Share this:

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Mat_28:20.

THERE IS an added beauty and meaning in these words when we translate the Greek into literal English: “I am with you all the days.”

How fresh and vital and inspiring they are! Though familiar as household words, they refresh us like the breath of a spring morning laden with the ozone of the sea.
We shrink back from the mysteries of life, and dread its pain, less for ourselves than for those who are so closely twined into our life. We need wisdom, strength, guidance, a brother’s love, a Saviour’s intercession—but all is here, if only we can appreciate and receive the benediction of the wonderful fact of the perpetual presence of Christ.

There are conditions which we must fulfil. Obedience. If a man keep My words… I will manifest Myself unto him. The path of your life is marked out by the Providence of God, either in the levels of ordinary existence, or in some special mission and calling. As you bravely tread it, you become aware of a glorious Presence coming to meet you, and walking by your side.

Purity; “the pure in heart see God.” This is the finding of the Holy Grail, of which Tennyson sang! A quiet heart. I do not say a quiet life—that may be impossible, but a heart free from care, from feverish passion, from the intrusion of unworthy ambition, pride or vanity. The habit of meditating on God’s Word helps to induce the quiet heart and devout spirit which realizes the Lord’s presence. The Bible is like the garden in which the Lord God walked in the cool of the day; read it much and prayerfully, and you will meet Him in its glades.

Recollection. There will be times when the sense of His presence will be wafted into your soul. At other times, it is a great secret to say: “Thou art here, O Lord! I do not feel or enjoy Thee. My heart is desolate, but Thou art beside me!” Faith, not feeling, is the realizing faculty. Without it, you would not have perceived His presence, though you had been beside St. John on Patmos; with it we may find Him as near in London to-day as in Palestine, long years ago!

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, Thou art with us all the days. Give us eyes to see Thee and ears to hear Thy voice, that Thou mayest become more real than the dearest and closest of our friends. AMEN.

The Living Water

I had planned to share another verse in my spiritual arsenal but apparently God had other plans for tonight. I was reading my devotionals for the day and two in a row featured the same verse and theme of living water, you know me and so called coincidences, there are none but there is God’s hand at work. So tonight I am sharing both selections in the order I read them. They make any the points better than I can and John 7:37 is one of my tools I was planning to share in a future post, it wasn’t my choice for tonight though. So arm your heart and partake of the living water of life, our sweet Lord.

The first selection comes from Day By Day By Grace by Bob Hoekstra followed by a devotional teaching by F.B. Meyer’s Our Daily Walk

If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit. (Joh 7:37-39)

These words from Jesus provide another picture of what the fullness of the Spirit is all about, as well as how to walk in that spiritual abundance. His remarks are addressed to those who are thirsty: “If anyone thirsts.” In this spiritual context, thirst can speak of the painful dryness that often accompanies need or lack. Pressures, responsibilities, busyness, disappointments, and preoccupation with earthly matters can dry out the soul of man. Corresponding to this need, thirst can refer to the eager yearning after those heavenly blessings that refresh and restore our inner life. Such thirsty conditions apply to all of us at various times.

Jesus tells us exactly how to remedy such thirst. “Come to Me and drink.” We are to bring these needs to the Lord Jesus Christ and drink of Him. So often, we attempt to satisfy such thirsts by drinking at other wells. Thirsty people around the world attempt to find relief through education, work, religion, politics, entertainment, money, drugs, and more. They all encounter the truth that our Lord revealed to the Samaritan woman at the well. “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again” (Joh 4:13). We must take our spiritual thirsts to a person, to “the Person,” the Lord Jesus.

Yet, how do we drink of the thirst-quenching resources of Jesus? He indicated the means in the next phrase: “He who believes in Me.” When we bring our dry, thirsty needs to Jesus and believe that He can meet those needs, we are drinking from what the Lord alone can offer. We drink of Christ’s resources by faith. Jesus included this insight earlier in His discourse on the bread of life. “He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (Joh 6:35).

Unquestionably, Jesus will always satisfy legitimate thirsts that are brought to Him. Yet, there is more available here. The spiritual water that Christ provides also works within the thirsty soul. “The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (Joh 4:14). This Holy Spirit supply develops abundant life within the trusting heart. Ultimately, this fountain that grows within flows outward to others. “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Dry, thirsty hearts that come to Jesus in faith, not only find satisfaction for the thirst, but eventually pour out life in the Spirit to others.

