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."