Sunday
9:30 am. Sunday School
10:30 am. Worship Service  6:00 pm. Evening Service

Wednesday                    7:00 pm. Prayer and Bible Study

By Russ Atmore

I have been reading an excellent little book this week entitled “Keep a Quiet Heart” written by Elizabeth Elliot. Mrs. Elliot is one of my heroes. When all is said and done, Elizabeth Elliot, I believe, must be considered one of the most outstanding Christian women of the 20th century, let alone being an outstanding Christian. It was she who revealed to Christian readership, the outstanding life of her husband, Jim Elliot, through her 2 books on his life, namely; “Through Gates of Splendor”, and “Shadow of the Almighty”. Jim Elliot was speared to death by Ecuadorean Auca Indians in 1956, along with his fellow missionaries. They had made contact with the Auca’s just a few days before their death in the jungle. These Indians had never laid eyes upon white men, and it was Jim Elliot who brought the gospel to them and then gave his life for His Lord. Mrs. Elliot, subsequently went and lived with the Auca Indians, and saw the very men who had slain her husband won for Christ.
Jim Elliot wrote those immortal words, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Elizabeth Elliot has learned the secret of living under the mercies of the Lord. This is where God wants us. It is precisely when the difficulties of life, and the stresses of life come to us that we must abide in the Lord’s mercies. This is no easy thing. I find myself wanting to do things my way. I get impatient and intolerant with my struggles. I realized afresh the other day that “in my flesh dwells no good thing” (Romans 7:18). So often, we rely on our flesh – we think there is some good in it – that somehow there is an ability to handle all that is thrown at us. This is not true. Paul says that nothing good lives in me, not ‘some’ good, just nothing good. It’s time for us to unshackle ourselves from our dependence upon our flesh. Get rid of our fleshly endeavors and motives. It’s time to load ourselves with the mercies of the Lord.
Jeremiah the prophet said, “It is because of the Lord’s (mercies) great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22,23).
The mercies of our Lord are fresh every morning. This speaks of the start of new day. How beautiful is the early morn with its fragrant dew. God’s mercies to us are like that – available brand new every morning. We must learn to appropriate them for ourselves. We must be available to meet with our Lord and receive fresh from His hand these abundant mercies so freely offered to us. Only then will we “keep a quiet heart.”