Lord Jesus, You know the thirsty places within my life. I bring them to You now. I believe that You can meet these needs. I open up to the work of Your Spirit to quench the thirsts deep within my heart. Lord, I praise You for the expectation I have that You can turn my dryness into torrents of living waters to bless others, in Your name, Amen.

“They have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” — Jer 2:13.

“If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.” — Joh 7:37.

WHAT AN infinite mistake to miss the fountain freely flowing to quench our thirst, and to hew out broken cisterns, in which is disappointment and despair. Many such may read these words—each with soul-thirst craving satisfaction; each within reach of God, whose nature is as rock-water for those that are athirst, but they are attempting the impossible task of satisfying the craving for the infinite and Divine, with men and the things of sense.

There is the cistern of Pleasure, engraved with fruits and flowers, wrought at the cost of health and peace; the cistern of Wealth, gilded and inlaid with costly gems; the cistern of Human love, which, however fair and beautiful, can never satisfy the soul that rests in it alone—all these, erected at infinite cost of time and strength, are treacherous and disappointing.

At our feet the fountain of God’s love is flowing through the channel of Jesus Christ, the Divine Man. He says to each of us: “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.'” We must descend to the level of the stream, if its waters are to flow over our parched lips to slake our thirst. We must come back to Calvary, take our stand at the foot of the Cross, hear again the words of Him who died there for us, saying “I thirst,” that He might be able to give the Water of Life freely to all who come to Him.

You who are weary of your toil, drop your tools, and come back to God. Forsake the alliances, the friendships, the idolatries, the sins which have alienated you from your best Friend. Open your heart, that He may create in you the fountain of living water, leaping up to eternal life. “The Spirit and the Bride say, Come! And let him that heareth say, Come! And let him that is athirst, Come! And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

“I came to Jesus, and I drank

Of that Life-giving stream;

My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,

And now I live in Him.”

PRAYER

Teach us, O Lord, the art of so living in fellowship with Thyself that every act may be a Psalm, every meal a sacrament, every room a sanctuary, every thought a prayer. AMEN.

THE COMING KINGDOM

This was written in August 2017, several weeks before it is scheduled to post, my heart soared reading it as I had spent the previous night considering the truth of a Sept. 23rd Rapture date when the Rev. 12 sign culminates.  If you are reading this then my research and study of scripture was correct, all true believers were called home by their Savior and there are now just 7 years left before Christ returns to claim His throne and establish His coming kingdom.

---

Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will tell of the decree: the LORD said unto me, Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Now therefore be wise, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.   Psalms 2:6-12

THE BASIS of this magnificent Psalm is the Reign of Christ. No king of David s line realized its sublime ideal, but the mind of the singer is borne forward to the reign of the Messiah, to whom it is applied in the New Testament.

how that God hath fulfilled the same unto our children, in that he raised up Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.  Acts 13:33

For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, This day have I begotten thee? and again, I will be to him a Father, And he shall be to me a Son?  Hebrews 1:5

There are four strophes of three verses each. In Psa_2:1-3, the nations are depicted as assembling and planning revolt. A widespread conspiracy has arisen against the authority of Jehovah, exercised through the Messiah.

Why do the nations rage, and the peoples imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. Psalms 2:1-3

In Psa_2:4-6, by a bold metaphor, the absurdity of man’s rebellion is made clear; but the laughter of the Most High is not inconsistent with the tears and sorrow of Jesus, as He beheld Jerusalem, and wept over it. The strenuous resistance by man can never alter the Divine purpose. The hammer cannot break the anvil!

He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure: Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psalms 2:4-6

In Psa_2:7-9, the Anointed King discloses His relationship to the Almighty, and claims universal dominion.

I will tell of the decree: the LORD said unto me, Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.  Psalms 2:7-9

The Divine Sonship was an eternal fact, but it was openly certified by the Resurrection.

concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead; even Jesus Christ our Lord,  Romans 1:3-4

As He left our earth to ascend to His Throne, our Saviour claimed that all power was given to Him in heaven and on earth. His rule is founded, not only on the glory of His essential Deity, but on His suffering and sacrifice. “He became obedient to death, even the death of the Cross… therefore God also hath highly exalted Him.”
In Psa_2:10-12, the Psalmist urges the rebellious to accept the findings of common sense. It is madness to dream of thwarting God’s purpose. Kiss the hand of Jesus outstretched to you in love and forgiveness, and take shelter in Him from the wrath to come on the disobedient (Rev_6:16-17).

