Milo

February 15
MY JESUS, I LOVE THEE
William R. Featherston, 1846–1873
We love Him because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
And shall I use these ransomed powers of mine
For things that only minister to me?
Lord, take my tongue, my hands, my heart, my all,
And let me live and love for Thee!
—Unknown
The spiritual depth of “My Jesus, I Love Thee” is made all the more remarkable by the knowledge that it was written by a teenager. William Ralph Featherston of Montreal, Canada, is thought to have written these lines of heartfelt gratitude to Christ at the time of his conversion experience when only 16. It is believed he then sent a copy of his poem to an aunt in Los Angeles, and somehow the text appeared anonymously in print in an English hymnal, The London Book, in 1864.
Several years later, a well-known American Baptist pastor, Dr. A. J. Gordon, discovered the anonymous hymn in the English hymnbook and decided to compose a better melody for it. With its new tune the hymn has since been included in nearly every evangelical hymnal and has been sung frequently by believers everywhere during hushed moments of rededication to God.
How marvelous are the workings of God in bringing together expressions such as these, providing a hymn that has been used in a remarkable way for more than a century to direct Christians to a deeper relationship with their Lord. May these words cause each of us even now to renew our devotion to God so that this love for Christ may be reflected in all of the activities of this day.
My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine—For Thee all the follies of sin I resign; my gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou: If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me and purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree; I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow: If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death, and praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath; and say when the death-dew lies cold on my brow, “If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.”
In mansions of glory and endless delight, I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright; I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow, “If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.”

For Today:

John 14:23; Ephesians 2:4, 5; 1 Peter 1:8; 2:9; 1 John 4:7–21

Express your own love for the Savior in fresh and fervent words; reflect on what He has done for you, what He is presently doing, and the future glory that still awaits. Determine to demonstrate your loving devotion for Christ with an encouraging word or deed for some needy individual.

February 14
I LOVE THEE
An American Folk Hymn taken from Ingall’s Christian Harmony, 1805
O love the Lord, all ye saints. (Psalm 31:23)
Blest be Thy love, dear Lord, that taught us this sweet way,
Only to love Thee for Thyself, and for that love obey.
—J. Austin
Secular songs of romantic expressions abound on this day. For the Christian, a hymn about love is also appropriate for Valentine’s Day, and no sweeter expression of one’s love for Christ can be found than these anonymous lines from an early American folk hymn.
For the early Christians, February 14 was a special day. Tradition tells us that a man by the name of Valentine was a Christian doctor who went about doing good deeds wherever he could, in imitation of his Master. Valentine became a good friend and helper to the Christians, who were being persecuted by the cruel powers of the Roman Empire. It is believed that the good doctor was eventually imprisoned because of his loyalty to his fellow “followers of the Way.” After he was beheaded on February 14, that day was observed each year in Valentine’s honor by the early Christians.
As time went on, however, Valentine and his deeds of kindness were forgotten. Because February was near the beginning of spring, with its feelings of romance, the day became a secular holiday celebrating romantic love. Tokens of love and affection were given to sweethearts and friends, starting the custom that we still practice today.
Dr. Valentine gave his life for his fellow Christians because of his deep love for Christ. We too can express our love for the Savior with these simply stated yet profound words … “but how much I love Thee my actions will show.”
I love Thee, my Savior, I love Thee, my Lord; I love Thee, my Savior, I love Thee, my God: I love Thee, I love Thee, and that Thou dost know; but how much I love Thee my actions will show.
O Jesus my Savior, with Thee I am blest, my life and salvation, my joy and my rest: Thy name be my theme and Thy love be my song; Thy grace shall inspire both my heart and my tongue.
Oh who’s like my Savior? He’s heaven’s bright king; He smiles and He loves me and helps me to sing: I’ll praise Him, I’ll praise Him with notes loud and clear; while rivers of pleasure my spirit shall cheer.

For Today:

Deuteronomy 6:5; 30:20; Luke 10:27; 1 John 4:19

On this special day dedicated to expressions of love, we can make it truly a “holy day” with our love for Christ and by sharing His love and concern for others. Sing this musical testimony—

February 13
MY SAVIOR’S LOVE
Words and Music by Charles H. Gabriel, 1856–1932
Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:2)
Love saw a guilt of sin, and sought a basis of pardon.
Love saw the defilement of sin, and sought a way of cleansing.
Love saw the depravity of sin, and sought a means of restoration.
Love saw the condemnation of sin, and sought a method of justification.
Love saw the death of sin, and sought a way of life.
Love sought—Love found!
—Unknown
Historians have noted that the ancient Greeks expressed three levels of love: Eros Love—a “give me” kind of love; Philia Love—a “give and take” kind of love. “You love me and I’ll love you;” and Agape Love—an “unconditional” kind of love. “I love you simply for who you are.”
Our Savior’s love was agape love in its highest form. He loved us enough to leave heaven’s best, to suffer humiliation and death for a world of rebellious sinners. Only when we are gathered in glory with the ransomed of the ages and see His face will we fully know the meaning of this divine love. In the meantime, however, the scriptural command is that we are to live a life of love that ministers to the needs of others as a “fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
“My Savior’s Love” was written by Charles H. Gabriel, the most popular and prolific gospel song writer of the 1910–20 decade, which was the height of the Billy Sunday/Homer Rodeheaver evangelistic crusades. This song first appeared in the hymnal titled Praises, published in 1905.
I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me, a sinner condemned, unclean.
For me it was in the garden He prayed, “Not My will, but Thine;” He had no tears for His own griefs but sweat drops of blood for mine.
In pity angels beheld Him, and came from the world of light to comfort Him in the sorrows He bore for my soul that night.
He took my sins and my sorrows; He made them His very own; He bore the burden to Calv’ry and suffered and died alone.
When with the ransomed in glory His face I at last shall see, ’twill be my joy thru the ages to sing of His love for me.
Chorus: How marvelous! how wonderful! and my song shall ever be: How marvelous! how wonderful is my Savior’s love for me!

