Author: This Day's Thought

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Annie Johnson Flint — God has not promised skies always blue…

God has not promised skies always blue,
flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God has not promised sun without rain,
joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
But God has promised strength for the day,
rest for the labor, light for the way,
grace for the trials, help from above,
unfailing sympathy, undying love.
Annie Johnson Flint

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Charles Spurgeon — It is remarkable that the Holy Spirit…

It is remarkable that the Holy Spirit has given us very few deathbed scenes in the book of God.  We have very few in the Old Testament, fewer still in the New.  And I take it that the reason may be, because the Holy Ghost would have us to take more account of how we live than how we die, for life is the main business.  He who learns to die daily while he lives will find it no difficulty to breathe out his soul for the last time into the hands of his faithful Creator.
Charles Spurgeon

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John C. Maxwell — Dan Clark recalls that when he was a teenager…

Dan Clark recalls that when he was a teenager, he and his father once stood in line to buy tickets for the circus.  As they waited, they noticed the family immediately in front of them.  The parents were holding hands, and they had eight children in tow, all behaved well and all probably under the age of twelve.  Based on their clean but simple clothing, he suspected they didn’t have a lot of money.  The kids jabbered about the exciting things they expected to see, and he could tell that the circus was going to be a new adventure for them.
As the couple approached the counter, the attendant asked how many tickets they wanted.  The man proudly responded, “Please let me buy eight children’s tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus.”
When the attendant quoted the price, the man’s wife let go of his hand, and her head drooped.  The man leaned a little closer and asked, “How much did you say?”  The attendant again quoted the price.  The man obviously didn’t have enough money.  He looked crushed.
Clark says his father watched all of this, put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a twenty-dollar bill, and dropped it on the ground.  His father then reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder, and said, “Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket.”
The man knew exactly what was going on.  He looked straight into Clark’s father’s eyes, took his hand, shook it, and with a tear streaming down his cheek, replied, “Thank you, thank you, sir.  This really means a lot to me and my family.”
Clark and his father went back to their car and drove home.  They didn’t have enough money to go to the circus that night, but it didn’t matter.  They had encouraged a whole family.  And it was something neither family would ever forget.
John C. Maxwell

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Joseph Addison — The mind never unbends itself so agreeably…

The mind never unbends itself so agreeably as in the conversation of a well-chosen friend.  There is indeed no blessing of life that is any way comparable to the enjoyment of a discreet and virtuous friend.  It eases and unloads the mind, clears and improves the understanding, engenders thought and knowledge, animates virtue and good resolutions, soothes and allays the passions, and finds employment for most of the vacant hours of life.
Joseph Addison

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Unknown — A lad who heard his father prayer for missions…

A lad who heard his father pray for missions, and especially for the needs of missionaries, that they might be supplied, and that their institutions might be amply sustained, said to him, “Father, I wish I had your money.”  “Why, my son, what would you do with it?” asked the father.  “I would answer your prayers,” was the reply.
Unknown

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Russell T. Loesch — In Tolstoy’s “Man and Dame Fortune”…

In Tolstoy’s “Man and Dame Fortune,” the hero is told he can have the right to all the land around which he can plow a furrow in a single day.  The man started off with great vigor, and was going to encompass only that which he could easily care for.  But as the day progressed, he desired more and more rights.  He plowed and plowed, until at the end of the day he could in no possible way return to his original point of departure, but struggling to do so, he fell, the victim of a heart attack.  The only right he secured was the right to 18 square feet of land in which to be buried.
Russell T. Loesch

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Samuel Dickey Gordon — Joy is distinctly a Christian word…

Joy is distinctly a Christian word and a Christian thing.  It is the reverse of happiness.  Happiness is the result of what happens of an agreeable sort.  Joy has its springs deep down inside.  And that spring never runs dry, no matter what happens.  Only Jesus gives that joy.  He had joy, singing its music within, even under the shadow of the cross.  It is an unknown word and thing except as He has sway within.
Samuel Dickey Gordon