Now therefore be wise, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.  Psalms 2:10-12

and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand?
Revelation 6:16-17

PRAYER
Behold, Thou commandest that I should love Thee with all my heart and soul, with all my mind and strength: Grant Thou me what Thou commandest, and command what Thou wilt. AMEN.

THE WISE USE OF INFLUENCE

Previously scheduled devotional post.

---

“Ye are the light of the world…. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” — Matthew 5:14-16.

INFLUENCE MAY be defined as the flowing in of our soul to enthuse and help, or to debase others. The law of action and recreation, of attraction and repulsion is always at work, in virtue of which it may be truly said that no one liveth or dieth to himself. The position of each atom of sand upon the seashore affects the position of all others, and the quality of our personal character is more pervasive than a good or ill odour. What we are affects others much more deeply than what we say. Probably waves of spiritual influence are continually going forth from our inmost nature, and it is the impact of these upon those around us which makes it easier or harder for them to realize their highest ideals.
The first circle which we can touch and influence is that of our friends. Our counsel may be sweetness or bitterness, but whatever we do or say, we must see that we are absolutely true and faithful (Proverbs 27:6-9). Sincerity means to be without the wax which the cabinet-maker may put into the cracks of the wood to make it appear sound. It is the true and pure soul that most readily and forcibly helps another. Do not be selfish in your friendship, but always give out as much and more than you expect to receive. Love is a tender plant, and needs culture. We must not suppose that it is able to thrive without light and truth.
The second circle of influence is that of our associates. The great world of men may not appreciate our reproduction of the Beatitudes of the Kingdom, but still reproach, persecute, and say all manner of evil falsely; nevertheless, we must continue to bless the world by the silent and gracious influence of holy living. Reviled, we must bless; persecuted, we must endure; defamed, we must entreat. We must be as salt to our persecutors and as light to our defamers. It is wonderful how love, and consistent, patient, prayerful influence finally prevail.
We are to be as salt; i.e. our consistent holy living will act as antiseptic to arrest evil. We are to be the light of the world. Inconsistency and cowardice are like bushels which are put over the lamp. Let us put all these hindrances away, that the light which is within us may shine out on the dark world.

PRAYER
Grant, we beseech Thee, O God, that our behaviour may be as becometh the Gospel of Christ. May the savour of Christ be in our influence, His light in our face, His love in our hearts. AMEN.

Profit And Loss

People have disappeared, vanished, all over the world.  You’re worried, scared, terrified, confused, hurt, lost.  I’m Miranda, and I “disappeared”, called home when Jesus returned in the clouds for His body the church of true believers.  I started this blog not quite a year before Jesus came for us when God laid it on my heart to do so.  He called me to share His love for you, explain what happened and warn you about what is coming on the world so you won’t be deceived by the lies the world will try to convince you of.   If you are reading this then He is giving you a second chance to come to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.  You don’t ave to go through what is coming on the world over the next several years alone, God loves you and wants to enter into relationship with you, giving you His perfect peace and strength with which to endure the trials ahead.  I won’t lie it’s not going to be easy, in fact you are now in what is called in the Scriptures (Holy Bible) The Tribulation,  or Daniel’s Seventieth Week.  The next seven years are going to be filled with war, famine, pestilence, plagues, all the worst things you can imagine.   It will start out not so bad but by the halfway point (1260 days) the Antichrist will be in full power ruling the world and he will plunge it into the Time of Jacob’s Trouble or the Great Tribulation.  You do not want to face this time separated from God, it will be just a small foretaste of what eternity without Him will be like.  If you don’t accept His Son, whose precious blood was shed for your sins , who died and rose from the dead three days later, alive and glorified, then that is exactly where you will spend eternity.  But if you repent of your sins (and yes you are a sinner, just as I was). turn from them and this world that is ruled by the man of sin, cling instead to the cross, cling to Jesus the Savior of souls, the Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah you will be saved and one day join Him when He returns to claim His throne as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  If you need more info or proof of your need for Christ see the following posts:  All Fall Short ,Regret, Remorse, Repentance – HOPE , Sinner’s Prayer.  Well really pretty much any post on this site will point you towards Christ, so go read, learn and accept with complete faith knowing that Jesus died to save you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ** Previously scheduled repost.

