June 1929
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
295
share was brought out, and there was its brother shining like a silver mirror. ‘How is it,’ the rusty one asked, ‘that your life has been so wearing and yet made you so beautiful? Once we were alike. I have grown ugly in spite of my' easy life.’ ‘That is it,’ replied the shining share, ‘the beautiful life is the sacrificial life.’ ” The following are Dr. A. J. Gordon’s words: “I have long since ceased to pray, ‘Lord Jesus, have compassion on a lost world!’ I remember the day and the hour when I seemed to hear the Lord rebuking me for making such a prayer. He seemed to say to me, ‘I have had compassion on a lost world, and now it is for you to have compassion.’” Above all, try to save others. Get into an aggressive attitude towards the whole evil, and fight it not only in yourself, but in others. It is only passion that can cast out passion. The literally untemptable men I have known have not been men who have been thinking of saving their own skins only, but men who have had a noble passion for the wronged, the weak, and the defenseless, which surely is the divine in flower in a human soul; a chivalrous passion to save women and children from degradation; a passion to make the world a little better than they found it. That passion, like sunlight in them, had put out all lower fires .—White Cross Tract. The blessedness of little deeds of kind ness is well expressed in the following verses. A child in Canada was seen one winter struggling through the snow every day, battling with the winds, that she might spend an hour with an old sick woman, to whom her visits were like those of the angels. She was a bright, golden-haired child, brought up in a wealthy family, but her little heart went out in pity to the poor, lone, sick woman, who was waiting at the edge of the dark river for the angels to bear her home. So some one embodied her kind-hearted action in the little poem which is here quoted :— ‘‘Somebody’; came, to see “Nobody” once— “Nobody’s” poor, you know; And “Nobody’s” old, and “Nobody’s” sad, So “Somebody” came through the snow. “Nobody’s” days are a little dark, Like autumn days with rain; When “Somebody” came it was sunshine showers, Which glistened and gleamed again. If “Nobody” dies before “Somebody” dies, And goes to the Land of Light, The story of all that “Somebody” did Will be told in that region bright; And then, when it’s “Somebody’s” turn to go, What music sweet there will be, Of “Welcome, welcome!” sounding from far, Like church-bells over the sea. And o h ! the gladness, and oh ! the joy, When “Someone” and “No-one” meet, Where the pleasant paths of Paradise Are instead of the wintry street; For the kindly deeds that are done on earth Are remembered there, as we know; And just such a story as angels love Is “Somebody’s” walk through the snow.
June 23, 1929 Jesus Teaching Us Self-Control Micah 6:8; 1 Peter 2:11-20 D a ily R eading s
it. And so in her shame and despair she took the matter to the Lord, and he gave her the victory. The time for spring cleaning came. She had just gotten a new lamp hung up in the hall, and a new car pet laid, and John came home, carrying something on his shoulder. John didn’t know about the lamp; that was to be a surprise. He came in and down came the jamp; there was a clattering and a break ing up of* things; and he waited for another row. Presently a quiet woman looked over the stairs and down at him, and said, “Never mind, husband, it’s all right; we can get another lamp.” And he said, “Mary, what’s the matter ?” “Oh, my dear,” she said, “I have trusted Jesus to cure me of my temper.” “Well,” said John, “if He has cured you, come right down and pray for me, for that is what I want. If there is enough in religion to cure your temper I want the same re ligion,” and,’ said the pastor, ‘John was converted that same day.’ ” “A London merchant had a dispute with a Quaker respecting the settlement of an account. The merchant was deter mined to bring_ the account into court, a proceeding which the Quaker earnestly deprecated, using every argument in his power to convince the merchant of his error; but the latter was inflexible. De siring to make a last effort, the Quaker called at his house one morning and in quired of the servant if his master was at home. The merchant, hearing the in quiry, and knowing the voice, called out from the stairs, ‘Tell that rascal I am not at home.’ The Quaker, looking up at him, calmly said, ‘Well, friend, God put thee in a better mind.’ The merchant, struck afterwards with the meekness of the re ply, and having more deliberately inves tigated the matter, became convinced that the Quaker was right and himself wrong. He requested to see him, and after ac knowledging his error, said, ‘I have one question to ask you. How were you able, with such patience, on various occasions, to bear my abuse?’ ‘Friend,’ replied the Quaker, ‘I will tell thee. I was naturally as hot and violent as thou art. I ¡knew) that to indulge this temper was sinful, and l found that it was imprudent. I observed; that men in a passion always spake- lotkd, and I thought, if I could control my voice, I could repress my passion. I have therefore made it a rule never to let my voice rise above a certain key, and by a careful observance of this rule I have, by the blessing of God, entirely mastered my natural temper.’ ” Self-control does not mean merely keeping from doing certain things; it means self-direction, or doing certain things that should be done. Laziness is the enemy of self-control.— Moreton. One girl overcame the habit of sharp speech by confessing to God every night the sms of the day. That shamed her and put her on her guard from repeating the evil.— Fish. June 30, 1929 Heroes For Christ Isa. 6:1-8; Matt. 11:7-21; Jno. 18:1-9 D a il y R eading s
June 17. June 18. June 19. June 20. June 21. June 22.
Teaching by Example. John 19: 8 - 12 . Controlling Temper. Matt. 5:21- 26. Regarding Injuries. Matt. 18:21- 35. The other Cheek. Matt. 5:38-42. In Temptation. Matt. 4:1-11. Control Haste. Luke 9:51-56. C h o ic e N uggets
The Romans rightly employed the same word ( virtus ) for self-control to desig nate courage, which is, in a physical sense, what the other is in a moral: the highest virtue of all being victory over ourselves. —Samuel Smiles. A locomotive, with its thundering train, comes like a whirlwind down the track; and a regiment of soldiers might seek to arrest it in vain. I t would crush them and plunge unheeding on. But there is a little lever in its mechanism that at the pressure of a man’s hand will slacken its speed, and in a moment or two bring it panting and still like a whipped spaniel at your feet. So, with the firm control of thought, words and actions are obediqut. to our purpose. He who rules' hiiriself is the greatest of monarchs.— f. L. Hurlbut, When, in 1904, the fire was raging in Baltimore, beyond control, firemen were called from New York to assist. After wards Fire Commissioner Hayes was in terviewed about the chances of such a . conflagration in New York. He mentioned Ihc facilities he had at his service, and said: ‘All those things count a whole lot, because the only way to fight a big fire like that is to put it out while it is still a comparatively small fire. After all, the only safe way to handle a big fire is never to give it a chance to get big—kill it while it is young. That accounts for the number of third alarm calls—it is a great deal bet ter to call out eight companies and send all but two of them back, than to call two and find that you need eight.’ Killing out vice and sin when they are little is the equally wise way. Call in God at first to fight the fire in your members. Do not call in friends and loved ones, thinking" they can put out the fire. It will be like calling out two companies when you are certain to need eight. Neither be so fool ish as to think you can quench the flame yourself.” “A pastor in a certain church in Man chester, England, tells of a woman who had one besetting sin which handicapped her life. Said he: ‘She used to bring re quest after request, “Please pray for my husband.” Well, we got him along, and when we got him nearly in, that wife would upset the whole thing. The one thing that was her trouble was her tem per. And when that got started everybody in the house knew about it and her hus band used to say: “Well, Mary, if that is religion, I don’t want it.” Her hus band would forgive her, for she would be sorry afterward, but all the same it ditched him. The request came and the pastor told her that the fault was hers, and she must overcome her temper; that the Lord could give her grace to control
June 24. A Hero of Old. Gen. 12:1-4. June 25. One who Failed. 2 Tim. 4:10. June 26. Stephen. Acts 7:54-60. June 27. James. Acts 12:1, 2.
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