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 because he feared God, gave much alms to the people, and prayed
to God always (see Acts 10:2). This is the essence of true devotion. H
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." 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 can not love it enough.
She longs to love it more. Her heart yearns to love it more, though she
loves it from the fulness 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 in 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 fulness 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 perceptibly 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 fulness 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 its 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 fulfil 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 be risen
[have life] with Christ, seek those things which are above." Those things,
coming into our soul 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 fulfil 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 unregenerate 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 root 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 fulness 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 service. 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 new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye
may grow thereby."
Before concluding this chapter I will call your attention to one way of
becoming more devotional--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 out every inclination to do
good as far as you can, and you will become more devotional to your 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." 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." 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 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." God
would even pain our hearts with the fulness of his love until we find no
ease except in expansion.
More
-
A VALUABLE LEGACY.
A legacy is a gift that some one 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... 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 y... 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 can not be like God unless you are much with him, and you can not live l... BE 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. ... 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." He is trying to teach us how free we can be--free from all earthl... 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 cent... 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 m... 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 (Matt. 7:15, 20). He also teaches very ... GODLY LIVING.
When some one 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 some one is spoken of as living a godly life, it is meant that he lives in a godly manner, or in a ma... 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 b... 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 b... HOW TO LIVE THE CHRISTLIFE.
Man can not naturally live the Christ-life. But Christ has promised to come into our hearts and live in us. In order that we may have Christ dwell in our hearts and that we may live his life, there must be a giving up of our self-life. There must ... 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 wil... 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... 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 live... 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 spea... 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 ... 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. S... LIVE BY FAITH.
Live by faith. There is no other true and right way to live. Without faith it is impossible to please God, 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 ... LUKEWARMNESS.
A lukewarm life is a displeasure to God; he would have us to be fervent in spirit. 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 ... MAN THE VEHICLE FOR EXHIBITING GOD'S PERFECTIONS.
Man was created for a purpose, and that purpose was to glorify his Creator (Isa. 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 h... 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 every-day life. This thought should be a powerful incentive to close living with God and assiduously keeping all of ... 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... PRAYERFUL REMEMBRANCE.
At evening time when dark'ning shades draw nigh And flickering rays of light go chasing by, When all around glad nature sweetly sings And seems you hear the sound of angel's wings, Some one in memory may be brought to thee. Maybe s... 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 s... 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 ne... 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 battle-field for thee. I fear not the swift arrow's power Since thou art my high, strong-built tower; The dar... SOMETHING TO DO.
There is so much to do that every one is needed to help in doing it. In this great, busy world of life there is something for every one to do. The command is, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Think over these words for a ... 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." The way to heaven is through tribulations. Those whom John saw standing before the throne and ... 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;... STEADFASTNESS.
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." 1 Cor. 15:58. Steadfastness is an essential principle in Christian character. There can be no success nor prosperity in the Christian life when... 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 offe... THE BIBLE WAY.
If the Bible had not been given us, we should not always know the way that 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 o... 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 ... THE CHRISTIAN AN EPISTLE OF CHRIST.
The life we live is being read. We are not going through the world unnoticed. Some one is looking on, and some one is to some extent fashioning his life after ours. Our life each day is being written down in some one's memory. My own dear children... THE CHRISTIAN IS TO WALK CIRCUMSPECTLY.
"See then that ye walk circumspectly." Eph. 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 ... 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 t... THE CHRISTIAN'S WALK A WALK WITH GOD.
"He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth 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 "... THE GOLDEN RULE OF LIFE.
"And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them like wise." Luke 6:31. This is a good rule for every-day living. It is known throughout the Christian world as "The Golden Rule." It has great depths. It contains more no doubt than an... 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 t... 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 ...