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James M. Tulloch — A smile creates happiness in the home…

A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in business and is the countersign of friends.  It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and nature’s best antidote for trouble.  Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is no earthly good to anybody until it is given away.  Keep smiling- and let your smile be one of sincerity.  Don’t just force it out to make a sale, to keep out of a fight, or for similar reasons.  But smile from the heart out, making those who see you smile do likewise in a feeling of good fellowship.
James M. Tulloch

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Unknown — A man who lived some six miles from the house of worship…

A man who lived some six miles from the house of worship, complained to his pastor of the distance he had to go to attend public worship.  “Never mind,” said the minister, “remember every Sabbath you have the privilege of preaching a sermon six miles long- you preach the gospel to all the residents and people you pass.”
Unknown

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Charles Spurgeon — There is an old story…

There is an old story which tells of an Italian duke who went on board a galley ship.  As he passed the crew of slaves he asked several of them what their offenses were.  Every one laid the blame to someone else, saying his brother was to blame or the judge was bribed.  One sturdy young fellow said:  “My lord, I am justly in here.  I wanted money and I stole it.  No one is to blame but myself.”  The duke on hearing this seized him by the shoulder, saying, “You rogue!  What are you doing here among so many honest men?  Get you out of their company!”  The young fellow was then set at liberty, while the rest were left to tug at the oars.
Charles Spurgeon

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Richard Baxter — Is it a small thing in your eyes to be loved by God…

Is it a small thing in your eyes to be loved by God- to be the son, the spouse, the love, the delight of the King of glory?  Christian, believe this, and think about it: you will be eternally embraced in the arms of the love which was from everlasting, and will extend to everlasting- of the love which brought the Son of God’s love from heaven to earth, from earth to the cross, from the cross to the grave, from the grave to glory- that love which was weary, hungry, tempted, scorned, scourged, buffered, spat upon, crucified, pierced- which fasted, prayed, taught, healed, wept, sweated, bled, died.  That love will eternally embrace you.
Richard Baxter

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Norman Corwin — Of course a home without love…

Of course a home without love is just cold real estate…it is a minuscule world.  If it has 10 books, it is partly a library; if three pictures, a little museum; if six tools, a repair shop.  If one big, crowded closet of bric-a-brac, a warehouse.  Whenever a piano or fiddle is in serious use, it is a part-time conservatory.  At mealtime grace, or in answering a child’s question about God, it is a fraction of a church.  In the throes of argument or the heart of discourse, it becomes a court; in sickness it is a field hospital; when you discover old forgotten letters, pictures, souveniers in a trunk or attic, it is a wing of archaeology.  When the kids climb trees, fences, high furniture, or other forbidden obstacles, it is a commando camp…
Norman Corwin (his graphic description of the components of home life)

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Robert Murray McCheyne — I ought to pray before seeing anyone…

I ought to pray before seeing anyone.  Often when I sleep long, or meet with others early, it is eleven or twelve o’clock before I begin secret prayer.  This is a wretched system.  It is unscriptural.  Christ arose before day and went into solitary place.  David says:  “Early will I seek thee; Thou shalt early hear my voice.”  Family prayer loses much of its power and sweetness, and I can do no good to those who come to seek from me.  The conscience feels guilty, the soul unfed, the lamp not trimmed.  Then when I secure prayer the soul is often out of tune.  I feel it is far better to begin with God- to see his face first, to get my soul near him before it is near another.
Robert Murray McCheyne

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Raymond T. Moreland — Benjamin West tells…

Benjamin West tells how he actually became a successful and important painter.  When he was young, his mother went out and left him in charge of his sister Sally.  In the meantime, little Benjamin discovered bottles of colored ink and began to do Sally’s portrait.  What a mess soon developed.  Finally, when Ben’s mother came home and saw the tragic mess, she said nothing.  She merely picked up the paper with the portrait and said, “Why it’s Sally!” and she kissed Ben.  Ever since that day, West has said, “My mother’s kiss made me a painter.”
Raymond T. Moreland

