1St. Renounce, once and for all, the legal thought that your acceptance before God depends on anything you are, or can be, or anything you do, or can do. Christ, and not your condition, or your conduct, is the ground of your acceptance. God accepts Christ for you, and accepts you in Christ. (Rom. 4:25; 5:1, 2; 8:1, 225Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. (Romans 4:25)
1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1‑2)
1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1‑2); Eph. 1:6, 76To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:6‑7); Col. 1:12-1412Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Colossians 1:12‑14).)
You're not worthy-oh, no! Christ alone
Is righteous and true in God's sight,
But you are in Him, who for sin did atone,
In whom is found all God's delight.
O to be but emptier, lowlier,
Mean, unnoticed, and unknown,
And to God, a vessel holier,
Filled with Christ, and Christ alone!
3rd. Be careful to have "a good conscience" -a conscience instructed by Scripture-pure and sensitive. Let conscience be like some finely polished mirror, that is dimmed by the slightest breath of the tempter. If you sin, confess' at once, not as a sinner to God, but as a child to the Father. (Acts 24:1616And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. (Acts 24:16); Heb. 13:1818Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. (Hebrews 13:18); 1 John 1:9; 2:1, 29If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
1My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1‑2).)
Speak a shade more kindly
Than you have before;
Pray a little oftener,
Serve a little more;
Cling a little closer
To the Father's love;
Life will then grow liker
To the life above!
4th. Be as lenient to the faults of others as you are hard on your own. Remember those three gracious F's-Forbear; Forgive; Forget. If you detect the smallest grain of malice in your heart toward another, do not rest while it is there. You cannot be happy with the Lord till it is gone. (Rom. 12; Col. 3:12-1512Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. (Colossians 3:12‑15); Phil. 2; Eph. 4:1-3; 31-32.)
O, what a little thing can turn
A heavy heart from sigh to song!
A smile can make the world less stern;
A word can cause the soul to burn
With glow of heaven all night long.
5th. Keep a large heart as you tread the narrow way. By a large heart I mean a heart that takes in "all saints." The path of faithfulness amid the ruins becomes increasingly narrow and exclusive, but a heart filled with the love of Christ expands, and becomes increasingly large and inclusive. (Look up the term "all saints," as found in the Epistles.)
Have you had a kindness shown?
Pass it on.
'Twas not given for thee alone-
Pass it on.
Let it travel down the years,
Let it wipe another's tears,
Till in heaven the deed appears
Pass it on.
6th. In any difficulty, let the Lord be your first resource. You have no wiser, kinder, nor stronger Friend. Whatever, then, be the care-be it in the home circle, the school circle, the business circle, the Church circle, the world circle, or the tiny circle of your own soul-go to Him about it. He delights to enter into our little concerns, and the simpler our faith the better it pleases him. (Phil. 4:66Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (Philippians 4:6); 1 Peter 5:6, 76Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:6‑7).)
No human voice may cheer thee,
No earthly listener hear thee;
But, oh, one Friend is near thee,
The kindest and the best;
Whose smile can banish sadness,
Whose presence fills with gladness
The solitary breast.
7th. Do not be content with praying, but grow in the school of secret prayer. It is a fact that the more you pray, the more you want to pray; and the less you pray, the less you want to pray. Depend upon it, when you feel least inclined for prayer, then your soul is most in need of it. Turn everything into prayer, and soon prayer will be to you a state as well as an act. (Matt. 26:4141Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41); James 5:13-1613Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:13‑16); 1 Thess. 5:1717Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17). (Luke presents Christ seven times as alone in prayer.)
God's ships of treasure sail upon a sea
Of boundless love, of mercy infinite,
To change their course, retard their onward way.
Nor wind nor wave hath might.
Prayer is the tide for which the vessels wait
Ere they can come to port; but if it be
The tide is low, then how can'st thou expect
The treasure-ship to see?
(To be continued.)