---

This mornings daily devotional comes from Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer, it resonated with me strongly this morning, winning souls and doing the Lord’s work has weighed heavily upon me the last couple of days.  In fact this devotional is an excellent lead in to my post tonight on the sending out of the seventy.  I hope to inspire you all to follow in their footsteps as they followed in Jesus’.

“Lo, we have left all, and have followed Thee! Jesus answered, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My sake, and the Gospel’s but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time and in the world to come eternal life.” — Mar_10:28-30.

THE PRINCIPLES of this world, and those of our Lord are widely different. The world is set on grasping all it can accumulation, self aggrandisement, the piling up of fortunes, the gradual or speedy climb up the ladder of fame, the gathering of hosts of friends. Looking after “number one” is the readiest way of expressing this principle of life! But it is unsatisfactory and disappointing. The soul which is the centre of its own circumference is doomed to realize that there are more forfeits than prizes, more bitterness than success, more dark hours than bright ones.

On the other side, Christ’s principle of life is to give, to trust, to bless! His measure must be always pressed down and running over. The cloak must follow the coat; the second mile must be gladly thrown in with the first. To be willing to surrender all for the sake of others, is the ordinary claim of the King on those who own Him as their Lord.

In every age there have been thousands who have gladly accepted this as their rule of life. Peter and the rest of the Apostles were the leaders of a host which no man can number, who have left all to follow Jesus. He had nowhere to lay His head, and they have been homeless, wandering in the world, with no settled abiding-place; He was poor and they have gone amongst their fellows, saying: “Silver and gold have we none, but such as we have we give.” But how great has been their reward. Before we can understand what Christ is willing to do for us, there must be not only a taking-hold, but a letting-go. We must step out from the boat, and withdraw our hand from it. It is even good, like St. Paul, to need all things, since by faith we come to possess all. Read the wonderful series of paradoxes to which he gives utterance in 2 Cor. 4.  (See below the closing of this devotional for the portion of chapter 4 being referred to here.)

The Lord promises eternal life as the crown of all. When we kneel at the Cross, and see Jesus as our own Saviour, we have eternal life, but we cannot realise all it implies until this mortality is swallowed up of life.

PRAYER

Thou hast called us to minister and witness, to go amongst men as our Saviour went, bearing in our hands the balm of Gilead. May we not be disobedient to this heavenly vision. AMEN.

As always may God bless and keep you brothers and sisters in Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

THE WISE USE OF TIME

This previously scheduled post comes from Our Daily Walk by F.B. Meyer.

---

“Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” — Ephesians 5:15-16

GOD DESIRES to give each life its full development. Of course, there are exceptions; for instance, in some cases the lessons and discipline of life are crowded into a very brief space of time, and the soul is summoned to the Presence-chamber of eternity. But, on the whole, each human life is intended to touch all the notes of life’s organ. There is an appointed time when it shall be born or die, shall weep or laugh, shall get or lose, shall have halcyon peace or storm cast skies. These times have been fixed for you in God’s plan; do not try and anticipate them, or force the pace, but wait thou the Lord’s leisure. In due time all will work out for thy good and for His glory. Say to Him “All my times are in Thy hand.”

Times and seasons succeed one another very quickly. Milton, in his glorious sonnet on the Flight of Time, bids her call on the leaden-stepping hours, referring to the swing of the pendulum; and, indeed, as we look back on our past life it will seem as though each experience was only for a moment, and then had vanished, never to return. We are reminded of the cobbler, who, as he sat in his kitchen, thought that the pendulum of his clock, when it swing to the left, said For ever; and to the right, Where? For ever—where? For ever—where? He got up and stopped it, but found that, although he had stopped the questioner, he had not answered the question. Nor could he find rest until, on his knees, he had been able to face the question of the Eternal, and reply to it.

We must be on the alert to meet the demand of every hour. “Mine hour is not yet come,” said our Lord. He waited patiently until He heard the hours strike in heaven, and then drawing the strength appropriate to its demand, He went forth to meet it. Each time and season is kept by the Father in His own hand. He opens and none shuts; He shuts and none opens. But in that same hand are the needed supplies of wisdom, grace, and power. As the time, so is the strength. No time of sighing, trial, temptation, or bereavement is without its special and adapted supplies. Take what is needed from His hand, and go forth to play the part for which the hour calls.

