Choose for us, God, Nor let our weak preferring
Cheat us of good, Thou hast for us designed.
Choose for us, God, Thy wisdom is unerring
And we are fools and blind. -"Still we Trust Thee"
Love divine has seen and counted
Every tear it caused to fall,
And the storm which Love appointed
Was its choicest gift of all. -Anonymous
I've many a cross to take up now,
And many left behind.
But present troubles move me not,
Nor shake my quiet mind.
And what may be tomorrow's cross
I never seek to find.
My Father says "Leave that to me,
and keep a quiet mind". -anonymous
Be quiet, why this anxious heed
About thy tangled ways?
God knows them all, He giveth speed,
and He allows delays. -EW
This Book [the Bible] contains:
The mind of God,
The state of man,
The way of salvation,
The doom of sinners,
And the happiness of believers.
Read it to be wise,
Believe it to be sage,
Practice it to be holy.
It contains light to direct you,
Food to support you,
Comfort to cheer you.
It is a traveler’s map
The pilgrim’s staff,
The pilot’s compass,
The soldier’s sword,
And the Christian’s charter.
Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully.
It is a mine of wealth,
A paradise of glory,
And a river of pleasure.
It involves the highest responsibility,
Rewards the greatest labor,
And condemns all who
Trifle with its Holy contents.
Unknown
Heed the Call!
Say, where is thy refuge, poor sinner,
And what is thy prospect today?
Why toil for the wealth that will perish-
The treasures that rust and decay?
Oh, think of thy soul, that forever
Must live on eternity’s shore,
When thou, in the dust, art forgotten,
When pleasure can charm thee no more.
The Master is calling thee, sinner,
In tones of compassion and love,
To feel that sweet rapture of pardon,
And lay up thy treasure above;
Oh, kneel at the cross where He suffered
To ransom thy soul from the grave;
The arm of His mercy will hold thee-
The arm that is mighty to save.
As summer is waning, poor sinner,
Repent ere the season is past;
God’s goodness to thee is extended,
As long as the day-beam shall last;
Then slight not the warning repeated
With all the bright moments that roll
Nor say, when the harvest is ended,
That no man hath cared for thy soul.
‘Twill profit thee nothing,
But fearful the cost,
To gain the whole world,
If thy soul should be lost!
– Author Unknown
Yet it [the Bible] Lives
Generation follows generation- yet it lives.
Nations rise and fall- yet it lives.
Kings, dictators, presidents come and go- yet it lives.
Hated, despised, cursed- yet it lives.
Doubted, suspected, criticized- yet it lives.
Condemned by atheists- yet it lives.
Scoffed at by scorners- yet it lives.
Exaggerated by fanatics- yet it lives.
Misconstrued and misstated- yet it lives.
Ranted and raved about- yet it lives.
Its inspiration denied- yet it lives.
Yet it lives- as a lamp to our feet.
Yet it lives- as a light to our path.
Yet it lives- as the gate to heaven.
Yet it lives- as a standard for childhood.
Yet it lives- as a guide for youth.
Yet it lives- as an inspiration for the matured.
Yet it lives- as a comfort for the aged.
Yet it lives- as food for the hungry.
Yet it lives- as water for the thirsty.
Yet it lives- as rest for the weary.
Yet it lives- as light for the heathen.
Yet it lives- as salvation for the sinner.
Yet it lives- as grace for the Christian.
To know it is to love it. To love it is to accept it.
To accept it means life eternal.
- Author Unknown, From Gideon magazine
“His is the Way”
The centuries, since Christ to earthland came,
Have been aflame
With His fair Name.
The nations that have fallen in decay
In sad tones say,
“His is the Way.”
And in this age of turbulence and blight,
Out from the night
Shines clear His Light.
-Thomas Curtis Clark
The witness that you give
May be very wise and true;
But the witness I recieve
Is from watching what you do;
I might misunderstand you
And the high advice you give;
But there's no misunderstanding
How you act and how you live.
- Author Unknown
FAITH
"Keep this for me."
What child has not said this,
And placed a treasure in his Mother's hand
With strict injunction she should keep it safe
Till he return?
