Grace Gems

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The only qualification for man to come to Jesus!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor--but the sick!" Matthew 9:12

From the garden of Gethsemane--where the bleeding pores of the Savior sweat pardons; from the cross of Calvary--where the bleeding hands of Jesus drop mercy--the cry comes, "Look unto Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth!" From Calvary's summit, where Jesus cries, "It is finished!" I hear a shout, "Look unto Me, and be saved!"

But there comes a vile cry from our soul, "No, look to yourself! Look to yourself!" Ah, look to yourself--and you will certainly be damned! As long as you look to yourself--there is no hope for you. It is not a consideration of what you are--but a consideration of what Christ is, that can save you. You must look away from yourself, and to Jesus!

Oh! there are many who quite misunderstand the gospel; they think that their good works qualify them to come to Christ; whereas SIN is the only qualification for man to come to Jesus!

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor--but the sick!" Matthew 9:12

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The battlefield!

(Charles Spurgeon)

There is not a place which a believer walks in--which is free from snares. Behind every tree--is the tempter with his barbed arrow! Behind every bush--is the roaring lion, the Devil, your great enemy, prowling around, looking for some victim to devour! Under every piece of grass--hides the deadly adder!

This present world is the battlefield; Heaven is a place of complete victory and glorious triumph.

This present world is the land of the sword and the spear; Heaven is the land of the wreath and the crown.

This present world is the land of the garment rolled in blood and the dust of the fight; Heaven is the land of the trumpet's joyful sound--the place of the white robe and of the shout of conquest.

Oh, what a thrill of joy shall shoot through the hearts of all the redeemed, when their conquests shall be complete; when death itself, the last of foes, shall be slain; when Satan shall be dragged captive at the chariot wheels of Christ; when He shall have overthrown sin and trampled corruption as the mire of the streets; when the great shout of universal victory shall rise from the hearts of all the redeemed!

"He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever!" Revelation 21:4

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The common wearisome pursuit of the worldling

(John Newton, "The Present and Future Rest of Believers in Christ")

"Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity!" Ecclesiastes 1:2

The common wearisome pursuit of the worldling is described in Scripture: "Why do you spend your money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?" Isaiah 55:2

"Many are saying--Who can show us anything good?" Psalm 4:6. Worldlings are wandering from object to object in quest of happiness, but are always frustrated by incessant and repeated disappointments. We would pity a person whom we saw seeking some necessary thing day after day--in a place where we knew it was impossible to be found. This is, however, the case with all people--until they come to Christ. Satisfaction is what they profess to aim at; and they turn over every stone, they try every expedient, to find lasting happiness--but in vain.

Real satisfaction is only to be found in Jesus! When they come to Him, their wishes are fully answered and satisfied! "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst!" John 4:13-14

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It is the vile monster!

(Henry Law, "Family Prayers")

God Almighty, holy Father,
We beseech You to deepen in our hearts--the abhorrence of all evil. May we hate sin with perfect hatred. It is the vile monster which . . .
  defies Your power,
  casts off Your yoke,
  treads down Your lovely law,
  defiles our nature,
  spreads misery throughout this earth,
  brought death into the world, and
  nailed the spotless Lamb of God to the accursed tree!
Teach us to look to Jesus on the cross--and so to estimate its loathsome guilt in Your sight.

There could be no pardon of sin--but through Your dear Son's death!

No cleansing could wash out sin's filth--but Jesus' precious blood!

No atonement could expiate the evil of sin--but the shame, the agony, the bruises of the incarnate God!

We see the boundless price--may we read therein the boundless guilt!

In the infinite payment--show us the infinite debt!

Thus may we discern the deadly viper in its real malignity, and tear it with holy indignation from our breasts, and resolutely turn from its every snare, and refuse to hold polluting dalliance with it!

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An evil spirit for his playmate!

(Charles Spurgeon, "Plain Advice for Plain People")

"The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes--than seven men who answer discreetly." Proverbs 26:16

Many have no better work--than killing time. Beware of 'the evil of doing nothing'. Idleness is the key of beggary--and the mother of all evil. It is through 'the door of sluggishness', that evil enters the heart!

Lazy people like the caterpillars on the cabbage, eating up the good things; or like the butterflies, showing themselves off but making no honey!

Every man ought to have patience and pity for poverty; but for laziness--a long whip would be better!

Everything in the world is of some use; but it would puzzle a philosopher, to tell the good of idleness! There is something to be said for moles, and rats and weasels--they are a pretty sight when nailed up on our old barn; but as for the sluggard--the only use for him is in the grave--to help to make the churchyard fat.

