J R Miller's "Year Book" 1895

[dannibear]

"I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect." Acts 24:14

It is easy enough when we are in meetings of Christians—to be known as one of them. But Christ wants us to confess him just as distinctly when we are among his enemies. If anyone sneers at us as Christians, we should not blush and hang our head, and stammer out an apology, or, far worse, a denial. We should be ready, without bravado, modestly and humbly—yet boldly, to admit that we are Christians, and to do it in such a way as to show that we rejoice in our relation to Christ, and in confessing it.

Miss Havergal tells of going into a boarding-school as a pupil just after she had united with the church. She was startled to find that in a school family of a hundred, that she was the only Christian. Her first feeling was that she could not avow her love for Christ, with all that company of worldly girls around her. But her second thought was that she could not but avow it, since she was the only one Christ had there to represent him. This thought was most strengthening, and from that hour she quietly took her place as a friend of Christ. It ought to help us, whenever we stand amid enemies of Christ, to remember that he has put us there to represent him, and that if we are ashamed or afraid—we shall be sadly failing and disappointing him.

 

[Eddy Fire]

"I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect." Acts 24:14

It is easy enough when we are in meetings of Christians—to be known as one of them. But Christ wants us to confess him just as distinctly when we are among his enemies. If anyone sneers at us as Christians, we should not blush and hang our head, and stammer out an apology, or, far worse, a denial. We should be ready, without bravado, modestly and humbly—yet boldly, to admit that we are Christians, and to do it in such a way as to show that we rejoice in our relation to Christ, and in confessing it.

Miss Havergal tells of going into a boarding-school as a pupil just after she had united with the church. She was startled to find that in a school family of a hundred, that she was the only Christian. Her first feeling was that she could not avow her love for Christ, with all that company of worldly girls around her. But her second thought was that she could not but avow it, since she was the only one Christ had there to represent him. This thought was most strengthening, and from that hour she quietly took her place as a friend of Christ. It ought to help us, whenever we stand amid enemies of Christ, to remember that he has put us there to represent him, and that if we are ashamed or afraid—we shall be sadly failing and disappointing him.

would that be Francis Havergal?

JR Miller is always stirring and sometimes can leave us uneasy, but that is OK if we then act upon the unction and stirring we receive and actually apply these thing to our lives. The lessons we can learn from this sort of almost 'ancient' writing are useless though, unless we are willing to not only act upon it for a little while until something else gets our fancy but that we continue with it. This is done when we take the time to allow the Lord to write it upon our hearts as He said in Proverbs, "Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart." Proverbs 7:3 (could be worth wondering about as we now use our fingers to do a lot of the talking, especially here at Talk Jesus!) and, "Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:" Proverbs 3:3 and as we read on we find that it doesn't have to be drudgery or hard service but that as with all God's instruction, He has a promise, "So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man." Proverbs 3:4