DEVOTIONAL COLUMN

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 176, 25 June 1938, Page 16

DEVOTIONAL COLUMN

PRAYER. Jesus, Thy strength wo need, Sowing Thy precious seed; In thought, or word, or deed, Oh, lead us by Thy hand. May we this hour be led In righteous paths to tread; And, by They manna fed, Oh, lead us by Thy hand. As this brief fleeting day Passes so swift away, May we from Thee not stray— Oh, lead us by Thy hand. And when the hour draws nigh When death shall dim our eye, Take us to Thee- on high— Oh, lead us by Thy hand. FORGIVENESS. God proclaims “forgiveness of sins” to all, in the Gospel. But only those who believe the message “have forgiveness” (Eph. 1,7). They know that their sins “are. forgiven” (1 John 2, 12), because God says so. —O. H. Mackintosh. ASSURANCE. Tho witness of the Spirit (Rom. 8, 16) in the believer, to his salvation and sonship, is no secret revelation given to some and withheld from others. It is the testimony of the Word of God, given by the 'Spirit to all who truly believe and are born of God. —O. Krause. . Hl£j LOVE. He was “constrained by love.” “He loved his own” even “unto the end” (John 13, 1). His gracious words to His disciples shortly before His death were, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15, 13). The real desire, or prayer, of his heart was that they should love one another; even as He had loved them (see John 13, 34; 15, 12). This was the new commandment He gave to them. And it is still the 'commandment for His dear children. PRAYER. Our Father we praise Thee to-day for the way in which Thou has brought us along our life’s journey. We remember the milestones along the way, the roads that would have been wrong to take, but where Thou didst guide us into the right road. We remember Thy providing care, and we know that Thou art still leading on. _ Even though we may be walking painfully in a wilderness of problems in these days, we know that the way is not unknown to Thee, and that we may trust Thee fully for Thy guidance. Help us as we go forward under Thy care to lead others into the company of believers. Whether we are moving forward, or halted in the way, as Thou dost direct, may we realise that in active service or in seeming obscurity, we are still under Thy loving care. We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesues. Amen. (GOD’S RULE FOR OUR WALK. ;

Let the Spirit be your Adviser and Controller, and the flesh will become

powerless to spoil and mar your life. Alas, wo all know by experience how strenuous is the struggle within. Are we by sheer force of will and mental activity to keep under the old nature, and ever to be conscious of strain and anxiety? What is the Scriptural method of dealing with the problem? . . . Not by eradication or annihilation of the old nature, but by its continual subjection and paralysis through faith. In other words, by surrender _to the Spirit of God, Who •'indwelling our hearts ever controls and holds in check these tendencies to evil.. —W. W. Martin, M.A. THE BIBLE ON THE RAILWAY. In view of public interest in the fourth centenary of the English Bible as an open book, the London and North Eastern Railway has agreed to have one of its waiting rooms decorated entirely with pictures of Biblical subjects. These are engravings, forty in number—after Giorgione, Titian, Michel, Angelo, Rembrandt, and other great masters. They will be hung in the first instance in the main waiting room at Lincoln, and after a period go "on tour” to other stations. TELL ME MORE. 0 tell me more of Christ, my Saviour; On this glad _themo dwell o’er and o’er ; His boundless grace. His savinc favour, His precious name, 0 tell me more! 0 tell me more! so much I need His power to keep, His hand to lead; 0 tell me more of Him I love, Until I see His face above'..... 0 tell me more ot Jove’s sweet story, If you would cheer a.nd comfort me j How Jesus wept, the King of glory, Those tender tears of sympathy. 0 tell me more 1 How waves of sorrow Shall hear His voice say, "Peace, be Still”; How after night, bright dawns the morrow, : To those who trust His blessed will. 0 tell me more! And I repeating • The happy news, shall spread the joy; Come, blessed Lord, Thy work completing, Till songs of praise our lips employ. OPTIMIST AND PESSIMIST. "Let us go up at once, and possess it. . . . We be not able to go up against the people” (Num. 13: 30, 31). Mr Chesterton, in one of hie essays, has quoted from the blunder iof a school girl wliat is perhaps the best definition of the terms “optimist” and "pessimist.” “An optimist,” said the girl, “is a man who takes care of the eyes, and a pessimist is a man who takes care of the feet.” Exactly. The pessimist is concerned with the obstacles in tho path about our feet; the optimist has eyes to see the plan of the journey and the goal at the end. The pessimist may have anxious prudence; the optimist has vision.