Strength in Christ

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." PHILIPPIANS 4:13

"Let him take hold of my strength." ISAIAH 27:5

THOU canst o'ercome this heart of mine,
Thou wilt victorious prove;
For everlasting strength is Thine,
And everlasting love.

CHARLES WESLEY

WE are conscious of our own weakness and of the strength of evil; but not of the third force, stronger than either ourselves or the power of evil, which is at our disposal if we will draw upon it. What is needed is a deliberate and whole-hearted realization that we are in Christ, and Christ is in us by His Spirit; an unconditional surrender of faith to Him; a practice, which grows more natural by exercise, of remembering and deliberately drawing by faith upon His strength in the moments of temptation and not merely upon our own resources. "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I will do thus and thus." So we too may form, like St. Paul, the habit of victory. - CHARLES GORE

Complied by Mary Wilder Tileston taken from "Joy and Strength"


Bible Reading Guide:

Beginning to End: Numbers 3-4
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 13 & Matthew 26:26-50
Historical: Numbers 3-4
Chronological: Exodus 39-40
Blended: Isaiah 53-55 & Mark 13:1-20

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

Do All Things For Jesus' Sake

"Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him." COLOSSIANS 3:17

YEA, through life, death, through sorrow and through sinning,
He shall suffice me, for He hath sufficed:
Christ is the end, for Christ was the beginning;
Christ the beginning for the end is Christ.

F. W. H. MYERS

LET this be thy whole endeavor, this thy prayer, this thy desire,--that thou mayest be stripped of all selfishness, and with entire simplicity follow Jesus only. - THOMAS À. KEMPIS

Do what is pleasing to Jesus Christ, and neglect nothing which pleases Him. - LORENZO SCUPOLI

To "do all things in the name of Jesus" is the lesson of a life; do not be angry with yourselves, nor despair of ever learning it, because thou art slow to learn the first few syllables. When thou hast learned to do all things to Jesus, it will shed pleasure over all dull things, softness over all hard things, peace over all trial and woe and suspense. Then will life be glad, when thou livest to Jesus; and how sweet death, to die in Jesus; with Him, and to Him, and in Him, to live for evermore. - E. B. PUSEY

By Mary Wilder Tileston taken from "Joy & Strength"

Bible Reading:

Beginning to End: Exodus 7-9
Old and New Testaments Together: Genesis 49-50 & Matthew 13:31-58
Historical: Exodus 7-9
Chronological: Genesis 25-26
Blended: Genesis 49-50 & Romans 15:14-33

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible

The Glory of God

"Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice. Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness." PSALMS 65:8,11

"He loveth righteousness and justice: the earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord." PSALMS 33:5 (R. V.)

I SING because Thy works are fair,
Thy glory makes me glad,
The garments bright of praise I wear,
For Thou art brightly clad.

Full triumph doth my soul possess,
Because Thy ways are right;
The glory of Thy righteousness
Maketh my dear delight.

- THOMAS H. GILL

THE fulness of joy is to behold God in all; for by the same blessed might, wisdom, and love, that He made all things, to the same end our good Lord leadeth it continually, and there to Himself shall bring it, and, when it is time, we shall see it. - MOTHER JULIANA

God gives us richly all things to enjoy, while He Himself is His own best gift, and to be enjoyed not in a way of duty, but in the simple, natural realizing aright of what we possess in Him. - JOHN MCLEOD CAMPBELL

Compiled by Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from "Joy and Strength"

The Search For Calmness

"Be not therefore anxious for the morrow." MATTHEW 6:34 (R. V.)

"I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee; be strong and of a good courage." JOSHUA 1:5,6

"I have laid help upon one that is mighty." PSALMS 89:19

THOU hast Thy help upon the mighty laid;
In Him I trust, nor know to want or fear,
But ever onward walk, secure from sin,
For He has conquered every foe within.

