Counsel and Help
by J. R. Miller, 1907
February 1. Look Within
Instead of keeping our eye ever on others, looking for
faults and mistakes in them, we are to look to our own flaws, lest something
we do may hurt their lives, or cause them to do wrong. We easily get into
the habit of overlooking our own faults, while our life is full of
inconsistencies which do irreparable harm to the cause of Christ, and to the
lives of His people. We gouge at our neighbor's eye to pull out some little
mote we imagine we seen in it, while at the same time we have a great
plank in our own eye which sadly disfigures us.
The first duty of every Christian is to make sure that he
lays no stumbling blocks in others' way. A prominent man said: "I am fond of
wine, and I believe I could drink moderately without danger to myself—but I
never touch any kind of wine. I might set the example for some who could not
drink moderately without becoming drunkards. My liberty would thus become a
stumbling block to others."
February 2. God's Day
During the week we have our cares and business, and our
hands are full of work which must be done. If there is no interruption in
this secular life, we are apt to be made worldly-minded, losing all interest
in spiritual things. It is a proper enough thing for a ship to be in
the sea—but when the sea gets into the ship, there is no sailing.
Christ wants us to be in the world—but He does not want the world to get
into us. On the Lord's Day, therefore, we should run our barque just as
completely as possibly, out of the world's troubled waters—and into the
peaceful bay of spiritual rest and enjoyment. One who faithfully uses the
Lord's Day will be safe amid the world's unspiritual influence. A well spent
Sabbath will keep up the tone of the life amid the most intense pressure of
week day duty. No Christian who really desires to be true and faithful, dare
lose the Sabbaths out of his week, or fail to use them right.
February 3. Myself The Tempter
Do not think that God is to blame for your temptations.
Some people get tangled up in their theology, and have the impression that
God tempts them—or that He might keep them from falling when they are
tempted. But the evil is in ourselves—never in God. He sets us to live in a
world where sin is, and where we cannot miss being tempted. But temptation
is not sin. Christ was tempted. The sin comes in when we yield to
temptation. Paul shook off the viper that fastened upon his hand, and was
not harmed in the least by its fangs. So may we do with temptation, through
Christ's help.
"But why does not God keep us from falling when we are
tempted? Surely He is strong enough," says someone. We are moral beings,
with power of choice. God never compels us to be good. If He did we would be
only machines. He helps us to meet and overcome temptation if we look to Him
for help. Therefore, if we fall the fault is our own, never God's.
February 4. Resurrection Joy
Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. No fact in
all the world's history was ever more indisputably certain. At once a flood
of light streams in through this window. An Eastern story tells of one
walking on the shore of the sea, and seeing in the sand a gleaming gold
spangle. Picking it up, he found that it was attached to a silver thread. He
wound the silver thread about his neck, his arms and his body, until he was
covered from head to foot with the shining web of silver flashing all over
with gold spangles. So it is, when we take into our hand this one blessed
truth of the resurrection of Christ. A thousand other blessings and hopes
are attached to it. As we accept these, our whole being is wrapped in the
splendor of resurrection joy and glory.
February 5. Heaven's Open Door
No matter how many come to Christ, there is yet room for
more. However many are received into heaven, heaven will never be so full
that anyone coming shall be shut out. Sometimes we read that at some great
event, that the doors were closed and hundreds were turned away. But this
never has been said, never will be said, of the door of God's love, or of
the door of heaven.
This door is always open. In the representation of heaven
as a city, in the Revelation, there are twelve gates—three on each of the
four sides. No matter from which we approach we shall always find a door of
entrance. Come when we may, by day or by night, we shall not find the door
shut in our face.
February 6. Preparation For
Service
We need the patience of Christ to prepare us for His
service. The moment we enter the company of His disciples, He gives us work
to do for Him. We are sent to find other souls, to bind up broken hearts, to
comfort sorrow, to help lost ones home through the gloom. All this work is
delicate and important, and we need for it, the patience as well as
the gentleness of Christ. It must be done lovingly, in faith,
unhurriedly, under the Spirit's guidance.