Laziness is bad--and altogether bad! Sift a sluggard grain by grain--and you will find him to be all chaff!

"As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes," so is the sluggard to every man who is spending his sweat to earn an honest living, while these lazy fellows let the grass grow up to their ankles, and stand cluttering the ground!

In idle men's imaginations, the devil hides away unseen, like the old serpent that he is. A man who wastes his time and his strength in sloth--offers himself to be a target for the devil, who is a wonderfully good rifleman, and will fill the idler with his shots! In other words, idle men tempt the devil to tempt them! He who plays when he should work--has an evil spirit for his playmate! A sluggard is fine 'raw material' for the devil--he can make anything he likes out of him! If the devil catches a man idling--he will set him to work, find him tools, and before long pay him wages!

Sure enough, our children have our evil nature in them, for you can see sloth growing in them like weeds in a garden! My advice to my boys has been, "Get out of the sluggard's way, or you may catch his disease--and never get rid of it!" I am always afraid of their learning the ways of the idle--and am very watchful to nip anything of the sort in the bud; for you know, that it is best to kill the lion, while it is still a cub! Bring them up to be 'bees', and they will not become 'drones'!

As to having lazy employees--I would prefer to drive a 'team of snails', or go out rabbit hunting with a dead hound! Why, you would sooner get blood out of a gatepost, or juice out of a rock--than work out of some of them! I wonder sometimes, that some of our employers keep so many cats which catch no mice! I would as soon throw my money in the fire--as pay some people for pretending to work.

Lazy people never put a single potato into the nation's pot--but they take a good many out! They eat all the bread and cheese--but never earn a bite of it! Yet Scripture gives us this rule, "If a man will not work--he shall not eat." 2 Thessalonians 3:10

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Sufficient to each day

(Theodore Cuyler)

"As your days--so shall your strength be."
   Deuteronomy 33:25

Sufficient to each day are the duties
to be done--and the trials to be endured.

God never built a Christian strong enough to
carry today's duties and tomorrow's anxieties
piled on the top of them.

"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow
 will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is
 enough for today." Matthew 6:34

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The best that most of us can do in this world

(J. R. Miller, "Silent Times")

"Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27

"Christ lives in me." Galatians 2:20

Christ within us will be made manifest. If we have this divine indwelling, we will also have an ever-increasing measure in all of our life--of the gentle and loving spirit of the Master. We should not claim to have Christ in us--if, in our conduct and speech, in our disposition and temper, and in our relations with our fellow-men, there is none of the mind and temper of Christ. If Christ truly is in us, He cannot long be hidden in our hearts, without manifestation. There will be a gradual transformation of our outer life--into Christ-likeness.

As He lived--so we will live;
as He ministered to others--so we will minister;
as He was holy--so 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--would send us out on the same mission. The world today needs nothing more than true Christ-likeness, in those who bear Christ's name, and represent Him.

If we truly have Christ in our hearts--it will work out in transformed life and in Christly ministry; it will lead to the brightening of one little spot, at least, on this big earth.

There are a few people whom God calls to do great things for Him. The best that most of us can do in this world--is just to live out a real, simple, consecrated, Christian life in our allotted place. Thus, in our little measure, we shall repeat the life of Christ Himself, showing others some feeble reflection of His sweet and loving face, and doing in our poor way--a few of the beautiful things He would do, if He were here Himself.

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Hold me up!

(Henry Law, "Family Prayers")

Almighty Father,
Conscious of our own weakness, and trusting only in Your grace and power--we beseech You this day to increase and multiply Your mercy upon us.

We are going forth to tread on slippery ground--may You uphold us.

Our march is through a land of which Satan is the prince--may You protect us.

Snares at each turn await our steps--may You guide us.

We look around--and fear. We look up to You--and take courage. By Your grace alone can we stand. If Your grace should fail us--instantly we fall. Our earnest prayer is, "Hold me up--and I shall be safe!" Psalm 119:117

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He loves us too well

(J. R. Miller, "Silent Times")

"I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are just, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me." Psalm 119:75

Sometimes the ways of God do seem hard.
Our fondest hopes are crushed;
our fairest joys fade like summer flowers;
the desires of our hearts are withheld from us.

Yet, if we are God's children, we believe that a blessing is hidden in every one of these losses or denials. Right here, we get a glimpse into the mystery of many unanswered prayers. The things we seek, would not work good for us in the end--but evil. The things we plead to have removed--are essential to our highest interests.

