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Daily Devotions

The Bible is a living book. What it is to us depends on what we are to it. If we approach it with unbelief and sneers, it shudders like a wounded thing and closes up its heart, and we gaze only on a cold and gross exterior. We behold the form of its words but discern not the treasures hidden in them. It appears cold and lifeless and repellent, and we go away depressed and unbelieving. ⁠
If we approach it reverently, trustfully and confidently, it opens up to us its hidden depths. It shows to us its wonders. We may see in it unequaled beauties, unfading glories, magnificent vistas of thought; we may hear its voice of love, tender beyond words; we may feel the warmth of its affection, be uplifted by its hopefulness and thrilled with the tones of its joy-bells. ⁠
If we open to it our heart’s door and pour out our treasures of affection, it in turn opens to us a great storehouse, and we may eat and be satisfied, and drink and thirst not. We may revel in its rich perfume, the rhythmic cadences of its music, the splendor of its heavenly light, and to us there is no question whether it is the living truth. ⁠
The Bible is to the Christian what the forest is to him who delights in nature. He who walks through the forest laughing, talking and singing, hears not the sweet notes of the songster nor sees the wild things. He who would see and hear the things that delight the nature-lover must steal softly and silently along, watching his footsteps, hiding in the shadows, and thus he may see nature as she is. Likewise, he who comes to the Bible full of self-importance, with mind and heart self-centered, sees not the natural beauty of the Bible. We must come to it effacing self, seeking not our own but the things of Christ, and we shall find it a mine of spiritual gold, a fountain of living water, a balm for every sorrow, a light in every dark hour—the one and only Book that meets and satisfies the needs of the human soul.⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod ⁠

Your eyes are all right; they will see things all right, but the question is, What is behind your eyes—doubts or faith? That is the thing that really counts. Doubts will magnify your troubles, will make them look very great. Doubts will make your power look very small. They will make your ability to fight look as nothing. They will make you feel like running or surrendering. Faith will not work that way. It will fill you with courage; it will put the song of victory in your heart. Get faith behind your eyes. Look out by faith. Remember that God will fight your battles. Be strong and of a good courage, and you will overcome your foes. But doubts will spoil things for you. Doubts will take away what courage you have. Doubts will ruin you if you let them. So get rid of your doubts. Look to God, believe in Him, trust in Him and the victory will be yours. Take your stand with Caleb and Joshua. Do you remember what became of the spies? The ten doubters died in the wilderness, and their bodies were left there, but the two who had faith went on into the Promised Land and died full of years and of honors.⁠
Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod

When we look at the obstacles in our way, when we look at the troubles that seem to be coming, when we look at the things that are before us, do we look through faith like Caleb and Joshua, or do we look through doubts like the ten? Do your trials and difficulties make you feel like a grasshopper? Does it seem that you would surely be overwhelmed? Does it look as though you could never get through, that you might as well give up? If so, you are looking at things through your doubts just as the ten did.⁠
The people who win, the people who are victorious, are those who look at things through their faith. They do not compare their troubles and trials and difficulties with themselves; they compare them with God. They behold God’s greatness. They behold the things that He has done in the past. They see how He has helped others. They see that they have been helped in the past, that God has stood right by them and helped them through. They get their faith and their eyes working together and then they can see a way out of their difficulties just as Caleb did. “They shall be bread for us,” faith says. “No use to be afraid. Giants don’t count. What is a giant beside God?” Doubts say, “Oh, what shall we do?” Faith takes a new grip on its sword and says, “Come on; let’s go and conquer them.” ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod