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Joseph Hall — Infidelity and Faith…

Infidelity and Faith look both through the same perspective-glass, but at contrary ends.  Infidelity looks through the wrong end of the glass; and therefore, sees those objects near which are afar off, and makes great things little, diminishing the greatest spiritual blessings, and removing far from us threatened evils.  Faith looks at the right end, and brings the blessings that are far off close to our eye, and multiplies God’s mercies, which, in the distance, lost their greatness.
Joseph Hall

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Jonathan Edwards — The enjoyment of God…

The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.  To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here.  Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance.  These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun.  These are but streams.  But God is the ocean.
Jonathan Edwards

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Leaves of Gold — The friendship of Jesus is lasting…

The friendship of Jesus is lasting.  Other friends may grow old and cold.  It is not so with the friendship of our Savior.  Other friends may possibly misunderstand us, Jesus never.  His love is the same in youth as in old age.  The friendship will rather grow stronger in old age.  When you have lost what to you seemed everything, and you find yourself friendless and alone, despised and forsaken, Jesus will be your dear and precious friend.
Leaves of Gold

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The Lookout — Id’ rather see a sermon than hear one…

Id’ rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
Id’ rather one should walk with me than merely show the way.
The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear;
Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear.
And the best of all preachers are the men who live their creeds,
For to see the good in action is what everybody needs.
I can soon learn how to do it if you’ll let me see it done;
I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.
And the lectures you deliver may be very wise and true,
But I’d rather get my lesson by observing what you do.
For I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give,
But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
The Lookout

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George Whitefield — Had an hour’s conversation with a gentleman…

Had an hour’s conversation with a gentleman about new birth in Jesus Christ.  Breakfasted with some gentlemen in the great cabin, who were very civil and let me put in a word for God.  About eleven at night went and sat down among the sailors in the steerway and reasoned with them concerning the Christian life.  Gained an opportunity, by walking at night on the deck, to talk closely to the chief mate and one of the sergeants of the regiment and hope my words were not altogether in vain.
George Whitefield (as he noted in his journal the contacts he made on shipboard)

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Henry W. Thornton — How great is the contrast…

How great is the contrast between that forgiveness to which we lay claim from God towards us, and our temper towards others!  God, we expect, will forgive us great offences, offences many times repeated; and will forgive them freely, liberally, and from the heart.  But we are offended at our neighbor, perhaps, for the merest trifles, and for an injury only once offered; and we are but half reconciled when we deem to forgive.  Even an uncertain humor, an ambiguous word, or a suspected look, will inflame our anger; and hardly any persuasion will induce us for a long time to relent.
Henry W. Thornton

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Phillips Brooks — You who are letting miserable misunderstandings…

You who are letting miserable misunderstandings run on from year to year, meaning to clear them up some day; you who are keeping wretched quarrels alive because you cannot quite make up your minds that now is the day to sacrifice your pride and kill them; you who are letting your neighbor starve until you hear that he is dying of starvation or letting your friend’s heart ache for a word of appreciation or sympathy, which you mean to give him some day; if you could only know and see and feel all of a sudden that time is short, how it would break the “spell.”  How you would go instantly and do the thing which you might never have another chance to do.
Phillips Brooks

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Advent Herald — The following is a quotation from the words of Dr. W. B. Hinson…

The following is a quotation from the words of Dr. W. B. Hinson, speaking from the pulpit a year after the commencement of the illness from which he ultimately died:  “I remember a year ago when a man in this city said, ‘You have got to go to your death.’  I walked out to where I live, five miles out of this city, and I looked across at that mountain that I love, and I looked at the river in which I rejoice, and I looked at the stately trees that are always God’s own poetry to my soul.  Then in the evening I looked up into the great sky where God was lighting his lamps, and I said ‘I may not see you many more times, but, Mountain, I shall be alive when you are gone; and, River, I shall be alive when you cease running toward the sea; and, Stars, I shall be alive when you have fallen from your sockets in the great down-pulling of the material universe!'”  This is the confidence of one who knew the Saviour.  Is it yours?
Advent Herald