For Today:

John 3:16; 15:12, 13; Ephesians 2:4–7; 1 John 3:16; 4:9, 10

Try to approach each event of the day with this question: “How would Jesus have shown His love in this situation?”

February 12
WHAT WONDROUS LOVE IS THIS
Anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. (Deuteronomy 21:23)
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)
Not father or mother has loved you as God has, for it was that you might be happy He gave His only Son. When He bowed His head in the death hour, love solemnized its triumph; the sacrifice there was complete.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This beloved hymn, with its plaintive modal sound, is one of the best known of our authentic American folk hymns. Like all true folk music, the origins of this text and music remain unknown. It is simply the product of devout people who, when reflecting seriously on the sacrificial gift of God’s Son, respond spontaneously with amazed adoration for this “wondrous love.”
One typical folk hymn characteristic found in these words is the repetition of key phrases such as “O my soul” and “I’ll sing on.” Since folk music is generally learned aurally without the assistance of the printed page or musical notation, such repetition is necessary. Note also how effectively the curving melodic lines enhance the thought and personal application of the words.
The hymn first appeared in 1835 in a collection titled William Walker’s Southern Harmony. These simply stated words with their appealing music have since ministered to people everywhere, extolling the profound truth of Christ’s love for each of us. Allow the hymn to move you to awe even now.
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul! What wondrous love is this, O my soul! What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul, to bear the dreadful curse for my soul.
When I was sinking down, sinking down, when I was sinking down, sinking down; when I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown, Christ laid aside His crown for my soul; Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.
To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing; to God and to the Lamb I will sing; to God and to the Lamb who is the great “I Am,” while millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing; while millions join the theme, I will sing.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on, and when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on; and when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be, and through eternity I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on, and through eternity I’ll sing on.

For Today:

Numbers 21:8; Jeremiah 31:3; John 3:14–18; 1 John 3:1; Revelation 1:5, 6

Reflect once again on the wondrous love of Christ in your behalf. Determine to share your Lord and His wondrous love with another.

February 11
THE WONDER OF IT ALL
Words and Music by George Beverly Shea, 1909–
What is man that You are mindful of him, the Son of Man that You care for Him? (Hebrews 2:6)
What many Christians need today is a rebirth of wonder and awe. We know the gospel intellectually, but it seldom reaches our emotions and will. We take the incarnation, resurrection, ascension, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the eternal reign of Christ merely as theological concepts without letting them grip our inmost being. And the wonder that this great God knows, loves and cares for us doesn’t often thrill us as it should. We even become very blasé when we witness a life that has been dramatically transformed by the love of God. Our spiritual condition can be likened to those Christians at the church in Laodicea mentioned in Revelation 3:14–22: “neither cold nor hot”—just lukewarm. We need to recapture the wonder of it all.
George Beverly Shea, one of the all-time favorite gospel singers, gives this account of the writing of this hymn in his book Songs That Lift the Heart:
England figures in the story behind this hymn written in 1955. I was on my way to Scotland for meetings there aboard the S.S. United States bound for Southampton when inspiration came from conversation with another passenger. He wanted to know what went on at our meetings and after detailing the sequence of things at a typical Billy Graham Crusade meeting, I found myself at a loss for words when I tried to describe the response that usually accompanied Mr. Graham’s invitation to become a Christian. “What happens then never becomes commonplace … watching people by the hundreds come forward … oh, if you could just see the wonder of it all.”
“I think I should,” he answered. Then he wrote these words on a card and handed it back to me: THE WONDER OF IT ALL.
“That sounds like a song to me.” Later that night, I wrote words on that theme and roughed out a melody to go with them.

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There’s the wonder of sunset at evening, the wonder as sunrise I see; but the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul is the wonder that God loves me.
There’s the wonder of springtime and harvest, the sky, the stars, the sun; but the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul is a wonder that’s only begun.
Refrain: O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all! Just to think that God loves me. O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all! Just to think that God loves me.

For Today:

Psalm 8; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Ephesians 2:10; 3:19.

Take time to reflect with awe on the wonder of your personal relationship with the God of the universe. Determine to live throughout the day with this attitude as you think of “the wonder of it all.”