Dail$ Devotional Home Readings Connected with International Sundaj) School Lessons B i FREDERIC W . FARR, D. D.
our spiritual well-being, the angels are charged with the care and protection of our bodies. At any rate, it is a com forting and cheering thought that every child has a guardian angel who guides the infant feet in paths of safety and peace. All our knowledge of angels comes from the Bible which speaks of them because of their connection with men. They minister unto the heirs of salvation. We classify them as good or evil by the names which are applied to them, by the place where they dwell and by the work which they are said to do. Michael and Gabriel áre the only tiyo whose names are given. The popular ideas concerning their songs and wings come from poetry and a rt instead of Scripture. ' The doctrine of angels shames the sinner by the interest which spiritual beings také in his conversion and comforts the saint by directing him to a lofty source of consolation, Ps. 91: 11-12, an excellent example and a glori ous perspective. Heb. 12:22. TUESDAY, Jan. 4. Matt. 19:13-22. Christ Blessing Little Children. Tradition declares th a t Jesus was of ten seen to weep hut never known to smile. As we read between the lines of^Scripture, we instinctively recoil from such a picture of the Saviour. There was about Him nothing austere, repellent or forbidding. His daily life displays a geniality and approac.hability that is attractive and chárming. As we see little children climbing into His lap and twining their arms about His neck, we have a picture of God and heaven th a t can not be matched in the a rt gal leries of earth. It is interesting to won der what the future life and service of those children must have been whose heads had felt the caressing tenderness of His benediction. It is our privilege today to bring our little lambs to the Good Shepherd and place them in His protecting arms. WEDNESDAY, Jan. 5. 1 Sam. 3:1-10. Child Service. Child service may have no intrinsic value. A mother may permit her little one to help her about the house work, dusting in the parlor or cooking in the
SATURDAY, Jan. 1. Rev. 21:1-7. All Things Made New. “Every day is a fresh beginning, ev ery morn is a world made new.” When God said to Israel, “This month shall he unto you the beginning of months, it shall be the first month of the year unto you,” Ex. 12:2, He dated the calen dar from the time of their redemption. Our true life begins with our spiritual birthday. The years before conversion, however many, are of no account. With the new- birth old things pass away and all things become new. For the new year may we have a new experience of saving grace, new gratitude for Divine mercy, new delight in prayer and the study of the Word, a new note of victory in daily life and a new zeal of taking the Gospel to a lost world! Retro spect—“Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of, my life.” Prospect—“And I hope by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive a t home.” SUNDAY, Jan. 2. Matt. 18:1-6. The Child and the Kingdom. The kingdom of Christ is a rule of love and service. The King Himself is the chief servant in it. The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto but to minister. “My Father worketh hither to and I work.” The great tireless Workman is the king laboring for Hi3 own. It is “like king like subject” in the kingdom of heaven. There is no rule of force, but the rule of kind, of nature, of God. The spirit of childhood is the per vading spirit from lowly subject to lof tiest king. The earthly subject kneels in homage to an earthly king. The heav en ly King takes His subject in His arms. This is the kingdom sign and the king dom relationship. To receive a child in the name of God is to receive God Himself. As the word used for Christ in Revelation warrants the belief that God is lamb-like, so this story of the child in the midst teaches us th a t God is child-like. MONDAY, Jan. 3. Matt. 18:7-14. Guardian Angels. Scripture seems to warrant the be lief th a t while th e Holy Spirit cares for
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