But Caleb and Joshua had no doubts. They had faith in God—faith that did not waver. They remembered the Red Sea. They remembered the manna from heaven. They remembered the other things that God had done. They looked at the situation through their faith and, instead of feeling as if they were grasshoppers, they felt themselves more than a match for the giants. The two were not at all frightened. “Why,” they said, in effect, when they came back, “they will be only bread for us. We shall just eat them up. They have heard what God has done among us, and they are too scared to fight. Their defense is departed from them.” Then these men of faith began talking about the other side. “The Lord is with us; fear them not.⁠
What do those fellows amount to since God is not with them? What do their fortresses amount to? Let us go up at once,” said they. “Why, we can whip them with ease.” ⁠
But the people listened to both sides, and their ears heard, but instead of listening through their faith to Joshua and Caleb, they listened through their doubts to the ten and believed them and became very much frightened; in consequence they went to murmuring and complaining because Moses had brought them out there to face such a situation. The result was that they were turned back, defeated by their enemies, and had to wander forty years in the wilderness until all the old ones perished. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible

When the ten saw those sons of Anak, they felt that they were as grasshoppers in comparison with such giants. “Why, we amount to nothing at all,” the ten spies thought. “Those great big fellows could walk right over us.” And when they recalled their sensations, the land did not seem so fine either, and they said, “It is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof.” They did not stop to consider that their own words condemned them. How could a land be such a bad land and yet the people who lived in it be so strong and so great? ⁠
Joshua and Caleb, however, were not to be frightened by the stories that the others told. So they said, “The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.” Numbers 14:7. They also held fast their confidence in the ability of Israel to gain the land saying, “If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.” (Verses 8-9.) ⁠
Now all these men were probably honest. They probably described things just as they appeared to them. What was the difference? The difference was not in their eyes but in that which was back of their eyes. When the ten went through the land and saw the giants, they forgot all about God. It was themselves against the giants, with God left out, and when we leave God out, things look very different. How big those giants looked! “We poor grasshoppers had better be getting out of here quickly. We do not stand any show at all,” they thought. “How could Israel fight with such fellows anyway?” The ten were full of doubts and they looked through their doubts, and their doubts magnified the Anakim. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod

The appearance that things have to us depends, to a great extent, upon the way that we look at them.. Often two or more persons look at the same thing, and each one sees something quite different from what the others see. Persons who see the same thing will often have very different stories to tell about it afterwards and will be very differently affected by what they see. This is not because their eyes differ so much, but because their mental attitude affects the interpretation of what they see. ⁠
A notable example of this is seen in the twelve spies sent by Moses to spy out the land of Canaan. The Israelites had crossed the Red Sea. Their enemies had been destroyed behind them. They had come, at God’s command, almost to the borders of the Promised Land. Here the people camped while the spies went to see the country. They passed through it and viewed the land and the people and presently came back with their report. It was a wonderful land, they agreed, a land flowing with milk and honey. The samples of the fruit they brought back were large and fine specimens. Of course the people were at once very eager to possess such a land, but the question came up, Are we able to do so? What kind of people are they over there? Are they good fighters? Are they courageous? Do they have strongly fortified cities?⁠
As soon as this question was broached, there was a difference of opinion. Caleb said, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” Numbers 13:30. The others, however, did not agree with him, except Joshua. They said, “We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.… And all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (Verses 31-33.) ⁠
Now what made the difference in their views? They all saw the same things; they all saw the same people, but when it came to telling of them, they told very different stories. The difference must have lain in the men themselves. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional

The cure for self-love and the sensitiveness that comes from it is to turn your eyes away from self to Jesus Christ and look upon Him until you see how little and insignificant you and your interests really are. Look upon Him until you see how high above all such narrow pettishness He was, until you see that His great heart was so overrunning with love for others that He had no time to think of Himself. Then ask Him to revolutionize you and fill your heart with that same love, till your eyes and your thoughts and your interests are no longer centered upon yourself and self no longer fills your horizon, but your heart goes out to others, till it quite draws you away from yourself. You will find this the cure for your sensitiveness, and when you are thus cured, you will no longer be an eggshell Christian, and people will no longer have to be afraid of wounding or offending you.⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod

If we are looking for slights, we shall see plenty of them—even where none exist. If we are expecting wounds, we shall receive them even when no one intends to wound us. Self-love has a great imagination. It can see a great many evils where none exist. It is like a petulant and spoiled child. I remember one child, of whom it was said, “If you just crook your finger at him, he will cry.” Thinking that this was an exaggeration, I tried it, and the boy cried. There are some people six feet tall who are hurt just that easily. They are truly “lovers of their own selves.” Paul said, “When I became a man, I put away childish things.” It is high time others were doing the same thing. Suppose Christ had been as sensitive as you are, would He have saved the world? If Paul had been like you, would he have endured the persecution and dangers and tribulations and misrepresentations that he bore to carry the gospel to the world? He was not so sensitive. He was not looking for slights. He was a real, full-sized man for God. The secret is that he loved Christ and others more than he loved himself; therefore he could endure all things for his brethren’s sake that they might be saved. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod

You have sometimes heard it said of people that “they have to be handled like eggs.” Eggs must be handled carefully, or you are likely to break them. Some people are super-sensitive; you have to be very careful what you do or say, or they will be hurt or offended; you can never be sure how they are going to take anything. Such people are much of the time suffering from wounded feelings, are displeased and offended. ⁠
Sometimes people can bear to hear others ridiculed or talked about in a gossiping way, or see them slighted, and think nothing of it or even be amused. But when they themselves become the target for such things it almost kills them, or at least they feel almost killed. What makes this great difference in their feelings? Why do they feel for themselves so much more than they do for others? Trace the feeling back to its origin, and you will find that their self-love is the thing that has been hurt. If they loved others as they love themselves, they would feel just as much hurt by that which was directed against the other as away these excuses and dig down to the root of the trouble, we shall find that God has it labeled “selflove.” ⁠
If we are looking for and expecting slights, ridicule and like things, it means we take it for granted that others are holding a wrong attitude toward us. This is a sure way to destroy fellowship and to take the sweetness out of the association with God’s people. It is unjust to our brethren. It is the foe of unity and spirituality. Were it not for self-love, we would not think of attributing to others an attitude different from that which we feel we ourselves hold toward them. ⁠

Do not run or shrink. If you seem to have no adequate weapon to use against them, trust in God and meet them boldly anyway. That is the way Samson did, and do you remember what happened? Why, after awhile he got honey out of the carcass. Do you want honey out of your trials? You would rather have that then bitterness. Well, you may have the honey if you will face the trial and overcome it. Conquer in the name of Christ. Do not whimper or whine; do not lament or murmur; do not fear or tremble. Face your trials boldly, and the Spirit of the Lord will come mightily upon you as it did upon Samson, and you will conquer. And then, ah, it is then that the sweetness will come; after you have mastered the trial, in the days that follow, sweetness will come, and you will bless God that He ever permitted you to be so severely tried. ⁠
Conflict must always precede victory. The lion must be killed before the bees can build the honeycomb in the carcass. So face your trials boldly and kill them. Then you may taste the sweets of victory. This is the only way, and you are not too weak to take this way. God has promised that He will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able to bear. If you will believe it and do your part God will do His, and you will triumph.⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod

In the thirteenth chapter of I Kings we find another lion story. Here a prophet, sent of God, went to Samaria and prophesied as God had commanded him, and according to the commandment he started back on his way to Judea. God had told him not to eat or drink there but to go back immediately by a different way from that by which he came. He started to obey but sat down to rest by the wayside. While he was here another prophet came and persuaded him to go back and dine with him. Then, as he went upon his way, a lion met him and slew him. ⁠
If the prophet in Samaria had gone in the way that God commanded him, he would not have met the lion that slew him. It was his disobedience that caused the trouble. Sometimes when we are in trials, we realize that it is our own fault that we are tried. Sometimes we may be disobedient; sometimes we may be careless; sometimes it may be this or that, but whatever it is we realize that it is our own fault. That makes the trial harder to bear. But however trials come, whatever is their cause, we must meet them. We have no choice in the matter. The important thing is to meet them right. Daniel knew that he had done right and pleased God and, furthermore, he met his trial with a calm peace and full assurance that God would take care of him, And God did take care of him, and he came through the trial. He was peaceful through the trial and triumphant after it because God was his helper. ⁠
Someone has said that our trials make or mar us. This is true. Either we come out of them stronger than we went in, or we come out of them weaker. We have either joy or sorrow from them. We should meet our trials as Samson met the lion. Face them boldly.⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod