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Tony Bland — The phone rang in the office of a Washington D.C. church…

The phone rang in the office of a Washington D.C. church.  The voice on the other end asked, “Will the President be in church Sunday morning?”  The pastor quickly replied, “That I cannot promise, but I do know Jesus Christ will be here and that should be sufficient incentive for a reasonably large attendance.”
Tony Bland

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R. C. Foster — Jesus said…

Jesus said, “Go,” but the church through selfishness and indifference has refused to obey.  We try to substitute “write,” “send,” or “give,” for “go.”  We try to salve our conscience by turning over the task of “going” to someone else and giving languidly for their support.  Of course, we must send where we cannot go.  But because we can’t go across the world does not excuse us for refusing to go across the street.
R. C. Foster

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Norman Vincent Peale — Many of the world’s finest Oriental rugs…

Many of the world’s finest Oriental rugs come from little villages in the Middle East, China, or India.  These rugs are hand-produced by crews of men and boys under direction of a master weaver.  They work from the underside of the rug-to-be.  It frequently happens that a weaver absentmindedly makes a mistake and introduces a color that is not according to the pattern.  When this occurs, the master weaver, instead of having the work pulled out in the order to correct the color sequence, will find some way to incorporate the mistake harmoniously into the overall pattern.  In weaving our lives, we can lean to take unexpected difficulties and mistakes and weave them advantageously in the greater overall patterns of our lives.  There is an inherent good in most difficulties.
Norman Vincent Peale

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James A. Michener — The master in the art of living…

The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion.  He hardly knows which is which.  He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing.  To him he’s always doing both.
James A. Michener

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Abraham Lincoln — It is said an eastern monarch once charged his wise men…

It is said an eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations.  They presented him with the words, “And this, too, shall pass away.”  How much it expresses!  How chastening in the hour of pride!  How consoling in the depths of affliction!
Abraham Lincoln

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W. E. McCumber — We need to arrange a servanthood conference…

We need to arrange a servanthood conference, with workshops in love, forgiveness, feet-washing, cross bearing- in short, workshops in Christlikeness.  God is not waiting for people to get big enough to use, but to get small enough in their own eyes for Him to entrust with His mission and Spirit.  Christ cannot be represented by swaggering leaders who “lord it over” the flock of God.  He cannot be represented by puffed-up laymen who nominate themselves as church bosses.  He can be honestly manifested only in the lives of those who feel, as did Paul, that they are “less than the least of all the saints.”
W. E. McCumber

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Unknown — The Day’s Result…

The Day’s Result
Is anybody happier because you passed his way? Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today? The day is almost over and its toiling time is through; Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word of you? Did you give a cheerful greeting to the friend who came along, Or a churlish sort of “Howdy”; then vanish in the throng? Were you selfish, pure and simple, as you rushed along your way, Or is someone mighty grateful for a deed you did today? Can you say tonight, in parting with the day that’s slipping fast, That you helped a single brother of the many that you passed? Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said? Does the man whose hopes were fading now with courage look ahead? Did you waste the day or lose it, was it well or poorly spent? Did you leave a trail of kindness, or a scar of discontent? As you close your eyes in slumber, do you think that God would say, “You have earned one more tomorrow by the work you did today?”
Unknown

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Mother Teresa — It is very important that children learn…

It is very important that children learn from their fathers and mothers how to love one another- not in the school, not from the teacher, but from you.  It is very important that you share with your children the joy of that smile.  There will be misunderstandings; every family has its cross, its suffering.  Always be the first to forgive with a smile.  Be cheerful, be happy.
Mother Teresa

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J. Hudson Taylor — A man who loves the Word of God…

