E. E. Byrum

“ Pure love serves without any hope of reward. When light and peace and joy fill the soul, or when grief, sorrow, or loneliness presses the heart, pure love goes on loving and serving. Pure love desires, not to be pleased, but to please. It gives all and demands nothing in return. It loves God, not so much for what he has done for the soul, or for what the soul expects him to do for it, but for what he IS. It seeks him, not so much that it may be blessed, as that it may be a pleasure to him. ”

“ I learned that the grace and glory or spiritual power that one possesses is not dependent upon outward [311] demonstrations of the body. While one may leap and shout, another person of a different temperament may remain quiet and yet be drinking just as deeply from the fountain of life.
Although many years have passed, yet I have never once doubted the work wrought in my soul at that time. Amidst the deepest trials of life, sorrow, sickness, and adversity, I have found a sweet solace by trusting all away with Him who understands our every need. ”

“ But the happy, innocent days of childhood do not last always: the sun does not always shine, nor the birds sing; neither do [90] the flowers always bloom along our way. Oh, if we could only have been overlooked—many of us have thought in the dreary days of after-life—by Father Time and been left behind to be always in the green, sun-lit fields of childhood, how happy we should have been! But it was not so; and now, since I have found the riches of grace, I am glad it was not so. No one can escape the onward-leading hand of Time. ”

“ I also learned that our kind heavenly Father is not watching for an opportunity to cast us off, but rather he is seeking by the wooings of his gentle Spirit to lead us into green pastures and beside the still waters, where we may nourish our souls and become strong to meet the battles and trials of life. He will show us our shortcomings, but not in a way that will discourage or crush us.
Oftentimes while I was under such crushing accusations, the tempter would say, "How can you ever hope to preach the gospel, when you are so unsettled in your own experience?" ”

“ The next morning as I was offering my thanks to him he said, "Do not thank me, but thank God that he sent his only begotten Son, that through him such poor unworthy people as we should be saved through his love."
"What can this mean?" I answered. "Is there a God that will love such a man as I am?—a man who curses him? a man that stamped his Bible under his feet and fought against him? Is it true that he will love me so?"
The doctor answered, "He died for such men as you, that he might save you." ”

“ Help from God in Fiery Trials EXPERIENCE NUMBER 15
When I think of the great mercy and love of God that follows after a soul and remember that he knows all about the thoughts and intents of the heart, truly I stand in awe before him. Since he knows all and has all power, can we not trust him when we give ourselves into his hands to be molded into his image to shine for him? ”

“ If the Word of God loses its richness, if darkness falls upon the soul, if it is hard to pray, if there is a lack of victory in any respect, there is a reason, a sufficient cause for such a condition. Let it be understood here that the causes are not always, in fact often are not, sins. Much confusion has arisen from imagining that every chastening of the Lord is the punishment of some sin, when, in fact, each of God's sons must endure chastisement that they may become in a fuller sense partakers of his holiness. ”

“ RICHES OF GRACE
The Joy and Blessings of a Christian Life EXPERIENCE NUMBER 1
The pathway of life has its shadows and sunshine, its pleasures and sorrows; and in the Christian life, I am convinced, many people live in the shadow more than in the sunshine, when they could very well have it otherwise. ”

“ Humility will keep you in the right path as love hurries you on after your ideal. Neither the rocks, the thorns, the waves, nor the furnace flames, retard the lover in his race for a perfect life when the vision is kept clear before his soul. ”

“ I did not obtain an evidence of pardon and acceptance for about three weeks, though I sought it with [246] prayer and tears. My burden had become exceeding heavy, too heavy for my strength, and I sank to the floor. While kneeling there I was absorbed in contemplation of the glories of the heavenly world. In an instant darkness, sorrow, and mourning fled away, and peace unspeakable and full of glory took their place. ”

“ I have never denied the power of the blood of Jesus nor 'done despite to the Spirit of grace,'" he replied.
"Then, according to the Bible and your own testimony, you have not blasphemed against the Holy Ghost, nor, as you say, committed the unpardonable sin by sinning against the Holy Ghost. You must forever cease to entertain the idea that you have committed such a sin." ”

