PREFACE

Older sheep need better feeding than younger ones ( Hebrews 5:12-14 ) ; we cannot live on milk all of our life ( although many attempt it ). The old disciples are fast approaching a time when they shall almost be in view of Home, and their concern is to be ' ready to depart ' ( Philipp.1:23 ). The old are aware of a decline in many areas of their life, but there is no necessity for spiritual decline. These Readings are written to encourage elderly believers, to help lift the mind onward and upward, - a comfort which only God can give with His Word. May the Spirit work with His Word in us.

None of us knows if we are on the last page of the last chapter of our life in this world, and from that perspective these readings are profitable for all ages.

Rev J.Clark. BA(hons.) MA. BSc(hons) MSc. MEd. MTh.

MAY 1 

" For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet  from falling." Psalm 116:8

David writes these words as he nears the line which divides time from eternity. He looks back on how God has preserved him. There were times of tears, times of slipping into sin, and now failing health and faculties. But what God had been He still is, He cannot change and therefore we cannot perish. The death ahead would be a glorious transformation, from grace to glory. It will be a blessed experience ; " Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord." ( Rev.14:13), says the Voice from heaven. When we come to die, as always, " The Lord will provide." Dying grace will come when dying comes, and not before." The triune God has given us a trinity of deliverances ; our life has been spared, our heart has been uplifted, our course in life has been preserved...Death is vanquished, tears are dried and , and fears are banished when the Lord is near." ( Spurgeon ). Here are David's reasons for continuing in prayer. Let us contemplate more what ' great things the Lord has done for us ' , and so we shall be glad. ( Ps.126:3).

MAY 2

" Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace." Hebrews 4:16.

Those who have grace will visit this throne often, for two reasons : their need and His help. Christ has all things needful for our endurance and happiness. It is only because it is a throne of grace, with Christ the Mediator upon it, that this throne is approachable ( Rom.5;2). Had it been a throne of justice only, we would have been driven away and cast into outer darkness. Those who come by grace for grace, " being drawn by the Father, and made willing to come to Christ, are made welcome by Him,John 6;37. " ( R.Traill). They come as they see Christ as their only Hope ( 1Tim.1:1), their only refuge from the storms of life ( Heb.6:18). They can barely stand and therefore they flee to Him and cast themselves down before Him. " It is the greatest sin of all to count all lost as long as this throne stands, and the Lord calls men to come to it." ( R.Traill)

Whether we feel our need or not, we must come regularly to this throne of grace, to continue in prayer, and to remind us that we can only arrive in heaven by grace upon grace.

MAY 3 

" Lord, I believe, help Thou my unbelief." Mark 9:24.

These two powers are always found together in the believer. Sometimes faith has the upper hand, sometimes unbelief. We need help with both ; help to direct the faith, help to subdue the unbelief. Both lie below the surface, both move unseen at first and then break into consciousness ! Faith in Christ does not always flow strongly, but it always moves, however weakly, towards Christ ; carrying our prayers to Him and His supplies to us ( Philipp.4:19 ). " He who may say of the Lord today that He is his refuge ( Ps.91:2) and his portion ( Ps. 11:5-7), will say at another time that he is cut off ( Ps.31:22) and will ask if the truth of God's promise fails for evermore ( Ps.77:7-9). " ( W.Guthrie).

Despite all attacks upon our faith in Christ, we live and die in faith ; we will not give Him up. We say with Paul, "I know whom I have believed." I know Him and what He has said, and I will believe Him even if no-one else around me does. He will give us the strength to hold on, however weakly. " Great faith takes hold of Christ, and little faith takes hold of Him also."

MAY 4 

" That no man should be moved by these afflictions, for yourselves know that we are appointed thereto. "     1 Thessalonians 3:3.

" He that suffers for righteousness' sake...suffers by the order and design of God. It is not what enemies will, but what God wills, and what God appoints shall be done...This then should be well considered by God's church in the cloudy and dark day, " All His saints are in Thy hand." ( Deut.33:3). God appoints who shall suffer ; suffering comes not by chance.God has appointed when they shall suffer for His truth in the world. The people of God are not in the hands of their enemies, but in the hand of God. God has appointed where ...the good man shall suffer ; Jerusalem was the place assigned for Christ to suffer at. God has appointed what kind of sufferings this or that saint shall undergo at this place, and at such a time. ( Paul was forewarned, Acts 9:16). Our sufferings, as to the nature of them, are all written down in God's book ; and though the writing seems as unknown characters to us, yet God understands them very well."

