Winter Devotional '20 "To bear sorrow with dry eyes and stolid heart may befit a Stoic but not a Christian."

Lord, You are so incredibly faithful,

To this lamb so wayward and lost, poor and needy.

Yet You rescued and lifted up my weary soul,

My true Shepherd, wrapped around with majesty.

Your ear is finely tuned to my cries—

Your eyes see all my woes and travail;

Your whispers inspire new songs in the night,

Like the North Star shining amidst the strong gale.

With tender compassion and mercies ever dawning,

You guide over rocky terrain through unknown paths,

Providing renewed courage and grace every morning,

Kindly leading me back with Your forgiving hands.

chorus-

At last, I will see the eyes that ever watched over me—

I will clasp those scarred hands that never let me go.

I will behold the face that angels worship in divine glory,

At last, at last, I will know as I am fully known.

Not even knowing how to pray oftentimes,

Going on with living, but not fully alive—

Yet You choose to dwell within, to reside and dine,

Binding up my broken heart with Your promise to abide.

For ages upon ages all Heaven will be adoring,

The Lamb that was slain for the sins of all mankind.

Worthy, oh so worthy are You to receive all blessing,

To be praised with song and forever magnified.

C.A. TAYLOR

My True Shepherd

Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. 
Stay here and watch.”
He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” 

Mark 14:34-36

Do not chide yourself for feeling strongly. Tears are natural. Jesus wept. A thunderstorm without rain is fraught with peril; the pattering raindrops cool the air, and relieve the overcharged atmosphere. The swollen brooks indicate that the snows are melting on the hills and spring is near. “Daughters of Jerusalem,” said our Lord, “weep for yourselves and your children.”  To bear sorrow with dry eyes and stolid heart may befit a Stoic but not a Christian. We have no need to rebuke fond nature crying for its mate, its lost joy, the touch of the vanished hand, the sound of the voice that is still, provided only that the will is resigned.  This is the one consideration for those who suffer¾Is the will right?  If it isn’t, God Himself cannot comfort. If it is, then the path will inevitably lead from the valley of the shadow of death to the banqueting table and the overflowing cup. 

Many say I cannot feel resigned. It is bad enough to have my grief to bear, but I have this added trouble, that I cannot feelresigned. My invariable reply is: you probably never can feel resignation, but you can willit. The Lord Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, has shown us how to suffer. He chose His Father's will. He said repeatedly, “If this cup may not pass from Me except I drink it, Thy will be done.” He gave up His own way and will, saying “I will Thy will O My Father; Thy will, and not Mine, be done.”

 Let all sufferers who read these lines go apart and dare to say the same words: “Thy will, and not mine; Thy will be done in the earth of my life, as in the heaven of Thy purpose; I choose Thy will.” Say this thoughtfully and deliberately, not because you can feel it, but because you will it; not because the way of the cross is pleasant, but because it must be right. Say it repeatedly, whenever the surge of pain sweeps through you, whenever the wound begins to bleed afresh: Not my will but Thine be done. Dare to say Yes to God. “Even so Father, for so it seemeth good in Thy sight.”

And so you will be led to feel that all is right and well; and a great calm will settle down on your heart, a peace that passeth understanding, a sense of rest which is not inconsistent with suffering, but walks in the midst of it as the three young men in the fiery furnace, to whom the burning coals must have been like the dewy grass of a forest glade. 

 Sorrow is a garden, the trees of which are laden with the peaceable fruits of righteousness; do not leave it without bringing them with you. Sorrow is a mine, the walls of which glisten with precious stones; be sure and do not retrace your steps into daylight without some specimens. Johann Rist used to say, “The dear cross has pressed many songs out of me.” And it is probable that none rightly suffer anywhere without contributing something to the alleviation of human grief, to the triumph of good over evil, of love over hate, and light over darkness.

The way of the cross rightly borne, is the only way to the everlasting light. The path that treads the Garden of Gethsemane, and climbs over the hill of Calvary, alone conducts to the visions of Easter morning and the glories of the Ascension mount. If we will not drink of His cup, or be baptized with His baptism, we cannot expect to share in of His espousals and the ecstasy of His triumph. But if these conditions are fulfilled, we shall not miss one note in the everlasting song, one element in the bliss that is possible to men

If you believed this, could you not bear to suffer? Is not the chief misery of all suffering its loneliness, and perhaps its apparent aimlessness? Then dare to believe that no man dies to himself. Fall into the ground, bravely and cheerfully to die; if you yield to it, you will bear fruit which will sweeten the lot and strengthen the life of others who will never know your name, or stop to thank you for your help.

