1. Florence Nightingale at thirty wrote in her diary, "I am thirty years of age, the age at which Christ began His mission. Now no more childish things, no more vain things. Now, Lord, let me think only of Thy Will." Years later, near the end of her illustrious, heroic life she was asked for her life's secret, and she replied, "Well, I can only give one explanation. That is, I have kept nothing back from God."

2. Moody had no more than a 5th-6th grade education and did poorly even at that. When he attended his first Sunday School class he thumbed through Genesis looking for John. When applying to join Mt. Vernon Congregational Church, be was rejected because of utter ignorance of Christian teaching. His friends thought that seldom was anyone seen more unlikely to fill any sphere of public or extended usefulness. But God can take what seems small and insignificant and use it greatly, if it is given over completely to Him.

3. A conversation is said to have taken place between a hen and a hog when they passed a church and observed the subject of the pastor's sermon: "How Can We Help the Poor?" After a moment's reflection, the hen said, "I know what we can do. We can give them a ham-and-egg breakfast!" The hog protested, saying, "The breakfast would be only a contribution for you, but for me it would mean total commitment!"

4. Mr. Cecil one day went into a room where his little girl was, bright-eyed and happy as could be. Somebody had just given her a box of beautiful beads. The little girl ran to her papa immediately to show this little gift.
"They are very beautiful, my child," he said, "but now my dear, throw them into the fire."
The little girl looked for a moment. It was a great trial. "Now I shall not compel you to do it; I leave it to you: but you never knew Papa to ask you to do a thing that was not kind to you--I cannot tell you why: but if you can trust me, do so."
It cost a great effort, but the little child began in her own way to think--"father has always been kind to me, I suppose it is right," and she took the box and with a great effort threw it into the fire. The father said no more for some time. The next day, however, he gave her something far more beautiful which she had long desired. "Now," said he, "my child, I did this to teach you to trust in that greater Father in Heaven. Many a time in your life He will require you to give up and avoid what you cannot see the reasons for avoiding, but if you trust that Father as you have trusted me, you will always find it best."

5. Stubbornness is strength that is not strong enough to yield.

6. To win, we must surrender. To live, we must die. To receive, we must give.

7. The yoke of the Lord Jesus will never fit a stiff neck.

8. Jesus will heal your wounded heart, if you give Him all of it.

9. You must be melted before you can be molded.

10. Before we can pray, "Lord, Thy Kingdom come," we must be willing to pray, "My kingdom go."

11. Robert G. LeTourneau writes: "Our young people had been going regularly to a mission to hold a Gospel service, and I had been going with them. One night I had some special work to do. I was operating a small factory at the time, and machinery had to be built the next day for which I had to make the design that night in order that a crew of men on contract could build it the next morning. How could I do my work and attend the meeting at the mission? The Lord and I had quite a struggle while I was trying to decide what to do. Although I could not understand how I was going to get the plan drawn for the next morning, I went with the young people and we had a profitable time. I returned home about ten o'clock. Up to that time I had been unable to make a single plan. I sat down at the drafting board, and in about five minutes the outline and plan was as plain as it could be. What is more, the little piece of machinery designed that night has been the key machine in all that I have been building since. It pays to put God first."

12. Love makes obedience a thing of joy!
To do the will of one we like to please
Is never hardship, though it tax our strength;
Each privilege of service love will seize!

Love makes us loyal, glad to do or go,
And eager to defend a name or cause;
Love takes the drudgery from common work,
And asks no rich reward or great applause.

Love gives us satisfaction in our task,
And wealth in learning lessons of the heart;
Love sheds a light of glory on our toil
And makes us humbly glad to have a part.

Love makes us choose to do the Will of God,
To run His errands and proclaim His truth;
It gives our hearts an eager, lilting song;
Our feet are shod with tireless wings of youth!
---Hazel Hartwell Simon

13. Evangelism is not a spare-time activity.

14. Evangelism should be an attitude permeating all the activities of the Christian.

15. The whole secret of abundant living can be summed up in this sentence: "Not your responsibility but your response to God's ability."

