Who does not know that it is better to be pure and holy than to talk about purity and holiness? Who does not know that a man is to be reckoned no further pure or holy or just than as he is pure and holy and just in the common course of his life? If this be plain, then it is also plain that it is better to be holy than to have holy prayers.

Every sober reader will easily perceive that I don’t intend to lessen the true and great value of prayers, either public or private, but only to show him that they are certainly but a very slender part of devotion when compared to a devout life.

Bended knees, whilst you are clothed with pride; heavenly petitions, whilst you are hoarding up treasures upon earth; holy devotions, whilst you live in the follies of the world; prayers of meekness and charity, whilst your heart is the seat of spite and resentment; hours of prayer, whilst you give up days and years to idle diversions, impertinent visits, and foolish pleasures are as absurd, unacceptable service to God as forms of thanksgiving from a person that lives in repinings and discontent.

Unless the common course of our lives be according to the common spirit of our prayers, our prayers are so far from being a real or sufficient degree of devotion that they become an empty lip-labor or, what is worse, a notorious hypocrisy.

This may serve to convince us that all orders of people are to labor and aspire after the same utmost perfection of the Christian life.

As certain therefore as the same holiness of prayers requires the same holiness of life, so certain is it that all Christians are called to the same holiness of life.

A tradesman is not called to preach the gospel, but every tradesman is as much obliged to be devout, humble, holy, and heavenly minded in all the parts of his common life as a clergyman is obliged to be zealous, faithful, and laborious in all the parts of his profession.

All Christians, as Christians, have one and the same calling, to live according to the excellency of the Christian spirit and to make the sublime precepts of the gospel the rule and measure of all their tempers in common life. The one thing needful to one is the one thing needful to all.

For the Son of God did not come from above to add an external form of worship to the several ways of life that are in the world, and so to leave people to live as they did before in such tempers and enjoyments as the fashion and spirit of the world approves. But as He came down from heaven altogether divine and heavenly in His own nature, so it was to call mankind to a divine and heavenly life, to the highest change of their whole nature and temper, to be born again of the Holy Spirit, to walk in the wisdom and light and love of God and be like Him to the utmost of their power, to renounce all the most plausible ways of the world, whether of greatness, business, or pleasure, to a mortification of all their most agreeable passions, and to live in such wisdom and purity and holiness as might fit them to be glorious in the enjoyment of God to all eternity.

Whatever therefore is foolish, ridiculous, vain, or earthly, or sensual in the life of a Christian is something that ought not to be there; it is a spot and a defilement that must be washed away with tears of repentance. But if anything of this kind runs through the course of our whole life, if we allow ourselves in things that are either vain, foolish, or sensual, we renounce our profession.

For as sure as Jesus Christ was wisdom and holiness, as sure as He came to make us like Himself and to be baptized into His Spirit, so sure is it that none can be said to keep to their Christian profession but they who to the utmost of their power live a wise and holy and heavenly life. This and this alone is Christianity, a universal holiness in every part of life, a heavenly wisdom in all our actions, not conforming to the spirit and temper of the world.

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Bro. Patrick O’Shea Sr.
Promises of God

Bro. Patrick O’Shea Jr.
Sovereignty of God

Saturday, October 10, 2009
Aylmer, Ontario, Canada

Bro. Stephen Hargrave
Who Was Lucifer?

It is generally understood in the world that Lucifer was an angel of heaven, which is the devil.
Isaiah 14:12-17
The devil is so sly and crafty that he has made some people believe that there is no devil.
Lucifer was not in heaven because he wanted to ascend up to where God was.
(verse 16) Lucifer can be seen.
Isaiah 14:4
Daniel 4:4-5,10-32 Proves the Lucifer is actually Nebuchadnezzar.
He did not realize that he was just a base man.
Nebuchadnezzar said in his heart that he was the ruler of the world. He didn’t realize that it’s God who sets the appointed ruler over the kingdom.
There is more than one heaven mentioned in the Bible.
2 Corinthians 12:2-4 The third heaven(paradise)
Genesis 1:1
Ephesians 2:4 Ecclesiastical heaven/ spiritual realm
When the Bible is speaking about heaven, it’s not always speaking about the dwelling place of God.
Luke 23:43
1 Peter 1:3-4
The devil never was where God is. If he was there, then he can get there again.
There’s not enough evidence to believe that the devil ever was in heaven.
Revelation 12:1-11
The following scriptures prove that the woman in Revelation 12 is the church.
Romans 7:4
2 Corinthians 11:2
Ephesians 5:25-27
Revelation 19:7
Revelation 21:9-10
Ephesians 2:6 This woman was in heavenly places.
Acts 4:32
This dragon mentioned in Revelation 12 was the dragon that the morning time church was dealing with, which was paganism.
Revelation 12:7 This war that took place was a spiritual warfare.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Bro. John Strizu
The Fear of Man

We have a problem and that is that we are worried about what people think about us. To some degree that could be good, but to a large degree it could be a hinderance.
Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare.
There are a lot of people who are hindered in their spiritual experience, of what they could do, by a fear of man.
Many people are bound by the fear of man and don’t even realize it.
Matthew 10:28
The Lord still has a plan for your life, a will for you to fulfill and if you’re not careful, you’ll be bound up by the fear of man.
John 12:42-43
Whose praise do you like better? People are afraid of what man thinks and forget about what God thinks.
You can’t please man. No matter how well you testify or pray, there’s always going to be someone who doesn’t like it.
1 Samuel 15:24
What are you moved by? What causes you to do, or not to do the things you do? Who are you trying to fit in with?
Next time you’re tempted to fear man, ask yourself, “What can man do unto me?”
God doesn’t want a bunch of people who are bound up by eachother.
Too often people are more motivated by what people think than by what God thinks.
You will never be able to do anything for God as long as you are bound up by man fear.
Whatever your calling is, move out! Don’t allow yourself to be hindered by the fear of man.

Friday, October 9, 2009
Aylmer, Ontario, Canada

Bro. Randy Hargrave
Being Saved Through the Gospel

1 Corinthians 1:21
We live in a time of no faith.
We need to hear gospel preaching that will save us from this generation.
You’re not strong enough to stay saved on your own.
If you’re going to be saved, it will be through the foolishness of preaching.
You need to be begging God that He will give the message clear and strong to the preacher.
Revelation 14:6
Romans 10:13-14
Nobody has ever been saved without a preacher.
Psalm 119:89 Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven.
We need a preacher that stand in the sun and doesn’t back up in his preaching.
Romans 2:16
Acts 2:37-38,41
Preaching the Word saves from sin.
We need the Book open and poured out upon us.
Acts 9:4
The gospel is a sword. It’s meant to prick.
Acts 10:44
The gospel fills people with the Holy Spirit.
People are healed by the preaching of the Word.
Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is the gospel.
Psalm 75:8,10
Revelation 16:1-2
This cup needs to be poured out upon you repeatedly.
The gospel does two things:it either helps us or condemns us.

Thursday, October 8, 2009
Aylmer, Ontario, Canada

Bro. Daniel Layne
Deceitfulness of Sin

The problem in this world is not because people are ignorant, it’s not because of others, circumstances, or family, but the problem is sin. The reason why people aren’t getting saved is not that they don’t understand, but they want to sin.
Nobody has to sin. People sin because they want to sin.People are not right because they don’t want to be right.
Ezekiel 18:2-4.30-31 The soul that sinneth it shall die.
There’s a way out for anyone that does not want to sin.
You don’t just sin on the outside. You are totally involved when you sin; inside and outside.
1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil.
If you are identifying yourself as a sinner, you are bad.
There are no good, nice, sweet sinners because the devil is not kind or gentle or sweet.
You can go to hell because of one sin and it would be your fault because you are of the devil.
John 8:44
If you don’t give yourself to the devil he can’t have you.
James 4:17 He that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Sin is not an accident. There was careful preparation made by you. You led yourself into that trap.
Isaiah 64:7
Hebrews 3:13
You will pay for every bit of sin. Most of the time people have to pay the penalty even though they are forgiven.
John 15:22
Ecclesiastes 8:11
If you are a sinner, your sins are chasing you and they are going to catch you.
Even just one sin that’s not covered by the blood can keep you out of heaven forever and forever. Don’t presume that God’s going to make some fantastic renovation in the end.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Aylmer, Ontario, Canada

Bro. Daniel Layne
The Blood of Jesus

Exodus 12:3,5-7,12-13
Leviticus 17:11 It is the blood that maketh an atonement for sin.
Where there’s sin there must be the blood to cover it.
Revelation 5:6
Without the blood all there would be is judgment and hell at the end.
1 Peter 1:18
Hebrews 10:4-5
The blood of bulls and goats could never atone for us.
Hebrews 9:14
When you’re washed in the blood of Jesus you’ll be sure there’s something that’s gotten a hold of you.
Matthew 26:28 This is my blood, drink it.
Let the blood be a part of you, pervade your being, let it become you.
This Baby didn’t have A B blood type. It had had H G blood type, meaning Holy Ghost.
Everyone without the blood is hell bound.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Aylmer, Ontario, Canada

Bro. Daniel Layne
True Salvation
Text: John 6:44

Receiving salvation for your soul (getting saved) is not a mental decision, moral transformation, praying, observance of outward tradition, desiring to be saved, raising your hand, or signing a decision card. It clearly does include making a choice and having your life transformed, but the Bible distinctly spells out the process God has laid out for true, Bible salvation. No man can choose his own timing to be saved. The work of salvation begins by the Holy Spirit drawing you and putting a desire to be saved in your heart. He will guide you in the way you need to take towards salvation as you seek Christ. There will be an awakening to your lost condition and a Godly sorrow for the sins you have committed. Godly sorrow works repentance and you will show the fruits of repentance by how you are dealing with your life. When you are saved, the evidence of it will continue to manifest itself in your life as you make restitution for wrongs you have committed and as you continue to move on to sanctification and the ordinance of baptism. God is willing and able to forgive every sinner, but he is not interested in a casual seeking out of a superficial desire for salvation. The process described in the Bible is not necessarily a lengthy one, but for many people with little or no understanding of salvation they will first need to be awakened to their condition by the Spirit before the can make a move to salvation.

Monday, October 5, 2009
Aylmer, Ontario, Canada

Sis. Susan Mutch
True Worship
Text: John 4:24

Worship is a term that is widely misunderstood and misapplied by the religious world. It is a vital element of our service to God and must not be underestimated. The Bible commands us not to forsake the assembling of God’s children – this does not mean to attend the church that suits your style. The command is to find an assembly of true worshipers whose hearts are full of holiness and purity. Worship flows freely from the justified heart in living praise and thanksgiving to the Almighty God. It is not something orchestrated or drummed up by a band or a worship leader. The Holy Spirit is the only leader of true worship. If your heart is full of God, worship will automatically manifest itself in a variety of ways, be it through prayer, song, testimony, lifting of hands, or verbal support of the service. All things done in worship are to glorify God and edify the believers.

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Tonight is the first service of the 11th Fall meeting in Aylmer, Ontario, Canada! We are anticipating great things from God – He never fails to bless His children in unexpected ways.

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In these last days, devotion and zeal have faded everywhere. Many “churches” are even having service only on Sunday morning. At the same time, the entertainment industry is flourishing. God has been set aside while everyone pursues their pleasures. Six or seven days a week, people stream to buy lottery tickets, tobacco, alcohol, and movies. They will spend hours every week surfing the web.

On a worldwide scale, “Christianity” is lukewarm. To go beyond what is convenient in seeking God is not normal. To strive to go beyond average is considered proud. To be radical is thought of as unnecessary. But Calvary was not convenient, normal, or lukewarm. How can we be casual and shallow in our service and devotion to Him, after He went through such extremes for us?

Some people say we should blend in with our society and not be conspicuous. What about being separate from the world? Can sheep blend in with wolves? They just don’t fit in. From the depths of our inner being to our dress, we are light and they are darkness. Light is always conspicuous in the darkness–it cannot blend in. The children of Israel couldn’t help but to stand out in the wilderness. The orderly camp with the moving pillar of fire must have been an amazing sight. There was no other camp in the world like that.

In Revelation 3 God lets us know that He hates lukewarmness. We need to be fervent in our love and devotion to God. What husband would ever only do for his wife specifically what she asked? Love is extreme and will cause one to go beyond what is expected.

The Law of Moses provided for freewill offerings for those who just wanted to give something to the Lord that He had not specifically required. Are you numbered among those who offer sacrifices and praise to God when you are not required to, or must you be led around with a bit and bridle as the horse (Psa. 32:9)?

Let us consider the examples of Levi and Jonadab, how God blessed them for being radical. “And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.”  Mal. 2:4-8.

The reason the Levites were ordained to the priesthood was not that God drew straws and Levi won the draw. There was a reason–“for the fear…” Levi feared above normal. He was not casual about the things of God. He not only feared God himself, but was successful in “turning many from iniquity,” or causing them to fear as well. God honored him greatly for it. His children for thousands of years benefited from his going beyond the normal. They were privileged to be the high priests and go into the holy of holies and see the glory of God. They got to be there when the children of Israel brought in all their sacrifices and offered them up to God. I believe those were great and glorious times, as God blessed them for what they brought in and sacrificed. I believe there were tears at times, and great rejoicing at others. The Levites got to see it all.

Are you concerned about the spiritual welfare of your children? Be like Levi–fear God above the norm.

In Jeremiah chapter thirty-five, we read of the children of Jonadab that obeyed their father’s commands to not drink wine, sow seed, or build houses. God did not scold them for it, rather He greatly blessed them for honoring their father’s commands. The people of our day would have said, “That’s not written in the law. I’m not going to do that.” And they would have missed out on the blessing.

Some have quoted the following scripture, “…If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book…” (Rev. 22:18), trying to justify the practice of not requiring anything of themselves or anyone else that is not expressly written in the Word. This is a grave error. Let us consider the words of the apostle, “And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words.” Heb. 13:22. The apostle here was requiring the saints to allow someone to expand upon the written word, in order to aid in understanding the burden and spirit of the letter. We must follow not only the written commands of the Word, but also follow the spirit and principles that were laid down as well. It was not possible for any of the apostles or prophets to write all of the will of God concerning all of His children for all generations. If they could have, there would have been no need for Moses to appoint judges over tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands, or for the appointed judges as we know in the book of Judges. People could have just looked up their situation in the law and read it for themselves. A large part of the job of secular judges today is applying the laws of the land to the thousands of situations they have to deal with. Not every case is black and white. They don’t add to the laws–they just apply them. So is the practice of real Christians. They will apply the Word to all the situations in every area of life.

In the two thousand years since the New Testament was written, many new avenues of sin have arisen, as well as new practices and customs all over the world. Some applications are obvious, some are obscure. You, dear reader, would do well to take heed to the apostle, and suffer the word of exhortation from spiritual people in our day. It is not those that love God who have a problem with those who “go beyond the written word.” It is those who love themselves and feel condemnation when those who are real Christians show up their hypocritical professions. May the Lord help us to love Him supremely and serve Him with all of our hearts in the midst of a world of people who love pleasures more than God.

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Is there a break down of the fear of God in your family worship? The Bible says that God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints. When you gather your family together, it’s a small assembly of saints. God is greatly to be feared in that assembly. That means Johnny cannot lay on the floor and push around his truck, and Lisa can’t be stretched out on the recliner. Susie can’t bring her juice to sip on, because the fire won’t fall! The children cannot be giggling and interrupting. We must clear some things out of the way. The devil would love to pour buckets of lightness on our family altar to keep the fire from falling.
If there is a lack of the fear of God, go right to the foundation–your own relationship with God. Are you walking in the fear of God day after day? Is your life, your example before the children, holy, holy, holy? It will be difficult to have an exemplary life if you are always joking.
There is a special call to the fathers. “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Eph. 6:4. Ye fathers! Instruct your children! Instruct them how to worship in the fear of God. Instruct them how to sit and how to kneel because, even our very posture indicates and reveals if there’s a lack of the fear of God. Ye fathers, you are given special authority to train your children how to worship.
Faithful Abraham instructed his children. Wherever he journeyed, “he pitched his tent and there he built an altar unto the Lord.” God knew he could trust Abraham fully. Gen. 18:19 states, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord…” Because Abraham taught them, “they shall keep [it] to do justice and judgment.” They will not only hear father and then go and do their own thing. They will DO it! Abraham saw to it that his household followed God. Can God speak so about us? The family altar needs a strong father.

Is there a breakdown of sweet, precious unity in your family altar? That church in your house has to endeavor to keep the unity as much as we do when we assemble with the congregation. We must endeavor to keep the unity in the spirit with our children. We can’t worship with one another if one brother is sitting beside the next and there’s thick air between them, or attitudes and feelings that are negative. How could we worship? How could we expect the fire to fall? It won’t fall! There’s something in the way.
Fathers you must see to it that nobody is at odds with one another. That goes for mother and father too, because we’ll go away empty if that’s how we think we can assemble. The hearts of the fathers turn to those of the children and we have a stronger bond through family worship.
Mention one another’s names in prayer. Mother can say, “Lord we thank you for Father. He’s been faithfully going to work and caring for all of us.” And Father can say, “Lord, we thank you for Jimmy and Johnny and Susie. We’re so glad you gave them to us. Help us to raise them to your glory.” The children will feel that they’re appreciated and all will have loving fellowship in unity. If you find your altar is sagging on this point, you can repair it.

Does the joy for family worship need some repair? “Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.” Isa. 56:7. “Joyful in my house of prayer.”
The children are joyful when they get to go visiting the saints, or fishing with daddy, but when Daddy calls, “Children, time for family worship!” the little faces droop. That altar needs repair. They are not “joyful in my house of prayer.” We want to not fault the children so much for that wearisome attitude. Something has gone wrong.
In the first chapter of Malachi, we read of sacrifices that were brought unfit for the altar and how the priests found the duty wearisome. “For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering…” “Ye said also, behold, what a weariness is it! And ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord…”
One commentator said when cattle don’t like their food, they snuff at it and won’t eat it. Is there any snuffing in your home? “…Ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick: thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord.” You came with half a heart, and a dreary attitude and sat there, not responding, just a dull spirit. “Should I accept that?” asks the Lord. He will not! You’ll get up thinking you’ve done your duty in family devotions, but you’ve deceived yourself.
Fathers, see to it that family devotions is a joyous time. Don’t make it too long and drawn out. Make it short and spicy so the children will have a thirst for more. They’ll beg you to go on a little more. Daddy says, “that will be all for tonight, but tomorrow, Lord willing, we’ll gather again.” The next night Dad calls for devotions, the children put away their toys and say, “We get to hear the rest tonight!”
If you pick up your heels your children will pick up their heels. If you drag your feet, your children will drag their feet. You say, “It’s such a challenge! How do I do it?” Everything that’s worth fighting for takes labor, takes prayer. The Holy Ghost will help us, and we can help one another and ask, “How do you do it? How do you get it to be inspiring?”
Wives, encourage your husbands. If your husband is living the life and trying his best, it’s our duty to support him! Do it openly!
Children and young people, you too have a duty. This family altar needs to be stoked. You have to do your part. You can’t just sit there. Nobody asks a question, nobody has an answer. That’s not very encouraging for Dad. You need to come with a stirring in your soul.
The Lord wants to do something for us. We read in Revelation 8 how the angel (Christ) was standing at the altar sending up incense with the prayers of the saints and how He takes the censor and casts fire into the earth, which is the hearts of men, women, and children. God still is very desirous to pour down fire upon your family altar.
Lift up your eyes fathers, mothers; your home field is white for harvest. There’s work to do! You are living with immortal souls under your roof, and they need daily preparation for heaven. Their character has to be formed into more godliness and their mind directed into more spiritual heavenliness.
You ask why it is not enough for everyone to have their own secret prayer. That would be the easiest thing to do, and secret prayer is extremely important for the children and the parents. All need time alone with God, but it doesn’t take the place of family worship. In the family gathering, you can tell how your children are doing spiritually. You listen to their prayer to see if it’s just a mumbling and always a repeat of the same words and phrases–no heartbeat in it. That child is not doing well spiritually. Praying but not praying. Saying prayers but not praying. They can also learn to pray by hearing you or their older siblings pray.
Listen to the content of their prayer. If it’s very selfish, you can instruct them to not think just about themselves, but to express thanksgiving, to pray for others, the ministry, the persecuted church in other lands, and the salvation of all souls.
Make room for the family altar. If we will not, other altars will be set up in place of it and it will cause us tears and misery, parents! The devil will try to sweep it out the door. “Well, today we go shopping so we’ll skip family devotions, and tomorrow we have singing practice so we’ll get home later and we’ll have to just do away with it.” Whatever you do, going visiting or having visitors, we too easily allow excuses and it ought not to be. That should be one of the last things we’re willing to sacrifice or forfeit. Whether you do it in the morning or whether you do it in the evening, depending on the family schedule, once a day, or twice a day, do it daily as far as is within your power.
“They made me the keeper of the vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept.” Cant. 1:6b. We’re working in the vineyard of the Lord and involved in all kinds of things that are important, but don’t neglect your own vineyard, because it too is the vineyard of the Lord.
Cornelius was likely a busy centurion, yet he feared the Lord with his whole house and prayed always to God.
David was a busy king. One day, after busy public worship, “David returned to bless his house.” He remembered his house.
So we, too, want to keep our own vineyard and have the fire fall on our family altar. We want to make it so that when the time comes for our children to leave home, they will go with a keepsake in their heart; a flame burning in their heart. Maybe it was ignited one time, or many times, at the family altar. We want to give them precious memories of the family altar. That’s a better inheritance than a hundred thousand dollars.
Dear ones, if we will become diligent and repair the family altar, it will help repair us. If we will have a fiery family altar, our children’s souls will be ignited. There’s nothing as beautiful as a holy family gathering around the family altar. Let us take the challenge.

Taken from a message preached by Sis. Elfie Tovstiga in Aylmer, Ontario, Canada in 2008.

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Satan well knew what he was doing when he attacked family values. He took the wives out of the homes, put the children in daycare, and took away the authority of the husbands as heads and providers of the homes. With this disruption of the God-ordained order of the traditional home, societal problems have steadily increased. Moral decadence is evidenced everywhere.

In considering the effect upon women, we look about and witness a tragedy–a generation of women who have demeaned themselves of the virtues that should grace their gender. Well today might someone ask, “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.” Prov. 31:10. Where, indeed, are the respectful women of grace and virtue who can be upheld as role model’s for society? She has become a rarity.

Parents! What happened to your virtuous daughters? Oh, the tragedy of rampant fornication! Is not the pain of the cheap, noncommittal relationships untold?! Sin is ever mounting, with virtue lost, and countless unborn babies being murdered.

From a young age, girls are attired in sensual dress. And their parents allow them to do it! (What will the next generation do?!) Turn back the time clock a number of decades, and such undress would belong to but one type of woman. Good men stayed away from them.

Now the billboards and magazines and malls evidence women allowing themselves to be exploited as sexual commodities to sell anything from cars to jeans. They have sold out. There is little appearance of virtue or grace, especially in our upcoming generation.

Shamefaced women are almost passé. Ladies are no longer ladies, many having become crude-mouthed and overtly sexual in their behaviour. Through their own self-denigrating conduct, they have deemed themselves unworthy of respect from real men. One person wrote, “Until society rejects the use of sex as a commodity and a source of power, many daughters, sisters, wives resemble dime-store hookers. Publications make merchandise of such as you.”

Adding to this deplorable condition are women professing godliness (or shall we better say, professing religiousness?), for they, too, adorn themselves with immodest and sometimes manly dress–pants (tight or otherwise), low-cut tops, form-fitting skirts, and faces painted like the ancient “role-model,” Jezebel. Professing godliness? Professing to be a child of our holy God? The greater shame falls on such as you.

You may say that it is not just the women that brought on this present social condition, and to that I would heartily agree. However, if women would stop lending themselves to such immoral, cheap conduct, including the sensual “packaging” of themselves, and freely living in fornication, the expectations and conduct of others would be forced to change.

Dear women of this generation, it is time to do some re-evaluating. Things are not as they should be. Arise and make the difference–for yourself and for the daughters that follow. Womanhood, as God intended, is nobler and higher than this. &

Sis. Susan Mutch

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This ought to be the cry of all of God’s people, especially in this our time, when Satan and his hosts flaunt themselves to be the bold and daring ones. There is a world to be won for Christ; there are scattered saints to be gathered home to the one fold; there are bulwarks of false religion to be battered down; and all this must be done before time is swallowed up into eternity. “Put on thy strength, O Zion…shake thyself…arise!” We are yet too fearful, too timid, too careful, and too “wise.” While we shrink back from performing our task, Satan boldly steps forward regardless of what anybody says or thinks. That will never do! Boldness must meet with boldness. We must jar the enemy into reality and show him with whom he has to do.

Holy boldness has always characterized God’s people. It marked the preaching of John the Baptist. Whether it thundered across the countryside, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” or struck its target in the palace of King Herod, “It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife,” his voice was invincible. Similarly, boldness was an ingredient in the lives of the apostles. When commanded by the chief priests and elders not to speak in the name of Jesus, they responded with a fiery prayer for boldness quoted in our text above. Compromising spirits would readily have replaced the name of Jesus with a less “offensive” expression such as “the higher power” or “mother nature,” but the apostles would not bow to such cowardly absurdity. Cowardice cannot live in flaming hearts that are lifted up to God in prayer. Such hearts get filled with the Holy Ghost, who in turn fills such lives with brazen acts that turn the world upside-down.

Without question, holy boldness was stamped on the face of every spiritual reformer throughout the ages. The saints of the 1880 Reformation had a special commission to spread the truth on the one body of Christ, a truth fiercely hated and attacked by the devil and his sect-loving adherents. Once more, boldness was the need of the hour. Mother Sarah Smith possessed it and declared, “God took all the shrink and fear of men and devils out of me.” Bro. Warner, in whose trust this divine work was laid, promised “Babylon and all her concomitants…nothing but fire, sword, and hammer, and confounding blasts from the armory of God’s Word.” Bless God for these saints. They loved the praise of God more than the praise of men.

Now here we are. Will we flinch in the face of man-fearing spirits, peer-fearing spirits, reproach-fearing spirits, and what other fearing spirits there may be in the air? “God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power” (2 Tim. 1:7). Oh, that God would grant us a fresh outpouring of this spirit of power!

What produces boldness? Firstly, holiness is the groundwork of boldness. “The righteous are bold as a lion” (Prov. 28:1). Then, having close communion with God and knowing Him intimately will kindle more of this blazing element, for “when they saw the boldness of Peter and John…they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). Accordingly, “the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits” (Dan. 11:32). Exploits are bold, daring acts, like living pure and holy lives in this wicked world and standing firm and true for God in the face of opposition. In fact, persecution actually elicits boldness. Paul’s imprisonment caused the brethren to grow confident and to be “much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Phil. 1:14). Thus we read repeatedly in the scriptures, that when the enemy was stirred up, the saints grew bold in the Lord, who then “gave testimony unto the world of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands” (Acts 14:3).

Lastly, boldness increases as spiritual vision increases. When we see how sin is exceeding sinful, we grow bolder in rebuking it. A fuller understanding of the truth will cause us to wax bold in exposing error. A clearer vision of the church will prompt a bolder stand against false religion. A keen perception of the brevity of time and of the approaching Day of Judgment will trigger a boldness in our dealing with lost souls, and will embolden us, for our own soul’s sake, to resist temptations and to press the battle to the gate. A life of ducking and dodging here, will find us quailing over there. Hence, if we wish to have “boldness in the day of judgment” (1 John 4:17), we will have to have a good supply of it here and now.

“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were ALL filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:31. We dare not say, “This is not for me.” This is for all of God’s children. The Lord is as willing to answer prayer now as He answered then. Let us come “boldly unto the throne of grace” with our need of boldness, so that “we may boldly say,” in the face of each task, trial, and threatening foe, “the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Heb. 13:6).

Sis. Elfie Tovstiga

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The apostle Paul states, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” 1 Cor. 15:33. In this verse the Greek word “communications” has the meaning of “companionship.” Many parents would shudder at the thought of their children closely associating with murderers, profligates, and other criminals on the street, but do not realize that their children are already intimately “befriended” by these characters through the games they play and the dolls they use! Thus multitudes of children have utterly atrocious companions, the admiration and affection for whom fills their hearts and minds. Is it any wonder children are being corrupted?

Often it is said, “Oh, but he is just a child,” thus trying to excuse actions performed in play that would be unacceptable were they actually performed in “real life.” One big folly of such reasoning is, that for children, play is very real. While an adult can, in many cases, pick up a game or toy and then lay it aside without retaining much effect on his mind, a child is vulnerable to indelible marks on his character left by his play.

After children engross themselves in highly addictive computer and video games with an all-pervading emphasis on bloodshed and killing, how could any rational parent wonder why their child murdered his classmates or others? After being subjected to years of Barbie doll play, should parents be bewildered when their daughter is with child, even before reaching an age suitable for marriage?

The training of children for heaven means causing children to live saintly in all stages of childhood and adolescence. It is ridiculous for parents to buy toy guns for their boys to play war games with, expecting that they will eventually embrace the Biblical standard of nonviolence in later life without any scruple. In like manner, if children are not to fall prey to the vicious clutch of the worldly spirits which advocate racing cars, limousines, and other vehicles utterly incompatible with the Holy Spirit, should they be supplied with toy cars of this nature, and then be expected to shun all pride and ostentation when they buy their first “real” car? Nor do saints’ children pretend to be characters they could not rightfully be in “real” life (eg., racers, professional athletes, policemen, soldiers, and others). While it is not wrong for children to use their imagination in play, it must reflect reality and holiness. This Biblical principle also entirely rules out monsters and other unearthly conceptions from children’s play.

Pro. 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go [in later life]…” All too many parents, after years of spiritual unawareness and carelessness, awaken to find that their little children have become adolescents and young adults whose hearts and minds are ingrained with worldliness and sinfulness. At this point many parents spring to frantic action to recover the damage, only to find that once-tender hearts are now indivertable from illicit affections.

O parents, be careful what toys and activities occupy your children, and remember that now is the time to instruct your children in the way of holiness! &

—Bro. Benjamin Tovstiga

Brief History of the Barbie Doll

• 1952: A cartoonist created Lilly, a pornographic caricature, a gold digger, exhibitionist and floozy who flung herself repeatedly at balding, jowly fat cats.

• 1955: Her audience is adult men who received her as a sexy souvenir at bachelor parties–sold in tobacco shops and bars–made in Hamburg, Germany, then Hong Kong.

• Barbie had full lips, ample cleavage, arched eyebrows and sensual sideways glance.

• It took Ruth Handler, the woman who bought Lilly and owned the company Mattel along with her husband, a while to convince husband and all-male staff to build the doll.

• 1959: Barbie debuted at International Toy Fair. Many doll buyers refused to stock her. Others worried she was too mature.

• Girls loved her, then won parents over.

• Sells over 172,000 per day.

• According to Mattel, the typical girl between the ages of three and ten owns 8 Barbie dolls.

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2. Her theme is love (1 Jn. 3:14; Matt. 5:44; 1 Cor. 13:1-8, 13). “…Love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God…” 1 Jn. 4:7.

3. She was called out of sin by the gospel (Rom. 1:16; 10:13; 2 Thess. 2:14). “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy…” 1 Pet. 1:15.

4. The church is the body of Christ; there is only one true church (1 Cor. 1:2; 12:27; John 10:16). “There is one body…” Eph. 4:4.
a. She is not divided (1 Cor. 1:10, 13).
b. She shares the same mind, judgment, and faith (Eph. 4:4-5; Jude 3).
c. Her members are of one heart and of one soul (Acts 4:32).
d. Her congregations share the same standards and ministry (1 Cor. 4:17; 11:16; 14:33; Eph. 4:11-13; Acts 15:23, 28).

5. The members of Christ’s body, the church, are saints, holy as He is holy (1 Pet. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:1). “…called to be saints…” Rom. 1:7.

6. Her people are of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation, including believing children and adults (Rev. 7:9; Matt. 19:14). “…thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” Rev. 5:9.

7. Her people are all equal and available to be called of God to any office or duty, regardless of race, social status, nationality, or gender. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Gal. 3:28.

8. The Lord has set her members in the body, calling and placing them where He will (Acts 13:2; 20:28; Eph. 4:8, 11). “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” 1 Cor. 12:18.

9. Her ministry–apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers–for the edification of the body and in the interest of being accountable for the souls of the people, has been given binding and loosing power, having rule over the people of God as helpers of their joy (2 Cor. 12:19; Heb. 13:17; 2 Cor. 1:24). “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matt. 16:19.

10. She keeps the ordinances of baptism of believers by immersion (Jn. 3:23; Acts 8:38); the Lord’s supper and feet washing (1 Cor. 11:23-26; Jn. 13:14-15), and the holy kiss (Rom. 16:16). “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…” Matt. 28:19-20.

11. She believes in divine, physical healing of the body (Matt. 8:16-17). “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” James 5:14.

12. She continues in the doctrine of the apostles and prophets, holding the holy scriptures, the Bible, as the infallible, inspired, and complete divine revelation (Acts 2:42; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; Jude 3). “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Tim. 3:16.

13. She believes in the Tri Unity of God, three Persons in one God (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6). “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” 1 Jn. 5:7.

14. She teaches that mankind is depraved by nature since the fall of Adam and that the atonement of Christ and call to salvation applies to all of mankind, “whosoever will” (Rom. 5:15-19; Rev. 22:17). “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Rom. 5:12.

15. Her converts “go on to perfection” after their initial conversion to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, purifying their hearts from the depraved nature received from Adam (Heb. 6:1; 4:3; Acts 15:8-9: Eph 1:13; 2 Pet. 1:4). The evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost is holy living and is not unintelligible utterances erroneously called by some, “speaking in tongues” (1 Cor. 3:16-17; Eph. 5:9; 2 Tim. 2:22). “…John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.” Acts 11:16.

16. All of her converts are truly new creatures in Christ, having been born again – Jn. 3:3. (Drawn by the Father through the Spirit – Jn. 6:44, 12:32made to have godly sorrow through the gospel – 2 Cor. 7: 8-10; Acts 2:37; led to repentance and faith – Rom. 2:4; 10:17; having confessed their sins to the Lord – 1 Jn. 1:9; having forsaken all sin – Rom. 6:1, 2, 18; having called upon the name of the Lord for salvation – Acts 2:21; Rom. 10:13; their spirit having received a witness by His Spirit that they are the children of God– Rom. 8:16; and having begun and continued making restitution of all past sins – Luke 19:8; Acts 19:19; to walk in the light of God’s Word and Spirit – 2 Pet. 1:19; Gal. 5:16). “ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Cor.5:17.

17. She is separate from the spirit of the world inwardly, and from its every outward manifestation, including but not limited to its entertainments, dress, patriotism, pursuits, and all of its sins. Therefore, she uses the clothing ordained of God, plain and modest outward apparel coming from a meek and quiet spirit (1 Cor. 2:12; 1 Jn. 5:19; 1 Pet. 3:3-4). “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Rom. 12:2.

18. She is non-violent (inflicting injury upon none; not participating in any way in carnal military action) (Lk. 3:14; Jn. 18:36; 2 Cor. 10:4). “…Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you…unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other…” Lk. 6:27-29.

19. Her worship services are led of the Holy Ghost in every aspect including singing (without the encumbrance of mechanical musical instruments) – Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; including who shall pray, testify, exhort, or preach; including which songs are called, and the sequence in which all things are done (1 Cor. 12:4-7; 14:15, 40). “…every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part…” Eph. 4:16.

20. She has been called in these last days to make the judgments of God manifest to all nations, calling all souls out of false religion and the world (Babylon) into the one, true fold (Matt. 13:38-41, Mk. 16:15; Rev. 18:1-4). “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.” Rev. 15:1.

21. She teaches there will be everlasting punishment and everlasting reward according to the deeds done in the body (Matt. 25:46; 2 Cor. 5:10). “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22:12.
22. She executes corporate judicial action within the church (1 Cor. 5:4-5; 2 Thess. 3:14-15). “…do not ye judge them that are within?…Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” 1 Cor. 5:12-13.

