The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1916-10-06

" 80 sAseees 2se1ze..a away his peace
and power. Decision expresses itself
in the "if" of action which deepens
the conviction and destroys the doubt.
The "If" of Doubt.
We are constantly tempted to doubt
the Lords WCrd. When Peter was
told that what he thought was spirit
upon the water that stormy night was
the Lord himself he said, IF it be
thou" There is the hint Of doubt
In that ''if." The doubt fingered and
took shape in Peters mind. Trans
lated it said to Peter, did / hear
Alright? Is it really the Lord? Was
1t, and is it, the Lord?'' The ''if"
rose up and Peter went down. We
step out on the stormy water and the
first steps are so brave and true when
suddenly the 'if" rises up, and doubt
of his word comes in, and we begin
to sink. Again we doubt his power.
The father Of the denounced boy is
an illustration. He brought the boy
to the Lord and said, "If thou canst do
anything" The poor man had IF" in
|
thou canst believe" AS in Mark 10 OF,
"With God all things are possible"
Not ito" God all things are possible,
that goes without saying, but with"
God This links man with God. The
machine is q dead, idle and helpless
thing until linked with the engine,
when it becomes dynamic with COM
municated power. eff thou canst do?"
"If thou canst believe" And we doubt
his willingness. The cry of the leper,
"If thou wilt" Is still being heard.
We are constantly doubling his will
lngness because OF our condition. Con-
stantly forgetting that "He that
SHARED not his own son, but delivered
him up for us all will, with him, also
freely give us all things" We hear
of him healing the deaf, making the
| lame to walk, yea, even raising the
dead, but when 1t comes to our own
case we get our eyes filled with our
desperate condition and forget his
goodness and grace. Others may be
blessed, our friends may be helped,
we may have his word, we may know
his power, but because Of our condi-
ton we are tempted to doubt, saying,
''If thou wilt"
Again, we doubt his prOvidences.
| When the Lord by Elisha had prom
ised in the midst of famine to make
Hour cheaper than the refuse of the
street, one high in authority sarcas-
tically asked: "If the Lord would
make windows in heaven, might this
thing be?' 1t was such a new, I'M
heard-of thing-so sudden. Is it pos
sible he would make the grain to grow
in night? The eff" of rationalism
comes In and casts doubt on the prom
Use of God. He has promised that all
our needs will be supplied, but because
we do not see how he can do 1t we
admit the doubt and find ourselves on
dangerous ground, losing our peace
ind missing the blessing.
Once more we doubt his presence.
We are told he will never leave us
nor forsake us, but in spite of that,
when circumstances which hurt and
distress surround us, we are TEMPTED,
like Gideon of old to say, "If the
Lord be with us why then Is all this
of our circumstances.
The "If" Of Faith.
In Romans 81 is written "What
shall we say then to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against
us?" The very next verse tells how
we may know that God is for us. "He
that spared not his own Son, but de-
livered him up for us all. how shall he
not with him also freely give us all
things?" If he gave the greater he
will give the less. If he gave his Son
would he not give all things? IF he
good things. How this eff should
awaken our faith in his word, his
willingness, his power, etc.
The "If" Of Decision.
This is found in Elijahs exhortation
to Israel, IF the Lord be God follow
him, but If Baal followed him." Is
rael must make q decision between
them. We, too, must decide between
Satan's '1f'' Of doubt and the IRrds
IF" of faith. We have glimpse of
what it means in the Apostle Paul. He
counted the cost, faced the toll and
hardship, saw the dark road ahead of
him, but looked also at the presence
and power Of the Lord, and, assuring
his heart that God was with him and
for him, made the decision. May II
be ours to meet the eff" of decision
and say:
Then into his hand went mine
And into my heart went he
nd ,ualI al In liul,t di1rlro