Fwd: Gems From My Reading

Gems From My Reading Be of good cheer. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.   Galatians 6:14 Beethoven was in the habit of playing his symphonies on an old harpsichord, as a test.  They would thus be made to stand out in their true character, with nothing to hide their faults, or exaggerate their beauties. Thus wisely may we test our character, endeavouring to ascertain how it manifests itself - not on great and rare occasions, or before the public eye, where there is a chance for display and applause - but in private, in the little, homely everyday duties, which attract no particular attention and reward us with no praise. If in the retired nook of your own breast, in the regulation of your thoughts and feelings; if in the bosom of your family, in the monotonous round of home life each day, you preserve a sweet serene temper, and go forward cheerfully, taking a real pleasure in duty as duty, and in all these little matters honestly strive to serve and please the heavenly Master; if, in a word, your piety sounds well on such an unpretending harp, it is good, genuine, tested; it will one day win acclamation from a vaster and nobler throng than ever was thrilled by the genius of Beethoven.  Selected Every character has an inward spring; let Christ be in it.  Every action has a keynote; let Christ set it!  Drummond N.J.Hiebert

Fwd: Gems From My Reading

Gems From My Reading Be of good cheer. . . . they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.  (Titus 3:8) Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.  (1 Corinthians 4:2)  Men said the old smith was foolishly careful as he worked on the great chain he was making in his dingy shop in the heart of the great city.  But he heeded not their words and only worked with greater  painstaking.  Link after link he fashioned, and at last the chain was finished and carried away.  In time it lay coiled on the deck of a great ship which sped back and forth on the ocean.   There seemed no use for it, for the great anchor was never needed and the chain laid there coiled.  So years passed. But one night there was a terrible storm, and the ship was in sore peril of being hurled upon the rocks. Anchor after anchor was dropped, but none of them availed.  The chains were broken like threads.  At last the mighty sheet anchor was cast into the sea, and the old chain was quickly uncoiled and run out until it grew taut. All watched to see if it would bear the awful strain.  It sang in the wild storm as the vessel's weight surged upon it.  It was a moment of intense anxiety.  The ship, with its cargo of a thousand lives, depended upon this one chain.  What now if the old smith had worked carelessly even on one link of his chain!   But he had put honesty and truth and invincible strength into every part of it, and it stood the test, holding the ship in safety until the storm was over and the morning came.  J. R. Miller. Full many forms the "chain" may take: perchance 'tis some infirmity That doth for thee thy fetter make; or duty-call or poverty; If thou art His, -- then this thy rest, -- if in His will disposed to be, -- The "chain " may be a thing most blest, though, meantime, it so fetters thee. And at the End it may be seen, when things, now dark, are all made clear, The "chain" God's method kind hath been to hold us safe, -- to keep us near.  J. Danson Smith. N.J. Hiebert - 8263

Re: Gems From My Reading

Gems From My Reading Be of good cheer. FAITH AND PRAYER And Saul . . . as he journeyed . . . suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?  And he said, Who art Thou, Lord? . . . And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord . . . arise and go into the street and enquire in the house of Judas . . . for one called, Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold he prayeth.  Acts 9:1-11  True faith is prayerful; prayer is the child of faith. As the creature cannot pray without faith, so with faith he cannot but pray.  The new creature (like our infants in their natural birth) comes crying into the world: and therefore Christ tells it for great news of Ananias of Saul, a new-born believer, "Behold, he prayeth!" Faith enables the soul to persevere in prayer.  The sincere believer hath that in him which makes it impossible he should quite give over praying.  Prayer is the very breath of faith; stop a man's breath, and where is he then? Faith may live in a storm, but it will not suffer a storm to live in it.  As faith rises, so the blustering wind of the discontented troublesome thoughts go down.  Faith relieves the soul in prayer of that which oppresses it; whereas the unbelieving soul still carries about it the cause of its troubles, because it had not strength to cast forth its sorrows and roll its cares upon God.  William Gurnall - 1617 - 1679 I must tell Jesus all of my troubles, He is a kind and compassionate friend; If I but ask Him, He will deliver, Make of my troubles quickly an end. I must tell Jesus, Jesus can help me. Jesus alone.  Elisha Hoffman N.J. Hiebert