“ Yet if, like Elisha's servant, we could open our blind spiritual eyes, how often we might discover myriads of angels waiting only for a submissive spirit and a surrendered will to plant such feet upon substantial ways of blessings and courage instead of the ways of the wounds and thorns and crosses. If I had but the power to tell of some such experiences of my own, I feel it might encourage some other soul to surrender fully to God a life that otherwise has been a failure. There is no doubt that God has ministering servants ever ready to wait on the soul that surrenders to his will. ”

“ He has proved to be a comforter in whom I can safely put my trust when stemming the rising tide of unbelief and doubt.
It is with thanksgiving that I can at the [157] present time recount the divine care of which I have been the object, so far in my pilgrimage through life. I rejoice to be a partaker of the Father's love, which is pure, warm, and changeless. There is an abiding assurance of safety so long as I walk in the path of obedience to his will and trust implicitly in his mighty power to keep my feet while I take steps toward the threshold of heaven. ”

“ The ideal basis of the moral is faith in God and in his Prophet; the moral life, conceived as mainly consisting in external works, is not a fruit of received salvation, but a means for the attainment of the same. Pious works, particularly prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and pilgrimage to Mecca, work salvation directly of themselves. Man has nothing to receive from God but the Word, and nothing to do for God but good works; of inner sanctification there is no thought. Thus, among Islamites today we find, instead of true humility, only proud work-righteousness. ”

“ Neither is the life of a Christian less brilliant and radiant because of the trials and temptations along the way.
The enjoyment of a Christian life is what we make it. The darkest, saddest life ever known, the most dejected person in existence, the one who is surrounded constantly by infamy, blasphemy, and dark forebodings, or that one whose life has been a failure and who through adversity is doomed to spend his days behind prison-walls, can find a haven of rest in this life and in the life to come. It is through the grace of God that such can be accomplished. ”

“ Now, instead of destroying my own life by committing suicide and seeking rest in the grave, as Satan had often suggested, I found sweet rest to my soul in turning to Jesus, and the most earnest desire of my heart is to serve him and do that which is pleasing in his sight. Now it is a pleasant [58] pastime, a joy and pleasure, to read the Bible and religious books, tracts, and papers, whereby I can learn more of the beauties of a life of salvation. May God help sinners everywhere to seek him while he may be found. ”

“ It yields itself to the Author of every good, and, trusting his love, receives thankfully and in deep humility what he pleases to give and as gratefully humbles itself to go without what he does not please to give. "Willingly to receive what thou givest, to lack what thou withholdest, to relinquish what thou takest, to suffer what thou inflictest, to be what thou requirest"—this is pure love and real consecration. ”

“ But a feeling of sorrow can not save, as I proved again and again by repeated failures, and so God, wishing to strip me of anything in which to trust except himself, allowed me not even the satisfaction of tears or a breaking up of heart. He wished to teach me that real repentance is an act of the will and not of the emotions. For a tender heart, one should be grateful, but to trust in that for victory over sin or faults can only lead to repeated failure. ”

“ Making a Complete Surrender EXPERIENCE NUMBER 25
From the time of my conversion in early life I longed to be useful in helping others to find the way of salvation. But my inability and lack of talent was an apparent barrier, and caused me to almost despair of ever being able to accomplish the desire of my heart.
Though I felt that I was a Christian, yet I had a longing in my soul for a closer walk with God. There were times when I had spiritual struggles within and without, and I did not know how to be an "overcomer," as mentioned in the Bible. ”

“ Dark days and shadows of life may come, trials and temptations may present themselves on every hand, the soul may be weighted down with burdens that are heavy to bear, and accusations of the enemy and hours of severe testing may come like a flood; yet for the trusting soul the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against the enemy and lead onward to victory. ”

“ In my youthful days I felt a deep desire to work for God and longed to fill some place in life where I could feel that I not only was living a life of salvation, but was really engaged in my Master's service. As I knelt in earnest prayer and consecrated myself fully to the Lord for him to direct me [15] as seemed best, a dark sorrow filled my heart; for Satan whispered: "You are too young. You can not stand against the powers of evil that all young people must meet. Your covenant with the Lord is too great for you to keep." ”

