John Owen (1616-1683)
A Militant Soul
There is something contagious about the individual who preserves
a militant soul and goes forth to slay the dragons
as bravely and with as much knightly buoyancy and song as the days of earlier
conflict.
Traveling Toward Sunrise copr 1944,1972 by Mrs. Charles Cowman (1870-1960) P. 153
Daybreak Books / Zondervan Publishing House
Vision of God
Patience is not indifference; patience conveys the idea of an
immensely strong rock withstanding all onslaughts. The vision
of God is the source of patience, because it imparts a moral
inspiration. Moses endured, not because he had an ideal of
right and duty, but because he had a vision of God. He “endured,
as seeing Him Who is invisible.” A man with the vision of God is
not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue; he is devoted
to God Himself.
My Utmost For His Highest (May 2nd) by Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
Habakkuk 2:3b
The Disciplines of Life
When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man.
And skill a man To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out-
God knows what He’s about.
untitled and unattributed poem found in “The Disciplines of Life”
by V. Raymond Edman (1900-1967)
Polycarp
I saw the martyr at the stake.
The flames could not his courage shake,
Nor death his soul appall;
I asked him whence his strength was given,
He looked triumphantly to heaven,
And answered, “Christ is all.”
anonymous
“Eighty and six years have I served Christ,
nor has He ever done me any harm. How, then,
could I blaspheme my King who saved Me?….I
bless Thee for deigning me worthy of this day
and this hour that I may be among Thy martyrs
and drink the cup of my Lord Jesus Christ.”
Born AD 69 Died AD 155
