Tchula Presbyterian Church.

“”I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.” Matthew 11:11

These were the strong words which fell from the lips of the Master. It was a wonderful thing to have our Lord speak such praise. He knew what was in men, and He never spoke an insincere word.

Human estimates of greatness are ofttimes defective, sometimes false. Men see only the outward appearance.

Many people are not as great–as they seem to be. They practice tricks which deceive the world. They pass for great–while in reality, they are very small in character. Strip off their gaudy tinsel–and but little would be left.

Other people, however, are greater than they seem. They lack the popular qualities which attract attention and win applause. Yet they are great in their souls, great in spiritual graces, in heart-purity, in the elements of true manhood, in moral strength.

But there is an Eye that sees all things as they are! It pierces all thin disguises, and penetrates to the core of things! It discerns the poor shriveled soul–which is hidden beneath the external glitter. On the other hand, it sees in the humble life, which gets but little praise of men, whose outer form is homely and plain–the true worth, the qualities of holy character.

It is well that we sometimes stop to think–how we appear to God, what God thinks of us. One says, “There is some things in every man’s heart, which, if we could know–would make us hate him!” Perhaps this is true; but it is true also that there is something in every Christian, in even the most repulsive, which, if we could know, would make us love him.

As God sees us, we are both worse and better than we seem to any other eyes in all the world. He sees the hidden faults and the secret stains; but He also sees the feeble yearnings which at length will be splendid spiritual qualities. I love to think of this side of the lives of my fellows–not the poor stained fragments of being which my eyes now see–but what they will be when God’s work of grace in them is finished!” – J.R. Miller

“For the Christian, all of life’s conditions and circumstances are transformed.

Take the matter of CARE. Every life has ‘cares’. There are cares in business. There are cares in home-life. There are cares of poverty–but no less has the rich man his cares. Childhood has its anxieties; young faces sometimes appear careworn. No one can escape care!

To many people–life is very hard. But Christian faith transfigures care, for those who are Christ’s and have learned how to live as He teaches us to live. He tells us not to worry about anything, because our Father is caring for us. He tells us that life is a school, and that all our cares are parts of lessons which He has set for us. That means that every care has hidden in it–a secret of blessing–a gift of love which our Father has sent to us. Every time you come to a hard point in your life–an obstacle, a difficulty, a perplexity–God is giving you a new opportunity to grow stronger, wiser, or richer-hearted.

We try to make life easy for our children–but God is wiser than we are. He wants His children to have struggles–that they may grow strong, holy and noble!

Thus it is that common care is transfigured by the grace of Christ! It enfolds blessings for us. It carries in its ‘dreary form’ secrets of blessing for us. Even our ‘drudgeries’ have blessings in their wearisome routine; we get many of our best lessons out of them.

All we need to learn is how to meet our worries, and they are transfigured for us! Paul tells us in a wonderful passage how to get this transformation of care: “Do not worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7. God’s peace will then shine through all life’s frets. Thus care is transfigured, by the love of Christ in the heart.” – J.R. Miller

“”If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind!” Romans 12:2

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

The character of every true believer is being transformed. If Christ dwells in you, He will produce in you the same kind of life which He himself lived when He was on the earth. This change does not come in its completeness, or instantaneously the moment one believes in Christ. But it does begin then.

Life is large. Life’s lessons are many and hard to learn! Paul was an old man when he said, “I have learned, in whatever state I am, therein to be content.” It had taken him many years to learn this lesson of contentment.

Likewise, it takes us years to get life’s lessons learned. But nothing is clearer, than that a believer’s life-mission –is to be transformed into the likeness of Christ. There is to be a transformation of character. Holiness must become the every-day dress of the Christian. We are called to be saints, even in this sinful world.

“So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe!” Philippians 2:15″ – J.R. Miller

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″ – Charles Spurgeon

“And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” Isaiah 32:2

“A man!” This first word forms the key to the precious verse, it is “The man Christ Jesus!” And when and where is He thus revealed to His people as their hiding place and shelter? It is, as with Elijah of old, in the whirlwind and the storm! Amid the world’s bright sunshine, in the tranquil skies, uninterrupted prosperity, they seek Him not! But when the clouds begin to gather, and the sun is swept from the firmament; when they have learned the insecurity of all earthly refuges, then the prayer ascends, “My heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” The Earthquake, the Tempest, the Fire, and then “the still small voice!”

