Me, The Vilest of the Vile!

Me, The Vilest of the Vile!

[Sarah Church, a blind and deaf girl, who was paralyzed in one arm and both legs, wrote the following. Sarah died at the age of 23.]

The Lord has again visited me in a most wonderful manner; so much so that I am lost in wonder, love and praise, that He should show me such a revelation - me, the vilest of the vile!

"Christ is all and in all" (Colossians 3:11).

More joyful tidings cannot possibly reach our ears than what are contained in these words. Christ indeed all and in all. He is all to me as...
the end of the law for righteousness,
the substance of prophecy,
the sum of the gospel,
the life of the promises.

His wisdom directs me. His righteousness justifies me.

Jesus is...
the perfection of glory;
truth, without any defect or error;
holiness, without the least taint of pollution;
the chief among ten thousand!

Whatever is desirable on earth,
whatever is attractive in heaven,
all the graces of time,
all the glories of eternity,
meet in Him their proper center,
and flow from Him their first source.

His love - how vast! His promises - how precious! His work - how perfect! His mercy - how boundless! His truth - how immutable! His power - how omnipotent!  His grace - how sovereign! His counsels - how profound! His people - how secure! His presence - how blissful! His smiles - how transporting! His Gospel - how free! His law  - how holy! His precepts - how pure! Christ is all and in all.

Hunger cannot be satisfied without the bread of life - Jesus Christ.

Thirst cannot be truly quenched without that living water - Jesus Christ.

The captive cannot be delivered without the Redeemer - Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the way - without Him we are wanderers.

Jesus is the truth - without Him we live in error.

Jesus is the life - without Him we are dead in sins.

Jesus is the light - without Him we are in darkness.

Jesus is the vine - those who are not grafted in Him are withered branches, prepared for the fire.

Jesus is the rock - those who are not built upon Him will be carried away by the flood of Divine anger.

I am lost in wonder that the Lord should look down upon such a hell-deserving wretch as I am! But glory be to His name, He does not deal with us after our sins! 

~Sarah Church~
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These Are the Idols of the Heart!

The first commandment of the Decalogue says, "You shall have no other gods before Me." The meaning of this precept, which is the foundation of all religion, is not merely that we shall not acknowledge any other God besides Jehovah - but also that we shall treat Him as God! That is, we must love Him with all our hearts, serve Him with all our lives, and depend upon Him for our supreme felicity.

It is obvious that whatever we love most, and are most anxious to retain and please - whatever it is we depend most upon for happiness and help - whatever has most of our hearts - that is, in effect, is our God! It does not matter whether it is friends, possessions, desires - or our own selves!

~John Angell James~
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A Hideous Skeleton! A Heap of Dust!

"Don't be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God" (1 Peter 3:3-4).

How exquisitely is this put! How impressive the ideas which are conveyed! It is the decoration of the soul rather than of the body, about which Christian women should be chiefly solicitous and concerned.

The soul is indestructible and immortal - so should its ornaments be. What can jewels of silver or jewels of gold do for the soul?

The appropriate ornaments of the soul are truth, holiness, knowledge, faith, hope, love, joy, humility; and all the other gifts and graces of the Spirit - wisdom, prudence, fortitude, and gentleness. These are the jewels with which the inner heart should be adorned.  The outer body is corruptible. Dust it is, and unto dust it shall return.

That beautiful woman glittering in all the profusion of diamonds - the admiration and envy of the party - must before long be a mass of putrefaction too ghastly to be looked upon - and then a hideous skeleton, a collection of bones, a heap of dust!

But turn now to that other female, the woman who, regardless of the decoration of the body, was all intent upon the beauty of the soul. Look at her, who was clothed with the robe of righteousness and the garment of salvation, and decorated with the ornaments of a gentle and quiet spirit.

She too dies; but her indestructible and immortal soul over which death has no dominion, goes not unadorned into the presence of the Eternal; for the jewels with which it decorated itself on earth are as indestructible as its own nature, and go with it to shine in the presence of God!

~John Angell James~