Rev. Bernard G. Kemper in the Yucaipa News-Mirror Yucaipa, California

We need to be aware of the present tense of God. ...

We need God with us for guidance. In these days of uncertainty we need a guide. ... There is only one true and faithful guide and that is "God with us."

One of Martin Luther's enemies said to him, "Tell me, when the whole world turns against you. Church, state, people— where will you be then?" "Why, then as now," cried Luther, "in the hands of Almighty God."

We need God with us for Comfort. ... There are some fine people who go a long way in giving us the comfort they can. It is not enough, we need God. ...

Then we need God for strength. We need Him for the things we cannot do alone; resist temptation, stand up for what is right, and to do those things that are our job.

Brigadier Bramwell Tripp in The War Cry London, England

Opinions about God are not enough. The Apostle Paul was doing more than expressing an opinion about God when he said, "I believe God."

Those words were spoken on the deck of a stricken ship by a man who knew that the voyage would end in shipwreck. Those on board had seen neither sun nor stars for many days. Sails and tackle were gone, and the ship was out of control. "All hope that we should be saved was then taken away" expressed the mood of the ship's company. But that was not Paul's mood. Instead of this numb despair, his words convey a vibrant hopefulness: "Be of good cheer ... I believe God"!

That is a true testimony of faith. The world in our times needs that kind of Christian witness. It is sure antidote for much of our current despair. Paul was not trusting in the ship nor in the men who manned it. He said, "I believe God"!...

We overlook the fact that this man, Paul, who triumphantly and meaningfully proclaimed his faith in God was at that very moment the prisoner of a totalitarian government and dependent upon the liberality of others for the satisfaction of his most elementary needs. Not the ship beneath his feet nor the best nor worst that men could do determined his frame of mind.

Such spiritual exaltation, mental integrity and physical independence is possible, said this same Paul, if "we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Faith, to be effective, must be a consistent attitude. It is not a position assumed for the occasion. Indeed, it is never dependent on circumstances but always is superior to them. ... If our prevailing state of mind is one inspired by a vital faith, we will affect our surroundings rather than be affected by them.

Two men facing identical situations will often react differently. The end result of passing through the same experience will differ according to the attitude of each man. So it is not the "things which are seen." but the "things which are not seen" that determine the outcome....

Paul's outlook was not bounded by a sinking ship, an unfriendly shore or his status as a prisoner. He looked beyond them to God!

Such a faith is based upon personal experience. It is experiential in that it reaches back into the past and says, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." Paul had fresh, strong memories of deliverance and guidance and grace provided by a never-failing God. He could call the roll of distressing experiences and say of them, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

This vigorous faith is also experimental. It can recall past blessings, but, even more important, it is tested and proved by every new day's experiences. With its full meaning for the present and the future, Paul could claim the promise spoken by Moses, "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." He could say for that day on the sinking ship and for all the days to come, "I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me."

Belief in God, then, is more than mental assent to a proposition. The whole man is involved when faith is true and practical. Indeed, a man whose beliefs are vital becomes a new man, "born again," "transformed"' in the very rootage of his life so that the fruitage is "lose, joy. peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance."

Earl L.Douglass in The Youngstown Vindicator Youngstown, Ohio

Nothing restores and maintains human dignity better or more truly than religion. Men are more remarkable than what men have made for one reason: men were made by God. It is this fact alone that gives us value and importance. ...

Whoever you are, whatever you do, wherever you are, never forget this fact. You are not a cog in a great machine, a grain of sand in a vast desert. You are a unique individual. You are a child of God.