Of the Week

Lilias Trotter was born 164 years ago from the date of this post. She was an English painter and missionary who lived from 1853 to 1928. John Ruskin, a well-known 19th century art critic, said that she had the potential to be "England's greatest living painter." But she gave up this possibility when, in 1888, she traveled to North Africa as a missionary, where she would work and serve till the end of her life. Below is an excerpt from her many spiritual writings. One of the sentences in this selection inspired the hymn "Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus." See if you can spot it. It was in a little wood in early morning. The sun was climbing behind a steep cliff in the east, and its light was flooding nearer and nearer and then making pools among the trees. Suddenly, from a dark corner of purple brown stems and tawny moss, there shone out a great golden star. It was just a dandelion, and half withered— but it was full face to the sun, and had caught into its heart a...

William Borden There must be a definite determination to do God's will—a will to obey. Christ laid down the conditions of discipleship as denying self and following Him, and that is just what is required here. Each one must examine his life and put away all sin, not holding on to anything which the Spirit tells him he should let go. One of the hardest things anyone can have to do is to confess he has wronged another. But we read, "If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Matthew 5:23-24).  We touch upon this matter of confession to others because it has played such a prominent part in spiritual awakenings, and because of the conviction that lack of such confession is the cause of much powerlessness in Christian service. Questions of life-work also need to be met squarely and the inq...