F.B. MEYER

Steps Into the Blessed Life

The Incarnation Advent '20 Devotional ~"All the crowns of power flashed upon His brow. All mighty angels called Him Lord."

So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the Inn….                                                                                                                               And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.                                                                                                                                                                                                         Luke 2:6-7, 16, 20

Sleep! Holy Babe! 

Upon Thy mother’s breast;

Great Lord of earth and sea and sky,

How sweet it is to see Thee lie

In such a place of rest.

Sleep! Holy Babe! 

Thine angels watch around,

All bending low with folded wings,

Before th’ Incarnate King of kings,

In reverent awe profound.

Sleep! Holy Babe! 

While I with Mary gaze

In joy upon that face awhile,

Upon the loving infant smile

Which there divinely plays.

Sleep! Holy Babe! 

Ah! take Thy brief repose;

Too quickly will Thy slumbers break,

And Thou to lengthened pains awake

That death alone shall close.

EDWARD CASWALL

~ Sleep! Holy Babe

How wonderful this was!  We must remember who it was that was thus born.  The birth of another child in this world was nothing strange, for thousands of children are born every day.  But this was the Lord of glory.  This was not the beginning of His life.  He had lived from all eternity in heaven.  His hands made the universe.  All glory was His.  All the crowns of power flashed upon His brow.  All mighty angels called Him Lord.  We must remember this if we would understand how great was His condescension….   

      Christ’s glory was folded away under robes of human flesh.  He never ceased to be the Son of God; and yet He assumed all the conditions of humanity.  He veiled His power, and became a helpless infant, unable to walk, to speak… lying feeble and dependent in His mother’s bosom… He laid aside His sovereignty, His majesty. What condescension!  And it was all for our sake, that He might lift us up to glory.  It was as a Saviour that He came into this world.  He became Son of man that He might make us sons of God.   He came down to earth and lived among men, entering into their experiences of humiliation, that He might lift them up to glory to share His exaltation.               

J.R. MILLER~

Come Ye Apart

        How gentle the coming!  Who would have had sufficient daring of imagination to conceive that God Almighty would have appeared among men as a little child?  We should have conceived something sensational, phenomenal, catastrophic, appalling!  The most awful of the natural elements would have formed His retinue, and men would be chilled and frozen with fear.  But He came as a little child.  The great God “emptied Himself”; He let in the light as our eyes were able to bear it.

J.H. JOWETT~

My Daily Meditation

Autumn Devotional '19 "What heavy burden is upon you?"

“For He will deliver the needy when he cries for help,

The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

He will have compassion on the poor and needy,

And the lives of the needy He will save.”

Psalm 72:12-13

“Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 4:16

Come unto Me and draw near, all you who are weary, 

With burdens too heavy to lift up and carry.

I uphold all the world by the Word of My power,

I’ll raise you and crown you with glory and honor.

Come take My hand, and walk close to Me,

I am able to save you completely.

I have the power of an indestructible life,

And a love for you beyond the end of time.

Come with boldness to Me, and draw nigh,

To My throne of glory and to God Most High.

Beset with sin and discouragements, poor and needy,

Approach My throne of grace and receive mercy.

Come now and believe, ~see My hands, touch My side,

I bore all your sin on the cross for all time.

Turn your gaze to My face, and be filled with My peace,

Lest your soul becomes faint and your burdens increase.

bridge-

Exalted and holy, gracious and lowly, 

I am your Savior, forever abiding;

My days and your joy, they shall never end,

For I am your eternal God and your Friend.

Throne of Grace

C.A. TAYLOR/N. AGUILAR

Bending down to us in infinite love God says, “My child, how needy are you? What heavy burden is upon you? What grievous sorrow is darkening your faith? What fear of future ill is shadowing your pathway? What spiritual thirst do you want slaked? What barrenness of soul enriched? How hungry, how helpless, how faint, how hopeless are you? What do you need this hour? For I will deliver the needy.” And so, the very need that burdens, dispirits and perplexes us is at once the condition and pledge of His blessing…. You are just the one God is looking for~just the one who is ripe for deliverance~just the special individual to whom His promise is made. “For He shall deliver the needy, and him that hath no helper.”