Health is supposed to be better than sickness--but there comes a time when God's kindness will be most wisely shown--by denying us health. He never takes pleasure in causing us to suffer; He is touched by our sorrows. Yet He loves us too well, to give us things that would harm us, or to spare us the trial that is needful for our spiritual good. It will be seen in the end, that many of the very richest blessings of all our lives--have come to us through God's denials, His withholdings, or His shattering of our hopes and joys.

We should never forget that the object of all of God's dealings with His children--is to sanctify us, and make us vessels fit for His use. To this high and glorious end, our present pleasure and gratification must ofttimes be sacrificed. This is the true key to all the mysteries of Providence. Anything that hinders entire consecration to Christ, is working us harm; and though it be our tenderest joy, it is best that it be taken away.

Prayer is not always granted, even when the heart clings with holiest affection to its most precious joy. Nothing must hinder our consecration. We should never think first of what will give us earthly joy or comfort--but of what will fit us for doing the Master's service.

Pain is often better for us--than pleasure;
loss is often better for us--than gain;
sorrow is often better for us--than joy;
disaster is often better for us--than deliverance.

Faith should know that God's withholdings from us, when He does not give what we ask--are richer blessings than were He to open to us all His treasure-houses at whose doors we stand and knock with so great vehemence. Our unanswered prayers have just as real and as blessed answer--as those which bring what we seek.

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There is but one standard of true Christian character

(J. R. Miller, "Copying but a Fragment")

"Whoever claims to live in Him--must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6

Nothing is more striking to a close observer of human life, than the almost infinite variety of character which exists among those who profess to be Christians. No two are alike. Even those who are alike revered for their saintliness, who alike seem to wear the image of their Lord, whose lives are alike attractive in their beauty--show the widest diversity in individual traits, and in the cast and mold of their character. Yet all are sitting before the same model; all are striving after the same ideal; all are imitators of the same blessed life.

There is but one standard of true Christian character--likeness to Christ. It is into His image--that we are to be transformed; and it is toward His holy beauty--that we are always to strive. We are to live as He lived. We are to copy His features into our lives. Wherever, in all the world, true disciples of Christ are found--they are all trying to reproduce the likeness of their Master in themselves.

One reason for the diversity among Christians--is because even the best and holiest saints realize but a little of the image of Christ, have only one little fraction and fragment of His likeness in their souls. In one of His followers, there is some one feature of Christ's blessed life which appears; in another, there is another feature; in a third, still a different feature. One seeks to copy Christ's gentleness, another His patience, another His sympathy, another His meekness.

Therefore, a thousand believers may all, in a certain sense, be like Christ--and yet no two of them have, or consciously strive after, just the same features of Christ in their souls. The reason is, that the character of Christ is so great, so majestic, so glorious--that it is impossible to copy all of it into any one little human life; and again, each human character is so imperfect and limited--that it cannot reach out in all directions after the boundless and infinite character of Christ.

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This lesson makes life easy and simple!

(J. R. Miller, "Living by the DAY")

It is life's largeness which most discourages earnest and conscientious people. As they think deeply of life's meaning and responsibility, they are apt to be overwhelmed by the thought of its vastness. Life has manifold, almost infinite, relations toward God and toward man. Each of these relations has its binding duties. Every life has a divine mission to fulfill--a plan of God to work out.

Every individual life must be lived amid countless antagonisms, and in the face of countless perils. Battles must be fought, trials encountered, and sorrows endured.

Also, the brief earthly course--is but the beginning of an endless existence, whose immortal destinies hinge upon fidelity in the present life.

Looked at in this way, as a whole, there is something almost appalling in the thought of our responsibility in living.

Many a person who thinks of life in this aspect, and sees it in its wholeness, has not the courage to hope for success and victory--but stands staggered, well-near paralyzed, on the threshold. Despair comes to many a heart when either duty or sorrow or danger is looked at--in the aggregate.

But this is not the way we should view life. It does not come to us all in one piece. We do not get it even in years--but only in days--day by day. We look on before us, and as we count up the long years with their duties, struggles, and trials--and the bulk is like a mountain which no mortal can carry. But really, we never have more than:
  one day's battles to fight, or
  one day's work to do, or
  one day's burdens to bear, or
  one day's sorrow to endure,
in any one day.

It is wonderful how the Bible gives emphasis to this way of viewing life. When for forty years God fed His chosen people with bread from heaven, He never gave them, except on the morning before the Sabbath, more than one day's portion at a time. He positively forbade them gathering more than would suffice for the day; and if they should violate His command, what they gathered above the daily portion, would become corrupt. Thus early, God began to teach His people to live only by the day--and trust Him for tomorrow.