Advice to Sufferers, John Bunyan.

MAY 5 

" And ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16.

As we grow older we hear of new ways to God and to heaven.Even in the visible church we hear that the old way was good enough for the old days but that way now has to be amended, brought up to date etc. This is a temptation that we all face as we near death, ie. that what God says is not reliable and therefore has to be ' improved.' What God says here in response is that we should hold on to the good way which we were taught by God and give no heed to new teachings. New ways, new paths, do not give rest to souls, but disturb the souls on the straight path.

" Seek not new paths to heaven; keep in the old way in which the old saints, now happy in the enjoyment of their God, went in.If you would get to the place where they are, you must go the same way as they did...The way is pointed out by God Himself to you. Up then, and walk therein. Your way is to a long eternity. The night of death is coming upon you ; be daily moving on, do not loiter in your way. Time goes on, and therefore so do you." ( T.Doolittle)

MAY 6 

" Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him...a faithful Creator." 1 Peter 4:19.

The Creator, says Peter. This reminds us of His irresistible power, His flawless wisdom, His controlling preservation. These are thoughts to comfort us in our suffering. He is faithful to us and shall bring us through to His appointed ending of all our sufferings.Without His sustaining power the church would have died out long ago. But He is faithful to His Son, His church shall be built up and onward in every generation. It shall still be witnessing to Him on earth when He comes back. To be His witness in a hostile world will mean suffering, but He has provided for that also. Nothing is impossible to the Creator." We have a Creator to sustain us, a Creator to oppose our opposers. A Creator who can not only support a dying cause but also fainting spirits. For as He fainteth no nor is weary, so ' He giveth power to the faint.' ( Isaiah 40:29). ( J. Bunyan). We may faint into His everlasting arms, rest and return to the battle of life.

MAY 7 

" And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee." Deuteronomy 8:2.

God says in this passage that He did many things to test us and to keep us humble in the way through this wilderness of a world. This would not have been our choice, we would have preferred an easier passage. But if it had been so we would have missed out on a variety of experiences which proved God's power, faithfulness and deliverances. Moses had a hard time in the wilderness, but how much he saw of God in the way ! As we get older we tend to remember the early days of our pilgrimage, the middle age is but a blur. It is natural to look back, but it is spiritual to use our memories to stimulate the soul into forward looking. We are almost in sight of our Home, and the journey has given us an appetite for more of Himself.( Ps.27:8,10,13,14)." God makes afflictions to be but outlets to the soul's more sweet enjoyments of Himself. When was it when Stephen saw the heavens opened and Christ standing at the right hand of God, but when the stones were about his ears, and there was but a short step between Him and eternity ? " ( T.Brooks)

MAY 8 

" Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. " Luke 2:10.

Good news always and only comes from heaven. It is welcomed every day. The message is that despite all appearances, all is well - Christ reigns, Christ commands, Christ saves. For many this is not good news but for the Christian it is the best news, ' new every morning.' God forgives and then He gives, the sinner receives and is received by God. It is too much for our minds to take in, and we simply remember the A B C's of God's truth. The Bible gives such summaries here and there eg. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. 1 Timothy 3:16. Philippians 2:5-11. Paul exhorts us to keep these facts in our memory

( 1 Corinth.15:1,2).

There are five ingredients in a message, " To be joyful it must be good, it must be a great good ( ie. it does not just have a little effect ), this great good must intimately ( personally) concern those that hear it. " ( W. Gurnall ). The message, being such a surprising one to sinners causes great joy, and its certainty ensures that the joy will not be only temporary. The world has nothing to rival this good news !

MAY 9 

" The eyes of all wait upon Thee, and Thou givest them their meat in due season." Psalm 145:15.

Man fell into sin and ruins when he asserted his independence from God, when the creature cast off his Creator. Man is saved by coming back into dependence, reconciled through Christ to God, coming back into harmony again. This harmony is shown by agreeing with God in all things and praying to obey Him as we ought. The soul needs to be fed as well as the body ; there are a lot of empty souls full bodies going about in full bodies. That may be enough to get through this world, but not enough to get into the next. The soul needs to have Christ dwelling there by faith ( vs.19), set before us as the Forerunner, as the Door, as the One who provides for sinners.

