THE SUNDAY CIRCLE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21982, 17 June 1933, Page 21

THE SUNDAY CIRCLE

RELIGIOUS READING FOR THE HOME THE WAY. I know a Way that windeth slowly Towards the West; A pathway high and safe and sure, Tho’ sometimes sun is there, and some» times rain. . If I but keep my feet upon this Way It matters not what brings the day; Comes joy or grief or toil or pain, It is the best. Sometimes I think that this high Path is All my own; ~ That few there be who find this Way, For all seem bent on other quests than mine. , ~ , Yet often, welcome to my gladdened eyes, A comrade hails me with surprise; One way for all who dare to find God on His throne. . , —Elizabeth H. Uewart, in the Churchman.

PRAYER. Almighty and ever-blessed God, Who didst ordain a day in seven in which we mi"ht with a fuller and less hindered leisure of body and of mind acquaint ourselves with our lot as Thy children and with our resources in Thee, we accept as from Thy hand this day. Bless to our use the worship and instruction of iny House, the prayers we have ottered, the hymns we have sung; and give us grace to perform our vows. Be pleased, our h ather in Heaven, who knowest our thoughts afar off, to maintain within our souls the peacefulness of this day. When we awake on the morrow may we remember that we are still with Thee; and do Thou persuade us that nothing, except our own perverse and unbelieving moods, can separate us, neither things present nor things to come, from Thy Love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord; t 0 Whom, with Thyself and the Holy Spirit, be all praise and honour world without end. Amen, A TEXT FOR EACH DAY’S MEDITATION. “THE INCORRUPTIBLE CROWN.” Sunday.—“ Know ye not that they which run in a race, run all. but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. —I Corinthians 0:24-25. Monday.— ' Shine as lights in the world. Holding forth the Word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that 1 have not run in vain neither laboured in vain.”—Philippians 2:15-16. Tuesday.—“ Fight the good fight of faith; lay hold on eternal life.’—l Timothy 6:12. . “ Thou, therefore ... be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesug Christ.”—ll Timothy 2:1 and 3. Wednesday.—“ Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to be. only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.”—ll Timothy 4:8. Thursday.—“ Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is, set before us. Looking unto Jesus the Author ana Finisher of our faith.”—Hebrews 12:1-2. Friday.—" Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he i 9 tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him. . . ... Every good gift and every perfect gut. is from above.* * —James It 12 and 17. Saturday.—" Beloved, think < it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. But rejoice. —I Peter 4:12. . , , „ “ When the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”—l Peter 5:4. —H. R. Higgens, in A.C.W.

CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS. Until you have learned to control your thoughts, you will never be able to live a godly and righteous life. “As a man thinketh in his mind, so is he'; and it is because the thoughts that we entertain in the hostelry of the soul are such worthless and vain ones that our .words and acts often bring so heavy a disgrace on the name we love. Well might the wise, man say: Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. When the heart is right, the ear and eye and the mouth and the foot will necessarily .obey its promptings; but when the heart is wrong, filled with tides of 7 ink, like the cuttlefish, it will develop itself into the impurity to which it gives vent. If you habitually permit evil things to have their right of way through you, or lodging with you, remember that in God’s sight you are equally guilty with those that indulge in .evil acts, because you are withheld, not by your fear of Him, but by your desire to maintain your position among men.—F. B. Meyer. LOVE IN ACTION. “ However weak the hand I extend to help my needy brother .it becomes stronger when he grasps it. However meagre the love and concern which I bring to his need, when he receives it from me a warminv ray of light is reflected upon myself. However uncertain my trust in God and things eternal, however imperfect my inward self-discipline, however burdened I may be in thought and feeling, as I try to help others all will be purified, and my own faith in God will grow.”—Adolf Harnack (A Scholar’s Testament). * WORDS THAT POINT A MORAL. ’ “I am enough of a modernist to feel that I have a right, to live in the twentieth century, and too much of a fundamentalist to renounce my heritage of faith, for the sake of being in fashionable company.”—Dr Francis Paton. of Princetown (U.S.A.). # * . The world has only begun to see that no country is great and no cause just that does not help on the world’s happiness and the world’s good. * * ♦ A new patriotism, as yet unuttered, stirs in millions of hearts. In every nation under Heaven there are those who have seen ’beyond the narrow limits of national boundaries to the larger patriotism for God and for humanity.—Morgan. **• # ' A little boy used always to come to his father with everything. It happened one day that the father was engaged in his study when the little boy came to him. When he heard the well-known tap at the study door his father “ Come in.” and the child entered. ' “Well, my little man, what do you want now? ” “Nothing, papa; I only want to be with you,” and he made his way to the corner of the room and remained quietly alone with his father. Do we go to God our Father when we don’t want anything, just to be near Him? —Selected. A HUMAN COMPASS-BEARING. “Professor Einstein, a s godfather to a New York child named in his honour,” says the Providence Journal (U.S.A.), ‘ contributed a poem to the Jewish initiation service on the eighth day after the child’s birth. In this poem he gave his godson a lesson on broad chanty in his future dealings with mankind. We may translate his lines as follows: When others often trouble you, And evil of you say or do, Think: they, too, were hither brought, A thing which they bad never sought. Think: you. too, with beet of will. Plague take you! oft do others ill. But since this cannot be undone. Gently think of every one. « phis unpretentious poem is addressed < Xo little Albert Landau on the occasion of his entrance into the world.’ The lesson inculcated is: Since we all are here in this life without having been consulted on the subject, it behoves us to be charitable towards our for we are all in the same predicament.

CANADIAN RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES. The Canadian correspondent of the Australian Christian World says:—The religious activities of Canada are, of course, feeling the effects of the general depression. Practically all denominations have fallen short on their budget givings and many church schemes have been restricted through lack of funds. One cannot say that an intense religious enthusiasm prevails anywhere throughout this country On the other hand, there is a restless spirit abroad, not only within the ranks

of the ministry, but among congregations as well. This may be partly explained by the tension of anxiety under which people are living. At any rate, the atmospheie is roost trying for the ministry.

THE OXFORD GROUP MOVEMENT. The Oxford Group Movement, writes J, A. S. in the Australian Christian World, has recently made definite impressions in some of our large Canadian centres. While the attitude on the whole towards the movement has been divided, it has undoubtedly awakened a religious interest among a class of people whose church interest heretofore was nominal. The group representatives from England are still in this country, but expect shortly to return to the Homeland. The Movement is being observed with deep interest by many who are concerned with the rehgious welfare of the country. THINGS I REMEMBER. There was a celebrated Presbyterian divine in Aberdeen named Dr Kidd. One of the features of Dr Kidd’s ministry was his Sunday evening lectures. He frequently lectured against the errors of Rome, but, while a strong Protestant, he was at the same time on excellent terms with his neighbour, Priest Gordon. One of the doctor s series of Suudav evening lectures was upon the Women of the Bible, and, in the course of time, he came to the Virgin Mary. On the Monday after his lecture on the Virgin Mary the two met in the course of their morning stroll. Priest Gordon said to Dr Kidd. “ What’s this I hear about vou, Dr Kidd, that you have been lecturing ou the Blessed Virgin?” “Blessed Virgin! ” said Dr Kidd, “Mary was just a good woman like my mother.” “Well, doctor,” said the priest,/‘I do not know about the mothers, but there is a great difference between the sons.” —R. D., in A.C.W.