to be with them, perhaps
to discuss nothing in particular. But the examples of fellowship in the Bible
indicate that it is a means used by God to teach and instruct us. As young
Christians we make as many mistakes in our relationship with God as we do in
everything else. So it's always good to have someone of experience on board to
keep us right.
HOW?
Often it is through being in fellowship that we find our greatest
encouragement’s. Preaching has one huge disadvantage - the talking is one-way
traffic! I remember one minister some years ago being taken aback when a man
sitting in the back pew attempted to answer a rhetorical question he raised in
his sermon! Still, 1 am quite sure many of us would dearly like to ask in the
course of a sermon, 'what do you mean; can you explain?' Many people are
reluctant to ask for clarification etc. - even if opportunity did present
itself. People don't want to sound foolish and ignorant. They might be afraid
or embarrassed. Perhaps you are like that. If you are, remember that to be part
of a fellowship you don't have to say anything: just listen. Let others do the
talking. Quite often we may think ourselves to be unusual or odd due to some of
the thoughts or feelings we have as Christians. But in fellowship, we can hear
of others like ourselves and we realise our problem is more common than we
thought. Sadly, much of our fellowship is time wasted. We may gather and talk, but so often the
subject is of little profit to our souls. Christian fellowship by definition is
Christ-centred. Whatever the topic of discussion, look at it in the light of
what the Lord has to say in His Word. Only when He is to the fore in our
thinking and discussions can fellowship be truly a delight and joy.
After all, that's how we shall spend eternity - in everlasting
fellowship with God in Christ!
Faithful Peter
Peter was the son of a tribal chief who lived on the largest of the
Solomon Islands, called Malaita. His
early life was in the dense forest of the island, where people lived in fear
and danger. The tribes people had
grudges against each other and people were often speared or clubbed to death.
But Peter was able to visit Australia for a time and there he heard
about the Lord Jesus and became a true disciple of the Lord and studied the
Bible for a time.
When Peter set sail for his home island, the local chief said he would
kill him if he set foot on shore. So he had to return to Australia by the same
trading ship. But he refused to accept
defeat. He went on the next vessel to
sail. He landed at a nearby village where that chief was unfriendly and made
him sleep under his house with the pigs. Peter was happy when he remembered
that the Lord was born in a stable.
At last he arrived at his own village.
The people held a market every few days, so Peter took the opportunity
to speak to the people about the Lord, but they would not listen.
Peter was forced to live in a little hut by himself near the shore for
over four years. From this hut he tried
to preach Christ, but no one would listen.
His life was often threatened by armed men. On one occasion a group of armed men came to shoot him. Peter said he was not afraid to die, but if
they did shoot him, he would go home to heaven. As the men stood with their old muskets ready to shoot, a sudden
violent thunderstorm came, and the powder in their old muskets became wet and
would not fire. The men were then sure
that some Power was protecting Peter.
Peter had a garden near his hut,
which produced wonderful crops. After
four years there was a drought, and all the gardens failed except Peter’s
garden, so the people began to think that there must be something in what Peter
was saying. Soon the children were
allowed to come to him for instruction, then later the women began to attend,
and finally the men came.
For ten years Peter laboured alone preaching the gospel. He established a Christian village, and
later when missionaries arrived in 1904 they found that Peter had two hundred
people coming to the service every Lord’s day, and the gospel had spread far
and wide from that village. Even
Peter’s mother and father and two brothers had become Christians. For a long
time they had been very opposed to his preaching.
Peter had suffered great hardship, but he remained faithful to the Lord,
and the Lord richly blessed his testimony and preaching.
The Dairyman’s Daughter
Elizabeth Wallbridge who has been known as the ‘Dairyman’s Daughter’,
was born in a small country village in England in 1770. Her parents were extremely poor, living in a
small thatched cottage. Her father worked in a dairy, milking cows by hand, morning
and night.
Elizabeth had very little knowledge or interest in the things of
God. Although she knew there was a God
and did attend the local country church, she did not know the Lord Jesus as her
Saviour or understand the Bible.
