I
POWER TO HELP OTHERS
MINISTRY stands for spiritual power, the
power to help others, and spiritual power
for ministry. Are these words less powerful to
day than they were when they dropped from the
Master’s lips: “But whosoever would become
great among you, shall be your minister?” A
great ministry, this, as Peter preached with
wondrous power the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, whom they had crucified.
Vanished the days when Peter lacked power.
His denial of his Lord must now have seemed
to him like some evil dream of the night that is
long past! Was he not now a faithful minister
to open the eyes of the blind? Peter gave loyalty
and God gave power.
Does not even humble ministry for Jesus*
sake bring spiritual power? Only a few nights
since a home missionary related incident after
incident illustrating the power that works
through such ministry. Far from other dwell
ings he came to a humble home. There he found
an aged couple, the husband paralyzed. The wife
had been suddenly taken ill. Tenderly he min
istered to them; prepared medicine for the sick
woman, fed the chickens, milked the cow, did all
the chores. Then he prepared supper, and re
mained all night. He said, humorously: “When
I took my leave in the morning, you might have
thought they were bidding good-by to their only
son.” By such ministries he won the hearts of
people who had been against religion. He gave
service and the Lord gave power—spiritual
power. & r*. * -t «t» vcoioi tftfe ? iajO]
The more room we find in our lives for Jesus
the more room Gqd finds for his power. Are
not Jesus and power inseparable? Is not earth
ly power without him only a bubble, a will-o’
the-wisp—nothing to satisfy, to inspire, to make
hearts pure and ideals high?
Political power, social power, business or fin
ancial power, may or may not include ministry,
but spiritual power must embrace ministry.
When it ceases to be a blessing the power van
ishes. The Word tells us that power belongeth
unto God; he will give us the gift of power if
we give him the gift of service.
- ----'■■■' u —.- ■ ■■
WHAT IS LEARNING?
Prof. M. A. Honline says that “Learning is
the modification of behavior in the light of ex
perience.”
That sounds like a great deal and it is a great
deal. It is worth pondering. We never really
learn anything until it has changed our behavior,
and we can’t expect our behavior to be changed
except in the light of experience. If Bible truth
is to have a chance in the minds of our pupils, it
must be brought to them by themselves, for the
simple reason that it must be brought to them
in the light of their cwn experiences. Nobody
knows their deepest experiences but they them
selves. We must induce them to think about
Bible teachings in connection with their own ex
periences so that their outward conduct and
their inner attitudes may be transformed.
-o-.
Push, pull, or get off the right of way.
EXERCISING ALL THE MUSCLES.
Scientists tell us that there are 208 be .s—with a
corresponding number of joints—in th* body; and
that to these are attached 500 muscles, capable of 50,
000 different movements or sets of movements. It is
only by giving each muscle its proper amount of exer
cise that you can keep your body healthy; for when a
muscle is not exercised, it soon becomes w*ak and
the rest of the body is sure to suffer with it When a
child twists and turns and fidgets and goes through all
sorts of antics, it is unconsciously trying to g^e each
muscle something to do and to practice each of those
possible 50,000 different movements of which it is
capable. As people grow older, however, they <xe very
apt to think that the exercise they get about their
daily tasks or when engaged in certain favorite recrea
tions is all they need. But usually there are certain
muscles that are not used at all in our daily activities.
Here are four exercises that are especially good for
bringing into play these neglected muscles:
Rolling the head uses the muscles of the neck. Drop
the head forward, then slowly and without any jerki
ness in the movements, roll it to the right, then back,
then to the left, then forward again. Do this eight
times. Reverse and roll the head to the left, then
back, then to the right, then to the front. Repeat this
eight times.
This shoulder exercise uses the muscles of the back
and shoulders: Stand erect with arms hanging down
at the sides. Using only the muscles of the shoulders,
raise the right shoulder as high as you can. Then
with a rotary motion, move it back, down, forward
and up. Repeat this eight times. Do the same with
the left shoulder eight times; then eight times with
both shoulders together. In doing this double move
ment, keep the head erect and the muscles of the neck
relaxed.
Here is an exercise for the muscles of the back
and waist. Stand erect with the hands on the hips.
Send the body forward at the waist. Then roll it to
the right, then back, then to the left, then to the front.
Repeat eight times without straightening up. Re
verse by rolling it from the front to the left, and re
peat eight times. In this exercise endeavor to keep
the body perfectly still from the waist down.
The windmill exercise brings into play nearly all
the muscles. Stand erect with feet about fifteen
inches apart. Stretch out the right arm, and keeping
the left knee rigid, bend the right knee and twisting
the body to the left, touch the toe with the fingers of
the right hand, at the same time raising the left arm
up straight with the head turned so that you are
looking at the fingers of the left hand. Bring the
hands back to the sides, then repeat the exercise, this
time touching the right toe with the left hand and
raising the right arm. You may find this a little
difficult at first, but by going at it slowly you will
soon master the exercise so that it will seem quite
easy. In time you will be able to repeat it twenty or
thirty times in succession, but do not try this at the
start. Four times is enough to begin with.