Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1914-02-12

strength, anu dill
the usefulness and joy of living.
But eating ONE first. and the eat.
ing that counts Is that which has ia
ken plenty Of time for mastication
You must retain the food In your
mouth, and get the full taste of 1t, and
let it mingle well with the saliva, and
chew. and chew. and chew, until the
least possible amount is left to swal-
low. The man who does this has
learned n Of the great secrets Of his
physical being. He has learned how
to keep well, and how to eat almost
anything he likes without i'll results.
Keeping the food in the mouth is the
key to 1t all.
Something like this is true In the
higher realm. Usefulness and joy in
the spiritual life depend on spiritual
health and strength. But these in
turn depend on the spiritual nourish.
ment n takes-its kind, its quantity,
its condition. The only nourishment
for mans soul is the word of God
Desire the sincere milk Of the word
that we may grow thereby" is the in
spired exhortation Il Peter 2:3), and
the more you get of 1t the better, al.
ways provided that you a digest and
assfmilate it.
Here comes the thought of. eating
again. Holding the word in your mind
is like holding the food in your mouth.
That is how to get the full taste of it.
prayar 1nnc in tho ono pncn What tho
saliva does In the other. Turning it
round and round, thinking of it from
this point of view and that, asking
questions about 1t, taking it to your
parents, your Sunday school teacher,
your pastor. searching its meaning in
a commentary, all these things CORE
spond to the chewing that makes good
digestion and assimilation.
Now, the only way to hold the word
in your mind is to memorize it. 1t is
not hard to do this, and when you be-
gin to see the benefit of it 1t becomes
a real pleasure. Make the task as
easy as possible by taking a small por.
ton at a time.
Don't bolt" your food. In other
words, while you are a beginner let
the passage of scripture be so small
that 1t may be readily recalled several
times during the busy day. And see
that you do recall it, that is the point
Master your will In the matter until ii
obeys you almost automatically and
you are able to recall the scripture
without effort. You will be surprised
how soon you will Es able to do this,
and It will mean so much to you.
What | Got One Day.
The other morning at family pray.
ers l read this verse in Proverbs Is:
10. 1.-THE name of the Lord is a strong
tower: the righteous runneth into 1t,
and Is safe" ! at once fastened 1t
correctly in my mind. and as | walked
downtown to my office, | kept "eating"
II, turning 1t over and over, and get
ting such a sweet taste out of 1t and
such a sense Of strength and spiritual
satisfaction.
1.-The name of the Lord" said l.
why that the Lord himself!
He is a strong tower" "And the
strong tower?' In olden time that
was a place of defense and protection
like our forts today" THE righteous
runneth into it. Who can the righte'
GUS be, save those who are made
righteous through receiving Christ by
faith as their righteousness Run
Meth there is the thought Of haste
because of pursuit by al enemy and
Paul's word came into my mind. we
wrestle not against flesh and blood
but against principalities, against pow
ers, against the .ulers Of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wicked
ness in high places" "Runneth Into
It and is SAFE o, the security and
peace of the believer who puts his
trust In God!"
But that was not all. Before the
day was over I / needed all the strength
I got out of It. There were trials that
day, the enemy was on my heels. and
how glad I was to run. and to know
the place to run to and be safe!
I think this is what the prophet
meant when he said: "Thy words were
found, and I did eat them; and thy
word was unto me the Joy and re1oic'
ing of my heart" And this Is why
urge every Christian to memorize a
portion Of the word Of God every day.
It gives his soul something to feed
upon, and the more he feeds upon, and
digests and assimilates 1t, the greater
is his spiritual strength, and Joy. and
power, and fruitfulness In the Lord.
Let me illustrate this. The next
day after my experience with Proverbs
1910 I was at a prayer meeting. and
being suddenly called upon to give a
word of exhortation, I had an opportu'
nifty to pass on that verse to three or
four hundred other people. And to
how many more will they pass 1t on?
They were all bible students preparing
for Christian work In the uttermost
part OF the earth. Can you compute
the number Of souls to whom they may
pass It on in a lifetime, and who, In
turn, may pass 1t on, and on. n on
while the age lasts! And all because
OF that one little bite Of truth got
that morning, and because held 1t
long enough to chew 1t well! Memo
rize the bible II you want to be blessed
aud become a blessing.