SPY Magazine
How Francesca found a loaf full of money
Red Indian has
dinner with white Christian
How the Lord protected against Napoleon
Good Examples
make a difference
Don't grab the
wrong solution!
How famous
fairy tale writer made his money
From the Editor
Hello everyone
Everyone, including you and me, would like to
be wise! Well, there is a special book
written in the Bible to tell us how to be wise, and it gives us many examples of
things that are wise and things that are foolish – it is the book of Proverbs.
Solomon wrote this book when he
was a wise young man, and when he remembered what his wise father David and his
mother told him.
There are two special verses
that tell us in a nut-shell what is the essential part of wisdom and knowledge.
“The fear of the Lord in the beginning of knowledge.”
Proverbs 1:7. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Chapter 9:10.
What is the fear of the
Lord? Solomon speaks of this sixteen
times in this book. It means a loving reverence for God. The Old Testament
mentions fearing God about fifty times. We realise how great God is and how
weak we are. We stand in awe of God.
What is the difference between
knowledge and wisdom? One is to know
about something, to have information, wisdom is to use
that knowledge in the best way. It is the outworking of knowledge.
But what does 'beginning' mean?
It means the 'first part' - the beginning. Before you can really have wisdom
you must first have the fear of the Lord.
True wisdom is built or based
upon a reverence for God and His word.
People may have natural wisdom, but before we can be wise spiritually we
must have God's fear. It also means the
'chief part', the 'main part'; not a small part, but the chief part
all the time. God's fear and reverence
must be in all our thoughts. When we
have that reverence we understand God's word and ways, and see things in a
right light.
People that do not fear God and
leave Him out of their thoughts, are influenced by
other things in what they know and think, so they are not wise. Do we have the fear of God? If we do, then we will have the true beginning
of wisdom and knowledge.
How Francesca found a loaf full of money
During a severe famine in
The Children came the next day
and there were twenty freshly baked loaves of bread in the basket. The man told
them to take one each. The children
rushed and grabbed the bread; each one trying to get the largest loaf, then ran
home without thanking the man for his kindness.
But one poor girl, named Francesca, stood
back and waited for the others to take their bread, then she found the smallest
loaf left in the basket; she modestly kissed the man's hand, thanked him for
his kindness, and went home.
The next day the children came for the
bread; they eagerly fought for the largest loaves, and ran home. Francesca again waited and found a tiny loaf
left in the basket, only half the size of the others. She thanked the man and
went home. When she arrived home, her
sick mother cut the loaf, and out fell a number of bright silver coins. The mother was alarmed and immediately sent
the girl back with the coins; thinking there was some mistake.
Francesca took the money back, but the man
said, “No, no, it was no mistake. I had the money baked in the smallest loaf to
reward you for being a good child.
Always continue to be humble and thankful. People who act in
this way, rather than fight and are greedy, will find blessings far greater than
the coins you found in the bread.”
The Lord too blesses those who are humble and thankful to
Him for His mercies, but those who are filled with greed and think only of
themselves, will not enjoy His blessings and mercies.
God's word often commands us to be thankful. In fact it
says to be thankful for all things. Ephesians 5:20. The Bible tells us of some
people who praised and thanked God continually, but others who never thanked
God even though He was very kind to them.
A missionary in
The missionary was surprised by wh
at the lad had asked him, and
said, “I cannot make you a Christian, my dear child, only God can do that. You
must ask God to forgive your sins for Jesus Christ's sake, and to send His Holy
Spirit to live in your heart.”
Not long after, the little boy came to the
missionary and said with a soft voice, but with glowing face, “The Lord Jesus Christ Himself has
come to live in my heart.” “How did that
happen?” asked the missionary. “I
prayed,” replied the boy, “as you told me; and I said,
'O Lord Jesus Christ, if you please, make me a Christian.' And He was so kind as to hear my prayer, and
to come and live in my heart ever since.”