         Do not be too afraid of getting into the spot where you have no helper, for that is the spot where, like Jacob, you will meet a delivering God. Do not be too anxious to be free from needs, unless you want to be free from prayer-power. Accept them just as God sends them or permits them. The moment you come to a need, remember also that you have come to a promise. “He shall deliver the needy.” To miss a need may be to miss a miracle. As soon as one appears in your life, do not begin to worry because it is there, but praise God because it is to be supplied. “For He shall deliver the needy when he cries.”

JAMES H. McCONKEY

         “What must be the support and consolation of an infinite God! Perfect power and Perfect wisdom not only giving the cup but holding our hands while we drink it!”

J.R. MACDUFF -1871

Photo: Deb Heyer

Late Summer Devotional "Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart; it's your high privilege"

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

John 14:27

Lord, grant me Your promised peace like a river,

Serenely flowing down from Your throne.

Troubles are looming and only You can deliver,

Hush the turmoil, churning in my soul.

Jesus, You possess what this world cannot impart,

In You abides that joyous hope the world knows not of.

Command these discouraging fears to depart,

Overcome, overwhelm my soul with courageous love.

Oh, how this world has trials in abundance,

Which threaten our blood-bought promise of rest.

Prince of Life, bestow that glorious inheritance,

Guard and surround my heart, O most Blessed.

                   chorus:

God of all grace, descend and fill to overflowing,

Your eternal reign is the realm of perfect peace;

Set my soul at rest, secure and boldly singing.

Exalted Sovereign over all, with majesty arrayed,

Create a song on my lips that proclaims Your peace,

Beautiful as a garden in the cool of the day;

How I long for that repose of mind and heartsease.

God of All Peace

C.A. TAYLOR

Let us distinguish between “Peace” and “My Peace.” There is a distinction between these two. The former refers to the result of His work for us on the cross: "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"; the latter refers to His indwelling, who is our Peace. The one He has bequeathed as a legacy to all men…. the other is a gift, which must be appropriated and used…

The order of these two varieties of peace is invariable. ~We must have peace with God before we can enjoy the peace of God. We must receive the atonement, with all its blessed comfort, before we can enter upon our heritage in Christ Jesus. Christ dying for us on the cross must precede Christ living in us by His Spirit; justification with its evidence must be well apprehended before sanctification with its fruits; the peace with God must shed its benediction over the soul before it can enter upon the peace of God. Ah, soul! thou hast experienced the former; dost thou know the latter? Dost thou know what it is for Christ to enter into the closed doors of the inner chamber of the heart, and say, "Peace be unto thee"? Dost thou know what it is to hear His voice speaking above the tumult of the inland lake of thy soul, and making a great calm? Dost thou know what it is for Him to deal with the springs of the inner life, which lie deeper than emotion or fancy, and pour in His infinite serenity, so that the outflow may be tranquil?

Christ lays stress on His peace. He must mean the very peace that filled His own heart; not something like it, but the same, always keeping the heart with the affections, and the mind with its thoughts. This being so, we infer~

That His peace is consistent with a perfect knowledge of coming sorrow. ~He knew all things that awaited Him (John 18:4): the treachery of Judas, the denial by Peter, the forsaking by all, the shame and spitting, the cross and the grave; and yet He spoke serenely of His peace. It is therefore consistent with the certain outlook towards darkness and the shadow of death. You may know from certain symptoms that cancer has struck its fangs into your flesh, and that paralysis has begun to creep along your spine; that your dearest is barked by the Woodsman for felling; that your means of subsistence will inevitably dry up: but, facing all these, as Jesus faced the cross, you may still be conscious of a peace that passes understanding.

That it is consistent with energetic action. ~Men are disposed to think that peace is one of the last fruits of the tree of life which drop into the hand of the aged. A man says to himself, “I shall have to relinquish this active life, to settle in some quiet country home in the midst of nature, and then perhaps I shall know what peace means. A snug home and a competence, the culture of flowers, the slow march of the seasons, tender home-love far away from the hustling throng of the world ~these are the conditions of peace.” Not so, says Christ: "Arise, let us go hence." Let us leave this quiet harbor, and launch out into the stormy deep. Let us leave this still chamber, around the windows of which the vines cling, and go forth into the garden where the cedars fight with the tempest; and amidst it all we shall find it possible to enjoy the peace that passes understanding. Let men and women immersed in the throng of daily toil understand that Christ's peace is for those who hear the bugle note of duty summoning them to arise and go hence.

