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PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

    A century ago a young girl on the Hudson fell into an evil life; the county records tell the history of her descendants --- 900 in number. Of these 200 have criminal records, nine of her children served a total of 50 years in State prisons. Many of her offspring were idiots, lunatics, prostitutes, drunkards and paupers.
    History also records a contrasting fact. Jonathan Edwards was a man who had been changed from sin to holiness by the power of God. A record of his descendants is also known. Out of 1400 of these, eight have been presidents of American universities; 100 have been professors; 100 have been ministers of the Gospel; sixty have been eminent doctors; 30 judges; 25 officers in the Army and Navy; and others mayors, senators, governors, and ambassadors.
    "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments," (Ex. 20:5-6).
-- Selected & Revised
*****
    No Christian is excused from living a Christian life.

SPLASHING OUT THE INSIDES

    Hudson Taylor was a great missionary to China. Once, when a new missionary had arrived, he and Taylor were seated together in an Inn. Taylor carefully filled a glass with water and then struck the table with a mighty blow of his fist. As the water splashed out he said to the young missionary: "You will be struck by the blows of many troubles and sorrows in China, but remember, they will only splash out what is in you".
    Our reaction to trouble will reveal, to the discerning, what we are really like inside. A complaining bitterness and joyful sweetness cannot flow out together; it must be one or the other. The spiritual person can rejoice in the midst of buffetings and sore trials. He knows that this present suffering is not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall soon be revealed in those who love the Lord, (Rom. 8:18). This "light affliction" is temporary; it only works a "far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory", (2 Cor. 4:17).
    Let us ask God's help to bear our burdens in such a way that grace and peace, joy and gladness may splash over the vessels of our lives -- for the good of others. If there is "glory" in your soul, then let it shine brightly for Christ!



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The Clarion Herald The Clarion Herald

HIS JEWELS

When the Lord makes up His jewels,
Choosing gems of every hue;
Pearls and diamonds, rubies, sap-
    phires,
Showing flawless through and
    through,
Could I be the least among them,
Smallest gem that love could see,
And His eye detect the brightness,
That would be enough for me.

Precious stones are cut and pol-
    ished
By the lapidary's skill;
Cruel knife and rasping friction
Work on each the Masters will.
Not until the sparkling facets
With an equal lustre glow,
Does the artist choose a setting
For the gem perfected so.

Thus I wait the royal pleasure,
And, when trouble comes to me,
Smile, to think He may be working
On the gem, though small it be.
All I ask is strength to bear it,
Faith and patience to be still:
Held by Him, no knife can slay me;
Loving Him, no anguish kill. Sel.

TOO PROUD TO APOLOGIZE?

    Many people go stumbling through life beneath the weight of unnecessary burdens -- all because they are too proud to admit a wrong and offer a sincere apology. Friendships are broken, homes destroyed, lives wrecked, churches torn asunder, by division; and, again, because of an unwillingness to confess: "I was wrong; I am sorry. Will you forgive me?"
    A genuine Christian knows how to offer an apology when he has wronged another. Nor will an apology lower him in the estimation of others. It is an evidence of character, of moral strength and spiritual maturity.
    Someone has said that:
'An APOLOGY
Is a friendship preserver,
Is often a debt of honor,
Is never a sign of weakness,
Is an antidote for hatred,
Costs nothing but our pride,
Always saves more than it costs,
Is a device needed in every home.'
    It is impossible to worship God so long as one has a wrong attitude toward his brother, (Matt. 5: 23-24). "Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another, that ye may be healed", admonished James, (5:16)."And be ye kind one to another", wrote Paul, "tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God FOR CHRIST'S SAKE hath forgiven you", (Eph. 4:32). There is surely a relevance, in those words, for our times. Let us not be too proud to apologize, or too stubborn to forgive.
*****
"When God pardons, He consigns the offense to everlasting forgetfulness." Shouldn't we??



THE LOVE OF A SOUL
(Sometimes has its Disappointments)

I loved a soul, with a love God-
    given,
And sought to make it known.
I told how Christ had come down
    from heav'n,
And for man’s sin atoned;
How He bled and died -- was cruci-
    fied --
Forsaken and alone.

With a heart that yearned, and love
    that burned,
I urged him Christ to seek --
To accept God's love, sent from
    above,
With humbled heart, and meek --
His soul to commit, and daily sit
At Jesus' pierced feet.

At length he heard, believed the
    Word that,
Alone, could make him whole;
With broken heart, from sin's dread
    smart, he
Yielded to Christ his soul.
Heaven's joy-bells rang, as angels
    sang
Around the throne of gold.

The heart that had yearned, and
    love that, burned
To share the Saviour's grace,
Was knit to the one, now just begun
To run the Christian race.
Full well it knew that so very few
E'er walk at pilgrim's pace.

All fears were stilled, and our
    hearts were thrilled,
As heart-to-heart we went
To tell out the love of God above,
Whose own dear Son was sent
To save the soul, and to make quite
    whole,
Each one who will repent.

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Through disappointment and shatter-
    ed dreams,
The cunning tempter worked.
Apparent failure; hope, unfulfilled,
Soon led to duty shirked.
With cunning keen, and by hellish
    scheme,
The enemy did work.

Now, the soul I loved has gone
    astray,
And he has wandered far;
At my care, he smirks; love's
    bond deserts;
Leaves deep within a scar.
Yet, I love him still, and think
    no ill,
Love's memory will not mar.

With daring bold, he rejects the
    fold,
Despising God's good plan --
The path of truth for the health
    of youth;
The one, safe way for man --
While to Passion's call he yields
    his all;
Thus, builds upon the sand.

0, God! you know that I love
    him so!
Love him for Jesus' sake;
Incline, now, his heart from sin's
    path to depart,
Or soon 'twill be too late!
With stains of sin none may enter
    in
Through Life's eternal gate.

No one shall scorn, on judgment's
    morn, the
Word of the Living God;
No jest or mirth, at recall of
    earth,
With all that once was trod
Beneath the feet of those then
    thought meet
To pass beneath His rod.



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Soon I shall stand, in Emmanuel's
    land,
A true account to give,
Of the way men heard the heav'n
    sent Word
And of the lives they've lived,
As I've urged them on, to crown
    and throne,
By yielding up their own.

With heart and soul, 'neath
    Christ's control, I
Still love the soul astray.
That he may repent, e'er life
    is spent,
So vainly for decay,
I deeply yearn for this soul's
    return
To walk in Christ's own way.

But, this burden, Lord, for souls
    astray,
I cannot bear alone.
Into Thy care, and with prayer
    sincere,
I cast on Thee thine own.
By Thy grace divine upon him shine,
And bring him safely home.
When the souls I've loved shall
    meet above,

The heartaches others wrought,
By cruel claim, that my life was
    vain,
To judgment shall be brought.
Heaven's trump shall blast --
    earths sorrows pass --
Then, JOY! in souls LOVE-SOUGHT.
-- Eugene L. Garner

IN MEETING AT JUDSONIA, ARKANSAS

    During the week of April l2-l8 the editor will be in a meeting with Pastor Wayne Ruff and the Judsonia Missionary Baptist Church of Judsonia, Arkansas. This is a new church (organized last Fall) and would be blessed and encouraged to have brethren from other churches in the area visit with them in this series of meetings.
    I especially hope that my many friends in the area will give their moral support to this undertaking for the glory of God. May this be a time of blessed fellowship in the Word; and let us expect God to bless the preached word -- making it effective in bringing many to salvation through faith in the Living Christ. E.G.



The CLARION HERALD
3026 Horton Street
Rockford, Illinois 61109



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