Save Me in Spite of Myself

Accustom yourself to commune with God, not with thoughts deliberately formed to be expressed at a certain time, but with the feelings with which your heart is filled. If you enjoy His presence, and feel drawn by the attraction of His love, tell Him that you delight in Him, that you are happy in loving Him, and that He is very good to inspire so much affection in a heart so unworthy of His love. But what shall you say in seasons of dryness, coldness, weariness? Still say what you have in your heart. Tell God that you no longer find His love within you, that you feel a terrible void, that He wearies you, that His presence does not move you. Say to Him, "O God, look upon my ingratitude, my inconstancy, my unfaithfulness. Take my heart, for I cannot give it; and when Thou hast it, oh, keep it, for I cannot keep it for Thee; and save me in spite of myself." 

~ Francois De La Mothe Fenelon

For the Best Kind of Day...

Let the first act on waking be to place yourself, your heart, mind, faculties, your whole being, in God's hands. Ask Him to take entire possession of you, to be the Guide of your soul, your Life, your Wisdom, your Strength. He wills that we seek Him in all our needs, that we may both know Him truly, and draw closer and closer to Him; and in prayer we gain an invisible force which will triumph over seemingly hopeless difficulties.

~ H. L. SIDNEY LEAR

Spiritual Growth and Maturity

The open secret of healthy spiritual growth is to know and settle down upon this fact as set forth in Romans 8:28 and 29. When we see that all things are working together to make us more and more like the LORD JESUS we will not be frustrated and upset when some of these 'things' are hard, difficult to understand, and often contain an element of death.  We will be able to rest in our LORD JESUS and say to our FATHER, "THY will be done." And our constant attitude of faith will be, "Though HE slay me, yet will I trust HIM" (Job 13:14). This is our matriculation to spiritual maturity!

~- Miles J. Stanford, Principles of Spiritual Growth

This Day...

Father, this day may I do nothing to tarnish your name... may the teaching of kindness be on my tongue... may the sweet peace that passes understanding keep my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.... may I be both thankful and humble... both undisturbed and undisturbing... I humbly ask this in Jesus Name... may the glory of the Lord be seen in me... Amen...

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

As This Month Ends and as Spring Rapidly Approaches...

Whither goes thou?

Where is thy soul?

Is it in peace? 

If troubled, why?

How art thou fulfilling the duties of thy position?

What are they?

What effort has thou made to amend they disposition, and conquer thy sins?

Has thou been faithful to the light God has given thee?

What means shouldst thou use, especially with regard to they most besetting sin or temptation?

Hast thou fought against it?

Hast thou thought about it at all?

What has thou done with the circumstances of the last month?

Have they wrought God's work in thee?

~ Pere Ravignan (1795-1858)

Thoughts for a Monday Morning

 

 “A person who has not done one half his day's work by ten o'clock, runs a chance of leaving the other half undone.”

- Mrs. Dean  (Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte)

 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom

Psalm 90:12

The Wildflowers' Lesson

Much-Afraid looked at the Shepherd earnestly. 'I have often wondered about the wild flowers...it does seem strange that such unnumbered multitudes should bloom in the wild places of the earth where perhaps nobody ever sees them...They have so much beauty and sweetness to give and no one on whom to lavish it, nor who will even appreciate it.'

The look the Shepherd turned on her was very beautiful. 'Nothing my Father and I have made is ever wasted...and the little wild flowers have a wonderful lesson to teach. They offer themselves so sweetly and confidently and willingly, even if it seems that there is no one to appreciate them.....

All the fairest beauties in the human soul, its greatest victories, and its most splendid achievements are always those which no one else knows anything about, or can only dimly guess at. Every inner response of the human heart to Love and every conquest over self-love is a new flower on the tree of Love. Many a quiet, ordinary, and hidden life, unknown to the world, is a veritable garden in which Love's flowers and fruits have come to such perfection that it is a place of delight where the King of Love himself walks and rejoices with his friends.

Some of my servants have indeed won great visible victories and are rightly loved and reverenced by other men, but always their greatest victories are like the wild flowers, those which no one knows about.

Hannah Hurnard ~ Hind's Feet on High Places (1955)

It isn't work

It isn't work if you like to do it,
It isn't work if it gives a thrill,
If always pleasant thoughts imbue it,
If you do it gladly and with a will.

It isn't "housework" - dusting, mending,
Scrubbing floors and baking things,
Washing dishes and pans unending,
To one who laughs and smiles and sings.

It isn't work, if you find good measure
Of cheer and sun in every minute,
It isn't housework - it's home pleasure,
With a little love and laughter in it!

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1927)

Why Forsake Christ?

"Will ye also go away?"

--John 6:67

Many have forsaken Christ, and have walked no more with Him; but what reason have YOU to make a change? Has there been any reason for it in the past? Has not Jesus proved Himself all-sufficient? He appeals to you this morning--"Have I been a wilderness unto you?" When your soul has simply trusted Jesus, have you ever been confounded? Have you not up till now found your Lord to be a compassionate and generous friend to you, and has not simple faith in Him given you all the peace your spirit could desire? Can you so much as dream of a better friend than He has been to you? Then change not the old and tried for new and false. As for the present, can that compel you to leave Christ? When we are hard beset with this world, or with the severer trials within the Church, we find it a most blessed thing to pillow our head upon the bosom of our Saviour.

This is the joy we have to-day that we are saved in Him; and if this joy be satisfying, wherefore should we think of changing? Who barters gold for dross? We will not forswear the sun till we find a better light, nor leave our Lord until a brighter lover shall appear; and, since this can never be, we will hold Him with a grasp immortal, and bind His name as a seal upon our arm. As for the future, can you suggest anything which can arise that shall render it necessary for you to mutiny, or desert the old flag to serve under another captain? We think not. If life be long--He changes not. If we are poor, what better than to have Christ who can make us rich? When we are sick, what more do we want than Jesus to make our bed in our sickness? When we die, is it not written that "neither death, nor life, nor things present, nor things to come, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!" We say with Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go?"

Contentment

1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even the weather.

2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any circumstances in which you are not.

3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.

4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been or were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than thou dost thyself.

5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's not thine. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. "The Lord will provide."

E. B. Pusey (1800-1882)

Companions

"Patience is the companion of wisdom."

St. Augustine

My Portion

YOUR portion is to love, to be silent, to suffer, to sacrifice your inclinations, in order to fulfil the will of God, by moulding yourself to that of others. Happy indeed you are thus to bear a cross laid on you by God's own hands, in the order of His Providence. The discipline which we choose for ourselves does not destroy our self-love like that which God assigns us Himself each day. All we have to do is to give ourselves up to God day by day, without looking further. He carries us in His arms as a loving mother carries her child. In every need let us look with love and trust to our Heavenly Father.

FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FeNELON

Made for Thyself!

Made for Thyself, O God!

Made for Thy love, Thy service, Thy delight;

Made to show forth Thy wisdom, grace, and might;

Made for Thy praise, whom veiled archangels laud;

O strange and glorious thought, that we may be

A joy to Thee.

F.R. Havergal