We all remember the story of Daniel—how he was cast into the den of lions and how during the long watches of the night he sat there in their den unharmed. What was expected to be the tragedy of his life proved to be his most glorious victory. The expected triumph of his enemies was turned into their utter defeat, and Daniel, stronger and more courageous than ever, came forth to continue his service to God. ⁠
Daniel was not thrown into the lions’ den because he had not lived right or because he had been unfaithful in something. No, it was his faithfulness that resulted in his meeting the lions. It will be that way in our lives. If we are true and loyal to God, that very loyalty is sure to bring us trials sometimes. Daniel had his choice in the matter. He could have been disloyal and escaped the lions, but he chose rather to be loyal and take the full consequences, whatever they might be. God wants you and me to dare to be Daniels too. He does not want us to swerve an inch from the truth in order to evade any sort of trial. If we are true and, as a result of that trueness, a great trial like being thrown into a den of lions comes upon us and every earthly hope seems shut off and there is no help from anywhere, what shall we do? Despair? Ah no. God will send His angel and shut the lion’s mouth for us just as He did for Daniel. Dare to be true. God will stand by you even in the most trying and desperate hour. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod

The Bible recounts some interesting stories of lions. They are interesting not simply because they are stories of animals but because there are things in connection with them from which we may draw some very striking lessons. The lions of these stories may be likened to our trials. We meet trials every now and then in life and some of them seem very much like lions. They seem very threatening and very dangerous. Sometimes we try to run away from a trial but, as surely as we do, we meet another in the pathway in which we go. ⁠
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Samson had an experience with a lion. As he was going along the road one day he met a lion, and it attacked him. He had no weapons, yet he met it courageously. We are told that “the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid.” Sometime later he was passing that way and found that a swarm of bees had entered the dried carcass of the lion and made their abode there, and he took of the honey and went on his way. ⁠
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It was not a test of his standing true that brought Samson face to face with the lion. He met the beast just by accident. He got into the trouble unwittingly. He had no expectation of it whatever, but the first thing he knew he was face to face with it. That is just the way it happens with us sometimes: we get into a trial without any seeming reason for it; we are not expecting anything of any kind. We are certain to have trials. The important thing is that we meet them properly. Some people imagine that if they live as they should, they ought not to have trials. BUT TRIALS OFTEN COME WHEN IT IS NO FAULT OF OURS.⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod

There is, however, one danger which we must be careful to shun. Sometimes people have their hearts so set on doing some great thing that they miss the little things, the little opportunities that lie close to their hands. Life is made up of a round of little things. The great things only happen at rare intervals. But it is being faithful in the little things that makes us ready for our opportunities for the great things when they come. Christ said, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.” The little things are not spectacular, they do not attract much attention, but they are the things that make up life, and if we are true in these little things, God will trust us with some greater things by and by. It is not wrong to yearn to do more, but that longing works evil, if, in our reaching forward to greater opportunities, we neglect what opportunities we have. It is the fruits we are able to produce, not their blossoms, that count at the harvest. ⁠
Let us, therefore, strive to do all that we can and, if we cannot do all that we would, let us remember that the blossoms that are blasted are not in vain. They serve their purpose. They are well worthwhile, and if we go resolutely and stedfastly on, we shall at last hear the Master’s voice say to us, “It is good that it was in thine heart.” How sweet these words will sound in our ears! How they will soothe our feelings of disappointment at not having done more! Let us press on, therefore, and not be discouraged because we do not see our hopes and plans realized in this world. Let us be strong and of good courage, knowing that God knows all about it. Let us thank Him for such privileges as we have and make the best of our opportunities.⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod

