Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

"Our Daily Bread"Ella May MillerWhat do you need today? Groceries, or a new outfit—complete with hat, shoes, and purse? Or would you dig upthat list that's been accumulating for a long time—a newwasher, rug, dishwasher, or piano?It's often difficult to separate necessities from luxuries,isn't it?Perhaps just this morning you prayed, "Give us thisday our daily bread." How did you expect God to answerthat request?Not many of us—if any—really depend on God to giveus our daily food because our cupboards are bare. But weknow that life is more than food. Man cannot live by breadalone."Daily bread," for me, includes many types ofnourishment to sustain me in a balanced day. I needpatience, love, kindness, understanding, wisdom, calmness,courage, and strength.Treasure these words from the Bible: "My God willsupply all that you need from his glorious resources in ChristJesus" (Phil. 4:19, Phillips).God has proved this to be true many times in my ownpersonal life. Not often does He provide miraculously, butsometimes He does. Usually He works through normalchannels—giving added strength, new insights, nudging afriend to drop by with a word of encouragement, helping usacquire more money to meet an emergency, or showing mehow to utilize better the resources at hand. Frequently it'shelping me to sift wants from needs. Sometimes He sends anappropriate promise.It seems that instead of trusting God to supply theirneeds of calmness, patience, self-control, contentment,courage, many mothers prefer escapism. Instead of allowingGod to show them how to meet their perplexing or strenuoussituations, they prefer their own quick solution. Andnowadays this is very easy to do! With all the modern drugsat our disposal, we can resort to them, instead of by faithaccepting God's promises. I was very surprised recently tohear of some mothers and daughters who resorted totranquilizers to get them through the wedding festivities.The American public spends nearly twenty million dollarsyearly forpills to slow them down or to help them relax.Maybe they are afraid God will tell them to drop someactivities or change jobs, to spend more time at home, and toread the Bible and pray more often. Maybe they fear achange of schedule and plans. Whatever the reason, it seemsthey forget that God invites them to depend on Him.What do you need today? Where are you looking foryour "daily bread"?MARCH 10, 1971Sunday School Times.Love Overcomes Hateby R. Barclay WarrenHate generates war and war generates hate. But even inwar there are occasions when God's love shines forth.Commander Mitsuo Fuchida who, on December 7,1941, led the 360 planes in a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor,is today a born-again Christian. He turned down the highestmilitary job in the Japanese Air Force to organize a fivememberevangelistic association. Now in his sixties, he isthe only one of the 700 officers who led the attack on PearlHarbor still living. All the others were killed.Fuchida was summoned to Tokyo from Hiroshima theday before the atomic bomb leveled that city. After the bombfell, he and eleven other officers flew to inspect the damage.They were there for two weeks, knowing nothing of theclanger from radioactive fallout. The other eleven died fromradiation sickness. Fuchida suffered noill effects. He said, "Ibelieve that God laid His hand on me and protected my lifefor some strange reason, but I did not know why. I wasconstantly searching to understand who God is, and why Hespared my life."When one of Fuchida's friends returned who had beenimprisoned in a hospital in Utah, the United States, Fuchidamet him and asked how he had been treated. He expected tohear a tale of torture. Instead, he was told the story of an 18-vear-old-girl, Margaret Covell, who had been an angel ofmercy to him.Margaret was the daughter of missionary parents inJapan. When the war began, the Covells fled to thePhilippines, finally taking refuge in the mountains of Luzon.When the Japanese came, the Covells where captured andshot as spies because they had a small radio receiver. WhenMargaret first heard of her parents' death, her heart wasfilled with hate for the Japanese. Later she learned that beforeher parents died, they prayed for nearly thirty minutes.Margaret's attitude changed so that she began to treat theJapanese prisoners in the hospital with Christian love.Returning to Tokyo, Commander Fuchida was handed atract concerning Jacob DeShazer. bombardier who flew withthe Doolittle squadron. On parachuting into Japaneseterritory he was imprisoned, tortured, and starved. Hishatred grew. Then a Japanese quard gave him a Bible. Jake,whom I know personally was changed as he read of Christ'slove, and he promised to return to Japan and preach thegospel of love.Jake is still serving as a Free Methodist missionary inJapan. He and Fuchida have met and are Christian brothers.They both discovered that, "if any man be in Christ, he is anew creature: old things are passed away, behold, all thingsare become new."—The Free Methodist3