- JONES VERY

WHY should we, then, burden ourselves with superfluous cares, and fatigue and weary ourselves in the multiplicity of our ways? Let us rest in peace. God Himself inviteth us to cast our cares, our anxieties upon Him. - MADAME GUYON

If we may take one test or sign by which to judge of advance in the spiritual life, it would be this,--whether more and more calmness is being maintained in the midst of all the disturbances and troubles which are wont to come, which may ever be looked for in some form or other,--whether there be peacefulness of mind, and order of thought in the midst of all that once too much distracted and agitated the soul. - T. T. CARTER

By Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from "Joy and Strength"

Experience His Rest

"The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; the Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." NUMBERS 6:24-26

"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." DEUTERONOMY 33:27

THOU wilt in time experience that thou dost belong not only to this life, but also art capable of enjoying and beholding God and eternal things, to thy perfect contentment and rest. Thou wilt then fix thine eyes, like a little innocent child, upon the face of God, steadfastly and joyfully; and He in return, like a faithful and loving mother, will keep His eyes upon thee, by which thou wilt be made holy through and through, and transformed into the same image from glory to glory. All thy delight, joy, and bliss will be in God, and God, in return, will have His joy and good pleasure in thee. He will rest and dwell in thee, as in His serene throne of peace; and thy spirit, that had so long gone astray, like a friendless child in a foreign land, will again sweetly repose in its true rest and home, in undisturbed peace. And thus thou wilt become a clear heaven of the ever-blessed God, in which He will dwell, and which He will fill with His divine light and love, and in which He will be glorified in time and in eternity.
GERHARD TERSTEEGEN

By Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from, "Joy and Strength"

Joy in the Present

"The meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." PSALMS 37:11

Joy is Thy gift, O Father!
Thou wouldst not have us pine;
In darkest hours Thy comfort
Doth aye most brightly shine;
Ah, then how oft Thy voice
Hath shed its sweetness o'er me,
And opened heaven before me,
And bid my heart rejoice!

PAUL GERHARDT

TO be with God, in whatever stage of being, under whatever conditions of existence, is to be in heaven. - DORA GREENWELL

I perceive we postpone all our joys of Christ, till He and we be in our own house above, thinking that there is nothing of it here to be sought or found, but only hope and fair promises; and that Christ will give us nothing here but tears, sadness, crosses; and that we shall never feel the smell of the flowers of that high garden of paradise above, till we come there. Nay, but I find it possible to find young glory, and a young green paradise of joy even here. We dream of hunger in Christ's house, while we are here, although He alloweth feasts to all the bairns within God's household. - SAMUEL RUTHERFORD

Compiled by Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from "Joy and Strength"

Accepting Consolation

"None of them that trust in Him shall be desolate." Psalms 34:22

"That ye sorrow not, even as others who have no hope." I Thessalonians 4:13

"Are the consolations of God too small for thee?" Job 15:11 (R. V.)

WHAT shall make trouble? Not the holy thought
Of the departed; that will be a part
Of those undying things His peace hath wrought
Into a world of beauty in the heart.

SARAH J. WILLIAMS

SHE spoke of those who had walked with her long ago in her garden, and for whose sake, now that they had all gone into the world of light, every flower was doubly dear. Would it be a true proof of loyalty to them if she lived gloomily or despondently because they were away? She spoke of the duty of being ready to welcome happiness as well as to endure pain, and of the strength that endurance wins by being grateful for small daily joys, like the evening light, and the smell of roses, and the singing of birds. She spoke of the faith that rests on the Unseen Wisdom and Love like a child on its mother's breast, and the melting away of doubts in the warmth of an effort to do some good in the world.

HENRY VAN DYKE

By Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from "Joy and Strength"

Trust is the Answer

"Who is among you that walketh in darkness and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." ISAIAH 1:10

THE heart that yet can hope and trust,
And cry to Thee, though from the dust,
Is all unconquered still.
PAUL GERHARDT

PRESS this upon thy soul, for there is not such another charm for all its fears and disquiet; therefore repeat it still with David, sing this till it be stilled, and chide thy distrustful heart into believing: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him." Though I am all out of tune for the present, never a right thing in my soul, yet He will put forth His hand and redress all, and I shall yet once again praise, and therefore, even now, I will hope.
ROBERT LEIGHTON