16. God will not change your will against your will.

17. Every great person first learned how to obey, whom to obey, & when to obey.

18. I had heard this and read it before, but I ran across the other day this brief but tragic story as told by Dr. R. A. Torrey:
One evening when Mr. Alexander and I were in Brighton, England, one of the workers went from the afternoon meeting to a restaurant for his evening meal. His attention was drawn toward the man who waited upon him, and there came to his heart a strong impression that he should speak to that waiter about his soul, but that seemed to him such an unusual thing to do that he kept putting it off.
When the meal was ended and the bill paid, he stepped out of the restaurant, but had such a feeling that he should speak to that waiter that he decided to wait outside until the waiter came out. In a little while the proprietor came out and asked him why he was waiting. He replied that he was waiting to speak with the man who had waited upon him at the table. The proprietor replied, "You will never speak to that man again. After waiting upon you he went to his room and shot himself."

19. Admiral Sir Thomas Williams, a straightforward and excellent man, was in command of a ship crossing the Atlantic. His course brought him in sight of the island of Ascension, at that time uninhabited, and never visited except for the purpose of collecting turtles.
The island was barely visible on the horizon, but as Sir Thomas looked at it he was seized by an unaccountable desire to steer towards it. His desire became more and more urgent and distressing, and foreseeing that it would soon be more difficult to satisfy it, he told his lieutenant to prepare to "put about ship" and steer in that direction. The officer respectfully remonstrated that changing course would greatly delay them. This only increased the Admiral's anxiety, and the ship was steered towards the island.
All eyes were fixed upon it, and soon something was perceived on the shore. "It is white--it is a flag--it must be a signal!" When they neared the shore they discovered that sixteen men, wrecked on the coast many days before, and suffering hunger, had set up a signal, although almost without hope of relief.
What made the Admiral steer his ship in the very opposite direction to what he and his crew wanted was but the superhuman Spirit of God.

20. Your success in life depends on your motive. There is an old fable about a dog that boasted of his ability as a runner. One day he chased a rabbit and failed to catch it. The other dogs ridiculed him on account of his previous boasting. His reply was, "You must remember that the rabbit was running for his life, while I was only running for my dinner." The incentive is all-important.

21. God has given us a will to choose His Will.

22. I had rather be in the heart of Africa in the will of God than on the throne of England out of the will of God.--Livingstone.

23. A poor man plodded along toward home in an Irish town carrying a huge bag of potatoes. A horse and wagon carrying a stranger came along, and the stranger stopped the wagon and invited the man on foot to climb inside. This the poor man did, but when he sat down in the wagon he held the bag of potatoes in his arms. And when it was suggested that he should set it down, he said very warmly: "Sire, I don't like to trouble you too much. You're giving me a ride. I'll carry the potatoes!"
Sometimes we think we are doing the Lord a favor when we carry the burden. But the work is His, and the burden is His, and He asks us only to be faithful.

24. What most you long and hope for
Might only bring you pain;
You cannot see the future
God's purpose to explain.

So ever trust thy Master;
He doeth all things well;
He loveth more than heart can know
And more than tongue can tell.

25. Hudson Taylor was so feeble in the closing months of life, that he wrote a dear friend, "I am so weak I cannot work; I cannot read my Bible; I cannot even pray. I can only lie still in God's arms like a little child, and trust." This wondrous man of God with all his spiritual power came to a place of physical suffering and weakness where he could only lie still and trust. And that is all God asks of you, His dear child, when you grow faint in the fierce fires of affliction. Do not try to be strong. Just be still.

26. We get no deeper into Christ than we allow Him to get into us.

27. I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.

28. True consecration knows no reservations.

29. No man has a right to do as he pleases unless he pleases to do right.

30. God will not accept praying as a substitute for obeying.

31. "Dear Master for this coming year
Just one request I bring:
I do not pray for happiness,
Or any earthly thing--
I do not ask to understand
The way Thou leadest me,
But this I ask: Teach me to do
The thing that pleaseth Thee.