That the chief evidence of this peace is in the leisureliness of the heart. ~Christ's possession of peace was very evident through all the stormy scenes that followed. With perfect composure He could heal the ear of Malchus, and stay the impetuosity of Peter; could reason quietly with the slave that smote Him, and bid the daughters of Jerusalem cease their weeping; could open Paradise to the dying thief, and the door of John's home to the reception of His mother. Few things betray the presence of His peace more than the absence of irritability, fretfulness, and feverish haste, which expend the tissues of life.

Oh, that you may now receive from Christ this blessed gift! Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart; it is your high privilege, be not backward in availing yourself of it. It will be as oil to the machinery of life.

When you put the government upon His shoulder, He sets up His reign within you as the Prince of Peace. Happily for you, if of the increase of His government there is no end; for of the increase of your peace there will be no end either.

The world's peace consists in the absence of untoward circumstances; Christ's is altogether independent of circumstances, and consists in the state of the heart. It matters nothing that in the world we have tribulation; He bids us be of good cheer, because in Him we shall have peace. The wildest conjunction of outward things cannot break the perfect peace of the soul which nestles to His heart, as Noah's dove to the hand which plucked it in from the weltering waters.

"Let not your heart be troubled," the Master says again. “You may be troubled on every side; but be not troubled! Do not let the trouble come inside. Watch carefully against its intrusion, as you would against that of any other form of temptation. Let My peace, like a sentinel, keep you; and as you look forward to the unknown future, out of which spectral figures emerge, do not be afraid. There is a part for you to do, as well as for Me. I can give you My peace; but you must avoid any and everything that will militate against its possession and growth.”

F.B. MEYER

The Gospel of John

photo: Debbie Heyer

Olympic Mountains

Summertime Devotional '19 "Christ is Always a Brimming River"

The LORD will guide you continually,

And satisfy your soul in drought,

And strengthen your bones;

You shall be like a watered garden,

And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

Isaiah 58:11

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him keep coming to Me and let him keep drinking.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”

John 7:37-38

What music there is in these words! We are transported to the banks of a mighty river, down the bed of which the waters are ever hurrying to the sea. There is very little sound. The great volume of water moves majestically and silently onward, with now and again a musical ripple on its broad and waveless bosom. Flowing from mountain ranges where melting snows feed its springs; replenished from a hundred rills leaping the crags in a veil of mist; purified by being torn and combed in its rush over many a cataract--that river is the perpetual emblem of fertility, freshness, abundance, and sufficiency of supply.

It would seem as if He overleapt the intervening weeks, and thought of Himself as already back in his Father's glory, glorified and sitting on that throne from which the river of the water of life is ever descending to refresh and save. That river is Himself.

Worlds cannot satisfy souls, any more than cart-loads of earth could fill the mouth of the Amazon. But Christ is always a brimming river; nay, a fountain whose drops are oceans, and whose jets are rivers; and whosoever will bare the soul to Him again and again, not trying to feel satisfied, but trusting for satisfaction, will find longings subside, the ache of disappointment anodyned, the fever-thirst slaked. Try it, O brother man!

"If any thirst.""Any!" Those who are grimed with sin. "Any!" Those who have no claim but their exceeding need. "Any!" Those whom all the world and the Church spurn. "Any!" Publicans and sinners; outcasts and dying malefactors; persecutors and procrastinators. The one and only qualification is thirst.

Coming to Him is believing on Him. It is the touch of the soul and the Savior. It is contact; the opening of the inner life to His entrance; the willingness to be possessed; the clinging to Him, as the drowning sailor to the outstretched hand or floating spar. With no emotion, or effort at self-improvement, or endeavor to adjust the circumstances of the outward life, lift your eyes from this page to Him and say, "O Lamb of God, I come!" And instantly you are at the land whither you go. As you come on the earth side, He comes on the heaven side…

In Regeneration the Holy Spirit does literally indwell the believer. His life may be stunted, dwarfed, repressed, as plants in a sickly atmosphere, and as streams choked with the debris brought down from the hills; but it can never again be lost. "He abides forever."But what does He bring, save the life of Jesus? These two are identical. When we are strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner man, Christ dwells in our hearts by faith. If the Spirit of Christ be in us, Christ Himself is in us. It is a mistake to dissever these two. They are one.

This, then, is the sum of the whole matter. When weary, thirsty souls go to Jesus, He gives them instant relief, by giving them his Holy Spirit; and in that most blessed of all gifts, He Himself glides into the eager nature. He does not strive nor cry; there is no sound as of a rushing storm of wind, no coronet of flame; whilst men are watching at the front door to welcome Him with blare of trumpet, He steals in at the rear, unnoticed; but, in any case, He suddenly comes to his temple, and sits in its inner shrine as a refiner and purifier of the sons of Levi. Jesus Himself is the supply of our spirits, through the Holy Spirit, whom He gives to be within us and with us forever.

Remove the silt and rubbish which have occupied his place. Put away the sins which have grieved Him. Deny self which has crowded Him out of your life. Keep your soul in an eager believing attitude towards Jesus, and He will flood you with wave on wave of spiritual power.

Let the Lord Jesus occupy the place where God has set Him the throne.

The glory of Jesus is ever connected in Scripture with the reign of Jesus. There must be an ascension and an enthronement within; all things must be put under His feet; principalities and powers must own His sway; and when we glorify Jesus in our hearts and lives, setting Him on the throne, then the Spirit fills us with successive waves of power.

F.B. MEYER

Gospel of John

Lord Jesus, give me life, raise my languishing soul,

I believe You are God’s Son, the dearly Beloved.

Revive and renew my heart that’s grown hard as stone,

I come to You, my Savior, in whom I’ve trusted.

Pour out upon me, Jesus, the Promise of the Father,

The Spirit of comfort who teaches the truth of Your ways,

Like a fountain of spring water, strengthen me with power,

Engulf and overflow my dry, barren soul with praise.

 C.A. TAYLOR

Give Me Life

Springtime Devotional '19 "How Do We Weather the Storms?"

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me….

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

Isaiah 61:1, 3

"Take root downward, and bear fruit upward."

Isaiah 37:31

Why is it that the mountain hemlocks can attain such stateliness in spite of fierce winter gales and crushing snows? If you look at one of them closely you will see that it has foliage almost as delicate as a fir, its dark needles being as dainty as fairy feathers. Yet if you try to break a twig or a bough you will learn that in lies the strength and the tenacious power of the hemlock. It will bend and yield -- but it will not break. Winds may whip and toss it this way and that, but they cannot break it -- nor can elements, however fierce, pull its roots out of the ground. Secure and undaunted it stands. For months it may have its graceful form held down by a mighty weight of snow, but when the warm breath of summer winds, and the melting influence of summer's sun, relieve it of its burden, it straightens up as proud and as noble as it was before.

Beautiful, wonderful hemlock of the mountains -- what a lesson you bring to us! Though we may be storm-tossed and bent by the winds of sorrow, we need not be crushed and broken, if our souls are anchored to the Rock of Ages.

Author Unknown

Compiled in Consolation

How I want you to think that in life troubles will come, which seem as if they never would pass away. The night and the storm look as if they would last forever, but the calm and the morning cannot be stayed; the storm in its very nature is transient. The effort of nature, as that of the human heart, ever is to return to its repose, for God is Peace.
GEORGE MACDONALD

"Lord, make me strong! Let my soul rooted be

Afar from vales of rest,

Flung close to heaven upon a great Rock's breast,

Unsheltered and alone, but strong in Thee.

"What though the lashing tempests leave their scars?

Has not the Rock been bruised?

Mine, with the strength of ages deep infused,

To face the storms and triumph with the stars!

"Lord, plant my spirit high upon the crest

Of Thine eternal strength!

Then, though life's breaking struggles come at length,

Their storms shall only bend me to Thy breast."

DOROTHY CLARK WILSON

Strength

Easter Devotional ~"It was then that their hearts began to burn within them..."

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus…

“Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.

Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

Luke 24:13, 29-30

Abide with me! fast falls the eventide;

The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide!