Sorrowing believer, you have indeed a Sure Refuge; a Strong Tower which cannot be shaken! The world has its refuges too. But they cannot stand the day of trial. The wind passes over them and they are gone! But the louder the hurricane, the more will it endear to you the abiding Shelter; the deeper in the clefts of this ROCK–the safer you are.

A Man! Delight often to dwell on the humanity of Jesus; you have a brother on the throne! a “living Kinsman,” one who “knows your frame,” and who, by the exquisite sympathies of His exalted human nature–can gauge, as none other can, the depths of your sorrow.

An earthly friend comes to you in trial, he has never known bereavement, and therefore can not enter into your woe. Another comes; he has been again and again in the furnace; his heart has been touched tenderly as your own; he can feelingly sympathize with you. It is so with Jesus. As man, He has passed through every experience of suffering. He has Himself known the storm from which He offers you shelter. He is the ROCK, yet “a Man!” “Mighty to save;” yet mighty to compassionate! “Emmanuel, God with us!” He is like the rainbow in the material heavens, which, while its summit is in the clouds, each base of its arc rests on earth; or like the oak which, while it can wrestle with the tempest, yet invites the most feeble bird to fold its wing on its branches!

Mourner! Go sit under your “Beloved’s shadow with great delight.” Hide in His wounded side! The hand which was pierced for you–is ordering your trials; He who roused the storm is the hiding place from it; and as you journey on, gloomy clouds mustering around you, let this bright rainbow of comfort ever arrest your drooping eye; “For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way… since He Himself has gone through suffering and temptation, He is able to help us when we are being tempted.”

“Everyone has sorrow. Being a Christian does not exempt anyone from grief. But faith in Christ brings a transformation of sorrow. Not only are we taught to endure the sorrows that come to us patiently and submissively–but we are assured that there is a blessing in them for us, if we accept them with love and trust.

One of the deepest truths taught in the Bible--is that earthly sorrow has a mission in the sanctifying of life. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. God disciplines us for our good–that we may share in His holiness.” Hebrews 12:10-11

We dread pain! And yet the person who has not experienced pain–has not yet touched the deepest and most precious meanings of life. There are things we never can learn–except in the school of pain! There are heights of life we never can attain–except in the bitterness of sorrow. There are joys we never can have–until we have walked in the dark ways of sorrow. Not to have sorrow, in some form, is to miss one of life’s holiest opportunities. We get our best things–out of affliction! “I have refined you in the furnace of suffering!” Isaiah 48:10″ – J.R. Miller

“”The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms!” Deuteronomy 33:27

There are some choice thoughts in the figure of ‘God’s embracing arm’.

One thought is protection. A father puts his arm around his child when it is in danger. Just so, God protects His children. Temptations beset us on every hand. Many people think of ‘dying’ with dread, fearing to meet it. But life has far more perils than death! It is easy to die–when one has truly lived for Christ; it is only entering into eternal joy and blessedness. But it is hard to live. At every point there are perils. We need protection. Here we have it, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms!”

Another suggestion is affection. The father’s arm around the child, means love. The child is held in the bosom, near the heart. John lay on Christ’s bosom. The shepherd gathers the lambs with his arms and carries them in his bosom. This picture of God embracing His children with His arm, tells of His love for them. It tells also of intimacy, and closeness of relation. The bosom is the children’s place.

There is yet a tenderer phase of the thought here. It is especially in the time of danger or suffering, that the mother carries the child in her arms. She takes it up when it has fallen and hurt itself, and comforts it by enfolding it in her arms. When it is sick, she presses it to her bosom.

We have here, a picture of the special sympathy and tenderness of our heavenly Father for His children–when they are in pain or in trouble. This is one of the blessings of suffering–it gets us to the inner place of divine affection, nearest to the Father’s heart! God draws us nearest–when we are in trouble or in pain!

The arm is also the symbol of strength. A mother’s arm may be physically frail–but love makes it strong. The arm of God is strong–it is omnipotent. It supports worlds! When that divine arm encircles one of His feeble children–all the power of the universe cannot tear it away!

Every true human friend is more or less a strength to us. Yet the finest, securest human strength–is only a little fragment of the divine strength. “Trust in the Lord always–for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength!” Isaiah 26:4. This is omnipotence! Here is an arm that never can be broken, and out of its clasp we never can be torn!

Another thought concerning the everlasting arms, is endurance. There might be protection, affection, and strength–and yet the blessings might not last. We have all these in human love–but human arms grow weary–even in love’s embrace. But the arms of God are everlasting. They shall never grow weary. It is everlastingness, which is the highest blessedness of divine affection and care!

