Robert Murray M’Cheyne

“I am deeply persuaded that there will be no full, soul-filling, heart-ravishing, heart-satisfying outpouring of the Spirit of God till there be more praise and thanking the Lord.”

Robert Murray M’Cheyne – one of Scotland’s greatest preachers – lived a very short life. His influence, however, would live on for years to come.

By age four, Robert Murray M’Cheyne knew the Greek alphabet. At age eight, he entered high school. At age 14, he entered the University of Edinburgh, where his good grades earned him many awards. One day, he gave his life to Christ, and eventually he was ordained to preach.

While he was growing up, Robert Murray M’Cheyne had been a “good boy,” but he did not truly know Jesus Christ. Instead of a relationship with God, Robert relied on how smart he was and how hard he worked. But when his brother died suddenly, eighteen-year-old Robert Murray M’Cheyne realized the shortness of life, and he put all his trust in Christ alone for salvation. His brother’s death had a profound effect on the rest of Robert’s choices and he began using his intelligence to learn long sections of Scripture.

As a preacher, his fame spread quickly through his homeland of Scotland, and his church grew to over 1,100 people. He took a special interest in helping the Jews and did everything possible to win Jewish souls to Christ.

Mr. M’Cheyne was only thirty years old when he died on March 25, 1843, of the typhoid fever. Though he was actually in ministry for only seven years, he left an impact on Scotland for the rest of eternity. He often said, “Live so as to be missed!” And so he did.

Are you using the gifts God gave you (your intellect, your physical energy, etc.) to glorify Him? Are you a thankful, praising person? Are you living for Christ now, or are you waiting to grow up? Are you living so as to be missed?

1 Timothy 4:12 – Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Fanny Crosby

“To weep and sigh because I’m blind, I cannot and I won’t!”

Fanny Jane Crosby was born in southeast New York on March 24, 1820. When she was just six months old, she got a cold in her eyes that had to be taken care of by a doctor. The doctor made a terrible mistake that cost Fanny Crosby her eyesight for the rest of her life. It was later learned that the doctor was not really a doctor at all, and not qualified to do medical work. Before he could be arrested, however, he left town, never to be heard from again. But there are no mistakes with God. Fanny once said,

“Mother, if I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind…for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Saviour.”

When Fanny was a child, her mother introduced her to the Bible. As a result, Fanny’s life changed completely. She began writing poems about Jesus Christ. Although she was blind, Fanny Crosby “saw” 8,000 of her poems set to music and over 100,000,000 copies of her songs published. She wrote up to seven hymns a day. Over the years, she used as many as 200 pen names so that the public would not realize she was writing so much. Once in a while, she would hear a hymn that she liked and would ask someone who had written the words. Often, she would be surprised to be reminded that she herself was actually the writer!

Fanny Crosby wrote hymns such as “All the Way My Savior Leads Me,” “Blessed Assurance,” and “To God Be the Glory.” From an early age, she determined to rejoice in her limitations and the gifts she did have. When she was 8 years old, she wrote these words: “Oh what a happy soul am I! Although I cannot see, I am resolved that in this world, contented I will be.”

Are you content with your life right now? What do you think you need in order to be happy? God has given you everything you need!

1 Timothy 6:8 – And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I’ll be found in you

There’s distraction buzzing in my head
Saying in the shadows it’s easier to stay
But I’ve heard rumours of true reality
Whispers of a well-lit way

When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I’ll be found in you

You make all things new

When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I’ll be found in you

When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in you, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
When time and space are through
I’ll be found in you
Brooke Fraser Shadowfeet 2006 Albertine

The Bible and all it contains is the key to learning about God, growing in Him and being with Him.

Psalm 24 (New International Version, ©2010)

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.

¹ The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
² for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.

³ Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?
⁴ The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.^[a]

⁵ They will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God their Savior.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.^[b][c]

⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
⁸ Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰ Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory.

This is not at all how
We thought it was supposed to be
We had so many plans for you
We had so many dreams
And now you’ve gone away
And left us with the memories of your smile
And nothing we can say
And nothing we can do
Can take away the pain
The pain of losing you, but…

We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
‘Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no
And we can grieve with hope
‘Cause we believe with hope
(There’s a place by God’s grace)
There’s a place where we’ll see your face again
We’ll see your face again

And never have I known
Anything so hard to understand
And never have I questioned more
The wisdom of God’s plan
But through the cloud of tears
I see the Father’s smile and say well done
And I imagine you
Where you wanted most to be
Seeing all your dreams come true
‘Cause now you’re home
And now you’re free, and…

We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
‘Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no
And we can grieve with hope
‘Cause we believe with hope
(There’s a place by God’s grace)
There’s a place where we’ll see your face again
We’ll see your face again

We have this hope as an anchor
‘Cause we believe that everything
God promised us is true, so…

We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
‘Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no
And we can grieve with hope
‘Cause we believe with hope
(There’s a place by God’s grace)
There’s a place where we’ll see your face again
We’ll see your face again

We wait with hope
And we ache with hope
We hold on with hope
We let go with hope

If we are honest with ourselves, we can see many similarities with today’s western lifestyle.

Most people are proud of their cars, houses and other things. (Pride)
Most people don’t have to struggle and toil to put food on the table. (Overfed)
Most people, while not at a paid job, don’t generally do anything to overtaxing. (Idleness)
Most people don’t think of the severe injustice and lack of choice and freedom that the poorest of poor people all over the world and in our country have to face every day. (not strengthening the poor/needy)

This makes me think that perhaps God isn’t too happy with the way we choose to spend our time.  Perhaps he has a better way that would profit us as well as Him.  In Philippians 2:4 Paul tells us to serve others and desire to please God, this is the antidote to the poison of self-indulgence.

At the bottom of each page in Our Daily Bread is a verse and a summary line.  Here are today’s.

Some are discouraged and weary in heart,
Help somebody today!
Someone the journey to heaven should start,
Help somebody today! –Breck

The more we serve Christ, the less we serve self.

Recently I read this beautiful short story below about Itzhak Perlman, a violinist playing in New York. However, after reading the story, you too will see that it is a much deeper story than one just about a musician playing on stage. It is actually an inspirational and touching story showing us that we can all ‘make music’ in our lives no matter how difficult our circumstances are.

Story: Barefoot Lass/MyPatchofSerenity

Please enjoy and remember that God watches over the righteous and the wicked. (Proverbs)

Invisible Mother……

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I’m thinking, ‘Can’t you see I’m on the phone?’

Obviously not; no one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I’m invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?? Some days I’m not a pair of hands; I’m not even a clock to ask, ‘What time is it?’ I’m a satellite guide to answer, ‘What number is the Disney Channel?’ I’m a car to order, ‘Right around 5:30, please.’

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude – but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen
again. She’s going, she’s going, she’s gone!?

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting
there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, ‘I brought you this.’ It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it
to me until I read her inscription: ‘To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.’ In the days ahead I would read – no, devour – the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals – we have no record of their names.
These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, ‘Why are
you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof; No one will ever see it. And the workman replied, ‘Because God sees.’

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, ‘I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, ‘My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a
turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.’ That would mean I’d built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, ‘You’re gonna love it there.’

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been  added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31NIV

Finding Our Calling

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,
beseech you to walk worthy of the calling
with which you were called. — Ephesians 4:1