Another boy named Alfred Cookman, became a Christian when he was only ten years
old. His father was a Methodist
minister and God was blessing his church at that time, and there was great
excitement among the people.
But Alfred was a quiet boy, he did not
talk much, and he lived much to himself.
No one seemed to notice Alfred, but God was working in his heart. He crept into a distant corner of the church,
there he knelt down and wept and prayed earnestly, “Precious Saviour, Thou art saving
others, oh! wilt
Thou not save me?”
There was one Christian man who saw the
little boy and appreciated his situation.
He quietly went to Alfred and tenderly placed his hand upon him. He was a godly Presbyterian elder. With a warm heart he sought to explain the
way of salvation to the weeping boy. He
explained how God sent Christ to be our Saviour and when we trust in Him with
all our heart, He
will save us from our sins.
Alfred said sobbing, “I will believe. I do believe; I now believe that Jesus is my Saviour - that He now
saves me - yes, even now.” When Alfred
placed his faith in Christ, immediately his heart was flooded with peace, joy and love, knowing that the Lord had saved him by His
grace.
Alfred grew up to be a fine Christian, and
always remembered the Lord's mercy to him that day. Young children sometimes feel that they are
not old enough to become Christians, but we may trust in the Lord Jesus and be
forgiven and saved when we are very young.
When the Lord puts that desire in our hearts to belong to Him, then we
may trust in Him at any age.
The Bible describes sin and evil actions
as darkness. Not just dark, but darkness
itself.
In fact the Bible uses a number of words
to describe how dreadful that darkness is.
We read of ‘gross darkness’ – ‘thick darkness’ – ‘blackness of darkness’. Evil ways are called, ‘ways of darkness’ –
‘works of darkness’ – ‘deeds of darkness’.
This darkness is within every sinner.
‘Their evil heart is darkened’ – ‘the understanding is darkened’. Sinners, ‘walk in darkness’ – ‘sit’ – ‘abide’
– ‘grope’ – ‘stumble on in darkness’.
Sinners ‘love darkness rather than light’. - they
‘hate and rebel’ against the light. ‘There is no light in them’.
The future judgments of God upon them will
agree with their dark state. They will
be ‘cast into outer darkness’. – ‘the blackness of darkness
forever’. The devil, who tempts
and controls them is the ‘ruler of darkness’ - his kingdom is ‘the kingdom of
darkness’.
Whereas ‘God is light and in
Him is no darkness at all’. Christ is called
'the Sun of righteousness' and 'the light of the world.' Those who trust in Christ are ‘children of
light’, and 'shall not walk in darkness.' They will one day be with Him in His
kingdom of eternal light. Let us fear
the darkness of sin, and seek to know the Saviour who is ‘the light of the
world’.
The Lord Jesus said; “This is the
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather
than light, because their deeds were evil. But he that doeth
good cometh to the light.” John
3:19-20.
Red
Indian has dinner with white Christian
A missionary went to
The Indian, who knew a little
English, went to the missionary to ask if there was any possibility of an
Indian going to heaven? The missionary assured him
that heaven was open to all believers in Christ. This made the Indian very glad.
Then he began to pray, “Christ have mercy
on me, poor sinner, poor Indian.” This
was the only prayer he knew in English. He thought that if he prayed in his
native tongue, Christ would not understand him.
Then he became very troubled about his
sins and lost condition. He later described himself as being like a wounded deer, that is struck by an arrow. It cannot get away from the pain, which grows
worse and worse until the deer dies. His
conviction was like an arrow in his heart.
One day the Indian went to have dinner
with a Christian. Before the meal, he
thanked God for the food in English, but another man thanked God afterwards in
the Indian language. Immediately the Indian realized that the Lord
could understand any language. He went
to a quiet place and there poured out his heart to the Lord for mercy and
salvation, but no answer came.
He returned home, but he could not
sleep. At midnight he got up and walked
around pleading to the Lord for mercy.
This continued until morning, then wonderfully the Lord took away his
burden, joy and peace filled his heart.