23. She lives sacrificially for the sake of Christ and the gospel (Matt. 19:29; Lk. 14:33; Rom. 12:1). “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me…” Mk. 8:34-35.

24. She believes in the sanctity of marriage, one man and wife for life (Matt. 19:5-6; Lk. 16:18; Rom. 7:2-3). “Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.” Mk. 10:11-12.

25. Her people are the true Jews, Jews inwardly. The physical nation of natural Jews will never again, as a whole, be the people of God (Gal. 4:25-31; 1 Thess. 2:14-16). “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly…but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter…” Rom. 2:28-29.

26. She looks for Christ to return in the clouds at His second and final coming on the Judgment Day, wherein there will be the resurrection of the just and unjust. (There will be no “millennial reign” on earth, for the saints are in the kingdom now, and no secret rapture from the earth before that day.) Heaven and earth will then pass away (Heb. 9:27-28; Jn. 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:15-17; 2 Pet. 3:7, 10-11). “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him…” Rev. 1:7.

27. She teaches that it is possible for a saint to fall from grace, losing his salvation (Acts 1:25; 1 Cor. 10:12; Gal. 5:4). “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” Rom. 11:22.

28. She is the church of God (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 10:32; 15:9; 1 Tim. 3:5). “…unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia.” 2 Cor. 1:1.

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Part I

To get holiness people to live holy lives is an exceedingly great task. To live a strictly holy life, just like our blessed Lord, is grand and glorious, but it is difficult to get people to live that way. It can be done, but it is not being done by very many. There are many who desire to live holy, but they fail to put forth the earnest effort and live it right up to what they know they should. They want to live closer to God, but they do not do it. They do not mean to neglect, and yet they do neglect. They know they should pray more, but they do not pray more. Many of these dear people confess that they talk too much and speak impatiently, but we see little or no improvement. They fret and worry and are anxious, and know they should not be, and yet they continue on in the same life. They are not getting the heavenly joys and holy comforts out of life that they should. The purpose of this little booklet is to help just such people.

Dear saints, we do not mean to censure you or condemn you, but we tell you in plain words with a heart full of love, you must live better. You speak too sharp and harsh in your home, you speak light and idle words, you talk too much, and you pray too little. Is this not true? Well, why do you not live better? You may say that you do want to and you try, but you do not succeed. You improve some for a few days after hearing a stirring sermon, and then you are back in the same way. You must try harder, be more determined, more resolute, never give up, take time to pray, guard against talking so much, and ask God to help you. To the man using tobacco you will say, “You must get so decided that you will quit it if it kills you.” It is so with your impatient speeches, your fret and worry, your too much talk; you must quit these if it kills you. You need to pray more, meditate more, lift up your soul to God more, have more reverence and holy awe upon your soul, live more in godly fear, have more of the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon you, and more peace and power and glory in your soul. You can have it. It will cost you something, but you can have it if you will.

We love you fervently. We want to help you. We promise you and God that by His grace we will live just what we preach to you. If there is one who, after reading this little booklet, will get in earnest and walk closer to God, we shall be repaid a thousand fold for our labor. Our hearts are burdened. Too many of God’s saints are living beneath their privileges.

Working Out Your Salvation

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”* (Philippians 2:12)

What are you here told to do? Work out your salvation. How are you told to do it? With fear and trembling. Are you doing it? You are burdened down with the cares of this life and are not much alarmed over it.

Do you not know that it is the cares of this life that choke out the Word of God? Then just a little of the cares of this life ought to alarm you. You thought salvation was by faith and not works. But faith and works go together. There is a work for you to do to keep saved. You must have faith, but if your faith is real it will be attended with works in fear and trembling.

A little girl comes home from school with a fever. The fond mother says to the father, “I fear it is a contagion.”

He replies, “I fear it is, and we must do something.”

They get in earnest and call mightily on God and the little girl is well in the morning. Thank God.

A few evenings later some trouble comes up in the home. The husband speaks in a harsh, cutting tone to the wife. She replies in the same manner. There is a contagion in that home, a terrible contagion. Now is the time to fear and tremble, and to call mightily to God in deep repentance and not to cease until the heavenly winds are wafted down and that contagion is swept out of the heart and out of the home and a sweet peace is shed over all. That is works in fear and trembling.

A man buys a home. He pays cash, all he has. The contract is made out and signed, and now he goes to working out the monthly payments. He moves in, takes possession and goes to work. One day the final payment is made and the warranty deed is given.

A man gives all he has to Christ and gets saved. The contract is signed. He takes possession and goes to work in fear and trembling. Some day he will have it all worked out and his heavenly home is forever secured. When the “little foxes” get in, get them out at once. That is part of your work. Another part is to go about helping others all you can. Another work is to do much praying and keep the heart full of blooming flowers for the Master.

Meditating on God and His Word

To meditate on God and His Word is to calmly and quietly fix the mind upon the great fact of God and His Word until that fact has time to enter the mind and pervade it with its influence. Meditation is the quiet thinking, the applying of the mind attentively to the great truths of the Bible and the Author of it. We must meditate on God’s law that we might come to know it as we should, and then to love it, and then to practice it. No one can live a holy life without serious and frequent reflection of the mind upon the truths of our great salvation and the love of God. You may be able to live a good moral life; you might have an exterior life good enough to hold the confidence of man, but holy living comes from the living Word of God hidden in the heart. Holy living is not only the refraining from doing the wrong and the doing of the right, but it is the refraining from doing the wrong from an inward principle of holy hatred of the wrong inwrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit, and a doing of the right in the life and holiness of God. It is more than the good deeds done by human life; it is good deeds done by the life of God in the human life. There is a vast difference. There is danger, great danger, in holiness professors attending to the outward life to the neglect of the inward life. So long as they do not do anything wrong, and so long as they do things that are right they think themselves safe. We can live good lives and, like the church at Ephesus, lose the love of God out of the soul. Right living may be only man in action; holy living is God in action. Meditation is positively necessary to the keeping of God in the life.

Meditation is the holding of Bible truths in the mind until the virtue is steeped out of them and enters the mind and heart. It means to be in the midst of a matter, to have it in your very center. You need not fear losing yourself in meditation on the law of God. The more fully you lose yourself in meditation on God the more you will be like Him. You cannot love Christ very deeply without meditation. You cannot become strong or pure or deep in God without letting the mind dwell lovingly on Him.

Dear Christian reader, do you meditate? Do you go apart each day and with the mind wholly detached from every thing of earth, fix it quietly, calmly on God and some portion of His Word? Do you become lost to every thing of earth in the loving thought of God?

“There is a blest pavilion,
A sacred inner court,
The place of God’s own dwelling
With all the world shut out.
Oh, holy resting place!
Oh, calm and pure retreat!
Where God unveils His face,
And life is only sweet.”*

Do you enter into this holy place with the world shut out and there commune with God, there think of His love and the great plan of salvation until your soul is aflame with heavenly love and light and peace making it the easiest thing in the world to come out and practice the wonderful truths of salvation? If you will meditate on the theme of salvation as you should, life will become sweet and the truths of salvation will naturally live themselves out in you. But the question is: do you meditate? Very, very few of you do. Oh, how can we help you? Will you not spend fifteen minutes twice a day to deep, profound thought of God? We beg of you to do it. Will you not do it for your soul’s sake and for Jesus’ sake? If you do not, there will be things getting into your life that ought not to be there. There will be a little too much talk, a little restlessness and impatience, a little fret and worry, a burdening of the cares of this life, and perhaps bits of worldliness will get in and you will not know it, and you may go to some places where Jesus really would not go. But, oh, beloved, if you will practice meditating on God and His law day and night, there will be a holy flame enkindled in your soul and such heavenly sweetness and peace that the cares of this life, and fret and worry will no more light on you than flies on a heated furnace.

There are many preachers and thousands of people professing holiness that talk beautifully about meditation, saying what a blessed and glorious thing it is, and yet they do not practice it. My dear reader, you must do more than talk, and more than read this and say it is good and true. You must meditate in all that the word means. Meditation brings God into the soul and causes you to live holy in every act of life.

Christ’s Epistle

“Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ.”* (II Corinthians 3:3)

“All can see that you are a letter from Christ.”TCNT

The Christian is Christ’s “open letter.” His life is a message from Christ to the world. His daily walk is a genuine letter from the Savior of men. The Christian life is written by the same hand that wrote the New Testament and they read just alike, word for word. If you profess to be a Christian be sure your daily life is the handwriting of Jesus. Your life in your home amid its trials and provocations should read like God’s Word. It is very confusing and discouraging to others if your life and the New Testament read differently.

The purpose of a letter is to convey the thoughts and mind of the writer. The Christian is that kind of letter. Men come to know the thoughts of God by reading the Christian’s life. He shows Christ’s patience in his patience. His life is not his life, but Christ’s life in his life. The life of a saint is a letter in which the world can read Christ’s gentleness, kindness, humility, sobriety, calmness, sympathy, love, holiness, separateness from the world, and hatred of sin. Do not think this standard is too high. If you will take time to pray and seek after this life with determined effort, leaning hard on Christ’s helpful arm, it will surprise you what a wonderful and beautiful letter you can get to be.

Mind the Little Things

Take care of the pennies and the dimes, and you will have the dollars. A pin scratch has caused the death of folks. If you begin to think a thing is too small to be given attention, you are entering a dangerous path. Little bricks build a great house, and little sins make a great sinner. You can put more love in doing little things than in great things. There is less danger of self being puffed up in doing the little things than in doing great things. By guarding against every little evil and fault, and faithfully doing every little good thing possible, you can build up a beautiful, holy life. Guard your thoughts and words. Lift up your soul to God many times a day. Keep the Lord set before your face. Spend your spare moments on your knees in a sweet little talk with Jesus.

Devotion

“She hath wrought a good work on me.”* (Mark 14:6)

This woman had an emotion in her soul and it swelled and longed for expression. She was charged with wastefulness. No, no it was not waste. Had she not poured out the fragrant ointment then, there would have been waste. Her soul panted for some way to express her devotion, and she took this way and her love was increased and tendered, and she was qualified to be a greater blessing to the world. Had she not given expression to her love, she would have lost love and there would have been the waste. Whatever elevates us and serves to make us more capable of doing good is not waste.

She wrought this work on Jesus. “To what purpose was this deed done?” That should not be the question. “For whose sake was it done?” That is the question that settles the matter. Everything done from the stirring of love in the heart for Jesus makes it a good work. Working a good work on Jesus Christ is the law of Christian devotion.

True devotion is that disposition of heart that moves it to perform with tender affection and burning fervor all its services to God. The bowing of the knees, the prostrating of the body on the ground, the lifting of the eyes heavenward, the wringing of the hands, and the pious sighs and groans are not full proof of a devoted heart. In all acts of true devotion there is a high esteem, a profound respect, a holy adoration for the Divine Majesty; there is an humble acknowledgement of the soul’s dependence and duty; there is an intense desire to lavish the heart’s love upon Jesus by doing all things for His sake.

No exercising of the soul is so ennobling, so hallowing, so consoling as the performing of humble, sincere acts of devotion. True devotion is attended by self-sacrifice. Devotion is more than sentiment. It is a principle fixed in the core of our being. We cannot always be in acts of devotion, but the principle is in the soul and it expresses itself on every fitting occasion.

“I want a principle within of watchful, godly fear,
A sensibility of sin, a pain to feel it near.

“Quick as the apple of an eye, O God, my conscience make;
Awake my soul when sin is nigh, and keep it still awake.”*

Intensity

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”* (Psalm 42:1)

Here is intensity. By intensity we mean that burning passion of the soul after God. That intense desire to be holy as He is holy, and to glorify Him in all words and acts of life.

“I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.”* (Psalm 119:131)

Here is intensity. Panting after the commandments of God like a thirsty animal for water. The great task of the overseers of God’s church today is to keep God’s people out of a careless, go-easy, indifferent life. How few thirst after God. How few thirst and hunger for the salvation of souls. Preachers may go over the country holding revivals and find entertainment and enjoyment in doing so, but even of those, how few have such a burning passion for souls that they will wrestle with God in the midnight hour or early morning hour or even any convenient time for the salvation of the lost. They may think more of what gain they will make. This would be an awful crime, but it may be one of which some are guilty. There are holiness people who act very much as if no one were going to hell. Others act as if they were just as holy as they cared to be. They seem to have no thirsting for greater perfection of life. They act as if there were no improvement to be made.

The need of today is a greater passion for goodness, a more intense longing for greater Christlikeness, and a greater burden for those for whom our dear Savior gave His life.

“Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.”* (Psalm 119:136)

Here is intensity. When did you shed a tear over sinners lost? Do not these words shame you? Dear people, the house is on fire—how can you keep on sleeping?

Only One Way

A tourist asked at the service station the way to a certain town. The directions were carefully given. The tourist said, “You think this is the best way, do you?”

The service man replied, “It is not only the best way, but it is the only way.”

The Bible is the only way to heaven. Do you live to all it teaches every day? Read the sixth chapter of Matthew over very carefully. Stop at verses 6, 20, 22, 28, and 33.

The Sanctified

Sometimes the word sanctification means that which is set apart, consecrated. In this meaning the vessels in the Temple were holy. But there is a higher sense. It means a state of perfect holiness. Christ perfects them that are sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). Holiness means inward likeness to God. Holy living means that the outward life is in full harmony with the will of God. It means very much to be holy as God is holy and to live in harmony with the Divine mind. It can be done, but it is not everyone who professes holiness that is doing it. We ought to live in this way for Jesus’ sake. He is happiest when we are holiest. He is glorified when we do all things to His glory. In those who live holy lives is His ideal realized. We should not seek holiness that we might be happy, but because it is God’s will. Doing the will of God should be our meat and drink. We cannot do God’s will except we be holy, therefore seek holiness and holy living. Be careful, oh, be careful about being holy in the little things of life. If people try to live holy at all, it is in the greater things. If they come short of living holy in the little things of everyday home life, they have missed true holy living.

A Fable with a Lesson

Have you read the story of a traveler whose horse was eaten by a wolf? The story says that a traveler riding through a lonely district on horseback was attacked by a wolf. The traveler, heedless of the wolf, went on his way. The wolf from behind began eating on the horse without the traveler’s knowledge. He ate and he ate until he had eaten into the horse. He kept on eating until finally he ate to the head and to the feet. And so the traveler came riding into his town on a wolf instead of a horse. All that was left of the horse was the skin; there was a wolf inside.

Some folks start out for heaven saved and sanctified. They are attracted by the cares of this life, by neglect of prayer, by impatience, by idle words, by the pleasures of the world, by worldly thoughts. Folks do not give much heed to these. But such eat and eat, and they feed on the spiritual life, and they do it so slowly and so subtly that the traveler is unaware that his spiritual steed is being eaten away. It will be well indeed if he discovers before he reaches his destination that he is riding on an empty profession.

Members One of Another

“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”* (Romans 12:5)

In these words we have a picture of the oneness of the people of God. They are one body. This is the body of Christ. Saints, God’s holy people, constitute His body. He dwells in this body (Ephesians 1:23; II Corinthians 6:16). The apostle illustrates this by the human body (I Corinthians 12:14-24). We can learn many a lesson about the body of Christ—the Church of God—by the study of the human body. Paul here says, “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.”* (I Corinthians 12:26) These words, perhaps, express as great depth of this oneness as any other words in this illustration. This experience is true in the real body of Christ. If one saint suffers, all the other saints suffer with this suffering one. Let us examine our experience. When one member is honored, all the members rejoice with the honored one. We ought not to pass over this indifferently. There is a solemn truth here. We should not say it is true in our life if it is not really true. If the feet of your body are honored with a nice pair of shoes, see how rejoicing the hands go to work to place these shoes upon the feet. It is so in the body of Christ. Suppose you have held a prominent position in the Church. The time comes when you must surrender it to another. Do you do so rejoicingly? Man can say that he does it rejoicingly, when in the heart it is not true. We ought not to be satisfied unless it is as true as heaven in our heart. Suppose you were aspiring for a position, but it is given to another. Do you rejoice in your heart? It is that way in the human body, and it is even more so in the Church of God. Suppose you are given $100.00. You rejoice. Why do you rejoice? Do you rejoice because of what use you can make of this money for your own convenience and need? You should rejoice because of what use you can make of it in honoring or glorifying Christ. This should be the sole cause of your rejoicing. Let me tell you how you can discover whether you rejoice in it for this one cause. Suppose the $100 be given to another who will use it to glorify God equally as much as you; do you rejoice just as much as if it had been given to you? If not, you are not measuring fully to I Corinthians 12:26.

Holy Thoughts for Quiet Hours

* Anything less than perfect dependence upon God is a denial of Him.
* Life has a language. To live holy is to have all our words and deeds to say, “Hallowed be thy name.”* (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2)
* The rays of light that proceed from the sun are as pure as the sun. The life that flows from God must be as free from imperfections as He.
* If the human soul would grow in moral stature and moral beauty and fruitfulness, it must keep open to the light of God and absorb that light as it falls upon it.
* If you are not showing to the world around you that there is something better than wealth, honor, position, earthly pleasure, and the good opinions and praise of men, you are not showing forth the life of Christ.
* He does not love us truly who does not love us well enough to tell us our faults. To love one another is to have an intense desire to see one another free from faults.
* The man who fails to give us reproof when needed, but gives us approval instead, or holds back deserving rebuke for fear of offending, is more cruel than he who withholds bread from us when we are hungry.
* He who will listen to any words of levity, jesting, foolishness, tale-bearing, tattling, and show no disapproval makes himself a partaker of the sin.
* It has been arranged in the plan of redemption that God and man can be so absorbed each in the other that they would think alike, will alike, feel and love and work together. This is man at his real self.
* Man is to be loved because of what he is worth to God. We get some estimate of man’s worth to Christ by the terrible woe He pronounces upon those who would injure one of those who believe in Him.
* The nearer you live like Christ the nearer you live like you ought to live. The more you love Him, and love with Him, and love all things for Him, the more you will be like Him.
* The trouble is not that you do not know what is right; the trouble is that you do not lay hold upon God to help you to live like you know you should.

The Fear of Man

We doubt if there be any other one thing that prevents God’s people living unto God as they should so much as the fear of man. It is so very subtle and cunning that many may have it and not be aware of it. There is an independence of man that is wrong and there is an independence that is most Christlike. Holy living is to live unto God though all the world might oppose. Our dearest friend on earth must not be allowed to cause us to deviate one hair’s breadth from trueness to God. Here is one of the places in the Christian’s life that should be closely watched and guarded. Peter swerved from the true path when he refused to eat with the Gentiles for fear of the Jews. This was after Pentecost. Paul reproved him. This took some courage on the part of Paul, but faithfulness required it.

“The fear of man bringeth a snare.”* (Proverbs 29:25) Many a one has fallen into this snare. Alas, how many have made compromise with man for man’s favor! “Conscious dependence upon God is the spirit of independence toward all men.” Perfect love casts out all fear of man. Those who can be influenced by men are not made perfect in love. It is argued by some that we should desire all men to think well of us that we might do them good. This is true, but oh, how careful we need to be that it is solely that we “might do them good.” Beware lest there be something of self there. We should desire to have influence with men for Jesus’ sake, but for no other purpose. If faithfulness to God causes you to lose influence with men, then it were better for them and you also that you lose it. If you have to step aside from godly living to have influence with men, you are ensnared.

The apostle said, “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment.”* (I Corinthians 4:3) To suppress or modify truth by word or act is coming short of holy living. To give aid, or to abet by word or deed any spirit of levity, worldliness, or untruthfulness through man’s influence is unfaithfulness to God.

Lifting Up Jesus

“Lift Him up by living as a Christian ought,
Let the world in you the Savior see.”*

Is this true in our life all the year through? Is it true all the day through? Is Jesus seen in all you do? When things go wrong in the home and you are tried and tempted, do you lift up Christ in these times? We sing the song heartily, but do we really and truly live it day in and day out? It is dangerous to sing such songs and then pass on and not live them. To know to do a thing and then through neglect or carelessness fail to live it is a very serious matter. Keep self out of sight and set Christ in view.

Two men went to hear a preacher preach one Sunday morning. One said to the other after the preaching, “That was an eloquent discourse; he is a wonderful preacher.” In the evening they went to hear another preacher. After the services one said to the other, “What a wonderful Savior is Jesus.”

People sing about Jesus being lifted up in our lives; preachers preach about it, but what God wants is some people to live it. Live it, dear Christian, in all the details of everyday life. Live it in thought, word, and deed. Have the imprint of Christ’s life upon every word and act. You can do it if you associate with Christ as with a loving friend, if you take time to read, pray, and meditate so as to assimilate the life of Christ into your own. Be encouraged and set to work with a determination to win.

I will lift up my Savior
In everything I do;
I will keep self far out of sight
That Christ may be in view.

Saying and Doing

Pilate said of Jesus, “I find no fault in him.”* (John 19:6) That was his conception of Christ. He saw before him a faultless Christ. But he said, “Take ye him, and crucify him.” These two expressions stand directly one against the other. He spoke correctly about Christ, but he acted wrongly. Many are thinking and talking rightly enough about Jesus, but they do not act rightly.

The Church of God

The Church of God is the only institution on earth that is of heavenly origin. It is the only institution on the shores of time that will continue to exist in eternity. All else will pass away with the closing of time. The glory of empires, the magnificence of civilization, the grandeur of monarchies of time will have no reflection amid the glories of heaven. The splendor of earth’s fortunes, the pomp and show of earth’s glories, the renown of eloquence and oratory, the fame of schools of learning, the enchantments of beautiful forms and ceremonies of creeds will find no imprint, will have no representation in that land beyond the grave. Only the Church of God will shine there. It came down from heaven, and will return to heaven.

The Church of God is God’s body, not only on earth, but also through all eternity. The Church is God’s habitation now and forever. God will dwell in His people and His people in Him while the cycles of eternity roll on unending. The Church of God on earth is God’s incarnation among men. As men read the history of the true Church they will read the biography of God. The life of the Church is His life. The world is God’s creation as a Creator, the Church is His creation as a Life-Giver. It is His own life. It lives in Him and He in it. The Church is a creation in Christ. The Church is not created in Christ by a mere creative act, but by being born of God. The Church is born of God in Christ and is the offspring of God. God loves the world as His creation. He loves the Church as the life of His life.

The Church of God on earth contains heavenly elements and nothing that is not heavenly. The Church bears God’s image. God views His own likeness in His Church. The Church is a mirror which reflects all the Divine perfections. The Church of God is a living thing. It lives upon the life of God. God’s life flows through its veins. The life of Jesus circulates freely through His Church, as freely as the blood circulates through the human body—the church is His body. It feeds on heavenly food. It breathes the atmosphere of heaven.

God and man united in Christ is the Church. In the Church of God is the uniting of all men with God and with each other. The manifold wisdom of God, the mysteries of God, the character of God is revealed through His church. God in His beauty shines out of the Church. She is all fair; there is no spot in her. God made the sun, moon, and all the shining stars, but He does not make them His dwelling place. When He built His Church He said, “This is my rest; here I will dwell and multiply myself; here I have found such beauty and worth as to call out the fullest capacity of my love; here I find the fullest complacency of my being, here I see of the travail of my soul and I am satisfied.”

The Church of God is attended by the ministry of angels. It is the only institution on earth that angels desire to look into. They pass every other thing by, but stop at the Church to admire her beauty and to bestow their ministry. It is the only institution on earth that affords joy to the angels. It is the only institution over which they sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”* (Luke 2:14) All of the conquests of the Church on earth bring joy to the angels.

The Church of God is the only institution on earth that can worship God. God, to be worshipped, must be worshipped in Spirit and truth, and nothing but the Church has the Spirit and the truth. The Church is full of heavenly instincts. God gives instinct to the bird and this instinct teaches it to do things. Heavenly instincts fill the Church, teaching it to do heavenly things. Its life is heavenly life. It lives by heavenly things, and divine things are wrought out by her activities. The Church is Holy Spirit-filled and Holy Spirit-governed. The Church is in the world, but the world is not in the Church. There is no room for the world in the Church. It is filled with divine things. The fish is in the salty ocean, but the fish is not salty. If you die in the Church you do not go out of it; if you die out of it you can never get in it. There is no sin in the Church. Her law is the law of holiness. All honor in the Church is given to the Holy Trinity. Some day the Church of God is going to be caught up to heaven and receive a faultless presentation into the immediate presence of God’s glory, and the joys of heaven will be full and complete and be undiminished while eternity rolls on forever.

Mortify

The word mortify is found in Colossians 3: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth.”* (Colossians 3:5) The word mortify means to “put to death.” The Twentieth Century translation reads, “Therefore destroy all that is earthly in you.”TCNT

It has been believed and taught that everything earthly about us is put to death when we are sanctified as a second work of grace, or a cleansing of the heart from carnality. They think that there is nothing to be put to death or to mortify after we are sanctified. These people to whom Paul was writing were dead and their life was hid with Christ in God. They were dead and yet there is something about them that needs to be put to death. This can be because man is a two-fold being. The inner man may be dead to sin and the world—sanctified—yet the outward man has passions, desires, appetites that must be controlled, that must not be allowed to break out beyond their legitimate bounds.

Now we will tell you a secret. What we are now going to tell you is the secret principle of holy living. It is the thread that runs through the entire life. It is “sacrifice.” Listen, no man can keep the body in perfect control who does not keep that body on the altar of daily sacrifice. If you cease to sacrifice, you cease to control. To sacrifice is to mortify. Habits of virtue cannot be acquired except at the expense of sacrifice. He who is not constantly making sacrifice is not advancing in the Christian life. Sacrifice in the little things of daily life. The secret of living holy is sacrifice in the little things. It is not in being absent from dance halls, ball games, theatres, political gatherings, and such like worldly things. These things have but little or no temptation to people who are sanctified. It is no sacrifice for them to abstain from such evils. Where the holy need to watch is to not let love of self get in. Holy people have a self, but they must guard against an undue love of self. Keep that self on the altar of sacrifice. Guard against taking too much thought about bodily comforts. It is no sin to give the body some comfort if it is not done at the expense of another’s comfort. Then you need to have a care when you are alone not to provide too greatly for the body’s comforts, lest you become selfish and find it difficult to sacrifice your comforts for another’s comfort.

To indulge the body in late rising, in dainty foods, in luxuries, in ease, in things pleasant to the eye—fine things, in idleness, in the avoidance of hardships, in the shrinking from bearing another’s burden, and a disposition to lay your own on another, is the way to become selfish. Sacrifice is the law of the Christian life. Sacrificing bodily comforts daily in the home for the comforts of others is helpful to the soul in its upward way. Where there is no sacrifice there is no holiness. Where there is no self-denying, there is no love to God. Where the body is not kept under, the soul is enslaved. The beauty of holiness never grows out of bodily indulgence, but out of bodily sacrifice. If you would live holy, destroy that which is earthly, sensual, and lustful in you.

Contentment

“Be content with such things as ye have.”* (Hebrews 13:5)

What is it to be contented? When we are contented we are not wishing for something we do not have. To be contented with what you have is not to be wishing for something you do not have. Paul said, “For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”* (Philippians 4:11) If Paul could learn that lesson, we can learn it. A brother was asked what kind of weather he thought it would be for the next few days. He answered, “Just the sort of weather that suits me.” The inquirer was eager to know what sort of weather suited him. He replied, “Just what ever kind suits the Lord.”

“But godliness with contentment is great gain.”* (I Timothy 6:6)

There may be some who do not know the true meaning of these words. They do not mean that if you have godliness and also have contentment you have great gain. They mean that if you have godliness and the contentment that always attends it you have great gain. You cannot separate godliness and contentment. If you have godliness you have contentment, and you cannot have contentment without godliness. We come just as far short of true godliness as we come short of contentment. If you do not have perfect contentment, you do not possess God in the fullness. The fullness of God in the soul satisfies the soul. It leaves no void. Such a soul has perfect peace, fullness of joy, rivers of pleasures, and is happy in its lot.

To be contented you must come to know, and know it well, that nothing can happen to you which is not in harmony with the will of God. Without a thorough knowledge of this there will be discontentment. Nothing can disturb the peace of those who know in their heart that God’s will is in everything that comes to them in life. Instead of striving to be rich, strive to be contented with what you have. A contented life is yours, if you will have it. It is a grand way to live.

“Then, whatsoever wind doth blow,
My heart is glad to have it so;
And, blow it east or blow it west,
The wind that blows, that wind is best.”*

Sonship with God

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.”* (I John 3:1)

“Father” and “son.” Blessed relationship; life of life. There is fatherhood in God, but it can be realized by the man only by being born of God. God must come into man’s humanity and man must come into God’s divinity that he might realize God as his Father and himself as God’s son. This is made possible in Christ. God’s divinity and man’s humanity are united in Christ. God can come to man in Christ’s divinity, and man can come to God in Christ’s humanity. God’s divinity can enter into our humanity and we become partakers of the divine nature. We can come to know God only in Christ. We can see God only as we see Him in Christ. We can come to be like God only in Christ Jesus. Christ is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:5). Christ will show us the Father in Himself (John 14:8-9). You can become like God only to the extent you see Him in Christ.

Suppose you never saw your mother’s father. Your mother loved, honored and revered her father. She thought he was the most exemplary man she knew. Her highest ambition was that her son be a man like her father. She knew that to have him grow up to be such a man she must show her father to her son. She imbibed the spirit of her father. His character was inwrought in her being. She taught in word all she could to her boy about his grandfather, and she showed the image of her father to the boy by living the life, and thus the boy saw his grandfather in and through his mother and was fashioned into his image.

If we will listen and obey Christ’s teaching, look into His holy life and imitate it, we will grow into the likeness of the Father.

God’s Law in Man’s Mind and Heart

“I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts.”* (Hebrews 8:10)

To live holy lives we must have God’s Word in both mind and heart. The same hand that writes it in the heart also writes it in the mind. Studying the Bible is good, but not sufficient. We must have written in the mind by the Holy Spirit what we read in the book or it will profit us little or nothing. The Holy Spirit never writes God’s law in the mind except He writes them in the heart also. When written in the heart, man obeys.

Sensibility

Sensibility includes sensitiveness, and sensitiveness is the power to receive delicate impressions. The soul can be so sensitive that it be made to feel what God feels. It can feel the presence of God everywhere. It can also feel the presence of evil. This is a wonderful safeguard of the soul. It feels the presence of evil in the vagrant thought, in the lightly spoken word, the hasty action, and flees to God at once for refuge. It feels the presence of evil in those little, worldly things which many say are harmless. The sensitive soul detects evil there and avoids them. It is acquainted with the voice of the Shepherd. It can distinguish between His voice and that of a stranger. The more perfect the manhood, the more perfect the sensibility. The higher we rise into the manhood of Jesus the quicker-scented we become, the more easily we detect the presence of God and the presence of sin. This is necessary to all holy living. Many a soul today has lost the sensitiveness they once experienced. Evil things that they once fled away from in horror they are now embracing. It is our privilege to grow more sensitive as we grow in years of service to God. The farther we walk with Him, the closer we can walk with Him. We can keep step with Him more perfectly.

The scriptures tell us that Christ was of such quick understanding that He did not judge by the sight of His eyes or reprove by the hearing of His ears (Isaiah 11:3). In the margin it reads, “scent, or smell.” Christ was quick to detect an ill odor. He was sensitive to the presence of sin. The more we become like Christ the more sensitive we shall become. Christianity is a life. It is a Divine life. In that life there are senses that can sense Divine things. That life is susceptible to the impulses of the Holy Spirit. The soul can feel God, taste Him, hear Him. It is “alive unto God.”* (Romans 6:11) The soul, in this Divine life, is not only inwardly sensible to all the movements of the Holy Spirit, but is also sensitive to the feelings of men. The sensitive soul feels, not only what is in God, but is sensible also of what is in man. It is thus that when one member in Christ’s body, the Church, suffers, all the other members suffer with it. They feel what the suffering member feels. Is that day past? Not with all. The sensitive soul weeps with Christ over a lost world. It feels what Jesus feels.

The Loss of Soul-Sensitiveness

Is it not true that in other days the bond of sympathy between members in the Church of God was stronger than it is today? Did not all the members suffer more keenly with the suffering member? When the soul is quivering with Divine life and all its faculties functioning properly, it suffers with all the suffering members of Christ’s body. It does more; it suffers with Christ the sin and suffering of a wicked world. What were the sufferings of Christ while here upon earth? It was not physical, but spiritual. His soul was sorrowful because of the sins of the world. It is in this way that we are to suffer with the Savior. Instead of weeping with Christ over a sinful world, many professors of Christianity are going on in their revelry, feasting, banqueting, in their pomp and show, in their entertainments, amusements, and pleasures, in their lust and pride.

Sensuality dulls the spiritual senses. None but the pure in heart can enter the realm of soul-sensitiveness. You may study the art of public speaking, you may receive degrees and honorary titles, you may occupy prominent positions, you may discourse eloquently and enthusiastically, but if you have not transparent purity of soul you cannot feel the delicate promptings of the will of God. The sensual cannot appreciate the beauty of purity. There are delicate lines in it which they never see. They cannot enter into communion with a holy God though they may discourse like an angel about Him.

We exhort you, saint of God, keep sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Keep the world out of your eye. Keep in touch with God. Feel with Him, love with Him, suffer with Him, rejoice with Him, sympathize with Him over a lost world, be susceptible to all the feelings of His great heart. Soul, remember that just a little affection for earthly things dulls the soul’s senses. The god of this world blinds the eye. As the glass in the camera is sensitive to the light, so keep your soul sensitive to heavenly impressions.

Keep sensitive, 0 soul of mine,
To God’s holy will and Word;
Grow deeper, deeper every day
In the feelings of thy Lord.

Spiritual-Mindedness

“But to be carnally minded is death: but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”* (Romans 8:6)

We ought to tremble before these words. Can you read them and then pass on in a careless way, taking but little thought about yourself to know whether you are carnally or spiritually minded? You say that you cannot give a dictionary definition. We are not asking for Webster’s definition; we want you to give yours from your own experience.

It is in the mind that thoughts are generated. The carnal mind generates carnal thoughts, while the spiritual mind generates spiritual thoughts. Carnal thoughts are thoughts about earthly things, spiritual thoughts are thoughts about heavenly things.

Examine your thoughts. What are their trend? Are they mostly worldward? Do worldly thoughts crowd in on your mind even when in the secret place you kneel to pray? If they do, we say that we deeply sympathize with you, but we must tell you in the greatest kindness but seriousness that you are to blame. It ought not to be that way. You can have it better. Our thoughts can be brought into captivity. Christ, by His grace, wi1l help us to control them. You have been allowing them to dwell on temporal things. You do not have to do it. If you have for a long time been allowing your thoughts to dwell on the things of earth and little grooves have been cut in the brain matter like the grooves on a phonograph record, it will take some effort to change their course, but fear not, it can be done and it must be done. The marginal reading of Colossians 3:2 is, “Set your mind on things above, and not on things on the earth.” That is a plain, comprehensive statement or command. Why do we not all do just what we are here told to do? How can we hope to get on well in the spiritual life and not do what the Bible says? Now let us not make excuses, nor treat this with indifference. There is too much at stake. Death and life are before us. For our mind to dwell on “things on the earth,” it means death; but for it to dwell on “things above” it means life and peace. We can have which we will. We are the framers of our destiny.

“For ye are dead.”* (Colossians 3:3) That is why you set your mind on things above. People who are dead do not set their minds on things to which they are dead. How can your mind be set on earthly things and you be dead to earthly things and your life hid with Christ in God? This is a serious matter and we advise you to take it seriously. We said in our first chapter that we may appear to be sometimes a little severe. If it takes that to get you to thinking and considering, then it is best to be severe. What we fear is that even severity will not get you in earnest about this matter. We fear you will go on letting your mind float around on earthly things nearly all day long.

You are awake from five o’clock in the morning until nine o’clock at night—sixteen hours. Have you given one solid hour out of the sixteen to deep, profound thinking on heavenly things? Now the fact is that a few moments at different times during the day is all that is needed for the proper attending to the things of this life, and to sum up this few moments they would not amount to more than an hour and the other fifteen should be spent in setting your mind on things above.