Do you sometimes feel that there is so little, oh, so little! that you can do for the Lord? Does your life seem to count so little for His kingdom, and do you long to be more useful? That very longing is as the odor of sweet incense before the Lord. If you are prevented from doing the things that you would gladly do, if circumstances shut you in like a hedge, if you seem weak when you would be strong, you can still do something. The more of these blossoms of desire you have, even if they never reach fruition, the more your life is beautified and the more the Lord is pleased. These unfulfilled desires work to ennoble our character and to enrich us, provided we do not spend our time mourning and lamenting because we cannot put them into action.⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod

David was a man who loved the Lord, and out of that love came a desire to build the Lord a house. That desire was never realized by David. Making it a reality was left to others. Nevertheless David’s purpose was pleasing to the Lord. In his prayer at the dedication of the temple, Solomon said: “And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.” I Kings 8:17-18. God did not despise the desire, even though He did not permit David to carry it out. As God was well pleased with the desire of David to build Him a house, so He is well pleased with those worthy desires and purposes of our hearts that are never carried out. Whether it be circumstances or surroundings that hinder us, whether it be a lack of wisdom or of ability, whether it be the pressure of other duties, or even if God gives the task to someone else, there is, nevertheless, beauty and fragrance in the desire that is in our heart to do Him service. ⁠
We must not become discouraged and give up hoping and desiring and planning to do something for the Lord, even though so many of our plans fail and our hopes become blighted. We know that it is the sap flowing upward through the tree that produces the beautiful, fragrant blossoms. Likewise, God knows that it is the love in our hearts that produces the desire for service, and that love is precious in His sight. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod

In our yard, a few feet from the door, stands an apple tree. In the early spring, I watched its swelling buds from day to day. Soon they burst forth into snowy blossoms, beautifying the tree and filling the air with their fragrance. There was the promise of a bountiful crop of fruit. In a few days the petals had fallen like a belated snow. As the leaves unfolded and grew larger, there appeared here and there a little apple that gave promise of maturing into full-ripened fruit. But, alas! how few apples there were compared with the number of blossoms with which the boughs had been laden! Most of the blossoms had been blighted and had fallen to the ground leaving nothing behind. ⁠
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“Ah,” thought I, “how like these blighted blossoms are so many of the desires and hopes and plans of our lives! How many of our aspirations are never realized! How many of our plans fail! ⁠
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Every truly saved heart longs to serve. The redeemed heart loves, and love finds its joy in service. How much there is to be done all around us! and how eagerly we would take up the task of doing it! How much we want to accomplish for the Lord! but ah, how little we do really accomplish! How many blossoms of desire we possess! but how little fruit of real accomplishment! Seeing this, we sometimes become discouraged. It does not seem worthwhile to try to do the few little things that we actually can do.⁠
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Do the best we can, so many of our blossoms will be blighted—so many of our plans will fail; so many of our hopes will not be realized; so many of our desires will not be fulfilled. We can rejoice in those that are brought to fruitage; we can rejoice in those that do mature, but how about the blossoms that fall and seem to leave nothing behind them? Do they bud in vain? Do they serve no good purpose in our lives? They are not in vain. The blossoms on that apple tree which were blighted and died were just as beautiful and just as fragrant as those which bore fruit. They served a very real purpose and so do the hopes and purposes that we cherish in our hearts, even though we never see their fruitage.⁠

