■And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament;'
and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stare forever and ever.%'{^
/'/I
©Iff
Жошдп
mission ion
Enter*! at the Poit-Offlce at Richmond, V»., M Second-Clan Matter.
inal
Vor.. LX IT. JULY, 1911.
No. !.
WILL YOU PROMISE A THANK-OFFERING?
God, In dealing with his people of old,
taught them to make thank-offerings to
Him for special mercies and blessings con¬
ferred. This is done by some of our peo-
plo at the present time, but not as fre¬
quently as it should be. We wish to make
a special proposition whereby we can
honor God. During tills year, there are
many of our people who will receive spe¬
cial blessings. Some will have loved ones
delivered in timo of great sickness. Others
will be rescued from peril, some will have
great financial prosperity. Churches will
have glorious revivals. What we propose
is for such to make special thank-offerings
to God. Our people know of the depressed
condition of our great foreign mission
work on account of the heavy debt which
is resting upon us. The calls from the
mission fields are urgent and pitiful. Our
workers have gone forward, God has gra¬
ciously blessed them, and now when it has
come to timo of victory, and they plead
for help, we are not able to come to their
rescue. It is not that wo are lacking in
resources. It is not that God has not
blessed us. Wo have not honored Him
with our substance as we should. We
havo not remembered his manifold
mercies, and now we ask that every man
and woman and child among us who will
agree that this year if some special bless¬
ing comes to your heart or your home, or
your business, you will remember this
great work of God in a thank-offering.
What you give will be entirely between
you and God, but give it for His glory.
There are men among us who will make
thousands and tens of thousand1? in money.
They could easily put a part of this on
God’s altar. It would bless you to do so
and would greatly help God’s work.
Xot long since, one brother ha 1 a
daughter who was lying at death’s door,
and the Lord restored her, and he sent
forward at once $200 as a thank-offering
to God. We would not presume to indicate
to any one the amount he should give, but
we ask that you think and pray over this
subject, and it you feel it in your heart to
do so, drop us a line and say — I will be
one of those this year who, in case God
gives me some special blessing, will make
a special thank-offering to Him. and we
would be glad to have a short account of
why you make the offering. Some of these
accounts we will print for the good it will
do, but never giving the name, so that the
person can be recognized. Some may wish
to make a thank-offering for blessings
already received. Whatever you give can
be sent through the regular channels, but
wg earnestly ask that you notify us at
the time as it may be that the mention of
your gift will be a blessing to someone
else. — *■ —
Christian missions are, in their own pur¬
pose, "an outreach of grace in lebalf of
others, efforts to save man unto God and
unto themselves." The American ex-
Secretarv Foster, after a tour arovnd the
world, in which he closely studied its con¬
ditions. said that be would answer the
question: "By what right Christian
America had gone into the various lands
of Asia to disturb and reconstruct systems
and institutions in those lands known as
heathen,” by saying: “The right to com¬
municate to others benefits too good to
keep.” The right of foreign missions lies
in their being "the profoundest agency in
the on-going civilization of the world,” and
in their being the means of bringing the
world into the realization of the highest
religious good in oneness with God. —
W. 0. Carver.