Maybe you are a preacher and you spend considerable time thinking about the Word of the Lord. That is no more proof that you are spiritually minded than it is for the school boy to think much about mathematics. Each is thinking about the work he is engaged in. A spiritual mind does not spend near so much time thinking about the work of God as it does about God. We make far more effectual preachers by praying our messages down from heaven into our souls than we do by study and sermonizing. We would not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax, but we exhort you in all sincerity of heart to attend to the matter of setting your mind on things above. If you spend your days here with your mind mostly on things on earth, how can you enjoy heaven if you were to get there? There will be no earthly things there to think about.

Now do not get restless, but in a calm, composed, quiet manner, set to work about heavenly things. Read your Bible more and keep your thoughts on it while you read. While you are about your work think about heaven and the great truths of salvation which God has given us to guide us to heaven. Think about Christ and what it will be to meet Him face to face. Do you find it a difficult thing to do? How strange! You say you love Him with all your heart, but you find it easier to think about the things that pertain to your everyday comforts and conveniences than you do to think about Jesus. We suggest that you begin now and think more about things above. Take time every day to go into some quiet place and turn your thoughts heavenward and think soberly and seriously about the glories and wonders of that beautiful world. If you will attend to this, not in a strained way, but calmly and peacefully, you will soon find it easy to fix your thoughts on God and things above. If you will, a joy and gladness will come into your heart that will make it seem that you have gotten saved again. You will soon get to where, on the moment of awakening in the night or in the morning, your thoughts will soar up to heaven. Your first thought will be on things above, and at the same time you soul will taste a sweetness that is above any sweetness of earth. A fear would come over my soul if my mind gave its first awakening thougths to earthly things. No, no, no; let my mind dwell awhile in heaven before it takes up the duties of the day.

There is a brother who never allows a night to pass by, unless there be an occasional night when his slumbers are unbroken, without rising once or twice, and on his knees has an earnest heart-to-heart talk with God. On awakening in the morning he spends from half an hour to an hour in prayer and holy thought before taking up the duties of the day, and then often throughout the day takes a few moments for thinking on heavenly things.

It is not diffulclt to get into a life like this, and it is heaven on earth. With all the earnestness of soul we exhort you, Christian reader, to get into it, and then go forward to walking closer to God every day, so that some day you will get so close that you will never come back to earth again.

More Holy Thoughts for Quiet Hours

* You have taken a long step toward holy living when you have learned to do much and say little. Holiness is seen in what you do and not in what you say.
* Many seek God and find Him not because they seek Him for what He has to give, rather than for what He is Himself. There are those who would like very much to live like God, but are not willing to pay the price to become like God.
* A man may discourse very beautifully about God, and pray in public with great fervor and enthusiasm, but if he is negligent of secret prayer, his religion is toward men and not toward God.
* We have obtained the true riches only when we have obtained true poverty. We have obtained true honor only when we have come to be despised. We rise to a great height only by being beaten down. We find true comfort in affliction. When you are called a fool for Christ’s sake then you have found the true knowledge. You have found true joy and happiness only when you are crucified with Christ.
* If you want that peace which comes from God, if you want that fullness of joy that Christ gives, see that that seven-headed monster of self-love has every head beheaded.
* If thou wouldst have thy soul to be the temple of God, see that it is kept clean of all evil, quiet from all fears, void of all earthly affection, and peaceful amid temptation.
* A devoted man is one who lives solely to the will of God, who serves God in every thing, who sees God in everything, who does all in the name of Jesus, and eats and drinks and does all things to God’s glory.
* If a man buys and sells with the sole thought of getting gain and bettering himself in things of this world, without any regard for the one from whom he buys or sells, he has a vain religion.
* The Christian takes interest only in those things outside of Christ which he can use for Christ. If a man engages in any business he can not serve Christ in or can not use to Christ’s glory, he lives outside of Christ.
* You are winging your flight over the narrow stream of time. Know you not that in your flight God holds your hand; then why do you get so restless and flutter so? Why do such little things trouble you?

Jesus

“Oh, the precious music of Jesus’ name!
Glory to the Lamb!
Oh, sweetest name in song! the heavens shall prolong
The music of Thy name.”*

To the Christian soul there is no music so sweet as the music of the name of Jesus. That name catches the attention above all other names. That name is sacred to the Christian’s memory. He loves to think on that name. There is an inexpressible sweetness in the thought of that name. A tender delight comes over the soul at the mention of that name. There is no circumstance in life that that name cannot sweeten. If we be in the furnace flame that name quenches the burning.

A mother sits beside a little casket in which lies a child, cold, faded, and dead, like a gathered lily. How deep, desperate and blank would be her woe if it were not for the name of Jesus. As she sits looking into the face of the child she bore just three months ago, the tears come streaming from her eyes, but at the thought of Jesus there is a smile through the tears. What beautiful and bright visions come before her mind as she beholds her child with Jesus in the Paradise of God. There is a sorrow at the heart, but there is an indescribable sweetness in the sorrow as she remembers her blessed Savior.

“Tune your harps, ye ransomed throng, and extol the Christ,
Sing the Name that opened mercy’s door;
Oh, ’tis music, sweetest music to sinners lost,
Sweetest to the saints forevermore.”*

Salvation

As good old Simeon looked into the face of the Child, he said, “Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.”* (Luke 2:30) Who can tell what this meant to him? Who can tell what rapturous delight filled his soul? There he saw salvation in its true meaning.

From this scene we look away to an innumerable company in white robes with palms in their hands standing before the throne and before the Lamb, and they are singing, “Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”* (Revelation 7:10) When the sinner takes Jesus to his heart the song of “Salvation” begins. We hear him singing it all along the journey of life. He may sometimes be in the furnace fire, but he never loses his song. The storm may be raging, but above the howling of the winds you will hear him singing “salvation.” He may be misunderstood, misrepresented, despised, and forsaken by men, but on he goes singing his lovely song. He never misses a note. The adversities of life, be what they may, cannot still the song in his soul. Men may deride him, but the angels are listening. The world may sneer and scoff, but his song rolls as a sweet anthem up to the ears of the Great Eternal. One day a company of angels came to bear him away to his home beyond this world of trial, and we behold him in the midst of that great throng, singing his song of salvation. That is his theme. It began here when he accepted Jesus and it will never have an end. It is the song that never grows old. The heart can find its fullest expression in but one word, and that word is salvation. What does it mean to be saved? It is to be saved from an eternity in the miseries of hell to an eternity of blessedness in heaven.

“Salvation is the sweetest thing
That mortal ever found;
My soul can never cease to sing,
Such love and peace abound.”*

Salvation is the theme so grand—
It thrills with joy my soul:
I’ll sing it here, and sing it there
While ceaseless ages roll.

Keep Heaven in View

Selected

The traveler does not think of his journey’s end every step of the way, but he does have it in mind sufficient to not turn aside out of the way. In all your ways of life keep God in mind. Attend to this with all diligence. Let God be the end you have in view in all your actions. Let me give you a few daily rules to walk by.

First, never lie down to your night’s sleep without thinking that you are not doing this for your own comfort, but that a servant of God may be refreshed end better fitted for the work God has given him to do.

Second, never rise up without the thoughts, “I arise in the name of the Lord to do all this day that will please Him most.”

Third, never set about your daily work without the thought that I am doing this not as my appointed wotk, but as the work God has apnointed and I do it out of love to Him.

Fourth, never sit down at your table without thinking, “I will now eat and drink, not to merely feed my flesh, but to nourish a servant of Christ that he may have strength for God’s service.”

Examine yourself in the evening to see if you have kept these things, in mind. Do better tomorrow than you did today. When you get to doing all things with heaven in view and doing all things for God’s sake, you are then enjoying a walk through life with God.

Closing Suggestions

We must bring this writing to a close. We loathe to say the last word. O God, is there not one word more we can say that may help some one to a holier life?

The writer of these lines is nearing his three score years and ten, and being frail in body has written this little booklet as though it may be his last. For two score years the ambition of his life has been to walk close with God and to help others to this blessed life. He has made some mistakes, but even these have been turned to account in helping him to turn with greater eagerness to ascend higher in the Divine life. He has attained a fuller love for all men and for things holy. He hates sin with a perfect hatred. He has attained to a deeper insight into holiness of life. He sees more clearly how the love of God and true holiness can be brought into all the details of every day life; how every thought and word and act can be stamped all over with the beauty of holiness; how that an act can be done to any creature in the tenderness of love.

Before saying the last word he wishes to impress upon all the vast importance of being holy in the performance of the smallest duty of life. It may be needful to reprove or rebuke someone for stepping aside from the holy way of Christ, but do it in the tenderness of heaven’s love. You must not assent to that which is evil, though it be in your dearest friend. You must not smile or nod the head at any remark that is frivolous or gibing, or contains any strife, malice, or ill-will toward another. Let everything be done in the sobriety, the gravity, the holiness, the joyfulness and the love of Christ. We shall give you a few parting counsels.

* Be prayerful. Take time to bow in the secret place and commune heart to heart with God at least twice every day. See to it that in your prayers your soul is lifted up into the presence of God and that it receives the stamp of His holiness upon it. Guard against lukewarmness in prayer. Be fervent, touch heaven and be touched by heaven.
* Guard against being burdened with the cares of this life. Keep your life free from fret, worry, and anxiety. Rest calmly, tranquilly in the helpfulness of an ever-present heavenly Father. Guard against indifference and slothfulness in the spiritual life. Attend vigorously to all the spiritual duties. Come to your prayers with reverence and holy awe. Enter the place of public worship with reverence and a feeling of devotion. Do not engage in a conversation in the house of God that would interfere with or diminish the profoundness of that feeling of reverence in your soul. The house of God is not the place for conversing upon earthly themes. It is a place appointed for the worship of God, not only during the actual service, but before and after. The good effect produced upon the soul by the sermon can be destroyed before you quit the house by a turning of the mind to earthly things.
* See to it every day that you are wholly detached from earthly things. Examine the heart often and closely lest there get to be some affection for things on the earth. See that your love for Christ grows warmer and your interest in heaven grows keener. See to it that you are perfectly contented with your lot in life. Be pleased with all God is doing for you, and that you are pleasing Him in all you do. Keep such a realization of God’s presense that it enters into and makes holy and heavenly your thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds.
* Allow nothing to disquiet you nor disturb your peace of soul. Give no place to restlessness or impatience. Keep heaven and eternity in full view. Live under the consciousness that God has set His love upon you and that the least fret, restlessness, anxiety, or impatience grieves Him. Lean upon Him, hard upon Him and be at rest. Keep the line of communication with heaven constantly intact.
* Be careful to turn every temptation, trial, and trouble to good account. Have them work growth in grace in you, for that is what they have been allowed to come to you for. Trials are the things God works with to fashion more perfectly His image in you. Never chafe under a trial. Count them joy. Thank God for them.
* Do not be half-hearted in your service to God. Be intense, be earnest, be fervent; keep consecrated to God’s will. Live under the control of the Holy Spirit. Put first things first. Keep a deep and sublime devotion to God in your soul. Be saintly, be saintly, be saintly. Do not be content with being just a little better, but be your best.
* Let your mind dwell much on heaven. It will do you good to think of death if you think of it as you should, if you look upon it as the open door to the glories of heaven. Remember that it is sure to come. Learn to look upon it as you do a messenger you are expecting to come with glad tidings to you. Do not wait for Death in fear, but wait as you would for a loving friend. It has lost its sting. Jesus removed the sting and placed a blessing in its stead. Be busy while you are waiting. Guard against idleness even in your old days. Keep busy to the last. Let no moments go by unemployed. Do not give place to that inclination to slow down and take life easy because you are growing old. Do not entertain the thought that there is no more now for you to do but to fold your hands and wait the coming of the angels. Let us pray that in our dying hour we may magnify Christ. Always be of good cheer. Never let your heart be troubled. Live holy, live prayerfully, trust God in all things and for all things.

I am thinking of heaven tonight,
Of the beautiful place it must be,
Of the glories I there shall behold
When the pearly gates open to me.

Heaven, sweet heaven, home of my soul,
How blessed to be there it will be;
I’ll walk streets of gold, and never grow old
When the pearly gates open to me.

My mind and heart are in heaven tonight,
From all things of the world I am free:
That mansion I see where I shall ever be
When the pearly gates open to me.

Farewell, dear reader, a loving farewell;
On thee I pray heaven’s blessings to be:
When you come to go, may you have lived so
That heaven’s gates will open to thee.

Part II

The Christian is a creation in Christ. The virtue of Christ enters into and becomes a part of body, soul, and spirit, sanctifying the whole. His nature is such as binds him to the Infinite. He is given a vision of the beauty of the Lord from its reflection in his own being. He has a sense of Divine realities which loose him from the things of time and woo him to heavenly life. He moves in an infinite halo of joy and gladness. Every thought, word, and deed of his new-born life fashions him more into the likeness of God.

The Opened Eye

“Open thou mine eyes.”* (Psalm 119:18)

Who among us does not need to pray this prayer? Who among us has an eye to see all that belongs to the Christian life? Are there not yet some glorious things lying out beyond the boundary of our vision? Oh, for the open eye to see the wondrous things God has prepared for them that love Him! Out beyond our spiritual horizon there may be blessed realities awaiting us if we would but seek God earnestly for the open eye to discover them. This world has been called a vale of tears, a wilderness of woe, and man’s way through it a way of trouble and sorrow, yet there is a way running through it which is a way of pleasantness, and a path which is a pathway of peace. We need the open eye to find this heavenly way. If man would but rise to the fullness of life, he would find many glorious things awaiting him there. Up in the higher realms of close companionship with God there is fullness of joy. If man would come into such intimacy with God as to read His mind and know the loving thoughts He has toward him, his joy would be complete. If man could but see all that lies in the fatherhood of God, he would never have a care. The task of this little book is to help you see more of the good things God has for you.

Looking Upward

“When they had lifted up their eyes they saw no man, save Jesus only.”* (Matthew 17:8)

What you see depends on which way you look. Looking around on life’s circumstances, you will miss seeing the better things of life. Erect for your soul a spiritual observatory where you can look into the heavens and see some of its wonder. You do not need to wait until you get to heaven to behold some of its glories. Heaven will come down to you with many of its blessed realities. Soul vision of God is necessary to soul likeness to God. The beauty of the Lord is inwrought into the soul as it gazes, with steadfast eye, upon Him. The soul attaches itself to and becomes like that upon which it gazes. Those who see most of God are fullest of Him. There are some rare souls who see everything full of Him. Every bush is aflame with His presence. They see Him in every event in life. There are no happenings so small as to disclose none of His beauty. They see His love in all the provocations and interruptions. They welcome every annoyance, grievance, and trial because they see His hand of love in everything. When the soul grasps the fact that nothing can come to us without His permission, then we have found heaven on earth.

Heaven Everywhere

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”* (Matthew 5:8)

It matters not, to those who have the open eye, where they are; they see heaven anywhere. They do not live in that little world where they see the old cabin, the open cracks, the bare floors, the empty flour bin, the meatless larder, the scanty clothing, and the hard times, but they live out in a world where they see riches untold. They always have heaped about them a great store of beautiful and wonderful things. They cannot see their poverty because they are ever looking at their riches. They do not see the little old cabin because they are looking at their mansion. They do not see the faded garments because they are looking at the fine linen, so clean and white. They do not see the empty flour bin and meatless larder because their eyes are ever on the promises of God. The apostle John in Patmos was looking into heaven and not at the barren rocks. Paul was not confined to the dungeon and the stocks; he was up in the presence of God singing Him praise. It is what we see with that inner vision that gives to life its blessed fullness and sweet contentment. Oh, saints, do not live around among the seen things. Go out and build a mansion for your soul in the heavenly life.

Shut-Ins

Beyond doubt the Lord has a few shut-ins. The line that bounds their view is only a little way out. They live in a little world of self-interest, of petty cares, of wearying anxieties, of vexing circumstances. They see only the seen things. They live in a small enclosure, and we have grave fears that with some the enclosure is growing smaller every day. A cataract of worldliness is growing over their eyes. There is closeness of fellowship with God, intimacy of communion, blessedness of trust, freedom from care, worry, and fret that they have never discovered. They never get up into that upper region where life stretches out in holy contemplation of God and the glorious realities that the Lord has for Christian souls. Listen at their talk. It is almost continually about the things of the little world of which they are acquainted. If they should be induced to say a word about the spiritual blessings in heavenly places, it is very vague, unreal and incomprehensive. They can talk fluently of the happenings in the neighborhood and of their own affairs, but have no interest in conversing about the beauty of God, of joys unspeakable, of the sweetness of meditation, and the glorious freedom of the soul.

Mary and Martha

“Martha, Martha, thou art troubled about many things.”* (Luke 10:41)

It is the seeing that makes the great difference between one human life and that of another. Martha saw the seen things, Mary the unseen, hence the difference in their lives. Martha loved the Lord Jesus, but her highest thought was that of ministering to His body’s need. Mary saw that her Lord had meat to eat that Martha knew not of. Had Martha come and sat with Mary, she would not have seen what Mary saw. She would have seen the well-spread table in the dining room, and Mary saw a table spread in the heavenly kingdom. There are those who assemble for worship in the same building who see vastly different things. Some rise but a little way above the things of time and sense. They have so much of the seen things in their eyes, they cannot see the glorious things of the spiritual life. Yet it is their privilege to see the loving purpose of God in every line of human sorrow and have to build for them greater beauty of soul. They should see the hand of God in all the details of daily life, and have the little annoyances and cares work a delicacy in their soul upon which the Holy Spirit can imprint the colors of the heavenly life, making them more heavenly.

Finding Life

“He that loses his life for my sake shall find it.”* (Matthew 10:39)

Not once for all, but the giving of life daily for Christ’s sake is the daily finding of life. By losing life you find life. This is an unfailing law in both the lower and higher life. By expending muscle you find muscle, by expending life you find life. A selfish act is a self-destroying act. A self-denying act is a self-developing act. Every act done for Christ’s sake identifies you with Christ. You become a part of that for which you do an act, and it becomes a part of you. To do things for the world’s sake is to become a part of the world. The more love for Christ you put in what you do, the more closely it unites you with Him. 0 Jesus, intensify our love for Thee! You can put a whole heart full of love in a very small deed, and then the deed has lost its smallness. You can put love for Christ in doing things for yourself as well as in doing things for others. In fact, with a true, sincere Christian there is no such thing as doing for yourself and doing for others. Every act, whether done for yourself or for others, is an act done for Christ. Those who love Jesus do not do one single thing in caring for themselves or others that is not done solely for His sake. This is finding life.

Living by Christ

“As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.”* (John 6:57)

Are you able to grasp the meaning of these words? Read them over again slowly and prayerfully. We are to live by Christ as Christ lived by the Father. This is life’s standard. It is the standard Jesus set up. The life Jesus lived was not His, but the life of the Father. The words He spoke were the Father’s words, the deeds He did were the deeds of the Father. To look upon His life was to look upon the life of the Father, for it was the Father that lived in Him. He lived by the Father because He lived upon the Father. In those early morning and all night prayers He was feeding on God the Father, and all through the day He lived by Him. That which He gathered from the Father in those heart-to-heart prayers He carried out and gave it to the world. In those communings with the Father He enveloped Himself with an heavenly atmosphere, and within this enclosure He kept Himself all the day. That holy awe, that sacred reverence, that spirit of worship, that heavenly unction which He gathered to His soul in those prayers He kept within Him all the day. He gathered fresh food every night and morning. Thus we are to live by Christ.

Feeding on Christ

“He that eateth me, even he shall live by me.”* (John 6:57)

May God let the reader and the writer into the secret meaning of these words. We live by what we feed on. Herein lies the whole secret of holy living. To live by Christ is to live like Christ. It is to live by His power, His love, His holiness, His life. To thus live we must feed on Him. He is to be our daily food. There are a few rare souls today (would there were many more) who are hungering for more and more of God, and yet they are coming a little short of the fullest satisfaction. There are those who have a craving that is not fully met—a thirst that is not wholly quenched. They come short of living as Godlike as they should. They try to live nearer Christ, but they fail. They need to feed more on Christ. He is the Life-Bread of the soul. They live the most holy who assimilate most of Him. We feed on Him by bringing our soul into His presence and absorbing Him. In loving thought of Him, in meditating upon Him, in reading His Word and praying in the Spirit, we feed on Him. Every out-going of the heart in love toward Him is supping of Him. By opening its pores and letting the sunlight in, the flower feeds on sunlight. Open your soul to Jesus and let Him shine in.

The Soul’s Craving

The soul’s cravings will not all be fully met and satisfied while here in the body. It was created for greater freedom, for more perfect vision, for greater knowledge, and for a closer union with Christ. The veil of flesh hangs between the redeemed soul and heavenly realities of which it has a consciousness and for which it longs. The soul in love with Christ finds great delight in thinking about the mansion Jesus has gone to prepare and where it shall look into His face as it cannot here. Redeemed man does not have much to do with earthly things compared with his activities amid heavenly things. While in the body he needs to attend to some things here, but he lives mostly in eternity. There are no cravings of the soul for the things of the lower life; its cravings are all for things above. Be sure that you distinguish between the two. It is possible to mistake the cravings of the flesh, the intellect, the sentimental for the craving of the spirit. The mind of man may hunger for an intellectual knowledge of God while the soul has no hunger for God. The soul that longs after God finds the hour of communion with God the sweetest of all the life. It has no thirstings for life’s pleasures.

Holier in Life

You may be pure in heart as the crystal river of life can make you, and holy of soul as God’s throne, yet there is no man living who cannot become holier in life. You can abound more and more in love; go from faith to greater faith; grow in knowledge and grace, and have the beauty of the Lord blooming out more and more in all the words and deeds of life. Though your heart is cleansed from every stain of sin, you can have the sweet, heavenly unction of the Holy Spirit resting more weightily upon your soul. This will affect your outward life, making it deeper, more hallowed and holy. The tree of the garden may be perfect and bear perfect fruit, but by rooting deeper it grows and bears larger and more developed fruit. By letting the mind take hold upon God in holy thought, we root deeper into Him and conform more unto His likeness. Every time the mind fastens upon some truth of God the spirit grows more into the image of God. Put idle thoughts, vain thoughts, far away from you and stay your mind on things above. Open the door of your heart heavenward that the light of God may shine in, imprinting in its depth the beautiful graces of Christ. Look into the face of Jesus and grow to be more like Him.

My Heart-Garden

Down in the secret depths of my heart is a wonderful garden. When I open the gate and walk in, God meets me there. We converse together of things that can never be talked about outside this secret place. It is the holy of holies. It may be amid the bustling throng, the crowded street, the chattering of thoughtless friends, or in some solitary place; when I open the gate and walk in, I find Christ waiting for me. He never disappoints me. His voice is sweetest music, and before the light of His beaming face the shadows flee away. The world with its frets and worries, its fears and anxieties, its sorrows and its cares has no place in this wonderful garden. Here life takes on a fuller meaning. I see the things that are worthless and the things worth while. Here I can see and hear things that cannot be seen or heard anywhere outside this secret place. Here the seen things are lost to view and only the unseen things appear. Here the near things are far away and the far away things are near. Here I gather golden grain from the fields of heaven which I am to carry out and scatter in the pathway of others. When I come out from this garden, earth is not like it was before. Things seem changed and I am nearer like my blessed Lord.

Home of My Soul

The home I am building for my soul today will be its home tomorrow and forever. My soul needs a little more spacious home today than that which it occupied yesterday. It longs to soar up a little higher, to go down a little deeper. The home of yesterday is too narrow for today. It seeks for a clearer vision of heaven, it longs for greater nearness to God, it would feel a little more sensibly the impulse of His will, and come nearer the gates of glory and hear more distinctly the sweet music of heaven. I must not cramp or stint this soul of mine. It must have the fullest and freest range. My soul must have perfect liberty to roam about amid the unseen heavenly things regardless of the sacrifice of the house of clay. This house of flesh must not hold it in or interrupt its flight upward. Its wings must be free to fly upward to the presence of God to hold sweet communion with Him. There are yet many new discoveries for my soul to make in the spiritual life, and it must not be hindered by the desires of the flesh. The flesh with its affections and lusts must be crucified that my soul may have fullest liberty today. What I build for my soul today will be its home throughout eternity. I must build a larger home for my soul each day.

Love

“He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”* (I John 4:16)

The fish is in its element when dwelling in the sea. Man’s proper element is love. Man out of love is out of his native element. Love is the greatest thing in life. The worth of a deed is estimated, not by the deed itself, but by the amount of love there is in it. Love associates the object loved with every thing in life. Labor is the essential property of love. “And labor of love.”* (I Thessalonians 1:3) Love is the must of life. “I must work the works of him that sent me.”* (John 9:4) The labor of love is expressed in giving or in putting forth effort to obtain something to give. Love lives to give. It must give that it might live. Love is not in the word, but in the deed. “Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”* (I John 3:18) The tongue may talk of love, but the deed talks loudest. “God so loved the world that he gave.”* (John 3:16) You love an object when you love it so that you give yourself for it. Less than this is not love. Love gives itself. We must cut the roses from the rose bush on our lawn or it will cease giving us roses. It must give its roses that it may produce more roses. Love must give that it may keep on loving.

Love to Christ

“Whom having not seen, ye love.”* (I Peter 1:8) “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.”* (Ephesians 6:24)

Sincere love is love wholly free from self-interest. Sincere love to Christ is not to love Him for what He gives us, but for what He is in himself. A young lady may love a man because he saved her life, but she loves her husband because of what he is. Christ is the lovely and the lovable One. Christ, not the blessing, is to be loved. He is to be loved with or without blessings. There is great need of more intense love to Christ in the hearts of His saints. Few, indeed, that love Jesus as they should. If they loved Christ as they should, it would make a great change in their life. “Is it I?” When Christ is loved in sincerity, He is associated with everything in life. Everything brings thoughts of Him. Present a man, who loves his wife, with a basket of nice, ripe fruit and he will at once think of her. When you receive your monthly salary, you will think of Jesus before yourself, if you love Him more than yourself. You have greater joy in the thing received because of how much of it you can give to Christ, rather than how much you can have for yourself. Increase and abound in love.

Hallowing Life

The secret of a hallowed life is the hallowing of God in the heart. A hallowed life stands out in the world as a witness to things that belong to the heavenly life. Hold your body as a sacred thing dedicated to God for His indwelling. He will hallow His temple. Keep the body sanctified wholly, so that in your eating and drinking or in whatsoever you do all reflects honor and glory to God. A hallowed life speaks to men of things spiritual, divine, eternal. Beware, oh, beware, lest you profane things hallowed to God! There is a vast difference between a cultivated dignity and a life hallowed by the holy presence of God. A man’s acquired dignity points men to himself and they call him magnanimous. A hallowed life points men to God and they magnify Him. The holy contemplation of God awes the soul and this holy awe is the spring of a hallowed life. Deep thoughts of God beget a reverence, a veneration of God that hallows the words and deeds of a man’s life so that he speaks and acts not as other men. Go, dear child of God, often into that place of quiet communion with God, that you might take on a hallowedness by which you may hallow the world.

Familiarity

Familiarity with an object has a tendency to lessen interest and delight in the object. It requires but little effort to have interest in new things, but it does require effort to keep up the interest as the object grows older. It is possible to lose your love to God when very busy about the work of God. It is easier to keep up the works than it is to keep up the love. Saints at Ephesus lost love to God yet maintained the works. You can become so familiar with preaching that it becomes more of an occupation than something done in intense love to Christ. You can keep on working for souls long after you have lost heart-burden for souls. It is not always those who work the hardest that love God most. One of the most subtle and dangerous things in the Christian experience is the deadening effect of familiarity. People can word a beautiful testimony for years on a past experience. Men practice the art of talking beautifully about holy things after they have lost the art of living holy. You can be very familiar with the way of truth, and yet having lost the way out of your soul. The only possible way to keep from being deadened by familiarity with spiritual things is to keep gaining greater spiritual things.

The Holy Anointing

“But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you.”* (I John 2:27)

This anointing is the freshening of the soul with spiritual life. It is like the morning dew upon the rose. It awakens the heart into beauty and strength. It lifts the soul up in holy awe and reverence to God. It is that which separates you from the things of the lower life. You go among men, but this holy anointing keeps you above them. The fruits of the Spirit are growing luxuriously in your life. Your heart is the garden of the Lord. There He comes to gather lilies, to scent the sweet fragrance and to eat His pleasant fruits. It is as real as anything in the lower life. The Holy Spirit anoints the soul with the life of Christ which quickens it and makes it life of its life, and gives it such sweet assurance of the abiding presence of God. It enables man to live amid heavenly things. He is not confined to the things of this material world. He lives out among the realities of the spiritual life. He talks with Christ as with a personal friend. He does all things in the thought of Him. It is the taking of the sweet heavenly essences and distilling them upon the heart until it is saturated through and through with heavenly life.

The Mystery of Godliness

“Great is the mystery of godliness.”* (I Timothy 3:16)

Christ was made flesh and dwelt among us. In Him we had God with us. In Him humanity and divinity were united into a oneness. In Him the human and the divine were never separated. He performed no act, thought no thought, spoke no word that necessitated the leaving out of divinity. God was in every word and deed of His life. Is this too high a life for man to live? We are to measure to the stature of the fullness of Christ. All our words are to be spoken, and our deeds done in Jesus’ name (Colossians 3:17). This is nothing more or less than having Christ in every word and deed. We cannot live it, but Christ will come into our humanity and live it in us. We have no excuse. Christ will do it for us. Get out of yourself and let Christ in. He will live in you to the thinking of every thought, the speaking of every word and the doing of every act. We are commanded to live godly in this present world, and that is not godly that does not have God in it. If you are failing to live godly in every word, you need to feed on Christ more. Get more of His strength in your life. Draw more heavily at the Divine breasts. Drink deep and full of the life of Christ.

Dead with Christ

“If ye be dead with him.”* (II Timothy 2:11)

Think deeply on these words. Dead with Him. What does it mean? There is no thought of death on the wooden cross, but death to all living to fleshly lusts. To be dead with Him is to be dead to all He was dead to. It cannot mean less. He lived after the Spirit and not after the flesh. He lived humanly but never fleshly. To live after the Spirit is to do all things in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is to be the energy in the speaking of every word and doing of every deed. We are not to speak and act of ourselves, but in the Spirit. Adam acted to the flesh which separated him from divine life. We can live in the flesh, do things in the flesh, and not do them for the sake of the flesh. We can do every thing for Jesus’ sake. When we do things for the sake of the flesh, we are living to the flesh and this is not holy living. Do not be too hasty to conclude that you are not a Christian because you do some things almost daily that is done to the flesh. You may speak too idly, or too sharply, eat too much, indulge in the flesh in too great an ease, and yet do it carelessly and thoughtlessly and not altogether forfeit Divine life. Read on.

Living with Christ

“If we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him.”* (II Timothy 2:11)

Not only when we get to heaven, but here on earth. If we do not live with Him here, we shall not live with Him in heaven. You cannot speak idly, impatiently, eat intemperately, willfully and premeditatively and be a Christian. And to do those things thoughtlessly and carelessly is to become a very weak Christian, and will finally end in the utter loss of spiritual life. Many, many saints are living too carelessly, thoughtlessly. They may pray the Lord to help that every word they speak may be seasoned with grace, but oh, how careless they are about their words when they come from prayer. They seem to give such little heed to help God answer their prayers. They will chatter along for an hour about earthly things without once thinking of God or whether their words are pleasing unto Him. They will talk about things that ought not to be spoken by those professing to be saints. They seem to enjoy talking about the unholy deeds of others. To live with Jesus is to have but few words, and them well chosen. To live with Christ is to have Him live with us. He is to be in all we do. It is not for us to live but Him to live in us. Christ liveth in me.

Baptized into His Death

“Baptized into His death.”* (Romans 6:3)

Many saints fail to walk in that blessed fellowship and intimate communion that their souls crave. They long to have Christ more real in their life. They yearn for a greater consciousness of His presence. They come short of their soul’s cravings because they are not baptized fully into Christ’s death. They live too much to the flesh. They live too much for earthly things. They have too great an admiration for earthly things, a fine home, fine furniture, fine automobile. Look closely into the life of Christ. Not once did He ever manifest an admiration of the fine things of the world. He admired God in nature, but never admired nature of itself. If He admired the works of man, it was not what man had done, but what God had helped him do. In all His sightseeing He never lost sight of God. This is a precious secret in the Christian life. See God everywhere and in everything. Admire God, adore Him, and not the thing He has created. Alas, how many think more, admire more, talk more about, seek more after the thing created than they do the Creator. Jesus saw this world and all the fine things in it under condemnation and ready for the burning, and so will you when baptized into His death.

Dying with Christ

“Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.”* (II Corinthians 4:10)

Do not think of Christ being dead to the extent that He had no temptation. He was tempted all through His life as any sanctified person is tempted (Hebrews 4:15). His death was that of an everyday dying. He had temptation to resist and overcome. He had a human will which He kept in subjection to the Divine will just as Christians have to do. The same power that enabled Him to do this will enable the Christian to do likewise. This is holy living. Just as Jesus kept dead to every suggestion of the flesh, so are we to keep dead. This is bearing about in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus. One brother inquires, “How can a man marry and raise a family and not live to the flesh?” Just the same as he can do anything in the flesh and not live to the flesh. Jesus did not refuse to marry because it was sinful or fleshly. It was not His calling. Paul said, “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called,”* (I Corinthians 7:20) and he was talking on this very subject. Marrying belongs to pure humanity as much as eating, drinking, sleeping, etc., though not as necessary to the life of the person, but to the life of the race.

Dying with Christ: Continued

Raising a family was not the sin of Eden. God told Adam and his wife to be fruitful, to multiply and replenish the earth before their transgression. When man and woman marry simply for the gratification of the flesh, they transgress a higher law of their being. They are living on the plane of the flesh. This is true of everything in life. To build a house, or remodel one, to buy home furniture or an automobile to the gratifying of the flesh is sowing to the flesh. There are to be fasts, by mutual consent for the soul’s good in the married life, the same as abstaining from food and drink (I Corinthians 7:5). Dying with Jesus means the refusing to do anything in life purely for fleshly gratification. This is holy living. This is where many a saint is coming short of the perfect life. They are too careless. Their soul is not stirred up to realization of the great importance of sowing to the Spirit. Listening to the suggestion of the flesh has caused many a one to fail to obey the Spirit. They sowed to the flesh instead of to the Spirit, and they will have to pay the penalty. They absent themselves from the prayer meeting, from the closet, fail to give of their means at the suggestion of the flesh. They are missing the joy of God.

Living to Our Ability

“He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”* (Matthew 19:12)

God requires no one to receive that of which they are not capable. Jesus withheld some truths from His disciples because they were not able to receive them. Some are capable of receiving more than others. God does not require one man to live to the capability of another, but does require each one to live to the fullest of his own capability. Have you done this? Are you doing it? If you had lived to the fullest of your capability in the past, it may be that you would be more capable today. Begin now! Lose no more time! Jesus does not condemn all who do not live to the full standard of life. He does condemn all who do not live to the full light they have been given of that standard; you to yours and me to mine. The question is, are you living to your full light? The soul has wonderful capabilities. If we will only live up to our full capabilities, we will be brought into a very close life with God. We greatly fear that many are careless. They are not putting their soul out to its fullest capability. They are not reaching out with all the enegry of their being for things that are before. They could be better Christians if they would.

The Joys of Heaven

The Lord said to his faithful servant, “Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”* (Matthew 25:21,23) By this Jesus means to tell us that if we be faithful servants of God, some day we shall be admitted into higher joys than we ever knew here. The little child that has been taught that Santa will bring it many pretty things on Christmas will think a great deal about these nice things, and can scarcely wait until Christmas comes. Why should we not think much about the joys of heaven? Maybe some of us do not keep that heavenly country enough in our thoughts. The more you contemplate the joys of heaven, the lighter will be the sorrows of earth. The joy that Jesus looked forward unto helped Him to endure the cross. We can bear a great deal today if we have bright anticipations of tomorrow. What if there be a few tears here? There will be none over there, and this thought helps us to bear up a little longer. Thinking of the joys of heaven will let the light through the darkest clouds that can hang over our heads. Earthly pleasures fail to charm us as we think about the pleasures at God’s right hand. Though there is no flour in the bin, nor meat in the larder, we grow happy as we think of heaven.