Here is something that lasts, which knows no separation, which never unclasps. The arms of God are everlasting. Neither death nor life can separate. The mountains shall depart, crumble, vanish–but God’s kindness shall never depart from His beloved child!

There is a very sacred thought in the word ‘underneath‘. A father tried to save his child in the waves, clasping his arms around the beloved form. But his arms were too weak, and the child slipped from them, sank away in the dark waters, and perished. But the arms of God are underneath His children–and none can sink out of His embrace! His arms are always ‘underneath’.

The waves of sorrow are very deep–but still and forever underneath the deepest floods–are the everlasting arms. We cannot sink below them. If we lie down in sickness, the everlasting arms are underneath us. If human friendships are stripped off, and we stand alone in our bereavement, still we are not alone. Underneath are the everlasting arms. God remains–and God suffices.

Then, when death comes, and every earthly thing is gone from beneath us, and every hand unclasps from ours, and every face of love fades from our eyes, and we sink away into what seems darkness–it will be only into the everlasting arms! To every true Christian, death is only departing from earth’s weariness and pain–to forever nest in the bosom of Christ!

If we realized that the eternal God is our refuge, and that the everlasting arms are truly underneath us–our joy would not fluctuate as it does, nor our zeal be so fitful. We need a deeper repose in Christ, a more trustful settling down upon Him and upon His atoning work. Then nothing could disturb our confidence, nothing could chill our ardor, nothing could hinder our consecration. Then in sorrow we would rejoice, in temptation we would be victorious, and in all of life we would be Christ-like and strong!” – J.R. Miller

“”May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should–how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is! May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it!” Ephesians 3:18-19

Think of the length of the love of Christ–in its wonderful forgiveness, its infinite patience, its mercy that endures forever.

Human mercy is usually very short. There are evil chapters in your ‘life story’, which you would not for the world, uncover to the eye of even your gentlest friend! “He would detest me!” you say, “if he knew these things about me!”

There are evil thoughts in your inner life–feelings, emotions, desires, lusts, imaginations, jealousies, envyings–which you would not dare to lay open to your neighbor’s gaze! “He would loathe me!” you say, “if he knew these things about me!”

Yet Christ sees all, knows all–and still He loves. He loves unto the uttermost. His mercy endures forever. His patience never fails. When the love of Christ clasps a human life–its clasp is for eternal years! He says to each of His children, “I have loved you with an everlasting love!” “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from you!”

We may think also of the depth of Christ’s love. How shall we fathom it? Human love is often a stream so shallow–that it cannot cover even the minor faults and the trivial mistakes of its object. But the love of Christ is so deep–that it covers everything, hides completely out of sight, the multitude of our sins, and buries them forever in its unfathomable abysses!

“May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should–how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is! May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it!” Ephesians 3:18-19″ – J.R. Miller

“”As your days–so shall your strength be!” Deuteronomy 33:25

One of the secrets of happy and beautiful life, is to live one day at a time. Really, we never have anything to do any day–but the bit of God’s will for that day. If we do that well–we have absolutely nothing else to do.

Time is given to us in days. It was so from the beginning. This breaking up of time into little daily portions means a great deal more than we are accustomed to think. For one thing, it illustrates the gentleness and goodness of God. It would have made life intolerably burdensome if a year, instead of a day–had been the unit of division. It would have been hard to carry a heavy load, to endure a great sorrow, or to keep on at a hard duty–for such a long stretch of time. How dreary our common task-work would be–if there were no breaks in it, if we had to keep our hand to the plough for a whole year! We never could go on with our struggles, our battles, our suffering–if night did not mercifully settle down with its darkness, and bid us rest and renew our strength.

We do not understand how great a mercy there is for us in the briefness of our short days. If they were even twice as long as they are–life would be intolerable! Many a time when the sun goes down–we feel that we could scarcely have gone another step. We would have fainted in defeat–if the summons to rest had not come just when it did.

We see the graciousness of the divine thoughtfulness in giving us time in periods of little days, which we can easily get through with–and not in great years, in which we would faint and fall by the way. It makes it possible for us to go on through all the long years and not to be overwrought, for we never have given to us at any one time–more than we can do between the morning and the evening.

If we learn well the lesson of living just one day at a time, without anxiety for either yesterday or tomorrow, we shall have found one of the great secrets of Christian peace. That is the way God teaches us to live. That is the lesson both of the Bible and of nature. If we learn it, it will cure us of all anxiety; it will save us from all feverish haste; it will enable us to live sweetly in any experience.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34″ – J.R. Miller