The Ohio Independent Baptist, May 1973

eart to Heart Among t e omen - Mrs . Earl Umbaugh - Women's Editor- Reflections and Impressions Along the western hore of the Sea of Gali lee, our Lord called His disciple<; > go with Him into the Mount where He taught them. Taught them how to etach themselves from earth ly things. "A man's life consisteth not in abundance f the things which he possesses .. .'' Thi "Mount of Blessing" is the most upside– own hill in the world, for human evaluations of happiness are quite the opposite f those pronounced by our Saviour. Jesus concerned Himse lf with the teaching of general principles and these eneral principles always had to do with mental states and spiritual values, for He new that if one's mental state is right , everythi ng else must be right too, whereas, these are wrong, nothing else can be right. He was not concerned with outward tuals but with the inner man. "These eight Beatitudes are the diatonic scale of heaven's music. Its key-note blessing ; its upper octave, joy." (Gibson) Those who heard these first must ave received them with quickened souls and could no longer doubt that the king– om of heaven was at hand, indeed, was there on the mountainside that day . "Blessed" or "happy," i.e. the sort of man to be congratulated-to be envied , lr he alone is truly happy. Jesus wants us to act like Gideon, to test, and sift out 1ose appetites for carnality. There is order in the Beatitudes. The key to all is found in the first. The first the emptying while the rest are a manifesting of a fullness. We cannot be filled ntil we are first emptied. The gospel pulls down before it raises up. This is a fount to be climbed but cannot be done by self. The first "note"-"Blessed are the poor in spirit." The word "poor" here oes not mean "poor man' ' not one who takes the vow of poverty as to posses– ons that Francis of Assisi took but self-abnegation-deny one's own rights or owers. Some examples are: The publican who smote his breast saying, "God be lerciful to me a sinner." (Luke 18 : 13) Another, the Apostle Paul in Romans :24 when he cried, "O wretched man that I am" and it is fully revealed in I orinthians 13 as true charity-"Love that vaunteth not itself." _ "Theirs is the Kingdom of H eaven" refers to those who sha ll be heaven's 1bjects, rather than to rule ; in a real sense the only blessedness is to obey-obey rod and that can only come when we have learned poverty of spirit because we !e ourselves in need of alJ things. Luke 1: 52, "He exalted them of low degree.'' heir poverty of spirit delivers them from pride and pageantry that parades itself t the silk of self-sufficiency. Their acknowledgment of straightened circumstances t matters spiritual , an acceptance of God's grace, opens the doors to the kingdom f heaven. Christ, Himself, exemplified this in Philippians 2: 6-11. He humbled Himself nd the Father exalted Him. ''Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdorrz of heaven." fatthew 5:3 Radio Messenger Kenneth Myers ~~,o ~ A .\ \ <J< i(lf e<I "'it/1 Bihle C/1,i 'itian Union , Patc /1 0{! 11e HE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST THJi: BIBLft: BOOKSTORE P.O. Box 107 Reynoldsburg, Ol1io 43068 A non-profit Chr is t ian Books tore owned / ope rate d by Danny K Biggers. Me thod of ope ration is based on the princi ple of the Grace of God. + Fellowship with "Ohio Associ ation of Regular Baptis t Churches" . -1 216 Books & Publi cat ions available; absolutely no charge or obl igation . -1- Bookst o re Catalog sent upon request . Berean WMF Hold Spring Rally The Berean Women's Fellowship held their annual Spring Rally at the Cedar Hill Baptist Church on Thurs– day, March 15th. A coffee time w~s enjoyed at 9: 45 where good fello~sh1p and renewed friendships were enJoyed as they registered for the occa~io~: The Theme, "God's Preservation, Psalm 121: 8 was presented in an effec– tive way. The speakers were Dr. and Mrs. Raymond Buck, just back fro1:1 a mi ss ionary visit to Europe and Africa . A delicious salad lunch was enjoyed by all those present. Librarians' Conference CEDARVILLE, OHIO-The an– nual meeting of the Christian Librari– ans, Fellowship, Inc. will be held June 13-16 on the campuses of Asbury Col– lege and Seminary in Wilmore, Ken– tucky, according to Alberta L. Ch~ffe, program chairman for the organiza- tion. Both the theoretical and practical aspects of the conference th~me,. "La– borers together with God, will. be presented by the speakers and semtnar leaders, among whom are author and editor, Joseph Bayly, vice presiden~ of product for David C. Cook Publish– ing Company and Malcolm Co~ch, president of Evangelical Communica– tions Research Foundation. A forum on library building pro– grams, architectural design and .in– terior decoration will be led by design consultant, James Ellis, vice president of Bratburd, Inc. Other sessions will afford opportunities for librar.ians !o participate in projects of practical aid to libraries on mission fields. Mr. David McClain, assistant li– brarian at Baptist Bible College, Clar~s Sttmmit, Pennsylvani a, serves as pre i– dent of the fellowship. Additional information abot1t the conference may be obtained by writ– ing to Mr . Alberta I ... . ( "' haff e, Cec.1 a.r– v1lle ollege Library, edar\ Ille, Ohio 45314. MAY, 1973 13