The basis of missionary appeals is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the heathen. We are apt to look upon Our Lord as One Who assists us in our enterprises for God. Our Lord puts Himself as the absolute sovereign supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say the heathen will be lost if we do not go; He simply says - "Go ye therefore and teach all nations." Go on the revelation of My sovereignty; teach and preach out of a living experience of Me.

"Then the eleven disciples went . . unto a mountain where Jesus had appointed them." v. 16. If I want to know the universal sovereignty of Christ, I must know Him for myself, and how to get alone with Him; I must take time to worship the Being Whose Name I bear. "Come unto Me" - that is the place to meet Jesus. Are you weary and heavy laden? How many missionaries are! We banish those marvelous words of the universal Sovereign of the world to the threshold of an after-meeting; they are the words of Jesus to His disciples.

"Go ye therefore . . . ." Go simply means live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. Jesus did not say - Go into Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, but, "Ye shall be witnesses unto Me" in all these places. He undertakes to establish the goings.

"If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you. . . " - that is the way to keep going in our personal lives. Where we are placed is a matter of indifference; God engineers the goings.

"None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself . . ." That is how to keep going til we're gone.

Many with lacerated feet have come back to tell the story and to testify that when the very foundations of earth seemed giving way, He remained whom no accident could take away , no chance ever change. This is the power of the Great Companionship.

Stretched on a rack, where they were torturing him piteously , one of the martyrs saw with cleansed and opened eyes, a Young Man by his side— not yet fifty years old —who kept wiping the beads of sweat from his brow .

When the fire is hottest, He is there. “And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (Daniel 3:25 KJV). “He that is near Me is near the fire.”

That is why the heart of the Divine furnace is the place of the soul’s deepest peace. There is always one beside us when we go through the fire.

When John G. Paton stood beside that lonely grave in the South Sea Islands, when he with his own hands made his wife’ s coffin and with his own hands dug her grave, the savages were looking on. They had never seen it in this fashion. That man must fill in the sepulcher and soon leave it.

He says, “If it had not been for Jesus and the Presence that He vouchsafed me there, I would have gone mad and died beside that lonely grave.” But John G. Paton found his Master with him through the dire darkness.

Sir Ernest Shackleton and two of his companions spent thirty-six hours among the snow mountains of New Georgia, seeking for a station that meant life or death to them and their waiting crew on Elephant Island.

Writing of that journey , he says, “It seemed to me, often, that we were four, not three.” He refers to the “guiding Presence” that went with them. Then in closing he writes, “A record of our journey would be incomplete without a reference to a subject so near to our hearts.”

Paul was not peculiarly privileged when he saw the Living One while en route to Damascus.

Kahlil Gibran, the Syrian, explaining his remarkable modern painting of Jesus, said: “Last night I saw His face again, clearer than I have ever seen it.”

Handel, composer of the “Hallelujah Chorus,” declared: “I did see God on His throne.”

During the terrible stress of war many affirmed positively that they saw “The White Comrade.”

Phillips Brooks testified, “He is here. I know Him. He knows me. It is not a figure of speech. It is the realest thing in the world.”

No distant Lord have I, Loving afar to be; Made flesh for me, He cannot rest Until He rests in me.

Brother in joy or pain, Bone of my bone was He; Now—intimacy closer still— He dwells Himself in me.

I need not journey far , This dearest Friend to see; Companionship is always mine, He makes His home with me.

MALTBIE D. BABCOCK

Never look ahead to the changes and challenges of this life in fear. Instead, as they arise look at them with the full assurance that God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. Hasn’t He kept you safe up to now? So hold His loving hand tightly, and He will lead you safely through all things. And when you cannot stand, He will carry you in His arms.

