“John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true” (John 10:41).

You may be very discontented with yourself. You are no genius, have no brilliant gifts, and are inconspicuous for any special faculty. Mediocrity is the law of your existence. Your days are remarkable for nothing but sameness and insipidity. Yet you may live a great life. John did no miracle, but Jesus said that among those born of women there had not appeared a greater than he.

John’s main business was to bear witness to the Light, and this may be yours and mine. John was content to be only a voice, if men would think of Christ.

Be willing to be only a voice, heard but not seen; a mirror whose surface is lost to view, because it reflects the dazzling glory of the sun; a breeze that springs up just before daylight, and says, “The dawn! the dawn!” and then dies away.

Do the commonest and smallest things as beneath His eye. If you must live with uncongenial people, set to their conquest by love. If you have made a great mistake in your life, do not let it becloud all of it; but, locking the secret in your breast, compel it to yield strength and sweetness.

We are doing more good than we know, sowing seeds, starting streamlets, giving men true thoughts of Christ, to which they will refer one day as the first things that started them thinking of Him; and, of my part, I shall be satisfied if no great mausoleum is raised over my grave, but that simple souls shall gather there when I am gone, and say,

“He was a good man; he wrought no miracles, but he spake words about Christ, which led me to know Him for myself.”  –George Matheson                   ———From Streams in the Desert

He telleth the number of the stars… His understanding is infinite. The LORD lifteth up the meek.
Psalm 147:4-6

Our God is infinite.  He’s limited by no boundaries in time, space, or character.  His qualities are bottomless; His attributes are endless; His power is matchless.  There’s much about Him we don’t know, will not discover, and can never fathom.  After all, if He were small enough to be comprehended, He wouldn’t be large enough to be worshipped.  He is infinite and eternal in all the dimensions of His reality.

Our God is intimate.  He encompasses us behind and before, beneath and above.  He counts each footstep we take and every hair on our heads.   From top to toe, we’re fully known, loved, and cared for by Him, today and tomorrow, both now and forever.

If He were infinite but not intimate, He’d be too vast to be known.  If He were intimate but not infinite, He’d be too weak to be helpful.  He who counts the stars also knows our names and lifts our hearts.

He is “our Father who art in heaven.”

He’s big enough to rule His mighty universe, yet small enough to live within my heart.
Stuart Hamblen                             ——From Turning Point

And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.–Psalm 55:6   Have you ever wished that you could just fly away, just get away from it all? Sure you have, we all have. Even great people like David have felt that way. He wanted to put as much distance as possible between himself and his hardships. He said,”Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.”(Ps.55:7). However, before his song ended, he regained his equilibrium and said,”Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”(Ps. 55:22)   The Hebrew word translated “burden” means,”lot (that which is given)”, as we say,”Our lot in life”. As you know, life isn’t always fun and easy (see Phil.1:29), and we might wish for wings so we could escape, but God is able to sustain us. He even uses these trials like wings, encouraging us and enabling us to fly to Him for relief. Instead of being crushed by the heavy load of our burden, our burdens give us wings which carry us to God where we find the sweet relief we’ve been looking for.   As Miss Mary Butterfield wrote many long years ago: “Oh, paradox of Heaven. The load We think will crush was sent to lift us Up to God! Then, soul of mine, Climb up! for naught can e’er be crushed Save what is underneath the weight. How may we climb! By what ascent Shall we surmount the carping cares Of life! Within His word is found The key which opens His secret stairs; Alone with Christ, secluded there, We mount our loads, and rest in Him.”

—–in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.–Hebrews 4:15   Do you ever feel,”I’ve had it up to here with all the hypocrites in the church!”? Chances are you have. It’s easy to see the faults and failures of other people. Sadly, we don’t often see our own. When someone says,”There are too many hypocrites in the church.” they are right–one is too many, but that shouldn’t stop us from doing our duty.   If you’ve been disappointed and discouraged by the hypocrisy of others, it would do you good to get your focus back on Christ–He never fails. He is perfect.   John Phillips wrote: “He never uttered a hasty, unkind, untrue, or frivolous word. He never entertained an impure thought. His talents never debased for selfish ends. His influence, never bad. His judgment, never wrong. He never had to apologize for anything that He did or retract a single word He said. He was never too late or too soon, never upset, never insipid, never shallow or afraid. . . He had absolute victory from the moment He drew his first breath in that Bethlehem barn until the moment He closed His eyes in death on the cross of Calvary.”   Jesus is the Way unchangeable, the Truth infallible, and the Life everlasting.