Your place!

Just where you stand in the conflict,
There is your place.
Just where you think you are useless,
Hide not your face.
God placed you there for a purpose,
Whate”er it be;
Think He has chosen you for it;
Work loyally.
Gird on your armor! Be faithful
At toil or rest!
Whate”er it be, never doubting
God’s way is best.
Out in the fight or on picket,
Stand firm and true;
This is the work which your Master
Gives you to do.

Spiritual polyps

The polyps which construct the coral reefs, work away under water, never dreaming that they are building the foundation of a new island on which, by-and-by, plants and animals will live and children of God be born and fitted for eternal glory as joint-heirs of Christ.

If your place in God’s ranks is a hidden and secluded one, beloved, do not murmur, do not complain, do not seek to get out of God’s will, if He has placed you there; for without the polyps, the coral reefs would never be built, and God needs some who are willing to be spiritual polyps, and work away out of sight of men, but sustained by the Holy Ghost and in full view of Heaven.

The day will come when Jesus will give the rewards, and He makes no mistakes, although some people may wonder how you came to merit such a reward, as they had never heard of you before.

The secret guidance!

“Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).

When we are in doubt or difficulty, when many voices urge this course or the other, when prudence utters one advice and faith another, then let us be still, hushing each intruder, calming ourselves in the sacred hush of God’s presence; let us study His Word in the attitude of devout attention; let us lift up our nature into the pure light of His face, eager only to know what God the Lord shall determine– and ere long a very distinct impression will be made, the unmistakable forth-telling of His secret counsel.

It is not wise in the earlier stages of Christian life to depend on this alone, but to wait for the corroboration of circumstances. But those who have had many dealings with God know well the value of secret fellowship with Him, to ascertain His will.

Are you in difficulty about your way? Go to God with your question; get direction from the light of His smile or the cloud of His refusal.

If you will only get alone, where the lights and shadows of earth cannot interfere, where human opinions fail to reach and if you will dare to wait there silent and expectant, though all around you insist on immediate decision or action– the will of God will be made clear; and you will have a new conception of God, a deeper insight into His nature and heart of love, which shall be for yourself alone a rapturous experience, to abide your precious perquisite forever, the rich guerdon of those long waiting hours.

– From “Streams in the Desert”

Be still…

STAND STILL,” my soul, for so thy Lord commands:
E’en when thy way seems blocked, leave it in His wise hands;
His arm is mighty to divide the wave.
“Stand still,” my soul, “stand still” and thou shalt see
How God can work the “impossible” for thee,
For with a great deliverance He doth save.

Be not impatient, but in stillness stand,
Even when compassed ”round on every hand,
In ways thy spirit does not comprehend.
God cannot clear thy way till thou art still,
That He may work in thee His blessed will,
And all thy heart and will to Him do bend.

“BE STILL,” my soul, for just as thou art still,
Can God reveal Himself to thee; until
Through thee His love and light and life can freely flow;
In stillness God can work through thee and reach
The souls around thee. He then through thee can teach
His lessons, and His power in weakness show.

“BE STILL”– a deeper step in faith and rest.
“Be still and know” thy Father knoweth best
The way to lead His child to that fair land,
A “summer” land, where quiet waters flow;
Where longing souls are satisfied, and “know
Their God,” and praise for all that He has planned.
— Selected

Faith and Grace!

Have I that faith which looks to Christ,
O’ercomes the world and sin,
Receives Him, Prophet, Priest, and King,
And makes the conscience clean?

If I this precious grace possess,
All praise is due to Thee;
If not, I seek it from Thy hands;
Now grant it, Lord, to me.

Ourselves so skilful to conceal,
So exquisite our art,
God only knows the utmost hell
Of the deceitful heart.

But now with shame I clearly see
That but for sovereign grace,
In lowest deeps of infamy
My soul had found her place.

Ah, do not Lord, forsake Thy child,
And I shall never fall;
By no transgressions be defil’d,
Though capable of all.

Fountain of Jesus

The fountain of Christ, assist me to sing,
The blood of our Priest, our crucified King:
Which perfectly cleanses from sin and from filth;
And richly dispenses salvation and health.

This fountain, though rich, from charge is quite clear;
The poorer the wretch, the welcomer here:
Come needy and guilty, come loathsome and bare;
You can’t come too filthy, come just as you are.

This fountain in vain has never been tried;
It takes out all stain whenever applied:
The water flows sweetly with virtue divine,
To cleanse souls completely, though leprous as mine.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!!!

Ye glittering toys of earth, adieu,
A nobler choice be mine;
A real prize attracts my view,
A treasure all divine.

Jesus to multitudes unknown,
Oh, name divinely sweet!
Jesus, in Thee, in Thee alone,
Wealth, honour, pleasure, meet.

Should both the Indies at my call,
Their boasted stores resign,
With joy I would renounce them all,
For leave to call Thee mine.

Should earth’s vain treasures all depart,
Of this dear gift possess’d,
I’d clasp it to my joyful heart,
And be for ever bless’d.

It is raining blessings!!!

“For God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Genesis 41:52).

