m Dail$ Devotional Home Readings ♦ I Connected witk International Sunday) School Lessons jjKg m Our atten tion has been called to a disarrangem ent of the schedule in our Daily Readings, so th a t the readings have followed th e Sunday School lesson, instead of preceding them . The w riter of these articles is correcting th is error in fu tu re contributions. SUNDAY, May 1. Deuteronomy 6:4-9. P a re n ta l Duty. l i t By FREDERIC W , FARR, D. D.
Zion. The blasts of th e silver trum pets awoke the echoes among th e su rround ing hills. The season was one of holy scenes and acts and thoughts. It was a fitting occasion for th e u tteran ce of Christ’s universal offer, “ If any man th irst le t him come unto me and d rink .” John 7:37. TUESDAY, May 3. Mark 6:31-33. Vacation Time. Christ’s concern was always for others. He had ju st received news of th e death of John th e Baptist. He for got His own sorrow in the care of His tired disciples. He made provision for th e refreshing and renewing of these weary workers. The body needs p eri odic rest. God draws th e cu rtain s of th e n igh t and im p arts th e g ift of sleep. The soul needs rest. Service is costly. P ray er is not a repetition of meaning less words. I t is grapple and agony. Teaching and preaching are no t easy. They d rain th e v ital forces. Evangelism is exhausting. Souls are won through blood and tears. The Christian life is one of service and communion. Service w ithout communion is fruitless. Com munion w ithou t service is morbid. Both together m ake a balanced life. The desert solitudes are favorable for com munion. The haun ts of men present op po rtun ities ;for service. R ecreation should be re-creation. “ Come ap a rt into a desert place and re st awhile.” WEDNESDAY, May 4. L uke 6:1-11. Jesu s and th e Sabbath. The Sabbath as well aS th e Temple became a fetich to th e Jews. Intended by God to be a means to an end, th e Jews made it an end in itself. The charge th a t Jesus was a Sabbath- break er pursued H im even to th e cross. They even declared th a t th e people of Israel had been chosen by God for th e sole purpose of keeping the Sabbath.
The wisdom of th is counsel is seen in the fact th a t character good or bad, has taken its general bent, before a child reaches the ’teen age. “He who helps a child helps hum anity w ith a distinc tiveness, w ith an immediateness, which no other help given to hum an creatures in any other stage of life can possibly .give again.” In Israel the boy became a citizen a t twelve and the girl was well on her way toward m arriage. The statistics of crime tell u s ,th a t crim inals in m ost cases are sta rted upon th eir careers before they are twelve. As goes the child, so goes the world. When par en ts brought th e ir little children to Christ th a t He should pu t His hands on them and pray, we may be su re He did not ask for money, place or power. Must He hot have askjpd fth®t they m ight be heavenly minded and do the work of Heaven and the will of God while they lived upon the earth ? The feast of tabernacles w as th e feast for foreign pilgrim s and was th e most largely attend ed of all th e feasts. Its design was two-fold. It was a th ank s giving for th e gathered harvest of the year and a memorial of th e w ilderness life of th e nation. As they dwelt in te n ts during th e w ilderness wanderings, as a memorial of this, they lived in te n ts or booths made of th e branches of trees during th e en tire week of th e feast. These leafy ten ts were bu ilt on th e flat roofed houses, in the yards and open squares of th e city. I t was a centre of prayer and worship. The worship ers came by thousands. The streets were filled w ith chanting processions. The smoke of th e sacrifices arose and floated above th e summ its of Olivet and MONDAY, May 2. Lev. 23:89-43. The F e a st of Tabernacles.
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