Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.–1 Cor. 16:13

We do not begin to understand what our lives mean to others, who see us and are touched by us. It is possible to do too much advising or exhorting of others—but we never can do too much beautiful living. One can send a blessed influence out through a whole community, just by being a splendid man. He may not be eloquent or brilliant; he may not be a statesman, an architect, a distinguished leader, a noted physician, surgeon, or a gifted orator; but simply to be a worthy, noble, good man—for ten, twenty, thirty years in a community, is an achievement gloriously worth while. Men who are living nobly do not begin to know how many others are living well, too, just because they are.

The noblest thing a man can do in this world—is to be a man, such a man as God has planned in his thought for him to be. He need not be a famous man, a man noted among men, one whose praise is sung on the streets—but a man who is true, brave, pure, just, beautiful and loving, a man who lives for God and for his fellows.–J. R. Miller

“I will put My laws into their hearts.”—Hebrews 10:16-22

Everything depends on where we carry the law of the Lord. If it only rests in the memory, any vagrant care may snatch it away. The business of the day may wipe it out as a sponge erases a record from a slate. A thought is never secure until it has passed from the mind into the heart, and has become a desire, an aspiration, a passion. When the law of God is taken into the heart, it is no longer something merely remembered: it is something loved. Now things that are loved have a strong defence. They are in the “keep” of the castle, in the innermost custody of the stronghold. The strength of the heart is wrapped about them, and no passing vagrant can carry them away.

And this is where the good Lord is willing to put His laws. He is wishful to put them among our loves. And the wonderful thing is this: when laws are put among loves they change their form, and His statutes become our songs. Laws that are loved are no longer dreadful policemen, but compassionate friends. “O! how I love Thy law!” That man did not live in a prison, he lived in a garden, and God’s will was unto him as gracious flowers and fruits. And so shall it be unto all of us when we love the law of the Lord. (John Henry Jowett)

We are permitted to roll our care entirely over on God and to let it stay there. We are to put the broken plan, the shattered hope, the tangled work, the complicated affair, into the hands of the God of providence, leaving the ordering and outcome of it to His wisdom. The provocation, the friction, the burden that presses sorely, the annoyance, the hindrance,—instead of permitting ourselves to be vexed, exasperated or disturbed by them, we are quietly to turn the matter over to God, and then go on calmly to the next duty that comes to our hand. And, having done this, we are to cease to worry. We have given the perplexity to God. We have asked Him to think for us, plan for us, and take the ordering of the affair into His own hands. It is our matter, therefore, no longer, but His.

Should we not be willing to trust Him? We put our worldly affairs and interests into the hands of men, and feel that they are safe. We commit our sicknesses to the skill of our physician. Business complications we confide to the wisdom of our lawyer. A broken machine we turn over to a mechanic. Is not God wise enough to manage the complications of our lives, and to bring order and beauty out of them? Has He not skill enough? Is He not our Father? and will He not always do the very best and wisest thing for us? Should we not trust Him, and cease to be anxious about anything that we have committed to Him? Is not anxiety doubt and unbelief? and is not doubt and unbelief sin?

We are to commit our way to the Lord, trust Him and be at peace. The only thing that concerns us is our duty. God will weave the web into patterns of beauty unless by our follies and sins we mar it. But we must not hurry Him. His plans are sometimes very long, and our impatience may mar them, as well as our sins. The buds of His purposes must not be torn open. We must wait until His fingers unfold them. –J. R. Miller

God’s plans, like lilies pure and white, unfold:
We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart;
Time will reveal the calyxes of gold.
And if, through patient toil, we reach the land
Where tired feet, with sandals loose, may rest,
Where we shall clearly know and understand,
I think that we will say, ‘God knew the best.’

Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever– 2 Peter 3:18

Here is a call to here-and-now worship. Yes, heaven will be wonderful and, yes, we who are redeemed by Christ will praise Him forever there. But are you praising Him now? We are called to worship Him now and for ever.

Do you, by your life and priorities and calendar and checkbook, lift up Christ as the one great satisfaction to be found in the universe? Do you continually sell all that you have in order to purchase more of this treasure? Or is Christ simply a trinket among other baubles, a good-luck charm to hang around your neck, a joy among many joys?

If we have not yet seen Christ as being worth all that we have, then Peter says we have a knowledge deficiency. He prays that we will grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. For when we see Him properly — when our eyelids of ignorance are lifted to behold the beauty of His person — then we will not be able to take our eyes off Him.

To Jesus Christ be all our glory today. May He be the great grounds of all our rejoicing, our decision-making, our ambitions, our pleasure, our peace, our security, our love, our lifestyle.(From “A Good Thing”}

That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.—Proverbs 2:20

In a remote mountainous region in central China lies what many hikers believe is one of the most dangerous hiking trails in the world. Along the south peak of Mt. Huashan, a trail winds its way to a summit approximately a mile and half high. The views are breathtaking, but you literally take your life in your hands to get there. One particularly notable section of “trail” close to the peak is known as Changkong Zhandao—Floating in Air Road. For some two hundred feet there is no trail but a narrow wooden walkway fastened to the side of the sheer cliff with an iron chain attached above to cling to as you make your way along. Because of the elevation, snowstorms can arise with little warning, leaving the steep trail and steps covered with ice. Without extreme care, hikers can find that mountain trail dangerous and even deadly.

As we make our way through life, God has given us a path to follow and instructions to obey. The prophet Isaiah said, “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). In the pages of Scripture we find the guidelines which allow us to walk safely through the world. The enemy attempts to get us off course, luring us into danger.

While some of his bypaths may see alluring, the reality is that there is only one safe path for us to take, and that is the path of the righteous. Every sin is a step off that path, and leads to destruction. Instead of taking risks and seeing how far we can go without disaster, we should stay safely on God’s course.—–While there are many temptations to lead us way from the paths of righteousness, they all lead to disaster.(Daily in the Word)