He had come to know the Lord as his Saviour. He became a faithful Christian and a servant
of the Lord.
In
1843 this Indian travelled to
Correct knowledge: “What is this! Is this a family or
a Sunday School Picnic?” a bus driver asked smiling when he saw a woman trying
to hustle her six children on to the bus.
“This is a family” replied the woman, “and I can assure you it is no
picnic.”
Wise bird: An African Negro walked into a crowded shop
with a large parrot on his shoulder. The shop-keeper looked curiously at the
parrot and asked, “Where did you get that fellow from?” The parrot replied,
“From
Money Matters: Success is making more and more money, to pay
the taxes you wouldn't have to pay if you didn't make so much money.
Wise Father: “Son, how dare you call your uncle a fool; go at once and
tell him you are sorry.” The son went to
his uncle and said, “I'm sorry you're a fool, Uncle.”
Bugged: Customer: “I would like 250 grams of insect powder.” Shop-keeper:
“Do you want to take it with you?”
“You don't expect me to bring the insects here do you?” snapped the
customer.
Boot Legged: “I hear you husband had his leg
amputated. How dreadful!” said a neighbour.
“Yes it was dreadful, but it was far worse because he had just bought a
new pair of boots.” replied the wife.
Good Pay: A plumber repaired a man's tap. It took him five minutes. “That will be $70.” said the plumber. “But
that's more than doctors charge.” complained the man. “Yes, that's why I gave
up being a surgeon.” replied the plumber.
Smart Dogs:
Two dog
owners were boasting about whose dog was the smartest. “My dog is so smart,” said the first owner,
“that every morning he waits for the paper boy to come, then brings the paper
to me and then barks to tell me when my coffee is ready.”
“I know,” replied the second owner.
“How do you know?” demanded the other
owner.
“My clever dog told
How
the Lord protected against Napoleon
When Alexander (1) became the emperor of
After a while, Napoleon invaded
The Emperor was astonished at the calmness
of his favourite Prince, so he called on him. “What does this mean?” demanded
the Emperor, “when everyone else prepares to flee, you go on building your
house?” “The Lord is my defence.”
replied Galitzin, “I am as safe here as anywhere.”
Alexander demanded to know where he had
found this new confidence, so the Prince showed him the Bible. This was the first time Alexander had ever
seen a Bible. The first place Galitzin
opened it to was Psalm 91, and read verse 1. “He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” and then
read the whole Psalm. Alexander was deeply impressed.
Before Alexander went to war against Napoleon, he went to the
cathedral to seek God's help. The
minister who conducted the service, read Psalm 91:1, “He that dwelleth in the
secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
“Did Galitzin tell you to read that Psalm?” asked Alexander. “I have not seen Galitzin.” he replied, “I
prayed to the Lord to direct my choice.”
Alexander led his army to battle. That evening he felt worried, so he called
his chaplain to read the Bible to him in his tent. He began to read Psalm 91. “Hold” cried
Alexander, “Did Galitzin tell you to read that Psalm to me?” “Certainly not, Sir,” replied the chaplain,
“I asked God to direct me what I should read.”
From that time Alexander obtained a Bible
and read it every day.
The
Lord helped Alexander to defeat the great army of Napoleon, and drove him out
of
When Alexander returned to
This story was told by Galitzin to two
visiting preachers, and the Emperor himself assured them that these things were
true.
Good Examples make a difference
A man who lived
ten kilometres from the church, complained to the minister that he had so far
to go to attend the worship of God.
“ Never mind”, said the minister,
“remember that every Sunday you have the privilege of preaching a sermon ten
kilometres long – you are a witness to all those people who see you going to
worship the Lord.”
A Duke in
One day he met an elderly man and chatted
for a time. The Duke asked the man if he could do anything for him? The man replied,
“Nothing better than you have already done.”
