Tithing

This was first posted on 9.19.06. I know many of you read it last year and have heard our story, yet the Lord has placed it upon my heart to post it again.

"Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not keep them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "in tithes and offerings........Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." Malachi 3: 7, 8 & 10

The date of October 16, 2001 is marked next to these verses in my Bible with a note beside it saying, "Time for us to stop robbing God of His money. Take a leap in faith."

The previous year was the year we had Emily, I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, went through 6 months of treatment and Eric got laid off of his job of 5 years. In 2001 we were trying to make ends meet on $900.00 a month from unemployment. VISA, car, house, health, auto insurance payments, other living expenses and unforeseen expenses had to come out of this money. It seemed impossible to meet all our needs.

One day during a sermon on tithing these verses were brought to our attention. We were never good at tithing and always made it the last check of the month to write out. Pastor Steve challenged us to tithe every month even if we didn't have the money to do so. To take that leap of faith and see how God would take care of our needs. We decided to take up the challenge.

Our needs were great and the unemployment check didn't even cover our house payment let alone everything else. We did have many wonderful people help us along the way which really did keep us going and for which we're so thankful for. But writing out the first check of the month to tithing before paying the bills was a scary thing to do. It didn't make sense on paper. Yet, God stretched our $900.00 so that we were able to pay every bill and stay afloat for 14 months. Twice we were blessed with $1,000 in cash in the mail that was the exact amount we needed. Who gave us $2,000 is still a mystery but God moved them to bless us with it.

You may think tithing is a way for the church to get your money and, yes, through tithing the staff is paid, the building is paid for and kept up and other ministries are supported. But in all reality, what we are given is from God and what He asks back is an act of obedience and a leap of faith. In doing so, He is showing us that He cares for us and does watch over ALL of our needs and we grow in ways we never expected.

To this day I can't tell you how we ended up in a better position then before Eric lost his job. I have no clue how God worked it all out and I give Him all the glory for blessing us in so many ways. God cares for us and wants us to live the life He intended for us to live. Take the leap of faith in turning to Him, in following His leading or if you are a Believer and part of a Church body, in tithing.

Krista Jones
9.18.06

God's Love Song

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

This verse will be familiar to most of you who went to the NHCC Women's Retreat. At the retreat we went through the book of Zephaniah. Yes, you read right - Zephaniah. It's a small book located in the Old Testament between Habakkuk and Haggai. It's not one I would go to often unless I'm at that point in my Bible reading.

Zephaniah 3:17 is the one verse I fell in love with. It says everything I see God as being. I see this as God's Love Song to me. It speaks of how He's always with us. It says that He saves us. It says that He takes great delight in us. WOW, He delights in me? I can't imagine since it seems that I let Him down every day of my life. And yet, He is like a Father who loves his children unconditionally no matter what they do. He delights in us so much that He rejoices over us with singing.

"He will quiet you with His love" is especially meaningful to me this week. In my crazy week I come to this verse today and see that His hand is covering over me. Rocking me gently until I become still and quiet. Until I feel the warmth of His love overpower and calm me.

The Lord truly loves His children (you). No matter who you are or what you've done you can ALWAYS turn to Him. Turn to Him for the first time; after many years or in your time of need. He delights in you!

Krista Jones
12.12.07

Sanctified Souls Are Satisfied

"My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, saith the LORD." Jeremiah 31:14

Note the "My" which comes twice: "My people shall be satisfied with My goodness." The kind of people who are satisfied with God are marked out as God's own. He is pleased with them, for they are pleased with Him. They call Him their God, and He calls them His people; He is satisfied to take them for a portion, and they are satisfied with Him for their portion. There is a mutual communion of delight between God's Israel and Israel's God. These people are satisfied. This is a grand thing. Very few of the sons of men are ever satisfied, let their lot be what it may; they have swallowed the horse-leech, and it continually cries, "Give! give!" Only sanctified souls are satisfied souls. God Himself must both convert us and content us. t is no wonder that the LORD's people should be satisfied with the goodness of their LORD. Here is goodness without mixture, bounty without stint, mercy without chiding, love without change, favor without reserve. If God's goodness does not satisfy us, what will? What! are we still groaning? Surely there is a wrong desire within if it be one which God's goodness does not satisfy. LORD, I am satisfied. Blessed be Thy name.

By C.H. Spurgeon, taken from "Faith's Checkbook"

The Friend of God

"Abraham stood yet before the Lord" (Gen. 18:22).

The friend of God can plead with Him for others. Perhaps Abraham's height of faith and friendship seems beyond our little possibilities. Do not be discouraged, Abraham grew; so may we. He went step by step, not by great leaps.

The man whose faith has been deeply tested and who has come off victorious, is the man to whom supreme tests must come.

The finest jewels are most carefully cut and polished; the hottest fires try the most precious metal. Abraham would never have been called the Father of the Faithful if he had not been proved to the uttermost. Read Genesis, twenty-second chapter:

"Take thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest." See him going with a chastened, wistful, yet humbly obedient heart up Moriah's height, with the idol of his heart beside him about to be sacrificed at the command of God whom he had faithfully loved and served!

What a rebuke to our questionings of God's dealings with us! Away with all doubting explanations of this stupendous scene! It was an object lesson for the ages. Angels were looking.

Shall this man's faith stand forever for the strength and help of all God's people? Shall it be known through him that unfaltering faith will always prove the faithfulness of God?

Yes; and when faith has borne victoriously its uttermost test, the angel of the Lord--who? The Lord Jesus, Jehovah, He in whom "all the promises of God are yea and amen"--spoke to him, saying, "Now I know that thou fearest God." Thou hast trusted me to the uttermost. I will also trust thee; thou shalt ever be My friend, and I will bless thee, and make thee a blessing.

It is always so, and always will be. "They that are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." --Selected

It is no small thing to be on terms of friendship with God.

Compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Desert"

Praise God In All Circumstance

"I will praise the Lord at all times; His praise is always on my lips. My whole being praises the Lord." Psalm 34:1-2

We should serve God even if there is darkness enveloping our life and even if we don't understand what's happening . . . even when the circumstances of our life don't make sense; Because He is worthy of praise, Because He is God.

By max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

Thorough Cleansing

"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you" (Ezekiel 36:25).

What an exceeding joy is this! He who has purified us with the blood of Jesus will also cleanse us by the water of the Holy Spirit. God hath said it, and so it must be, "Ye shall be clean." LORD, we feel and mourn our uncleanness, and it is cheering to be assured by Thine own mouth that we shall be clean. Oh, that Thou wouldst make a speedy work of it! He will deliver us from our worst sins. The uprisings of unbelief and the deceitful lusts which war against the soul, the vile thoughts of pride, and the suggestions of Satan to blaspheme the sacred name-all these shall be so purged away as never to return. He will also cleanse us from all our idols, whether of gold or of clay: our impure loves and our excessive love of that which in itself is pure. That which we have idolized shall either be broken from us or we shall be broken off from it. It is God who speaks of what He Himself will do. Therefore is this word established and sure, and we may boldly look for that which it guarantees to us. Cleansing is a covenant blessing, and the covenant is ordered in all things and sure.

By C.H. Spurgeon, taken from "Faith's Checkbook"

"I delivered thee"

"Thou calledst in trouble, and. I delivered thee." Psalm 81:7

"Be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed." I Chronicles 22:13

Thou canst calm the troubled mind,
Thou its dread canst still;
Teach me to be all resigned
To my Father's will.

HEINRICH PUCHTA

Though this patient, meek resignation is to be exercised with regard to all outward things and occurrences of life, yet it chiefly respects our own inward state, the troubles, perplexities, weaknesses, and disorders of our own souls. And to stand turned to a patient, meek, humble resignation to God, when your own impatience, wrath, pride, and irresignation attack yourself, is a higher and more beneficial performance of this duty, than when you stand turned to meekness and patience, when attacked by the pride, or wrath, or disorderly passions of other people. - WM. LAW

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Specialize in the Impossible

"The hill country shall be thine" (Josh. 17:18, RV).

There is always room higher up. When the valleys are full of Canaanites, whose iron chariots withstand your progress, get up into the hills, occupy the upper spaces. If you can no longer work for God, pray for those who can. If you cannot move earth by your speech, you may move Heaven. If the development of life on the lower slopes is impossible, through limitations of service, the necessity of maintaining others, and such-like restrictions, let it break out toward the unseen, the eternal, the Divine.

Faith can fell forests. Even if the tribes had realized what treasures lay above them, they would hardly have dared to suppose it possible to rid the hills of their dense forest-growth. But as God indicated their task, He reminded them that they had power enough. The visions of things that seem impossible are presented to us, like these forest-covered steeps, not to mock us, but to incite us to spiritual exploits which would be impossible unless God had stored within us the great strength of His own indwelling.

