Whom Do We Serve?

Let us begin from this moment to acknowledge Him in all our ways, and do everything, whatsoever we do, as service to Him and for His glory, depending upon Him alone for wisdom, and strength, and sweetness, and patience, and everything else that is necessary for the right accomplishing of all our living. It is not so much a change of acts that will be necessary, as a change of motive and of dependence. The house will be kept, or the children cared for, or the business transacted, perhaps, just the same as before as to the outward, but inwardly God will be acknowledged, and depended on, and served; and there will be all the difference between a life lived at ease in the glory of His Presence, and a life lived painfully and with effort apart from Him. There will result also from this bringing of God into our affairs a wonderful accession of divine wisdom in the conduct of them, and a far greater quickness and despatch in their accomplishment, a surprising increase in the fertility of resource, and an enlargement on every side that will amaze the hitherto cramped and cabined soul.

~ Hannah Whitall Smith  

What Is Best For Us

WE know not precisely what is best for us. We know not what will make us truly happy. We know not what will help us best in our struggle against temptations. And if we were to try to make a distinction between our mere passing wishes and that which our souls really needed, we should utterly fail. But we need not try. Let us take all our wishes, all our longings, all the promptings of our consciences, to the feet of our Father. He will hear and He will do. He will hear all we say. He will know what parts of our prayer are best for us to have, and what are not. And He will give us what His fatherly love will choose. And therefore to all our prayers we will add, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

~ Frederick Temple

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Psalm 77

 Psalm 77

Comfort in Trouble from Recalling God's Mighty Deeds.

For the choir director; according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

    ¹My voice rises to God, and I will ^(A)cry aloud;
         My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
    ²In the ^(B)day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
         ^(C)In the night my ^(D)hand was stretched out ^[a]without weariness;
         My soul ^(E)refused to be comforted.
    ³When I remember God, then I am ^(F)disturbed;
         When I ^(G)sigh, then ^(H)my spirit grows faint. Selah.
    ⁴You have held my eyelids open;
         I am so troubled that I ^(I)cannot speak.
    ⁵I have considered the ^(J)days of old,
         The years of long ago.
    ⁶I will remember my ^(K)song in the night;
         I ^(L)will meditate with my heart,
         And my spirit ponders:
    ⁷Will the Lord ^(M)reject forever?
         And will He ^(N)never be favorable again?
    ⁸Has His ^(O)lovingkindness ceased forever?
         Has His ^(P)promise come to an end forever?
    ⁹Has God ^(Q)forgotten to be gracious,
         Or has He in anger withdrawn His ^(R)compassion? Selah.
    ¹⁰Then I said, "^(S)It is my grief,
         That the ^(T)right hand of the Most High has changed."
    ¹¹I shall remember the ^(U)deeds of the LORD;
         Surely I will ^(V)remember Your wonders of old.
    ¹²I will ^(W)meditate on all Your work
         And muse on Your deeds.
    ¹³Your way, O God, is ^(X)holy;
         ^(Y)What god is great like our God?
    ¹⁴You are the ^(Z)God who works wonders;
         You have ^(AA)made known Your strength among the peoples.
    ¹⁵You have by Your power ^(AB)redeemed Your people,
         The sons of Jacob and ^(AC)Joseph. Selah.
    ¹⁶The ^(AD)waters saw You, O God;
         The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
         The deeps also trembled.
    ¹⁷The ^(AE)clouds poured out water;
         The skies ^(AF)gave forth a sound;
         Your ^(AG)arrows flashed here and there.
    ¹⁸The ^(AH)sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
         The ^(AI)lightnings lit up the world;
         The ^(AJ)earth trembled and shook.
    ¹⁹Your ^(AK)way was in the sea
         And Your paths in the mighty waters,
         And Your footprints may not be known.
    ²⁰You ^(AL)led Your people like a flock
         By the hand of ^(AM)Moses and Aaron.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 77:2 Lit and did not grow numb

Cross references:

