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far more of fitness o f heart than o f high attainments. Your smallness can never be a hindrance to God, but self-sufficiency always is.— F ranklin F erguson . APR IL 19 W onderful C ounsellor “His name shall be called . . . Counsels lor" (Isa. 9 :6 ). Christ is Counsellor in the sense of A d vocate. . . How blessed an Advocate has He proved Himself, and how righteous! “I f any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” It is as a teacher, as a guide, as a loving and all wise friend, that He offers Himself to us. But, oh, let us heed His counsels: tenderly as they are given, let us never forget they come from Him who is Himself very and eternal God. Our future progress will depend on our obeying them. But what are Christ’s counsels ? Let me draw atten tion to one only. You will find it in Rev elation 3:18 to 20. Summed up in one word, Christ’s counsel to the Laodicean church is—exchange. “ Buy o f Me” is only another way o f saying, “ Barter yourself for Me. Give Me all your poverty and misery and blindness, and take My wealth and blessedness and vision instead. And the only way to do this is to take Me for your life;, then I shall bring My riches with Me. See, I stand at the door and knock. . . . Let the self within you be cru cified and slain, and let Me take its place. Then something will happen. You will know Me as THE M IGHTY GOD.” —E. W . M oore . APR IL 20 T he P ower of P rayer “I f any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth” (John 9: 31). Nothing is equal to a prayer life for de veloping spirituality. Every prayer brings us into fellowship with Him who loves to have that fellowship with us, and intensi fies it. Prayer is an investment that brings blessing to others and reacts upon our selves. It enriches us. Prayer pleases our Lord because it is in answer to His com mand. Prayer is the need o f a needy church for a needy world» As Spurgeon so well puts it: “ Prayers are heard in heaven very much in propor tion to our faith, little faith will get very great mercies, but great faith will obtain still greater.”—T. C. H orton . The grace to do some special act o f God’s will comes abundantly to him who has yielded himself to do all of that will. —J ames H. M c C onkey . A PR IL 21 G lorified J oy "Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). An indwelling Christ is our earnest, our pledge, our hope o f glory. Having Him, we have all that is His, whether present or to come. He is the link that binds together the here and the hereafter. W e died with Him, we went down into the tomb with Him, we rose with Him, and our life is now hid with Him in G od ; but “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Col. 3 :4 ). The joy with which we re joice is a jo y “unspeakable and full of glory,” or more literally, a “ glorified joy.” —H oratius B onar .
CDaily CDevoiionalc^^eaditugs A M E S S A G E F OR E V E R Y DAY OF T HE M O N T H
the platform. The light o f God’s W ord re veals to us even the hidden sins o f our hearts; and His all-seeing eye can clearly see even our inmost thoughts, for He is Light. “ For the word o f God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two- edged sword, piercing even to the divid ing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Search me, O Lord, let faith through grace divine Thyself reflect in ev’ry act o f mine, Till at Thy call my waiting soul shall rise, Caught up with joy to meet Thee in the skies. —G race J. F rances . APR IL 18 T he G reatness of L ittleness “I am small and despised" (Psa. 119: 141). And what if you are? What does it mat ter if men disdain you and make a mock at your small capabilities, saying, “ How shall He help us?” If God doth condescend to use for His purposes of grace those things which men despise, we need not mind the taunt o f the “ uncircumcised.” There is a fitness in these things. Flesh must not glory- in the Lord’s presence. When the instrument in use is conscious of how little account it is; then unre servedly it ascribes all the credit for its performances to the Hand that used it. By itself, what could it have done? It would have lain by useless. Take comfort, dear heart, and use your humble gift. Think
APR IL IS T he R elation B etween H eart and V oice “ Out o f the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matt. 12:34). There is so much correspondence be twixt the heart and the tongue that they will move at once. Every man, therefore, speaks of his own pleasure and care. I f the heart were full o f God, the tongue could not refrain to talk o f Him. The rareness o f Christian communication ar gues the common poverty of grace. If Christ be not in our hearts, we are godless ; if He be there without our joy, we are senseless ; if we rejoice in Him, and speak not o f Him, we are shamefully unthank ful . . . I will think of Thee always, O Lord; so it shall be my joy to speak of Thee often ; and if I find not opportunity, I will make it. —G athered G ems . A thousand blessings, Lord, to us Thou dost impart ; W e ask one blessing more, O Lord— A thankful heart! — R. C. T rench . A PR IL 16 G iving T hanks A lways "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father” (Eph. 5:20). I have a beloved friend who has made it the habit of her life to obey this injunc tion literally. When her husband’s fac tory was in flames, when her children were pronounced to be seriously ill, and when other apparent disasters befell her, she went alone into her chamber and knelt down to thank God for all, because she knew that He was a Father still, that He loved her too well to give her anything but the best, and that He must love her very much to be willing to bless her at the cost o f so much pain. W e may not always feel like thanking God for all things; but let us always will, and dare to do it. Let us not look at the providence, but at the Fa ther behind it. Let us not examine the crate, but let us search within for the gift o f love. Though at first sight we may be disappointed and sad, whatever the Father sends must be the very best. Dare to be lieve it, and you will come to find it so. —F. B. M eyer . "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes o f him with whom we have to do" (Heb. 4:13). A bright light reveals every detail o f an object. A system has been introduced at police headquarters whereby detectives may become familiar with the appearance o f criminals. Each criminal is made to stand on a platform above which a num ber o f high-powered electric lights are placed. These reflect such an intense glare o f light upon the platform that a group o f detectives stationed before it can see every detail in the features of the criminal on APR IL 17 S pot L ights
Ministry o f Prayer B y M artha S nell N icholson All power, all love,
All knowledge Thine; What need hast Thou For prayer o f mine? W e cannot tell, W e only know W e have Thy word With Thee, our K ing! What Songs o f praise My heart will sing, That prayer from me, O f little worth, May win a soul, May move the earth, May haste the day O f Thy return! The fires which on Thine altars burn My hands may tend Until that D ay ! Teach me, oh, teach me How to pray 1 That it is so. Coworkers we
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