January 4

Anointed . . . with the Holy Ghost and with power. — ACTS x. 38.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. — LUKE iv. 18, 19.

"BY their fruits ye shall know them" is the test which our Lord asked to have applied to himself. When John was in prison and wondered whether Jesus was indeed Messiah, no direct answer was given. The messengers were kept near to Jesus for a time and then sent home with the command to tell what they had seen, from which John was to answer his own question. The Master applied this prophecy to himself and asked the people to believe he was Messiah, not because of what he said, but because of what he did. The best evidence of Christianity is what it does for humanity. Wherever there is good news for the poor, hope for the broken-hearted, deliverance for captives, a better physical life for the masses, there the Spirit of God is at work. The glory of Christ is that he saves men body and soul. Christianity repeats the claim of its Founder: it appeals for acceptance, not to any authority, but to a new life which has come to the world since the Advent. The Spirit is doing the same work through the Church that it did through Christ. Love and service for the children of God always follow the indwelling of the Spirit of God.

Anthony H. Bradford.

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness! Light and life to all he brings, Risen with healing in his wings.

C. WESLEY.