The love of Jesus wins us. His glory charms us. His beauty attracts us. His sympathy soothes us. His gentleness subdues us. His faithfulness inspires us. He is the altogether lovely One! Jesus is all that is tender in love. Jesus is all that is wise in counsel. Jesus is all that is patient and kind. Jesus is all that is faithful in friendship. Jesus is all that is balmy, soothing, and healing. The heart of Jesus is ever loving towards His children. The disposition of Jesus is ever kind towards His children. The nature of Jesus is ever sympathizing towards His children.

Jesus is your Brother, your Friend, your Redeemer. As your Brother, He knows the needs of His brethren in adversity. As your Friend, He shows Himself friendly. As your Redeemer, He has redeemed your soul from sin and hell. Jesus has ascended up on high to take possession of heaven on your behalf, and to prepare a place for you! Upon His heart He wears your name as a precious pearl in the priestly breastplate. There is not a moment of your time, nor an event of your life, nor a circumstance of your daily history, nor a mental or spiritual emotion of yours, in which you are not borne upon the love, and remembered in the ceaseless intercession of Christ.

–Octavius Winslow (1808-1878)

Psalm 61:2
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Eric ran back and forth behind the crowd. The parade was coming, and he really wanted to have a good spot to watch it from. Everyone was so much taller than he was. Wherever he went, somebody was standing in front of him. In frustration, he began to cry. Suddenly, two strong hands lifted Eric up and placed him on shoulders high up above the mass of people. From the vantage point of the stranger’s shoulders, the entire parade was easy to see.

Sometimes we need a boost. Problems loom too large, and we can’t see our way around them. Pressures build up, and we don’t feel big enough to cope with them. God sees all that and He is ready to lift us up; to give us a new vantage point. Reach up to the Lord, and He will lead you to Himself, a rock which is higher than any problem we might have. (From Wisdom from the Psalms).

I remember preaching from this verse many years ago at a funeral service for a teen age boy who had been killed in a car wreck. I witnessed the power of this great truth as God imparted strength to the heart-broken parents. He can do the same for you. Ask Him to raise you up above the sorid things of this evil world and help you gain a new perspective. He did it for others He will do it for you.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.—Proverbs 4:23   I recently read about a giant oak tree that fell during a thunder storm accompained by high wind. From all outward appearance, the tree seemed to be in perfect health. No passerby would ever suspect that there was a problem and everyone was surprised by its sudden fall, after all it had withstood many storms before. It was not until after the fall that the fault was seen. The tree was diseased within. Deterioration on the inside had weakened the massive tree to the point that it could no longer withstand the storms.   Dear friend we often see the same sad story with people. You can probably think of someone who possessed all the qualities that you admire, someone who seemed to be able to stand-up against anything, someone whose life had been very fruitful, but then they fell. While you are shocked by their demise, if you could have seen what was going on within it would have been no surprise. Let their fall serve as a warning. It happened to them, it could happen to you!   When we neglect the inner life we put ourselves in grave danger. It all starts in the heart, but it doesn’t stay there. Corruption in the heart spreads to every area of life and eventually it weakens us to the point that we fall. Make it a regular habit to examine your heart every day with the search light of God’s Word. Confess every known sin and draw near to God. Doing so will prevent disaster.   The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be  ashamed . . .
2 Timothy 2:15

As a boy, the late Harry A. Ironside took a job working for a Christian cobbler named Dan Mackay. Ironside recalled how weary he became of pounding wet shoe leather until it was dry enough to use as a sole. What made it worse was there was another cobbler shop a block away that seemed to be very profitable, yet the owner did not pound the shoe leather at all; he simply nailed it wet to the shoes. When Ironside inquired about this “shortcut,” the dishonest cobbler said, “They come back all the quicker this way, my boy!” He relayed this to his boss, who stopped everything and explained that just as some are called to preach, so he was called to repair shoes and that only as he did this to the best of his ability would his testimony count for God.

Whatever position we hold, we are all called to be witnesses of Christ, but we cannot expect people to take stock in what we say about salvation unless we have first established our credibility through striving to do our best in the workplace. Today, begin building a reputation that will open the door for a rock-solid testimony in the future.

Every job is a self portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence.
Anonymous                                            –from Turning Point (Scripture changed to KJV)

I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge.—1 Corinthians 1:4-5   The following true story from Senior Living serves to illustrate the glorious truth of which Paul spoke:

Commissioner Frederick Booth-Tucker of the Salvation Army was preaching in Chicago when a man stepped from the crowd and yelled out, “You can talk about how Christ is dear to you; but if your wife were dead, as my wife is, and you had babies crying for their mother, you couldn’t say what you are saying.”

A few days later, Booth-Tucker lost his wife in a tragic train accident. Her body was returned to Chicago for the funeral.

As the service concluded, the husband took his place by the casket and said, “The other day when I was preaching in this city, a man said that if my wife were dead and my children were crying for their mother, I couldn’t say Christ was sufficient. If that man is here, I tell him Christ is sufficient! My heart is crushed, bleeding, and broken. But there is a song in my heart, and Christ put it there. The Savior speaks comfort to me today.”

The man was present, and on hearing that, he came down the aisle to surrender his life to the Lord.

No matter the tragedies we face-death, sickness, loneliness, hurt, persecution, and so on-Christ is sufficient in them all. Isn’t it comforting to know our Lord knows our pain-literally? Isn’t it reassuring to know we have a God who will be there to pick us up when we fall, carry us when we’re too weak, and never leave our side through it all?

If you’ve experienced loss, anguish, or some other affliction, trust in the Lord to walk with you through it. And use your experience to comfort the hearts of others who are also going through affliction.

Ask the Lord to comfort you in affliction and help you to comfort those who are experiencing the same situations