Tune Your Harp

David calls up his soul and tunes it to the great heart of God. Keeping in tune with heaven is the secret of holy living. We must catch daily messages from the sky that we might keep in harmony with the mind of God. We must hear the voice of God, we must feel His life playing on the tender cords of our soul, we need to be moved by the impulses of His loving heartbeats to live as holy as we should. Let there be no discordant notes in the music of your soul. You can keep tuned in with the sweet harmony of heaven in the very face of strife and sin in the world. Peter slept like a child with the chopping block only a few hours ahead; Paul kept the music of heaven in his heart while fast in the stocks; Daniel kept tuned in with the world of glory at the entrance to the lions’ den; the furnace cast no fear over the life of the three Hebrews; Habakkuk rejoiced in the God of his salvation with empty fields, storehouses and stalls before him; Job kept the proper wavelength in his soul amid all his adversities. Beware, oh, beware, lest something of earth gets your harps out of tune. Why will mortal man allow the poor, weak things of earth to disturb the music of his soul?

Faith

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”* (Galatians 3:26)

Faith is that which brings the soul in contact with God in Christ, and Christ is formed in man. Faith in Christ identifies man with God. Heart-faith works by love. By faith we love the unseen Christ. Faith is the faculty of spiritual touch. Faith is that energy by which the soul is attached in a vital union with God. It is by faith that the unseen is realized. It is by faith that the soul is brought in touch with the Infinite. Faith receives into itself that which is in Christ and mingles His life with its own. Faith brings virtue out of Him into our body or soul. It is just according to what faith has been exercised for. Faith is more than a chain that binds us to God; it unites God to us so that we are one. Faith fills the soul with God, and the soul filled with God finds everything full of Him. Every event, every circumstance is a bush aflame with His glory. Faith associates God with every moment of time and every event of life. Faith puts the world with its vanities and vexations under our feet. Faith regards every foe as conquered. It refuses to look on circumstances. It will not be drawn aside from looking into the face of God.

Living by Faith

“The just shall live by faith.”* (Galatians 3:11)

The sinner lives by sight; the saint lives by faith. This puts them into two different spheres of life. One lives in the world of seen things, while the other lives in the unseen world. One sees only the circumstances of everyday life, while the other sees the hand of Providence in all circumstances. It makes a vast difference. By faith man lives above all earthly circumstances. He is not affected by “hard times.” He lives up where all times are good times. The most abject poverty has no influence over his life. If he has no place to lay his head, he has a place to lay his heart and he is perfectly contented. Mountains of gold have no more influence over his life than the kingdoms of the world had over Jesus. He makes no more obeisance to the world at its offers of riches, honor, and pleasure than Jesus made to the devil at his offers of all the glory of the kingdoms of earth. Those who live by faith do not look around on material things. They live amid eternal things. They understand that they are to use everything that comes to them in life to help them on in the spiritual life. Those living by faith live under the influence of the unseen and not the seen.

Man’s Worth

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”* (Hebrews 2:6)

Man is of infinite worth. Not only is he of infinite worth to God, but he is of infinite worth to himself. When a man loses himself, he has lost all. When he finds himself, he finds all. Christ was not only the Son of God, but also the Son of man. He was born of the Holy Spirit and of woman. God finds Himself (we say it with profound reverence) when He finds man, and man finds himself when he finds God. The father finds himself in the child, and the child finds himself in the father. God has children in His loins, and in those that are born of Him He sees of the travail of His soul and is satisfied—He finds His completeness. There is something in God that yearns for man, and something in man that yearns for God. When they find one another, they have found their fullness of joy, their fullness of fellowship, their fullness of glory. The greatest gift to man is God, and the greatest gift to God is man. You can give God no greater gift than the giving of yourself. God gave Himself to man that He might receive the gift of man to Himself. The cross of Christ is the measurement of man’s worth to God. Man being crucified with Christ is the measure of God’s worth to him.

The Christian

“The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”* (Acts 11:26)

The Christian is man in his completeness. He is not something more than man, neither is he something less, but man in his perfect manhood. “Ye are complete in him.”* (Colossians 2:10) The Christian is not an addition to man’s manhood, but he is the true type of manhood. To not be a Christian is to be something less than man. Such are below the standard. They are rejected. When man measures to the stature of the fullness of Christ, he also measures to the fullness of himself. He who does not measure to the fullness of Christ has not risen to the fullness of manhood. When we say, “Be a man,” it means in the full sense, “Be a Christian.” There is no difference between the laws of Christ written in the Gospel and those written in the heart and mind of man. The one answers to the other. Do you ever check up? When the Christian transgresses the law of the Gospel, he transgresses the law of his being. The life of a Christian is not the outflowing of the laws of the Gospel, but the outflowing of the laws of his own being, and since these are identically the same, the Christian life is an outward expression of Gospel law. Holy living is Gospel living.

Man’s Kinship with God

“[I] will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters.”* (II Corinthians 6:18)

It is the kinship of father and son. It is God coming into humanity and the taking of humanity up into Himself. He stamps Himself with humanity and stamps humanity with Himself. Look at humanity in Christ and you will see what humanity ought to be. Look at Christ in humanity and you will see what Christ is. This may be a hard saying, but it is what man is in Christ. Christ is the Revealer of man, and saved man is the revealer of Christ. The Christian is the revealer of Christ not only on special or extraordinary occasions, but also in the smallest detail of life. Whether he speaks or acts, he does all in the name (life, character) of Christ. Look on the footprints Christ made through this world and you will see the pathway for the redeemed. Look on the pathway of the redeemed and you will see the footprints of the Savior. The redeemed “walk, even as He walked.”* (I John 2:6) Jesus was filled with divinity and humanity, and man in Christ is fulfilled with humanity and divinity. Jesus was the fullness of man, and man in Him is the fullness of God. God and man are so united in Christ as to work together, walk together, suffer and rejoice together. This is holiness.

God’s Eternal Purpose

“According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”* (Ephesians 3:11)

From the dawn of eternity God had a purpose in mind, and that purpose was to have a being that He could love to the fullest capacity of His love and with whom He could have perfect fellowship and most intimate communion. You, dear reader, are that being. This purpose was wrought out through Christ. That God might have His purpose realized He must bring man up to a perfect likeness of Himself. God loved man in his sins, but did not love him for what he then was, but for what he could become in Christ Jesus. The likeness of God was in Christ. The great task of God is the bringing of man up to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. To do this Christ Himself must be formed in man. Man becomes the likeness of God in Christ. God looks on the man in Christ and sees the fullest realization of His purpose. Christ Jesus came to save man. This is what salvation is—fellowship, likeness, communion with God. Salvation is in being like God. This is accomplished by Christ coming into the life of man and taking that life up into His own and making them one life. Christ and saved man are not two, they are one. This is the new creation.

Salvation

“Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.”* (Luke 2:30)

Jesus is God’s salvation for man—Jesus and none other. Salvation is more than saving man from all that is unlike Christ; it is also imparting to him all that is like Christ. It is Christ’s and man’s nature inwrought one in the other, making them of like nature. It is the transforming of man into the likeness of God. It is man attaining his true manhood. Salvation is manhood regained. Look at Christ and you will see what you ought to be and can be. Jesus became the Savior of men by giving Himself for men. Men are saved by giving themselves to the Savior. A saved man is one to whom the Savior has been given and one who has given himself to the Savior. They are of like nature. They have perfect fellowship, blessed communion, and share everything in common. Each has what the other has. That which the man has belongs to Christ, and that which Christ has belongs to the man. Christ sups with the man and the man with Christ. Wherever you find the saved man you will also find Jesus there. They think, they speak, they act together. They are one life. Christ is the life of the man, and the man’s life is lived in by Christ. This is holy living—this is salvation.

Character

“The express image of his person.”* (Hebrews 1:3)

We do not have the word character in the King James Version of the Bible, but had we got a direct rendering of the above text, it would have been character instead of image. Christ was in the express character of the Father. Man can not serve two masters, but the fact is, he is serving one of two. There is none good but One; neither is there any that doeth good. All good that man does is done by the power of God. There is a spirit that works in the children of disobedience to the doing of wrong. Man is not free to do what he wills. He may will to do good and find he is not able to do it. He may sometimes will to do evil and find himself hindered. The only freedom man has is the power to choose which power shall work in him—the power of Christ, or the power of Satan. If man will yield his life to Christ, He will come in, dethroning the power of sin, and be the power in man to the doing of good. Character is not what we are by reason of what we do, but what we are by reason of what power is working in us. We do not build a Christian character by our own doing, but by accepting Christ and letting Him work in and through us to His own pleasure.

Our Book

“And the books were opened.”* (Revelation 20:12)

God gives a book to everyone. You have yours and I have mine. It is the book of possibilities. In our text we are told that we are going to be judged out of the books according to our works. We are all writing a book. We are writing in our own book. I cannot write in yours, nor you in mine. You are responsible for what is in your book. We are tracing out our own record every moment on the book of our possibilities. What we think, what we say, and what we do are all being recorded. If you do nothing, then that is what is recorded. It is not just according to what we have done, but according to what we might have done. There will be no false entries in your book. The record is selfrecording. Every deed records itself. Every idle moment records itself. If you do not want an idle moment or an idle word recorded against you, do not spend it, do not speak it. Our record is being written in our own hearts. What we think, say, and do become a part of us. All is being registered indelibly in our character. Every thought, word, and deed makes us better or worse. You are what you are because of what you have been thinking, saying, and doing. Each one is a child of his own doings.

Influence

“Be thou an example.”* (I Timothy 4:12)

The book of our life is not the making of our own character and destiny only, but it is also helping to make that of another. It is a serious thing to live. There is a wondrous power in personal influence. Your life is helping to mould some other life, and often the one that is dearest to you. What we are goes to help make another what they are. What we are engraves itself upon the life of our friend or brother. The conduct of the parents is being written in the lives of the children. We are contributing to the world’s good or had. A bad man is a dangerous man. We have no right to live as we please. Our children, our friend, our neighbor has a right to demand a good life of us for their own sake. The boy has a right to say, “Father, for my sake I demand you to live a pure life.” It will be a bitter thing to start a child wrong in life by some unholy conduct. It is not an easy thing to heal the wound our wrong conduct has made in the life of another. We may, by repentance and begging forgiveness, heal the wound, but it will be hard to remove the scar. A deed can be forgiven, but it cannot be changed. It is in your power now under grace to make your future record clean and pure. Will you do it?

The Cup of Cold Water

Read Matthew 10:42 and Mark 9:41. Nothing is too small to do out of purest fervent love for Christ. Love is keen-eyed and will find many little things to do for Jesus in the busiest days of life. Every act of our life leads to God or from God. The least act done in love will be rewarded. Even saints, many of them, do not realize this fact as they should. They do not stop to think that their acts, one by one, day after day are making an eternal destiny for them. Every act goes toward building that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Your soul, dear saint, is going to inhabit forever the home you are building out of the little acts of everyday life. The more love we put into the small deed, the greater will be the reward. We must have a care, however, not to do these deeds for reward’s sake, but for love’s sake. Little sacrifices of the flesh for Christ’s sake makes the act beautiful in His sight. Doing things for humanity’s sake is commendable, but doing them for Christ’s sake is infinitely more so. Many of us need greater love for Christ; love that will move us to please the Lord in all we think and say and do throughout the whole of the day; love that will cause us to eat and drink to His glory.

The Value of Truth

“Buy the truth, and sell it not.”* (Proverbs 23:23)

It costs something to gain possession of truth, but it is well worth all it costs. It is the most valuable treasure of which man can gain possession. What is truth? It is the way to true happiness, the way to perfect manhood, the way to Christ and heaven. It is the “pearl of great price.”* (Matthew 13:46) What does it cost? It costs all that a man has. It costs him the world, all earthly possessions, earthly ties, and his own life. When truth is gained it brings to us all that was given for it. It gives a new world, it gives earthly ties purified and made dearer, it gives earthly possessions sanctified, and life now and forever. “Sell it not.” Truth is a precious treasure, and where treasures are thieves will come. These thieves will come in their most deceptive and cunning devices. They will come as an angel of light. They will come as if sent from heaven. Many a man who gave all he had to purchase truth has bartered it away for a trifle. For a bit of worldliness, for some fleshly gratification, truth has been lost in a few moments of time. It has been sacrificed for gold. Men have exchanged truth for a false thing called “New Truth,” which they have gone courting all their days.

God’s Fatherhood

He lives holiest who can say, “My Father” with the deepest heart realization. it is positively impossible to live wholly free from care, anxiety, fret, trouble, and fear without a conception of God’s Fatherhood, and soul-consciousness that He is your Father. Except the Spirit is lisping in your heart, “Abba, Father,”* (Galatians 4:6) you will not live as a child of God should. Listen now, you cannot feel in your heart the great, loving, fatherly care of God and have Him real as life to your soul without deep and holy contemplation of Him. This brings us to where we have been before. We tell you with the strongest emphasis that without meditation, feeding on Christ and assimilating His power and life and love, you will fail again and again to live as your heart tells you that you should. You have tried to be more patient in your home, but you have failed again and again. You have tried to not speak so idly. Cease your trying and go to meditating on the loving fatherhood of God, feed on His life, His love, His joy, assimilate His grace, and ere you are aware the impatient speech, the idle word has taken wing and flown away. The peace of God will keep your heart. It is not so much by trying as by feeding. Get stronger inward life.

Indebtedness

“Owe no man anything, but to love one another.”* (Romans 13:8)

These words are simple, plain, and understandable. Why try to make them mean anything more or less than what they plainly say? These words do not forbid borrowing. Jesus encouraged borrowing. You do not owe a borrowed thing until the date agreed upon for its return. Return it, if it be a penny, a book, or $100.00, on or before the date agreed upon for its return. If you do not, you transgress God’s Word. One says, “I am unable.” If the man borrowed from will willingly extend the time, then you do not owe it until the date of the new agreement. If the man wants it, you are to pay it. Your being unable does not pay the bill. He is as unable to do without as you are to pay it. It is not holy living. Far better to do without than to borrow and not be able to return. Thousands have misstepped because they were not willing to do without. They were reaching out for a little more of some earthly thing. Better be satisfied with the little cabin clear of debt than a fine home under mortgage. It is more Christlike. It will be better for your soul. Oh, the souls that have been dwarfed because man was not contented with the scarcity of earthly things. Look on Christ.

The Smile of God

“Who will show us any good?”* (Psalm 4:6)

The world is asking this question of the saint. The saint finds the answer in the words of the remainder of the text. “LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.”* (Psalm 4:6) The smile of God is the chief good. Nothing in all this world is good except it has God’s good pleasure upon it. Let that alone, dear soul, upon which God will not smile. It is heaven upon earth to stand continually in the smile of God. That is the essential good. Pluck no rose that does not have the radiance of light from the countenance of God upon it. It will prick you if you do. Nothing will take God’s place in man’s life. Men have tried to manufacture artificial sunlight, but they have not yet succeeded in inventing something that will melt the snows of winter, paint the flowers with beautiful colors, mantle the fields with coverings of green, and shoot life through all nature. It is only God that can bring light, peace, and health to the soul. The pleasures and riches of the world will never do it. You may have the applause of the world, its riches, and its pleasures if you wish them, but let me stand in the light of God’s countenance. God’s smile will bring a bright spot into life’s darkest hours.

The Troubled Heart

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”* (John 14:1)

Faith is the remedy for heart trouble (John 14:27). By faith the heart lives up in the mountain region above the fear and trouble line. When faith is strong and feeds freely upon Christ, then the heart is full of life and vivacity. When faith is weak the heart languisheth for want of nourishment. Faith that works by love to God will wing the soul up “beyond the reach of trouble, knowing not a painful struggle, ever joyful in the Lord.”* If you are having fears, troubles, anxieties, worries, and frettings, you need to mount up into a clearer and healthier atmosphere. Your faith is too slothful and languid. The heart action is not good and strong. The breathing after Christ is not deep and full enough. The soul does not lay at its full length on Christ that its absorption may be perfect. There is not sufficient pressure of the heart upon Christ. Real, true heart-faith is no lazy something. It is ever up and ardent. Faith works and it works with greatest diligence. Beware of indolence. Many times effort is required. As the new-born babe receives nourishment from the mother’s breast, so the soul by faith receives nourishment from the fullness of God.

Poor Yet Rich

“I know thy works, and thy tribulation, and poverty, but thou art rich.”* (Revelation 2:9)

Faith makes rich in the midst of poverty. “Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith?”* (James 2:5) The Christian lives by faith and not by sight. If he lived by sight, he would see his poverty, but since he lives by faith he sees only his riches. Those who live by sight look out upon circumstances and are troubled. Those living by faith look up to God and are happy. Their riches far exceed the riches of the world. What are their riches? They are those things that lie in the fatherhood of God. There is love, comfort, consolation, care, protection, supplying of all need for soul and body; all these and more are in the fatherhood of God and constitute the Christian’s riches. He sees these things and lives by them. Faith makes those riches so real to the saint that he does not feel his poverty. He feels his riches. He does not go through this world dejected and crestfallen under the feeling of poverty, but he goes through the world feeling his riches and proves it by his free, joyous, contented, happy life. By faith, the Christian sees everything bringing good to him, and it is impossible to discourage him.

Faith and Sin

“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”* (Romans 14:23)

This is one of Paul’s hard sayings. It goes deep into the meaning of life. While these words were spoken with reference to the eating of meat it contains a principle which covers the whole of the Christian life. This is an excellent direction in the way of holy living. It means that if you engage in anything in life that cannot be done with implicit faith and confidence in God, it is sin. In the building and furnishing of a home, the buying of any property, the clothing of the body, the feeding of the body, the conversations, the recreations, amusements, entertainments, social gatherings—if there be not innocent, child-like, heart-felt faith in God, you are trespassing on forbidden ground. There must be detachment from earthly things that there may be attachment to God. You must be dead with Christ to live with Him. The will must be wholly surrendered to God. There is no wishing for this or that. There are no choosings of what we shall do or what we shall have. The Lord is always set before the face. Do not do one thing except you can see the light on His countenance while you are doing it. If there be a self-seeking, self-love, self-desire, self-will, the heart famishes.

Marks of Slavery

“I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”* (Galatians 6:17)

“I bear the marks of Jesus branded on my body.”TCNT

Paul was Christ’s bond-servant. There are two theories as to what were these “marks.” One is that they were the scars on his body left from the gashes made by the whippings and stonings. The other is that they were his living for Christ. We accept this latter view. Scars on the body are no certain evidence of belonging to Christ, while we as saints are to give unmistakable evidence in our life that we are the bond-servant of Jesus—His exclusive property. This means that we are to live solely in His interest. As we go about among men, it is plain to be seen by all that we belong to Christ. We are epistles of Christ, slaves of Christ. We take interest in ourselves not for ourselves, but only as the Lord’s possession. This is holy living. When the Lord gives us something that is good for the body—which He is daily doing—we thank Him not just for our body’s sake, but that we have the privilege of caring for this body for His dear sake. You may need to think here a moment and pray. The bond that makes the saint the slave of Christ is the bond of love. This is man’s truest freedom. Christ makes us free by making us His bond-servant in love.

“Stigmata”

The word marks in Galatians 6:17 is from stigmata, and means the brand which the slave bore on his body which showed that he was the property of a certain slaveowner. It was usually the initial letters of the owner’s name or his name in full. You read the name of the owner on the body of the slave. What lies in this metaphor is this, that the Christian as belonging to Christ has the name of God written upon him. “I will write upon him the name of my God.”* (Revelation 3:12) You can read Christ in the life of a saint. The name he bears in this life is “Christ.” That is his brand—his stigmata. The saint glories in bearing this stigmata. The very passion of his life is to see that nothing obliterates this brand. He is thoroughly decided that neither the world, nor sin, nor the devil, nor the years of time will be able to have these marks overgrown. They must stand out clear and distinct so that all may read. For him to live is Christ. Christ is to be seen in every word and deed. The intensity, the passion, the fixed resolution of the true saint is to bear these marks in life and in death, so that Jesus shall be magnified in the body while living and when dying (Philippians 1:20).

Waiting on God

“My soul, wait thou only upon God.”* (Psalm 62:5)

There is no soul exercise so strengthening. It is what will develop wings (Isaiah 40:31). It enables the saint to live in the mountain heights. He lives in the upper realm where the sun shines. While the storm and tempest are raging below, the wings of his soul are beating the air where the sunlight gleams. You may judge such a one, but he is too high to be reached by man’s judgment. Nothing you can do to him that will trouble him. He will love you and do you good, however much you may mistreat him. You cannot turn him aside from loyalty to God. He is up where he is in tune with the Infinite. He is up where no earthly thing intercepts the messages from heaven to his soul. No earthly circumstances or condition can break the harmony he has with God. He sails on an unruffled sea. Waves of glory roll around him like a sea of light. While among men he is above men. While in the furnace he walks with God, and there no obnoxious odor of the earthly circumstance gets on his garments. He is surrounded with a pure and heavenly atmosphere. The great secret of a holy and happy life while living in the world is to live above it. “My soul, wait thou only upon God.” Put the emphasis on “only.”

Conclusion

We have come to say the parting word. Oh, Jesus, what shall it be! Will there be those who read this booklet, pronounce it good, yet will allow the trifling things of earth to hinder them from living to its teachings? After all that has been said, will they still be careless, indifferent, and live at too great a distance from God? Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O saint; put on thy beautiful garments, O child of heaven; that there be nothing dull, stupid, morose, morbid, slothful in your soul, but all be full of life and vigor from God and aflame with His glory. We charge you in the sight of God and the Lord Jesus, allow nothing in your life that is thoughtless or indifferent toward heavenly things. Do not allow your prayers to be dull and lifeless. Call mightily on God to send an angel with a live coal from off the altar and touch your soul that you might flame up into the strength, holiness, and beauty of the Lord. Pray, pray more, pray in the Spirit. Beware of that listless prayer! We do not mean loud praying, but that prayer that presses the soul hard against God and receives His imprint. Surround yourself with the presence of God and allow nothing of the world to surprise you or woo you out of it. We commit you to God.

Do not think the standard held up in this booklet too high. If you give as earnest attention and put forth as great an effort to live to this standard as you do for things in the secular life, you will be successful. Ought we need feel a deep sense of shame for taking more thought, time, and making greater effort to gain earthly things than we do heavenly things, and then think to excuse ourselves by saying the standard is too high?

Take time, dear saint, we beseech you by the mercies of God — take time to feed your soul on heavenly food.

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Devotional Reading

A person may almost be known by the books he reads. If he habitually reads bad books, we can pretty safely conclude that he is a bad man; on the other hand, if he habitually reads religious books, we can reasonably presume that he is a religious man. Why is this? It is because the nature of a person’s books is usually the nature of his thoughts; and as a man thinks, so he is.

Consequently, our reading devotional literature is a great aid to our being devotional. Too few, I fear, realize how important to our spiritual advancement is the cultivation of a taste for devotional reading. As a rule, those who have a taste for spiritual books and gratify that taste prosper in the Lord, while those who have no relish for such books labor at a great disadvantage. Someone has said that “he who begins a devout life without a taste for spiritual reading may consider the ordinary difficulties multiplied in his case by ten.” The most spiritual men of all ages have had a strong love for reading spiritual books. If, however, my reader happens not to have such a taste or such a love, he should not be discouraged, for it can be created and increased through perseverances in reading devotional literature. Just as a person who does not relish a certain food may learn to like it if he will persist in eating it, so a person who does not have a taste for devotional books may come to enjoy them if he will diligently and prayerfully peruse them.

Spiritual reading invigorates the intellect, warms the affections, and begets in us a desire for more of God’s fullness and for a more heavenly life. It is especially helpful to prayer. When the mind is dull and the spirits low and we have no inspiration for prayer, the reading of a spiritual poem will often so stimulate the mind, raise the spirits, and animate the soul, as to make it easy for us to pray.

As to what books to read, the Bible, of course, is the best of all. But we need others. Although no other book can take the place of the Bible and none of us should neglect reading it, there are many books that can profitably be read in connection with it.

But whatever devotional book you are reading, do not read too fast. Think and digest as you go. Let there be a frequent lifting of the heart to God in prayer. It is not the bee that flies so swiftly from flower to flower that gathers the honey, but the bee that goes down into the flower. A few sentences taken into the mind and heart, and dwelt upon until they have become a part of us, are better than many pages read superficially.

—C. E. Orr

Preface

If the reading of this little book encourages any on their pilgrim way; if it arouses them to greater diligence; if it creates in them a stronger desire to live more like Christ; if it gives them a better understanding of how to live—this poor servant of the Lord will be fully rewarded for all his labor.

Even among the children of God in this beautiful gospel light of the evening there is an inclination, on the part of a few at least, and maybe more than a few, to slow down and not be their very best and most active for God. We hope that this little book will arouse such ones to greater zeal and earnestness. Diligence, yea, constant application, is the secret of success in all manner of life and especially in the Christian life.

This volume is written for all those who desire to please God with a well-spent life. It is sent forth in Jesus’ name, with a prayer—that God bless and help both the reader and the writer to live life at its very best and fulfill the purpose of God concerning them.

Your humble servant in Christian love,
The Author

Introduction

We have only one life to live, only one. Think of this for a moment. Here we are in this world of time making the journey of life. Each day we are farther from the cradle and nearer the grave. Solemn thought. See the mighty concourse of human lives; hear their heavy tread in their onward march. Some are just beginning life’s journey; some are midway up the hill, some have reached the top, and some are midway down the western slope. But where are we all going? Listen, and you will hear one answer—“Eternity.” Beyond the fading, dying gleams of the sunset of life lies a boundless, endless ocean called Eternity. Thitherward you and I are daily traveling.

Time is like a great wheel going its rounds. On and on it goes. Some are stepping on and some are stepping off. But where are these latter stepping? Into eternity. See that old man with bent form, snow-white locks, and tottering steps. His has been a long round, but he has made it at last. See the middle-aged. His round has not been so long, but he must step off. See the youth. He has not been on only a little while, but he is brought to the stepping-off place. He thought his round would be much longer. He supposed he was fairly getting started when that icy hand was laid upon him and the usher said, “Come, you have made your round, and you must go.” The infant that gave its first faint cry this morning may utter its last feeble wail tonight. And thus they go. But where? Eternity.

“Oh, eternity! Long eternity!
Hear the solemn footsteps of eternity.”*

If you were to start today and ask each person you meet the question, “Where are you going?” And, if possible, you were to travel the world over and ask each one of earth’s inhabitants, there could be but one answer—“Eternity.”

Only one life to live! Only one life, and then we must face vast, endless eternity. We must pass along the pathway of life but once. Every step we take is a step that can never be taken again. With this fact in mind, who does not feel like calling upon the All-Wise to direct his every step? If when we make a misstep we could go back and step it over, then there would not be such great necessity to step carefully. But we can never go back. We are leaving footprints. Just as our steps are, so will the footprints be which will tell the story of our life. If we had a score of lives to live, how to live this one would not be of such great moment. We should then have nineteen lives in which to correct the errors and sins of this one—but alas! we have but one. What, then, should we seek more earnestly than to know how to live?

We doubt not but there is in the heart of the reader a strong desire to live life as it should be lived. Thank God, you can. You desire your life to be like the fertile oasis, where the weary traveler refreshes himself. You have seen the rays of light lingering upon the hillside and treetop and gilding the fleecy cloud after the sun had gone down. You desire the beautiful rays of light from your life to linger long after your sun has gone down. You can have it that way. The deeds you do will live after you are gone. They are the footprints. Someone has said that we each day are here building the house we are going to occupy in eternity. If this be true, nothing should concern us so much as how to live. Some men are devoting their time and the power of their intellects to invention; some are studying statesmanship; some are studying the arts, others the sciences, but we have come to learn a little more about how to live. Many are thinking much about how they wish to die, but let us learn how to live. If we live well, we shall die well.

Since we have but one life to live and with it we must face eternity, I am sure there are many who want to make the most of life. There are many who want to be their best in life. This is not a playground, or a place to trifle with time. It is a place of work and effort, a place of purpose and earnestness, a place to do something. Life is not given us to squander nor fritter away, but was given us to accomplish a purpose in the mind of the Creator. If we will set ourselves to live as we should, God will help us and no man can hinder us. We are purchasing treasures for eternity by making a proper use of time. To trifle away time is indeed to be the greatest of spendthrifts. If you squander a dollar, you may regain it; but a moment wasted can never be regained.

There is great responsibility in life. It means much to live. The time was when you and I were not, now we are. We are, and there can never come a time when we shall be. You and I shall always exist somehow, somewhere. One sweet thought to me is that I have time enough to do all that God intends for me to do, and do it well. Then comes another thought—a thought that awes: the good that I do, the sum of my usefulness, will be less than it should be if I spend a moment of time uselessly. God will give us all the time we need to accomplish all He purposes us to accomplish, but He does not give us one moment to trifle away.

The mission of this little volume is to strengthen and energize and help you to spend life as you should. May it please the Great Teacher, who has promised to “shew [us] the path of life,”* (Psalm 16:11) to bless this little work and by it help someone to a pure and noble life and to the accomplishment of all God’s design in giving them life.

The Way the Sail Is Set

Author Unknown

I stood beside the open sea;
The ships went sailing by;
The wind blew softly o’er the lea;
The sun had cloudless sky.

Some ships sailed eastward, some sailed west,
Some north, some southward trend.
How can ships sail this way and that?
But one way blows the wind.

An old sea captain made reply
(His locks with salt spray wet):
“ ’Tis not the wind decides the course;
’Tis way the sails are set.”

I stand beside the sea of life;
The ships go sailing by;
The winds blow fair from heaven’s land;
No clouds bedim the sky.

But one sails eastward, one sails west,
One north, one southward goes:
How can ships sail this way and that
With selfsame wind that blows?

A voice made answer to my soul:
“ ’Tis not how blows the gale;
Each voyager decides the goal
By way he sets the sail.”

The Bible Way

If the Bible had not been given us, we should not always know the way Jesus walked. But He has given us His Word. The way of the Bible is the way of Christ, and is therefore the true path of life. O pilgrim to the heavenly kingdom, the Word of God will be a lamp unto thy feet and a light unto thy way. It will lighten you home. There will never be a day so dark but the beams of light from the blessed Bible will pierce through the darkness and fall with a bright radiance upon your pathway. If sometimes you cannot see just where Jesus stepped, take the precious Book of God, and it will be a lamp to show you the way He trod.

One wintry morning a father went a long distance through the deep snow to feed his sheep. A few hours later a little boy was sent to call his father home. The child was carefully stepping in the footprints before him, but soon a dark cloud arose and the blinding snowstorm so dimmed his eye that he frequently stepped aside.

In the beautiful, clear light of the Bible we can see all the way that Jesus trod. If we will walk according to the Bible, we shall walk as Jesus walked and not show a double track. Make the blessed Word of God your guide if you would walk aright the path of life and be happy.

“And often for your comfort you will read the Guide and Chart:
It has wisdom for the mind and sweet solace for the heart;
It will serve you as a mentor; it will guide you sure and straight
All the time that you will journey, be the ending soon or late.”

“The Scriptures are given by inspiration of God and are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect.”* (II Timothy 3:16) If by faith we receive into our hearts the instruction in righteousness as given by the Scriptures, it will make us perfect in this life. O reader, if you would know how to live, study the Bible. It points out the way clearly and plainly. Let its truths in all their power reach to the depth of thy heart. Let thy soul seize upon the Bible and drink its strength and sweetness as the bee sips the sweetness from the flower. As the animal eats the plant and by assimilation converts it into animal life, so eat the Book of God and convert it into human life. It is the food of angels. But rather than its being the Bible converted into human life, it is the human life transformed into the purity of the Bible. There are great depths to the Bible. The simplest text contains depth to which we can ever be descending.

They who would live a perfect life must set the life of Christ before them as portrayed by the Holy Scriptures. You cannot see much of this perfect life by a passing glance. It is he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues to look that will see the perfect life which it pictures. The artist must look long at the landscape and get it imaged upon his soul before he can produce it upon canvas. The Bible description of the life of Christ must fill your soul with admiration and with a strong desire to possess it. Your heart must lay hold upon it until that life is focused and printed upon your own soul. It is like the art of photography. The object must be set before the heart.

The Bible is the light that shines that image of Christ upon the soul. For the pure in heart to develop into higher spiritual life, they must gain such an admiration for the beauty of Christ that they will long to possess Him in greater fullness. The pleading of the heart will be, “Lord, let Thy beauty be upon us” (Psalm 90:17). Their souls will follow hard after His perfections. In no other way will the soul unfold and develop into the higher Christian life. He who has not learned how to grow in grace has not yet learned how to live. To live life in the best possible manner is to be making constant progress. Oh, let us give this world our best life! When we are nearing the end of the way and life’s sun is sinking low, if on looking back we can see nothing but a life spent in the service of God walking in the light of His Word, this will afford us untold satisfaction.

O blessed Word of eternal life,
The lamp to guide the way
Through this weary world of sin and strife
To heaven’s perfect day!

The Heavenly Way

There is a heaven. There is a place of rest and happiness. I have not gone to heaven, but heaven has come to me; therefore I know there is a heaven. Many who have eaten oranges have never been in a land where oranges grow, but these persons know there must be such a land, because they have tasted its fruit. Likewise, I know there is a heaven because I daily taste its joy.

Not only is there a heaven, but there is a way to heaven. All can go who will. Heaven is a holy place, and the way to heaven is a holy way. A prophet of God said, “An highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness.”* (Isaiah 35:8) The Christian dwells in a heavenly place.

The writer to the saints at Ephesus says, “[He] hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places.”* (Ephesians 2:6) To live in a heavenly place, we must live a heavenly life. Those who do not live a heavenly life on earth will never live in heaven. The heavenly life is the only life worth living. It is the only life that ends in heaven. The way of holiness is the way of happiness. Holy and happy is the true and right life of man. This one brief life of ours should be constant holiness and happiness. Without these, life is not as it should be. It is our privilege in Christ to walk the path of life in perfect peace and joy and in perfect holiness. Such a life will flow out into an eternity of joys unspeakable.

Wait thou on God, O soul of mine!
Listen to know His will;
Light will come from the golden throne,
If thou, O soul, be still.

If thou wouldst sail on tranquil sea,
Wait thou on God, my soul;
Speak, act, and think alone in Him;
Sweet rest shall be thy goal.

If thou wouldst have life’s way to be
Verdant as the growing sod,
Take each step ’neath the guiding eye,
Keep in close touch with God.

Sweet heavenly life! sweet happy life!
Thy joys increase each day;
O soul of mine, press up and on
This high and holy way.

“Be Ye Doers of the Word”

I want to remind you again that the mission of this little volume is to teach you how to live. The life beyond depends on the life here. Let me emphasize what I have repeatedly said before: to live as we should, we must live by every word of God. To live by every word of God is not only to hear it but also to do it. We have learned that, in order to enter the city of God and eat of the tree of life, we must do His commandments, and also that it is “Not every one that saith… Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of [the] Father which is in heaven.”* (Matthew 7:21)

Now I shall read you a text from the Epistle of James, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”* (James 1:22) We are living in a careless age. The Word of God is being treated with neglect. Many are hearing it, but alas! how few are doing it! In this way people deceive themselves. They think they are on their way to heaven, when they are not. The only way to heaven is by doing the commandments. To illustrate this I will refer you to a few texts. “If shine enemy hunger feed him.”* (Romans 12:20) “Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”* (Matthew 5:39) “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.”* (Luke 6:31) If it comes most natural for us to live according to these texts, we can begin to conclude that our hearts are right with God. However, we must have a heart that does not rebel against any text in the Bible.

We are exhorted earnestly by the apostle Peter to “make [our] calling and election sure.”* (II Peter 1:10) The only way to do so is to live to every word of God. Oh, my dear reader, those sweet hopes you have had of reaching heaven and of seeing Jesus and those dear loved ones who have gone before you to that other side will never be realized by you unless you be a diligent doer of the Word of God. I feel like warning you against all carelessness and neglect, and to keep yourselves in the love of God. See that your heart and life reads each day as the Bible reads, and you will then have an unshaken foundation for your faith and hope. If you would know how to live, and make the best of life, read the Bible much and conform your life to its teaching.