I want to know Thy guiding voice,
To walk with Thee each day.
Dear Master make me swift to hear
And ready to obey.
And thus the year I now begin
A happy year will be--
If I am seeking just to do
The thing that pleaseth Thee."

32. To celebrate an old man's seventy-fifth birthday, an aviation enthusiast offered to take him for a plane ride over the little West Virginia town where he spent all his life. The old man accepted the offer. Back on the ground, after circling over the town twenty minutes, his friend asked, "Were you scared, Uncle Dudley?" "No-o-o," was the hesitant answer. "But I never did put my full weight down." We smile at the remark of the old man, but there is no doubt of the fact that there are many Christians who are exactly the same way. They have been offered and have received salvation; they enter Christ, but they never put their full weight down on Him. He's carrying them all the time, but they are tense and unrelaxed in their Christian life and do not know the joy that comes from complete rest in Him.

33. Years ago a young man began a small cheese business in Chicago. He failed. He was deeply in debt. "You didn't take God into your business. You have not worked with Him," said a Christian friend to him. Then the young man thought, "If God wants to run the cheese business, He can do it, and I'll work for Him and with Him!" from that moment, God became the senior partner in his business. The business grew and prospered and became the largest cheese concern in the world! You ask the name of that young man? J.L. Kraft who became president of the Kraft Cheese Company!

34. One Summer morning a child stood in a great cathedral watching the sunlight stream through the beautiful glass windows. The Bible characters in the windows were bathed with the brilliant colours that resulted. When she was asked, "What is a saint?" she replied, "A saint is a person who lets the light shine through."

35. Please God in all you do and be pleased with all God does.

36. We are all dangerous folk without God's controlling hand.

37. Enthusiasm is unmistakable evidence that you're in love with your work.

38. It is said that Wendell Wilkie asked President franklin D. Roosevelt, when he visited the President in his office in the White House, "Mr. President, why do you keep that frail, sickly man, Harry Hopkins, at your elbow?" Said the President, "Mr. Wilkie, through that door flows daily an incessant stream of men and women who, almost invariably, want something from me. Harry Hopkins wants ONLY TO SERVE ME. That's why he is so near me!" In the light of these splendid words of commendation, let us, who claim to be the servants of Christ, re-examine the motives which enter into our service for Him!"

39. I want my heart so cleared of self
That my dear Lord can come
And set up His own furnishings,
And make my heart--His home.

And since I know what this requires,
Each morning while it's still,
I slip into that secret room,
And leave with Him--My WILL,

He always takes it graciously,
Presenting me with His;
I'm ready then to meet the day
And any task there is.

And this is how my Lord controls
My interest, my ills,
Because we meet at break of day,
For an EXCHANGE OF WILLS.
--Anna Jane Granniss

40. Polycarp, venerable bishop of Smyrna was a personal friend and pupil of John the Apostle. When he was age 86, he was urged by the Roman proconsul to reproach Christ and be set free.
"Eighty and six years have I served Him and He never did me any injury. How then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?"
He joyfully went to the stake, thanking God for counting him worthy to be numbered among the martyrs.

41. Alexander the Great was marching on Persia, and it looked as if the great empire was about to crumble, as later it did, before his armies. There was a critical moment, however, which nearly resulted in disaster. The army had taken spoils of silver, gold, and other treasures in such quantities that the soldiers were literally weighted down with them. Alexander gathered all together in one great pile and set fire to them.
The soldiers were furious, but it was not long before they realized the wisdom of their leader. It was as if wings had been given to them--they walked lightly again. The campaign proceeded to victory.

42. If you can give your son only one gift, let it be enthusiasm.

43. A Negro minister in the Southland, after presenting a visiting white pastor to his congregation, prayed thus for him: "And now, O Lord, blot him out that we may see JESUS ONLY!"

44. Three-year-old Bobby insisted in standing up in his highchair although mother had admonished him to remain seated then emphasized her admonishment by twice reseating him. After the third time little Bobby remained seated but looked at his mother searchingly and said, "Mommy, I'm still standing up inside."