February 7. Sanctified Sorrows
If we do not submit ourselves to God in our grief, if we
resist and rebel, if we chafe and repine and go on grieving inconsolably,
our sorrow hurts our lives. It mars the beauty. It hushes the song. It dims
the eye. It robs the heart of its love. If, however, we reverently accept
our sorrow as a messenger from God, sent on a mission of love, bearing gifts
and blessings from heaven for us—then we shall get good and not evil from
our pain and loss. We have only to keep our hearts sweet, trustful, songful,
without bitterness, without fear—and then leave with God all the outcome of
the suffering.
February 8. We Must Help
Ourselves
Our own faults ought to interest us more than our
neighbor's, because they are our own, and being our own we are responsible
for them. We do not have to answer for any other one's sins—but for our own
we must answer, and the responsibility for getting rid of them is ours.
"Every man must bear his own burden." No faithful friend, no wise teacher,
can cure our faults for us. If ever they are taken out of our life—it must
be by our own decision, our own faith, our own firm, and persistent effort.
The prayer of others may avail to bring divine help; and the sympathy and
encouragement of others may make us stronger in our struggle—but the real
work is our own.
February 9. We are the body of
Christ
Christ is the vine, and we are the branches. It is upon
our human lives that the fruit must grow which Christ would feed the hunger
of men. He is not here any more in the flesh—but we are here in His place.
We represent Him, and the blessings which He would give to the world must be
given through us. There is no other way in which they can be given. Angels
would gladly come to earth to do our work—but they could not do it. We are
the body of Christ, our hands are His hands, our feet are His
feet, and our lips are His lips. During His incarnation He lived in
one human body; now His body is the whole company of believers.
February 10. The Lessons of
Sorrow
We should never allow ourselves to face toward life's
glooms; we should never sit down in the shadows of any sorrow and let the
night darken over us, into the gloom of despair; we should turn our face
toward the light, and quicken every energy for braver duty, and truer,
holier service. Grief should always make us better, and give us new skill
and power; it should make our heart softer, our spirit
kindlier, our touch more gentle; it should teach us its holy lessons,
and we should learn them, and then go on, with sorrow's sacred ordination
upon us, to new love and better service.
February 11. Rejoice Always
Happiness is a duty, quite as much a duty as
truthfulness, honestly, or good temper. There are many Scripture words which
exhort us to rejoice. Jesus was a rejoicing man. Although a "man of
sorrows," the deep undertone of His life, never once failing, was gladness.
Joy is set down as one of the fruits of the Spirit, a fruit which should be
found on every branch of the great Vine. Paul exhorted his friends to
rejoice in the Lord. There are almost countless incitements to the gladness.
We are to live a songful life. There are in the Scriptures many more
calls to praise, than to prayer.
February 12. Our Duty To Our
Neighbor
We do grievous wrong to others, by withholding from them
what we owe to them. There is a sin of not doing. We shall be judged,
not alone by what we do—but also by what we leave undone. We
need to give more heed to the active side of our life. We cannot cut
ourselves off from our brothers. It is not enough to think of getting on in
the world—we dare not to seek to get on, and pay no heed to those who are
journeying with us.
February 13. Love Never Fails
It is wonderful how love transfigures a life. It
changes all the world to our eyes. Truly loving people are not seen now with
critical spirit, watching for faults; nor with sensitive spirit, shrinking
from every unkindly touch, and resenting every crude, disagreeable, or ever
unjust thing in their treatment of us; nor, with exacting spirit, demanding
attention, claiming rights, and measuring and counting favors due. Love sees
in every other person—one to be served, to be ministered unto, to be helped,
to be patiently borne with, to be treated kindly in spite of his faults.
Love transforms all conditions of life, all circumstances. Its business is
to be sweet, no matter what the pain or the suffering, and it thus takes the
bitterness out of whatever would otherwise be bitter. Thus it makes the
whole life bright and radiant.
February 14. Our Only Hope
Only Christ can make any life, young or old—truly
beautiful and truly happy. Only He can cure the heart's restless fever and
give quietness and calmness. Only he can purify that sinful fountain within
us—our corrupt nature, and make us holy. To have a peaceful and blessed
ending to life, we must live it with Christ. Such a life grows brighter even
to its close. Its last days are the sunniest and the sweetest. The more
earth's joys fail—the nearer and the more satisfying do the spiritual
comforts become.