Difficulty is sent to reveal to us what God can do in answer to the faith that prays and works. Are you straitened in the valleys? Get away to the hills, live there; get honey out of the rock, and wealth out of the terraced slopes now hidden by forest. --Daily Devotional Commentary

Got any rivers they say are uncrossable,
Got any mountains they say 'can't tunnel through'?
We specialize in the wholly impossible,
Doing the things they say you can't do.
--Song of the Panama builders

Compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Desert"

Love Teaches

"He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children." Psalm 78:5

One of the most essential ingredients of education is the parents' attitude and example regarding basic curiosity and a desire to learn.

It is not so much the didactic or "book" learning that is important to parent-child relationships, however. It is, instead, educating children about life - and death; about themselves - and others; about their world - and how they fit into it. The love of learning and the curiosity that will only be satisfied through finding out about something - that is a parent's means of prompting a child to become wise and to respect and appreciate the teacher.

My parents encouraged my love for learning (and for them) by their examples. The dad who took time out during a busy day to show a little girl a baby chick being hatched, a brand-new baby colt on its first wobbly walk, or a littler of pink squealing piglets did not know the impact those simple sights would have on her life! He was teaching her about creation, the Creator and her own place in God's scheme of things.

Through my parents' reading, I learned to love books; through their philosophy. I learned to think; through their humor, I learned to laugh; through their discipline, I learned obedience, respect and self-control. It was through their faith that my own was born.

By Grace H. Ketterman, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"

Will you sing to God?

"Lord, I will thank you with all my heart; I will sing to you." Psalm 138:1

It's incredible that anyone could look at the kindness of God, the faithfulness of God, and the goodness of God and not feel any emotion of gratitude.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

Who do you seek for aid?

"Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me; for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast." Psalm 57:1

My God! in whom are all the springs
Of boundless love and grace unknown,
Hide me beneath Thy spreading wings,
Till the dark cloud is overblown.

I. WATTS

In time of trouble go not out of yourself to seek for aid; for the whole benefit of trial consists in silence, patience, rest, and resignation. In this condition divine strength is found for the hard warfare, because God Himself fights for the soul. - M. DE MOLINOS

In vain will you let your mind run out after help in times of trouble; it is like putting to sea in a storm. Sit still, and feel after your principles; and, if you find none that furnish you with somewhat of a stay and prop, and which point you to quietness and silent submission, depend upon it you have never yet learned Truth from the Spirit of Truth, whatever notions thereof you may have picked up from this and the other description of it. - M.A. KELTY

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

The Way Home

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Proverbs 14:12

Mark squirmed as his mother talked to him. She had recently become a Christian and was trying to explain how he could receive Christ as Savior, too. "I want you to be in heaven with me someday," she said.

"Don't worry, Mom," answered Mark. "Uncle George says I'm such a good boy that if anybody makes it to haven, I will."

"Uncle George is a very smart man, but he's mistaken about the way to heaven," Mom replied, "it's not your goodness that will take you there. Jesus is the only way."

Mark turned toward the door. He didn't want to talk about salvation anymore. "I have to go finish my paper route collections now," he said, hurrying out of the kitchen.

As Mark was buys on his route, he saw a girl and a little boy, "Don't cry. I know how to get to 102 Shelby Street," he heard the girl say. "You go that way one block," she said, pointing north, "and turn right. That's Main Street. Then go three blocks and you come to Shelby. Your house is right there on the corner." Mark frowned. Those directions weren't right!

As the girls went into her house, Mark met the boys. "You're Jimmy Jones, aren't you?" exclaimed Mark. "I deliver papers to your house. Remember me?" the little boy looked at him and nodded. "That girl gave you the wrong directions," said Mark. "You have to turn left at Main Street, not right." Jimmy's lip began to tremble, and Mark took his hand. "I'll take you home, OK?" Mark asked. Happily, Jimmy nodded, and soon Mark had delivered him to his family.

On the way home, Mark thought about what had happened. Suddenly he realized that he was just like Jimmy! He was trying to follow directions to heaven that were given by someone who didn't know the way. He needed to listen to what God said in His Word, and God said Jesus was the only way. I was Jimmy's way home because I took him there, he thought. Jesus is the way to heaven. I want Him to be my Savior and take me there.

How about you?: Are you following the right directions to heaven? God knows how you can get there. His directions are found in his Book, the Bible. He says you must trust in Jesus, the only way to heaven. Trust Jesus today.

Taken from "The One Year Book of Devotions for Kids"

Encourage the Sheep

"Know that the Lord is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." Psalm 100:3

Take the Savior’s loving hand
And do not try to understand,
Just let Him lead you where He will,
Through pastures green, by waters still.

Today follow the Shepherd. Encourage the sheep who have strayed to return to the fold.

The Shepherd

"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." Isaiah 40:11

It is a relief to know that the life of faith is not dependent upon our ability to trust, but upon HIs trustworthiness. The sheep can trust their shepherd if He is a good shepherd. And we are the sheep of His pastures. His sheep may safely gaze.

All of His sheep.

The lambs which He gathers with His arms may certainly graze safely and know that even if they stumble and fall, the Shepherd will "lay down his life for the sheep." He will "gather the lambs with his arm . . . "

Those of us who have known Him over a period of time know that He will care for those new in His love. We can assure them that He gathers the newborn Christian in His bosom with great tenderness and great gentleness. But for those who have been the sheep of His flock for a longer time and who have been given the sometimes painful work of carrying young Christians or non-belivers as a sheep carries her young, here is great hope for us in this "blue stone" verse too.

"He shall . . . gently lead those that are with young." The enemy is also very watchful over "those that are with young." Traps are everywhere. Storms blow up suddenly and we try to rush and push past the others to the safety of what we think is the fold. On the way, in our foolish haste, we may drop the "young." Only the Shepherd knows how to lead us safely. Only He can recognize the false traps of the enemy. I was led to Christ by one who had never before brought anyone to Him. She led me safely because she listened to the Shepherd. She let Him lead her.

He shall . . . gently lead those that are with young.

By Eugenia Price, taken from "Share My Pleasant Stones"

Accepting our Feelings

"My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me." Psalm 55:4

Many of us have the idea that in order to be mature, respected adults we must renounce all our feelings. We may think that if we are to be real men or women of God we must never admit a need. We must always have an answer and always appear in total control. Perhaps as children we were taught that it was weak or cowardly to admit to disappointment, hurt, sadness, discouragement, anger or even happiness. But what we learned is a misconception.

King David led his people to victory many times. Nations looked up to him. But he made mistakes. He experienced the rejection of trusted co-workers. he felt angry, jealous and hurt. David was a truthful man who allowed himself to think and feel and be. In the Psalms he often expressed sadness, discouragement and confusion. His acceptance of reality and the resulting feelings of disappointment and pain led him again and again to God. And God called him "a man after my own heart" (Acts 13:22). Like David we can think, feel and share, as responsible, mature men and women of God.

By Joan C. Webb, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"

The Endurance of God

"Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer." REVELATION 2:10

"Let Thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for Thy law is my delight." PSALMS 19:77

O BLESSED life! the heart at rest
When all without tumultuous seems;
That trusts a higher Will, and deems
That higher Will, not mine, the best.

WILLIAM TIDD MATSON

NOTHING is so trying to nature as suspense between a faint hope and a mighty fear; but we must have faith as to the extent of our trials, as in all else. Our sensitiveness makes us often disposed to fancy that we are tried beyond our strength; but we really know neither our strength to endure nor the nature of God's trials. Only He who knows both these, and every turn of the hearts which He has made, knows how to deal out a due proportion. Let us leave it all to Him, and be content to bear in silence.

FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FNELON

It is not the sunny side of Christ that we must look to, and we must not forsake Him for want of that. Oh, how sweet a thing were it for us to learn to make our burdens light, by framing our hearts to the burden, and making our Lord's will a law!

SAMUEL RUTHERFORD

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

Gratitude

"God, I will thank you forever for what you have done. With those who worship you, I will trust you because you are good." Psalm 52:9

Gratitude comes from having the right perspective. It's being able to look at what you have and being thankful for that, rather than longing for what you don't have.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior

Psalm 57

For the director of music. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." Of David. A miktam . When he had fled from Saul into the cave. [a]

1 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,
for in you my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfills {his purpose} for me.

3 He sends from heaven and saves me,
rebuking those who hotly pursue me;
Selah
God sends his love and his faithfulness.

4 I am in the midst of lions;
I lie among ravenous beasts—
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

6 They spread a net for my feet—
I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path—
but they have fallen into it themselves.
Selah

7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.

8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.

9 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.

10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

"Let God do with me what He will"

"The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul." Psalm 121:7

Under Thy wings, my God, I rest,
Under Thy shadow safely lie;
By Thy own strength in peace possessed,
While dreaded evils pass me by.

