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TH E K I N O ’ S B U S I N E S S
January, 1940
also send swarms of hornets into the caves and out-of-the-way places to drive out the hidden enemies. May we not apply this truth to our own lives? Those known sins may be met and over come, but the invisible ones are dan gerous. It is for this reason that the Lord sends the ‘hornets,” the trials, the unpleasant things, to search out the hidden sins and to drive them into the open where we can face them by His grace.—Selected. 9. Being a Door Mat “Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service DAILY Devotional Readings will observe the plain and not hard con ditions, strength will come to us accord ing to our day.—Alexander Maclaren. 5. Grace Notes "But he giveth more grace” (Jas. 4:6). A little word of kindness, A little cheery smile, To faults a little blindness, And then a "second mile” ; A word when words are needed, But silence when that’s best, A heart-cry r r ’er unheeded, A love that stands the test. These “grace notes” add completeness And beauty to life’s chord; This little^extra sweetness Gives pleasure to the Lord. —Mary Helen Anderson. The Fruit of the Spirit “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, good ness, faithfulness, meekness, self-con trol” (Gal. 5:22, 23, R.V.). The fruit of the Spirit is just Christ’s character, in all its harmonious fullness, reproduced in me by that holy indwell ing, through which my natufe is changed Into His. My coldness gives place to His love, my moroseness to His joy, my restlessness to His peace. For my impa tience there comes to be His long-suffer ing, for my harshness His kindness, for my churlish temper His goodness. He changes my disloyalty into His faith fulness.—Francis B. James. V. Forward "It shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet . . . shall rest in the Waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off” (Josh. 3:13). Sometimes God leads us into paths fraught with dangers. Sometimes our life lies deep in mystery. Shall we draw back and wait for these condi tions to pass away? It is better by far to go on. Israel was not told to wait until the Jordan opened wide and the dry land appeared. Into the waters’ brink the feet of the leaders were con fidently placed, and lo, the waters went back from before their onward tread. —R. E. Neighbour. 8. For Hidden Sins “The Lord thy God will send the hor net among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be de stroyed” (Deut. 7:20). Not only will the Lord give the cita dels of power over to Israel, but He will 6. 1. Unseen Strength ‘‘We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). Are you grieved, perplexed, weary, beset with doubts and fears at the be ginning of this year? There is a rem edy. That one remedy is to rest by faith in our Sovereign God. He is just and will punish the wicked and humble the proud in His own time. He is gra cious and will guide His people with His truth, comfort them with fellowship in Christ through the Holy Spirit, and af terward receive them in mansions that are eternal.—H. J. Triezenberg. 2. The Heavenly in the Earthly “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Cor. 4:7). „ Art thou in the midst of . the great thoroughfare where toils the busy crowd, surrounded by its sins and jostled by its sorrows? . . . There, if thou wilt, thou canst meet the Spirit of Him who be held the city and wept over it. . . . SO shalt thou know Him; thine earthen vessel shall reveal to thee a treasure of revelation, and that which seemed to be the source of thine utmost weakness shall lead thee to the highest goal— the light of the knowledge of God. —George Matheson. 6 . Refreshed Again “He shall come unto us as the rain, as the Tatter and former rain” (Hos. 6:3). Beloved, you should be looking out for the next rain. . . . You are very barren; well, it Is to the barren and to the dry that God delights to give His mercy. Since He gives the riches of His love to those who need it most, then, my heart, put up thy claim. If thou canst but look right out of thyself to thy God and trust in Him, then be assured thy God who visited thee aforetime will deal graciously with thee again. —Selected. 4. Braced for Duty “Strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Eph. 3:16). As people put bits of wood into what are called “petrifying wells,” which in filtrate into them mineral particles, that do not turn the wood into stone, but make the wood as strong as stone, so my manhood, with all its weakness, may have filtered into it divine strength, which will brace me for all needful duty, and make me more than conqueror "through him that loved us.” . . . If we
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