|
• 
Andrew Murray
|
|
 A Ministry dedicated to preserving the truth and accuracy of the infallible Word of God. |
|
|
|
| Devotionals: Counsel And Help, Daily Readings Selected from the Writings of J R Miller | |
Back to Devotionals >> "Counsel And Help" Daily Readings Selected from the Writings of J R Miller January February March April May June July August September October November December Counsel And Help was first published in 1907 by The Pilgrim Press, London. NOVEMBER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Say Not "Tomorrow" This is a well trodden highway, and there are always thousands upon it. They believe everything, and are terrified when they think of the awful facts of eternity. They mean to turn and be saved, but they put it off. There will be a more convenient season by and by. It is a terribly mistaken way to do. The best time to repent and be saved is always now. A more convenient season will never come. Countless thousands have been lost by saying "Tomorrow" when they should have said "Today."
"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Our Part When God laid the sins of men on Jesus, and when Jesus had made expiation for them, the law was satisfied. No one can say that God is not just, since Christ died for man’s sins. Yet there is something for us to do. The Gospel is not a universal emancipation proclamation. In one sense it is. Emancipation is offered to all. But there must be an individual acceptance of it on the part of each sinner who would receive its blessing. This is faith. It is faith in Jesus that is required, not merely believing in God’s mercy, but receiving Christ as the Saviour, and resting upon Him alone for salvation. This implies a great deal. If we take Christ as our Saviour we take Him also as our Master. That means that we forsake our sins; that we devote ourselves to Him, and follow Him with love and obedience.
As In Heaven This is the lesson set for us – the doing of God’s will on earth as it is done in heaven, as we ourselves shall do it in heaven when we reach that happy home. If our heart is full of love for Christ, the doing of the will of God will always be sweet, even though it be against Nature and at the cost of much self denial. It has been said very truly: "The outside world takes all its colour, value, and grace from the kind of world one carries about in one’s self. Heaven in us will make the hardest tasks a delight."
The Real Sabbath Jesus stripped the Sabbath of the disfigurements which human hands had left upon it, and set it forth in its beauty as when God gave it to man. He did not abolish the day nor lower its sacredness by a hair’s breadth – He made it all the more sacred. A picture of Dante by Giotto was lost to the world of art for a long while. A researcher of art, however, thought that at last he had found it on a wall, hidden under coats of whitewash or plaster. With great care he removed the coverings, until the face of the Italian poet was revealed in all its sadness and strength. The real Sabbath which God made was lost to the world, covered up, plastered over with man’s interpretation and inventions, in Jesus’ day, and He took away these obscuring and defacing teachings of men, showing the world the Sabbath as God meant it to be and as He would have observed.
Via Dolorosa We never can go after Christ and walk on flowery paths. It was a Via Dolorosa on which He walked to Calvary, and the disciples must be as their Lord. Notice that it is "His Cross" which each follower of Christ must take up. That is, each life has its own burden of duty, of struggle, of self denial, of responsibility, which each must take up and carry for himself. The whole world would be of no profit to us if our life were lost. We could not buy pardon, or peace, or heaven even with the treasures of the whole world in our hand. Nor could we keep the world and carry it with us into the other life, though we won it all.
Not Of This World If we are Christians we are not of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven. We are foreigners here. It is our duty to live the heavenly life in the midst of this earth’s circumstances and conditions. We are here for our Master, to do His work, to reveal Him to men, to do in our little measure the things He would do if He were here in our place. We are therefore to be in the world, as Jesus was in it. He maintained the heavenly life, without spot, in the midst of all the sin there was about Him. The world made no impression on His holiness, His purity.
A Useless Love Love for God is only a vaporous sentiment, a misty emotion, unless it manifests itself in love for men. Our Lord gave us a picture of the last judgment which at first almost startles us; for, instead of making faith in Himself or love for god the test of men’s lives, He makes all turn, in that great final day, and upon the way they have treated others in this world. Those who have used their gifts to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to relieve the distress of the poor, the prisoner, the sick, are welcomed into eternal joy. Those who have shut up their hands and hearts, allowing human need and suffering to go unrelieved, are themselves shut away from blessedness.
Burden Making Thus I read the duty of giving encouragement. It is the sunshine most lives need. Childhood, youth, struggling genius, fainting energy, wearied hope, tempted virtue, breaking hearts, – all are waiting for sympathy and cheer. Those who would do good must learn this secret – pastor, teacher, editor, and parent. Disheartening words anywhere are treasonable words. They cause fear, anxiety, and panic, loss of courage, rout, and disaster. There are discouragements enough in most lives already. Let us never add to life’s burdens, but let us rather at every possible opportunity breathe cheer, fresh incitement, new courage. He that lives thus, even in the lowliest walk, will make brightness and song wherever he goes, and will have choral entrance into joy at the end.
The Uses Of Adversity Afflictions, sanctified, soften the asperities of life. They tame the wildness of nature. They temper human ambitions. They burn out the dross of selfishness and worldliness. They humble pride. They quell fierce passions. They reveal to men their own hearts, their own weaknesses, faults, blemishes, and perils. They teach patience and submission. They discipline unruly spirits. They deepen and enrich our experiences.