The summer showers are falling. The poet stands by the window watching them. They are beating and buffeting the earth with their fierce downpour. But the poet sees in his imaginings more than the showers which are falling before his eyes. He sees myriads of lovely flowers which shall be soon breaking forth from the watered earth, filling it with matchless beauty and fragrance. And so he sings:

“It isn’t raining rain for me, it’s raining daffodils;
In every dimpling drop I see wild flowers upon the hills.
A cloud of gray engulfs the day, and overwhelms the town;
It isn’t raining rain for me: it’s raining roses down.”

Perchance some one of God’s chastened children is even now saying, “O God, it is raining hard for me tonight.”

“Testings are raining upon me which seem beyond my power to endure. Disappointments are raining fast, to the utter defeat of all my chosen plans. Bereavements are raining into my life which are making my shrinking heart quiver in its intensity of suffering. The rain of affliction is surely beating down upon my soul these days.”

Withal, friend, you are mistaken. It isn’t raining rain for you. It’s raining blessing. For, if you will but believe your Father’s Word, under that beating rain are springing up spiritual flowers of such fragrance and beauty as never before grew in that stormless, unchastened life of yours.

You indeed see the rain. But do you see also the flowers? You are pained by the testings. But God sees the sweet flower of faith which is upspringing in your life under those very trials.

You shrink from the suffering. But God sees the tender compassion for other sufferers which is finding birth in your soul.

Your heart winces under the sore bereavement. But God sees the deepening and enriching which that sorrow has brought to you.

It isn’t raining afflictions for you. It is raining tenderness, love, compassion, patience, and a thousand other flowers and fruits of the blessed Spirit, which are bringing into your life such a spiritual enrichment as all the fullness of worldly prosperity and ease was never able to beget in your innermost soul. — J. M. McC.

If Your law had not been…

As I was arranging everything on the pulpit just before the worship this Sunday (June 11th, 2017), I saw my wife in tears. It left me bewildered. Usually she starts crying, only after hearing me sing – okay, only after she hears me trying to sing. But here, she was in tears even before I could clear my throat. So, in the small time I had, I rushed to her side and asked her the reason for her tears. And surely I was not ready for her answer.

As I was getting ready, she remembered how I was around this time last year, and she could not control her tears for two reasons. One, she remembered the helpless position I was in, and second, how graceful the Lord has been in saving my life.

Needless to say, when I was leading the worship, there were times when I was about to breakdown as I remembered what we went through last year. By this time last year, I had become so large and swollen, I was unable to use the keyboard in my laptop. It was so difficult for me to drink water, as every gulp I had to take, was very painful and quite slow. I could not eat much of anything, as anything solid would lodge on my swollen throat and I ended up choking invariably. I could not get out of my bed without someone’s help, even then it would take from one hour to 2 hours; yes, seriously it would take so long to catch my breath and for others to help me. I was so heavy. And during Sundays, they would prop me in a bed and leave for the worship. Of course, my wife would be constantly checking to see if everything was okay, and the sad part was I would be just there, like a lump of clay as I could not move much on my own. And there was so much physical suffering involved, even today, it is hard to talk about it.

But as we talked about it on Monday and we remembered taking photographs and videos during those days, as a testimony for future. And, there was something weird about all those photos and videos. In all the photos, I was smiling and in all the videos, we were bantering. Even as I was leaving for the emergency ward on an ambulance on July 8th, 2016, everyone who was there to send us off, had remarked how smiling I was and how composed my wife was.

Now, when we look back at those days, we are wondering why on earth, were we that happy? Why we were laughing at each other whole time, with my wife making fun about my swollen face all the time? I wish we could tell that it is because we are strong and resolute. But, one year later, when we look back, if at all we look back, it scares us. There are times when we would just burst into tears, thinking about those days… then what made us so happy?

After talking about all these, I opened my Bible and reading Psalm 119, and suddenly verse 92 riveted my attention and I could not go further.

“If Your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” – Psalm 119:92(NIV).

Then we remembered how we spent so much time reading the Bible, reading sermons by Charles Spurgeon and listening to Christian songs non-stop. Most importantly I was reciting various promise verses from the Bible all the time and would discuss about the precious promises that the Lord has given us in the Holy Scriptures.

Yes, if the Word of God was not my delight, I would have surely perished in my affliction. And, all I can do now is, thank the Lord for proving His Word, His Son, for me. And for giving His Spirit to guide us to His Word, so that our delight was and is in His Word alone. And even today, we have not perished in our afflictions, because His Word alone has been our delight. Thank You, Lord.

 

My peace

My peace I give in times of deepest grief,
Imparting calm and trust and My relief.

My peace I give when prayer seems lost, unheard;
Know that My promises are ever in My Word.

My peace I give when thou art left alone–
The nightingale at night has sweetest tone.

My peace I give in time of utter loss,
The way of glory leads right to the cross.

My peace I give when enemies will blame,
Thy fellowship is sweet through cruel shame.

My peace I give in agony and sweat,
For mine own brow with bloody drops was wet.

My peace I give when nearest friend betrays
Peace that is merged in love, and for them prays.

My peace I give when there’s but death for thee
The gateway is the cross to get to Me.