If we are depending upon the Lord we go out of ourselves to Him, this is what prayer does. Plead His promises ( never demand anything ! ) and you will find Him faithful. " Our God is always near the praying soul,vs.18,not merely as the omnipresent Jehovah, but as our faithful Friend.He is attentive to us ; let us lay all our concerns before Him, and respond with gratitude and wonder." ( James Smith ).

MAY 10 

" The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me." Psalm 138:8.

How secure is the believer ? Two answers are given : God's mercy endures forever, and He will never forsake us (vs.8). " But I feel so helpless and vulnerable " - yes, but to feel secure and to be secure are two different things ; try to hold onto the fact and not the feeling. " But sometimes I don't feel I can do anything " - Happily, no-one is saved by works, but only by grace alone ; you can work another day. God gives us a promise that He will perfect what He has begun in us ( Philipp.1:6). Therefore we must not expect perfection here, especially in the stability of our feelings. Each Christian is " a work in progress." ( Ephes.2:8-10).

The Bible teaches ' the perseverance of the saints ', and this includes perseverance in endeavouring to live as saints. The former is the gift of God's grace, the latter is an ongoing struggle. God is concerned with all that concerns us ; He will see to it that all His precious promises shall be fulfilled in our experience. This confidence does not make us pray less, but more (vs.8). 

" Behold in me Thy work, not mine ; for mine Thou shalt condemn. But Thine, when seen, Thou shalt crown." ( Augustine).

MAY 11 

" Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord. " Isaiah 43:10.

This is not something which we become ( after a college course in it ) but something we are at our new birth. Nor is it something we can ever cease to be ( Acts 1:8), as the image of Christ is stamped upon us when we become His people by that faith which follows Him. There has been an effect on us which is visible in our daily walk. This making of us as His witnesses shows great condescension in God towards us, because He knows our weakness and imperfection as witnesses, but He still says " My " witnesses. To bear witness is to express our experience ( vs.10 ) and we are always to be ready to do so ( 1 Peter 3;15). We can speak of the reality of Christ and of His continuing power to save. The basis of our testimony is that Christ has done something in our lives which shall last forever, and therefore we must be eternal witnesses. If we are the work of God, then we cannot cease to be what we are. Some days we are stronger witnesses than on other days, but this is something we cannot retire from. " By the grace of God I am what I am," says Paul ( 1 Corinth.15:10 ie. I am His forever, and it will always show ; God's grace can never fail or be in vain (vs.10).

MAY 12 

" The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord." Job 1:21.

It must have been hard confessing this, believing that ' all things were working out for good ' as Job considers the sudden death of his children. There was no joy in his voice as he wept over his unspeakable loss - how could there be ! Burying your child before you are dead is an experience reserved only for a sad few.

But Job did have One to go, One to whom he could uncover his burdened heart. His children had died, but he had hope that they lived on. It had been a sudden departure for them to heaven, but as it had been heaven he could not wish for their return to earth. Nevertheless, it had been a shock, and he did not have the strength to stand up. But if he must fall down, it shall be in prayer, and he shall call to Him whose Name he knows. He seems to be stuck for words to say ( and no wonder ! ) apart from defending the Lord's character. This we must do, whether in sunshine or storm. He will not change toward us. May we not change towards him.

MAY 13 

" Having been reconciled, we shall be saved through His life. " Romans 5:10.

In a coming day we shall be delivered from sin's presence and pollution, having been delivered from its penalty and reigning power when we believed in Christ ( and thus were justified). Sanctification deals with sin's presence, pollution and continuous rebellion. We do not find sanctification a pleasant business ; it is a process of battles, wounds, healings and advances. However, in this warfare we are fighting a weakened foe ; sin can no longer treat us as slaves. Christ has set us at liberty, but sin still tempts us backwards. Our progress is " three steps forward and two steps back " . ( C.Swindoll) 

The rebellion of indwelling sin will not be annihilated until we leave this world. Meanwhile the struggle continues, with the sighs and groans of Romans 7, but also with contemplation of Christ's promise to work in us toward this final deliverance ( 2 Corinth.3:18). We prayerfully seek to be more like Him ; this is the measure of our progress in sanctification. Whatever stage we are at, sin is not in control, God is !

MAY 14 

" He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  Psalm 91:1.