1. Psalm 77:1 : Ps 3:4; 142:1
2. Psalm 77:2 : Ps 50:15; 86:7
3. Psalm 77:2 : Ps 63:6; Is 26:9
4. Psalm 77:2 : Job 11:13; Ps 88:9
5. Psalm 77:2 : Gen 37:35
6. Psalm 77:3 : Ps 42:5, 11; 43:5
7. Psalm 77:3 : Ps 55:2; 142:2
8. Psalm 77:3 : Ps 61:2; 143:4
9. Psalm 77:4 : Ps 39:9
10. Psalm 77:5 : Deut 32:7; Ps 44:1; 143:5; Is 51:9
11. Psalm 77:6 : Ps 42:8
12. Psalm 77:6 : Ps 4:4
13. Psalm 77:7 : Ps 44:9
14. Psalm 77:7 : Ps 85:1, 5
15. Psalm 77:8 : Ps 89:49
16. Psalm 77:8 : 2 Pet 3:9
17. Psalm 77:9 : Is 49:15
18. Psalm 77:9 : Ps 25:6; 40:11; 51:1
19. Psalm 77:10 : Ps 31:22; 73:14
20. Psalm 77:10 : Ps 44:2, 3
21. Psalm 77:11 : Ps 105:5; 143:5
22. Psalm 77:11 : Ps 105:5; 143:5
23. Psalm 77:12 : Ps 145:5
24. Psalm 77:13 : Ps 63:2; 73:17
25. Psalm 77:13 : Ex 15:11; Ps 71:19; 86:8
26. Psalm 77:14 : Ps 72:18
27. Psalm 77:14 : Ps 106:8
28. Psalm 77:15 : Ex 6:6; Deut 9:29; Ps 74:2; 78:42
29. Psalm 77:15 : Ps 80:1
30. Psalm 77:16 : Ex 14:21; Ps 114:3; Hab 3:8, 10
31. Psalm 77:17 : Judg 5:4
32. Psalm 77:17 : Ps 68:33
33. Psalm 77:17 : Ps 18:14
34. Psalm 77:18 : Ps 18:13; 104:7
35. Psalm 77:18 : Ps 97:4
36. Psalm 77:18 : Judg 5:4; Ps 18:7
37. Psalm 77:19 : Is 51:10; Hab 3:15
38. Psalm 77:20 : Ex 13:21; 14:19; Ps 78:52; 80:1; Is 63:11-13
39. Psalm 77:20 : Ex 6:26; Ps 105:26

Holy Spirit Have Your Way With Me

You Can If You Think You Can!

If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will.
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
the man who thinks he can.

~ C. W. Longenecker ~

Ownership

"Ye are Christ's." --1 Corinthians 3:23

Ye are Christ's." You are His by donation, for the Father gave you to the Son; His by His bloody purchase, for He counted down the price for your redemption; His by dedication, for you have consecrated yourself to Him; His by relation, for you are named by his name, and made one of His brethren and joint-heirs. Labour practically to show the world that you are the servant, the friend, the bride of Jesus. When tempted to sin, reply, "I cannot do this great wickedness, for I am Christ's." Immortal principles forbid the friend of Christ to sin. When wealth is before you to be won by sin, say that you are Christ's, and touch it not. Are you exposed to difficulties and dangers? Stand fast in the evil day, remembering that you are Christ's.

Are you placed where others are sitting down idly, doing nothing? Rise to the work with all your powers; and when the sweat stands upon your brow, and you are tempted to loiter, cry, "No, I cannot stop, for I am Christ's. If I were not purchased by blood, I might be like Issachar, crouching between two burdens; but I am Christ's, and cannot loiter." When the siren song of pleasure would tempt you from the path of right, reply, "Thy music cannot charm me; I am Christ's." When the cause of God invites thee, give thy goods and thyself away, for thou art Christ's. Never belie thy profession. Be thou ever one of those whose manners are Christian, whose speech is like the Nazarene, whose conduct and conversation are so redolent of heaven, that all who see you may know that you are the Saviour's, recognizing in you His features of love and His countenance of holiness. "I am a Roman!" was of old a reason for integrity; far more, then, let it be your argument for holiness, "I am Christ's!"

Up and Be Doing

"Up and be doing," is the word that comes from God for each of us. Leave some "good work" behind you that shall not be wholly lost when you have passed away. Do something worth living for, worth dying for. Is there no want, no suffering, no sorrow that you can relieve? Is there no act of tardy justice, no deed of cheerful kindness, no long-forgotten duty that you can perform? Is there no reconciliation of some ancient quarrel, no payment of some long-outstanding debt, no courtesy, or love, or honor to be rendered to those to whom it has long been due; no charitable, humble, kind, useful deed by which you can promote the glory of God, or good will among men, or peace upon earth? If there be any such deed, in God's name, in Christ's name, go and do it.

ARTHUR P. STANLEY

The Lord Waits

And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits - expectant, looking and longing - to be gracious to you, and therefore He lifts Himself up that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you; for the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed - happy, fortunate [to be envied] are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship].

Isaiah 30:18 AMP

Making the Most of Every Opportunity

Since, by His mercy, He gives us yet a little time, let us beginin earnest. Let us repair the lost time. Let us return with full assurance to that Father of mercies, who is always ready to receive us affectionately. Let us generously renounce, for the love of Him, all that is not Himself. He deserves infinitely more. Let us think of Him perpetually. Let us put all our trust in Him.

Brother Lawrence ~ Practice of the Presence of God, Fourth Conversation ~ ca 1600’s