“He leadeth me beside the still waters.” When I grow thirsty, the river lieth at the foot of the mountain, and down the slope He will lead me, and there in the shade, in the quiet, restful coolness, I shall drink of the waters of quietness and shall be satisfied, and my soul shall delight in Him. The path down which He leadeth me may be steep; there may be thorns along the way, but so long as I permit Him to lead me where He will, He will lead me safely. I must not choose my own way. I must not run ahead of Him. I must not leave the path. I must follow close to Him. I must listen to His voice and He will lead me to the still waters, and there I shall rest in His love. Then, as the evening falleth, He will lead me to His fold, and inside its walls of security I shall rest during the hours of the night. I shall not fear the darkness, for the Shepherd is watching. I shall not fear the wild beasts round about, for they cannot harm me. He will watch over me and bear me up when I am weak. I can rest secure. My shepherd is the Good Shepherd. He loveth His sheep. They are a pleasure to Him. ⁠
Though He sometimes may needs lead by a rugged way, yet I am safe, for He careth for me. He will lead me in the way that I should go. He will enrich my soul with His goodness. Yea, “goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod

The Psalmist says of the Lord, his Shepherd, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures,” or as the Hebrew has it, “in pastures of tender grass.” What a world of significance there is in this little sentence: “The Lord is my shepherd.”
“He maketh me to lie down.” He doth not compel me. That is not the Lord’s method; he findeth a better way. If He compelled me to lie down, there would be no pleasure in it. When a sheep is compelled to lie down it is in fear; it cannot but dread what is to happen to it. So the Lord doth not compel me. He leadeth me in the pastures of tender grass, and I eat until I am satisfied, and being satisfied with the sweet and luscious pasturage, I lie down, content. While the sheep is hungry, it will not lie down in the pasture; it desireth to eat, but when it hath eaten its fill, it lieth down and resteth and is satisfied. So He feedeth my soul day by day; the good things of His kingdom doth He give unto me. He satisfieth my soul with fatness. My soul desireth nothing more than what He giveth. If I hunger, He hath a supply and He giveth me and that with a generous hand. He knoweth all my needs. He supplieth every one that I may be “fat and flourishing, to show that the Lord is upright.”
There are many enemies about, but “he maketh me to lie down.” I am in quietness. My heart is not afraid. The Shepherd standeth between me and those ravening wolves. The lion and the bear cannot harm me for the Shepherd standeth as my Protector. His eye shall watch while I lie down. His ear shall hearken and shall hear the sound of their footsteps if they come near. I trust the Shepherd, therefore my heart is not afraid, and I shall lie down safely. It is trust that enableth me to lie down. If I were afraid, I could not thus rest. I should be watching and fearing and trembling. Every noise would alarm me. I should forget about the green pastures. I should forget the tender grass. But He is watching. He hath His weapon in His hand. He doth not fear my enemies, and while He is watching I do not fear them, for He is strong and mighty. He is greater than my foes. They know it and are afraid. They tremble at His voice. They flee away but I lie safely.

The “why” of life is found nowhere else. Other books tell us many truths about life, yet its depths and meaning find expression and answer in only one Book. It interprets life, and he who reads the interpretation knows that it is true because it is the story of himself, and in himself is the witness of its truth. Men have sought everywhere the secret of life and the things that pertain thereto, but everywhere, save in the Bible, they find only darkness and obscurity and uncertainty. The Bible, however, speaks in no uncertain terms. It speaks the language of Him who knows, and if we reject its voice we are left in a tangled maze out of which we cannot find our way. ⁠
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The Bible outlives all its critics and is triumphant when they are forgotten; it has many times been pronounced dead, but still it lives; it has been called “exploded,” but its power is not dissipated; it has seen all antagonistic theories of the past, one by one, destroyed and rejected. But it still stands, in spite of the critic, in spite of its enemies, and those who anchor their faith upon it need not fear what voice is raised against it. Neither need they fear what weapons are brought to bear upon it, for it is truth, and those who fight against it fight against God and are themselves ruined. ⁠
It is adapted to all people of every race and clime, to the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant. Of no other book can this be said. It is the Book of books, the Book of God. In it God speaks, and my inmost heart knows that it is the voice of my Beloved and leaps for joy.⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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