At the close of the forty years, the promise given to one of the tribes was, "As your days--so shall your strength be." Deuteronomy 33:25. Strength was not promised in advance--enough for all of life, or even for a year, or for a month--but the promise was, that for each day, when it came with its own needs, duties, battles and griefs--enough strength would be given. As the burden increased--more strength would be imparted.

The important thought here is, that strength is not emptied into our hearts in bulk--a supply for years to come--but is kept in reserve, and given day by day, just as the day's needs require.

When Christ came, He gave still further emphasis to the same method of living. He said, "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today!" Matthew 6:34. He would have us fence off the days by themselves, and never look over the fence to think about tomorrow's cares.

The thought is, that each day is, in a certain sense--a complete life by itself. It has . . .
  its own duties,
  its own trials,
  its own burdens,
  its own needs.
It has enough to fill our heart and hands for the one full day. The very best we can do for any day, for the perfecting of our life as a whole--is to live the one day well. We should put all our thought and energy and skill into the duty of each day, wasting no strength--either in grieving over yesterday's failures, or in anxiety about tomorrow's responsibilities.

Our Lord, also, in the form of prayer which He gave his disciples, taught this lesson of living only by the day. There He has told us to ask for bread--for one day only. "Give us this day our daily bread." He again teaches us that we have to do only with the present day. We do not need tomorrow's bread now. When we need it--it will be soon enough to ask God for it, and get it. It is the 'manna lesson' over again. God is caring for us, and we are to trust Him for the supply of all our needs--as they press upon us. We are to trust Him, content to have only enough in hand for the day.

If we can but learn to thus live by the day, without anxiety about the future--the burden will not be so crushing. We have nothing to do with life in the aggregate--that great bulk of duties, responsibilities, struggles, and trials--which belong to a course of years. We really have nothing to do even with the nearest of the days before us--tomorrow. Our sole business is with the one little day, now passing. Its burdens will not crush us--we can easily carry them until the sun goes down. We can always get along for one short day. It is the projection of life into the long future, which dismays and appalls us. This lesson makes life easy and simple!

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The race!

(J. R. Miller)

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14

That Christian life which costs nothing--is worth nothing. There must be self-restraint, discipline, severe schooling. There must be struggle, and the agonizing effort. If you are to reach the goal and win the prize--you must put every energy of your life into the race. There must be a sacrifice of indolence and self-will and personal ease. Too much pampering, spoils many a promising Christian.

Every noble and godly life, is a struggle from beginning to end. Only those who toil and fight and overcome--are successful in life. This is true in every sphere--in business, in academics, and in spiritual life. Are we resisting sin, overcoming temptation, living victoriously in trial? If not--we are not living worthily. "To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me." Colossians 1:29

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His treasured possession!

(J. R. Miller)

"I am the Good Shepherd; I know My sheep." John 10:14

When we think of the millions who are in Christ's flock,
it seems strange to us that He knows and calls each one
by name. Yet the truth is made very clear in Scripture.

Every mother knows her own children by name, and it
is as easy for the Good Shepherd to know each of His
millions by name--as for any human mother to know
each of her little children.

There is comfort in this teaching. We are not lost in
the crowd. Each one of of God's children, is the special
object of His love and thought and care!

"Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have
 called you by name; you are Mine!" Isaiah 43:1

"For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.
 The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the
 peoples on the face of the earth to be His people,
 His treasured possession!" Deuteronomy 7:6

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The gentleness of Jesus

(J. R. Miller, "Things to Live For" 1896)

"Learn from Me--for I am gentle and humble in heart." Matthew 11:29

Of the gentleness of Jesus it was said, "He will not break a bruised reed, and He will not put out a smoldering wick." Isaiah 42:3. There is nothing that this sorrowing, sinning world needs--more than gentleness. Yet, there are some Christians who seem never to have learned love's secret of gentleness.

We need to pray for the grace of gentleness, that we may walk softly among men, never hurting another life by harsh words or ungentle acts.

We can have something of the beauty of Christ in our life. As we can get into our hearts the grace of the Lord Jesus, and the mind that was in  Jesus--the light of divine love will shine out from our dull nature, and transfigure it. This will make us sweet-tempered and gentle-spirited. It will make us honest in our dealings with our fellow-men. It will make us kind to all about us. It will make us godly people to live with at home. It will make us good neighbors and faithful friends. The unconscious ministry of such a life through long years--will leave untold blessings in this world.

Such a life of quiet, simple, humble, Christlike goodness--will pour out its unconscious influence into other lives--making them better, happier, holier, sweeter. Such a ministry of simple goodness is within the reach of every Christian. It requires no brilliant gifts, and no great wealth. It is a ministry which the plainest and lowliest may fulfill.

