Poem by George Matheson — Make Me A Captive

Make me a captive, Lord,

And then I shall be free;

Force me to render up my sword,

And I shall conqueror be,

I sink in life’s alarms

When in myself I stand;

Imprison me within Thine arms,

And strong shall be my hand.

My heart is weak and poor

Until it master find;

It has no spring of action sure----

It varies with the wind.

It cannot freely move

Till Thou hast wrought its chain;

Enslave it with Thy matchless love,

And deathless it shall reign.

My power is faint and low

Till I have learned to serve;

It wants the needed fire to glow,

It wants the breeze to nerve;

It cannot drive the world

Until itself be driven;

Its flag can only be unfurled

When Thou shalt breathe from heaven.

My will is not my own

Till Thou has made it Thine;

If it would reach a monarch’s throne

It must its crown resign;

It only stands unbent

Amid the clashing strife,

When on Thy bosom it has leant

And found in Thee its life.

                                                

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow — I Heard Him Call

I heard Him call ----

“Come, follow,” that was all.

My gold grew dim

My soul went after Him

I rose and followed, that was all.

Who would not follow

If they heard Him call?

Him evermore I behold

Walking in Galilee ,

Through the corn-fields’ waving gold,

In hamlet, or grassy world.

By the shores of the Beautiful Sea ,

He touched the sightless eyes

Before Him the demons flee;

To the dead He sayeth, Arise!

To the living, Follow Me!

And that Voice still soundeth on

From the centuries that are gone

To the centuries that shall be.

Anecdote by Peter Marshall — America Confesses

Our father, bring us to the remembrance of Thy people. Tine ancient and time-honored promise: “If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

We ----This company of Thy people assembled -----would begin now to meet the conditions that will enable Thee to fulfill Thy promise.

May all of America come to understand that right-living alone exalteth a nation, that only in Thy will can power and joy be found. But Lord, this land cannot be righteous unless her people are righteous, and we, here gathered, are part of America . We know that the world cannot be changed until the hearts of men are hanged. Our hearts need to be changed.

We therefore confess to Thee that:

Wrong ideas and sinful living have put us off from Thee

We have been greedy.

We have sought to hide behind barricades of selfishness; shackles have imprisoned the great heart of America .

We have tried to isolate ourselves from the bleeding wounds of a blundering world of our self-sufficiency we have not sought Thy help.

We have held conferences and ignored Thee completely

Peter Marshall was a Scots-American preacher twice appointed as Chaplain of the United States Senate.

Poem by Avis B. Christiansen — A Boy’s Tribute to His Dad

Somehow a fellow can’t express

The feelings he has had,

While through the years he’s walked and talked

And laughed and played with Dad.

He cannot put in words the love ---

The pride that wells within,

The admiration in his heart ---

Whene’er Dad looks at him.

Dad is the hero of his dreams,

The king upon the throne,

The pattern for that ideal life

Which he would make his own.

He knows that Dad well understands

The conflicts in his breast,

And shares the problems He must face,

Though often unexpressed.

The pressure of his dad’s strong hand,

The look deep in his eyes,

Speaks volumes to a fellow’s heart,

When cares of life arise.

And when he kneels with Dad in prayer

Before the throne of grace,

The glory of the unseen world

Illumines all the place.

How could a fellow go astray,

Who with his dad had stood

Within the secret place of prayer

Before a holy God!

And this my constant prayer shall be,’       

That until life is done.

My conduct here shall honor him

Who proudly calls me “Son.”

Anecdote by Unknown — Eric Lidell: "Training and Honor"

For months Eric Liddell trained with his heart set on winning the 100-meter race at the Olympics of 1924. Many sportswriters predicted he would win. At the games, however, Liddell learned that the 100-meter race was scheduled to be run on a Sunday. This posed a major problem for him, because Liddell did not believe he could honor God by running on the Lord’s Day.

He bowed out of the race and his fans were stunned. Some who had praised him in the past now called him a fool, He came under intense pressure to change his mind, but Liddell stood firm.

Then a runner dropped out of the 400-meter race, which was scheduled on a week day, and Liddell offered to fill the slot. This was not really “his race” ---- the distance was four times as long as the race for which he had trained diligently. Even so, Liddell crossed the tape as victor and set a record of 47.6 seconds in the process. He had earned an Olympic gold medal, and made an uncompromising stand for his faith.

Liddell went on to become a missionary in China , where he died in a war camp in 1945. He lives in history as a man known more for his inner mettle that for his gold medal.

Anecdote by Unknown — Rosalie Elliot

The moment was a tense one. Rosalie Elliott had made it to the fourth round of a national spelling contest in Washington . The 11-year old from South Carolina had been asked to spell the word avowal. In her soft southern accent she spelled the word, but the judges were not able to determine if she had used an a or an e as the next to the last letter .They debated among themselves for several minutes as they listened to tape recording playbacks. The crucial letter, however, was too accent-blurred to decipher. Finally, the chief judge put the question to the only person who knew the answer.

"Was the letter an  a or was it an e” he asked Rosalie. By this time, being surrounded by whispering young spellers, Rosalie knew the correct spelling of the word. Still, without hesitation, she replied that she had misspelled the word and she walked from the stage.

The entire audience stood and applauded, including some fifty newspaper reporters. The moment was a heartwarming and proud one for her parents. Even in defeat, she was a victor. Indeed, more has been written about Rosalie Elliott over the years than about the “unknown” winner of the event!

Being a person of truth, even when it is against us, will bring great honor.

Poem by Elizabeth Cheney — Overheard In An Orchard

Said the Robin to the Sparrow:

“I should really like to know

Why these anxious human beings

Rush about and worry so?”

Said the Sparrow to the Robin:

“Friend, I think that it must be

That they have no Heavenly Father

Such as cares for you and me.”