Who Are the Wise?

Who is a foolish man? It is a man who hears the sayings of Jesus and fails to do them. He is likened to a man who was foolish enough to build his house upon the sand. This man would better not have built at all, for the cost of the building was lost. He could have had the money for his use and enjoyment if he had not wasted it in building a house on the sand. A foolish man, indeed! Who is a wise man? It is the man who hears the sayings of Jesus and does them. He is likened to a man who “built his house upon a rock.”* (Matthew 7:24) From a temporal standpoint nothing else is so conducive to man’s happiness as a good home. No better use can be made of money than to spend it in the building of a home, provided the house be built upon a sure foundation. A man who hears God’s word and does it is likened to such a man. To build up a Christian character in obedience to the Bible is the greatest wisdom. That is building a mansion in heaven.

A real, true Christian experience and life cost something, but they pay, because they will stand. A mere profession of Christianity may cost something also, but it does not pay, since it will not stand. A man who erects his house upon the sand can build at less cost than he who digs deep and lays his foundation upon the rock, but at the very time when the former man most needs his house—when the winds blow and the rain falls—that is when it is destroyed. On the other hand, the man who builds upon a rock has a house to shelter him through the storms. Likewise, he who builds up a Christian experience in obedience to the Word of God will have something to serve him in time of need.

We thus learn from Jesus’ parable of the wise and the foolish house builders that obeying the Bible is the true way of life.

Keeping the Commandments

God’s Word is pure. Heaven itself and the great white throne is no more pure than the Word of God. That life may be pure, it must be in sweet harmony with the blessed Bible. A life that is lived in obedience to the Bible is as pure as the Bible. Such a life is pure enough for heaven. The writer of Revelation, being in the Spirit saw “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”* (Revelation 22:1) This pure stream was the wonderful word of life. It was as pure as its source, which was the throne of God. The life through which this pure stream flows will be as pure as the throne.

One of the Psalm writers said, “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”* (Psalm 12:6) “Thy word is very pure; therefore thy servant loveth it.”* (Psalm 119:140) The writer of Proverbs says, “Every word of God is pure.”* (Proverbs 30:5) When the veil is drawn aside and our souls are brought face to face with the purity of the Bible, then we understand that a Bible life is the best, purest, noblest, and holiest life that can be lived upon the earth.

O soul of mine, unveil thine eye,
Look upward to thy God,
A wreath of purity to see,
Crowning His every word.

In the following words we have the sum of all true and right living: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.”* (Ecclesiastes 12:13) This text as rendered in the Septuagint version brings out clearer the true signification: “Hear the end of the matter, the sum. Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole man.” Man is not entire, he is not complete as originally intended, when not keeping all the commands of God. Something is lacking in the life that is not in full obedience to every word of God.

The Bible speaks of a beautiful city in that bright celestial world. It is a city of pure gold, clear as glass. Its walls are of jasper; its twelve foundations are garnished with all manner of precious stones; its twelve gates are gates of pearl; its streets are pure gold. In that fair city there is no sin, no pain, no sickness; sorrow and trouble never come there; a tear shall never fall from any eye, for no tears are there. There is no death in that wonderful city so fair. In the midst of the street stands the tree of life. Oh, who does not desire to dwell forever and forever in that city of love and light when the pains and sorrows, the trials and tears, of this weary life are over?

Listen while I read to you in accents, clear, distinct, and unmistakable—“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they might have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”* (Revelation 22:14) O traveler to eternity, your entrance into the beautiful, glorious city of God depends upon your conduct respecting the commandments of God while you are making the journey across the turbulent sea of life. Keeping the commandments of God is man’s whole duty. If he does his whole duty through life he will come up out of the dark valley and shadow of death, and find the gates of pearl unfolding. Who will not cleave to the commandments of God? Who will not obey His voice and walk daily in His holy ways? The obedient will be rewarded by an unfading inheritance in that eternal city of gold. There is a beautiful mansion in the great house of God for every obedient soul. Oh, how blessed!

I am thinking of heaven tonight,
Of the mansion prepared there for me,
Where Jesus my Savior now dwells,
And where I am longing to be.

Will not heaven be well worth a life of obedience to the Word of God, though obedience calls us through storms of persecutions, furnaces of trials, oceans of tribulations, and years of toil and suffering? To Moses the reproaches of Christ were greater treasures than the riches of Egypt, “for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”* (Hebrews 11:26) Sit quiet for a moment and by a strong eye of faith look away into heaven and see that bright mansion prepared for you. See those jasper walls, those pearly gates, and those golden walks. See the crown of life, the harp of God, and the light of the Lamb. Shall we not bear the trials of life a little longer in patience? Shall we not be watchful to walk in God’s ways and obey Him, that this rich inheritance may be ours forever? Methinks I can hear a reply coming from the depths of many a sincere, trusting heart—“Yes, I will live in humble obedience to God on earth, that I may be with Him forever in that celestial city of light.” God bless you!

Beyond the shores of time and the kingdoms of this world is a kingdom called the kingdom of heaven. It is the place where God has His great white throne, around which the angels play upon their golden harps and shout, “Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever.”* (Revelation 7:12) It is around this throne that those who have passed through the tribulations and the trying scenes of this lower world and burst through the gates of death are singing redemption’s sweet song. Who does not desire to join that happy, heavenly throng and wave those palms and wear those white robes and sing those sweet songs over beyond the shadowy vale of death? I seem to hear many voices saying, “I hope to be among that blood-washed throng.” Let me tell you in all tenderness and love, but very plainly, that the realization of your hope depends entirely upon how you live while here in this world. Oh, how much in that great and awful future is depending upon our manner of life in this time-world! Let us learn to live well, to be our best every day.

We may dream of a home in heaven; we may entertain hopes of seeing Jesus and of inheriting a mansion on the shores of eternal bliss; we may imagine ourselves walking through the blooming fields of paradise and sitting beneath the tree of life; but our dreams, our hopes, and our imaginations will never be realized unless we carefully keep the commandments of God. More than a profession is necessary; obedience is the only door into the kingdom of God. Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”* (Matthew 7:21) Until our faith pierces through and beholds the beauties and the realities of God so we can say from the very depths of the soul, “I delight to do thy will, O my God,”* (Psalm 40:8) and, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me,”* (John 4:34) we have not fully entered the true and right pathway of life. Keeping the commands of God is the whole man and the whole of a perfect life.

Keeping the Commandments a Test of Love

We are commanded to love God. It is the first and greatest commandment. Love is more than an emotion; it is an act of the will. A mother loves her child constantly, though she may not always experience the emotions of love. Her care for her child is a proof of her love. We may not always experience a feeling of love toward God, but we can always love Him. Our love is measured, not by our emotions, but by our obedience our service. We labor for those we love, and the love makes the labor light. It is not an irksome thing to obey God when we love Him.

It is possible to make a profession to love God and not really love Him. It may be that many are deceived at this point. One Scripture says, “If any man love God, the same is known of him.”* (I Corinthians 8:3) Jesus says, “Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”* (Luke 6:46) Love is something more than mere words. It is useless to make a profession of love to Jesus and not do what He says. A husband cannot convince his wife of his love by a mere profession of love, but he can convince her by his acts. We are to love, not in word and tongue only, but also in deed and in truth. Again, Jesus says, “If a man love me, he will keep my words.”* (John 14:23) Here is an unfailing test of love. If you will not obey God, He knows you do not love Him, no matter how much you may profess to love Him.

So again we are reminded by the Holy Bible that, in order to spend this brief life of ours as we should, we must keep the commandments of God. No other life will find acceptance with God. No other life will please Him. He desires your love most certainly, but He wants such love as will prompt you to obey Him. Do not measure your Christian experience by your feelings, but measure it by your obedience as proceeding from an internal principle. When you find something in your heart that causes you to obey God no matter how you feel, you have good reason to hope that you are a Christian.

In subsequent chapters I will tell you something of what God’s Word teaches, but, first of all, I desire to fully convince you, and help you to feel, that the right and true way of life is in obedience to its teaching.

The Blessedness of Obeying God’s Word

Everything is said in the Scriptures that can be said to show us the need of living in harmony with the Bible. If our lives are out of harmony with one text in that blessed Book, we are not yet fitted for heaven. We can never be admitted into the everlasting kingdom of God if we knowingly refuse or neglect to live to every word of God. We are therefore exhorted, beseeched, entreated, encouraged, warned, and commanded to obey every text in the Bible. We are encouraged to obedience by being told of the blessedness of keeping the commandments.

It is natural for mothers to love to have their children well spoken of. We do not fault them for this. When a young man, by his good deportment, is gaining a fair name, mothers, when together, will remark, “It is blessed to be the mother of a young man like that.” There was a woman who heard of the fame of a young man. He was casting out devils, healing the sick, opening blinded eyes, and unstopping deaf ears, and consequently he was gaining a wide and favorable reputation. This woman came to the young man and with that mother in her heart said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.”* (Luke 11:27) (It was, indeed, blessed to be the mother of this young man. An angel from heaven acknowledged this. In speaking to Mary of the birth of Jesus—for He was the young man—the angel said, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”* (Luke 1:28) She was more highly favored than any other woman on earth, because she was to become the mother of the Son of God. Can it be that anyone can be more blessed than this happy mother of Jesus?) Let us hear His reply to the woman—“But he said, Yea, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it.”* (Luke 11:28) Jesus did not deny that it was blessed to be His mother, but said that those who hear God’s word and keep it are rather or more, blessed. God favors those who obey Him. “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.”* (Isaiah 1:19) “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river.”* (Isaiah 48:18) Happiness is the result of obedience, and heaven is the final reward.

Our Relationship with Christ Through Obedience

The reason why it is more blessed to obey the Word of God than to be the mother of Jesus is obvious. Spiritual things are higher than physical things. Spiritual relation is closer than natural relation. Brotherhood in Christ is closer than brotherhood in the flesh. A brother in the Spirit is dearer to us than a son or our own mother. Obedience to God makes us one with God. Mary was the mother of Jesus after the flesh, but God’s children enjoy a relationship after the spirit.

At one time somebody brought word to Jesus that His mother and His brethren stood without desiring to see Him. “But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”* (Matthew 12:48-50)

Everyone who desires to spend life in the highest possible degree of perfection should make a constant study of the Bible and should carefully and diligently obey all its precepts. Doing this will bring him into the closest possible relationship with God and will make life the best man can live.

Our Life Is to Adorn the Gospel

To adorn is to make attractive, to beautify. We are exhorted by the apostle Paul to adorn the doctrine of the New Testament by our everyday life. This thought should be a powerful incentive to close living with God and assiduously keeping all of His commandments. Who would not take pleasure in adorning the teachings of Jesus by a pure life? This is the joy of the Christian’s heart. He cares nothing for the adornings of the world, but, oh, that he may so live as to make beautiful the blessed Bible!—this is happiness enough to him.

In another of the Pauline Epistles we are commanded to let our manner of life “be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.”* (Philippians 1:27) To become is also to make attractive or to give a better appearance to. An article of dress is becoming to us when it gives us a better appearance. We speak of anyone’s bad conduct as not being becoming to him. We are to become the gospel of Christ by holy living. When a life is lived as God designed that life should be, that life will be an adornment to the Scriptures.

God will beautify His children with the glories of His redeeming grace; He will adorn them with a meek and quiet spirit, which in His sight is very precious, that they, in turn, may adorn His commandments. As a bride decks herself with jewels, so the heavenly Father beautifies His children with the “robe of righteousness.”* (Isaiah 61:10)

The life of a Christian is God’s special treasure. “And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels,”* (Malachi 3:17) or “special treasure” as rendered by the margin. By reading the context we learn that it is those who fear the Lord that are His jewels. To fear God and keep His commandments is man’s whole duty. It is a perfect life. Such a life is the Lord’s jewel. Such a life is recorded in heaven. Oh, how animating is such knowledge! How it strengthens our hearts to live a righteous life. To live a life that is worthy to be recorded in heaven and is a special treasure to God is truly wonderful.

Our souls are awed by such a thought. Oh, how it ought to move our hearts to carefulness in life! How diligent we should be to walk as worthy citizens of our heavenly state! Someday the Lord will come and gather up these holy lives and place them in His heavenly courts above, where they shall shine as the stars forever.

Oh, take this life, this life of mine
(To thee, O God, ’tis freely given),
And polish it, that it may shine,
And ornament thy Word divine.

The Christian an Epistle of Christ

The life we live is being read. We are not going through the world unnoticed. Someone is looking on, and someone is to some extent fashioning his life after ours. Our life each day is being written down in someone’s memory. My own dear children group around me at times and talk of their mother, who has gone to heaven. Her pure and holy life written in their memory is read over and over to each other and to me. She still lives as an epistle in their hearts. They read her daily life while she was with them, and they continue to read it since she is gone. Christians are said to be “the epistle of Christ.”* (II Corinthians 3:3) To read their life is to read the life of Jesus. All the Bible that many will ever read is what they read in the lives of Christians.

Life will be read just as it is, not as it may pretend to be. It is not what we pretend to be, but what we really are, that will go down in the memory of others. Those who read our lives have a way of reading between the lines. We should strive not so much to make life holy as to be holy. If you are holy, then live just what you are. We should never strive to be what we are not. The only way whereby the Bible may be read in the life is to get it in the heart. People will never read the Word of God in your life simply because you have a neat little Testament in your pocket or a large family Bible on your center table. The Bible can get into the life only by beginning at the heart. There is power in the Word of God, but it works from within. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”* (Colossians 3:16) It will transform the life so that the life will read just like the Holy Scriptures.

The Word of God is a lamp to light us into a holy life. If we follow its instructions in righteousness, it will make us perfect. It reveals our imperfections and thus gives us an opportunity to make improvements. To discover an imperfection in the life is not a bad thing, and we need not think we are any the worse for the discovery. It is only when we let the imperfection remain after it is revealed to us, that we become worse.

The heart that comes under the influence of the Bible will bear the image of Jesus, but of this I shall have more to say elsewhere. So I conclude here by saying, live upon the Word of God, “desire the sincere milk of the word,”* (I Peter 2:2) and you will be an epistle of Christ. We should feel the responsibility that is upon us, remembering that all the Bible some will ever read is what they read in your life and mine. Oh! let us see that it reads in our life as it does in the book, lest those who follow us will not walk in the footprints of Jesus.

How We May Live as the Bible Reads

It is just as natural and easy for a Christian to live the Christian life as it is for a sinner to live a sinful life. The sinner needs make no effort to live a sinful life; he lives it naturally and easily. Life proceeds from the heart. The heart is the fountain, and the life is the stream. As the fountain is, so the stream will be. It is not difficult to live a Christian life when our hearts are pure. This is the secret of purity of life.

The important question, then is, “How can I have a pure heart?” Hearts are made pure by the blood of Jesus. Then comes the command, “Keep thyself pure.”* (I Timothy 5:22) That the heart may be kept pure, it must be kept filled with that which is pure. To keep darkness out of a room, we need only to keep it filled with light. Carefully closing up every crevice will not suffice if the light goes out. Darkness will be present. But simply keep the room filled with light, and no effort is required to keep darkness out. In like manner no effort need to be made to keep impurity out of the heart and keep the heart filled with that which is pure.

But what is pure?

“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”* (Psalm 12:6) “Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.”* (Psalm 119:140) “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,”* (Colossians 3:16) and your heart will be kept pure. The Psalm writer said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”* (Psalm 119:11) Here is the only way to a sinless life. Keep the heart filled with the Word of God. It is the way to live as the Bible reads.

To have a nicely bound volume of the Scriptures lying on the center table will not keep the life sinless. We must have the Word in our heart. One night while I was waiting for a train in one of our large Eastern cities, I went into a mission. A man arose and said he had read the Bible through forty-two times and could quote whole books of it from memory. Later in his talk he said he committed sin more or less every day. The Word of God did not keep him from sinning, for he had it in his head instead of his heart.

To live a Bible life is the only true and right way to live, and in order to live such a life, we need to have the Word written in the heart. “I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts.”* (Hebrews 8:10) Let us illustrate this by taking a single text: “Having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”* () When we have these words in the heart, they will be true in the life. All fret and worry and murmurings will be banished out of the life when the heart is full of the truth.

How to Keep the Word of God in the Heart

Since keeping the Word of God in the heart is the only way to successful Christian living, you will at once want to know how to keep it in the heart. The Word is kept in the heart the same as food is kept in the body. The food is eaten, and then by the process of assimilation it becomes a part of the body. This is something of a mystery; nevertheless we all know it to be true. We feel weak in body, but soon after we partake of food, we feel stronger. Somehow that food gets into the life and makes us stronger. Now, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”* (Matthew 4:4) We can eat the Word of God and we must eat it in order to get it into our heart and life. By eating and the process of assimilation the Word becomes a part of our inner being. We eat it by faith, and the Spirit assimilates it into our hearts.

Let us take a text: “In honour preferring one another.”* (Romans 12:10) It is blessed to have an experience like this. To feel happy when others are honored and we are not is certainly a desirable experience. We can have it. As you read the above text, love it, admire it, desire it, ask for it, believe you receive it—and you have it. It will be a truth of beauty and of power in your soul and life. But remember, you must have an eagerness for it. You must lay hold upon it as the infant does upon the mother’s breast. The same is true with every text in the Bible. Eat the entire book, and thus you will have it as a glorious source of power and purity in your life.

Man, Exhibiting God’s Perfections

Man was created for a purpose, and that purpose was to glorify his Creator (Isaiah 43:7). But man sinned and came short of the glory of God. The Lord, that He may yet be glorified in the man, provides a way of redemption. Through the redemption we have in Christ we can live to the glory of God. This is God’s purpose. The whole of life should be such as will glorify the Creator, and all that we do should be done with that end in view. God help us. Living for God, honoring His word, magnifying His name—this is the duty of man. Awful responsibility! Oh, what carefulness it should work in us. What vehement desire! what earnest seeking after God! that we may live such a life.

Jesus was here in the world and was the light of the world. He had a human body and in that body lived a life that glorified God. That was an exemplary life. Such a life, and such a life only, is to the glory of God. We must fashion our life after His if we should spend life as we should. To know how Jesus lived is to know how we should live. Every life that is in the likeness of Christ’s life is accepted of God. No other life can be. While Christ was here in the body, He was in the express image of the Father. The true, holy character of God was revealed through Jesus’ human life to a lost and sinning world. God had done all He could to reveal His true character to man by laws, ceremonies, and ordinances; but these were only the shadow of the true life that was to be the light of the world. Christ was both God and man. Having a physical form, which is visible, He could set the holiness of God in plain view before the world. If you would know the true life, look to Jesus.

But His life could be perfect only as it was given in sacrifice for man. His life was holy because it was a life sacrificed to God. No life can be possessed by God and used to His glory, that is not sacrificed to Him. Jesus gave Himself as an offering and sacrifice to God for us (Ephesians 5:2). This left Him without a body or human life through which to demonstrate moral principle to the world. But now comes the command to man, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”* (Romans 12:1) God would have this human life of ours offered up in sacrifice, so that we are no more ours but His. When we do so, there will be a change, a great and wonderful change. That life will no longer be worldly or in the course of ordinary earthly-minded men. It will be a transformed life, a life in which God can live and do His will. Through the sacrifice of Christ, God will take the sacrificed life of man and possess it by His Spirit and again demonstrate moral principle to the world. O man, that is your calling in life. You are the vehicle to convey the perfections of God to an unbelieving world. Only an empty vessel for God to fill with Himself to use to His glory.

O man, consider thyself, and know thyself, the purpose for which thou wert created, and the place which thou dost occupy in creation. Thou art no mean creature. Thou art highest of all. God condescends to walk and talk with thee. He upholds thee in His hand. Angels minister to thee. When thou passest through the waters, God Himself will be with thee so that they shall not overflow thee; and when thou walkest through the fire, He will walk with thee so that the flame shall not kindle upon thee (Isaiah 43:2)—because thou art precious in His sight and honorable, and He has set His love upon thee. Thou art so precious to Him that He gave His only begotten Son to die to ransom thee.

In the vast created universe, what place does man occupy? He stands out as a creature that bears the stamp of the divine image, a creature that is endowed with eternity. The heavens shall pass away, but man shall be forever. He was made capable of holding communion with the Creator. He occupies the relationship with God as child with parent. Being made in the likeness of God, he steps out upon the stage of the mighty universe to play the highest and noblest part in the entire drama of created existences. The songs of the morning stars as they sing together, pouring their anthems into the ears of God, are not such sweet music as is the voice of praise and adoration from the holy soul of man.

Man was created for the very highest purpose in the mind of God. He is chosen to represent the divine character. On the stage men and women represent certain characters. Man upon the great stage of life is selected to represent the holy character of God. Oh, that he might play his part well! He who occupies the highest and most responsible part in this wonderful play of the universe will sink to the lowest shame and disgrace if he fails. The eyes of earth, heaven, and hell were turned upon man as he stepped out to play his part. A garden eastward in Eden was selected as the ground of exhibition. It was whispered throughout the corridors of the universe, “Will he succeed? Will he play his part well?” Ah, the sad story! He failed and he fell, bringing a world into shame and disgrace, causing angels to weep and God to repent that He had ever made him.

But heaven’s love was set upon him, and God sought a way whereby the fallen man could be lifted from his low, degraded plane to the high position he once occupied. After searching heaven through, God found but one way for man’s redemption but one price to pay. Would He pay it? He called His Son, His only Son, and pointed out to Him the fallen condition of man, and how He was robbed of glory and devils were rejoicing.

The Father said to His Son, “Only Thy entering into that lower world in the likeness of sinful flesh and suffering and dying can redeem man.”

The Son replied, “I will go. I will suffer. I will lay down my life that man may be restored to his former position! so that he can again take up the part he was to play.”

The price was paid; the plan of man’s redemption was effected; the divine image was again stamped upon the man, so that in Christ Jesus he could again come out and in his life’s play reveal the character of God to the world.

Reader, this brings us down to your day and mine. We have our part to play in life. That part is to display the divine perfections. Through Christ this is possible. Oh, what responsibility! Will we play our part well? Again the eyes of earth, heaven, and hell are turned upon us. The apostle says, “We are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.”* (I Corinthians 4:9) “Men” includes both good and bad; likewise the term “angels” includes both good and bad angels. So, as I have said, earth, heaven, and hell are spectators. To live life as it should be lived is to act out our part upon the stage of life in such a way as to honor God and demonstrate His character before this mighty host of spectators.

Such is man. Through him the righteous character of God is made visible to the world. God Himself is invisible, but since He comes into our heart and life, and since our life is physical and visible, His holiness becomes visible in our holy living. This is how to live. He who lives on a lower plane than perfect holiness is not living to God’s requirements.

God did not redeem man at such a great price merely for man’s sake. He redeemed him for His own glory. Redeemed man is God’s purchased possession, that he “should shew forth the [virtues] of him who hath called [him] out of darkness into his marvellous light.”* (I Peter 2:9) Here again we learn that the mission of man is to show forth in his daily life the true, holy virtues of his Maker and Redeemer. This should be the first business of our life—living solely, purposely, and earnestly for God. We are beings in whom God dwells and through whom God is to display His own holy perfections. This is wonderful; this is weighty. There is, I repeat, great responsibility on man. But unless he feels it, he will never fill to the full the measure of life. Oh, how delighted is the loving heart of God to find in this world a being in whom He can dwell and through whom He can reveal His own beautiful life! Shall we yield ourselves to Him? Shall we invite Him into our hearts? Shall we consecrate our lives to Him that He may hide our life in His life? Yes, dear Lord, we are Thine, wholly Thine, now and forever. Take full possession; live in us; reign in our hearts; use every faculty of our beings to Thy own glory. Thy will be done in us and with us as it is done in heaven.

Jesus will gather His holy angels before him and address them thus: “Do you behold Brother ——? He is a pilgrim and stranger down there in the earth. He is my child. I have washed him in my blood and clothed him with the beautiful garments of salvation. His heart is pure and full of love. He is dead to sin and the world. He loves my will, and his daily meat and drink is to do it. He loves My Word and has hid it in his heart. He keeps all My commandments. He seeks My glory. He often communes with Me. He is fervent in spirit and zealous in good works. His good deeds and prayers I bottle up here in heaven. See that beautiful mansion yonder with its gates of gold and walls of jasper, its floors of transparent glass, its corridors of chalcedony, and colonades of topaz and beryl? That mansion is to be his home when his pilgrimage in that underworld is done. By his holy walk and devoted life he is now confessing Me before men, and I take great delight in telling you that he is My child, and in confessing him before you and My Father on His throne. Just as I have said in My Word, he that will confess Me before men, him will I confess before My Father and the holy angels.”

Redeemed man is a light in the world. In the darkness of this world he is a dispeller of gloom. His life shines, shedding its peaceful rays of light wherever he goes.

Man’s life, when meeting the fullest purpose of God, is used as a magnifying glass through which others may look and see the beauties of divine perfections. Alas! it is to be lamented that the life of many who profess to be followers of Jesus is such that it blurs the perfections of Cod.

In concluding this chapter, let me give you a few rules for daily living—rules which, if followed, will make your life a conveyor of light and holiness from God to the world.

Live such a life that the pure and devoted will be pleased to have you come again.

Live so near to God that every man that meets you is made a little better by having met you.

Live such a life each day that the world can see in you the true way of life.

Be such a light that others can see the way to walk.

Some Use to Jesus

O Christ, the way, the truth, the life,
Keep me safe ’mid the raging strife;
Help me a warrior brave to be
And take the battlefield for Thee.

I fear not the swift arrow’s power
Since Thou art my high, strong-built tower;
The darts may have a bitter sting,
I shelter ’neath Thy feathery wing.

Before me the Goliaths tall
Must quickly flee or headlong fall;
The foe is bruised beneath my feet;
In Thee the victory is complete.

Jesus, to Thee I give up all,
To live or die, to stand or fall.
The sparrows have Thy kindly care,
I’m more than they, then need I fear?

I have a refuge from all harm
Within Thy strong, encircling arm;
Thou keepest me by day and night,
And guidest my weak steps aright.

The hairs on my unworthy head
Are numbered all, Thy Book has said.
Gathered, like the defenseless brood,
My soul is kept in quietude.

As kind and loving parents would
Give to their children all things good,
So from Thy presence angels bring
Unto Thy child each needful thing.

Sometimes Thou hidest Thy sweet face;
The way is dark, I cannot trace.
Thou doest best; I’ll not repine,
But say, “Thy will be done, not mine.”

Since Thou art good, so good to me,
I beg to be some use to Thee:
Intensify Thy love divine
Within my heart, that I may shine

A little brighter, Lord for thee,
That others thy great love may see.
Oh, crucified let all self be,
That Thou mayest shine Thy light through me.

I would not be so dazzling bright
That all the world might see my light,
But in some quiet nook of Thine,
An out-of-way place, there I’d shine.

’Tis not for me to shine afar,
Like blazing sun or brilliant star;
Just help me at my door to be
A little candlelight for Thee.

Godly Living

When someone is spoken of as living a worldly life, it is meant that he lives in a worldly manner, or in a manner like the world. Likewise, when someone is spoken of as living a godly life, it is meant that he lives in a godly manner, or in a manner like God. To many this is a hard saying, but it is possible for man to live just such a life; in fact, it is the only right way of life. A godly life is the only true life. Such a life is demanded by the Scriptures. We are to live “soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.”* (Titus 2:12)

God’s dear children are told to be “followers of him.”* (Ephesians 5:1) In some translations this reads, “Be ye imitators of God,” and in some others, “Be ye mimickers of God.” From this we understand that to be a follower of God is to live or act in a manner like Him. Again, it is said of those who abide in Christ, that they should walk “even as he walked.”* (I John 2:6) Our manner of life should be as was the life of Jesus. It is said of Christ that He, “when he was reviled, reviled not again.”* (I Peter 2:23) Although He was treated most shame fully by His enemies, He did not seek to avenge Himself. When insulting remarks were made to Him, He gave no reply. To live a godly life is to live in the same manner. When Christians are reviled, they bless; when they are persecuted, they suffer meekly and patiently. When Jesus was being put to death by His enemies, He prayed the Father to forgive them. When a man who had come to take Jesus had his ear cut off, Jesus in His tender compassion healed this bitter persecutor’s wound. This is the true spirit of godliness.

The full standard of godliness is attained to only when the whole tenor of the life is in simplicity and godly sincerity. The apostle Paul said that his rejoicing was this: “the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our [conduct] in the world.”* (I Corinthians 1:12) A godly life is wholly free from ostentation; every act is done in purest simplicity and truest sincerity. As God scrutinizes every act by His all-seeing eye He discovers no impure motive, as vain-glory or lifting up of self; for all is in godly sincerity.

The grace of godliness in the Christian character is capable of cultivation and increase. There is a law in both the material and spiritual that exercise is conducive to growth. The Spirit-filled apostle said, “Exercise thyself… unto godliness.”* (I Timothy 4:7) In the Emphatic this reads, “Train thyself for piety.” Here is something for every soul that has any aspiration to be more godly in life. Train yourself for piety. To become of deeper piety and more godly is the joy of the Christian heart. By training we become more pious. The lawn tender forms an espalier by intertwining the branches of the vine. He keeps intertwining them as they grow, and by such training forms a latticework of shrubbery. The soul intertwined with the meek and lowly life of Jesus will form a character of deep piety and sincere godliness. The daily life should be intertwined with the life of Jesus. Let there be no reaching out for anything outside of Him. For a proper development of the Christian graces there must be a constant training or intertwining of the soul with God. This linking more tightly is the result of growth, and growth is produced by exercise, and exercise consists in reading the Scriptures, in prayer, and in deep thought or heart-communion with God. The athlete takes such exercises and eats such foods as will most properly develop and strengthen his muscles. The soul that has any longings for more of God must exercise to have its yearnings gratified. To be conscious of a growing up into Christ, to feel the soul intertwining more and more with the life of God, is fullness of joy and perfect happiness.

Christian reader, is there an ardent flame of pure love in your heart? Do you walk with Jesus in a devout, trustful, reverential spirit? Do you oftentimes find your mind contemplating the wonders of creation and the glories of salvation? Is your soul habituated to breathe in the atmosphere of heaven deeply? Is that holy awe filling you? Is that tender sensibility of spiritual things filling your heart? Is that fine, keen edge upon your soul that gives such avidity for holy things? Is to become more godly a sincere desire of your heart? Then diligently perform all the duties that belong to a godly life. Some give great diligence for a time and make spiritual gain and then lose it all in a day of slackness. But do not slack, be constant, be persevering, be encouraged. reach forth, press forward—and the prize of meekness, peace, and godliness will crown your life.

Something to Do

There is so much to do that everyone is needed to help in doing it. In this great busy world of life there is something for everyone to do. The command is, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.”* (Ecclesiastes 9:10) Think over these words for a moment. Does not your heart feel that they imply great earnestness in life? They mean a life of labor—a life of service. “Do with your might” implies putting your whole heart into your work. Do it in just such a manner as shows you expect to make a success of it.

God has a work for everyone that comes into the world. This world is going to be made a little better by your having come into it, or it will be made worse. Which shall it be? No one can do the work of another, since everyone is given all he can do. It is true we are told to bear one another’s burdens. I am to help you bear your burdens; that is a part of my work. You are to help me. We need the help of each other. But I cannot do what you ought to do; for I have all I can do. What you neglect to do will have to go undone. If someone stops to do what you ought to do, just as large a rent is made in his life’s work as would have been made in yours, but the reflection is on you.

A father who had five sons left them a certain work to do. He gave to each his portion according to his ability. Upon his return he found that four of them had done their part and done it well, but one had only partially done his. Consequently, there was a neglected spot—a dropped stitch—which constantly showed itself. If we fail to do the work in life that God in His wisdom has assigned us, there will be in the Father’s great plan a blank space, a neglected part, that will show through all eternity. Is your life or mine going to be the dropped stitch in the great web of human life? Down in our heart there is a no for an answer, is there not?

Let not the precious moments of your life flee away unimproved. Jesus is our example. He went about doing good. Everywhere He went, He left evidences that He had passed along that way. O pilgrim on life’s journey, what are you leaving along the way to show in after years that you have passed along? Is it flowers you are strewing? Is it sunshine to cheer and lighten the hearts of others? Sad indeed if there is none to say, “He did me good.”

It matters not how small be the part of His great work the Father has assigned you, do that little and do it well and do it with all the earnestness of your heart. It is your part, and you should do it with as much earnestness and interest as those who are engaged in the greater works do their parts. If your part is not done well, there will not be completeness in the divine plan. A single stitch dropped shows a blemish in the garment. In the sight of God the most menial task is as sacred as that of the highest order, and when well done as greatly meets His approval.

That is a beautiful thought expressed in the Koran. It tells of Gabriel’s being sent to earth to do two things. One was to keep King Solomon from becoming so much engaged with the affairs of his kingdom as to neglect the hour of prayer. The other was to give assistance to a little ant that was trying to bear its load of food up a hillside. To Gabriel the one duty was as important as the other because both came in the plan of God. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” Think these words over again. Let them have the full force of meaning in your heart. Take as much interest in helping the little child get the tangle out of the string as in building a church edifice.

Many are working, but alas! how few are doing their best! So much time and labor being wasted; so many things are being done that had as well not be done. God wants not only our service but our best service. We are under obligation to do our best every day. If we let a day pass by without doing what we could and in the best way we could, our work is not perfectly done.

God pours His blessings out upon us, but the blessing is not to end with itself. Remember these words: “Freely ye have received, freely give.”* () Seek to be blessed of God, that you may pass the blessing on to others. Leave some footprints here upon the sands of time, so that in after years they may guide someone to a noble deed and better way. When you reach the end of life, you can experience no greater consolation than to know you have done what you could. Improve the moments of time while you have them. They are passing swiftly. They will not wait for you. Some people are “going to do” something, but behold, the opportunity passes before they are ready. Opportunities do not wait. Do good while you may. You are going to give the flower tomorrow, but tomorrow the flower may have faded. You intended to speak a kind word yesterday, but thought you would defer until another day. But the strain was so great the life went out and your kind word came too late. Today is the day to save the lost. Tomorrow may be too late. How sad that a soul through all eternity will be crying out, “You were going to help me, but you came too late.” O God! help us to be up and doing while it is called today. What work you are going to do, do it now as the poet urges in the following beautiful lines:

“Let’s not be living in the past
On what we have been doing,
Nor building castles in the air
And after them pursuing.
‘Work in My vineyard, go today’:
The Master’s time is narrow,
For yesterday we’ll see no more—
We may not see tomorrow.

“If for discouragements you look,
You certainly shall find them,
But they are not discouragements
Except to those who mind them.
The future for itself will care,
We’ll not its trouble borrow;
Sufficient evil is today,
Then think not of the morrow.

“Let’s cast our bread upon the flood,
In many days to gather,
But then at eve hold out the hand
For present blessings rather.
We hide the seed deep in the ground
And watch the closing furrow,
When, lo! the field’s already white,
Not waiting for the morrow.

“The sower and the reaper both
May now rejoice together,
For what they sow and gather in
Is fruit that lives forever.
The saint rejoices evermore,
E’en in the midst of sorrow;
He knows that weeping’s but a night,
Joy cometh on the morrow.”

Man was made to labor. He is so constituted that he cannot find true rest and enjoyment in idleness. How much the Bible says about good works! We are “created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”* (Ephesians 2:10) Jesus “[purifies] unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”* (Titus 2:14) We are told by the Scriptures to “be careful to maintain good works,”* (Titus 3:8) to “be not weary in well doing,”* (II Thessalonians 3:13) and to “do good unto all men.”* (Galatians 6:10) Time is given us to spend in usefulness, not in idleness. Money lost may be regained, but a moment, never.

