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Church of God Evening Light Website The Church of God Evening Light website is a growing site with archives of gospel literature as well as other resources for the Church of God.

When we look at the obstacles in our way, when we look at the troubles that seem to be coming, when we look at the thing...
06/12/2026

When we look at the obstacles in our way, when we look at the troubles that seem to be coming, when we look at the things that are before us, do we look through faith like Caleb and Joshua, or do we look through doubts like the ten? Do your trials and difficulties make you feel like a grasshopper? Does it seem that you would surely be overwhelmed? Does it look as though you could never get through, that you might as well give up? If so, you are looking at things through your doubts just as the ten did.⁠
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The people who win, the people who are victori­ous, are those who look at things through their faith. They do not compare their troubles and trials and difficulties with themselves; they compare them with God. They behold God’s greatness. They behold the things that He has done in the past. They see how He has helped others. They see that they have been helped in the past, that God has stood right by them and helped them through. They get their faith and their eyes working together and then they can see a way out of their difficulties just as Caleb did. “They shall be bread for us,” faith says. “No use to be afraid. Giants don’t count. What is a giant beside God?” Doubts say, “Oh, what shall we do?” Faith takes a new grip on its sword and says, “Come on; let’s go and conquer them.” ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Link for book in bio. ⁠
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devotional

But Caleb and Joshua had no doubts. They had faith in God—faith that did not waver. They remem­bered the Red Sea. They r...
06/11/2026

But Caleb and Joshua had no doubts. They had faith in God—faith that did not waver. They remem­bered the Red Sea. They remembered the manna from heaven. They remembered the other things that God had done. They looked at the situation through their faith and, instead of feeling as if they were grasshop­pers, they felt themselves more than a match for the giants. The two were not at all frightened. “Why,” they said, in effect, when they came back, “they will be only bread for us. We shall just eat them up. They have heard what God has done among us, and they are too scared to fight. Their defense is departed from them.” Then these men of faith began talking about the other side. “The Lord is with us; fear them not.⁠
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What do those fellows amount to since God is not with them? What do their fortresses amount to? Let us go up at once,” said they. “Why, we can whip them with ease.” ⁠
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But the people listened to both sides, and their ears heard, but instead of listening through their faith to Joshua and Caleb, they listened through their doubts to the ten and believed them and became very much frightened; in consequence they went to mur­muring and complaining because Moses had brought them out there to face such a situation. The result was that they were turned back, defeated by their enemies, and had to wander forty years in the wil­derness until all the old ones perished. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Link for book in bio. ⁠
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devotional

When the ten saw those sons of Anak, they felt that they were as grasshoppers in comparison with such giants. “Why, we a...
06/10/2026

When the ten saw those sons of Anak, they felt that they were as grasshoppers in comparison with such giants. “Why, we amount to nothing at all,” the ten spies thought. “Those great big fellows could walk right over us.” And when they recalled their sensations, the land did not seem so fine either, and they said, “It is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof.” They did not stop to con­sider that their own words condemned them. How could a land be such a bad land and yet the people who lived in it be so strong and so great? ⁠
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Joshua and Caleb, however, were not to be fright­ened by the stories that the others told. So they said, “The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.” Numbers 14:7. They also held fast their confidence in the ability of Israel to gain the land saying, “If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is de­parted from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.” (Verses 8-9.) ⁠
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Now all these men were probably honest. They probably described things just as they appeared to them. What was the difference? The difference was not in their eyes but in that which was back of their eyes. When the ten went through the land and saw the giants, they forgot all about God. It was them­selves against the giants, with God left out, and when we leave God out, things look very different. How big those giants looked! “We poor grasshoppers had bet­ter be getting out of here quickly. We do not stand any show at all,” they thought. “How could Israel fight with such fellows anyway?” The ten were full of doubts and they looked through their doubts, and their doubts magnified the Anakim. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Link for book in bio.⁠
⁠
devotional

The appearance that things have to us depends, to a great extent, upon the way that we look at them.. Often two or more ...
06/09/2026