Oh, that we could breathe out new hope, and new submission, every day. Our waters are but ebb, and come neither to our chin, nor to the stopping of our breath. I may see (if I would borrow eyes from Christ) dry land, and that near: why then should we not laugh at adversity, and scorn our short-born and soon-dying temptations?
SAMUEL RUTHERFORD

By Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from, "Joy and Strength"

Our Role and God's Role

"He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are judgment; a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is He." DEUTERONOMY 32:4

"We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." PSALMS 100:3

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." PSALMS 23:1, 4

DUTIES are ours, events are the Lord's; when our faith goeth to meddle with events, and to hold a court (if I may so speak) upon God's Providence, and beginneth to say, "How wilt Thou do this or that?" we lose ground; we have nothing to do there; it is our part to let the Almighty exercise His own office, and steer His own helm; there is nothing left us, but to see how we may be approved of Him, and how we may roll the weight of our weak souls, in well-doing, upon Him who is God omnipotent, and when what we thus essay miscarrieth, it shall neither be our sin nor cross. - SAMUEL RUTHERFORD

SHALL there be a mutiny among the flocks and herds, because their lord or their shepherd chooses their pastures, and suffers them not to wander into deserts and unknown ways? - JEREMY TAYLOR

Compiled by Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from "Joy and Strength"

How Love for Christ Frees Us

"I will delight myself in Thy commandments, which I have loved." PSALMS 119:47

THIS everlasting and compunctious study of duty, duty to everybody, everywhere, every day,--it keeps you questioning all the while, rasping in a torment of debates and compunctions, till you almost groan aloud for weariness. It is as if your life itself were slavery. And then you say, with a sigh, "Oh, if I had nothing to do but just to be with Christ personally, and have my duty solely as with Him, how sweet and blessed and secret and free would it be." Well, you may have it so; exactly this you may do and nothing more! Sad mistake that you should ever have thought otherwise! What a loss of privilege has it been! Come back then to Christ, retire into the secret place of His love, and have your whole duty personally as with Him. Only then you will make this very welcome discovery, that, as you are personally given up to Christ's person, you are going where He goes, helping what He does, keeping ever dear, bright company with Him, in all His motions of good and sympathy, refusing even to let Him suffer without suffering with Him. And so you will do a great many more duties than you even think of now; only they will all be sweet and easy and free, even as your love is.

HORACE BUSHNEM

By Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from :Joy and Strength"

Wait on the Lord

"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord." PSALMS 27:14

WITH smile of trust and folded hands,
The passive soul in waiting stands
To feel, as flowers in the sun and dew,
The One true Life its own renew.
JOHN G. WHITTIER

THE whole duty and blessedness of waiting on God has its root in this, that He is such a blessed Being, full, to overflowing, of goodness and power and life and joy, that we, however wretched, cannot for any time come into contact with Him, without that life and power secretly, silently, beginning to enter into us and blessing us. God is Love! God's love is just His delight to impart Himself and His blessedness to His children. Come, and however feeble you feel, just wait in His presence. As a feeble invalid is brought out into the sunshine to let its warmth go through him, come with all that is dark and cold in you into the sunshine of God's holy, omnipotent love, and sit and wait there, with the one thought: Here I am, in the sunshine of His love. As the sun does its work in the weak one who seeks its rays, God will do His work in you. - ANDREW MURRAY

By Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from "Joy and Strength"

Strength in Christ

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." PHILIPPIANS 4:13

"Let him take hold of my strength." ISAIAH 27:5

THOU canst o'ercome this heart of mine,
Thou wilt victorious prove;
For everlasting strength is Thine,
And everlasting love.
CHARLES WESLEY

WE are conscious of our own weakness and of the strength of evil; but not of the third force, stronger than either ourselves or the power of evil, which is at our disposal if we will draw upon it. What is needed is a deliberate and whole-hearted realization that we are in Christ, and Christ is in us by His Spirit; an unconditional surrender of faith to Him; a practice, which grows more natural by exercise, of remembering and deliberately drawing by faith upon His strength in the moments of temptation and not merely upon our own resources. "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I will do thus and thus." So we too may form, like St. Paul, the habit of victory.
CHARLES GORE

By Mary Wilder Tileston, taken From "Joy and Strength"

Look to Jesus

"That ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing." COLOSSIANS 1:9,10

SOMETHING for Thee! Lord, let this be
Thy choice for me from day to day;
The life I live it is not mine,
Thy will, my will, have made it Thine!
Oh, let me do in Thine own way
Something for Thee!