A man who loves the Word of God, a man who dwells upon what it says, a man who keeps a little text in his mind to think about as he is walking on his way, and that meditates upon it day and night, “Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”  If you can find a man who carries out this direction and doesn’t prosper, you can doubt the inspiration of the first Psalm; but find the man first.
J. Hudson Taylor

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Karl Barth — They crucified him with the criminals…

They crucified him with the criminals.  Do you know what this implies?  Don’t be too surprised if I tell you that this was the first Christian fellowship, the first certain, indissoluble, and indestructible Christian community.  Christian community is manifest wherever there is a group of people close to Jesus who are with him in such a way that they are directly and unambiguously affected by his promise and assurance.  These may hear that everything he is, he is for them, and everything he does, he does for them.  To live by this promise is to be a Christian community.
Karl Barth

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Wilfred Grenfell — Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, the missionary doctor of Labrador…

Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, the missionary doctor of Labrador, was a cynical young medical student in London when Dwight L. Moody went there to preach.  Said Grenfell of Moody: “When Mr. Moody finished his sermon, I resolved either to drop religion entirely or else make a real effort to do what Christ would do if He were in my place.  With a mother like mine, that resolve could only have one outcome.  So, beginning that night, I started doing what I thought Christ would do if He were a young doctor in London.”
Wilfred Grenfell

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Giovanni da Fiesole — I salute you…

I salute you.  I am your friend, and my love for you goes deep.  There is nothing I can give you which you have not already; but there is much, very much, which though I cannot give it, you can take.  No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in today.  Take heaven.  No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this precious little instant.  Take peace.  The gloom of the world is but a shadow.  Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy.  There is radiance and courage in the darkness could we but see it; and to see, we have only to look.  Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by their coverings, cast them away as ugly or heavy or hard.  Remove the covering, and you will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of love, and wisdom, and power.  Welcome it, greet it, and you touch the angel’s hand that brings it.
Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, a duty, believe me, that angel’s hand is there, the gift is there, and the wonder of an overshadowing Presence.  Our joys, too, be not content with them as joys.  They, too, conceal diviner gifts.  Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty beneath its covering, that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven.  Courage, then, to claim it, that is all!  But courage you have, and the knowledge that we are pilgrims wending through unknown country our way home.
And so, at this Christmas time, I greet you, not quite as the world sends greeting, but with profound esteem now and forever.
The day breaks and the shadows flee away.
This old Christmas greeting from a letter written between 1387-1455 by Giovanni da Fiesole (Fra Angelico)

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Henry Van Dyke — Are you willing to stoop down…

Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and desires of little children;
To remember the weakness, the loneliness of people who are growing old;
To stop asking how much your friends love you and ask yourself whether you love them enough;
To bear in mind the things that other people have to bear in their hearts;
To try to understand what those who live in the same house with you really want, without waiting for them to tell you?
Then you can keep Christmas.
And if you can keep it for a day, why not always?
But you can never keep it alone.
Henry Van Dyke

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Ann Landers — An attorney I very much admired…

An attorney I very much admired once said that the greatest gift he ever received in his life was a note his dad gave him on Christmas.  It read, “Son, this year I will give you 365 hours.  An hour every day after dinner.  We’ll talk about whatever you want to talk about.  We’ll go wherever you want to go, play whatever you want to play.  It will be your hour.”  That dad kept his promise and renewed it every year.
Ann Landers

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Unknown — There was a gift for each of us…

There was a gift for each of us left under the tree of life 2000 years ago by Him whose birthday we celebrate today.  The gift was withheld from no man.  Some have left the packages unclaimed.  Some have accepted the gift and carried it around, but have failed to remove the wrappings and look inside to discover the hidden splendor.  The packages are all alike:  In each is a scroll on which is written, “All that the Father hath is thine.”  Take and live!
Unknown

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Helen Keller — Christmas is the harvest time of love…