February 15. As We Live—We Are
This world is a place to prepare for heaven. What we make
ourselves here on earth—we shall be in heaven. We shall find in heaven—the
treasures we have gathered here on earth. Our crown there will be woven of
the blessedness of faithful obedience and service of our lives here in this
world. Says Ruskin: "We are presently building beautiful things—treasure
houses which care cannot disturb, nor pain make gloomy, nor poverty take
away from us—houses build without hands, for our souls to live in."
February 16. Faithful In Little
It is the faithfulness of the one talented million
rather than the richly endowed one or two, which is needed today to
hasten the coming of Christ's kingdom. There is not a gift so small that it
is not needed to make the work of the Church complete. There is not one so
small, but that its hiding away leaves some life unblessed. There is not one
so insignificant, that it may not start a wave of influence which shall roll
on over the sea of human life, until it breaks on the shores of Eternity.
February 17. God Knows Best
There is a little fable, which says that a primrose,
growing by itself in a shady corner of the garden, became discontented as it
saw the other flowers in their mirthful beds in the sunshine, and begged to
be moved to a more conspicuous place. Its request was granted. The gardener
transplanted it to a more showy and sunny spot. It was greatly pleased—but
there came a change over it immediately. Its blossoms lost much of their
beauty, and became pale and sickly. The hot sun caused them to faint and
wither. So it begged again to be taken back to its old place in the shade.
The wise gardener knows best where to plant each flower. Just so, God, the
divine Farmer, knows where His people will best grow into what He would have
them to be. Some require the fierce storms; some will only thrive
spiritually in the shadow of worldly adversity, and some come to ripeness
more sweetly under the soft and gentle influences of prosperity, whose
beauty rough experiences would mar. He knows what is best for each one of
His children.
February 18. Lonely Lives
There are special experiences of loneliness in every
life, for which Christ is needed. Youth is one of these times. Youth seems
happy and light hearted. Companions swarm all around it. But ofttimes a
young person feels lonely, even amid such scenes and friendships. All life
is new to him. As his soul awakes, a thousand questions arise demanding an
answer. He is in a world with a thousand paths, and he must choose in which
he will walk. Everything is perplexing. There are perils lurking on all
sides. Choices must be made. Lessons must be learned. All is new, and at
every step the voice is heard, "You have not passed this way heretofore."
This loneliness of inexperience, when a young soul is taking its earliest
steps in life, is one of the most trying and painful feelings of all the
years. If Christ is not then the Companion, lonely and perilous
indeed is the way. But if He walks beside the young soul in its
inexperience, all is well.
February 19. The Duty of Giving
The world is very full of sorrow and trial, and we cannot
live among our fellow men and be true, without sharing their loads.
Selfishness must die, or our own heart's life must be frozen within us. We
begin to felicitate ourselves on some special prosperity, and next moment
some human need knocks at our door, and we must share our good things with a
suffering brother. We may build up our fine theories of taking care of
ourselves, of living for the future, of laying up in the summer of
prosperity—for the winter of adversity, of providing for old age
or for our children; but ofttimes all these frugal and economic plans have
to yield to the exigencies of human need. The love that seeks not its own,
plays havoc with life's hard logic. We cannot say that anything is our own,
when our brother is suffering for what we can give.
February 20. The Place of Honor
The way a commander honors the best regiment on the field
of battle, is not by assigning it to some easy post, to some duty away from
danger. He honors it by giving it the most perilous post, the duty requiring
the most splendid courage. So it is in all life—the place of honor is always
the hardest place, where the most delicate and difficult duty must be done,
where the heaviest burden of responsibility must be borne. It is never a
real honor to be given an easy place. Instead of demanding a place of honor
as a favor of friendship, which sets no seal of real greatness upon our
brow, we should win our place of honor by worthy deeds and services.
February 21. Creeds Or Christ?
What is Christ to you personally? Is He only in your
Creed? Is He only a person about whom you believe a great many blessed and
glorious things? Is He in your thoughts only as the mighty Savior of all who
believe on Him? Is He anything to you personally? Is He your Savior, your
Friend, your Helper? These are the questions that tell just where we stand
with regard to Christ and eternal life. Opinions about Christ, though ever
so true and orthodox, are not enough; only living faith in Him saves.
