God has given humanity the gift of "sound". How dull and monotonous the 'world would be if the silence
of the cemetery were to rule everywhere! The chirping of birds, the sound of a flowing stream, the loud
whispers of a rainfall and the incoherent sound of infants fill us all with delight. Beautiful indeed is this
creation. Of all the creatures, MAN possesses the supreme ability to express himself -his feelings,
thoughts and decisions in words. Speech with all its treasure of words is nothing but organised sound.
The beauty of creation with all its sounds stands as a mute testimony to the beauty of the Creator. God is
a winsome, beautiful Being and the very first act Bible records is that God created our world and that He
created it by the power of His word. The first book of the Bible, Genesis, chapter one and verse three
reads: "And God said, Let there be light". God spoke the world into existence. "For he spake, and it was
done" said the Psalmist (Psa.33: 9). The worlds were framed by the word of God affirms the writer to the
Hebrews (Heb.1: 2). Herein lies the uniqueness of the voice of God. The Divine voice stands apart from
all voices that are human and mundane, it is the voice of CREATION.

Broken into comprehensible fragments, the voice of God seemed to have said, "Let there be flowers of all
hues sending forth the sweetest smell" and 10! they came into being. The snowcapped mighty mountains
and the breath -taking valleys, the rain and the sunshine were all there just because He chose to say it.
The pre Adamite earth was "without form and void" (Gen.1: 2), and we are not told how the original
earth came into such a state and shape. This fact is nevertheless stated and the Divine record goes further
to record another and that is of supreme importance to us. God spoke and put everything into shape. Into
the formless, ugly world, God spoke beauty, form and content. That is the God of the Bible.

Around sixty long centuries have slipped by between that act of beautifying our earth and our present
generation. Man has travelled quite far into the fields of Physics and Astronomy, Chemistry and
Computers, engineering and medicine. Now we know how to tap, different sources of power, Hydro,
solar and wind, thanks to the creative genius gifted to us by our Creator. Yet, the most basic field that
gives worth and true, pleasure to our existence has been left untrained and un-tamed. It is the field of the
human heart, so fertile with weeds of hatred, greed, lust, pride and deception. Together they have
unleashed horrors of hell among us. Despite our philosophies and peace conferences, we seem to descend
only further into the bottomless pit of human depravity. Though Jeremiah uttered the words, "The heart is
deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"(Jer.17:9) around twenty -six
centuries ago, it sounds stunningly relevant for us today. Governmental regulations, religious
observances cannot govern, much less change, the ruined heart. Violence, bloodshed, human cruelties at
alarming proportions have come to be accepted as the order of the day.

What beauty could there ever be if our world continues to be filled with crimes, police stations and jails?
People dying in our hospitals with terminal illnesses, the funerals end empty homes that follow~ bring
ugliness and horror. As it was in the beginning of creation man is without form and shape. He has only
seeds of self -destruction within himself. Help, if any, must come outside himself. The good news is that
it did. God chose to speak again to lift us out of our chaos. The solution HE sent is called the LOGOS,1he
WORD Jesus Christ WHO is able to create something that never existed before.
The voice of CREATION now rings across nations and to every individual. "Behold, I will do a new
thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers
in the desert" (lsa.43: 19). Into our wild and wasted life God has chosen to send His life and light. HE
longs to bring us out of barren lands to brimming fertility. This HE chose to do in us through His Son,
Jesus Christ.

"...if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new" (2 Cor.5:17). To give us this gift of newness, Christ paid the price. God became man. God
had to set aside His glory, His greatness and divest Himself of all His prerogatives just to reach us. One
Who "dwells in alight which no man can approach unto" became accessible and contactable in
incarnation. If reaching us through incarnation is so great a condescension, how great must His
humiliation be, when He embraced the most cruel cross for our salvation? He became "sin for us, who
knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2Cor.5:21 ). Such is the love of
God for us.

My friend, there is hope for you and me in Christ. God restores shape and beauty to anyone who calls for
help. God's helpline is never busy. Call upon Him today, now where you are! The cry, "God be merciful
to me a sinner!" could work wonders for you. "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved" (Rom.10:13). Whosoever -Why not you?

YE ARE MY WITNESSES -16
BAKHT SINGH

Acts 13

"But God raised him from the dead" (v.30). "But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption" (v.37).
We see in the Acts of the Apostles, that emphasis is laid on the power of resurrection. The Apostles tried
to prove from all the Scripture portions and references how the Lord Jesus Christ suffered, died, and was
buried and rose again. Without the power of resurrection we cannot live a victorious and triumphant life.
We need to depend upon this very same experience. In the early days the apostles and disciples made it a
point to make this fact very clear.

"...1 have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will"
(v.22). As David was a man after God's own heart, God wants us also to be men and women after His
own heart. It is not because of human qualifications or outward humility or simple dress that we can be
called men or women after God's own heart. It is the greatest privilege to be a man after God's own heart.
Such a person wants to do God's will in whatever he does or wherever he goes. We have the privilege to
be in the will of God.
Our whole life, preaching and teaching should please God. But many times we fail.

Generally speaking,
we look at great men and are carried away by their appearance. Even a great man like Samuel the prophet
was about to make a mistake in choosing the king of Israel. Eliab was the eldest son of Jesse: going by
his height, countenance and appearance Samuel thought he was fit to be the king. But the Lord said unto
him, "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the
LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the
heart" (1 Sam. 16:7).

Generally, we look on the outward appearance. Some take pride in their family, some in their nationality,
some in their knowledge, some in their education, and some in their appearance and their talents. That is
how many make mistakes in marriages, business and other matters. Many marriages are a failure and they
suffer very great loss afterwards. In some cases, they are in misery life- long. They look at the outward
appearance rather than knowing God's will. That is why Samuel made Jesse to bring all his sons before
him. Samuel was a prophet, Jesse was a God-fearing man, but none of them knew God's mind. Samuel
was about to make a mistake and anoint Eliab. He looked on Eliab, and said, "Surely the Lord's anointed
is before him", but the Lord said unto Samuel, "I have refused him". That means, howsoever clever,
gifted, or educated we may be, we cannot trust ourselves. We make many mistakes in our lives. Many
great men made great mistakes in their lives. They were carried away by fame and name. People may talk
about God's will like a parrot, but they do not know what is God's will. Going by God's Word we have to
wait on Him and persevere to know His will. Jesse made Abinadab, Shammah and seven of his sons to
pass before Samuel but the Lord had not chosen them. If God wanted He could have 'told Samuel to go to
Bethlehem and ask Jesse for David and anoint him. But that is not God's method. God knows our nature.
He knows how easily we are misled by the outward appearance. To avoid that, we need much patience to
wait upon God to hear His voice. After David came, God said, "Arise, anoint him: for this is he". We
have to wait till we have every evidence to prove that we are in God's will and God's plan. When God
speaks there must be clear inward registration. We have to hear God's voice. We should not be carried
away by only one test. We need to have every evidence to know God's will. The first great proof is the
inward voice of God, which means to have a consciousness of God's presence. "And the work of
righteousness shall be peace" (lsa.32:17). To feel God's presence in a greater, growing way, we must be
in God's presence for a long time. We should not be governed by the first registration but we should have
the registration many times. We must enjoy the inward peace, great peace, multiplying peace and
heavenly peace.

According to Psa. 119: 165, it is great peace which creates in us a growing love and consciousness of
God's own presence in our lives. The peace of God and the presence of God go together (Psa.16: 11). lf
you desire to know God's will do not go by one evidence only, but have all other evidences. Even though
you may have peace for some time, you may be led in a wrong way and you may be deceived. There will
be growing consciousness of God as you pray.