Lessons Of Consecreation If we learn well the lesson of consecration, it takes the drudgery out of all duties. It lifts up the commonest intercourse of life into blessed service at Christ’s feet. It makes us patient and gentle when dealing with the most disagreeable people. It imparts a high, a divine motive to all friendship and companionship. It teaches us patience amid the interruptions and disarrangements of our plans. It disciplines our wayward wills in little things, and brings them into subjection to Christ. It takes the frivolity out of our conversation. It makes us ever watchful of our influence over others, and of our treatment of them. It makes us ever ready and eager both to receive and impart help and blessing. Then it makes consecration to Christ not a dim, far away, merely theoretical thing, but a living, practical experience which charges all life with meaning, and which takes hold of the most commonplace things in our prosaic weekday routine, transforming them into beautiful ministries around the feet of God.
Simple Faithfulness We have but to take the hours, one by one, as they come, and fill them with simple faithfulness. If we do this, our whole day of life will at the end be radiant with the splendour of duty well done. But the missing or neglecting of tasks, the dropping and losing of hours and moments, will leave our days and years marred and blemished, and our life record at the last like a garment that is moth eaten.
Green Pastures When we know that Jesus is the Son of God, with all divine attributes, the comfort from the truth of His Humanity is immeasurably enhanced. While He knows all about us, understands our experiences, and sympathizes with us in every varying mood and phase of life, He is also able to help us. He is our companion all the way. The arm that is so much comfort to us in its embrace is an everlasting arm. The Friend who is so close, whose love means so much to our hungry heart, is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Man whose feet walked over these earth paths, and marked out the way for us, is on Heaven’s throne, King of kings and Lord of Lords. We need never fear to trust this Saviour.
Go, Tell Peter Jesus left this special word for Peter with the angel at the tomb, because He knew of the bitterness of His disciple’s sorrow. Peter might have been saying, when he heard Jesus had risen, "Perhaps He will not own me any more," and so Jesus sent this message with Peter’s name in specially, just to let him know that he was forgiven and would not be cast off. What a world of comfort there is in this "and Peter" for any who have sinned and are penitent! Those who have fallen are the very ones who receive the deepest, tenderest compassion from Jesus, because they need it most, and because He would help them to rise again. The Gospel always has its special word for the penitent: Christ still comes to call the sinner.
Profitable Hearing The Bible is simply a book of words; but every word contains a revelation of some beautiful thing in character or attainment which we should strive to reach. We should always gladly, because we may always safely and profitably, hear the words of God. Then we should open our ears to the voice that speaks in every good book. We should take heed what we hear. Then we must not forget the Master’s other counsel. "Take heed how ye hear." We should hear thoughtfully, reverently, obediently, telling the good words of God into our heart, that they may transform our life.
Unseen Messengers Angels do not now appear to our eyes; but who will say that they do not whisper in our ears many a suggestion which we suppose to come from our own hearts? At least, we know that in some way God will always tell us what to do; and if only we have ears to hear, we shall never fail of guidance. We should always wait for God’s bidding before taking any step. Especially in times of danger, when we are moving under His guidance, should we wait and not move until He brings us word.
Silent Struggles There are sorrows in every life, many of which are inexplicable. There are those whose quietest days are full of struggles of which their closest friends can know nothing. It is very hard for some people to be good, to resist temptation, to keep sweet under irritation and insult, to maintain purity of heart amid all the enticements of temptation. Nothing else gives such strength and help in hard experiences as knowing of the unfailing sympathy of Christ.
Fruits Of The Spirit If Christ truly be in us, as He lived, we will live; as He ministered to others, we will minister; as He was holy, we will be holy; as He was patient, thoughtful, unselfish, gentle, and kind, so will we be. Christ came to our world to pour divine kindness on weary, needy perishing human lives. Christ truly in our hearts should send us out on the same mission. And there is need everywhere for love’s ministry.
A Day At A Time It ought not to be hard to live well one day. Anyone should be able to remember God, and keep his heart open toward heaven, and to remember others in need and suffering about him, and keep his hand stretched out in helpfulness, for just one day. Yet that is all there is to do. We never have more than one day to live. We have no tomorrows. God never gives us years, or even weeks: He gives us only days. If we live each day well, all our life will, in the end, be radiant and beautiful.
The Price Of Perfection We need never be afraid of suffering. "Hereunto were ye called." There must be a reason for this in God’s thought of us. We know, at least, that we never can reach the best things in life but by the paths of pain. All the richest blessings of grace lie beyond lines of suffering which we must pass to get them. Even of Jesus it is said that He was made perfect through suffering. There were attainments which even He could reach in no other way. All that is worthiest and most Christlike in good men bears the marks of pain upon it. We must pay the price if we would get the blessing.
Lost Chances What blanks are we leaving, you and I, these passing days? What things that we ought to have done for others – things of love, kindness, encouragement, uplifting, cheer, comfort – have we been leaving undone? What things that we ought to have done for our Master – holy living, heroism in duty, firmness in purpose, self effacement that He may be honoured – have we been omitting?