A. L. WARING

A heart rejoicing in God delights in all His will, and is surely provided with the most firm joy in all estates; for if nothing can come to pass beside or against His will, then cannot that soul be vexed which delights in Him and hath no will but His, but follows Him in all times, in all estates; not only when He shines bright on them, but when they are clouded. That flower which follows the sun doth so even in dark and cloudy days: when it doth not shine forth, yet it follows the hidden course and motion of it. So the soul that moves after God keeps that course when He hides His face; is content, yea, even glad at His will in all estates or conditions or events.

R. LEIGHTON

Let God do with me what He will, anything He will; whatever it be, it will be either heaven itself or some beginning of it.

WM. MOUNTFORD

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

A New Creature

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

Salvation is not an improvement of the old nature. God doesn't take the old nature and fix it up by reforming it. No, the old nature is dead in trespasses and sins. When you become a new creature in Christ Jesus you have the new nature, God's nature, imparted to you. Old things pass away and ALL THINGS become new. As you once loved the things of the world, now you will turn away from them because you have different affections. Once you had no taste for the church or prayer meetings. Now you love the brethern; you love times of spiritual fellowship. Once you had no interest in God's Word. now it is meat and drink to your soul. Once you craved sinful pleasures. Now it is your highest pleasure to do His will. Once your time was occupied with scheming and working for money and success. Now you have found eternal riches in Him.

Why? Because you have the very nature of God transplanted into your heart." - Charles E. Fuller

Search me, O God, search me and know my heart,
Try me and prove me in the hidden part;
Cleanse me and make me holy as Thou art,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

Thou art the same today and yesterday,
O make Thy life in me the same alway,
Take from my heart the things that pass away;
Lead, lead me in the way everlasting.

Give me the heart that naught can change nor chill,
The love that loves unchanged through good or ill,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

Take my poor heart and only let me love
The things that always shall abiding prove;
Bind all my heart-strings to the world above,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

A. B. Simpson

Never Alone

"Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken" (Isaiah 62:4).

"Forsaken" is a dreary word. It sounds like a knell. It is the record of I sharpest sorrows and the prophecy of direst ills. An abyss of misery yawns in that word forsaken. Forsaken by one who pledges his honor! Forsaken by a friend so long tried and trusted! Forsaken by a dear relative! Forsaken by father and mother! Forsaken by all! This is woe indeed, and yet it may be patiently born if the LORD will take us up. But what must it be to feel forsaken of God? Think of that bitterest of cries, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Have we ever in any degree tasted the wormwood and the gall of "forsaken" in that sense? If so, let us beseech our LORD to save us from any repetition of so unspeakable a sorrow. Oh, that such darkness may never return! Men in malice said of a saint, "God hath forsaken him; persecute and take him." But it was always false. The LORD's loving favor shall compel our cruel foes to eat their own words or, at least, to hold their tongues. The reverse of all this is that superlative word Hephzibah "the LORD delighteth in thee." This turns weeping into dancing. Let those who dreamed that they were forsaken hear the LORD say, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."

By C.H. Spurgeon, taken from "Faith's Checkbook"

Thoughs on a Familar Verse

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee." Isaiah 26:3

This "blue stone" verse is perhaps one of the most familiar verses in the Bible. People hang it on their walls and send it in sympathy telegrams and signs in at the end of letters and use it in psychology books.

Certain groups use it as a kind of mental therapy. Psychologically it is a very strong verse. The new thought books recommend it as a way to "find" peace.

How to think peaceful thoughts: " . . . whose mind is stayed on thee." This much is widely used. It is a mental discipline. Focus your mind on your own concept of God, the new thought books say, then you will find peace.

But, true peace cannot be found. It is a gift of God. "He is our peace," says Paul, and the "He" is Jesus Christ who has "made peace by the blood of His cross." There is psychological value in the very act of keeping one's mind fixed on something outside oneself. Something "higher." "but when your heart is smashed you can't focus your mind most of the time. When your body is trembling with pain, you can't practice concentration. This is a power-filled verse under all circumstance only because of who Christ is. It is not the fixing of the mind alone that brings peace. It is the character of the One on whom we fix our minds. And God does not promise to keep us in perfect peace because we have done Him the honor of trusting Him. It isn't a reward. It is an inevitable result.

Peace comes when we fix our minds on God and enter into oneness with Him and we can only do this when we know what He's like! We trust Him because we know Him. We trust Him, not because we are experts in the art of trusting but because He is trustworthy.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever . . . He is our peace . . .

By Eugenia Price, taken from "Share My Pleasant Stones"

The Summer Will Come

"Therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you" (Isa. 30:18).

Where showers fall most, there the grass is greenest. I suppose the fogs and mists of Ireland make it "the Emerald Isle"; and whenever you find great fogs of trouble, and mists of sorrow, you always find emerald green hearts; full of the beautiful verdure of the comfort and love of God. O Christian, do not thou be saying, "Where are the swallows gone? They are gone; they are dead." They are not dead; they have skimmed the purple sea, and gone to a far-off land; but they will be back again by and by.

Child of God, say not the flowers are dead; say not the winter has killed them, and they are gone. Ah, no! though winter hath coated them with the ermine of its snow; they will put up their heads again, and will be alive very soon. Say not, child of God, that the sun is quenched, because the cloud hath hidden it. Ah, no; he is behind there, brewing summer for thee; for when he cometh out again, he will have made the clouds fit to drop in April showers, all of them mothers of the sweet May flowers. And oh! above all, when thy God hides His face, say not that He hath forgotten thee. He is but tarrying a little while to make thee love Him better; and when He cometh, thou shalt have joy in the Lord, and shalt rejoice with joy unspeakable. Waiting exercises our grace; waiting tries our faith; therefore, wait on in hope; for though the promise tarry, it can never come too late. --C. H. Spurgeon

"Oh, every year hath its winter,
And every year hath its rain--
But a day is always coming
When the birds go north again.

"When new leaves swell in the forest,
And grass springs green on the plain,
And alders' veins turn crimson--
And the birds go north again.

"Oh, every heart hath its sorrow,
And every heart hath its pain--
But a day is always coming
When the birds go north again.

"'Tis the sweetest thing to remember,
If courage be on the wane,
When the cold, dark days are over--
Why, the birds go north again."

By Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Desert"

I Need Some Help

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." Psalm 51:12

God,
I need some outside help tonight.
I want so much to be free,
But I don't feel free.

I know it all in my head
that your life is living in me,
that my life is a miracle,
But in my heart
It seems as if life is pressing in on me
And squeezing me,
Until I feel empty and limp.

Free . . .
What can that word mean
When my life belongs to so many other people,
When i get squeezed between the generation gap
And the tax bill,
And I want o walk out of the door and
keep on walking and never stop . . .
then what does it mean to be free?
God,
I need some help outside myself tonight.

By Gladis and Gordon DePree, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"

Past Fears & Misgivings

"Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Matthew 6:30

"I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever." Psalm 52:8

Calmly we look behind us, on joys and sorrows past,
We know that all is mercy now, and shall be well at last;
Calmly we look before us,--we fear no future ill,
Enough for safety and for peace, if Thou art with us still.

JANE BORTHWICK

Neither go back in fear and misgiving to the past, nor in anxiety and forecasting to the future; but lie quiet under His hand, having no will but His.

H. E. MANNING

I saw a delicate flower had grown up two feet high, between the horses' path and the wheel-track. An inch more to right or left had sealed its fate, or an inch higher; and yet it lived to flourish as much as if it had a thousand acres of untrodden space around it, and never knew the danger it incurred. It did not borrow trouble, nor invite an evil fate by apprehending it.

HENRY D. THOREAU

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Psalm 63:1-8

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

1 O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.

7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.

8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

Praise

"Praise the Lord for the glory of His name; worship the Lord because He is holy." Psalm 29:2

Praise is the highest occupation of any being. What happens when we praise the Father? We reestablish the proper chain of command; we recognize that the King is on the throne and that he has saved his people.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

Every Other Weekend

"Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content." Phillippians 4:11

"I don't feel like going home today," Tim told his friend Brett. He kicked a stone on the pavement. "Nothing's going my way. I want to live with my dad, but it's been decided that we kids have to stay with Mom."

"So that's the problem," said Brett.

"Problem? It's a crisis!" cried Tim. "Dad always took time to do stuff with me. Y'know, guy stuff. Now I'll get to be with him only every other weekend."

"Well, you can talk to him on the phone, too, can't you?" asked Brett. "You still have a lot to be thankful for." Tim noticed Brett's eyes were bright - were those tears? Suddenly he remembered that ever since he met Brett at the beginning of the school year, he had never seen or heard anything about Brett's father. "Does your dad live with you?" Tim asked.

Brett shook his head. "My dad died," he said softly.

