DISCIPLESHIP

“Ready For Either”

 “Ready for Either” is the significant legend that underspans the seal of the Baptist Missionary Union, which presents an ox standing with a plough on one side, and an altar on the other.

How Each Apostle Died

 All of the apostles were insulted by the enemies of their Master. They were called to seal their doctrines with their blood and nobly did they bear the trial.

 Matthew suffered martyrdom by being slain with a sword at a distant city of Ethiopia.

 Mark expired at Alexandria, after being cruelly dragged through the streets of that city.

 Luke was hanged upon an olive tree in the classic land of Greece.

 John was put in a caldron of boiling oil, but escaped death in a miraculous manner, and was afterward banished to Patmos.

 Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downward.

 James, the Greater, was beheaded at Jerusalem,

 James, the Less, was thrown from a lofty pinnacle of the temple, and then beaten to death with a fuller’s club.

 Bartholomew was flayed alive.

 Andrew was bound to a cross, whence he preached to his persecutors until he died.

 Thomas was run through the body with a lance at Coromandel in the East Indies.

 Jude was shot to death with arrows.

 Matthias was first stoned and then beheaded.

 Barnabas of the Gentiles was stoned to death at Salonica.

 Paul, after various tortures and persecutions, was at length beheaded at Rome by the Emperor Nero.

 Such was the fate of the apostles, according to traditional statements.

—Christian Index

If God Could

If God can hang the stars on high,

Can paint the clouds that drift on by;

Can send the sun across the sky,

What could He do through you?

If He can send a storm through space,

And dot with trees the mountain’s face;

If He, the sparrow’s way can trace,

What could He do through you?

If God can do such little things

As count our hairs, or birds that sing,

Control the universe that swings,

What could He do through you?

—G. E. Wagoner

God Can Do It

 Longfellow could take a worthless sheet of paper, write a poem on it, and make it worth $6,000—that’s genius.

 Rockefeller could sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth a million dollars—that’s capital.

 Uncle Sam can take gold, stamp an eagle on it, and make it worth $20.00—that’s money.

 A mechanic can take material that is worth only $5.00 and make it worth $50.00—that’s skill.

 An artist can take a fifty-cent piece of canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it worth $1,000—that’s art.

 God can take a worthless, sinful life, wash it in the blood of Christ, put His Spirit in it, and make it a blessing to humanity—that’s salvation.

—Christian Digest

Christ Has No Hands

Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today

He has no feet but our feet to lead men in the way

He has no tongue but our tongue to tell men how He died

He has no help but our help to bring them to His side.

We are the only Bible the careless world will read,

We are the sinner’s gospel; we are the scoffer’s creed;

We are the Lord’s last message, given in word and deed;

What if the type is crooked? What if the print is blurred?

What if our hands are busy with other work than His?

What if our feet are walking where sin’s allurement is?

What if our tongue is speaking of things His lips would spurn?

How can we hope to help Him or welcome His return?

—Annie Johnston Flint

Stomping On The Violin

 It was advertised in one of our large cities that a great violinist would play on a violin worth $1,000. The theater was packed. Many were curious and wanted to hear such an expensive instrument being played. The violinist went on stage and played very beautifully.

 Suddenly, he threw the violin on the floor and then began to stomp on it, crushing it to pieces, then walked off the stage. The people were shocked. But then the manager came on stage and said that the violinist did not really use the $1,000 violin but a $20 one. He would now play on the $1,000 one. And so he did. But few people could tell the difference. He simply wanted to show that it was the violinist rather than the violin that makes the music.

 In the Master’s hands, even a $20 fiddle would make good music.

Return to "Illustrations Plus" MENU