Fwd: Gems From My Reading

Be of good cheer. "Thy brother . . . for whom Christ died."  Romans 14:15 Let us say to ourselves, softly and tenderly as such a name requires, "My brother . . . for whom Christ died."  My "weak brother . . . for whom Christ died" (1 Corinthians 8:11).  How terrible it is that we can "destroy," or cause to "perish," our brother. Surely it means this much, if not more, a wasted life, that might have been fragrant with Christ, a missing of the mark which God desired for him, a grieving of the heart of the Christ who died for him.  Who can measure all this? Many and diverse are the conditions of our beloved brethren for whom Christ died; many are young and tender; many ignorant and ill-instructed; many sick, sorrowful, weary and heavy laden: many scattered and driven away; many lame, halting and stumbled.  Have we tried to help them, have we with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, and forbearing them in love, sought to heal and restore, to teach and to build up, that we may seek to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace? Mark the tenderness of that man of God, Paul: "We were gentle among you, even as a nurse (nursing mother) cherisheth her children."  (1 Thessalonians 2:7) O God, melt these stony hearts of our!  Cause us in our dealings with our brethren, to reflect some tiny portion of the tender grace which Christ shows every day to us, ever remembering that Christ died for them, and loves them as He loves us.     S.L.J.  Bible Truth Depot - Los Angeles  Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter, Feelings lie buried that grace can restore;  Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness, Chords that are broken will vibrate once more.  Fanny Crosby N.J. Hiebert - 8240

But they that wait...

Be of good cheer. "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles".  Isaiah 40:31 In 1909 Bleriot, the aviator, was obliged to use crutches as the result of an accident, and, when mounting his plane to make the flight across the English channel, remarked to his companions, "I cannot walk, but I can fly." "I cannot walk, but I can fly;" no roof can house me from the stars, No dwelling pen me in its bounds, nor keep me fast with locks and bars; No narrow room my thoughts can cage, no fetters hold my roving mind; From these four walls that shut me in my soaring soul a way can find. With books and pictures at my side all lands, all ages, are my own;  I dwell among the master minds, the best and greatest earth has known;  I flee to strange and storied scenes of long ago and far away, And roam where saints and heroes trod in Time's forgotten Yesterday. With every wandering butterfly or singing bird on vagrant wing My fancy takes the airy trail, and follows it adventuring, Higher than their highest flight, where cloud-ships drift and star-beams shine,  I rise on tireless pinions fleet, and all the realms of space are mine. From out the paling sunset skies the Twilight Angels come to me  On dusky wings to bear me swift to shadowy haunts of Memory Where 'mid the gardens and the graves, I wander, smiling through my tears,  With all the dear and deathless dead, the loved and lost of vanished years. And when the long, long day is done, I clasp the dearest Book of all And through the dim, sweet silences I hear my Father's accents fall; Then, though in chains, yet am I free. Beyond the pressure of my care, Above Earth's night my spirit mounts on eagle wings of faith and prayer. Annie Johnson Flint N.J. Hiebert - 8231

Gems From My Readings ·  674 Jennifer Crescent · Burlington, On L6M4L5 · Canada

Fwd: Gems From My Reading

Be of good cheer. And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.    Isaiah 30:21 This is the season when migratory birds are winging their way toward warmer climates.  What is it that prompts them to fly for hundreds of miles each year to the balmy southland and to return again in the springtime to the exact spot which they left in the autumn?  For want of a better term, we call it instinct.  One authority states that the word means "inward impulse"; "a natural propensity that incites animals to the actions that are essential to their existence and development"; or, "a propensity prior to experience and independent of instructions." The authorities in charge of one of the oldest missions on the Pacific Coast state the swallows, which make their homes in the walls of this historic institution, migrate with the utmost regularity.  During a record of sixty-eight years, it is said they have never been a day late or early in their arrival at this mission.  One press reporter affirms that "For the first time in the known mission history, the swallows were several hours late in arriving."  This was supposed to have been due to a storm at sea. How can man doubt that there is an all-wise God who has placed within these tiny creatures such mysterious powers?  It is only because of the taint of sin and deception of Satan that men do not obey a higher instinct and seek protection and rest "under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1).     Mountain Trailways  "I like to watch the swallow turn its face to the ocean and set fearlessly over the waters.  If I had no other proof of lands beyond the sea, the instinct of the swallow would satisfy me."

No, never alone...

Be of good cheer. ALONE,  YET   NOT  ALONE Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.   John 16:32 Blessed paradox of the Saviour and the Saint!  Our Lord was a solitary soul, yet not alone. And the Christian who presses into the deeper things of God will often be lonely but never alone.  Paul was lonely in the Roman prison: "All men forsook me."  But he was not alone: "The Lord stood with me."  "He that sent me is with Me: the Father hath not left Me alone."  Jacob may fancy himself alone in a strange land, with a stone for a pillow, but he will make a discovery: "Surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not."   Live as though He were with you, for He is.  You have His word for it and you can be confidant of His promise, though you may not be conscious of His presence. Even through the Valley of Death's Shadow, "I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me."  Alone yet not alone!  Day By Day with Vance Havner  How many times discouraged we sink beside the way; About us all is darkness, we hardly e'en can pray; Then from the mists and shadows, the sweetest voice e'er known, Says, "Child, am I not with thee, never to leave thee alone?" Take courage, wayworn pilgrim though mists and shadows hide The face of Him thou lovest, He's ever at thy side; Reach out thy hand and trust Him, and lo, the clouds have flown; He smiles on thee who promised never to leave thee alone.

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