1988 November/December issue Part 2

An Atheists Prayer Answered
  In his work with the World Evangelical Fellowship my brother David Howard has contact with many who live in countries where there is no freedom. In one of them he heard this true story:
  A pastor’s son in the second grade faced continuous Marxist and atheistic indoctrination in class every day. One day it went like this:
  Teacher: “Some people say there is a God up in heaven who will give you what you ask for. Let’s test that out and see if he does. We need more books, workbooks, paper, and pencils in this school. Let’s ask God to give them to us. “
  She then prayed, asking God to send these things. Nothing happened. “See, children? There is no God up in heaven. He didn’t hear us and He didn’t send anything. “
  That afternoon as school was letting out, a big truck loaded with education materials (books, workbooks, paper, and pencils) drove up and began to unload. The children called the teacher: “Teacher! Teacher! Come quickly! Here are the things we asked God to send! See? He sent them!”

1988 November/December issue Part 1

A Prayer for the Middle-Aged

Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing old... keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom (?) it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

  Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’ pains but help me to endure them with patience.

  I dare not ask for an improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

  Keep me reasonably sweet. I do not want to be a saint – some of them are so hard to live with- but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people. Give me the grace to tell them so. Amen. (From my mother’s little red note book, source unknown.)

1988 September/October issue Part 4

Lord of her love life

“I’ve been married for six weeks,” she writes, “and I look back to about a year and a half ago when I read Passion and Purity for the first time. This time was different- I kept from resisting your words in this book. I thought, ‘Yes, I will bring my lovelife into submission under God’s authority!’ I began to pray to God for His will. I was not dating anyone, but I was praying fervently for one ma I knew- not with my usual attitude of lust, but with an attitude of wanting God’s will in his life, whether it be me or not. I made no advances or hints but left the relationship totally in God’s hand if He desired it. What a joy it is to say, ‘God have Your way and Your complete timing in my life.’

  “Passion and Purity changed my whole idea that ‘I deserved someone’ into God’s grace is all I need.’ I married the man I had been praying for. And I see the great value in starting out our relationship under God’s authority. We have both grown to know Him so much this year. I shared Passion and Purity with a good friend. She began to pray and leave her lovelife up to God. This resulted in a break-up, but soon after God brought a very godly man into her life. They will soon be married.

  “I’m not just saying, ‘Just follow the Passion and Purity formula and you will find yourself married.’ I am saying being in submission to God far outdoes any joy given by chasing our own whims.”

  A young man who read the same book writes, “God taught me that preparing for marriage is not so much a matter of finding the right person as it is becoming the right person. I began concentrating on my relationship with Christ and waiting on the Lord for His woman for me and His timing. It was quite a relief for me to realize that I didn’t have to date my entire Christian campus and use the process of elimination to find the right one! Not long after I had laid my desires on the altar, God brought into my life a wonderful young lady and we’ll be married soon.

1988 September/October issue Part 3

Nevertheless We Must Run Aground

Have you ever put your heart and soul into something, prayed over it, worked at it with a good heart because you believed it to be what God wanted, and finally seen it "run aground"?

The story of Paul's voyage as a prisoner across the Adriatic Sea tells how an angel stood beside him and told him not to be afraid (inspite of winds of hurricane force), for God would spare his life and the lives of all with him on board ship. Paul cheered his guards and fellow passengers with that word, but added, "Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island" (Acts 27:26; NIV).

It would seem that God promises to spare all hands might have "done the job right," saved the ship as well, and spared them the ignominy of having to make it to land on the flotsam and jetsam that was left. the fact is that He did not, nor does He always spare us.

Heaven is not here, it's There. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next. God is forever luring us up and away from this one, wooing us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom where we will certainly find what we so keenly long for.

"Running aground," then, is not "the end of the world." But it helps to make the world a bit less appealing. It may even be God's answer to "Lead us not into temptation"- the temptation complacently to settle for visible things.

1988 September/October issue Part 2

Prayer
This simple formula for prayer was sent by my nephew Gene Howard, just returning from mission work in Nepal.

Present my requests.
Relinquish my desires.
Accept His answers.
Yield my life.

