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Written by John Newton (1725-1807), an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist.

The chief difference between us, and the disciples when our Savior was upon earth, is in this: They then walked by sight, and we are called to walk by faith…We conceive of him as at a distance; but when the heart is awakened, we begin to make Jacob’s reflection, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.” And when we receive faith, we begin to know that this ever present God is in Christ.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. [Matthew 28:20]

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Written by John Eldredge, a contemporary author, counselor, and lecturer.  This is an excerpt from his book “Walking With God.”

I assume that an intimate, conversational walk with God is available, and is meant to be normal. I’ll push that a step further. I assume that if you don’t find that king of relationship with God, your spiritual life will be stunted. And that will handicap the rest of your life. We can’t find life without God, and we can’t find God if we don’t know how to walk initimately with Him…You need to do more than believe in him. You have to stay close to him. Listen to his voice. Let him lead.

Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. [1 John 2:6]

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This prayer was written by John Calvin (1509-1564), a theologian and reformer.

Almighty God, you have borne witness by the law and the prophets to what is right so that we may live in obedience to your will. You have also given us by your Gospel a fuller knowledge of perfect righteousness.  Let us be governed by your Spirit and give ourselves to you. Help us to be guided by your word…and never deviate from it—neither to the right nor to the left. Enable us to acknowledge our folly and vanity and consent to be taught by your Word. May we prove to be truly obedient to you to the end of this life. Then we will reach that heavenly rest which has been obtained for us by the blood of your only Son.  Amen.

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. [Colossians 1:9-10] 

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Written by George Mueller (1805-1898), a Christian evangelist and orphanage director. This is part of an address he gave to ministers and workers after his ninetieth birthday.

I was converted in November, 1825, but I only came into the full surrender of the heart four years later, in July, 1829. The love of money was gone, the love of place was gone, the love of position was gone, the love of worldly pleasures and engagements was gone. God, God alone became my portion. I found my all in Him; I wanted nothing else. And by the grace of God this has remained, and has made me a happy man, an exceedingly happy man, and it led me to care only about the things of God. I ask affectionately, my beloved brethren, have you fully surrendered the heart to God, or is there this thing or that thing with which you are taken up irrespective of God?

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. [Colossians 3:17]

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Written by Courtney Fallick, a contemporary writer.

Have you ever had a moment where everything seemed to fall apart at once? A door slammed shut, a relationship shifted, your plans unraveled—or maybe something small but strangely persistent kept tugging at your heart. Sometimes, in the middle of chaos or quiet, we wonder: Is God trying to get my attention? … If you’ve felt like you’re in a season of disruption or confusion, I want to encourage you to pause and ask: “Lord, what are you trying to show me?” God is not distant or indifferent. He sees you, He’s speaking—and He just might be using this moment to draw you closer. If you’re sensing that God might be trying to get your attention—don’t ignore that nudge. Whether it’s through a storm or a whisper, His pursuit is always fueled by love. He doesn’t chase us to shame us—He calls us to restore us. Take a moment today to lean in, listen, and respond. Ask Him what He wants to show you, and trust that whatever He reveals is meant to bring you closer to His heart. He’s not done with your story yet! Keep walking with the King.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. [James 1:2-3]

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Written by Jennifer Slattery, a contemporary writer and speaker.

We experience the most peace in our souls and relationships when we learn to deal with our emotions before we begin to devalue the other person. That was the message Jesus conveyed when He warned us against calling others worthless (raca in the original Greek) or a fool. May we, God’s beloved, redeemed and empowered children, never allow our anger to become so strong and unmitigated that we become unable to see the other person’s value as a human being created in the image of God.  I don’t mean to suggest this is easy. In fact, there are times when doing so will feel excruciatingly hard, if not impossible…When we remember that He sees our pain, every injustice we experience, and promises to reward our every obedient act, we feel less compelled to vindicate ourselves. We’re better able to trust Him to work all things for our good and His glory, and often, He does His most beautiful work in those very relationships we otherwise might have destroyed.  Because our God is for us—for our joy, peace, and relational fulfilment. 

