DEVOTIONAL COLUMN

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 76, 26 February 1938, Page 12

DEVOTIONAL COLUMN

PRAYER, Our Father, we pray that Thcu wilt arouse us to a due sense of our responsibility for our influence upon others. May we not vainly imagine that we can live unto ourselves. May we so live that we shall encourage others by our example to stand fast in the faith, and to avoid whatever may lead to evil. In these great days when there is so much need of steadfastness and clearness in the warfare against sin, may wo not take l the situation lightly, but do our part in the fight for righteousness. May we in no way cause others to stumble. We ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus.—Amen. LOVE FOR OTHERS. “I cannot make my natural heart love! But if God could only take the spirit of a lover, and put it into your heart and mine, we would love. Because a lover loves without trying, instinctively, spontaneously, outflowingly, and this is just what God did when he begot us in Christ Jesus. Ho put into our hearts the spirit of the greatest Lover in the universe.” —James H. McConkey. A PLEA FOR A PENITENT. Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Just as I am, and waiting not To rid my soul of one dark blot; To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Just as I am, Thou wilt receive, Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve ; Because Thy promise 1 believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Just as I am —Thy love unknown Has broken ev’ry barrier down;Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone, 0 Lamb of God, I come, J. come.

THE PROMISE OF PARDON. Niagara was merely a wonderful spectacle for ages; only in later years lias its exhaustless water power been harnessed to turn wheels. No man ,has a monopoly on the life-giving water'-of God. God is intensely more anxious to give it to us than we are to receive it. The word “also” belongs in the statement of our Lord to the woman at the well: “For such the Father also seeketh His worshippers to be” (John 4: 23). If we seek to worship in Spirit, He on -his part is more anxious for us to worship Him. LOOK TO YOUR WAYS. In the years that are now fled like the mists of the morning, how many messages have you had from God! How -many times has He sent His messengers to you, rising up early and sending them ! His Bible has been in your

houses, a silent hut most mighty pleader for God; His providence has been in your families, in sickness and death, in plenty or poverty,—all, all beseeching you to flee from the wrath to come,—all, all beseeching to cleave to the Lord Jesus, the only, the allsufficient Saviour. If you will come to Christ, there are no bounds to your joy. And when you die, you will come to fulness of joy in His presence. ) --- —Robt. Murray McCheyne. KNOWING GOD’S WILL. How does God reveal His will to us? There are five channels that God uses. They all work together, and it is never safe to be guided by one alone. The first is prayer, God waits for us to ask Him what His will is. The second is the Holy Spirit, Who lives in us and puts His impress upon our spirit and upon our transformed, cleansed consciences. ( The third is the Scriptures. God never guides us contrary to His Word, hence the necessity for studying and

feeding upon His Word. I The fourth is providential circumstances,—the closing of one door and the opening of another, as we wait in prayer and faith for God to reveal His will. The fifth is the counsel of trusted Christian friends. Here again, however, God does not work contrary to His Word.

OUR GREAT NEED. I need Thee ev’ry hour, Most gracious Lord; No tender voice like Thine Can peace afford. I need Thee, oh, I need Thee, Ev’ry hour I need Thee; Oh, bless me now, my Saviour, I come to Thee,. I need Thee ev’ry hour, Stay Thou near by; Temptations lose their pow’r When Thou art nigh. > I need Thee ev’ry hour, In joy or pain; Come quickly and abide, Or life, is vain. STUMBLING BLOCKS. When the disciples rebuked mothers for bringing their children to Christ, when Judas rebuked Mary for lavish: ing her spikenard on the Lord, when a modern church board dismissed its pastor for refusing to let his young people dance under church auspices, they were “offending little ones.” These may be little either in age or humility. Stier says: “Here is Jacob’s ladder planted before our eyes; beneath are the little ones; then their angels; then the Son of man in Heaven, in whom alone man is exalted above the angels, who, as the Great Angel of the Covenant, cometh from the presence of the Father; and above Him again the Father Himself, and His good pleasure.”

WITHIN. The water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life. I stood a little while ago in the fine old ruin of Middleliam Castle. I passed beyond the outer shell and beyond the inner defences into the keep, and there, in the innermost sanctum of the venerable pile,, was the old well. The castle was independent of outside supplies. If it were besieged it had resources of water at its own heart. The changing seasons made no differences to the gracious supply. That is the purpose of the Master in placing the “well” within us. He wants to make us independent of external circumstances. —Anon. CONFRONTED BY HIS CRIMES.' Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. There was a Scotsman who had formerly l>oen a notable character a prize fighter and gambler. Changed by the grace of God, he became a mighty soul-winner, and on

one occasion liis message was being greatly blessed. Just before he arose to speak at one service, some one sent an envelope up to the platform. On opening it, he found it contained a long list of sins and crimes that he had committed in that very city. At first he felt that he must run away, but stepping boldly to the front of the platform he said, “Friends, I am accused of crimes and sins committed in this very city. I will read them to you.” One after another he read

these charges, and at the conclusion of each he said, “I am guilty.” When he had finished the whole list he paused for a moment and then said, “You ask me how I dare come to you and speak of righteousness and truth, with a list of crimes like that against my name? I will tell you. ‘This is a. faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom lam chief.’”