45. In his Legend of the Eagles, George d'Espartes says that the most heroic piece of self-sacrifice known to history occurred in the building of a bridge. In the depth of winter the French army, pressed on all sides by the Cossacks, had to cross a river. The enemy had destroyed all the bridges and Napoleon was almost at his wit's end. Suddenly came the order that a bridge of some sort must be thrown across the river, and the men nearest the water were the first to carry out the almost impossible task. Several were swept away by the furious tide. Others, after a few minutes, sank through cold and exhaustion: but more came, and the work proceeded as fast as possible.
At last the bridge was completed and the army reached the opposite bank in safety. Then followed the most dramatic scene, and one of the most touching, recorded in the annals of history. When the men who had built the bridge were called to leave the water, no one moved. Clinging to the pillars, they stood silent and motionless, frozen to death. Even Napoleon shed tears.

46. Some years ago the ship Shanunga, on her way from Liverpool to New York, came in collision with a Swedish barque named Iduna, from Hamburg, with two hundred and six persons on board. The weather was very foggy, and the Iduna sank in about half an hour after the collision. Immediately the Shanunga's boats were put out, and, with one boat from the barque, picked up thirty-four persons only. One hundred and seventy two persons, including the master, Captain Moberg, were lost.
Captain Patten, of the Shanunga, in narrating the catastrophe, said that no statement could exaggerate the horrors of the awful moment. All the survivors that were saved were picked up from the surface of the water. One cause why so few were saved was, almost all of them had seized their belts of gold and silver, and tied them round their waists. Thus those who attempted to save their gold lost both life and gold, being unable to remain afloat till the boats could reach them.

47. When God shuts and bolts the door, don't try to get in through the window.

48. Christ sends none away empty but those who are full of themselves.

49. When faithfulness is most difficult, it is most necessary.

50. Aeschines, perceiving everyone give Socrates something for a present, said unto him, "Because I have nothing else to give, I will give thee myself." "Do so," said Socrates, "and I will give thee back again to thyself better than when I received thee."

51. The contrast between two lives was noted by Dr. Harold E. Luccock. The first was a woman who died in London, famous as "the best dressed woman in Europe." She left almost a thousand frocks, but with each frock she had worn "the same unseeing eyes, the same deaf ears, the same enameled, painted face." The second was a man who died in the same city, with but one suit, blue with a red collar on the coat. He was William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army. He had but one costume, but he lived in a thousand lives.

52. In his earlier life Dannecker, the sculptor, gained for himself a wonderful reputation for his statues of Ariadne and the Greek goddesses. Approaching his prime he felt he ought to devote all his strength and time to the creation of a masterpiece, so he set about to carve a figure of the Christ.
Twice he failed in his purpose, but finally he carved an image of Christ so perfect, so exquisitively beautiful that when people gazed upon it, they could only love and adore. Later Napoleon sent for him. "Come to Paris," he said, "and make for me a statue of Venus for the Louvre." But no such offer could tempt the heart of Dannecker. His reply was simple, "Sir, the hands that carved the Christ can never again carve a heathen goddess."

53. It is related that Elizabeth I of England once commissioned a rich merchant prince of her empire, to go on an important mission for the crown, promising him rich rewards for his services. The merchant sought to decline the appointment on the grounds that his business would suffer during his absence, but his sovereign assured him: "You go and look after my business, and I will look after yours." On his return, he found that his queen had kept her promise: he was a richer man than he was before.

54. When does the service begin?" whispered a visitor to someone sitting beside him in a Quaker's meeting. "Sir, service begins just after the meeting ends," was the reply.

55. "I have found," David Livingstone early wrote in his diary, "that I have no unusual endowments of intellect, but I this day resolved that I would be an uncommon Christian."

56. Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my little apple tree and pay my debts.
--Martin Luther

57. Bishop Moore tells the story of a little boy who was swimming one day in a lake when suddenly he suffered some type of physical difficulty and could swim no farther. The boy struggled for his life. He had gone under twice, when he felt the strong arm of a man lifting him. The man had seen the little boy's desperate plight and had swum out to save him. The man took the boy safely to shore and, after making certain that everything was well, turned to leave. The little boy said, "Thank you, sir, for saving my life." The man replied, "You're welcome, son. See to it that you are worth saving."
Bishop Moore said that he has never forgotten those words, for he was that boy whose life was saved by a man who didn't even leave his name.
A good question for the Christian to ask is, "Am I worth saving?" God in Christ has made a large investment in the life of each of us, and He has every right to expect a return of His investment.

58. At twenty-nine Dorothea Dix, a frail school teacher, was given only a slight chance to live. If she survived the lung disease that caused hemorrhaging, her doctor predicted she would probably be an invalid.
She went to England for rest. There, she read the New Testament through several times, asking, "What would Christ have me to do?"
She found the answer when she returned home and a minister asked her to teach the Bible to the woman prisoners in the East Cambridge, Massachusetts, jail. She found conditions there at the asylum to be extremely cruel. The determined Miss Dix gathered a mountain of evidence proving cruelty to the mentally ill and came before the Massachusetts legislature. "Gentlemen," she cried, "I call your attention to the state of insane persons confined within this Commonwealth, in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, and pens; chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience!"
Her speech shook New England. She moved on to other states and found similar conditions. Disregarding ridicule she prodded legislatures into building hospitals and voting reforms.
On to Canada, Scotland, England, and Italy she marched, calling for action. She found a cruel asylum next door to the Vatican. She complained to the Pope and he acted.
Finally at eighty she became an invalid. The last five years of her life brought many tributes and distinguished visitors. At her death, a hospital superintendent said of her, "The most useful and distinguished woman America had yet produced has died."

59. We are to evangelise not because it is pleasant, not because it is easy, not because we may be successful, but because Christ has called us. He is our Lord. We have no other choice but to obey Him.

60. Padarewski once explained that he practiced faithfully every day. "If I miss one day's practice," said he, "I notice it. If I miss two days, the critics notice it. If I miss three days, the audience notices it."

61. When the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it may be that they take better care of it there.

62. In the days of the stagecoach, a man undertook a journey. He was informed that there were first, second, and third-class passengers. However, all the seats on the coach looked alike to him, so he purchased a third-class ticket. All went well for a time and the man was congratulating himself upon having saved some money.
Presently the came to the foot of a very steep hill, when the driver stopped the horses and shouted, "Fist-class passengers, keep your seats, second class get out and walk, third-class get out and push behind."
What we need in the Kingdom work is third-class passengers. Those who will push! Not first-class, who are contented to sit and look on while the others are working, not second class passengers who are willing to walk away when real work comes; but third-class passengers who are willing to bear "the burden and heat of the day."

63. George Atley, a young Englishman with the heart of a hero, was engaged in the Central African Mission. He was attacked by a party of natives. He had with him a Winchester repeating rifle with ten loaded chambers. The party was completely at his mercy. Calmly and quickly he summed up the situation. He concluded that if he killed them it would do the mission more harm than if he allowed them to take his life. So, as a lamb to the slaughter he was led; and when his body was found in the stream, his rifle was also found with its ten chambers still loaded.

64. In the battle of Sempach, fought between the Austrians and the Swiss before the use of firearms, a brave Swiss soldier whose name was Arnold Winkelried, nobly sacrificed his life for the sake of his country. The Swiss army was very small, and that of the Austrians very large, presenting such an unbroken ridge of spears that the Swiss soldiers could not get at their enemies.
Arnold told his comrades to follow him, and he would open for them a way to victory. Rushing up to the Austrian front, he grasped as many spears as he could reach with his outstretched arms. Pierced through by spears, he sank down to the earth; the Swiss soldiers pressed into the opening thus made, and gained the victory.

65. The monument I want after I am dead is a monument with two legs going around the world--a saved sinner telling about the salvation of Jesus Christ.--D.L. Moody

66. Enthusiasm is the best protection in any situation. Wholeheartedness is contagious. Give yourself, if you wish to get others.

