Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you
1st Peter 5:7
A Teacher's Privilege
To-day, dear friends, you’re much in my mind,
Who start your work to do.
What a privilege you have of training the minds
Of the children who go to school.
There will be days that are hard,
And days that are blue,
And days that you hardly know, just what to do,
But keep on praying, His Grace is sufficient for you.
If for Christ your work is done,
Though oft you feel tired and worn,
He does know you did not shirk.
With care He will watch your work,
For He knows the seed of love
Planted here doth bloom above.
Thus, in trust and faith, work on;
You will see the fruit at dawn.
Ruby McKenzie
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Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.
Matthew 6:8
We must not look on that only as prayer to which our lips give utterance. The wish of the believing heart is counted prayer by God. It is the smoke of the incense which ascends in silence before Him. Every wish that the Holy Spirit breathes into the soul of a believer is a voice which enters the ear of God. Choice Supplication
Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire that trembles in the breast;
Prayer is the burden of a sigh, the falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye when none but God is near. James Montgomery
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Verily God hath heard me, He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Psalm 66:19
A nineteenth-century magazine rebukes the expression, "REMARKABLE answers to prayers," saying we should think it unacceptable if applied to the case of a boy who took sick away from home and sent to his father for help. We would not say, "Remarkably enough, his father assisted him at once." It would certainly be good if we could expect heavenly succour just as surely as the boy would expect an answer from his father — yet there ought to be a thankful awe for every reply.
What will He not bestow?
Who freely gave this mighty gift, unbought,
Unmerited, unheeded, and unsought,
What will He not bestow? (Selected)
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Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” Philippians 3:13
The New Year is not present with us. Only a new day! So it will be continually. We shall see but one day at a time.
If each day is lived right, the whole year will be right; if each day is wrong, the year will be all wrong.
Each day is a white page to be written. Write it beautifully, and the year will be beautiful."
NEW YEAR PRAYER
Lord, Thou hast given me a clean, new year.
Help me to keep its pages pure, unspoiled;
To write upon its scroll but kindly thoughts,
With no unsightly blots to have it soiled.
Let me not mar, in thought or word or deed,
This page, so white, so pure, unsullied, fair.
Help me to know that when I stand in need
Of help from Thee, Thou art always standing there.
When duty calls me, Lord, let pleasure wait.
Let me fulfill my calling. Let Thy will,
Not mine, be done. Oh, let me ever hear
Thy calm, approving voice. Thy guidance still.
Lead me, dear Lord, in paths of peacefulness.
But if, perchance, Thy paths should ever lie
O’er mountain trails, though they be rough and bleak,
Then may I answer, “Master, here am I.” I. S. Ellis
An artist who was asked, ”What is your best picture?” answered, “My next.”
Make tomorrow your best day!
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Make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. Hebrews 12:13
THE BRIDGE BUILDER
An old man, going a lone highway,
Came at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide,
Through which was flowing a raging tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow-pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the closing day;
You never again will pass this way.
You've crossed the chasm deep and wide.
Why build you this bridge at eventide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head.
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There follows after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm which has been as naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him." Mountain Trailways
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For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not; I will help thee. Isaiah 41:13
Dr. S. D. Gordon once wrote: "Our Lord has been everywhere that we are called to go. His feet have trodden down smooth a path through every experience that comes to us. He knows each road, and knows it well-the steep path of temptation down through the rocky ravines and slippery gullies, the dizzy road along the heights of victory, the old beaten road of commonplace daily routine."
I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year,
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown."
And he replied,
"Go out into the darkness and put your hand
Into the hand of God;
That shall be to you better than light
and safer than a known way." M. Louise Haskins.
(Quoted by His Majesty the King in an Empire broadcast.)
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“None of these things move me.” Acts 20:24
We read in the book of Samuel that the moment that David was crowned at Hebron, “All the Philistines came to seek David.” (2 Samuel 5:17) And the moment we get anything from the Lord worth contending for, then the devil comes to seek us.
When the enemy meets us at the threshold of any great work for God, let us accept it as “a token of salvation,” (Philippians 1:28) and claim double blessing, victory, and power.
Power is developed by resistance. The cannon carries twice as far because the exploding power has to find its way through resistance. the way electricity is produced in the power house yonder is by the sharp friction of the revolving wheels. And so we shall find someday that even Satan has been one of God’s agencies for blessing.— Days of Heaven Upon the Earth
A hero is not fed on sweets,
Daily his own heart he eats;
Chambers of the great are jails,
And head winds right for royal sales. Emerson
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Teach me, O Lord, the way of Thy statutes . . . Give me understanding . . .make me to go in the path of Thy commandments. Psalm 119:33-35
Another year is dawning! Dear Master, let it be,
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.
Another year of leaning; upon Thy loving breast,
Of ever-deepening trustfulness—of quiet, happy rest.
Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace;
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face.
Another year of progress; another year of praise;
Another year of proving Thy presence “all the days.”
Another year of service, of witness for Thy love;
Another year of training for holier work above.
Another year is dawning! Dear Master, let it be,
On earth, or else in heaven, another year for Thee!