In these days of 'fashionable worldliness', the church needs just such simple goodness. It has eloquence in its pulpits, and activity in its pews--but it needs more godly people filled with the gentleness of Christ, repeating the life of Christ wherever they move.

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You can never lose your mother!

(J. R. Miller, "The SEEDS We Are Scattering" 1896)

Though all are born "dead in trespasses and sins;" in another sense, when a baby is born--its life is only a patch of soil in which, as yet, nothing is growing.

A mother's hand is the first to plant seeds there--in the looks of tender love which her eyes dart into the child's soul, in her smiles and caresses and croonings, and her thousand efforts to reach the child's heart and shape its powers; and then in the lessons which she teaches.

All the members of the household soon become sowers also on this field; as the life begins to open, every one is dropping some seed into the mellow soil.

In a little while, hands outside the home begin to scatter seeds in the child's mind and heart. The street, the playground, the school; later, books, papers, and pictures contribute their portion.

As the years advance, the experiences of life--the joys, temptations, tasks, trials, sorrows--all bring their influences. Somewhat in this way, the character of the mature man--is the growth of seeds sown by a thousand hands in the life from infancy.

All our thoughts, words, and acts--are seeds. They have in them a quality which makes them grow where they fall, reproducing themselves. This is true of the good we do.

The mother's teachings enter the mind and heart of her child as mere seeds; but they reappear in the life of the son or daughter, in later years--in strength and beauty, in nobleness of character, and in usefulness of life. Not only is this strange power in the mother's words; her acts, her habits, her tones of voice, the influences that go forth from her life--are also seeds, having in them a vital principle. Where they lodge--they grow.

You can never lose your mother! She may die, and her body may be buried out of your sight, and laid away in God's acre. You will see her face and hear her voice no more; no more will her hand scatter the good seeds of truth and love, upon your life's garden. But you have not lost her! Your mind and heart are full of the seeds which fell from her hand along the years. These you never can lose. No hand of death can root them out of your life. They have grown into the very fibers of your character. They reappear in your habits, your dispositions, your feelings and opinions, your modes of thought, your very phrases and forms of speech! You can never lose your mother; the threads of her life are woven inextricably into your life!

All the noble things that fall from your hands, as you travel along life's paths, are seeds, and will not die. The good things we do, with the true words we speak, with the faithful example we show, with all the influences of our life that are Christlike, are living seeds which we sow in the lives of others. They will not fall into the ground and perish. They will stay where they drop, and you will find them again after many days. They will germinate and grow, and yield a harvest!

Go on doing the little things, no matter how small, only making sure that you breathe love into them. Let them fall where they may, no matter into what heart, no matter how silently, no matter how hopeless may seem the soil into which they drop, no matter how you yourself may appear to be forgotten or overlooked as you do your deeds of kindness, and speak your words of love. These words and deeds and influences of yours are living seeds, and not one of them shall perish!

The same is true, however, of the evil things we do. They, too, have in them the quality of life and reproductiveness. If only our good things were seeds, this truth would have unmingled encouragement for us. But it is startling to remember, that the same law applies to the evil things.

The man who writes a wicked book, or paints an unholy picture, or sings an impure song--sets in motion a procession of unholy influences which will live on forever! He, too, will find his evil words again in the hearts of men, long, long afterwards; or see his unclean picture reproduced on men's lives, or hear his unholy song singing itself over again in the depths of men's being!

The evil that men do--lives after them! "Bury my influence in my grave with me!" said a wicked man, dying with bitter remorse in his soul. But that is impossible. Sometimes men who have been sowing evil, wake up to the consciousness of the harm they have been giving to other lives, and go back over their paths, trying to gather up the seeds of sin which they have cast into human hearts. But the effort is unavailing, as no one can take out of men's minds and hearts--the seeds of evil he has dropped there!

We are not done with life--when we die! We shall meet our acts and words and influences again! "Do not be deceived! God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows--he will also reap!" Galatians 6:7. He shall reap the same that he sows--and he himself shall be the reaper!

There is a law of divine justice, in which God requites to every man according to his deeds. We are not living under a reign of mere chance. But sometimes it seems as if the law of justice did not work universally--that some who do wrong, are not requited; and that some who do good, receive no reward. But this inequality of justice is only apparent. Life does not end at the grave! If it did, we might say that the Lord's ways are not always equal. God's dealings with men, are not closed in this earthly life!  The story is continued through eternity!

In this present life--wrong often seems to go unpunished, and virtue unrewarded. But our present lives, are simply unfinished life-stories. There are other chapters which will be written in eternity. When all has been completed, there will be no inequality, no injustice. All virtue will have its full reward--and all sin will receive its due punishment.