DEVOTIONAL COLUMN

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 183, 4 July 1936, Page 14

DEVOTIONAL COLUMN

PRAYER. . “Gracious Heavenly Father, Thou canst not cast off or forsake Thy child. Teach and lead through these dark hours, when false witnesses accuse, and hitter foes .breathe out cruelty. Let us sec once more Thy goodnesso and Thy deliverance. Therefore will we take courage, and await Thy intervention on our behalf, in Christ’s Name.”—Dr. F. B. Meyer.

GOD’S PURPOSE FOR US. Life would be a tragedy if it were not a stewardship. The fact that we arc accountable to God, Who created us for a definite and blessed .purpose, puts meaning and hope into all that we do in life. Christ’s will is not only to save our souls for eternity, but to save our present lives, in order that eternity may be the richer. He has created us, and re-created us, for a life of good works which He has prepared for each of us as definitely as He prepared the path for Moses, Paul, and the twelve Apostles. Our part is to acknowledge that life is a stewardship, and live accordingly.—R. C. McQuilkin. HIS CHOSEN PATH FOR THEE. He chose this path for thee; No feeble chance, nor hard relentless fate, But love, His love, hath placed the footsteps hero; He knew the way was rough and desolate. Knew how thy heart would often sink with fear, Yet tenderly He whispered, Child, I This path is best for thee.” He chose this path for thee; Though well He knew sharp thorns would tear thy feet, Knew how the troubles would obstruct the way, Knew all the hidden dangers thou woukl’st meet, Knew how thy faith would falter day by day, • And still the whisper echoed, “Yes, I see This path is best for thee.” He chose this path for thee; E’en while He knew the fearful midnight gloom Thy timid, shrinking soul must travel through; How towering rocks would oft before thee loom, And phantoms grim would meet the frightened view ; Still comes" the whisper, “My beloved, .1 seo This path is best for thee.” He chose this path for thee! What needst thou more? This sweeter truth to know? That all along these strange, bewildering ways, O’er rocky steeps, and where dark rivers flow, His loving arms shall boar thee all thy days; A few stops more, and thou thyself shalt see This path is best for thee. —Selected.

THREE THINGS. “I thought on my ways and turned my feet unto Thy testimonies. I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy commandments.”-—Ps. 119: 59-60. There are three things in this verse that we may well lay hold. First, “I thought on my ways.” That is reflection. The Psalmist stopped to think, and we might with real profit do the same. Then, there is the testimony, “l turned my feet.” That is repentance. The word means a change of direction, turning our backs upon sin, and ourfaces towards God.

Thirdly, “I made haste and delayed not to keep Thy Commandments.” Here we have rejuvenation. The new life shows itself in a desire to keep God’s Word.—-By A. Lindsay Clegg, from “The Young Belivers’ Paper.”

“God has millions of worlds that rush at His bidding, but only now and then can He find a man He con trust.”

LORD BLEDISLOE’S MESSAGE. A message from Lord Bledisloe and signed by Lady Bledisloe: “God is love. May the children of New Zealand realise that • God is a friend of boundless compassion and love, and while ever looking to Him for help and guidance, strive to do nothing which is displeasing in His sight.” NOT OF THE WORLD. Would you judge of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of pleasure, of the innocence or malignity of actions—take this rule; whatever weeklies vour reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off the relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind ; that is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself.—Tn a letter to John "Wesley from his mother. Anything that would hinder ns from the closest walk with Jesus that is possible to us till we see Him face to face, is not for us. —Amy Wilson Carmichael.