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. [Matthew 5:23-24]

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Written by J. R. Miller (1840-1912), an author, pastor, and Editorial Superintendent of the Presbyterian Board of Publication.

There is a fable about the way the birds got their wings at the beginning. They were first made without wings. Then God made the wings and put them down before the wingless birds and said to them, “Come, take up these burdens and bear them.” The birds had lovely plumage and sweet voices; they could sing, and their feathers gleamed in the sunshine, but they could not soar in the air. They hesitated at first when bidden to take up the burdens that lay at their feet, but soon they obeyed, and taking up the wings in their beaks, laid them on their shoulders to carry them. For a little while the load seemed heavy and hard to bear, but presently, as they went on carrying the burdens, folding them over their hearts, the wings grew fast to their little bodies, and soon they discovered how to use them, and were lifted by them up into the air — the weights became wings. It is a parable. We are the wingless birds, and our duties and tasks are the pinions God has made to lift us up and carry us heavenward. We look at our burdens and heavy loads, and shrink from them; but as we lift them and bind them about our hearts, they become wings, and on them we rise and soar toward God. There is no burden which, if we lift it cheerfully and bear it with love in our hearts, will not become a blessing to us. God means our tasks to be our helpers; to refuse to bend our shoulders to receive a load, is to decline a new opportunity for growth.

They shall mount up with wings as eagles [Isaiah 40:31]

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Written by John Calvin (1509-1564), a French theologian, pastor, and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation.

If we, then, are not our own but the Lord’s, it is clear what error we must flee, and whither we must direct all the acts of our life. We are not our own: let not our reason nor our will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds. We are not our own: let us therefore not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us. … We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us forget ourselves and all that is ours. Conversely, we are God’s: let us therefore live for him and die for him. We are God’s: let his wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions. We are God’s: let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal. O, how much has that man profited who, having been taught that he is not his own, has taken away dominion and rule from his own reason that he may yield it to God! For, as consulting our self-interest is the pestilence that most effectively leads to our destruction, so the sole haven of salvation is to be wise in nothing and to will nothing through ourselves but to follow the leading of the Lord alone.

For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. [Romans 14:7-8]

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Written by Bob Goff, a contemporary author.  This is an excerpt from his book “Catching Whimsy.”

In life, whether we are paying rent or paying a mortgage, we are still the tenants. It’s not our place; it’s God’s. If we want to move the furniture around a little, no problem. But before we start remodeling the house and repurposing what we are caretaking, we need to get permission from the owner. How do you know what you have permission to change in your life? The answer is both simple and hard. We have permission to love and forgive and engage and be obedient and to be wise and kind. We might not have permission to build fences to separate ourselves from others. We also might not have permission to build a shed and store up things God would rather have us put into play. Jesus doesn’t need pictures of Him hung on the walls. He would rather we decorate our lives and our hearts with compassion and empathy and generosity and joy and with, yes, a touch of whimsy…Love, hope, and patience are always the best kind of accents to our lives.

Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. [1 Corinthians 12:7]

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Written by Charles Spurgeon (1824-1892), an English preacher, known as “The Prince of Preachers.”

Does not the Word come like a soft shower, assuaging the fury of the flame? Yes, is it not an asbestos armor, against which the heat has no power? Let the affliction come–God has chosen me. Poverty, thou mayest stride in at my door; but God is in the house already, and He has chosen me. Sickness, thou mayest intrude; but I have a balsam ready–God has chosen me. Whatever befall me in this vale of tears, I know that He has chosen me. Fear not, Christian; Jesus is with thee. In all thy fiery trials, His presence is both thy comfort and safety. He will never leave one whom He has chosen for His own. “Fear not, for I am with thee,” is His sure word of promise to His chosen ones in “the furnace of affliction.”

I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.  [Isaiah. 48:10]

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