PRAYER
Oh, that Thou wouldst bless us indeed and enlarge our coasts of useful service. Let Thine hand be with us, and keep us from all evil that would grieve Thee. AMEN.

FROM DISCIPLE TO APOSTLE

In my toddler class at church we have this book Jesus and the Twelve Dudes Who Did, it is a favorite with the little ones, even the youngest learn quickly to lisp off the apostles names as they touch their faces.  It’s one of those kids books with the cutouts and 3D faces for the twelve dudes.  It’s kinda silly in a way but at the same time it’s brilliant.  See while my 2 year olds are poking faces and hearing rhymes about each of the apostles, they are learning key truths about serving Christ.  About how to one day do from just a disciple to an apostle.  This post was previously scheduled from Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer.

---

“And when it was day, He called unto Him His disciples: and of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles.”- — Luke 6:13.

AT THE basis of all things there is a Divine order. We hear it in the noblest music, we find traces of it in the highest art; we are in contact with it in our purest and simplest meditations. Our souls bear witness to its beauty and truth whenever it confronts us. Our Lord Jesus bears a true witness to this in His beatitudes, and the enunciation of other principles, which appeal to our conscience as right and good. As we travel in His company along the road, we find He explains mysteries and enigmas in a fashion which appeals to our heart; we know that He speaks true. Finally, we come to a point where He passes beyond the road of our knowledge to the upper reaches of the mountains which we have not trodden before. He speaks to us of the nature of God, He assures us of the forgiveness of sin, He draws aside the veil from the unseen and the eternal. He lifts us into a new and blessed vision of the working together of all things according to the eternal purpose. And we who trusted Him where our own conscience substantiated His statements, are able to trust God, and follow Him when He deals with questions which eye hath not seen, nor the heart of man conceived. Thus we become His disciples, or pupils in His School.
Out of the disciples, our Lord chose some to be Apostles. We begin by learning, and after a while, we are sent forth to teach. During the first years we serve our apprenticeship, and afterwards we are permitted to be master hands. The disciple becomes an Apostle, and the Apostle is chosen not for his own comfort and enjoyment, but that he may be the instrument through which Christ achieves His eternal purpose. Election is not primarily to salvation, but to service. We are not elect that we may be sheltered from destruction, but that we may go forth to serve men, to teach them the law and love of God, and to help bring the world into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

PRAYER
Most Blessed Lord, we thank Thee that we may become Thy disciples. Give us teachable hearts and listening ears; may we sit at Thy feet and be moulded according to Thy mind. Oh, choose us, and send us forth, and trust us with Thy sacred ministry, fulfilling in us the good pleasure of Thy will. AMEN.

GOD’S CHALLENGE TO MAN

This stirred my heart, I relate well to Isaiah in this devotional from Our Daily Walk by F.B. Meyer.

---

“I heard the voice of the Lord. saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” — Isaiah 6:8.

FROM THE midst of Heaven there comes to our earth this cry for help, an appeal from the Eternal Trinity: “Who will go for us!” It reminds us of the last commission of our Lord to His disciples, that they should go into all the world, and preach His Gospel to every creature. The Seraphim may minister to those who have become the heirs of salvation, but only those who have been redeemed from among men have the high privilege of being called to the supreme work of redemption.

Notice the preparation for responding to that appeal. The vision of the Eternal: “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne.” Suddenly the material temple, in which Isaiah was probably worshipping, gave place to the eternal, the altar and the laver to the Throne of God; the cloud of incense, to the skirts of glory that filled the air; the choir of Levites, to the bands of the Seraphim that engirdled the sapphire throne. And above all, he beheld the glory of Christ (John 12:41).

This led to the vision of his own heart: “Woe is me, for I am undone.” It is when a man reaches the snowline that he realizes the comparative impurity of the whitest white that earth can produce. Probably there was no one in all Jerusalem who lived nearer to God than Isaiah, but when he learned that, in the estimation of the Seraphim, God was thrice holy; when he saw them veil their faces in adoration; when he discovered that the whole universe was filled with God, then he remembered the hidden evil of his own heart, and cried out “I am unclean!” Not a moment intervened between his confession and the cleansing of his iniquity, and he was able to say: “Send me.”