We tend to imagine that being under God's protection ( which we are ) will exempt us from suffering. We also may not be subject to physical suffering ourselves but may suffer inside mentally as we contemplate the suffering of others and feel powerless to help. It is true that we are also distressed when we can do nothing to abolish our own sufferings. We have only one recourse, prayer,vs.15. There are 11 kinds of suffering listed in this Psalm and God can protect us from their worst consequences. The path to the throne for Christ was one of suffering, and we follow in His steps ( 1 Peter 2:21). 

We are accustomed to walking on flat, smooth paths, but following Christ will mean walking on rugged paths, climbing wearying mountains, finding obstacles in the way and stumbling over them sometimes. There is always a temptation to take a detour ( " By-path meadow " in Pilgrim's Progress), but detours are always found to be worse, eventually, than the designated path to heaven. Many have taken the detours to avoid the " Hill difficulty " and disappeared; they did not return to the path. But the Christian would rather suffer following Christ than not follow,rather suffer in His company than be at ease without Him. There are comforts on this path, but no genuine ones off the path.

MAY 15 

" Leaning upon her Beloved." Song of Solomon 8:5.

How shall we get through this wilderness of a world and get in to heaven at the end ? Certainly not by our own strength, but by leaning hard upon our Guide. He can carry many across ' the river which has no bridge ' ( Bunyan) ; He feels no weariness as we do. As we get older we find increasingly that we cannot stand without leaning. Our legs become unsteady for walking ; this is our spiritual condition also. It is safe to lean upon Him, but rash to think we can advance in our own strength only ; it has never been sufficient, and now we know this more than ever. There are times when the mind is numb and we cannot think straight ; to go forward we must lean on Him, otherwise we shall not go straight but wander.

We are concerned to make progress, when weakness makes us feel that we can hardly achieve it. But God says," I will make a way in the wilderness." 

( Isaiah 43:19) and also " even to your old age ...will I carry you." ( Is.46:4) - this is how we get through, there is no other way but His.

MAY 16 

" The Lord God omnipotent reigneth." Revelation 19:6.

He rules, overrules and controls. If He did not reign absolutely He would not be' omnipotent.' When John wrote this down He was an old man, banished for his faith to the penal island of Patmos, a convict. Yet it was a comfort to him that God was on the throne of the universe - He had not abdicated.It is good to remind ourselves of this when in discouragement and sorrow - God is the only One we can depend upon to maintain us. Enemies of John were still alive, they seemed to be prospering. But justice delayed is not justice denied ; ' it does not sleep.'

The world has a problem ; it is the presence of good in the midst of an evil world. This good, defined by God, they call evil. It is a threat to them, it turns their laws and definitions ' upside down.' They banished John to Patmos, he could no longer speak publicly, but he could write ! " The Word of God is not bound," says Paul. Does Christ have the throne of the heart, the first and highest place ? If so, we are His ; He reigns for our ultimate benefit. His promises are not delayed, they are timed and timely.

MAY 17 

" I have been young, and now am old..." Psalm 37:25.

What had David seen in his lifetime ? He could look back on his own life, and that of other believers, and saw how God had been faithful to him, although he could not say that he had always been faithful to God. It was a life of grace in Christ, free and full forgiveness, with daily faith and repentance. He had lost much, but not what mattered eternally. We get older, we go through changes ( 2 Corinth.4:17, but God never changes, He is with us all the way. David had faced discouragements - there were days when he lived in caves ! But God had kept him alive in Christ, and so he had not given up. He had not given up trusting in God; God had kept him and his faith alive.

God does not forsake those ' righteous ' by faith in Christ, although they may feel that they have been sometimes. But when God gives faith, He also gives trials for faith to go through. He also gives us the strength to get through the trials, and often we feel that there is no strength to spare ( 1 Peter 4:18,19) ! Despite David's inconsistencies God did not cease to care for him. He also provided for him, and so there was no need to go to anyone else but God for the supply of our true needs. God's provision never runs out, and He will hold us up to go on. David had seen much in this world, but the greatest sight was still to be seen in heaven, face to Face.

MAY 18

" For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. " Romans 1:18.

Few people today believe this or that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and that He did it in wrath. What would convince the modern skeptic that God hates sin and intends to punish it ? " If we saw that happening today, a whole city turned to dust and ashes, then we would believe you," they say. No, they wouldn't ! The people who lived near Sodom saw what happened, how God obliterated Sodom from the map, but it did not convince them to worship the God of Abraham. They saw something spectacular, but it did not convince them.