He knows with her it will be safe;
No troubled thought or anxious fear besets his mind,
And off he runs light hearted to his play.
*****
If children can so trust, why cannot we,
And place our treasures, too, in God's safe hand;
Our hopes, ambitions, needs, and those we love,
Just see them, in his all embracing care,
And say with joyous heart,
"They are with Thee."
- Author Unknown
The Shell
By: Amy Carmichael
1867-1951
Upon the sandy shore an empty shell,
Beyond the shell infinity of sea;
O Saviour, I am like that empty shell,
Thou art the Sea to me.
A sweeping wave rides up the shore, and lo,
Each dim recess the coiled shell within
Is searched, is filled, is filled to overflow
By water crystalline.
Not to the shell is any glory then: All glory give
we to the glorious sea.
And not to me is any glory when
Thou overflowest me.
Sweep over me thy shell, as low I lie:
I yield me to the purpose of thy will,
Sweep up, O conquering waves, and purify
And with thy fullness fill.
Quiet Peace
By Amy Carmichael
O Lord, my heart is all a prayer,
But it is silent unto thee;
I am too tired to look for words,
I rest upon thy sympathy
To understand when I am dumb;
And well I know thou hearest me.
I know thou hearest me because
A quiet peace comes down to me,
And fills the places where before
Weak thoughts were wandering wearily;
And deep within me it is calm,
Though waves are tossing outwardly.
The Shepherd's Song
By: John Bunyan
He that is down needs fear no fall,
He that is low, no pride;
He that is humble ever shall
Have God to be his guide.
I am content with what I have,
Little be it or much:
And, Lord, contentment still I crave,
Because thou savest such.
Fulness to such a burden is
That go on pilgramage:
Here little, and hereafter bliss,
Is best from age to age.
Peace
By: Henry Vaughn
My soul, there is a country
Far beyond the stars,
Where stands a winged sentry
All skilful in the wars:
There, above noise and danger, Sweer Peace sits
crowned with smiles,
And one born in a manger
Commands the beauteous files.
He is thy gracious friend,
And- O my soul, awake!-
Did in pure love descend
To die here for thy sake.
If thou canst get but thither,
There grows the flower of Peace,
The Rose that cannot wither,
Thy fortress and thy ease.
Leave then thy foolish ranges;
For none can thee secure
But one who never changes-
The God, the life, thy cure.
Beacon Light
By: Leslie Savage Clark
Whenever I come on kelp-stained nets
Drying along the sands,
I think of four bronzed fishermen,
And my heart understands
How joyfully they laid aside
Their nets by Galilee
To follow one clear Beacon Light
Across eternity.
For Me
Anonymous
Under an Eastern sky,
Amid a rabble cry,
A man went forth to die,
For me!
Thorn-crowned his blessed head,
Blood-stained his every tread,
Cross-laden on he sped,
For me!
Pierced glow his hands and feet,
Three hours o'er him did beat
Fierce rays of noontide heat,
For me!
Thus wert Thou made all mine;
Lord, make me wholly Thine,
Give grace and strength divine,
To me!
In thought and word and deed,
thy will to do; oh, lead my feet
E'en though they bleed,
To Thee!
Symbols
By:John Richard Moreland
I never see upon a hill
Cedar, or pine, or olive tree,
But that I think of One who died
On Calvary.
I never hear the hammer's ring
Driving the nail deep in the wood,
But that I see pale hands whose palms
Are red with blood.
I never feel the dark come down
But that I hear a piercing cry
That tears my heart. "Eli...Lama...Sabachthani!"
Christ Can give thee Heart
By Christina G. Rosetti
But Christ can give thee heart who loveth the:
Can set thee in the eternal ecstacy
Of His great jubilee:
Can give thee dancing heart and shining face,
And lips filled full of grace,
And pleasures of the rivers and the sea.
Who knocketh at his door
He welcomes evermore:
Kneel down before
That ever-open door
(The time is short) and smite
Thy breast, and pray with all thy might.
Even as the Bird
By E. Merrill Root
My soul's a new-fledged bird: it tries to fly-
Frightened- across the unseen fact of sky;
Forgetting, or not knowing, that the air-
The Christ by which it flies-is everywhere.