When she grew up, she found a position as a housemaid in a wealthy
household. Gradually she was able to
save enough money to buy a new set of clothes of which she was very proud. Her desire was to show all the neighbours
her new clothes.
At last she heard that a visiting preacher was to speak at the
Church. The preacher intended becoming
a ship’s chaplain and to sail to various parts of the world, but as his ship
had been delayed because of the weather, he was asked to preach. Elizabeth thought that this was a good
opportunity to wear her good clothes.
When she arrived at the church and saw the large crowd of people
gathered, she felt very proud and looked to see if other people noticed her
fine clothes.
At last the preacher announced his text: “Be clothed with humility.” 1
Peter 5:5. He explained that some people are only concerned about what they are
wearing, and forget their souls which have none of those spiritual garments
that God requires.
He explained that we must be clothed with the garment of salvation,
which is the righteousness of Christ.
As Elizabeth listened she felt ashamed of her pride in her fine
clothes. The preacher went on to speak
of the various graces that God requires in our hearts – to be clothed with
humility, to love Him with all our hearts, to trust in Christ alone for our
salvation and many more.
As Elizabeth looked in her heart she saw none of these things, but she
was filled with pride, ignorance, vanity and sin.
Many of the people who heard that sermon disliked the message, and said
that they were very offended. But
Elizabeth took the words to heart, and began to read the Bible and to pray for
salvation.
When some of her friends saw that she was concerned about her soul, they
began to laugh and mock her, but Elizabeth continued to cry to the Lord and
soon found mercy.
Elizabeth was able to lead her sister Betsy and her father and mother to faith in Christ and to speak to
others about the Lord. She did not live
a long life ; she was only thirty years old when she died, but she left behind
a wonderful testimony of the Lord’s mercy and grace.
After she died, her minister, Legh Richmond, wrote her life story. He
called the book, ‘The Dairyman’s Daughter’.
This book was translated in many languages, and millions of copies were
made. The Lord blessed that little book
and many people came to know the Lord through reading it.
Two days before Rev. Richmond died in 1837, two letters arrived telling
him that they had come to know the Lord through reading his book. Mr. Richmond was too weak to read the
letters, so he asked his son to read them.
When he heard of the conversions he was filled with thankfulness to God.
An angel with a tract
Each Sunday afternoon a Christian man used to go out and distribute a
number of gospel tracts. But one Sunday
it was raining and also he did not feel well.
His young son asked him, “Dad are you going to distribute the tracts
today?” “No son”, he replied, “it’s
raining, so I won’t go”. “Does God only
save people when its not raining?” asked the son.
The father explained that he was not well and would not distribute
tracts that day. “Then I will go” announced the son. Soon he was back with his rain coat on and an umbrella. “Please
give me the tracts.” he asked. The
father decided not to stop him, but told him to be careful and to be back
early.
The son went off in high spirits, but there were very few people to be
found. He wandered from street to
street, and gradually he gave away all his tracts except one. He could not find any one to give it
to. At last he decided to knock on a
door. The person inside called out,
“Who’s there?”. He waited, but no one came to the door, so he knocked again.
“Who is it?” the person called. He
continued to knock. At last a lady with
a very distressed face appeared. The
boy’s heart was thumping, but he managed to smile. “Pardon me, but I’ve come to
bring you the gospel.” With that he
handed the tract to the lady and ran home as quickly as he could.
Next Sunday the father was handing out the books at the door of the
church when an elderly lady came. She
looked happy and told the people her story.
“Thank God! He sent a little angel to save me. Last Sunday night in my loneliness, poverty and utter despair,
having lost both my husband and my son, I planned to end my life by hanging
myself. Suddenly there was a knock at my door. I wanted them to go away, but
they kept knocking until I opened the door.
There stood a little angel with a bright face who gave me a gospel
tract. As I looked at it I knew that
God had not forsaken me. I could not
keep back the tears, but confessed my sins and asked for pardon. Praise the Lord! He saved me!” The son whispered in his father’s ear,
“She’s the lady I told you about.” The father then knew that God had used his
son to find a lost sheep by giving out a tract.