67. You cannot kindle a fire in any other heart until it is burning within your own.

68. In order to do great things, one must be enthusiastic.

69. It is said of Henry of Bavaria that at one time, becoming weary of court life, he determined to enter a monastery. When he presented himself to Prior Richard, the faithful monk gave him the strict rules of the order. The king listened eagerly and enthusiastically expressed pleasure at the prospect of such complete consecration.
Then the prior insisted that obedience, implicit and expressed was the first requisite of sainthood. The monarch promised to follow his will in every detail. "Then go back to your throne and do your duty in the station God assigned you," was the prior's word to him. The king took up his scepter again, and from then until he died, his people said of him, "King Henry has learned to govern by learning to obey."

70. Hachi was a Japanese dog who used to accompany his master to the railroad station each morning and then greet him back in the evening at the station. One night in 1925, the man did not return, having died in another city. Although the little dog had met its master for only a few months previously, for over 10 years hence, the dog went to the station every night--sadly trotting home again after waiting an hour.
The faithfulness of Hachi impressed the nation so much that the government erected a statue of the dog on the spot where he had perseveringly waited--and then sent statuettes to all schools in the then Japanese empire.

71. I have not much to offer
To Christ, my Lord and King;
No wealth, no might, no wisdom,
No noble gift to bring.
"Five loaves and two small fishes?"
But what alas are they
Among the throngs of hungry
Who crowd life's troubled way?

"Five loaves and two small fishes?"
Not much, dear heart, 'tis true;
But yield them to the Master
And see what He can do!
Placed in His hands of mercy
Thy little will be much.
'Tis not thy gift that matters
But His almighty touch!
--Avis B. Christiansen

72. The worst bankrupt in the world is the man who has lost his enthusiasm.

73. Obedience is the hallmark of faith.

74. The great violinist Nicolo Paganini willed his marvelous violin to the city of Genoa, on condition that it must never again be played upon. Wood while used and handled wears but slightly. Discarded it begins to decay. The lovely toned violin has become worm-eaten and useless. It is only a reminder that a life withdrawn from service to others becomes quite useless.

75. There is a story of a coloured man who came to a watchmaker and gave him the hands of a clock, saying: "I want yer to fix up dese hans. Dey jes' doan' keep no mo' kerrec' time for mo' den six monfs." "Where is the clock?" answered the watchmaker. "Out at de house on Injun Creek." "But I must have the clock." "Didn't I tell yer dar's nuffin' de matter wid de clock 'ceptin' de hans? And I done brought 'em to you. You jes' want the clock so you can tinker with it and charge me a big price. Gimme back dem hans." And so saying, he went off to find some reasonable watchmaker. Foolish as he was, his caution is very like that of those who try to regulate their lives without being made right on the inside. And their reason for not putting themselves into the hands of the Lord is very similar to the reason the colored man gave. They are afraid the price will be too great. They say, "We only wish to avoid this or that habit." But the Master Workman says, "I cannot regulate the hands unless I have the heart."

76. "Father, where shall I work today?"
And my love flowed warm and free.
Then He pointed me toward a tiny spot
And said, "Tend that for Me."

I answered quickly. "Oh, no, not that!
Why, no one would ever see,
No matter how well my work was done,
In that little place for me."

And the word He spoke, it was not stern,
He answered me tenderly:
"Ah, little one, search that heart of thine,
Art thou working for them or Me?
Nazareth was a little place, and so was Galilee."

77. A drowning boy was struggling in the water. On the shore stood his mother in an agony of fright and grief. By her side stood a strong man seemingly indifferent to the boy's fate. Again and again did the suffering mother appeal to him to save her boy, but he made no move. By and by the desperate struggles of the boy began to abate. He was losing strength. Presently he arose to the surface weak and helpless. At once the man leaped into the stream and brought the boy in safely to the shore. "Why did you not save my boy sooner?" asked the now grateful mother. "Madam, I could not as long as he struggled. He would have dragged us both to certain death. But when he grew weak and ceased to struggle, then it was easy to save him." It is when we cease from our own works and depend helplessly upon Him that we realize how perfectly able He is to save without any aid from us.