As Christians we have the mind of Jesus. With such a mind we cannot be contented unless we are doing the will of God and making the proper use of the moments He gives us. Mind is the same quality whether it be in Jesus, in angels, or in men, and it is governed by the same laws. It is true that after man’s transgression he was told that in the sweat of his face he should eat bread, but this does not imply that the disposition to labor is a result of the fall. The disposition to labor that we find in man’s constitution is not the fruit of corruption in his nature, but is a part of his original constitution. We find this disposition in the mind of angels. They are ministering spirits. They are doing the will of God. How often we read in the Book that tells of heaven how angers have visited this transitory world of ours on errands of help, mercy, and consolation. They have closed the mouths of lions, opened prison doors, stilled the waves, whispered comforting words, rolled away the stone, and ministered strength and help to the needy.

Man is not designed for prayer and praise only; he is designed for service as well. His mission is twofold: he is to adore and praise his Creator and to serve his fellow men. Some have symbolized the two functions of man’s life by the ascending and descending of the angels on the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream. They ascended to God and descended to man. Life should be spent in praising God and in serving man for God’s sake.

There is something to do. There is much to do. There is too much to do for us to idle away one moment of time. A full and well-spent life is one which is spent in doing good out of pure love to God and man. When we shall have come down to the end of life’s journey how sweet it will be to know that we have done all we could to help other pilgrims make their journey in safety! There is a reward for every generous act. Heaven is faithful and will repay. What we do here will find an eternity of reward. Let not, therefore, one day pass you by without your doing something purposely for God.

Spiritual Dryness

We often meet with those who complain of dryness and deadness in their worship. They are very unlike the Psalmist’s picture of the “blessed man”: “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither.”* (Psalm 1:3) This is a true picture of the Christian life. The soul should be as a watered garden—fresh and green and sparkling. It should be a springtime. You have seen a garden in the spring or one that is well-watered. All is beauty, freshness, and vigor. Such a garden is used by the prophet to symbolize the Spirit-filled soul. He says, “And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”* (Isaiah 58:11)

In order to have such a happy experience, however, the children of God must meet certain conditions. The context says, “If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul.”* (Isaiah 58:10) If our souls are not drawn out in pity for the hungry and we fail to do what we can to relieve them, we need not expect anything other than a spiritual drought in our own cases.

Spiritual dryness is sometimes the result of attachment to the world. “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”* (Colossians 3:2) Unless we live by the Bible, we cannot be spiritual. A little affection for the things of earth robs the soul of spiritual life. In this matter Satan is an excellent reasoner. He will suggest that your desires are only for the glory of God; that you have no affection for the worldly object, but desire it only for God’s glory. A young lady to whom I gave warning said that her desires were pure and that she had no affection for the object, but sought only to please the Lord. Very soon, however, she came to the realization that her soul was a desert place, and all because she had believed the falsehood of Satan. Beware how you desire earthly things for God’s glory. Underneath may be a desire for self-gratification, ease, or luxury. If you are troubled by a lack of sensible devotion in worship, examine your affections. Possibly you may find some tiny roots twining around something of this world.

Spiritual dryness may be the result of sloth. “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep.”* (Proverbs 19:15) Spiritual idleness soon results in spiritual dryness. That sophism of Satan’s, “No time for prayer,” is very dangerous. Any neglect of spiritual devotion must result in lukewarmness. Oh, how unreasonable is man and how easily the desires of the flesh deceive! If you neglected to water your garden, you would not wonder for a moment why it was drying up. Then, when you are neglecting to water the soul in vigorous, spiritual exercises, why do you wonder at your being so spiritually dull? “Awake, thou that sleepest”* (Ephesians 5:14)! Up and away to the hill of the Lord. Be the frequent witness of a sunrise scene from the mount of prayer.

The San Jose scale1 works imperceptibly at first. Oftentimes its presence will be detected only by the experienced. Its presence will perhaps be known first by the fruit. If your spiritual fruit is not as beautiful, well-flavored, and fully developed as it should be, look for the presence of sloth in the soul. The poison of sloth will get into the soul little by little. First there will be a momentary delay of spiritual duties. Satan is too wise to suggest an entire abandonment of them, but he will suggest a little postponement. One delay will soon be followed by another and then by another. These delays are an opiate that dulls the spiritual senses, and thus they will yield more readily to postponements and finally find pleasure in them.

[1]:

[A very destructive scale insect (Aspidiotus perniciosus) that infests the apple, pear, and other fruit trees.]

Let me make this still more simple, for some may need it made very easy to understand. When the soul is like a watered garden, it will be drawn to God in prayer in the early morning. Any delay will cause uneasiness and restlessness. The soul longs to hasten away to the presence of God. But one little delay after another brings on a morbid condition. The soul loses its keen relish; its senses become deadened, so that there is no uneasiness; while the senses of the self-life will find pleasure in sloth.

When the soul once gets into the habit of idleness, it experiences no little difficulty in getting out. On becoming aware of his state, the individual may acknowledge his inactivity and make half-formed resolves to be more earnest and diligent, only very soon to relapse into the same former sluggishness. This virus of sloth inoculates the entire spiritual being, poisoning the will and making spiritual activity most disagreeable. Not only does it destroy the will of the soul, but it also blindfolds the eyes so that the individual can see no necessity for great fervency in spirit or for diligence in spiritual exercise. In a half-dazed manner he acknowledges that the “watchings often” and “fastings often”* (II Corinthians 11:27) and “praying always”* (Ephesians 6:18) of the apostle Paul were very consistent in him, but does not realize that such would be as desirable in his own Christian profession. He wonders why he is not healed as people were in the days of Paul. Why wonder? He does not wonder why the flowers wither when it does not rain. It is the fervent, earnest prayer that God hears.

Nothing but the greatest diligence and determination and strong laying hold upon God will ever put spiritual sloth to death. In this respect it is like the South American animal called the sloth. Though one species of the sloth is only the size of a cat, and is extremely slow on the ground, its highest rate of speed there being not more than ten feet an hour, yet it is difficult to exterminate.

One reason why so many are slothful is that they do not realize the true worth of prayer. Oh, I would to God that men rightly valued communion with God or a few thoughts of Him! The lifting of the heart to God in praise or adoration is of greater value than the wealth of worlds. It is not enough to know much about the doctrine of the Bible, to be acquainted with this present reform, and to live a fair outward life; we must be filled with the Spirit. We must be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, whose leaf does not wither. Take plenty of time to gain heaven. Take time to be spiritual. A home in heaven is worth laboring for. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Spiritual dryness is the result of spiritual indolence. Be active and you will not be unfruitful.

Prayer

A work of this nature would be inexcusable for not saying something about prayer, for who can live life triumphantly without prayer? Who can properly estimate the true worth of prayer or rightly appreciate the privilege of prayer? Man esteems it a great honor to be admitted into the courts of the lords and kings of earth. What an honor it is to have audience with the King of glory! He extends the golden scepter to us, and we come hopefully, confidingly into His presence to tell Him all that is in our hearts. He loves us so. We should not dare to come into the awful presence of the Great King, did we not know that He loves us with an everlasting love. When we understand His love toward us, we tell Him with joy and eagerness every desire of the heart.

Prayer is the energy and life of the soul. It is the invincible armor which shields the devoted Christian from the poisoned missiles shot forth from the batteries of hell. It is the mighty weapon with which he fights life’s battles unto victory. He who lives in prayer reigns triumphant. The dark storm clouds are driven away, mountains of discouragement are cast into the sea, chasms of difficulties are bridged, hope is given wings, faith increases, and joys abound. Hell may rage and threaten; but he who is frequent and fervent in prayer experiences no alarm.

By prayer the windows of heaven are opened, and showers of refreshing dew are rained upon the soul. It is as a watered garden, a fertile spot where blooms the unfading rose of Sharon and the lily-of-the-valley; where spread the undecaying, unwithering branches of the tree of life. By prayer the soul is nourished and strengthened by the divine life. Do you long for a brighter hope and deeper joy, for a deeper sense of the divine fullness, for a sweeter, closer walk with God? Then live in prayer. Do you love to feel the holy flame of love burning in all its intensity in your soul? Then enkindle it often at the golden altar of prayer. Without prayer the soul will weaken, famish, and die; the fountain of love dry up and become as a thirsty and parched desert. Do you admire the character of Jesus? Behold His lowliness and humility, His gentleness and tender compassion. Have they any beauty, and do you desire them to grace your soul? Then draw them down from the skies in all their glorious fullness by the fervent prayer of faith. As through the process of assimilation food is transformed into an active, living being, so through the medium of prayer the character of Jesus, in all its transcendent beauty and glory, becomes the character of man.

If you desire victory during the day, begin it with prayer—not a few hurried words, not a few ejaculations, but minutes of deep, intimate communion with God. Linger at the altar of prayer until you feel particles of glory drop in richness into your soul, scattering sweetness throughout. In the early morning hours, when the still, balmy breath of nature plays around you, let your soul fly away on the wings of prayer with its message of love and praise to its Maker.

“Sweet morning is the time to pray;
How lovely and how sweet,
To send our early thoughts away
Up to the mercy seat!”*

If you desire to be more deeply and sincerely pious, pray. If you desire heights in His love, depths in His grace, fullness in His joy, and richness in His glory, pray, pray with all sincerity of heart and intensity of soul. Did you say you had no time for prayer? What a pity! Your happiness and success in life depend upon prayer! Your eternal enjoyment depends upon it. Then, oh, what a pity that you have no time for prayer! Satan will tell you there is no need of so much praying. He will give you indifferent feelings if he can, and tell you that you can get along well enough without it. He will do all he possibly can to prevent your praying. If there is not much benefit derived from prayer, why is he so concerned?

The Bible commands are: “Watch and pray,”* (Matthew 26:41) “Pray always,”* (Luke 21:36) Be “instant in prayer,”* (Romans 12:12) “Pray without ceasing,”* (I Thessalonians 5:17) etc. Beloved saints, I exhort you to a life of prayer. I beseech you in Jesus’ name to go often into your closets and there in all earnestness of soul pray until the love of God and light of heaven fill your beings. Pray until a rapture from the skies sweeps over your soul, making the place of prayer the dearest spot on earth to you.

Keep the Roots Watered

How often you admire a tree for the loveliness of its green foliage and the profusion of its luscious fruit. You speak to your friend of the beauty of the tree and of the goodness of God in bestowing such a gift to men; but perhaps you do not speak nor even think of the coarse, unsightly roots hidden deep in the ground. But that tree owes its beauty and its life to roots. The foliage is bright and fresh and green because the roots are burrowing deep in a rich, well-watered soil. The flavoring of the fruit is generated by the roots down in the dark and silent chamber of the earth.

Perhaps there comes to your mind now some whose faces you always see lit up with a radiant glory. You cannot fail to admire them. Their words contain a secret power and seem to awaken in you all that is noble. They seem to lift you into a higher life. From their words, their action, and their countenances flows an influence that causes you to forget the things of earth and makes you feel as if you had joined the society of angels. Such ones have a secret hidden root-life that generates this peculiar charm in their visible life. Down in a closet is a secret laboratory where the fragrance and beauty and glory that flow out of their lives are compounded. There the roots of their inner life take hold upon the riches of heaven’s grace and drink in of the waters that flow. In their oft and silent communion with God they take root downward, and then they go forth into life and bear fruit upward. While others are talking with their friends about the things of earth, they meet with God in the garden of graces, where the sweet spices flow out and the frankincense and myrrh scent the air, and there they become laden with a profusion of fruits and impregnated with a sweet odor, which they bear out into the world. They are like the tree planted by the rivers of water, whose leaf does not wither.

O beloved pilgrim, see that the roots of your inner being are well watered. Let them drink in the sparkling waters of life. Remember, effectual work for God consists more in being than in doing. Do not go about in your labor with an empty basket. It is only when you go out from deep and silent communion with God that your labor will be effectual. Never think that you have so much to do that you have not much time for prayer. An hour’s work done in the quiet, secret power of the Spirit is worth more than a day of your own efforts. Keep the roots watered.

Under the Fig Tree

In the beginning of his ministry, Christ called to Philip to follow him. Upon being called, Philip went in search of Nathaniel to tell him that he (Philip) had found the Christ. Nathaniel was somewhat doubtful, but at Philip’s invitation he went to see.

When Jesus saw Nathaniel coming, He said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!”* (John 1:47)

Nathaniel, wondering how this man happened to know him, asked? “Whence knowest thou me?”* (John 1:48)

Jesus answered, “When thou west under the fig tree I saw thee.”* (John 1:48)

It is evident that something had occurred with Nathaniel under the fig tree outside the common details of everyday life. If there had not something rather unusual or something higher than the common events of life occurred there, the Savior would not have mentioned this one particular place. Any other place would have done as well. There was in this answer something that was highly significant to Nathaniel. At this time there were many devout people looking for the “consolation of Israel.”* (Luke 2:25) They were looking for the coming of the King of the Jews. It is not difficult for me to believe that Nathaniel was under the fig tree praying to God for the speedy coming of the Messiah. When Jesus said to him, “When thou west under the fig tree, I saw thee,” Nathaniel immediately replied, “Thou art the King of Israel.”* (John 1:49) He was doubtless under the tree in prayer to this end not once only, but very probably for months and maybe for years he had been praying for this very thing. He had selected one especial fig tree as a place for prayer. It was not a fig tree, but the fig tree. There he had prayed long and often for Israel’s King to come. So when Jesus said, “When thou west under the fig tree, I saw thee,” he knew at once that his oft-repeated prayers were answered, and therefore said, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.”

Many a devout one since that day has had his secret communion-place with God. Perhaps it was in the woods on a mossy knoll, under an oak, on a grassy spot on the bank of a stream, or under a shade tree that grew by the brook in the meadow. To these places of solemn silence they would retreat when the shades of night were falling or when the light of the morning was streaking the sky; and there from the fullness of their souls they would pour out their praise and thanksgiving to God. These were the dearest places in the world to them. It may be there are aged ones today who had such places in the earlier days of their lives. Though they are now far removed from those scenes, these are still sacred in their memory.

There are those today who have their altars of prayer in some secluded place. There they meet God and tell Him all their sorrows and cares, there they recount to Him His loving kindness, there they implore His grace to sustain them through all their trying scenes of life, and there they worship at His feet. Bless His name! Beloved, have you a “fig tree”? And are you often found under it? Have you a quiet nook somewhere which is hallowed by the presence of God?

The beloved disciple John, when in the Spirit, saw golden vials in the hands of the worshippers of the Lamb around the throne. These golden vials, he says, were “full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints.”* (Revelation 5:8) Are you, dear reader, every day filling golden vials around God’s throne with the sweet odor of prayer? Again, this disciple, when the seventh seal was opened, saw seven angels standing before God with seven trumpets. “And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.”* (Revelation 8:3-4) We have the privilege of mingling our prayers with the incense that is being offered before the throne.

The Psalmist seemed to comprehend something of the nature of prayer when he said, “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”* (Psalm 141:2) The prayers that were offered by the devout Cornelius were so fragrant before God that they were kept as a memorial of him. A memorial is something kept in remembrance of anyone. If you want to be kept in remembrance before God, see that your prayers are highly impregnated with a sweet odor. You must pray or die. No one can retain spiritual life any great length of time without prayer. So, we exhort you to a life of prayer.

Shut the Door

It is as impossible to live and prosper spiritually without prayer as it is to live and prosper physically without food. Those who enjoy a close walk with God and have power with Him are those who pray. Natural abilities and intellectuality can never supply any lack in spirituality.

Unless you are spiritual, you are of but little use to God and to be spiritual, you must live much in prayer. It is not those who are on their knees the more often or the longest that do the most praying. Some pray more real prayer in one hour than others in two or three hours. Too many people leave the door open. Prayer that feeds the soul must be offered with the door shut. “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.”* (Matthew 6:6)

God is in secret. He is hidden from the world. The world does not see Him, neither knows Him. You can never reach God in your prayers unless you shut out the world. Shutting the door means something more than closing the door of your literal closet. Persons may enter the literal closet and close the door, and yet have the world in their hearts and thoughts. Such have not closed the door in the true sense.

In the public assembly you must enter your closet when you pray, and shut the door, or your prayers avail not with God. You must talk from your heart to the heart of God. Those assembled may hear your words, but they do not know the secret. The secret is between your heart and the heart of God. You scarcely hear your words. You know and hear more of the speaking of your heart. There is a blessing in such praying; there is a joy that cannot be told. Such prayer feeds the soul upon the divine life and lifts us in realms of light and happiness. Thank God for the sweet privilege of secret intercourse with Him. O beloved, when you pray, enter into your closet, and be sure to close the door.

Alone with God

This life of ours will never be all that it should be unless we are much alone with God. Only those who are oft alone with Him know the benefit that is derived therefrom. You cannot be like God unless you are much with Him, and you cannot live like Him unless you are like Him. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus departed into the mountain to be alone with the Father and that He was often “alone praying.”* (Luke 9:18) When Jesus had anything of great importance to say to His disciples, He always took them aside from the multitude. When He was transfigured, He took three of His disciples into a mountain apart from all the world. When He was one time alone praying with His disciples, He asked them who He was. Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”* (Luke 9:20) It was only when He was alone with them and after prayer that He could bring them into such nearness to Him that they might know in their hearts that He was the Son of God.

When amid the active duties of life and when in contact with the world, we can scarcely come into that sacred nearness to God that will enable us to feel in our hearts all that God is. We may get slight glimpses of His glory, we may occasionally get a dim view of some of His beauty, we may feel a little warming of His love in our bosoms; but only when alone with Him are we awed into wonder at the sight of His glory and great beauty. It is only then that we see Him in His purity and feel the warm sunshine of His love. It is only then that our hearts can be deeply impressed with the knowledge that He is God, and in childlikeness we can look up to Him and call Him Father.

Prayerful Remembrance

At evening time when dark’ning shades draw nigh
And flick’ring rays of light go chasing by,
When all around glad nature sweetly sings
And seems you hear the sound of angel’s wings,
Someone in mem’ry may be brought to thee.
Maybe someone from distant land away,
Of whom you had no thought for many a day.
’Tis passing strange; you do not understand
Why such a one and from such distant land
Should step across the threshold of your mind,
Why he to you at this time should be brought.
’Tis mystery when all else claims your thought;
You seek to understand, but learn it not.
Maybe this one has conflict great and sore,
Is struggling long and hard ‘gainst grim despair,
And God who rules the thought and mind of man
Has brought him this long way to you for prayer.
Then do not drive these whisperings from your mind
Nor cast them carelessly upon the wind:
’Tis but the voice of God, in tender care
For suffering one on life’s broad way somewhere,
Inviting you to plead for him in prayer.
Kind friend, if then at morning, noon, or night
I come to thee on wings of memory,
It is no doubt because the fight is fierce;
Then will you bow and pray to God for me?

He Careth for Thee

Life will never be successful unless we learn to let God care for us. Unless we have faith to know that God is our keeper and that hence we have nothing to fear, we shall never be the cheer and sunlight in this dark world that God designed us to be. This is a world of trouble. Sin envelops many souls in awful midnight gloom. Some may never find Jesus unless they see Him smiling in your face. You as God’s dear child are to be a light to those poor, benighted souls. To be such a light, you must be full of light, and to be full of light you must be full of hope by faith in the cheering and encouraging promises of God. None can be truly happy, none can be the cheer, comfort, and consolation to the world, who are bearing their own burdens. Only those who have learned the sweet lesson of trust in God and know that He cares for them are truly happy and free and capable of cheering others.

He who this one short life would live
As heaven has designed
Must scatter rays of cheering light
From a heart with Hope enshrined.

There are many priceless promises in the Word of God. There is a promise for every need, condition, and circumstance of life. Among these blessed promises, here is one that has brought comfort to many a weary pilgrim on life’s way: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”* (I Peter 5:7) If this promise does not lift you far above all the trials, discouragements, and weariness of life, it is because you do not believe it nor understand the fullness of its meaning. “He careth for you.” It is not your neighbor or your friend, but it is you. Cares will come to you, certainly; you could never cast your cares upon God if you had none. But you have them and doubtless many of them. The difficulty with many is, they do not cast them on God. Reader, your life will never be, it cannot be, that free, happy, radiant, sunlit, helpful life that pleases God, if you bear your own cares.

There is nothing too trivial in life to take to God. In the very smallest concerns of your daily life He has an interest. In everything let your requests be known unto Him. Do learn to take everything to Him. Fret over nothing, never worry for a moment. Let nothing disturb or disquiet you. I say nothing. “He careth for you.” Do you comprehend the full meaning of these words? Think them over for a moment. Let go of yourself and let God keep you. Oh, the freedom that belongs to the children of God! Theirs is a sweet land of liberty. But alas! how many will go on bearing their own burdens and weighted down with care with these words right before them: “He careth for you”! Why not let Him?

Care is a grace-destroyer. If you would be strong in the grace of God, you must live free from care. It gnaws at the very vitals of the soul. A strong cable made of many fine wires was stretched across the river and was used to tow a heavy scow back and forth. One of the small strands was broken. This was thought to be a small matter. Soon another was broken and then another. Still this was not of much consequence. One by one more were broken but unheeded because each was so small. Finally all were broken, and the boat went adrift. A little care does not seem to be of much consequence. But the Bible says to “be careful for nothing,”* (Philippians 4:6) and to “[cast] all your care upon him.”* (I Peter 5:7)

Some have thought that the bearing of burdens and cares make us strong in the Lord. No, it is the casting of them on Jesus that makes us strong. For a man to be down under a heavy weight is no exercise to his muscles; but to be up on his feet and passing heavy weights on to another, this is exercise. To be down under burdens and cares is no exercise to the soul, but is really death; the passing of the cares on to Jesus is the exercise and the strength of the spiritual powers. If you only knew how much grace a little care destroyed, you would quickly cast them on Jesus. Some have come to find themselves entirely without grace because they did not cast their cares on the Lord. We knew a sister whose baby was such a care that she could not keep saved. One day when asked how she was getting along in the Lord, she answered, “Not well: the baby is such a care and worry that I cannot keep the victory I should like to have.” Was it not too bad to lay such a blame upon a poor, little, innocent child?

I was asked one time if it was possible to reach an experience where we would never fret or worry. Certainly we can. We shall never get to a place where we shall have no temptations, but we can get to a place where we shall not yield to the temptations. Your life has not reached that degree of perfection that it should, until you have attained to such an experience. Jesus says, “Take… no thought for the morrow.”* (Matthew 6:34) When you are having any great anxieties about future things, you are doing what Jesus tells you not to do, and you cannot do something He tells you not to do without suffering spiritual loss. Oh! why will you worry about anything, when Jesus says, “Be [anxious] for nothing.”* (Philippians 4:6)

“But,” you say, “when there is no meat in the larder and no flour in the bin, can we then be not anxious?”

There are those who have been in just such circumstances and yet have not been greatly troubled.

If you will be over-anxious about anything, you can never live close to God. When anxieties knock at the door of your heart for admittance, and you open the door and let them in, you are opening the door to a dangerous band of robbers. They are robbers of grace and peace. When anxieties step over the threshold of your heart’s door, grace and peace fly out of the window. “But what am I to do?” sighs a care-worn soul. Do just what a good man says he did. He said that he opened his heart to Jesus, and He came and shut the door. Let Jesus keep the door of your heart. When anxieties come and want into your heart, tell them they must get permission from Jesus, because you have given your whole heart up to Him. This is what is meant by “casting your care upon him.” It is not enough to kneel down and ask Jesus to take them; you must cast them upon Him. In this is the soul’s needed exercise. The soul that will do this shall be strong. You must put the burden over on the Lord’s shoulders and let Him bear it. He will bear all your burdens for you if you will lay them upon Him.

Not only must you put them upon Him, but you must let go entirely. You do not even need to look after them to see what He does with them. Your little child comes to you with a tangled cord. It gives it over into your hands, but holds to one end. Now, you know that in order to get the tangle out, you must have both ends. O weary one, Jesus will disentangle all the cares of life, but you must let Him have both ends. He does not want your help. You hinder Him if you attempt to help Him. Cares will come; things that are of a trying nature will assail us as long as we live. But we have a refuge in Jesus; He will bear our burdens; He will care for us.

“Consider the Lilies”

What a beautiful lesson Jesus has taught us of rest and quietness from the lilies! “Consider the lilies of the field,” He says, “how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin.”* (Matthew 6:28) He is trying to teach us how free we can be—free from all earthly cares and anxieties. The lily does not struggle; it has no anxieties about its future; but it grows. It grows to be beautiful. Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of them. God paints the flower with greater beauty than the robes of kings. If you would be beautiful, you must rest in the Lord. Just a little struggling, and you will mar the whole. Christ wants to reveal Himself through you. He will shine the beauty of His own glorious person into your soul if you will but be quiet. Have no anxieties about the things that pertain to this life, and Jesus will clothe you with the beauties of heaven. Character, as the years pass on, is revealed on the face. The miser’s face shows the miserly condition of his heart. Jesus will stamp His own image upon the soul if the soul is kept in quietness, and this image will stand out in beauty on the face and outward life.

By this lesson of the lilies Jesus did not mean to teach that we should not pray. He once said, “Men ought always to pray.”* (Luke 18:1) We must pray much. If we do not pray, Satan will have us toiling and spinning. Keeping close to Jesus with a strong faith and a firm trust is the only way to rest, and we cannot do this without much prayer. “Cease thy toiling and care.” Learn a lesson from the lilies. Rest in the Lord, and He will make you an object of Christian beauty that will bless the world. Even after you are long gone, that restful, patient life will cast its rays of light and beauty back and chase away the shadows from the life of others.

The day has gone, the twilight fades,
There’s stillness everywhere;
I seek some place of solitude,
And humbly bow in prayer.

I tell the story of the day—
The joy, the grief, the care;
I keep not back one secret thing,
But tell it all in prayer.

O heart of mine, be light and free,
Not lightest burden bear,
In everything let thy requests
Be told to God in prayer.

Yes, all; I tell it all to Christ
In evening twilight dim:
Somehow my heart much lighter grows
Since all is told to Him.

I lay my life at His dear feet—
O Jesus, I am Thine!
I’ll walk the way of life with Thee;
Thy will, O Christ, is mine.

And now I lay me down to sleep
While gath’ring shadows fall,
And sweet indeed my rest shall be,
Since Jesus knows it all.

Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing

This world is sometimes called “the vale of tears.” Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation,” but He also said, “In me ye [shall] have peace.”* (John 16:33) The way to heaven is through tribulations. Those whom John saw standing before the throne and the Lamb arrayed in white robes and with palms in their hands, were one day where we now are; and thank God, we, coming up through great tribulation, shall some day be where they are. While man in this world will meet with sorrow, he can by the grace of God always rejoice. Alum thrown into muddy water will clarify it. The grace of God thrown into a cup of sorrow will turn it to joy. Sorrows are needful. It is only a barren waste where there is no rainfall.

We have sung, “No days are dark to me.” This can indeed be true, but it is not to be taken in the sense that there will be no clouds nor rainfall. Show me a man who never has a cloud to float across his sky, and I will show you a man who has not faith enough to see clearly in the sunlight. It is those whose faith pierces through the cloud and keeps the smiling, sunlit face of Christ in view that have the truest, sweetest joy. Their rejoicing is in the Lord. By bravery and force of will some may shut themselves against sorrow and soon become insensible to it. But the heart that is steeled against sorrow is in all probability so callused that it cannot experience joy. Those who know the deepest sorrow may ofttimes know the fullest joy, and that in the midst of their sorrow. Do not harden your heart against sorrow, but look to Jesus for that balm which heals, that grace which sustains, that comfort which gladdens. Some have thought that true joy consists in never having a sorrow; that those who have sorrow have not found the way of peace. In this they err. Those who never have a sorrow rejoice because they have no sorrows, but some who have sorrow have learned to rejoice in the Lord. This is truest joy.

“Sorrowful,” said one who was crucified with Christ, “yet alway rejoicing.”* (II Corinthians 6:10) He never once denied having sorrow; nay, he said, “I have great heaviness, and continual sorrow in my heart.”* (Romans 9:2) But he also said, “I glory.”* (II Corinthians 12:5) It was the deep sorrow that made him most like Jesus. He had feeling. We sorrow, but, he said, not “as others who have no hope.”* (I Thessalonians 4:13) The world knows a sorrow that the Christian does not know. Christians should be careful lest in hardening themselves against feeling they do not render themselves incapable of feeling compassion, sympathy, and pity.

Let the tears flow. If you keep them back, the fountain will dry up. May the Lord pity those who have no tears! Jesus wept. The apostle Paul said, “Out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears.”* (II Corinthians 2:4) Oh, that unfeeling heart that cannot suffer, that dry heart that has no fountain of tears! It weeps not over the sorrows of others and consequently cannot rejoice when others are joyful. Only those who weep can truly rejoice.

You rejoice because you and your family are in good health, because your friends are smiling upon you, because circumstances surrounding you are favorable, because you have an abundance of good things to eat and of clothing to wear. But your rejoicing is only in earthly things. We are to be grateful for these things, but they are only the sea-foam of joy; the water lies beneath. True joy is to rejoice not only in the Lord, but also with the Lord. Rejoice in those things in which Jesus and the angels rejoice. When your goods are being wasted, you find your deepest joy because God is being glorified.

If you cannot weep with angels, you cannot rejoice with them. See that aged pilgrim: his has been a hard and stony way; loved ones have gone one by one from his embrace; riches have taken wings and flown away; sorrows are multiplied; trials are many; burdens are heavy; he is footsore, sad, and weary. Angels are bending over him weeping. Can you weep with him and them? They comfort him. The sadness of his heart begins to die away; hope begins to dawn. The dawning of the hope causes the angels to rejoice. This is truest joy. Rejoice when souls are saved; rejoice when hearts are gladdened; rejoice when God is praised. This is the true source of purest joy. But it is only those who are capable of suffering deeply with the sufferings of others, that can truly rejoice when their sufferings are turned away. The more we are like Jesus, the more we have of His Spirit, the tenderer will be our hearts and the more deeply will our souls be moved by the sufferings of others.

When some dear friend has proved untrue; when some loved one has gone astray; when the death-angel has left a chair vacant at your hearthstone and deep sorrow lies upon your soul, then it is that you feel nearer to Jesus. You feel ripe for heaven. The world has suddenly gone out, and you have cast your eyes upward. Do not try to keep back the tears; let them flow. They are pearls in angels’ sight. It is the tears of the child that touches the heart of the parent, and prompts him to give comfort to the little one.

It is the tears of the Christian that touches the great loving heart of God and moves Him to give that solace which only Heaven gives. David said in a time of deepest sorrow—his son was seeking his life—“It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction [tears], and that the LORD will requite me good.”* () Hezekiah was doomed to die. The prophet told him to set his house in order, for he should die, and not live. The dying man turned his face to the wall and prayed, “I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight.”* (II Kings 20:3) And he “wept with a great weeping.” This touched the heart of God, and He said, “I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee.”* (II Kings 20:5)

If the heart of God’s saints were a deeper fountain of tears, more sick people would be healed in these days. Around are the sick and suffering, but alas, how few tears! When saints have so deepened into God, cultivated such a tenderness of heart, and become so deeply compassionate, that they will “water their couch with their tears all the night” (Psalm 6:6) at the sight of sick persons, they will get answers to their prayers. To such God will say, “Behold, I will heal him.” If tears will not reach God, the case is hopeless. Esau sought for a place of repentance and sought it with tears, but could not find it. The mentioning of tears here implies that the addition of tears to earnest heart-seeking has influence with God. Jeremiah in his lamentations for fallen Israel, said, “Oh, that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!”* (Jeremiah 9:1) He knew that if anything would avail with God, it would be tears, therefore he wished that his eyes were a fountain of tears, so that God might be moved to save Israel.

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”* (Psalm 126:5) There can be no harvest from seed sown unless the seed is watered. As you go out to sow seed in the Master’s field, water them with your tears if you would have a joyful harvest. May God save His people from unfeelingness of heart! A soul with no tears is a soul with no flowers. There is no verdure where there is no water. Those who are not deep enough in God to shed tears over a lost and ruined world are not deep enough to shed tears of joy over a soul’s salvation. Out from the depth of His heart Jesus cried, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!”* (Luke 13:34) When did you shed tears over lost souls? Do you ever have a Gethsemane? Is your pillow ever dampened by tears shed for a doomed world? Do you ever go out beneath the starry sky and with outstretched arms cry in the severe pains of travail, “O lost souls, lost souls! how often would I have gathered thee to Jesus, as a hen gathers her brood under her wing, but ye would not”? Only those who have deep travail of soul for the lost can fully rejoice when the lost are found.

One of the apostles said he served the Lord “with many tears.”* (Acts 20:19) A heart from which flows no tears is not a heart that is wholly imbued by the Spirit of God. Tears of compassion for the suffering, tears of warning and entreaty for the lost, tears of joy for the saved, will flow through a perfectly holy heart as freely as water through a sieve. Sunlight perforates the blocks of ice from the center outward; so the love of God perforates the heart to its depth and lets the tears of affection, pity, and sympathy flow out.

Do not try to escape suffering. Do not shut your heart against sorrow. It is the bruised flower that gives out the sweetest scent. Open thy heart to God and let Him bruise it, let sorrow flow in and break it, that sweetness may flow out. When the poet sang:

“I no trouble and no sorrow
See today, nor will I borrow
Gloomy visions for the morrow,”*

he sang not of sorrow for souls lost in sin, nor of needful heaviness through manifold temptations, nor of sorrow awakened by the suffering of others, but of that sorrow which arises from the world through distrust and separation from God.

There is a sorrow which comes through Christ. It is as the refiner’s fire, purifying the soul and binding it closer to God. Such sorrow detaches the heart from the world and from self, and hides it in God. It is impossible for the soul to approach any degree of nearness to Christ only through sorrow and suffering. In my own experience my heart once longed for deeper grace. My whole soul breathed out, “O Jesus! give me more meekness.” For a few days a heavy cloud of sorrow lay upon me; when it had passed away, I had an answer to my prayer.

I would have you beware of that unfeeling state in which one has no sorrow, and mistakingly attributes its absence to grace. Grace helps us bear sorrow, but does not harden our hearts against it. Sorrow brings us to a throne of grace for grace and grace brings us joy, so that we have joy in sorrow. No other joy is so sweet as this. It is the real and true joy of Christ.

Gentleness

Fruit-bearing trees are used in the Scriptures to represent the race of mankind. The Savior likens the wicked to “corrupt trees,” which bear evil fruit, and the righteous to “good trees,” which bear good fruit. He also teaches very emphatically the impossibility of one’s being a good tree and yet bearing evil fruit, or of being a corrupt tree and bearing good fruit (Matthew 7:15-20). Since the nature of the fruit we bear determines what manner of tree we are it is very advisable that we as professing Christians should frequently examine the fruit we are bearing. To be Christ’s or to be a Christian, we must have the Spirit of Christ, for the Scriptures say that “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”* (Romans 8:9) As certainly as cause produces effect, those who have the Spirit of Christ bear the fruit of the Spirit. Not to bear the fruit of the Spirit is full proof that you have not the Spirit. Then a close examination of the fruit you are bearing will reveal to you whether or not you have the Spirit of Christ, whether or not you are His, whether or not you are a Christian. You can make a superficial examination, and allow yourself to be deceived. You can make excuses for yourself because of your weaknesses, and thus deceive yourself. But a close, thorough, profound examination will disclose to each one the manner of spirit he is of.

Gentleness is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). If we have the Spirit of Christ, we bear this fruit. “Well,” says one, “in my very makeup I am rough, harsh, and hasty.” You need to be made anew. When God finds a man that is rough, harsh, and severe in his makeup, He will, if the man will yield to the operation of the Holy Spirit, make him mild, gentle, and peaceful. People go to a hospital and by scientific operation have abscesses and tumors removed from the stomach and other internal parts. God, by a blessed, wonderful, and successful operation of the Holy Spirit, will take that roughness, harshness, and severity out of your nature, and instill mildness, tenderness, softness, and gentleness instead. Harshness and roughness are a corruption that God, in His gracious plan of salvation, is pleased to remove. If you will allow the Holy Spirit to work in you that which is pleasing in God’s sight, He will make you gentle.

What is gentleness? It is blandness, softness, mildness, and meekness. It is the opposite of harshness, roughness, etc. It is sweetness of disposition, mildness of temper, softness of manner, kindness, tenderness, etc. Those who are of a gentle disposition act and speak without asperity. They are not morose, sour, crabbed, and uneven, but are smooth, mild, and even. Good manners are intimately connected with gentleness, and good manners are no dishonor to Christianity.