Have you heard that cry for help from the heart of Christ? Are you seeking to enter into His yearning love for the souls of men? He says to each one of us: “Could ye not watch with Me one hour?” Give yourself to Him that you may be used in His service: “Here am I, send me, use me.”

PRAYER
Lord, grant us ears to hear, eyes to see, wills to obey, hearts to love; then declare what Thou wilt, reveal what Thou wilt, command what Thou wilt, demand what Thou wilt. AMEN.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER

This previously scheduled devotional post comes from Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer.

---

“Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” — James 1:27 (R.V.).

IT IS the experiences of life that reveal us to ourselves. They cannot put into us qualities that are not there, but can develop them. The whole of this wonderful chapter is filled with the diverse discipline of life. “Manifold trials” (James 1:2), which probably refer to the persecutions and losses of the early Christians., “Temptations” (James 1:12) which refer to the solicitation of evil from without and within. The burning heat of the fire of prosperity (James 1:11). The “good gifts” which are strewn around our pathway by the Father of lights—home, parents, friendship, love!

The greatest training-ground for us all is the Word of God (James 1:21-25). It is here compared to a mirror which reflects us to ourselves, but alas, too often we go our way and forget what manner of men we are. The human soul has a wonderful habit of forgetting any statements that seem to reflect on itself, and to contradict its own notions of its pride and respectability. If, however, we avoid this mistake, and set ourselves to doing, and not hearing only, then we shall grow into strong, brave, and beautiful souls, and shall be blessed in our deed.

Do not stand gazing at the imperfections which the Word of God reveals but having learnt where you come short, dare to believe that Jesus Christ is the true counterpart of your need; that He is strong where you are weak, and full where you are empty.
“Keep himself unspotted from the world.” We love the dimpled innocence and purity of a sweet child. But there is something nobler—the face of man or woman who has fought and suffered in the great battle against corruption that is in the world through lust. To keep oneself unspotted from the evil of the world, though perpetually accosted and surrounded by it, is a greater thing than to live in a glass-house, where the blight and dust cannot enter. What a training for character is this daily warfare!

To visit those in affliction. We are related to the world of pain and sorrow by the troubles which are constantly overtaking those with whom we come in contact in dally life. Where the conditions of life are hard, we obtain our best perfecting in Christian character.

PRAYER
Make our life deeper, stronger, richer, more Christlike, more full of the spirit of heaven, more devoted to Thy service and glory. AMEN.

PRAYER THAT OBTAINS

** Previously scheduled repost.

---

 

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  Luke 11:9

THERE ARE many conditions of true prayer. For instance, it must be earnest. There are times when we know we are on the line of God’s purposes, when we may dare to be importunate. Prayer must be offered in the Name of Christ, i.e., it must be in harmony with the nature of Christ, which was devoted to the glory of God and to the blessing of men. That Name will eliminate the ingredient of selfishness which will mar any prayer by whomsoever offered. Prayer must also be based on some promise of God, which is presented to Him as a cheque or note is presented to a bank.

All these are but steps to the faith that obtains, for it is, after all, not prayer but faith that obtains promises. That is why our Lord lays so much stress on receiving. Much of our prayer fails because we forget that He said,

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.  Mark 11:24

So far as one can describe the process, it seems something after this fashion. The soul reverently kneels before God, glorifying and praising Him for His greatness and goodness. It is conscious of needing some very special gift which is promised. In the Name of Christ it presents the request with the confidence of a child. With earnestness of desire and speech it unfolds the reasons why the gift sought is so necessary. But it does not leave prayer at this point to go away in uncertainty as to what the issue shall be. By an act of the spirit, the suppliant seems to receive definitely the spiritual or even the temporal gift; and realises that it has received, that the special grace has been imparted, to be discovered and used under stress of need; that the temporal gift has also been received, though it may be kept back until the precise moment when it can be delivered, in much the same way as a present may be purchased long before the time of handing it to its destined possessor .

And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.  1 Samuel 1:15

And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.  1 Samuel 1:18

For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:  1 Samuel 1:27

This is what Christ meant by “receiving,” and it has a mighty effect upon prayer, because it makes it so much more definite. It leads to praise, because we are able to thank God for His gift. You must take as well as pray.

PRAYER

We rejoice that our Saviour ever lives to intercede as our High Priest and Mediator. Through the rent veil, let our prayers ascend to Thee mingled with the fragrance of His merit in whom Thou art ever well pleased. AMEN.