Paul writes that the greatest proof of God's burning wrath is not spectacular, it is an everyday occurrence. It is when He ' gives up ' people ( vs.24) to be their natural selves. They call this ' freedom ', but it is a slavery which leads to inevitable self-destruction. Their 'morality' is to free all things from morality, and make all things subject to socially agreed standards. Soon all is negotiated away so that nobody feels hurt by being judged. But there is one judgement they cannot escape, God's. They may wish it away, vote it away, but it is always there, and soon will be revealed, spectacularly ! People today only want a docile God that they can control, but the true God is otherwise.

MAY 19 

" Why art thou cast down, my soul ? " Psalm 43:5.

Depression is quite common in old age. It can be expected at some stage of the aging process. This is not really surprising as things inside, mentally and physically,are gradually shutting down. Exhaustion comes more easily when there are less resources available to cope with it. But when the Christian is drained of mental and physical energy, trust in God remains, however faint. Movement is sluggish but Christ keeps us spiritually alive, from the inside. He is our Life ( Coloss.3:1-4), and even when we find it difficult to go forward He keeps us looking forward.

In this low condition it is difficult to get our thoughts away from ourselves. We can accomplish little but we have the strength to wait. Our condition is not ' accidental ', God is in control and has His reasons for plunging us into this darkness and numbness. But there is always a crack in the dungeon door to let in just a little light. Be assured that one day the door will open and you will see the sun again. Pray on.

MAY 20 

" Hitherto hath the LORD helped us." 1 Samuel 7:12.

The stone was set up to remind them of this, as we so easily forget what we should remember ( and so easily remember what we should forget). God does not act like a physician who must wait until he is informed and then called to help us. God sees all and is proactive. The devil would like us to believe that God doesn't care. We are also tempted to believe that God is with us because we experience no disturbances. But the disciples found by experience ( and they were later ashamed of their unbelief ) that Christ is with us in the storms of life also. It was wisely said, " Never doubt in the darkness what God has told you in the light." " Behold, God is my Helper ! " ( Ps.54:4 ), said David, and he certainly had been delivered from many dangerous experiences to prove it ! Yesterday God helped us and that is why we are here today, why we have come thus far.There are always going to be difficulties in the way ahead, but God's help never fails. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are engaged on our behalf. The Christian life begins and advances by faith. At no time are we left to advance simply by our own efforts. " By grace are you saved through faith ", all the way ! The Author of your faith will maintain it. His help is constant and unchangeable, like Himself.

MAY 21 

" Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it." Jeremiah 10:19.

We do not retire from griefs in old age. We may want to escape them but even ' disappointments are God's appointments.' We must not mistake the processes in our lives for the result. God has a plan for our life, and it is vital that we remember this. If God did not have a plan, then life would have no meaning. Jeremiah and others have come to the edge of despair because they have loosened their grasp of this truth. Our approach to life must not be one of escape but to prayerfully meet what is coming towards us in the strength only God can give. However, it is indeed a struggle to pray through grief, as Jeremiah himself found, and he was a prophet.

God has not promised to wipe away all our tears on this side of heaven, but He has promised that we ' shall endure to the end.' Somehow, with much beyond our comprehension, it shall be done. The child's faith will hold on to that. God has not failed, this grief had to be in our life, and we must bear it, and God shall bear us. Perhaps we have forgotten that we have been through worse ? And who brought us through it ? We may give thanks, and in advance. What He has done, He shall do again.

MAY 22 

" That I might finish my course with joy." Acts 20:24.

The Lord said that if any would follow Him it would be by taking up his cross and denying himself. A ' course ' is a race and we must run according to God's requirements. It is not easy to run with a weight on your back or to follow a regulation of ( spiritual) self-discipline, but for the sake of finishing our course with joy, it has to be done. There is no other way to follow the Forerunner into glory. We joyfully look forward to Rest after the race is finished, but there may be only fleeting joys until then - as Paul was about to find out. But to finish our course with peace of conscience, that is joy. There cannot be true joy without that. God had this race in mind for us before we were born. He knows our strengths and weaknesses, our gifts and abilities. Whatever He gave us in Christ is sufficient to run that race. We have to keep the finish in mind, God already sees it. Paul was under pressure to change his course as they saw that his present course was going to bring him into confrontation with the world and consequent suffering. But Paul, as we do, would rather suffer for following Christ than live without suffering, without Christ. The milestones of the years pass by and soon the race will be over.

