ual force and financial strength
enough in the hands and hearts of the consecrated Christians of to-day to
bring the coming of Christ, to bring about the evangelization of the world
in a generation, if it were only wisely directed and utilized according to
God's plan.

Christ has laid down a definite plan of work for His Church, and He
expects us to understand it, and to work up to it; and as we catch His
thought, and obediently, loyally fulfil it, we shall work to purpose, and
please Him far better than by our thoughtless, reckless, and
indiscriminate attempts to carry out our ideas, and compel God to bless
our work.

JANUARY 18.

"That take and give for Me and thee" (Matt. xvii. 27).

There is a beautiful touch of loving thoughtfulness in the account of
Christ's miracle at Capernaum in providing the tribute money. After the
reference to Peter's interview with the tax collector, it is added, "When
he came into the house Jesus prevented him," that is, anticipated him, as
the old Saxon word means, by arranging for the need before Peter needed to
speak about it at all, and He sent Peter down to the sea to find the piece
of gold in the mouth of the fish.

So our dear Lord is always thinking in advance of our needs, and He loves
to save us from embarrassment, and anticipate our anxieties and cares by
laying up His loving acts and providing before the emergency comes. Then
with exquisite tenderness the Master adds: "That take and give for Me and
thee." He puts Himself first in the embarrassing need and bears the heavy
end of the burden for His distressed and suffering child. He makes our
cares His cares, our sorrows His sorrows, our shame His shame, and "He is
able to be touched with the feeling of our infirmities."

JANUARY 19.

"Prove me now herewith" (Mal. iii. 10).

We once heard a simple old colored man say something that we have never
forgotten. "When God tests You it is a good time for you to test Him by
putting His promises to the proof, and claiming from Him just as much as
your trials have rendered necessary."

There are two ways of getting out of a trial. One is to simply try to get
rid of the trial, and be thankful when it is over. The other is to
recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger blessing
than we have ever had, and to hail it with delight as an opportunity of
obtaining a larger measure of Divine grace.

Thus even the adversary becomes an auxiliary, and