Abundance

          Happy Halloween!

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father,
  from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
  that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man;
  that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
  may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
  and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God.
  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
  unto him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3: 14-21

Faith and Life

   What are the conditions upon which true happiness depends? Christ tells us in the text: If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

   This is the blessing with a double if. "If ye know," this is the knowledge which Christ gives to faith. "If ye do,"—this is the obedience which faith gives to Christ. Knowing and Doing, these are the twin pillars on which the house of happiness is built.

  The harmony of faith and life, this is the secret of inward joy and power.

  You remember when these words were spoken. Christ had knelt to wash the disciples' feet. Peter, in penitence and self-reproach, had hesitated to permit this lowly service of Divine love. But Christ answered by revealing the meaning of His act as a symbol of the cleansing of the soul from sin. He reminded the disciples of what they knew by faith, that He was their Saviour and their Lord. By deed and by word He called up before them the great spiritual truths which had given new meaning to their life. He summoned them to live according to their knowledge, to act upon the truth which they believed.

    I am sure that His words sweep out beyond that quiet upper room, beyond that beautiful incident, to embrace the whole spiritual life. Do you suppose  that He is revealing to us the secret of happy living which lies at the very heart of His gospel, when He says: "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." ?

   "If ye know,"—there is, then, a certain kind of knowledge without which we can not be happy. There are questions arising in human nature which demand an answer. If it is denied we can not help being disappointed, restless, and sad. This is the price we have to pay for being conscious, rational creatures.

     If we were mere plants or animals we might go on living through our appointed years in complete indifference to the origin and meaning of our existence. But within us, as human beings, there is something that cries out and rebels against such a blind life. Man is born to ask what things mean. He is possessed with the idea that there is a significance in the world beyond that which meets his senses.

    Happiness is often a choice - Decide to be Happy. You can enjoy a richer, balanced life filled with a greater sense of self esteem. Go here to learn more about finding balance. 

Joy and Peace

  Christ never asks us to give up merely for the sake of giving up, but always in order to win something better. He comes not to destroy, but to fulfill,—to fill full,—to replenish life with true, inward, lasting riches. 

  His gospel is a message of satisfaction, of attainment, of felicity. Its voice is not a sigh, but a song. Its final word is a benediction, a good-saying. "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

  If we accept His teaching we must believe that men are not wrong in wishing for happiness, but wrong in their way of seeking it. Earthly happiness,—pleasure that belongs to the senses and perishes with them,—earthly happiness is a dream and a delusion. But happiness on earth,—spiritual joy and peace, blossoming here, fruiting hereafter,—immortal happiness, is the keynote of life in Christ.

And if we come to Him, He tells us four great secrets in regard to it.

1. It is inward, and, not outward; and so it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are.

2. It cannot be found by direct seeking, but by setting our faces toward the things from which it flows; and so we must climb the mount if we would see the vision, we must tune the instrument if we would hear the music.

3. It is not solitary, but social; and so we can never have it without sharing it with others.

4. It is the result of God's will for us, and not of our will for ourselves; and so we can only find it by giving our lives up, in submission and obedience, to the control of God.

For this is peace,—to lose the lonely note
Of self in love's celestial ordered strain:
And this is joy,—to find one's self again
In Him whose harmonies forever float
Through all the spheres of song, below, above,—
For God is music, even as God is love.

A Prayer for Parents

 Make me to hear joy and gladness, That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
 Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities.
 Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.
 Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy Spirit from me.
 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with a willing spirit. Psalm 51: 8-12

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for giving us the greatest gift possible. Thank You for giving us your Love. And for giving us your son. Thank You for giving us children that we might Love them like you love us!

Happiness

  In the wish for happiness we are all somewhat alike. In our explanations of  happiness and in our ways of seeking it we are often different. Shall we think of this wish as right, or wrong; as a true star, or simply wishful thinking?

  If it is right to wish to be happy, what are the conditions on which the fulfilment of this wish depends? These are the two questions with which I would come to Christ, seeking instruction and guidance.

