Real religious activities are activities that use the spiritual, not the mere physical faculties and powers. They are things we get our hearts and our souls into, from a spiritual angle. Real spiritual activity is entering into the needs in a helpful way, comforting those who need comfort, ministering to the poor and the needy, applying balm to wounded spirits, encouraging the discouraged, helping wherever help is needed. These are spiritual activities that will start the song of joy in our own soul.
When we throw light upon the darkened pathway of a fellow traveler, that light is reflected upon our own pathway. When we minister to others, we are ministered to. When we bring joy to them, joy comes to our own hearts. But the trivialities with which so many religious people occupy themselves can never bring real soul satisfaction.
Another thing to note is that it is not the greatness of our labors but their purpose, the earnestness that we put into them and the quality of our own desires that make them worthwhile in results. It is not the greatness of what we do but the spirit we put into the doing. We may never have opportunities such as some others have; we may never have a place of importance or authority. This need not, in the least, hinder us from being as active as those who have more responsibilities and seemingly more or greater opportunities. If we make the most of our opportunities, whatever they are, we shall be happy. It is not how great the vessel but how much of ourselves that we put into it. It is not how great the opportunity but how greatly we rise to it. It is not so much what others think of what we do or how great it may appear in their eyes; it is how much unselfish devotion we put into the doing of it.
The Secret of the Singing Heart by C. W. Naylor
Link for book in bio.
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Life in this age is intense. People live so much in the public that many feel they have no time for quietness. Others are so disturbed in their minds and so constantly under a strain; they are so continually facing real or imaginary difficulties that they have no rest of spirit. God does not want us to miss the quiet side of life. He wants us to be able to sing the songs of quietness that differ from all other songs. Before we can sing these songs we must become quiet and enter into a place of restfulness.
Here is a promise: “Whoso harkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.”
Proverbs 1:33.
We need to come to quietness before God and to see Him as He is and to submit to His will without reserve. Straining and struggling come from rebellion. Submission is the cure for this. If your life is in a turmoil, God’s promise of rest is not being fulfilled in you. It is not God’s fault. You are not giving Him a chance. You may have that rest of soul by deliberately turning away from the thing that prevents your rest and diligently seeking the way that leads to quietness and peace.
There is a way into this secret place. The strange thing about that way is that each of us must find it for himself. Most of us who do not find it do not look for it intently enough. We seem too busy to do this. We should like to be in God’s secret place, but we assume that under our circumstances we cannot be there. There is a road, a short road, from wherever we are, into God’s secret place; that secret place of quietness and rest where He would commune with us and where our hearts can grow tranquil. God wishes His people to be tranquil. Tranquility brings calmness and peace.
The Secret of the Singing Heart by C. W. Naylor
Link for book in bio.
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Life has its adversities. It must need have them. Adversity, pain, sorrow and disappointment are the lathe upon which God shapes us. They are the emery wheel that grinds and smoothes us. They are the polishing wheel that makes us shine. If we can never be happy until we are so situated that nothing which exists may tend to render us unhappy, we shall have little happiness in life. Happiness does not come from a life of ease and indolence. It is not the result of the absence of obstacles and difficulties. Happiness comes from triumphing over them.
Jesus said to His disciples, “In the world ye shall have tribulations.” He told them plainly what was to come; then added, “But be of good cheer—I have overcome the world.”
Dear soul, Jesus knows all about your troubles. He knows every heartache, every difficulty, everything you must overcome, everything you must bear. Trusting in His grace, relying upon His help, you shall soon find your heart filling again with melody, for the clouds will pass away.
Paul asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” Then he adds, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Romans 8:35, 37.
In adversity we sing a different song than we do when we are untroubled. We must join courage to trust. When we do this, we can sing songs of confidence born of our confidence in God’s help. We can sing songs of trust that allay our fears. We can sing songs of anticipation as we look forward to the victories that lie before us and at the crown at the end of the road. We can sing in joyful remembrance of God’s former mercies.
The Secret of the Singing Heart by C. W. Naylor
Link for book in bio.
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod
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As long as we question God’s care of us, we shall feel insecure. It is necessary therefore that we believe God’s promises of our safety; that we cease to question them altogether. We should rely upon them without fear. When we repose implicit confidence in His Word, we may have a sense of safety in His protecting care and realize there is a wall of His love about us that cannot be penetrated by any enemy.
With this attitude of heart, questioning is lost in trust. A sense of security brings comfort and rest. The writer of the old song expressed his confidence, that though his Father has many dear children to look after, “He will never forget to keep me.” That is the attitude of faith. That is the attitude of heart out of which we can sing in safety. This blessed secret of trust is the Secret of the Singing Heart, and until we have learned this and put it into practice, we cannot sing the song of restful trust; we cannot sing from a heart undisturbed.
It is the privilege of every Christian to live in the one hundred twenty-first Psalm. It is entitled ‘The Great Safety of the Godly Who Put Their Trust in God’s Protection.” Get your Bible and read it. Read it over and over; then let your soul establish itself in it, to abide in its security. We must believe that God will keep us and trust Him to do so. Faith is the most prominent element in the Christian life, and the most important element. Every road in the Scriptures leads to faith.
Living today, trusting God for today, realizing His care today and letting yesterday and tomorrow look after the things that belong to them, we may realize the security of our souls in God, and out of that sense of security we can sing songs of triumph and abounding joy.