"Oh," said Tim, not sure what else to say "Sorry." Tim and Brett walked quietly. "How do you survive without ever seeing your dad?" Tim asked finally.

"It's not easy," Brett said, "but one day when I was trying to make a guitar with rubber bands and a long box, Mom helped me understand how she deals with it. Some rubber bands stretched and fit over my box easily, but others were tight and pulled out thin in order to get around the cardboard. A few even snapped," added Brett. He was still silent, remembering.

"What does that have to do with making it without your dad?' Tim asked.

"The ones that fit super-tight made the best music on my new guitar. And Mom said that as things happened in life, we're stretched, too - like those smaller rubber bands," explained Brett. "We may be uncomfortable, but we can choose to be content and make music, even during the hard times of our lives; or we can give up and snap and be useless. Mom and I decided to trust God to use this hard part of our lives for his good." N.E.K.

Taken from "The One Year Book of Devotions for Kids"

The Lilies

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow." Matthew 6:28

They do not toil:
Content with their allotted task
They do but grow; they do not ask
A richer lot, a higher sphere,
But in their loveliness appear,
And grow, and smile, and do their best,
And unto God they leave the rest.

MARIANNE FARNINGHAM

Interpose no barrier to His mighty life-giving power, working in you all the good pleasure of His will. Yield yourself up utterly to His sweet control. Put your growing into His hands as completely as you have put all your other affairs. Suffer Him to manage it as He will. Do not concern yourself about it, nor even think of it. Trust Him absolutely and always. Accept each moment's dispensation as it comes to you from His dear hands, as being the needed sunshine or dew for that moment's growth. Say a continual "yes" to your Father's will.

H. W. SMITH

Thine own self-will and anxiety, thy hurry and labor, disturb thy peace, and prevent Me from working in thee. Look at the little flowers, in the serene summer days; they quietly open their petals, and the sun shines into them with his gentle influences. So will I do for thee, if thou wilt yield thyself to Me.

G. TERSTEEGEN

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Faith and Doubt

"You call for faith, I give you doubt, to prove that faith exists. The greater the doubt, the stronger the faith, I say, if faith overcomes doubt."

Robert Browning

What Makes a Christian a Christian?

"But if anyone does sin, we have a helper in the presence of the Father - Jesus Christ, the One who does what is right. He is the way our sins are taken away, and no only our sins but the sins of all people." I John 2:1-2

What makes a Christian a Christian is not perfection but forgiveness.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

Quiet Earth

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10

Stillness is more audible than any sound, not tinny like so many sounds I hear these days.

The silence is full and rich, insistent . . . demanding that I listen and suggesting always that I'd be foolish not to. Only fools refuse the counsel of the wise, and this silence seems to know everything. It seems I've been a prodigal, traipsing along behind the band just like a thoughtless gypsy anywhere the living was easy, stealing morsels when I could have had the loaf.

Maybe it's the oaks and beeches. These oaks have housed a thousand generations of owls and jays, and have withstood abuse from countless woodpeckers and people. They've seen the fleet-footed native child tossing pebbles at their roots and chasing little fawns around between them. They've stood and heard the council casting lots for war or peace while fragrant pipe smoke wafted through their branches.

Perhaps it is the brook, whispering of its secret travels, nurturing the earth along its way, or maybe it's the earth, the pregnant fertile earth, pulling me like influential kin back to my moorings and my heritage.

The earth is calling me home to the simple and eternal things. It persistently calls em to reject the glitter of the transient and return to Father's house.

The silence-a voice asking one pointed and unavoidable question: Will I return and inherit the earth? And here in the silence, the only sound to be heard is the whisper of my own answer.

By Gloria Gaither, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"

His Love

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Ephesians 3:20, 21.

We would not meagre gifts down-call
When Thou dost yearn to yield us all;
But for this life, this little hour,
Ask all Thy love and care and power.

J. INGELOW

God so loveth us that He would make all things channels to us and messengers of His love. Do for His sake deeds of love, and He will give thee His love. Still thyself, thy own cares, thy own thoughts for Him, and He will speak to thy heart. Ask for Himself, and He will give thee Himself. Truly, a secret hidden thing is the love of God, known only to them who seek it, and to them also secret, for what man can have of it here is how slight a foretaste of that endless ocean of His love!

E. B. PUSEY

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Psalm 18:30-36

30 As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God besides the LORD ?
And who is the Rock except our God?

32 It is God who arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.

33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.

34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You give me your shield of victory,
and your right hand sustains me;
you stoop down to make me great.

36 You broaden the path beneath me,
so that my ankles do not turn.

Like Palm and Cedar

"The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon" (Psalm 92:12).

These trees are not trained and pruned by man: palms and cedars are "trees of the LORD," and it is by His care that they flourish. Even so it is with the saints of the LORD: they are His own care. These trees are evergreen and are beautiful objects at all seasons of the year. Believers are not sometimes holy and sometimes ungodly: they stand in the beauty of the LORD under all weathers. Everywhere these trees are noteworthy: no one can gaze upon a landscape in which there are either palms or cedars without his attention being fixed upon these royal growths. The followers of Jesus are the observed of all observers: like a city set on a hill, they cannot be hid. The child of God flourishes like a palm tree, which pushes all its strength upward in one erect column without a single branch. It is a pillar with a glorious capital. It has no growth to the right or to the left but sends all its force heavenward and bears its fruit as near the sky as possible. LORD, fulfill this type in me. The cedar braves all storms and grows near the eternal snows, the LORD Himself filling it with a sap which keeps its heart warm and its bough strong. LORD, so let it be with me, I pray Thee. Amen.

By C.H. Spurgeon, taken from "Faith's Checkbook"

Praying and Forgiveness

"When you are praying, of you are angry with someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins." Mark 11:25

Isn't it presumptuous to come to the throne of grace if we haven't been gracious to the people in our life? How can we approach a God of mercy if we ourselves have hearts full of bitterness or anger? We must take care of relationship problems - make up with a spouse, get along with fellow church members, love our neighbors - then we will be fully united in prayer with the Father.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

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"

God in Everything

"It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good". (1 Sam. 3:18)

See God in everything, and God will calm and color all that thou dost see!" It may be that the circumstances of our sorrows will not be removed, their condition will remain unchanged; but if Christ, as Lord and Master of our life, is brought into our grief and gloom, "HE will compass us about with songs of deliverance." To see HIM, and to be sure that His wisdom cannot err, His power cannot fail, His love can never change; to know that even His direst dealings with us are for our deepest spiritual gain, is to be able to say, in the midst of bereavement, sorrow, pain, and loss, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath, taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

Nothing else but seeing God in everything will make us loving and patient with those who annoy and trouble us. They will be to us then only instruments for accomplishing His tender and wise purposes toward us, and we shall even find ourselves at last inwardly thanking them for the blessings they bring us. Nothing else will completely put an end to all murmuring or rebelling thoughts. - H. W. Smith.

"Give me a new idea," I said,
While musing on a sleepless bed;
"A new idea that'll bring to earth
A balm for souls of priceless worth;
That'll give men thoughts of things above,
And teach them how to serve and love,
That'll banish every selfish thought,
And rid men of the sins they've fought."

The new thought came, just how, I'll tell:
'Twas when on bended knee I fell,
And sought from HIM who knows full well
The way our sorrow to expel.
SEE GOD IN ALL THINGS, great and small,
And give HIM praise whate'er befall,
In life or death, in pain or woe,
See God, and overcome thy foe.

I saw HIM in the morning light,
HE made the day shine clear and bright;
I saw HIM in the noontide hour,
And gained from HIM refreshing shower.
At eventide, when worn and sad,
HE gave me help, and made me glad.
At midnight, when on tossing bed
My weary soul to sleep HE led.

I saw HIM when great losses came,
And found HE loved me just the same.
When heavy loads I had to bear,
I found HE lightened every care.
By sickness, sorrow, sore distress,
HE calmed my mind and gave me rest.
HE'S filled my heart with gladsome praise
Since I gave HIM the upward gaze.

'Twas new to me, yet old to some,
This thought that to me has become
A revelation of the way
We all should live throughout the day;
For as each day unfolds its light,
We'll walk by faith and not by sight.
Life will, indeed, a blessing bring,
If we SEE GOD IN EVERYTHING."

A. E. Finn

Compiled by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Desert"

Psalm 143

A psalm of David.

1 O LORD, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief.
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous before you.

3 The enemy pursues me,
he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in darkness
like those long dead.

4 So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.

5 I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your works
and consider what your hands have done.

6 I spread out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
Selah

7 Answer me quickly, O LORD;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.

8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

9 Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD,
for I hide myself in you.

10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.

11 For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life;
in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.

12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
destroy all my foes,
for I am your servant.

Feed Your Spirit

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." Psalm 42:1

During the days when we are giving on demand, we need a constant source of nourishment for ourselves as well.