ELIZABETH PRENTISS

ACT faithfully according to thy degree of light, and what God giveth thee to see; and thou shalt see more clearly. Hearken to the low whispers of His voice within thee, and thou shalt hear more distinctly. Above all, do not stifle any motions of conscience. Meditate daily on the things of Eternity; and, by the grace of God, do something daily which thou wouldest wish to have done when that day cometh. Above all things, in all things, "look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of thy faith." If thou failest, look to Him to uphold thee; if thou stumblest, hold swift His hand to help thee; if thou fallest, lie not hopelessly there, but look to Him to raise thee; if, by His grace, thou doest well, look to Him in thanksgiving, that He has helped thee, and pray that thou mayest do better.
EDWARD B. PUSEY

By Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from, "Joy and Strength"

Your Heart God's Home

"As the hart panteth after the waterbrooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God." PSALMS 42:1

"Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." EPHESIANS 5:19

LORD, make my heart a place where angels sing!
For surely thoughts low--breathed by Thee
Are angels gliding near on noiseless wings;
And where a home they see
Swept clean, and garnished with adoring joy,
They enter in and dwell,
And teach that heart to swell
With heavenly melody, their own untired employ.
JOHN KEBLE

LET your heart and desires continually hold converse with God, in heartfelt simplicity. Reflect on Him with feelings of love and reverence, and often offer up your heart, with all that you have and are, to Him, in spirit and in truth, as cordially and sincerely as possible. if through weakness or unfaithfulness you forsake this exercise, which is so incredibly helpful and beautiful, all you have to do is, meekly and heartily to begin again; and do not be weary of it, although in the beginning you may not find any great advantage from it, or make any rapid progress in it. It is not true that such a mode of life is hard; it is easy and pleasant to the spirit, and becomes in due time like a heaven upon earth. A little patience and courage alone are needed.

GERHARD TERSTEEGEN

By Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from "Joy and Strength"

Training Below For Service Above, Part 2

"The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him; and they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads." REVELATION 12:3,4

AND doubtless unto thee is given
A life that bears immortal fruit
In such great offices as suit
The full-grown energies of heaven.
ALFRED TENNYSON

IF we are to be thus disciplined and trained, as workmen in various orders of work, instruments thus formed for God's service, what may we look to become hereafter? May not instruments thus formed, when this passing scene is over, and we appear in God's presence, cleansed and disciplined, with the true workman's hand, may we not be set to work in higher spheres, in grander ministries, in a world of nobler service? We speak of heaven as a sort of rest, of sweet consolation, of communion with God, such as we cannot know on earth; but consistently with this perfect sweetness, heaven is full of activity, of ministrations infinite. For God is active, and out of His activity He formed all creatures. As in the deep seas in their endless movements there is calm beneath, so in God are depths of peace as infinite as the activity of His creation. So, too, His creatures partake of infinite peace and intensely active service.
T. T. CARTER

By Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from "Joy and Strength"

Training Below For Service Above, Part 1

"So shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 THESSALONIANS 4:17

"They shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy." REVELATION 3:4

WE are taught to believe of the Blessed, that they "serve Him day and night in His temple," that "His servants shall serve Him." And this must be with powers and endowments developed in harmony with higher worlds, so that all the tastes, the desires, the affections, the artistic powers, the intellectual gifts, which belong to each individual, each with his own special capacities, trained and developed and exercised in spiritual modes of life, will be suited to that higher world, where they dwell in the presence of the Almighty God, and the "Lamb who is in the midst of them." The activities of a condition of life such as we cannot yet conceive, we shall enter upon, if fitted for it, trained for it, by the exercise of our gifts during our life in this world; we shall be like weapons in the Hand of God, ready for what Service He may will.
THOMAS THELLUSON CARTER

For those who live, as she did, with their whole talents dedicated to God's service, death is only the gate of life,--the path from joyous work in this world to greater capacities and opportunities for it in the other.
HORATIA K. EDEN

By Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from "Joy and Strength"

Keep Your Judgements in Check

"Let us not therefore judge one another any more." ROMANS 14:13

TELL not abroad another's faults
Till thou hast cured thine own;
Nor whisper of thy neighbor's sin
Till thou art perfect grown:
Then, when thy soul is pure enough
To bear My searching eye
Unshrinking, then may come the time
Thy brother to decry.
"Jesu, Saviour, pitying be;
Parce mihi, Domine!"

