1154 P au l’s experience was a perpetual m ira cle of the sustaining grace of God. P er haps th e secret of his endurance is re vealed in Gal. 2:20, “ The life th a t I now live in the flesh, I live by th e faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave him self for me.” It is a privilege to suffer for Jesu s’ sake. Suffering is the badge of discipleship. Compensation is coming. If we suffer w ith Him we shall also reign w ith Him. He knows how much we need and can endure. He will not allow us to shed a superfluous te ar or suffer a needless pang. SATURDAY, Dec. 6 . Heb. 11:32— 12:3. E ndu ring The Cross. In passing from the eleventh to the tw elfth chapter of th e Epistle of the Hebrews, th e Spirit of God tu rn s away our atten tion from all th e notable ex amples of faith recorded in order th a t our gaze may be fastened upon the faith fu l One Himself. P raisew orthy as th e Old 'T estam en t heroes are when compared to God’s beloved Son they pale and disappear like stars before the dawn. They tru ste d God occasional ly and w ith effort. The faith of Jesus was ceaseless and unflinching. No par ticu lar instance of H is faith is given. The cross is mentioned as th e goal of H is career. He tru sted God not only on the cross but every step of th e painful way th a t led to the cross. His path grew d ark er th a t H is faith m igjit be thoroughly tested. His faith never failed and He died commending His sp irit into His F a th e r’s hands. Therefore God raised Him from th e dead and gave Him glory. SUNDAY, Dec. 7. 2 Tim. 4:1-8. Fulfil Thy M inistry. P aul gave his son Timothy a passion ate exhortation to fulfil his m inistry in view of th e growing power of erro r and of P au l’s approaching death. P aul re views his own finished course and th e
T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S rew ard awaiting him, not so much in an ou tb reak of personal joy as in a strong desire to confirm and encourage Timothy to fight his own fight and to ru n his course w ith a view to the crown. ‘P reach the W ord,” is the supreme duty of th e Lord’s servan t to m eet the su preme need of men. All other duties are included in th is; placing the Lord Jesus Christ alongside hum an sin and sorrow while th ere is yet tim e for th e one to he forgiven and the other to be com fort ed. MONDAY, Dec. 8 ... Jo h n 18:15-27. A t The T rial of Jesus. When Jesus was arrested all H is dis ciples forsook Him and fled. P eter and John, however, soon retu rn ed and w ere present a t the tria l of Jesus, John re maining to the crucifixion. P eter fol lowed a fa r off no doubt actuated more by curiosity to see th e end th a n by love for th e Master. H aving sa t down among the enemies of Christ, he encountered tem ptation and fell. John kept close to th e Master and neith er in th e high p riest’s palace nor a t th e cross was he molested. The high p riest inquired of Jesu s concerning His disciples and His doctrine. He probably asked w hat sort of people, and how many His followers were and he w anted to h ear from Jesu s’ own lips some statem en t of His doctrine. Jesus had nothing to hide. He had spoken openly in synagogue and temple. He had never plotted against th e gov ernm en t or th e Jew ish leaders. His teaching was open to all th e world. His words are a rebuke to secretism in every age. TUESDAY, Dec. 9. Luke 22:31-46. P e te r W arned Against Denial. P eter was w arned against denial. P eter was doubtless sincere in his pledge of loyalty b u t self-confidence is the secret of failure. Christ knew Peter from the first and w arned h im 'th a t be-
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