“A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.”–Proverbs 13:5

Before he became president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was a successful attorney in Illinois. His specialty was the then-new field of railroad law, but when the son of a friend was charged with murder and put on trial in 1858, Lincoln agreed to defend him at no cost. During the trial a witness named Charles Allen testified that he had seen the accused, Duff Armstrong, hit and kill James Metzker on the night of August 29, 1857. Allen’s testimony was that though he was 150 feet away, the light of the full moon allowed him to clearly see that Armstrong was the killer.

Once he had Allen committed and on the record with his sworn testimony, Lincoln sprang his trap. He pulled out an almanac for the previous year and showed that the moon on that date was not full but only one quarter—and that at the time of the crime it had barely risen. There was no way that Allen could have seen Armstrong commit the crime as he had testified. The jury acquitted William Armstrong on their first ballot. The truth overcame the lie, and justice was done.

When we are honest and truthful, we demonstrate our commitment to following God and obeying His commands. The temptation to shade the truth, to tell “white lies” or to try to get off the hook by lying always leads to disaster. Much of our society has abandoned honesty as a value and virtue, but that does not make it any less important for us to continue to love the truth. Jesus said, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Though it may seem that lying will work out better in the short run, the truth is always the best course in the end.—–If you are committed to the truth, it will protect you and bring you God’s blessings. –Paul Chappell

“A good boy generally makes a good man”. So said the mother of George Washington. And few if any would doubt the greatness of her son George. The problem is that “good boys”, or girls, don’t just happen–they must be made that way. You don’t have to teach a child to do evil, it is in their nature. What the child needs is a transforming power in his life, and none do it better than mothers. George Washington was a good boy who became a great man because he had a godly mother. Our nation should be forever thankful for her.

Washington’s mother taught him the value of virtue, the principles of proper conduct, and the importance of moral courage. Think about it like this—basically, he became what she was. And, generally speaking, for good or bad, that’s the way it is with all of us. If you expect your child to go the way he should go make sure you go that way yourself.

Later in life, with a long list of accomplishments to his account, Washington said, “The greatest teacher I ever had was my mother”. I suspect he was right. And he did well to give her that recognition. Those of us who have been so blessed ought to do the same. Tell her you love her and prove it by your deeds, while you still have her with you. You will be sorry if you don’t. She will be thrilled if you do.

Godly mothers are a national treasure. There is no way to describe how much they are worth! Theodore Roosevelt said, “The mother is the one supreme asset of the national life. She is more important by far, than the successful statesman, or businessman, or artist, or scientist”. To that I can only say Amen! If your mother is still alive I hope you will make this Mother’s Day memorable for her. Let her know how special she is.

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4

For most of us it is not easy to be always joyful; yet we should learn our lesson so well that whether amid circumstances of sorrow or of gladness–our song shall never be interrupted.

Joy is God’s ideal for His children. He means for them to be sunny-faced and happy-hearted. He does not wish them to be heavy-hearted and sad. He has made the world full of beauty and full of music. The mission of the gospel is to start songs wherever it goes. Its keynote is joy–good tidings of great joy to all people. We are commanded to rejoice always.

This does not mean that the Christian’s life is exempt from trouble, pain, and sorrow. The gospel does not give us a new set of conditions with the hard things left out. The Christian’s home is not sheltered from life’s storms–any more than the worldly man’s home is. Sickness enters the circle where the voice of prayer is heard, with its hot breath–as well as the home where no heart adores and no knee bends before God. In the holiest home sanctuary, the loving group gathers about the bed of death, and there is sorrow of bereavement.

Nor is grief less poignant in the believer’s case, than in that of the man who knows not Christ. Grace does not make . . .
  love less tender,
  the pang of affliction less sharp,
  the sense of loss less keen, or
  the feeling of loneliness less deep.

God does not give joy to His children by making them incapable of suffering. Divine grace makes the heart all the more tender, and the capacity for loving all the deeper; hence it increases rather than lessens the measure of sorrow when afflictions come.

But the joy of the Christian is something which lies too deep to be disturbed by the waves and tides of earthly trouble. It has its source in the very heart of God. Sorrow is not prevented by grace, but is swallowed up in the floods of heavenly joy. That was what Jesus meant when He talked to His disciples of joy just as He was about to go out to Gethsemane. He said their sorrow would be turned into joy, and that they would have a joy which the world could not take from them; that is, a joy which earth’s deepest darkness could not put out. God’s joy is not the absence of sorrow, but divine comfort overcoming sorrow–sunshine striking through the black clouds, transfiguring them!–J. R. Miller

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.–Matthew 6:34

Faith does not shed tears over sorrows which may never come. God never made a Christian strong enough to stand the strain of today’s duties–and all the load of tomorrow’s anxieties piled upon the top of them. The apostle Paul himself would have broken down, if he had attempted the foolish experiment. We have a right to ask our Heavenly Father for strength equal to the day–but we have no right to ask him for one extra ounce of strength beyond it! Faith . . .
  carries present loads,
  meets present battles,
  feeds on present promises, and
  commits the future to a faithful God!

We should not penetrate into the secrets which tomorrow hides–if we could. It is far better to know Whom we trust, and that He is able to keep all that we commit to Him, until the last great day.

We cannot live on yesterday’s meals. As the children of Israel gathered fresh manna every morning–so must we look upward for a fresh supply of heavenly rations for the day’s march. The secret of happy days is not in our outward circumstances–but in our own heart life. A large draught of Bible taken every morning, a throwing open of the soul’s windows to the precious promises of the Master, a few words of fervent prayer, a deed or two of kindness to the first person you meet–will brighten your countenance and make your feet “like hinds feet” for the day’s march. (Theodore Cuyler)

“As your days–so shall your strength be.” Deuteronomy 33:25

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” –Matthew 6:19-21         

The famous missionary and martyr, Jim Elliot, was called a fool by many for going to Ecuador. “They’ll kill you there!” some told him. “You’ll lose your life!” Well, Jim Elliot did lose his life when he was killed by members of the very tribe he was trying to reach. His wife, Elisabeth, kept his journal in which he once wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Elisabeth Elliot returned to that same tribe where she spent years doing her mission work. All the while, she held to that same truth that when we give up our worldly possessions for the sake of the Gospel to gain eternal treasure in Christ, it makes perfect sense!

In our part of the world, people are obsessed with accumulating stuff. Next time you’re out driving, just count the number of storage places you see—all existing for the sole purpose of keeping things no one is using.

I’m not telling you to sell everything you have and move to Timbuktu. But how might your attitude change if you saw your worldly possessions as secondary to your heavenly treasures? Stuff can’t make you happy, but heavenly treasures will give you everlasting joy.–By Jack Graham

EXPERIENCE EVERLASTING JOY BY KEEPING YOUR HEAVENLY TREASURES – YOUR WORK FOR CHRIST – AS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITY!