A Prayer by Mary Stewart

 

Keep us, O God, from pettiness;

let us be large in thought, in word, in deed.

Let us be done with faultfinding

and leave off self-seeking.

May we put away all pretenses

and meet each other, face to face,

without self-pity and without prejudice.

May we never be hasty in judgment

and always generous.

Let us take time for all things;

make us to grow calm, serene, gentle.

Teach us to put in action our better impulses

-straightforward and unafraid.

Grant that we may realize it is

the little things of life that create difficulties;

that in the big things of life we are as one.

Oh, Lord, let us not forget to be kind.

Amen

Persevere

by Grace Mann

Does the way seem long and dreary,

And your goal too far away?

Do you falter and grow weary

With the cares that press each day?

Does the burden that you carry

Seem an endless load of pain?

Are you tempted oft to tarry,

Ne’er to lift the cross again?

Don’t despair; the way will brighten;

Arm yourself with strength anew;

Prayer will help the load to lighten;

Faith and hope will strengthen, too.

Keep in mind the thought so cheering,

Those who persevere will win!

Soon you’ll have the joy of hearing,

“Faithful servant, enter in.”

 

 

 

 

Vance Havner

Sometimes your medicine bottle has on it, “shake well before using.” That is what God has to do with some of His people. He has to shake them well before they are ever usable.

Prayer of St Richard, Bishop of Chichester 1245 – 1253

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ

for all the benefits which thou has given me

for all the pains and insults which thou hast borne for me.

O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,

may I know thee more clearly,

love thee more dearly,

and follow thee more nearly.

Amen.

 

Silent Night

by Joseph Mohr

Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon Virgin Mother and Child

Holy Infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight

Glories stream from heaven afar

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!

Christ, the Saviour is born

Christ, the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night

Son of God, love’s pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth “

 

F. E. Marsh

“The will of God — nothing less, nothing more, nothing else.”

God’s Promise of Mercy

Malachi 3:13-18

“You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord.

“But you ask, ‘What have we said about you?’

You have said, ‘It’s useless to serve God.

What’s the use of doing what he says or trying to show

the Lord Almighty that we are sorry for what we have done?

As we see it, proud people are the ones who are happy.

Evil people not only prosper, but they test God’s patience

with their evil deeds and get away with it.”

Then the people who feared the Lord spoke to one another,

and the Lord listened and heard what they said.

In his presence, there was written down in a book a record

of those who feared the Lord and respected him.

“They will be my people,” says the Lord Almighty.

“On the day when I act, they will be my very own.

I will be merciful to them, as a father is merciful to the son who serves him.

Once again my people will see the difference between what

happens to the righteous and to the wicked, to the person

who serves me and the one who does not.

by Christina Rosetti

Lord seek us, Lord find us
In Thy patient care,
Be Thy love before us, behind us
Lest he bait a snare,
Lest he forge a chain to bind us,
Lest he speak us fair,
Turn not from us, call to mind us,
Find, embrace us, hear.
Be Thy love before us, behind us,
Round us everywhere.

Erling C. Olsen

“There is only one book in the world that bears the impress of the hand of God and that vibrates with His breath. That Book is the Bible.”

The Promise of the Lord’s Coming

2 Peter 3:8-15

But do not forget one thing, my dear friends!
There is no difference in the Lord’s sight
between one day and a thousand years;
to him the two are the same.
The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised,
as some think.
Instead, he is patient with you,
because he does not want anyone to be destroyed,
but wants all to turn away from their sins.
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief.
On that Day the heavens will disappear with a shrill noise,
the heavenly bodies will burn up and be destroyed,
and the earth with everything in it will vanish.
Since all these things will be destroyed in this way,
what kind of people should you be?
Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God,
as you wait fot the Day of God
and do your best to make it come soon -
the Day when the heavens will burn up,
and the heavenly bodies will be melted by the heat.
But we wait for what God has promised:
a new heaven and a new earth,
where righteousness will be at home.
And so, my friends, as you wait for that day,
do your best to be pure and faultless in God’s sight
and to be at peace with him.
Look on our Lord’s patience as the opportunity
he has giving you to be saved,
just as our dear brother Paul; wrote to you,
using the wisdom that God gave him.