May 1929
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May 12— "Being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10). Receiving, giving, praying, working— these are the alternate chords on which the music of our lives should be struck. Heavenward, earthward, should be the alternate looks—heavenward in our wait ing upon God, and earthward in our ser vice for man. That life shines the most, and is seen the farthest, which reflects most of the heavenly light; and he serves Christ the best who now sits humbly and prayerfully at His feet, and then goes forth to be “a living echo” of His voice, breaking for Him the alabaster of a self- sacrificing love.— Rev. Henry Burton, D.D. Let ùs learn the secret even of our faith. It is the faith of Christ, springing in our heart and trusting in our trials. So shall we always sing, “The life that I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Thus looking off unto Jesus, “the Author and Finisher of our faith,” we shall find that instead of struggling to reach the promises of God, we shall lie down upon them in blessed repose and be borne up by them with the faith which is no more our own than the promises upon which it rests. Each new need will find us leaning afresh on Him for the grace to trust and to overcome. Further we see here the true spirit of prayer. It is the Spirit of Christ in us. “In the midst of thé church will ¡1 sing praises, unto thee.” Christ still sings these praises in the trusting heart and lifts our prayers into songs of victory! This is the true spirit-of prayer, like Paul and Silas in the prison at Philippi, turning prayer into praise, night into day, the night of sorrow into the morning of joy, and when He is in us, the spirit of faith, He will also become the spirit of praise.— Days of Hedtven Upon Earth. —o— May 14— “Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually" (1 Chron. 16:11). We cannot too strongly emphasize the fact that “to keep in close touch with God in the secret chamber of His pres ence is the great fundamental underlying purpose of prayer.” These are the words of the late Dr. A. T. Pierson and are worthy of real thought and practice. To speak with God is a priceless privilege, but what shall be said of hearing Him speak with us? We can tell Him nothing He does not know, but He can tell us what we do not know. All power over sin, and power in dealing with the souls of men, depends on maintaining t h i s secret communion. —o— May 15-— “Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water . . . . he shall in no wise lose his reward” (Matt. 10:42). Jesus never asked anyone to do a great thing for Him. He did look for a great faith ; He did ask for a great, all-master ing love ; but when it came to service, it was the little ministries He so delighted — o — May 13-^-“The faith of the Son of God" (Gal. 2:20).
in: the care for His little ones, the cup- of water for His tired ones, the little deeds of kindness for His sorrowing, suf fering ones. And when Peter dreamed of great achievements, of becoming a sort of knight-champion with flashing sword, Jesus bade him lay his sword aside, and by the beach fire He set him his work among the littles, as He said: “Feed my lambs 1” So it is with us. It is not the large gift, the noble sacrifice, that makes up our Christian service; it is rather in the little things: the little acts of kindness and of love, the hourly forgetfulness of self and thoughtfulness for others, the daily suppressing and crushing out of selfishness, hasty tempers and unloving thoughts. These are the fields of our service and of our victories. Be not, then, greedy of heroism. Call back the restless will “that hurries to and fro.” Be con tent with a little space and with a work of lowly love, even if it be out of sight, or among His little ones; for there is no little one of Christ’s but- throws his shadow up to the highest heaven. Make the lowly task high with your lofty thoughts and aims, and give to it your highest and best. So will you build up in your life another Tabernacle of Witness, a tabernacle of God, fragrant with sweet spices, and vocal with sweet psalms.— Rev. Henry Burton. ■ —o— May 16—“ Yet will I trust” (Job 13:15). We want to know more than the silent God deems it good to tell; to understand the “why” which He bids us wait to ask; to see the path which He has spread on purpose in the dark. The Infinite Father does not stand by us to be catechized and explain Himself to our vain mind; He is here for our trust.— Selected. —o— May 17— "Thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly” (Matt. 6:4). Dwell much in the inner chamber, with the door shut—shut in from men, shut up with God; it is there the Father waits you; it is there Jesus will teach you to pray. To be alone in secret with the Fa ther; this be your highest joy. To be assured that the Father will openly re ward the secret prayer, so that it cannot remain unblessed; this be your strength day by day. And to know that the Father knows that you need what you ask ; this be your liberty to bring every need, in the assurance that your God will supply it according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Blessed Saviour! with my whole heart I do bless Thee for the appoint ment of the inner chamber, as the school where Thou meetest each of Thy pupils alone, and revealest to him the Father. O my Lord! strengthen my faith so in the Father’s tender love and kindness that as often as I feel sinful or troubled, the first instinctive thought may be to go where I know the Father waits me, and where prayer never can go unblessed. Let the thought that He knows my need before I ask, bring me, in great restful ness of faith, to trust that He will give what His child requires. Oh, let the place of secret prayer become to me the most beloved spot of earth!— Dr. A n d r e w Murray.
May 18— "He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever” (Jno. 14:16). “The Comforter” is a name rich with most glorious and tender meaning. The Greek word is Paracletos —sometimes di rectly translated Paraclete, and its literal meaning is simply ‘‘The One Who Stands Beside.” Our chief neéd in life is ade quate companionship, and our Lord went away, as Henry Drummond put it, to be nearer. Thus He brings us to the Father, to the indwelling Spirit of all, revealing Him no longer as a mere rebuke to our imperfect thinking and foolish conduct, but as our Friend, our Stay, our Comfort er, the One who stands beside in perfect comradeship. Speak to this One who s t a n d s beside you.— Rev. Albert D. Belden. —0— ■' May 19— “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5 :17). One reason why our burdens multiply and almost crush us, and the darkness be comes so dense, is because we do not talk with God frequently enough.— Dr. Wil bur Chapman. Tell Him about your heartache, Tell Him your longings, too; Tell Him your baffled purpose When you scarce know what to do, Then, leaving all your weakness With the One, divinely strong, Forget that you had a burden, And carry away the song. ■—Phillips Brooks. —o— May 20— "She shall sing there as in the days o f her youth” (Hosea 2:15).. You say that you can never sing again, that the spring ánd gladness of your life are gone forever, the flowers all withered, the joy notes broken in discord, the harp strings tangled; you insist upon it that you must go mourning to the end of your days, and that life can only bring added grief. But God says you shall sing. Though the summer seems gone, there will be an Indian, a second summer, even mellower than the first. In the days of Israel’s youth she sang glad songs on the banks of the Red Sea. Those notes still hover over those outspread waters and among those echoing hills: If God can do this for His people, cannot He do it for you ? He will give you a fresh revela tion of His love; He will bind you to Himself with bonds you shall not wish to break; He will reveal to you such as pects of His character as to attract you into the tenderest fellowship and friend ship; He will show you mercy with a new and more delicáte' flavor than ever be fore ; He will make a fence around you, but you shall not seek after your old paths or ever wish to ; He will give you a new interest in the life of those around you, and in tender pity to them you shall touch deeper springs of joy than ever previously. And when all these things shall come to pass, that sad heart of yours that had abjured its song shall break out again into music, and with the Psalmist you will say: “He hath put a new song in my mouth.”— Streams in the Desert.
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