Christmas is the harvest time of love.  Souls are drawn to other souls.  All that we have read and thought and hoped comes to fruition at this happy time.  Our spirits are astir.  We feel within us a strong desire to serve.  A strange, subtle force, a new kindness, animates man and child.  A new spirit is growing in us.  No longer are we content to relieve pain, to sweeten sorrow, to give the crust of charity.  We dare to give friendship, service, the equal loaf of bread and love.
Helen Keller

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Pauline Phillips — O, heavenlty Father: we thank thee…

O, heavenly Father: we thank thee for food and remember the hungry.
We thank thee for health and remember the sick.
We thank thee for friends and remember the friendless.
We thank thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.
May these remembrances stir us to service,
That thy gifts to us may be used for others.
Amen.
Pauline Phillips

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David Read — If I were to wake up one morning…

If I were to wake up one morning and find I was an atheist with my faith in God completely gone, I think I would miss almost more than anything else having someone to thank…I can hardly conceive what it would be like never, never being able to say in a moment of exhilaration or of unexpected happiness or of rescue from deep distress, “O God, you’re good to me!”
David Read

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Charles H. Spurgeon — Doth not all nature around me praise God…

Doth not all nature around me praise God?  If I were silent, I should be an exception to the universe.  Doth not the thunder praise Him as it rolls like drums in the march of the God of armies?  Do not the mountains praise Him when the woods upon their summits wave in adoration?  Does not the lightning write His name in letters of fire?  Hath not the whole earth a voice?  And shall I, can I, silent be?
Charles H. Spurgeon

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Paul Tournier — There is a loyalty which turns into Idolatry…

There is a loyalty which turns into idolatry.  The very thing which once freed us can turn into the very thing that enslaves us: a method of prayer, a technique of mediation, a way of expressing ourselves through art, music, writing or speaking, which was once the channel through which God reaches us, may have become the very thing which prevents our continued growth.  We may confuse the channels of God with God himself!!  This turns us into idolators of a certain system.  We become fixed and petrified.  It’s natural to thrill at each new level of growth and feel that we’ve arrived.  But God, the living God, keeps breaking our old molds; He constantly enlarges us, presenting new challenges and new sacraments.
Paul Tournier

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Seneca — As the mother’s womb holds us for ten month…

As the mother’s womb holds us for ten months, making us ready, not for the womb itself, but for life, just so, through our lives, we are making ourselves ready for another birth…Therefore look forward without fear to that appointed hour- the last hour of the body, but not of the soul…That day, which you fear as being the end of all things, is the birthday of your eternity.
Seneca

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John Newton — I compare the troubles which we have to undergo…

I compare the troubles which we have to undergo to a great bundle of fagots, far too large for us to carry.  But God does not require us to carry the whole at once.  He mercifully unties the bundle, and gives us first one stick, which we are to carry today and then another which we are to carry tomorrow, and so on.  This we might easily manage, if we would only take the burden appointed for us each day; but we choose to increase our troubles by carrying sticks over again today, and adding tomorrow’s burden to our load, before we are required to carry it.
John Newton

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Unknown – There is a story about trust in God’s promises…

There is a story about trust in God’s promises that comes from F. W. Boreham.  Boreham tells about an episode during the early days of his ministry in Australia.  He went to call on one of his elderly parishioners.  Entering the room where the old man lay, he noticed a chair pulled up beside the man’s bed.  “I see that I am not your first visitor today,” said Boreham.  The old man then began to explain the presence of the empty chair.  He said that when he was a small boy, he had difficulty praying.  His pastor suggested that he overcome this difficulty by placing an empty chair in front of himself when he prayed, and by simply pretending that Jesus was sitting in that chair like an attentive friend.  He said he had maintained that habit ever since.  Boreham left the house a short while later.  A few days later, however, then man’s daughter came to tell him that he was dead.  “I was out of the room only for a short time,” said the daughter.  “When I returned, he was gone.  There was no change in him except I noticed that his hand was on the chair.”
Unknown

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John T. Faris — A man was carrying a heavy basket…