Psalm 42:1-4 provides a mental picture of the many moms who'd love to spend time with God but can't seem to fit it into their hectic days: "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" (vs. 1-2).

There are many days when our spirits feel parched and we wonder when - or if - we'll ever "meet with God" again. Even getting to church once a week is often difficult.

Instead of waiting to go to the house of the Lord, why not invite him to your house? Sit down during a child's naptime and read a few verses from the Gospel of John. Use a mealtime blessing to really pray about what's happened that day. Leave your Bible open on the table and grab a phrase from one of the psalms as you walk by. Graze on Scripture morsels throughout the day from a flip book on the kitchen counter. Listen to a tape of the New Testament in the car. Take a prayer walk through the neighborhood and talk to God about the details of your day.

When you think of taking a break, include a practice that will feed your spirit.

By Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall, taken from, "Women's Devotional Bible 2"

Forgive and Let Go

"Those who love your teachings will find true peace, and nothing will defeat them." Psalm 119:165

The God who is willing to forgive you has already forgiven you much more than you could ever forgive anyone else. The best thing you can do to bring peace to your life is to forgive the mistakes of others. I'm not saying justify their mistakes; I'm saying forgive them and let go.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

God is Our Refuge and Strength

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." Psalm 46:1-2

Though waves and storms go o'er my head,
Though strength and health and friends be gone,
Though joys be withered all, and dead,
Though every comfort be withdrawn,
On this my steadfast soul relies,--
Father! Thy mercy never dies.

JOHANN A. ROTHE

Your external circumstances may change, toil may take the place of rest, sickness of health, trials may thicken within and without. Externally, you are the prey of such circumstances; but if your heart is stayed on God, no changes or chances can touch it, and all that may befall you will but draw you closer to Him. Whatever the present moment may bring, your knowledge that it is His will, and that your future heavenly life will be influenced by it, will make all not only tolerable, but welcome to you, while no vicissitudes can affect you greatly, knowing that He who holds you in His powerful hand cannot change, but abideth forever.

JEAN NICOLAS GROU

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Beginning to Sink

"But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him." Matthew 14:30-31

Beginning to sink . . . immediately . . . " But even so, for we are all weakness in ourselves, there are times when nothing comes to mind but these words. They assure us of so much more than they seem to say . . . Chiefly they bring the certainty that there will be no sinking, for Peter never sank. ("When I said, "My foot slippeth," - in that moment - "They mercy, O Lord, held me up.")

They come underneath the feeling of sinking; they say, "This shall never be." It was Christ's sorely tired prisoner, Samuel Rutherford, who wrote that the parings and crumbs of glory, a shower like the thin May-mist of his Lord's love was enough to make him green and sappy and joyful. Such a word, even such a little word as this, if only we open our hearts to its healing power, may be a crumb of glory enlightening the soul, a thin May-mist of His love making green and sappy (or glowing and golden) what was so dull and dry before. "And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him." How many seconds lie between a man's beginning to sink and his sinking? A second or less, I suppose, sees one who is beginning to sink under water. How swift, then, was the movement of love! And as He was, so He is. - Amy Carmichael

Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

E. A. Hoffman

By Charles E Fuller and J. Elwin Wright, taken from "Manna in the Morning"

Waiting is Hard

"When the cloud tarried... then the children of Israel... journeyed not" (Num. 9:19).

This was the supreme test of obedience. It was comparatively easy to strike tents, when the fleecy folds of the cloud were slowly gathering from off the Tabernacle, and it floated majestically before the host. Change is always delightful; and there was excitement and interest in the route, the scenery, and the locality of the next halting-place. But, ah, the tarrying.

Then, however uninviting and sultry the location, however trying to flesh and blood, however irksome to the impatient disposition, however perilously exposed to danger--there was no option but to remain encamped.

The Psalmist says, "I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry." And what He did for the Old Testament saints He will do for believers throughout all ages. Still God often keeps us waiting. Face to face with threatening foes, in the midst of alarms, encircled by perils, beneath the impending rock. May we not go? Is it not time to strike our tents? Have we not suffered to the point of utter collapse? May we not exchange the glare and heat for green pastures and still waters?

There is no answer. The cloud tarries, and we must remain, though sure of manna, rock-water, shelter, and defense. God never keeps us at post without assuring us of His presence, and sending us daily supplies.

Wait, young man, do not be in a hurry to make a change! Minister, remain at your post! Until the cloud clearly moves, you must tarry. Wait, then, thy Lord's good pleasure! He will be in plenty of time! -Daily Devotional Commentary

An hour of waiting!
Yet there seems such need
To reach that spot sublime!
I long to reach them--but I long far more to trust HIS time!

"Sit still, my daughter"--
Yet the heathen die,
They perish while I stay!
I long to reach them--but I long far more to trust HIS way!

'Tis good to get,
'Tis good indeed to give!
Yet is it better still--
O'er breadth, thro' length, down length, up height, to trust HIS will! - F. M. N.

By Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Desert"

No Secrets

"Commit yor way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your rightousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun." Psalm 27:5-6

We are trying to enter into a relationship with God, and as is true with any relationship, we must bring a vulnerable openness to it. We cannot partition off from Him certain frustrations or disappointments, our happy plans for the evening or our schedule for the workweek ahead. We are our ideas and thoughts, hopes, ambitions, feelings and dreams. To begin a relationship and allow it to deepen, each of these aspects of our life must not be hidden, but be ready to be presented to God.

This open sense of sharing is another way of saying that we truly trust God. We are not afraid to rely upon Him. We do so willingly, with no hidden secrets. With such tust, we till the soil of our soul for devotion.

By Judith Lechman, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"

Shadow of a Great Rock

"The Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve." Isaiah 14:3

To-day, beneath Thy chastening eye,
I crave alone for peace and rest;
Submissive in Thy hand to lie,
And feel that it is best.

J. G. WHITTIER

O Lord, who art as the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary land, who beholdest Thy weak creatures weary of labor, weary of pleasure, weary of hope deferred, weary of self; in Thine abundant compassion, and unutterable tenderness, bring us, I pray Thee, unto Thy rest. Amen.

CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI

Grant to me above all things that can be desired, to rest in Thee, and in Thee to have my heart at peace. Thou art the true peace of the heart, Thou its only rest; out of Thee all things are hard and restless. In this very peace, that is, in Thee, the One Chiefest Eternal Good, I will sleep and rest. Amen.

THOMAS À KEMPIS

Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord; and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee.

ST. AUGUSTINE

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Be the First One

"Get along with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13

Jesus says, "Use your head, but don't lower your standards." You be the one who interrupts that vicious cycle of paying one another back. Don't get on the roller coaster of resentment and anger. You be the one who says, "Yes, he mistreted me, but I am going to be like Christ. I'll be the one who says, 'Forgive them, Father, they don't know what they're doing.'"

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

Near to Christ

"And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment." Revelation 4:4

These representatives of the saints in heaven are said to be around the throne. In the passage in Canticles, where Solomon sings of the King sitting at his table, some render it "a round table." From this, some expositors, I think, without straining the text, have said, "There is an equality among the saints." That idea is conveyed by the equal nearness of the four and twenty elders. The condition of glorified spirits in heaven is that of nearness to Christ, clear vision of His glory, constant access to His court, and familiar fellowship with His person: nor is there any difference in this respect between one saint and another, but all the people of God, apostles, martyrs, ministers, or private and obscure Christians, shall all be seated near the throne, where they shall for ever gaze upon their exalted Lord, and be satisfied with His love. They shall all be near to Christ, all ravished with His love, all eating and drinking at the same table with Him, all equally beloved as His favourites and friends even if not all equally rewarded as servants.

Let believers on earth imitate the saints in heaven in their nearness to Christ. Let us on earth be as the elders are in heaven, sitting around the throne. May Christ be the object of our thoughts, the centre of our lives. How can we endure to live at such a distance from our Beloved? Lord Jesu, draw us nearer to Thyself. Say unto us, "Abide in Me, and I in you"; and permit us to sing, "His left hand is under my head, and His right hand doth embrace me."

O lift me higher, nearer Thee,
And as I rise more pure and meet,
O let my soul's humility
Make me lie lower at Thy feet;
Less trusting self, the more I prove
The blessed comfort of Thy love.

By Charles Haddon Spurgeon, taken from "Morning and Evening"

Psalm 121

"I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you - the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm - He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forever more."

The Calm Spirit of Christ

Today is moving day. There will be plenty of reason for fretting and stewing, impatience, and turbulence. I am one who seems to feel that unless I do things or unless they are done my way, they will not be done right, and the day will disintegrate. But I have been watching the sea--very turbulent this morning because of a tropical storm hundreds of miles away--and I remember Him whose word was enough to calm it.