78. Travelling in a railway train with some men who were playing a game of cards, a Christian was asked to have a hand. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I have not my hands with me." "What do you mean?" they asked, pointing to his hands. "These are not mine," he said, "they belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. When they were mine I used to play cards. But since I yielded them to Christ, they are never employed in that way, for He has filled them for His service." (Rom.6:13;12:1)

79. Delayed obedience is the brother of disobedience.

80. Years ago I was stopping in a Roman Catholic village, sixty miles south of our largest hospital in Labrador. On the morning when I was leaving my hostess apologized for the absence of her husband, who she said had been obliged to leave home early on business. It was not until I arrived at my next stopping place that I discovered the nature of his business. This next village on my winter's round was a Methodist one, and I knew that my host there had fallen on bad times. It was with considerable surprise, therefore, that at my first meal in the cottage I found real sugar for my tea and butter for the loaf. Then the secret came out. My Roman Catholic friend had walked fifteen miles on snowshoes through the dawn of that freezing day, carrying sugar and three cans of milk from his own meager supply, in order that his Methodist friend might not be embarrassed at having nothing to offer "the doctor on his rounds," and that I might have palatable food at the end of my day's work.

81. In this world of hurry, and work, and sudden end,
If a thought comes quick of doing kindness to a friend,
Do it that very minute; don't put it off, don't wait;
What's the use of doing a kindness if you do it a day too late?

82. "A commonplace life," we say, and we sigh;
Yet why should we sigh as we say?

The commonplace sun in the commonplace sky
Makes lovely the commonplace day.

The moon and the stars, they are commonplace things,
The flower that blooms, and the robin that sings;

Yet sad were the world and unhappy our lot
If flowers all failed and the sunshine came not!

And God, who considers each separate soul,
From commonplace lives makes a beautiful whole.

83. A greatly-used minister of the Word of God who had a wide and accurate knowledge of the Scriptures was approached, after one of his addresses, by one of his audience who said, "I'd give the world to know the Scriptures as you know them." His immediate reply was--"And that's just what it cost me--the world." (Gal.1:4; Phil.3:19,20)

84. "It doesn't take much of a man to be a Christian, but it takes all there is of him," said Thomas Huxley. (Luke 14:33; Rom.12:1)

85. A young woman who was a great lover of flowers had set out a rare vine at the base of a stone wall. It grew vigorously but it did not blossom. Day after day she cultivated it and watered it and tried in every way to coax it into bloom.
One morning as she stood disappointed before it, her invalid neighbor, whose back lot adjoined her own, called over and said, "You cannot imagine how much I have been enjoying the blooms of that vine you planted." The owner looked and on the other side of the wall was a mass of bloom. The vine had crept through the crevices and flowered luxuriantly on the other side.
There is a lesson for every Christian here. So often we think our efforts thrown away because we do not see their fruit. We need to learn that in God's service our prayers, our toil, our crosses are never in vain. Somewhere they bear their fruit and some heart will receive their blessing and their joy.

86. My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But, ah, my foes, and, oh, my friends--
It gives a lovely light.
--Edna St. Vincent Millay

87. It is so little I can do!
It is so little I can say!
Nay, but what God demands of you
Is just that little: Hear--obey.

88. Years ago I was called to the home of a widow whose daughter was the apple of her eye. When the child was three years old she became very ill, & the doctors said that she would die. We can all understand the shock of this news, but we cannot justify the mother's reaction. She rebelled violently & accused God of cruelty--like the Israelites in Exodus 17:3. She demanded that the Lord spare her daughter & told Him she could never trust Him again if He did not do so.
Well, God granted the request, in spite of the doctor's predictions. The child grew up & lived a normal life for 13 years, but then joined with bad companions. Finally, the girl broke her mother's heart when at the age of 17 she fell into real trouble.
The tragic end of the story was told me by the weeping woman when I arrived at her home that morning. "My Janie is dead--a suicide. Last night she hung herself in her room!" After minutes of convulsive sobbing she concluded, "O Doctor, how I wish God had taken her when she was three years old."

