Transfigured life, today's excerpt from J R Miller's "In Green Pastures"

I love this story. 

God's Storehouses, Today's excerpt from In Green Pastures

"Each step in the life of faith is toward richer blessing. Are you God's child? There is nothing before you in the unopened future but goodness. Every new experience, whether of joy or sorrow, will be a new storehouse of goodness for you. Even in the heart of disaster you will still find goodness infolded. Even your disappointments will disclose truer, richer blessing than if your own hopes had been realized. Here is a lens through which every true Christian may see his own path clear to the end - from goodness to richer goodness, from glory to glory, the last step through the opening door of heaven into the presence of the King."

Excerpt from "In Green Pastures" for October 22nd

"Living out God's thoughts.
Let your highest ambition be to become what God has planned for you. Lay all your plans at his feet. Let God's will be your will, and he will lead you to just that life which will be for you the most beautiful, the most honourable, and the most blessed. If you would have God's thoughts to live out in your life, you must go to God for them. You must sit down often with him in the silence. You must look reverently into the divine Word and ponder deeply its holy sentences. You must turn your steps habitually to the place of prayer. You will not have heavenly visions if you never look upward for them."

J.R. Miller D.D.

Today's reading: Visions in the Words of Christ

J.R. Miller's "In Green Pastures" devotional for February 14th.

"The Value of the Reserve

There is a wide difference between worrying about a possible future of trial and being ready for it if it should come. The former we should never be; the latter we should always seek to be. It is he who is always prepared for emergencies, for the hard pinches, the steep climbing, the sore struggle, that gets through life victoriously. In moral and spiritual things it is the same. It is the reserve that saves us in all final tests - the strength that lies behind what we need in ordinary experiences. Those who daily commune with God, breathing his life into their souls, become strong with that secret, hidden strength which preserves them from falling in the day of trial. They have a "vessel" from which to refill the lamp when its little cup of oil is exhausted."

Patient Love - today's excerpt from In Green Pastures daily devotional by J.R. Miller D.D

"As I have loved you" means love that is sweet, fragrant, and gentle to men who have may rudenesses and meannesses, who are selfish and faulty, with sharp corners and but partially sanctified lives and very vexing ways. If all Christian people were angelic, and you were too, it would not be hard to love all; but as many other people are not yet angelic, you will still have need of patience, even if you are angelic yourself, - which probably you are not."

Today's excerpt from "In Green Pastures" by J R Miller D.D.

June 10

Power of the Tongue

The tongue's power of blessing is simply incalculable. It can impart valuable knowledge, making others wiser. It can utter kindly words, which will comfort sorrow or cheer despondency. It can breathe thoughts which will arouse, inspire, and quicken heedless souls, and even call up dead souls to life. It can sing songs which will live forever in blessed influence and ministry. Such power we should consecrate to God, and hold ever pure for him. The lips which speak God's name in prayer and Christian song, and that utter vows of fidelity to Christ, should never defile themselves with any forms of corrupt speech. They should be kept only for Christ.

(found here: http://gracegems.org/Miller/in_green_pastures2.htm)

Quite a challenge isn't it! (Especially when you take it a step further like Jesus does when He judges the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, not just our words!!!)

A couple of quotes from J.R. Miller D.D.'s book "In Green Pastures"

"A life may be very lovely and yet be insignificant in the world's eyes. A beautiful life is one that fulfils its mission in this world, that is what God made it to be, and does what God made it to do."
"But the smallest life that fills its place well is far lovelier in God's sight than the largest and most splendidly gifted that yet fails of its divine mission."

Are we willing to be insignificant in the world's eyes?
Do we make it our aim to be well-pleasing to God?

Today's excerpt from In Green Pastures

"The Beauty within

Bodily health is beautiful. Mental vigour is beautiful. But heart-purity is the glory of all loveliness. The heart makes the life. The inner fashions the outer. So, above all things, be pure-hearted. That you may be pure-hearted let Christ more and more into your life, that He may fill all your soul, and that His Spirit may permeate all your being. That the beauty of the Lord may be upon you, that the winning charm of God's loveliness may shine in your features, you must first have the beauty of Christ within you. The transfiguration must come from within. Only a holy, beautiful heart can make a holy, beautiful character."

Quite a challenge isn't it?

Here's another challenging excerpt from the "In Green Pastures" devotional

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Excerpt from "In Green Pastures" by J.R. Miller D.D.
"If you are Christ's, every energy of your mind, every affection of your heart, every power of your soul, every fibre of your body, every particle of your influence, every penny of your money, is Christ's, and all of these are to be used to bless your fellow-men and to make the world better..."

Keep the door of my lips.

"No prayer should be oftener spoken by us than that of David in one of his psalms: "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips." There is nothing in all our life to which most of us give less heed than to our words. We let them fly from our lips as the leaves fly from the trees when the autumn winds blow. Many people seem to think that words scarcely have a moral character. They watch their acts, their conduct, and then give full license to their tongues. This is not right. A true Christian should have a Christian tongue. Words have terrific power for harm if they are wrong words, and blessed, immortal power for good if they are holy words. We need to pray continually that God would keep the door of our lips and set a watch before our mouth. Only love should be permitted to interpret itself in speech. Bitterness and all evil should be restrained." 
  "In Green Pastures" for December 16th by J.R. Miller, D.D.


Plus some Scripture on the subject. (NKJV)

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."
 Ephesians 4:29

"Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one." Colossians 4:6

"...sound speech that cannot be condemned..." Titus 2:8