The apostle Paul by way of testimony said to the Thessalonian saints, “We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children.”* (I Thessalonians 2:7) Such was his manner. As a kind mother is to a delicate child, so was he to those whom he loved. Vastly different was he then from what he was when he was persecuting and wasting the church of God. He had been changed by grace. He exhorts servants of the Lord to “be gentle unto all men”* (II Timothy 2:24) and to be “gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.”* (Titus 3:2) David, in his sublime tribute of praise to God in II Samuel 22 says, “Thy gentleness hath made me great.”* (II Samuel 22:36)

Would you, my reader, like to be more gentle in your manner? Are you too harsh and rough? Are you, if a parent, as gentle to your children as you should be, at all times? Husband, are you as kind and gentle toward your wife as you should be? Do you believe you fill the Bible measure in this particular ? Are you as gentle to your domestic animals as you should be? Or do you have impatient feelings and act in a hasty, abrupt manner towards them? If you meet with something quite provoking from your wife or the children or the animals, do you keep as mild and sweet as you know you should? Now, I hope you will examine closely. I do not mean to condemn you; I want to help you. There are many professing saints today who are not nearly so gentle as they should be. Why not be in earnest, and seek God for help, and make improvement? Why go along with crossness, and coldness and snappishness in your life? Be gentle toward all.

Gentleness is a beauteous grace. Her excellence is great. By culture this grace is capable of much improvement. Too few saints experience it to the extent they should. I beseech you by the gentleness of Jesus to be in earnest and improve upon your gentleness. Never allow a frown or a scowl to settle for a moment upon your brow. It will leave its mark if you do so. Learn to be gentle in your home. Sometimes when far away from home, you picture to yourself how gentle and kind and loving you should be at home. By God’s grace you can be just as gentle as you see in the picture you should.

Tenderness

In order for life to be what it should, it must flow from a heart full of tenderness. This is that quality of soul which enables us to give kind attention to others, to be willing and eager to do good, to exercise great carefulness to give no offense, and to be soft and gentle in every expression. Like all other good qualities, this is found in perfection in the character of God. “The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”* (James 5:11) Because of His pity He never lays upon His trusting child a greater burden than he can bear, and in His tender mercy He always gives to each trial a happy ending.

It will be helpful to study for a few minutes the principle of tenderness as an attribute in the nature of God. “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.”* (Psalm 103:13) It is the father who sees his little child in deep pain that knows what pity is. It is that feeling which makes the father desirous of bearing all the pain. It was the pity or compassion of God for the lost in sin that caused Him to give His only Son to suffer and die for them. When God saw the wretchedness of men, He had such a feeling in His heart that He could find relief in no way but in providing the only means of their rescue. Oh, think of this! The child of God never has a pain or a sorrow but that God has a feeling of pity. The knowledge that someone has pity for us and fellowships our suffering goes far toward alleviating our pains. Recently while I was in deep soul-suffering, I received a letter containing these words: “We suffer in spirit with you.” This was a great relief. If in a time of trial we could know how God was suffering with us, it would be a great consolation.

Again, we read, “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”* (Isaiah 66:11) Who is it that knows not the comfort of a mother? When we hear of a young man’s meeting with a sad accident away from home, we have great pity; but when we learn of his mother’s having gone to him, we feel better. Ah, the comfort of a mother is surpassed only by the comfort of Jesus. “If Mother were only here!” says the troubled daughter. Nothing else so fittingly represents the nature of the comfort that God gives as the comfort of a mother. O child of God, you will never have a sorrow nor a pain but that the tenderness of God will cause Him to come and comfort you. Let us lift up our hearts and praise Him for His mercy and comforting love. A mother may forget to comfort her child, but God will never forget.

The tenderness of God is revealed in these touching words: “How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.”* (Matthew 23:37) The imagery is homely, but, oh! so impressively sublime. I cannot do better than to use here the words of another:

Was ever imagery so homely invested with such grace and such sublimity as this, at our Lord’s touch? And yet how exquisite the figure itself—of protection, rest, warmth, and all manner of conscious well-being in those poor, defenseless, dependent little creatures, as they creep under and feel themselves overshadowed by the capacious and kindly wing of the mother bird! If, wandering beyond hearing of her peculiar call, they are overtaken by a storm or attacked by an enemy, what can they do but in the one case droop and die, and in the other submit to be torn in pieces? But if they can reach in time their place of safety, under the mother’s wing, in vain will any enemy try to drag them thence. For rising into strength, kindling into fury, and forgetting herself entirely in her young, she will let the last drop of her blood be shed out and perish in defense of her precious charge, rather than yield them to an enemy’s talons. How significant all this of what Jesus is and does for men!

[David Brown; Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, “Matthew”]

Under His great wing He tenderly, lovingly gathers His little ones and there they are secure. He is a safe retreat.

From the song of Moses we learn still more of God’s tender care. “As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.”* (Deuteronomy 32:11-12) This metaphor beautifully expresses the care and the tenderness of God toward His children. The eagle is noted for her great attachment to her young. Her care is extraordinary. When the little eaglets have attained age and strength to leave the nest and learn to fly, the mother bird bears them up, when weary, on the top of her wing.

These all express to our hearts the wonderful tenderness of God to his children. But there is nothing in the material world that forms a full and perfect analogy for the things in the spiritual world. These are too high.

If we do not have the tenderness of God in our hearts, our life comes short of being a full and true life. The Bible tells us to “be… kind one to another, tenderhearted.”* (Ephesians 4:32) There is no true holiness of life without tenderness. As we get deeper into God, we become more tender of heart.

There are some things that will prevent this tenderheartedness. Just a little feeling of resentment, a little desire for retaliation, or a secret wish for something to befall those who have done us an injury will callous the heart and harden the affections. When we have been slighted by someone or misjudged, oh, how Satan strives to get us to thinking much about this and to work a “hurt” feeling into our heart. Even to think about the meanness of others will bring a harshness and coldness into the inner life. That which we condemn in others will, if we think and talk much about it, creep into our own hearts.

You say you are saved and sanctified. Thank God for such a blessed experience; but you have much yet to gain. You have not yet attained to the full depth of anything.

There is yet a tenderness of heart you can reach only through many and varied experiences. There is tenderness of voice, tenderness of manner, tenderness of feeling, tenderness of thought, you will attain to only through much and deep communion with God. It is those intimate and familiar talks with Jesus that fashion us into His glorious image. A brother minister related to me a few mornings ago his experience of the night before. He lay awake, he said, for a long time and had a sweet talk with the Lord. So intimate was the communion that, turning over to go to sleep, he said, half unthinkingly, “Good night,” as if parting from a dear friend. Such close union with Jesus gives us clearer visions of His character and stamps His beauty upon our souls.

Have you not seen those who are harsh, rough, and unfeeling in their speech and manner? No one wants to be like them. We are glad to get away from them. They measure a person by their standard, and if he is not what they think he should be, they speak about him in an unloving and unfeeling manner. We feel that something coarse and flinty needs to be taken out of their nature. We do not say they are not sanctified, but they are too bitter and severe. They need to be bathed in the love of God; they need to be immersed in the sea of His gentleness. We have seen, on the other hand, those who were so feeling, so quiet, tender, and gentle, that their presence was like the breath of a sweet spring morning. There was a tenderness in their eye, a softness in their voice, a pathos in their feeling, that cast over your soul a sense of delight.

There is much for us to gain. But we can gain it only at the end of the bayonet. If we would win, we must fight. There is no victory without battle. One brother, after gaining a decisive victory, said, “The devil is dead.” He was so victorious and free that he thought the devil must be dead. In a short time, however, the brother learned his mistake. The prince of the power of the air still lives, and we still have our humanity. If we are not prayerful and watchful, we become disposed to contend for our way; to feel a little bitter, if we are trampled upon. Jesus tells us to “resist not evil.”* (Matthew 5:39) We are not only to not resist evil outwardly, but to have no resisting feeling in our hearts. If we would have holiness of life, we must have tenderness of spirit. If you desire your life to be like the oasis in the desert, where the weary traveler is refreshed, be tender of heart, be compassionate, bear every trial with patience, endure all suffering without a murmur, commune much with God, and He will bring you out into that tenderness of soul that will make your life, everywhere you go, like the atmosphere of heaven.

The Christian Walk

Life is termed a walk in the Scriptures. Where they say that we ought to walk as Jesus walked, they have reference to our manner of life. The way in which a Christian walks is called the way of life. It is called the way of life because it leads to a land of life a place where death never enters, where all is life, and life forevermore. The Christian walks in the way that leads to that land of life. There is also a place of death, and the way there is called the way of death.

The way along which the Christian walks is a narrow way. “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life.”* (Matthew 7:14) But we need have no fear; for although it is narrow, it is not dark. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”* (Psalm 119:105) I would rather walk in a narrow way in full light than in a broad way in the dark. The Word of God lights up the Christian’s pathway. How beautifully the electric lights light up the walks in the city park! There is no danger of stumbling. The Bible is a light along the way of life and it lights the way beautifully. Not one step need be taken in the dark. There is light for every step of the way. Sometimes the Christian may think he has reached a dark place, but if he will open his Bible, he will find a light to lighten that very spot.

“Walk Circumspectly”

“See then that ye walk circumspectly.”* (Ephesians 5:15) To walk circumspectly is to walk cautiously; to look where one is stepping; to be vigilant, watchful, diligent, attentive. Be our pathway ever so light, if we do not look where we are stepping, we may stumble. Conybeare and Howson render the above text in these words: “See then that ye walk without stumbling.” We are not to walk as foolish people but as wise. We would say that the man acts foolishly who does not look at all in the way he is walking. Those who are wise in business walk carefully and look where they are going; they take advantage of every opportunity to make their business a success. In our Christian walk we are to seize upon every opportunity to make progress. There is no time in this short life for ease. Carelessness and indolence are dangerous and destructive to spirituality. An indolent man will never accomplish much for God nor be of any great benefit to his fellow men. But, oh, how easy to become careless!

Many begin the Christian walk in carefulness and diligence, but soon give place to carelessness and neglect. How prone people are to lose interest in anything when the new has worn away! They take great interest in the new preacher, but they will become familiar with him and so accustomed to him that they will lose interest. They have never heard anyone preach so well as the new preacher, and what he says has such weight and authority; but behold, after the new has worn away, he cannot preach any better than any other. They have no more regard for his words than they have for the words of others. There is an old adage which says, “A new broom sweeps clean.” The boy is eager to cut wood with the new ax. A child will carefully write like the copy for the first few lines; but the farther down the page, the greater the carelessness. The young lady takes great interest in the music lessons at first; she wants to practice all the time; but it soon gets old, and then it is hard to keep up an interest. The husband is very loving, kind, and attentive to his wife for awhile; but alas! in a little while she becomes old to him, and then he lets her shift for herself. This need not and should not be; but it seems to be the nature of man.

In the Christian life there is a strong tendency to let things run down. Some persons hear a sermon and they are awakened, but they are soon lulled to sleep again. Perhaps the example of someone has shown them that they do not pray enough, and they resolve to pray more, but they soon drift into the same careless way. Maybe they see that they do not read enough and improve themselves, and they are greatly stirred to do better, but alas! how soon they allow that resolution to weaken and become as negligent as ever. Nothing but the greatest diligence and unyielding determination will save us from getting weary in well-doing. Keep up a strong faith. Hold your mansion in the skies well in view and let nothing hinder you in your journey home.

There are professed Christians who, I am sorry to say, never take a good look at their mansion in heaven, and it is to be feared that many who are really God’s children do not view their home above as often and distinctly as they should. They see more of temporal things than of eternal things. It is by faith that we see eternal things, but if we have too keen a vision for temporal things, it dims our spiritual vision. If you knew you had a fine home in an adjoining state, and you had never seen it, you would want someone who had seen it to give you a description of it. Perhaps you would want a photograph of it. You would take a look at the picture often, and would learn all about it you could, and would think of the time when you could go and live there. Now, Jesus tells you that He has prepared a mansion for you in heaven. He does not tell you much about it, but you know full well that a mansion that Jesus prepares is perfect and complete. Why not think much about this mansion? Why not view it often by faith? Why not learn all about it you can? Getting too much engaged with the things of this life is the reason why. To walk circumspectly is to see that every step bears us heavenward, to have our faces set toward God, to have our eternal home in view, and to be journeying that way. We are not to be sauntering along, but to be industriously living for God and heaven.

How often have you decided that you would be more prayerful, would read more, would love God more, and the souls of men, would do more for the cause of God! How often you have decided to walk more worthily of God, to be more patient, to live a higher life, to be slower to speak, to cultivate a spirit of love and kindness, to be more like Jesus! You started out well and with great diligence, but alas! ere long you became weary in well-doing; you became less vigilant; you did not walk so carefully and were less attentive to your way. One day a circumstance occurred that caused a brother to see that he was not as attentive to others as he should be and let many opportunities of helping others in little things go by unimproved. He decided that he would be more watchful and thus be more helpful; but, as he said, he soon became as negligent as ever. Time after time he resolved and as often became negligent. Do not be discouraged. A little more determination, a little more faith in God for help, and you will triumph.

Walking with God

“He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what cloth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”* (Micah 6:8) The life of Enoch is descriptive of the Christian’s life, and it is said that he “walked with God.”* (Genesis 5:24) Hand in hand with God, heart in heart, and life in life, is the true Christian way. In order to walk thus with God, we must be in agreement with Him; for two cannot walk together heart in heart unless they be in agreement. To be agreed with God implies submission to the divine will. It is to go where He leads.

“He leadeth me”* (Psalm 23:2-3) is the sentiment of the Christian heart. He may sometimes lead in a laborious path; nevertheless we go. He may lead in a way that brings suffering and self-denial; He may take our loved ones from us; He may call somebody dear to us to a foreign field, or He may call us. If we would walk with Him, we must not draw back, but say, “Lord, Thy will be done. I will go with Thee all the way.” Such a walk may lead over some thorny paths and through some waters and fiery trials, but it pleases God and ends in heaven. So onward let us go.

The Latest Improved

As we walk along the streets of villages and cities, we see machines of different kinds exposed to view and bearing a card with these words: “The Latest Improved.” For our life to be perfect every day, it must be our latest improved. The world is getting worse, we say, but you and I as Christians can daily grow better. Our life today can be an improvement over our life of yesterday. The Christian life is a real life, and is capable of development as any life. The same law that develops us physically is necessary to our development spiritually. Day after day we can be built up into stronger spiritual beings. We can become more like God, possessing a firmer Christian character and having an integrity that will not swerve for a life nor a world from the path of virtue. Constant progress is constant peace and happiness. It is the triumphant life.

Dear reader, I am going to ask you to lay aside for a few minutes the busy cares of life and come and have a talk with me about spiritual and heavenly things. Now, if you feel that you scarcely have time, and cannot fully dismiss the temporal concern of life from your mind, then I will excuse you. I do not care to speak with you unless you can give me your undivided attention. I desire to help you if you need help. I want to talk to you about your everyday life, and I do want your calm, serious attention. Surely by God’s help we can spend a few minutes to some profit.

Some people hesitate to look closely into their life lest they find such a delinquency as will disquite them. Some fear to give a close examination lest it give Satan an opportunity to accuse them. This need not be. We can look closely into our daily life and not allow Satan to whisper one word to us. We cannot make improvement upon our life without close examination in order to discover weakness and imperfection. When we discover them, we must set earnestly to work to correct them. The discovery alone is not sufficient. If we do not correct a fault that we have discovered, we soon lose consciousness of the fault. There are times with everyone, no doubt, when it seems that they are making no progress, but these may be the times when we are making most progress.

If we have just one fault, we ought to desire to get rid of it. Our desire should be so great that we shall set about at once to correct that fault. Now if we say, “Oh, it is such a little thing,” then we shall not get free from it, and that little thing may become a greater thing. To be too quick to speak is a fault. The Bible says, “Be… slow to speak.”* (James 1:19) If we have the fault of speaking too quickly, we should correct that. We can if we will.

The Bible tells Christians to watch and pray. Most Christians do not need to watch and pray lest they rob a bank. They would not rob a bank if they never prayed. But we do need to watch and pray lest we do some little thing that we should not do. I will relate to you the experience of a dear brother who desired to live for God, but who neglected to watch and pray as he should. An evil thought was presented to his mind. Not seeing the evil of it, he indulged the thought and found pleasure in the indulgence. After a few minutes he felt the reproving of the Spirit of God and so dismissed the thought. Later it came again. It was so pleasing that he indulged it a little longer than before. Again the Spirit reproved him. In a few evenings the thought came again. It was only a little sensual thought, a little imaginary indulgence of the flesh. But it came again and again. It was indulged a little longer and a little longer. Eventually it worked a fleshly lust into his heart, and after two or three years he was led into actual commission of a sinful deed. It was an apparently innocent thought in the beginning, but it ended in sin committed.

There are little yieldings to lightness, impatience, aircastle building, exaggerations, frettings, murmurings, idleness, etc., that prey upon the soul and rob it of peace and the sweet consciousness of God’s presence. But there is progress in the divine life for everyone of us if we will only give attention to our life as we pass along. The first thing is to have a deep interest in making spiritual gain, and then to be full of faith and encouragement.

Jesus will help you to make some gains each day if you will press your way through the crowd and touch Him. It is the earnest prayer of faith that gets us through to God and makes us feel like giants in His strength. If you would be strengthened in your soul, you must exercise. This is the law of development in the spiritual as well as in the animal life. “Exercise thyself… unto godliness.”* (I Timothy 4:7) This is a motto we should hang upon the walls of our memory. Its meaning is that increase in godliness is attained only by exercise.

I shall have much now to say about your doing, but bear in mind that the doing is to be not in your strength, but in God’s strength. Here are two mottoes to keep in remembrance: “Without [Him I] can do nothing”* (John 15:5); “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”* (Philippians 4:13) By the help of the Lord we are going to tell you how to be strong in Him. God wants you to be a David. Go out in His strength and meet the Goliaths. They must fall before you. I shall not tell you so much you do not know as I shall endeavor to get you to practice what you know. How many times have you resolved to do and have failed to keep your resolution? Your failure was not because you could not but because you did not. To make a success in any business enterprise, one must give it constant and daily attention. Likewise, if you make a success in the Christian life, you must give it constant and daily attention. You must make it not only a business, but also the first business of your life.

But some make this complaint: “It takes so much time.” It will take some time, that is true, and if you do not think you have time, then you had better not begin. What would you think of a man who contemplated engaging in some business, but said he did not have much time to devote to it? You would advise him not to engage in the business at all. It takes time to make advancement in the Christian life. One brother said, “But we must attend to our temporal duties.” My reply was, “Shall we not attend to our spiritual duties?” When people talk of having to attend to temporal duties, it appears that they are going to do this if they have to neglect spiritual duties. Unless we have a better enlightenment than this, we shall never make progress in the Christian life.

We have no excuse for not being strong in the Lord. “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”* (I Corinthians 6:13) Of course, you need the help of God, but God helps those who help themselves. He will not by some irresistible power convey you to your closet and put you on your knees, but He will give you strength to go if you will use what He gives you.

I will now give you, not learned theology, but plain, simple instruction how to make daily advancement in the divine life and to be strong in God. “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.”* (I Peter 2:11) Any indulgence of the flesh weakens the spiritual powers. The question might arise, “What are fleshly lusts?” We are here in the flesh. The flesh has not only its desires but its needs. To indulge the flesh in its needs is not fleshly lust, but to indulge it in anything beyond its actual needs is “fleshly lusts.” In other words, any intemperance is lust of the flesh. Temperance is a fruit of the Spirit. We are to add temperance to our knowledge. The more knowledge we get of the divine character, the more clearly we can discriminate between fleshly lusts and temperance.

“I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection,”* (I Corinthians 9:27) says the apostle Paul. He spoke these words when talking about running to obtain an incorruptible crown. He calls our attention to how people run to obtain a corruptible crown, and “every man,” he says, “that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.”* (I Corinthians 9:25) If men must be temperate in all things in order to obtain a corruptible crown, how much more temperate must we be in order to obtain an incorruptible crown? If the soul does not keep the body under, the body will keep the soul under.

But this keeping under does not consist in many prayers, in long vigils, and fasts, in severe chastenings of the body, in dwelling in a cloister or being a hermit. Do not make this sad mistake. His yoke is easy and His burden is light, yet the Christian life is one of self-denial. But His love in our hearts makes it a delight. We are not to keep our bodies under by prolonged fasts and beatings, but to keep in control the self-seeking that is natural to the self-life of man. The pure in heart have organs of sense, are capable of feeling the impressions made by external objects. It is natural for the individual life of the sanctified to seek ease and comfort. This is not the nature of the divine life in the soul, but it is the nature of the self-life of man.

Adam and Eve had this self-life in the purity of their creation; they had organs of sense. It was to these that Satan made his appeals; to the feelings in their self-life, not to the feelings in the divine life of their soul. The will of sense—for such it might be called—overpowered that higher will of the soul, and they yielded to the will of sense as aroused by temptation. We who are pure in heart have this same will of sense. It is this will of sense that must be “kept under,” or in control to the will of God. “Not my will [that is, that lower will of my self-life],” said Jesus, “but thine, be done.”* (Luke 22:42) I will make this plainer as we go on. I feel like making it as plain and simple as I can.

A Holy Life

You will, I hope, pardon the writer if he repeats too much. Repetition is sometimes needed that a truth may be enforced. Sometimes line upon line is needful.

What, in its true sense, is a holy life? It is the life of Jesus. His whole manner of life was truly holy. His life is the ideal life. If we would live holy, we must live as He lived. The artist has his ideal before him, and with touches of the brush here and there upon his canvas he forms an exact image of the ideal. The life of Jesus is what we are to imitate. He sets the example of holy living and calls us to the same holy life. “As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.”* (I Peter 1:15) This text has a better rendering in the Revised Version: “Like as he which called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living.” As Christians we are God’s offspring, and as such are like Him.

Holiness in the life of Jesus is found not only in the great miracles that He performed, but also in the lesser happenings of His life. The restoring of life to the dead is no more beautifully holy than the laying of His hands upon the heads of children and blessing them. His memorable Sermon on the Mount no more portrays the loveliness of His character than does His conversation with the woman by the wayside well. It is the little things in everyday life, if attended to and kept in the meekness and the solemnity of the Spirit of Christ, that make life truly beautiful and holy. It is not the eloquent sermon that makes a life so sublime, but it is the tender smile, the kind word, the gentle look, given to all; it is the patient manner in which all the little trying and provoking things of life are met. You may preach or write ever so forcibly and eloquently, and bring out the sublime truths of the Bible in great beauty; but if in the privacy of your own home there are little frettings, a little peevishness, a little crossness, a little levity, a little selfishness, a little distrust, your life is not as truly holy as it should be.

If you desire God’s holy image to be stamped upon your soul, your countenance, and your life, you must carefully avoid the little sprigs of lightness, the little bits of sloth and indolence, touches of forwardness, rudeness, selfishness, etc. Pure words belong to a holy life. You should use the very choicest words, language that is free from vulgarity, slang, and the spirit of the world. Untidiness, uncleanness, carelessness, and shabbiness are not at all beautiful ornaments in a holy life. But quietness, modesty, and reticence are gems that sparkle in a holy life like diamonds set in a band of gold. Give attention to your words, your thoughts, your tone of voice, your feelings; to little acts of benevolence, the practice of self-denial, of promptness, of method and order. These are auxiliaries of holy living. Are there not many little things in your home life that you can improve upon? Seek God for help and be truly holy.

Lukewarmness

A lukewarm life is a displeasure to God; He would have us to be “fervent in spirit.”* (Romans 12:11) God is pleased with us when we are lively stones, but not when we are formal and lukewarm. A lukewarm state is a dangerous state. One very dangerous thing about it is that usually when a person is lukewarm he is unaware that he is lukewarm. If a man is sick and does not know that he is sick, he is in great danger of his life, because he is not at all likely to take the proper care of himself. So the man who is cold and formal but thinks he is spiritual and full of love is not at all likely to do anything for the improvement of his spiritual condition. He is very much like the Irishman’s turtle. I hesitate to relate anything so amusing, but it so well illustrates the state of the lukewarm professor that I think I am justifiable:

Some Irishmen had caught a large turtle and cut off his head. Then they waited for him to die, but the turtle scrambled about for some hours. Desiring an explanation of such a phenomenon, they accosted an Irishman who was passing by. After watching the turtle for a moment, he remarked, “He is dead, but does not know it.”

This is the condition of the lukewarm professors. They are spiritually dead, but are not aware of it. The professors of Christianity at Laodicea were lukewarm, but they thought themselves rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing (Revelation 3:14-18).

Diseases of the human body are attended with certain feelings and symptoms by which the physician can tell the nature of the affection in a particular case. The diseases of the human soul are also attended with certain symptoms by which the nature of the malady in a given case may be known. I will now tell you of a few of the symptoms of lukewarmness, so you may know whether such is your state.

First. A kind of doubtful or uncertain feeling as to whether you are right with God, together with an unwillingness to examine yourself closely for fear you are wanting. Being filled with the Spirit gives us fullness of assurance.

Second. If when you testify to being saved, sanctified, and ready for the coming of Jesus, your heart fails to say amen, and you wish down in your soul you had a little better assurance that what your lips say were true, you are not as spiritual as you should be. When we are filled with the Spirit, our souls are assured and satisfied.

Third. Going along day after day in the same routine of life taking it for granted that you are at the work the Lord wants you to do, and not earnestly seeking to know His will. Those who are spiritual cannot be contented without a definite knowledge of the will of God. If you are going along without any real and positive knowledge of the will of God and not seeking to know it, surely you are lukewarm.

Fourth. If when your routine of life is in some way interrupted, you are dissatisfied and complain; if you do not enjoy being moved out of your old channel, but you wish to be let alone, it is evident that you have chosen your own way and that God is not ordering your steps.

Fifth. If when you are called to the assistance of a neighbor or the sick or even an enemy, you find a reluctancy to go and an often returning of your own mind to your own concerns and a desire to hurry back to them, you are, it appears, looking upon your own things, and not on the things of others. The Bible tells us to “Look… upon the things of others.”* (Philippians 2:4) If you see your own needs, and see and care but little about the things of others, you are selfish. Those who are spiritual have time to help others and do it willingly.

Sixth. If when called upon to go to the assistance of some unfortunate one and you cannot possibly go, if you do not have a deep heart-regret and if you do not oftentimes during the day think of the poor unfortunate man and be pained at heart because of your inability to help him, you must be more concerned about yourself than about others. You look on your own things and do not see nor feel the needs of others. If such is true in you, you are in a lukewarm state.

Seventh. If you were to be asked whether you are doing the work you are now doing, solely and purposely for the glory of God, and you should be obligated to answer that you had taken no particular thought about it, but supposed it mattered little to the Lord just so you were doing something, this would surely show neglect, indifference, lukewarmness.

Eighth. If you are indifferent and unconcerned about making spiritual progress; if you are not desiring and earnestly seeking for more of God; if you are not earnestly striving to be more meek and humble, to be more kind and patient; if you are carelessly tolerating acts of selfishness, of impatience, unkindness, harshness, lightness, you are certainly lukewarm.

Ninth. Neglect to read the Bible and to pray in secret; greater fervency in public prayer than in secret prayer; more outward manifestation than real inward piety; testifying or preaching beyond the true standard of living—these too are evidences of lukewarmness. A man may become enthusiastic in prayer, testimony, or sermon, and think he is making great advancement; but if he does not live up to every word he speaks, he is losing instead of gaining, because he is not walking in light.

Lukewarmness is very loathsome to God. It reproaches Him. To make no profession of love to God at all is not such a reproach to Him as to profess love and be lukewarm. God wants all your heart. If He cannot have it all, He will have none. He desires warm, fervent love. To love Him only partially, and not supremely, makes it appear as if He were worthy of only half-hearted love. It makes other things equal with God.

After the physician learns the symptoms and pronounces the disease, he then prescribes the remedy. Thank God, there is an unfailing remedy for lukewarmness. Of course, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” “Repent, and do the first works.”* (Revelation 2:5) Come to God and buy of Him gold refined in the fire. Exercise yourself in spiritual things if there yet be any love in your heart. Shake off everything that is stupefying. Press your way through to God in spite of dryness and deadness. Stir up your soul. Give yourself to deep meditation upon the great love of God to you. Pray in fervency and faith. Consecrate to the whole will of God. If your case is not hopeless—and it is not—this will effect a cure.

Steadfastness

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.”* (I Corinthians 15:58) Steadfastness is an essential principle in Christian character. There can be no success nor prosperity in the Christian life when this principle is wanting. The Psalmist said, “[My] heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.”* (Psalm 112:7) This is true steadfastness. It is cleaving to God, let the storms rage as they may. It is resting and abiding in Jesus though the trials of life may be the severest possible. It is firm, fixed, settled decision to abide in doctrines of the Bible. It is to rest confidingly upon the teaching and promises of the Holy Scriptures. Just as a man lies confidently down to rest upon his bed, so a Christian, in his steadfastness, rests confidingly, rests without fear, upon the never-changing Word of God.

Through Jesus Christ, Christians are made partakers of the divine nature. They receive the imprint of divine character in their souls. Among the different principles in the character of God is found steadfastness. When God delivered Daniel from the lions, Darius the king said, “I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast forever.”* (Daniel 6:26) Just as Christian fortitude is noble, manly, and pleasing to God, so lack of steadfastness is ignoble, unmanly, and highly displeasing to God.

Some (it may be many) are led by their feelings. We, as the children of God, are to be led by the Spirit of God; but not all fully understand what is meant by “being led by the Spirit.” I would rather be led by a sense of duty than by my feelings. I do not understand that in order to be led by the Spirit we need always to have a strong inward impression or almost audible voice speaking to us. The Spirit of God has illuminated the Word and enlightened your mind to know what is your Christian duty, hence when you go forward and discharge your duties faithfully, you are truly being led by the Spirit. You know it to be your duty to help the poor, to support the weak, to comfort the sorrowful, to attend religious services, to witness for Jesus, to study the Scriptures, to pray, and diligently to follow every good work. You may sometimes feel a strong impression to pray, but you do not need to have this feeling always in order to be duty-bound to pray. It is your duty to pray, to give of your means, etc., oftentimes just as much when you do not feel impressed to do so as when you have strong inward impressions. You do not need to wait for such impressions before you act, for a knowledge of your duty makes you responsible.

A man can have no true steadfastness who is influenced by his emotions or impressions. The man who is steadfast, unmovable in the Word, goes forward to a discharge of his known duties, no matter what his feelings may be. Whatever may be his impressions to do a certain thing, if it is not consistent with the Word and the Spirit and his knowledge of right, he persistently refuses to obey. How the true principle of steadfastness abides in the will of God and the doctrines of Christ is demonstrated in the teachings of Barnabas to the church at Antioch. There was some contention in the church over circumcision, and heavy persecutions from without, and many were being moved from the true faith. Barnabas exhorted that with purpose of heart they cleave to the Lord. Steadfastness is a firm, fixed purpose of the heart to cleave unto God, to attend strictly and promptly to every Christian duty. It is a decided, unchangeable, unshaken purpose of the heart to obey implicitly the teachings of the Savior, regardless of the feelings.

You will find that, if you attend to every Christian duty, you will often have to go contrary to your feelings. How often the enemy of your soul will, if he can, cast indifferent feelings over you concerning prayer. That is the time to show your Christian fortitude and steadfastness. It is weakness and laziness to neglect prayer simply because we do not feel inclined to pray. To yield to indifferent feelings is to encourage them, and they will grow stronger and stronger, so that we shall feel less and less inclined to pray. The more we pray, the more prayerful we feel; likewise, the less we pray, the less prayerful we feel. When we have yielded to indifferent feelings for some time and have sadly neglected prayer, we have a hard struggle to get through to the glorious light and victory and sweetness. But you must get out where the blessings fall; you must get where you have sweet tastes of love and the satisfying blessings of the presence of God. You must be courageous, manly, and decided. The way to enjoy serving God and doing our full Christian duty is always to do our duty and especially at those times when doing it seems to be the least enjoyable.

Steadfastly resist Satan and every indifferent feeling, and do your duty at any cost. Remember, it is not he that feels to do good and doeth it not, but “he that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”* (James 4:17)

How to Understand God’s Will

In order to do God’s will we must first know His will. In order to have real satisfaction, rest, and contentment in the Christian life—and there is no true rest outside the Christian life—we must have the full assurance that we are doing the will of God. The soul that loves God cannot be satisfied with anything less than this. As long as there is a doubt, there cannot be perfect contentment. We must have a perfect knowledge of God’s will concerning us, or else we shall not fully know we are doing His will.

Many are saying, “I would gladly do God’s will if I only knew what is His will.” Such ones have not reached that nearness to God that they should. There should always be a clear and definite understanding between God and His children. “My sheep,” Jesus says, “hear my voice”* (John 10:27); and we know that God hears the voice of His children. We can talk to God and God to us; consequently, there can be understanding between us. You can live close enough to God to know His will—not merely to suppose His will or take it for granted, but to know it because He told you. A man’s employees may suppose they are doing what he wants them to do, but this does not give them full assurance. It is only when they have been in his presence and heard him express his will that they know they are doing it. You can know God’s will. You need not spend one day without knowing you are in His order.

The Scripture says, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”* (Ephesians 5:17) In the verses preceding this one, we are told to walk circumspectly and to redeem the time. We need to know God’s will that we may use every opportunity to the greatest advantage. To pass along day after day without a definite knowledge of being in the will of God or without taking much thought about it or earnestly seeking to know it, is living on entirely too low a spiritual plane. God wants you to come up higher—high enough and close enough to know His will. Has not God purchased you? You are His servant, His bond slave. You are to do everything you do for Him. He who has men in his employ expects them to do his will. They do not go out a single day ignorant of his will. They do not always wait to be told what to do, but they make inquiry. With many there may not be enough earnest seeking after God to know His will.

In order to know God’s will there must be a perfect consecration to God. The soul must lay down her own will and present herself before God as much as to say, “I give up my way and will forever to be Thine and Thine alone; to love Thee and serve Thee; to do Thy whole will now and forever.” There must be humility before God; a deep inner consciousness of your nothingness and your inability to accomplish anything in life of yourself. “The meek will he guide in judgment.”* (Psalm 25:9) We must be meek and humble before the Lord and confess that we are dependent on Him and that life will be an utter failure unless He wills and guides and plans and works in us and with us and for us.

There must be great love to God and an earnest desire to know His will. Without strong desire to know God’s will you can never learn it. It is those who desire that obtain answers to their prayers; and that desire must be really great. You must seek to know. Where there is great desire, there will be earnest seeking, but there will not be earnest seeking without fervent desire. The desire must be so intense that you feel as if you must know. You must feel that you cannot get along in life without knowing God’s will. You cannot be of any service to Him without having knowledge of His will. You must also have faith. When you ask God to teach you His will, you must believe He will do it, and He will do it. When He begins to unfold His will, you must move in His order without doubting or questioning. He will guide you and direct your every step, and you can know that you are doing the very thing God wants you to do. Bless His name! Such a life is heaven here.

A View of Jesus

Let us take a look at Jesus. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit may unveil Him and present Him to us clearly. Now we see Him. We see Him as our all and as in all. Can you see Him thus? Is He everything to you? And is He in everything that comes to you?

Let us take a view of Jesus through two texts of Scripture. First, “And hath put all things under his feet.”* (Ephesians 1:22) We see Him as our protector. Christ has conquered all, and God has put all things under His Son’s feet. In all the world there is no evil thing that can harm the child of God. Jesus cares for His children. How safe we feel! He is our refuge, our strong tower, our buckler, and our shield. Discouragements, doubts, fears, disease, Satan, and all that would antagonize us are under His feet and so can never do us harm.

Second, “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.”* (John 3:35) Every good thing is in the hand of Jesus. He stands ready to give them to His children. There is not a need you can ever have but Jesus has in His hand something with which to supply that need. His loving hand is extended to you. It contains something that will meet all your needs in life. Praise the Lord!

