Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

ighteousness."Lesson Helps for the Week of January 2, 1955C.P.Y.TJ. TOPIC FORJanuary 9, 1954KEEP SPERITUALLY HEALTHY1 Corinthians 3:16,17; 6:19,20(Used by permission of InternationalChristian Endeavor)Psalms:84:1,3,4, page 205;26:1,2,4-6, page 61;27:1-5, page 62;37:1-4, page 91;131:1,2 (Oak) page 327.References: Psalms 119:67; Ecclesiastes9:10; Isaiah 32:16-18; Romans 5:1-5;14:7,8; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Hebrews12:11; 1 Peter 1:13,14; 1:22,23; 2:1-3.Comments by Remo I. Robb, D.D.In 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul writes"Your body is the temple of the HolyGhost, but 1 Corinthians 3:16 is moredirect. It states "Ye are the temple ofGod."That statement is most startlingto me.A temple is a place dedicated to God,a sacred place of worship,of silencewhere even a whisper is out of place,of beauty where shafts of sunlightbrighten somber walls and cast theirglistening reflections from golden overlays. A temple is the most sacred placein the world when it is dedicated tothe One Living and True God. Howstartling then is the word "Ye are thetemple of God." God's temple is not ofgold and stone and architecture. It isalive and spiritual and eternal. God'stemple is you, His young people, Hischildren.One who truly regards God cares forHis temple tenderly. No smudge of dust,no broken windows, no tarnished metal.The temple of all places must ever appear and be clean and worthy of devotion to its god. The living temple ofJesus Christ must also be kept continually at its best. This cleanliness in aliving creature is healthfulness. Of you,God's spiritual temple, therefore, wethink in terms of Spiritual Health.Three things are essential to healthfood, exercise, rest. These are essentialalso to spiritual health.1. Food. Jesus said "I am the bread of"If any man thirst, let him comelife,"unto Me and drink." But where shallwe find Christ? In the Bible, of course.Amos once prophesied, "Behold the dayscome, saith the Lord God, that I willsend a famine in the land; not a famineof bread, nor a thirst for water, but ofhearing the words of the Lord." (Amos8:11) It is happening now. People don'tknow what the Bible teaches, they don'tknow how to use the Bible, and manyin America don't know even what theBible is. The sad moral conditions overall our country indicate how starvedAmerica is for Spiritual food.Knowing the Bible provides Spiritualfood, but it involves much more than394mere reading. When the Psalmist sang"The opening of light,"Thy word giveshe referred not to the opening of a book,but to the discovery of its meaning.Later he wrote "Thy Word have Ihid in my heart, that I might not sinthee."against We must memorize theWord, yet we cannot count our knowledge of God's Word by the number ofverses we know. It is not enough totake it in, it must take us.2. Exercise. An overfed man withoutexercise grows fat, but not healthy. Hemay die from overweight. Health involves use of the energy supplied byfood. Read Hebrews 12:11. Through theyears the strongest Christians have beenthose who were "chastened"the apostles imprisoned, Paul beaten with 39stripes, the victims of the Roman arena,John Huss, Martin Luther, the Scottishstalwarts, Abraham Lincoln, modernand present sufferers. The call is notfor physical suffering necessarily, butfor sue use ol the Word ox Liocl as willshow Christian vigor and strength inGod. It requires the willingness to sufferbut it issues in the "peacable fruits ofA sad cause of flabbyspirituality is "at ease in Zion." Wemust stir ourselves to be "exercisedthereby."3. Rest. After the tension of exercisethe body must have a recuperatingperiod. Spiritualy health needs such atime. "Rest in the Lord," the Psalmistsings, "nor for the wicked fret." Somuch of spiritual exercise is directedagainst the wicked. We are preparedof God to meet evil, we launch outagainst it, we receive its onslaughts,we defend ourselves from it. Oh, for agood rest!"Rest in the Lord!" Come to Him,and cast every burden on Him. Bereassured that He knows all, every veryall!! Let His Word continue tostrengthen, and His presence bring rest.All this comes, of course, throughprayer. Daily, constant, as regular andas welcome as the night for sleep.For rest, too, God has provided HisSabbath, but that is a subject for thenext meeting.The Word, Witness and Prayer. Bythese keep your spirit clean. For "YEARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD."SOME TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT1. Discuss Bible Memory or BibleStudy Systems for your Society.2. What items in the Grinnell Planof Work are you finding good "spiritualexercise"?3. How do the folks you brush elbowswith every day know you are a "templeof God"?4. How does prayer give you reassurance?JUNIOR TOPICJanuary 9, 1955by Mrs. Philip W. MartinJESUS'DISCDPLESScripture: Mark 1:9-20Memory Verse: "And Jesus said untothem, Come ye after me, and I willmake you to become fishers of men."Mark 1:17.January Memory Psalms: Psalm 18:12,13, 16, page 37.Psalm 119, part 2:1-4, page 288Psalm 51:9-12, page 131Psalm 34: 6,7, page 82In the Gospel according to Mark,Jesus is introduced at the time of Hisbaptism. As we study the life of Jesuswe must remember several things:1. Jesus is truly God. His birth wasnot like that of any other baby becauseHe is the only person who has ever beenborn without an earthly father. HisFather is God. All through His life Heperformed miracles deeus wmen nomere man could do. His death was notlike any other death and He is the onlyPerson who has ever raised Himselffrom the dead.2. Jesus is truly man. He was tempted; He suffered hunger; He enduredtrials at the hand of man; He experienced joy and sorrow.3. But Jesus never sinned, nor wasHe born in sin.And so, when we think of His baptismwe ask the question, "Why was Jesusbaptized since He was not a sinner?1. What reason does Jesus Himselfgive for His being baptized? Matt. 3:15Jesus was starting out on His work asa Priest and one of the first things thathappened to a priest was that he wasANOINTED to the office. So here Jesuswas being anointed by the Holy Ghostbeingpublicly set apart to the officeof our Great High Priest.2. What proof can you give that allthree persons Father, Son, and HolySpirit, were present at Jesus' baptism?Mark 1:10,113. Where did Jesus go after His baptism and how long was He there?Mark 1:12,13a4. How did the devil tempt Jesusin Matthew 4:3?5. What was the next temptation ofJesus? Matthew 4:5,66. What was the third temptation ofJesus? Matthew 4:8,97. How did Jesus begin each answerto the devil's temptation? Matthew4:4,7,108. How should you and I meet temptation?Now we come to the calling of Jesus'disciples. A disciple is one who followsanother for the purpose of learning. Andthese whom Jesus called, were called forCOVENANTER WITNESS