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Chaff or Wheat?, September 28
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let
them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine
heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all
their flesh.
Proverbs 4:20-22
.
Light and truth are within the reach of all, ... but if they do not set
their minds to searching God’s Word, Satan will find chaff to fill their
minds, leaving no room for the growth of the precious seed of truth.... We
are surrounded with temptations so disguised that they allure while they
taint and corrupt the soul.
The youth of our cities breathe in the tainted, polluted atmosphere of
crime.... They are educated in crime by reading the stories which fill the
popular publications of the day. Having no regard for the right because it
is right, as they read stories of theft, murder, and every other species of
crime, they are led to devise plans by which they could improve upon the
criminals’ methods, and escape detection. Thus these foul publications
assist in perfecting the education of the youth in the way that leads to
perdition.
It is a great evil to bring these trashy magazines into the family, and
yet many parents are asleep to this peril. They do not know what kind
of food is being supplied to the minds of their children. The food that is
given to the mind should be pure and wholesome. God calls upon His
people to turn away from the brackish streams of the valley, and drink
from the pure streams of Lebanon. A study of God’s Word, which is
eternal life to the receiver, would invigorate and strengthen the mind; but
too often the grace of Christ finds the right of way obstructed by the mass
of rubbish which has been allowed to accumulate in the mind. The mind
is not kept hungry for the blessed Word, which must be eaten in order for
the thoughts to be pure and holy....
To those who are tempted to indulge in trashy reading I would say,
Read your Bible. “Search the scriptures,” Christ commanded; “for in
them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
John 5:39
. Obedience to the Word of God is our only safety.
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