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

Henry Francis Lyte ~1847

Of all the appearances of the risen Christ, none has a stronger hold upon Christendom that this one. It has brought light to many darkened hearts, and comfort to innumerable souls. Christ revealed Himself to Mary in the garden, and that will always be precious to the Church. He revealed Himself to the eleven, and to Thomas, and to Peter and John beside the Sea of Galilee. But this meeting on the Emmaus road, with its revelation of the living Savior, is engraven on the universal heart.

Who are these two were we cannot tell. We know nothing about them except the name of one of them, Cleopas. They were clearly on intimate terms with the Apostles, for they knew where they lodged when they went straight to them. It is characteristic of the Lord that in the glory of His resurrection-life He gave Himself with such fullness of disclosure to those unknown and undistinguished men. Here is the Master of all those obscure lives that are yet precious in the sight of Heaven. These two are our brothers.

These two travelers had lost their hopes. There was a time, not so long ago, when their hopes had been burning brightly like a star. They trusted this was He who should redeem Israel—that was the glowing conviction of their heart. And as they followed Jesus in His public ministry, and saw His miracles, and heard His words, brighter and ever brighter grew the hope that this was the Christ, the Son of the living God. But now the third day’s sun was near to setting, and darkness was soon to fall upon the world, and a great darkness, heavier than sunset, was beginning to cast its shadow on their hearts. They would never see Him again, nor hear His words, nor follow Him through any village street. And so that evening, journeying to Emmaus, they were men convinced that they had lost their Lord and having lost Him they had lost their hopes.

So long as Jesus Christ had been alive, there had been a great gladness in their hearts. Always in His society there was delight. There was a feeling of peace and of security. When He was with them all their care and worry took to itself wings and fled away. But now their Lord has passed beyond their ken, and it was like the passing of the sunshine for them, and as they walked together they were sad. They never understood how much they loved Him till the shadow of parting had fallen on their love. But now they knew it, and so, that dreary day, their talk as they journeyed was all of Jesus Christ, and the deepest desire of their hearts was this: O that I knew where I might find Him!

We want to follow the successive stages by which He gave them back their joy and peace. First, He showed them the supreme necessity of His death. “Ought not Christ,” He said, “to have suffered these things that so He might enter into glory?” That He whom they loved should die a felon’s death was something too awful to believe. And when it happened it seemed a hideous and irreparable calamity. And then Christ met them, and spoke about His death, and they learned that Crucifixion was no accident. It was no longer the greatest of calamities; it became the greatest of necessities. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things? –and they saw its moral and spiritual grandeur, and it dawned upon them that the Cross they loathed was something more wonderful than any crown. It was then that their hearts began to burn within them, and the light to break upon their darkened souls.

The next step our Saviour took was to lead them back to the Word of God. ‘Beginning at Moses and at all the prophets, He expounded unto them the things concerning Himself.’ Once again they heard of the Paschal Lamb, and of the Smitten Shepherd in Zechariah, and of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah. But hearing it all interpreted by Christ, the Bible became a living book to them, and in the hour when it became a living book, they found that Christ Himself was by their side.

One of the surest signs that Christ is nigh is when He makes the Bible live again.

And then He revealed Himself in the breaking of the bread. It was a frugal supper in a village home of two tired travelers, and another. Yet it was then—in the breaking of the bread, and not in any vision of resurrection splendor—that they knew that their companion was the Lord. How that discovery flashed upon their hearts, the Bible, so wonderful in its silences, does not tell. It may have been the quiet air of majesty with which He took at once the place of Host, when they had invited Him in to be their guest. It may have been the familiar word of blessing that awakened sweet memories of Galilean days. Or it may have been that as He put forth His hand after the blessing to take the bread and break it, they saw that it was a hand which had been pierced. However it was, whether by word or hand, they felt irresistibly that this was He.

So when a man has spiritually lost his Savior, and is being restored to the joy of his first love, it is often thus that the Lord reveals Himself. Our commonest mercies come to gleam on us as the most wonderful of all created things. Our sicknesses, our trials, our disappointments, are all transfigured with a Father’s love. Until at last, though we have seen no vision, and have only had common meals and common mercies, we too are thrilled and say, ‘It is the Lord.’

JAMES HASTINGS

The Gospel According to Luke ~1910