Speak that word to me today, dear Lord: peace. Let your calm spirit, through the many potentially rough minutes of this day, in every task, say to my soul, Be still. Even this day's chaos, with all its clutter and exertion, will be ordered by your quiet power if my heart is subject to your word of peace. Thank You, Lord.

By Elisabeth Elliot

Shadow of a Great Rock

"The Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve." Isaiah 14:3.

Today, beneath Thy chastening eye,
I crave alone for peace and rest;
Submissive in Thy hand to lie,
And feel that it is best.

J. G. WHITTIER

O Lord, who art as the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary land, who beholdest Thy weak creatures weary of labor, weary of pleasure, weary of hope deferred, weary of self; in Thine abundant compassion, and unutterable tenderness, bring us, I pray Thee, unto Thy rest. Amen.

CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI

Grant to me above all things that can be desired, to rest in Thee, and in Thee to have my heart at peace. Thou art the true peace of the heart, Thou its only rest; out of Thee all things are hard and restless. In this very peace, that is, in Thee, the One Chiefest Eternal Good, I will sleep and rest. Amen.

THOMAS À KEMPIS

Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord; and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee.

ST. AUGUSTINE

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

"Little Ones"

"A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time." Isaiah 60:22

We have already said there are no little things with God. He cares about every little thing as though it were not at all small. And if there are no small things with God, surely there are no small, insignificant people with Him.

Not long ago, I was with an outstandingly capable and successful woman just minutes before she walked like a trusting child into a personal relationship with her new Saviour, Jesus Christ. But before she made the glorious transaction, she looked at me and asked: "How do you expect me to believe God cares about one bit of protoplasm like me?"

Just one or two words about Jesus as He hung on the Cross and her heart melted. She already wanted Him. Her need was great. As was mine. But when one is for the first time aware of god as a Person who loves, one is at the same moment struck with the appalling thought that a god who could create the macrocosm and the microcosm could possibly care about one "little one."

Only a look inside the heart that broke on Calvary can convince our hearts. But one look does convince us. And here is a "blue stone" whose every facet holds a promise that He not only cares, but cares enough to make good, creative use of each one of us. Especially the "little ones" among us.

God has had a marvelous plan for your life from the moment He conceived you in His mind. A plan especially for you. One no-one else can complete. Only you. Here is a promise to lay hold of with great expectation. " . . . I the Lord will hasten it in his time." Knowing Him, we know He is never late nor early. And He does have a plan for each one of our lives, if those lives are in Christ.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in him.

By Eugenia Price, taken from "Share My Pleasant Stones"

I Am Hidden With Christ

"You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." Psalm 32:7

The Nazis wielded terror over all who were not like them in race, religion or rule. During World War II, the primary hate targets were the Jews; their power stripped, property confiscated, people confined - and killed - in concentration camps. In fact, the Nazi-dominated Holland, the ten Boom family had carefully hidden thousands of Jews in their "hiding place" - the secret place behind their watch shop.

Then on February 28, 1944, that which was most feared happened - the hiding place was discovered! The Gestapo arrested the ten Boom family. Their crime? Hiding Jews. Their punishment? Immediate transport to a concentration camp.

As the two sisters waited in line to be searched, Corrie ten Boom asked god if he would keep the bible that was tucked inside her clothing hidden from view. "Dear God, you have given me this precious Book, you have kept it hidden through checkpoints and inspections." The woman in front of Corrie was searched three times. Beloved sister Betsie standing behind her was also searched. Miraculously, the officer never touched Corrie. Her Bible now had a hiding place in a German concentration camp!

Filth, disease, beating and rape became a part of their struggle for survival. But as Corrie read the Bible's truth's, she knew his word would keep hatred from her heart. "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11)

Is there a hiding place for you? A place of healing for your damaged emotions? When you have been treated harshly, you can be free of hatred. Because he hides his truth in you, you are protected from wrong thoughts and wrong choices. The adversary of your life has no power to trap you . . . as long as you stay hidden in the shelter of God's wings where you are safe from emotional destruction, hidden from emotional ruin.

By June Hunt, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"

Patience in the Routine

"Be thou there till I bring thee word" (Matt. 2:13).

"I'll stay where You've put me;
I will, dear Lord, Though I wanted so badly to go;
I was eager to march with the 'rank and file,'
Yes, I wanted to lead them, You know.
I planned to keep step to the music loud,
To cheer when the banner unfurled,
To stand in the midst of the fight straight and proud,
But I'll stay where You've put me.

"I'll stay where You've put me; I'll work, dear Lord,
Though the field be narrow and small,
And the ground be fallow, and the stones lie thick,
And there seems to be no life at all.
The field is Thine own, only give me the seed,
I'll sow it with never a fear;
I'll till the dry soil while I wait for the rain,
And rejoice when the green blades appear;
I'll work where You've put me.

"I'll stay where You've put me; I will, dear Lord;
I'll bear the day's burden and heat,
Always trusting Thee fully; when even has come
I'll lay heavy sheaves at Thy feet.
And then, when my earth work is ended and done,
In the light of eternity's glow,
Life's record all closed, I surely shall find
It was better to stay than to go;
I'll stay where You've put me."

"Oh restless heart, that beat against your prison bars of circumstances, yearning for a wider sphere of usefulness, leave God to order all your days. Patience and trust, in the dullness of the routine of life, will be the best preparation for a courageous bearing of the tug and strain of the larger opportunity which God may some time send you."

Compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Desert"

Work and Labor of Love

"If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another." I John 1:7

"God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." Hebrews 6:10

Wherever in the world I am,
In whatsoe'er estate,
I have a fellowship with hearts,
To keep and cultivate,
And a work of lowly love to do
For the Lord on whom I wait.

A. L. WARING

We do not always perceive that even the writing of a note of congratulation, the fabrication of something intended as an offering of affection, our necessary intercourse with characters which have no congeniality with our own, or hours apparently trifled away in the domestic circle, may be made by us the performance of a most sacred and blessed work; even the carrying out, after our feeble measure, of the design of God for-the increase of happiness.

SARAH W. STEPHEN

Definite work is not always that which is cut and squared for us, but that which comes as a claim upon the conscience, whether it's nursing in a hospital, or hemming a handkerchief.

ELIZABETH M. SEWELL

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Yesterday's Failures

"See if there is any bad thing in me. Lead me on the road to everlasting life." Psalm 139:24

Father in heaven, help us as we grapple and cope with yesterday's failures. They dog at our heels like irritations. They follow us around. They cling to our ankles like fifteen-pound ball weights. Help us to release those regrets in the right way, and keep us close.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

Remember

""Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings." Psalm 36:5-7

A warm letter from a friend. A compliment from my boss. An unexpected refund. A comforting Scripture. These arrive as God's good gifts to me. But they usually get overlooked while I'm focusing on what feels like - at least to me - insurmountable trouble. Always, it's trouble that God hasn't solved yet. Often, I complain about His delayed response. But really, my myopic vision isn't fair to him. If I lift my eyes off the problem, I can spot God's gifts all around me. they may not be the answer I'm searching for at the moment, but they're good and continuous gifts that say, "I still love you, my child." They remind me that God doesn't stop caring for me, even though I live with unfulfilled expectations. Now during the hard times, I remind myself to hunt for God's small surprises while I'm waiting for his big solution. It takes my mind off the problem. It helps me to trust him . . . It encourages me to know that god still cares.

By Judith Couchman, taken from "Women's Daily Devotional Bible 2"

The Love of God

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

We would not meagre gifts down-call
When Thou dost yearn to yield us all;
But for this life, this little hour,
Ask all Thy love and care and power.

J. INGELOW

God so loveth us that He would make all things channels to us and messengers of His love. Do for His sake deeds of love, and He will give thee His love. Still thyself, thy own cares, thy own thoughts for Him, and He will speak to thy heart. Ask for Himself, and He will give thee Himself. Truly, a secret hidden thing is the love of God, known only to them who seek it, and to them also secret, for what man can have of it here is how slight a foretaste of that endless ocean of His love!

E. B. PUSEY

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Through Christ Jesus

"Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit that brings life made me free from the law that brings sin and death." Romans 8:2

Does the Word of God say, "There is limited condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"? No. Does it say, "There is some condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Think of it - regardless of our sin, we are not guilty!

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

Listening to the Lord

"Then answered he me, and said, This is the condition of the battle which man that is born upon the earth shall fight; that, if he be overcome, he shall suffer as thou hast said: but if he get the victory, he shall receive the thing that I say." Ephesians 6:12

One holy Church, one army strong,
One steadfast high intent,
One working band, one harvest-song,
One King omnipotent.

