None of us would want to have our hearts photographed!

I get a daily email from www.gracegems.org and I thought it would be good to share some of the "GEMS" that are in these emails. Most of the authors of the GEMS are men of God from years past. This GEM is from J.R. Miller - James Russell Miller was born on March 20, 1840 at Frankfort Springs, Pennsylvania and died on July 2, 1912. Besides authoring over 80 books, booklets, and pamphlets, Dr. J.R. Miller was the Editorial Superintendent of the Presbyterian Board of Publication and a very active pastor in a succession of churches. You can read more about J.R. Miller here. I hope these words encourage you to look to Christ.

- Aaron


J.R. Miller


"Having loved His own who were in the world--He loved them unto the end!" John 13:1

A friend is one who loves--and does not cease to love. Christ having loved His people--loves them unto the end.

One quality of true friendship, is trust. What could be more sacred than this comfort of feeling safe with a person, absolutely safe? That is the kind of friend Jesus is. You may always feel safe with Him. You may confess all your sins to Him. You may tell Him all your faults and your failures--how you denied Him the other night, how you failed to be true to Him, and all the evil thoughts of your heart; and He will be just as tender and gracious--as if you never had sinned! He loves unto the end!

None of us would want to have our hearts photographed, and the picture held up before the eyes of our neighbors! We would not want even our best friends to see a full transcript of our secret life--what goes on within us:
the jealousies,
the envyings,
the bitter feelings,
the impure thoughts,
the meannesses,
the selfishnesses,
the suspicions,
the doubts and fears!
Yet Christ sees all this unworthy inner life--He knows the worst that is in us--and loves us still! We do not need to hide our weaknesses from Him. He never withdraws His love. We may trust Him absolutely and forever!

"Having loved His own who were in the world--He loved them unto the end!" John 13:1

New Year New Direction

Proverbs 3:5-6 ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

This has been the hardest year of my life. God gives and He takes away praise be the name of the LORD. He gave me a son, an inheritance, whom I love very much. He gave me the closest year of my life with my wife. He brought a trial that I must thank Him for. Praise the Lord from the rising of the sun to its setting.
As I step out on faith this year I want to live Proverbs 3:5-6. My wife is now with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus Christ. I miss her so much. She was my everything I feel like I am half a man now. But the Lord knows all things and He is good and does good. So I know without a shadow of a doubt that God will guide me through the pain and grief and lead me to where the sorrow turns into joy.
My wife's blog is still active you can read about this amazing woman here.. Shawna