A man was carrying a heavy basket.  His son asked to help him.  The father cut a stick and placed it through the handle of the basket so that the end toward himself was very short; while the end toward the boy was three or four times as long.  Each took hold of his end of the stick, and the basket was lifted and easily carried.  The son was bearing the burden with the father, but he found his work easy and light because his father assumed the heavy end of the stick.  Just so it is when we bear the yoke with Christ; He sees to it that the burden laid on us is light; He carries the heavy end.
John T. Faris

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Thomas Galloway — The Bible as a book stands alone…

The Bible as a book stands alone.  There never was, nor ever will be, another like it.  As there is but one sun to enlighten the world naturally, so there is but one Book to enlighten the world spiritually.  May that Book become to each of us the man of our counsel, the guide of our journey, the inspiration of our thought, and our support and comfort in life and in death.
Thomas Galloway

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The War Cry — In a British army discussion period…

In a British army discussion period on the religions of the world, men began to voice their opinions concerning Jesus.  To one He was “a good enough man”; to another, “an impossible idealist”; to another, “a revolutionary”; and to another, “a fanatic.”  At last a lad got to his feet and, with flushed face and stammering tongue, said: “Excuse me, but you’re all wrong.  He is more than that.”  The he paused, and a wit who knew the lad interposed with: “He’s got inside information!”  “So I have!” flashed back the young Christian.  “You see, I know Him!”  The men did not laugh.  They recognized the fact that the lad had got hold of something beyond their surface appraisals.
The War Cry

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Unknown — Some of the world’s greatest men and women…

Some of the world’s greatest men and women have been saddled with disabilities and adversities but have managed to overcome them.  Cripple him, and you have a Sir Walter Scott.  Lock him in a prison cell, and you have a John Bunyan.  Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington.  Raise him in abject poverty, and you have an Abraham Lincoln.  Subject him to bitter religious prejudice, and you have a Benjamin Disraeli.  Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes a Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Burn him so severely in a schoolhouse fire that the doctors say he will never walk again, and you have a Glenn Cunningham, who set a world’s record in 1934 for running a mile in 4 minutes, 6.7 seconds.  Deafen a genius composer, and you have a Ludwig van Beethoven.  Have him or her born Black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have a Booker T. Washington, a Harriet Tubman, a Marian Anderson, or a George Washington Carver.  Make him the first child to survive in a poor Italian family of eighteen children, and you have an Enrico Caruso.  Have him born of parents who survived a Nazi concentration camp, paralyze him from the waist down when he is four, and you have an incomparable concert violinist, Itzhak Perlman.  Call him a slow learner, “retarded,” and write him off as ineducable, and you have an Albert Einstein.
Unknown

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Harry Emerson Fosdick — Once when Ole Bull, the great violinist…

Once when Ole Bull, the great violinist, was giving a concert in Paris, his “A” string snapped and he transposed the composition and finished it on three strings.  That is life- to have your “A” string snap and finish on three strings.  How many here have had to test that out!  Some of the finest things in human life have been done that way.  Indeed, so much the most thrilling part of the human story on this planet lies in such capacity victoriously to handle handicaps that, much as I should have liked to hear Ole Bull with all the resources of a perfect instrument at his command, if I could have heard him only once, I should have liked to hear him when the “A” string snapped and, without rebellion or self-pity or surrender, he finished on three strings.
Harry Emerson Fosdick

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The West Side Baptist — There were two young boys…

There were two young boys who were raised in the home of an alcoholic father.  As young men, they each went their own way.  Years later, a psychologist who was analyzing what drunkenness does to children in the home searched out these two men.  One had turned out to be like his father, a hopeless alcoholic.  The other had turned out to be a teetotaler.  The counselor asked the first man, “Why did you become an alcoholic?”  And the second, “Why did you become a teetotaler?”  And they both gave the same identical answer in these words, “What else could you expect when you had a father like mine?”  It’s not what happens to you in life but how you react to it that makes the difference.  Every human being in the same situation has the possibilities of choosing how he will react, either positively or negatively.
The West Side Baptist