S. JOHNSON

We listened to a man whom we felt to be, with all his heart and soul and strength, striving against whatever was mean and unmanly and unrighteous in our little world. It was not the cold clear voice of one giving advice and warning from serene heights to those who were struggling and sinning below, but the warm living voice of one who was fighting for us and by our sides, and calling on us to help him and ourselves and one another. And so, wearily and little by little, but surely and steadily on the whole, was brought home to the young boy, for the first time, the meaning of his life; that it was no fool's or sluggard's paradise into which he had wandered by chance, but a battle-field ordained from of old, where there are no spectators, but the youngest must take his side, and the stakes are life and death.

THOMAS HUGHES

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Hearing my cry

"Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity." Isaiah 58:9

Thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke . . . ." What does this mean? Isn't God willing to hear our cry, even when we are disobedient? Yes. I couldn't follow a God who only favored me according to my attention to Him. This would make God very much like the conception many people seem to hold of Him, but I believe it to be entirely wrong. In Jesus Christ, and all through the New Testament, I see God as a God who will never leave us. Who not only hears our cries, but is right there with us in our troubles. A God who actually falls to the ground with a little brown sparrow would not turn His back on me because I failed Him.

No, I merely believe this means we do not hear His response to our cry except on the conditions He gives us in this "blue stone" verse. The "yoke" has our attention. And here the yoke seems to constitute criticism and pride or shallowness of heart in us. " . . . the putting forth of the finger" may be arrogance toward the very sacredness of life itself. It may be self-righteousness. Wrong attitudes of heart. And the "speaking vanity" may be our own voices saying, "Well, I'm just like this and that's all there is to it!" Or is may be the self-righteous, calloused heart turned away from the Cross, boasting: "At least I'd never have done a thing like that!"

We will hear Him say "Here I am" when we cry, if we are completely open to His voice. One way to remain open is to let other people "off the hook of your critical disposition."

Be still, and know that I am God . . . .

By Eugenia Price, taken from "Share My Pleasant Stones"

Dancing Leaves

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and will give thanks to him in song."

Another gray, dreary day. Wind, rain, sleet, snow. Ah, the variety of ways the weather can dampen my spirits. The overcast skies rob the color from my world and I feel alone. Gray days feel like Mondays - days full of too much to do and too little time. Days with responsibilities crowding in and joy crowded out. Grey days.

Yet in the road are dancing leaves. Leaves swirling in circular patterns across the street. Dancing leaves, you dance in circles, going nowhere in particular. Don't you know today is bitter and cold? Don't you realize the wind is making your world an unfriendly place? Under gray skies and nasty weather, today is a day of overcoats pulled tight and hats pulled low.

Still you dance. Crusty brown leaves, winkled and lifeless, you dance. Yet this dance is not your own. Left to your own volition, you'd be sitting in the nearest compost pile. No, this dance of yours comes from a source completely other than your ring of swirling leaves. This dance of yours is a defiant one, a dance with laughs at the melancholy gray.

Dancing leaves, your defiance is contagious.

Spirit of the living God,
Surround my dreary world today
And set my feet to dancing.
The silent song of days gone gray,
A heart that's heavy laden,
Won't have the last, the final say.
I know a song of dancing leaves,
They swril and twirl despite the gray.
Spirit of the living God,
Set my feet to dancing.

By Debra Klingsporn, taken from "Women's Daily Devotional 2"

Repentance

"On the day I called you, you answered me. You made me strong and brave." Psalm 138:3

No one is happier than the one who has sincerely repented of wrong. Repentance is the decision to turn from selfish desires and seek God. It is a genuine, sincere regret that creates sorrow and moves us to admit wrong and desire to do better.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

Our Dependency on Christ

"We are troubled on every side" (2 Cor. 7:5).

Why should God have to lead us thus, and allow the pressure to be so hard and constant? Well, in the first place, it shows His all-sufficient strength and grace much better than if we were exempt from pressure and trial. "The treasure is in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."

It makes us more conscious of our dependence upon Him. God is constantly trying to teach us our dependence, and to hold us absolutely in His hand and hanging upon His care.

This was the place where Jesus Himself stood and where He wants us to stand, not with self-constituted strength, but with a hand ever leaning upon His, and a trust that dare not take one step alone. It teaches us trust.

There is no way of learning faith except by trial. It is God's school of faith, and it is far better for us to learn to trust God than to enjoy life.

The lesson of faith once learned, is an everlasting acquisition and an eternal fortune made; and without trust even riches will leave us poor. --Days of Heaven upon Earth

"Why must I weep when others sing?
'To test the deeps of suffering.'
Why must I work while others rest?
'To spend my strength at God's request.'
Why must I lose while others gain?
'To understand defeat's sharp pain.'
Why must this lot of life be mine
When that which fairer seems is thine?
'Because God knows what plans for me
Shall blossom in eternity.'"

Compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Desert"

Worthy Walk

"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called." Ephesians 4:1

I remember when both my sons took their first steps. We so desperately wanted to see our kids take them. We were so excited. Then once they started walking, we wished we never would have taught them how to do it. We had to constantly keep an eye on them.

My youngest son Jonathan fell so many times when he was taking his first steps that he had a permanent bruise on his forehead. He would fall. The bruise would start to heal. He would fall again. We didn’t recognize him without that bruise in the middle of his forehead.

Walking spiritually can be like that, especially when you take your first steps as a new believer. You stumble and fall. You get up again. You stumble and fall. It is all part of growing spiritually.

In Ephesians 4, we are encouraged to walk forward spiritually. Walking speaks of effort, of having direction with a destination in mind. And the first thing we are told is “to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (verse 1).

The word “worthy” used in verse 1 could be translated, “balance the scales.” This means that what is on one side of the scale should be equal in weight to what is on the other side. This word could be applied to anything that was expected to correspond to something else. Paul was saying there needs to be a balance between our belief and our practice. In other words, our doctrine and belief should affect us in the way we live.

We need the balance of having both these areas working together in our lives. That is what it means to walk worthy of the Lord.

By Greg Laurie

Hold on Until the End

"We are made partaker of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end" (Heb. 3:14).

It is the last step that wins; and there is no place in the pilgrim's progress where so many dangers lurk as the region that lies hard by the portals of the Celestial City. It was there that Doubting Castle stood. It was there that the enchanted ground lured the tired traveler to fatal slumber. It is when Heaven's heights are full in view that hell's gate is most persistent and full of deadly peril. "Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." "So run, that ye may obtain."

In the bitter waves of woe
Beaten and tossed about
By the sullen winds that blow
From the desolate shores of doubt,
Where the anchors that faith has cast
Are dragging in the gale,
I am quietly holding fast
To the things that cannot fail.

And fierce though the fiends may fight,
And long though the angels hide,
I know that truth and right
Have the universe on their side;
And that somewhere beyond the stars
Is a love that is better than fate.
When the night unlocks her bars
I shall see Him--and I will wait.
--Washington Gladden

The problem of getting great things from God is being able to hold on for the last half hour. --Selected

Compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Desert"

Tempered and Tried

"Followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (Heb. 6:12).

They (heroes of faith) are calling to us from the heights that they have won, and telling us that what man once did man can do again. Not only do they remind us of the necessity of faith, but also of that patience by which faith has its perfect work. Let us fear to take ourselves out of the hands of our heavenly Guide or to miss a single lesson of His loving discipline by discouragement or doubt.

"There is only one thing," said a village blacksmith, "that I fear, and that is to be thrown on the scrap heap.

"When I am tempering a piece of steel, I first beat it, hammer it, and then suddenly plunge it into this bucket of cold water. I very soon find whether it will take temper or go to pieces in the process. When I discover after one or two tests that it is not going to allow itself to be tempered, I throw it on the scrap heap and sell it for a cent a pound when the junk man comes around.

"So I find the Lord tests me, too, by fire and water and heavy blows of His heavy hammer, and if I am not willing to stand the test, or am not going to prove a fit subject for His tempering process, I am afraid He may throw me on the scrap heap."

When the fire is hottest, hold still, for there will be a blessed "afterward"; and with Job we may be able to say, "When he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold." --Selected

Sainthood springs out of suffering. It takes eleven tons of pressure on a piano to tune it. God will tune you to harmonize with Heaven's key-note if you can stand the strain.

"Things that hurt and things that mar
Shape the man for perfect praise;
Shock and strain and ruin are
Friendlier than the smiling days."

Compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Dessert"

Condition of the Battle

"Then answered he me, and said, This is the condition of the battle which man that is born upon the earth shall fight; that, if he be overcome, he shall suffer as thou hast said: but if he get the victory, he shall receive the thing that I say." Ephesians 6:12

One holy Church, one army strong,
One steadfast high intent,
One working band, one harvest-song,
One King omnipotent.