The appearance that things have to us depends, to a great extent, upon the way that we look at them.. Often two or more persons look at the same thing, and each one sees something quite different from what the others see. Persons who see the same thing will often have very different stories to tell about it afterwards and will be very differently affected by what they see. This is not because their eyes differ so much, but because their mental attitude affects the interpretation of what they see. ⁠
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A notable example of this is seen in the twelve spies sent by Moses to spy out the land of Canaan. The Israelites had crossed the Red Sea. Their enemies had been destroyed behind them. They had come, at God’s command, almost to the borders of the Prom­ised Land. Here the people camped while the spies went to see the country. They passed through it and viewed the land and the people and presently came back with their report. It was a wonderful land, they agreed, a land flowing with milk and honey. The samples of the fruit they brought back were large and fine specimens. Of course the people were at once very eager to possess such a land, but the question came up, Are we able to do so? What kind of people are they over there? Are they good fighters? Are they courageous? Do they have strongly fortified cities?⁠
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As soon as this question was broached, there was a difference of opinion. Caleb said, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” Numbers 13:30. The others, however, did not agree with him, except Joshua. They said, “We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.… And all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (Verses 31-33.) ⁠
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Now what made the difference in their views? They all saw the same things; they all saw the same people, but when it came to telling of them, they told very different stories. The difference must have lain in the men themselves. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Link for book in bio. ⁠
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The cure for self-love and the sensitiveness that comes from it is to turn your eyes away from self to Jesus Christ and ...
06/08/2026

The cure for self-love and the sensitiveness that comes from it is to turn your eyes away from self to Jesus Christ and look upon Him until you see how little and insignificant you and your interests really are. Look upon Him until you see how high above all such narrow pettishness He was, until you see that His great heart was so overrunning with love for others that He had no time to think of Himself. Then ask Him to revolutionize you and fill your heart with that same love, till your eyes and your thoughts and your interests are no longer centered upon your­self and self no longer fills your horizon, but your heart goes out to others, till it quite draws you away from yourself. You will find this the cure for your sen­sitiveness, and when you are thus cured, you will no longer be an eggshell Christian, and people will no longer have to be afraid of wounding or offending you.⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Link for book in bio. ⁠
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devotional

If we are looking for slights, we shall see plenty of them—even where none exist. If we are expecting wounds, we shall r...
06/07/2026

If we are looking for slights, we shall see plenty of them—even where none exist. If we are expecting wounds, we shall receive them even when no one in­tends to wound us. Self-love has a great imagina­tion. It can see a great many evils where none exist. It is like a petulant and spoiled child. I remember one child, of whom it was said, “If you just crook your finger at him, he will cry.” Thinking that this was an exaggeration, I tried it, and the boy cried. There are some people six feet tall who are hurt just that easily. They are truly “lovers of their own selves.” Paul said, “When I became a man, I put away child­ish things.” It is high time others were doing the same thing. Suppose Christ had been as sensitive as you are, would He have saved the world? If Paul had been like you, would he have endured the persecution and dangers and tribulations and misrepresentations that he bore to carry the gospel to the world? He was not so sensitive. He was not looking for slights. He was a real, full-sized man for God. The secret is that he loved Christ and others more than he loved himself; therefore he could endure all things for his brethren’s sake that they might be saved. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Link for book in bio. ⁠
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devotional

You have sometimes heard it said of people that “they have to be handled like eggs.” Eggs must be handled carefully, or ...
06/06/2026

You have sometimes heard it said of people that “they have to be handled like eggs.” Eggs must be handled carefully, or you are likely to break them. Some people are super-sensitive; you have to be very careful what you do or say, or they will be hurt or offended; you can never be sure how they are going to take anything. Such people are much of the time suffering from wounded feelings, are displeased and offended. ⁠
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Sometimes people can bear to hear others ridi­culed or talked about in a gossiping way, or see them slighted, and think nothing of it or even be amused. But when they themselves become the target for such things it almost kills them, or at least they feel al­most killed. What makes this great difference in their feelings? Why do they feel for themselves so much more than they do for others? Trace the feeling back to its origin, and you will find that their self-love is the thing that has been hurt. If they loved others as they love themselves, they would feel just as much hurt by that which was directed against the other as away these excuses and dig down to the root of the trouble, we shall find that God has it labeled “self­love.” ⁠
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If we are looking for and ex­pecting slights, ridicule and like things, it means we take it for granted that others are holding a wrong attitude toward us. This is a sure way to destroy fellowship and to take the sweetness out of the association with God’s people. It is unjust to our brethren. It is the foe of unity and spiri­tuality. Were it not for self-love, we would not think of attributing to others an attitude different from that which we feel we ourselves hold toward them. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C.W. Naylor⁠
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Link for book in bio.⁠
⁠
devotional