Our Debts If we would join the ranks of those who have lived worthily in the past, and have bequeathed blessing to the world, we must live worthily ourselves, must live unto god, standing faithfully in our lot, loyal to truth and to duty, withholding no price of love in serving others. And this obligation to the future, our own debt to the past lays upon us. Other men laboured, suffered, and we have entered into their labours and sufferings. As we enjoy the fruits of the love and service and faithfulness of those who have gone before us, let us pay our debt to them by love and service and faithfulness, – that will bless those who come after us.
God Our Shield We are told that the peace of God shall guard our hearts and thoughts. It is a military figure that is suggested. Men sleep in quiet confidence, in their tents, with enemies all about, because waking sentinels keep watch through all the night. Our hearts may be quiet and confident in any danger, because God watches. "The Lord is Thy keeper." "He that keepeth thee shall not slumber." It is not a mere philosophy of self control that is taught us. There is a keeping not our own. "The peace of God shall keep your heart and thoughts." It is possible, therefore, for us so to commit all our life’s sorrows, cares, and alarms to Christ that the divine love shall wrap us around like a blessed atmosphere, quieting all fear and filling us with holy peace.
Giving, Not Receiving What is the love that is the whole of the will of God? Do we really understand it? Do not many of us think only of its earthly side? We like to be loved, that is, to have other people love us and live for us and do things for us. We like the gratifications of love. But that is only miserable selfishness, if it goes no further. It is a desecration of the sacred name to think that love, as its heart, means getting, receiving. Nay, love gives. Getting is earthly; "as it is in heaven" is giving. That is what God’s love does – it finds its blessedness in giving. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son." That is what Christ’s love did – it poured out its very life-blood to the last drop. The essential meaning of loving must always be giving, not receiving.
Secret Prayer It was the Master who said, "Enter into thy closet" and "shut thy door" and "pray to thy Father which is in secret." It is in the closet that we get our life renewals. There we may open our heart to God. We never can speak the things of our innermost life in public prayer. Secret prayer is the communing of the individual soul with God. Here it is that godly men and women get their shining faces, the light that breaks through their tears, the strength that makes them victorious in temptation, the power that fits them for Christian work and Christlike serving. The closet of prayer is the holy of holies of each Christian life. The blessing we may receive there is simply immeasurable.
The Cost Of Knowledge If we would be truly and deeply helpful we must be willing to pay the price of the costly tuition. We must learn deeply and long before we can teach well. We must listen intently before we are ready to speak to others. We must be willing to endure temptation, conflict, and struggle with sin, and to get the victory, before we can be succourers to those who are tempted. We must be content to suffer, and must learn to suffer patiently, before we can sing the songs of Christian joy and peace in the ears of the weary. Our own hearts must break to fit us for giving comfort, for only with heart’s blood can we heal hearts. God is ready always to anoint for the holy office of helping their fellow men those who can pay the price.
Compensation There is no doubt that in every loss a gain is offered to us. When God takes away one blessing He gives another. Perhaps the withdrawal of the human object of love makes more room in the heart for God Himself. Or the taking away of the strength which has meant so much to us trains us to more self dependence, thus bringing out in us qualities of which hitherto we had been unaware. Or the sorrow itself deepens our spiritual life and enriches our experience, giving us a new power of sympathy through which we may become better comforters and helper of others.
Growing In Beauty All the precepts of the Bible are towards the fashioning of beauty in every redeemed life. We are to put away all that is sinful, all marring, every blot and blemish, every unholy desire, feeling, and affection, everything that would defile, and put on whatsoever is lovely and Christlike. The one great work of Christ in Christian lives is the fashioning of holiness in them. We are to grow away from our deformities, our faults and infirmities, our poor dwarfed, stunted life, into spiritual beauty. The mark set before us is the likeness of Christ, which, at last, we shall attain.
Real Growth True growth in life is not measured by accumulation of wealth, by advance in rank, by increase in power; we are growing only when passing days leave us richer hearted, nobler spirited, more Christlike in character. Ruskin puts it thus: "He only is advancing in life whose heart is growing softer, whose blood warmer, whose brain quicker, whose spirit is entering into living peace."
Keep A Brave Heart Hard work should never drive laughter out of the soul. We should keep a happy heart amid the severest toil. We should sing at our work. We will work better and far more effectively if we keep the music always ringing within our breast. "A sad heart tires in mile," runs the old song. "The joy of the Lord is your strength," said the Tirshatha to the people, as he urged them to rejoicing. Joy of spirit makes burdens seem lighter and tasks easier.
The Ministries Of Influence The light of good cheer that shines in our face as we pass victoriously through the hard things of our condition, puts hope into other discouraged hearts. The faith that fails not when things seem dark, that meets sorrow and suffers, but is not crushed, helps the faith of others who are in like experiences. Life is contagious. Courage in one struggler makes all others who know him braver. Joy in one spirit kindles joy in many other spirits. The ministry of influence is silent, but it never intermits. By day and by night it goes on, while men wake and while they sleep. Even death does not interrupt it; but when the voice is hushed, when the hands are folded, it continues to bless and inspire others. |
|
|
|