MAY 23. 

" Lord, teach us to pray." Luke 11:1.

This is the response of the disciples when they heard Christ praying. They saw, by comparison, how inadequate their own prayers were, and asked to be taught how to pray. This is our prayer about our own prayers, and we are asking for lifelong teaching, because we are never satisfied here with our prayers. There may be great quantity in the prayer, but it is the quality that bothers us. Many of us were taught prayers as children, but even in old age we are still learning. God commends short prayers ( Eccles.5:2 ) and we have learned with Bunyan, " When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart."

Our ideas about prayer have been corrected as we grew spiritually eg. our prayers do not control God. Prayer is to bring our minds more and more into harmony with God's, something which is not perfected until we get to heaven ( but remains the ideal). Childlike prayers, but not childish, are appropriate. Believe, trust and ask. God's children are always asking ; full of questions, full of needs. But prayer is more than asking, it is praise and thanksgiving, adoration and anticipation...and learning. " Lord, teach us to pray."

MAY 24

" They that wait upon the Lord...they shall walk and not faint. "  Isaiah 40:31.

This is the opposite of being impulsive, but it is not an excuse for doing nothing. They wait for the orders for the day, praying early. This is an encouraging promise, that we shall progress towards our goal. " What a difference it makes when we quiet our heart before God, read His word, talk to Him in prayer, and wait patiently for His strength. He has all the strength we need to keep going." (W.Wiersbe) This of course means that we must spend time with God each day. This alone will keep us from fainting, from being discouraged at our weakness. Different kinds of work need different kinds of strength. There is more emphasis on the physical and the mental in earlier years, now we need the spiritual faculty renewed. The trials are proportionately greater as our strength is weaker, but God has said enough to encourage us to rely on Him. We are afraid of fainting, but even when we forget to lean upon Him, He will catch as we feel our feet stumbling. Wait and walk, trust and put another foot forward. We feel our strength slipping away, beyond recall, but He is always there for us.

MAY 25 

" I will trust and not be afraid. " Isaiah 12:2.

There are times when we are afraid, as David was ( Ps.56:3), and this is the answer to fear. Psychologists are aware of fear inhabiting human nature and they have suggested many remedies, but none of them last, they all fail in the end. We are afraid because of guilt ; we have all done wrong things and there is in conscience an expectation of punishment for it. So we have reason to be afraid. If sin had not entered the world, neither would guilt or its consequent fear. Adam and Eve were afraid and hid instead of seeking forgiveness. God had to call Adam out from his hiding place. This is the good news of the Gospel, there is forgiveness in Christ. It is received by trusting ( faith) in Him, taking Him at His Word, and not in ourselves or other people's religious advice.

A sense of fear will return, especially if we sin deliberately, but this is the answer of peace when we repent, ' peace through the blood of His cross ' ( Coloss. 1:20). The look of faith is to look away from yourself to Him. This is what He says to the sinner, young or old, " Look unto me and be ye saved." His peace is like a river here, opening out into an ocean there.

MAY 26. 

" Give me this mountain. "   Joshua 14:12.

At 85 Caleb believed he could still accomplish things in serving God. He was not discouraged by the failures of others, he had his own individual relationship with God, and that was what mattered. He had seen 40 years of unbelief and unreliability exemplified by many others on the journey. His faith determined that he would not be like them, and so he prayed accordingly. God kept him faithful to the end, no-one else could. The secret of a happy life is always having an aim and pursuing it. There is no higher or more constant aim than to glorify God, and Caleb enjoyed doing it. The apostle John reminds us that faith overcomes the world's opposition to serving God ( 1 John 5:4,5) Caleb was not looking back on his achievements, he was looking forward. Simply looking back can keep us from looking ahead, and hope has a forward look on its face. There will always be challenges ahead, some mountain to get past. Calum's trust and devotion encouraged others as they also met difficulties. Looking to Christ gives us the courage to face life, and beyond death.

MAY 27 

" I have learned...to be content."  Philippians 4:11.

Our circumstances always have the potential to disturb us. When we are placed among new people or new surroundings it causes some distress ; change always does. If we are going to have peace we need it to be based on Who and what does not change. Paul was always on the move and he says that he had to learn this principle,as we must ; it does not come naturally. It is not a philosophy of life, but a power for life. Many are basing their happiness on a world which is passing away, on that which shall be lost. The world around us is unstable, we must pray for inner stability. " I sometimes tremble upon the Rock, but the Rock does not tremble under me," said an old Christian.

