in reproaches, in necessities, in per secutions, in distresses,” for Christ’s sake? In all of these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved ns.
in the castle. This strategic area was a place of hitter feuding and bloody skirmishes. Prisoners were thrown into these cold rooms. Yet while behind the bars they could still look out toward the hills of Scotland. They so longed to get back to their homes that they literally pulled at the stones with their fingers. So the rocks are worn by the hands of men who had a better country in their hearts. Although citizens of this wonderful land, the believer in Christ is not to be imprisoned by the pressures and frustrations of th is world. He says unth the Psalmist of old, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help ? My help cometh from the Lord.” Don’t let yourself be “wailed up” by oppres sive outward circumstances. Our scrip tural exhortation comes clearly, “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free” (Gal. 5:1). VICTORY One of the most frustrating things about wars, and particularly those in which we have been engaged recently, is to secure a speedy decisive victory. In the spiritual realm, I wonder if we as be lievers not only know but are also daily experiencing overcoming victory. Here’s a very practical test: When you are content with any food, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, any interruption by the will of God, that’s victory. When you can patiently put up unth annoyances, when your good is evil spoken of, your advice dis regarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you take it in patient, loving silence, that’s victory. When you can stand face to face unth waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus did, that’s victory. When others are content with a meager measure of piety and power, with an ambition merely to be saved so as by fire, and you claim your full inheritance in Christ, that’s victory. Can you say, with the Apostle Paul, “Most gladly therefore do I take pleasure infirmities, 28 Few people's pride equals that of a man who is foolishly proud of his humility.
The highest form of vanity is a love for personal fame.
UNENDING SUPPLY First impressions in foreign coun tries are always interesting. A group of Arabs recently were taken from the heat of the sandy desert to visit Europe. Nothing seemed to impress them until finally, high in the Alps, they viewed something which utterly captivated their imaginations. They stood in silent awe before a mighty water fall, hur tling its torrential streams down a lofty mountainside. As they saw that incredi ble vast wall of water, they couldn’t believe their eyes. Of course, where they had come from, water was a pre cious commodity; in some areas it was rationed out by the cup full. Their hosts and the guides tried to get them to move along, but the spellbound Arabs insisted, “Let us stay until the water stops coming.” They were told that since the daum of time that mighty stream had cascaded unabatedly and showed no visible signs of diminishing. How that waterfall reminds us of the endless flow of God’s grace! We can rejoice that He has promised that it is sufficient for our every need. How blessed to read that “God hath raised us up and made us sit together in heavenly places, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” Most dogmas are really barking up the wrong tree. Keep in mind that stones are only thrown at fruitbearing trees. A living is what you earn but a life is what you give.
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