Do not look ahead to what may happen tomorrow. The same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you His unwavering strength that you may bear it. Be at peace, then, and set aside all anxious thoughts and worries. FRANCIS DE SALES

“The LORD is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1). Not was, not may be, nor will be. “The LORD is my shepherd.” He is on Sunday, on Monday, and through every day of the week. He is in January, in December, and every month of the year. He is when I’m at home and in China. He is during peace or war, and in times of abundance or poverty. J. HUDSON TAYLOR

He will silently plan for you, His object of omniscient care; God Himself undertakes to be Your Pilot through each subtle snare. He will silently plan for you, So certainly, He cannot fail! Rest on the faithfulness of God, In Him you surely will prevail. He will silently plan for you Some wonderful surprise of love. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, But it is kept for you above. He will silently plan for you, His purposes will all unfold; Your tangled life will shine at last, A masterpiece of skill untold. He will silently plan for you, Happy child of a Father’s care, As if no other claimed His love, But you alone to Him were dear. E. MARY GRIMES

Whatever our faith says God is, He will be.

Felt much turmoil of spirit, in prospect of having all my plans for the welfare of this great region and this teeming population, knocked on the head by savages tomorrow. But I read that Jesus said: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations. . . . and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:18–20 KJV)! It is the word of a Gentleman, of the strictest and most sacred honor. So there’s an end of it! I will not cross furtively tonight as I intended. Should such a man as I flee? Nay, verily, I shall take observations for latitude and longitude tonight, though they may be the last. I feel quite calm now, thank God! DIARY OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE

During the terrible days of the Boxer uprising in China, as one report followed another of mission stations destroyed and missionaries massacred, Hudson Taylor sat quietly at his desk singing softly the hymn he loved so dearly: Jesus, I am resting, resting, In the joy of what Thou art.

When our confidence is in God, we may be superior to circumstances.

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). However impossible it may seem to the reasoning of the earthly-minded, it is nevertheless a blessed reality to the trustful child of God that “Faith can sing through days of sorrow: ‘All, all is well!’ ”

“Though I was afraid of many things,” said John Buchan, “the thing I feared most mortally was being afraid.”

Fierce was the wild billow, Dark was the night; Oars labored heavily; Foam glimmered white. Trembled the mariners, Peril was nigh; Then said the God of Gods, “Peace! It is I.” Ridge of the mountain wave, Lower thy crest. Wail of the stormy wind, Be thou at rest. Peril there none can be; Sorrow must fly, Where saith the Light of Life, “Peace! It is I.”

Come into port greatly, or sail with God the seas! RALPH WALDO EMERSON

The blessings of the tribes are ours; for we are the true Israel who worship God in the spirit and have no confidence in the flesh. Zebulun is to rejoice because Jehovah will bless his "going out"; we also see a promise for ourselves lying latent in this benediction. When we go out we will look out for occasions of joy.

We go out to travel, and the providence of God is our convoy. We go out to emigrate, and the Lord is with us both on land and sea. We go out as missionaries, and Jesus saith, "Lo, I am with you unto the end of the world." We go out day by day to labor, and we may do so with pleasure, for God will be with us from morn till eve.

A fear sometimes creeps over us when starting, for we know not what we may meet with; but this blessing may serve us right well as a word of good cheer. As we pack up for moving, let us put this verse into our traveling trunk; let us drop it into our hearts and keep it there; yea, let us lay it on our tongue to make us sing. Let us weigh anchor with a song, or jump into the carriage with a psalm. Let us belong to the rejoicing tribe and in our every movement praise the Lord with joyful hearts.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.

Cast thy burden upon the Lord , and he shall sustain thee.—He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.—Is any among you afflicted? let him pray.

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.—Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.

Are ye not much better than they?—Be not faithless, but believing.—Lo, I am with you alway.

They constrained him, saying, Abide with us.

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?

I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go.

Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

I am come into my garden.

I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain.

Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

The world seeth me no more; but, ye see me.

Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.

Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.—Seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.—Now in Christ Jesus ye who sometime were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.

Lo, I am with you alway.—I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.—The Comforter . . . dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.

Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me.

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.

Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.

I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.

My peace I give unto you.

All power is give unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: . . . and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea.

Though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.—My word . . . shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please.—So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.—Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.—My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.—Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord, Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.

Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house that I have builded?—Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.—Ye are the temple of living God.

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.—To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.

Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.—How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

O Lord , we have waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.

The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.—I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.—Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.—Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord ? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?—Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.—The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.—Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.—Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.—My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.—He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? . . . If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.