DAILY READINGS IN LIFE OF CHRIST - J.R. Miller (1890)

July 1. The Touch of Faith

"And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?" Mark 5:30 

How did he know that one touch — amid all the jostling of the crowd? The multitude were close about Him, pressing up against Him. The disciples even thought it strange that He should ask such a question. The people could not help touching Him. Ah — but there was one touch different from all the rest! There was a heart's cry in it — a piteous earnest supplication. It was not like the jostling of the crowd, an accidental or a thoughtless touch, the mere touch of nearness; there was a soul in it. So, amid all the crude pressure of the multitude, He recognized it.

In every church service all are near to Christ — but all are not blessed. All press up against Christ — but some go away as they came, carrying with them sores unhealed, weakness unstrengthened, heart-hunger unfulfilled. Others, sitting close by, receive rich help. The first, though near, reach out no hand of faith, while the others touch the hem of Christ's garment.

The services of the Church may be compared to telegraph wires through which messages are all the while passing. You may climb up and put your ear to the wire, or hold it in your hand; but you will not hear a word of all the important messages that are flashing through it. But let an operator come with his instrument and attach it, and he hears every word. So in the church services, we touch the invisible wires that bind Heaven and earth together. Along these wires messages are flying up from earth to Heaven, prayers, praises, heart-cries, faith filled desires; down from Heaven to earth answers of comfort, cheer, joy, and help, blessings of pardon, healing, life, peace. But many know nothing of all this, no flash of healing, new life, joy, or help comes to them; they are close — but have no faith attachment. The others touch by prayer and faith.

DOST THOU TEACH US? 

— Note how many of the greatest and most learned men, who have stood foremost in their profession, were never educated in the professional schools.

AND THEY CAST HIM OUT. 

—When Luther's books were publicly burned by order of the Papal Nuncio, the remark made to the Emperor Charles' ministers was, " Do you imagine that Luther's doctrines are found only in those books that you are throwing into the fire ? They are written where you

cannot reach them, in the hearts of the nation. " 

— D ' Aubigny, Bk. 6, chap. 11.

 A.D. 29. Spring. 

CAPERNAUM. THLRD TEAR. HEALING OF THE SYRO- PHOENICIAN WOMAN

 

“It is not meet to take the Children’s bread and feed it to the dogs.”  Matthew 15:26

 

There is a touch of infinite beauty and graciousness in the  expression, which it is easy for us to miss. The word He uses for 'dogs’ is not the word which was used for the wild creatures which  go about in troops in Eastern cities, and which were regarded by the Jews with great disgust. It is the word for 'little dogs,' living in the house and with the family, and lying under the master s table that are fed with pieces of the children's loaf. They are not outside. They, too, have a place in the family. If Christ puts it so, then she and her people have a place, though a humble one, in the house of the Master of all. The children may be fed first; but they, too, are to be remembered and blessed. Christ gave her a better place in the house than she hoped for; indeed, she supposed that she had no place at all." 

 

—R. W. Dale, D.D, 

 THE FAMILY ALTAR

June 30.

"For I say unto you that none of those men which were bidden

shall taste of my supper." Luke 14:24.

The first-bidden guests to the supper refused the king's gra-

cious invitation and offered excuses. But their empty excuses

only served to anger him and to exclude them from the feast.

Rightly so. Supper time is no time to go and look at real estate

or to examine cattle. The men making such excuses had all day

to look at the ground or the oxen they had bought. As for the

man who had taken a wife, it was his plain duty to bring her

along to the supper. There was yet room, and the gracious king

would have been glad to welcome her at his banquet. Oh, these

empty excuses, these miserable evasions, by which people try to

justify their staying away from the saving Gospel-feast! They

say they cannot go to church because they have no clothes to wear,

or the weather doesn't suit them, or they don't like the preacher

or the people in the church, or they have a pressing social or

business engagement, and the like. The true reason is, that their

carnal hearts do not care for Christ and His saving means of grace.

They are only treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the

day of wrath by their hypocritical excuses, and will learn to their

everlasting sorrow that while they could excuse themselves into

hell they can never excuse themselves out of it. "He that loveth

father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me ; and he that

loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me," says

our Savior. (Matt. 10, 37.) Even they have no excuse who have

married a husband or wife of no faith or of a different faith. Let

them earnestly and persistently, but lovingly strive to bring them

to Christ's saving Church, and if they refuse, still come themselves.

— Is our place at the supper of grace still empty ? God grant

that we all have come to Jesus and daily take of His fulness grace

for grace. Let us pray for all our straying, erring fellow-men :