To be content does not mean to be complacent but to find rest for the soul, by resting on Christ. " Change and decay all around I see, O Thou that changest not Abide with me." ( H.Lyte). We are surrounded by changes, including alarming changes in the visible church. But Christ our Foundation, and what He has said, cannot change. If we are joined to Him and follow Him, we shall be content ; we are on the right path. We have a choice in distress - shall we trust in God or not ? Surely to ask that question is to answer it.

MAY 28 

" Say not thou, the former days were better. " Ecclesiastes 7:10.

An old friend, speaking of his early life, once said, " If I had to do it again, I wouldn't." But how would our early life be different ? We forget how difficult it was to be young, also how much we lacked understanding and experience. We were not good at taking advice either. We certainly needed strong guidance and a sense of direction, but self and sin were too strong then. It required a power greater than human to take us in hand and direct our path, the power of God. Even as Christians, we tend to think of the past, after conversion, as the ' good old days,' - but who would want to be a baby again ? The Bible says we had to advance from milk to meat ( Heb. 5:13,14.) to go on to maturity, to progress. It would be wrong to think that we were mature Christians in the past. As we grew in wisdom we had to upgrade our thinking each year. ( If we did not, then we stopped growing !) Happily, God is pledged to give us spiritual progress; it is also a mark that we are spiritually alive when we see it in ourselves. Moreover, just as in early life, while we made choices, some very important ones were made for us, by His overruling Providence. Solomon adds that such brooding upon the past is not wise. Let us not forget that the best is yet to come.

MAY 29 

" Who against hope believed in hope. " Romans 4:18.

Abraham, if he thought only of what nature and human power could do, would have had no hope at all that God would fulfill all that He had promised. There would only have been despair, no light in the darkness of the storm. But faith can stand on a hill and see what is coming after the storm, which those in the valley of unbelief below cannot see. Humans have by nature only hope in what they can see or have seen before in their experience, but Abraham had higher grounds for hope, and super-human evidence to convince him that what God had promised He was well able to perform. 

When the Egyptians saw Moses leading out the people towards the Red Sea they saw no hope for the Hebrews - they would be caught between Pharaoh's army and the sea. Their hope was based on the low grounds of appearances. But Moses had heard from and looked to Him who was Invisible ( (Heb.11:27). Moses' hope was not unreasonable. It was reasonable because it was based upon a superior power. Whatever our discouragement, we must pray to look to Him. In our weakness we must cast ourselves upon His strength. And although all seems to be against you, you can still hope in Him and be safe.

MAY 30 

" Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33.

The world is the tyranny of what is imposed and accepted by all as truth and reality. It has a deluding power over minds. " It seizes the child almost at birth ; it holds him firm and firmer as he grows to be a man ; it gets behind his actions and binds its chains upon his standards and ideas, until he is convinced that rebellion is useless, that his great arrogant master is invincible. But Christ came to defy the world and enables His people to do so also. He came to set us free from the gravity and atheism of majority opinions. Few followed Him, few still do. But those who do were those who received great encouragement to continue following Him because He had overcome the world. They tried to end Him and His truth, but He triumphed over the world. He is alive and enlivens others. With pity we look at others in their mental and spiritual slavery, but we must remember that what He did for us He can do for others. By His power of grace, others shall also say when He intervenes in their life,

" My chains fell off, my heart was free,

 I rose, went forth and followed Thee." Be encouraged !

MAY 31 

" We go up to Jerusalem and all things that are written...concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished."  Luke 18:31

Every life has its Jerusalem, to which it must go up. Christ had His own timetable. There are also things written, a biography written in advance, of our own lives. We are also ' going up ' to something. It lies ahead and each day brings us nearer to it. In the case of Christ, it was to be rejected, vilified and crucified at Jerusalem. But He suffered in the path of duty, and that is the safe way for us to follow Him also. What is written concerning us will be accomplished, every detail ; each life is a plan of God. We know that we shall have no future here in this world without some form of suffering. Faith says," I do not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future." Hope concurs and love trusts." O Lord, we beseech Thee mercifully to receive the prayers of Thy people who call upon Thee ; and grant that they may both perceive the things that they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. " ( Prayer of Phillips Brooks)