The Duke replied, “I do not know that I have done anything for
you.” “But I know what you have done,”
replied the man, “you helped save my rebellious son. He had wandered into sin and forsook God's
ways and the church. But some time ago,
he saw you going into the church. He thought
that he would like to see what you did in the church, so he sneaked in
un-noticed and heard you pray to the Lord, which spoke to his heart. From that time he has been a different boy;
so I thank you, and the Lord, for it.
That is why I said you could never do a greater favour than you have
done already.”
The Duke's Christian example was used of
God to speak to the heart of a wayward boy.
Every Christian should seek to be an example for good to those who see
them. “Let your light shine before men.”
Don't grab the wrong solution!
Many years ago two men were
swept down a flooded river and were unable to control the boat. The current was so swift that the boat would
eventually be dashed to pieces.
At last, one man was saved by grabbing a rope that had been thrown
to him. Just at that moment a log floated past the boat and instead of grabbing
the rope, the other man grabbed the log.
This was a fatal mistake. They were both in great danger, but one man
was drawn to shore holding on to the rope which was being held by a man on the
bank. The man
who clung to the log, was swept away and was never heard of again.
Faith is like that rope that links us to
Jesus Christ. He draws us to Himself, to safety and salvation. Those who place their hopes in anything else
in this world, are like the man clinging to the log –
an object that was not connected to something that cannot move.
George Whitefield (1714-1770) was
preaching one day on, “The door was shut.” Genesis 7:16; He explained how the
door into the ark was a type of Christ.
He is the only door of salvation, but that door of mercy will not be
open forever, it will shut when the Lord returns.
Two young men who were listening were
amused and said to each other, “When one door closes another will open.”
Whitefield had not continued far into his
sermon when he said, “It is possible there are some careless, trifling persons
here today, who may lightly say, “What if the door be shut, another will open.”
The young men were amazed to hear the
preacher tell them the very thing they had been saying and it stopped their
scorning. They were deeply struck by
what Whitefield went on to say, “Yes, another door will be open, and I will
tell you what that door will be; it will be the door to the bottomless pit! The
door to hell! The door
to the horrors of eternal damnation!”
Philip Henry, the father of the well-known
Bible Commentator, Matthew Henry, used to give good advice to his children and
to other people, about getting married.
“Look for someone suitable in age,
interests, education, and temper.” He
used to say, “In Genesis 2:18, God says about Adam, “I will make him an help-meet for him.”
Where there is not much 'meetness', there will not be much help.”
He often said to his children regarding
their choice in marriage, “Please God first, and please yourselves second, and
you shall never displease me.”
He sometimes quoted the words of a godly
woman, who had a number of daughters, “Most people are concerned how to get
good husbands for their daughters; but my care is to train my daughters to be
good wives, and God will give them good husbands.”
“Be not unequally yoked together with
unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And
what communion hath light with darkness?”
2. Corinthians 6:14.
“Marry only in the Lord.” 1. Corinthians
7:39.
Something to remember-
by Edward Hale.
“I am only one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do
something.
I will not refuse to do the something I
can do.
What I can do, I should do.
And what I can do, by the grace of God I
will do.”
How famous fairy tale writer made his
money
When Hans Christian Anderson, (1805-1875)
the Danish writer, was a boy, he was in a field gleaning some corn, with his
mother and others; the field belonged to a man who was said to be very cruel.
Suddenly they saw the man coming and ran
for their lives. But Hans was wearing a
pair of clumsy wooden shoes fell off; then the short corn stumps that remained
from the reapers of the corn, hurt Hans' feet so that he could not keep up with
the others, and he realised that he would be caught.
The rough owner was very near, and was
almost in reach of Hans with his whip.
Hans realised that his case was hopeless, but suddenly he was filled
with courage. He stopped and looking the
man straight in the face, said, “How dare you strike me, when God can see
you?”
Suddenly the anger of the man subsided and
instead of striking Hans, he gently patted him on the cheeks, and gave him some
money. The sudden thought of God seeing
everything had subdued the angry man. Such
thoughts should cause us to act carefully and lovingly.