Francis Ridley Havergal
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And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give; them light; to go by day and night. Exodus 13:21
Guided By The PiIlars of God
What is of importance to notice here is that the people of Israel were divinely guided on their march. He who selected their path guided them in it, went before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, in all their wanderings. These gracious symbols of His presence He never took from them as long as they were in the wilderness.
This is only an illustration of the truth, that the Lord is ever the guide of His people. He who leads them out of Egypt may ever be seen before them in the path on which they have entered. He never says, “Go”; but His word is always “Follow Me.” He Himself is the Way, as well as the Truth and the Life. (John 14:6).
It is quite true that we have not the visible guidance which the children of Israel enjoyed; but it is no less discernible and certain to the spiritual eye. The Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105)
It is interesting to remark that there was no such guidance in Egypt or in the land. This brings out the important truth, that it is only in the wilderness that the indication of a way is needed. And there it is in His tenderness and mercy that the Lord leads His own, showing them the way in which they should walk, where they should rest, and when they should march, leaving nothing to them, but Himself undertaking all for them, only requiring that their eyes should be kept fixed on their Guide.
Happy are the people who are thus lead, and who are made willing to follow, who by grace are enabled to say, “Only Thou our Leader be, and we still will follow Thee.” Edward Dennett
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Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. (Philippians 3:12-13)
Now we are nearing the end of the race: the prize is in view: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (V.14) Before we look at the prize, we must consider the calling.
- We are ”Called ones of Christ Jesus” (Romans 1:6)
- We are “called saints,” or “saints by calling.” (Romans 1:7)
- It is a “holy calling” (2 Timothy 1:9)
- it is a “heavenly calling.” (Hebrews 3:1)
- Paul prays we should “know what is the hope of His calling.” (Ephesians 1:18)
- It is a “calling of God . . . not subject to repentance.” (Romans 11:29)
- We are exhorted “to walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye have been called.” (Ephesians 4:1)
What, then, does it mean,—”the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus“? When, as a child, I ran in the Hundred Yard Dash, I might have said: “Down to the goal I press for the prize of The Hundred Yard Dash.” “The Hundred Yard dash” described the race l was running. So the “the calling on high” describes the race Paul was running. It is the calling which bears the character of the world above . . . the calling whose origin, nature, and goal are heavenly.
And what is the prize that Paul so valued:
Run the straight race, through God’s good grace,
Lift up thine eyes, and seek His face.
Life, with its way, before us lies,
CHRIST is the Path and CHRIST the prize.
The prize for the winner of the Marathon was a crown of leaves,—a fading crown: but our Prize is an unfading one. (1 Peter 5:4)
Philippians - G. Christopher Willis
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"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9
I read this story long ago - here's the way I remember it.There was a man whose wife and children were all saved, but he was not, and he had little interest in spiritual things, though he had heard the gospel.
One snowy Christmas Eve his family asked him, as they often had, did he want to go with them to the service. He declined. While they were gone, he heard a thump against a window. Looking out, he saw a little bird, injured by the crash, struggling in the snow. The man felt compassion for it, went outside to rescue it, but, as expected, it tried to get away. Nevertheless, he was able to pick it up; and he brought it into the warm house.
As he cared for the helpless little bird, it suddenly dawned on him —he was like that little bird. He had long been in need of being saved but had resisted. He realized, for the first time, how God had wanted to rescue him and save him. His heart was broken. He surrendered to the Lord.
When the family returned home, they found a tearfully joyous husband and father who had finally joined them in being new creations in Christ Jesus. God used a little, wounded bird to awaken him to his need.
Dear friend, God knew the way to reach that man's heart; He knows how to reach yours too. If you, like that man, have been resisting God's loving entreaties, won't you surrender today?
"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners..." (1 Timothy 1:15)
Only a step to Jesus: oh why not take it now? L.I.F.E.LINES
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...the person of Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:10
The person of the Christ,
Enfolding every grace,
Once slain, but now alive again,
In heaven demands our praise. Miss Wigram
First, the hymn-writer declares the scope of the expression; The Person of the Christ, encompassing every one of the graces revealed to us in the character, work and glory of our Lord and Saviour. Then the writer goes on to address the two facts central to the Gospel: the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And finally, the Lord is seen as back in Heaven and He will be there eternally. A song of praise has begun in the hearts of the redeemed now, and will be sung perfectly when we are with Him.
Although not stated in the hymn, His love, and that of God, are felt by believers every day. It takes in (1) the very beginnings of our blessings, part of God's plan from a past eternity, (2) the reality experienced during our lives on earth as believers, and (3) its continuation forever.
Meditating on our Lord - We could go on down a long list of the attributes of our Lord, and it is a worthwhile subject for personal meditation. This short document doesn't allow room for such a full exploration, but you only have to read through the four Gospels to see His qualities played out in love, kindness, mercy, sympathy and grace, as the Lord Jesus interacted with people of the world, who were not unlike us in our needs, attitudes and relative insensitivity. Hebrews 1:3 speaks of the Lord Jesus being the brightness of God's glory, and the precise image of God's persona. This a wonderful confirmation of all that The Person of Christ stands for. The more our thoughts take in the whole Person of Christ, the more we will want to live as a reflection of His life. And this will lead to more praise and worship, to the glory of God.
Hebrews 2:9: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Lorne Perry
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