89. A wonderfully appealing ideal of life is found in the words of G.B. Shaw in a letter to a friend: "This is the true job of life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrapheap, the being a force of nature instead of a feverish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy." How about that for one of your aims for the New Year?

90. O Love, that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depth its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O Light, that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine's blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy, that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross, that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
--George Matheson

91. I gave My life for thee,
My precious blood I shed,
That thou might'st ransomed be,
And quickened from the dead.

I gave, I gave My life for thee,
What hast thou given for Me?
I gave, I gave My life for thee,
What hast thou given for Me?

92. God bade me go when I would stay
('Twas cool within the wood);
I did not know the reason why.
I heard a boulder crashing by
Across the pathway where I'd stood.

He bade me stay when I would go;
"Thy will be done," I said.
They found one day at early dawn,
Across the way I would have gone,
A serpent with a mangled head.

No more I ask the reason why,
Although I may not see
The path ahead, his way I go;
For though I know not, He doth know,
And He will choose safe paths for me.

93. Michelangelo, painting the matchless frescoes on the high ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, spent countless hours on his back on high scaffolding, carefully perfecting the details of each figure. A friend asked him why he took such pains with figures which could be seen only at a distance by viewers. "After all," said the friend, "who will know whether it is perfect or not?" "I will," replied the artist.

94. A patient cannot accept the physician & at the same time reject his remedy.

95. I'll go where You want me to go, dear Lord
Real service is what I desire.
I'll say what You want me to say, dear Lord
But don't ask me to sing in the choir.

I'll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,
I like to see things come to pass.
But don't ask me to teach girls & boys, dear Lord,
I'd rather just stay in my class.

I'll do what You want me to do, dear Lord,
I yearn for the Kingdom to thrive.
I'll give you my nickels & dimes, dear Lord
But please don't ask me to tithe.

I'll go where You want me to go, dear Lord
I'll say what You want me to say.
I'm busy just now with myself, dear Lord--
I'll help You some other day.

96. Christ never asks of us such busy labour
As leaves no time for resting at His feet;
The waiting attitude of expectation
He oft times counts a service most complete.

He sometimes wants our ear, our rapt attention.
That He some sweetest secret may impart;
'Tis often in the time of deepest silence,
That heart finds deepest fellowship with heart.

We sometimes wonder why our Lord doth place us
Within a sphere so narrow, so obscure,
That nothing we call work can find an entrance;
There's only room to suffer, to endure.

Well, God loves patience. Souls that dwell in stillness.
Doing the little things or resting quiet.
May just as perfectly fulfil their mission,
Be just as useful in the Father's sight.

As they who grapple with some giant evil,
Clearing a path that every eye may see,
Our Saviour cares for cheerful acquiescence
Rather than a busy ministry.

And yet He does love service, where 'tis given
By grateful love that clothes itself in deed;
But work that's done beneath the scourge of duty,
Be sure, he gives to such but little heed.

Then seek to please Him, whatso'er He bids thee,
Whether to do, to suffer, or lie still;
'Twill matter little by what path He led us,
If in all we sought to do His Will.

97. The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life--knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live.--Aristotle

98. "Why do you stand in such an unbecoming position?" the Duke of Wellington once asked an officer caught slouching in uniform. "I'm off duty, sir," the man replied. Then the Duke bellowed, "A British officer is never off duty. Resume your military position."

99.
He sendeth sun, He sendeth shower,
Alike they're needful for the flower;
And smiles & tears alike are sent,
To give the soul fit nourishment.
As comes to me or cloud or sun,
Father! Thy will, not mine, be done.

Can loving children e'er reprove
The father whom they trust & love!
Creator! I would ever be
A loving, trusting child to Thee,
As comes to me or cloud or sun,
Father! Thy will, not mine, be done.