The Secret of the Singing Heart by C. W. Naylor
Link for book in bio.
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod
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The Psalmist said, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” We must get the discords out of our hearts and out of our voices and out of our relations.
There are people who are out of harmony with their surroundings, out of harmony with the people with whom they associate. Their lives and their voices are discordant. There are some who are discordant only in certain things. They miss certain notes. It is highly important that we learn the art of adapting ourselves to people and to things. We have to get along with people and they have to get along with us, and if these relations are to be joyous, or even bearable, there must be a considerable degree of harmony. We must get rid of those discords that continually arise. Sometimes people make no effort to be harmonious. They go on their way, do as they please, and think as they please, independently of others. The Bible teaches us that “no man liveth unto himself and no man dieth unto himself.” There must be an adjustment of lives to each other, and that adjustment must be such as will produce harmony.
The machinery of life will sometimes get hot bearings. We need plenty of the oil of grace. This will stop the friction. There are ways of avoiding friction with people and friction with circumstances.
Harmony produces a life worth living. In fact, the happiness of heaven results from its harmony. This is true of the home, of the church, of the neighborhood, of the nation. The Psalmist said, “As for me, I am for peace.” Peace is harmony. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers."
We can have the tones of divine love, truth and mercy abounding in our lives; and thus the rich and splendid harmonies of heavenly music will be sounding in our hearts and in our lives.
The Secret of the Singing Heart by C. W. Naylor
Link for book in bio.
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Full salvation takes all sin out of us, but it does leave our dispositions, our physical desires and the desires of the mind, to be brought into subjection and governed. All these things make life a battle. But it may be a winning, not a losing battle, all along the line of life. It will be a battle of victory if we do our part.
It is not God’s will that a Christian be on the defensive all the time. He should not be cornered, fighting for his life. He should wage aggressive warfare against his many foes. God gives us offensive and defensive weapons sufficient that when we use them properly, we need fear no foe. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.” II Corinthians 10:4. We do not use natural weapons, but since our foes are spiritual foes, we fight them with spiritual weapons.
The life of a soldier, in many respects is a hard life. Likewise the life of a Christian has its hard elements in things to be endured, things that will try courage and endurance. We shall be good soldiers of Christ Jesus.
There are songs to encourage us, to create in us enthusiasm, to inspire us. There are songs that flow from the will to win. Let us learn to sing the songs of battle. They will help us on the Christian way. They will cause our foes to fear us.
Then from time to time we shall sing the song of victory, and at last, when the war is over and we have laid down our weapons, join with those above in singing the grand hallelujah chorus of victory through all eternity.
The Secret of the Singing Heart by C. W. Naylor
Link for book in bio.
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We should have faith in our Christian experience. I have seen many downcast, doubting people. When I asked them what is the matter, some said, “I don’t feel right." When I asked, "Why don’t you feel right?" some answered, “I don’t know, but I don’t feel right.”
Perhaps you don’t feel right. Well, what of it? Your emotions are not the test of your spiritual state. Some people feel bad physically when there is very little wrong with them, perhaps nothing of any consequence. Others may feel all right when they are in the grasp of a deadly disease. Just so spiritually. You cannot tell by your emotions what is your relation with God. Your emotions were never intended to be evidences of your spiritual standing. We must stand by faith, learn to exercise faith, learn to live by faith. Judge yourself righteously. Do not let your feelings master your faith. Make your faith master your feelings. As a general thing, when you believe right you will feel right, but very often faith is based on feelings instead of on realities. It does not matter so much how you feel. How are you? This is to be settled by your faith, quite apart from your feelings, and when you settle it, leave your feelings out of the question as evidence.
We should make a practice of building into our lives every day the building blocks of faith; not building blocks of doubts and fears, anxieties and worries. There are plenty of these building blocks of faith to be had. In learning to build with these building blocks of faith, we learn the Secret of the Singing Heart, of a joyful, happy Christian experience, of certainty for the future and just as much certainty for the present.
The Secret of the Singing Heart by C. W. Naylor
Link for book in bio.
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod
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Faith produces the building blocks wherewith we build up life.
Faith manifests itself in or leads to obedience. If we believe God is King and has the right to rule over us, and if we believe the Bible is His law, it will bring us into an attitude of obedience. It will be our joy to do His will. Such faith will end rebellion.
Faith also manifests itself in submission to God. God’s will becomes sweet to us, and this submission to Him becomes a great building force in our lives.
This faith also manifests itself in fidelity and loyalty to principles of right. It makes us willing to sacrifice and to serve and makes service fruitful in joyfulness.
Faith results in honoring God by giving credit to His promises.
Again, we should have faith in God’s respect for us. It is not humility to call ourselves “worms of the dust.” We are men and women. We are sons of God. We are somebody. We are worthy of God. Jesus said, “They shall walk with me in white for they are worthy.” To be sure there is a standpoint from which we should consider ourselves unworthy and unprofitable. That is not an attitude of self-depreciation. It is only recognizing facts. Nevertheless that is only part of the truth. We have wonderful possibilities. We are wonderful beings. God counts us worthy to stand in His presence before His throne. There is therefore no need that we should go through life in sackcloth and ashes bewailing what we are. We should recognize that God respects us and esteems us. He would not have sacrificed His Son for us had this not been true.
The Secret of the Singing Heart by C. W. Naylor
Link for book in bio.
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional
#thesecretofthesingingheart