1988 September/October issue Part 1

Recycling Discarded Babies

The abortion business thrives on what is called "freedom of choice." The tiny baby-shaped thing in a women's womb is a mere bit of tissue, not human but disposable, like a kleenex. if, however, it turns out that that same collection of cells is usable, comercially or medically, it becomes highly human. Now that medical procedures have been developed for the implantation of bone marrow, brains, and other organs from aborted babies for the treatment of disease, we are asked to ignore the glaring contradiction. Will Christians too ignore it? "The people who knoe their God will stand firm and take action" (Daniel 11:32; RSV)

1988 July/August issue Part 4

A Wife's Prayer for Her Husband
Lord, grant me the vision of a true lover as i look at                 . Help me to see him through Your eyes, to read the thoughts he does not put into words, to bear with his human imperfections, remembering that he bears with mine and that You are at work in both of us. Thank you, Lord, for this man, Your carefully chosen gift to me, and for the high privilege of being heirs together for the grace of life. Help me to make it as easy and pleasant as i possibly can for him to do Your will.

1988 July/August issue Part 3

The Saving Power of Housework

"Manual employments, especially if varied [and household occupations afford a great variety], give to children a sense of power in knowing what to do in a number of circumstances; they take pleasure in this, for it is a thing which they admire in others. Domestic occupations also form in them a habit of decision, from the necessity of getting through things which will not wait. For domestic duties do not allow of waiting for a moment of inspiration or delay until a mood of depression or indifference has passed. They have a quiet, imperious way of commanding, and an automatic system of punishing when they are neglected, which are more convincing than exhortations. Perhaps in this particular point lies their saving influence against nerves and moodiness and the demoralization of 'giving way.' Those who have no obligations, whose work will wait for their convenience, and who can if they please let everything go for a time, are more easliy broken down by trouble than those whose household duties have still to be done, in the midst of sorrow and trial. There is something in homely material duties which heals and calms the mind  and gives it power to come back to itself. And in sudden calamities those who know how to make use of their hands do not helplessly wring them, or make trouble worse by clinging to others for support." (Janet Erksine Stuart:  The Education of Catholic Girls, p.85- now out of print.)

1988 July/August issue Part 2

The Thick Darkness
(Exodus 20:21, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was. 1 Kings 8:12, "O Lord, who has set the sun in heaven, but has chosen to dwell in thick darkness...")

I thought i was walking all alone 

Into darkness immense and drear.

But where is was densest a Hand touched my own, 

And a voice spoke gentle and clear:

"Do you not think you might have known

That i should be here?

Your need is met, your way will be shown.

Be of good cheer."

(Bishop F.Houghton, China Inland Mission)

This was sent to me recently by Ann Draisey, an old friend whose husband was killed by a drunken driver in 1952. At his funeral my father handed her the above poem. " I was helped many times in reading this and thinking of the one who gave it to me," she writes. "When Ed died my whole world turned upside down. He was a stronger Christian and i leaned much on him." Ann has been widowed a second time, but says, "I marvel now at the goodness of the Lord and His care over me since that day. He is so faithful."

1988 July/August issue Part 1

A Man Moves toward Marriage

Letters keep coming from both men and women who are in a quandary about how one ought to move towards marriage. While I was sitting here, rereading some of them, a man phoned with a question about the same subject. I wonder what is happening. Why so much confusion? Here’s one of the letters:

  “I’m a male Christian who needs help. I just ended a long-term ‘relationship’ with a non-Christian girl. I made plenty of compromises those years, and by God’s grace I hope next time will be better. I read your book The Mark of a Man and was shown things I never knew before which blew my mind. I’m excited about the idea of sharing life with a girl in a way which would honour Jesus. At the same time I get scared about making bad moves, when to initiate, and financial fears about supporting a family if I’m a missionary, which at the moment I’m being directed to. These things may seem silly but they’re real to me. I only ask that in future Newsletters you could address some issues which would benefit us guys who see marriage as a blessing and not as years of imprisonment.

  No, the question does not seem silly to me- far from it. They are vital questions, and I’m glad there are men to whom they matter enough to pray about and ask counsel for.