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11. The Weak “God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are m ighty (1 Cor. 1:27). There is the tinker whose prison classic brings blessing to a million souls. Who but God would have chosen John Bunyan? . . . An unlearned layman in a country church preaches to a score of people, and says the word that brings C. H. Spurgeon to Christ.. Surely in that day he will share the triumph' of the mighty man. Few of us are called to prophesy in the mighty city of Nineveh, calling king and captain to repentance; but if, in the unseen places, we worthily serve, we are surely instru ments of Jehovah for the accomplish ment of His will.—F. H. Sterne. 12. I Am His “My beloved is mine, and I am his” (Cant. 2:16). That is full, unreserved consecration. It includes everything — my lips, my hands, my feet, my time, my talents, my thoughts, my money, my property, my heart, my will, my all. It may mean the reversal of all the plans that you have for your life, I do not know; but it is going to be a costly thing if we come to this full and absolute surrender and consecration to our Lord.—W. H. Aldis. 13. Lifelong Desire “That I may know him” (Phil. 3:10). The aged, imprisoned veteran in the service of Christ retained a desire for Jesus which created in him a longing “to depart, and to be with Christ” We know there are stores of satisfaction, which even eternity will not exhaust, for all who seek Him. The experiential knowledge of Jesus whets the appetite for a fuller communion with Him. —H. Baker. 14. A Father’s Tenderness “Like as a father pitietn his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him” (Psa. 103:13). He sees that tear which just now scalded your cheek. He marks that sigh; He sees that heaving of the breast; that trouble of the soul, He knows; that restlessness He sees. When I stand by a person who labors under emotion, it is not long before I sym pathize with him; I cannot help it. God is much more tender-hearted than we are.—Charles Hadden Spurgeon. 15. i No Fear “I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” (Psa. 23:4). There is no promise anywhere that Christ’s sheep will be delivered from deep waters and dark vales. Rather, He warned His own one day that as He, the Master, had encountered all these, the followers must not expect any prefer ential treatment. But this He did say:
DAILY DEVOTIONAL READINGS [ Continued from Page 82] 7. How to Obtain Reward “Pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matt. 6 : 6 ) . Not on the strong or the fervent feel ing with which I pray does the blessing of the closet depend, but upon the love and the power of the Father to whom I there entrust my needs . . . Remember your Father is, and sees and hears in secret; go there and stay there, and go again from there in the confidence: He will recompense. Trust Him for it; de pend upon Him: prayer to the Father cannot be vain; He will reward you openly.—Andrew Murray. More Precious Than Gold "The trial of your faith . . . much more precious than of gold” (1 Pet. 1:7). The believer who is undergoing trial is actually in the process of such a gain as the highest earthly figure of enrich ment is inadequate to express. This that is “more precious than gold” , is the purified faith of the believer, purified from alloy of self-seeking and self-re liance by fires of testing. It is of value in God’s eyes beyond human computing, and its incalculable" worth to the be liever lies in its becoming the medium of all his blessings and power. —Life of Faith. 9. ( Fools “Por the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:18). If the preaching of Christ is to the world foolishness, then it is no won der that the disciples of Christ are, to the world, fools. For according to the gospel, a man must die in order to live; he must be empty, who would be full; he must be lost, who would be found; he must have nothing, who would have all things; he must be blind, who would see; he must be condemned, who would be redeemed.—Matthew Mead. 10- True Wisdom “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psa. 111:10). There is all the difference in the world between mere cleverness and spiritual discernment. One is just worldly sharp ness; the other is heavenly wisdom. “I thank thee . . . because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hapt revealed them unto babes.” In matters of spiritual understanding, the first requisite is a certain kind of mood rather than a certain quality of intellect. It is the mood of reverence which gives the soul its initial posture for discover ing the things of God.—J. H. Jowett 8.
S O U T H L A N D H O T E L Soliciting the business of particular Christians 605 SOUTE FLOWER STREET LOS ANGELES, CALIF. One Block West of Bible Institute MRS. R. A. GREEN Proprietor COMFORTABLE . CLEAN . INEXPENSIVE “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee.” And with Him, there is no fear.—The Canadian Baptist, 16. Willingness “to Die” "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth” (Col. 3:6). We are not told to "crucify” our selves; that is an impossibility; We “have been” crucified with Christ. But we are called upon to “mortify” the deeds of the body; and the word “mortify” means “to make to die.” In other words, we are to put this flesh- life; by faith, in the place where God in His purpose put it—on the cross! That is where most of us fail. The real trouble is that we are not willing to die. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it brlngeth forth much fruit.” —Reginald Wallis. 17. ' Waiting “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock” (Rev. 3:20). Why does He stand without, knocking at the door of a frail human heart? Could He not break down that door in a moment and annihilate that opposing barrier which disputes His claim to universal empire? Yes, but . . . He could have no joy in breaking down the door; there would be no response in that, no answer o f a heart to His heart, no acceptance of a will by His will. Therefore, He prefers to stand without till I open, to knock till I hear, to speak till I respond.—George Matheson. 18. The Word of God “By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer” (Psa. 17:4). As far as the private life is con cerned, there are some who seldom open a Bible from one week to another. The
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