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