S. JOHNSON

We listened to a man whom we felt to be, with all his heart and soul and
strength, striving against whatever was mean and unmanly and unrighteous in
our little world. It was not the cold clear voice of one giving advice and
warning from serene heights to those who were struggling and sinning below,
but the warm living voice of one who was fighting for us and by our sides,
and calling on us to help him and ourselves and one another. And so,
wearily and little by little, but surely and steadily on the whole, was
brought home to the young boy, for the first time, the meaning of his life;
that it was no fool's or sluggard's paradise into which he had wandered
by chance, but a battle-field ordained from of old, where there are no
spectators, but the youngest must take his side, and the stakes are life
and death.

THOMAS HUGHES

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Second Chances

"Lord, you are kind and forgiving and have great love for those who call to you." Psalm 86:5

It's never too late to get a second chance with God. It's ever too late! Think about Paul - he had been a murderer and a blasphemer. He had to look into the faces of people whose fathers he had persecuted, whose children he had killed. He could have spent his life looking at yesterday, but he didn't do that. He started life over again in the confidence of God's forgiveness.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

More than Mere Words

"I wilt give you the sure mercies of David" (Acts 13:34).

Nothing of man is sure; but everything of God is so. Especially are covenant mercies sure mercies, even as David said "an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure."

We are sure that the Loci meant His mercy. He did not speak mere wards: there is substance and truth in every one of His promises. His mercies are mercies indeed. Even if a promise seems as if it must drop through by reason of death, yet it never shall, for the good LORD will make good His word.

We are sure that the LORD will bestow promised mercies on all His covenanted ones. They shall come in due course to all the chosen of the LORD. They are sure to all the seed, from the least of them unto the greatest of them. We are sure that the LORD will continue His mercies to His own people. He does not give and take. What He has granted us is the token of much more. That which we have not yet received is as sure as that which has already come; therefore, let us wait before the LORD and be still. There is no justifiable reason for the least doubt. God's love, and word, and faithfulness are sure. Many things are questionable, but of the LORD we sing --

For his mercies shall endure
Ever faithful, ever sure.

By C.H. Spurgeon, taken from "Faith's Checkbook"

Sitting Down Without Fear

"The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

As a child, I learned from the Bible to trust in God and not be afraid. I have always felt comforted by reading the Psalms, especially Psalm 23 and 27.

I saw and heard so much as a child growing up with hate and injustice against black people. I learned to put my trust in God and to seek him as my strength. Long ago I set my mind to be a free person and not to give in to fear. I always felt that it was my right to defend myself if I could.

I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear. When I sat down on the bus the day I was arrested, I was thinking of going home. I had made up my mind quickly about what it was that I had to do, what I felt was right to do. I did not think of being physically tired or fearful. After so many years of oppression and being a victim of the mistreatment that my people had suffered, not giving up my seat - and whatever I had to face after not giving it up - was not important. I did not feel any fear at sitting in the seat I was sitting in. All I felt was tired. Tired of being pushed around. Tired of seeing the bad treatment and disrespect of children, women and men just because of the color of their skin. Tired of the Jim Crow laws. Tired of being oppressed. I was just plain tired.

I felt the Lord would give me the strength to endure whatever I had to face. god did away with all my fear. It was time for someone to stand up - or in my case, sit down. I refused to move.

By Rosa Parks, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"

Continue in Prayer

"And there was Anna, a prophetess... which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day" Luke 2:36,37

No doubt by praying we learn to pray, and the more we pray the oftener we can pray, and the better we can pray. He who prays in fits and starts is never likely to attain to that effectual, fervent prayer which availeth much. Great power in prayer is within our reach, but we must go to work to obtain it. Let us never imagine that Abraham could have interceded so successfully for Sodom if he had not been all his lifetime in the practice of communion with God. Jacob's all-night at Peniel was not the first occasion upon which he had met his God. We may even look upon our Lord's most choice and wonderful prayer with his disciples before His Passion as the flower and fruit of His many nights of devotion, and of His often rising up a great while before day to pray.

If a man dreams that he can become mighty in prayer just as he pleases, he labors under a great mistake. The prayer of Elias which shut up heaven and afterwards opened its floodgates, was one of long series of mighty prevailings with God. Oh, that Christian men would remember this! Perseverance in prayer is necessary to prevalence in prayer.

Those great intercessors, who are not so often mentioned as they ought to be in connection with confessors and martyrs, were nevertheless the grandest benefactors of the Church; but it was only by abiding at the mercy-seat that they attained to be such channels of mercy to men. We must pray to pray, and continue in prayer that our prayers may continue. --G. H. Spurgeon

Compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Desert"

Feeling Weak

"In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul." Psalm 138:3

It is not that I feel less weak, but Thou
Wilt be my strength; it is not that I see
Less sin; but more of pardoning love with Thee,
And all-sufficient grace. Enough! And now
All fluttering thought is stilled; I only rest,
And feel that Thou art near, and know that I am blest.

F. R. HAVERGAL

Yea, though thou canst not believe, yet be not dismayed thereat; only do
thou sink into, or at least pant after the hidden measure of life, which is
not in that which distresseth, disturbeth, and filleth thee with thoughts,
fears, troubles, anguish, darknesses, terrors, and the like; no, no! but in
that which inclines to the patience, to the stillness, to the hope, to the
waiting, to the silence before the Father.

I. PENINGTON

We have only to be patient, to pray, and to do His will, according to our
present light and strength, and the growth of the soul will go on. The
plant grows in the mist and under clouds as truly as under sunshine. So
does the heavenly principle within.

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Anger

"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." Proverbs 16:32

Purge from our hearts the stains so deep and foul,
Of wrath and pride and care;
Send Thine own holy calm upon the soul,
And bid it settle there!

ANON

Let this truth be present to thee in the excitement of anger,--that to be moved by passion is not manly, but that mildness and gentleness, as they are more agreeable to human nature, so also are they more manly. For in the same degree in which a man's mind is nearer to freedom from all passion, in the same degree also is it nearer to strength.

MARCUS ANTONINUS

It is no great matter to associate with the good and gentle, for this is naturally pleasing to all, and every one willingly enjoyeth peace, and loveth those best that agree with him. But to be able to live peaceably with hard and perverse persons, or with the disorderly, or with such as go contrary to us, is a great grace, and a most commendable and manly thing.

THOMAS À KEMPIS

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Reaching Perfection

"Perfect through suffering" Hebrews 2:10

Steel is iron plus fire. Soil is rock, plus heat, or glacier crushing. Linen is flax plus the bath that cleans, the comb that separates, and the flail that pounds, and the shuttle that weaves. Human character must have a plus attached to it. The world does not forget great characters. But great characters are not made of luxuries, they are made by suffering.

I heard of a mother who brought into her home as a companion to her own son, a crippled boy who was also a hunchback. She had warned her boy to be very careful in his relations to him, and not to touch the sensitive part of his life but go right on playing with him as if he were an ordinary boy. She listened to her son as they were playing; and after a few minutes he said to his companion: "Do you know what you have got on your back?" The little hunchback was embarrassed, and he hesitated a moment. The boy said: "It is the box in which your wings are; and some day God is going to cut it open, and then you will fly away and be an angel."

Some day, God is going to reveal the fact to every Christian, that the very principles they now rebel against, have been the instruments which He used in perfecting their characters and moulding them into perfection, polished stones for His great building yonder. --Cortland Myers

Suffering is a wonderful fertilizer to the roots of character. The great object of this life is character. This is the only thing we can carry with us into eternity... To gain the most of it and the best of it is the object of probation. --Austin Phelps

"By the thorn road and no other is the mount of vision won."

Compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Desert"

A Shield Around Me

"But you are a shield around me, O Lord: you bestow glory on me and lift up my head." Psalm 3:3

"You know I'm not very intuitive,' my friend Dee said, breaking the silent prayer of the women's bible study. "I don't see visions or anything, but just now I saw the Lord standing guard over you. Behind him were shadowy figures of things like anger and depression. His arms were outspread, holding them back and protecting you so nothing could harm you."

It was the week after Richard's funeral and I was on shaky, newborn legs. I was really too raw and unsteady to be out but had always enjoyed the common sense and strength of these women. I knew Dee's words were true. I felt that protection.

I had done what was necessary: contacted a lawyer, begun hundreds of thank-you notes, applied for Social Security. Now there was just pain and all of life ahead. Pain, fierce and cleansing in its intensity, still without anger, built or depression - all that would come later.

The grace I felt didn't blunt the pain, didn't even keep the difficulties at bay. The cars still ran out of oil, fuses still blew, the grass needed mowing and our machine was too cantankerous for the job. These daily irritations were drips in an overflowing cup.

Grace was a sense of presence, of stillness, that was always there just below the surface. Perhaps grace had always been there, but my life had been too hurried, my mind too cluttered, to notice it. perhaps a feeling of unworthiness had blocked the presence of God. All that fell away now. God was my Father, giving me each day the ticket for the journey, and I clung to that grace like a child.

By Kate Convissor, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"