Nothing can harm us, for every harmful and harming thing is beneath the feet of our Lord. So we need not fear. We can never fail to have all our needs supplied, for Jesus stands with outstretched hand to give just what we need just when we need it. Do you see Jesus as such? Open your eyes wide, look and live, and be happy and free.

Devotion to God

Devotion to God implies ardent affection for Him—a yielding of the heart to Him with reverence, faith, and piety in every act, particularly in prayer and meditation. We catch a glimpse of the true meaning of devotion from what is said of the centurion of the Italian band. He was termed “a devout man”* (Acts 10:2) because he feared God, gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. This is the essence of true devotion. He loved God, without which there can be no devotion. The more we love an object, the more devoted to it we are. Devotion is therefore love manifested. At the feet of Jesus stood a woman weeping and washing His feet with her tears and wiping them with the hairs of her head and kissing them. Is not this a picture of devotion? It is love and devotion expressed in action. Jesus said, “She loved much.”* (Luke 7:47) The secret of devotion is loving much.

Every devoted Christian desires to be more devoted to his God. I am glad we can be. It is pleasant to feel in our hearts an ardent desire to love God more. A fond mother clasps her babe to her bosom. She loves it, and her heart is happy in that love; but she feels she cannot love it enough. She longs to love it more. Her heart yearns to love it more, though she loves it from the fullness of her soul. This longing to love increases our capacity to love. By being filled with air some vessels are made to expand. Unless filled to their utmost capacity, they would not become more extended. To the extent that the heart is filled with the love of God, man is happy.

To desire to be more devotional is not an evidence of lack of devotion, but, on the contrary, an evidence of devotion. Those who are the least devotional have the least desire to be more devotional. The heart that is fullest of love is happiest; and although it is happy and satisfied, yet it longs to move. Oh, how we long to clasp our arms more tightly about Him! How we long to have Him clasp His arms more tightly about us! How we long to nestle more fondly and lovingly on His bosom! What rapture to our love-flooded souls to receive of His caresses and hear His tender words! To the soul in the ecstasy of its heavenly love, the world with its pleasures has vanished away like a morning vapor.

It is not understood by all how and why we should have a desire to possess more of that of which we are already full. It is the desire for development, it is an innate desire; it is a principle planted on our constitution under grace. Let me repeat what I have said elsewhere: Every living thing consciously or unconsciously struggles to conform to type. When the little plant bursts through the ground, it enters the race in conforming to the type that it carries in its bosom. Thus in the heart of the acorn is a miniature oak tree. The little chick carries within it an image of the mother bird, to which it will naturally though unconsciously conform.

In the natural world when things reach the highest point of development, they begin to decay or deteriorate; but this is not true in the spiritual world. Never in this life—and possibly never in that life which is to come—shall we reach the fullness of the type, or, in other words, the highest point of development. As the acorn or the little chick bears in its nature an image of the parent, so the Christian bears in his soul the image of God. This is the image to which he is to conform. Day after day he can grow in grace. Day after day the beautiful graces of the Spirit can become more beautiful and the exterior life be more preceptibly stamped with the holy image of God. There must be progress, or there will be regress. When a ball that has been thrown upward ceases to ascend, it begins to descend. When the fullness of the type is reached, then begins the retrogression. This is none the less true of spiritual things. The reason why there need be no declension in love is because the highest point of development is never attained.

For illustration let us set a little child in our midst. As a child it is perfect. All organs are in proper place and are properly performing their functions. It is a perfect image of the type of man into which it will grow. That child’s nature tends toward, and the child longs to be a man. The child’s innate desire for development does not make it discontented as long as its craving for growth is gratified. In this we behold the goodness and the wisdom of the Creator. That the child may be happy, it is so constituted that it satisfactorily meets all the requirements of the law of development. The child is thus kept in a state of contentment. Did it seek to fulfill the law of growth contrary to its nature, to become a man would be an irksome task. It is a delight to the child to eat, to play, to sleep. And these things, producing growth, meet the demands of its nature. There is implanted in it both a desire to grow and a relish for the things necessary to its growth. Thus the entire process of development is a delight. In fact, there will be no delight or enjoyment unless there be development.

True, a child does not eat and play for the express purpose of growing. Indeed, it may take no thought about growing. But there is in the nature of the child, when in health, a demand for growth. When the child is in ill health, the growth ceases; consequently there is no demand for development, and it loses relish for the things that go to meet that demand.

This very beautifully illustrates Christian development which includes becoming more devotional. You desire to be more devotional. Such a desire is legitimate. The nature of every sanctified soul craves development. The soul is not dissatisfied, any more than the growing child. As that developing life in the child moves it to seek for the things that produce development, so the life of God in the sanctified soul moves it to seek for the things that will unfold and amplify that life. “If ye then be risen [have life] with Christ, seek those things which are above.”* (Colossians 3:1) Those things, coming into our souls daily, will unfold us more and more into an heavenly life. They are food to the sanctified soul. They keep the soul satisfied, because they are the means provided by a loving, all-wise Providence for the constant healthful growth of our spiritual natures. Herein only is true soul-rest.

God gives us a relish for the very things that go to fulfill the demands of our Christian nature. Prayer, meditation, reading the Bible, trust, and resting in the Lord promote increase in Him. How delightful is prayer to the soul that is healthful and growing! And the Word of God is sweeter than honey. Where there is a demand in the soul for these things, how delightful it is to engage in them! Do you behold the beauty and the wisdom here? God implants a desire in the soul for spiritual development and at the same time implants a relish for the things necessary for such development. Bless His name! Understand me please, this desire is not a restless longing, an aching void as is found in an unregenerated heart or in a soul in spiritual decline; but it is the delightful struggling of a soul bearing the likeness of God, to conform to the natural law of development pent up within its bosom.

What is it in the nature of the oak that causes it to send its roots down into the soil and to drink up of its substance? What is it in the nature of the child that causes it so eagerly to eat and play? It is the demand in their nature for growth, or that innate struggle to conform to type. Manhood is sleeping in the child’s bosom, and it wrestles and struggles to rise to the fullness of that image. What causes the Christian heart to long to root deeper into God; that makes the soul seek His embrace? It is that instinctive struggle to conform to God’s glorious image. The entire process of development is delightful. Whenever the natural tendency toward growth ceases, the soul is in an abnormal state, and loses relish for the things necessary to growth.

Christian, see to it that you keep in your heart a desire, a longing, a panting, or, if you would rather I will say, a demand, in your spiritual being to be more devotional to God, and meet that demand by resting by faith in Him, by prayer, by meditation, by sacrifice. Do this, and you will become more devotional. But I love the word desire. Desire in the soul for spiritual things is appetite. Satisfying this desire is a pleasure. Never were any viands so sweet to the physical sense of taste as that food to our soul which helps us be more devotional. “Desire” is a Bible term: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”* (I Peter 2:2)

One way of becoming more devotional is by being active in service. Desire must be gratified, or it will die. Likewise, motive must find expression in action, or it will die. You have a desire for prayer; then grant that desire by actually praying, or you will lose the desire. An appetite once lost is difficult to regain. You may have in your soul a pure motive; then carry it into action. Do something for God, and you will become more devotional to God. Not that devotion comes by works, to begin with, any more than grace; but we do become more devotional by doing, just as we grow stronger physically by exercise. Follow every inclination to do good as far as you can, and you will become more devotional to God.

God loves to have you devoted to Him, and He longs to have you more devoted. It is astonishing, nevertheless God has intense desire to be prayed to and great love for communion with our hearts. He says, “My son, give me thine heart.”* (Proverbs 23:26) What does he want with man’s heart? He wants to put His love in it, so He can be loved by it and hold communion with it. “The prayer of the upright is his delight.”* (Proverbs 15:8) Oh, that there are so few hearts that love God! Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they would not come to Him. But why does He so intensely yearn for the prayers and devotions of our hearts? Because it is another young life and struggling to conform to the image in which it was created. It is another soul which has been won for God and in which He has His throne.

O God! take our hearts and compress within them that pure love from Thy own heart that will cause us to pray, “O God! enlarge our hearts” (Psalm 119:32). God would even pain our hearts with the fullness of His love until we find no ease except in expansion.

The Golden Rule of Life

“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.”* (Luke 6:31) This is a good rule for everyday living. It is known throughout the Christian world as “The Golden Rule.” It has great depths. It contains more, no doubt, than any of us comprehend. But let us study it for a moment. We might divide it into two rules: first, Do good to all; second, Do harm to none. We would that all men should do us good, and we would that none should do us harm. But if we would see the greater depths of this rule we must look beyond the physical man. To do good to all and harm to none in a bodily or physical sense is indeed good, but to do good to all and harm to none in a moral sense, is much better. We should do all we can to help others in a moral sense. Is not this what we would have all men do to us? We should do harm to none in a moral sense, because we would have none do us harm. This necessitates living a very holy life.

There are two ways in which we may do good to men morally: first, by strengthening the good that is in them; second, by suppressing and helping them to overcome any evil or fault that may be in them. Likewise there are two ways in which we may do harm to men morally: first, by strengthening and encouraging the evil and fault that may be in them; second, by suppressing and destroying the good that may be in them.

We are all creatures of influence. We are being influenced, and we are having an influence. There never was a human life but that had some influence over some other human life. We influence more by example than by words. If we say one thing and act another, we shall find our actions speaking more loudly than our words. If we love God with all our hearts, that love will influence another to love Him. Never was love lost. The love you have, O child of God, will find its way into some other life sometime, somewhere. The more of God’s love that is beaming out of our heart and life, the greater will be our influence upon others. Then may we love Him with all the heart. We should be filled with the Spirit. If we are spiritual, we cause those we converse with to desire to be more spiritual. We should be full of faith that our strong faith may help others to have more faith. We should like for others to be such an example to us; and as we would that men should do to us let us do to them.

It is a very great source of regret, indeed, to be so destitute of love, faith, and spirituality that we discourage and dampen the ardor of those into whose presence we may be for a time. Be your very best for God every day of your life and wield a holy influence over the hearts of men. The very greatest benefit we can be to man and the highest homage we can pay to God is to be filled with all the fullness of God.

Timeliness in Doing Good

To spend well this one brief life of ours, we must be active in doing good. This we have already learned. But not only should we be active in doing good, but we should do the good act when the act will be most helpful. Do the good deed when the good deed needs to be done. The kind word may be worth much and be greatly helpful to the fainting soul today, but may be too late tomorrow. “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men.” Will you stop a moment and think overt these words? Let no opportunity of doing good go by you unimproved. To neglect the present opportunity of doing good and then never be able to do it is a sad thing.

“Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: ‘It might have been.’ ”2

[2]:

[John G. Whittier; “Maud Muller”]

Why do you keep all the kind thoughts and kind words for a man until he is dead? They do him no good then. It is while he is living that he needs them. He has burdens heavy to be borne; troubles gather thick over his head; he is neglected and even misrepresented. You can help him with a smile or a few kind words; but, no, you pass him by. Now he is brought to the grave. As the cold clods fall upon his plain coffin, you say, “Well, he was a good man, after all.” Why did you not tell him that when he was living? It would have buoyed up his spirit then; it would have made him feel that life was not all in vain and that yet he might do a little good. But now he hears not your words. They return to you or float out into empty space a mere sound. The ear that was once eager for them and the heart that was aching for them is now cold in death. Your kind, cheering words are too late to give him encouragement; your flowers are too late to be appreciated. Once they would have brightened his life, but now his life is over. Once you could have chased away some clouds that were darkening his life, but you did not, and that day has gone into eternity as a day of darkness. You might have brightened it. This morning some kind hand placed a vase of beautiful flowers upon my desk. As I write, their fragrance reaches me and brings me tidings of someone’s kind remembrance.

It costs but little to speak kind words, but, oh! ofttimes they are worth so much! I know of nothing that costs so little to give that is so valuable to receive. But why keep all the flowers, the kind words, the tender feelings and thoughts, and the sympathetic tears until the one to whom they should be given passes away, and then come and let them fall so gently upon the casket? Do you know of one who is weary? Do you know of one who is being misrepresented? Do you know of one who is being trodden by others, with scarcely anyone to speak a word of comfort? Now, what would Jesus do? Look at poor Lazarus—turned away by the rich, neglected and rejected: watched over by angels ready to gather Him to paradise when He passes beyond the need of aid from men. Why not be an angel and make a day of paradise for Him here? Let us do some angel-work while here in life. The angels are ministering spirits. They whisper, “Be of good cheer,” “Peace on earth.” They come to gladden hearts; they come to close the lions’ mouths; they come to open the prison doors and break the iron bands. Oh, let us do some angel work!

Hast thou any flowers for me?
Wilt thou kindly let them be
Given ere death bedews my brow?
Wait not, give them to me now.

While in life’s eventful day
Tired, and weary grows the way,
When in dark and lonely hour,
Give me then the cheering flow’r.

Hast thou kind words to impart,
Words that lift the fainting heart?
Speak ere Death’s hand on me lay;
Speak those kind words now—today.

Kind words are but empty breath
To the heart that’s still in death;
When life’s load is hard to bear
Let me then the kind words hear.

Hast thou sunlit smiles to give,
Smiles that make us want to live?
Ere I cross death’s sullen stream,
On me let those bright smiles beam.

Smiles, whate’er their power to save,
Cannot penetrate the grave.
Ere I reach life’s ending mile,
Give to me the sunlit smile.

Prayer can stay the trembling knee:
If thou hast but one for me,
Let it offered be today,
Ere the life-light fades away.

When my soul transcends the air,
I no more shall need thy prayer:
Let now, today, thy soul travail;
’Tis only now thy prayers avail.

“If I should die tonight,
My friends would call to mind with loving thought
Some kindly deed the icy hand had wrought,
Some gentle word the frozen lips had said,
Errands on which the willing feet had sped;
The memory of my selfishness and pride,
My hasty words, would all be put aside,
And so I should be loved and mourned tonight.”3

[3]:

[Arabella E. Smith; “If I Should Die Tonight”]

The Warfare of a Christian

It is blessed and glorious to be a Christian. No other life is so beautiful and pure; no other life is so tranquilly peaceful; no other is so full of rest, happiness, and satisfaction. The Christian, however, does not go to heaven on flowery beds of ease. His pathway is not strewn with roses all the way; there is now and then a thorn. It is not sunshine all the time; now and then a shadow falls. To win heaven he must fight. There are some things to oppose a Christian on his pilgrimage to the skies, these he must contend against. The contending against those things prepares him for his blissful home above.

“All things work together for good to them that love God.”* (Romans 8:28) Heaven’s blessings and hell’s venom, angels’ smiles and Satan’s frowns, comforts of grace and spiritual wickedness, good and ill, love and hatred, all work good to those who have union with God. It is the battle that disciplines and makes strong and brave the warrior, and not the victory. We are exhorted to “endure hardness, as a good soldier.”* (II Timothy 2:3) There are some things to endure along the Christian way. James says, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation.”* (James 1:12) Temptations are outward influences acting upon our natural emotions and passions to induce the will to act contrary to the law of grace to satisfy self. We need not expect to be free from temptations; therefore let us settle it that we will endure them. It is really a blessed thing to endure them. You may think it would be a blessed thing to be free from them, but such would not be the case. It is more blessed to endure them. Temptations will never cease to attack the soul as long as it inhabits this “muddy vesture of decay.”4 Be brave, O soul, and endure temptations. Be brave and fight the good fight of faith. Do not faint because you have temptations. Do not fear because there are long and fierce battles to fight. Be strong and of good courage. It is a lifelong struggle, and it is also a lifelong victory, and in the end eternal victory. Strong and well-developed spiritual sinews are the result of resisted temptations.

[4]:

[William Shakespear; The Merchant of Venice]

It is not sinful to be tempted. We never lose any spirituality by being tempted. It is the slight yieldings that cause a leaking, a loss of grace. Clear up the vision of your faith a little and take a look at your beautiful glittering “crown of life.”* (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10) It is not gold, neither crystal. Do not look at it as such, but see it a crown of life. Yes, you will be crowned with eternal life if you will but endure temptation. Think of this in the hour of thy sore trial. Fight on; heaven awaits to reward you.
Live by Faith

^
Live by Faith

Live by faith. There is no other true and right way to live. “Without faith it is impossible to please [God],”* (Hebrews 11:6) and of course the life that pleases God is the only life that is perfect. We can please God; we can walk each day in a way that is pleasing to Him. Such a walk is by faith, not by sight. God honors faith. He loves to have His Word believed. He delights to hear the prayer of faith; it avails with Him.

Around the great white throne in heaven the angels are shouting day and night, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty…. Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto [thee].”* (Revelation 4:8; 5:13) But amid all this sound of praise God hears a voice and bends an ear to listen. It is the prayer of faith from the heart of one of His children. There are never too many angels singing nor too many harps resounding for God to hear the voice of His children. There is never too many angels singing that He cannot “hear in the morning.”* (Psalm 5:3) He hears the first faint cry of His heaven-born child. Even the unuttered wish of the heart, the unexpressed desire, the faintest breathing of love, He hears and recognizes as the voice of His child. Faith will wing its way into the presence of God. It traverses the universe until it finds Him and there brings the soul to its rest. Faith will guide us through this world.

Faith touches God. A woman came to Jesus and tremblingly reached out her feeble hand and touched the hem of His garment. He asked, “Who touched me?”* (Luke 8:45) It was not the finger-touch that He felt, but the faith-touch. Today we can touch Him by faith and by no other way. Though many angels may be thronging Him, yet the feeblest touch of faith will reach Him. You may be one of the weakest ones, unnoticed and unknown. A little cabin on the mountainside may be your home, but your feeblest cry of faith will reach the throne of God, and He will send angels to encamp round about you and deliver you. Have faith in God. When all is dark around you, believe in Him. Trust Him when you cannot trace, and believe when you cannot see. Never doubt His Word. Faith will prevail and bring you the desire of your heart. Will you believe?

A Valuable Legacy

A legacy is a gift that someone makes to another usually something that one leaves behind, when departing from this world, for others to enjoy. Some have left great sums of money to others and to institutions, and these bequests have been called valuable legacies. I am now to tell you of the greatest and most valuable legacy that has ever been left to man. It is a bequest left not to one man but to all men. It is not a legacy of silver or gold or diamonds nor of houses and lands. Nor can this precious gift be purchased with gold. It is something Jesus gives; and what He has cannot be purchased with any earthly thing. I will read you what it is: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.”* (John 14:27) These are the words that Jesus uttered just before His departure from the world, and this is the legacy He leaves to man. Oh, what a gift! We can all possess it. We need it as we are crossing the sea of life. Many storms arise and billows roll high, but the soul possesses this valuable treasure of peace. There is a stillness, a calmness, a peacefulness, in the soul that stormy winds can never disturb.

This peace that Jesus gives, is given us through our obedience. “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river.”* (Isaiah 48:18) What is more peaceful than the calm, even flowing of a river? As we look upon it, a quiet peacefulness begins to spread its mantle over our hearts. Still waters are a beautiful emblem of peace, while troubled waters are a picture of unrest.

This peace that Jesus gives is unlike anything that the world gives. This world contains many pleasant things and makes many very liberal offers, but peace is never found by accepting any of them. The pleasures of this world leave a bitter taste, while the hardships we endure for Jesus sweetens our cup.

Shall we analyze this peace, that we may know all about it, even the very hidden secret of the principle? The apostle says, “The peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds.”* (Philippians 4:7) Let us be satisfied to have our hearts and minds kept by this wonderful peace, though we do not understand it. I have some flowers on my desk. There are white ones and yellow and purple and red and pale blue. I do not understand the principle of life that gives them such beauty and fragrance. If I should dissect them in order to discover this secret, I should destroy their beauty and be no wiser. We cannot understand this peace, but we can possess it.

There is power in this peace to keep the heart and mind. “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.”* (Colossians 3:15) Give thy heart over to its calm, still power. It will rule very quietly in your soul, but rule with kingly power. The waters cannot rise in trouble where peace holds sway. When this secret power has dominion in our hearts, it speaks peace to all around. It says to the waves and the winds, “Peace, be still.”* (Mark 4:39) Or the attacking fears, on the threatening circumstances, it lays a quiet hand and whispers, “Peace, be still,” and great is the calmness of thy soul.

Some Scriptures for Daily Practice

If we seek God earnestly in the prayer of faith to help us in our daily practice of the following Scriptural texts and then put forth our best efforts, we shall find life daily growing more holy and beautiful. The beauty and enjoyment of a holy life is that it can always be improved upon. We can live in all the light that shines upon us from these texts today, but tomorrow we find them shining a little brighter and fuller light, so that we shall have to live a little more holy than we are living today. Thus all along our Christian way we shall find that we are growing and becoming holier in life, and more of the transcendent beauty of Jesus will be seen upon us.

“And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”* (Ephesians 4:32) Let this law of kindness get into your life as its very essence. It is not enough to affect kindness; we must be kind. A tender heart is the groundwork of kindness. Out of such a soil the beautiful flowers of gentleness, kindness, and tenderness grow. These perfume the life and make it cheering to others. Can you be more kind in your daily life? Is your heart so tender that it feels the suffering of the child or the pain of the dumb animal to the extent that you find pleasure in giving relief even at the expense of self-ease?

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”* (Colossians 3:2) Guard your heart. “Keep [it] with all diligence.”* (Proverbs 4:23) See that all of its affections are on things above. Some of the earthly things that God has given into your keeping will want some of your affection. The beautiful home, the farm, the bank account, the domestic animals, and even some things almost worthless will want a little of your heart’s love. Your own talents and personal appearance may desire some of your affection, just enough to set you approving them for your own sake. Practise daily the above text.

“In everything give thanks.”* (I Thessalonians 5:18) “Giving thanks always for all things.”* (Ephesians 5:20) Thankfulness is a grace easily improved and developed if cultivated. Likewise, it will very soon degenerate if neglected. In order to keep a deep sense of thankfulness in our hearts we must be mindful of the gracious dealings of God. It is well to take time as often as circumstances will permit to meditate in some quiet place upon the goodness of God to you. We should have such thankful hearts that ofttimes tears of gratitude will flow at the remembrance of God’s goodness.

“Rejoice evermore.”* (I Thessalonians 5:16) “As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing.”* (II Corinthians 6:10) “Rejoice alway: and again I say, Rejoice.”* (Philippians 4:4) “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.”* (James 1:2) This is the power of the Christian life. We can always rejoice. We can be contented and happy, whatever our circumstances in life. God’s grace will sustain us. Every day can be, and should be, a day of rejoicing. God is pleased to have us happy, but He would have our rejoicing to be in Him and not in His blessings. To rejoice in the midst of trial is health to the soul.

“Pray without ceasing.”* (I Thessalonians 5:17) “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.”* (Colossians 4:2) “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”* (Ephesians 6:18) If you value peace and prosperity of soul, you will not neglect to pray. It is prayer that keeps us up above the clouds and brings heaven down. He who does not pray at all is not a Christian, and he who does not pray much is not much of a Christian. It is not those who have plenty of time to pray that do the most praying, but those who take the time. Let there be some prayer every day.

“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves.”* (Philippians 2:3) This should be the experience of your heart every day. When we are lowly, we see our own faults and imperfections and our brother’s virtues; therefore we look upon him as better than ourselves. It seems to us that others are more humble than we are, and have more faith and love God more than we do.

“Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”* (Philippians 2:4) We should be as much concerned in others’ welfare as in our own. He who is looking out for himself and neglecting others has not advanced very far in the Christian life. The Christian lives for others. He will overlook his own needs and see his brother’s needs.

“See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good both among yourselves, and to all men.”* (I Thessalonians 5:15) “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”* (Galatians 6:9-10) To go about doing good out of a heart full of love is the way to spend life. Heaven is going to reward us according to our works. The Bible tells us so. Never a day should go by without our having done some good thing purposely out of love to God and man. The Lord does not overlook small deeds when done in love. A coral is very small, but many of them make an island: a little good deed done every day will in a lifetime amount to enough to build a splendid mansion in heaven.

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”* (Galatians 6:2) To lift a load from off the shoulders of another is noble service. To remove a burden from another’s heart is truly Christlike. He who goes through life bearing the burdens of others has found the easiest road; he who goes through life refusing to aid others travels a road of hardest toil.

“Abhor that which is evil.”* (Romans 12:9) God is holy; consequently He hates that which is evil. When we admire the holiness of God, we loathe sin; if sin has no horror to our soul, holiness has no beauty. To the extent we love holiness, to that extent we hate sin. A good man of long ago said, “If I should see the shame of sin on the one hand, and the pain of hell on the other, and must of necessity choose one, I would rather be thrust into hell without sin than go into heaven with sin.”5

[5]:

[Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury.]

Sin is a hideous monster. Draw near to God if you would see sin’s awful hideousness. Unlike most other things, the farther you are away from sin the more clearly you can see it as it really is.

“Cleave to that which is good.”* (Romans 12:9) To cleave is to adhere tightly to; cling. We cleave to that which is good by ever doing good. When we hate sin as we should and see its awful shame, and love the good and see its wondrous beauty, we would rather go to hell doing good than to heaven committing sin.

“Draw nigh to God.”* (James 4:8) The close of every day should find us a little nearer God than the evening before. We should hide a little more secretly in His pavilion. We should nestle a little more closely under His wing; His feathers should cover us a little more fully. Be the storms what they may, we can daily live very close to God, and what we can do it is our duty to do.

“Open thy mouth wide.”* (Psalm 81:10) We should daily live with wide-open mouth. If we will, the promise is that God will fill it. For God to be all to us, we must expect all from Him. God can impart to us only what our hearts are open to receive. If we would live with God in our own soul, we must have all our soul open to receive Him. Many fail to see the beauty of a life hid with God because they are looking too much earthward. Opening the mouth wide implies an abandonment of ourselves to God with a readiness to receive all that God has to give, together with an expectation to receive nothing that does not come from Him. Then God will fill us daily with Himself. There will be a constant inflowing from God of strength and ability to perform every duty of life, and of grace and peace to make life an emblem of heaven.

“The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldst know his will.”* (Acts 22:14) “Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”* (Ephesians 6:6) “I delight to do thy will, O my God.”* (Psalm 40:8) It is our privilege to daily know the will of God. It is our duty to daily do it. It is a blessing to love to do it. Here is the sum of all Christian living:

1. Knowing the will of God.
2. Doing the will of God.
3. Doing the will of God in love.

“I asked the New Year for some motto sweet,
Some rule of life with which to guide my feet;
I asked, and paused; it answered soft and low,
‘God’s will to know.’

“ ‘Will knowledge then suffice, New Year?’ I cried,
And e’en the question into silence died;
The answer came: ‘Nay, but remember, too,
God’s will to do.’

“Once more I asked: ‘Is there no more to tell?’
And once again the answer sweetly fell,
‘Yes, this one thing all other things above:
God’s will to love.’ ”

“Do all things without murmurings and disputings.”* (Philippians 2:14) Let thy life be free from all frettings and worryings. Let it be like the calm flowing of the river. God is a strong and high tower, a refuge, a shield. With our life hidden in Him, worries and frettings cannot reach us. We may be treated unjustly by a bosom friend, but we commit it to God, and instead of feeling the wound the friend gives, we feel the balm our Father gives.

“Be content with such things as ye have.”* (Hebrews 13:5) “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”* (Philippians 4:11) He who has gained contentment has gained more than he who has gained the wealth of a world, if it be contentment with godliness. A discontented life is a dark spot on the page of human history. An even, contented life is as a lighthouse shedding its peaceful beams over the turbulent waters where voyagers come and go.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”* (Philippians 4:13) “I am mighty enough for all things through Christ who empowers me” (Rotherham). There is no excuse for your not living a perefectly victorious life today. You can be a conqueror. Temptations will assail you, trials will come, but you can ignore them in such a way as to show their author your contempt for both him and his temptations. I read just this morning this good suggestion: “Do not dwell upon your temptations. They are like little dogs that bark after a man that passes by; if he stops to drive them away, they bark more fiercely than before.” You can do all things through Christ, but you must do them in His way. Ofttimes He would have you ignore temptations instead of fighting them. It is well ofttimes not even to ask, “Who is there,” when temptations come knocking at your door.

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”* (Colossians 3:12-13) Such a life is a heavenly life. Think these words over and make them your experience today. Have bowels of mercies—that yearning, longing, compassionate feeling that would gladly bring every offender to Jesus for forgiveness. Be kind. Oh, the power of kindness! It cannot be resisted; it conquers wherever it goes. This cold world knows no music so sweet as kindness; it charms and delights the ears of all. If you would be kind in word and act, be kind in thought. Be humble in mind. Think well of others and not so well of yourself. Life will flow on peacefully and easily if we are humble; nothing can disturb. Be meek, sweet, and mild tempered. Bear long with the failings and weaknesses of others, carefully considering your own and keeping in mind how you would like to have others bear with you.

“And above all these things put on charity; which is the bond of perfectness.”* (Colossians 3:14) Throw the mantle of love over every act and thought in life. Love purely, love sincerely, love fervently. Nothing is so great as love. All the graces have their seat in love; you cannot be compassionate, kind, humble, meek, or forbearing without love.

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts.”* (Colossians 4:15) Let the peace of God act as umpire, deciding every case. Let it have the ruling power in your heart and life today and every day. Whatever matters may arise, let the peace of God take it in hand and dispose of it. If it shows any resistance, then let the peace of God cast it out.

“Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”* (Colossians 4:6) “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”* (Ephesians 4:29) Have a pure speech, made mighty by the grace of God. Be sober without gloom, be serious with cheerfulness. Have such a conversation as is suited to lift hearts to a higher plane. Your words should be such as to make better those you talk with and make them feel that there is something higher for them.

“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”* (Ephesians 5:16) Time is more than money; it is life. Do not waste it. Improve its golden moments today. Be economical in its use. Many complain of not having time for devotional reading and for prayer, while if they would examine carefully, they would find that they trifle away as much time as would be needed for prayer each day.

“Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”* (Ephesians 5:21) This is beautiful. Submissiveness is a desirable grace and one that will strew your pathway with peace. How blessed it is to be always ready to give up our way! It is the easy way. We shall find life’s way a hard road to travel if we are always wanting our way.

“Be careful for nothing.”* (Philippians 4:6) “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”* (I Peter 5:7) “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.”* (Matthew 6:25) The Christian life is one of freedom from anxiety. Jesus will bear all our burdens and cares, if we will but cast them on Him. There is no need to worry nor to bear a load of care. A certain brother was much troubled about not having bread for the next meal. But while he was troubling himself and bearing his load, a man drove up and unloaded a barrel of flour at the door. All the time the brother was troubled, the barrel of flour was on the way. Take no anxiety for future things.

“Commune with your heart upon your bed, and be still.”* (Psalm 4:4) Each evening in some quiet place and with interior stillness talk with your heart and let your heart talk to you. Take a distinctive view of your inward life. You need to be very careful lest you outwardly appear to be a little more than you really are inwardly.

“I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”* (Galatians 2:20) Is it true? Does Jesus live in you? If you are smitten upon the right cheek does Jesus then live in you? If you are evil spoken of, misrepresented, misunderstood, neglected, despised, and forsaken, does Jesus live in you then? If you see your brother in need; if you have two coats and he has none, does Jesus live in you then? There are some in prison near you; there are those who are sick; there are those who are thirsty and hungry; in foreign lands there are heathen that know not God—are you sure Jesus lives in you?

“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him.”* (Job 23:8-9) This may be your experience some days. In fact, if you are making progress and at all approaching maturity, you will have such experiences. Some dear conscientious Christians become much troubled because they are not more conscious of God’s presence. They do not feel Him, and thus they conclude they must be very formal. I have always believed and taught that we should have a consciousness of God’s presence with us; I still believe and teach it; but I must admit that the most spiritual ofttimes cannot perceive God on either hand. They may fear that they are lifeless, because there is not a fresh and sweet spontaneous feeling in their souls. It seems to them that they merely go through the form of worshiping God instead of being in the Spirit. They pray, but their prayers seem to have no depth of heart. In consequence they may be troubled. They need not be. We are not necessarily lukewarm because we do not feel God. The most humble men are those who are least conscious of their humility. The greatest of men are those who take no note of their greatness. The Christian has life; but when we get in the habit of living, we are not so conscious of life.

Let me illustrate the point this way: Suppose your weakness to be selfishness. You struggle hard against that selfish principle; you notice that you are becoming more unselfish; you are conscious of it because you have had to put forth such effort to attain it; but after you have gained the victory and have become habituated to living an unselfish life, you will be less conscious of your unselfishness. The musician is not so conscious of his skill after he has mastered the art as he is while learning it. Those who are the meekest and have the most intimate converse with heaven, diffusing a fragrance round about them from their holy lives and seeming to be visitants from some world where there is no sin—these are least conscious of their high spiritual attainments.

Live a holy life, obey the commandments of God, have a will to serve God, and if sometimes you do not feel Him nor perceive Him, do not be troubled, but consider that He knows the way you take and that when He has tried you, you shall come forth as gold.

“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love.”* (Romans 12:10) Brotherly love is precious in the sight of angels. It is the most convincing proof of the Christian religion. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”* (John 13:35) But in addition to brotherly love there should be kind affection. This is love felt and expressed. There are those who really love, yet whose nature is such that they do not feel much love. Kind affection, like every other grace, is capable of cultivation.

“In honor preferring one another; not slothful in business; fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer.”* (Romans 12:10-12) These words contain depth of experience, but only by prayer and deep meditation can we descend to their depth.

Closing

But we must close by referring you to the whole of the Bible. It is a holy book, yea, the holiest of books. A life in harmony with its precepts is the holiest life. Such a life will grace the earth and shine as a star forever in heaven. Cleave to the Bible, study its pages, appropriate its truths to your own heart by faith. By living upon the Word of God, we become more like God. Heavenly words taken into the heart form a heavenly life.

Let your soul be fed each day from the blessed Book of God. Take the time. Drink deep into its pure, crystal stream, and the beauty of the Lord will grow upon you. Watch the little things in everyday life—the thought, the word, the act, until you bring the whole of your life into the habit of acting godly. Be as kind as you can be today, and you can be kinder tomorrow. This is for the Christian. We do not become Christians by growth, but we must grow after we become Christians. We can be more patient tomorrow by being as patient as we can be today. We can be better men tomorrow by being our best today. We grow as we live. If we live the right way, we shall grow that way, and the longer we grow that way, the more natural and easy the way.

Therefore let your whole life flow out in a trend with the Bible, until it wears a channel in holiness and Christian character. Gather food daily for your soul from the sacred page; live in the most intimate communion with God that is possible; meditate in His law day and night; let the love of your heart grow warmer; let life be the holiest possible. Do this, and you will be one of the jewels God will gather to bedeck the temple of the skies.

Postlude

A tender blue is in the sky
As sets the golden sun;
Another day is passing by,
And thus the moments run.

The songbird’s note is soft and low,
Flying to leafy nest;
In evening’s peaceful twilight glow
All nature sinks to rest.

The fields are wrapped in somber shroud
As fades the light of day;
A tender flush is on the cloud
Beside the Milky Way.

A hush is on this world of ours;
Day, dying, drops a tear;
Angels’ hands unveil the stars,
Which one by one appear.

Now Pleiades grow sparkling bright
In deepening blue above:
O mild, serene autumn night!
Thy voice is full of love.

Such sacred awe my soul doth fill!
Such quietness doth reign!
The Voice that uttered, “Peace, be still,”
Has whispered once again.

The silver bars that streak the West
Are short’ning one by one;
Another day has gone to rest,
And thus the moments run.

I’ve one day less to watch and wait,
My Savior’s face to see,
Someday, and ope will be the gate.
Sweet heav’n, I come to thee.

Oh, may it be when sets the sun
So peacefully and calm!
Oh, may I hear the sweet, “Well done,”
When evening sings her psalm!

It is a pleasant autumn eve;
The blue is in the sky;
My task is done; I take my leave.
Goodbye, dear friend, goodbye!

Dear reader, live alone for God;
Walk blameless in His blessed Word.
We may not meet each other here,
But let us live in Heaven’s fear,
So when our work on earth is done,
We’ll meet each other round God’s throne.
Just one request I make of thee:
Until we meet, pray oft for me.

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