Quote of the Day

We need a day of repentance for the way we sing songs that we do not mean. Plenty of people sing: “My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine; For Thee all the follies of sin I resign…” without any thought of giving up their sins. Lying is still lying when set to music.

We ask the Lord to “hold o’er our beings absolute sway,” with no thought of consenting to His control.

Then there is that old favorite, “Take My Life and Let It Be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee,” but most people who sing it mean it as it reads in the index, “Take my life and let it be”!

Can you ask God to take your hands and let them move at the impulse of His love – at a card game? Can you ask Him to let your feet be swift and beautiful for Him – on a dance floor? Can you invite Him to take your voice and let you sing only, always, for your King – and then sing the evil songs of this world? Can you ask Him to take your silver and gold, affirming “not a mite would I withhold” – when you hold onto it with all your might?

Devotion of the Day

COME BEFORE WINTER

Do thy diligence to come before winter.
II Timothy 4:21

“It is not good that the man should be alone.” Adam had God in the Garden of Eden, but he still needed Eve, and God knew it. We must have human companionship. Paul had no wife, so he turned to his friends, and to Timothy, his “beloved son” in particular. He urged first, “Do they diligence to come shortly unto me” (v.9); then he thought of approaching cold weather and of what it would add to his loneliness, so he repeats his request and says, “Come before winter.” It is a touching sidelight on a great soul, but human like us all.

Winter has a way of coming in varied forms, and blessed is the fellowship of a kindred soul. We have the Lord, but He Himself has recognized that we need the touch of a human hand. He Himself came down and lived among us as a man. We cannot see Him now, but blest be the tie that binds human hearts in Christian love. Most precious of earthly ties is husband and wife “in the Lord.” If Paul is denied a wife he had better find a Timothy. And may Timothy arrive before winter!