“ Now though I am supposed to be dead to my family and to my nation, yet I am glad that I am alive for Christ and still preaching the unsearchable riches of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to my own people as well as to the other nations. The Lord has enabled me to preach free of charge to any and every one and to give unto them freely even as I have freely received. This scripture has been very real to me since that time: "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." ”

“ No matter what your sin is or has been, you can have deliverance and peace that the world can not understand. A firm decision and trust in God will take you through by his grace. When trials come, tell the Lord about them, "casting all your cares upon him, for he careth for you." Oh the riches of his grace, the power of his love! ”

“ The joy of heaven filled my soul, and I received the assurance that my name was written in the Book of Life. This was November 5, 1905.
SANCTIFICATION
My soul was perfectly satisfied, and for some time I felt as though all that heaven could give to a human being in this world had been given to me. But later I began to realize the need of something more. I heard teaching on the doctrine of entire sanctification and began to study about it in the Bible. The knowledge thus obtained caused me to seek for the experience, but I did not receive it as soon as I had expected. ”

“ When I awoke the next morning, the peace of God was still in my soul; but Satan faintly whispered, "Perhaps, after all, you were mistaken last night; you may not have a genuine experience of salvation." ”

“ The ethics of Islam bear the character of an outwardly and crudely conceived doctrine of righteousness. Conscientiousness in the sphere of the social relations, faithfulness to conviction and to one's word, and the bringing of an action into relation to God are its bright points; but there is a lack of heart-depth of a basing of the moral in love. The highest good is the outwardly and very sensuously conceived happiness of the individual.
Among Islamites the potency of sin is not recognized; evil is only an individual, not a historical, power ”

“ TESTS IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LIFE
Happy is the child of God who can say that from the day of his conversion he has never sinned nor grieved the Spirit of God. Such, however, has not been the experience of the writer. For several years I was plunged, sometimes within the space of a few hours, from extreme happiness and joy into deepest gloom and sadness. Weeks of walking in the joy of the Lord often terminated in some sad failure, causing untold misery of soul. ”

“ The wise old pastor, with deep feelings of compassion, said: "Good woman, you have carried an unnecessary burden all these years. Your husband knew nothing of your sin; it will do him no good to know of it now, but, on the other hand, a knowledge [322] of it might bring an unnecessary burden upon him, and cause his implicit confidence to give place to suspicion. Why should you thus bring feelings of reproach upon yourself and family? They are a thousand times better off without a knowledge of it. ”

“ About us on every side are veterans of the cross of Christ, those whose lives we admire, whose experiences we covet, but back of them no doubt are the pricking thorns in the form of trials, which have proved to be stepping-stones to the beautiful life of faith and devotion and which have graced their spiritual pathway. ”

“ A few years ago I met a brother who was weighted down with trouble and sorrows much more than with the glory of God, and was much of the time mourning over his trials and temptations, until his lot did really seem to be a sad one. During my Christian experience I had been having sweeping victory over the powers of the enemy, even through the severe trials and temptations, because I had kept my eyes upon the Lord, and had looked for victories instead of trials. ”

“ Although it had been my desire and no doubt his full intention to do what was right, nevertheless this evil habit, if I may call it such, had gained such a foothold in my life and in his life as to be a hindrance to our own spiritual progress and a stumbling-block in the way of others. This habit of faultfinding by those who are claiming to be children of God has caused them to wander from the true paths of righteousness into forbidden paths, and also to turn many others from the path that leads to everlasting life. ”

“ Gross darkness once reigned throughout the land of Egypt, and now fervent prayers are ascending to the throne of God for the light of the gospel to drive the spiritual darkness from the hearts of the people. ”

“ Tell me, what is the source of your happiness?" My reply was, "The source of my [86] joy and happiness is the Christ that you are trying to deny." Tears filled his eyes, and he said to me, "In my public lectures and discourses and with my pen I have tried to influence people against Christianity, but now I have found that Christianity can satisfy and make happy; so I will never use my influence in that way any more." I did not have the privilege of seeing this young man converted, but I am sure that some day I shall meet him in heaven. ”