  The desire of happiness, beyond all doubt, is a natural desire. It is the law of life itself that every being seeks and strives toward the perfection of its kind, the realization of its own specific ideal in form and function, and a true harmony with its environment. Every drop of sap in the tree flows toward foliage and fruit. Every drop of blood in the bird beats toward flight and song. In a conscious being this movement toward perfection must take a conscious form. This conscious form is happiness,—the satisfaction of the vital impulse,—the rhythm of the inward life,—the melody of a heart that has found its keynote. To say that all men long for this is simply to confess that all men are human, and that their thoughts and feelings are an essential part of their life.

  Virtue means a completed manhood. The joyful welfare of the soul belongs to the fulness of that ideal. Holiness is wholeness. In striving to realize the true aim of our being, we find the wish for happiness implanted in the very heart of our effort.

  Now what does Christ say in regard to this natural human wish? Does He say that it is an illusion? Does He condemn and deny it? Would He have accepted Goethe's definition: "religion is renunciation"?

  Surely such a notion is far from the spirit of Jesus. There is nothing of the hardness of Stoicism, the coldness of Buddhism, in Christ's gospel. It is humane, sympathetic, consoling. Unrest and weariness, the fever of passion and the chill of despair, soul-solitude and heart-trouble, are the very things that He comes to cure. He begins His great discourse with a series of beatitudes. "Blessed" is the word. "Happy" is the meaning. Nine times He rings the changes on that word, like a silver bell sounding from His fair temple on the mountain-side, calling all who long for happiness to come to Him and find rest for their souls.

  Christ never asks us to give up merely for the sake of giving up, but always in order to win something better. He comes not to destroy, but to fulfil,—to fill full,—to replenish life with true, inward, lasting riches. His gospel is a message of satisfaction, of attainment, of felicity. Its voice is not a sigh, but a song. Its final word is a benediction, a good-saying. "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

Jesus cried and said, "He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.

 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.

 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world"  John 12: 44-47

Earthly Worries

My Friends are fled from mortal eye,
   God sent the just decree;
Let us submit to him on high,
   Who made the Earth and Sea.

I hear again that death has paid,
   A second visit where,
Lately dwelt a virtuous maid,
   And parent’s tender care.

Dear Madam, let your troubled, breast,
   This Earthly comfort find;
God alone can lull to rest
   The widow’s downcast mind.

Late did your worthy partner say,
   From death no one can flee;
Ere many months are pass’d away,
   Our Nancy rests by me.

Clos’d in that spot from public view,
   I’ve pointed out the grave;
Let pious thoughts stern grief subdue,
   Jesus repentants save.

 Adieu! he cried to all around,
   That stood beside his bed;
Sweet mercies to us will abound,
   If we by grace are led.

We know that our redeemer live,
   Beside the God of all;
Who will our errors all forgive,
   If we sincerely call.

Death came mantling on his brow,
   With firmness still he prayed;
O God, on sinners mercy show,
   Ere in the grave we’re laid.

His wife and children now deplore
   Their loss with many a sigh,
And so does many labouring poor,
   With many a weeping eye.

Truly he did assistance lend,
   To those that stood in need,
The orphan in him found a friend,
   A constant one indeed.

"Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.
 For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.
 I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me.
 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel.
 For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.
 But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God.
 My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake."  Psalm 31: 9-16  (KJV)

Mastery

"He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.
Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.
The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil."  Proverbs 19: 17-23 (KJV)

    "Teach self-denial and make its practice pleasurable," says Walter Scott, "and you create for the world a destiny more sublime than ever issued from the brain of the wildest dreamer."

  Seneca, one of the greatest of the ancient philosophers, said that "we should every night call ourselves to account. What infirmity have I mastered to-day? what passion opposed? what temptation resisted?  what virtue acquired?" and then he follows with the profound truth that "our vices will gradually be conquered if they are controlled and avoided every day."

   If you cannot at first control your anger, learn to control your tongue, which, like fire, is a good servant, but a hard master.  

Thomas A. Edison was once asked why  he was a total abstainer. He said, "I thought I had a better use for my head."