December 1929
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thy grateful countenance, first to heaven, and then to earth.”— Krummacher.
reached the place where God wanted him —the condition of mind and heart in which he was ready to give all, even self, to the Son of God. Have we reached this place ? On a wager, a man once stood on Lon don Bridge for a whole day trying to give away golden sovereigns, and only two persons would accept them. Equally foolish is the world in refusing the great est _of all gifts, God’s Christmas gift, which He offers to all. ’Tis not enough that Christ was born Beneath the star that shone, And earth was set that blessed morn Within a golden zone. He must be born within the heart Before He finds His throne, And brings the day of love and good— The reign of Christlike brotherhood. Have you any old grudge you’d like to pay, Any wrong laid up from a bygone day? Gather them all now, and lay them away When Christmas comes. Hard thoughts are heavy to carry, my friend, And life is short from beginning to end; Be kind to yourself, leave nothing to mend When Christmas comes. —William Lytle. —o— December 22, 1929 How Christmas Sets the Whole World Singing Luke 2:1-14 D aily R eadings Dec. 16. Song of Redemption. Rev. 5 : 8 - 14. Dec. 17. Song of Peace. Psa. 122:1-9. Dec. 18. Song of Love. 1 Cor. 13:1-13. Dec. 19. Song of Praise. Psa. 100 :l- 6 . Dec. 20. Song in the Heart. Eph. 5:18-20. Dec. 21. Song of Victory. Rev. 7 :9-17. —o— C hoice N uggets The angels sang in the silent night, While the shepherds watched and the heavens were bright; And though years like a river have flowed along, Yet we are singing the angels’ song; “Peace upon earth, and good will to men,” And “Glory to God” we are singing still. The Christmas Christ was heralded by a song. The time is a time of joy. Let us sing. When Richard the Lion-hearted, one of the famous old-time British kings, jay in prison in a foreign land, his favor ite minstrel traveled all over the country looking for his master, and everywhere he sang the king’s favorite song, know ing that if the king heard it he would respond. At length the minstrel came to the castle where the king was imprisoned, and sang there. The king heard the song, and took up the melody, and the minstrel
knew that his master was there. He car ried a message in song. The greatest message that ever came to earth came in song,—the angels’ song. Men heard it, and they responded in faith, believing that deliverance from above had come to this sinsick world. Let us sing, and re joice, and shout, The world is war-torn. But the world is not forsaken. The world has a Saviour. Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Tell it. Sing it. Shoqt it. Keep on telling and singing and shouting till the whole world hears. For the message of the Christmas Christ makes known the possibilities of the world’s redemption. The Germans cherish this beautiful legend: Once a year, when the full moon’s beams connect the banks of the Rhine with a silvery bridge, the spirit of the mighty Charlemagne crosses the river to bless the cities and the fruitful fields, and then returns to his resting place at Aix la Chapelle. Substitute for this im perial yet local influence based on senti ment, the positive and universal influence of the King of kings based on reality, and we have the profound significance of the 25th of December beautifully illustrated. More and more over the physical world Christ sheds the brilliancy of his presence, and the increase of His sweetly trans forming power over the hearts and souls of men depends on their enlarging ability to appreciate Him— Rev. C. P. Dyke, A gentleman was visiting a friend when, to entertain him, the little daughter brought out her birthday book. Turning over the leaves from January first, he read the names of her friends. When he came to December 25, he found one line carefully written, “Dear Jesus Christ.” “But, Mary,” said the gentleman, “this is only for names of your friends.” Looking up into his face, she smiled, and her face flushed with joy. “Why, Jesus,” she quickly replied, “is my very best and dearest friend, and that is the nicest birth day of all .”—Christian Endeavor World. A poor little street girl was taken sick one Christmas and carried to a hospital. While there she heard the story of Jesus coming into the world to save us. One day she whispered to the nurse, “I am having ^real good times here—ever such good times. S’pose I’ll have to go ’way from here just as soon as I get well; but I’ll take the good time along—some of it, anyhow. Did you know about Jesus bein’ born?” “Yes,” replied the nurse, “I know. Sh-sh-sh. Don’t talk any more,” “You did? I thought you looked as if you didn’t, and I was going to tell you.” “Why, how did I look ?” asked the nurse, forgetting her own order in her curiosity. “Oh, just like most of folks—kind o’ glum. I shouldn’t think you’d ever look glum, if you knew about Jesus bein’ born.” (Before singing this Christmas hymn, and we all sing it in our services, tell this brief fact. The story is not very widely known.) It is interesting to know that the uni versally sung Christmas carol, “Silent
Mr. Wesley contrived to give away more money in charity out of a small in come, than any man, perhapt; of his time. His mode, as related by himself, was this: When he had thirty pounds a year, he lived on twenty-eight, and gave away forty s h i l l i n g s ; the next year, re ceiving sixty pounds, he still lived on twenty-eight, and gave away thirty-two; the third year he received ninety pounds, and gave away sixty-two; the fourth year he received a hundred and twenty pounds —still he lived on twenty-eight, and gave to the poor ninety-two; and so on to the end of the chapter of this worthy man’s benevolence. On a moderate calculation, he gave away, in about fifty years, twen ty or thirty thousand pounds !—Percy Anecdotes. A respectable merchant of London hav ing become embarrassed in his circum stances, and his misfortunes being one day the subject of conversation in the Royal Exchange, several persons ex pressed the great sympathy they felt for him ; whereupon a foreigner who was present, said, ‘‘I feel five hundred pounds for him; what do you feel?” Christmas should be a great time for giving—giving of our means for missions —for the world’s salvation. We must give or die. Only by giving do we live. Some one- tells the story of an artist who was once asked to paint a picture of a decaying church. To the astonishment of many, instead of putting on the can vas an old, tottering ruin, the artist painted a stately edifice of modern gran deur. Through the open portals could be seen the richly carved pulpit, the mag nificent organ and the beautiful stained- glass windows. Within the grand en trance was an offering plate of elaborate design for the offering of fashionable worshipers. But—and here the artist’s idea of a decaying church was made known—right above the offering plate there hung a square box bearing the legend, “For Foreign Missions,” and right over the slot through which contributions ought to have gone he had painted a huge cobweb! Give of your means. But, all-important, do not forget to give yourself. A story is told of an Indian man, to whom the Gospel was given—the message of the love of Christ for us. As he lis tened, his heart was touched, and he said, “I must give Jesus something. I will give him my dog.” This was much for a poor Indian hunter to give. His dog was his companion and helper on the hunt, and he loved him. Because he loved him, and because of his helpfulness, he placed a high value upon him. And this possession, w o r t h so much, he wanted to give to Jesus. He listened to more about the wonder ful love of the more wonderful Saviour, and he said, “I must give him my gun.” The gun meant his living; but he was willing to give it to the One who had given so much for him. A little while passed, and he said, “I give Jesus myself.” Now the Indian had
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