February 22. Personal Help
There are some who want to help others, if at all, at a
convenient distance. They work through committees or agents. It is a great
deal better to come close to those to whom we would do good. There is a
wondrous power in a human touch. A gift to the poor may do good in whatever
way it comes; but if you bestow it yourself, and manifest personal interest
and sympathy, its value will be largely increased. You put something of
yourself into your gift. The Gospel may save the fallen, though coming
through the cold air from a lofty pulpit; but it will be far more likely to
save, if the sinner feels the touch of a hand of love, and catches the
message warm from quivering lips.
February 23. Nothing Is Lost
We may believe that as in nature so in human life, not
the smallest particle is ever wasted. Many things we try to do seem to fail.
At least, they do not realize our desire and intention. We grieve as if the
efforts had accomplished nothing. But some day we shall see that no true
purpose ever has failed, that though our efforts may not all have realized
what we hoped from them. Yet in the unseen realm, where the true results of
life are all gathered and treasured—we shall find all our hopes and dreams,
all our good intentions that could not be fulfilled here, all our plans and
purposes that we had not the strength to carry out in this world.
February 24. Christ As Friend
In the New Testament the Christian's relation to Christ
is represented as a personal acquaintance with Him, which ripens into
a close and tender friendship. This was our Lord's own ideal of
discipleship. He invited men to come to Him, to break other ties, and
attach themselves personally to Him; to leave all and go with Him. He
claimed the full allegiance of men's hearts and lives. He must be first in
their affections, and first in their obedience and service. He offered
Himself to men, not merely as a helper from without, not merely as one who
would save them by taking their sins and dying for them—but as one who
desired to form with them a close, intimate, and indissoluble friendship.
February 25. The Strength of
Sympathy
There is something in the simple touch of a friendly
hand, or the look of a kindly eye, or the emotion that plays on a sincere
face—which sends a quickening thrill through our souls. When one is in deep
sorrow, how is he strengthened to bear it—by feeling the pressure of a warm
clasp, which tells him, better than any words could do, of sincere sympathy!
It cannot bring back his dead; it cannot restore the shattered idol; it
cannot calm the storm that is raging about him; it cannot remover a straw of
the burden, nor eliminate one line of the chapter of grief. But there is
another human heart close by—which feels for him; there is a loving presence
creeping up in the darkness close beside him. There is companionship—he is
not alone, and this blessed consciousness makes him strong.
February 26. Growth And Daily
Life
Is your character growing toward patience, gentleness,
truth, and love? Or are you growing toward impatience, harshness, falsehood,
and selfishness? We grow always in the direction of our daily living. Our
souls are made to soar above the earth—to fly toward God and heaven! If we
only grovel in the dust, and do not use our wings, we lose power to soar,
and our whole life grows toward earthliness. But if we train our selves to
look upward, to walk erect, to gather our soul's food from the branches of
the tree of life—our whole being will grow toward spirituality and
heavenliness.
February 27. Christ Asks Our
Lives
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus." He gave His life to save the world; He calls us to give our lives to
save the world. It is not enough to tell in flaming words—of
the love of Christ to men. We must be in flaming lives—the
love of Christ to men. It is not enough to sit in our places of worship and
sing praises to God for our own salvation; we must hasten out to seek and to
save the lost.
February 28. Sorrow's Gifts
We should always remember that there are blessings which
can come to us only in sorrow—and lessons which can be learned only in pain
and suffering. Even of Jesus, it is said that He was made perfect through
suffering. There were qualities in Him which could not reach their
best—except in the school of pain. There are in all of us
possibilities of spiritual loveliness and strength, and love, and
helpfulness—which never can come to their highest development, except in
suffering. If we cannot endure suffering, we cannot grow to our best.
February 29. Small Services
There are many people living in the midst of unattractive
circumstances, amid hardship, toil, and care—whose daily life breathes out
gentle music which blesses others around them. They do no great services—but
they crowd the hours with little ministries which fall like soothing
melodies on weary hearts. They are faithful in all their commonplace duties.
They are patient under all manner of irritating experiences. They keep happy
and contented even in times of suffering and need, cheerful and trusting
even in poverty. They live in quiet harmony with the will of God, making no
jarring discords by insubmission or willfulness. Thus in their lowly sphere,
they make music which is sweet to the ear both of God and man.