“In all thy ways acknowledge Him”. Proverbs 3:6

BELOVED we are the Lord’s, the creatures of His power, the purchase of His blood, the subjects of His grace. He has set His love upon us, employed His wisdom for us, and is deeply interested in all that concerns us. Every thing we do, should be done with a view to His glory; and in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, we should let our requests be made known unto Him. Every thing should be mentioned at His throne. His presence, direction, and blessing, should be sought in reference to every circumstance of our lives. Our misery can never exceed His mercy, or our application at His throne find His ear pre-occupied. He is our Father, and as such ought to be honoured. We should ask of Him, and ask with the whole heart: for he that withdraws his heart in asking, will find God withdraw His hand in giving. Acknowledging God in all things will produce a steady peace of mind; preserve us from many temptations; and strengthen our faith in Him. He that always acknowledges God, will find that God always acknowledges him.–James Smith

Stretch o’er my head Thy guardian wings,
Secure my soul, O King of kings!
My shield and refuge be;
Thy grace and mercy, Lord, display
Through Christ the Life, the Truth, the Way,
That I may come to Thee!

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.”--Lamentations 3:21

Memory is frequently the bond slave of despondency. Dispairing minds call to remembrance every dark foreboding in the past, and dilate upon every gloomy feature in the present; thus memory, clothed in sackcloth, presents to the mind a cup of mingled gall and wormwood. There is, however, no necessity for this. Wisdom can readily transform memory into an angel of comfort. That same recollection which in its left hand brings so many gloomy omens, may be trained to bear in its right a wealth of hopeful signs. She need not wear a crown of iron, she may encircle her brow with a fillet of gold, all spangled with stars. Thus it was in Jeremiah’s experience: in the previous verse memory had brought him to deep humiliation of soul: “My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me;” and now this same memory restored him to life and comfort. “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.” Like a two-edged sword, his memory first killed his pride with one edge, and then slew his despair with the other. As a general principle, if we would exercise our memories more wisely, we might, in our very darkest distress, strike a match which would instantaneously kindle the lamp of comfort. There is no need for God to create a new thing upon the earth in order to restore believers to joy; if they would prayerfully rake the ashes of the past, they would find light for the present; and if they would turn to the book of truth and the throne of grace, their candle would soon shine as aforetime. Be it ours to remember the lovingkindness of the Lord, and to rehearse his deeds of grace. Let us open the volume of recollection which is so richly illuminated with memorials of mercy, and we shall soon be happy. Thus memory may be, as Coleridge calls it, “the bosom-spring of joy,” and when the Divine Comforter bends it to his service, it may be chief among earthly comforters.–Charles Spurgeon

“For to me, to live is Christ…” -Phil. 1:21

The gracious soul will labor after an entire annihilation of selfishness, and a complete absorption into Christ of its aims, joys, desires, and hopes.

The highest conceivable state of spirituality is produced by a concentration of all the powers and passions of the soul upon the person of Christ.

We have asked a great thing when we have asked to be wholly surrendered to Christ.

It is the highest stage to have no wish, no thought, no desire, but Christ– to feel that to die would be bliss, if it were for Christ– that to live in penury, and woe, and scorn, and contempt, and misery for Christ, would be sweet– to feel that it matters nothing what becomes of one’s self, so long as our Master is but exalted– to feel that though like a sear leaf, we are blown in the blast, yet we are quite careless where we are going, so long as we feel that the Master’s hand is guiding us according to His will.

As long as there is a particle of selfishness remaining in us, it will mar our sweet fellowship with Christ- and until we get a complete riddance of it, our joy will never be unmixed with grief.

We must dig at the roots of our selfishness to find the worm which eats our happiness. The soul of the believer will always pant for this serene condition of passive surrender, and will not content itself until it has thoroughly plunged into the sea of divine love. Here in the lowest valley of self-renunciation, the believer walks upon a very pinnacle of exaltation. Bowing himself, he knows that he is rising immeasurable high when he is sinking into nothing. Falling flat on his face, he feels that he is mounting to the highest elevation of grandeur. It is the Christian’s highest aspiration to be absorbed into Christ, and lose himself in the glories of his sovereign Savior.(Charles Spurgeon)

“...the enemy….” Luke 10:19

The Christian has many foes, but there is one who is emphatically called THE ENEMY. He is the God of this world; all worship him, except those whom Jesus has delivered from him. He is the prince of the power of the air; he rules over, and works in, all unbelievers. He is a subtle serpent, endeavouring to deceive; a roaring lion, seeking to devour. He has the power of death. He gains access to our hearts, and is always attempting to lead us astray. He is well versed in Scripture, and will often quote it, in order to misapply it; he will use one part to fill us with terror, and another to lead us to make light of sin. He is always planning how he shall injure us, and is incessantly trying to draw us from God. Beloved, there is no safety for us but at the feet of Jesus; it is only as we abide in Him, and walk with Him, that we can overcome Satan. Our weapons are the blood of the Lamb, and the word of the divine testimony. Faith seizes the perfect work of Christ as its shield, and the word of God as its sword, and thus overcomes the infernal foe. Let us put on the WHOLE ARMOUR of God.–James Smith, 1840

Jesus hath died for you;
What can His love withstand.
Believe, hold fast your shield, and who
Shall pluck you from His hand?
You shall o’ercome through Jesus’ blood.
And stand complete before your God.

“….I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:” Genesis 12:2

This God’s offer and message to all of us. He wants to bless us, and then he wants us in turn to be a blessing to others. God’s way is to send very many of his good things, through human mediators. When he would bless a little child, he puts a gift of wondrous love into a mother’s heart. When he would bless a class of young people or children, he sends a teacher with a heart full of warm sympathy and earnest interest in life. When he would bless a community, he raises up a good man, and touches his heart, that he may scatter benefits among the people.

When God enriches us with gifts of whatever kind, he wants them to be blessings to others. Nothing that we have, is ours for ourselves alone; we receive—that we may dispense. When God gives a man money—he intends him to use it so as to make it a blessing to the world. When God bestows upon anyone the gift of song, of eloquence, of the artist’s power—he desires these gifts to be used to make men better and happier. We should never live for ourselves. We should seek always to live—so as to make the world purer, truer, holier, sweeter.–J R Miller