| Tuesday, January 11 Near to the Heart of God Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.
Hebrews 10:22 (NIV) One day in 1901, the much-loved pastor of Chicago's First Presbyterian Church, Cleland Boyd McAfee, was shaken by the news that his two beloved nieces had died from diphtheria. Sitting down in pain and in prayer, he penned the words and music of "Near to the Heart of God." There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God. A place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God. There is a place of comfort sweet, near to the heart of God. A place where we our Savior meet, near to the heart of God. On the day of the double funeral, McAfee sang his newly composed hymn outside his brother's quarantined house. The following Sunday, the First Presbyterian choir sang this song as a communion hymn. It expresses a great truth. In our search for inner peace we often go to resources outside ourselves, but real peace with God is found on our knees as we draw near Him and near to His heart.1 O Jesus, blest Redeemer, sent from the heart of God, hold us who wait before Thee near to the heart of God.
Cleland Boyd McAfee 1Adapted from Near to the Heart of God by Robert J. Morgan (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2010), installment for September 25. Read-Thru-the-Bible
Genesis 32:1-34:31  | 
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