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S. D. Gordon — There was an old Christian woman…

There was an old Christian woman whose age began to tell on her memory.  She had once known much of the Bible by heart.  Eventually only one precious bit stayed with her.  “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”  By and by part of that slipped its hold, and she would quietly repeat, “That which I have committed unto him.”  At last, as she hovered on the borderline between this and the spirit world, her loved ones noticed her lips moving.  They bent down to see if she needed anything.  She was repeating over and over again to herself the one word of the text, “Him, Him, Him.”  She had lost the whole Bible, but one word.  But she had the whole Bible in that one word.
S. D. Gordon

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James R. Miller — Kindness is just the word for [certain] small acts…

Kindness is just the word for [certain] small acts.  Kindness is love flowing out in little gentlenesses.  We ought to carry our lives so that they will be perpetual benedictions wherever we go.  All we need for such a ministry is a heart full of love for Christ; for if we truly love Christ we shall also love our fellow men, and love will always find ways of helping.  A heart filled with gentleness cannot be miserly of its benedictions.
James R. Miller

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Grace. V. Watkins — In the dark immensity of night…

In the dark immensity of night
I stood upon a hill and watched the light
Of a star,
Soundless and beautiful and far.
A scientist standing there with me
Said, “It is not the star you see,
But a glow
That left the star light years ago.”
Men are like stars in a timeless sky:
The light of a good man’s life shines high,
Golden and splendid
Long after his brief earth years are ended.
Grace. V. Watkins

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The Sunday School Times — Sometimes we are helped by being hurt…

Sometimes we are helped by being hurt.  A skilled physician about to perform a delicate operation upon the ear said reassuringly, “I may hurt you, but I will not injure you.”  How often the Great Physician speaks to us the same message if we would only listen!  Richer life, more abundant health for every child of His- that is His only purpose.  Why defeat that purpose?
The Sunday School Times

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Henry Van Dyke — To be glad of life…

To be glad of life, because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars; to be satisfied with your possessions, but not contented with yourself until you have made the best of them; to despise nothing in the world except falsehood and meanness, and to fear nothing except cowardice; to be governed by your admirations rather than by your disgusts; to covet nothing that is your neighbor’s except his kindness of heart and gentleness of manners; to think seldom of your enemies, often of your friends, and every day of Christ; and to spend as much time as you can, with body and with spirit, in God’s out-of-doors- these are little guideposts on the footpath to peace
Henry Van Dyke

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William Jenkyn — The devil shapes himself…

The devil shapes himself to the fashions of all men. If he meets with a proud man, or a prodigal man, then he makes himself a flatterer; if a covetous man, then he comes with a reward in his hand. He hath an apple for Eve, a grape for Noah, a change of raiment for Gehazi, a bag for Judas. He can dish out his meat for all palates; he hath a last to fit every shoe; he hath something to please all conditions.
William Jenkyn

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Unknown — Dear God: I want to thank You…

Dear GOD:
I want to thank You for what you have already done.
I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards; I am thanking you right now.
I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; I am thanking you right now.
I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me; I am thanking you right now.
I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears; I am thanking you right now.
I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves; I am going to thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet; I am going to thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job; I am going to thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief; I am thanking you right now.
I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed; I am thanking you right now.
I am thanking you because I am alive. I am thanking you because I made it through the day’s difficulties. I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles…I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better.
I’m thanking you because FATHER, YOU haven’t given up on me.
Unknown

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Inscription, Milan Cathedral — Over the triple doorways of Milan Cathedral…

Over the triple doorways of Milan Cathedral are three inscriptions spanning the magnificent arches. Above one is carved a wreath of roses, with the words, “All that pleases is but for a moment.” Over the second is a cross, with the words, “All that troubles is but for a moment.” Underneath the great central entrance to the main aisle is inscribed: “That only is important which is eternal.”
Inscription, Milan Cathedral