Do not run or shrink. If you seem to have no adequate weapon to use against them, trust in God and meet them boldly anyw...
06/05/2026

Do not run or shrink. If you seem to have no adequate weapon to use against them, trust in God and meet them boldly anyway. That is the way Samson did, and do you remember what happened? Why, after awhile he got honey out of the carcass. Do you want honey out of your trials? You would rather have that then bitterness. Well, you may have the honey if you will face the trial and overcome it. Conquer in the name of Christ. Do not whimper or whine; do not lament or murmur; do not fear or tremble. Face your trials boldly, and the Spirit of the Lord will come mightily upon you as it did upon Samson, and you will conquer. And then, ah, it is then that the sweetness will come; after you have mastered the trial, in the days that follow, sweetness will come, and you will bless God that He ever permitted you to be so severely tried. ⁠
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Conflict must always precede victory. The lion must be killed before the bees can build the honey­comb in the carcass. So face your trials boldly and kill them. Then you may taste the sweets of victory. This is the only way, and you are not too weak to take this way. God has promised that He will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able to bear. If you will believe it and do your part God will do His, and you will triumph.⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
⁠
Link for book in bio. ⁠
⁠
devotional

In the thirteenth chapter of I Kings we find another lion story. Here a prophet, sent of God, went to Samaria and prophe...
06/04/2026

In the thirteenth chapter of I Kings we find another lion story. Here a prophet, sent of God, went to Samaria and prophesied as God had commanded him, and according to the commandment he started back on his way to Judea. God had told him not to eat or drink there but to go back immediately by a different way from that by which he came. He started to obey but sat down to rest by the wayside. While he was here another prophet came and persuaded him to go back and dine with him. Then, as he went upon his way, a lion met him and slew him. ⁠
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If the prophet in Samaria had gone in the way that God commanded him, he would not have met the lion that slew him. It was his disobedience that caused the trouble. Sometimes when we are in trials, we realize that it is our own fault that we are tried. Sometimes we may be disobedient; sometimes we may be careless; sometimes it may be this or that, but whatever it is we realize that it is our own fault. That makes the trial harder to bear. But however trials come, whatever is their cause, we must meet them. We have no choice in the matter. The important thing is to meet them right. Daniel knew that he had done right and pleased God and, furthermore, he met his trial with a calm peace and full assurance that God would take care of him, And God did take care of him, and he came through the trial. He was peaceful through the trial and triumphant after it because God was his helper. ⁠
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Someone has said that our trials make or mar us. This is true. Either we come out of them stronger than we went in, or we come out of them weaker. We have either joy or sorrow from them. We should meet our trials as Samson met the lion. Face them boldly.⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
⁠
Link for book in bio. ⁠
⁠
devotional

We all remember the story of Daniel—how he was cast into the den of lions and how during the long watches of the night h...
06/03/2026

We all remember the story of Daniel—how he was cast into the den of lions and how during the long watches of the night he sat there in their den unharmed. What was expected to be the tragedy of his life proved to be his most glorious victory. The expected triumph of his enemies was turned into their utter defeat, and Daniel, stronger and more courageous than ever, came forth to continue his service to God. ⁠
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Daniel was not thrown into the lions’ den because he had not lived right or because he had been unfaithful in something. No, it was his faithfulness that resulted in his meeting the lions. It will be that way in our lives. If we are true and loyal to God, that very loyalty is sure to bring us trials sometimes. Daniel had his choice in the matter. He could have been disloyal and escaped the lions, but he chose rather to be loyal and take the full consequences, whatever they might be. God wants you and me to dare to be Daniels too. He does not want us to swerve an inch from the truth in order to evade any sort of trial. If we are true and, as a result of that trueness, a great trial like being thrown into a den of lions comes upon us and every earthly hope seems shut off and there is no help from anywhere, what shall we do? Despair? Ah no. God will send His angel and shut the lion’s mouth for us just as He did for Daniel. Dare to be true. God will stand by you even in the most trying and desperate hour. ⁠
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Heart Talks by C. W. Naylor⁠
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Link for book in bio.⁠
⁠
devotional

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