LYRA MYSTICA

THE habit of judging is so nearly incurable, and its cure is such an almost interminable process, that we must concentrate ourselves for a long while on keeping it in check, and this check is to be found in kind interpretations. We must come to esteem very lightly our sharp eye for evil, on which perhaps we once prided ourselves as cleverness. We must look at our talent for analysis of character as a dreadful possibility of huge uncharitableness. We are sure to continue to say clever things, so long as we continue to indulge in this analysis; and clever things are equally sure to be sharp and acid. We must grow to something higher, and something truer, than a quickness in detecting evil.

FREDERICK WM. FABER

By Mary Wilder Tileston,taken from "Joy and Strength"

Peace in God's Daily Presence

"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant." PSALMS 25:14

THEN shall my days be Thine,
And all my heart be love;
And joy and peace be mine,
Such as are known above.
Come, Holy Spirit, quickly come,
And make my heart Thy lasting home.
ANDREW REED

IT is a sign that the soul is living in God, if it maintain calmness within through the consciousness of His Presence, while working for Him in active ministrations. Such restfulness will show itself in the commonest ways, in doing common duties at the right time, in preserving a sweetness and evenness of temper in the midst of ordinary interruptions and disturbances, in walking to and fro quietly on the day's varied errands, in speaking gentle words, in sweetly meeting unexpected calls. A calm, restful temper grows as self is learning to lose itself in God. Such grace tells gradually on the daily life; even the minutest detail may be brought under the power of God, and carried out in union with Him.
T. T. CARTER

By Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from "Joy and Strength"

Just Do It!

"See that ye hasten the matter." 2 CHRONICLES 24:5

AND grant me, Lord, to do,
With ready heart and willing,
Whate'er Thou shalt command,
My calling here fulfilling;
And do it when I ought,
With all my strength, and bless
The work I thus have wrought,
For Thou must give success.
JOHANN HEERMANN

NO unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow. It is only when they are behind us and done, that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards, and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant. Accomplished, they are full of blessing, and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us. Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquillity, and hindering our communion with God. If there be lying before you any bit of work from which you shrink, go straight up to it, and do it at once. The only way to get rid of it is to do it.
ALEXANDER MACLAREN

She constantly yielded to that kind of selfishness which makes the writing, or not writing, a letter depend upon the inclination of the moment.
SARAH W. STEPH

By Mary Wilder Tileston, taken from "Joy and Strength"

Seeing the Will of God in Daily Events

"The very hairs of your head are all numbered." MATTHEW 10:30

"I will go in the strength of the Lord God." PSALMS 71:16

NO trouble is too small wherein to see the will of God for thee. Great troubles come but seldom. Daily fretting trials, that is, what of thyself would fret thee, may often, in God's hands, conform thee more to His gracious will. They are the daily touches, whereby He traces on thee the likeness of His divine will. There is nothing too slight wherein to practice oneness with the will of God. By daily practice in slight crosses of our own will, do we learn the lesson our Lord taught, "Not as I will, but as Thou." All the things whereof men daily complain may perfect thee in the will of God. The changes of the seasons, bodily discomforts or ailments, rude words, petty slights, little jealousies, unevenness of temper in those with whom thou livest, misunderstandings, censures of thy faith or practice, severe judgments, thanklessness of those thou wouldest benefit, interruptions in what thou wouldest do, oppressiveness or distraction of thy labors,--whatever thou canst think of, wherein others fret themselves, and, still more, thyself; therein thou seest how to be of one will with God. - EDWARD B. PUSEY

By Mary Wilder Tileston,taken from "Joy and Strength"